Trucco was the more popular of the three relaxed events in the early afternoon, with the largest gathering of nobles attending the competitiveness of the sport—and being such a competitive game, of course, Kaisan needed to face off against Rhae. 

Rhae gave a long sigh as he watched Kai skip with a broad grin plastered to his face. He spun the large cue before tapping the palm-sized metal ball through a set of rings in a row. His chipper skips and hops over the cue as he moved to each set of hoops, making it hard for Rhae not to laugh. He turned away to hide his face to cough or clear his throat, his shoulders shaking in response.

Kaisan did notice but scoffed it off since he was in such a good mood. Rhae bit his lip as he followed behind, keeping up easily with each pass through the rings. Kai would do a few loops. Half jogging as he did so and running up behind Rhae to give a small smack on the shoulder with each victory. 

Rhae would occasionally reach his hand out each time his lover passed to either swiftly run his hand through Kaisan's hair or give a quick squeeze of a cheek. Kai's neck flushed as he swatted the older man, embarrassed at the public display of affection. When he finally won every round, he ran and jumped onto Rhae's back with glee.

Taking advantage of this moment before Kaisan became physically shy again, he grabbed Kai's legs tightly and spun them both in circles. The unconsenting passenger wrapped his arms tightly around the driver's neck, holding on for dear life as he squeezed his eyes tightly closed and gave a low wail. With a belly laugh, Rhae let them both fall back onto the grass.

Kaisan struggled to free himself, dizzy from the spinning and the leftover effects of his hangover. He protested by kicking Rhae's back but was only met with a laugh. With absolutely no help from Rhae, Kai eventually freed himself and just stood above Rhae as he attempted to catch his breath, glaring down at him. 

"Fight me," Kaisan said in a monotone voice.

"You already won," Rhae joked from the ground, lying flat on his back and looking up at his lover's heavily contrasted silhouettes against the afternoon sun. "Besides, I could never fight the love of my life. And if we wanted to settle a disagreement physically, we could take it to the bedroom."

Kaisan's face contorted as he clicked his tongue and walked away, handing the cue to the waiting servant. Rhae chuckled as he got up, and another servant came forward to help dust him off. He nodded his thanks and strolled quickly after his lover.

"You only throw the words 'I love you' around during times like these," Kaisan grumbled, kicking dirt as he took one of the paths toward another field. 

"That's not true," Rhae blinked slowly, thinking back.

"Ah, that's right. You also tell me in bed," Kaisan clicked his tongue in disappointment. Rhae stopped in surprise. He darted forward, blocking Kai's path, and grabbed both hands. Kaisan looked off to the side, cheeks puffed out as he pouted. Rhae brought his hands up to his lips and kissed each knuckle. 

"My beautiful Kaisan, mysterious lord, secretly a fairy prince, my enchantress, love of my life."

"That's embarrassing; stop."

"Kaisan," Rhae said more seriously, meeting his eyes. "Nothing is embarrassing about being with you, participating in normal couple activities, and being in love with you."

"Rhae…" Kaisan groaned, eyes darting around to ensure no one was watching, but Rhae wasn't having it. He got down on one knee while still holding Kai's hands in his own.

"Lord Kaisan, I love you. I enjoy every day with you. You steal my breath away. I secretly want to lock you away and paint a thousand portraits of you, making a private gallery I can view whenever you are out of my sight. When I open my eyes and see you sleeping next to me, I feel like you are the sun itself, blinding my eyes. Edging you brings me delight."

"What the hell?"

"You bring immense joy to my dull life and inspire me. You are my very muse, and you make me desperate for every morsel of affection that you give me. You do such a good job of coming to me—"

"Is this supposed to be a confession, or are you trying to convince me to go to the bedroom?! We're in public!"

"My love for you may feel as if it's entirely based on lust—"

"It's not?!"

"Shh. Pay attention."

"I am! I'm responding, aren't I? Try speaking more appropriately in public, please."

"Kaisan."

