a Lout and a Prince

Part 16

It was the little things.

Subtle slip-ups that anyone else would have missed and dismissed, but Cale based his whole existence off of reading people and their reactions.

Bob was hiding something.

Cale couldn't say what exactly, considering his position as a secret assistant to the crown prince there would surely be more then one secret, but Cale felt there was something else to it.

Bob was definitely high born. Or he'd had extensive exposure to noble etiquette. It wasn't the clumsy way that an attendant might attempt to mimic his liege in order to fit in, Bob's thoughtless and unconscious gestures and movements all portrayed the mannerisms of a nobleman.

Bob tried to hide it too. Sometimes he'd catch himself behaving with too much poise and nobility and he'd do a rather sloppy job of doing something else. It was as simple as almost selecting the correct fork for a meal before quite obviously changing course to the incorrect one. Sloppy and obvious.

In his defense, Bob wasn't actually a bad actor. To the untrained eye, it would look merely like he was indecisive about which fork.

Cale was just a better actor. He could perceive all the ticks and tells that identified Bob.

The secret wasn't important, plenty of the closest aides to royalty were selected from the highest in society. It would be stranger if Bob didn't have a strong background.

What was strange was how Bob persisted in hiding it. As though he was nervous that Cale would realize.

There were a few explanations for this. Perhaps Bob was from a family that was at odds with the Henituse or he was of some shame to his family, an illegitimate child or somesuch. However Cale wasn't the sort to care about any of that so of course it bothered him that Bob thought he might.

Then there was his appearance.

That was where Cale's thoughts grew complicated. There was, of course, a certain amount that magic could change a person's appearance and so there was always the possibility that Bob was hiding his true looks.

That was why Cale had, on one occasion, hidden a mana inhibitor in the depths of his room. To his relief and confusion, Bob's appearance hadn't changed in the least but...

There was no noble families within the Roan Kingdom that Cale knew of with an appearance like his. It seemed that the only possible explanation was an illegitimate child and–

Cale let out a wretched little sigh.

Bob, from his position being used as Cale's pillow, brushed his cheek gently. "What's wrong?"

Cale looked up into perfectly affectionate eyes and felt guilty. Whatever Bob was hiding, it was important to him and Cale ought not to snoop. He respected Bob's privacy and if it was something that Bob wasn't ready to share, he shouldn't fuck around with that.

He was just anxious.

He didn't know anything about Bob other than his connection to the crown prince. A connection that the prince would be sure to deny due to the nature of secrecy. If Bob chose to leave or simply disappeared, Cale would have no way of knowing what happened to him.

No way of hunting him down and demanding to know why.

He was insecure. Bob had slowly but surely whittled away at everything there was to know about him and had become his closest confidant, friend, and a person he loved dearly. He knew all of Bob's mannerisms and all of the little things that mattered, the way he laughed and how fun it was to tease him. The way Bob thought about things too seriously but was delightfully silly as well.

He knew Bob.

He just didn't know anything about Bob.

"Nothing." Cale scowled, turning his face away and burying it into Bob's stomach.

Bob caressed his hair gently. "You're a bad liar."

"I really don't want to hear that from you." Cale replied crossly, clinging to the moment and to this fragile love. Bob liked him well enough, that much was sure, but sometimes Cale felt that his own feelings were growing deeper than Bob's ever would. Bob wanted him but did Bob need him the way that Cale needed him?

He was too scared to ask.

"What have I lied about then?" Bob asked, knowing best that Cale needed a certain amount of cajoling to admit what was bothering him.

"...lots of things..." Cale said morosely and in a moments impulse, he bit Bob's stomach.

Bob jolted, lettingout a surprised gasp before looking down at Cale with the most adorably appalled expression he'd ever worn. "Do you have to keep biting me?"

Cale grinned up at him impishly. "You say that, but don't you like it?" Cale rested his teeth against the cloth of Bob's shirt, concealing the hard muscle below that Cale would very much like to distract himself by touching.

Bob's expression just about short-circuited and Cale loved that. Moments like these he could feel that Bob really did want him and it eased some of his insecurities. Of course, it was also quite enjoyable to see Bob's cheeks darken and his eyes flicker with desire.

"You're doing this on purpose." Bob pointed out accurately, looking away from Cale's face with a deep flush. "And what would you do if I said yes?" Bob asked, a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

Cale let his fingers sneak underneath Bob's shirt, just to let them dance along his spine. "I'd bite you a lot more." Cale replied with a cheeky grin.

"Lord, spare me." Bob sighed, wisely pulling Cale up from his position lying in Bob's lap into a sitting positon, still on the aforementioned lap. "You're driving me nuts."

Cale nipped Bob's lip, wrapping his arms around his neck as he cuddled against him. "You love it."

"I do." Bob admitted and even that casual admission had Cale's heart racing. His skin tingling beneath Bob's fingers as they traced along Cale's sides and teased at the edge of his shirt. "I'm starting to think you're trying to hint something."

"Hm?" Cale asked, entire body alight with excitement as he memorized the feel of Bob touching him. It was never enough–no matter how many times Bob hugged him, touched him, kissed him–Cale couldn't get enough of it.

Bob's breath tickled Cale's neck and it sent another delighted shiver down his spine. "I think you do to me what you want me to do to you." Bob said, voice a bit huskier than normal as he nipped Cale's neck gently.

'Fuck–'

Cale didn't know he had a sensitive neck. He didn't know that he liked getting bitten. He didn't know he loved to be touched and manhandled.

Or maybe he just loved everything that Bob did to him.

Cale let out a sharp gasp and found that words were a bit too difficult to grasp with Bob holding him like this.

Bob chuckled against his neck. "I think I'm right." He kissed the spot gently before nuzzling against him softly.

He never pushed further.

It drove Cale a little bit crazy. He wanted to feel everything that they could do together but Bob was quite strict in the strangest ways. He'd even started to suggest that they met outside of the bedroom more often. Not that Cale minded, he liked going places with Bob, but he was getting quite frustrated in certain very specific ways.

Maybe he just wanted a way to hold Bob down.

Cale held him closer and prayed that whatever secrets Bob kept hidden from him wouldn't tear them apart.