Chapter Text
It was him, alright.
For years, Keigo has been searching for that one soldier who has captured his fleeting attention like no one else ever did. Now, he stood there in the dry streets of Stadford with his face willingly smothered in the firm, hot pecs of the very same man.
Of all the places, he would have never guessed that he’d get to see him again inside a slave house. He wasn’t about to start complaining, though. As soon as he saw Enji standing there, it was as if invisible strings pulled him towards him, and the fascination he felt towards the tiefling made sure he saw the purchase to its end.
And so, Keigo has become an owner of the only man who didn’t react to seeing him with awe.
All of a sudden, the pleasant warmth moved away, as Enji cleared his throat avoiding any and all touch or eye contact once again. Any other owner would probably squint at such displays of disobedience, but Keigo’s grin only grew broader.
He was lucky that this prince liked a challenge.
“Let’s go, Enji.” he pulled the other man’s large, calloused hand again, without unnecessary force; but insistently enough to ensure he followed. “We need to get to my palace before nightfall.”
At first, a grumble and heavy footsteps resounding again were the only response he received.
“...How far.”
Enji wasn’t a man of many words, now, was he?
“Not that far in distance. But!” shooting his finger upwards, the prince pointed at the cobalt-blue skies, complete with a few fluffy clouds above them. “A couple of miles up there.”
The frown on Enji’s face deepened, now supplemented with crossed arms and a brief annoyed huff.
“I can’t fly.”
“I know that!” Keigo’s hand waved dismissively. “It’s not like it’s just levitating in the clouds, don’t worry. We can get there walking from the Western slope, easy! Though… it can be faster if we fly. Up the Eastern cliff.”
The look he was given in response was almost too knowing.
“What are you scheming, boy?”
No further words save for a grin, the avariel reached out to the large leather pouch that has, by far, been hanging loosely tied around his hips. Out of it, he pulled out a ridiculously lengthy rope; thick, sturdy, yet hemmed with softer silk-like material around the edges. As he handed one of its ends to Enji, the tiefling had to discover to his own surprise, how sticky in fact the delicate material was.
But he still didn’t seem to quite get it.
“And that’s for…”
“Pulling you up there, obviously!”
***
Arriving at the Eastern side of the cliff not too far off from the city’s immediate outskirts, Keigo made sure to explain the whole deal to his consistently baffled newest companion. He was a bit too boastful of it than he’d like to admit, probably. After all, where he came from, there was never any need to pull anyone up to the reaches of avariels. If anything, remaining hidden was always the prime objective. Their people have suffered way too much at the hands - or rather, at the teeth- of dragons to have to face potential attacks from below too; and so, the true location of Aerie was taboo to anyone but fellow avariels.
All in all, Keigo was rather thrilled at the prospect of spending ten years away from the city, on his own, days filled with foreign relations responsibilities preparing him to take up the throne in the future. The palace he was given was nearly just as isolated as Aerie, but at least he didn’t have to be. Once - if - all his long lists of daily tasks from Aerie’s High Council were done, he could actually go down. He could talk to other races and mingle with them without any avariel purists judging it. If he wanted, he could even invite someone over. Sure, spending at least two days on the road to the Western slope and one more on a climb up the mountain was rather discouraging for any potential visitors. But what they didn’t consider, was that the Eastern slope was much closer to the cities.
Even if few of his guests could fly, Keigo thought of a solution rather quickly.
“They call it a Pulley system.” he rambled, holding the other end of the rope already. “I saw dwarves in Sundabar use it to build their temples. Even objects heavier than you can be easy to lift when it’s implemented. No magic needed!”
It could’ve just been Keigo’s imagination, but the hum that came from Enji this time sounded slightly more appreciative.
“So, I’ll fly up there, and take this part. I put it through the mechanism, give it a slight pull. Then you’ll have to hold on for your dear life, it’ll start lifting-”
“What if I run away instead of holding it.”
Taken aback, Keigo shot Enji an interested glance. This nerve, it was exactly what drew him to this particular guy. His crush apparently didn’t know just yet that he had found someone at least equal to him in impertinence.
“I’ll catch you before you can reach the city gates. But you won’t run, will you?”
“...How do you know?”
