The Prince and The Pauper (17/24)
Author: ryosukekoibito
Pairing: Ariokamoto
Rating: PG-15
Genre:Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything.
Summary: Keito was a common citizen of the South Kingdom until the night his family's house burns down. Without anywhere to stay, they end up moving into the servant's section of the royal castle. There, along with his best friend Yuto, Keito meets the five royal princes...and catches Prince Daiki's eye. This is a spinoff of The Prince's Princess, by my sister ai_ai_gasa2 . It's basically a retelling of the story from Keito's perspective. I would encourage you to read that fic first if you haven't. You can find the prologue for that fic here. Please, enjoy!
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
The next week continued in a similar manner, his bruises fading away nearly completely. His father however, never returned, and he was beginning to grow more concerned. Sure, he and his dad hadn't really gotten along, but the man had been good to his mother, and she loved him very much. Now that he was missing she was beside herself with worry, and so Keito took it upon himself to take over his father's job until the man returned or they found someone else that could assist her. He ran every errand she needed, did the book keeping, and helped with minor repairs. Occasionally he would see Daiki, the prince keeping him company as he tended to his duties, keeping up light chatter, and he would give him a small kiss before he left, so long as Keito's mother wasn't in the room. They were nice, sweet kisses, nothing like the incident in Keito’s bedroom, and while calming, and enjoyable, they didn't help Keito escape from his newfound constant state of worry and stress. This stress was heightened one day when he came into his mothers office to find Princess Ayaki standing in the center, her arms out, his mother measuring her waist. She wrote down the measurement, and when looking up from her paper finally noticed Keito standing in the doorway.
"Princess Ayaki has gotten engaged." His mother announced. She sounded politely excited, and Keito immediately congratulated the princess, inwardly calculating. Engaged? That meant not only a wedding, but many balls, and the princess would need new gowns for every occasion, not to mention the wedding dress, and-
His train of thought was cut off by his mother, asking if he would please go to their stocks of fabric and see what materials they had that might suit a wedding dress. And with that Keito’s world was suddenly and unexpectedly enveloped in wedding plans. It became apparent almost immediately that the princess held a special hatred for him. She always held a look of disgust on her face when he would come into her line of vision, as if he were a bug; one that she would like to kill but that she was too lazy to take the time to, because she knew that soon enough another would crawl in from a crack in the floor boards, and she didn't want to waste the effort. She refused to be near him, or let him touch her or anything she valued. It wasn't completely straightforward displays of hatred, but it was enough to leave Keito feeling kind of upset. He knew she didn't treat servants the best, but none of the others were getting the glares he was being treated to. This went on for over a week before he mentioned it to Daiki, his boyfriend coming to greet him just as he was finishing up his work and slipping their hands together, swinging them slightly as they walked.
"What exactly is Ayaki doing?" Daiki sounded seriously concerned, and Keito began regretting mentioning it at once. He described her actions, feeling silly now. Daiki listened intently, and then continued to walk next to him quietly, contemplating for a few moments before he said
"She's scared of you!" That certainly wasn't what Keito had been expecting to hear.
"Scared...of me?" That just seemed ridiculous.
"Yeah. See, Ayaki's got a phobia of people like us. She knows that I love you, and that we're together, and she's afraid of you. You know how she backs up if you get too close? Well she won't let Hikaru or I touch her either." It was Keito's turn to be contemplative. People like us. He hadn't really thought much about how the outside world would react to his relationship with Daiki. After being surrounded by the royal brothers, and of course Yuto, all of whom were so accepting, he'd forgotten that the little haven of a world they had created within the castle walls was very separate from the rest of the country.
"I see." He too fell into a slightly embarrassed silence, and Daiki grinned, giving his hand a comforting squeeze, and glancing up at his face through his brown bangs, affection glowing in his eyes.
"I love you." Daiki's words were gentle, and he was smiling as he said them, and Keito felt Daiki's happiness infecting him, and he smiled back, murmuring
"I love you too." They stopped, finding themselves just in front of the huge double doors that led to the main ballroom. Daiki opened the door, pulling Keito inside deftly and slamming the door shut. Keito barely had time to take in the way the marble floor and stairs glowed in the moonlight pouring in from the huge glass windows before Daiki had pressed him up against the back of the doors, his lips meeting the skin just below Keito's ear, already trailing down his neck. So this was what Daiki wanted. Okay. He pulled the prince close, tilting his head down a bit to catch his lips with his own, their mouths moved together, and Keito felt Daiki's little, nimble fingers playing with the hem of his shirt, lifting it up and trying to examine Keito's torso; the darkness making it difficult.
