“How disappointing.” He teased, “There are so many men who enjoy scars on their partners.” Cadmus was only among those if he was the one who had inflicted the injures. Something about seeing the scars caused by others made him possessive. Chuckling, he took the boy’s hand and gently pulled him back toward their table. “It appears so. How about we find you somewhere a bit safer to sleep?”

“Don’t worry about the portal,” Laurent mutters, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand. Exhausted, he closes his eyes, resting his forehead against his lover’s. With a deep exhale, he stills, taking in the other’s scent. Although the scent of sex barely lingers, the smell of rose petals and scented oils filling his nostrils, he can still pick up a hint of it in there. It makes him smile. “If I get you back in time for dinner, will that suffice?” he wonders. “Or do you need to make an appearance right now?” Either way, he can make it work. 

By the time they’ve exited the bath, Laurent is ready to get to bed. Although Theseus beats him there, he’s quick to follow after him. All he needs to do is move the younger male’s clothing to another surface, so as to prevent it getting wrinkled. They wouldn’t have time for that later. The blond crawls into bed finally, tugging the cloth from around the other’s hips so they might lay bare, completely connected when he crawls in against his side. Resting his hand on his cheek, Laurent draws the other into a slow, deliberate kiss. He keeps it deep, only drawing up every few seconds for a breath to ensure the male is thoroughly treated to him. 

Laurent rolls to his side, drawing Theseus against him, their legs tangling beneath the sheets. He rests a hand on the male’s hip, fingers curling in against his inner thigh. “It is a national affair, I was merely offering that we have the option for it not to be.” He shrugs, “But, I can see you want to prove to the kingdoms I’m yours, and you are mine, and I’m perfectly okay with that.” The blond turns, lifting slightly so that he has the room to press the other into the bed again so he might kiss him again. “I’ve thought about doing nothing but press you into this bed you know. When we wake, you may not be able to stop me from taking you in it.” The prince yawns, ducking his head against the other’s chest, body falling rather limp. “We’d have a castle like this you know. Not this exactly, I doubt we’d live here, but something similar. A chamber facing west, so we might watch the sun set on each day when it ends. You’d design almost everything of course, I’d want it to be what you wanted it to be. But each night, we’d fall into a bed as comfortable as this, and I’d pleasure you to your heart’s content. Put as many babe’s in your belly as you’d like.” His words are softer now, weaker. “I love you, my northern star.”

“don’t worry so much about when to return me, i’m no parcel,” theseus laughed, drawing his prince close, so that it felt like they were joined by this flesh contact. he kissed him just as passionately, his own lips slotting against laurent’s in a way that was almost memorized, as he’d figured by now how the other male liked to kiss and be kissed. when he moved away, his teeth gently dragged over laurent’s lower lip.

like tendrils growing over each other, theseus’ hands rested on the other male’s back, idly tracing the raised patterns of laurent’s scars. beneath some of the ones made by the manticores were his own, created by his fingernails digging a bit too deep. “i wouldn’t stop you,” he murmured, gently dragging his hands along laurent’s sides where he felt the serrated muscles stuck to his ribs. “perhaps i’ll wake sooner, wake you up here before anything else,” he purred as a hand slipped between them to stroke along laurent’s cock. then, theseus rested the hand behind his own head, the other pressed against laurent’s scalp, to play with the golden locks of hair that looked like woven gold between his digits.

“We could make the wedding happen sooner and get started on that you know, there’s no need to make the whole thing a state affair.” He shrugs, bucking against that heat to make a point of hearing his fiance scream out in ecstasy. “That being said, I want you get the wedding you want, I have zero desire to make it one thing or another, so long as we do it before the next Lunar Festival in the winter.” Gave them just under a year, he feels that’s fair. “I won’t have a child with you before then, but plan on me feeding you multiple loads the night we marry. I’ll be certain to put enough inside you for twins.” Because that’s definitely how it worked. 

His muscles ache, they’re tired, but he’s too turned on not to take advantage of Theseus like this. His cock is hard, plain and simple, that’s all that matters. He’s going to please his lover, even if it kills him. Exhaustion is already setting in, and although he wants to stop, to sleep, he was determined to fuck this man until they both were utterly spent. He casts his eyes down over the other, taking in his body and the way he moved. That is until he got to see himself bury inside the other each time he bounced up and down. Lunan, that was a heavenly sight to behold. He watches the other’s balls tighten, and soon enough Theseus is spilling himself everywhere, his moans hoarse and weak, he knew that if he only reached out and touched him he might pass out from pleasure. 

