The Strangers in the Palace (Closed)(Fantasy)

“I understand. It is alright, love. You are alright now,” Arquis murmured.

He placed a hand on Rin’s back, this time much higher than before. He didn’t want him to think that he was trying to take advantage of them. Not ever, but especially not after such an emotional confession. As tenderly as possible, he rubbed a circle into their wet skin with the heel of his palm. It was a much gentler massage than the one he’d done earlier on their hands, though he hoped it felt just as nice.

“Let me know if that is too much.” He paused, then dropped a kiss on their head. “Or if there is anything else you need. You have done so much to care for me. I would like to return the favor.”

Rin stayed pressed close. "It's not. Too much, I mean. I'm alright." they stayed curled close to Arquis, silently seeking comfort in his touch. "Thank you, Arquis." he looked up at the nobleman for a moment, giving him a faint little smile.

“Of course. Anything for you, love.” He punctuated his words with another kiss, this time directly in between their brows. Then, he brought his other hand to his face and smoothed the wet hair out of their eyes. He gave him a third kiss—unable to resist—on their cheek.

After a while of embracing, he unfortunately had to separate the two of them. The water could only be warm for so long, and areas of the tub were already beginning to feel a bit cold. He smiled at them before turning to pick up another bottle of soap. This one, which was for his face, supposedly smelled like cinnamon and chocolate. Upon closer examination, it appeared that a lot of the soaps there were food based. He wondered what their purpose was. Perhaps to make people more enticing or edible to their partners. Or maybe it was a new trend. Did people nowadays enjoy smelling like hot cocoa? He had no clue.

He put some of the soap in his palm and then began to work it into his damp skin. After he finished with his face, he rubbed some into his neck and collarbones for good measure. Then, he went about gathering some of the bubble soap to lather onto his legs. The sensation was lovely, especially after all of the walking and sitting they’d been doing. He groaned under his breath as he massaged his sore calves.

“Perhaps we could go to the spa tomorrow,” he said absentmindedly, distracted by his task.

Rin let him go, and got to work on lathering himself off as well. "Perhaps we could." they agreed. "It sounds like it would be quite enjoyable for the both of us." they gave him a soft, faint little smile, using a soft bar of soap to scrub off their body. THey also grabbed some shampoo to lather their hair.

“And, of course, there would be other benefits. You are quite attractive in a robe.” His eyes flickered back to them as he spoke. He’d meant what he’d said as a joke—partially, as he did think they looked good in one—but wasn’t sure how they’d take it. Had he made it awkward? Was it too soon for jokes? All he’d wanted to do was make them laugh, but he knew he wasn’t always the best with words and timing.

He finished with his legs and paused. If it were any other bath, he’d have already washed his chest. But it wasn’t. He anxiously peeled the sopping shirt away from his body and quickly scrubbed at the skin underneath.

They laughed a little bit, giving Arquis a sideways grin. "I suppose there is that too." They agreed, lathering their hair and pouring water over it to wash the soap out. Once he had finished with his hair, he got to work to scrub off his body; he did not want to smell, and it was nice, too, to get all the grime from travel off of his skin. "Do they have a laundry service?" He was sure that they did. Most hotels this size and quality did, and they had dirty clothes that they needed washed.

Arquis suddenly became very aware of what they were both doing. His hand froze in its place on his chest, and he flushed, struggling to keep his eyes on their face. He hoped the redness looked natural, as if it was from the steam rather than, well, anything else.

“They likely have some sort of system for laundry,” he mumbled. “I cannot imagine such an establishment going without one. Especially not with the amount of people that come here specifically for…”

That was a dangerous move, letting his mind wander there. He bit his bottom lip, forced his thoughts back on track, and gave them a weak smile.

”If not, I am sure we can wash them ourselves,” he finished.

Rin watched him as Arquis talked, nodding slightly. "Makes sense." He said, still working on scrubbing himself off, leaving soap trails along their body. "I'll talk to staff about it, then." They gave him a quick smile again, doing his best not to get distracted by Arquis. He did not want to make this awkward. Or at least, not more so. "Thank you."

“Of course, but there is no need to seek anyone out. The cleaning service will come by in the morning, so we can ask then. They might even offer to, ah…” Arquis trailed off again. It was so hard not to get distracted when they looked like that. Hands moving against damp skin, wet hair curled against their neck. He thought back to their reaction when he bit them in the carriage. Barely perceptible, but still there. And they had gone for his neck earlier. He wished he hadn’t pulled away.

