This Strange World Needs A Kicking! – Ch. 10
By Laura S. Fox
Copyright © 2021 Laura S. Fox
All Rights Reserved
Gay Romance
Intended for Mature Audiences Only
This story will contain graphic depictions of sexual intercourse, strong
language and it is not meant for readers who are less than 18 years of age.
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Chapter Ten – BL Hell,
What Do You Have Against Me?
Sebastian grabbed Milo's
wrist to stop him from doing that thing. No wonder the other had spilled his
seed so quickly. Having a hand move over his manhood like that was bound to
make him mad with desire. Before, he had enjoyed only the act itself, and
touching usually involved other parts of his body. How could such a simple
crude method feel so overwhelming?
"It's too much," he
whispered.
Milo kissed him and
ignored his protests while his hand did its thing. Surely enough, it didn't
take him long to follow Milo's example from earlier. He was panting hard, his
release still overpowering. Watching the white droplets that had landed on
Milo's lean thigh wasn't helping, either.
He let out a slight sound
that sounded weak in his ears as Milo rushed one hand through his hair, pushing
back the mop that always hanged over his eyes.
"I can see better," he
said in surprise.
Milo chuckled. "Now
that's a useful side effect." He embraced Sebastian and kissed him some more,
without the clumsiness from before. As already guessed, it took little for the
youth to become well learned in the art of kissing, and Sebastian had a great
appreciation for that.
He was, annoyingly so, in
a state of a daze as Milo pulled him out and handed him a towel to dry himself.
Usually, Pepin handled such mundane tasks as his thoughts had focused entirely
on the good of the people of Ifigia. But, here, he
didn't have to do that, and the absence of that burden he had grown with was
strange and gave room to a type of awkwardness he had never experienced before.
Just as Pepin's absence, his trustworthy manservant who was always at his beck
and call.
"Hey, did I break you?"
Milo joked and waved a hand in front of his eyes.
Lost in thought, he had ended
up standing there, water dripping from his hair.
"Let me." Milo took the
towel from his hands and began rubbing it against his head.
His weren't Pepin's
gentle hands trained from a young age to offer nothing but perfect service.
Sebastian grimaced when, a few times, his hair felt like it was about to be
pulled from its roots.
That changed when Milo
began wiping his body. Again, the green eyes were turning thoughtful and foggy
while the boy's hands moved slowly.
Milo let out a small
laugh. "It's still so strange to think that a few days ago I was, I mean, we
were..."
"Don't talk." Sebastian
placed one hand over Milo's mouth. Words like those provoked something inside
him, something he wasn't ready to acknowledge or even take the time to
understand. "Where is the food?"
It wasn't like him to
lack manners, and he usually would have waited patiently until the host offered
nourishment, but, in this case, dire times called for a different approach. At
the pit of his stomach, an emptiness opened, while his chest was too full.
Anything was better than enduring that sensation.
"Hungry, huh? But I'm,
too," Milo admitted and grabbed his hand.
"Are we going to run
through the house completely naked?" Sebastian asked.
"Why not? I told you. My
parents won't be back until Sunday evening."
At the same time, having
a late lunch while naked sounded both decadent and enticing. Sebastian couldn't
help but follow Milo's example and ran along to keep up with the other's large
steps as they rushed out of the bathroom.
***
"Is he still alive?" were
the first words leaving Kai's mouth the moment he set foot back into the royal
chamber.
The old physician was
bent over his patient, busy placing a cold compress on his forehead. "Your Majesty!" He turned and stared at Kai and Pepin in
disbelief. "Back so soon? Did you --"
"Yeah, of course," Kai
replied. "We wouldn't be here otherwise. Here's the dragon tear." He handed the
vial to the flabbergasted doctor. "Now get that remedy done and fix him." He
pointed at Conrad in what he hoped looked enough like a royal gesture.
Unsure of how many times
he could slip in and out of character without raising suspicion, he had decided
to try impersonating Prince Sebastian as often as possible, especially when
there was a small audience so that he could test his acting skills.
The physician cautiously
took the vial from his hands and rushed to the table on which he had laid the
tools of his trade. He kept muttering something under his breath while
combining the ingredients.
Kai walked to the bed and
stared at Conrad. "What do you think?" he asked Pepin in a whisper. "He's paler
than when we left him, right?"
