Next chappy. Not much to say, but enjoy!
Red Kitsune Flames: XD, you think? You sound freaked out a little, why could that possibly be? Ah well, thanks for reviewing!
freya kurenai: Yes, all praise the best song in the world! No one can deny its greatness. Thanks for reviewing!
Polaris18: Hm...it could go with Suki, but if you knew Belial, you'd know it's his song hands down. Either way, it's a great song. Thanks for reviewing!
Marriage. It was possibly the single greatest evil in this world to Kiyotaka. Especially now, due to his unexpected promotion to king status. His mother had become a complete wreck since that night, almost a week ago, and was unable to arrange anything. This, of course, did mean a bit of relief for the eldest Narumi brother since he was no longer pestered every waking hour to find a wife. That in itself was a dilemma, though. While Kiyotaka didn't completely shun women, he couldn't stand most of them. Half the men he knew were whiney enough as it was, he didn't need countless girls throwing themselves at him. Since he knew the court and people in general would frown upon a gay marriage, he was forced to choose a woman for his partner. Sighing to himself, the brunette made his way out into the garden in the back of his castle.
A cross-shaped pathway led throughout the garden, dividing the main area into four sections, each blooming with various flowers of all rarities and origins. The main path, leading from the castle and going straight out, led past the flowers to a large pond with all sorts of fish of tropical colors and unusual shapes swimming about, large lily pads and flowers petals skimming across the surface. In the middle of the pathway set an old-fashioned wishing well that Kiyotaka recalled Ayumu falling in once when trying to look down and see the bottom. The five-year-old soon learned the meaning of 'shallow water'. The garden was set in a depression in the castle's south wall so three of the garden's edges were surrounded by cold, grey cement. The last edge was lined with a row of sakura trees, whose petals often blew off in a summer breeze and drifted to land on the surface of the pond. One could easily slip through the trees to get a view of a setting sun sinking below the rolling hills of the land. It made for a peaceful spot that Kiyotaka frequented often when he needed to get away from the hassle of the castle life. He glanced over the expanse of nature and paused at the upper left patch of flowers, the one slightly closer to the pond and trees. Quirking an eyebrow he made his way over to the form lying in the patch of white lilies, moonflower, and white carnations.
Earlier that day...
"Eyes, come on." The boy's eldest brother whined, "You need to redeem yourself, you've disgraced the family name."
An eyebrow shot up at the remark as Azel, the youngest of his three elder brothers gave Faii a look, "Don't say that." He warned.
"Why?" the eldest wondered, tilting his head to the side, "It's true."
"If you say things like that, he'll angst about it." Setsuna, the middle elder brother reminded him.
"Oh, right." Faii agreed, looking back to Eyes, "You're... a great brother?"
The youngest just hung his head as Azel continued to scold them both to no avail. Set simply ignored the younger boy and walked out the door while Faii curled up on the couch, promptly falling asleep. The silver-haired boy glanced to his brother, "At least you tried?" he offered.
"Not that it matters." Azel argued, "They never listen to anyone."
"Faii thinks because he's the oldest, he doesn't have to, and Set just doesn't respect anyone so he does whatever he wants."
The brunette nodded in agreement and sighed, "Well, at least now you don't have to go?"
"And when Faii wakes up and I'm still here?" the blue-eyed boy questioned, "He'll do something even worse...like cook."
A small shiver went down Azel's spine at the suggestion-- Faii was possibly the worst cook in the world. He took simple ingredients and made horrific creations with them that bubbled, foamed, melted pots, and some even moved. It was no doubt his cooking was toxic, and even worse, he thought it was good and wouldn't accept that anyone else didn't agree. So, the younger brothers were occasionally forced to choke down the acidic, liquid yet lumpy meals he somehow managed to concoct. Eyes always thought he'd make a great mad scientist with his creations. The brunette nodded and sympathized with his brother, "Looks like you're stuck, then."
A sigh escaped the silver-haired boy's lips as he nodded, "I'll see you when I get rejected." He said before exiting their home and making his way to the castle. Of course, by the time he had gotten there, it was nightfall and the way to attempt to look like he wanted to win Kiyotaka over was not to bang on his door in the middle of the night. So, like any good boy, he snuck around back and found himself a place to sleep. That, of course, was where Kiyotaka found him a few hours later when he snuck out from the castle.
A sleeping angel, he thought on first sight. A small form delicately curled up in a bed of glowing white and silver petals, complimenting his silvery locks of hair and pale skin. He almost reminded Kiyotaka of a porcelain doll-- he seemed as fragile as one. The young boy stirred in his sleep, sensing a shadow blocking the moonlight filtering over him. Vibrant blue eyes opened slowly, fluttering out the last remnants of sleep and gazed upon the brunette. A small gasp escaped the angel-featured one as he sat up and blinked, rubbing his eyes to clear his vision of the haze that sleep had set upon him. Once fully awake, his sights turned back up to the one towering over him. He knew right away this wasn't good-- he had come here to see Kiyotaka, not get caught by him.
