"…Well, this is one of the last places I'd expect you'd be after fooling everyone into thinking you're dead."

"You got lucky."

"Shut up."

"You're here cause you were looking for me, right? Well, you must be happy no matter what your plan is to do with me. I'm pretty fun either way."

"…Cocky as ever", Keiss grinned, leaning in to hug his friend. Friend, if he could call it that. Partners in work, at least. They were. Now Layle was just someone he hadn't seen in a year.

Well, that was a lie. Keiss knew that well, and he knew Layle did, too.

But everything felt astonishingly, suspiciously normal after Layle's return. He returned to his and Keiss's shared apartment, which he was certain he must've struggled to pay the rent for during his absence. It was impressive, really. Even for a Selkie. It was even more impressive, though, how the day Layle returned, he got home and went to bed like nothing happened. Not even saying a word.

He didn't bother to talk with Keiss, to engage in any sort of conversation that might be as obviously natural as a, "Where were you?" And maybe Keiss didn't even want to know the answer to that. Hell, Layle probably wouldn't even know where to start. A whole year had passed - and all that mattered to Keiss was that his mind was at peace. He no longer had to worry about the condition of his companion, if he was even still alive - and he didn't even want to imagine Layle's condition during the time he was gone. Maybe he'd never even know, and maybe he was fine with that.

But he was just glad to have him back.

Naturally, after Layle returned, it was quick that Belle had heard the news. Unfortunately, Layle wasn't lucky enough to have forgotten about the Selkie. She was engraved into his memory - every high-pitched, bitchy squeal of hers as she'd flaunt being the cold-hearted, independent Selkie she wished she was. Every time, she'd follow that with a degrading remark about a fellow Selkie, Keiss, in jealousy of Layle's trust for him. But he wouldn't tolerate any of it, even if he knew Keiss couldn't be bothered to even notice when she said such things.

So, she'd put on a mask. One that says she does as much as tolerates Keiss. That would earn some respect from Layle, she hoped. Though she felt Keiss certainly didn't deserve it. She didn't even quite understand, herself, why she went to such great extents in an attempt to get Layle to like her. But she did it anyway. It was typical of her; diving in without thought, without reason, without any type of plan whatsoever. As long as she could experience the temporary high of all the physical sensations there were - and maybe that was just the burning of liquor down her throat, on a particular night in which she decided it was a good idea to go out for some drinks with Layle. Naturally, Keiss had to tag along.

Well, it was less than tagging along. She felt like the one tagging along.

"Sooo…" She swished around the ice cubes in her drink, whatever it was. She asked for, simply, 'something strong' but couldn't really enjoy more than a sip. "Is Keiss gonna, like, leave soon?"

Keiss's brows knitted together, as he sat on one of the flimsy bar stools next to Layle. He was rather taken aback by Belle's question - which, for whatever reason, she had the nerve to ask as he was right beside her. It really shouldn't have surprised him, coming from her, though.

Layle pinched the bridge of his nose, equally as unimpressed with Belle's manners as Keiss.

"Eh, he could use a break from you. Whatever he wants to do."

Keiss shrugged and got up, unsure where exactly he'd go or why he was doing it, though if he'd admit it, this was really what Belle wanted. He knew Layle could piss off Belle well enough by himself, anyway. Hell, that's what he'd been doing since the three arrived at the tavern. Keiss had barely said a word. But he still needed some sort of fresh air, so he headed outside.

"What's that supposed to mean?! You're acting like I'm exhausting!" She yelled, by some sort of miracle, not drawing any attention to herself. It was impossible to hear her over everyone talking, possibly fighting, and whatever music played at the tavern.

"Well… you're not exactly energizing to be around." He grinned, "I could use a nap, you know?"

Belle really was exhausting to be around - and sometimes even exhausting when she wasn't around.

