Rin studied him for a moment, but believed what Arquis had said. "Alright, if you say so." they replied, taking another bite from theirn food. "Thank you for bringing me food, though. It was nice of you." he gave Arquis another quick smile, then went back to eating.
“Of course, love. I really am glad to see that you are feeling better.”
He turned away from the food and studied his gloves. Gorgeous black satin stretched over his knuckles and was pinched with a bow at each coat sleeve.
“The dining hall was quite interesting.” He cocked his head, suddenly remembering something. “A man whistled at me. Do you think he recognized me? I was wearing a mask, but still, it is possible. Why else would he have tried to get my attention?”
Rin choked back a laugh. "Arquis, I doubt he recognized you." he replied, mouth quirking into a smile. "He whistled at you because he found you attractive. I bet if you went back and found him and propositioned him, he would sleep with you. That's…what this hotel is for, is it not?"
“Sleep with me? It is not nighttime, I hardly think he would- oh. Oh, you mean-” Arquis swallowed and looked aside, suddenly quite shy. He hadn’t even considered the possibility. “Yes. Right. I do not know if that was his, um, intention. I doubt that it could have been. I was still in nightclothes. I am sure I looked a mess, and, well, who would ask for such a thing over a meal?”
That reminded him of what he and Rin had joked about just the other morning. Breakfast and clothes on the floor. That, and the whole thing about appetite. He fidgeted with one of the fingers of his gloves to avoid looking at them.
“This place does seem to have a strange reputation,” he agreed, desperately trying to change the subject. “I heard some… interesting noises earlier. And the brochure said something about parties of some sort? I do not know.”
He started to snicker, which transitioned into full-on laughter as Arquis continued with that strange, shy desperation to change the topic. It took them a long moment to pull themself together enough to speak, and even as they spoke they were still laughing. "Darling, I really…those parties are not the parties you are thinking of." they took a deep breath, shoulders still shaking faintly with laughter, their eyes shining as he looked at Arquis. "Those are most likely orgies, love."
Arquis choked on air in surprise and flushed so brightly that even his ears went red. He hid his face in one of his sleeves. His reaction was partially from embarrassment, partially from their use of darling. For some reason, it really got to him.
“How did you say that so casually?” Arquis cringed. He was mortified. His voice had come out as an awkward, high-pitched squeak, completely unbefitting for someone of his noble upbringing. “I cannot even- cannot even think of it without-”
He wondered if it was possible to die of embarrassment. If so, he’d be kicking the bucket rather soon.
Rin was still laughing, shaking with it and about to fall over. "Darling–!" he broke off, shaking his head and trying to take deep breaths so he could speak. "Darling, Arquis!" he couldn't think of what to even say to Arquis, just laughing. It amused them so much, to see how embarrassed and flustered Arquis was about this topic.
“Do not laugh at me!” Arquis pleaded, though he was smiling as well. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand to hide his grin. The situation wasn’t all that funny to him, if he was being honest, but their happiness was contagious. He wished he could make them laugh like that all the time.
“It is not something that I know much about,” he admitted after a moment. “I have read novels and been lectured on the subject, but I have never… and I knew growing up that my father was, um, engaging in certain activities when we visited various locations. Which is unsettling to think of still. Do not misunderstand me, it is not as if I am prudish, but when it is so, ah, blatant… I am not used to that.”
Rin tried to calm down, though he was still laughing. "Ah…yes. Uhm. I'm not making fun of you, darling, I swear, it is only that I find it…amusing, how almost…innocent you are about all of this. That that man could want to sleep with you, and orgies…" he trailed off, another laugh leaving his mouth. They shook their head, snickering.
“Well, I never thought anybody would actually want that. Want me. People would occasionally make comments at gatherings and events, but it always sounded as if they were joking. I could not fathom anyone truly wanting to partake, not with me.”
The admission had tasted bitter as he’d spoken it. He cleared his throat and focused his gaze on a stray petal on the floor. His heart rate sped up slightly. Why did he have to say any of that? They’d been having a good time, and he’d gone along and made it serious.
“I tried to, um, change it up a bit in the first carriage. I tried to pretend that I knew what I was doing, even though I did not. Act as if you have been there before—that is something that people say, I believe.” He scratched awkwardly at his neck, looking a bit ashamed. “I am sorry that I do not have more experience in this field, my dear. I wish I could treat you a bit better.”
