Ace gave him a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry for your loss..my mother died during childbirth with me, and my father died recently, so I somewhat understand what you are going through." He smiled, ruffling the boys hair.
"I'll tell you what, you can stay with us as long as you want." He said, sitting down next to Argo, "I bet Floyd will love you."
Argo smiled slightly at the ruffling of his hair. It reminded him of something his older brother used to do. "Floy-yd?" he asked, grimacing slightly in irritation at the stutter. "Was he the man with you earlier?"
"Yeah, he's my-well, he's my-" he bit his lip a bit, scrunching up his eyebrows, "He's my..boyfriend he said, sounding a little bit more like a question, it sounded weird when he said it, although he couldn't help but smile fondly when he felt butterflies in his stomach.
"You'll like him, he's nice."
"Boyf-friend?" Argo asked, a small smile creeping across his face. He had found people like him? "I was never allowed to have a boyf-friend. My mom thought I was crazy, but my dad was alright when I said I didn't like g-girls," he said, the hand holding his fork twitching randomly here and there when he stuttered
Ace gave Argo a sympathetic smile, giving him a hug.
"I'm sorry, you should know that it's perfectly normal and okay for you to not like girls, I never did, although my parent's never asked.." He said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"But your feelings are valid and I will be the one to support you when you need it!" he said, squeezing his shoulders a bit and then letting him go, sitting back up.
Argo smiled widely. He had finished his food, so he set the tray down carefully on the bed next to him and hugged Ace softly. "Thank you Mr. Ace," he said, looking up at him with icy blue eyes. His smile widened slightly as he realized he had managed not to stutter
"No problem love." he said, holding onto Argo, "Now, maybe tomorrow we can check out the library, but I think it's time for you to get to sleep."
He smiled, taking the tray and placing it on the table next to the bed, pocking Argo's belly lightly.
Argo giggled softly, curling up slightly. "That tickles M-Mr. Ace," he laughed, curling up slightly. He actually rather liked being next to Ace. He was warm, and nice, and didn't hurt him when he said something he didn't like
He smiled tucking Argo under the covers.
"Okay little one, time to go to bed." he smiled, his chest filling with happiness as he looked down at the little boy.
"Remember, my room is right across the hall, so if you need me, just get up and run over." he bent down, giving Argo a small kiss on the forehead.
Argo smiled widely, nodding as Ace spoke. "Thank you, Mr. Ace," he said quietly. He wasn't quite sure how he had let his guard down so quickly around Ace, but he wasn't complaining. He had been fed, healed, and cared for, so it probably wouldn't hurt to let himself be a little more comfortable around the king
He nodded, standing up and leaving the room so he could get to his own. Ace quickly stripped, hopping into the shower and bathing himself, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and one of Floyd's shirts -that was way to big for him- and drying his hair.
"I wonder where Floyd is." he said, plopping himself down in bed, staring at the ceiling after he turned out the light.
Argo stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide open for a while. He listened to the shower in the distance, eyes flickering across the room. He was really bad at going to sleep most of the time. Sometimes he wouldn't sleep for days on end. He laid there, warring with himself for a moment. The blankets were comfortable, far more comfortable than a park bench or the dirt somewhere. But he was restless and didn't feel like sleeping yet. Making a decision he slid out of bed silently, walking into the hall. He walked over to Ace's door and knocked softly on the doorframe
Ace got up, and opened the door, looking around to spot Argo, he smiled, crouching down to be face to face with him.
"What can I do for you bud?" He asked, giving him a small smile.
Argo looked down at the floor, holding onto the bottom of his shirt out of nervous habit. "W-Would you read me a bedtime story?" he asked, hand twitching along with his stammer. In the hall light like this, the bags under his eyes were far more obvious. "I have a hard time s-s-sleeping and reading sometimes helps."
He nodded, standing up and opening the door.
"What do you want me to read to you?" he asked, taking Argo's hand and leading him back to his room.
"I'm sure I have lot's of stories, um..Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty…" He trailed off, not really knowing what else he could offer.
