(well they’ve got a lot of time at the inn and he’s probably pretty tired so maybe not this night but another night?? cause I kinda wanna have Arquis sneak out of the room to get him breakfast in bed but he wouldn’t do that if they were having a nightmare if that makes sense?)
(yeah that works!)
[Day Seven]
It was around eight in the morning when Arquis finally decided that it would be alright to leave Rin’s side. By some force of luck, they had slept through the night, and it didn’t seem as if they’d be having a nightmare anytime soon. Arquis snuck out of their bed, affectionately adjusted the blankets around him, and crept over to the desk. He took a room key, then wrote out a message for them in case he awoke that told them where he’d gone. He didn’t want them to think that he’d abandoned them after the night they’d had.
The Cecilia Rouge was mostly quiet at that time of day. He put one of the masks from the welcome basket on anyways, feeling less comfortable on his own, and tried to retrace his steps to the front desk. He passed a room whose inhabitants were making a lot of interesting sounds. That made him walk even faster, his cheeks burning. Why in the world had his father brought him there as a child?
Lovey was not at the front. In her place was a slightly older woman with extremely dark, curly hair. She was wearing lipstick the color of red wine, a mask that was covered in sparkly, snow-like glitter, and a slip of a dress with a white feather boa. When he approached, she waved happily.
“Hello! My name is Divinity. What can I do for you, doll?”
“Could I ask you to point me in the direction of the dining hall?”
“Of course! It’ll be down that hall and to the left.”
“My thanks,” he replied, heading that way.
There were quite a few people already in the dining hall. Arquis didn’t feel like socializing, so he took one of the prepackaged baskets of food and two thermoses of coffee to bring to the room. A man in black leather teasingly whistled at him; Arquis didn’t look his way.
Once back in the room, Arquis set the food and drinks on the desk. He settled into bed next to Rin. The whole room smelled of that soap they’d used the night before. He smiled and gave them a gentle nudge.
“Good morning, my dear.”
Rin was asleep the whole time Arquis was gone, curled on the bed with the blankets piled around them. He had stayed curled up with Arquis all night, quite happy to do so,l. In fact, he had not seemed happy to let go of him earlier, though they had of course eventually relinquished their hold on him. When they were nudged, his eyes blinked open, looking up at Arquis hazily. "Morning." He whispered, voice low and rough from sleeping. He shifted in the bed, pushing himself up into a sitting position, and rubbed his eyes. They still felt a little out of sorts, but much, much better than they had last night.
Arquis had to hold back a dreamy sigh. Their morning voice was always a treat. He stood and brought over the food, carefully balancing the coffees in one hand.
“I did not know if you would be hungry, but I thought it was possible. We have not had much to eat recently.”
He lifted the lid of the basket and was a bit surprised at how much food was inside. There were mini apple pancakes, a container holding fluffy scrambled eggs, and thick wedges of buttered toast, all of which were surrounded by pieces of fruit. He sat down and passed him his coffee first, then set the basket on their legs.
“How are you feeling?” he asked softly. “You seem to have slept alright.”
Arquis omitted the part about staying up all night to watch over them. He wouldn’t lie if asked, but he was worried it’d take the attention away from them. And at that moment, he just wanted to make sure they were doing well.
Rin took a deep breath. "Much better. Thank you." He said softly, looking a re basket. "And thank you for breakfast, too." He scooted over, patting the bed with one of their hands. "Now come here. Please. I would like to sit with you again, if that is alright with you?" He gave Arquis a soft smile, their voice still husky and low. They still looked a little bit drowsy, eyes only half open and smile faintly crooked and tired.
Arquis went pink in the face but nodded vigorously. He shifted closer and tugged their blanket over his legs as well, then gave him a once over. The once over quickly turned into a twice over. He couldn’t help it. Something about the way he looked made him all warm inside. He had never fancied someone quite so much.
As much as he wanted to, however, he knew he shouldn’t stare at them for too long. There was coffee to drink. He popped the lid from his thermos and took a swig. Surprisingly, it had a rich, sweet taste. He licked some of the foam off his lip and drank a bit more, then finally set it aside.
“We do not have to talk about it now, but… but eventually we should talk about what happened last night,” he said. He made sure to keep his posture relaxed and his words gentle. The last thing he wanted was for them to assume he was mad.
Rin took their own thermos, taking a small sip from it. At Arquis's words, their gaze flickered away. "I know." He said quietly. "I'm really sorry for just… falling apart on you like that, I…I don't know why that happened." They looked over at Arquis for a moment, then down at the basket of food. "I think I just…I got too stuck in my head and I couldn't get out again. And then things kept…reminding me and sending me back down again. And it's not your fault, none of it, I promise." He was a bit worried that Arquis would try to take responsibility for everything that had happened, and he really didn't want that to happen.
“Do you remember what I said yesterday?” Arquis asked gently. He very lightly brushed a strand of hair from their face and stroked his thumb over his cheek. “You do not have to apologize for feeling overwhelmed. What happened last night was not your fault. You have gone through a great deal of trauma, and it is completely reasonable to have lasting side effects from such troubling circumstances.”
He adjusted, crossing one leg over the other, and settled against one of the pillows on the bed. It was a similar position to the one he’d kept all night. He smiled at them and reached for his coffee again.
They nodded faintly. "I know, I know, but I am still sorry that it happened." they said softly, leaning into the touch to his cheek. "I…I just melted down, and I am sorry for that, especially as I was so…out of it, I guess. Emotional and unreachable." at least, he felt like they had been unreachable, like Arquis must have had a hard time calming them down.
“Rin,” Arquis murmured, hurting for them, “you could not have controlled it, nor should you have tried to. Bottling up or otherwise hiding your emotions would only have harmed you more in the future.”
