The Mercenary and the King

by GAlvin43v3r

Alvin didn't know that his first encounter with Gaius was going to cause that impact to him. He didn't know that such a man was going to turn his world upside-down. Will he able to accept the new feelings that are growing inside him? Or will he run away as always..?

26. Isla

New (long) update ^^ Sorry in advance for grammatical mistakes. I will be fixing them these days – See the end of the chapter for notes

WARNING: M scene

---

Remaining debt: 10.500.000 galds

Alvin wakes up at his office in Trigleph with the sound of the telephone. He shakes his head rudely in an attempt to focus before answering. Damn, he thought that by then he would be already used to pass a whole day working without a nap but it seemed that he was wrong.

After hanging up he stretches his arms above his head while exhaling a sigh. The job that he had just received was going to be another boring one, since he was going to be forced to obtain some licenses to be able to hunt some of the monsters that were required to make the merchandise.

Alvin yawns and leans his forehead over the table, while remembering and missing for hundredth time the two extremely peaceful days that they had spent at the Outways' house…and okay, maybe for a normal person 'peaceful' wasn't the best word to describe them because in just two days they had defeated two Elite monsters that hadn't been precisely easy to kill, but well, for a group as peculiar as his that was the definition of 'peace'.

Alvin exhales another sigh. Just a week had passed, but since the new jobs that had been coming lately were extremely focused on socializing with clients it seemed that a much longer time had passed since then. Well, fortunately he had spoken with Gaius that morning and according to the king he was going to come back to Trigleph by the end of the week for a couple of days, so he would be able to forget about the job during that time…and besides, maybe when they reunite again Gaius was willing to repeat his last experience of being in the receiving part, since the last day they spent at the Outways' mansion they hadn't done anything since first, they two were really tired, and second, Gaius was still recovering from his birthday night…

Alvin insults himself internally. Damn, why couldn't he stop thinking about perverted things for a fucking second? Come on, he had to be happy just for being able to see Gaius again, sex was completely secondary…but still, fuck, he couldn't help it: now that he knew how damn good to take Gaius was he was deeply regretting not to have asked Gaius about doing it like that before, and now that he was bored he had a lot of time to get distracted, so his mind couldn't avoid to imagine all the new things he wanted to try…

Alvin shakes his head again. Okay, he better call it a day: he wasn't able to finish writing the report since it required a level of concentration that his mind hadn't at that moment. Besides, he had still two days until he was forced to submit it, so he didn't need to hurry. And what the hell, he knew himself too well: he knew that he was going to wait until just a few hours before the time limit to begin to work seriously on it, but well, until now that extremely stressed and stupid technique has been working just fine so he wasn't going to change it.

Alvin's first impulse is to leave the office right then, but then he imagines Yurgen's reproaching face and he decides to stay to organize the multiple papers that were scattered on his table, around the floor and even over the poor almost-dry plant that was adorning the window, and although it was a tedious job at least it didn't require much concentration so he could keep getting lost in his totally-innocent thoughts without feeling guilty at all.

After the last remaining hour passes, Alvin comes back to Balan's apartment to find his cousin about to get asleep over the dining-living room table.

"It seems that I'm not the only one who gets bored at job", Alvin says as a greeting startling his cousin.

"Hi, Alfred", he says with a smile before removing his glasses to rub his eyes with a tired gesture, "can I suppose that your day hasn't been very exciting either?"

"It's been horrible", Alvin exhales while entering the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge, "you know, I don't mind at all to spend a whole week getting crazy trying to hunt a monster, but seriously writing reports is against my nature"

Balan chuckles while Alvin sinks into the sofa.

"I thought that it was Yurgen's task to do that"

"Yeah, and it is", Alvin says while taking a sip of the beer, "but he is rather busy with the wedding preparation right now so I offered him help with it…although now I'm deeply regretting to have been such a nice guy"

"Wedding?", Balan interrupts him with a confused frown.

"Haven't I mentioned it?", Alvin says surprised, and when his cousin shakes his head he continues talking, "he is going to get married with Isla"

"Oh, with that woman"

Alvin looks at Balan with a tiny smile when seeing the sudden tension on his cousin's shoulders.

"Come on, Balan, we have already talked about this"

"Yes, we have, but I still don't understand how you can speak with that woman normally after she…", Balan gulps and averts his eyes, a frown on his face, "after what she did"

Alvin shrugs.

"She isn't the only one who has done bad things in the past", Alvin sees Balan looking at him skeptically so he continues, "look, I know that it's difficult to understand because yes, that woman killed my mother so the normal thing to do would be to hate her, and I would lie if I said that I wasn't feeling that way at first, but…", Alvin exhales a sigh, "but I can't totally blame her for what she did, because I was forcing her to take care of mum when she only wanted a second chance to start over. Besides, my mother knew what Isla was doing and she let her do it, so at the end Isla only fulfilled mum's last wish. And besides, now Isla is not the same person she was then", Alvin takes another sip of his beer, "to have lost her memory is the best thing that could have happened to her"

There is a little pause, and at the end Balan exhales a sigh.

"I still think that you are a too good person", Balan says, making Alvin laugh.

"You only say that because you don't know the things that I had to do when working with Exodus", he says with amusement, although he can't avoid some guiltiness to slide and Balan notices that,

"No, I don't, but I don't think that you have done something like kidnapping kids, or like poisoning defenseless ill women"

Alvin shows a hint of a sad smile.

"Maybe not that concretely but I can assure you that twenty years of working for Exodus is a lot of time to do some bad stuff", he says with a tone that tries to be casual but for the face that his cousin makes, he knows that he hasn't been very convincing, "but well, enough of depressed memories: what it counts is that my partner is going to get married so one of these days I'm going to ask you help to find some fancy stuff to wear to the wedding"

Balan exhales a relieved laugh, not expecting Alvin's last comment.

"Well, I can help you but I can't do miracles, so to make you look fancy can be a little impossible…"

"Idiot", Alvin snaps with a smile, "don't you dare to ask me help when you want a good suit to marry Leia"

Balan's eyes snap completely opened while reddening, and Alvin begins to laugh when seeing his cousin expression.

"Ha ha ha", Balan says with irony, but he is smiling, "don't worry, Alfred, when that day comes I think that I will take care of it myself"

"Oh, so don't you deny that you're going to marry Leia?", Alvin says with amusement, making his cousin clear his throat a little embarrassed.

"W-well, yes, although not yet of course", he adds in a hurried tone, "I mean, we love each other but only one month has passed since we are together so it would be rushing things"

Alvin exhales a laugh.

"That's the same excuse that I said to Gaius", and then Alvin is about to slap himself when realizing the astonished face of Balan, "uhm…I mean…"

"Wait a minute…", Balan says, his eyes opened even wider than before, "are you saying that Gaius proposed you?"

"No, no, no", Alvin says immediately, but at the end he scratches the back of his head, "well, yes and no"

Balan half-closes his eyes.

"Alfred…you better talk. Right now"

Alvin exhales a laugh when hearing Balan's commanding tone.

"Well, he didn't ask me about getting married, but he said that he has the intention of doing so when things between Rieze Maxia and Elympios calm down"

Balan raises his eyebrows surprised.

"Oh, I didn't know that he could do that. I had heard that Rieze Maxia was still very strict about its monarchy…"

And when Balan stops talking Alvin knows that despite having tried to maintain his face neutral he has failed miserably, because Balan immediately talks again with a hurried tone, as he had just regretted his words.

"But if Gaius has told you that I'm surely mistaken. I mean, he is not the kind of man that says something so important without making sure that it's possible"

Alvin nods and smiles, although he knows that it's a extremely tense smile.

At first he had been really happy when Gaius mentioned that possibility, but then he made the mistake of keeping thinking on the matter despite he had told himself that he should wait until the moment come, and the most he thought the most doubts assaulted him of marriage being really possible.

After all Balan was right: unlike Elympios, whose leader was voted, in Rieze Maxia the leader was chosen by birth. The only exception in Rieze Maxia history has taken place with Gaius, who was king without sharing blood with the previous one, and that only happened because King Meriad died without having a heir, and because with all the conflicts that were at that time it was necessary a new King without losing any time.

Alvin gulps. Damn. He really didn't want to think about it but if the laws of Rieze Maxia hadn't changed did that mean that, at some point, Gaius would need a heir and consequently he had to…?

"Ouch!", Alvin exclaims suddenly when Balan's finger digs in his ribs, "damn it, Balan, what…?"

"Stop thinking too much, idiot, it's not like you at all", Balan replies, "so stop worrying and trust Gaius: if he says that there is a way of you being a bride, don't doubt his words"

Balan smiles at him reassuringly and Alvin can feel himself immediately calming down, so he smiles back, this time without any tension. Damn it, it was incredible that despite his cousin could be sometimes rather insufferable he had always managed to make him feel at ease, since they were just little kids, and it seemed that it didn't mattered how many years has passed since then. It was the same.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop making my little brain work too much", Alvin says with a joking tone, "but just so you know I'm not going to be the bride in white: Gaius will"

Balan bursts out laughing, probably imagining Gaius in that outfit.

"Sorry, Alfred, but I think that you would wear it better"

"I could say the same", Alvin says with a teasing smile, "Leia in a suit is really beautiful so maybe you should think in changing roles when the wedding time comes…"

"Go to hell", Balan says with a charming smile making Alvin laugh, and he is about to keep teasing Balan a little when his mobile begins to sound. It was Yurgen.