"He'll live," Pepin
assured him. "Your Majesty, is it true? That I'm your favorite servant?"
Ah, because of what he
had said when they were in the cave, fighting the dragon. Or trying to reason
with her. "You're practically my only servant," Kai whispered back. Now that
the danger concerning Conrad was almost averted, he needed to be careful not to
give Pepin false hopes.
"That's not true," Pepin
retorted. "The entire castle is at your feet."
"And yet, you're the only
guy I trust to go hunting dragon tears with," Kai pointed out.
Pepin smiled, pleased
with that. Then he stared into Kai's eyes. "You'll take me again, right?"
Kai pondered for a
moment. Well, Prince Sebastian must be in his shoes right now, flunking tests
and whatnot. And just like anyone their age, Pepin wanted adventure and fun,
not to be locked in the kitchen all the time. "Of course," he said brightly.
They were the main characters in this story, so it wasn't like anything could
really happen to them. Pepin was safe, he convinced himself. "Although, you'll
have to learn how to use a sword."
"Really?" Pepin's eyes
shone. "I'll do my best, Sire."
"Stop it with `sire' and
all that. We're practically the same age, and we're not strangers."
He kept looking worriedly
at Conrad. His complexion was like wax now, and Kai began to chew on his nails.
How long did the court's physician need to make that remedy?
A light touch on his arm
pulled him out of his thoughts. Pepin offered a timid smile. "This night was
great."
It was true that they had
had to ride through the night to get back to the castle. The dawn was not yet
breaking.
"I guess." He gave a
sheepish smile of his own.
"Conrad will get well,"
Pepin said with conviction. "And just so you know, Sebastian, I'm no longer
upset that you love him. As long as I can become a knight, too," he added
quickly.
"A knight? Aren't you a
bit ambitious? I just said you'd be allowed to carry a sword, not lead us into
battle."
Pepin's smile broadened.
"I can convince you to let me do anything."
"Hm. Don't be so sure."
"After tonight, I am."
Maybe, just maybe, it
hadn't been that great an idea to take Pepin along for the ride. Now, the guy
wanted to be a knight and yield a sword. Not that there was anything wrong with
that, but Kai didn't want his manservant to put himself in harm's way without
knowing how to fend for himself. "Just for the record," he said from the corner
of his mouth, "I'll keep a close eye on you. I don't want you to trip and fall
into a sword, poke your eyes out by accident, or who knows what else."
To his surprise, Pepin
started laughing. It was a quiet, gentle laugh, but it sounded so pleasant that
Kai found himself leaning toward its source.
"I'll be careful," Pepin
promised.
"You better be. As mom
used to say whenever I skipped school to go swimming, `if you dare to come back
drowned, I'll kill you myself'." Ah, shit. The moment the words flew from his
mouth, he knew he had done it. "I mean, it's what I heard a minstrel singing
once. Weird song, if you're asking me. It's not about my mom. Just a mom. A
random one."
"All right," Pepin said.
"I'll be a knight," he added dreamily.
Phew. Good thing Pepin
only cared about dreaming wide-eyed of his new career choice. He needed to be
extra careful from now on.
"It is ready, Sire," the
physician announced.
"All right," Kai said.
"Now, please do what you have to. It's a sure thing, right? `Cause I'm not sure I can get another dragon tear
anytime soon."
"It is," the old man
confirmed.
He moved over to the bed
and began applying a poultice all over the cut on Conrad's abdomen. Both Kai
and Pepin strained their necks to check on his moves. The physician saw about
his work and then pulled the blanket over Conrad's body.
"Now, his own body will
have to do the rest."
"Then, you are free to
go," Kai decided.
That appeared to surprise
the old man. "Don't you want me to watch over him until he wakes up?"
"If anything changes,
I'll just send Pepin for you. It's not like there's anything else for you to
do, right?"
"That's true," the
physician admitted in a hesitant tone.
"Go rest. I suppose
you're not a party animal given your age, and you need your sleep, right?"
"Thank you, Sire." The
old man bowed. "I will come back in the morning to check on the patient."
"Not much time left until
then. Just get your sleep. Pepin has his ways to wake up anyone from his
deepest slumber, I'm sure. Right?" He turned toward the servant.
"Of course," came the
immediate reply.
The physician retreated
with murmured thanks after packing his medical utensils.
