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Hunter walked through the castle with his head held high and Flapjack hidden underneath his cloak.
“Golden guard,” Kikimora sneered. “Where are you off to so late at night?”
Hunter stopped to look at her. “Kiki. Darius needs my help.”
“Don’t call me that!” Hunter smirked beneath his mask. It was fun to piss her off and so easy with just a simple nickname! “What could he possibly need your help with?”
“It’s classified. I have to go before I’m late. Darius doesn’t like being kept waiting.”
Kikimora glared at him as he walked off.
When he reached Darius’s room, Hunter knocked. He only had to wait a few seconds before the door opened.
“Hello, little prince,” Darius said, causing Hunter to blush. What if someone was walking past and they heard the embarrassing nickname? “Come in. Are you ready for your sewing lesson?”
“Mhmm!” Hunter walked in and took off his mask and cloak, tossing them on the bed.
Darius sighed and picked up the cloak, folding it neatly and setting the mask on top of it. “Sit. I assume you at least know how to thread a needle?”
Hunter picked up a needle and some thread, showing off that he could indeed thread a needle.
“Good. You’d be surprised how many people can’t do that.” Darius sat next to Hunter and picked up some fabric. “I’m just going to teach you some basic stitches for now so you can fix your cloak yourself next time it gets damaged. Now what you do is....”
Hunter followed Darius’s instructions carefully, cursing every time he poked his finger with the needle, only to get scolded for cursing.
After the seventh time he poked his finger, Hunter got frustrated and threw everything down. “I suck at this!” He complained.
“No, little prince, you’re learning. You weren’t always good at fighting, were you?”
“No....” Hunter rubbed an old scar on his arm.
“But you got better from practice. We’ll have more sewing lessons and you’ll be a pro at this in no time!”
“Think I can be better than you?”
“I don’t know about that, little prince.” Darius tapped Hunter’s nose, making him giggle. The giggle was interrupted by a yawn. “Hm, I agree. It’s been a long day, hasn’t it? We should get you to bed.”
“Not—” Hunter yawned again. “Not sleepy. Wanna try again.”
“Little prince,” Darius said sternly.
Hunter pouted. The nickname and Darius’s tone put him firmly in his headspace. He knew he wouldn’t be allowed to continue the sewing lesson now. He wasn’t allowed to touch anything pointy when he was little. He’d already stabbed himself several times when he wasn’t in his headspace!
“Come on. I’ll walk you back to your room and put you to bed.”
“Kay....” Hunter stuck his thumb in his mouth and went to grab his stuff. He grabbed one extra thing from Darius’s room, hiding it under his cloak so no one would see.
Once they were in Hunter’s room Darius finally got to see what he’d stolen. It was one of his shirts. An old long sleeved shirt that was a little too small for him now, but would likely still be big on Hunter. He huffed in amusement.
“You little thief,” he teased, keeping his tone light to let Hunter know he wasn’t angry.
Hunter grinned up at him and handed him the shirt, silently asking for him to help put it on.
Darius was right about the shirt being too big for Hunter. The sleeves came down past his hands, which almost made him coo. Darius didn’t coo at things often and he knew if he did in front of Hunter the boy would get embarrassed, and he didn’t want to risk him hiding from him when he regressed.
Once Hunter was in his pajamas and had brushed his teeth, he jumped into his bed, taking out his favorite plushie from behind his pillow and hugging it.
“Let me see your fingers,” Darius commanded, remembering how many times he’d poked himself with the needle before. Hunter placed his hand in his caregiver’s. Darius procured a couple of bandaids from his pocket. He knew Hunter wasn’t really hurt enough to need the bandaids, but he also knew it would be comforting for him and hopefully it would let him know that he cared about him.
“It’s Flapjack!” Hunter exclaimed, pointing out one of the bandaids with a cardinal design on it.
“It is,” Darius agreed. “Now lay down and I’ll read you a story, then you need to go to sleep, little prince.”
Hunter did as he was told, pulling the blanket up to his neck. Flapjack got comfy right next to Hunter’s head, nuzzling his cheek affectionately. “Love you too, Flapjack.” Hunter yawned. “When’s the next lesson?” He asked Darius.
“Whenever you’re ready for another lesson, I’ll make myself available.” Darius brushed Hunter’s hair strand away from his eyes.
“Tomorrow?”
“Sounds good, little prince. Now sleep well.”
“Ni ni, Darius.”