"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The audience roared in excitement, wanting each and every gladiator to shed blood amongst each other. Women, men, children, no matter who it was, they wanted more than just a simple fight. Of course that was the way of the arena in Dingirra, in which Kamal only grew annoyed of how lightly they made of their lives. He felt a burning hatred that he never felt before and he knew that he couldn't blame them because it was so normalized in their culture but to see that even children were being involved in this disgusted him. A scowl had appeared on his face but soon ceased when a familiar hand reached out to his shoulder. His expression softened once looking back but he still felt terrible for entering with his only friend and lover, whom he now had to get rid of, all because of this stupid tournament.

"Kamal… We can do this together. I know that they're asking for a lot but one of us has to win. Don't try to hold anything back either just because you know me personally. Not everything goes accordingly to plan, and I know that it doesn't sound very helpful, but we should just try it. Being a gladiator has always been our dreams and this is a good opportunity." Joren tried to comfort him but it just wasn't working at all. Not one bit. Kamal only grew more angrier hearing these words but regained his composure after a while and brought forth his usual blank expression. "If you want this then I'll do it." Whatever Joren wanted was what Kamal wanted. Or so he made himself believe. He knew every flaw that Joren had and would be able to use it as an advantage. They've known each other for such a long time that they both knew who was the better one at wielding a sword. How can he just pretend that there was nothing between us and… Kamal released his thoughts out before finishing it and continued to focus on what lied ahead of him. There was no time to dwell on his feelings but to do what he must as Joren had implied. The two had stood there for one last time and then proceeded to strike, clashing blades against each other, parrying the other's attacks. No words were exchanged and they kept at it until finally an opening was revealed and Kamal used this chance to stab him at that very moment. Joren smiled at him but Kamal knew that this wasn't alright. He was practically panicking. Although his expression didn't show, he knew what he did, he just injured the person he loved most. He wanted to sleep everything away and pretend that this incident never happened, but he was too absorbed into reality that thinking of such things made it foolish. He could never forgive himself for this until the day he dies. Shit. Shit, shit, oh fuck. Was all that ran into his mind and he could feel guilt and sorrow as the rest of his thoughts were drowned out by the people's cheers but also disappointment at how short everything was to them. In real time it was short but it felt like an eternity between the two men as they decided on how to kill each other. This wasn't what he wanted at all. He didn't want to be here anymore. He just wanted to disappear. He just ―

"Hey Kamal, you alright? You're focusing way too hard again and I don't think we need to really do much since we've already done most of the plants." Kamal blinked and turned his head over to Marcel, smiling. "Right. Sorry about that. I guess I got lost in thoughts."

The redhead frowned and went over to Kamal to flick his forehead. "If there's something bothering you then maybe we should talk about it. It's better to not let your emotions distract you from doing what you need to do, right? Sort them out?" Kamal knew that the other was mocking him because he remembered saying something along those lines to him as well and chuckled. He felt happy around the other and ruffled his hair. It was cute to see Marcel pout for him. "W-what's up with you always doing that? Anyways, I'm being totally serious! I know that I only just recently became a noble and that we just started dating but that doesn't change anything at all between us, you know." After that he felt a small kiss on the lips and Marcel was slightly peeved. He knows that Kamal's only doing that because he wants to avoid talking about himself and would rather hear about the other instead. It felt pretty unfair but that was his way of doing things he guesses. He still wasn't used to so much affection, and neither was Kamal, but he sighed and they both grew to accept it. "Joren right? Is that what was lying on your mind?"

Marcel was always sly and Kamal had no doubts about his cleverness but was still amazed at the fact that he could always figure him out, even without revealing much. He supposed that after knowing each other for so long that's how things would go anyways. "Yeah. Sorry." He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and should have just listened but knew Marcel would have asked eventually.

