Fox Life

In the evening, Iris had written to her friends, asking if they were free the next day. They of course agreed the same instant, suggesting to meet at two in their favorite cafe.     

With their meeting so late in the day, Iris slept as much as she wanted. Kyro hadn't put on an alarm since he had nowhere to go in the morning, and both of them could rest to their hearts' content. Still, Iris was the first to wake up.     

When she opened her eyes, she admired Kyro for a moment. His sharp features, his clean skin, the hair that was sticking in all directions. It was about time for him to cut it, but he'd clearly been too busy to consider something like that.     

Without thinking, Iris raised her hand to brush it away from his forehead. The moment she drew close, Kyro's eyes snapped open, and he looked back at her. Mortified, Iris wanted to pull back, but was prevented by a hand over her waist.     

When had that gotten there?     

As she pondered that, Kyro chuckled and moved closer to give her a light kiss. "Good morning," he whispered in a velvety voice.     

"'Morning," Iris murmured in reply, lowering her eyes in some embarrassment. Wasn't he the person who wouldn't awaken even if there was an orchestra playing outside? How did he notice her so soon?     

To escape her awkwardness, Iris lifted the hand off her waist and escaped. "I'll get the coffee ready." Without a glance back, she ran to the other room where she realized that they weren't at home.     

That was a touch embarrassing, but she quickly came up with a way to remedy the situation and located the way to call for breakfast. It was a bit late, after ten, but the hotel still promised to bring it up in a bit.     

Iris could have returned to the bedroom, but she resisted the temptation. Instead, she stood around the main room, waiting for her order to arrive. Luckily, it didn't take long.     

"Aren't you getting up?" she asked Kyro when she brought the food in, and he shook his head.     

"Bring it here." He motioned at the bed.     

Breakfast in bed? It was something Iris hadn't done since she was a child, and even then rarely. But maybe because of that, it sounded almost exciting.     

She quickly picked up two trays and placed plates with eggs and ham on them along with cups of coffee and a small piece of cake. It wasn't much, but more than they usually ate by themselves.     

Once she passed a tray to Kyro, she puffed up her pillow to raise it against the headboard and made her way under the covers once more. Kyro turned on TV which hung right before them and found a comedy show.     

When food was cleared up, Iris thought to get ready, but there was still over an hour's time till she had to get ready. As she hesitated, Kyro pulled her next to him once more. "Why hurry?" he asked, his eyes mostly on her and not the show happening in the background.     

There were a couple answers on Iris' tip of the tongue, but she held them back. Instead, she leaned against his side and pretended to focus on the TV and not the fact that they were sitting skin to skin.     

It wasn't the first time they had been so close, but it was usually at the heat of the moment or because of an accidental touch when they were sleeping. With everything what's happened, Kyro was usually too busy or too tired for them to just spend time together for no other reason than to be in each other's company.     

And at that moment, Iris realized that it was a shame. Although they spoke little, only chuckling at the show or sharing a few words about its content, happiness filled her heart. She wished they could remain like that forever.     

But soon, she noticed the time. It was after twelve, and she had to start getting ready. They were staying near the airport, so there was still quite some distance to the area of her university.     

"I'm going," she said in a soft voice, turning to Kyro. He nodded, clearly having accepted that it was inevitable, and started getting up as well. "Oh, you don't need to go! I'm just meeting with my friends, so it's gonna be alright."     

"I'm not letting you out of my eyesight," Kyro told her, his voice just strong enough to tell her that a refusal would not be accepted.     

It wasn't like Iris didn't know why he thought that necessary, so she didn't argue and just prepared herself. Kyro drove them to the cafe, and once they got into the area, Iris shared with him a few words about the places she'd visited in their surroundings. They passed the biology building and a park in which she'd met Shadi.     

When they got close, it was a little before two. "I'll go get a table," Iris said once Kyro stopped the car.     

"Have fun. I'll stay around here."     

Only then realizing that he wasn't coming, Iris looked at him in surprise. Did he think that he would be in the way? "My friends wouldn't—"     

"Don't worry about me. Go have you reunion, and you can introduce them to me next time." Since she still didn't look convinced, he raised a small bag by his side. His laptop and tablet were inside it. "I'll find a way to amuse myself, don't doubt that. There's at least a dozen emails waiting for my immediate attention."     

After hesitating for a moment, Iris nodded at him with a grateful smile. "Thank you."     

Her friends were a different beast from her aunt. For the latter, it was good to have support, but for the former… It would be even more awkward if she showed up with someone. Not that she planned to tell that to Kyro, but he somehow still got wind of it.     

Sometimes, she really wondered if he could read her mind.     

Grinning to herself at that thought, Iris skipped toward the cafe. Later on, she'd think of a way to repay him, but now, it was time to meet her old friends! She was about to see Luca and Shadi, the only two people who had actually cared about the fact that she'd just disappeared one day.