"What?"

"Will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

"... I'll think about it."

"Kaisan."

"Don't rush me. If your proposal were normal, I wouldn't have thought about it," Kaisan sighed, pulling Rhae to his feet as he rolled his eyes. When he looked at the man who towered above him, Rhae had a smirk on his face. Of course, he was playing around. "Is a proposal to joke about?"

"I meant every word," Rhae nodded with a serious face. Kaisan swatted his arm. 

"No one proposes like that. I took you to be a serious man, not someone who would humiliate me with such vulgar words publicly."

"I would never do such a thing, but I believe in being in the right place at the right time."

"Oh?"

"I promise to do it right tonight at the ball," Rhae chuckled, leaning forward and kissing Kaisan's forehead. Kai looked up at him, eyes filled with distrust. "I will use beautiful words that will woe the entire room and no doubt will be found anywhere. There will be not a single moment that will embarrass or humiliate you, and when nobles talk about our proposal, it'll be because of jealousy and admiration for the devotion of our love."

"Not sure if this counts as a silver tongue. You gave me goosebumps, not the good kind."

"I love you, Kaisan."

"You'd better."

"And what about me?" Rhae fake pouted, grumbling. 

"I'll think about it," Kaisan replied, fighting back a smile. 

"What about what you whispered in my ear the other morning?"

"Weren't you asleep?" Kaisan gasped, pushing Rhae away.

"How can I sleep with the fairy prince next to me who could run away at any moment," Rhae chuckled, wrapping his arms around Kaisan's waist. "So please tell me, I'm feeling insecure."

"I lobe who," Kaisan mumbled, burying his face in Rhae's shirt.

"Pardon you?" Rhae asked, attempting to hold back a laugh. "I can't hear you. Are you confessing to me or to my clothes? I personally thought you liked my clothes off—"

"Stop!" Kaisan threw his hands up to cover Rhae's mouth. "I said I love you, okay? Stop being so crude, please!"

Rhae laughed, picked Kaisan up, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Kaisan didn't fight it since it meant Rhae would finally stop talking. Rhae smiled at his lover and gently put him back on the ground. 

"Let's go," Rhae said, gently clasping their hands together and tugging Kaisan to follow him.

"Where to?" Kai asked in confusion. 

"You wanted to play boules and quoits, remember?" Rhae chuckled. Kaisan smiled broadly. 

"Yes! I need to kick your ass and pay you back. We'll place some bets on who wins, and I will beat you again."

"We'll see," Rhae chuckled as they moved to the next field closer to the guest palace.

"Why are you being so weird today?" Kaisan asked. "You're acting out of character."

"Someone called me an old man, so I picked up some things from you."

"I don't use such vulgar language!" Kaisan gasped, flabbergasted. 

"Hmm, you should only keep that open when we're alone," Rhae smiled, stopping to run his thumb over Kai's bottom lip.

"For the love of the goddess, stop!" Kaisan begged, walking ahead and pulling Rhae behind him out of shame—hiding his face. Rhae chuckled. 

"That's right, my lover's a good boy," Rhae nodded. Kaisan groaned.

"Promise me that tonight will be decadent, and any word that leaves your mouth will be as pretty as flowers and butterflies."

"I'll behave tonight, promise," Rhae reassured Kaisan from behind, who kept walking, choosing to ignore him.

"I'll ignore you if you embarrass me in front of everyone. My entire family will be there, and we must convince them at least if I want to leave here with you."

"Yes, my dear. Anything for you."

"I'll pretend you do not exist if you pull a stunt like this again."

"I know, my dear," Rhae repeated, nodding with a blissful smile. Kaisan stopped and looked back at Rhae, confused.

"I body-checked you to the ground during mob football… How am I like a deer?"

"Hahaha," Rhae laughed, choosing not to respond to the most innocent thing he had ever been asked by another adult. "Let's go play some more before the big event."

FOOTNOTES:

1. 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.

2. 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. 

3. 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.