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He had not expected to see the Crown Prince again until January at the very least. Ever since Friedrich had been sent to Ruppin, they had had little time with each other, their interactions mostly limited to polite greetings in passing when the prince was called to Berlin. They had secretly kissed on a deserted staircase back in September, warm hands caressing over far too many layers of cloth before they had each gone their separate ways; one to an audience with the King, one to do his duty at the regiment. They had not seen each other since, narrowly missing the other every time, but always hoping for Christmas.
Then, his father had sent Katte to Wust to deal with a legal matter concerning their subordinates in mid-December, not expecting his son to return until New Year's and thus dooming him to miss the time the royal family would spend together in Berlin. So, when the head servant of the estate had interrupted his planning for a lonely Christmas in Wust, the last thing Katte had expected was being faced with his beloved, cheeks and nose red from the cold and a sly smile on his lips.
“Good evening, Lieutenant von Katte. I am terribly sorry to show up unannounced, but I was on my way to Magdeburg, and I fear that the snow won’t allow us to go any father than Tangermünde tonight. I remembered that your family’s estate is around these parts, and I was wondering whether we could stay with you for the night instead of going to a boarding house.”
Katte stared wide eyed at his beloved for a moment before bowing deeply and kissing his hand.
“It would be an honour, Your Highness. Uh, Dietrich, please show His Highness’s servants the way to the yellow guest room, put a fire on and take them to the kitchen afterwards for dinner. And please tell Marie to serve dinner for the Crown Prince and myself in the salon, the dining room is too cold.”
Friedrich chuckled at his lover’s obvious difficulties to keep a serious façade in place and mimed for his servants to follow the elderly Dietrich to the back of the house. Katte turned to him with a restrained smile on his face and offered him his arm.
“May I show Your Highness to the salon?”
“That would be very kind of you, Lieutenant.”
Katte closed the door to the salon behind them and pulled his Prince in by the waist in one smooth motion.
“My poor heart, you can’t surprise me like that, you terrible, terrible…”
The rest of his admonishments was lost in kisses to Friedrich’s forehead, his cheeks, his neck. Friedrich laughed and grabbed a hold of Katte’s face.
“I am so sorry for surprising you, old man, I will never do it again. I could leave, while I’m at it, don’t want to strain your heart any further…”
“Don’t you dare!”
Katte’s restrained smile had turned into a huge grin and his arms around Friedrich’s waist tightened even more.
“Don’t you dare leave; we have one whole night, and I will treasure it! I just wish you had told me; I don’t have any proper food here and…”
“I don’t need much. Just you, really…”
Friedrich gently tilted Katte’s head and finally went in for the kiss he had longed for for three months.
“I have missed you terribly”, he sighed after they parted, his forehead still touching Katte’s, “Is there truly no way for you to join me in Ruppin?”
“I would do anything for you, my dear, but my father would murder me in seconds if I even entertained the thought of joining the infantry.”
“Hm… We will have to live with this then. At least for the foreseeable future.”
“But not tonight. Come to the fireplace with me, your fingers are half frozen and you must be exhausted.”
“Oh, awfully so…”
Friedrich dropped down in a corner of the sofa, put his head on the backrest and closed his eyes for a moment. Katte remained standing, fondly gazing at his Prince.
“Should I ask the servants to bring us something warm to drink?”
“No, don’t leave…”
Friedrich’s eyes opened again and he beckoned his friend closer.
“Sit with me, dear one, you’ll be enough to warm me for now.”
“Whatever you prefer, Your Highness.”
Sitting down next to Friedrich, Katte put an arm around his shoulders and pressed another kiss to his temple.
“We should err on the side of caution being affectionate with each other though. My servants are willing to overlook a lot, but if you do not become either a lot less male or a lot less royal, the rumor would reach Berlin by dawn should they catch us.”
“Well”, mumbled Friedrich, “We have all night. I assume that yellow guest room you put me in is close to yours?”
“Right across the hall.”
“Perfect. Do they speak French, your servants?”
“Not as far as I’m aware.”
“That makes things easier.”
The prince yawned and stretched before resettling into a more conventional pose for conversation between friends.
“Now tell me, dear Katte, how are you and how have you been?”
“A little lonely, perhaps, but that problem has been solved. What about you? Did you bring that new valet you told me about?”
