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Boots in a Flowerbed

 

 

 

 

18. At Dawn

"Go back to bed, you!"

Sleepy brown eyes blink at Kim from underneath a mop of tousled blonde hair. "Oh, believe me I will... but you know I don't want to have breakfast alone."

"Silly." Kim shakes his head with a smile and resolutely bites back a yawn. It's best to not even guess how late it was, last night, when they finally stopped talking about their favorite characters in 'The Temple Tales' and crawled to their beds. Whatever the time was, it was definitely too late, considering that Kim has to be at work by seven in the morning. But the damage was done, and now he must just not think about it.

It's a little over six. Kim is drinking his tea, and as usual, Chaim has staggered from his room to join him, barefoot and wrapping his bathrobe tighter, grumbling half-heartedly about people who insist on getting up in the middle of the night. It's a standing joke by now, Chaim complaining theatrically about unholy hours and Kim scolding him for being an idiot and telling him to go back to sleep. In truth, Kim would be awfully upset if he had to have breakfast some morning without making faces at Chaim. That morning hasn't come yet.

Chaim sips hot tea from a large cup and cocks his head, looking owlishly at Kim. "I'm again wondering, though, why you insist on going to work, when you wouldn't need to."

"Oh I wouldn't?" Kim stares challengingly back. "Then what would I live on? I haven't inherited money, not even a little bit. I only have what I earn, remember?"

Chaim shakes his head and sighs. "I've told you many times that if you weren't too upright and principled, you'd only need to say what you want and you'd have it. Why -"

"Chaim." Kim raises a warning finger. "Haven't we talked about this already? What've I told you?"

"Yes, we have talked about this," Chaim admits readily enough. "But still I say that you should think about it."

"You don't understand!" Kim huffs. "I'm already living here, eating here, getting everything here, without paying a penny!"

"Why should you pay?" Chaim asks, a lot more awake that a moment ago. "This place is mostly empty space. Nobody uses it, and I'm paying for its upkeep anyway, empty or not. And I won't let you pay for living here, being with me, making life worth -" He catches himself, closes his mouth and picks up his cup.

Kim's lips press together. This topic is something they avoid, it makes him feel uncomfortable and Chaim knows it, too. "All right, all right," he mumbles. "But I can't start living completely out of your pocket! I wouldn't be able to respect myself at all - just being idle, spending your money, doing nothing useful..."

Chaim spreads his arms in surrender. "It's not as if there wasn't enough money in my pocket," he says mildly. "Besides, who says you'd necessarily be idle?"

"What do you mean?" Kim glances at the clock; still a few minutes before he has to run instead of walking.

"Well..." Chaim shrugs. "You could do anything you want. Like, study something you're interested in."

Kim nearly chokes on his tea and lowers his cup cautiously on the saucer. He gapes. "S-study?"

"For example." Chaim smiles to him over his croissant. "Besides..." He takes a bite and munches it. "I can understand that you want to make your own living... but I have simply too much money. I'd be happy to see, for once, with my own eyes, it actually benefiting someone. Oh, and don't tell me you find it any easier than me to get up this early in the mornings, after we stay up every night until the small hours."

Kim opens his mouth and closes it again. "Study?" he whispers.

"Master Kim?" Dalen picks up an empty plate. "It's twenty past six."

Kim jumps up and gulps down the last of his tea, then rushes off with a quick "See you". Chaim's eyes follow him to the door, and when Kim stops to glance at him over his shoulder, Chaim smiles.

"Have a nice day," he says, then adds softly to the closing door: "... love".

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