Chapter 3

The next day...

Felix cleared his throat as he stared down at the alleyway ground behind his bar. The orange haired boy, Aki Kitsune, was napping away curled up in a ball. By the way he was laying there he almost looked like a small animal that had simply curled up for an afternoon nap. Sunshine reflected off his colorful clothing and bright hair. As the boy heard him clearing his throat he seemed to shift slightly in his slumber but was too deep into his nap to realize Felix was standing there.

Bending down over the young man he reached out his hand and placed it gently on Aki's forehead to make sure that he was alright. From what Felix could tell the boy was not hurt or sick but simply deeply snoozing. As he considered his options for a moment he felt his own brow twitch. Lifting his hand slightly he thumped his middle finger hard against Aki's forehead causing the boy to jolt quickly awake. There was a look of shock on his face as he let out a slight yelp as he awoke.

"Wh-What?" Aki muttered out the word with a start as his two differently colored eyes gazed up at Felix with a slight blush on his cheek from the embarrassment of how he'd been flicked on the forehead by him.

"I thought I told you to stop sleeping in the alley behind The Sunny Wolf?" Felix scolded him as he remained kneeling there above him. With Felix towering over Aki it felt almost as if he was bullying him but he did not like the idea of Aki scaring off his customers if they realized he was always sleeping in the alleyway.

"Did you have to be so rough with me?" Aki sat up with one eye closed. His left eye stared up at him with it's deep blue color as if it was trying to draw him in.

Felix could not help but watch as the boy's own hand slid up under his shirt to rub against his chest. The motion caused his stomach to be exposed under the sunlight bare. A soft yawn escaping Aki while he looked exhausted as if he had not got enough sleep. The sight in front of Felix caused his heart to slightly race. If he had not been so frustrated with the boy he might had considered making a move on him right there.

"Don't say things like that." Felix reached out and flicked his middle finger hard against Aki's forehead again causing the boy to wince and hiss from the slight pain on his head. "Come on."

Rubbing his head for a moment to get the slight pain to stop he watched as Felix extended his hand in front of him. Reaching out his own hand in return his hand was grabbed by him. His body was lifted from the ground as Felix pulled him to his feet in front of him. Aki's body lightly bumped against the firm chest of the man who'd pulled him to his feet causing him to blush once again for a split second as he glanced up at the one visible pink eye that gazed down at him. The man's purple hair seemed to always cover the right eye making it impossible to see it.

"What did I say exactly?" Aki Kitsune smirked as he allowed his body to fall into Felix's arms. Just barely placing the tip of his pointer finger against the chin of the tall man in front of him he could see a faint hint of blush start to take place just under the one eye he could see perfectly. He knew the man thought he was younger then he was because there was no way Felix would expect him to be a god who'd lived for thousands of years when his body was still so young. At the most for a mortal Aki would be seen as his early twenties at most.

"You're playing a dangerous game," Felix narrowed his eye down at the boy and pushed his back up against the wall of The Sunny Wolf bar before leaning in close to him. "I'd stop before you start something you can't finish."

"You're an interesting one. I like you!" Aki laughed quietly to himself as he could feel Felix's warm breath gently blowing against the skin of his neck.

"I'm not interested." Felix placed his hand on Aki's head and roughed up his hair with a faint smile on his face as if he thought Aki was trying to confess his feelings to him like an innocent child.

Aki Kitsune did not mean that he had feelings for Felix. When he had told him he liked him he simply meant what he had said. He liked the fact that Felix was something he could enjoy playing around with. His heart had not yet realized the warmth it felt when he was close to the man. It had never crossed his mind that he could grow feelings for someone who was mortal.

"I wasn't asking," Aki smiled brightly up into that pink eye that gazed so warmly down at him. "I'm not interested in you that way either. I just find you interesting. That's all I meant."

Something about those words sparked a slight tinge of pain in the chest of Felix that he failed to understand. He was not sure what it was he felt for the boy in front of him but he was not looking to fall in love with anyone. Felix was not lacking in the number of people who would line up to be with him. If he wanted a partner he could find someone easily but when it came to the young boy just scolding him alone made his heart pound against his chest. It felt as though everything he knew about himself was screaming at him to take care of the young man.

"Come inside. I'll get you something to eat." Felix's spoke as his hand was still resting atop the boy's head. His fingers were toying with the soft orange hair gently as if he was petting a young puppy.