Cale wasn't happy.

Who the fuck would be happy? The last few weeks of his life had quite thoroughly ripped away all of his stability, trapped him in a world he didn't understand, and forced him back into the role he played during the most toxic time in his life.

It was nauseating. His whole existence ran through a fucking blender for the entertainment of a cruel god or whoever the fuck was responsible for this fucking mess.

He had to question every fucking day is it me? Have I just gone fucking insane? And then reassure himself that regardless of his own insanity, he could only respond to the situation in front of him.

He'd lost every shred of autonomy in his life and nothing, nothing, felt okay.

It was enough to make any other person in his circumstances break down. He'd probably already broken down.

It was just lucky for him that his version of breaking down meant that he still had to fucking handle the problems in front of him.

Cale Henituse wasn't a kind person.

He was the sort of person who couldn't sit still. Not even in the worst dredges of despair, he moved onwards. If he were to lose his whole family in a war, he'd probably be the sort to enlist as a soldier. He just didn't stop.

He wasn't particularly capable or smart, he was just stubborn down to his very bones.

And every fucking moment living in this goddamn fantasy world was torture. It made him crave the oblivion of death just to stop this endless bullshit.

Cale was taking to Puzzle City swimmingly. He was traveling incognito so he couldn't really show his face or go out drinking or even do much sightseeing. He had to sit patiently at the inn while Ron fucked off to do who the fuck even knows and feel the restless anger of his entire world still crashed around him.

He'd taken to people watching. Rather brutal people watching. Sitting by the windowsill and making crude assumptions about every innocent party who happened to walk by his line of sight.

'That guy? He's a fucking freak who fucks horses because he likes hearing them cry.' Cale accused his latest victim, sneering down at him with absolute contempt for the horse fucker.

It would be fair to say that Cale wasn't okay.

Those accusatory thoughts were precisely why Cale was watching the passersby so carefully. It was a lot easier to come up with a nasty thing to say about someone after getting a good look at them.

And yet.

Despite how he'd been watching so carefully that he could remember the contours of the face of the allegend horse fucker, Cale didn't need to look nearly that close before his heart jumped in his throat when he saw him.

It was just the corner of a shoulder.

How crazy.

He could recognize the corner of a shoulder.

But he'd always had such proper posture. It stood out in a crowd.

Cale was already on his feet before the half veiled face was revealed.

No way.

Cale didn't jump out the window. He wasn't crazy. He had his modern sensibilities and jumping out of a second story window was a good way to break a leg.

That's why he didn't jump out the window.

He just grappled with the wall, slid on an overhang, almost broke a drain pipe, and still sprained his ankle on the landing.

But there wasn't anything on this fucking shitty fantasy world that would allow him to have that man out of his sights.

"You!" Despite every emotion raging inside of him, all his voice sounded like was very angry and very aggressive. It caused some passersby to skitter away anxiously, not wanting to get involved. Cale didn't notice or care.

He made a straight beeline for him, watching the man's eyes widen in surprise as Cale grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up against the closest wall.

"Where the fuck have you been?!"

His pupils shook as he looked at Cale with shocked alarm. He clearly had no idea what Cale was talking about.

Cale didn't give a fuck.

Tears were stinging his eyes painfully as he glared ferociously up at that stupid bastard and ripped away the veil that had been concealing his face.

"I missed you."

His angry voice sounded broken as he claimed Alberu's lips in a demanding kiss.

A tear did actually fall down when Alberu didn't return the kiss and Cale broke away with a broken laugh, resting his forehead on Alberu's collarbone.

Of course.

It wasn't his Alberu.

How cruel.

"...bastard..."

"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else."

Cale snarled and glared up at Alberu again, causing the man to flinch away from the ferocity of the glare. "No fucking shit, asshole!" Cale didn't know what he was expecting.

Perhaps he'd expected that when he met Alberu everything would just be better. His world would stop crumbling or maybe the fantasy would go away or the broken shards of his heart would at least be soothed.

But it hurt so much more.

"You're the fucking worst."

Alberu felt rather wronged over this circumstance.

He had been moving about Puzzle City covertly, minding his own business and handling important matters of state that required he be here on an unofficial basis.

And out of nowhere, a man had climbed out of a window, screamed at him, slammed him against a wall, kissed him, and now he was being called the worst.

It really wasn't fair.

But Alberu couldn't deny that the undeniably insane punk looked genuinely distressed. Alberu wasn't so soft hearted as to help every suffering person who crossed his path, it would never end, but the nature of the encounter had left him a bit off kilter.

It was certainly an aggressive way to lose one's first kiss.

Alberu didn't put a lot of stock into things like kisses and romance, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have reached this age without even a single romance, but that didn't mean he was entirely unaffected by it.

He'd just always had other and far more important priorities.

Alberu let out a sigh. The first thing he ought to do was to get out of the public eye. There were still a few passersby who were observing the drama carefully and he didn't want to sort out this mess, whatever it was, publicly.

"Come with me." He said. "Let's find somewhere private to talk."

He wasn't expecting the redhead to flinch at his words and glare at him as though he'd been personally offended. After all, he would be well within his rights to just shake him off and leave. In fact, Alberu wasn't quite sure why he wasn't doing just that.

This angry stranger had nothing to do with him.

"...you're such a fucking consistent bastard." Cale snarled, grabbing Alberu by the cloak and dragging him towards the inn that he'd retreated from. Alberu had half a mind to pull away like he ought to have done to begin with.

