The Sole Prince

You have nothing to worry about. [part 2]

Breakfast goes how it usually goes, the whole group talking with one another. Scotty laughs at the fact Sage is showing off his chest, Celine jokes at the fact James is covering up. Eric just laughs at the relationship itself, remarking on the fact he was basically the matchmaker. They eat, enjoy each other's company, all before splitting in their separate directions. Eric steals Sage away to do his job, both James and the captain forgetting he is just that: a captain. Celine and Scotty also walk off to do some job on the ship, while James still isn't quite sure what they do on the ship. But, somehow, he's still too scared to ask. Well, that's a lie. When he has the chance to ask Sage, he'd rather be talking about other things, or doing other things.

So, as usual, James walks back to the cabin by himself, his mind racing over what he's going to do. Most likely read something, but which book is the true question. At this point, he's almost cleared Sage's entire bookshelf, either reading them himself or reading them out loud to Sage as they cuddle on the bed, warming each other up. When they do the latter, most of their time isn't spent reading, so those books last a long time.

In his thoughts, James figures he can just reread something he's read before. It's always interesting to read a book and figure out hidden details that weren't noticed the first time. That's when an idea hits him, a smile creeping onto his lips as he enters the room. He scavenges Sage's desk for a quill, grabbing a particular book from the shelf. It's the first book they had read together, back before either of them knew a lot of things. It was blissful ignorance then, and now it's just bliss, possibly even more now that they know each other's truths. Now that they are each other's truths.

James gets to work right away on his project, taking a break only for lunch, hiding the book only when he hears knocks on the door. It's funny, really. At this point, James knows it Sage behind the door just by the sound of the taps. Sage always knocks before entering, that is, despite it being his own room. A sign of respect and privacy. A small one, sure, but important, nonetheless.

"What have you been up to?" Sage asks, walking into the cabin. As soon as he sees James, a smile creeps its way onto his lips.

"Reading. Waiting for you," James says, getting up from the bed and walking over to him.

"What a surprise." The larger man laughs as the smaller man walks up to him. He places a large hand underneath James' chin, a few fingers tilting his head up in position for a kiss. They share the brief moment, enjoying every second. "Ready for dinner, sweetheart?" Sage says once he pulls away, putting a stack of papers onto his desk, an action he postponed until after the kiss.

"Most definitely," James says, following the older man out the door to the mess hall. Boring is the served food, but the conversations that the two men have are always interesting, side jokes apart from the whole group, hidden touches, suppressed laughs, poorly concealed blush.

Eventually, the two men find their way back to the cabin, tumbling into bed together, kissing each other slowly in no rush, nothing they need to do next. They take their pleasant time as they take off each other's shirt, kissing the new exposed parts. There's truly nothing better. They grow tired, the night slowly seeping into their minds. Eventually, the two men decide it would be best to head off to bed. And so, they do just that, finding themselves in now familiar positions, James' head on Sage's chest, Sage with an arm wrapped around James.

Sleep soon finds them as it always does, both seeping into it with ease after a few more laughter filled kisses.

And then, just like that, James is back in his room, back in the castle, back in Roriark. Studying maps on his desk like he always has, trying to figure out different routes for exploration. He hasn't done it for a while, it feels good to be back where he knows things. Where everything is planned and precise, calculated down to what he's doing in the coming hours, the coming years for that matter. Everything in control. He should like it, shouldn't he?