A Gift From a Far Away World (A Seven Knights Fan Fiction)

Round 10: Connection

Home, Living Room—

Kris was... stumped.

Well, that would be an understatement of the year. Bewildered was more like it, along with shocked and astonished, or the combination and permutation for those synonyms, with the level of surreal quality added to them.

He was that surprised.

"I... I can't be happy if you're with Kris, because I... I love Kris... more than a friend..."

Rudy just confessed, albeit it was more to answer Dellons' demand instead of to Kris directly, but Kris was there with them. He was sitting duck beside Rudy, probably still gaping after Rudy's heartfelt love confession.

Rudy's expression when he said those words was difficult, like he was helpless and felt guilty, as if he had disappointed a lot of people, like he was hurting, with brows furrowed and lower lip bitten, part of his palm covering the left side of his face, body crouched with supporting elbow on his thigh

"Rudy..." Kris couldn't help calling his name, raising his hand slightly to touch Rudy somewhere, anywhere, just to make sure that he wasn't actually dreaming or hallucinating.

Rudy flinched when Kris' hand made contact with his shoulder, and like a shock of electricity, Rudy seemed to remember that Kris was there as well, thus snapped his head upward to look at him, his face suddenly drained of color.

"Oh." Rudy seemed about to bolt, so Kris gripped his shoulder harder to stop him from running away. There was no way he would let him run this time. Not again.

"Don't." Kris looked at Rudy in the eye and Rudy's body instantly tensed in fight or flight response. "I am not angry, Rudy, so don't run away from me."

Kris was slightly embarrassed of how pleading he sounded. He didn't know what kind of expression he was making, but seeing it seemed to stifle Rudy's instinct to run. Besides, Kris never loosened his grip on his shoulder, so gradually, Rudy's frigid body began to lax, unwinding.

"Kris, I..." Rudy still looked very apprehensive when he started, seeming about to explain himself, but Kris raised his other hand, two fingers placed at Rudy's lips to stop him from saying further. Kris didn't feel like hearing any explanation since he himself was still reeling from the event.

Kris had thought once that his feeling for Rudy was one-sided at best. He only waited for Rudy to notice and then expected that Rudy would let Kris down easy, like the gentleman he was. Kris had never thought that his feeling could be returned.

This posed another problem for Kris.

Oh, Kris was happy. He was mightily thrilled at the idea of being together with Rudy in a romantic relationship, the prospect of dating him with all the benefits as lovers, the pleasure of body and the satisfaction and contentment of mind and feelings; Kris was all for that.

It was just... the matter of consent.

Kris was Kris, yes, but he wasn't this world Kris. This Rudy was not Kris' Rudy. The one this Rudy loved wasn't actually him, it was the other Kris, and the one Kris had fallen in love with, technically, wasn't this Rudy either.

What should I do?—Kris thought frantically, trying his hardest to solve this problem in his head without alerting anyone in the room with him.

Kris couldn't dodge this problem. He had to answer Rudy's feeling. He couldn't postpone his answer because Dellons was there and he knew how Kris felt about Rudy. If Kris shied away here, Dellons would definitely notice that there was something wrong with Kris.