The Strangers in the Palace (Closed)(Fantasy)

Arquis stared at Rin, suddenly realizing that there was only one bed. He made a strange sound in his throat and stood awkwardly. A flush crept up his neck as he hurried to the lights, turned them off, and then went to light the gas lamp on the desk near the bed.

“Ah, I… where should I…?” He pointed a thumb at the chair in the corner. “Over there, then? Would that be good? Or the floor, or…?”

A thought hit him, and he stopped stammering. “Why did you pause? What else would we do besides sleep? Is there something that you have to do first?”

Rin laughed a little bit at all the questions, shaking their head tiredly. "No, no, it's not…there is not anything else that I would need to do." they replied. "And, we can share the bed, if you're alright with that? If you are not, then I will take a blanket and pillow and sleep on the floor."

“Oh. I would be alright with sharing,” Arquis responded, voice as light and soft as a feather. He approached the bed, looking quite nervous, and pushed back the thick comforter. With a shaky sigh—his joints were stiff and achy, and it hurt quite a bit to move—he lowered himself down. The mattress wasn’t the best quality, but it felt heavenly on his poor legs.

He didn’t know how he should act. Should he get closer to him, or would they prefer to keep their distance? Should he just go straight to sleep, or would that seem rude? What if they didn’t want to be touched? What if they did? His frame was rigid with anxiety.

Rin hummed very faintly, getting under the blankets themself and pausing for a moment, trying to figure out what to do here. Was the best thing to do to turn their back to Arquis? Or come closer? What was the best thing to do? They sighed quietly, closing their eyes and curling up on their side.

Arquis turned off the lamp and let his head settle onto the pillow. It smelled of vanilla soap with a faint hint of something earthy. He breathed the aroma in slowly, gathering his courage, and slowly shifted closer.

“This alright?” he murmured, his voice sleepy. He was prepared to back away if he desired, but part of him really wished they’d move into his arms.

"Mm, this is fine." Rin said in a soft voice, shifting deeper into the blankets and letting out another soft, slow, quiet breath. "Thank you, Arquis."

(after this do you want to skip to daytime? I can send the first message again if you’d like, or if you had something else planned for the night then that’d be cool, too)

“Goodnight,” he whispered. Someday in the future, assuming all went well, he hoped that he’d be able to kiss them goodnight, but at that moment he was just glad to have them near. The whole journey would’ve been unbearable if he’d been alone.

Sleep caught up to him quickly, and he sank into a rather pleasant, abstract dream. He couldn’t discern much in it, but it felt as if he was floating, and the sky above looked like the prettiest sunset he’d ever seen.

(sure! I can handle the skip, or whatever you'd like. I have no plans for the nighttime, tho I 100% think they should end up accidentally cuddling while sleeping)

Rin fell asleep as well, curled on the bed with the blankets around their body. It did not take them very long to succumb to the warm grasp of sleep, drifting off into its dark, soft clutches.

(since you sent the last part, I’ve got the skip! and I totally agree lol)

[Day Five]

It took Arquis longer than usual to wake up that morning. He blamed it on fatigue from the trip and the illness, but in truth he was just extremely comfortable. He felt incredibly warm and oddly safe. At first, he thought that was because he’d escaped the Palace, but when he opened his eyes he saw that he was tangled up with Rin. One of his arms was wrapped around one of their shoulders, and their legs were entwined.

He rubbed his hand against their shoulder gently. It wasn’t an attempt to wake him up; he did it instinctively. That silly part of his brain wanted to call it quits and go back to sleep, hoping that he’d get more time to cuddle. He quickly checked the clock. It was around seven, which was much earlier than he’d expected. They could have a nice, slow morning together, if that was what Rin wanted.

(Thanks! Perfect lol)

Rin had an arm slung over Arquis's waist, and they were nuzzled close to the nobleman, their face pressed to Arquis's shoulder. They were still sound asleep, their breathing soft and quiet. At the gentle rubbing, they leaned back into the touch very faintly, though they did not otherwise register it.

Arquis let out a blissful sigh and let his eyelids flutter shut. For several minutes, he was in paradise, about as cozy as a person could possibly be. He matched Rin’s breathing and tried to fall back to sleep. When that failed, he carefully attempted to removed himself, accidentally jostling them in the process.

He leant back a little, just enough to meet his eyes if they woke up. Their bodies were still mostly entwined. His ankle was on his calf; his hand was still on their shoulder; he was still washed in the warmth of their body heat.

