Chapter 15 “The Two of Us”
It was almost December. Time moved at such a breakneck pace. There were only three more days till Christmas.
“Brother~ Can I spend Christmas at my friend’s house?” Dominique asked. “It’s not like you’ll celebrate it alone, you have Allen? Can I?”
“Hmm? But we always celebrate Christmas together…” Kaien protested. Christmas was like an event they would spend and celebrate together as brothers.
“Brother~ Please… I don’t wanna disturb you and Allen~” Dominique pouted.
Kaien let out a heavy sign. The thought of spending Christmas apart from Dominique was one that he did not particularly enjoy. However, he would also like to spend some time alone with Allen during the holiday season. The thought somehow made him happy. It was their very first Christmas together as a couple.
“Please…” Dominique begged again.
“Ok…” Kaien agreed with a heavy heart.
“Thanks brother~” Dominique said as he hugged his brother.
“What are you guys talking about?” Allen, who just entered the living room, asked.
“Dom will celebrate Christmas at his friend’s house. So, there’ll be only me and you here… Benji will celebrate it with Nathan…” Kaien said as he put his hand on Allen’s shoulder, huddling Allen.
“Hmm… Ok,” Allen answered. He remembers that Ben told him about his plan to spend Christmas in Nathan’s house, together with Nathan’s brother. Well, it was not like Allen was bothered by it at all. It indicates that he will spend all of his time with Kaien. Just the two of them.
“Don’t do anything pervy when I’m gone, ok?!” Dominique reminded Kaien.
“What?! Who taught you such a word?!” Kaien asked, shocked.
“Nathan~ Hahaha…” Dom answered as he got up and started to pack his things. He would go to his friend's house in the afternoon.
“Nathan…” Kaien mumbled. He did not like that Dominique was ‘contaminated’ by Nathan.
“OK, then. So, what should we do?” Allen asked. Kaien looked at Allen like he was asking what Allen meant. “I mean, we’ll spend our first Christmas together, right? So don’t we need to make some preparations first?” Allen explained.
“Oh, yeah…Hmmm, let me think about it…Shouldn’t we…”
In the end, Kaien and Allen end up discussing their plan together that morning. They come to an agreement that they would have a Christmas Date that will last from morning until night. Secretly, Kaien also had a surprise for his Allen.
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“Careful, OK?” Kaien said as he hugged his little brother.
“It’s not like I’ll go somewhere far,” Dom protested. “I’m just gonna go to my friend’s house, which is just few blocks away…”
“Don’t forget to eat, OK?” Allen reminded.
“Hey, how can the king of food forget to eat?” Kaien teased.
“Brother~”
Dom headed to his friend's place after saying goodbye to his brother. At first, Kaien, who was a protective elder brother, wanted to accompany him on his trip. However, Dom did not want Kaien to accompany him. He stated that he could go there by himself because he did not particularly enjoy being treated like a child. Indeed, there were times when Kaien was simply overly concerned about his brother. Aside from Dom, he had never had any other.
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“Kai~” Allen called.
“Hmm?” Kaien asked as he closed the distance between him and Allen. It was almost ten at night, they were lying on the bed. The same bed they had been sharing all this time.
“I can’t sleep…” Allen said as looks at Kaien’s eyes.
“Me too… Do you want to know why?” Kaien asked as he caressed Allen’s hair.
“Why?” 
“Because I’m too excited about our Christmas Date~” Kaien said as he kissed Allen’s lips rapidly.
“Kai~ Stop that…” Allen blushed.
“Do you want me to help you have a good sleep tonight?” Kaien asked as he used his naughty eyes to travel Allen’s upper body.
“Kai!” Allen’s cheeks turned really red now.
“What? We already did ‘it’ once…” Kaien said as he got up and positioned himself on top of Allen, and then he whispered. “I already saw everything…”
Kaien’s whispering made Allen feel a goose bump, his heartbeat fastens. He was already able to sense the lust that he and Kaien shared.
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The next morning…
“Kai~ What are you going to wear for our date tomorrow?” Allen, who was still lying on Kaien’s arm, asked.
“Hmm? Why do you ask?” Kaien wondered.
“I want to wear something that suits yours…” Allen mumbled, a bit shy.
“Allen, just wear what you want, Ok? You look beautiful in whatever you’re wearing… But of course, more beautiful at this moment though…” Kaien said regarding the fact that they were both naked.
“Kai!” Allen threw a pillow into Kaien’s face.
“Hey~” Kaien exacted his vengeance. They were having a pillow fight for a couple of minutes before finally Kaien gave up and asked Allen to just take a bath… together.
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In the bathroom, when they were taking a bath together in the bathtub, Kaien could not help but express his curiosity.
“Allen, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
“What happened to your… back?” Kaien asked, tracing his finger at Allen’s scars on his back.
There was no response. It was clear to Kaien that his question had caused Allen to feel uneasy. Therefore, he instantly gave Allen a hug from behind, as if he were apologizing for asking Allen such a question.
“Kai…” Allen called softly. “It’s…a long story…”
“Then, tell me the story…”
No sound came from Allen. He was terrified, terrified that Kaien would discover the truth. There was only one person who actually loved him, and that was Kaien. However, Kaien was Allen's first love. Ben, Dom and Nathan too, of course, but Kaien was Allen’s first love.  Allen was hesitant to reveal his history to Kaien due to the fact that any and all of his so-called friends would abandon him once they knew about it.
It was a long time ago, but the memories carved itself in Allen’s deepest heart. He was always bullied at school, he was called ‘the gambler’s son’ or some other would shout at him. ‘Go away! I don’t want to be friends with you! I’m afraid my dad will be like yours! Hahaha…’ Almost every day, when Allen returned home from school, he would break down in tears. His mother was the one who provided him with solace at all times. Allen's childhood had been a long and eventful one. The fear that he felt was so great that he was terrified Kaien would also abandon him.
“Kaien… Are you going to love me forever?” Allen asked out of sudden.
“Wha… I… Of course, I’ll, Allen!” Kaien answered. 
He was just too confused with the sudden change of the topic. Because he did not want Allen to experience any discomfort, he made the decision to stop asking questions. All Kaien wanted was for Allen to have faith in him. He wanted Allen to put his trust on him like he always did.
“Let’s dry ourselves, you might catch a cold if we keep naked like this~” Kaien teased, attempting to raise the mood better. Allen did not speak but only nodded in silence.
Allen just nodded in silence.