Touya watched Afal sleep with soft eyes. He was growing fonder and fonder of the green haired man. There was just something incredibly sweet and loveable about him. Touya brushed a few strands of green out of Afal's face and smiled a bit at the sleepy mutter that Afal made in response. 'No' he thought 'there is no way I could kill you Afal.'

Touya leaned back against the headboard of the bed and let his hands wander over Afal's skin. Lightly tracing the slight dips from the whorl marks in Afal's skin. They were fascinating and mesmerizing. Afal made a slight noise but didn't wake up as Touya's fingers slid across his skin. He was probably still exhausted from the cold weather.

The mage brought one hand up to push back Afal's thick green hair. It was soft and a bit wild but not at all displeasing. Touya quickly found he liked touching those strands of green. Afal made another slight noise and slowly opened his eyes to look up at Touya. He looked a bit confused, "Touya?"

"Yes, Afal? What's the matter?" Touya asked, unable to stop running his hands through that thick green hair.

Afal frowned a bit. "Why are you doing that?" He asked softly.

"Doing what?"

"Touching my hair." Afal said, his yellow eyes searching Touya's face for an answer.

"I like your hair." Touya replied simply.

Afal blinked in surprise. "You do?"

Touya nodded. "I do." He whispered before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to Afal's forehead. "I like a lot about you." He continued as he pulled away from the now wide-eyed Afal. "Your hair, your eyes, I even like these fascinating lines all over your skin." He said tracing a whorl that crossed Afal's cheek.

A strange tinge came across Afal's face. Touya smiled when he realized it was a blush. He'd never seen the taller man blush before. It was rather endearing. "I like that blush too." He commented with a smile. The tinge grew darker and Afal looked away. Touya caught Afal's chin with one hand and slowly turned his face back towards his own. "I will take you away from here, Afal. I promise."

Afal smiled a bit. "Thank you."

Touya leaned forward and pressed his lips to Afal's. He hadn't expected the taste of crisp apples to tinge Afal's lips but it was a pleasant surprise. Afal made a slight noise in the back of his throat and Touya pulled away a bit reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." The mage said pulling away even further.

"No." Afal said taking a hold of Touya's shoulder. Touya looked down and Afal blushed again. "I...I liked it." Afal admitted.

Touya chuckled a bit. "I liked it too." Touya said. "But I still shouldn't have done it. I wanted to wait until after I found enough evidence to arrest Welith before I said anything to you. It puts you in danger and I don't want that."

Afal smiled softly and reached up to give Touya a quick kiss. "That's my first kiss I ever gave because I wanted to. You're the nicest person I've ever met. And you make me feel good." He said laying back in his original position against Touya's chest. "And you're the only person to just hold me and not want something else."

Touya's mouth twitched. It wasn't so much that he didn't want something else. It was just he wasn't going to ask. Afal had plenty of traumas in that regard already and Touya didn't want to add to it by being selfish. "I won't force you to do things like that Afal. Just because you were born a tree doesn't mean you don't have rights. I don't care what the law says. I've never agreed with it."

The contortion turned his head to look at Touya with wide eyes. "N-nobody has ever said that before." He whispered in clear awe.

"No offence, Sweet, but you haven't met all that many decent human beings." Touya said brushing Afal's hair again. "There are quite a few of us who don't agree with the way things are."

"Really?"

"Really." Touya assured before giving Afal another kiss. He couldn't help it. The man had this aura about him that just made him so kissable it was irresistible. It didn't help that his lips were incredibly soft and tasted sweet and refreshing. Afal wrapped one arm around Touya's neck and gave the mage full access to his mouth. Touya took instant advantage, plundering the new area and tasting more of that delicious sweetness.

Touya's hand drifted down Afal's body, following those sweeping lines he loved so much. Afal winced as Touya's fingers brushed across a wound that wasn't quite healed and Touya instantly pulled away. "I'm sorry. I should have known better." Touya whispered coating his hand in magic and soothing the wound. "You're still hurt and I'm being selfish."

"It's alright." Afal said resting his head against Touya's shoulder. "You at least stopped. Master Welith wouldn't have."

Touya paused and tilted Afal's head up to look into his eyes. "Please don't call him that anymore Afal." Afal blinked in confusion. "He's been nothing but cruel and abusive to you. He doesn't deserve your respect or submission. You should have never had to have given it to him in the first place."

Afal swallowed hard and rested his head against Touya's shoulder again. He honestly had no idea what to say in response to that. Just as nobody had ever said he deserved rights before, nobody had ever questioned whether or not Welith deserved his service. "He's never had my respect." Afal whispered. Touya paused and looked down at Afal. "I did what he said because he scares me. But not because I respect him."

The mage smiled at that. "I'm glad."

"I will do what you ask of me because I respect you." Afal added curling up closer to Touya's chest. "You've earned that."