In the end, all it takes is the other’s demand to be bred for Laurent to finish. Of course the other’s walls clenched around him, the tightness heavenly. But holding his love still, collecting him into his arms, the blond prince stills, his own load pulsing out of him as he feels his cock twitch inside him with each spurt of white-hot seed. Laurent gasps out, moaning loudly, not stopping until he’s spent. When he’s done, it takes every effort in the world to lift his head, to kiss Theseus the way he ought to be. He brings his hand to the other’s cock, rubbing his thumb over the head to see just how sensitive he was. And then he’s lifting him up, tongue running over his abs, cleaning the mess he’d made. The prince loved this, loved the taste of the other. But not more than what he did next. Flipping him around, Laurent slides back into the tub, now at the perfect height to bury his face in the other’s ass, He laps at his hole, taking every drop that escaped him on his tongue. When he’s positive that Theseus can hold the rest, he pulls him back into his lap, delivering the salty sweet surprise he’d collected with another kiss. “Stay a few more hours with me?” he asks. “Let us lay in my bed, enjoy the company for a little longer. I have one more trick up my sleeve to get you home for tonight. I promise no matter how long we lay together, you won’t be late.”

it was always a treat to be filled again, to experience after such an otherworldly pleasure the sensation of being stuffed to the brim with a man’s hot load. theseus was mischievous as he rolled his hips some more to coax every drop out of his man, to see his lover twitch and strain himself as he overstimulated his sensitive---perhaps even pained---cock. theseus kissed him, breathy moans escaping his lips as the other male touched his own, half-hard cock that felt too raw to the touch, like each of laurent’s strokes was forcing a smaller quake out of him. but he smiled through the sensitive twitches, too exhausted to properly protest, or even stand on more than a set of wobbly knees as laurent ate out his load.

he finally caught a breath when he was in his lover’s arms again, feeling like dead weight. “i’m already late,” theseus chuckled, fingers combing through laurent’s blond crest, and framing that handsomely sculpted face. “i was due back in bergia a while ago, i’m sure the portal dropped.” not that his late rendezvouses in valtolia were of any news to his family now, he was sure. he kissed laurent some more, tasting both himself and his lover’s sweetness on his tongue. “i’m afraid i may fall asleep as soon as i fall into your sheets, laurent.” but, the noble didn’t argue, as he made the first moves to drain the tub and dry them both off with towels prepared for them. he slipped a soft cloth around his waist, then crossed the room to fall face-first into the prince’s sheets long before the owner of the bed got there.

“As long as it’s me,” he states, lips eager to claim a spot along the male’s throat to leave a mark. He knew it was a double standard, to expect Theseus to be faithful to him and only him and no other. When Laurent couldn’t even promise the same. Not that he’d ever be with some whore, but he had laid with more than his fair share in the past. There’s a certain knight and dragon rider he’d enjoy again if given the opportunity. Perhaps his gentleman if he’d felt the urge. “I’m conflicted about that,” he admits. “As the second born, I wish not to do that to any of my own, but our sons could be powerful, they could marry back into the crown as my mother was. Whatever comes from my brother, our son would make a glorious queen.” That is if he doesn’t decide to merely take the crown for himself at some point.

Although Laurent is eager to please his fiancee, he’s worried about pressing too hard on the other’s throat. Too hard could be dangerous, they could be asking for trouble. “Your wish is my command,” he purrs lightly, scraping his teeth over the other’s jaw. He closes his hand more forcefully around Theseus’s throat, feeling more than a little apprehensive at doing so. But he obliges nonetheless, he promised to give the man everything he wanted and more after all. Watching his lover finish will never get old to Laurent. No matter his size, the man was a powerhouse of lean muscle. His lithe frame was perfectly accentuated by definition, and it only showed to be as compact and powerful as he was when he tensed; when he came for him. He’s eager to keep fingering him, so he does, though he coaxes him forward and up, to wrap his lips around his cock to clean the last few drops of seed and swallow.