"Do you…" He wanted to ask Kamal if he still had feelings for Joren but couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Thus, in return, was the other's turn to read his mind and reply to his concerns. "No. But I do feel guilty about the incident. Let's just drop it though. So I hear that Vincent has been researching on starting out all those contributions you wanted to sponsor. Any luck on that?" They should have really talked more about Kamal's issue but if this helps him feel better, he supposed that he should just obey and switched topics for his sake. "Not really but I guess that means that we just have to work harder for it." He smiled proudly and crossed his arms. "It might be a pain in the ass but it's definitely a good challenge and all those other nobles can suck it. Lady Rosalynn has been trying to spread more ridiculous rumors about me but Vincent has been handling that as of late. I feel bad that he's the one to clear and sort everything out but I help him with that too sometimes so I think we should be okay."

"I see. That's a good thing then." Kamal quickly attacked Marcel with a hug, surprising the other, and then lifting him up. His eyes were wide but reverted back to normal as he laughed and hugged him back. "Man, you really scared me there for a moment. I didn't think you would really do that when we were talking about something so serious but I guess I let my guard down." It was moments like these that made his heart skip a beat. Although he still wasn't sure about everything, Kamal made him feel something. It probably sounded really cheesy as if it did come straight out of a romance novel but he felt as though a million butterflies fluttered around in his stomach. He was expecting a sarcastic reply but didn't realize that Kamal was staring at him the entire time before letting him down. "Sorry." For what? Marcel didn't really understand but kind of shrugged it off. "There wasn't really a need to but alright."

"I was just staring too much. You were so cute I couldn't help it but I guess that was a bit rude since you were still talking to me." Marcel's face turned a shade of light pink upon hearing that. "Ah… Well I don't mind that at all it's just embarrassing to hear it out though…" Sometimes it was so awkward between the two because they weren't exactly great at this 'relationship' thing. He just couldn't tell with Kamal since he was so expressionless. There was a lot of mixed signals but somehow it worked out in the end they guess. Still, it didn't hurt to try and Marcel didn't mind at all. "I think you're pretty cute too." The words came out as a mumble but Kamal could always hear everything he said. Now he was turning pink too, or rather red. He really didn't know what to say to that and hugged him, but tightly, so that the other couldn't see his face. He didn't want to let go. Not like with Joren. He wanted to stay like this forever and if he gave up a long time ago he wouldn't have been here with Marcel today. It was hard for him to express his emotions. Painfully and crucially hard. He couldn't even cry if he wanted to but Marcel would understand everything without him explaining it. Maybe not everything but just enough. He felt really blessed to have been freed by Lord Sandor and to have met so many people along the way. Vincent. Borges. Eloy. Licia. Rene. Everyone in the mansion loved him despite his background. Marcel leaned his head on his shoulder and patted his back. "It's alright Kamal, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine. I…" He was never really comfortable with those three words but he insisted on using it anyways. "I love you. If you're sad or mad and can't say anything then things like this will do."

Kamal didn't show his feelings much but in front of Marcel he was able to do whatever he wanted. He just didn't feel like burdening anyone with it. He should do a better job as a boyfriend though and be honest with himself just as Marcel would to him. "Yeah. Thanks Marcel." Normally he's stable but today just hit him hard. It was probably because of all these crazy events that happened but he promised to do better after this. Marcel let go and it disappointed him but he knew that they couldn't stay like that forever. "Hey. You're still the coolest person around town. Just because you showed something like this to me doesn't mean that it makes you any less." The redhead smirked and then leaned in for a kiss and Kamal wanted to wait but he ended up deepening the kiss by accident. Sort of. Marcel felt okay with this though so it was a good sign. It didn't take long before they parted and he could see the other turn as red as his hair. Kamal might have laughed more than he should have but he felt a lot better and decided to headbutt him afterwards. "Ow! What was that for? You kiss me back and then hit me?" He smiled and patted his head. "You should probably head back into the mansion before Vincent gets worried. Wouldn't want him to go crazy if he thought you were already missing."