"Hey, pal", Alvin exclaims, the smile still on his face, "thanks to you I was just talking about marriage stuff and how it would be to…", and then Alvin's smile disappears from his face, replaced for a shocked expression, "…what?...", Alvin exhales a deep breath, "okay, man, I'm on my way"

Alvin hangs up, and after some seconds of staring in blank in front of him he realizes that Balan is looking at him with worry.

"What happens?"

Alvin gulps, and although he tries to use his normal voice, this one trembles a little when he speaks.

"It was Yurgen. It…", Alvin gulps again, "It seems that Isla has just collapsed"

---

After receiving Yurgen's call Alvin immediately left Balan's apartment towards Trigleph station. He was able to take the train that was leaving at that moment towards Marksburg, and when he arrived he had only to wait fifteen minutes to take the ship until Aladhi Seaheaven. The rest of the travel has been longer, extremely longer, and when he finally arrived at Xian Du he didn't know what the exact time was, but since everything was almost pitch-black it has to be late at night. Really late.

Alvin goes towards Xian Du's hospital almost running. He asks the receptionist about the room 101, in which according to Yurgen Isla has been moved, and after thanking the woman he walks towards the doors that she had just indicated him. Alvin exhales deep breaths while walking towards those extremely stretch corridors, trying to ignore the unmistakable smell of hospital that he had always hated and that always makes him remember the first years that he had spent with his mother there, until the doctors realized that his mother wasn't going to get better so it was a loss of time and money to be paying for a room when she was going to be more comfortable at home.

When he finally reaches the room he takes another deep breath before knocking. Just a couple of seconds later the door opens to show an extremely drawn Yurgen, bags under his eyes and a completely strained and worried expression on his tired face.

"Hi, Alvin", he says with a thick voice, forcing a smile, "thanks for coming"

Alvin nods, trying to smile back at him but he doesn't manage to do it. He hadn't seen his partner like this before, so about to break.

"It's nothing", he says simply grabbing Yurgen's shoulder briefly before finally entering the room, and when he looks at the bed he can't avoid a gulp when seeing the motionless figure of Isla, so similar to his mother figure when she suffered one of her attacks, being the only indication that Yurgen's fiancée was still alive the light movement of her chest going up and down, covered by the blankets. Damn it. Just a couple of days ago she and Yurgen had called him to tell the good news of their wedding. She had sounded so happy right then…and now…

"How is she?", Alvin finally asks, averting his eyes from the sleeping figure.

Yurgen exhales a sigh.

"Not very well", he answers, and Alvin admires him for being able to speak so firmly despite the situation, "the doctors say that her body is perfectly fine, it's her mind which is unstable and is making her be in this state"

Alvin frowns confused.

"So…it's another of her usual attacks? But damn, it's been months since the last she suffered. I thought that she has got over it by now"

Yurgen exhales a sigh and Alvin knows for sure that he is mistaken: it couldn't be one of Isla's usual attacks because it that was the case, Yurgen wouldn't be so worried.

"Yes, but the doctor has said that people as Isla who suffer from a deep amnesia can be easily affected if they find something that triggers a specially stunning memory"

Alvin's frown increments even more.

"And that what's happened?"

Yurgen goes towards the bedside table to grab a photo and a little box.

"Do you remember the safety box in your mother's room?"

Alvin raises his eyebrows surprised.

"Yes, but we never managed to open it because I had long forgotten the combination"

Yurgen nods.

"When I gave the ring to Isla she said that she wanted to keep it in a safe place in order to not to lose it, and since the safety box was in perfect condition she stubbornly insisted on discovering the combination"

Alvin's eyes snap opened.

"But if I remember correctly the box has a four-digits lock", Yurgen nods, and this time he can't avoid a tiny smile on his face, "don't tell me that she probed all the numbers one by one…"

"Yes, she did", Yurgen says, "she spent all the afternoon until she discovered the password, and when she opened the box she found this"

Yurgen hands the little box and the folded photography to Alvin. He opens the box first with trembling hands to discover that his mother's ring was inside, the ring that his father gave to her, the ring that she was always wearing until her fingers were too fragile to wear anything on them. Alvin gulps. At the moment, that ring has only brought bad memories to him so he had decided to bury it into that box but now he was glad to have it back.

After clearing his throat trying to push away the attempt on lump that was trying to appear he puts the ring in one of his pockets and straighten the photography…and then his heart skips a beat.

The photo showed three people smiling at the camera:

The first person was Laeticia, Alvin's mother, sitting in a chair, and for the smile she was showing it was clear that she was in the very beginning on her illness, when her body and mind still belonged to her and the only indication of her health not being completely fine was a slight paleness on her gentle face.

The second person was Alvin himself, standing behind his mother a little bended forward to be able surround his mother's neck with both of his arms in an affectionate gesture, and Alvin estimates that he had to be fifteen or sixteen by that time…no, he was fifteen for sure, because he remembered perfectly that although he has been working for Gilland since he was little, the jobs that he has been forced to do during the first five years have been rather easy (delivering packages, listening to conversations…) and consequently, the smile that Alvin was wearing at that moment in the photo was a sincere one, and probably the last real smile that he was going to show because just some months later he would turn sixteen and that would be the moment in which his life as a mercenary would begin.

And the third and last person on the photo was Isla, sitting next to Alvin's mother, one of her hands settled over Alvin's head as she was ruffling his hair. At that time she wore the hair extremely short, and Alvin remembers then that he usually teased her saying that she looked like a fairy. Alvin gulps. Damn, he had forgotten about those peaceful days, before everything began to slowly crumble…

"So…", Alvin clears his throat again, "so Isla saw this photo and she..."

Yurgen nods.

"Yes, she collapsed"

There is a little pause.

"Alvin…", he looks at Yurgen, confused for his change of tone, that suddenly sounded extremely awkward, "listen, I know that what I'm going to say now is going to be extremely uncomfortable but I have to ask", Yurgen exhales a deep breath before continuing talking, "in the past…did anything happen between you and Isla?"

Alvin's eyes open wide.

"What?"

Yurgen averts his eyes while exhaling a frustrated sigh.

"What happened in Labari, when she…", Yurgen gulps, his voice trembling a little when he says the next words, "fell from that bridge and lost her memory as a result…that made me realize that there were a lot of things about her that I didn't know, but I didn't mind, because the only thing that mattered was that I loved Isla, and that I wanted to protect her and to be with her no matter what"

Alvin gulps. He didn't like how the conversation was going one bit…

"However", ", Yurgen fixes his eyes on Alvin again, "I can't keep being in the dark anymore, because according to the doctor the fact that Isla collapsed like this after such a long time can only mean that she has seen something in that photo that has deeply affected her, making her be in this state. And…", Yurgen seems to hesitate from a couple of seconds before speaking again, "…and I know for sure that Isla took care of your mother until the end, so the only possibility that comes to my mind is that what had made her collapse like that has to be something related to you, since only you three appear on the picture"

Alvin makes sure not to change his expression while Yurgen speaks. Of course Yurgen didn't know that Isla had poisoned his mother: when Isla's incident took place, the group accorded to tell Yurgen that Isla has been an Exodus agent but nothing more, and in fact they didn't tell him that she had jumped, they only said that it has been an accident.

"Please, Alvin, if you know something you have to tell me. I thought that she was already fine but I was completely mistaken: the doctor says that if she hasn't gotten over her past already, that means that she will never do, so…"

Alvin gulps when hearing Yurgen' voice about to fail at the end but he keeps his face almost neutral while Yurgen talks again.

"…So the only way to help Isla is to be sure that she doesn't remember anything that could trigger a reaction like this ever again, and in order to do that I need to know at least what has been traumatic enough to make her react like that. If I don't know anything…", Yurgen exhales an empty laugh, "how am I going to be able to help her?"

Alvin averts his eyes. What Yurgen was asking him…he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell him anything, because he didn't know how his pal was going to react when knowing what Isla had done. It's true that everyone has ghosts that wants to keep locked in the wardrobe…but Isla was the same as him: her ghosts were too ugly to show.

"Sorry, pal", Alvin says making sure to look at Yurgen in the eye, "I would like to help but I really don't know what could have made Isla react so much. I'm sorry"

There is a silence so tense that it can be cut with a knife, and after being staring at each other for some moments Yurgen finally speaks.

"Okay, then can you answer a different question?", Yurgen says with a pretended casual tone, since his inner tension could be clearly heard in his voice, "if there's nothing strange between Isla and you why were you so cold to her at first?"

"Because she was my mother's doctor and she couldn't cure her", he says, and certainly the words were true, although inaccurate, "I know that's the kind of feeling that a child would have but you know that I was not very mature at that time"

Yurgen lets pass the opportunity that Alvin has offered him to call him immature and speaks again.

"Okay, the last question then", Yurgen approaches the table and grabs an envelope, "before, I've said that in the safety box there were only two things but I've lied", Alvin gulps. What…?, "the truth is that I wasn't going to ask about this because, as you know, I don't like to intrude in the other one's life at all, but since you are clearly avoiding answering me…", Yurgen practically throws at Alvin's face the envelop, "you don't let me any other choice"

Alvin manages to grab the envelope before it hits his face, and although he doesn't want to open it at all he ends doing it, and he can't avoid a gulp when seeing its content: more pictures, three more pictures concretely, all of them rather similar to the first one that Yurgen had showed him, since in them Alvin, his mother and Isla were posing in front of the camera as well, but their positions were lightly different: in the first picture, Alvin was passing both of his arms over his mother and Isla's shoulder; in the second picture, Isla was grabbing Laetitia's arm with affection while pinching Alvin's cheek playfully; and in the third picture, he was kissing Isla on the cheek while she put a gesture of pretended disgust that was making Laeticia laugh with amusement. Alvin gulps. Shit. He had completely forgotten that there were more photos.