Kai observed Conrad. His
pallor was slowly receding, and his breath was even now. "Excellent job, Pepin.
We did it. High five," he said and put up one hand.
Pepin gave him a
quizzical look. What, high fives were not a thing in this world? Kai grabbed
Pepin's arm and brought their palms together. "Like this," he said airily like
it was the most natural thing for a prince and his manservant to do.
He ignored the other's
confused stare and looked around. "Hmm, now where am I going to sleep?"
***
In the end, they had
decided that sitting at the table all naked wasn't convenient, so they had
donned some flimsy garments. Milo lent him some of his own, and while Sebastian
enjoyed the soft feel of the fabric on his skin, he was once more reminded of
the difference in size between them. At least, Milo's family had, apparently, a
good supply of sleepers for guests, and he didn't have to suffer in that
regard, as well.
After a day in school and
enjoying themselves under the shower, they were both clearly famished.
Sebastian watched Milo as he used something he recalled as being a microwave
oven to heat food.
When the steaming plate
was placed in front of him, his belly let out a shameless growl.
"Sorry," he said,
reminding himself over and over again that he needed to talk as informal as he
could.
"No problem," Milo
replied cheerfully. "Dig in. And we can study after."
Study. Of course. They
weren't there to do the things they had done in the shower. It was quite
shameful that he needed to be reminded of the main quest. Clearly, Milo's
beauty was bewitching.
Troubled by that
realization, he barely tasted the food, just bringing the fork to his mouth and
chewing each bite.
"What's wrong?" Milo
asked.
"Nothing."
"It can't be nothing. You
kept asking about food, and now you don't look like you're enjoying it."
Sebastian looked at his
plate. Everything looked delicious. But his mind was, indeed, bothered, and he
couldn't share his worries with the one who must be playing an essential role
in the curse that had snared him.
"How do you make money?"
he asked.
"More than what you do at
your part-time?"
"Yes." He had yet to
figure out what the part-time job he supposedly had entailed.
"I don't know. It can be
many things. But shouldn't you be more interested in graduating?"
"I should do both. Mrs... I mean, my mother is worried."
Milo put his fork down,
his entire attention trained on him. "Let's go job hunting this Saturday. Maybe
we find something that pays better."
"Can you make money
fighting?" He was about to add `monsters', but he knew as much now that it
wasn't a good idea to treat this world like his own.
"Fighting?" Milo grinned.
"Kai, I love you, man, but you can't fight for shit."
Love. The word that
people in this world liked throwing around like candy for the poor on royal
birthdays.
"I'm positive I can. Is
there an arena or something similar where I can test my skills?"
Milo watched him some
more, apparently curious about something, but then he snapped his fingers. "I
know! You can be a cosplayer!"
"A what?"
"Come on. You're doing it
anyway. And it's what you like the most. Of course, we'll need a bit of an
investment first, but I can give you money from my stash."
"I cannot take money from
you," Sebastian protested. "It would defeat the purpose of earning it myself."
Milo waved. "Dude, that's
just like an awesome idea! And you know what they say. You gotta
spend money to make money. Let's see what cosplay events are at this time of
the year."
They left their meals
half-eaten and rushed to Milo's bedroom. Kai was immediately impressed by the
gadgetry present. Indeed, his boyfriend was no commoner.
Milo opened his laptop –
Sebastian secretly wished he had one of those – and stretched on the bed. "Come
here, let's hunt together."
Hunting had a completely
different meaning in this world. Of course, there was still the hunting of
animals, but it looked like it wasn't enough to know how to use a bow to
qualify for that.
"Look here," Milo pointed
at the screen. "The Pit houses a cosplay event tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow is Friday. We
are expected at the funeral of Edible Insanity," Sebastian said. "I mean, not
their funeral, they're just the musicians."
Milo laughed. "We'll do
them both. Plus, I think Beatrice can help us with something."
"With what?"
"Makeup!" Milo said
brightly. "I won't dare go through my mom's stash because she'd kill me. But I
bet B and her friends know all about how to put makeup on. We just need to find
a wig and an outfit. What would you like to cosplay as?"
While Milo was talking,
Sebastian was typing quickly on his phone, getting himself acquainted with the
world of cosplay. He stopped as he saw a picture that looked uncannily
familiar. "This," he said and showed Milo the phone.