Said man simply tilted his head to the side, studying the lithe figure still seated in the pale flowerbed, waiting for him to speak or move. Silver locks rustled from side to side as Eyes shook his head and glanced up once more. Pale lips separated to speak, but no words found their way past his throat. Somehow, anything he could think of to say sounded unintelligent or just downright ridiculous. He looked to Kiyotaka, trying to communicate his reason for being there without saying a word; in reality, he realized not speaking might have made him appear illiterate, as many of the poorer commoners were never taught well. Not that Eyes' family was anywhere near poor nor common, but he doubt Kiyotaka knew that.
Seeing that the younger one wasn't going to initiate a conversation, the brunette considered his options. Ultimately, he had three courses he could take: start talking to the boy, call the guards and report him as an intruder, or the third and most appealing-- simply because it was the least hassle-- ignore him. Deciding on the last action, he turned from the flowerbed and the boy and continued on his way to sit by the pond. He couldn't honestly care less why the boy was there, and as long as he didn't cause any problems or annoyances, Kiyotaka didn't see the big deal with letting him stay. He wasn't as kind as to give shelter to strangers, but the child wasn't even trying to get inside the castle. Figuring he shouldn't and wouldn't concern himself with it, he looked out past the sakura trees to the quiet valleys of the kingdom.
Slightly confused, Eyes blinked, but remained silent. Finally, though, his thoughts began racing, "Why did he just ignore me? Does he not care that a complete stranger is sleeping on the grounds?" He then thought back to what he'd heard of the new king, and realized that he may very well not care. Kiyotaka, if anything, was aloof and very quiet, if not altogether cold. He didn't concern himself with most issues and found anything that required his attention an annoyance. In that fashion, Eyes gathered that the older one ignored him simply so he didn't have to deal with him. Of course, these thoughts were discouraging, and the silver-haired one considered simply turning back home and telling Faii it was a no-go. He also knew that would be far from acceptable; after all, Eyes was a very attractive boy, mild-mannered, and kind-- there were few that didn't want him or at least didn't want to get to know him. While the argument that Kiyotaka wasn't most was a valid one, the eldest Rutherford wouldn't have it. He'd just say Eyes was too timid and needed to be more aggressive.
Deciding that something needed to be done, Eyes sat up to face Kiyotaka. His mouth opened, but no sounds came out. Kiyotaka also happened to be very intimidating, and the young boy wasn't quite sure what to say. His thoughts traveled to the only thing he and Kiyotaka could relate to, "That was a lovely party." He muttered softly. Though, in reality, the party had ended horribly. He was sure the elder boy knew he meant the former part of the occasion, if he had heard him at all. The brunette remained with his back to the garden and Eyes as his hazel eyes scanned the valleys and fields.
Just as he was about to give up hope that his soft words had reached royal ears, Kiyotaka spoke, disrupting the disturbingly quiet silence that had fallen between them, "Who are you?"
Azure eyes blinked at the question, "Um... my name is Eyes Rutherford." Said boy relayed, "I was... at your birthday celebration the other day on behalf of my family."
The king glanced back to the smaller one. His gaze traced over every feature of the angel-like boy, but simply couldn't place him. Then, it hit him, "You were that girl."
A small blush tinged Eyes' cheeks at the mention of his unfortunate attire and he regretfully nodded, "Yes."
Another scan of the figure determined he was indeed a boy and an eyebrow quirked, "You're not a girl."
In response, he shook his head, "No, my brothers put me in a dress."
Wondering what kind of family this kid came from, the brunette was actually slightly curious for once, "Why?"
"If you knew my brothers..." Eyes trailed off, not wanting to get into it. Hell, Set used Azel for a dartboard half the time, claiming he just got in the way of the darts. His family was anything but normal.
"Rutherford." Kiyotaka muttered to himself, "Your eldest brother... is his name Faii?"
The blue-eyed boy blinked again in surprise, "How does Faii know the king?" he wondered. Then, realizing how his brother was, wasn't sure he wanted to know. Either way, he nodded a confirmation, "Yes."
"I met him once at a ball." Narumi explained.
A short silence fell over the two before Eyes ventured to answer the aforementioned question, "I... was in a dress because Faii heard that you were to be wed to a girl, and thought that if I interested you..." He knew Kiyotaka would get his meaning, and wasn't quite sure how to end the sentence anyway.
"So he dressed you up as a girl to marry me." The king concluded.
"It wasn't thought out well, I know." Eyes agreed with the amused tone in the older one's voice.
"Well, he did pick the right boy." Kiyotaka muttered.
The silver-haired one would have been offended if the statement were anywhere near false. The fact of the matter was, though, besides being flat-chested, Eyes could fool anyone into thinking he was one of the fairer sex. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he nodded, "It's why he sent me."
"It was convincing, though a shame you weren't for real."