"You've already lied about you and Isla knowing each other so why should I believe that you don't know anything about the motive of her being like this?"

Alvin exhales a sigh and looks at Yurgen, who now had his arms crossed and an angry frown adorning his face, his eyes showing such pain that Alvin feels guiltiness settling in his stomach.

"I don't care if you and her were together, or slept together, or any about that", Yurgen snaps, "but what I do want to know if why the hell this photography has made her be like this", Yurgen signals with a rude movement Isla's figure, "did something bad happen between you two? Look, whatever it was it's in the past, and I know that you two were working for Exodus during that time so I suppose that you were forced to do some bad things, so if you don't want to give me details I won't ask but please, Alvin", Yurgens softens his tone, "tell me the truth"

Alvin averts his eyes. No, nothing bad had happened between them, in fact it was just the contrary, because at that time everything was going fine: his mother was beginning to get ill but she was still fine and Isla and him were already working for Exodus but the jobs that they had to do were tiring but not too bad.

And Yurgen's supposition about him and Isla being together wasn't correct, at least not completely: it was true that when they were fifteen they suffered a flirtation phase in which they spent a couple of months having wild make out sessions, and that ended with the both of them losing their virginity on his mother's bed one of the times when Alvin's mother wasn't at home. However, at that moment they realized that it wasn't going to work, because although their first time (for a first one) has been rather nice they discovered that if things kept going like that they would end regretting it, since they liked each other but they didn't love each other, and they were clever enough to understand that sex without true feelings was the best way of destroy a beautiful friendship, so they decided to come back as they were before and not to speak about those heated months again. Alvin smiles sadly. It was ironic that at the end they couldn't do anything to prevent their friendship to slowly worsen with the years.

"Alvin?"

When hearing Yurgen's voice Alvin comes back to reality again, and after hesitating a little he makes up his mind.

"Yes, Yurgen, you've guessed it right", Alvin lies with a guilty face, "as you've guessed, at that time we were together. Or better said, Isla thought that we were together, but the truth is that Exodus had ordered me to sleep with her to be close enough to assure that she was doing her job okay…and obviously, when Isla found out she was completely broken, so yes, it's very probable that it's my fault that she is like this now"

When Alvin finishes lying, Yurgen, who until now was looking at him almost completely imperturbable, exhales a deep breath, and when he talks again he uses a softer tone, as he was relieved of knowing the 'truth'.

"Thank you, Alvin", Alvin can feel his heart sinking a bit when hearing Yurgen talk in a tone that although tries to be neutral it's unmistakable hiding a deep disappointment, and he knows at that moment that his good relationship with Yurgen has just been destroyed, "I appreciate your sincerity, really…but when Isla finally wakes up", Alvin gulps when seeing the cold eyes with which Yurgen look at him, "please, don't come near her ever again. I understand that at that time you didn't have any other choice but I don't want her to be in danger like this, and if you're around maybe…"

Alvin nods, forcing a smile.

"I understand. I suppose that you want to be with her until she wakes up so for now I'll be at the main office"

Yurgen nods once and smiles, and Alvin is relieved to see that at least it's a real smile…although of course it's completely different to Yurgen's usual ones, more polite, the typical smile that you offer a stranger and not a friend. The typical smile that hurts to see when you find someone that was usually your friend but that isn't anymore. Fuck. He had really screwed up his relation with him because of that lie...but it was better this way. For once, he was going to do something good for someone else and to take the blame although it was not his fault at all. For once he was going to act as Gaius always does, putting Isla and Yurgen's happiness first, and he wasn't going to get depressed for it. Yes. If Gaius could do it, he could do it as well.

---

Alvin spends the next two days in Xian Du, and since Yurgen was at the hospital most part of the time Alvin was usually alone at the office or at his mother house, and sadly that was a really good thing, because the few times that Alvin and Yurgen had been in the same room an incredible tense and awkward silence has settled, leaving them completely uncomfortable.

Since Isla hadn't woken up yet, inevitably everyone in the group knew about her condition and consequently the entire group made a visit to Xian Du's hospital, except Rowen, Muzét and Gaius who right then were too busy at Trigleph.

"How could it happen?", Leia says with a sad expression on her face. Everyone was at Alvin's mother house, "I thought that her attacks had finally disappeared…"

"Poor Isla…", Elize says with a tiny voice.

"And the doctor is sure that there is no way to help her?", Milla asks then before turning her head towards Jude, "maybe you father could do something. When my legs broke the doctor at Sharilton told me that there was no cure, and he was mistaken"

Jude shakes his head apologetically.

"It's different", Jude says with a sigh, "because your problem was something physical"

Milla nods slowly.

"So only Isla herself can get over it"

There is a little pause.

"How's Yurgen?", Leia asks then, looking at Alvin, and this one suppresses the urge to gulp.

"It's fine, given the circumstances", he says, trying to use his most normal voice…and precisely because he is trying not to sound too weird he ends using a too casual tone, and he thanks internally that Gaius isn't there because he would have known instantly that something was wrong…

…and as always, it seemed that something in the universe had something against him because at that moment Alvin's mobile begins to sound and when he looks at the screen he sees Gaius' name on it. Alvin exhales a sigh. Fuck.

"Who is it?", Leia asks with curiosity.

"Gaius", Alvin answers before getting up, "I'll be back in a bit"

"Oh, I thought that it was a client for the face he's put", Alvin hears Leia says slightly confused before leaving the room, and certainly Alvin couldn't blame her because if everything was fine he knew that his face when receiving a call from Gaius would be a happy one, not the strained face that he was wearing now.

When he is alone Alvin exhales a deep sigh. Okay. He has to do it really okay because if Gaius suspected he would surely put his typical soft and worried voice and Alvin would end discovering himself, and he couldn't allow that, not now when he knew that Gaius was in a rather important meeting and he needed to be focused.

Alvin closes his eyes and exhales a deep breath. The key was not to try to pretend that he was okay, because he obviously wasn't, and luckily if he did something stupid as letting his word tremble he could blame the whole situation, Gaius didn't have to know that there was something else, like a fight with Yurgen.

Alvin exhales another sigh trying to calm down and finally answers.

"Hey", he greets.

"Took you long to answer", it's Gaius surprised response, and fuck, why the hell could he feel himself getting a lump on his throat only for hearing that extremely agreeable and warm voice?

"Y-yeah, sorry", Alvin says insulting himself for having begun the sentence with hesitation, "I had the volume turned off"

"It's okay", Gaius says, and the smile can be heard in his voice and Alvin bites his bottom lip, which is begun to tremble a little.

Damn it, he wanted to see that smile. He wanted Gaius so damn much right now, he wanted to let the damn tension of those horrible days to disappear, and he knew that the best way to do that it was in the king's embrace…Fuck, what was he saying?! He couldn't do that. Damn it, he had already forgotten his initial resolve: he had to accept the blame for Isla's behalf so why the hell was he wanting to share the burden with Gaius? Only to make him feel bad because there was nothing that the king could do about it? Come on, he was stronger than that: he would get used to Yurgen being almost a stranger to him and that's all. After all he was going to keep being his partner, and since when a partner had to be your friend? They were professionals. They could keep working fine. They didn't need to talk much for that. Or to talk. At all.

"Alvin? Are you there?"

Alvin shakes his head and realizes too late that Gaius had just said him something that she hasn't heard at all.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry", Alvin insults himself internally. Shit, he couldn't be doing worse, "the connection is a little bad right now, what were you saying?"

There is a little pause and Alvin is fearing that Gaius comments something about his lame excuse, but to his relief Gaius doesn't say anything about that.

"I've said that I'm afraid that I won't be able to see you by the end of the week", a part of Alvin feels a deep disappointment but another is rather glad. That would give him more time to get used to the new situation surrounding him and consequently he would be already fine. Or fine enough at least.

"Don't worry, your Majesty. By now I'm used to your horrible calendar", Alvin says with a teasing tone, and he feels relieved when Gaius laughs. After those two depressed days to hear that sound was rather comforting.

They talk for a little more, and just when Alvin has hung up Ludger receives a call from Vera saying that there are another fractured dimension to destroy. Alvin suppresses a relieved sigh. Well, at least like that he would be able to stop thinking about depressing things for a while.

He was mistaken.

---

When Alvin finally reaches his mother's house he lets himself drop into the sofa, facing up, both of his arms covering his eyes. He remains in that position for almost a complete minute, and then, suddenly, he begins to laugh, that empty sound being the only thing that can be heard in the darkness of the living room.

Seriously, fortune goddess has to be really angry. That has to be the case, because if it wasn't he couldn't explain why he had been forced to hurt Presa again in that other dimension, and see her die again, and remember all the people that, besides her, he had made suffer over and over again when working for Exodus. Damn it. Couldn't just one thing go right that day…?

At that moment his mobile begins to sound, and when he sees the name on the screen Alvin curses. Okay. It was confirmed. Fortune hated him. A lot.

Alvin exhales a deep breath before answering.

"Hi, Gaius", he says, and he praises himself when managing to say it with an almost normal voice.

"Hello, Alvin. Leia has told me about the fractured dimension", Alvin gulps. Fuck, he wasn't expecting Gaius going to the point so directly, "are you okay?"

