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Stephen opened the door to see Anthony standing on the doorstep, not quite crying, but certainly on the verge of it. Regardless, his posture was straight, and while his robes were covered in rotten fruit, his head was held high. “May I come in?” He asked.
Stephen nodded. “Of course. Would you like to cleanse your robes while you are here? I can provide alternate clothing while we wait.”
Anthony dipped his head as he stepped inside. “That would be wonderful, thank you.”
Stephen closed the door and both relaxed in an instant. “So what happened?”
Tony shed his upper layer of clothes and sighed, oblivious to Stephen’s blush. The two made their way to the bathing room as Tony explained. “I was accused of being a witch.”
“Who were you accused by?” Stephen demanded, face now flushed with anger.
Tony dropped his clothes into the tub, and knelt to start washing them. “The prince.”
Stephen deflated and handed Tony the soap. “I can’t do anything to make the charges go away, but I have enough power to help you ru-”
“No!” Tony scrubbed the robe against itself aggressively, taking his frustration out on his garments. “I cannot abandon my post, not even because some pompous brat wants me dead for rejecting an advancement!”
“So he didn’t even see you practicing your magic?” Stephen was shocked.
Tony glared. “Of course not! I’m not that foolish! I was looking near the palace wall for herbs, but apparently he didn’t remember that knowing what plants look like and how to use them was a sign of witchcraft until after I told him that I already had a beau.” Tony scoffed. “If being educated was a sign of witchcraft, he would be the last one accused.”
And that was enough to lighten the mood. Stephen snorted, quickly descending into laughter, and Tony soon followed with cackles of his own, dropping his robe into the tub entirely. Stephen knelt next to him and kissed him open-mouthed, pouring laughter into Tony’s mouth instead of tongue. They laughed until they fell apart, and Stephen was the first to recover. He picked up Tony’s robe and held it to the light. “I do believe that’s the last of the fruit!” Stephen declared.
“Truly, my Lord, I cannot thank you enough for your generosity.” Tony chuckled.
“I’m sure I can think of something.” Stephen waggled his eyebrows and held out his hand. “Why don’t we go to my room? To get you new clothes, of course.”
“Of course.” And Tony took it.