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The royal steward sighed, running his fingers through the royal sorcerer’s hair. Baileywick had been sitting at his writing desk when Cedric arrived, unsteady on his feet and bleary eyed. The younger man had somehow managed to make his way over, falling down onto his knees beside Baileywick’s chair. He then hugged him around his middle, resting his head on his hip.
“Hi…” he mumbled.
“I think perhaps I should have a talk with Greylock about the amount of alcohol he allows you to consume in one evening,” Baileywick murmured. Cedric giggled, idly nuzzling against his hip as he let himself relax beside him. “Is it comfortable down there, dear?”
“Yes,” Cedric answered.
“Oh?”
“Because...because I’m with you,” Cedric mumbled, resting his chin on his leg as he looked up at Baileywick.
Baileywick blushed, shaking his head as he stroked his hair again. “Why do you always say such things when you’re absolutely hammered?” he asked with a smile.
“S’how we figured out our feelings for each other, innit?”
He hummed at that, nodding as he remembered that night. “It is,” he conceded.
Cedric hummed as he adjusted his grip on Baileywick’s middle. He snuggled against him, still kneeling on the floor beside his chair. “Tell me about it?” he asked.
“What?”
“Tell me about that night,” he repeated.
“What, like a bedtime story?” Baileywick chuckled. “Shall I also tell you the story about the princess and the uncooked pea under her mattresses?”
“...I never understood how that was supposed to prove you’re a princess. It just shows you have overly sensitive skin,” Cedric said.
“It’s the idea of Royals being more sensitive and delicate than common people.”
“It’s stupid. They eat, shite, and die just like all of us. Treating them differently runs the risk of letting them control every aspect of one’s life.”
“How very rebellious of you.”
“S’true,” he said with a shrug.
The steward shook his head, looking down at Cedric. “Just make sure you don’t go around shouting such beliefs when there are other Royals here. Even King Roland would not be able to save her. I have not practiced picking locks in quite some time and getting you out of a gibbet cage is going to be a challenge.”
The sorcerer giggled at this warning but nodded his head. “Mmm I know,” he promised. “But tell me about that night,” he insisted, giving him a little nudge.
Baileywick let out a long suffering sigh, leaning back in his chair as he said, “very well…”
***
It had been several weeks since the defeat of Vor and the rescuing of Sofia from the amulet. The celebrations and parties at the Enchancian castle had not stopped and it looked as if they would continue at least until the end of the month.
Cedric was drunk. The sorcerer sat on the rim of a fountain outside, dangling his feet in the cold water. On the ground lay his stockings and shoes in a haphazard pile. Several empty bottles of wine floated in the water, mixed with a few bottles still corked. The sorcerer picked up one of these bottles, flicking his wrist to pop the cork with a mumbled charm.
“Keeping them cold?” Baileywick asked, walking up to stand just to the side of Cedric. He raised an eyebrow, his arms folded behind his back.
Cedric turned, giggling as he held the bottle out to the older man. “Want some?” he asked.
“I think I am fine for now,” he dryly said. “As for you...are you sure you also have not had enough?” he asked. The younger man just shrugged and he sighed, reaching down to take off his shoes and stockings. “Move over,” he said, climbing up to sit beside the sorcerer.
“Oh? Fancy and dapper Baileywick sitting here with his feet in a fountain?” Cedric asked.
“I have been known to be silly every once in a while.” He watched Cedric laugh and throw his head back to take a deep drink from the bottle. “Maybe you should slow down,” he said.
“Why? Are you my father?” Cedric countered. He snickered, bumping Baileywick’s shoulder with his own. “You’re old enough to be him anyway,” he said.
“I had forgotten how old I was. Thank you for the reminder.”
Cedric laughed, placing a hand on Baileywick’s arm. “Don’t be mad. There’s no reason for us to fight anymore. Everything is going to be okay. You don’t have to hate me anymore.”
Baileywick looked at Cedric sadly at his words. “Cedric, I never hated you,” he said, “I was exasperated, yes. Suspicious when I saw you acting strangely around the princess? Yes. Hate was never something I felt for you.”
