Chapter Text
Scott's footsteps were muffled by the carpet as he reached the dorm. It had been a few days since Aurora had hatched and Cam had been acting weird.
He was back to normal, even if it was Cam’s 'normal' it was a lot better.
"Scott you're back." Cam grinned down from the upper balcony. "Don't look in the kitchen."
Cam quickly disappeared from view, loud footsteps down the stairs followed.
"I made dinner and I didn't burn anything, all by myself." Cam excitedly walked towards Scott, taking Scott’s bag, and directing him to the couch. "Sit down and relax."
"Okay." Scott chuckled, getting comfortable on the couch and in front of the fire.
Cam the past few days had been showering Scott with attention. Scott honestly had felt overwhelmed, between Cam, drift, Shelby, and even Pyro so many people wanted to be around him.
On his other assignment he was always by someone but not truly there. Just a decoration, a scare tactic, a guard.
It was nice to be a person again, a friend.
"Here we go!"
Scott jumped a little at the bowl shoved in front of his face but took it gingerly. It smelled good, of chicken, spice, and rice. "Did you make this by yourself?"
"It was all me." Cam sing songs. "And I only set one towel on fire."
"It will always impress me that you managed to burn things so easy." Scott took a bite of the food humming at the warm taste, it tasted very familiar and almost nostalgic.
He could imagine eating this very food in front of a fire at home, with his parents, even the Dagmeares.
"Did I do it well?" Scott looked over at Cam, to see his grin fall. "Does it not taste right?"
Scott blinked trying to get rid of the moisture in his eyes. "I-Its good, where did you get the recipe?"
"I asked Pyro," Cam grumbled, "he even showed me."
Even though Scott and Pyro made up, Cam seemed to hold a grudge against Pyro. He was able to put that aside to Comfort Scott.
"Thanks Cam." Who knew that his most dreaded assignment would end up so good.
"It's no problem." Cam took a big bite himself humming at the taste.
They sat in silence enjoying the warm atmosphere.
When they finished eating, Scott went to take the bowls only for Cam to stop him.
"Could you wait a second?" Cam looked nervous fidgeting with his clothes.
"Yeah, what up?" Scott had noticed that Cam seemed nervous but he assumed it was to go cooking alone.
"I don't know fully how to say this but..." Cam bites his nails, "I need to say it before I chicken out."
"Which I normally don't do because I'm a prince and that is not very princely. My father would always be like 'stop stuttering, spit it out', but he was just caring in a-"
"Cam." Cam turned to look at Scott as he set a hand on his arm. "If you don't want to tell me it's okay, I'll forgive you if you burned two towels."
Cam chuckled at that before taking a deep breath, taking both of Scott's hands in his. "I like you."
Scott felt someone warm inside him only to mentally shake it off, Curse Cam and in his inelegance with words. "I like you too you a good friend-"
Cam cut him off "No as in the way I thought I like Giselle!"
That couldn't be true.
"I'm- I don't want an answer that you think is the one I want." Cam brushed his hand over his knuckles. "I want you to answer me, not a prince."
"I-" Scott looked away overwhelmed, there was just too much and too many emotions. "What about Giselle?"
"I didn't actually like her like that." Scott could hear the grief in his voice. "I was forcing feelings on myself and her and I ruined a perfectly good friendship by trying to turn it into something it wasn't. I don't want that to happen with us either, but I just wanted you to know because it felt unfair to keep them to myself like that."
He should just say no. It was the simple solution. He shouldn't like men, but he didn't seem to like women.
And Cam made him feel something. It definitely wasn't just friendship, it was something more it was a want.
But what would courting Cam even mean? "Would your parents even approve of that?"
If they found out he would be punished, he sure Cam would just get a slap on the wrist, maybe locked away till he learned his lesson but what would happen to Scott.
Cam turned his head confused. "Um no but that doesn't matter-
"Cam, did you think any of this through?" Scott looked back at Cam with a hard expression.
"I thought about this a lot!" Cam's voice was certain. "I really do like you, I was at first confused but-"
"That isn't what I mean!" Scott shouted, pushing himself off the couch. "What would that mean if it was found out?!"
Cam laughed to himself. "Probally some disappointment but my parents can deal with that."
"Really?" Scott was frustrated that Cam would offer him such a tempting thing only to have to be the one to actually think it through. "With a guard, a northern guard."
"I don't care about that."
"Well I do Cam because you’ll just get a slap on the wrist and told to smarten up, well who knows what would happen to me!" Scott was familiar with punishment, even being as good as a guard as he was he couldn't be perfect.