It was before Layle ever disappeared, and it was the one time he slipped a piece of, seemingly harmless, meaningless information to Belle. It was regarding a contract he and Keiss had, for a job that would take several days to complete. Naturally, with the location and amount of time estimated to complete the task, the pair had decided to stay at a cheap inn for a couple nights.

It wasn't until arriving and stepping into the assigned hotel room, that Layle realized it was… off.

"Yep, that's a camera." Keiss said, picking up the small camera in the corner of the desk.

He disposed of it quickly - and not without checking every inch of the room for potential other cameras, which he easily guessed were placed by Belle.

He was unable to find any more - and he'd already spent more than enough of his time doing as little as searching for more cameras, which was extremely inconvenient with how much time he wasted, and how much sleep he'd miss out on. It was probably nearly an hour - and even longer if it took him a normal amount of time to fall asleep. But he worried there were more.

Looking back, it was stupid of him - he didn't plan to do anything that would even be worth filming, or watching a film of him doing. But he was so determined to find each one of those cameras, and as soon as he found the second one, he knew it would be useless to quit searching after coming that far.

It was fairly long after Keiss had managed to find several - which might've been all of them - he hoped, since he was utterly exhausted to the point of passing out, as his body let his lack of energy take over.

Layle had gotten up to use the restroom, and upon walking back to his bed, he glanced at Keiss, passed out on the floor.

"Real classy, Keiss…" he grinned at his unconscious partner, joking to himself about Keiss's fixation on finding 'All those damn cameras!'

Layle reached his arm under Keiss's legs, and the other behind his back, picking up the sleeping body. The least he could do for his friend was not allow him to sleep on a dirty motel floor. So, he didn't. He gingerly set him down on the tiny bed he'd been sleeping on, and carefully laid down beside him on the other side.

Maybe it was for the best, anyway, that Keiss just crashed, he finally had a chance at some well-deserved rest. Layle covered himself and the one next to him in one of the blankets on the bed.

In the morning, Keiss found himself tangled in Layle's arms. The slight movement had apparently awoken Layle, and all he did was shrug and flash some dorky smile through puffy eyes as he just woke up. This was the first time they slept beside one another - but they didn't think anything of it at the time. It didn't stand out particularly, since it wasn't the last, either. And Layle started to like the feeling of not being alone as he slept, whether he'd admit it or not.

Once the contract was completed, the two went out for a bite during the afternoon. Unfortunately, all the strange jobs they agreed to do prevented them from having an organized lunch schedule - or an organized schedule at all.

And yet, Layle still immediately wished his schedule was even more unusual than before as he still, somehow managed to run into Belle. Though, it was obvious she had a habit - maybe even a hobby - of following around others, even stalking.

"What a shame! - You found ALL the cameras?"

Layle was probably going to snap back at her with some clever comeback, or whatever he always did, but Keiss wasn't having it - he just walked right past her, and because of that, Layle decided he'd just do the same. He had to eat with Keiss, anyway, which was more important than any encounter with Belle would ever be.

And he stuck to this policy. Layle was exhausted being in Belle's presence alone. He assumed she'd just get plastered and he could leave and she wouldn't care, but she wasn't doing that. She was barely drinking. Hell, that was why he couldn't even recall seeing Keiss order a drink - it left him too vulnerable with her around. He knew she hated him, he knew she'd poison him if she could. And a drink at a bar was a perfect opportunity to do so; so he'd avoid it as well as he could.

Keiss had already gone outside anyway, it was safer for him anyway as he was further away from Belle. Maybe it was a bit of an exaggeration. But Layle wasn't going to tolerate it either - he'd met children significantly more mature than Belle. Probably ones who had a decent amount of self-control, as well. She didn't have either of those qualities.

And maybe Layle didn't either, maybe that's why he went outside to go look for his friend, and not even just to get away from Belle. But he'd had a rough night, drained from who he was somewhat-unwillingly hanging out with, and he hoped Keiss could fix that.

