Cale let out laugh, wrapping his arms around the hardworking king-to-be from behind as Alberu sat hunched over his paperwork. Seriously, he was going to work himself into an early grave. "Excited for the coronation?" Cale asked, kissing his temple before resting his chin on Alberu's shoulder.

Alberu leaned into the hug, letting out a long suffering sigh. "You wouldn't believe the amount of fucking idiots lining up to change their attitudes towards me. It's a little unnerving."

"My goodness, your majesty. Such crass language." Cale lightly teased, trailing his hands along Alberu's clothed chest and debating sneaking in beneath the folds.

Alberu snorted and turned his head, stealing Cale's lips for a chaste kiss. "It's not 'majesty' yet. Besides, please just use my name."

Cale returned the kiss with one of his own, smiling impishly as he spoke. "Okay, I'll only refer to you as your given name. I believe it's 'that fucker over there'."

"...one day, I'm really going to take exception to your attitude." Alberu's soft smile said otherwise. He turned in his chair, pulling Cale half in his lap and taking his time to kiss him properly.

Cale giggled against his lips and happily indulged in the moment, wrapping his arms around Alberu's neck and straddling him to the chair.

It really made all the stress of paperwork and two-faced politicians fade into the background and disappear.

Cale was the one to break the kiss, one hand trailing down Alberu's chest and toying with the buttons.

"...I can't today." Alberu said remorsefully. "There's too much to do."

Cale let out a tsk but put a stop to his mission, resting his forehead against Alberu's and looking him in the eye. "And when's the last time you rested properly?"

"I swear I have been. I slept a whole night just a few days ago." There was something about that sleep that he'd wanted to remember but he didn't waste his time trying to remember at the moment.

Right now was just time to have with Cale. Not ponder about other things.

"'I slept a full night a few days ago'." Cale quoted in a mocking voice. "Alberu. You're aware that most sane humans sleep a full night every night, right?"

Alberu kissed his cheek. It was cute when Cale worried like this. "It's a good thing I'm not all human then."

Cale rolled his eyes with a snort. "I'm sure that dark elves value proper sleep too. Do I need to turn your aunt against you? I'll fucking do it. Watch me, fucker."

Cale probably would, Alberu contemplated the terrible duo with a chuckle and traced the line of Cale's face gently, happy to have him here.

"I really love you, you know that right?"

"Don't change the subject, fuckass." Cale replied, but his cheeks were pink. He always got so flustered around honest expressions of affection. Fierce brown eyes locked onto Alberu's. "I fucking love your stupid ass too, so take care of yourself!"

"Just my ass?" Alberu teased, his smile full of all the love he felt bounding from his heart and pouring through his limbs. Was there anything better than this? Having Cale in his arms like this and being able to express themselves however they liked.

Cale's face turned devilish and those hands of his sought out and found Alberu's hips, groping his ass shamelessly. "Yes. Just your ass."

Alberu kissed him softly, noting how sweet and tender Cale's kiss was despite his crass words. "Good. I love your ass, too."

Cale opened his eyes to quip back and see if just maybe, the whole 'I'm working, not now' thing was actually negotiable.

There's a very specific sort of pain that one feels to wake up to problems.

The twisting inside of the stomach and the turning of the stomach as the individual tries in vain to think of a way to achieve reprieve from the unpleasant emotions stirring inside.

Cale Henituse hated mornings like this.

He had most mornings like this.

There were too many problems to juggle and his turbulent mind could only balance so many of them before the stress started to cause an avalanche. Mixed metaphors aside, Cale didn't fucking want to deal with the day. It was his second day in the capital and the first day that he would really have no choice but to face the world. He'd been able to use the excuse of resting after his travels to hole up in his room for the first day and now there was no option left but to face his own mistakes.

Again.

Every day was a new experience in facing his mistakes because at this point Cale had just made too many to count. It wasn't that his goals weren't ones that he still believed in, it was just that dedicating your life to a methodology that you decided on when you were about ten years old was deeply ill-advised.

Most children wouldn't have been able to hold onto a resolution the way Cale had either. Unfortunately, Cale had the fortitude to push forward with his mad machinations despite the pain it caused him and those around him.