"Oh right. Well it was really nice seeing you, Kamal. We'll meet again?" He hoped so at least. Marcel really missed him, he's been so busy these past few days ever since he became the next heir, that he hadn't really been able to hang out much with him. Kamal still wasn't really allowed in the mansion during work hours because of his anger management problem but he was allowed to visit whenever it was off. This included dinners, hell, it was practically required. Marcel would not let a single person working stay out of dinner because that was the perfect time to bond and he knows that not a lot of them do that. Even if they did it wasn't as long as the dinner itself. He was glad to have made this rule and smiled to himself. "Take care."

"I have the day off tomorrow. Do you want to do something?" Marcel's smile grew wider and he couldn't help but laugh and cry at his question. "Was that really necessary?" He nodded and gave Kamal another hug. "It's a date then! I'm totally coming tomorrow. No swordplay or fighting though, you hear me?" Truth be told, Kamal didn't even think about it like that but he was too embarrassed now to admit that and just nodded. "What if someone almost runs you over again?" He knows it's old news but he couldn't help snickering at the thought of him being his pretend-bodyguard. "Then you'll just have to hold me in your arms and save me." Marcel laughed once again, but much louder, and it rang into Kamal's ears (in a good way). It was so refreshing that his happiness really tugged his heart. He just wanted to kiss him so bad. He wanted to do more than just kissing or making out but that would have to be laid off until the other was comfortable enough to do the same. He didn't want to scare the poor guy away so he figured he bring it up later.

"Alright I really have to go though so see you tomorrow!" Marcel waved a goodbye to him and then he was gone. Kamal scanned the surrounding area and heard something shift, as he pulled out his daggers. He suspected that someone was already there but felt that they wouldn't come out until after their conversation. It was his initial gut feeling, and perhaps he should have done something earlier, but whoever this was didn't seem to be of any harm. "What do you want? Show yourself." And from the bushes was a tall slender figure. A woman that looked as though she were ready to do what she must to survive. It was Dena. Not that Kamal knew her name but he definitely remembered seeing her talk to Marcel at one point.

"Hm… so Marcel is the heir now, huh? I wonder if he's just using you or if he generally likes you. I doubt it though since that kid's too pure to try something like that." She smiled mischievously and then paced around Kamal in circles. "You're not so bad looking. You've got the muscles and your face is pretty handsome. I didn't think he would choose an ex-gladiator though." As to how she knew that concerned him but doesn't affect him much anyways. It isn't that hard to figure out really but she must have stuck around long enough to know. She's definitely not a threat but she shouldn't sneak up or otherwise he would have killed her by accident. "You're here to just see how he's doing?" Dena nodded and then stopped short to get a closer look at Kamal. It didn't make him nervous at all, just more wary. "I see. Well you can leave now before others get the wrong idea."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll be leaving anyways. I just wanted to see if you were treating him right. You guys are a bit awkward but that's better than making advances in a place like this." He was thinking on it later but she seemed to be a bit overprotective over Marcel. He's a grown adult now and whatever decisions he made should be up to him, not her. She was kind of like a big sister actually, he was curious on what their relationship was but didn't want to pry too much. It was probably due to the fact that he was affiliated with Lord Sandor for her to act that way so it's understandable. Those outside of the mansion knew nothing of what has been going on for the past 34 weeks so whatever they made of the staff, after Lady Rosalynn's outrageous speech on bringing Marcel down, was all up to them. She laughed and then stepped back from Kamal. "I wanted to tell Maura about it actually." That was a half-lie, she wanted to see for herself who he picked up on but it's still part of the truth. She just didn't think that Marcel was actually more inclined to men and it's now easier for her to see why she was rejected in the first place. It didn't hurt her much now but she was still curious about it. At this point Kamal was bored of being analyzed but he decided not to say anything further before he said something rude. Then again trespassing is just as rude but whatever. She must have been pretty important to Marcel though if she knew about his mother that well.

