Prince of the Stable

10. Trust

*author note:  Normally in romance fiction, limited third includes both MCs, often alternating chapters. This is an experiment, another Awful First Draft, with so far only this chapter not in Aiden's POV.*

"Would you really let me go, without a protest?" Ro tried to hide the hurt in his voice, not only because he didn't like to show it, but he wasn't sure he liked how it made Aiden so overly patient, like Ro was a child. 

"Listen to me. The most important thing to me is your happiness. If... if that means you'll be happier without me, then... I won't stand in your way."

He'd said it before, but Ro never really quite knew how to take it. If Aiden loved him, then shouldn't he fight to keep him? Or did he mean that he hoped Ro would find his happiness soon, so Aiden could... what?  Ro had never been in a relationship before and sometimes he wasn't sure he was in one now.  Usually he let it go, because he was afraid to know the answer, but he couldn't bear the uncertainty any longer. He took a minute to steady his nerves so he didn't sound like he was whining. "Do you want me to go?"

Aiden took both Ro's hands in his, and knelt. "Ro... if we could wed, I would be asking you right now."

A hard lump Ro hadn't even realized was inside him loosened a little, and he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.  He felt more like his old self at that moment than he had since that horse's ass had nearly killed him. He raised an eyebrow at Aiden. "If we could wed, would I be your husband or your wife?"

He hadn't meant the question seriously, but once he'd asked, he knew the answer was important.

Aiden's brow wrinkled in exaggerated thought. "Well. I can cook, and you can't. And you make more money than I do. I guess you're the husband."  He gave Ro a bashful grin.

"You? Cook?"

"I could," Aiden said defensively. "I've been eating in the palace kitchen for four years, I think I picked up the basics."

Ro felt the knot inside him loosen more and he grinned. 

~*~

Ro knew he'd given Aiden the wrong impression; he wasn't with him until something "better" came along, but he knew he couldn't say what Aiden most wanted to hear, either. So he let the misunderstanding remain. 

He'd thought that the most he could hope for was a protector who didn't hurt him too often. He knew that prospects for the likes of him were poor, when he got too old for the House of Red Silk. He could sew, and very well - all the luxurious robes he'd worn there, he'd sewn - but he was still too pretty to be without a protector. And is that all Aiden is to you? No, but he didn't know exactly how much more. Aiden was the man he'd chosen, rather than let himself be chosen by.  That was a powerful thing. But had he chosen Aiden simply because he happened to be outside his window?  

Ro sighed. No, he'd helped Aiden escape the guard, he hadn't thought to do more than that until he'd seen how handsome he was, and more than that - the mix of hunger and fear in his eyes. Handsome... and vulnerable. 

Yet strong and so passionate, once he'd coaxed him into letting go of his fears... now it was Ro holding onto fears. He shifted on the worn cushion toward the window, concentrating on his sewing. Very few men worked the laundry and he was the only one who sewed. And the only one, male or female, allowed to work on the Queen's own gowns. It was an honour and gave him certain rank among the servants, but also created jealousies.  He wasn't secure enough in his position to not feel anxious. 

He'd grown up in the House of Red Silk, and though he'd always known he'd have to leave, he still felt lost. Maybe it was because he'd left so abruptly.  If he was ever going to figure out how he felt about Aiden... aside from the fact that the man had a body to die for. And Ro could turn him to jelly with little more than a lick of his lips.  He smiled.  And oh yes, how he loved to hear his name from Aiden's lips, all breathy and hoarse.  

"Daydreaming again?" 

Ro jerked his head upwards, his needle halting. He gave the embroidery in his hands a quick look. He hadn't make a mistake.  "Some of us can think and work at the same time," he said with a narrow-lipped smile. If he'd learned anything at the House of Red Silk, it was how to be catty. 

Her name was Anna, and she had made certain overtures that Ro had, with some degree of glee, declined.  Unfortunately, Anna, who was, he supposed, attractive for a girl, had mistaken his relished ability to choose his own lovers as a personal slight. He stared at her as if daring her to say more, and she shook her head before returning to her mending.  

He should do something for Aiden, something special. Something to reassure him that Ro was with him by choice, not because he felt to afraid to be on his own.  

"...broken mirror."

Ro's attention perked and he started paying attention to this bit of idle servant gossip. One of the more temperamental of the ladies in attendance on the Queen had broken her dressing mirror in a fit of pique. As he listened, an idea began to form.

~*~

Ro peered into the cracked and splotched mirror over the washstand brandishing a pair of shears. His hair didn't really need a cut, not yet, but he pulled a hank of hair up from his scalp and tried with unfeigned difficulty to find it with the shears in his other hand. Aware that Aiden was watching the process in curious silence, he slammed the shears down and turned to Aiden. "That's it. I can't live without a decent mirror."

Aiden's eyes widened in astonishment and he said, "You're leaving me for a better mirror?"

Ro grinned, pleased at his reaction. "No, you lack-wit. Come with me. And bring some rope and empty feed bags."

He was happy to see the half smile on Aiden's face and he wondered if he'd been missing something. Had he been misreading Aiden? 

Behind the stable, Aiden had looped some rough rope over his shoulder and carried a bundle of empty sacks.  "Such a bossy husband," he said, he voice filled with affection rather than complaint.

Ro grinned. 

~*~

Things like broken mirrors or furnishings were left outside the palace for scavengers to collect and sell to craftsmen in need of inexpensive materials. Ro knew they had to hurry if they had hope of getting a good size mirror shard. He wasn't looking for a full length glass such as he'd had at the brothel, just something for basic grooming. "Here," he said, tugging at Aiden's sleeve.

Aiden gave the pile broken mirrored glass stacked precariously on a badly damaged wardrobe a bemused look. "Aren't broken mirrors bad luck?" 

"Only for the person who breaks them," Ro replied, climbing on cracked and splintered wood that was once possibly a wardrobe door.  He found a decent size shard, big enough and clear enough for a good shave. He handed it down carefully to Aiden, who wrapped it in burlap and tied it securely.

Aiden looked up as Ro tried to figure out how to get back down without getting splinters of wood and glass in uncomfortable places. He smiled at Ro.  "Jump."

"Are you mad?"

Aiden set the wrapped mirror shard aside and held out his arms. "I'll catch you."

Ro swallowed.  Did he trust Aiden? Yes, he realized.  Yes, he did.  The knot inside loosened completely.  He jumped.

And landed hard as Aiden went down under him. "You said you'd catch me!"

"Did," Aiden grunted, drawing a rasping breath.

Contrite, Ro rolled off him and helped him sit.  "Aiden? Are you all right?"

Aiden tapped his chest and sucked in air before mustering a smile. "You take my breath away."

Ro hugged him with such ferocity, Aiden fell back again with a slight omph. He hesitated a second, then rolled over, so Ro was on his back in the dirt, and kissed him, a long slow kiss that warmed Ro in all the right places. When Aiden stopped, he opened his eyes. Ro loved that look - Aiden's face flushed with desire, his eyes dark, his lips.... a stone between his shoulder blades reminded him where they were. "I am not having sex in a midden heap. Not even with you."

Aiden grinned.  "Where?"

Ro pushed himself upright. "Lets get my lovely new mirror home, then we'll see about -" his sentence ended in an undignified squeak as Aiden hugged him tight.

"Home, huh?"