"We could see in the light." Keito's words came out breathy, but Daiki understood, and they covered the short distance to where the moonlight pooled on the floor, their forms interrupting it, the moon painting them in a washed out light that gleamed majestically off of Daiki's skin. Keito pulled off his shirt, allowing Daiki to take a look at his exposed flesh. His bruises had gone, finally healed, and the prince gasped, running his hand down Keito's torso, the gentle touch making Keito shiver.
"I'm all better...you don't need to worry anymore." Keito mumbled, and Daiki pressed his lips to Keito's collar bone, his teeth scraping gently against the ridge, sending a shiver down Keito's spine, as his arms wrapped themselves around Keito's waist. The fabric of his sleeves was rough and in the way, and Keito found himself pulling Daiki's shirt up over his head, the prince's golden band slipping slightly as the garment brushed up and over it, and Keito barely took time to register that, attempting sloppily to adjust it, before Daiki pressed their bodies together, skin smooth and hot, and Keito felt Daiki's chest heaving, his hands brushing across Keito's hips, and Keito wrapped his arms around Daiki's thighs, picking him up, and Daiki let out a small yelp of surprise, wrapping his arms around Keito's neck for support, and Keito trailed kisses across Daiki's torso, relishing the beautiful creamy skin. He took one of Daiki's nipples into his mouth, scraping across the nub with his teeth, and Daiki let out a low moan, shivering slightly. He could feel Daiki growing hard, his erection pressing into Keito's stomach, and he relished the feeling of the smaller boy's body in his arms. Just as he was thinking it however, Daiki unwrapped his legs from where they had linked around his waist and slipped down.
He hooked his index fingers into the waist of Keito's pants and pulled him forward, continuing all the way to the floor and rolling Keito over so that he was lying in his back under Daiki, the marble of the floor cold against his skin, making him shiver, but then Daiki reconnected their mouths, and he did something with his tongue that lit a fire in Keito's belly, and he wanted Daiki. He wanted to be close to him, to feel him, to love him. Keito's hands gripped at Daiki's lower back, and he rolled his hips against Daiki's, the action decided upon subconsciously. The friction was amazing, and hot, and like nothing Keito had ever experienced before. He let out a small moan of pleasure, and Daiki pulled away to breathe, propping himself up on his hands, pulling their bare torsos apart.
"Keito...could we...?" He looked down into Keito's eyes, desire painted on his face, and when Keito hesitated he rolled his hips against Keito's, reminding him of just how much he wanted Daiki. Just how easy it would be to continue. To go all the way. But something small, buried in the back of his subconscious, held him back.
"Daiki...I want to...I really want to...but...I can't. Not right now." He felt his body's frustration at the decision; his physical desires making him regret the words slightly.
"I'm sorry." He could see just how much Daiki wanted this, wanted him, and he was sorry he couldn't give the prince what he wanted. Daiki blinked, looking down at Keito for a moment before lowering himself back on top of him, their torsos still hot, breathing starting to return to a more steady pace, and he kissed him, the kiss long and passionate, and assuring.
"Don't apologize." Daiki finally said, once they had broken the kiss. "I love you. We're only going to get there when we're both ready. Just don't think you have to do anything you don't want to do, okay?"
"I love you, Dai-chan."
"I love you too, baby." They pulled themselves up, off of the floor, and Daiki said
"I need to go...calm myself..." He leaned down, picking up his shirt, and once it was in his hands he stood still, looking up at Keito, his eyes still full of love, the desire still shining through, and Keito was struck by how lucky he was. Daiki was amazing. Perfect. He pulled him close, trying to make Daiki understand how he felt with his kiss, and the reaction he got was one of the same strong passion, Daiki giving his hand a squeeze before he slipped out the door, leaving Keito there bathed in the moonlight.