When he found Keiss, he was smoking on the small balcony of the tavern. All that could be seen were the reflection of lights from illuminated merchant's stands in the river outside the tavern. The water looked black at night, but it was sparkling in the moonlight and it was enough to put Keiss into a trance - so much he didn't notice Layle was there at first.

"You, still smoke?" Layle asked, gesturing his hand toward the hand-rolled cigarette between Keiss's lips.

"Just when I feel like it."

Layle chuckled, "How often is that?"

"All the time." Keiss laughed at himself.

It would sound pathetic to anyone in Alfitaria - since that was one of their weird standards. They had plenty of those, which all did nothing but degrade Layle and Keiss, though it didn't matter to either of the two who had already completely rejected society. Layle, who had done it without a choice, simply by being a bearer. And Keiss, who had done it by choosing a partnership with a bearer. It was a choice he didn't regret.

"Here", Keiss offered, gesturing towards Layle's hand as he grabbed the cigarette from him and took a drag.

"Thanks - I need it, anyway. Thanks to Belle." Layle rolled his eyes, giving Keiss back his cigarette that they were, apparently, now sharing.

"I uh, bought us some drinks.." Keiss said, handing Layle a glass he'd apparently hidden.

It was strange, Layle had no memory of actually seeing Keiss order anything. Whenever he did it, he clearly decided to wait until Belle left so he'd have the opportunity to drink with Layle without worrying about being drugged, or whatever she might do. She wasn't exactly the most predictable type of person. Maybe it was predictable she'd do something harmful to someone else, and write it off as 'revenge' for whatever, but nobody could ever guess just what she might do. And that was, horrifying, to say the least. Was only another quality on the list that made her horrifying, anyway.

"Thanks, Keiss." Layle smiled, and it looked a bit more genuine than the cocky smiles he'd previously seen. Actually, it was all he had seen. This was rather new to him.

"Any idea where Belle went?" Keiss asked.

"Forget about her." Layle could also take the advice, himself, perhaps, "Let's just hang out here, nobody's here." He said, sitting down, staring off into the void of whatever he could see in the river from the balcony, taking a sip of his drink as he did. It burnt his throat as it went down, which was good. Whatever it was, was strong. Which was really no surprise - it was only a natural choice for a Selkie.

The alcohol, naturally, loosened them both up a bit, as expected. It was kind of nice, being like this. It was late at night - out on the balcony of a tavern in the moonlight, sharing a cigarette and getting more intoxicated by the minute. And no sign of, whoever they were avoiding. Neither of them could quite remember anymore, and that was great.

Keiss kept the cigarette in between his lips, until Layle snatched it for himself, Keiss not really minding at all, as Layle's action was followed by Keiss taking a sip of whatever he was drinking.

Layle's alcohol tolerance was much lower than Keiss's - the Clavats did not tend to drink much apart from occasional rainbow wine, whereas the Selkies were generally, on the complete opposite end of that spectrum.

"Wanna go back to the hotel?" Keiss asked, cutting the peaceful silence in the air.

"Yeah…" Layle said, gulping up the rest of his drink before he stood up, with Keiss grabbing onto him as he wobbled.

Keiss chuckled, staring at his friend, who was much more drunk than himself. He could never recall seeing him drunk - sure, he had drunk small amounts of alcohol around Keiss, but never enough to cause any type of reaction to it. And apparently his reaction was imbalance. Great, not like Keiss cared. As long as Layle didn't like… fall on him, or anything. Actually, if he did, Keiss was probably also too drunk to care.

They drunkenly stumbled back to the hotel, which wasn't that far from the tavern, but they were mostly glad to have not run into Belle. She must've left, or something. Otherwise, she would've been following behind them and entering the hotel room right after they did, laughing like idiots for reasons they didn't quite understand. Layle, for some reason, decided returning back to the hotel would be more enjoyable with the lights out. So he shut them off, accordingly - though the room was still illuminated brightly by the moonlight shining in through the windows.

