#thiefy

Raum smiled at the mint before putting it down, gently, next to the snapdragons which were perking up slowly, reaching for the wanely filtered sunlight. The knight gently patted the leaves, then reached over to observe the peppers.

He hummed as he turned over the leaves, checking for any possible spots. Satisfied with the results, he scrawled out the results of his search on a piece of parchment, splotched with random blots of ink.

He liked being alone in the room full of plants, ranging from colorful hydrangeas planted in deep, wide dishes to the edible array of herbs sprouting from pouches of cloth and dirt. It was quiet, and no one was here to order him around or subject him to another round of pranks. it was rare for the knight to be able to get away from his duties to spend long hours just observing the leafy greens, trailing each vein to the edge of the leaf.

Life. That’s what radiated in this small world of his. He never mentioned it but he would name some of the plants after a few close companions, as if that would keep them growing and living respectively.

They didn’t move, nor hurry, nor did they ask him questions and demanded little. Or at least what seemed as little, aside from digging and reshifting, pruning and applying. But they always rewarded Raum with crisp, spicy peppers and glorious colors. They didn’t need formalities either. He would chatter to them, telling them about his day, because if written down the Witch would somehow get to it. But words became energy here, energy that did not reveal his latest grumbles or mishaps.

Raum was tending a bushel of mint when footsteps echoed overhead, and he sighed. Plucking a few of the leaves, he headed up the stairs, pushed the door open and locked it shut, wove around some statues just in time to see the smiling face of Kairos, the thief.

“What do you want, thief,” he muttered as they sniffed the air.

“The Ol’ Witch wants to know how progress on the fruit project was going, sweetie.” He sniffed again. “Is that mint?”

“Yes. Tell her that if she wants to know, she should try it herself.” Raum was about to brush aside the thief, but he was stopped by another grin.

“Oh, well, she actually wanted me to try the project? What is this fruit project anyway? Some kind of baked goods?” Kairos’s eyes were gleaming with eagerness as he peppered the knight, who just stared at him, apprehensively.

“Uh, I don’t think that’s. Well. A good idea,” he finished lamely.

“Why not?  Think I’m too weak to handle such fervor from your secret project? Some kind of hidden passion that would be too big,” the knight rolled his eyes, “for the sweet little me?”

“Okay, you know what, why don’t I just show you?”

The thief chuckled. “I guess you couldn’t handle my-“

“Please, just be quiet.” Kairos smirked.

  A wooden door creaked open into a cool, dry room. Random bottles were scattered to and fro, filled with various liquids and occasionally the random bunch of fruit. A couple of large vats tightly covered with cloth stood in the corners.

“This is where I’m trying to distill some, well alcohol. Her Witchiness wanted something with fruit that usually isn’t used in alcohol around here, so I’m trying to make some. Or she forced me to try to make some.”

“Ohh, didn’t know you were the type to use that kind of tactic.” The knight glared at the thief, then strode over to a table in the middle, surrounded by barrels.  He grabbed a bottle, uncorked it, took a sniff, and threw the mint leaves in. Then he corked it again.

“So, I’m not sure why Her Witchiness sent you, since you have a tendency to be weak to alcohol.” He paused. “Oh wait, scratch that I think I know why.”

“But why wouldn’t the Witch test it out herself? She loves alcohol.” The knight blushed, and mumbled something incomprehensible as he placed the bottle.

“Oh, Mr. Knight, is it because she wants you and me in the same, secretive location with lots of alcohol? How can you think of such a thing!” Raum’s face turned redder, but he shook his head as well.

“The thing is,” he stuttered, “aside from her plans, is that I might have, almost killed her.”

“What? You’re joking right?”

“Technically, she passed out because the stuff she glugged was too high in alcohol content. And she didn’t listen to my warnings.”

“Woow, the Witch passed out? I want to try that.”

“I’m not joking, Kairos,” he snapped. “Don’t drink anything. I’m not responsible for you.” Raum returned to the table and took a ladle, fumbling with it a bit. Then he reached into one of the barrels, scooping up a small portion of amber liquid, and transferred it into a cup.

“Here, this should be okay.” The thief took it, and stared at it precariously.

“This won’t kill me right?”

“No it shouldn’t. It’s been watered down significantly.” But even as he said that, the thief gulped it, and pulled a face.

“Eck. What is it?”

“Boulderberries and pear mixed with basil I think. I didn’t make it up, the Witch did.”

The thief pretended to gag. “I think she’s just trying to come up with the weirdest possible combinations and see which one tastes good.”

“You don’t know how many times I’ve thought that. Feel free to take a look around, but honestly, don’t drink anything.” The thief just waved a hand and moved over to the clothed vats, leaving Raum to take out the rest of the mint leaves onto the table. He was shredding them carefully as the sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room, and he quickly whirled around to see Kairos stumble away from shattered bottles.

