Chapter 171: Payment

The world is spiraling for Kyrie as Ian carries him like a sack of potatoes. Without any orientation of where he is heading, he turns quiet while resisting his motion sickness. Kyrie lets out the breath that he has held in when Ian finally stops. Under the shadows cast by the canopy of leaves, Ian lowers Kyrie down to the uneven surface of a giant tree's branch.

From the motion sickness and the suddenness of Ian acting up, Kyrie has forgotten the complete speech that he has prepared to excuse that monstrocious letter.

"I was drunk when I wrote that," Kyrie nibbles on his lower lip, trying to remember at least a sentence for the speech that he prepared.

Ian smirks, "Ah, the letter…." 

Kyrie starts stepping back for safety precautions while Ian tries to close their distance.

"The list of physical and emotional compensation that you wrote…."

Kyrie pouts while observing how Ian tries to hold his laughter by pressing his lips together.

[I should quit alcohol once and for all! Alcohol is the root of all evil!]

Ian recites, "For physical compensation, I first demand a romantic kiss while watching the best scenery from the town we reside."

Kyrie closes his eyes and curses at his maiden heart. He feels his body tingle, cringing at his own words that he wrote in the letter. Now he knows what he wrote as first demand. 

[Why did Ian memorize something so cringy! Even I don't remember what I wrote!]

Yes, Kyrie has no memory of anything that he has written. The only hope of guessing what he has written is to imagine a version of himself without any restraints to his wild thinking and imagination. 

[OMG! I can't live now… My first demand actually came from my ruthless binging on Thai BL after work.]

Ian takes Kyrie's hand and pulls Kyrie to his arms while trying not to laugh at how flustered Kyrie looks. 

"It would be great if I could have that type of imagination you possess."

[KO… It's over! I should no longer identify myself with the human race.]

Ian cups Kyrie's face and chuckles at how red Kyrie's face has turned. 

Feeling bullied, Kyrie eyes at Ian and pouts, "What? You don't like me now?"

"No… On the contrary… I find you… ehhh… charming in your own way?"

Kyrie scuffs, "Flatterer!... Really?"

"Hmm."

Then, Ian gently leans in for a slow kiss. As he gently carries the kiss, his thumb caresses Kyrie's cheek. They can feel each other's breaths tickle their skin as they slowly pull their lips away and draw back into them seconds later. Kyrie feels weightless; maybe he should have asked for the kiss earlier to take away all the accumulated stress. 

Ian slightly opens his eyes to look at Kyrie while kissing him. If he thinks back, he would have never thought that someone else would ever touch his lips. He could only remember his stoic face that is wiped from emotions with a pair of dead eyes staring back at the mirror. His clothes would always reek of blood and dirt. 

Yet, he has found that person. 

His heart feels heavier by each consecutive kiss, so he presses in deeper, his tongue pressing against the softness of Kyrie's tongue. Ian lets go only when Kyrie loses his balance. He lifts Kyrie centimeters off the branch surface by the waist. He watches how Kyrie leans over to look at the depths he almost fell into and grabs onto his clothes tighter. The corner of his lips moves up on their own as Ian watches Kyrie look up and see the elven city from where they are. 

"The view is amazing!"

"Hmm," Ian does not take away his eyes from Kyrie to look at the view.

Under the morning sun that is turning to noon, the unique city infrastructure is clearly outlined by the light. They see the residential houses that are deeper into the city to the outskirts markets. The inhabitants look like hard-working ants busying from their daily toil. 

Beyond the elven city, they witness a green forest plane that stretches to the rocky valley. A river flows out from the forest and into the valley. Due to the abundant mana stones, the valley glitters under the sunlight, and the river turns purple from the entrance onwards. 

Being able to see the world up high, Kyrie feels less stress over his matters. All of a sudden, his worries seem to fit in one hand.

"I bet the view will look better in the sunset."

"Hmm."

Feeling Ian's odd mood, Kyrie turns his head back to look at Ian. Kyrie looks at Ian's Adam's apple and wide shoulders, suddenly realizing that Ian has grown. Before they have parted in the gates, Ian bears a similar height and size as him, but now, not only is Ian taller, but his frame is larger. Looking up, Kyrie watches Ian's baby features shed off. 

Kyrie's heart thumps louder when he realizes that the Ian he sees is the exact image of how the novel he read has painted him. Ian carries the sharp features written - an angular face with a tall, straight nose, a pair of calm and mature blue eyes, and silky medium-short raven hair.

The novel character that he read has leaped out to the real world, embracing him, looking at him, smiling at him. 

"What is it, Ian?" Kyrie senses that Ian has something to tell him.

Ian takes in a short sharp breath, and he narrows his eyes, unable to cover the sadness. He doesn't want to break the good mood they are in, but he has promised himself that he doesn't want to let Kyrie be in the dark. He doesn't want Kyrie to one day face his death all of a sudden and out of nowhere. 

"Kyrie…"

Ian pauses, rethinking how he should deliver the news. Sensing that something is wrong, Kyrie grips tighter on Ian's jacket.

"What is it, Ian? Just tell me…."

"I… I am dying."

Ian sees Kyrie's pupils instantly dilate. Kyrie breaks off the embrace and missteps when backing off. He falls from the branch and only notices that he is falling when Ian shouts his name. He casts a swirl of wind that catches his body. Ian jumps toward him and lands on his wind convocation. 