It painted Keiss's face and the strands of hair framing his face with an ethereal blue, wrapped around like a halo as his pretty brown eyes glowed. Maybe it was the alcohol, but Layle felt his stomach start to knot. Keiss had a soft smile on his lips as he laughed at things he didn't even understand - and his eyes sparkled in the blue moonlight streaming in through the window. Wait, did Keiss always look this good?

Layle knew it was the alcohol at this point, for what he'd do - or so he'd say it was the alcohol, if Keiss even remembered the event correctly enough to question it. But whatever it was, and it probably was himself - made Layle decide it would be a good idea to grab Keiss, a hand on the nape of his neck, and pull him close, into a soft kiss.

At first it was nothing more than lips against lips - no movement, nothing driving it. But Keiss kinda liked it, or at least he thought he did, and surprised Layle - or maybe not - by deepening the kiss. It felt entirely innocent, and maybe sweet wouldn't be a proper word to describe it, but it was a passionate kiss between two people who considered themselves friends.

And once the alcohol had worn off, it was never mentioned, not even once. Keiss knew it happened; being the less drunk of the pair that night, he could remember it vividly. But for some reason, he never considered bringing it up. He just didn't feel it would do any good, even if he was lucky enough that Layle remembered.

The most memorable time, though. It was after a successful job contract to catch some particular bandits took a turn for the worst. Naturally, for any situation like this, Layle would use his crystal bearer powers to help catch whatever he was chasing. And surely, as he'd chased the bandits and run into several guards, it was nearly an automatic method to properly turn them in. However, he quickly learned that he was not the only one he was turning in - intentionally.

He had just forgotten - using crystal bearer powers, or any type of magic was completely prohibited in the city. And he had just so happened to have used such a thing to catch those bandits. As ridiculous as it was, it resulted in Layle and Keiss being the ones who were being chased. Surely, the two could outrun the guards and meet at an area where they could get away, some way or another.

It was only seconds before they were no longer even in the city - and being chased into the woods. Layle did his best to push back guards, and throw them elsewhere with his powers, but it only seemed to be temporary. They'd get up and continue running - and Layle, who was high on adrenaline, had completely lost his ability to focus or even think properly. He was so focused on getting away, that he didn't realize he had dragged himself and Keiss into a dead end, and he hadn't even stopped running by the time he'd noticed.

A cliff.

It wasn't even that high, but he didn't think twice before jumping off, after Keiss, they both trusted he'd use his powers to lift them both up before hitting the ground - which would buy them plenty of time to run elsewhere before the guards could get to the point at the bottom of the cliff. It was all happening so fast, Layle's stomach felt like jelly as he saw the ground look as if it was expanding, as he was nearing it quicker by each second. They were so close to the ground, he had about two seconds to lift them both up. He realized this, panicking, worried he waited too long, if he was even thinking in coherent thoughts, and in a panic, immediately lifted Keiss.

But he had already hit the ground by the time he lifted Keiss.

Keiss had been in the air maybe a second, before falling as Layle fell unconscious. His head felt extremely clouded and his heart never pounded so hard in his life. He was oblivious to anything that had just happened to him - all he knew was that he was apparently still alive. He was unable to even think, as he tried to process any of what just happened, but it was almost impossible with that massive headache he had. He panted heavily, looking down at the ground, beside him, Layle's unconscious body.

"…Layle?" He said, sinking in what may have been happening as he stared at his unconscious partner. He immediately felt for a pulse. It was there… good. Keiss was panicking, he knew his friend was probably in horrible physical condition, and he also knew that the guards would still be chasing after them. Once they made their way to the bottom of that cliff, it was over for them.

And Keiss really didn't have the energy - hell, he was barely even physically capable of it, but he lifted Layle on his shoulders and ran. He just ran. He didn't know where to, he didn't have any plan, but he knew he had to get himself and Layle as far away from those guards as possible. His biggest concern was keeping Layle safe, who was already probably horribly injured.