By the time Laurent realizes what’s happening, his cock is buried deep within the other. Although Thes moves slowly, deliberately, he knows the male to be tired after his own finish. Laurent pulls him into his lap, slick fingers now splayed against his back. Moving up, he stops so he can sit on the edge of the tub. Swinging the other’s legs over the edge, he pulls him forward, holding Thes in his lap. gripping his ass, he asks quietly for Thes to wrap his arms around his shoulders. Slowly, the prince slides the other along his thighs, effectively fucking him on his cock. “Have you taken the potion yet?” Laurent asks. “I’d very much so like to give you a son tonight,” he admits. The blond stops, tilting his head against the other’s hand, bringing their lips together once more. He leans back a bit, using the other’s weight to anchor him. Now instead of the slow slide in and out, the prince lifts, his muscles protesting as he starts to bounce his future spouse on his cock. At this rate, he knows he won’t last long.

no matter how many times theseus had taken laurent’s cock, it was still thick like it was the first time he’d breached him like this. to take him all the way down to the last few inches was a struggle, pain soon shooting up his spine that he subdued by biting his lower lip even harder than the ache hurt him. he took a few breaths through his nose and scrawled his arms around his fiancé’s neck, taking a few moments to translate the sting of the stretch to pleasure once more. his muscles, especially his thighs, tensed some more as he bounced on the prince’s cock, taking him deeper still, until he felt laurent curve into his gut. 

“no, i didn’t. i wasn’t aware i’d be having children with you before our wedding,” theseus confessed with a chuckle. that, and the two hadn’t discussed any plans for a firstborn before, though it seemed obvious by now that both of them wished it while the two were fertile and at the prime age to bear heirs. he stopped short to moan, head lolling back once more as laurent’s cock jostled in and out of his heat. as laurent shifted, now using his muscles like some sort of machine to fuck theseus, he rested his hands on the prince’s powerful thighs behind him and rode him just as hard, like they were aiming for this to break them out in a sweat. there was no doubt laurent would sleep well after this, and theseus prided himself in that ability to tire out his warrior-prince with sex. soon, he was making no effort at all, as laurent started using his arms to bounce theseus on his cock like he was just some warm cum-dump, a toy for his pleasure.

“I suppose that is true, true power does lay outside the crown,” he admits. Although he has his reservations about that as well. “My only fear is the fact that my brother is an idiot, I don’t know that we’d actually get to be able to get anything done. I have a few ideas for a position in mind, but I don’t know that I’d exactly what to serve him for life.” Laurent’s hazel eyes flickered closed, and he leans back against the tub, relaxing.

The longer they move in time with one another, the more he feels himself begin to awaken beneath the other. By the time Thes has begin to suckle marks into his neck, Laurent is at full strength pressed into Thes’s backside. “Fuck yes,” he hisses, feeling the other’s teeth scrape over his throat. “Bite there too, don’t just suck those marks. Bite down on my shoulder, Thes, break the skin if you feel like it.” The hand that’s currently cupping Thes’s ass moves quick, readjusting itself. Two fingers slip inside the other, testing the male’s tightness almost immediately. “I’m beginning to think you don’t touch yourself to the thought of me while you’re away from me,” Laurent all but pouts. He slips those fingers deeper, scissoring to try and stretch him. “And you’d tell our first born where I fucked you so hard you saw stars? Where I filled you to the brim with my seed to conceive him?” He smirks, leaning up not to bite into the male’s chest, leaving a perfect ring of teeth marks for him to see. “Perhaps on the back of Eos, I could slip inside you while we ride in the moonlight. We could name him Grypon, so he might always know he was conceived aback a powerful beast under Lunan’s light.” There’s a reason he wasn’t good at this sort of thing. Eos was a great name, but he’d given it to his mount.

Under the other’s ministrations, Laurent falls quit. Between them only soft moans, the slight splashing of the water with their movements and moreover, the harshness of their breathing as they accelerated. Laurent tips his head up, capturing the male’s lips with his own once more, tasting Theseus with an unparalled passion to previous encounters. He had a drive to put a son into the man’s belly this very night. Had they been married, he absolutely would. It’s not so much the want of parenting that’s driving him, but to be a man with an heir. A son he could teach and train, and a man he could call his own on top of that. With a baby inside him, there’d be no dispute as to who Theseus called his, and in turn who’s he was. “My love,” he breathes out, eager to give him his every desire. “My betrothed, my darling, my dear, my beloved. I will call you any and much more, whichever you find brings you the most pleasure.” He releases the male’s cock finally, hand slipping up to his throat, fingers pressing into the male’s carotid to bring an edge to his pleasure. Laurent bites down on Thes’s chest again, tongue flicking out to swirl around his nipple before he sucks at it. Before he bites at the sensitive flesh softly. “Moan for me, let the whole castle hear you paint my abdomen with your seed,” the prince orders, lips closing back down around his nipple to continue teasing him.