And definitely hearing Gaius' extremely worried voice wasn't helping much either.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine", asshole, of course you're not fine, he isn't going to believe that, "I mean, it's been a little hard but don't worry, I'm fine", and now you've said 'don't worry, I'm fine' two times, jerk…, "look, right now I'm a little tired and I would like to rest, can I call you later?"

There is a little pause and Alvin gulps. He knew that it was a really bad excuse but now he hadn't any forces to have a proper fake conversation…

"I understand, I'll let you rest", Alvin's eyes open wide. It couldn't be…a little of luck? Really…?, "but before that can you tell me something?"

Alvin closes his eyes. No. He wasn't that lucky.

"Sure, what is it?", he says, trying not to use a too rude tone, and then, to his surprise a portal appears just in front of the sofa where he is lying and the next time he blinks Gaius is there, in front of him, smiling at him, and Alvin finds himself opening and closing his mouth a couple of times without being able to react.

Gaius takes opportunity of that and approaches him slowly. He sits down on the sofa and turns his body a little to be looking at Alvin.

"If you're so fine", he says with a soft voice settling one of his hands over Alvin's cheek, "why are you crying?"

Alvin opens his mouth to shout that he's not crying but to his surprise he suddenly realizes that his vision is getting blurry, incredible burry, and at the end instead of the excuse that he has been about to give, he incorporates and throws his arms around Gaius' neck, burying his head on the king's shoulder.

"Asshole", he exhales with a more broken voice than he had intended, "I was doing just fine until you've made that damn question"

Alvin feels Gaius smiling against his neck before the king embraces him, his arms surrounding Alvin's back on a tight embrace.

"Yes, incredibly fine I see. And I suppose that the fact that all the group has called me worried because there was something wrong with you and they didn't know how to make you speak is just something that they have just imagined, am I correct?"

Despite the tears Alvin can't avoid a laugh. Damn it. What was he trying to fool? The days in which he was able to lie without being discovered were long gone. Fuck. Now he felt like a real idiot.

"You're a bunch of worrywarts", Alvin snaps, but besides his words he stops hugging Gaius to be able to kiss him intensely. The king immediately responds, and when Alvin notices the always welcoming wet feeling of Gaius' tongue slipping into his mouth his body acts before than his brain and in an impulse he pins Gaius on the sofa in a fast movement , straddling his lap, surprising the king enough to take dominance of the kiss, hands grabbing Gaius' face with pure need and hips beginning to grind back and forward unconsciously.

"Alvin…", Gaius exhales when they have to take air, "…Alvin, wait"

And finally when hearing Gaius' serious tone Alvin immediately stops, realizing finally what he is doing.

"Sorry", Alvin says with an embarrassed smile leaning his forehead against Gaius' one, "sorry, I've done it without thinking"

Gaius half-closes his eyes.

"I seriously hope that you don't stop thinking when I'm not around because if you're going to act like this…"

Alvin begins to laugh when hearing Gaius' sulking tone.

"Of course not, idiot", he says nudging Gaius' nose with his own, "but it's your damn fault for kissing me like that when I have all my defenses down"

"Oh", Gaius says, a surprised expression on his face, "my apologies, I've done it without thinking…"

And when realizing that he had used the same sentence that Alvin has said just a moment before they both begin to laugh.

"Well…", Gaius says when they've calmed down, looking at Alvin again with certain worry, "then are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Not until you tell me what the hell you are doing here", Alvin says, "I thought that you were in a reunion so…"

"Rowen is taking care of it"

Alvin's eyes snap opened.

"What?! Are you an idiot? Come back right now, we can talk later so…"

"Rowen is the Prime Minister, and the reunion in question, although it's an important one, doesn't require my presence urgently so I'm not leaving until knowing what it's troubling you", Alvin opens his mouth to protest, "and Rowen has told me that if I dare to go to the reunion he would blame you for not having confidence in his skills as my right hand man, and that he wouldn't forgive you for that"

Alvin tries to keep his face serious but at the end he can't avoid a chuckle. Damn old man…

"So", Gaius says, making Alvin stop pinning him to be sat next to him on the sofa, "tell me: what's wrong?"

Alvin exhales a sigh, a defeated smile on his face, and after nodding he begins to speak. He talks about the fractured dimension first, about how damn guilty he had felt when he had pretended to be the 'fake' Alvin and had made Presa cry when making her return her ring, that was the divergence catalyst, and against his will Alvin can't avoid to cry again when he speaks about the part in which Presa dies for protecting him and how she said practically the same words that she told him when she died in the real world.

"It's incredible", Alvin exhales a laugh while rubbing his eyes, trying that those damn tears stop coming out already, "I…because of me she suffered a lot, and still she died being worried about me", Alvin exhales a deep sigh, "she was an amazing woman, and the only thing that I did was to hurt her"

Gaius begins to caress Alvin's back tenderly.

"That's not true, Alvin", he says with confidence, "I won't deny that you could have hurt her, but you yourself said that you risked your life to save her, and at that moment you didn't do it for Exodus. You did it because you cared about her"

Alvin shakes his head.

"But I betrayed her. I know that at first she was planning to do it as well, but at the end she decided to trust me…and I…because of me she was tortured and her friends killed. And she's not the only person who I've fooled: during all my life as a mercenary I've done that a lot of times, and I've ruined a lot of lives as a result", Alvin exhales a deep sigh and looks at Gaius with a sad smile, "are you sure that you want to be with a man like me?"

Gaius stares at him for a long second before leaning forward, capturing Alvin's lips in a slow and intense kiss.

"Yes, of course I'm sure. I never judge a person for what he has done in the past, I judge him for the motives of the actions that lead him to act like that, for the way he decides to live in the present, and for the dreams that he wants to achieve in the future", Gaius settles his hand on the back of Alvin's neck, "And you, Alvin, in the past you did what you did because you wanted to protect your mother, in the present you are working in an honorable job that is allowing the interchange between Rieze Maxia and Elympios be better day by day, and your dreams are to keep doing that and I hope that to be with me the rest of your life as well", Gaius smiles, "of course I want to be with you"

Alvin stares at Gaius for a moment, and then he grabs Gaius' face with both of his hands and kisses him passionately, making sure to make him understand how fucking much he loves him, because certainly an 'I love you' isn't enough to express how those words have made him feel right now.

"Have I convinced you?", Gaius asks with a playful tone that makes Alvin exhale a laugh.

"Yep, your Majesty, as always your arguments are super convincing", Alvin says with a smile, a grateful one, and although he was going to keep regretting what he had done Gaius was right. It was in the past, and he couldn't fix the lives that he has destroyed with the information he had sold or the persons that he had let kill, for much it hurt him. The only thing that he could thing now it was to do things right from now on. And that's what he was going to do.

"Well, and what's the other thing that's bothering you?"

Alvin raises his eyes surprised.

"Seriously, are you a psychic or something?"

Gaius shakes his head, smiling.

"I'm afraid that this time I've had help, and certain someone (o better said, people) has said me that things between you and Yurgen seemed weirdly tense", Gaius puts his serious expression, "has it something to do with Isla?"

Alvin exhales a sigh and he hesitates, but at the end he decides to tell Gaius everything, and as he was expecting when he finishes talking Gaius has a frown on his face.

"So are you telling me that you're taking the blame when you have nothing to do with Isla's condition?", Gaius says in an angry tone.

"I knew that you were going to react like that", Alvin says in a resigned tone, and when seeing that Gaius is opening his mouth he continues talking, preventing Gaius from doing so, "look, when Yurgen showed me the photo I hadn't any other choice to lie: I had to take the blame, because otherwise Yurgen would have known that Isla's reaction was related to my mother and he would have ended discovering what Isla did, and I didn't want that"

"Why not?"

"Because if he knows the truth maybe he won't want to marry her anymore, and I can't let that happen: she has finally found the happiness that she was looking for so many years, and I don't want to risk that she loses Yurgen because of an error she made in the past, an error that maybe she is never going to remember"

Gaius looks at Alvin for a long moment before speaking again.

"I didn't know that you cared about her so much", Gaius comments, and although he says it with a casual tone Alvin can feel a subtle feeling on his words.

"Is jealousy what I'm detecting, Erston?", Alvin asks with a smile.

"No", Alvin's smile widens, because Gaius has answered too fast, and it seems that the king has realized it to because he exhales an embarrassed sigh, "maybe yes. I mean, of course I know that you don't have that kind of feelings for her now, but…"

"Gaius, I've never loved Isla", he says without hesitation, "She was the first woman with who I slept, yes, but we both were teenagers, our hormones were too exalted and we liked each other so it inevitably happened, and I won't lie, I'm glad that she was the first because at least my first time was with someone for who I cared about…but…", Alvin smiles at Gaius, with all the tenderness he can use without feeling embarrassed, "I didn't lie to you when I said that you're the only person for whom I fallen. That's the truth"

Alvin has to push the impulse to chuckle away when seeing the way Gaius tries to maintain his face neutral and how he fails rather spectacularly, because the little tension that had settled on his shoulders immediately disappears.

"I'm sorry", Gaius says averting his eyes with embarrassment, "it's not that I want to be the only person who you're loved but…", Gaius clears his throat, "…but I couldn't help to feel extremely honored when knowing that your feelings towards me were the strongest…so when I've seen you defending Isla with such passion I've thought for a moment that maybe you've said that to me in the spur of the moment and…"

Alvin kisses Gaius.

