Kaisan groaned as splashing disturbed his sleep, and the heat surrounding his body felt almost oppressive. He squeezed his eyes shut before groggily blinking them open, his vision hazy. As he brought his wet hand up to wipe his eyes, he paused, finally realizing not just his hand but his entire body was soaked. And it wasn't that his vision was blurry but the fact that it was foggy from the steam. He slowly went to turn his head, and his cheek tapped a hard, prickly surface behind him.

"Hmm?" came a deep voice that rumbled through whatever he bumped into. Kai slowly looked up and saw Rhae resting his head on his hand propped on the tub's edge. Rhae's other arm was wrapped securely around Kaisan's waist, keeping him steady above the water.

"You're awake," Rhae commented, eyes still closed as he continued to rest. 

"What time is it?" Kaisan asked, groggy and unable to tell the time of day with the curtains drawn closed. Rhae peeked one eye open, glancing at Kai with a soft smile before closing them again.

"Early morning, keep resting, and I'll finish washing you."

"Why is it so dark, then?" Kaisan questioned, tapping his head lightly against Rhae's shoulder and looking up at him.

"It's a rainy day. Afraid we'll have to find some indoor activities today," Rhae chuckled, his hand tracing slow circles on Kaisan's stomach. Kai splashed water on his face to shake off the lingering grogginess.

"So, does that mean I'll finally have a chance to see you paint?" He teased, a smirk forming as he flicked some water at Rhae. Rhae flinched, his eyes narrowing in amusement as he suppressed a dimpled smile. 

"If I'm in the mood…" He mused, pretending to gaze thoughtfully into the distance. Kaisan clicked his tongue in annoyance, but Rhae chuckled again. "I would love to show you, my dear. I've been pondering all the different positions I could paint you in."

"Nothing naughty…" Kaisan said sternly, dipping his head forward to wet his hair. "I've sat for dozens of portraits to know all the standard and some pretty unique poses."

Rhae was taken aback, having yet another clue of how wealthy Kaisan's family must be for that many portraits of one of their many children. He gently kissed Kai's damp head before whispering in his ear.

"Oh, my love, there wouldn't be a single position I plan to pose you in that your family would approve of," Rhae said with a hushed, sensual tone, nipping at the corner of Kaisan's earlobe. He gently cupped Kai's neck, turning his head to face him. He stared into the younger man's eyes, lost and enchanted. Kaisan stared back, completely captivated by how intently he was being looked at. They both leaned forward to share a passionate kiss as the water spilled over the tub's edge.

Even after Rhae dried him off with a fluffy towel, Kaisan could still feel the dampness in the air due to the downpour outside. Rhae had gently placed Kai on the bed, draping the sheet over his shoulders after Kaisan had slipped on a pair of white linen slacks for lounging. 

"What's the plan today since we're confined to dryer spaces?" Kaisan tossed out, watching Rhae as he finished speaking to the servants through the doorway.

"First, I'm ordering breakfast. Second, I'm finally getting a chance to show you my work. Are there any rainy-day events planned?" Rhae asked, moving towards a desk by one of the windows.

"Hmm, nothing too exciting. There's Jue de Paume in the indoor training grounds. At the secondary knight training ground, some wish to refine their techniques under the guise of our knight commander. Tea and chess are in the greenhouse, and the masquerade ball will go as planned since it was in the main ballroom." Kaisan recited, remembering the schedule's finest details as per usual. 

'Our commander? Not THE commander?' Rhae paused momentarily, wondering why Kaisan would refer to the commander as if he claimed ownership of him before moving on, thinking it was just in reference to the commander of the kingdom itself. 'Maybe it's the way the capital calls him…' 

"After brunch and our portrait session, let's have teatime while playing a round of chess. I would love to see the Imperial Greenhouse. If we still have the energy, we can check on the indoor tennis — well, I'm fine, but after that bath, I'm not so sure about you…" Rhae joked, pulling his paint set from the drawers and setting it up with watercolour, gouache, and a larger sketchbook. Kaisan rolled his eyes and threw himself backwards on the bed with a thud.

"If only someone didn't try some inflexible tricks in a cramped bathtub and blew my back out in the process," Kai grumbled as he rolled over, cozying himself back into the blankets like a little cocoon. 

"You speak with such vulgar words that I question your upbringing sometimes," Rhae teased, but Kaisan remained quiet in the sheets, mumbling to himself. Rhae sighed softly. As he was about to head back to the bed, there was a knock at the door. Rhae fetched the food, then returned to Kaisan, ruffling the soft pink hair peeking out from the cocoon. "Are you not hungry? You should eat something, even if you just graze a few berries like usual. Does your back still hurt? Should I rub it for you, hmm?"

The blanket squirmed, Kaisan's feet popping out from the button end and kicking widely in protest. Rhae chuckled, patting the blanket in encouragement to coax Kai out to eat - yet Kaisan continued his self-confinement. Rhae, feeling slightly irked, climbed onto his buddled lover and reached to capture the exposed feet. 

With one swift move, he grabbed hold of Kaisan's peachy ankles with one hand and used the other for a precise tickle attack. Putters of protest were mumbled through the layers of blanket, but they were ignored by Rhae, who was enjoying the moment too thoroughly. Rhae roared with laughter as Kaisan struggled below him. Eventually, Kai was able to free his head from the suffocation device and roared at Rhae with a sharp glare.