once given permission---although the noble didn’t need it---theseus sunk his teeth into the bend of laurent’s neck, just hard enough to leave imprints of his teeth in the flesh. he only let loose to kiss his betrothed, hands soon covering the bruised blotches on the prince’s neck as he held it, a soft moan slipping into laurent’s mouth. “i was still sore from our rendezvous on the beach,” he admitted with a subdued laugh, deepening the arch in his back so he could take laurent’s fingers deeper. “by how often you speak of children, i wouldn’t be surprised if you put a second in me as soon as i’ve given birth to your---our---firstborn.” he wouldn’t put it behind the prince, either, to want as many heirs as he could be given, and theseus wanted to be able to birth them while he was young, leave parenthood for his later years.

theseus went slack-jawed as laurent’s fingers scissored in and out of him, his cock twitching desperately in the other male’s hand. his hair was damp from the steam, the picture of him now so erotic that the water looked like sweat on the male’s body. his ass instinctively clenched around laurent’s digits as he felt the prince suckle his sensitive nipples, the crown of his cock leaking pre in the water. he was embarrassed at how easy it was for laurent to reduce him to a moaning mess with just his fingers. he was sure the prince enjoyed this, too, to have a petite lover to play like an instrument he was finely attuned to. theseus panted, both hands slipping into the prince’s hair before one squeezed over his fiancé’s hand around his throat. “laurent---” he moaned, feeling lightheaded and his pulse beating louder and louder in his ears. “harder,” he wheezed out, still expelling soft, raspy moans. his hand, the one with the ring on it, reached up to coax laurent’s hand to bind tighter around his throat, cutting off both his blood and breath.

“Just teasing Thes, promise,” he grins. Taking the other by the chin, he holds eye contact with him, staring back into those warm, honey-colored eyes. “You deserve me, and you deserve the world. I will give you all that you want and more. But I am a prince, and although we will marry, you won’t be one. You are my equal, do not get me wrong, but I have a power you can’t earn. It’s one you are simply born with. One you will soon come to know and enjoy.” 

Shaking his head, Laurent revels in the fact that his lover, his fiancee, is washing him right now. This was a moment of intimacy, unlike the one they shared on the beach when he’d washed the other. He’d been no good at it, but Theseus made this effortless, blending the act into conversation. “I wouldn’t let him harm a single hair on that head of yours,” he promises, holding his gaze. “As angry as he might be, he wouldn’t lay a finger on you, my guards would see to that.” Shaking his head, the blond smiles. “Have I done well so far? I truly am doing my best here, and I’d like to think I’m succeeding in that department. You needn’t ever worry, your every wish I can fulfill. I just want to give you enough to do, to see and to say. We won’t have the power my brother and whatever whore he marries have. We’ll need to make our own way, make our own plans.”

The prince frowns, cupping the other’s cheek. “I’ve taken no lovers since I began courting you,” he admits. “Although I can’t say the same in the future when it comes to a fuck, I have zero desire to have that sort of relationship with another. My seed is yours and yours alone, and given the last whore I had, I’m inclined to allow you to claim my cock for yourself as well.” Laurent reaches between them grabbing hold of Thes’s cock. “I’m just a little tired, not much on my mind but my body is weary. I could fuck you, I could put that babe in your belly now. But I wouldn’t be up to par, wouldn’t be my usual stellar self.” He strokes him slowly, letting him harden in his hand. “If you’d like to be fucked, I will oblige, but I was hoping we might just get to enjoy each other’s company for a bit. Take whatever intimacy we can find.”

