’Aurethy, why must you punish me all the damn time?’

"Welcome to your new home," Kaelis says as he guides them around the palace, his voice easy, like this was just another normal thing, like there wasn’t anything unusual about bringing them here.

They walked for a few minutes.

Long enough for Ezra to feel the weight of the place settle around him again.

Servants passed by.

Some greeted them.

Some glanced.

Polite.

But mostly curious.

It all blurred together.

Ezra answered when he had to, nodded when expected, but his mind wasn’t really there.

Then they stopped.

In front of a door.

A very familiar door.

A room that made Ezra’s heart fill with dread.

"Wah! It’s fancy!" Lior runs into the room as soon as Kaelis opens the door for them, his excitement spilling out without hesitation.

Ezra’s hand twitched.

He almost reached out.

Almost stopped him.

But he didn’t.

Because to Kaelis and Lior, there was no problem with this room.

Oh, but to Ezra?

That room was filled with memories.

A memory he kept trying to forget, but somehow kept finding its way back to him.

"Come on in," Kaelis beckons Ezra to come inside, stepping aside slightly to give him space.

Ezra tried to move.

He really did.

But he couldn’t.

His feet were planted on the waxed floors, unmoving, like something was holding him in place.

"Is everything okay?" Kaelis asks again, his tone shifting just a bit, something more attentive slipping through.

Ezra couldn’t answer.

Not even a simple word.

Because—

The room that Kaelis brought them to, that was the room.

The same room that Ezra had run to that night.

The room where he and Kaelis...conceived Lior.

Ezra could recognize it instantly.

From the door.

From the bed.

From the interior alone.

The curtains.

The design.

Everything.

It hadn’t changed.

Not even a little.

’Of course it hasn’t,’ Ezra thought, his throat suddenly feeling dry.

Something inside him tightened.

Not quite fear.

Not quite panic.

But something close.

Something uncomfortable.

Because it wasn’t just about the memory.

It was about now.

About being here again.

With Kaelis.

In the same space where everything had happened.

There was a fear now.

A quiet, persistent fear sat in his chest.

That if they were in this room again—

Kaelis might remember something.

It was still fortunate that after...doing it the second time, Kaelis still didn’t remember.

But here?

In the same room where it all started?

Ezra wasn’t so sure.

’What if something triggers it?’ Ezra thought, his fingers curling slightly at his sides. ’What if he remembers here?’

"Ezra?"

Kaelis suddenly appears right in front of him, the gap between them almost nonexistent as the prince looks down, his presence pulling Ezra out of his thoughts.

Ezra almost jumps as he looks up, caught off guard by how close he was.

"Come on, Captain. Don’t shut down on me now," Kaelis teases, tilting his head slightly, though his eyes were more observant than his tone suggested. "I know you might be in shock, but..."

’God, he’s going to say something insufferable again,’ Ezra thought, bracing himself instinctively.

"Lior’s really happy, and he’s been whispering his concern about how you’re acting," Kaelis says instead, his voice quieter now, more grounded, as he places a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. "For his sake, you take it easy for now. Then we’ll talk once he’s maybe taking a nap or busy."

Ezra blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time, slower.

His breath caught slightly as he just...stood there, staring at Kaelis.

Speechless.

Not because he didn’t know what to say.

But because he didn’t expect that.

’...he noticed?’ Ezra thought, something in his chest shifting, softer this time, unfamiliar. Kaelis’s hand on his shoulder wasn’t heavy.

It wasn’t forceful.

It was steady.

Grounding, almost.

And for a moment—

Ezra didn’t know how to react to that kind of kindness.

Especially with someone he never expected it with.

But he did know what to say.

"Thank you, Prince Kaelis," Ezra says with a small smile. It was the least he could do now.

To his surprise, though, Kaelis stares at him, wide-eyed.

Mouth slightly agape.

’Hm? Why does he seem so surprised?’

· ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

’Fuck.’

Kaelis was a dignified man.

He was a man with pride, a man with integrity, someone who carried himself the way a prince should, measured and composed even when things got difficult.

But at the end of the day—

He was just a man.

And after spending an intimate moment with Ezra Belloren, something he had tried very hard not to dwell on, especially after years of what he told himself was simply wanting to befriend him—

Deep inside, he knew better.

It wasn’t just that.

It had never been just that.

It was pining.

Something he buried before it could ever take shape.

There was admiration too, something easier to admit to himself, mostly for Ezra’s face, because anyone could fall for that face if they looked at it long enough.

And Kaelis had.

More than he should have.

But over time, it dulled.

Not because Ezra changed, but because Ezra stayed the same.

Cold, distant, and definitely not interested.

And Kaelis got the hint.

Ezra did not like him.

That alone should have been enough to end it.

And maybe it did.

Or maybe it just shifted into something quieter.

Because if Kaelis was being honest—

Ezra, being cold, had always been...adorable to him.

Frustrating, yes.

But still—

Something he couldn’t fully dislike.

However—

Now, Ezra smiled at him.

Not a polite smile.

Not something forced or practiced.

A real smile.

Looking up at him.

And Kaelis felt it immediately.

His heart—

It didn’t just react.

It ached.

A sharp, unfamiliar ache caught him off guard, something that settled deep in his chest before he could even make sense of it.

But that wasn’t the only thing that ached.

Something lower, something he didn’t want to acknowledge, stirred in a way that made his stomach tighten uncomfortably.

It was shameful.

He knew that.

The awareness hit him instantly, heavy and unwelcome.

’Get a grip,’ Kaelis thought, his jaw tightening slightly. ’What is wrong with me?’

But there was something else too.

Something that made it worse.

That smile—

It felt familiar.

Like something he had seen before.

A memory.

No—

A dream.

One he used to have.

More than once.

Ezra above him, close, too close, holding his face as he smiled down at him, soft and warm in a way that didn’t exist in reality, while Kaelis—

While Kaelis—

Kaelis forced the thought away.

’Stop.’

It wasn’t real.

It had never been real.

Just something his mind made up and buried again.

Well, until a few days ago. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

And yet now—

It resurfaced so easily.

Like it had been waiting.

"Uhm. Prince Kaelis?"

Ezra’s voice cut through everything, pulling him out of it so abruptly that Kaelis blinked, his thoughts snapping back into place.

Kaelis tried to calm himself, taking a slow, controlled breath, one that he hoped wasn’t obvious.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? You’re squeezing my shoulder," Ezra says casually, his tone neutral, though there was a hint of confusion in his expression as he looked at him.

"Oh."

Kaelis immediately let go, his hand pulling back as if he had just realized what he was doing, his fingers flexing slightly at his side before he forced a smile.

Suddenly thought of something unpleasant. Don’t mind me, now go," he says, nudging Ezra lightly toward the room, keeping his tone easy, controlled, as if nothing had just happened.

’Pull yourself together,’ Kaelis thought, his gaze lingering for just a second longer than it should have before he looked away. ’This is highly inappropriate.’

He meant it.

He knew it.

Especially now that Ezra was warming up to him.

But that didn’t make it easier.

Because seeing Ezra walk into his old room—

Didn’t help.

Not even a little.

If anything, it made everything worse.

Because then—

Kaelis caught it.

A scent.

Faint.

But there.

Cinnamon sugar.

It was familiar.

Now he remembered why: at one point, his room had started to smell like cinnamon.

He never questioned it; fairly, he quite liked it.

His breath hitched slightly before he could stop it.

’...I’ve always wondered why my room smelled like that.’