Kaisan groaned as his body felt heavy and restricted. A part of him in the back of his mind kept flashing that he was going to fall, and he couldn't fight that nagging feeling as he attempted to stay asleep. Against his better judgment, he squeezed his eyes open and quickly sucked his breath inwards in surprise. His face hovered above the floor, and his arm hung down loosely in his field of vision. 

After taking a moment to gain his barrings and willing away the sharp pains of pins and needles in his arm, he realized he was sleeping on the end of the bed, left to hang over the edge. As he tried to push himself up, he heard a groan, and some striction tightened around his waist, holding him down. Attempting to see while he was held face down on the bed was a difficult feat. 

When he wiggled just enough to gain more freedom of movement, he managed to look back and realize that the lower half of his body was holding down - or suffocating, Rhae - whose head was missing beneath either the covers or their half-unbuttoned jackets and blouses. He realized they both returned so exhausted they just plopped onto the bed, fully dressed in many layers of formalwear. The only things that made it off his body were his shoes, one sock, half a jacket, and a few buttons from his dress shirt. 

The dizzying sensation and nausea overtook Kaisan as he tried to pull himself into an upward position. His hand wasn't weighed down by lack of blood circulation and flew up to cover his mouth. As gently as possible to not upset his stomach and to not wake Rhae, he attempted to kick himself free from the arms that restrained him as he ungracefully rolled himself to the edge of the bed, where he slid down to the ground and crawled his way to the water basin to clean his face. 

As he stared down at his rippled reflection, he deeply regretted the gambling of cards and dice - along with the incessant drinking, until the early hours. The Ridotto, after the completion of the hunting contest, was most definitely a success for the Imperial family and among the nobles who loved to gamble. But lousy behaviour was infectious, and Rhae and himself seemed to be too into the games for two people who are not a fan of gambling.  

With a shaky hand and legs resembling newborn fawns, Kaisan pulled himself up to reach for the call rope before making his way to the chair by the door to wait. After a few moments, a quiet knock came, and the door opened. The servant quietly approached Kai, who was sprawled on the winged-back chair as if he knew exactly why he was called and handed over a hot hangover remedy. 

"Richard, please prepare a light brunch for us," Kaisan quietly groaned, taking the drink while holding the bridge of his nose. "As well as clothes. Arrange outfits for the afternoon sports scheduled for today, and bring my outfit for the grand ball tonight."

Kaisan's personal servant, Richard, nodded and quietly moved to the bathroom to prepare the tub. Once the bath was ready, he gave a bow and left the room, gently shutting the door behind him. After a few moments more, the dishevelled young man finally gathered the energy to move to the bathroom. 

After several moments of fumbling with his buttons, Kaisan could finally remove his clothing and slip into the tub. He soaked his head and slicked it back from his forehead before he leaned his neck against the tub's lip. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he squeezed his eyes closed, shutting out the late morning sun streaming through the large windows. 

"An ineffable beauty is laying naked and dripping wet before my very eyes," a low voice rumbled from the bathroom doorway leading from the bedroom. Kaisan rolled his eyes open, shaking his head at the corny statement coming from the gorgeous man who watched him. How could you not invite me for a viewing? I feel inspiration—in a great many areas."

"Good afternoon to you as well, Rhae," Kaisan groaned, lowering himself into the water. Rahe chuckled as he entered the bathroom, removing his clothes to join in the tub. 

"You can't escape me by such a simple method, love," Rhae smirked, lowering himself into the water on the opposite side. Kaisan said nothing but lifted his foot to kick Rhae's shoulder. Rhae laughed and tried to grab the swinging shin to pull himself closer, but Kai shook him off.

"Stay over there; don't bother me," he spat, splashing his foot down into the water while kicking a few times at Rhae's rubs, who winced in response but smiled nonetheless. "What a sucker…"

"Do you need me to-"

"Enough! Dear goddess, don't finish what you were saying," Kaisan covered his ear, his face red.