Dena finally left without a word and the coast was clear. Kamal thought that would be longer but to his surprise it was actually pretty short. He sighed and went on guard once again, fortunately it was only Dena that snuck up on them, but he should've been more cautious. Reasons why he hated talking about anything emotional that had to do with himself but he supposed that it was also good since he let it out a little. Not really with words but with actions. He smiled to himself and thought back on Marcel's blushing face, it was kind of weird to him, but at the same time he couldn't let go of that image.

Night came by and the moon was glistening beautifully. This time of the day was much more challenging because everyone headed to bed and it was too good to miss the opportunity. Of course Kamal didn't sleep much, he'd tire himself out until the end, although it's probably not a good idea but that's how things worked for him. To be frank, he actually had troubles sleeping and prefered to knock out from exhaustion. He pretended to let his guard down for now by removing his hand from the top of his sword and sat down, stretching his arms out while yawning. With this it would definitely make him seem tired and worn out but the person trying to trespass the garden would make a fool out of themselves.

Very silent footsteps were heard from behind and he stood there waiting for whoever it was to attack him just so he could counter them. Unfortunately, the footsteps were way too silent so he knew who it was. He smirked and continued to pretend to be off guard. "Marcel, you make it too easy for me." A small groan was heard. There was no way Kamal would fall for that again. "At least let me get you once! Super unfair, you should've just let me get close enough to you and then call me out. I was halfway there. Not even." It was like that time when he tried to surprise him during his drawing session. He didn't like the part where Kamal figured out his past but still, he's a lot smarter than most people would think. He's got both physique and knowledge. Marcel went up to him from behind and covered the other's eyes with his hands anyways. "I wanted to do something like this and ask if you knew who it was but you ruined the surprise." Kamal smiled and placed his hands on Marcel's to remove them from his face. "You're actually more romantic than you think."

Marcel was going to say something to deny it but even without eye contact, Kamal could see right through him, so instead he just stayed quiet for a minute. "I guess." He hadn't even thought about himself like that at all actually until he mentioned it. It kind of made him feel bad for shitting on romance novels when in actuality it might be the same for him. Then again he believed that their build-ups always sucked so he's not entirely wrong on them. At least they shared a story before jumping right into sex. Not that he would think they'd do that. He's yet to find a good book though and the last one he read was something Lord Shiraan, or Eloy, gifted him. It had a pretty good storyline despite the cheesiness in romance but the twists and turns definitely caught him off guard and he finished it within a day. As to why he gave that to him he didn't know but that elf did a lot of strange things so there was no use in questioning him. Or he just wanted to piss him off as usual but it was nice of him to consider buying him a gift. Even if it was a genre he hated the most. He snapped back to attention when he realized Kamal was still in front of him. "Just an observation", the older male finally turned to face him and ruffled his hair. It was a habit that he never wanted to break out of. His hair was fluffy and Marcel was pretty much the only person he'd done it to and didn't have a problem with it. He tried Vincent at one point but that went downhill fast. "Shouldn't you be sleeping by now?" Marcel shrugged. "Yeah but..." It was quite embarrassing to admit why he actually came out here. He knows that Kamal likes honesty and doesn't really judge anyone but he felt kind of stupid for feeling this now but not when they were romantic just earlier in the day. 'Ah well, who the hell cares he likes it blunt'. Marcel reminded to himself and kept on doing it. He's not even sure why he has doubts but he just does. Well Borges was right about him being a pessimist so there's no need to be suddenly ashamed of it just because Kamal is together with him now. "You're right but I really missed you and I couldn't wait for tomorrow so I wanted to see you one last time before heading off."

Kamal snorted by accident but he really wanted to call him a worrywart nerd. He refrained from that and instead gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Why do you always laugh every time I confess something? Is it really that funny to you?" He knew that Kamal meant no harm but it did feel embarrassing every time the other did that. "No. But I think when you get into the romantic mood it's cute. Go to sleep though, it's getting late and your stamina isn't as great as mine." The redhead sighed but complied. "Fine."

