uncrossed (alver x og cale)

Part 1

After the worst possible first meeting imaginable in any reality, at least in Alberu's opinion as he catastrophized the events, Cale left for the Henituse villa in the capital.

Alberu was left only with his thoughts which were not all that pleasant so far as company went.

Arranging the past few weeks coherently was giving him a serious headache.

A stranger accosted him in the street, kissed him, claimed to be his fiance from another world, rooted out an assasination plot to protect aforementioned 'fiance' and his family, learned that he was telling the truth, and now he was faced with the same person, sans all of those experiences.

And then there was all sorts of neat information tucked in between like imprisoning him and kissing his hand on an impulse and really, Alberu had a headache.

He didn't know what to think or feel about Cale Henituse. Of course he had thoughts and feelings that were cropping up unbidden but he didn't know how he should feel about Cale. For a person like Alberu, that was a truly obnoxious state to be in.

Alberu Crossman lived his life how he should in order to accomplish specific goals. He smiled like he should and spoke as he should and accumulated power as he should.

Cale was the definition of an entity that defied should. He was antithetical to it in fact. Everything he'd learned about Cale Henituse, from the cursory knowledge of a lout noble from the Northeastern region to the information Tasha provided in a hurry and all the way to rather intimate information that Cale himself had espoused–all of it defied should and laughed scornfully to top it off.

For example, no noble or any citizen should throw a vase at the crown prince's head but within minutes of meeting Alberu, Cale had chosen to do so before storming away to his villa.

Amazingly he was just as unhinged as his counterpart.

Yet, he was different. Whereas the Cale that Alberu had met often gave the impression of an angry wild animal, this Cale was somehow...

He was just different and Alberu couldn't put his finger on why. Well, aside from the obvious differences. Cale wasn't acting as though he knew every single one of Alberu's secrets and he wasn't declaring himself to be deeply in love with the 'better' version of Alberu.

'...I'm not developing an inferiority complex, am I?' Alberu thought with a sigh as he sat back in his chair. In the days after that... disaster he'd been making an attempt to distract himself with work. There was plenty of work to do, the distraction of his 'fiance' had definitely hindered his progress.

Only he'd hardly been able to do anything without his thoughts drifting back to Cale. On one occasion, he'd even caught himself unconsciously penning a letter to him.

So far as the information he'd been provided, Cale was still hiding out in the villa. He hadn't made a public appearance since he left the palace and currently had no plans to return to the territory. In all likelihood, Cale was recovering from his ordeal. The substance within which Alberu could only imagine and sometimes he did imagine and that left him feeling strangely unsettled.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but go back to the moment when Cale requested a kiss. Determined, vulnerable, arrogant, and not looking at Alberu at all.

His eyes were fixed on Alberu but where he was looking was a dimension away.

Alberu's fists clenched unconsciously in his lap.

Perhaps it would be best if he paid the young master a visit? Just to check on his well-being? Alberu was the only person who knew and understood to any extent what Cale had gone through. It wasn't like anyone would believe such a story, Alberu had some trouble believing it himself although he was sure it was true, and Cale had been in quite an emotional state when he left.