"Yes, yes. I listen well to my wife," Rhae nodded, closing his eyes.

"Who's the wife?!" Kai growled as he lowered his face into the water, spitting bubbles out of spite.

"Would you like me to wear the dress for our wedding? If that's your demand, I'll follow," Rhae gently smiled, stroking Kai's shin.

"No one's wearing a damn dress!" he snapped, sitting upright, his face filled with exasperation. "Shut up and bathe before I kick you into the hallway fully nude. We still have some scheduled events to attend today."

"We played until almost dawn this morning. Must we go do more? Even I would like a morning off," Rhae sarcastically shook his head, pretending to be fed up with events. 

"These are events that you usually don't get to participate in with such large numbers of the nobility!" Kaisan excitedly waved his hands. "I usually just play with my cousins or grandfather when they visit - which isn't too often. My older brother may be talented in the art of swords, but he does not enjoy getting dirty and playing any sport for 'fun' when he could be doing 'more productive things' - or so he says." 

"So you say, but we just mainly play with each other," Rhae laughed, rolling his eyes to look out the window. All he could think about for a moment was that this was the first time his lover directly mentioned one of his siblings. 

"That was only the small events! In the bigger events, we competed against each other and many others. Those are networking and team-building events!"

"Your age is showing, sounding fresh from the royal academy," Rhae chuckled, resulting in another kick to his abdomen. "Urgh, what cute events are we playing today?"

"The servants have gone to prepare us a light brunch and outfits for our activities this afternoon. Everything scheduled is light since we have the grand ball tonight."

"Ah, the finale. We can finally leave here and not have to worry about those pesky people trying to intervene," the older man clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

"Anyways, it's just trucco, jeu de boules and quoits for the afternoon," Kaisan rolled his eyes.

"A good ol' game of boules, huh? I haven't played a round since during a civil land dispute at the borders, and the military needed something to pass the time," Rhae mused. 

"Yes, yes. Keep reminding me how much of an old man you are…"

"I'm not even thirty yet!" Rhae faked a gasp, causing Kaisan to laugh and Rhae's shoulders to shake with mirth. The bath water splashed out of the tub, soaking the floor.

***

When they came out from the bathroom, their brunch and clothes were arranged for them, and they were met with a timely knock on the bedroom door. Richard entered with a cart of fresh coffee and juice, which Kaisan dashed over to in his robe—the aroma of dark brewed coffee hitting his nose and kicking his addiction into high gear. 

"Finally, I feel alive!" Kaisan sighed, plopping down at the table as he sipped half the cup in one gulp. Rhae shook his head as he finished drying his hair, nodding his thanks to Richard as he sat down across from Kai. 

"Thank you for the clothes, sir," Rhae turned to him as he placed Rhae's preferred coffee in front of him. The servant nodded and took his leave. Rhae turned back to his lover, who was popping a crumpet into his mouth. "Can't we stay indoors? I can get another portrait of you painted instead. I have so many ideas."

"No, paint from memory," Kaisan replied sternly. Rhae sighed, looking at his paints, which will go untouched another day.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Ridotto: A public house of entertainment consisting of music, dancing, and gambling - often in masquerade. The first referred to as 'casino' was in post-medieval Europe, built in the 1630s in Italy. Gambling would mainly insist on dice games, with some card games introduced later as an import from Asia. 

2. Trucco: an Italian (later English) form of lawn billiards from 17th century Italy. Played with metal balls, large cues with heads, and knocked through rings fastened in the ground.

3. Jeu de Boules: 6th century BC - to throw or roll a heavy metal ball that fits into the palm and be as close to the target ball (called jack). It's a cross between lawn bowling and curling. To win, a team must reach 15 points. Became known as lawn bowling in the 19th century. 

4. Quoits: By the ancient Greeks, a game using a ring of iron or rope thrown to land as near as possible or onto a peg fastened in the ground, aka ring toss.