"Hands. Off. My. Feet!" He growled, struggling to free his hands as he planned his revenge while staring daggers at the man who held him down with an expression filled with the most child-like joy. "You're going to regret this, Rhae!"

"I don't think I will, though?" Rhae laughed in response, his shoulders shaking as he fought with Kaisan's feet. Kai pouted as he shimmied his arms free, forgetting the difference between the weight class and the lifting class between the two of them. Giving up, he made a final few kicks before throwing himself back down on the pillows. Rhae chuckled, giving Kaisan's butt a playful smack through the blankets. "Let's get you fed so I can get started on that portrait of my lovely fairy prince charming."

"I'm not a fairy!" Kai roared out in protest of that nickname his lover liked to sneak into most conversations. Still, he opened his mouth and waited for Rhae to hand-feed him some berries. Rhae shook his head with a smirk and reached for the food platter.

"Shameless," Rhae pursed his lips jokingly, popping a grape into Kai's mouth. 

"I'm comfortable enough with you to be shameless," Kaisan mumbled through each bite. Rhae leaned forward and gave Kai a quick peck before handing him the platter of food with a smile. 

"What a fulfilling feeling," He said as he got up and returned to the desk, picking it up and moving it in front of the edge of the bed. "Keep eating while I finish my setup."

Kaisan finally sat up, the duvet hanging off his shoulders to keep warm as the room remained cool from the rainy day outside. As he pecked through the food, he watched Rhae sat in the chair he dragged over and spread the drawing utensils on the desk. Kai's gaze drifted over Rhae, noticing how focused he was.

"I asked you to show me, not paint me," Kaisai said slowly, clenching and relaxing his hand. Rhae didn't look up as he blew the shavings off the pencil he sharpened. 

"I've been so busy with you that I have no work to show. So I'll have to paint something to show you. I also warned you in the tub that I'd paint you in several different positions. This will take a few days to finish, so I'll focus on your upper body for now."

"Hmm…" Kaisan tilted his head to the side.

"Hold that pose!" Rhae's eyes darted up, a glint lighting up inside them as a small ray of sun peaked through the clouds and into the windows, contrasting Kaisan's face. Rhae softly smiled as he turned his eyes back to the cavus before him, adjusting his legs to relieve the discomfort from his tight pants.

The usually quiet greenhouse buzzed with the murmur of multiple conversations across its premises. Tea time wasn't something men usually attended unless they were consorts or paramours, but since this was a rainy day activity, it was quite a busy event. Coffee, tea, and mulled wine were the leading drinks of choice. Small two-person tables were scattered around, and a few large groups of tables were set up for discussions—mainly ladies' tea wars. 

Kaisan's arms were linked with Rhae as he led him on a walk through the Imperial Greenhouse Garden, per Rhae's previous request. He knew the maze and canal garden were both impressive, but this glass atrium was on another level. It was separated into different biomes, with dense forests along the glass walls to offer privacy—multiple man-made rivers with stunning carved bridges and stepping stones into smaller designed gardens. The only thing Rhae could think of was that there must have been more gardeners assigned to this building than there were probably servants assigned to the crown prince's palace. 

"My dear goddess…" Rhae gasped with each area they strolled through. Kaisan chuckled.

"It's the king's pride, where he brings each new lady he's courting. The excuse was to make it feel like home for each foreign queen ever brought into the place in future generations - but honestly, he's just a player whose whims find him a new pretty plaything each month."

"That's not something you should say out loud," Rhae looked down, concerned. Kaisan shrugged as if it was something that would never affect him.

"It's well known in the capital. Songs are sung on the streets by the children himself. The king has so many children he doesn't even remember existed that he's had multiple places built to house dozens per building, and he rotates official visits to give the image of a caring father." Kaisan continued in a semi-hushed tone, a fake consideration as if it didn't matter if he was heard. Rhae just looked down at the beautiful young man who guided him around, lost in his thoughts.

"Crouch here for a moment," Rhae suddenly asked, pointing to a lush garden beside them of pink daises and English roses, with deep green vines wrapped around an old dead tree used for the sole reason as a growth pole. Kaisan, confused, did as he was told and couched on the grassy mound for sitting in the middle of the bushes. 

He watched as Rhae stayed on the path and crouched down himself, pulling his sketchbook from his pocket, seemingly to outline the view before him. As Kaisan waited patiently with his hands clasped between his crouched legs, he felt a warmth on his back as angle rays from the sun streamed through the passing clouds and down onto the greenhouse. Rhae's mouth gaped momentarily before his pencil went back to furiously sketching. The corner of Kai's mouth lifted ever so slightly, witnessing a new side of the man whose confession he had yet to reply to.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Jeu de Paume is a ball-and-court game, also known as racquetless tennis, which is modernly known as 'real tennis'. Prior to the current tennis, it was played indoors without racquets but with your hands (similar to volleyball). Eventually, gloves replaced bare hands, then paddle-like bats, and finally racquets. Real Tennis (court tennis in USA) is also known as the sport of kings. It is different from lawn tennis, which is played outdoors.