Kyrie launches on Ian, grabbing his arms tightly. 

"What- What do you mean?"

"Kyrie…"

Ian tries to hold onto Kyrie as Kyrie seems to be falling apart.

"Is… is it because of your curse?" Kyrie's voice breaks.

Ian nods and hugs Kyrie tighter. They slowly hand on another tree's branch, embracing each other in a haunting silence. They are both trying to process their feelings and thoughts.

Kyrie murmurs as he pats Ian's back, "It's going to be fine… I am going to find a way."

Hidden not far from where Ian and Kyrie stand, Federline and Lemuel widen their eyes as they hear the news. Lemuel looks at Federline, shocked to the point that his entire body has stiffened. Federline grinds his teeth, frowning in a pained expression. 

Federline has not been shocked when seeing Ian kiss Kyrie like he always knew that they are together, but instead, he is completely shaken by the news of Ian dying. Lemuel is sure that Federline has tailed Kyrie and Ian for another reason, as if he needed to confirm something.

"Let's go," Federline murmurs as he takes his eyes away from the couple.

Lemuel nods, letting Federline carry him away from their hiding spot. Federline jumps from branch to branch while being absent-minded.

"Federline!" 

Federline snaps out of his trance and notices that he is landing on a branch balmed with sap. They slip, but Federline shields Lemuel from the branches in their fall. Then, he shifts the direction with his momentum to land safely on another branch. Federline asphyxiating hold on Lemuel after Lemuel complained. 

"Are you okay?" Lemuel turns Federline sideways to look at his back.

Federline's arms are only slightly bruised and with thin cuts. However, Federline does not flinch from the pain at all. He looks shell-shocked instead.

"Federline..."

Lemuel taps on Federline's cheek, and finally, Federline turns his attention back at Lemuel. Lemuel can see some life return to those zoned-out eyes and ends up locking eyes with Federline for a few long seconds.

Feeling some awkwardness of staring at each other for too long, Lemuel takes his eyes off. 

"Let's go down and find some herbs for your wounds."

Federline looks at Lemuel closing in to get carried once again. He feels Lemuel's warmth radiating onto his body, and he carries Lemuel effortlessly into his arms. This time, he draws Lemuel's body closer to him. Lemuel flusters when he feels Federline's tighter hold around his waist. He is so close that he can peek at Federline's collarbone from the loose shirt collar.

When they land on solid ground, Federline gently places Lemuel down. With his ability, Lemuel quickly finds the herbs. He mashes them with some magic and gestures Federline to take off his shirt. Federline takes it off and shows Lemuel his back, letting Lemuel see all his battle scars from years of hardships. 

With his heart stuck in his throat, Lemuel administers the medicine on Federline's back. The wounds that he is tending are as thin as paper cuts. Still, Lemuel pains watching a back filled with scars.

Federline smiles while feeling Lemuel's effort to put the medicine gently. Although Federline wouldn't usually dress these kinds of insignificant wounds, for some reason, he wants Lemuel to do it for him. And maybe, he wants to let Lemuel see a part of him. He wants Lemuel to see the stories marked on his body.

"Did it hurt?" Lemuel asks after gathering enough courage.

"The fall wasn't that bad."

"You know what I mean, though…."

Federline turns quiet, unsure why speaking about the scars is harder than showing them.

"Those hurt a lot… More in the soul than my flesh."

"How did you get them?"

"Mostly from when I used to be part of a group of thieves."

"You mean… when you were in the village?"

"No… before that. I was picked up from the streets when I was 6 and trained to be a thief. But I got out when I was fifteen."

"I thought you couldn't get out once-...," Lemuel realizes what he was saying and immediately quiets down.

However, Federline smiles and replies, "Yeah… You don't really get out once you become one of them. It's so that you don't leak where they reside. I got out because a random man bought me, but he died because of me…."

"What happened?"

"He was deceived by the thieves and died… He was a good man… A man who gave his fortune away to the homeless and orphans. He was the man who fed me when I was on the streets too… He knew I loved sweets and would save to buy me caramels… More so because he was clumsy and didn't know how to calm me as a child. I grew spoiled from him, and even when I was with the thieves, I would go and see him for candy."

Lemuel remains quiet while Federline shares his past. Even though he has shared this with another person, he feels he wants to share the last bit of that story.

"Lemuel… I will tell you a secret…."

"Hmm… Tell me."

"On the last day, when we spent in the cell after getting captured by the thieves, I cried a lot because I made him pay for my freedom… but in the end, I almost got us killed… He gave me a caramel… like always… to calm me down. I told him I would never be able to pay him back for all the caramels he gave me, but he said that he would make me accountable after we went out…."

Federline takes a deep breath to hold his tears back, "But… he never went out of that cell… he died that night from fever caused by infected wounds. I didn't even notice that he was wounded."

Lemuel is unsure why Federline tells him this story, but something must have triggered Federline to tell the story. 

"Why are you telling me this?"

Federline lets out a sad smile, "Because I wanted you to know…."

He turns around when Lemuel is still in the midst of putting medicine on his bruises. Federline leans in closer to Lemuel. They are only a breath apart from each other's faces.

"And because I want you to feel pity for me… so that I can kiss you."