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"Horatio." Hamlet inquired.
"Yes, my lord?"
"This book is getting inexplicably boring. Why don't we do something interesting for a change?"
"What do you suggest?"
"I don't know... Something other than reading? Maybe a nightly walk around the castle? Perhaps outside?"
"My lord, wouldn't that wake up the others?"
Hamlet sighed. The two had always come here late at night, at the castle's grand library, in search of peace and escape. With everything going on, Hamlet's been getting continuously restless at night and finds himself unable to sleep, so he often comes to the library to read a book or two before he gets tired and falls into a slumber, or to get his mind off of things. Horatio originally had seldom visited the library in the early hours of the morning, but upon discovering Hamlet's stay, he comes much more often than he would like to admit. Sometimes he comes because he actually can't sleep - seeing and making contact with King Hamlet's ghost has left him with frequent nightmares - but other nights, when he can barely keep his eyes open, he goes to see Hamlet anyway and ends up falling asleep without reading a page of a book or having a decent conversation with the prince. Regardless, they always had something to do to keep them occupied as the night grew long, whether that be a good book or a long philosophical conversation that opened up new perspectives.
Tonight, however, was different. Hamlet was more restless than usual, and unusually more playful.
"I know." Hamlet began.
He got up off of the floor from his laying position and closed his book, setting it on the desk Horatio was sitting at. He pulled out the empty chair beside Horatio and sat down, admiring his friend's facial features as he schemed out the perfect night.
"Would you be up for a game of hide and seek?" he proposed.
"My original question still stands, my lord, and isn't that a children's game?"
"Oh, how now, Horatio. The game of hide and seek isn't only limited to children, and besides, it'll be fun, in such a large castle like this.. Don't you think?" Hamlet pestered, a childish grin forming on his face.
"That does sound... a little more entertaining than this, yes, I agree."
"Well, what are we waiting for? I'll seek, and you hide."
"If you insist, my lord."
Horatio hesitantly marked the spot in his book by folding the corner of the page, and closed his book for the night. Hamlet gripped Horatio by the wrist, dragging him out of his chair and out of the library with eagerness, ready to have some fun and hoping his plan would play out as he imagined.
Hamlet and Horatio take a quick walk to find a perfect place for Hamlet to start counting. They find themselves in the middle of a hallway with multiple rooms - one of the many hallways containing servant's quarters.
"All right, Horatio, I'll count to fifty, and you find yourself a place to hide, while I tr-"
"I do believe I am quite aware of how the game works." Horatio interrupted. A faint feeling of regret set in. He always listened to what his prince said to him and began to feel bad for interrupting him.
"Well, if you do so believe you are as good as you imply, then let's not dilly dally and play." Hamlet finished.
Hamlet covered his eyes and started counting. Horatio sped off down the hallway, exploring some plausible hiding places.
'A pedestal with a vase on top? No... not good enough. I'm not skinny enough for that.' he contemplated. Before he knew it, Hamlet was finished counting, announcing "Ready or not, here I come!". In a panic, Horatio hid in a small space before a locked door, leading out to the corridor. He hoped the shadows cast down in front of him would hide him well in the dark, but the loose, white sleeves of his shirt still stood out in the looming darkness. He closed his arms and legs in tighter together, confining himself to the small space. It wasn't the greatest hiding spot, but it was the best Horatio could do in the limited time he had.
"Oh Horatio, where are you, my sweet Horatio?" Hamlet chanted in a sing song voice down the hallway that Horatio was hiding in.
Horatio's heart skipped a beat. "Sweet Horatio...?" he mumbled to himself.
"Aha! There you are. I knew you weren't as good as you had implied." Hamlet burst out. He stuck out an arm and plastered his hand on the wall, leaning his body the other direction, imprisoning Horatio in his hiding spot.
Horatio jumped at Hamlet's loud voice. "Ah! M-my lord.."
"And now you have the honor of searching for me. Be keen and cunning, Horatio, for I am quite skilled at hiding." Hamlet remarked, dismissing Horatio's reaction.
Horatio pulled at his left earlobe anxiously. "All right, I'll begin counting then."
Horatio shut his eyes and started counting. Hamlet dashed off down the hallway and off back into the library again. In the library, he had found his perfect hiding place - one that he had used since a child when he would play games like these in the castle with Yorick. It was a small space in the corner, a crook formed between the end of the gargantuan library bookshelf and the wall, one that Hamlet could fit through and hide even as he aged and grew. A shadow cast down from the top of the bookshelf, and grew drastically in size as it made its way to the ground. Hamlet's black apparel made for good camouflage in the shadows, the only thing that happened to be sticking out in the darkness being his pale complexion and hands.
"Ready or not, here I come!" Horatio announced. He looked aimlessly down the hallway, determining where to start searching for the prince. He headed down the opposite way that the prince had headed towards to hide, making his way to the front vestibule.
It was safe to say that Hamlet certainly was as skilled as he says he is at hiding. At least an hour passes by, and Horatio still hasn't found the prince - and he's looked absolutely everywhere, aside from rooms that were locked away or out of bounds. He's searched the kitchens, underneath tables, behind shelves - he's searched the front hall and throne room, behind heavy curtains and behind the throne upon which the valiant King Hamlet once sat. He's even taken a look in the castle's courtyard, looking behind bushes, shrubs, and trees, and even have the castle guards question him on his intentions. But Horatio never took a look in the library, his assumption being Hamlet would've found a different and better place to hide.