“If you were going to, you’d try it by now.” with a final wink and - just for the sake of it - a tiptoe smooch to the other man’s rough cheek which was met with probably the most offended gasp he has ever heard, Keigo took off the ground. As he flapped his red wings just above Enji, he made sure to show off their shine, their span, their graceful movements. For some reason, the prince felt the need to impress his newest interest; even if he usually reacted to others’ admirations with bored dismissal.
“Don’t forget to hold the rope tight, big guy! It’d be quite a bone-shattering fall if you let go too early~”
“Do I look like a child.”
***
An hour must have passed before Enji grasped to the edge of the cliff, pulled up high enough to reach it. With a grunt, the tiefling pulled himself up over the edge, muscles tensing in a final effort before finally, oh finally, he was back on the solid ground.
In front of him, there was a palace looming. Built from white marble with golden ornaments, it seemed light, slender, almost as if it could fly away at any moment like its owner. Despite this impression, though, Enji could tell the space inside was massive.
That boy must have been filthy rich.
As he stretched out and turned around to look for him, he noticed Keigo perched up on the ground nearby, staring at him with a suspicious glow in his eyes.
“What.”
“You’re strong.” The avariel replied simply, in a tone of a predator addressing its prey. “I like that.” Before Enji could react, he got up in one, smooth movement aided in balance by his wings, and trotted up to him. “Come on, we’re moving in! I need to show you around the chambers-”
The tiefling sighed before hanging his head a bit lower and following in the steps of his new owner. As annoying as this was, as… improper as it felt, this was his punishment. He let the forces of fate decide on it, ridding himself of his freedom, and so, this was destiny.
That spoiled, naive brat grinning at him from the pure-white stairs, the massive palace, a life that he never thought he, a rugged warrior, would ever get to live. Or want to live, for the matter.
A lazy voice broke through his stream of consciousness and Enji quickly shook his head to focus on listening.
“-here is the kitchen, bathrooms are down the gallery, the dungeons down there are for storage, and here’s where we’ll slumber-”
Enji twitched, the last part of the exposition catching him off guard.
“We?”
“What, like you have something against sleeping together?” the grin of the avariel grew even more predatory, making him look nearly like a harpy. Carefully, Enji took a step back. Destiny or not, he was still officially married not so long ago… and not into men. Especially… ones as young as this one. Keigo still looked younger than his eldest...
“That I do.”
A pout blew up the cheeks of the boy briefly, before he laughed, heartily. The sound echoed in the endless, empty great hall.
Enji frowned, having rather expected to be scolded, perhaps beaten for his insubordination.
“So be it, then! There’s plenty of guest chambers in the west wing. You may take one of your choosing-”
The frown deepened, as Enji could hardly believe his treatment. Did that boy really just… back down for his comfort? Or did he find some sick thrill in Enji’s disobedience…
Whichever was the case, he nodded in appreciation.
“Thank you.”
The smile on the boy’s face widened. For a moment, he seemed less mischievous, less spoiled, less like a harpy, and more like a lonely child beaming, excited to make a new friend.
“Do you live here all alone?” Enji suddenly felt the urge to add a question. It was odd for such a… sociable-looking individual to live in such an isolated place, surely.
Something felt off about this entire situation.
“I have to.” did Keigo’s chuckle had a tinge of sadness to it or was it just him? “It’s part of my training. One of the nicer parts, to be fair!”
The tiefling squinted at the boy, confused for the hundredth time that fateful day. Didn’t he claim to be a fighter? Why would a fighter own this kind of palace anyway…
“...You’re royalty.” He concluded, after straining his consciousness on the matter for a moment. “You must be.”
“Something like that.” Keigo shrugged as if he didn’t much care for the title.
“Your parents wanted you to learn how to take care of yourself before you took over the throne.” He tried again, only for the avariel to shake his head now.
“Oh no, I have no idea who my parents are!” With a dismissive wave of his hand, the boy quickly changed the topic. “I’m STARVING. Can you cook?”
“...Of course I can.” Enji sighed and headed to where he remembered the kitchen was located, deciding to pause the questioning for now. Perhaps it wasn’t his space to interrogate but… for some reason, he felt that he needed to know. That spoiled rich boy apparently didn’t know his family at all and now, had to live there, in a palace as beautiful as empty.
As he looked for any unspoiled food supplies in the vast kitchen, Enji’s thoughts kept circling back to Keigo and his strange attitude.
‘Treating him like a person', hm?
Perhaps this was why fate brought him here.