Perhaps it was curiosity that allowed him to be dragged into the inn.

The suspicious bastard in him kept an eye on his surroundings, ready for this to be a trap, ready for an explanation for this abnormal behavior to be lethal intent.

All he observed were startled inn employees, a guard who stuttered out something about 'young master Cale!' before he was brought up into a humble room where 'Cale' finally released his collar and plopped down by the windowsill. His narrow brown eyes glared darkly at Alberu and Alberu felt wronged all over again.

Seriously. He'd done absolutely nothing wrong to be treated like this. Beyond that, he was actually being a whole lot kinder and more patient than he logically ought to be.

Dimly Alberu was aware that he'd been rather effortlessly kidnapped.

Was he that startled that he'd allowed for such an embarrassing event to occur?

Cale sighed and ran a hand through his hair, eyeing Alberu critically as though he were somehow an uninvited guest in Cale's life.

"You can go."

Alberu blinked owlishly.

Another link on the chain of confusing events that had started from the moment he'd laid eyes on the redhead. Before he could question why he'd been dragged up here only to be sent away, Cale continued.

"I know you only wanted to talk because you were worried about me. Don't be. I'm fine. We're strangers. Go fuck off somewhere."

The sheer audacity of it.

While it was true that Alberu had been worried about the strange and impulsive man, the assumption was somehow insulting to his sensibilities. Besides, the sudden dismissal was... annoying.

"What if I wanted an explanation for your behavior?" Alberu asked haughtily and Cale raised an eyebrow at him before laughing.

Correction. Before laughing at him. And Cale had a way of letting people know that he was laughing at them. It was obnoxiously effective.

Cale looked up at him with bitter mirth in his eyes. "Do you really want a fucking explanation?"

Alberu frowned. He was owed at least that much after what he'd just been put through. He wasn't entirely convinced that Cale was 'fine' either. The man was clearly unhinged and exhibiting erratic behavior.

Alberu still hadn't quite figured out why that last bit was any of his business yet but he was working on an explanation that sounded something like 'because I didn't like it when he looked upset'. Which was unnervingly displeasing on the ears.

"Yes. I believe I'm owed one, actually." Alberu replied.

Cale scoffed as though his attitude was just the funniest shit in the world.

"...you really don't fucking change..." He muttered with an eye roll and considered his next words carefully. The ceiling looked like a welcoming escape from Alberu's stupid face.

And it was a stupid face.

He was dressed up in all the stupid fantasy clothes and looked like a goddamn cosplayer to Cale. He sort of wanted to take a picture to mock his Alberu with.

"If you want the honest version, you're my fiance."

Cale hadn't said it to be taken seriously, he just enjoyed watching the way Alberu's face contoured in confusion and he got that puzzled little wrinkle between his eyebrows and his lips parted with surely something logical to dismantle the crazy statement. Cale shrugged and leaned up the window.

He wondered if it would be better if he just dropped.

Contrary to his words to Alberu, he was the furthest from 'fine' that he'd been this entire time ever since his life changed. Alberu had been the last hope he'd clung to in his heart for a return to normalcy and he was left with the despairing knowledge that Alberu wasn't his lifeline in this situation.

There was no lifeline.

He was just free-falling through his misery and every rope he held onto rotted away in his hands.

The idea of cracking his head on the rocks below was a lot more appealing.

However, even if this Alberu had no true attachment to him, he didn't want to show any Alberu a sight so gruesome. He smiled wanly. "More accurately, you look exactly like the man who asked me to marry him. It didn't work out, as you might have guessed, because I'm here and chasing after his shadow like a fucking idiot."

He laughed openly at Alberu's expression.

"So I don't really need your pity and I'm fine. It's my fault." He held up his hands in a 'it was me officer' sort of gesture. "I thought you were him for a minute and I acted irrationally. You can go now. Enjoy your day and do whatever it is you do."

Cale's balance tipped backwards for a moment, perhaps because he'd been leaning against the window with too many thoughts of the rocks below, and before he had the chance to catch his own balance, a strong arm caught him and startled brown eyes were just too fucking close.

Cale pushed him away harshly and grimaced at Alberu, dusting himself off as though he'd been touched by something dirty. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't show me any concern."

"You were going to fall–" Alberu's face was a mixture of indignation and concern and Cale didn't want to see it.

"It is a cruelty for you to show me shallow kindness." He said firmly, brushing past Alberu and heading for his bed. "Now fuck off." He flopped down on the bed, refusing to look up at his absolutely flabbergasted guest. "I have no need for you."

He did.

He needed Alberu.

He needed the warmth and comfort that Alberu's arms had offered for just that moment and he needed the love that had carried him through his worst days and he needed Alberu.

But he hated that. And what he really needed was his Alberu. His home. His life.

Not this poor fantasy copy who didn't know the first fucking thing about him.

Cale shot a glare towards the man who still hadn't vacated his room. "Didn't you hear me? Eat a dick, fuck off, get out, and then go fuck yourself."

He was meaner than he had to be.

Alberu was a stupid fucker with a bleeding heart and he didn't want Alberu worrying about him.

Really he just wanted this horror show to stop.

When he finally heard Alberu's retreating footsteps he let out a sigh of relief.

Or maybe it was a shattered sob.

Who really knew the difference?