Rin sobered up as Arquis spoke, looking at him quietly. "Oh. Darling, did you think I was joking? Earlier?" he reached up, gently cupping Arquis's cheek in their hand. "I was not. I will never overstep your boundaries, but I was not joking when I made references to sex with you. And as for the rest of it…I cannot change your mind, nor can I speak as to what others think of you. And the carriage, Arquis, you do not need to have experience. Just because I do does not mean that you need to try and match me, or pretend anything for my sake."
“I do not know what I thought. It is hard to think around you sometimes,” Arquis confessed. Though he was smiling faintly, his eyes were sad. He rested his hand over theirs on his cheek, letting his gloved thumb run along their knuckles. The smile fell away. “I know you say that—and I know you mean it, of course—but I cannot help but feel that you could do better. I am trying my best to not think that way, but it does not always work.”
He closed his eyes and turned his head so that he was kissing their palm. Then, he let himself rest back against it, his brows slightly furrowed.
“I really like you, Rin.” It was said quietly, with his eyes still shut as if he couldn’t bear to observe their reaction. “I do not want to mess this up. Forgive me, please, when my insecurities override my sense. Forgive me if they prevent me from listening. I hear your words, but I do not always- cannot always truly hear them. But I am trying.”
Rin nodded faintly, listening to Arquis's quiet, uncertain words. "I understand, Arquis." he said in a soft voice. "But please believe me when I tell you that there is no one I would rather be with than you. We all have our insecurities, lovely, we all have faults and worries and issues. And it is okay if you cannot always listen; I will simply repeat myself until you can."
Arquis nodded very slowly and opened his eyes. They were damp; a few tiny teardrops clung to his eyelashes. But they were no longer as pained. That soft, haunting sadness had left, at least for the time being.
“You seem determined to make me cry, love,” he joked, wiping at his eyes. He leaned forward, moved the food basket aside, and gently embraced them. Exhaustion had rendered him almost boneless.
Just as he was about to actually respond, there came a knock on the door. His spine stiffened. He straightened up, then quickly undid his tie and the first few buttons of his shirt. He topped it off by running his hands through his hair and pinching his cheeks to bring forth a blush.
“Authenticity,” he said quickly, which wasn’t really much of an explanation at all. He swung his legs off the bed and walked to the door, feigning a sway.
Arquis didn’t know who he’d been expecting when he went to the door, but it wasn’t the man from the dining hall. He was tall and broad shouldered with ear length, curly blonde hair. When he smiled, it was confident and easy, like he’d never had a bad day in his life.
“Um… hello?”
“Room for one more?” the man asked casually, striding into the room. He walked strangely. It was like a cross between a slither and a strut. When he spotted Rin on the bed, he grinned. “Oh, hello there, sweetheart.”
Arquis gave Rin a confused look from behind the stranger’s back. He wasn’t sure what was going on.
“He’s awfully cute,” the stranger continued, this time glancing back at Arquis. “Rude of you to keep him to yourself.”
Rin frowned when the man pushed himself inside, kicking off the blankets and standing up. "What are you here for?" he asked, raiisng an eyebrow. "Do we know you?" they were slightly worried, but wondered if this was normal for this hotel; perhaps patrons were used to being able to just come in to the bedrooms and request threesomes? Either way, it was a strange maneuver, especially with the man's odd behavior. Rin would not call it predatory, but perhaps…just ignoring boundaries.
The man raised his hands as if approaching a wild animal and then dropped them with a laugh. He crossed the room to the desk, shoved the chair away, and hopped up onto it. The way he sat was equal parts relaxed and suggestive. It was as if the room was his and they were the visitors. His grin never wavered.
“Aw, no need to get riled up, sweetie. It’s adorable, really, but I’m not a threat. Not to you, at least.” His gaze flickered to Arquis. The grin grew. “Maybe to you. Haven’t decided yet.”
“What?” Arquis asked, baffled.
The man stood. In an instant, he was by Arquis’s side. He slung an arm around his shoulders, as if they’d known each other for years. When Arquis tried to pull away, his grip tightened. His other hand dipped to the undone buttons of the nobleman’s shirt and then slowly inched lower. It stopped above his stomach and strayed under his coat, staying far above his hips.