Eyes was taken a bit aback by the statement, "Why is that?" he wondered, dumbfounded.
A low chuckle sounded from the brunette's throat, "You were cute."
The younger one's cheeks were tinged with the slightest pink color at the remark, "I-I..." he managed to stammer out. Clearing his throat and looking off to the side to avoid the smirking man, Eyes tried once more to speak, "I don't know what you're speaking of."
"Oh?" Kiyotaka muttered, standing up to advance toward the boy, "Don't you?"
The blush darkened and silver hair swished side to side, "No..."
"Well..." the brunette reached the flowerbed where Eyes still remained seated and kneeled down in front of him. After taking in the boy's full appearance, Kiyotaka did have to wonder if he were some sort of heavenly being. The way the moonlight reflected off the silver petals and cast an enchanting glow onto the pale skin and soft silver locks gave Eyes an ethereal look. His blue eyes seemed to reflect the heavens themselves and held all the innocence of his youth and a knowledge beyond his years. A tanned hand was placed under the small chin to tilt those azure eyes up to his own, "You look pretty cute right now, too. Beautiful, even."
Eyes was sure his face was red as a tomato, though, even a tomato might have paled at the color he could feel radiating off his cheeks. Being this close to the king made his heart flutter and his breath catch in his throat. Kiyotaka was one of those people, you could tell from a mile away, he could make any girl or boy swoon with the right touches or sultry looks. He didn't have to try hard at all to get Eyes leaning in, wanting more than he really should. Their eyes locked once more as the older boy shifted closer to him. Nervous, but too entranced to notice, the silver-haired angel closed the narrow gap between their lips, pressing them together in a gentle kiss. He regained his sense of thought for a moment, and realized that he was way over his boundaries. His first instinct was to pull away and apologize for his actions, but as he went to do so a hand came up behind his head to put a damper on his retreating lips.
Kiyotaka pulled his head back closer and pressed their mouths closer together in another soft kiss, and if Eyes had been standing, he thought his knees may have given out at that very moment. Not only was it his first real kiss, but a damn good one. The brunette rubbed his tongue slowly across those pale lips as they parted slightly, granting him his requested entrance. He slipped his tongue inside and licked around that sweet mouth. Not only did the small boy look like an angel, he tasted like heaven as well.The brunette's thoughts traveled to darker areas of how his moans would sound and what small whispers he would utter out as he drew near to his edge. How his back would arch under delicate touches and how his smooth, creamy skin would feel as his clothes were parted from his body. Resisting the primal urges placed in every human being, Kiyotaka pulled away, noticing that as he did so, a small pant or two escaped those same lips. The little devil on his shoulder was begging him to take advantage of the boy, but he shook the temptations off and pulled back.
"I apologize..." he began, glancing to Eyes, though, he knew it wasn't necessary. After all, the other boy had been the one to initiate the kiss.
As expected, the blue-eyed boy shook his head and smiled up at him, "It was my fault." He managed to mutter out.
A silent nod accepted this and Kiyotaka spoke again, "Why are you here?"
The blonde sighed, "Since you didn't choose a wife at the party due to... certain events.. my brothers thought it would be a good idea for me to come to the castle in an attempt to get you to marry me." Or 'wooing' as Faii had put it, but Eyes wasn't about to go there.
An eyebrow shot up at this, "Why would he imagine that would possibly work?" Kiyotaka wondered.
"Faii's convinced that no one can resist me." Eyes admitted, groaning inwardly at the fool his brother was making of him. To illustrate his distaste of the statement, he rolled his eyes.
Another chuckle was heard as the royal man bent down to whisper in the other one's ear, "For once, I would agree." He kissed that tempting spot right below the boy's ear and felt him almost automatically lean into the touch.
The blush returned as blue eyes widened slightly and chills shot down Eyes' spine, "Wha...?" he looked to Kiyotaka for an explanation, but found him already standing once more.
His mouth was bent into a small smirk, "Perhaps you could try the front door next time." He suggested, winking as he turned to leave. One last glance was shot over his shoulder at the boy, "Say... tomorrow, around eight?" As a small, speechless nod was given and the brunette waved his goodnight as he disappeared into the castle.
All Eyes could do for a moment was stare after him. Once he regained his senses, he shook his head and finally stood. His thoughts were racing as to what Kiyotaka could be implying, though it was painfully obvious. His brother had been right after all, and the king had fallen all too easily for the silver-haired boy. Somehow, though, Eyes didn't see it turning out all so easy, "Perhaps it's just a hoax." He thought to himself, "Maybe he's really just playing with me; maybe he's a lot different than I thought and is getting a good laugh at making me look like a fool." Despite his self-doubt, there was a small burst of excitement and a tiny bounce in his step as he headed home. He could only hope that Kiyotaka was being honest.
Well, I was going to save this for until Christmas, but figured why not throw it up now? College is finally done with for this semester, so I'll be able to concentrate more on my fics (joy!). Next chappy will be up soon, so review!