“Oh damnit it thief, be more careful.”

“I will be if you be more gentle with me, haha.”

Raum stared at Kairos. “Did you drink something? I told you not to drink anything, damnit.”

“Nothing but that lovely trial you gave me.” He giggled as Raum swore.

“I gave you something strong, didn’t I.”

“It still tastes terrible, but not as terrible as your sense of romance, darling.” The thief tottered over as Raum unconsciously crackled next to him to catch his shoulders.

“So I guess you gave me the drink to get close to me, hmm,” the thief sang, meeting the knight’s worried eyes.

“No, it was an accident. I swear, I didn’t know it was that strong. The barrels might have been switched around or something.” Kairos merely patted the knight on the cheek, mumbling a “Your eyes are pretty like strawberries” then clutched his head. “Your intentions better be powerful, because this headache is blasted strong.”

“Ah, damn it, let me just get you to a bed,” the knight said, clutching the thief’s hand as the room was ripped away into the front door of his own room.

“I knew you were planning, but maybe you should have been more subtle about it,” the thief giggled as Raum struggled to carry him into the small, Spartan room. With the occasional moans from the stricken thief, he plopped Kairos onto his bed.

“Why is it that whenever you do something to me you always end up getting me in your bed,” he slurred, rolling over face down on the bed. “Ow.”

“Because I don’t know where your damn room is and you’re somehow affected by everything. If I didn’t know better I would say you’re in cahoots with the Witch…” No response sounded from the body collapsed on his bed.

“Thief?” Raum knelt down. “Kairos? Oh damn, don’t die on me.”

Suddenly, two hands grasped the knight, pulling him to the thief’s face. There was a quick pressure of soft lips against his cheek, then Kairos laughed. And pushed him back as he grabbed his head again.

“The reason why I don’t tell you where I usually sleep is because then there won’t be an excuse for you to dump me on your bed.”

Raum blushed furiously as he threatened to dump the thief into the fountain to get rid of his headache, but the thief flopped over and smiled at him. “And aww, you actually called me by name. Did I get your little heart worried about a ‘petty thief’?”

The knight sighed, burying his face in his hand. Fingers brushed the top of his hair as he agonized over how he had fallen for the thief’s trick, trying to convince himself that the panic was nothing but instinct but the thief in his head smirked and told him otherwise.

Kairos said something, but the knight refused to respond. When he finally calmed his feelings down to control and order, the thief was already passed out, his hand still reaching out over the bed. The knight stood up, patted the hand, and moved onto the bed. He left the room, carefully tiptoeing out the door.

Raum watched the glowing green digits on his clock slowly change. The room was silent. And he couldn't sleep.

He was tired and drained, but his mind refused to let him rest. After another 10 minutes of staring at the clock he decided to grab a drink.

The door swung open as Raum peeked outside his door. The living room was lit with a faint glow, for someone was sitting on the sofa, paging through a thick English textbook.

Raum gulped and tiptoed to the sink, carefully pouring himself a glass of water. As he made his way back to his room and opened the door, a voice rang out.

"Not going to say anything?" Kairos had put down the book and was now smirking at him. Raum stuttered, then silently crept over to the sofa and sat down.

Kairos promptly flopped onto Raum's lap. "What nice legs you have here, Mr. Knight." Raum couldn't help but blush as usual, as his roommate picked up the textbook again. His hair tickled Raum's chin as he sat, flipping pages and mumbling words.

Raum leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, smelling the slightly sweet shampoo that the communications student was using.

"How's your swimming going?"

"Well, I decided not to do competitive. Because it's too, ah, well I didn't feel like it."

"Good. You'll have more time for me then."

"Huh?"

Kairos tipped his head back and smiled. "Hee hee."

Raum just groaned and pushed his head down. "Hurry up and finish reading your damn textbook so I can sleep." He absentmindedly started stroking Kairos' hair, who wiggled up against the swimmer.

"That tickles." Kairos just laughed silently. He tugged at Raum's left arm, which was draped across the sofa, until he could lean against it. Then he yawned.

"You're pretty cozy for such a distant person," he said, curling up against Raum, who nuzzled the top of Kairos' with his cheek.

"You're pretty comfortable for such a bony figure," he remarked back, and the communications student just smiled and huddled closer, textbook forgotten.

They stayed that way, in the warm light of the lamp, until Kairos' head lolled a bit too down so that Raum had to encompass his roommate to prevent him from falling off. 

"Hey?" he quietly whispered, but no response came, only a steady pattern of breathing. So he gently laid him down on the sofa, careful not to wake him.

He briefly considered going back to his room, but decided to stay. Pulling a blanket from one of the tables near the sofa, he covered Kairos first, then wiggled sideways under it. He reached over and switched off the light, plunging the room in black.