Simon - TCF

0.4 : "Friends"

"Mm..." Cale grumbled, it was hard to breathe. He felt like the weight of the world was on him. When Cale tried to move, he realized his arms and legs were wrapped around something. "Hm?" Cale opened his eyes.

The gorgeous midday sun was shining through Cale's windows on the man in Cale's arms. The man's beautiful dark blue hair and lightly tanned skin seemed familiar. One of the man's strong arms was wrapped around Cale's waist and that's when Cale snapped into reality.

"What the-?! Who the hell are you?!" Cale blushed, immediately letting go of the stranger and pushing him off of his bed.

The man's eyes briefly opened to reveal golden orbs before he fell below Cale's view to the floor. A loud thud sounded off along with a long groan, "Young Master Cale, you didn't forget our deal did you?"

The man's voice!

Cale leaned over his bed to see Simon Winterly staring up at him, holding his head with a tired look. There was no dark blue hair or golden eyes. His hair was pale purple and his eyes were green. Cale frowned, his eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Simon.

"What are you- The deal," Cale's eyes widened as he looked around the room. There's no way he got home with Simon... like that. Cale covered his face, ignoring the burning sensation he felt on his neck, "Fine."

Clearing his throat, Cale put down his hand and looked down at Simon, "Fine, you'll be my friend. But I'm high maintenance."

"I would expect nothing less," Simon grinned.

...

For the next two and a half months, Simon stuck around the Henituse territory for Cale. Evangelina was surprised that Simon didn't leave after the first month. Yet Simon enjoyed hanging out with Cale.

They drank, played games, and Simon helped Cale do things he would normally never do. Fine examples of that would be exercise, feeding the two orphan kids Simon saw, and feeding the Man Eating Tree bread once every week.

After the first two weeks of Simon living at the inn, he managed to convince Cale to join him in light exercises. They stretched and jogged together (Simon did three times the work than Cale) before Cale watched Simon do his tri-weekly practice.

The rest of the days, Simon and Cale would relax at either the Henituse manor or Simon's inn while Simon read. Cale would often drink wine until he fell asleep next to Simon. Those who saw them together knew that in the short time they've been "friends" (because it was forced at first), they easily got close and comfortable with each other.

Occasionally, Cale would make Simon's life difficult by saying he needed the finest quality wine on the Eastern continent or desired an outfit better than the Crown Prince's. Simon completed the first task relatively easy, as if he'd been prepared for it. The second one took time since the Crown Prince mainly wears white and gold.

At the end of the second month, though, Simon delivered a suit of pure white with real gold lining and gold patterns on the suit. For accessories, Simon brought red ruby cufflinks and a ruby brooch.

"So, how'd I do, Cale?" Simon smugly asked, crossing his arms as Cale's jaw dropped at the sight of the suit.

"How- How did you do this? It's difficult for even my family to make something like this," Cale touched the soft material and smooth gold designs.

"I have some connections," Simon grinned. "So," Simon wrapped an arm around Cale's shoulders, "What do you think?" Leaning closer to Cale's ears, he whispered, "Your majesty~"

When Cale's ears went red and Cale removed Simon's arm, Simon laughed.

Sitting in the evening sun in Cale's room, Cale yawned, tiredly lifting his head off of Simon's shoulders. Cale glanced at Simon since the man didn't say anything.