The Strangers in the Palace (Closed)(Fantasy)

“They do look quite pretty,” Arquis confessed, lifting his knuckles and lightly massaging the bruise he’d kissed. His smile blossomed, though it was still shy. “I suppose I am becoming rather fond of them.”

The cuddling was lovely. Rin had moved him so that his chin rested on their shoulder, and though he missed the feel of his pulse, he was pleased by the comfort and ease of the pose. The bigger concern that it brought was that his legs were awkwardly bracketing theirs, which meant Rin’s knees were poking slightly into his thighs. He didn’t have a solution for that, however, besides touching and moving their legs, and he wasn’t sure they’d want him to do that. It was fine; he was still very cozy, and it was warm.

He smiled a little bit, nodding. "Yes, they're quite nice. Little bit possessive, maybe, but I think that's okay." they laughed quietly, holding Arquis close and quite comfortable with this position. They liked being able to just hold and cuddle his partner, liked being snuggled up with him like this.

Arquis frowned. He wondered if they could feel his heart rate spike. Something about what he’d said hadn’t felt right, and it took a long beat for him to figure out what exactly it was.

“Possessive? I am not in possession of you. Does it sound as if I think that?” He pulled away, brow creasing with worry. Even if Rin didn’t think that Arquis thought that way, he just had to make sure. “You are my partner, Rin. I adore you, but you are not mine. I should and do not have power or control over you—you are not a belonging for me to use, love.”

Rin blinked at him. "I meant a good possessive, darling." they replied. "Not– not like that." he thought for a moment. "I didn't mean it in that way. Only in a more…I suppose like a protective sort of thing? Or a mark of…is belonging the right word?" his eyebrows creased for a moment as they tried to figure out how to explain what they meant.

Though Arquis didn’t quite know what they meant, the fact that it was a positive associated calmed him. After pecking him on the chin, he nuzzled into the crook of their neck, nudging their arms around himself once more.

“Ah. I am not entirely sure what you are saying, but I find solace in the knowledge that I am not restrictive. That is the last thing I would want to be.” He closed his eyes and hummed softly. “This is unrelated, but you smell very nice, love.”

He was beginning to get sleepy again, which was demolishing his verbal filter. If his body would cooperate, then he could’ve fallen asleep right then and there. But it still refused. He wondered if it was due to a change in position. Once more, his painfully long legs were around Rin’s, though this time his knees were at a slight angle. He adjusted, then readjusted, determined not to ask his partner to move.

"Belonging, maybe." Rin decided with a faint nod, holding onto Arquis gently. He smiled at the compliment, nuzzling the top of Arquis's head. "Mm. Thank you. It's probably the soap from earlier." he smiled a little, their own eyes drifting shut. They noticed how often Arquis was adjusting, and shifted their own body as well.

“Oh, yes, that is likely the source. Though you often have a rather nice aroma, which I realize is a very peculiar thing to say. I am now going to be quiet.”

When they nuzzled into his hair, he let out a sound he wasn’t even aware he could make. It was a gentle sigh combined with something dangerously close to a whimper. His first instinct after it was to dive under the blankets, but he was simply to wrapped up to do any such thing.

“Please pretend that did not occur,” he begged, certain that he could feel how hot his face was on their neck.

Rin smirked very faintly at the sound Arquis made. "Oh, that's interesting." he commented, laughing for a moment and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I'm definitely going to do that to you some more, if that's the response you're going to give me every time."

“I did not mean to!” Arquis protested, moving away ever so slightly so that Rin could see the serious look on his face. After approximately three seconds, it devolved into a small smile, and he good-naturedly nudged their leg with his knee.

“You surprised me, that is all. Truly. There is nothing about this,” he patted his hair for emphasis after he’d kissed it, thoroughly messing it up, “that would normally garner such a reaction.”

Rin laughed a little bit, giving Arquis a smile in return. "Are you sure? Because it was a very nice noise and I'd like to make you make it more often." they replied, kissing Arquis's forehead softly. They liked giving him kisses, and it seemed that he enjoyed receiving them, so why not? It made them both happy.