“Sadly not, he has taken ill”, said Friedrich, concern bleeding into his voice, “Maybe another time.”
“I hope it is not too serious.”
“Just a cold, he will be fine. You will meet him eventually and you will like him.”
“Is that an order?”
“Maybe in part. Do not think I have not noticed the way your expression changed, my dear. You pout when you’re jealous.”
Katte averted his eyes for a moment, the comment stinging more than he would like it to. Friedrich reached out to take his hand.
“I am not going to just forget about you, if that is what you are afraid of.”
“Maybe in part. I just… I just wish I got as much time with you. I’m sure he’s lovely.”
Relaxing a little, Katte’s lips curled into another smile – a smile with a familiar arrogant edge to it.
“After all, you have a very refined taste in men, Your Highness.”
“Indeed, I do”, said Friedrich, “And they say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Now, you’ll have to live up to my dreams when I do see you, of course...”
“Later, maybe, when the rest of the house is asleep.”
“How vulgar! And to think that you spoke of limiting intimacy minutes ago...”
“I just said that we should be careful”, said Katte and gave Friedrich a peck on the cheek, “Besides, how could I concentrate on what I said minutes ago with you right next to me for the first time in months? Now, how have you been, Your Highness? And what brings you to Magdeburg?”
“I have been well; my distance to Berlin appears to make my father grow fonder of me. He wants me to speak with the higher-ups of the duchy, the relationship appears to be somewhat strained. I believe you know all about it?”
“My uncle speaks of little else whenever I see him. Maybe you can use our friendship to keep him mild mannered.”
“Finally, a use for you”, said Friedrich with a smirk, “I was beginning to wonder why I keep you around again.”
“I live to serve the Prussian monarchy, Your Highness”, said Katte with a smirk of his own, “My devotion knows no bounds.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation and, after being called in by the master of the house, three servants entered to serve their dinner of winter appropriate vegetables and meats. While they set the table, the conversation continued. At least part of it did.
“Apart from your useful connection to the Duchy of Magdeburg, I think I do not tell you enough how wonderful you are”, said Friedrich, his expression neutral, “How much I like your face, how beautiful your smile is, how much I adore your mind...”
“You want to make me blush in front of all these people, really?”
Friedrich nodded as if Katte had brought an interesting conversation topic to the table.
“Why not, if they don’t understand me?”
“Ah, so this is why you asked.”
“Indeed. I would kiss you, too, but I’m afraid they will understand that. My talented, breathtaking, intelligent…”
“Please, Your Highness.”
“Well, let me break it down to the essentials then. I love you, I missed you, I cannot wait to be truly alone with you.”
After dinner, they both retired to their rooms and had their respective valets help them prepare for bed before dismissing them for the evening. Just when Katte could not hear the servant’s steps anymore, he heard the click of a lock, then another, before Friedrich slipped into his room. Without saying a word he climbed onto the bed with him, wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him once more with passion bordering on desperation, not stopping until they were both out of breath.
“I love you”, whispered Katte, his hand gliding down Friedrich’s back only separated from his skin by the thin nightshirt under his robe, “I love you, I missed you, stay with me.”
_
Friedrich awoke with the first rays of sunlight streaming through the ice crystals on the window, casting the room in a soft, warm light. Everything around him was soft and warm; the blankets covering him, the nightshirt that had slipped past his hips, and Katte’s cheek against his forehead. They had fallen asleep in Katte’s bedroom, after hours spent forgetting the distance, the dangers, the time apart. And what a gift even sleeping had been! Sleeping, truly sleeping in each other’s arms, without having to wake in the middle of the night to disappear back where they were supposed to be, had never truly been a possibility for them in Berlin. In Wust, all they had had to do was ask the servants not to wake either of them and wait to enter their rooms until summoned.
Friedrich did not ever want to move again, but he had to make sure of one thing before he could truly enjoy a calm morning in bed. Carefully he slipped out of his lover’s embrace and moved to the window. To his delight, a thick layer of snow covered the road between the house and the church – far too thick for any carriage to travel through – and there was still more falling from the grey sky above.
“Where are you going...?”
Katte looked at him from the bed, his hair a mess, his eyes still half shut.
“Nowhere”, said Friedrich and returned to Katte’s side to pull him into an embrace and press a kiss to his forehead, “A higher power has answered my prayers to keep me snowed in with you.”