The Mushroom Prince // DNF

4/Poetry

George remained pressed against Clay, his eyes closed and his focus entirely on the feeling of the blonde's body against his own. He could feel the gentle rise and fall of Clay's chest as he breathed, could feel his arm wrapped tightly around his waist, keeping them pressed together.

It felt strange to him, he couldn't remember the last time he had let anyone get this close to him.

He was pulled from his trance suddenly as he became aware of someone saying his name. His eyes snapped open as he mumbled a quiet, "what?"

"I said," Clay spoke quietly from behind him, "the bandits are gone, we can stop hiding."

George pulled away from him quickly, Clay's arm falling away from his waist as he did so. The brunette could feel his face burning as he took a few steps away from the blonde, afraid to turn around and face him just yet.

He wasn't sure how long they had been standing so close together, it had felt like a lifetime to George. But he knew realistically it had only been a matter of minutes, not nearly long enough to justify the flustered reaction from the brunette.

"You okay there, George?" Clay sounded from behind him.

George didn't need to turn around to know that he had a confident smirk on his face, he could practically hear it dripping from the blonde's words.

He finally turned around, feeling the burn in his face subsiding somewhat, as he answered, "I'm fine. I've just never actually seen bandits out here. It just surprised me, that's all."

Clay's smile grew slightly and he opened his mouth to speak, but George cut him off before he got the chance by stating, "I think that's enough excitement for today. I'm ready to go back to the castle."

Clay laughed a little but nodded silently in agreement, sparing George from further embarrassment.

George began walking, Clay falling into step beside him, the two making their way silently back towards the castle.

As they reached the same door they had exited from, Clay stepped in front of George, grabbing the handle before the brunette could and pulling the door open for him with a grin. George looked over to the blonde and rolled his eyes, trying his best to seem annoyed. Then he quickly stepped through the door so Clay wouldn't be able to see the small smile that had formed on his face.

He made his way quickly down the hallways, Clay following closely behind him, until he reached his bedroom door. He pushed the door open, not bothering to close it behind him because after just one day, he already knew better. As he turned around, he watched Clay step through the door behind him, closing the door then dropping into a chair with a grin on his face.

George shook his head slightly while sighing then said, "am I ever going to get any space from you, Clay?"

Clay smiled up at him as he answered, "why would you want that? I hear that I'm lovely to have around."

George sighed again before making his way over to his bookshelf. He obviously wasn't going to get rid of the blonde, but that didn't mean he had to pay attention to him. On a typical day, George liked to spend the time before dinner reading or drawing, and that's exactly what he intended to do today.

His brown eyes scanned over the bookshelf for a moment before coming to rest on one of his favorite books, it was a book of poetry his mother had given him for his birthday one year. George reached for it, pulling it gently off the shelf and running his hand over the brown leather cover with a smile.

He carried it back across the room with him and dropped down into the chair across from Clay, a small table dividing the two of them.

George could feel Clay's piercing green eyes on him as he set the book down on the table in front of him. He heard Clay hum quietly to himself and his eyes flicked up to meet the soft gaze of the blonde.