"Hmm." Milo rubbed his
chin in thought. "The guys cosplaying this character are usually taller, and,
you know, better built."
"I see. But do they have
the composure they require?" Sebastian stood and held his head high. "I shall
address the court now." Without hesitating, he began giving the speech he had
held the last time holding court.
Milo watched him
wide-eyed. "So cool, man. It's like you're an actor. Okay, I'm sold. Now let's
find an outfit and a long-haired wig. Ah, by the way, you know that's a
character from a BL show, right?"
"BL?"
Milo rolled his eyes.
"Boys' Love. You know, the kind that girls are crazy about."
Sebastian looked at his
phone. In one second, his screen filled with incredible images. His eyes grew
wide. "Marvelous," he whispered.
Milo snickered. "Your
sister Tani knows all about that. You should ask
her."
"She's too young."
"I suppose she's only
watching and reading those rated accordingly," Milo said. "With emphasis on `I
suppose'," he added. "I don't dare to assume too much when it comes to your
sister. She knows more about BL than you and I combined, for sure."
"Then I'll seek her
advice."
Milo turned toward the
laptop. "I found the wig, but now, about the outfit... I think that we could
ensure your success if we picked something, um, sexier."
Sebastian plopped on the
bed and stared at the screen. How could people think that those skimpy outfits
were worthy of a prince?
"This one," Milo pointed
at a particular set of garments.
The trousers were all
right, pretty much looking like the ones he usually wore while riding. But the
upper part consisted of nothing else but leather straps crossed over the
chest.
"I would be half-naked,"
he protested.
"Yeah, but you would look
so sexy," Milo said with a snicker.
"Is it important to look
sexy?"
"When you cosplay a BL
character? You bet. But, on a second thought, I don't think I'm ready to let
the world ogle you," Milo added. "Maybe we should look at something else."
"No. My success is more
important." Sebastian pressed the `add to cart' button with new satisfaction.
He had quickly realized that using the terrific online shops required money he
didn't possess. Now, it was Milo's money, and he would give it back, but it
still felt good.
"You know that you'll
have to pay for this," Milo commented in a playful tone.
"Of course. I'll pay you
back."
"I wasn't talking about
that. You'll have to cosplay for me," Milo added in a soft voice, brushing his
lips across Sebastian's cheek.
"Naturally. You'll have
to see if the costume fits me."
"I have a feeling it
will."
Sebastian turned to look
at Milo. They were so close and moved at the same time. It was like magic.
Their lips fit together like halves of an apple, and their small tryst turned
soon into a battle of sorts, each one wanting more of the other.
His weakness had always
been an inconvenience. His advisors had tried to consolate
him by speaking of a natural shortcoming that was bound to be accepted in
exchange for the prince's perfection in all other ways. Sebastian had to admit,
something that had always made him feel ashamed, that he enjoyed letting his
senses prey to pleasure, each time he was accompanied at bedtime by a
magnificent male.
And each morning, he
would feel disappointment in himself for proving weak and lacking will to dominate
that part of him.
Everything was so
different now. The pleasure was heightened, even if all he and Milo did was
kiss. The disappointment hadn't yet raised its ugly head, and somehow,
Sebastian knew with inexplicable surety that it would never come, not when it
concerned this beautiful young man.
Maybe it was all part of
the curse bent on claiming his soul, and right now, while his lips were crushed
with both shameless want and shy desire, he couldn't care less if that
happened.
Milo rolled him on his
back and climbed on top of him. Sebastian wrapped one leg around Milo's,
enjoying the other's strength.
"We should study," Milo
said breathlessly.
Sebastian ran his fingers
through Milo's hair, drawing a small hiss. "It can wait. Give me your mouth.
I'm dying without it."
And that had to be the
closest thing to a confession the famous and ruthless prince of Ifigia had ever said in his entire life.
***
"We're crowding Conrad,"
Kai said, although that wasn't the issue. The royal bed had the size of three standard
beds, if not more. "And since when are you sleeping with me?"
"Since we fight dragons
together," came Pepin's petulant reply.
Kai had a hunch that he
wasn't supposed to sleep all that naked either, but after a look at the dubious
nightgown he was supposed to wear to bed, he had decided that it would be
manlier of him to bite the bullet and opt for going for a shuteye in the buff.
