The Winter's Servant {Stucky AU} COMPLETED

~Chapter Sixteen~

                     Guyyss we're at sixteen chapters,  I wasn't even gonna write Two because I thought this story was trash wth

                              James was somewhere inbetween fuming and being heartbroken as he followed Steven down the corridor.  Against his will,  his eyes were mesmerized by his every step,  how he held his head down and latched his hands together in front of him, so obedient and humble,  James couldn't think if anyone who could be more submissive than him.  . . He was genuinely infatuated with the servant. 
He shook his head.  He hated that he loved him so much.

He was just so confused.  What exactly had his father whipped him?  Steven was one of the most well behaved servant's James's family had the honor if having under their employment,  and to James's memory,  Steven had never stepped out of line, so he could barely comprehend the situation.

The Prince watched as his servant grasped the door knob to James's bedroom,  his petite fingers turning the knob.  He followed Steven into the room and shut the door behind him quietly.

Steven's demeanor behind the closed door was hardly any different from when it was open- his eyes were as wide as saucers,  yet he kept them fixated on the floor.  He wrung his hands together nervously.

James hated it.  He didn't want Steven to be nervous or afraid,  or anything less than happy.  He longed for Steven to be himself around James,  for him to tell him every little detail about his day,  he wanted him to be curled up in his arms next to him in bed as they sleepily spoke sweet nothings into each other's ears,  he wanted Steven to be happy and to forget,  even if only temporarily,  that he was a servant.

But he couldn't just let the fact that his servant had been whipped and had not told him pass by. 

Narrowing his eyes,  James commented,  "You were whipped while I was away? "

Hesitantly,  Steven nodded,  still not meeting James's eyes. 

James began to pace around the bedroom.  "And you just so happened to fail to tell me this,  Steven? "

"I.  . . I didn't think it was important, Master. "

The Prince let out a frustrated groan. "None of that.  Don't you dare start treating me like a prince. " He walked back over to where the blond stood and took his chin in his hands and lifted his face up,  forcing him to meet his eyes.  It wasn't a harsh movement,  just abrupt enough to startle Steven. "Do you understand?" He asked.  His voice was softer now,  more gentle.  He never wanted Steven to think of him as a prince again.  He wanted him to see him as someone who loved and took care of him,  not someone that ruled over him.

Steven nodded again but said nothing. 

James sat down on the edge of the bed and signaled for Steven to do the same.  Instead of seating himself on James's lap,  he sat several inches away from him.  This bothered James,  but he said nothing. 

"Why didn't you tell me? "

He didn't answer right away.  Steven took his bottom lip between his teeth and seemed to be thinking of an appropriate answer. 
Finally,  he said,  "I thought you would be upset with me. "

James reached over and took his hand in his,  running his thumb across his knuckles gently. "What did you do that they whipped you for? "

"I.  . ." He stopped and looked thoughtful again.  James prayed that he wasn't lying to him. 

"What did you do,  Steven? "

"I got into a fight with another servant. " Steven blurted out. 

James raised an eyebrow.  "Which servant?"

"Well.  . . Well,  I suppose he's not a servant.  The overseer,  Brock Rumlow.  I got into a fight with him. "

"You don't step out of line very often,  Steven. " James noted. 

Steven shook his head.  "I-I know,  it's just.  . . " He stopped and looked down, then continued quietly, "I guess I've been having a bad time.  I missed you,  and then.  . . And then my mother died,  and I.  . ." His voice trailed off as teardrops fell from his blue eyes.

James felt awful for being angry with him.. He pulled him into his arms and onto his lap.  Running his fingers through his hair,  James told him how sorry he was.  And he truly was.

~
                 It was never Steven's intention to start bawling into the Prince's arms like an infant, it had just happened.

The story that he'd told James about why he'd been whipped wasn't exactly a lie.

Technically,  he did have a fight with Rumlow.

Technically,  he had been quite upset about the death of his mother and the absence of James.

He just left out the part about being whipped because of the letter James had sent him.

Steven just couldn't bear to look James in the eye and tell him that he'd gotten in trouble because of him.  So he didn't,  and he hoped the subject would never be brought up again.

He felt bad for lying, but he would rather bear guilt from stretching the truth rather than know he was responsible for making James feel awful.

Steven huddled his face into the crook of James's neck and breathed in his scent.  Oh,  he loved it.

James ran his hands tenderly along Steven's body- circling his waist gently with his caresses and working back up to his shoulders, stabilizing his servant on his lap.

He gently pressed kisses to Steven's forehead with his warm lips.

"Let me see the marks." Said James as his lips ran along Steven's jawbone. 

Steven leaned his body away from James as he slowly slid his shirt off,  wincing though it was only halfway up.

James grabbed Steven's hands in his and placed them down as he lifted Steven's shirt up for him.

A shock of cold air hit his exposed skin,  making him shiver.

Steven crossed his arms over his chest as James got up to sit on the other side of Steven to examine his back. 

He began to feel self conscious about his protruding ribs and milky white skin that his shirt kept hidden.  He must look like a ghost. 

He heard James let out a disapproving grunt as he held Steven by the shoulders as he looked at his back.

The Prince clicked his tongue. "They really laid it into you. " He carefully traced his thumb along  the wounds that we're beginning to morph into scabs. 

"My beautiful boy, " James whispered quietly as he pressed his lips against the gash on his shoulder blade. 

Steven whimpered as James pressed his lips tenderly to each wound,  all the way down his back. 

After he'd kissed all ten, he turned Steven around so he was facing him and pulled him back into his embrace. 

"No one will ever touch you again. " He hissed.

"Never? " Steven asked in a small voice.  The thought of having James's eternal protection seemed ludicrous,  but it made Steven feel safe at just the thought of it.  He pictured himself always by James's side,  not a care in the world.  He could be happy,  healthy and madly in love if such daydreams were to ever become reality.

James tilted his servant's head up and pressed their lips together passionately but still just as gentle as his caresses always were. 

"Never. "

A/N I feel super bad,  this chapter is so mundane ugh