At the jostling, Rin shifted faintly, eyes blinking open just a tiny bit to peek up at Arquis. Their gaze was soft and hazy, his face relaxed. His hair was sticking up just a little with bedhead, and he looked loathe to move. "Mmph." was the only greeting they gave, making no move to leave the warm embrace of Arquis's arms and body.

“Mmph to you as well,” Arquis whispered, clearly holding back a laugh. His voice was deep and husky from rest. He lifted his hand to push away hair that was threatening to fall into their eyes, then trailed his fingers down to stroke their cheek.

After a bit, he began attempting to detach himself from Rin. The task proved futile. One of his legs was pinned under theirs, and he couldn’t move it without bumping into them further.

“You can go back to sleep,” he promised, still speaking quietly, “but I do need my leg back. Would you be so kind as to set it free?”

Rin leaned into the hand that trailed down his cheek, letting out a quiet hum.. "Why?" they asked in a quiet tone, his own voice low and a little husky. "Do you need to go somewhere?" he rubbed his foot lightly against Rin's calf, their eyes drifting shut again for a moment, before they reopened them to look up at Arquis.

(wait did you mean Arquis’s calf or did I read that sentence wrong lol)

Arquis shuddered. The contact was doing lovely things to his brain. He wanted to stay in bed all day with him. He also wanted to do quite a few other things—many, if not all, of them involving Rin’s mouth—but he knew he couldn’t. They had time to have a nice morning, but they couldn’t stay under the covers for too long. They’d have to start getting ready soon, at the very least.

”I was going to ask about room service,” he breathed. He slowly swiped his tongue over his lower lip and exhaled. “Do you have an appetite for anything?”

(YES i'm just fucking stupid lmao sorry)

Rin's gaze flickered to Arquis's mouth for just a moment, then back up. "I…" they trailed off, debating whether or not to say the words that had popped into their head. "I have an appetite for you." they finally said, a smile flashing across their mouth as they looked over at Arquis.

(haha nah it’s ok it happens sometimes!)

“An appetite for- oh.” Arquis flushed, and he made a nervous sound. “Oh, yes, I see.”

He slid his thumb along the line of their jaw, testing his reaction. A wave of self-consciousness overcame him. He still had his glove on; he wasn’t touching their face. Would they find that strange? Repelling, even? And how was he meant to respond to what he’d said?

“Is there any way that I can, ah, help with that?” he finally replied, cringing internally. That hadn’t sounded smooth at all. He might as well have been a museum guide giving a tour or a receptionist at a shop.

(haha yeah)

Rin leaned into the touch faintly, their eyes flickering shut for just a moment. "Well– I'm sure a kiss would be plenty helpful. But only if that would be something you are comfortable with." they replied, opening their eyes to study Arquis. They did not mind the touch of the glove to their skin, not at all.

“Please, yes.” Arquis swallowed. He’d sounded quite desperate. He really didn’t care. The self-consciousness had vanished, replaced with want.

Unknowingly, he’d moved a little bit further towards him, fully rejoining their tangled embrace. He curled his hand to tilt their chin up so that their lips were inches away. All it would take was for him to make a move. Arquis waited with baited breath.

Rin took a breath, leaning in to press his mouth softly to Arquis's, their lips touching his in a careful, gentle way. They did not want to be too…intense, not when they did not know Arquis's boundaries, and when they knew that Arquis had not had much prior experience.

Arquis reciprocated just as gently. He slowly shifted them closer against himself and, with a soft sigh, parted his lips slightly. After a second or so, he slipped his hand downwards from their jaw, letting it come to a rest just below their rib cage. Any lower might send a different impression; he just wanted to hold him, that was all.

He pulled away just a tiny bit to ask, quite breathless, “Is this- is my hand- is that alright?” His pupils were dilated from the rush of attraction, and his entire face was a rosy shade of pink.

They inhaled very softly when Arquis's hand moved lower, but nodded at the question. "It is perfectly fine, Arquis." they replied, eyes flickering open slightly in order to look at the nobleman. "I don't mind." their free hand shifted up to cup Arquis's cheek, hold onto him and keep him close.

Arquis let out a soft sigh. He’d never felt anything like this before; he’d never been this close to someone else. It was almost overwhelming, though not quite.