He swore in his head and directed his attention to the tap, which he pretended to mess with. “Forgive me, I seem to have forgotten what I was saying. Something about laundry?”

He hummed a little when Arquis questioned them. "Yes, laundry. But it's not important. We'll figure it out later." They got the cup again, dumping water over himself to wash off the soap he had lathered over his body. He didn't seem to be thinking of the way their movements might affect Arquis, mainly focused on cleaning themself off, not on Arquis's reactions. His eyes were only half open, though that was mainly to protect against the soap bubbles.

It was incredibly lucky, Arquis thought, feeling a little dizzy, that he’d had so many years of learning restraint. If he were anyone else, he would’ve already closed the gap between the two of them. But instead he stayed put at the other side of the bathtub, breathing unevenly, trying not to stare like a deviant. It wasn’t their fault that he was in such a mood, after all. He wouldn’t pressure them to do anything; he truly hadn’t asked him to join for impure reasons.

He would not look at them. Would not watch the way the water poured over him. Would not look at their half-lidded eyes. He squeezed his eyelids shut and tried to focus on wrapping up the bath.

He finished washing himself off after just another few moments, and set down the soap and sighing faintly. "I'm done." They commented, shifting a little bit and leaning back against the edge of the tub. Their eyes moved to Arquis, watching the nobleman quietly, tracing over his features and down the wet shirt, before slowly moving back up. Their gaze was soft and gentle, and they offered up a small smile.

Arquis nodded, letting his eyes drift open. He hadn’t seen the way their gaze had traveled over his body. What he did see was that gentle smile, and he offered him one back. It was nice to see that they were feeling a bit better.

After he rinsed the remaining soap from his chest, he leaned forward to pull the plug. The water and suds rushed in a swirl down the drain. Once the tub was mostly empty, he heaved himself onto its edge and looked down at Rin. His blush returned. There were no bubbles left to cover anything.

“Bed?” he asked, realized how that might sound, and frantically shook his head. “That is not- I meant- I was not asking if you wanted-”

He laughed at Arquis's fumbling, standing up and wrapping a towel around his waist as he stepped out of the tub. "It's fine, Arquis. Let me dry off, and we can go do…whatever it is you wanted." His smile turned a little teasing now, and after a moment they broke their gaze from Arquis's in order to dry off, scrubbing the towel over their skin, then moving up to their head to dry their hair as well.

Arquis made a stammering sound in protest but wasn’t able to come up with anything intelligible. Flustered, he turned away. He wasn’t sure how much more of seeing them shirtless he could take. It definitely wasn’t good for the heart.

He wrung out his own soaked shirt into the tub and then stood. His wet clothes stuck to him, revealing more than he cared to show, and he quickly joined them in grabbing a towel for his waist. With another towel, he dried off his arms, face, hair, and eventually his chest, which required him to take off his shirt. He exchanged it for a robe as fast as possible.

“There we go,” he announced, stretching. He let out a sigh of pleasure; it had never felt so nice to be clean. “Nearly done. I will have to change into nightclothes eventually, but, ah, I should probably do that in private.”

Rin wrapped himself in his own robe, then changed out of the soaking wet boxers into a dry pair, the exact act of it hidden by the robe tied about them. He nodded a little bit at Arquis's words. "Mm, of course. Do you want to change right now? I can leave the room, or whatever you need." He cocked his head faintly, grabbing a comb and getting to work on the tangles in their hair. Sure, his hair was short enough that he did not technically need to comb it, but he liked to do so. It looked better combed and untangled.

Arquis shook his head. “In a moment, but as for right now…”

He blinked at the way they were combing through their hair, captivated by the repetitive motion. Nervously, he stepped forward and lightly tapped him on the shoulder to alert them of his presence. He then carefully wrapped his arms around his midsection from behind and rested his head on their shoulder.

“Is this alright?” he mumbled against their neck. They smelled clean and exactly like the jasmine bubble bath. “I can stop, if you would like.”

They inhaled softly as Arquis's arms wrapped around him, but then relaxed back against him, leaning the side of his head on Arquis's. "This is perfect." he said softly. "I…as I said earlier, I enjoy the…the physical touches. Thank you." they closed their eyes, a soft, content sigh escaping his lips.