Keiss decided his best bet was to stop in a little Selkie village, getting a room in a cheap motel. Layle hadn't even woken yet, when Keiss paid for the room, so he set him down on the bed and went elsewhere in search of cheap first-aid supplies, whatever he could find in a poor Selkie village. He rushed in and out of the shop rather quick, only to return to the motel with a yet-unconscious Layle, lying in the only bed.

All he could think about was how ridiculous it was - just how quickly they both ended up like this.

When Layle woke up, he had the most agonizing headache of his life, it felt like a drill into his skull, breaking his mind. It was nearly midnight - and Keiss couldn't even bother trying to sleep, with the state Layle was in. He quickly brought him some tea, apparently made of some sort of herb Selkies like to consider as healing. And maybe it was, in some way or another.

"You… didn't save yourself."

"I was more worried about you."

Keiss felt his heart sink a bit, as he heard Layle's weakly spoken words. Context was important, but something about the way Layle worded it. Keiss had this look in his eyes, that was so… inviting, it was almost saying 'continue', and so, Layle did.

"You see… you're a human. That's all. I'm a crystal bearer - if I fall, well - off a cliff, I'll be injured, but… nowhere near as bad as you. That fall would've killed you, no question. And I already think it was stupid of you to risk your life so easily." He explained, as Keiss was still cleaning his wounds, and almost began wrapping bandages around them. "…You mean a lot to me. I wasn't gonna risk losing you. So don't try that again."

Layle was in a ridiculous amount of pain - what with that immensely high distance he fell from, and the alcohol Keiss had rubbed into his wounds to disinfect them. But as far as he was concerned, for now, he wasn't. He already knew how Keiss felt - and didn't want to cause any more problems for him. All he hoped was that Keiss couldn't hear the pain in his voice - he didn't need Keiss any more worried than he already was.

Keiss had finished wrapping the bandages around Layle, sitting beside him on the hotel bed, all so close, with a hand on his shoulder. Layle was sipping on the tea Keiss had brewed for him, which was now considerably cooler than it was earlier.

The pain Layle was in hadn't changed or gotten any better - and he was certain Keiss could hear it in his voice, could see it in his weak movements. The atmosphere wasn't the most ideal for the situation, either, but a cheap motel in a poor Selkie village would have to suffice. The lights were dim and there was no light to shine in through the windows - the streets were dark.

Layle had set down his teacup onto the side table, as he'd just finished drinking all its contents.

"You should rest. Really, Layle, you should." Keiss suggested, as he found Layle finishing his tea to be a good indicator it was time to rest. Hell, he was quite tired himself, as well. It was expected, as his day had been incredibly draining both physically and mentally.

Layle was about to protest, but realized Keiss was definitely right. He had fallen off a cliff, and despite having been unconscious most of the day, he was utterly exhausted, and naturally, immensely in pain. So he laid down - not that he was far from it to begin with, sitting up on a bed.

"I'm exhausted, too…" Keiss said as he laid down as well. He was already very close to Layle as they were sitting down, and this… wasn't that different. Keiss was about to close his eyes to go to sleep, but he suddenly felt something warm against his chest. And wrapped around his torso.

He looked down. Layle. He was leaning into his chest, arms wrapped around him. Layle felt Keiss moving above him, to look down at what was happening. He frowned.

"Are you okay with this?" He asked, not moving.

Keiss thought for a moment, but the fact he wasn't moving away was a good enough indicator he was.

"I don't mind it."

"Good, it's more comfortable this way, anyway."

Anything to get you better, Keiss thought, but for some reason didn't actually say aloud. And maybe that was a good thing - or maybe he just told himself that so he wouldn't regret not saying it. The two fell asleep like that, and woke up in a similar way the next day.