”We really should get moving,” he murmured, sounding as if he thoroughly loathed the idea. Moving meant separating, and separating seemed a fate worse than death. That was perhaps a bit dramatic, but he basically felt it was true. It seemed a tragedy that they would ever have to pull apart.

He let his gaze linger for just a moment more and lazily stroked his thumb in circles on shirt. Then, finally, he backed away.

”Besides yours truly, is there anything else you might be hungry for?”

Rin hummed for a moment. "Breakfast." he replied slowly. "If I must have anything else." they let out a quiet laugh, nuzzling Arquis's cheek softly. They did not want to part, but they knew that they would have plenty of free time together when they arrived at the other hotel.

“Breakfast is-” His breath hitched at the nuzzling, and he had to actually start over. “Breakfast is a touch unspecific, but I will see what I can do.”

He got to his feet, still a little dazed from all the kissing and contact, and stumbled over to retrieve currency from his suitcase. Next, he went to the door and peeked his head out. Just on the wall outside, there was a bell with a small label that read ‘Room Service’. He rang it as quietly as possible, hoping not to disturb other sleeping guests.

After a couple of minutes, a young girl pushing a cart stacked high with various kinds of snacks. He ordered two cups of coffee and a small basket of stuffed rolls. The girl helpfully chirped out the different flavors of the rolls—egg and tomato, cream cheese and lemon curd, and honey lavender—before taking some of his money. She pushed the cart away, humming some kind of nursery rhyme to herself.

Arquis shut the door, walked back to Rinlos, handed them a mug, placed a cloth napkin down on the comforter, and set the basket on the bed.

“The girl that I bought these from told me there were different flavors, but I honestly cannot recall what she said,” he admitted. His eyes roved over their messy hair and dipped down to his lips. Even the tips of his ears went pink. “I was a bit, ah, distracted.”

Rin stayed comfortably curled in the blankets as they awaited Arquis's return, then sat up when they were handed a mug. "Mm, that's fine. It will be a surprise for us both, then." they took a small sip from the mug, then set it aside when it proved to be too hot to comfortably drink.

Arquis smiled as he settled down next to them. He already seemed brighter—happier, even—now that he was away from the Palace. He looked a lot younger, too. The dark smudges under his eyes weren’t quite so deep, and his hair was tousled boyishly. Distance had clearly begun to work wonders.

Still, that didn’t mean he was miraculously cured. As he drank his scalding coffee, he found himself unwilling to address the food. He had a sudden flash of memories of himself as a young boy. His father had always chastised him for eating too much on business trips. Muria had been cruel to both him and Marsiquia about their fondness for sweets on multiple occasions. It was hard to feel positive about oneself when constantly surrounded by better people. Slender, elegant people.

He shook his head slightly and reached for one of the rolls. It smelled of wheat and something a bit sour. Lemon, most likely. He nibbled daintily on the corner before turning his focus back to Rin.

Rin reached out, taking a roll and taking a bite. "Hey, you're going to actually eat, right?" It had not escaped their notice how little Arquis ate. "We're going to be walking for a while, and you need your energy, okay?" They looked at the nobleman, studying him for a long moment. "So, if you could please eat a decent amount for breakfast, that would be good for both of us." They were not going to put a ton of pressure on Arquis; they did not want to nag at him. But they wanted to encourage him to eat.

“I know I should,” Arquis responded quietly, “but it is not always so easy. Sometimes I just… I just do not have the appetite for it, I suppose. But that is nothing to worry over. I will manage.”

He pinched a bigger part of the bread and tore it off, then placed it in his mouth. There was nothing wrong with it, per se, but the sweetness of the sugared cream cheese made him wince nonetheless. It was exactly the type of thing Muria would never have let him eat in his childhood. Thinking about her instantly led him down a dark path, and he set the half-eaten roll down, shaken. She should not intrude on his nice morning with Rin. Her control was limited to the Palace. And yet, he still found himself unable to finish the roll.

“That one was not to my liking,” he said weakly. “I will try another.”

He actually did pick up a different roll, this time one of the egg and tomato variety. He bit into it hesitantly. It was savory but not too greasy or rich; he could finish it without guilt.

"I know." Rin said softly. When Arquis picked up a second, they leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to the nobleman's cheek. "Thank you for making an effort, Arquis." He wanted to encourage regular eating habits; he had struggled with it a bit, both during and after his time with Lysander. Their time on the road traveling had really been what cured them of it, since they had not always known where their next meal would be coming from.