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Claude woke up with a bad feeling in the back of his throat. The morning tea he drinks doesn’t help, early morning sex with Lorenz doesn’t help, hell, flying on his wyvern doesn’t even help. He steps out of his bathroom, tying his robe around his waist, when he runs into what feels like a brick wall.
“Hey! I didn’t know you lived here!”
Oh no. He knows that voice. He thought he banned him from the country. He looks up and the long hair is a dead giveaway. Balthus von Albrecht is somehow in the royal palaces of Almyra, wearing a modified version of the servant’s outfit that showed a lot more skin than was necessary in his eyes.
Claude put a smile on his face. “Hey, when did you show up?”
Balthus yawned, stretching and showing off his bare upper body. “Not long ago, at most 2 weeks ago. I managed to get into contact with Tiana a couple days ago.”
Oh fuck . “Really?” he asks, keeping his voice even. “That’s nice. I guess she let you in then, huh?”
“Yeah. Your parents are really nice.” Balthus says, and Claude’s mind short circuits. Parents. Surely he didn’t mean that.
“Parents?”
“Yeah,”Balthus said, scratching his thigh right below where the shorts ended, “I was about to leave and see if I could find somewhere to hide for the night, but your dad practically begged that I stay here and visit them for a little while longer.”
Claude nodded. “Cool. I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, dude. See you around!”
Claude waved before he immediately went into his room and into his closet to find the easiest clothes to put on.
“You’re going to talk to your parents about this, are you?” Lorenz asked in a bored tone.
Claude pulled on a long robe. “Of course. My mother has a weakness for loyal and muscular men who heavily rely on that.”
Lorenz sighed, and after a few moments, he was calmly hugging the shorter man from behind. “And your father? Surely he can talk and communicate with his wife.”
“My father also has a weakness for loyal and muscular men who heavily rely on that.”
“Oh dear.”
Claude knew it was early enough for him to throw open the doors to the throne room and shout for his parents’ attention. “Mama! Papa!”
His father came into his view, tying his hair back. ”Yes, my son? Is everything alright?”
“No Papa, it’s not.” Claude said, coming to a stop in front of the man. “I just ran into-”
“Is everything okay out here?” Balthus asks, stepping into the grand hallway only wearing a rather skimpy one piece that Claude had worn once for Lorenz. For a brief moment, Claude let his eyes rake over how tight the fabric was on the tall man’s body, especially as it all came down into that pouch-
“Everything’s fine, Balthus.” Claude lied. “Can you go inside the room? This is a family thing.”
Balthus nodded. “Sure thing.” He turned to his father and winked. “Will you be back soon?”
To Claude’s horror, his father blushed. “Of course, beloved. It will just take a moment.”
As soon as Balthus closed the door behind him, Claude whirled back to face his father. “Beloved?” he shouts, back in his native tongue. “Beloved? How does Mama feel about this?”
“She’s the one who asked me about keeping him as a…” The king faltered a bit as he looked for a word. “person under our patronage.”
“As a personal slut.” Claude realized, eyes widening. Oh this can’t be happening.
“Claude, please. He’s a boy toy.”
“He’s horrifically in debt! He owes my husband’s father so much money that having him here could cause an international scandal!”
“Oh, we knew about his debts.” The king remarks offhandedly.
Claude closes his mouth, cut off from continuing his rant. “Excuse me?”
The king shrugged. “We paid it off as soon as he entered the palace.”
“...”
“If that’s all, I would love to go back to what I was doing.”
Claude nodded, turning around and swiftly walking away. The idea was a nightmare to him, but as long as Balthus was a decent guest, maybe it could be fine.
He better not hear either of his parents moaning.