Chapter 110 - SEREIN

The first day in 2039.

It had been raining a lot in Serein City these days. Sometimes, it was just light rain, but sometimes it was raining cats and dogs. The curtain of water was produced by dark clouds above. After the evaporation and the condensation, now it was time for precipitation.

The nice smells of petrichor tickled the nose in a good way. The aroma could bring nostalgic feelings, forcing some people to reminisce the old memories in their heads.

"Do you remember the rain after the war ended in 2021, Kris?"

Kevin was one of the people who was forced to remember things that happened in the past by the alluring scent of petrichor.

Kris was driving beside him. They were on the way to the Intelligence Agency headquarter. The head of the Intelligence Agency invited them to the headquarter today.

"Of course," the taller man answered. "It was raining so hard after the war ended. When I and Professor Selena hid in the old warehouse together with you and baby Blue, it started raining cats and dogs. The old warehouse was not in a good condition because there were so many holes in the roof. Both I and the professor tried so hard to protect you and baby Blue from the rain."

Kevin smiled softly. His almond eyes still focused on the wet road in front of them. It was still morning, but the rain had been pouring hard since early morning.

'This serene atmosphere is suitable for sleep,' Kevin thought.

"How did you and my mother protect me and Blue from the rain at that time, Kris?" The young scientist asked.

Kris furrowed his eyebrows to recall his memory. "The professor hugged baby Blue in her arms as she ducked under a wooden table, and I..." He paused for a moment while glancing at his lover beside him. "I protected you with my body," he continued shyly. His face reddened after he finished speaking.

The black-haired man widened his eyes after he heard Kris's answer. "For real?" He turned to his lover and asked in disbelief. "Did you hug me just like what my mother did with baby Blue?"

Kris bit his lips nervously before answering, "No." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he continued, "I lied you down on the floor, then I hovered above your body to shelter you from the rain."

Kevin could feel his heart became warmer all of a sudden. So, Kris was literally protecting him with his body? He was touched by the loving action. They were still young back then, but Kris was so caring and willing to sacrifice himself for him.

The young scientist then sighed and went back to look ahead. "But you left me after the war ended. I didn't know that you were a werewolf at that time, so I thought you were killed by them in the war," he muttered softly.

"I'm sorry," Kris quickly apologized. "I had to leave you to follow my father. If I insisted to stay by your side, Professor Selena's plan wouldn't be able to be executed. I had no other choice back then."

Kevin was silent for a moment, but then he beamed and turned to his lover again. "You've worked hard, Kris. You don't need to apologize."

Kris finally could breathe in relief after hearing his lover's soft words. He then took Kevin's left hand and kissed his palm lovingly. Kevin could only smile as his cheeks reddened.

"Serein City. The name "Serein" means light rain, and coincidentally it was always raining after the war ended. But, the rain was never light. It was always heavy rain. It seems that the guardian of this city wanted to wash away the sadness with the heavy rain."

Kris smiled while listening to his lover's narrative. He let go of his lover's hand and put his hand back on the steering wheel. The road was slippery, and he had to focus so they wouldn't get into an accident.

"Anyway, will AZURE be okay in our apartment, Kris?" Kevin suddenly changed the topic.

Ah, that was right. Kevin and Kris decided to take the little robot to their apartment last night.

"You were the one who forced me to bring that devil with us last night, but now also you who are worrying over that devil machine," Kris replied sarcastically.

"Stop calling it devil!" Kevin immediately reprimanded. "You even used the devil's words twice in one sentence. That's not effective!"

Kris could only sigh when he heard the lecture. Kevin was stubborn, so he better gave in this time.

"Alright, I won't call it a devil again, but it's only for today," he replied. Kevin was about to voice his protest, but Kris continued, "I think your decision to take AZURE back with us is the right decision. Our apartment has a layered security system, and it's definitely better than the secret laboratory."

Hearing Kris's explanation, Kevin was no longer angry and now smiling happily. "So, it's really alright to take AZURE back with us, isn't it?" He asked excitedly, and Kris nodded at the answer. "That's good! Now we have a son at home!"

Kris choked his saliva after hearing Kevin's happy exclamation. "What?" He asked in disbelief. "How can you take that robot as our son? Moreover, that robot is a machine. It doesn't have gender!" He shook his head as he couldn't believe his lover could be so naive.

"It's okay if you don't want to take AZURE as our son, but starting from tonight, you sleep in another room."

What the hell! Why did Kris become a victim now? Kevin chose that robot over him?

"No, Kev. Don't be like that!" The taller man quickly protested. "I agree to take that robot as our son, okay? Don't kick me out of our room!" In the end, Kris chose to give up again. He didn't want to sleep alone at night, after all.

Kevin then smirked in victory when his lover finally relented. He won again, and his lover wouldn't ever win over him. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself.

"Anyway," Kris suddenly spoke again. "Do you know why the Intelligence Agency invited us to their headquarter? It's the first day of the new year, it's a holiday, but they chose this day out of so many other days!"

Kevin turned to his lover and chuckled when he saw his lover's protest. Kris could also be so childish sometimes, and he was happy to see that side of his lover.

"Maybe it's just like what Mr. Dawson did last night. The Intelligence Agency just wants to thank us formally. Mr. Dawson thanked us in the name of the army, and the Intelligence Agency can follow the lead," Kevin answered. He was just guessing, though. He also didn't know the real purpose of the invitation.

Kris shrugged and replied, "Maybe you're right. They also invited Blue and Jack, after all."

Yeah, the Intelligence Agency also invited the other two to come to their headquarter. Kevin and Kris initially wanted to pick them up at the orphanage, but the two youngsters refused and said that they would hail a taxi to go to the headquarter.

The decision made Kris realized something. It was quite troublesome if Blue and Jack didn't have a private vehicle. Using public transport was not a good choice.

Kris told Kevin that he wanted to buy a car for Blue and Jack, but the latter rejected the idea. His lover said, "Buy me a car first, and then I'll let you buy them a car!"

Ah, it seemed that Kevin was still hoping for a new car for himself.

"Kris, don't forget to buy me a car."

What? Did Kevin just read his mind? How could he ask him that question when he was just thinking about that matter?

"Why do you still want a car, Kev? I can take you anywhere using my car. I can always protect you that way."

Kevin rolled his eyes lazily at the response. "I'm not a kid. I can protect myself," he rebuked. "Just say it that you're too stingy to buy me a car. No need to make excuses."

Kris was speechless. He was rich, and money was not a problem for him. How could his lover call him stingy? Childish Kevin was cute, but sometimes it was also annoying.

"You win, Kev," the taller man spoke again. "We go to the car shop after the meeting with the Intelligence Agency. Happy now?"

Kevin smiled from ear to ear after hearing Kris's response. He was right. Kris could never win over him. The taller man would easily give up and let him win in the end.

The scientist wanted to hug his lovely boyfriend, but he couldn't do that since his boyfriend was driving now. All he could do was unfastened his seatbelt before leaning toward his lover. He awarded his boyfriend with a quick kiss on the cheek.

Kris was shocked and flustered, and the car almost slipped if he failed to control it again. His cheeks flushed and his eyes widened.

"KEVIN BEISCHEL! DO YOU WANT US TO DIE TODAY?"

And Kevin laughed loudly when he heard his lover shouted at him.