"Well, you've thought wrong. You're the only who has been able to steal my heart, your Majesty", Alvin says using on purpose an affected tone that makes Gaius laugh before kissing him again.

"Then…", Gaius regains his serious expression again, "are you sure that you want to make Yurgen keep believing that lie? I know that Isla has been forced to do things that otherwise she wouldn't have done, the same as you, but Yurgen knows already that she worked for Exodus so don't you think that he will keep loving her despite that?"

Alvin shakes his head.

"I don't want to risk", Alvin says with a sigh, "not everyone is as understandable as you, Gaius. And as I've said, Isla has suffered enough, and a part of her suffering is my fault, because since we turned sixteen and we began to work as mercenaries for real, we become more and more distant, and when my mother's illness worsen up I practically forced Isla to take care of her when I couldn't…and that was hard for her, really hard", Alvin shakes his head again, "my mother was my responsibility, she shouldn't have been the one in carrying the burden"

Gaius exhales a sigh.

"Alright. If that's what you think you must do, I won't say anything more. But I still think that…"

Alvin kisses Gaius again.

"Liar. You've just said that you weren't going to say anything", Alvin teases against Gaius' lips, causing the king to smile resignedly.

"Point taken", he says in a defeated tone that makes Alvin chuckle.

They kiss again, calmly, enjoying the contact of the other one's lips, and although they don't hurry things at any moment Alvin can feel his heart beginning to beat gradually faster, and the necessity of intensify things begins to appear.

"Hey", Alvin says against Gaius' mouth, "are you planning to sleep here tonight?"

Gaius looks at Alvin surprised.

"Well, tomorrow I have a reunion early in the morning but I don't have anything to do until then, so if you want it I'll be glad to sleep with you"

Alvin can feel a little wave of disappointment but he manages not to show it. Okay, that meant that they would have a non-sex night. After all Gaius had to get up early, the same as him, so he better have a night of complete rest.

"Okay, then. Let's see if there is something to eat in the fridge"

As Alvin was expecting, the fridge hadn't enough food for the two of them, so they make a quick visit to the shops to buy something to have dinner. In the way home Alvin hesitates in visiting the hospital again, but since he hadn't received any messages he decides not do so. After all he was sure that if there was a change in Isla's condition Yurgen would be kind enough to let him know. And if that wasn't the case the others would do it, so he didn't need to spend some unnecessary minutes of tense silence.

When they arrive at Alvin's mother house they both have dinner and Alvin thinks again how comfortable it was to be with Gaius like that, and how much he would like to be able to live with him as an established couple. Alvin smiles to himself. A part of him still doubted that that was possible but Balan was right: he had to trust Gaius. They'd manage somehow.

They are about to enter the bed to sleep when Gaius receives a call from Rowen, and Alvin can't avoid a laugh when Gaius accidentally hangs up instead of answering.

"Do you need help with…?"

"No"

Alvin laughs again. At the end Gaius manages to answer: it seemed that the reunion had gone just fine, so Rowen and Muzét were going to make a quick travel to Xian Du to be with the rest at the inn.

"If I were you I would be careful with Rowen", Alvin says with a teasing smile while lying down on the bed, facing Gaius, "if you keep avoiding reunions like that maybe he will end stealing the throne from you"

Gaius chuckles.

"Don't worry, I'm aware of that so I'll be careful", Gaius says with amusement before leaning forward to give Alvin a kiss, "so…are you okay already?"

Alvin smiles and nods, kissing Gaius again.

"I am. Besides, why the hell do you ask? You know perfectly when I'm pretending", Alvin exclaims, making Gaius shake his head.

"For now. I'm sure that you'll end being able to fool me eventually"

Alvin exhales a laugh when hearing Gaius' resigned tone.

"I'll take that as a compliment, your Majesty", Alvin kisses Gaius softly and they finally fall in a rather deep sleep.

However, despite Alvin had thought that he was going to sleep until the next morning, he wakes up in the middle of the night feeling cold, and when he turns to his side he realizes that Gaius isn't there. His first thought was that Gaius was in the bathroom, but when he sees that the light is turned off he frowns confused. Where was the king?

Almost completely awake he leaves the room. He calls Gaius a couple of times while entering in all the rooms (damn, he didn't remember that his house were so damn big…), and when he finally arrives at the kitchen he finally finds the king in front of the opened fridge.

Alvin is about to shout at him for having scared him like that but his words die on his throat when realizing that the king is completely naked.

"Umh…Gaius?", he asks, and finally the king looks at him…and Alvin can feel himself getting completely hard when seeing the way Gaius was looking at him, with pure lust, and that in fact Gaius' lower half was completely awake.

"Sorry, Alvin, have I woken you up?", Gaius says in a completely natural tone.

"Yes, well…", Alvin says forcing himself to look at Gaius' face, "umh…Gaius, what are you doing here? And why are you naked?"

Gaius smirks.

"You're naked too"

Alvin frowns confused and looks down to discover that Gaius was right. Alvin's frown increments. What the…? He was sure that he had the pajama on when…

However, Alvin's thoughts completely disappear when suddenly Gaius approaches him and without warning he kisses him violently and hard, while grabbing him for the backs of his thighs causing Alvin to exhale a cry while wrapping his legs around Gaius' waist, shuddering when their cocks rub together with every step that Gaius gives. Damn, he didn't know that Gaius was that strong, he was carrying him without any effort.

"I was feeling hungry so I was going to eat something"

Alvin exhales a gasp when Gaius drops him on the kitchen table and leans over him, a predatory look on his face.

"But seeing how damn appetizing you seem right now…I think that I'm going to eat you instead"

Alvin's breath begins to fasten when Gaius forces his legs open and backwards and begins to lower his head between his legs, and when Gaius' tongue pushes just inside his entrance Alvin exhales a loud moan while his cock twitch violently…

…and that's the moment when Alvin wakes up for real, completely sweated, breathing fast and with a rather interesting erection. Alvin closes his eyes again, while trying to calm down his accelerated heart. Fuck. It has been a dream.

Alvin turns around and sees that Gaius is still there, his back turned to him. Alvin incorporates to lean forward Gaius, and when he verifies that the king's breathing is completely calm and steady he has to suppress a sigh of relief. He hasn't woken Gaius up.

After leaning on the bed again, Alvin exhales a soft sigh and covers his eyes. Damn it. That dream, although completely strange, has been really hot. Damn, it was still clear on his mind the way Gaius was looking at him, the way he had leant over him with such hunger, and the way he has used his tongue to…Okay, he had to do something with his lower half, damn it, he couldn't sleep like that.

Alvin incorporates slowly, all the slowly he can, and while making sure not to make any noise he enters the bathroom that it's just next to his room and closes the door softly. He waits almost half-a-minute, and when he doesn't hear anything he exhales a relieved sigh and without losing any more time he lowers down his underwear and begins to stroke his member the fastest he can, biting his bottom lip to avoid letting the tiniest noise escape from his mouth and being sure to keep remembering every part of the dream. Damn. He needed to finish fast to come back to the bed and…

…and just at that moment, the door of the bathroom snaps opened and Gaius appears, his eyes half-closed and a frown on his face.

Alvin's mouth opens in shock, and he can feel the blushing settling on his cheeks when realizing the image that he must be offering right now. Crap. Holy fucking crap.

"Umh, hi, Gaius…", come on, really?, "I…umh…sorry, I didn't want to wake you up so…"

Alvin's sentence ends with a breathless gasp when Gaius approaches him fast and without saying anything slaps Alvin's hand to replace it with his own, beginning to pump his member with a steady but firm rhythm.

"G-Gaius…ah…what…?", what the hell, was this another dream?!

Gaius stops Alvin's talk by attacking mouth in a searing kiss, tongue slipping into Alvin's cavity rudely causing him to gasp again, this time from arousal, while trying to push Gaius' tongue a little backwards to gain just a little of dominance, although it seemed that Gaius wasn't going to allow him to do that. Okay. Now he was sure it wasn't a dream, he was feeling too much everything to be a dream.

"Do you think that I hadn't noticed…?", Gaius asks with a low tone after nipping his bottom lip, making Alvin shudder, and then Gaius forces Alvin to turn around so his back is against his chest, "do you think that I hadn't realized, with the way you've pinned me on the sofa before?", while talking Gaius sneaks the hand that isn't pumping Alvin's member inside Alvin's pajama t-shirt, beginning to ascend slowly until reaching Alvin's chest, where it begins to tease one of his nipples, causing Alvin to throw his head backward exposing consequently his neck, opportunity that Gaius doesn't let go to begin to suck his pulse with vigor.

"Gaius…oh god…", Alvin whines, his eyes shut closed and his hips beginning to buck against Gaius' hand, while his body arches indicating Gaius to increment the pressure over his already abused and erected nipple.

"If you wanted this so bad…", Gaius says against Alvin's neck before biting it suddenly, making Alvin exhale a moan mix surprise, excitation and a little of pain, and then Gaius stops his caressing to look at Alvin through the mirror in front of them, "why hadn't you told me instead of sneaking here?"

Gaius finishes his question with a partially angry tone, and Alvin opens and closes his mouth a couple of time before exhaling a defeated sigh.

"Sorry", he ends saying with a guilty smile, "but after having made you come here so suddenly I thought that the least I could do was to let you sleep, since you have to get up early tomorrow"

Gaius exhales a deep breath, and after a couple of seconds he leans his chin over Alvin's shoulder, while his hands surround Alvin's waist tightly.

