The Sole Prince

Don't worry; I can take it. [part 2]

The whole ordeal happens silently. James moving through the room while Sage yawns on the bed, slowly losing more and more clothing. Starting with Sage's long coat, James lifts the captain's arms to pull them through the sleeves. Sage complies easily, not necessarily helping, but also not hindering the process. If he truly wanted to, the captain could make the process move faster, yet he doesn't. After James finishes with the jacket, hanging it up in the usual place in the closet, he moves back to the captain. James stands right in front of him, barely any distance between the two men. In fact, the captain sits on the bed with his legs spread wide, so the prisoner moves in between to get even closer so he can work on unbuttoning the wet shirt.

That's the sole reason why.

Why else?

The white linen sticks to Sage's body, the outline of his muscles evident underneath the thin cloth. James starts with the first button on the top, working his thin fingers to get the button through the hole. If either of the men thought about the situation for too long, it would be incredibly awkward. Yet, the prisoner can't process anything other than the feel of the captain's firm chest underneath his fingers. And the captain can't process anything other than the prisoner's fingertips lingering over his damp body. Their brains are overprocessing on that, and that alone, so there's no time for even the thought of awkwardness.

James then focuses on the second button of the shirt, navigating his fingers to move the button once again. He makes sure to look at the shirt rather than at Sage's face, and they are both glad for that because if the prisoner looked up, the captain would be staring right at him, watching the man slowly remove the white linen from his body. There are a few buttons more before the shirt can be removed, and each button seems to be taking longer and longer to get off. Neither of the men seem to mind. Eventually, each is unbuttoned, allowing the prisoner to start removing the shirt from the captain's body. He runs a light hand up the captain's chest in order to grab the hem, then runs his hand back down to grab the other side. Once James has the shirt ready to take off, he looks up at Sage and greets his wandering eyes. They both break the eye contact instantly. The captain raises his arms allowing the man to take off his shirt, the prisoner then proceeding to scurry to the closet to hang it up. James returns to the seated captain, now leaning back against his hands. His abs shine in the dark light of the night. The prisoner might stare for a fraction too long, but the captain doesn't notice. Maybe Sage just doesn't care. James moves to the floor to work on taking the captain's boots off, which is a much quicker process than the shirt. Which means now is the time for the captain's black pants.

"I can do this part," Sage whispers into the air after the two men stay frozen for a moment, his hands lazily moving towards his belt. "Thanks again, Serrio." The captain fumbles for his belt buckle.

"Of course," James says, taking a step back from his extremely close position to the captain. That's when a whispered curse echoes from the captain's lips. Sage messed with the buckle, yet in his sleep deprived state, he can't seem to get it off. At this point, he's more embarrassed than angry. "I can do it if you want," James says after a few more failed attempts.

"You really don't have to," Sage says, now giving up.

"I'd like to help."

"Only if you want to." The captain gives in, knowing his fingers are too clammy and weak to make any real progress.

"I don't want you to get sick." James steps closer to the captain. Sage removes his hands from his belt and places them behind him, leaning back again.

"Thank you," he says as the prisoner makes quick work, taking the belt off promptly and pulling it out through the loops. He walks off to the desk to place it down before returning. Fighting through a fit of fidgets, James attempts to unbutton the top button of Sage's black pants. They ride low on the captain's waist, so the prisoner has to brush his fingertips over the man's hips in order to get a grip before pulling them off. After much hesitation, he finally commits to the pull, the captain having to adjust his seat on the bed a few times in order for the pants to slip through. It's only a matter of seconds before the prisoner is hanging up the pants, leaving the captain sitting on the bed in his underwear, cold in the night air yet so warm for other reasons. The prisoner returns to his own bed as the captain slips under his sheets. They move in silence, not wanting to say anything that could break the sweet taste of the night air. "Thank you for everything, Serrio. The best not-prisoner a captain could ask for," the captain says, groggy, turning over in his bed. "Goodnight."