Chapter 12: Thin line

Dean closed his eyes as he laid snuggled with Keith. He felt at ease, content, protected and above all, he felt loved; as he let Keith wrap his arms around him. "Is this what people call true happiness?" he thought as he felt the heat from Keith gushing into him, warming his body and soul. "I feel so warm and fuzzy" "...Do I love him?" he pondered.

Keith kissed his back and gently slapped his shoulders, "Come on stud, it is still only morning. Let us do some real work now" he said as he got up. Dean reluctantly got up and Keith noticed it. "We will save it for another day, alright?" Keith whispered in his ears and smiled, "...okay" Dean nodded.

Keith took in some diet cola cans from fridge along with some sandwiches he had bought from the convenience store.

"Wow, looks like we will be doing a lot of work today," Dean said.

"Yeah, I have to submit the layout by tomorrow" "Oh that reminds me, Stephanie will be here tomorrow too"

"Stephanie?"

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you. She is the current assistant of managing editor. Basically, she is the one who gives her 'ok' for the story and the characters before my work is sent to the department. She can be quite a bitch sometimes" Keith said and laughed.

"Then we won't be able to hang out tomorrow?" Dean thought, "Shit, I almost forgot to tell that I have a meeting with Andy tomorrow" "Well, but I must thank my luck that I had chosen a perfect day, it seems Keith will be a lot busier tomorrow so it would be better if I won't come"

"Hey Keith, ...if you will be busy tomorrow, I was thinking maybe I should stay home"

"Yeah!, as I said she can be a bitch at times. Sometimes she would make me redraw my characters, and sometimes entire script needs to be redone to her taste. Although she is rough, she loves doing this. In fact she finds boy-love comics 'quite interesting' and 'cute'. I will be a bit busy tomorrow for sure"

"Also, there is another reason why I can't come tomorrow."

"And what is that?"

"Umm... I have a meeting with my friend, so we are hanging out tomorrow afternoon."

"That is nice! you shouldn't waste your summer vacations all on me," Keith said probingly

"It is not that!" Dean stammered, "We just sort of made it up, and I couldn't say no," Dean said lowering his head

"Just kidding, Dean", Keith said as he bought the teen near him and looked in his eyes, "It is important to spend time with your friends too. These memories you make now, you will cherish them for your lifetime. Therefore enjoy it while you still have it, this time won't come again... And whenever you feel like hanging out with them for a change, just say it, I wouldn't mind"

Dean hugged Keith, "If I could, I would..."

Keith hugged him back and caressed his blonde, soft hair before kissing his earlobe, "You would...?"

"...Never mind"

"It is okay if you don't wanna tell... let us go to my study" Keith said in a low voice as he led Dean to his room.

"Today we have lots to do," Keith said as he excitedly sits in his chair.

"What exactly?" Dean said as he sat on a nearby couch.

"You will see," Keith said as he started working on character outlining. Dean quietly watched as he saw Keith engrossing himself in his work.

"You really like this... you know, to draw stuff?"

"Yes, do you want to know how I got involved in all this?"

"Yess!" Dean said in an exciting tone.

"It is a long story..." Keith said as he sighed and popped open a diet coke. "Want some?" he asked handing the other can to Dean which he accepted. "I was probably 13 at that time, getting bored from my Chemistry lecture, I was scribbling something over my note. Nothing unusual about it, I did this every time in that period. Not knowing what I was doing, I kept moving my pen randomly here and there. As I was doing it, I thought to try something different. A picture began emerging in my mind as I drew. My hands worked along trying to sketch the shape in my mind on paper. Those meaningless strokes which I started with, were slowly gaining a meaning, as they began taking their final form. I was drowning in my own world away from the reality. I kept working until I had etched what I had in my mind. By the time I had finished working on it, I saw James intently gazing at me. After the period he told me that I had made a really nice artwork. I told him that it was nothing worth noting. It was he who introduced me to the art club of the school. Funnily enough, I didn't even knew it existed until then. And well, from there, one thing led to another. I became close friends with everyone in the club. It was a closely knitted group, everyone sharing similar interests. Someone was into sculpting, others into embossing, or paintings. For me, it was sketching. I would often pick one of the members and tell him/her to sit until I finished drawing their sketch. It would often irritate them, but I used to be a bit selfish I guess. It was a group of really nice people, but there were some weirdos too. Then at the farewell day, we all had a huge party. We all knew that it might be impossible to keep in touch with everyone else, but that was inevitable. A few of us even cried as it got really emotional..." Keith said putting down his pencil and gazing at the sky through his window.

"Well, that is enough about me" "What about you, Dean?" Keith said as he drank some cola.

"Me? Well, I like basketball and tennis, but I am not that big of a fan. I got selected in tennis team previous year, so I usually play out just as a sort of an extracurricular. But I am truly into this club we have in school called Celestial"

"Celestial? As in stellar?"

"Yeah, we usually go out once a week for stargazing and night sky watch. It is pretty awesome, at times we can even see Venus or Mars if we are correctly positioned"

"Wow, that sounds cool!"

"Thanks"

"Hey, wanna read some of my early works for the magazine?"

"Sure!"

Keith got up and searched the shelves and took out a bunch of magazines. "Here, my first attempts at a boys love comic!" he said before tossing them to Keith.