The next day Keito spent the morning helping his mother, as usual, and he was given a break for lunch. He took some fruit and bread from the kitchen and made his way to the barn, crawling up in the hay loft to sit and eat in peace. Almost immediately his peaceful relaxed lunch was interrupted by the sound of the door pulling open, and he looked up to see the tops of two heads slip into the stall right underneath where he was sitting. Keito wasn't really all that interested until Prince Hikaru spoke, his tone serious, worried.
"Do you really think it was us? Do you really believe we would do that?” Keito froze, trying to remain silent. He shouldn't be hearing this, obviously, but he couldn't move without being discovered. It was obvious that something was wrong. He was surprised when Yabu-kun's voice answered. When had the northern king's royal advisor arrived? Why?
“I don’t want to but what else is there to believe?” Keito was beyond confused. What were the royal family being accused of? When Prince Hikaru responded his voice was strong and convincing, his usual joking light manner gone.
“The truth. We will do the best we can to find him, I promise. I’ll get my dad to conduct some searches. Something. Just… We didn’t do it.” There was a pause, the words heavy in the air, waiting for Yabu to accept them. When he didn't Hikaru's voice went low, intimate, and Keito felt himself blushing, feeling as if he were intruding even more so than before.
“It. Wasn’t. Us.” Hikaru insisted, and Keito heard the sounds of lips on skin punctuating each word. There was a sigh, and when Yabu spoke his words were weighed with distress
“I know. I do. I’m just scared. I’ve known Rensuke my whole life, and to me he’s my brother as much as he’s Takaki’s…” Something was wrong with Prince Rensuke? As the future king of the Northern kingdom, Keito had seen him at Princess Ayaki's birthday party, but he had left early to tend to his royal duties, and Keito hadn't gotten a chance to meet the prince. What could have happened to him? Keito's curiosity was thwarted however, Yabu-kun changing the subject.
“Speaking of which… Does Inoo like Takaki?”
“Yes, he likes him.” Hikaru's tone was light and teasing again, back to normal.
“That’s what I thought. Good.”
“Good?” Hikaru asked.
“Well, because… Takaki likes Inoo too.”
“Wait… Likes him or likes him?” Hikaru asked.
“Don’t know yet.” Keito internally scoffed. It was obvious spending time with those two that they were attracted to each other.
“Oh. But… What about Ayak-“ Hikaru's question was cut off by the sound of the northern king's royal advisor's voice calling
“Kota? Where are you? Let’s go.” There was some shuffling, sounds of bodies moving, and a yelled
"Coming Father!” followed by hurried whispering "We’re searching the area a bit before we go back. Don’t tell anyone. Bye.”
Hikaru barely got out a “Bye.” of his own before Yabu ran out of the stable, and Keito sat in silence, waiting for Hikaru to leave, mind reeling. What was going on? Something had happened involving Prince Rensuke, and the southern kingdom's royal family were being blamed, that much was clear. Once Prince Hikaru had finally left the stall, Keito raced down the ladder, hitting the ground running. His lunch had taken much longer than expected, and he hoped his mother wasn't being held up by his tardiness. In his haste he tripped, landing on his knees, skinning them slightly, but he got back up and continued running, bursting into his mothers office to find her alone, sitting at her desk, a design for the princess' wedding dress in front of her, pen in hand. She looked up in surprise as he burst through the door, and he slumped against the door frame, confused.
"Keito? Is everything alright?" That was an inaccurate question. They both knew that everything was not alright. He just knew of more things to worry about than she. He took a second to steady his breathing, nodding in confirmation as he did so, before asking
"Is the princess mad? I'm so sorry I'm late. I didn't mean to, I just..."
"She's decided not to continue with wedding plans today. She said she had other things to take care of." His mother assured him, shaking her head slightly, bemused by the surprise on his face.
"Oh."
"So if you have anything you need to do, you're free today." She offered, and Keito stood there in disbelief for a moment, before thanking her and exiting the room. He didn't know what to do with himself, his thoughts already refocusing on the conversation he had overheard in the stable. He wandered, contemplating, confused, and unable to reach any conclusion. He was worried. The princes were being accused of something. That meant Daiki was being accused of something. The concept of Daiki being thought of negatively was just upsetting, and he had a bad feeling about the whole thing.
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