"Like this?"
"No, no! Hold it like this…"
Franz paused outside his brother's room. He had come by to see if Forde would come to practice with him since it was a lovely day and perfect form training.
"Is this better?"
"Yeah. Now move like this…see? Easy!"
"Hm…yeah, you're right."
It was definitely Kyle in there with him. Franz wondered what they were doing. If he was as naïve as everyone seemed to think he was, then he could probably come up with an innocent explanation. But Franz was not as naïve as was thought. Seth had seen to that.
Eventually Franz's curiosity got the better of him and he knocked on the door. "Forde?"
"Yes? Come in," Forde called out.
Franz slowly opened the door and glanced around the room. Beside the small window, he saw Forde had set up an easel. Kyle stood in front of it, holding a paintbrush.
"I'm just trying to teach Kyle how to paint," Forde explained. "He asked me to show him and we had some free time so I thought why not?""
"And how's it going?" Franz asked.
"Uh…not bad," Kyle said. "I think…"
"Well, at least you're holding the brush properly now," Forde replied, eyes sparkling with mirth.
Kyle rolled his eyes. "So, what did you want, Franz?"
"I was wondering if Forde would come and practice with me but I see you're busy," Franz said.
"I think Amelia was looking for a partner earlier. She passed by just a few minutes ago," Forde replied.
"Okay, thanks," Franz said, grinning. "Let me know how the lesson goes. I want to know if Kyle can match your skill!" The young man dashed out of the room in search of Amelia.
Kyle turned to Forde. "So where were we?"
Forde smiled and crossed the room. He stood behind Kyle with an arm around his waist and the other hand guiding the brush. "Stroke like this…" he said, sweeping the brush across the canvas.
Kyle melted into the embrace and let Forde guide his hand.
"Kyle, you'll have to put some effort into this if you want to learn," Forde said. He paused. "Such a role-reversal, isn't it? Usually you are the one telling me things like this!"
Kyle chuckled, slightly nervously. He hadn't yet told Forde how he felt about him and was relieved that he hadn't noticed yet.
Meanwhile Forde was inwardly sniggering to himself. He had found out Kyle's feelings for him weeks ago and was merely trying to find the best way to get a confession out of him. How had he found out? Well…let's just say Kyle talks in his sleep.
Kyle attempted to copy the motions Forde had shown him without the guidance. He was heavily distracted by the fact that Forde didn't move from behind him though. The blond man's arm rested loosely around his waist.
"You're doing very well," Forde said softly.
"Uh…um…thank you," Kyle replied, trying not to blush.
"Your hand is shaking," Forde pointed out. "Is anything wrong?" After a second's pause, he added, "You don't have a problem with my proximity, do you?"
Kyle nearly dropped the brush. "Uh, no, not at all! I mean…uh…" he stammered.
Forde chuckled. "Good." He tightened his hold on the green haired knight. "Because I plan on getting a lot closer before the end of the day."
This time Kyle really did drop the paintbrush. "Forde! How--? What are you doing?"
Forde smiled against Kyle's back. "I'm hugging you, silly."
"What? Why?"
Ah…the awkward part. How to express his feelings to the oblivious Kyle. Forde opted for straightforward and simple.
"Because…I like you. A lot," he replied, slightly nervous.
Kyle felt a rush of happiness well up inside him. "Please tell me you mean that," he replied, voice barely above a whisper.
"I do," Forde replied. "Are you going to kiss me yet or not?"
Kyle let out a short laugh and spun around in Forde's arms. He pulled the blond's head closer to capture his lips in a searing kiss.
Several hours later, Franz came by the room again. He had finished training with Amelia and, after cleaning himself up and taking care of his weapons, decided to see how Kyle's painting lesson was going. There were no sounds coming from inside the room, so Franz chose to take a peek into the room.
On one of the beds lining the wall, Forde lay with Kyle curled next to him. Both had their arms around each other. Upon hearing the door creak quietly, Forde cracked his eyes open. When he saw it was Franz, he winked and settled back down to sleep.
Franz grinned to himself. "About time," he whispered and quietly left.
A/N: …I feel really corny now. It seemed really sweet in my head but now it's in words on a screen, I want to curl up and die of embarrassment. Hopefully my next story will be better.