“Ah. Yes. That- yes.” Suddenly, Arquis had never had a coherent thought in his life. His head was empty. There was nothing in it except for the thought that he would very much like for Rin to keep doing what he was doing. How had Arquis gone so many years of his life without having anyone hold him like this? Sure, he’d hugged Marsiquia and the occasional tutor or overexcited guest, but this was different. Far, far different.

“If,” he mumbled, not aware of where the sentence was going, “you really want to hear it again, then…”

He rolled over without warning, pulling them with him, until Rin was over him and Arquis was flat against the bed. His right hand went to his own collar and undid the first two buttons, allowing him access. If, of course, they wanted it. He wasn’t gonna force him to do anything.

Rin easily moved with him, settling above him and looking down at him with another smile. His gaze flicked to the unbuttoned collar of Arquis's shirt, and he gently traced along Arquis's throat with one finger. "May I?" he asked. Sure, Arquis had unbuttoned it, but he still wanted verbal consent and permission before they did anything more. They wanted to, but Arquis's comfort came first. They didn't want to overstep boundaries, even by mistake.

Arquis’s breath stuttered when they touched a finger to his throat. Even the lightest of touches was a lot to process. He smiled meekly up at them after a few deep breaths in and out. For a whole five seconds, he forgot that he’d even asked something; he just looked at them with fondness.

And then it hit him. “Of course. Whatever you wish.” He cleared his throat, then burst into a satisfied smirk. That air of challenge had taken over him again. “What was it that you called it earlier? Unraveling, was it not? Unravel me, if you would like, my dear.”

Rin hummed low in his throat, bending to press his mouth to Arquis's jaw, mouthing at the skin there for a moment. "Oh, darling, are you giving me a challenge?" They asked, nipping lightly and then moving lower, to Arquis's neck now. "Is that what this is?"

Unsurprisingly, it turned out that Arquis was almost all talk. As soon as they got to his neck, he made a soft, strangled sound and hooked an arm around his back. His fingers slipped down from their shoulder blades to just above one of his hips, giving that spot a loving, gentle squeeze.

“Perhaps I was,” he said in a very non-casual tone, eyelids fluttering and then shutting. With his free hand, he cupped one of his own cheeks, marveling at the warmth. It felt almost, but not quite, as if he had a fever. His eyes were nearly sparkling with happiness when he opened them. “It seems you have already taken me up on the challenge.”

Rin gave him a grin before returning to his work, scattering kisses and nips across Arquis's throat, nuzzling the hollow of it gently and pausing there, just breathing. "You smell good too, darling." they murmured, lips brushing against the sensitive skin there.

Arquis made the sound they’d been hoping for as soon as his Rin’s lips first grazed his throat. He continued to let out tiny gasps as he made his way to that specific spot. Each gasp was punctuated with a gentle squeeze of their side; it an automatic response. He couldn’t control either action.

“Rin,” he basically pleaded once he stopped. Their every breath was driving him wild. He slid that hand from their hip into his hair and gave it a light tug, guiding his lips to press fully against his neck. He was glad his partner wasn’t looking at him at that moment. He felt like an absolute mess.

Rin smirked just a little bit, pressing a long, lignering kiss to the spot that their lips landed on. He pulled back after a moment. "Is it alright if I, ah, leave some marks behind?" he asked, fingertips grazing lightly along the column of Arquis's throat. "Or would you prefer that I did not?"

Arquis hesitated. Would it be rude if he declined? He wanted him to do whatever would make them happy, but he was struggling with the concept. Love bites were nothing like his scars, he knew, and yet his irrational mind was screaming that they would last forever. That he would still bear the marks for years to come; that they would earn him a punishment.

“You may if that is what you desire,” he responded, but it came out an anxious whisper. His face flamed up for a different reason. Lying to them was becoming a problematic habit, and he wanted to kick it to the curb. Too much secrecy in any relationship would only doom it.

That was why, a moment later, he added, “But I would rather you did not.”

Rin nodded when Arquis amended his statement. "I understand, darling. I won't leave any marks, then." He said in a soft tone, bending down again to scatter more kisses over Arquis's skin. He occasionally nipped very lightly, but never hard enough to leave any marks behind. Never hard enough to hurt, either. He took a breath, blowing lightly against Arquis's neck and knowing that it would tickle and feel quite odd.