And now it really felt like it was too late to do anything about it.

Cale dragged his exhausted body out of body and slumped towards the bathroom without waiting for the servants to arrive. They'd come to wake him up in a few hours but Cale wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep with this gut-wrenching sensation.

He didn't know who he was looking at when he saw his reflection anymore.

He used to practice expressions and postures in the mirror, finding the perfect ones to portray the emotions, attitudes, and persona he had chosen for the day.

He didn't know when but at some point even his natural face had begun to look fake.

He never really felt himself anymore, even when he dropped the act and tried sincerity.

That was another problem he'd run into as well.

Being 'sincere' didn't mean that people stopped fearing his fits, sometimes it just made them more anxious because of how unpredictable he was. And he didn't feel comfortable either. It was itchy to just 'be himself'. It was now more comfortable for him to embody the persona he'd created for a goal he'd already achieved.

Cale frowned at his reflection. The one exception would be those dreams. The ones where he was very clearly hooking up with the fucking crown prince of all fucking people.

All his normal predispositions shed away and he was able to really really just be himself.

In a fucking dream.

Cale snorted and turned away from his reflection.

And today he'd be meeting the bastard in person. A twisted smirk overtook his face and Cale let out another huffing laugh at the thought.

In his dreams, Alberu Crossman was the only person who really understood him. In real life, he was just another fucking political puppet who only cared about amassing power for themselves. They couldn't be further apart. Alberu was the perfect son who achieved everything despite having to overcome many obstacles. Cale was the garbage son who'd failed at every turn despite every opportunity given to him.

Of course that was on the surface but even beneath the surface, Cale felt there was nothing he could like about the man. Whereas Cale had spent most of his life uplifting his siblings, Alberu worked to suppress his brothers. Cale didn't give a fuck about power and Alberu coveted the crown.

He couldn't like a person like that. Not even if he tried.

Perhaps he'd make an impression on the damn bastard today. Or maybe he'd just avoid him.

The real Alberu Crossman was just another annoying political. The same sort of person who had driven Cale at a young age to make such a foolhardy decision about his life because they clung so uselessly to power.

...the dream Alberu was a bit more complicated for Cale though...

But who cared if he had wild fantasies in his dreams about a man who didn't fucking exist? He could do as he liked.

–

Even the best laid plans go awry.

Cale had made up his mind not to meet the prince. It was an easy decision to make. Seeing him would only heighten other feelings of disappointment and annoyance and again, why would he want to meet a person who he found so aggravating on principle alone?

So Cale arrived at the venue, stole a bottle of wine from a cart, climbed a tree in the garden, and proceeded to take a nap up in the branches.

He sometimes would climb trees like this at home, when he didn't want to face anyone or anything, and he was sick of even being alive anymore. The only person who'd ever been able to consistently find him among the branches was Ron but Ron wasn't here so Cale could freely avoid people, responsibility, and the prince without the risk of anyone finding him.

The reason this plan wasn't all that well thought out was because Cale knew the trees back home quite well. He knew the strong ones from the weak ones and which ones could safely house his weight and which ones would creak beneath him unpleasantly.

He didn't know this tree.

And this tree apparently had a vendetta against him that he was willing to sacrifice a branch to fulfill.

"Fuck–" Cale cursed, crashing to the ground covered in your now shattered bottle of wine was just not a good way to wake up from a nap for anyone.

He snarled, meaning to look up to the spiteful tree and give it a piece of his mind when his sight instead caught the man who was standing only a few feet in front of him looking just as surprised as he felt.

It was strange. The familiarity in how his blue eyes widened and the sun kissing the blond locks. He really was the picture of perfection.

Cale sort of preferred his true looks but–well, that was just a dream. The Crown Prince wasn't actually part dark elf and he didn't actually know the man, no matter how familiar he looked.

Cale gathered his wits, looking up to the damn tree, back down at himself covered in wine and disheveled, and back up to the prince.

He made up his mind what he should tell this annoying man who he didn't know and had no intentions of getting to know.

"Fuck off."