“i wouldn’t enjoy it---being queen, i mean,” theseus said as an afterthought, fingers playing with the hairs over the nape of laurent’s neck. he was bathing the prince as they spoke, gentle fingers tentatively massaging and rubbing against every inch of skin he could with the hot, herbal water. he’d never washed another like this but he remembered how his mother had washed him so lovingly and intimately. he even pressed his thumbs to laurent’s earlobes and washed behind the shell of his ears, making sure not to miss a single spot. “but i see something with you. i know you’ll do great things, be a man most feared and respected.” 

a breathy moan escaped him as laurent stroked him, his cock twitching in the other male’s hand. slowly, so as not to disturb the water, he rocked himself back and forth against him, being sure to press the swell of his ass against laurent’s cock as he did so, too. “call me a sap, but i wish for that time to be a bit more special,” he said as he kissed along laurent’s neck which now smelled fragrantly of the sweet aromas in the water, though very faintly. he suckled a soft hickey there, making his possessive mark with a few more that dotted closer to the prince’s ear like a constellation of love bites. “i don’t wish to tell our first son that he was conceived in a bath tub,” he laughed, lips against the hollow of laurent’s jaw. “but when that time comes, i want you to fill me with so many loads that the exact time of conception may be up in the air.”

“Good, I would have been disappointed if you were bowing out already.” Cadmus gladly took his refilled glass, bringing the wine to his lips. His eyes continued to move across the cut, interested in the story behind it. “Hm,” he mused, more or less sure the boy wasn’t being completely truthful. “You’ll have to be more careful in the future. It must have been a fine dagger to leave a mark like that.” Reaching over, he traced his finger along the wound, mapping it in his mind for later. 

“Clearly I’m the biggest catch in the whole kingdom, and considering our kingdom is the greatest, how lucky you are,” he smirks, pressing his lips into a kiss against the other’s thumb. He chases after the other, pressing a kiss to the top of Theseus’s head, just right along the top. “I’m joking, you know that right? I just wanted to see how you’d react. I don’t want you to change yourself for anyone, let alone me. I like you as you Theseus, don’t become something you think I need you to be. I need you to be what you are. Maybe just with my son in your belly.”

They head from his chambers into the bath, and Laurent quickly climbs into the tub to soak in its warmth. “You know, there’s a hot spring not too far from here, maybe a day’s right, maybe a bit shorter. It’s been some time since I’ve been there. But I think it’d be the most perfect place to take you, show you the lay of the land while we’re at it.” Of course all the meanwhile he’s talking, Theseus is doing his best to keep him quiet, to keep his tongue down his throat. He snickers, happily obliging the other in the embrace, savoring the feeling of his bare skin against his; of his ass resting in his lap. It’s odd that they’re like this and he isn’t inside him, but he supposes that’ll come either later or another time. “I’ll demand an answer of him later,’ he breathes out, still a tad breathless from the intermingling of their mouths. “I’ll come up for a visit, I’ll win the man over. After all, you’ve already said yes. You’d be richer here, well taken care of, and it’s not as if there’d be much left to you after your brother inherited your house and name. Not that I’m saying to slight your father like that, but this really is a great life for you here. And above all, I’d like to think I might be able to make you happy.” 

He smirks, bringing his hand up from where it cupped his ass to stroke through the other’s hair, to hold him closer to him. “They’ve been sworn to secrecy under penalty of death,” he informs, though it’s unclear if he’s kidding or not. “My business is my business, it’s not for other’s to know. If I want them to know, I will tell them myself, not my servants. That being said, you are to be mine, and I yours, I’ll inform them to never lie to you on my behalf,” he swears. “I spent the day in the courtyard training. The morning was pretty typical, a swim in the lake, some light horseback riding to a nearby town, an execution for treason, and a little bit of business to collect something for you.” The best secret he held for the other was yet to come. It’d require a time later than now, but he’d tell him shortly. It was his way home after all. 

“i don’t think myself lucky,” he said, just as much of a spitfire he had been since the day they’d met. “doing so would insinuate you’re better than me, and neither you or i would settle for anything less.” his hands framed the prince’s jaw as he lifted it up and kissed him once more, his upper body rising a bit out of the water to press more of his weight against the prince. “i deserve you.” they were perfectly matched, one not offending to the other, both filled with a drive that would propel any objective---nation or otherwise---forward.

he played with laurent’s hair while the prince spoke, taking the time between to rub away the scuffs on his fiancé’s body. he laughed. “you underestimate my father’s reservation for valtolians; i suspect he’d have my head if i were to tell him.” theseus only feared his father, after all, so he was terrified that his father’s approval would outweigh how much he wanted to marry laurent, even in secret. “might?” he corrected him. “laurent, i didn’t agree to marry you on a might,” he teased. “i only asked where you were so i may see you before i leave for bergia tonight, i wouldn’t mind if you were at a brothel, as long as i do not catch wind of it.” he would be an easy lover to please, but also one easy to cross. he was possessive over his prince, though he understood that he couldn’t always be there to fulfill laurent’s sexual desires while they were in the process of consummating their marriage. he knew a prince was entitled to keep many lovers, and that laurent didn’t strike him as one to stay faithful for long. it would save him much heartbreak in the beginning to expect laurent to be unfaithful now.