"I've given up, my lord. You can come out of hiding now... Hamlet?" Horatio spoke, careful not to awake anyone else in the castle.
Full of fatigue to continue walking around the castle, Horatio trudges away to find a place to rest for the night. He passes by a room with the door opened slightly, the moonlight peeking through the bottom of the door. Curious, he pushes the door open a little more to discover Hamlet's quarters.
'I'm sure Lord Hamlet wouldn't mind if I stayed here, to take a nap at least...' Horatio thought.
He entered the room quietly, leaving the door opened slightly, the same distance from the lock as it was before. He stripped down to his knee length undergarments, leaving his clothing in a neat pile on the floor by the base of the bed, and crawled into Hamlet's bed, nestling himself comfortably under the plush covers, which smelt fondly of the prince, triggering thoughts of their relationship... Horatio had been growing quite affectionate of him lately, growing more attracted to the beauty of his mind and body in the nights that they spent in the library, and on the nights that Horatio managed to get some sleep, Hamlet was always in his dreams, leaving soft kisses on various parts of his face and combing his fingers through his tousled, curly brown hair. Eventually, Horatio fell into a light slumber after thinking about his crush and the time they spent together tonight.
About twenty minutes later, Hamlet emerges from his hiding spot, stepping out into the moonlight once more. He assumes victory and exits the library to look for Horatio. He tours around the castle and finds the door to his quarters opened just a crack. He stepped inside, gripping the knob of the door and pushing it open slowly to allow his body more room to get in. Upon entering, he notices a large lump on the far right side of his bed - at first, he suspects it's simply a mound of blankets and sheets crumpled up, but he takes a closer look after taking a few steps in and finds a human body. A sleeping one. Horatio.
"Horatio?" Hamlet whispers, his voice barely audible even in the quiet room.
He makes his way closer to his bed and places a cold hand on Horatio's bare shoulder. Horatio shifts under the covers, now laying on his back and facing the prince. He slowly opens his eyes, blinking away his short lived slumber, and suddenly widens them at the sight of Hamlet.
"My lord, I'm so sorry, I'll leave at on-"
"No, Horatio, stay."
Horatio gazed up at the prince in awe and disbelief. He was baffled at the fact that the prince wasn't angry at him - or even disappointed, in that matter. In fact, he seemed quite content that Horatio had fallen asleep in his room.
Horatio watched Hamlet unbutton his jacket, slide it off of his arms and body, and throw it on the ground beside his clothing. He looked on, even as Hamlet took off his blouse, his pale skin illuminated in the moonlight, and his ribs sticking out a little underneath his near translucent skin, but blushed and looked away as soon as he saw his chest. He then sat on the bed with Horatio and removed his breeches and socks, leaving him in only his undergarments along with Horatio. Hamlet slid into bed with Horatio, about half an arm's length away from his body. The two rolled over on their sides to face each other, nearly at the exact same time.
"Thank you for playing with me tonight, Horatio." Hamlet commented.
"You're welcome, my lord."
"Shh."
Hamlet placed a slender finger on Horatio's soft lips. Horatio's heart pounded in his chest, and was ever so glad Hamlet couldn't hear or feel it.
"Just call me by my first name, sweet Horatio." Hamlet slowly dragged his finger off of Horatio's lips, gently tracing the contour of his chin on the way down. Horatio had been blushing madly by now, but still managed to keep a calm and collected attitude.
"As you wish. I only intend to act courteous to you, Hamlet."
Hamlet giggled. He shifted himself underneath the covers, moving himself closer to Horatio, to the point where they were a mere hand's length away from each other's faces. He slipped his left leg in between Horatio's legs, intertwining them comfortably. Hamlet's arms moved as well under the sheets, loosely embracing Horatio's torso. Horatio's soft skin soothed Hamlet's chilly fingers as he delicately stroked it, faint patches of goosebumps breaking out of the skin on his back as soon as Hamlet made contact. Horatio followed Hamlet's lead and raised his arms under the sheets to embrace Hamlet.
"Simply being the person you are is quite courteous enough, Horatio."
Hamlet raised his left hand to Horatio's face and started to pet his cheek with his thumb, running his fingers through the locks of hair behind his ear. The two leaned into each other's faces, slowly shutting their eyes on the way in, and shared a lengthy and passionate kiss. They eventually broke off from each other, Horatio pulling away first due to his anxious nature. After gazing at each other lovingly for quite some time, Horatio felt confident and gave Hamlet another quick kiss on the lips. Horatio moved in closer to Hamlet's embrace, lowering his head to hide his face in the crook of Hamlet's neck, and slowly slipped his hand up higher from Hamlet's back to support his neck. Hamlet buried his nose in his lover's hair, taking in all of the sweet scents that made up one of the thousands of reasons of why Hamlet loved Horatio.
"I love you, Hamlet." Horatio murmured.
"I love you too, Horatio."
The two lovers shared a long needed and peaceful sleep that night in each other's arms.