Well a lash to the wrist, or if really bad the back, was the average punishment, he was sure he would get something way worse for corrupting their prince.
The blame of this would certainly fall to him. The northern savage.
"So what? you're just going to let others dictate who you love, I don't care if my parents forbid it." Cam pushed himself off the cushion glaring at Scott. "You're not saying no to the feeling, do you feel something similar?"
Scott stepped back, there was something there and part of him didn't want to deny it but Scott could be selfish.
"Cam,” Scott felt his teeth grind together. “They would properly kill me or hurt what family I have left, I can't risk that."
Cam quickly spoke reach a hand out to Scott."They wouldn't never do something like that Kewltown only kills crimina-"
"My parents weren't criminals."
Cam mouth hung open as looked at Scott in disbelief. "Wh-what?"
"They were killed by Kewltown." Scott looked to the side. "I was just told they were killed by some guards, I was granted the 'pleasure' of being excused to get everything in order."
Cam swallowed. "What did they do?"
"They did nothing!" His parents couldn't have done anything close to deserving such a fate. "They 'interfered with the guard's work', and that's all we were told."
"But.." Cam sputtered. "There must have just been some mistake, KEWLTOWN guards wouldn't just kill people, they're there to protect people."
Scott scoffed, Of course the Prince wouldn't believe him, the guards are nothing but kind and helpful for him. "I won't risk anyone from Tegrith getting hurt, to chase a fantasy."
Scott shoved past The prince before he did something he regretted.
"Wait! Scott," he jerked as a hand caught his arm, “please, I don't understand... I don't understand a lot of things."
Scott clenched his fist, he pulled his arm out of the prince’s grip. "What do you can just throw back at me with 'they don't do that to you'."
"Well I've never seen them-"
"When have you been anywhere but the castle or the noble district?" Scott threw his arm out to the side. "You didn't even know a whole region of people came to seek refuge. But you think you know how people treat us?"
Cam blinked at him stepping back.
"We're seen as stupid and exploitable, something easy and useful to control." Scott growled out his words. "The last time I was back with them it was for my parent's funeral."
And now it would be years, maybe a decade till he gets to see them again.
Cam's voice was small. "I didn't-"
"Of course you didn't and you just think..." Scott cut himself of frustration bubbling. "You really are a noble."
Scott finally looked down at The prince who was staring at Scott wide eyed. He was shrunk against the wall and held close to his chest as he looked up at Scott with fear in his eyes.
Scott took a step back as he looked away. Right, even without his armour his height and size still intimated people.
"I didn't..." Cam swallowed. "I didn't know."
Scott took a deep breath turning away and pushing through the door. He needed to calm down, as much as he wanted to let his frustration and anger out on Cam it wouldn't help anything.
His anger never did help anything.
It was useless.
His anger had gotten him nothing but a disadvantage or punishment.
What if it came back to bite him, the prince decides to punish him?
Sure the prince was his friend but how quickly would that change? He had told him to speak his mind but that hasn't stopped his assignment before. If they don't like it he's punished and if they like it do it rewarded.
It's like the rules were constantly changing, they had been doing nothing but that since they fled Tegrith.
Scott bumped into someone as he turned the corner, catching them before they fell over.
"I'm sorry." Scott pulled them up, showing their similar height, it was Zam.
"No, I'm sorry." The bug? Alien? Rubbed her arm. "I should watch where I'm going.
"You fine, I was lost in my head."
"Um okay..." Zam glanced down the hall before looking down one of the other halls. "Have you seen Graecie?"
"Um." Scott had been too distracted to notice anyone on his walk. "no, I just left my dorm."
"Where were you going?" Zam tilted her head.
"Nowhere really just wanted to get my mind off something." He might go on a walk outside the academy, the only place in the academy that he could reasonably loiter was the library and he didn't feel like reading.
A strange noise made Scott look up at Zam who seemed to be lost in thought, before looking back at Scott looking determined.
"Me and graecie were going to do some cooking if you wanted you could come with." Zam antenna flopped down. "But only if you want."
Zam went quieter and quieter as she spoke. Like just suggesting the idea was going to offend him.
Scott sighs internally. "Don't force yourself to invite me if you feel uncomfortable."
"Oh no it's not that." Zam antenna stood tall contrasting how she shrunk into herself. "I just don't want you to feel obligated to come, but I wanted to invite you because you wanted a distraction."
"Oh." Scott blinked at her, cooking always was a good stress relief. "I might take you up on that offer."
"Okay we just need to find graecie." Scott fell into step behind Zam. "Then we can go to our kitchen. It has none of the people wheat."
"People wheat?"