2.1 | Alice ✔

The Plight of Lovers

The next morning wasn't met with the sound of birds chirping, or the warm rays of sunlight he was used to. No, the sky that peeked through the drapes at him was just as oppressively red as it was the other day, hanging thick with clouds that threatened to rain but never seemed to deliver. At least the bed set he slept on was obscenely comfortable.

He honestly didn't want to get up, but he knew someway or another, someone was going to burst in here to retrieve him. After all, he was one of the honored guests at the welcome party they were throwing today. As he sat up in bed and rubbed his soft curls, he still couldn't help thinking how ridiculous all of this trouble was.

A contest just to win a stranger's heart. It was just like the pointless house party his parents were throwing that night, a futile attempt to earn the respect and admiration of people they didn't really care about. Pain lanced through his heart at the memory of his parents. For the first time in the better half of his life, he actually felt sympathy for them. And goodness, did he miss them fiercely. 
                   
"Good morning, sunshine," a voice flooded his thoughts, and he glanced to the doorway to find Ridosen standing there. When the hell did he get here, and how long had he been standing?!

A light flush came to his face as he found himself gathering the blankets to cover his bare chest. He loved to sleep naked, and he was wearing positively nothing under all this bedding. Hatter didn't wear much to sleep, either. He stood there in a pair of loosely hanging silk boxers, a wildly decorated tie haphazardly wrapped about his neck, and a rumpled but stylish top hat. His hair was a ravished mess, his body carved of stone, and from where he sat, the man was overwhelmingly endowed.

His blush grew even darker as his eyes lingered there, realizing how foolish he must look trying to hide his body from another man-especially one so comfortable in his nakedness around him. Perhaps he couldn't sense he was gay?
   
"H-Hatter," he greeted, his voice betraying his innocent smile.
                   
"Sen," he growled lowly, pushing from the doorway and strolling into the room. Zain watched his sinewy limbs move with grace to the curtains, enraptured by how interestingly his back muscles worked as he pushed them aside to let the day in. He had a firm and perfect ass, as well. He squeezed his thighs together to stop his cock stirring.

He was licking his lips as the man turned around and grinned at him, coming to the bed. No! Don't come any closer, he panicked internally, his breathing quickening as he approached.

"Sleep well last night?"
                   
"U-uh," he sputtered pathetically, meaning to say 'why yes, thank you very much'. His heart sailed into cardiac arrest as Ridosen sat on the edge of the bed, leaning in close to observe him. Damn, he was beautiful, and the smell of roses still lingered on his skin after a long night's sleep. He was beginning to think that was just the way his pheromones smelled, as oppose to an interesting cologne he liked to wear.
                   
"Are you sure?" he murmured lowly, staring deep into his eye. His bang was still covering his right eye, and he longed to reach out and brush it aside so that he could revel in his whole face. "You're shaking . . . and your face is red. Are you sick?"
                   
"N-no," he whispered, shrinking back into the headboard as the man leaned even closer. This was pure torture. Zain hadn't been with a man in a few years, and he knew this one held a world of sexual prowess that he knew nothing about. It was enthralling and terrifying all at once; getting involved with him would be biting off more than he could chew, but he was so willing to do it.

Ridosen seemed oblivious to his suffering, and he'd never been more grateful in his entire life. A slow, sexy smile came to the hatter's face as he leaned back and regarded him thoughtfully.
                   
"Good," he said, standing to his feet and heading for the door. "I already paid for your outfit to be made, and the residents are working really hard to prepare your party."
                   
"Hat-uh, Ridosen," he started to say, when the man looked over his shoulder at him intensely. This blush was never going to leave his cheeks. "Sen," he corrected himself. "Y-you really didn't need to do this for us. Thank you for your hospitality."
                   
"It's not as crazy as you're imagining it to be," he said with a chuckle, reaching the doorway. "People only help others to help themselves, don't they?" The man disappeared from sight, and Zain's heart went plummeting to the pit of his stomach.