He grimaced and pretended
to be uncomfortable but didn't struggle much as he didn't want to wake up
Conrad, who was still recuperating. On the other hand, Pepin had no trouble
crowding him and ignoring the large part of the bed that remained unoccupied.
The only good part in
that predicament was that Pepin, at least, wasn't naked. He wore the cutest
pink gown Kai had ever seen – not that he had seen many – adorned with tiny
flowers at the collar and the cuffs. It covered him head to toes, and it was
long-sleeved, so at least they had that. Tani would
love to have one of her own.
Conrad was naked, as they
had had to take him out of his tight clothes, but at least he was sleeping
soundly. That was one less danger he needed to concern himself with.
However, he wondered if
he needed to be ready for fending off attacks from a cute pink nightgown. There
was, it seemed, no notion of personal space Pepin was accustomed to. The
servant threw one arm over his chest and pressed himself against Kai's
body.
The strangest thing was
that Kai could feel his body heat. In the dragon's cave, he had been shot at
with fire – pure, unadulterated fire – and he hadn't sweated a drop. Yet, now,
with Pepin half-wrapped around him, he felt as if ignited from within.
"Aren't you hot?" he
asked Pepin.
"No," came the immediate
reply.
"Well, I am. How about
not suffocating me?"
"How can you be hot? You
don't ever feel hot."
It looked like having
cute young dudes invading his space and pinning him to the bed provoked an
exception to that rule.
"My arm is getting numb,"
Kai came up with another reason. "And my leg. I can't feel it anymore."
Pepin scoffed. "Oh, stop
complaining so much already." He turned on the other side, a bit away, and Kai
sighed in relief.
He looked at Pepin's
back. It appeared that Prince Sebastian usually enjoyed the risk of fire
because they had let a dozen candles or more burning. That, combined with the
shy light of a new day rising behind the windows, allowed him to observe the
manservant.
Pepin moved and lay on
his belly, his head still turned away. Kai let his eyes travel down on his body
and stopped at the perfectly shaped mound that had to be Pepin's ass. Was that
really a dude's ass? It looked so round and squishy. Curious, he reached for it
and grabbed it. So squishy. He grinned.
Pepin gasped and turned
his head to stare at him. "Aren't you a bit mischievous, Your Majesty? You
could just ask, you know?"
Kai pulled back his hand
like it had caught fire. "Sorry about that. I just wanted, um, a glass of
water."
Yeah, lame.
Pepin sighed and climbed
out of bed. He returned with a glass of water. Kai didn't need it but drank it
anyway.
"Anything else?" Pepin
glared.
"No. Good night," Kai
said primly and gave the servant back the empty glass.
"What's going on?"
someone asked in a groggy voice.
"Great," Kai said. "See?
Now you woke up Conrad," he told Pepin.
The servant scoffed. "Then
he must be feeling better."
"You don't know that."
Kai scoffed back.
"Why not ask him?
Concubine, how are you feeling?" Pepin asked.
"Pepin, don't call Conrad
that!"
"Why not? It's what I
am."
Kai groaned and stared at
the ceiling in search of answers.
"I feel quite... good,
actually," Conrad added.
Kai turned toward him.
"You do? That's good."
Conrad's beautiful eyes
glimmered in the semi-dark. Yeah, they totally looked like a dragon's
sometimes.
"You... saved me?" Conrad
asked in a ragged voice.
Kai shrugged. "I did what
I could. Let's not make a big thing out of it."
Suddenly, he felt overly
conscious of how naked he was. It had to be Conrad's fault who was staring at
him with burning eyes.
"Then I should repay your
kindness."
"Repay? Oh, no, no, no need
for that," Kai protested.
Conrad ignored him and
wrapped a strong arm around him. Pepin gasped in outrage and did the same. All
right, so he hadn't been that uncomfortable before, but now he was.
"Why are you in the royal
bed, you impudent servant?"
"For the same reason you
are, you shameless concubine."
Kai didn't dare to look
to know that Conrad and Pepin were shooting daggers at each other from their
eyes.
"Everyone," he boomed,
"to sleep, now! Royal decree! Royal order! Royal whatever, just sleep!"
That had, to some degree,
the desired effect. The two fell silent, but none let go of him.
BL hell, what do you have against me?
TBC
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