It didn't take all that long for Layle to recover - it was much beyond any time frame any normal human would be able to recover from that, if they'd survive at all. Layle was immensely lucky. Not only to have survived, but to have a friend like Keiss who stuck by his side the entire time he was in recovery. And Layle knew he was lucky. He was grateful for Keiss - but for some reason could never find a way to properly thank him. He did, improperly, in ways he didn't quite understand. But Keiss always knew what he meant.

Maybe all of this was external "help", if it could be described that way.

Whatever it was, made Keiss realize friendship was a strange, strange thing.

He had spent all morning by himself, watching water flow in a ravine. The sound of the water splashing against the rocks, hitting it and soaking his ankles was quite mesmerizing. There were red leaves here and there, floating along with the water wherever it would take them. It was Autumn, so there were plenty of leaves falling off trees and flowing with the wind in the breeze, until they'd flow elsewhere.

Keiss heard footsteps in the grass; and being a pretty secluded area it was, Keiss immediately knew it was Layle. He had invited him out earlier, and Layle had finally arrived. Keiss had wanted to tell him something rather important, but he was having second thoughts as soon as he felt his presence. Something important was way too serious in contrast to Layle's utterly laid-back attitude.

Layle didn't hesitate to sit right beside Keiss, in the grass, staring down at the ravine.

"You've been here all morning?" Layle asked - he just assumed he did, as he hadn't seen Keiss in hours, until now.

"I guess I have." Keiss smiled softly, realizing.

Layle was sitting right beside him, and Keiss was almost forgetting what he had planned to say. Or maybe he had just told himself that, because he knew he didn't want to. It didn't help that Layle wasn't saying much - not like he was all that talkative to begin with, though, but Keiss was having a difficult time averting his eyes to avoid any awkwardness. He could stare at that pretty crystal shard in Layle's cheek, or those pretty blue eyes, or he could intensely stare into the ravine and act like he looks normal.

"What are you doing?" Layle asked, catching on.

Keiss took a deep breath, trying to collect himself, because he knew it was still quite possible to embarrass himself even further.

"I… don't know. I just feel weird." He replied, being completely honest, but still looking anywhere but at Layle, for whatever reason.

"Calm down." Layle said softly as he put a hand on Keiss's shoulder, noticing how tense he was. Naturally, Keiss looked back at him as he felt something on his shoulder.

As Keiss had thoughts which consisted of something along the lines of, "Why am I acting like this", he realized he had completely forgotten what he was planning to say to Layle. Though he knew it was nothing all that important, it was rather disappointing. It was strange, because he wasn't a forgetful person. But apparently this was the one time he was - and he hoped he'd forget one other thing, which was whatever was making him so nervous.

So he shrugged it off and stared into the flowing water of the ravine. It put him in some sort of trance - which was exactly what he needed. But he noticed his breathing calmed a bit, and he felt significantly less tense. Layle, next to him, didn't say a word, he just stared too. And it was ridiculously calming.

Finally, Layle spoke up; "So you've just been doing this for hours?"

"Yeah, it's like a break from something I wasn't even doing." Keiss said - only noticing after he said it how strange the wording sounded to him.

"Fall is pretty cool, you don't get all these orange leaves in spring…" Layle said, half zoned out, falling into the trance of staring into the ravine. "Wait - fall - your birthday's soon, isn't it? It's October." Layle said, snapping back out of it.

"Yeah, in a few days."

"The 10th, right?"

"Wait, you remember it? Really?" Keiss asked, looking at Layle, beside him.

Keiss wasn't one who celebrated his birthday much, at all. Usually he didn't remember, until he saw the date - but it never made that particular date any more special to him.

"I remember a lot about you." Layle said casually, glancing back at the water.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I do. I remember your habits, what songs you like - I remember your weird recurring dream you used to have about that cow wedding you were forced to attend, or whatever it was. I pay attention, though" Layle said the last part with more sincerity than the rest of it..