"Do you have…the stories of the c-constellations?" Argo asked, following Ace into the room behind him
"How about a more common one, ever heard of…Orion? The hunter?" he asked, smiling down at Argo, helping him get back up in the bed and under the covers.
"What about his to dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor?" He asked, sitting down just below Argo's feet.
"Greek Mythology say's that Orion was very talented when it came to hunting, he bragged all the time!"
He smiled, making his voice deeper, and puffing out his chest.
"I can get rid of aall the animals on the Earth!" He said, imitating 'Orion' moving his arms around as he went on with the story.
"Gaia, the goddess of the Earth was really mad at him for this, and sent a scorpion to defeat Orion. Orion tried to battle the scorpion, but he quickly realized that he could not shoot his arrow through the creature’s armor."
He fake frowned, adding on.
"To avoid the scorpion, he jumped into the sea. It was then that Apollo (the Greek god of the Sun) decided to take action. He pointed out to his twin sister, Artemis, a small black object in the sea. Claiming it was a horrible villain, he dared her to shoot it with her bow and arrow. Artemis easily hit the target. When she swam out to retrieve her victim, however, she discovered that the villain was her friend, Orion. Artemis begged the gods to bring Orion back to life, but they refused. So, instead, she put Orion’s picture in the sky so that she could always see him." He finished, smiling down at Argo.
(I gtg nightt)
(oof night)
Argo smiled widely, watching as Ace narrated the story. He had heard the story before, as well as many of the more popular ones. His older brother used to read to him before bed when his parents were at work, and after they had died he had found he never got tired of listening to the stories. He could feel himself beginning to fall asleep, eyes drooping lightly as he looked up at Ace. "Thank you Mr. Ace," he said softly, proud he had kept the stutter out of his voice
(Ahh sorry I’m here)
While Ace had taken the boy back to the castle, Floyd had stopped home to visit Nick. It was not a pretty site. He had tried to cook dinner, but his older brother was still absolute shit at cooking. Cassie always did that. So, he managed to fix themselves something to eat. Dinner was silent, save for the occasional “Can you pass me a napkin?” The silence was usually filled with Cassie’s constant chatter and laughs, sometimes complaining about work. God, did he take things like that for granted.
“Nick, you’re going to be okay on your own while I check up on Ace, right?” Floyd asked. He was hesitant to leave his brother, but he had a lot of priorities that he couldn’t keep straight.
“I’ll be fine,” Nick grumbled in his deep tone as he stood at the sink, scrubbing dishes clean in an aggressive manner.
“Alright, I’ll be back,” Floyd sighed before clapping his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “We’ll get through this and find who did it.”
Nick simply grunted in response. Floyd left the house and jogged to the castle. Upon arrival, he walked up to Ace’s bedroom. He had wanted to just collapse in bed for a while with the him, but he paused in the doorway at the sight of the boy curled up against Ace. He smiled to himself as he watched for a moment before stepping quietly into the room.
(ayy)
Argo tilted his head as he heard someone enter the room. He had always had good hearing, which he supposed made up for his condition that caused him to stutter and twitch. "Are you Mr. Floyd, sir?" he asked quietly
Floyd looked over at the soft voice, suddenly aware that Argo was in fact awake. He smiled and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, nodding slowly. “Yep, that’s me,” He said, keeping his tone lowered.
Argo smiled. He felt tired, but he wanted to talk to Ace's boyfriend. He was curious as to what having one was like. He rolled to face Floyd more, smiling softly. "Can I ask you a q-q-question Mr. Floyd?" he asked, head twitching ever so slightly as he stammered
Floyd leaned back against a free space of wall in Ace’s bedroom, his smile shifting to a more lazy and relaxed one. “Go on ahead. Whatcha’ want to know?” He asked.
"What's having a boyfriend like?" Argo asked quietly. "Mr. Ace really likes you. I never got to have anyone like me like that. What's it like?" he continued, pulling the covers up closer to his face
Floyd’s smile quickly shifted back to a full on grin that reached his eyes. “Having a boyfriend is amazing. I always have someone that I can count on and be affectionate with. And he really likes me, huh? Well, he’s a pretty good boyfriend and best friend as well,” he said, giving Ace a wink as he spoke.