He finished the rest of his coffee. That last bit had burned as it had gone down. He hadn’t exactly waited for it to cool, but, well, at least he had caffeine in his system.
“I was certainly worried about you, love, but that does not mean you were a burden. And you still are not now. I am here for you through the good and the bad.”
He looked over at Rin, studying them quietly. "I know that, I do, I just…I am still sorry that I was like that." he frowned faintly. "I think it was just…I got stuck in my memories and I got overwhelmed, like I already said, and…and I know that it is not my fault, but I still feel guilty for burdening you with having to deal with me."
Arquis shook his head. “I promise that I did not mind caring for you, my dear. I would never consider it a burden or something to merely deal with. It is an honor to even be here with you; I am incredibly grateful for it.”
While he wanted to continue the conversation—to hammer it into their mind that he thoroughly enjoyed his presence, no matter their mood—the food was going to get cold. He tapped the edge of the basket with a knuckle to direct their attention towards it.
“Perhaps we could talk more about it later, but I do think it might help for you to eat a bit. Nerves tend to worsen when one is deprived of energy.”
Rin hesitated for a moment, then nodded, pulling out some food for themself to eat. "Alright." he said, shifting to sit cross-legged and take a small sip of his coffee. "Thank you, Arquis." he offered up a tiny, faint little smile to the nobleman, then went back to eating his food.
Arquis smiled, leaned forward, and took a single piece of peeled fruit from the basket. The taste of it was slightly sour. He wasn’t sure what it was, but the combination of it and the acidic coffee made the back of his throat burn. He pulled a face and stood.
“I am going to get dressed. Be back in a moment, love,” he said. The latch on one of his suitcases clicked as it he opened it to retrieve his clothes. Today would be a simple suit with a long coat. Nothing too expensive, lest he draw too many interested glances.
He closed the bathroom door behind him, covered the mirror with a towel, and began to change. Before combing through his unruly hair, he dabbed on a bit of lavender cologne. It took him a moment to do his tie with his gloved hands, but he somehow managed. He slipped the ring around his neck, exited the bathroom, and rejoined Rin on the bed.
(happy new year!)
Rin nodded, letting him go and getting out some more food taking bites from it as he waited for Arquis to return. When he did, they greeted him with a smile. "Welcome back." he said, smiling a little bit as they looked over at Arquis. "You look good."
(same to you!!)
Arquis blushed and made a stammering sort of sound. Not many people had told him that before. It wasn’t as if he was insulted regularly, but a majority of the comments he received about his physical appearance were suggestions of what to fix. Lose weight or risk being unattractive; wear only the finest suits or be perceived as apathetic; keep his skin clean or lose potential relationships. Sure, there were people who would occasionally compliment him, but they were often compliments of a very specific nature. He was attractive because he was suffering, or he was hot because he was rich. Sometimes, the compliments would be more perverse and objectifying, as if he were a pretty piece of jewelry rather than a breathing human being.
“Thank you,” he finally managed, tugging awkwardly at his tie. “How is the food?”
He smiled a little bit at Arquis's awkwardness. "It's good. Thank you for bringing it, Arquis, that was kind of you." they kissed his cheek softly, leaning his cheek on Arquis's shoulder for just a moment before he pulled away again in order to keep eating. They, of course, had no clue how this one soft compliment had affected their lover.
The kiss made him redden further. Arquis wasn’t sure why he was so easy to fluster that morning, but goodness his was face hot. He fidgeted with the band of one of his gloves for a second, trying to think of something to say.
“You- you also look good,” he blurted. Instantly, he buried his face in his forearm. What type of sentence was that? Was he a twelve-year-old trying to compliment his crush? He got up off the bed and pretended to suddenly be very interested in the carpet beneath his feet.
Rin laughed a bit at Arquis's further awkward fumbling. "Come back, love, you've got nothing to be embarrassed about." He said, reaching out for Arquis. "Thank you for the compliment, darling charmer." He was still lightly teasing, though he really did mean it. Arquis had nothing to be embarrassed about.
“I just- you make me-” Arquis stopped and groaned. “I have never had this issue before. Sometimes I can speak perfectly well around you, but other times my sentences are jumbled, and- and I become basically incoherent. My grammar and social tutors would be appalled.”
He took Rin’s outstretched hand and sat on the bed once more. “It does not help,” he admitted, “when you- ah, when you call me that. Darling. I am very fond of the term.”
Rin listened quietly, lacing their fingers with Arquis's. "I see. Well, you do not need to worry. I shall not judge you for fumbling a little." He smiled at Arquis. "And, what I'm hearing is that I should call you darling more, since you like it so much." His smile turned teasing again, and he kissed Arquis's cheek again.
“Oh, yes, please do,” Arquis basically purred, his words a soft sigh.
When they went to peck him on the cheek, he turned slightly so that their mouths met. He broke the kiss off after a second. His cheeks were pink, and he licked his lips. They tasted of the sweet coffee, cinnamon and apple from the pancakes, and fruit. He laughed quietly and subconsciously traced his thumb over his bottom lip.
“Goodness. Was that alright?”
Rin smiled. "That was fine." he said, not minding at all that Arquis had turned it into a real kiss. "Now, eat some breakfast." they nudged the basket softly, looking at Arquis. "Please. I know you're tired, but you need to eat something."
“I already did,” Arquis lied smoothly, taking their entwined hands and kissing along his knuckles. He was a bit disheartened to find that the lie had come so easily. While he’d had years to hone his lying skills, he didn’t actually like doing it, and he especially didn’t want to lie to Rin. But he knew that if he tried eating at that moment that he would feel incredibly nauseous. Mornings and coffee tended to do that to him.
“And I am not that tired. Truly, love. Coffee does wonders on the mind.”