Like he had ordered, Marcel headed back into the mansion and on his way stopped at Licia. She gave a sly grin and probably got the wrong idea of why he wasn't in his room. He frowned and shook his head at her but she still continued to stand there with that smile plastered on her face. "Licia, don't look at me like that, I promise you that nothing weird happened to me when I was out there with Kamal." The more he tried to talk her out of it the less she was convinced but he knew she was just teasing him.

"It's bound to happen later though, my love instincts are kicking in!" She said it in such glee it kind of freaked him out. Licia was practically twirling around and poked Marcel on the head. Not that he minded her but she would always find a way to make him feel embarrassed. "What is with you and Rene and these weird fantasies? Is serving food and cleaning rooms that bad to the point where you have to make up these ludicrous conclusions?" Of course Licia said "Yes" with no hesitation and giggled. "Come on Marcel, it's Kamal we're talking about. He must really want to do more than just that."

"I don't know about that. I really doubt he's the type of guy into those things. He can barely spit out an 'I love you' or even care to tell me his thoughts." Licia frowned. He really is clueless about these things. Poor Kamal. I feel bad for him. He's just going to have to take things slow. She then shrugged. She doesn't really know that much and is probably making baseless conclusions again but she's sure that out of the two, Kamal wants to further the relationship. In fact, if Marcel dated any of the four eligible bachelors (she would like to say in her own head but it's obvious she knows that this is a sim date despite the fact that no one else knows) they'd want more. Marcel is just the one that doesn't understand enough unless they make it incredibly obvious. It's not like she wanted to give him cheat codes, Rene was better with that; the girl always had to spell things out for others and she decided to leave it at that. "Whatever you say but you should really be better at reading his thoughts too if you guys are a thing. Anyways, I'm off to see if Lord Shiraan needs any of my help.~" By 'help' of course she means fantasizing about him but Marcel knows she's not that crazy to try and do something. He's pretty sure that she actually has a thing for Rene but maybe that's just his own wild imagination and he shouldn't assume.

What did she mean by reading him too? If she was the one to date Kamal she'd have troubles as well, he's not the easiest person, I do say so myself. I'm normally aware of a lot of things but he makes it so hard for me to understand his intentions. But… maybe she's right. When we kissed last time he seemed to deepen it but I didn't stop him either, he stopped himself. Well we kind of both stopped it ourselves but I felt like he wanted it to last longer. Maybe he stopped because of me though. Ugh. He omitted that thought and shook his head. Why am I even thinking about this? It's not like I want it to further. It was actually a terrifying thought to the male and he soon felt disgusted. Not really disgusted with Kamal but the fact that he was even thinking of doing things with him in the first place and shooed it away immediately once again. Licia… I'm going to get back at you for this but there's too many things to focus on at hand now. Marcel sighed and pulled back his hair as he made his way to his room. He plopped onto his bed and was too lazy and tired to write something back to his mom. Neither did he want to read through the letters directed towards him by other nobles. Most of them were either hate letters or people trying to suck up to him to leech him off for money. Lady Rosalynn was seriously not lying about making his life a living hell after he became heir. It was only a few days after and there's already a massive amount of annoying obstacles in the way. Whether he gets help or not, people are gonna try to take advantage of him somehow. Now he feels how his father felt and sighed. He groaned loudly afterwards and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bed with his face flat on his pillow. It wasn't exactly that comfortable since he was practically running around all day but at least he snuck in a few breaks seeing Kamal. His lips curved up into a small smile and he closed his eyes, wondering how things would go for their plans for tomorrow.

Notes

I might change the ratings to something else later if I decide to further the plot into focusing more on romance but for now I actually want to focus on Marcel surviving the horde of nobles trying to win him over or steal his position. Originally I was going to make it into a one-shot but I ended up liking the idea of turning this into something with full chapters. I plan on doing that with the other bachelors but of course they'll have different storylines.

Thank you for reading though and have a nice day. Leave reviews, bookmarks, comments, or don't, it's all up to you. ◝( ′ㅂ`)و ̑̑