"Interesting!" Dean said as he greedily stared at the covers.

Keith sat back in his chair and took another sip from the cola can before throwing it. After a couple of hours, Keith had almost finished his work. Dean was still reading the comic gazing intently, his eyes almost drooling. "I see you have taken quite a fancy to them," Keith said as he stretched in his chair.

"Yeah, they are quite good"

"That is because I AM a good artist"

"Self-flattery?"

"That is because someone doesn't appreciate me enough," Keith said as he came near Dean on the couch.

"Flirting?"

"Should be quite obvious," Keith said as he held Dean's hands and squeezed them a bit. "Has anyone told you that your hands are quite soft? I can hold them all day"

Dean blushed as he pulled his hand away. "You can be a perv sometimes"

"Oh!, says a guy who just finished drooling over porn mags". They both burst into laughter.

"You won't be here tomorrow right?" Keith asked and Dean nodded in affirmative.

"Then let us make the best of what time we have today," Keith said as he reached under Dean's shirt.

"Keith.."

Keith stopped caressing and looked at Dean, "Is something wrong?"

"Do we do all this with each other just for our own pleasure? ...Is it just lust?"

"Hmmm... I don't know about you Dean, but I do this because... I... "

"You..?"

"Stop making it this hard for me," Keith said as he leaned and kissed Dean passionately. Dean closed his eyes as he let Keith invade his mouth. Keith pulled back a little and Dean felt his breath near his ears. His heart pulse quickened as he gulped, his eyes still closed. "I love you," Keith said as he gently embraced Dean and kissed his cheeks before returning to his lips. Dean slowly opened his eyes and looked at Keith.

"Do.. do you mean it?" he stammered

"Yes, I love you" Keith answered, "See, I said it. It isn't that hard when you truly love someone. Just try it"

"I.. I.." Dean stammered again

Keith kiss shut him halfway. "That is enough Dean, I already know that. I can see it in your eyes" "Besides, I have found something interesting today."

"What?" Dean asked as the weight lifted off his shoulders.

"That you tend to stammer when flustered"

"Stop!" Dean said as he flushed.

Keith bought him closer and kissed him. "You really look adorable when you blush"

"And you look sexy when you strip them," Dean said as he removed Keith's shirt who willingly complied.

They both looked at each other as the passion and urgency between them grew. Keith held Dean's waist in his arms gently caressing it, Dean leaned closer as they both kissed each other feverishly, and continued to do so for minutes on end, their fervor increasing. Dean pulled back as he moved his hand on Keith's abs and his six-pack stomach while kissing his neck and chest as Keith moved his hand behind his neck and licked his ears. "You are such a hungry beast Dean," Keith said as he continued kissing the earlobe and slowly moving down to Dean's cheeks, he saw that he had a very faint wisp of blonde hair beginning to emerge as he licked them. They continued to snuggle in each other, as their desperation reached its zenith. "Keith, I can't hold," Dean said in a tremble of his voice, as he panted. "Allow me to get rid of it, master!" Keith said and they both laughed. Keith pulled off Dean's shorts and briefs in one swift swing revealing his throbbing pulsar as it jumped up to attention. Keith began gently stroking it while kissing Dean, his own rock hard cock was trying furiously to undo his briefs and remove its restraints. It was quick, and both were spent from busting their nuts out in each other's mouth. They both cleaned themselves and the room.

"Oh!, look at the time," Keith said. It was almost 3, "We better hurry for lunch"

"What's the hurry?, I am not that hungry after those sandwiches anyway," Dean said as he pulled Keith back.

Keith kissed Dean, "It is an important part of the meal, besides I am really hungry"

"Can't be helped!, But I too want to do something. I feel bad when you cook it alone and I do nothing"

"Have you ever cut vegetables or meat before?"

"Nope, but I have seen mom doing all of this. I might have tried to chop onions once, but I injured my finger. Mom didn't let me enter the kitchen from then"

Keith sighed, "Come on, I will teach you" and Dean excitedly followed the pursuit.

"Here you go," Keith said as he gave a paring knife to Dean, "Short and blunt, this knife is perfect for starters"

"Sweet!, So what am I supposed to cut?"

"Potatoes, I will show you and then you may carry on. Last thing I want you is to slice your finger, even though paring knife is usually not that sharp"

"Don't worry, I won't dice my fingers!" Dean said and laughed.

"Okay, then here we go"

Dean was a fast learner as he quickly picked up the speed and peeled and cut two potatoes. "Great!, You have a talent for this Dean"

"Thanks, even I didn't expect this to go so easy"

"Maybe I am a good teacher"

"Or MAYBE I am a good learner" Dean replied and they both laughed

After having lunch, they both talked a bit more about some random bits. It was evening before they knew. The setting sun continued to flare in its reddish hue, while the purple-pink sky clouded over. Dean knew he had to go, and he was not happy about it. Keith encouraged and hugged him before they both kissed each other goodbye. "Be sure to come on Saturday, I am free for the most part of it!" Keith said as Dean went away waving his hand. They both sighed as they entered their homes. It was a long day for them, but eventful nonetheless. "I am back!" Dean announced as he sighed feeling a bit lonely and yet content at the same time.