Riku did not answer the question. As if his words would give life to rumor to the fact he might enjoy dancing and being among a collection of Valtolian commoners. Although if he were being honest it wasn’t the setting itself that made him more cheery than usual. That had more to do with the present company in his arms. “Maybe. I well let you figure that out for yourself. Though how could you not be happy? I am here.” He teased not daring to admit more than that. Theseus had won him over so easily. Ending his search for a weapon against Valtolia but instead leaving him to forget. Forget his place and the game of royalty for a moment. It was much the same feeling he felt when he was on the open sea with his men, away from the crown that was resting on his head and shoulders.

When the music slowed Riku stiffened for a moment. Close to leaving the floor until Theseus took lead and altered their position appropriately. He was no stranger to formal dances and balls of such so he was not as unfamiliar with the pace they now found themselves in. “Neither would I believe such a thing. I always avoided coming here at all costs…for good reason.” Taking in a breath, trying not to let his bitterness towards the kingdom ruin the dance. “If I knew you were waiting here for me to come save you from boorish place I would have come sooner.” Normally such a setting would fit any other Bergian but for some reason Riku never saw Theseus in the same light as the mountain folk. Clear that he was made from tougher stock but there was something a little more comforting in his draw. A sentiment that Riku had never really indulged too much thought to before this night. “If only you were as inclined to come to Argia more often we could have had this dance sooner in a more appropriate setting.” His hold on the Bergian’s back and hand became a bit more possessive, as his sharp eyes gave focus to nothing else.

“is that how i seem? like some damsel in distress?” theseus teased, tipsy enough to giggle a bit out of character. the young marchant was usually so stoic, or at the very least so obsessed with his public face that he seldom laughed genuinely. “you’re wounding me in more ways than one tonight.” as he turned on his heel to lead them into a half-spin, his cloak swept the floor beneath them, picking up chalk dust. when riku mentioned travel, theseus nodded in agreement. “i’ve considered travel. recently, i’ve been filling in for my father’s absence and acting as an emissary to foreign kingdoms, so argia may very well be next in my line of duty,” he said as he squeezed the other male’s bicep.

“I save faith for the Gods. But I can at least respect your frontal stab approach.” Mostly because you were more likely to hit a vital organ when you stabbed from the front. But also because at least Theseus had the balls to attack face to face rather than from the back like a coward. Riku wanted to have ‘faith’ that he was among a real friend. Something he had very little of if he was being honest with himself. There was his family, the men that sailed on his ship, everyone else in Metia and then the Valtolian kingdom. That was the spectrum of trust for him. It wasn’t that politics was his only setting, just his default. Ever the chess player he could only see the next move and the move after that. While his people celebrated the upcoming joyous wedding of his brother, he analyzed Iah to see if he would be worthy to be queen. He should be home enjoying the upcoming event with his family but instead he snuck away to Valtolia to find proof the kingdom was at fault for the attack. So it wasn’t surprising that once again someone was telling him to lighten up a bit.

With a roll of his eyes he grunted a, “Fine.” Before following Theseus onto the dance floor. Never much a dancer himself it wasn’t too hard to follow along at his pace, watching the steps of others. Ever the competitor he would not fall short of these apes and before long he was up to par in his steps with the rest, joined in the dance like he knew it all his life. Theseus might see how quickly Riku picked up the steps by time he returned to his arms. Holding the Bergian close by the small of his back as he genuinely laughed and turned about the line. Before long it seemed the pair had caught the attention of those dancing who formed a circle around them and cheered them on while the two twirled and stomped their feet through to the song’s upbeat melody. Tilted his head over that of his shorter dance partner he gave a wide grin. “See? They love me. Happy now?” Theseus had accomplished the one task not many could, he got Riku to have fun.

“i’m thoroughly impressed that you aren’t as stiff as you look, riku,” theseus laughed over the boisterous noise in the tavern. the heat was soon rising in the building as the merry sound of the violin and other folk instruments sounded more rapid. theseus, too, moved his steps faster, suede boots sweeping over the emblem of a giant moon---most likely a celebratory tribute to lunan---that had been drawn primitively in chalk on the floor. 

