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“Kris…?”

Ralsei’s voice reaches you, wavering and soft. His hat is laying at his feet, and his eyes are huge even behind his glasses, staring directly into your own, searching for approval. You reach one hand out and pat his head twice, then draw back. Ralsei blinks, and looks on, silent and waiting.

You pull off your gauntlets and drop them onto the floor without so much as glancing downwards. Taking a single step to close the distance, you pull Ralsei into a tight hug, one hand on his head, carding your fingers gently through the tufts of fur on his head.

“Oh…” Ralsei murmurs, and leans into you. Hesitantly, he lifts an arm up and gingerly wraps it around your waist.

You turn your head to the side to nuzzle into his warm scarf, and then past it, rubbing your cheek against the soft fur along his neck. Ralsei reflexively scrunches his shoulders up, and makes a sound halfway between a laugh and a startled chirp.

“Kris, that tickles!” Ralsei protests, smiling. You go for his weak spot, right below his jawline, and Ralsei startles again, grabbing your sides with both paws firmly. “Kris!”

You relent, and lean your body back to look down at Ralsei, your arms loose around his shoulders. His fur is a little dishevelled, and a blush has spread across his cheeks, visible even through his bright white fur. He is glaring a little at you.

Ralsei calms down after a few guarded seconds. You lean down to press a tiny kiss to the tip of his snout. Ralsei’s cheeks flush with colour, and his entire body tenses against yours. You can feel his claws pressing into your sides slightly.

“Kris, I’ve… never kissed anyone before…” Ralsei says softly, and looks up at you, starstruck eyes filled with blinding, dizzying hope. You nod. His eyes, impossibly, widen further, before he seems to realize something, and squeezes them shut.

Carefully, so as not to catch his fur in the hinges, you take his glasses off, and then drop them onto the ground in a place vaguely near his hat. Ralsei’s eyes are still shut tight, and his breath catches whenever you move. You lean in and brush your cheek against his. His fur feels so wonderfully soft and warm. You press in, nuzzling against him again, and bring a hand up to play with his soft, floppy ears. Ralsei is struggling not to squirm under your ministrations, and makes little huffs and gasps of an increasingly indignant and impatient nature.

When you finally draw back, Ralsei’s eyes are still closed, but his eyebrows are drawn together and he is taking deep, audible breaths. Just as he has finished drawing in a deep lungful of air, you quickly dip forward and press your lips against his.

It’s a chaste kiss, and Ralsei’s eyes immediately fly open. You pull back slowly. Ralsei looks like he might faint or evaporate. Your hand comes up automatically, and you reassuringly pat his fluffy head.

“Wow…” Ralsei says after a few moments of silent fluff ruffling. “That was amazing, Kris! Can we do it again?”

Almost imperceptibly, you feel a smile tugging at your lips.