"I was just going to tell you how stupid you are but the truth is that if it was the other way around, I would have done the same thing"

Alvin begins to laugh when hearing Gaius resigned tone, and with the smile still in place he deposits a soft kiss on Gaius' cheek.

"If you prefer the next time that I feel horny in the middle of the night I'll wake you up without hesitation, but don't you dare to complain then"

Gaius exhales a laugh before kissing Alvin softy.

"I only ask you not to act like a robber trying to sneak in your own house, so the next time that you feel this kind of urges…", Gaius slides down his hand again until being grabbing Alvin's member again, making this one shudder while beginning to jerk his hips again, his eyes shut closed again and soft moans escaping from his half-opened mouth, "let the door opened instead"

Alvin gasps loudly when Gaius grabs his earlobe between his teeth, managing to open his eyes and stare at the mirror to see Gaius looking at him with such a lustful look that he can feel his member twitching in Gaius' hand.

"Oh, so you want me to let the door opened as an invitation to…ngh… join me in my deprived acts?", Alvin manages to say with a teasing but too breathless tone, "how perverted of you, your Majesty"

Alvin smirks when Gaius groans against his neck, feeling at that moment a rather evident hardness against his lower back, and before Gaius could be prepared Alvin reaches back with his hand so his palm settles over Gaius' crotch, causing the king to groan again, this time a little louder, when Alvin begins to massage his erection through the fabric.

"Alvin…", Gaius says with a breathless tone, and Alvin smiles with satisfaction noticing the way Gaius is moving his hips against his hand, demanding more contact, so he complies and slips his hand into Gaius' pajama pants to grab his member directly.

Gaius exhales a grunt of appreciation, his eyes closing with force for the sudden pleasure when Alvin turns around partially to have a better angle to pump Gaius' member.

"And I was the one who was controlling myself?", Alvin asks with a teasing tone, "your face says otherwise, your Majesty"

Gaius exhales an embarrassed laugh.

"It's not me the one who can't control his libido even at night"

Alvin laughs,

"Yeah, well, but if you didn't want this", Alvin gives a particularly hard pump that makes Gaius exhale a surprised grunt, "you could have pretended to be sleeping"

Gaius shows a defeated smile.

"Alright, this time you're right"

"Hey! What do you mean with this time?"

Gaius laughs and kisses him playfully, and although Alvin is about to keep protesting he can't do so because at that moment Gaius forces him to stop the movement of his hand on his member and makes him be looking at the mirror again, back against Gaius hard chest, and when the king's fingers begin to tease his entrance as his hand resume the stroking of his cock Alvin's head falls backwards again, leaning on Gaius' shoulder.

"You don't need to be so gentle", Alvin says when feeling Gaius' finger beginning to push in and out frustratingly softly, "I'm…ah…rather used to it by now"

"Very well", it's Gaius only answer before pushing another finger, and since Alvin doesn't show any discomfort it doesn't pass much time until he adds the third, causing Alvin to exhale a moan when Gaius hits his sweet spot almost immediately, his hips beginning to move against Gaius' fingers while exhaling fast gasps.

"Gaius…oh fuck Gaius, enough", Alvin says reaching back to grab Gaius' wrist, making the king stop the movements of his fingers.

"Are you sure?"

"Really damn sure, I want you. Now", Alvin says with need. He grabs with both of his hands the border of the sink while arching a little his body towards Gaius so he has better access to his entrance.

"Damn, Alvin", Gaius says against his ear while grabbing his hips with a deathly grip, and Alvin lets out a long and appreciative moan when Gaius finally sinks into him, the familiar overwhelming heat invading him from the inside, "damn, how can you be so hot?"

Alvin feels himself blushing for Gaius' sudden heated words but he can't avoid teasing Gaius a little.

"Well…it's certainly normal that my ass isn't cold so…"

Gaius laughs against Alvin's shoulder.

"Idiot, I was talking about you", he says looking at Alvin through the mirror while beginning to thrust in and out with a steady pace, causing Alvin to exhale another satisfied gasp.

"I know", Alvin manages to reply with a smile before beginning to pant again when Gaius changes the angle of his thrusts, "ooh yes, there…ah…!"

Alvin begins to rock back his hips to meet Gaius' movements, opening a little more his legs to allow Gaius to enter him even deeper, causing the king to groan appreciatively as a result, his nails digging in Alvin's ass while incrementing the pace.

"Alvin…", Gaius exhales against his ear using one of his hands to grab again Alvin's member while Alvin reaches back to grab Gaius by the back of his neck, forcing their lips together in an open-mouthed and messy kiss.

"Gaius…mmh…I'm not going to last…", Alvin exhales against the king's lips.

"I know", Gaius answers while kissing Alvin hard before speeding up at his maximum, causing Alvin to literally cry, his body arching completely against the king while spasms of pleasure shake his body.

"Aah…aah…oh shit, coming…!"

With a last loud moan Alvin reaches his orgasm against Gaius' hand, and almost immediately Alvin feels his legs beginning to tremble and has to use both of his hands to grab the sink again.

"You okay?", Gaius asks while using the hand who isn't dirty to sustain Alvin by his waist.

"No, your Majesty, I'm way better than okay", Alvin answers turning his head to kiss Gaius passionately, causing this one to chuckle against Alvin's mouth when hearing his vehement comment.

"Can you stand?", Gaius asks.

"Yeah, don't worry", Alvin says. He has finally regained his normal breathing but his heart was still beating rather faster than usual.

Alvin exhales a satisfied sigh, and he turns around to thanks Gaius for that blowing-minded sex when his eyes get fixed in Gaius' lower half.

"Shit, I'm a total jerk", Alvin snaps, "sorry, I haven't realized that…"

"Alvin, it's okay", Gaius interrupts him immediately, "you're tired and you need to rest so…"

Gaius' sentence is cut when Alvin makes Gaius be the one leaning against the sink, and without averting his eyes from him he begins to lower down Gaius' pants again.

"Alvin…", Gaius begins with a soft tone, "seriously, stop, you don't need to…"

"Shut up", Alvin snarls kissing Gaius intensely, "you're not coming back to bed until you've finished as well so stop complaining. Besides…"

Gaius frowns with confusion when hearing Alvin's sudden change of tone at the end of the sentence, and he is about to ask but his words die on a gasp when Alvin's other hand grab his ass with intent.

"Alvin, what…?"

"The last two times you've done all the job", Alvin whispers against Gaius' ear in a sensual tone, and if that wasn't enough for Gaius to suffer a powerful shudder, the addition of Alvin's fingers traversing between his buttocks to end teasing his entrance is enough for the king to let out a breathy gasp, hands grabbing both of Alvin's shoulders with force, "and that's completely unfair…Erston"

Before Gaius could protest again Alvin kisses him hard while beginning to stroke his cock with a firm rhythm, at the same time that one of his fingers slips into Gaius' tight entrance, and it seemed that the king had already given up in trying to convince Alvin to stop for the way he opens more his legs allowing Alvin to sink his finger in and out more easily, while responding Alvin's kiss eagerly.

"Another?", Alvin asks simply before capturing the king's lip again, and the moment he feels Gaius nodding rather frantically he introduces the second finger, curling him almost immediately an causing Gaius to exhale a deep groan while suffering a rather intense shiver that makes Alvin smile with satisfaction, "there?"

"Ah…yes…Alvin…!", Gaius exhales against Alvin's lips, his hands now settling on Alvin's lower back forcing their bodies all the closer they can be since Alvin's hand was between them working on Gaius' erection with a fast rhythm.

"Alvin…ngh…Alvin, I'm…", Gaius exhales, riding Alvin's fingers without any shame anymore, and Alvin knows that he would be able to come just seeing that sexy image if he hadn't just finished. It was incredible how they could change from submissive to dominating in such an easy way, and god, Alvin loved that.

"Do it", Alvin says while incrementing more the pace, using his thumb to tease Gaius' slit causing the king's breathing to go even faster if possible while his other hand kept hitting Gaius' sweet spot without fail, and when he finally settles his mouth on Gaius' ear and whispers a heated 'come for me, Erston' Gaius can't last any longer and while exhaling Alvin's name he suffers a powerful shudder while reaching his orgasm.

Alvin takes opportunity of Gaius' post-orgasmic daze to deposit soft kisses along Gaius' chest, licking softly one of Gaius' nipples causing the king to suffer a little shudder again.

"Next time…", Alvin says against Gaius' skin while biting softly the dark flesh, "I promise you that I'll make you feel even better than this"

Gaius exhales a breathless gasp and forces Alvin to be at his (almost) same level to kiss him slowly.

"Be careful", Gaius says with amusement, "you know that I take promises very seriously"

Alvin chuckles.

"I know", Alvin says kissing Gaius again.

They clean themselves up and return to the bedroom.

"Well, let's see…", Alvin says beginning to count with his fingers, "we've done it at the bedroom and at the bathroom so next time you can choose between the kitchen and the living room. The balcony is an option as well but maybe is to be very exhibitionist…what?", Alvin asks when seeing the way Gaius roll his eyes with a smile on his face.

"Don't you prefer to keep using the bed? I think that's the most comfortable"

Alvin smirks.

"Sorry, but thanks to my dream now I have a really good idea in mind that involves a kitchen"

Gaius frowns confused.

"Dream?"

Alvin blinks a couple of times.

"Umh…never mind", Gaius half-closes his eyes, and he is about to ask when suddenly they both suffer a jolt of surprise when Alvin's phone begins to sound.