“My mother often spoke of Bergian boldness, but my father was fond to say that mountain men made up for a lack of stamina with boldness,”  Hugo teases the other with a wink.  “But I am finding that what my parents taught me may yet have been true of their generation, but I am not convinced it is true of mine.  You seem quite able to handle your drink, and might yet be able to quench a Sollian fire with your Bergian snow.”

Hugo took a bite of meat to contemplate exactly what of that was flirting, teasing, and outright nonsense.  But he swallowed with a smile, feeling quite stuffed.  These northern people ate so much meat, he thought for sure he’d be sick later, but for the time being, he kept his smile and wits about him.  

“Any good host does steer a conversation to the waters they most perfer, as is their right.  As your humble guest, I am here to ensure that I earn my keep with good conversation and good company,”  Hugo lifts his goblet to match the other, “but I will be so impudent to suggest that we toast to our health and prosperity, a generation of men who will know only the war of duels and the combat of watching our children play.”

“i’d disagree,” theseus laughed. “we have both. i assure you no other man but bergian would be able to trek through a blizzard, perhaps for lack of stamina.” it was a strange rumor to hear, as bergians were worldly renowned for having brutish mannerisms and bodies built like bears. he was obviously on the more delicate side, a trait inherited from his mother, but he still drank just as belligerently as a mountain man three times his size.

Laurent smiles, triumphant in his victory. Pressing his lips to the other’s he gives him a kiss that’s uncharacteristically chaste. “No one has ever asked for mine before, no one has dared to,” he admits. “Did he give an answer either way?” the blond asks, now curious about it. 

Fingers catch in the buttons of the other’s pants, and he slowly undoes them. Although their lips intermingled, along with other such anatomy, Laurent still desperately needed to bathe. With the pants undone, but still not pushed free of the other’s hips, Laurent pulls his own shirt overhead, tossing it aside where a servant could get to it. As he steps out of his pants, his gaze casts upwards, and he notes the sadness in the other’s eyes. Almost as soon as the rings are removed from the other’s hands, he realizes Thes shakes it off. He wonders if there’s a way to hide the silver among all the gold, if he were to simply balance the odds, perhaps it would look intentional. It’d be a lot of rings to wear, but he’s sure the other would wear them with pride for his two kingdoms.

As Laurent stands there unclothed entirely, he helps the other with his old cloak, taking it to lay it out gently on the bed where it won’t be disturbed. While Theseus tries on the new one Laurent sets to work getting him undressed to join him in the baths. When the pants are pushed fully down, he collects the rings, deciding to stow them somewhere he can have them worked on. “I’d say you look awfully close,” he confirms, now unbuttoning and slipping off his shirt so all he wore was the cloak. “Perhaps we ought to dye the hair to seal the deal,” he teases. “Don’t let it be your dream, allow yourself to live it, make it your reality,” the prince urges, lifting the other and bringing him so he could curl around his waist. “The blue looks good on you my love,” he smiles, echoing their previous embrace with a deliberate encounter. “Come, remove the cloak and join me in the bath. I have hours to enjoy your company before I return you home.”

as laurent pulled away, he brushed his thumb over the prince’s lower lip. “i can’t see why; you are the most attractive of your brothers.” his hand went to his own hair next, fingers combing through the silky, chestnut-brown locks. “and that is where i draw the line, laurent; i wouldn’t make a good blond, i don’t think.”

there was a deliberate pause as theseus soaked in the prince’s praise, feeling uncharacteristically giddy when laurent addressed him as his love. he was a stranger to this feeling, not the word, and he briefly wondered if it was the high of the moment to blame. gently, he unclasped the cloak and set it down folded, joining laurent in the spacious bath. theseus straddled laurent’s lap and cupped the other male’s cheeks to draw him into another passionate kiss. he pressed a few more to laurent’s neck, moving up to the lobe of his ear while his hands dutifully rinsed the prince’s chest with warm water. “i asked your father to consider it. i didn’t demand an answer of him, it isn’t my place,” the noble said, slipping an arm to rest comfortably around the prince’s neck. “but, to be completely honest, i fear my father would be most stubborn. i am his youngest, after all.” and theseus was sure his father would roll in his grave long after his passing, to marry him off to the same kingdom that had killed theseus’ mother.