“Don’t move.” He glanced at Rin. “And don’t you try anything either, honey. This’ll only take a second.”
Arquis, panicked, reached out to his ability. It was always there, even though he didn’t want it. Lurking in the back of his mind, ready to be used. But it wasn’t there anymore. Somehow, the man had disarmed him. Where normally there was a prickly, breathless, staticky sort of feeling, there was instead a numbness. He assumed that the stranger had done the same to Rin.
After a moment, the man pushed away. He was no longer smiling. He swaggered over to the bed and flopped down onto his stomach. Arquis watched, extremely confused, as he pressed his face into the blankets.
At the man's words, Rin cocked his head and parted his lips, about to speak. Then the man was grabbing at Arquis and touching him and Rin was reaching for his abilities to stop this, but they couldn't. It just wasn't there. They were moving to pull him away when he moved away on his own. They went to Arquis, keeping an eye on the stranger as they wrapped a protective and slightly possessive arm around Arquis's shoulders, eyes still on the man now in their bed. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" they demanded.
The man rolled over onto his back and exhaled deeply. He smirked at Rin, but somehow it didn’t look condescending. Arrogant, definitely, but not cruel.
“Getting some beauty sleep. I don’t suppose I could convince you to join me?” he joked. With an infuriating amount of gracefulness, he propped himself up on his forearms and kicked one leg over the other. All of his movements were calculated and fluid. It was like he was dancing without music; he moved to some unknown rhythm.
Something clicked in Arquis’s mind. “Are you inebriated?” he asked flatly, though curiosity bled into his tone. This man was very odd.
“Believe it or not, no. Though I’m starting to wish I was. Might make this next part easier.” He jutted his chin at Arquis. “Arquis de Vey. First and only son of Muria and Aurisi de Vey, older brother to Quirisa and Marsiquia.”
Arquis felt faint. He leant into Rin for support. “How did you-”
“We’ll get to that in a second, dreamboat.” He cocked his head as he looked at Rin. His eyes traveled over them very, very slowly. “To be honest, sweetheart, I’ve got no clue who you are. I could make some guesses, though. Handsome as all get-out. Calloused fingers. Some sort of bard?”
“You guessed that by their fingers?”
He winked at Arquis. “I was right on the money, huh? You impressed? Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Instrument case on the floor gave it away. You play the harp. Harp’s too big to fit in that tiny thing. I’m guessing guitar? Lute? Something easy to travel with. Am I right, sweetie?”
"Rinlos Tamare." Rin said flatly. "I am indeed a bard." his gaze remained on the stranger. "Going to introduce yourself and explain what you're doing here, or should I get hotel security?" they really hoped hotel security would do something about this, anyways. Probably. Hopefully. He kept holding on to Arquis, and turned his head to murmur into his ear. "Please stop confirming everything he's saying; if he means to harm us, especially you, then now he definitely knows who you are, if he was not guessing earlier. If you do not confirm or deny, he will not be able to tell if you are lying, which could be vital later." message delivered, he turned his gaze back to the blond stranger.
The man rolled his eyes and grinned again. He didn’t interrupt Rin when they spoke privately to Arquis, but after they were finished, he pushed himself forward. He landed so that he was still propped up by his forearms, though this time he was on his stomach again.
“I’m gonna guess that you just told dreamboat not to tell me anything else. And judging by the shocked look on his face—don’t get all insecure about that, by the way, it’s adorable—I’d say I’m right again. I’m on fire today, aren't I?”
Arquis groaned and buried his face in Rin’s shoulder. Couldn’t give anything away with his expression if it wasn’t visible. “Can you please just tell us who you are?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting to that. You two are so impatient. Kinda hot when you’re all stern.” He wiggled his brows, but when Arquis didn’t play along, he stopped. “Fine. But I’m gonna make you work for it. I’ll give you a hint. You met someone I’m very close to yesterday.”
Yesterday? Arquis frowned. The people in the carriage? Surely not. But who else had they met the day prior? Carriage drivers?
And then he understood. Blonde curls. Flirtatious personality. Brilliant, easy smile.
“Lovey?”