Alvin's eyes open wide. Receiving a call in such an hour could only mean…

"Oh, no… Isla…", Alvin exhales while a very unpleasant feeling settles in his stomach, and when he sees that Yurgen is the one calling he exhales a deep breath. Damn it. He didn't want to answer.

Alvin suffers another jolt of surprise when feeling Gaius behind him, the king's hands settling on his waist.

"I'm here for you", the king says simply kissing Alvin softly on the back of his head, making Alvin smile against his will, and then after exhaling another deep he answers.

"Hey, Yurgen, what happe…?"

"Isla has just woken up", Alvin exhales a relieved sigh, and he is about to congratulate Yurgen when his pal speaks again, "she remembers everything"

---

Gaius and Alvin arrive at the hospital in less than fifteen minutes, and when they reach Isla's room they see that everybody except Yurgen is waiting outside it, with extremely worried expression on their faces.

"How is she?", Alvin asks without bothering with greetings, his breathing labored for how damn much they have run. Damn, it was the first time that he regretted having had sex because it had made his legs be extremely slow.

"We don't know", Leia says with nervousness, "when we've arrived Yurgen was already inside with the door shut closed so we haven't wanted to interrupt"

Alvin looks at the rest. Everyone had faces that indicated that they have been just awaken, and in fact Elle was sleeping in Ludger's arms.

"Daamn, I hate be waiting like this!", Teepo exclaims directing himself to the door.

"Teepo, behave!", Elize exclaims embracing the toy with force, impeding him from knocking.

"I know that it's hard, Teepo, but we can't do anything but wait patiently", Gaius says.

"Erston is right", Rowen agrees leaning against the chair in which he is sat, "there is no point in protesting. That only will make us more nervous"

Milla exhales a sigh.

"At least they could have let you enter, since you're a doctor", Milla comments looking at Jude, who smiles softly at her while caressing Milla's back with the tip of his fingers in a clear attempt to calm her down.

Muzét exhales a sigh.

"I'm sorry, but if it takes Yurgen more than five minutes to get out I swear that…"

Muzét doesn't complete her threat because at that moment the door opens and Yurgen appears, making everyone approaches him at the same time.

"Hey, is she okay?", Leia asks immediately.

Yurgen exhales a deep breath.

"Yes, she is physically fine, and the doctor has said that her mind seems to be in perfect condition"

However, despite the apparently good news Yurgen face is one of pure sadness.

"Then…what's the matter?", Elize asks with a tiny voice.

Yurgen exhales another sigh.

"She has asked me to annul the wedding", everyone's eyes open in disbelief, "and not to see her ever again. She insists that she can't be with me anymore but she doesn't want to say me why, and I'm afraid of insisting more because she is not completely recovered and it's not good to put her nervous", Yurgen covers his eyes, and the next time he speaks he can't avoid the trembling on his voice, "I…right now I don't know what to do"

There is a silence, a too long silence, and then, suddenly, Gaius speaks.

"Yurgen", the named one look at the king surprised, "I'm Erston Outway, a new member of this group. I know that until know we haven't been introduced but I've heard a lot about you from Alvin, and thanks to that I've reached the conclusion that you're a very honorable man, a man who is able to trust in others despite the circumstances not always favor them"

Yurgen looks at Alvin briefly before looking back at Gaius confused, not knowing where Gaius was going, and certainly except Rowen and Milla everyone looked as confused as Yurgen, even Alvin.

"Having said that, please, let me appeal to your trust to make you a petition: let Alvin speak with Isla"

Everyone, except Rowen and Milla who had a hint of a smile on their faces, exhale a surprised gasp, except Yurgen and Alvin who shout at the same time a 'What?', making one of the nurses to glare at them.

"Ga…Erston, what the hell…?", Alvin begins.

Gaius ignores Alvin completely and talks again, his eyes fixed in Yurgen's ones with determination.

"Yurgen, Alvin has talked me about your fiancée, and I've learnt enough to be completely sure that Alvin can help. I know that things between you two aren't very good at this moment but please, be the good man that I know you are and trust Alvin again at this moment. Please"

Alvin gulps and forces himself to look at Yurgen, whose eyes are fixed on the floor as he was lost in thoughts, and although only some seconds pass until his pal talks again it seems that it's been an eternity, for the extremely intense tension that is surrounding them.

"Alright", Yurgen says staring at Alvin, and if the circumstances were different Alvin would laugh when hearing everybody letting out the breath that they were holding, "after all she can't be worse than she is already"

Alvin exhales a deep breath and nods, glancing briefly at Gaius to see the king smile at him reassuringly and completely calm. Damn, why the hell had he such confidence in him…?

"Good luck, Alvin", Leia says grabbing his arm briefly, a smile on her face.

"We'll be waiting here", Jude adds, while Milla nods.

"You can do it, buddy!"

"Yes, don't worry, I'm sure you'll do it fine", Elize says, her eyes full of confidence,

I don't even know what the hell I have to do, Alvin thinks to himself, but seeing the way everyone is trusting him he smiles at them, trying to show the confidence that he doesn't have, and he is about to enter the room when Yurgen speaks again, his voice sounding a little awkward.

"Alvin…umh…thanks"

Alvin stares at him surprised before smiling widely, and without thinking he puts a hand over his pal shoulder, and he can feel relief assaulting him when Yurgen shows a hint of tired smile. Well, maybe at the end they would manage to be friends again. Maybe.

Alvin finally enters the room slowly, making sure to close the door behind him noiselessly, and when he looks at the bed he gulps when seeing that Isla has her head leaning over her flexed legs, her arms surrounding them tightly, as she was trying to protect herself from the world surrounding her. Damn it, she seemed so fragile, so…broken. He gulps. Okay, dude, time to act like the man you are always pretending to be.

Alvin approaches the bed slowly, and when he finally reaches the end of it he clears his throat softly.

At first he thinks that Isla hadn't heard him, but then she raises her head a little to show a face covered in tears that immediately shows an expression full of stupor.

"Alvin?!", she exclaims in a tiny voice.

Alvin smiles reassuringly.

"Hello, Isla", he says softly, approaching the chair that is next to her bed and sitting on it, "or should I say 'sleeping beauty'? You've been knocked out during three damn days"

Isla looks at Alvin in disbelief before averting her eyes, her bottom lip trembling a little.

"Please, Alvin, stop this"

Alvin looks at her confused.

"Stop what?"

Isla covers her eyes with one of her hands, new tears falling from her reddened eyes.

"Stop being so nice with me", she whispers between sobs, "you've been pretending enough during all this year. I don't want to imagine how hard has been for you"

Alvin opens more his eyes, surprised.

"Isla…I'm not pretending"

"Please, don't lie to me", Isla says fixing on him her eyes, and there was such sadness and self-hatred in them that Alvin can't avoid a mini lump to begin to form in his throat, "I know that you hate me. That you all do. It's what I deserve. Someone like me doesn't deserve such a nice people by her side"

Alvin nods to himself.

"So that's the reason for which you don't want to be with Yurgen"

Isla nods frantically.

"I know that I'm a coward for not saying him the motive but I don't want him to hate me too if he knows what I've done. I couldn't stand it"

"Isla…", damn it, she was completely convinced that she was hated by everyone.

"I know that my words doesn't mean anything but…", Isla looks at Alvin, "I'm sorry. I know that you won't ever forgive me, but believe when I say that I…that what I did to Laeticia it's something that I'm always going to regret", Isla begins to cry again and averts her eyes from Alvin in shame and guiltiness.

"Isla…", Alvin says trying to stop her from continuing talking. Fuck, how could he make her realize that she was mistaken?

"She…she gave me everything…she saved me by buying me when my parents sold me, she allowed me to leave with both of you during five amazing whole years…and when the time came…and it was my turn to return her the favor by taking care of her…", Isla covers her head with both of her hands, "…I…I…"

"Hey, Crazy Fairy", Isla raises her head, her eyes completely wide and looking at Alvin in disbelief.

"What…what you've just called…?"

Alvin smiles softly.

"Do you remember that?", Alvin leaves the chair to be sitting in the bed next to Isla, facing her, taking opportunity of Isla's stunned expression to grab both of her hands, "You usually hated that alias, or at least you pretended to do it and hit me when I called you by it…and damn, you hit hard, you know?"

Isla opens and closes her mouth a couple of times but no sound comes out, so Alvin uses that moment to speak again, with the softest voice he is able to use.

"Listen, Isla: my mother knew since the beginning what you were doing…and she let you because she was tired of living, really tired. And if I had realized it before, if I had known how damn hard were for the both of you to be living like that, I would have done it myself. You didn't kill my mother, Isla: I was the one who forced you to do it"

"What are you saying?!", Isla exclaims, looking at Alvin with horror, "that's not true at all! You loved your mother, you were doing everything for her and…"

"No, Isla", Alvin says with a sad smile, and damn he could feel his eyes beginning to get itchy but he couldn't do anything to prevent it, "I thought that I was doing everything for her but I was just being selfish: I was terribly afraid of losing the only person who left in my life, and I didn't realize that in my mother's case, to keep her alive was like a torture…and that it was a torture for you as well to take care of her when she was in that state", Alvin grabs Isla's cheek with one of her hands, "don't deny that, Isla. I know how dementia works, and I know how it can make the people involved suffer …and despite knowing all of that I forced you to take care of her, alone. I'm sorry"

Isla shakes her head rudely.

