Bloody Texas

Here We Go Again

Keith sat on the park bench and tossed pieces of bread to the pigeons that begged at his feet. He was amused by how much they would fight each other over a single piece of food, so he would throw only one and observe. Eventually, he would make sure that they all got enough. There was one pigeon in particular that was smaller than the rest. It was too slow and weak to get to any food, so it was always pushed aside. A sorrowful yearning washed over him.

"What about the little one?" Lance appeared in front of him and pointed down to the runt. "He needs food, too."

Keith gave him a warm smile and handed Lance a piece, "Of course."

Lance knelt down and offered it to the little bird, swatting at the others that tried to steal it. After it ate, it hopped up on his hand and let Lance hold him. He stood up with a giggle and turned to Keith, "This is Jeffery. We're friends."

"What?" Keith chuckled, "You know each other?"

"Of course!" Lance lifted Jeffery up to look into his eyes and offer another piece of bread. "Sometimes I would come and feed him. I always felt bad because the others stole all the food."

Keith stared up at Lance in awe. The sunlight framed his royal green Lolita dress and matching heels. It casted a halo of angelic beauty that blended into the park behind him. All the dots of sunlight filtering through the trees freckled his body. His skin glowed with a warm caramel light that extended to his curly hair. Keith could never get used to how gorgeous he was. Every day was another pleasant surprise.

Lance noticed his staring and gave him a confused look. "What?"

Keith's face softened into a content smile, "You're just so beautiful."

Lance immediately blushed and flinched, causing Jeffery to fly to a neighboring tree. "You—you can't just go and say stuff like that!"

Keith laughed at his flustered behavior and stood to bring him into a tight embrace. He rocked them side to side a little. "Every day with you is such a fairy tale."

Lance curled down into his chest and pouted, "You're the one that makes it like that."

A laugh emerged from his throat, "See?! You can be cheesy, too!"

Lance playfully shoved him away and skipped back, "Oh, shut up!" He pointed at him, "You're worse!"

"Well, I hope so!" Keith ran up to him and wrapped his arms around Lance's waist, picking him up to spin and flutter the skirt of his dress.

"Keith!" Lance's bright laugh warmed the air with joyful music. "Put me down!"

Keith spun him again, "You love to be picked up!"

Lance held unto his shoulders and kissed his hair, "Are you gonna do this when we're married, too?"

Keith held him up with one arm and brought his cheek down with the other. His kiss was gentle and deliberate, taking in all the softness of Lance's skin and warmth of his breath. When he pulled away, he let their lips reach for each other and yearn for more. "I'll carry you until the day I die."

"Keith!"

Keith launched himself up out of bed and glared at his roommate. He lowered his voice into a snappy tone and rubbed his eyes. "You better have a great fucking reason for waking me up."

"Yeah," Josh threw Keith's leather jacket at him, "You're gonna be late for class if you don't get your ass up in the next five minutes."

"Class?" Keith yanked the blankets off his legs and angrily threw on some clothes. He mumbled curses as he tugged on his boot laces, "Fucking class he says. Fucking class is more important."

"Dude, what is your fucking problem with me?"

Keith huffed and snatched his keys off his desk, "You're just annoying. Now fuck off." He left the room with his Hello Kitty backpack and started down the hall.

Josh ran after him, "Okay, dude! You know I'm gonna ask about you." He kept up with Keith's pace, "You ever gonna tell me what the deal is with this backpack?" His fingers examined the bag.

Keith roughly smacked his hand away, "Don't touch my stuff."

"Okay, okay, whatever." Josh held one strap of his plain backpack. "But seriously, do you have a daughter or something?"

"No."

"Then what's the deal with the backpack?"

Keith rolled his eyes and held up the ring on his finger.

"Oh," Josh drug out his words, "It's your wife's, then?"

"Sure, whatever." Keith yanked open the door to the medical building. "Now leave me alone."