“She’s my sister. My name’s Honey. Tried to throw you a hint earlier, hot stuff,” his eyes were back on Rin now, “but you didn’t catch on. It’s alright. Bards aren’t known for their big brains.”
Rin listened silently, eyes narrowed a little as he listened to what Honey was saying. "Alright, "Honey"." they said slowly. "What do you want from us, then?" sure, Honey worked here. But that did not mean that this was not a potentially dangerous situation. "Or is this simply a…"courtesy visit"?"
“Oh, I wish it was a courtesy call. Those are always so much fun.” Honey shrugged his shoulders playfully. “Could still be, if you were in the mood. I know I am. I mean, look at you.”
Arquis raised his head and stepped in front of Rin. There was a lot he was willing to put up with, but he wasn’t gonna let this man make Rin uncomfortable. “Get back on topic, please.”
“Ooh, that was good. I’ll play nice, but only if you do that again.” Arquis glared at him, and he shivered. “Cold as ice. Delicious. Anyways, yeah, no, this isn’t a courtesy call. I’m here to scratch a different itch.
“You see, dreamboat, I saw a certain someone come into the dining hall this morning. This someone ignored my advances. I thought it was a little rude, but hey, not everyone’s into guys in leather. Then I noticed something interesting.”
Honey held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. Arquis cocked a brow. The man sighed.
“Gloves, gorgeous. You’re wearing gloves. I didn’t think anything of it at first. We get a lot of people that’re into a lot of weird stuff. But then I got to thinking. Tall, thin glass of water with black hair, blue eyes, and gloves comes in late at night. Doesn’t seem interested in a handsome young man like myself, though he’s rumored to be into men. There are a lot of people that could be, but I had a hunch. You confirmed it when I said your name.”
“I thought this place was supposed to guard the sanctity of anonymity.”
”It is. Normally. But you see, I’d also heard some other rumors about you. Specifically that you’ve got your aunt’s taste for blood. And as it’s my duty to make sure everyone here is safe and having a very, very good time, I thought it best that I come check you out.”
So that was what all the touching had been for. Honey had been patting him down. He tried to assume an air of calmness. “Well, you did it. Can you please leave now?”
“Not quite, ‘cause now I’m curious as to why you’re really here.” He finally looked back to Rin, wearing a handsome smile. “Wanna clue me in?”
Rin seemed entirely unmoved by both Honey's insinuations and his smile. "No, actually, I have no wish to clue you in on this, as it is none of your business. Neither Arquis nor myself pose any danger to the fellow visitors of the inn. You have satisfied your deisre to know that the other guests are safe. You may leave now." they gestured to the door, calm and collected as their gaze remained fastened on Honey.
“Mm, I’m real sorry, sweetie.” There was something briefly and genuinely apologetic about his expression, but it was quickly replaced with that mask of flirtatiousness. “That isn’t gonna work for me. Just ‘cause you’re not an immediate threat doesn’t mean you aren’t planning something. You may not have dynamite on you, but that doesn’t mean there’ll never be an explosion, y’know what I mean?”
“We eloped,” Arquis answered. He was pleased to find that his voice was steady; it didn’t shake.
He lazily shook his head. “Nah.”
“We did. Look, I have the ring and everyth-”
“That’s your disguise. And it’s a damned good one, I’ve gotta admit.”
“Why are you so sure?”
Honey changed positions again. Like some sort of beast, he prowled to the edge of the bed, then shifted to let his legs dangle over the end. The black leather he was wearing flashed as he let one of his hands fall to one of his thighs.
“Easy. First of all, people only come here if they’re looking to have a really specific type of honeymoon. And your sheets are clean. No sweat, no nothing.”
“We did it in the bath.”
Honey snorted. “Cute, but that’s also a lie. I know that ‘cause you can’t say it without blushing. Which is also adorable. I wonder how far down that blush goes.” He grinned at Rin. “Shame you haven’t found out yet, huh? If you don’t, I might.”
Rin's gaze narrowed again. "You will not touch him without his full and enthusiastic consent, Honey, or I'll make you regret it." he replied, wrapping his arm protectively around Arquis. "Now would you just come out and say whatever it is you are beating around the bush about? We have plans for the day that do not involve you, and would like to get back to those plans." what were those plans? Rin had no idea what plans they were referencing but they just wanted this whole thing– whatever it was– to be over and done.