"Don't make me look like a good person, Alvin: I didn't kill your mother to help her. At that moment I was only thinking in myself, I just wanted to be free and I didn't care about her at all"

"That's not true, Isla", Alvin interrupts her, "if you hadn't cared about her at all, you wouldn't have tried to kill yourself after that", Alvin smiles, "you loved her, I know. But when a person is pushed to the edge for too long, she inevitably ends broken, and the only thing that she can think is in running away, without caring for the people who once were important for her. And that's what happened to you. And in part, I'm the one to blame for that"

Isla shakes her head.

"Why?", she exclaims, "Alvin, why do you keep defending me?"

"Because I was the same", Alvin says, "until I found Jude and the rest I was only thinking in myself, and I always pretended that I didn't care about anyone else…and in fact I was about to kill people who were close to me, who worried about me, only for my sake. People like Milla, like Jude, like Leia. And despite that, even when that people had all the rights to hate me, they decided to give me a second chance…second?", Alvin exhales a laugh, "more than a second chance, and if it hadn't been for them…I don't know what it would happened to me"

Isla gulps, and she opens her mouth to speak but she shuts up when Alvin takes her face in both of his hands.

"So, Isla…stop hating yourself. We both have been lucky enough to have people by our side who love us despite our past, so the only thing that we can do now is to make sure to take those chances and to do something good from now on…so stop being such a stubborn woman and don't you dare to leave Yurgen, you hear me?"

And finally, Isla exhales a broken laugh before beginning to cry again, although this time is not for sadness but for a deep relief, and when Alvin hugs her she immediately returns it clutching as his back as she was trying to get a hold onto something, all her body trembling for the sobs.

"You have always been a crybaby", Alvin says teasingly.

"Look who is talking", she replies with a smile, making Alvin exhale a laugh while biting his trembling bottom lip. Well, at least he had lasted until the end…

At that moment, the door snap opened making Alvin and Isla jump in surprise when seeing all the group appear, and Alvin's has time realize (although without much surprise) than Leia and Muzét have very suspicious red eyes before Yurgen approaches them.

"H-hey, pal", Alvin says standing up the fastest he can, "I-I was not trying anything with her, I just…"

But Alvin never finishes the sentence because at that moment Yurgen gives him a punch with enough strength to make him give a couple of steps backwards, and Alvin can hear a little 'ouch' coming from Leia's mouth.

"This is for lying to me and making me act like a complete asshole with you", Yurgen snaps approaching him, and Alvin is about to cover himself expecting another punch when Yurgen suddenly hugs him, "and this is for being such an idiot but good friend"

It takes Alvin a couple of seconds to react, and when he does he has to clear his throat before speaking.

"Pal, please, stop, I told you that we had to keep our relationship in secret…"

Yurgen begins to laugh when hearing Alvin's words, and when they separate he smiles at Alvin with guiltiness.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't apologize, Yurgen", Alvin's mouth falls opened when hearing Gaius speaking from the door, "it's his fault for having lied to you"

"Yeah! I knew he was still a big fat liar!", Teepo exclaims with a teasing tone while Elize nods agreeing with the toy.

"H-hey…", Alvin says with a nervous smile.

"Yes, Alvin, you better come here to have a little talk with me…", Leia says while rolling up her sleeves.

"Wait a little, Leia", Balan says with a reasonable tone, and Alvin is about to thank him but then Balan talks again, "you could break something at the hospital"

"Yes, you could, besides the nurses would throw us out", Jude comments while Milla nods agreeing with her boyfriend.

"And Elle would wake up", Ludger adds, "and she has a really bad wake up…"

"Come on, even you, Ludger?!"

"And we can't allow that, we have a reputation to keep", Rowen adds while grasping his beard, "we better wait to be outside here to have a conversation with our dear Mr. Svent"

Alvin gulps. Oh man, he didn't like the look in Rowen's eyes…

"Indeed", Muzét says while fixing her eyes on Alvin, "let's wait to be in a private place to be able to discuss with our full forces…"

"Okay, guys, fine, I get it", Alvin exclaims, his voice a little more high-pitched than usual, "I'm sorry, okay? I won't keep things to myself ever again, happy?"

And then, at the same time, everyone begins to laugh and he can't avoid a relieved sigh. Damn, for a moment he had really thought that they were going to kill him…

"I think that we better leave", Gaius comments then pointing at the bed with his head, and Alvin turns around to discover Isla and Yurgen kissing rather intensely, completely unaware of their surroundings.

"Yeah, we better", Alvin says with a wide smile.

Everyone agrees silently to Gaius' suggestion, and Alvin is about to leave the room when he suddenly feels something tapping his shoulder softly, and when he turns around he discovers Isla in front of him, and he is about to say her to go back to bed immediately when she forces his head down a little to deposit a rather intense kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you…", she whispers in his ear, "Scruffy Hair"

"Oh, god, you remember that as well…"

Isla laughs when hearing Alvin's resigned tone.

"That's for calling me Crazy Fairy before", she says playfully, making Alvin smile with resignation, and after saying goodbye to the happy pair again he finally leaves the hospital to find the rest waiting outside.

"Well, then you pay the dinner, right Alvin?", Leia says with a charming smile.

"Dinner?! But it's three in the morning!"

"Well, then you pay for an early breakfast. And don't you dare to complain or we'll begin to speak to you individually", Leia says, still smiling.

Alvin exhales a resigned sigh.

"Oookay, let's go to have breakfast"

Everyone laughs when hearing his defeated tone before beginning to walk.

"Can I make you a question?", Alvin asks Gaius then, "how the hell did you know that I was going to be able to convince Isla?"

Gaius smiles at Alvin.

"I didn't know. I've just had the intuition that since you had very similar past it could work"

Alvin's eyes open wide.

"You weren't sure and still suggested to do it?", Alvin exclaims, "okay, who are you and what have you done with the 'I-only-want-certainties' old king?"

Gaius chuckles.

"I suppose that spending so much time with you is affecting me in some aspects", Gaius says, "or maybe I just have a blind trust in you and I was sure that it was going to work"

Alvin exhales a laugh, trying to hide the fact that the last supposition has embarrassed him.

"Well, as long as you don't blindly trust me in political stuff everything will go fine"

"Oh, don't worry", Gaius says casually, "I know perfectly your capacity limits, I would never make a mistake like that"

"Hey! What do you mean with 'capacity limits'? Are you calling me dum…?", Alvin's sentence is cut when Gaius kisses him intensely, leaving him completely stunned, "what the hell? We are in public!"

"It's really dark, so I don't think there's any possibility to be recognized", Gaius replies with a smile.

Alvin raises his eyebrows suggestively.

"Be careful, Erston, maybe then I suggest you to go to an isolated alleyway taking opportunity of the dark…"

Gaius nods thoughtfully to himself.

"Maybe in any other time", Alvin's stares at Gaius in disbelief, while Gaius smiles with amusement, "after all, I don't think that either of us could stand a second round this night"

Gaius keeps walking leaving Alvin behind for a moment.

"Okay, I know that you're saying it as a joke", Alvin says with a smile, before adding hesitantly, "right?"

Gaius looks at him, his expression completely serious but his eyes shining playfully.

"Who knows?", he says with a low tone causing Alvin to gulp.

"I'm going to remember this, you know?", Alvin replies with a sensual smile, causing Gaius to smile as well against his mouth.

"Fine by me", he whispers before kissing him passionately.

"Guys, come on, don't begin to eat before us…"

And like that the sexy mood is completely destroyed when they both begin to laugh.

"We better hurry", Gaius says kissing Alvin softly a last time.

"Yes, we better...and Erston…", Gaius looks at Alvin when hearing the emotion in his voice, "thank you. If you hadn't suggested me to speak with Isla then I would have lose them both so…", Alvin smiles at him, "thank you. I love you", and then he hesitates but then he adds, "Very much"

Gaius smiles at him tenderly.

"You're welcome, Alvin. Me too"

They kiss again.

"Okay, we better hurry for real this time", Alvin comments after clearing his throat, thanking Gaius for hundredth time for pretending not to hear the slight tremble of his voice.

"Yes, good idea…but before that, may you answer me a question?"

Alvin looks at Gaius confused but nods, and then he regrets immediately having done so when seeing the teasing smile on the king's lips.

"'Scruffy Hair'? Really?"

"Yes, Alfred, I was curious about that too"

"I'm interested in the theme as well. I've heard that teenagers human usually use 'nicknames' but it's the first time that I actually know about one"

"I hope that she was referring to the hair of your head and not to…"

"Leia!"

However, despite his protests Alvin couldn't erase in any moment the hint of smile that was adorning his face, because although he was never going to admit it (because he would die from embarrassment) he was deeply glad to have all those people by his side, and consequently he didn't mind that much to be teased.

Although of course he would hit anyone who dared to call him 'Scruffy Hair' again. And hard.

---

I have the feeling that in this chapter too many things have happened ^^U Besides, I've had a lot of doubts while writing it (especially the part related to Yurgen and Alvin's 'fight'), but I think that the resolution is more or less what I was looking for. hope you've liked the chapter :P Thank you very much to the ones who keep reading this story (I haven't imagined that it was going to end being so damn long :D), and, as always, feel free to leave any feedback that you consider :)

Here it goes a SPOILER of the next chapter: Alvin's birthday ^^! Yeah, the fluff comes back! xD I hope to have the chapter ready in two weeks as always, but I have the feeling that it's going to be a long chapter so be patient if it takes me a little more than usual ;)