As ridiculous as he worded it, it was more heartwarming than anything. That someone cared that much to pay that much attention to Keiss - not to mention, to show that he did.

"…wow." Was all he had to say. "I appreciate it… I really do."

Layle just smiled back, and this time it looked genuine,

"I like learning more about you." Layle said, putting a hand on Keiss's shoulder, "I like you a lot." He said, and without a second thought, his lips were on Keiss's.

His hand stayed on Keiss's shoulder to keep himself close in their kiss. And it was strange, to Layle, how this wasn't strange at all to Keiss. They held the same passion this time, as the first time they kissed. And looking back, Layle couldn't even explain why he decided to do it. It just felt right.

The taste of Layle's lips had already been familiar to Keiss, but that wasn't what was on his mind right now. His best friend was kissing him.

Layle slowly parted, though not very much. He was still close enough to Keiss's face to feel his soft breath.

Keiss backed away, trying to suddenly process what just happened.

"Wait- you're… into this?… into… me?" He asked, staring at Layle in front of him, processing what just happened.

"'Have been." Was all he said. "Don't you, feel the same?"

"Uh.. wow. I didn't know that.. I uh, I like you too." Keiss said awkwardly. This wasn't exactly anything he ever planned to say… it just seemed so unrealistic that it'd happen.

"Really?"

"Yeah… I've liked you since… well, since I first met you. But I guess I was in denial for awhile. You see, when you went missing… which, you still never told me where you were, I could never stop thinking about you. I was thinking, 'Really? I feel like this about a guy?'… and I was ashamed."

Layle chewed his bottom lip, "You kissed me that one time, though. When we were both drunk. Then you acted like it never happened - I thought you forgot about it at first."

Keiss nodded, "Yeah, I just felt… ashamed, and all, y'know? Even after I did that. Told myself that's not what I'm really into." He admitted, "But fuck it. I just wanna be happy."

"So you mean, you…wanna be with me?" Layle asked, casually.

"Yeah." Keiss said, suddenly looking considerably more flustered than just a minute ago. He thought he hid it well, though. He did not.

Layle just smiled softly, and slowly inched closer to Keiss, hovering above him slightly and staring deep into his eyes as if asking permission to kiss him again. And he was easily granted permission. Layle found himself with his lips locked with his best friend's - his lover's - a hand in his beautiful, long red hair, and the other on his waist.

When they parted, Keiss stared up with half-lidded eyes.

"Let's go home." Layle said, looking down at his redheaded beauty, understanding that lying on the grass by a ravine, right as it appeared it was about to rain, was maybe not the best idea. He didn't even consider what might happen if someone were to find them like this.

Keiss got up after Layle did. They didn't live far from there, so the walk back home was short. And it seemed as soon as Layle unlocked the door to the apartment, the much-anticipated rain began to fall.

Keiss chuckled to himself, as he had barely gotten inside before the rain started pouring. His heart was pounding from what had just happened - to know that Layle actually felt the same as he did. And to think that they were actually together now.

He thought it would just be something he dreamed of. Forever. But here he was. Laying down in the bed of his best friend, right beside him, as rain streamed down from the sky outside the window. And Layle began to hover over Keiss - in a similar way to how he was earlier, but this time Keiss was fully laying down.

He leaned down over him and pressed his lips against his fiercely, which caught Keiss off guard with the contrast it had to the kisses from earlier. But he accepted it, he went along with it, and he liked it. Layle's fingers were all in his hair, just like earlier, but this held so much more passion.

Layle had placed a hand on Keiss's belt, which led Keiss to slightly part and break the kiss, looking up at him with an expression he couldn't read.

"Keiss? Are you… ready for this?" Layle asked, not moving his hand until Keiss gave something that resembled a nod

Layle had kept his hand where it was, and unfastened Keiss's belt. Keiss's belt was already undone, when Layle leaned down for another kiss. This one was short, and sweet, and ended with Keiss looking up at him in admiration.

"I'm ready."