Cedric was silent, staring at the bottles floating in the water. He sniffed, running a hand over his eyes before taking a smaller drink. “Could have fooled me,” he murmured.
“Cedric, you gave back just as much as you gave,” he reminded him. “Also, you literally hit me with a curse that could have left me frozen forever. I think we are even on that regard.”
The younger man laughed, nodding. “I suppose so,” he said. He held the bottle out to Baileywick and blinked in surprise when he actually took it. He watched as the steward drew a handkerchief from his coat pocket, wiping the mouth of the bottle and he burst into laughter at the sight. “So prim and proper!” he snickered.
Baileywick shrugged, taking a small sip from the bottle. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the label. He gave Cedric a look over the rim of his glasses and the other could only guiltily giggle. “So that’s where all of those expensive wines had gone…” he said.
“There’s still some left!” Cedric offered, pointing at the water.
He shook his head, taking another drink. “At this point it does not matter,” he said. “I suppose the man who saved the youngest princesses’ life can indulge in far too much expensive wine every once in a while.”
The two fell into a comfortable silence. The bottle was passed back and forth. Cedric flipped it in the air when it was empty, making a small splash as it landed in the water.
“Did you mean what you said?” he suddenly asked.
“Hm?”
“That you never hated me?”
Baileywick nodded, “I did indeed mean it.” The sorcerer stared at him and Baileywick was vaguely worried that he was about to be sick when Cedric spoke again.
“I love you.”
He blinked at the declaration. He waited for Cedric to explain further. When nothing further was coming, he gently nudged him. “Cedric, you should not say such things when you’re inebriated. Someone will think you mean it.”
“But I do.”
“Cedric, that is impos…”
“I’ve had a crush on you since I was sixteen,” Cedric said. “I just kept quiet because...you know; the age difference.”
“And now that you are incredibly drunk you have decided to confess your feelings?”
“...it’s not the wine,” he said. He rested his head on Baileywick’s shoulder. “I still have feelings for you. All these years and I kept it to myself. Now I want to tell the truth.”
“You really mean this.”
“I have been known to tell the truth every now and then,” he huffed. He looked down at the water, too nervous to meet Baileywick’s gaze as the man stared at him. He flinched when Baileywick reached out, blinking when his head was gently turned to look at him.
“I confess that I have not thought of being with someone else for a very long time,” the steward said. “After what happened to me with my first...I told myself I didn’t need to be with anyone. I focused on my work and the Royal family as if they were my own blood. They could never hurt me like he did.
“I still have no desire to be with someone in the carnal sense of the phrase…”
“Me either,” Cedric mumbled.
“...but I think I would like to try again,” he said. He smiled when Cedric looked up at him in surprise.
“With me?” Cedric hopefully asked.
He laughed, shaking his head before pulling him into a hug. “Of course with you, Cedric!”
“Even with the age difference?”
“Cedric, you’re thirty-eight. It’s not as if you’re underaged,” he reminded him with a snort. This seemed to ease the sorcerer’s mind and he hugged Baileywick back, burying his face against his shoulder.
Without warning Cedric started to fall sideways and he clung to Baileywick as he fell into the water, dragging the other down with him. “Zeus’ Xylophone!” he yelped. He watched as Baileywick pushed himself into a sitting up position in the water, completely soaked. “Baileywick..?”
Wordlessly the steward tackled him, dunking him under the water once more as he started to laugh. Cedric flailed his arms and did his best to repay him for that, sweeping his hands over the surface of the water to splash him in the face.
The pair finally came inside when they started to tremble in the water, surprising everyone with their held hands and shared laughter.
***
“You fell asleep before I even finished the story,” Baileywick said matter-of-factly. He looked down and confirmed that Cedric was fast asleep, using his leg as a pillow as he snored fairly loudly. He ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his face. He shook his head, smiling as he went back to finishing his letter.
He found an odd comfort with Cedric’s weight on him. Later he would have a hard time getting the man onto his feet to get into the bed but for now, Cedric looked rather cute the way he was.