platonic CaleBeru/AlbeCale fluff. Perhaps Alberu's siblings get some angst at the end. I'm still deciding.
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Cale couldn't deny it. He was exhausted. He spent the last few months sleeplessly defending Roan Kingdom and was utterly done with it all. Even his ancient powers started to fail from exhaustion. His eyebags were starting to show under his healing power. He felt like crawling into his highness' bed - he deserves it after all the running around he did - and falling asleep for a couple years. He was so warm - only having a quick dip of his head into a bathtub full of ice water. He had dried off now, and had been changed into some formal attire to rush over to the party.
That's right. Instead of being in his own bed with the kids and having his room magically cooled to the perfect temperature as he slept, he was going to a party. A formal ball, would be the right terminology if he wasn't on a fucking cruise. The worst part was that since it was in his name, he was expected to attend for a few hours and - eugh - socialize. He would be the youngest noble there, as it was requested for parents only - the Henituses being the only exceptions. Deruth and Violan deemed it safe enough if Alberu promised to be there for him.
He had kept up the facade of Young Master Silver Shield for 3 whole hours, leaving pleasant and charmed experiences wherever he went. He made a few connections and added to the list of 'scammed/to be scammed'. However after a while - and Alberu's amusement - they left his some space to loiter around on the deck. Cale enjoyed the quiet and rocked gently to the boat on the waves. There he closed his eyes, basking in the moonlight and the cool night air. It was a nice momentary peace and he smiled.
"Hey dongsaeng."
The smile dropped. He opened his eyes and turned to his hyung who was walking towards him. He was wearing a very casual button-up shirt, decorated with a sun cloak. He may not have been wearing his usual formal outfit but he radiated brightly nonetheless. Cale laughed internally, because why the fuck would anyone ever dress up to any royal event if Alberu will outdress them with just his smile? Even if someone showed up in a trash bag or pure gold they'd still blur into the background as soon as Alberu walked in and waved. But Cale didn't care about that, his eyes zeroed in on the wine in his gloved hands and sparkled.
Alberu let out a laugh, his own eyes sparkling. It tended to do that whenever he saw Cale. "Can't hide your distaste?" He smiled. Teasingly, he held out the wine and once he saw Cale reach for it, he took the cup to his lips. "I guess you don't want the wine then, hm?" He opened one eye, hoping to see him do something amusing. Cale dryly looked at him, almost as a teacher would with a misbehaving student. 'Have you had your fun yet?' Alberu froze when he saw that, before sighing and smiling again. "I should've known it would be too much to try and get you to act cute. Why can't you pout and whine like a normal dongsaeng?"
