[Goodnight, Tim, get some rest early.]
Red Robin pulled him close, slowly leaning in.
Colt did not dodge, allowing the goodnight kiss to land on his face.
"Goodnight, Colt, sweet dreams," Red Robin's voice carried a hint of a smile.
Colt nodded slightly and flew off on his skateboard, unable to stop smiling after he turned around. Even with Joseph waiting in the room, staring at him with a Death Gaze, he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
“What kind of outfit is this?” Joseph's voice sounded as if he had been hit by a freeze ray.
It's Halloween today, Dad. I'm cosplaying as Red Robin." Colt stopped pretending and stopped hiding, reaching out to his father with total confidence: "Trick or treat!
Joseph patted his empty pockets, then grabbed a Bat Lollipop from the living room table and stuffed it into Colt's hand.
It just happened to be orange flavored.
Colt held a Bat Lollipop in his mouth, his eyes squinting with joy. When he saw the brand-new Red Robin cape on the display wall, he immediately hugged Joseph with even greater delight. "Thank you, Dad! I thought I wouldn't receive a Halloween gift from you this year."
Joseph snorted coldly, "You already have a whole set now, they're the real deal from the original source. You won't need any imitations I make anymore, right?"
Oh, Dad, what you make isn't an imitation at all; the sense of achievement from completing the entire collection is wonderful." Colt carefully took off the Red Robin uniform. "I need a display case.
Joseph grumpily carried a display case up from the basement, helped him hang the Red Robin uniform inside, turned on the display lights.
"When did it start?" Joseph asked suddenly.
"The first week of school," Colt answered.
"You've been talking for two months and you still haven't slept together?" Joseph asked in surprise.
"Wait, Dad, what are you talking about when you say 'going to bed'? Didn't you ask us when our connection would appear?" Colt was even more surprised.
“He's already living in the house; do I really need to ask if he can see you or touch you?” Joseph asked in confusion, “Aren't you two secretly dating?”
“We aren't dating.” Colt paused, "Well, we aren't dating yet, I've only just confirmed my feelings. I like him, even though he's a boy."
"Oh." Joseph said expressionlessly.
Colt lowered his head, looking at his intertwined fingers. "Dad, Tim can see me, he can touch me, he is very special to me. I like him, I want to be with him, but I'm not sure if he likes me."
"Of course he likes you, no one could dislike you," Joseph said unhappily.
Colt shook his head. "The only reason you feel that way is because you're my father. I'm dull and boring, I can't even appear in public. If he were with me, how could I tell my family? Should I say, 'I'm dating a Ghost,' or 'I've fallen in love with a quantum intelligence'? It sounds like I'm going to marry a coffee machine; it's too ridiculous."
If he wants to be with you, none of this matters!" Joseph said through gritted teeth. "Listen, Colt, if he ever dares to make you cry, I will definitely kill him.
Colt didn't doubt the sincerity in Joseph's words: "Dad, I won't cry. You can't be that extreme; Bruce will be very sad if something happens to Tim."
I can. Bruce has experience losing sons; he'll get through it, only end up sending me to Arkham." Joseph looked serious. "If you don't want to meet me in Arkham, then don't doubt yourself.
What does 'don't doubt yourself' mean?
Encouraging him to confess his feelings?
Is Joseph really this open? Wait, Joseph always likes to come to his room to look for things and borrows his bathroom every other day, just to check if he has slept with Timothy?
From this perspective, Joseph doesn't seem to want him to be in a relationship with Tim.
Tim was so excited that he could hardly sleep.
Tim obviously liked Colt; otherwise, no matter how good a childhood friend or primary school classmate one was, they wouldn't make Red Robin search for every possible excuse to get close to them. There was no need to buy the house next door just for an investigation; being close by had its advantages.
Tim, why aren't you asleep yet?
The long-awaited voice rang out through the communication channel, Timothy closed his laptop.
Play me a bedtime story, right now.
Soon, the white noise of ocean waves echoed through the communication channel, the clear sound intentionally lowered to increase its softness, as someone began to tell a bedtime story.
Long, long ago, there was a castle deep beneath the sea, where a beautiful little Merfolk lived..
By the time Timothy woke up, it was already broad daylight.
Ever since receiving the Dream God's Blessing, his sleep has improved day by day, he no longer knows when the voice in the communication channel stopped.
With thoughts during the day and dreams at night, Timothy dreamed that Colt had become a Merfolk, but he was not a prince; the prince's name was Earth Simulator. He was the princess who was supposed to marry the prince, or rather, another prince. The Merfolk refused to plunge the dagger into Earth Simulator's heart, instead jumping into the sea to turn into foam; Timothy's married life with Earth Simulator was not happy or joyful at all.
I should have jumped in after him.
Timothy recalled the dream, gazing blankly out the window.
It was a beautiful day; although the sun wasn't out, the clouds weren't thick enough to weigh heavily overhead, the sky was a grayish-white, making it seem vast and high.
The "Little Merfolk" from his dreams was right outside his window, wearing pajamas, with hair as smooth as satin hanging down to cover her ears, a crown-like Quantum Terminal firmly fixed on her head. Colt sat on a suitcase, using it like a scooter, pushing his feet against the ground to glide back and forth, head down as he scribbled and drew, though no one knew how long he had been waiting.
It was like still being in a dream.
Tim was too lazy to move.
Colt suddenly tilted his head to listen for something, then turned his head to look into the room, his melancholy violet eyes crashing straight into Tim's heart.
"Good morning," Tim said, raising his hand in a wave.
Those eyes instantly became brighter than the sky over Metropolis, the melancholy within replaced by joy. Colt dragged his suitcase, passing through the floor-to-ceiling window like a bird returning to its nest, lunged into the bedroom.