“I believe I enjoy them as well,” Arquis whispered. Part of him was thrilled to admit it. The other part worried that he was getting too attached, but, well, he didn’t care about that part. At least not at that moment. It was a problem for another day, when he didn’t feel quite so good.

He tipped their head slightly before reaching to take away the comb. At the same time, he knitted their fingers together and pressed a messy kiss just below his ear. He nuzzled into his shoulder again.

“I have been wanting to do this all night.” He kissed them again, this time at the crook of their neck. “You are beautiful, love.”

Rin easily surrendered the comb to Arquis, still leaning back against him. "Thank you." he said again. "And you are gorgeous." their eyes remained shut as they stayed pressed close. "You have been…very kind to me, as well, which I appreciate more than you know, I believe."

“Mm,” Arquis hummed, gently pressing him closer. He brushed his thumb over their wrist until he found their pulse. “It is no great feat. You deserve so much kindness and praise, love, and I am very grateful that I can give it.”

Suddenly, he had an idea. He began to kiss a trail up their neck, pausing between each one to give them a compliment.

“You are charming.” He kissed their collarbone. “And very attractive.” Their throat. “And thoughtful.” The underside of his jaw. “And incredibly strong.” Their cheek. “And talented.” He stopped at their mouth, waiting to see their reaction.

Rin took in a breath as Arquis's mouth worked its way up his throat, and he opened his eyes in order to press his mouth to Arquis's. "Darling, I…" they seemed faintly overwhelmed by this, shaking their head and taking a deep breath. "I am not sure that I, precisely, am able to…to…" he trailed off, turning a little bit and leaning his head on Arquis's shoulder.

Arquis stopped instantly, uncertain of what to do. He kept his arms around them for the moment but stepped back slightly, letting them know that he would move away completely if he needed it.

“Able to do what, love? Was that too much?” he asked. They likely couldn’t see his face with theirs against his shoulder, but his expression was a picture of concern: eyebrows furrowed, lips flattened into an anxious line. The last thing he’d wanted to do was upset them, if that was what his reaction had meant.

"It's not…I do not deserve your compliments." Rin said quietly. "I really do not, Arquis. You have…you have no idea." he had lied to Arquis, had hidden the truth, had glossed over things that mattered. Arquis thought he was just a bard, just a Kevran bard from some little town in Kevra but that was not the truth, and Rin hated that Arquis thought he deserved all these compliments and all of this care when Rin had told him so many lies.

Arquis moved closer again. This time, his embrace was more of a hug—a way to let them know that he was there for them. Their words were too close to his own from earlier for comfort, and he found himself despising the way they sounded.

“Of course you deserve them,” he replied, voice soft from concern. Judging by what he’d said, this was about some secret they were keeping. Arquis did not care about the secret. It would’ve been nice to know, sure, but to say that it was more important than their happiness would’ve made him both a hypocrite and an awful partner.

“You deserve them and so much more. And there is almost nothing, love, you could say about you or your past that would make that untrue. I promise.”

He swallowed faintly, shaking his head a little bit. "I…I'm sorry." they said in a quiet tone, closing their eyes. "I did not mean…that is…" he sighed, trailing off and leaning into Arquis quietly. He didn't know what else to say now.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I am not sure exactly what is troubling you, love. But I can say for certain that you deserve to be treated with warmth,” he rubbed their shoulder, “and respect,” caressed his cheek, “and devotion. The man that made you think otherwise—the brute that took advantage of you—is the lowest type of scum in existence.”

He refrained from kissing them again in case it would be overwhelming. If they wanted one, then they could initiate it, but he wasn’t going to push them.

They closed their eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm…" they trailed off again, pressing closer to Arquis. "Sorry." he finally said. "I…I'm sorry that I was…I don't know. That I'm not, ah…ready for this? I don't know." he shook his head, frowning a little bit.

Arquis had been smiling gently, but their words made his smile waver. He pushed his hand through their hair very slowly, messing up the progress they’d made with the comb.

“Not ready for what?” he asked. All of him feared the answer, but he needed to know what he’d meant. “A relationship?” He swallowed. “This… this relationship? If that is the case, then I understand, and I will let you go, but… is that what you meant?”

"No! No, the…I…it is not that." He said softly, biting his lip for a moment. "I don't know. I'm just not quite in a good headspace at the moment, I think. I've been…I guess I've been thinking too much." A faint laugh broke from his lips, and they stayed close to Arquis. "Just…I'm not making much sense. I'm sorry."