telling all the rich folks anything they want to hear (keefex royals au)

-chapter two-

okay i now i said i would update every thursday but i forgot wattpad existed so everyone gets four new chapters lol

Grinning, Dex let himself be basically pulled up the stairs. They ducked into a small room. Well he said small, but in reality it was bigger than most rooms in the servant quarters. Over the past few months it had kinda become their room. A place to get away from the bustle of the palace. Keefe lifted his arm off his shoulder and plopped on the floor. Then, he scrambled on to his knees and turned around. Behind him there was a box; he dug inside it and brought out some art supplies. After Keefe finished with his antics and settled down, Dex sat down next to him. Pulling a marker out of his jumble of supplies, he began to draw little smiley faces on Dex's arm.

"So what's the real reason you left the dance?" Dex asked, looking at the doodles forming on his arm.

Keefe sighed. "I..." he trailed off.

"Hm?"

"You know how my parents want me to marry Biana. It would help our status and blabbity blabbity blah."

Dex felt a twinge of jealousy. He knew that Keefe wouldn't leave him for Biana. He didn't even like Biana, but Dex still couldn't help it. "Yeah, I do," he said, pushing down his irrational fears.

"Which is stupid. We're only teens. Let us live!" Keefe tossed a marker in frustration and then found another.

Dex ruffled Keefe's hair affectionately.

"Hey! No touching the hair!"

Dex giggled and poked a tiny strand of Keefe's hair.

"Oh you asked for it!" Keefe knocked him over and started tickling him.

Laying on his side, Dex laughed and attempted to defend himself by curling up into a fetal position. Both of them laughing, Dex rolled over, and found himself looking at Keefe's ice blue eyes. They both turned pink, and Dex sat up still grinning. Blushing, Keefe turned towards his art supplies and pulled out a couple things. He started sketching on a piece of paper. His hands moved with a certainty that came with years of practice. Dex scooted closer to Keefe; they were right up next to each other.

"So why did you really come down here?" Dex inquired softly. He could tell that he wasn't giving the full truth. "Unless you don't want to talk about it," he added hurriedly.

Keefe turned and looked into Dex's eyes, only a few inches away, and smiled sadly. "I don't really want to talk about it..." He hesitated. "But the basics are I wanted to be with you, and not be seen with Biana." He looked back down at his sketchbook and continued methodically brushing the pencil across the paper.

"Okay," Dex said softly. He watched as the sketch took shape. He saw two peopley shapes and one that was in the background. It was them, he realized.

His eye traveled up to Keefe's face. He found himself searching for his little expressions he made while drawing— the small furrow between his eyebrows or the way he would bite or suck in his lips. Suddenly, Keefe looked up at him. Instead of looking away like he would've several months ago, Dex simply gave him a wistful smile. Keefe returned it. Dex's eyes glanced down, and he caught Keefe doing the same. He felt his breath hitch, and they leaned in. As if they could both sense that the other wasn't quite ready, they pressed their foreheads together. Keefe closed his eyes, and Dex soon followed. Deeply, they breathed in and out. They leaned their sides against the box.

Dex lost track of how long they just sat there, absorbing the peacefulness of it all. Dex saw Keefe's body untense, and his head slumped down onto Dex's shoulder. Dex chuckled slightly as a small snore escaped Keefe's nose. After a few more minutes, he gently extracted himself and laid Keefe's head on the floor. Quietly, he got up and dug a blanket from where they stashed it behind the box. He laid it on top of him so that he wouldn't get cold and made his way to the door. Dex glanced back at Keefe, once again he smiled wistfully and went out the door.