Tim sat up. "I never said anything before entering your room, you can enter mine whenever you want. Connect to the smart system here and try out the effect of the speakers.."
His voice suddenly caught.
Timothy's shoulders, however, were pinned by Colt, his entire being was plunged into the Ghost field.
Colt pressed his lips tightly together and looked at him seriously.
"What happened?" Tim's heart tightened instantly, countless possible terrible situations flashed through his mind as he reached under the pillow to find and put on his hearing aid.
Colt shook his head gently and solemnly pressed a good morning kiss to Timothy's forehead: "Good morning."
A voice came from the bedside speaker, the top-tier audio quality providing an auditory pleasure that a communicator could never match. Tim watched the face as it quickly retreated, subconsciously grabbing the ends of his hanging hair.
Colt let out a soft hiss of pain, glaring at him with watery eyes. Tim quickly released his grip, made an apologetic gesture, got out of bed to rush toward the bathroom.
“Wait for me."
Colt slowly exhaled, his tense expression gradually relaxing. He buried his face in the pillow, the ears exposed turning a rapid shade of red.
Perfect, the goodnight kiss from last night has been reclaimed!
The pillow had a faint scent, like roasted coffee beans in a jar; even with the lid tightened, a subtle, bitter aroma still drifted out.
Tim finished his personal hygiene and looked at himself in the mirror. His teeth were white, his breath was fresh, there was absolutely no discharge at the corners of his eyes, his sparse, fuzzy stubble had been shaved off. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to bring any clothes in and could only continue wearing his bathrobe. He pulled the lapel of the bathrobe slightly open to reveal a bit of skin, then tightened the belt to make his abdominal muscles more prominent before walking out of the bathroom.
Colt's gaze paused for a moment on the slightly open lapel before quickly shifting away, he pushed the suitcase over.
I guess you didn't prepare any clothes, so I'm bringing some over for you.
Inside the large suitcase were several packs of underwear and socks, T-shirts, shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, jeans for daily wear, as well as slippers, sneakers, leather shoes, a full set of business formal wear neatly rolled up.
You need to wear formal attire to the company, so I just grabbed a suit for you.
It wasn't just random.
Colt specifically searched online for formal outfit combinations, picking out a red shirt and a black jacket from Timothy's wardrobe, learning how to roll a suit without leaving creases, pairing them with a tie, cufflinks, a watch.
Your accessories are in the cloakroom downstairs. I was afraid of waking Dad, so I took mine.
"Wow!" Timothy let out a surprised exclamation.
Colt explained, "This watch is a former Dream Gift, I've already updated the records. The watches come in a pair, this one has a tracking function; this one is for you."
Yes, I really do, you saved me from misery." Timothy approached Colt and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Making up for that morning kiss just now—that's how it should be fair.
It wasn't fair at all.
Colt calculated in his heart that he was still missing one kiss.
Timothy changed into the red shirt, black suit, red socks, red-soled leather shoes that Colt had chosen in the empty dressing room, feeling more and more that they suited him every time he looked in the mirror.
He really has great taste in people, his aesthetic sense is wonderful too.
Timothy strutted in front of Colt like a peacock, "I think it's very good."
Colt also nodded.
Little Red Bird looked truly good in a red shirt; it made his complexion look rosy and full of spirit.
Colt turned around to grab the schoolbag that had fallen outside the window, then pulled out a lunchbox, along with water, cookies, Bat Lollipops. "You didn't have a late-night snack last night, there doesn't seem to be anything to eat in this kitchen, so have this to tide you over first."
The lunch box contained two medium-rare fried eggs, a piece of sliced steak, two lettuce leaves, a portion of salt and pepper broccoli. It was a balanced meal of meat and vegetables, healthy and nutritious, it was still warm.
Colt seemed to have forgotten what he had just said—that going downstairs to get accessories would wake Joseph, but going downstairs to make breakfast wouldn't?
Tim felt something stuck in his throat.
He ate his fried eggs in large bites, trying to swallow the lump in his throat along with them. There were nutrition bars in Red Robin's utility belt; although they didn't taste particularly good, they could fill his stomach and provide the energy his body needed, so he wouldn't let himself go hungry.
Tim finished his breakfast, put away his lunchbox, took a sip of water, made small talk: "What is today's Dream Gift?"
Colt glanced at the Dream Station, "I haven't opened the treasure chest yet."
Timothy popped an orange-flavored Bat Lollipop into his mouth and grabbed Colt's hand: "Come on, let me see what it is today, I'll lend you some good luck."
This was not the first time they had opened boxes together.
Tim was more favored by the God of Luck than Birdie was; under his blessing, Colt opened more jewelry. To be precise, they were statues crafted from gemstones.
Colt's eyes sparkled as he carefully took a gemstone statue from the Dream Station.
Life-sized statues of a Merfolk and a prince. The base was made of real coral reef, the skin of both the Merfolk and the prince was a lustrous mutton-fat jade white, while their clothes were made of emeralds of different colors. The prince's eyes were sapphires, he had Timothy's face; the Merfolk's eyes were two violet emeralds, the scales of her tail were inlaid with diamonds, shimmering brightly..
It looks incredibly expensive!
Colt's eyes shone even brighter than when he looked at the gemstone statues. He carefully held Timothy's hand as if he were holding a Midas touch that could turn stone into gold, his expression more solemn than a marriage proposal.
Drake, let's open treasure chests together from now on, too.
Chapter 39
Tim looked at the Dream Gift, which was flashing so intensely it was almost blinding, then at Colt, whose eyes were shining. It was worth all the effort he had put into his mental visualization while hypnotizing himself in the dream, changing the marble statue's material into precious gems and jade. If it had just been an ordinary stone sculpture, Colt would never have been this excited.
“If you can give me half, then okay,” Timothy nodded.