Arquis felt amazing. Every kiss was wonderful and torturous, and the gaps between them, though minuscule, felt like eternities. When they did the breath thing, his back actually arched.

After a few seconds passed, he gently shifted Rin off of himself. He gave them an adoring smile so they’d know he did nothing wrong. “My apologies, love, it is just… well, you are already doing too good of a job, I fear. I do not want to, um, make a scene.”

That was all he would—and could, without dying of embarrassment—say about the subject on his own. He wasn’t quite as straightforward as Rin was when discussing the matter, but he hoped he’d gotten his point across nonetheless. He also kind of hoped he hadn’t and that they didn’t understand at all because it was rather humiliating.

At first, Rin didn't quite understand, though he made no move to get back on top of Arquis. Then he did, and a smile curved over his lips. Not a cruel one, just one of understanding and a little bit of mirth. "I see." His eyes flickered over Arquis for a moment, then back up to his face. "I don't know if I should apologize or not." He laughed a little bit, kissing Arquis's cheek softly.

When Rin’s eyes roamed over him, Arquis immediately hid his face in his pillow. Mortifying. The whole thing was absolutely mortifying. He was prepared to stay there forever, even after the rather sweet cheek kiss, until he comprehended what his partner had said.

The pillow was removed. “Do not apologize, my dear. You have not caused me any trouble. Well. You have caused me, um, some trouble.” Admitting that aloud made him want to perish right then and there. “But that is an error on my behalf. Not yours. You were doing wonderfully.”

He laughed softly. "Well, causing some trouble is the entire point of what I was doing, my darling, so I cannot say that I am surprised about causing you some trouble." they stuck their tongue out again, laughing and smiling mischeviously at Arquis.

Their laughter seemed to leech some of the tension from Arquis’s jaw and shoulders. He burst into a rare, fully happy grin and let out a few soft laughs of his own. They weren’t the polite kind he had been taught growing up, not were they the quiet, pleased kind that happened when he was mildly amused. These were an entirely different breed of laughter, all bright and uneven.

“You are adorable. So adorable that I can almost forgive your very cruel intentions, but not quite, my love.” He cupped Rin’s cheek and kissed him square on the lips. Breaking the kiss off just a few beats later felt treasonous, but he had to for his own sake.

Rin laughed into the kiss, smiling when Arquis pulled away, even though he didn't like that the kiss had been broken. "Ah, darling, I never said my intentions were to cause you trouble, only that I knew it might." he replied, pouting just a little bit as he looked at Arquis. "This is quite unfair of you."

“I am not sure what you mean. I have never acted unfairly in my life,” Arquis responded breezily. The more he looked at them, the more aware he became of his lack of a shirt. He slung his forearm over his eyes to keep himself from taking more peeks, but that brilliant grin was still on display.

It took him a little while to remember that his own shirt was not quite in a neat state. With the hand that wasn’t serving as a makeshift blindfold, he tried to slip the buttons back into their proper places. The fabric of his gloves made the task difficult, but he eventually succeeded.

Rin snickered quietly, shaking their head. "You're a liar, darling, because you are acting unfair right now! You are accusing me of cruelty when I had no such intentions, and you are taking my words out of context and out of proportion." they kissed Arquis's cheek again, a smile tugging at their mouth. They very much enjoyed this, snuggling with Arquis and holding onto him.

“Mm. Yes. I am now going to say something back that is witty and very intelligent, and you will be astounded by my powers of deduction. Or analysis. Debate? Rhetoric? One of those.”

Arquis yawned before he could think of anything clever to say, which just made him laugh. He shifted under the covers until he was up to his chin, rolled over, and set his head on Rin’s chest. His favorite spot—ear right over their heart—was beginning to feel like home.

“I wonder if I could make your pulse change speed,” he wondered out loud. Then, sleepily, he mumbled, “You are both very handsome and very pretty. You are soft and sweet. You have excellent hair and a lovely neck that I rather enjoyed marking up. It is a shame that I did not leave a few more.”

Rin hummed, holding onto Arquis gently. "Mm, I'm sure you could." he replied, blinking at the compliments. "Mm, thank you, my talented darling. You're more than welcome to leave a few more marks behind, if you so desire." they smiled softly, kissing the top of Arquis's head.