Aligned For You

Chapter 16

While he still took intermittent naps, Felix was able to get up from bed himself, eat dinner at his desk, and speak with his normal volume. He'd be back in gear for the next day.

He should be sleeping some more, but Felix--left on his own for good this time--sat in his window seat with the curtains wide open, looking up at the stars. Just a few hours...

Two things happened that night. They happened...roughly at the same time.

Caius snuck out of his room, standing down a guard who was very specifically meant to keep Caius in his room, but had also been a casual drinking buddy during their long trip and had only grumbled a bit when Caius had left.

And MacKenzie, for once sleeping in her own given guest room shared with a few of the other servants, received a visitor, who chuckled politely at her startled expression and gently guided her outside.

It wasn't hard for Caius to get to Felix's room after that, and if there was someone guarding his room as well, Caius didn't spot them. Gently, Caius tapped at the door to see if the prince might still be awake, not sure what he would do if he wasn't.

Felix perked up as he heard a noise from his door, unsure if he'd just imagined it. No one ever bothered him at night. No one bothered him during the day either, unless it was by request from Aiichi. But...there were a few people now who would seek him out of their own volition.

Padding over to the door, Felix didn't open it up just yet. Considering everything that had just literally happened, it'd be better to show a little caution. "Yeah?" he murmured through the door. Either the people he was thinking of would answer, or it'd be silent and he'd just go back to the window. 

...

"OooOOOooh!" ooo-ed a ghost, "I'm a tap-dancing ghooOOooost."

And to prove his point, the ghost tapped his feet a little. Not...not very well, actually, listening to it himself.

"I'm ouuuuuut of praaaactice."

Felix rolled his eyes and opened the door. "You better get in here before she gets offended and decides to haunt you in particular. She was friends with my mom--who knows if she leaves the theater to check out what's going on over here?"

Walking back over to the window anyway, Felix figured Caius would have the sense to close the door behind him. They'd be sharing a room tomorrow, but for tonight it was still pretty damn inappropriate for them to be alone together. In a bedroom, no less. How scandalous~

"Did Alo-mi actually make it to you in one piece? I can't imagine how he bowled Makie-mi over bought much time."

"Nah, he died. We're gonna give him a moment of silence at the wedding tomorrow," Caius said, closing the door quietly behind him, before giving Felix a nervous grin. "Kidding! He's fine. Believe it or not, even MacKenzie has her limits. I don't think I can recall her ever putting a genuinely rough hand on Alonne," Caius said, not counting all the times he had accidentally gotten in the cross-hairs of one of her and Caius' blowouts or games. He was basically asking for it then. "He's, ya know...sweet. Not really a fighter. I mean, he's physically capable of it, he's trained. Just never got a taste for it."

Caius looked around the room and was amused by how much it reflected Felix's personality. He thought it was a nice room. There were several bookcases all packed with books of all kinds, fantasy novels, atlases, biographies, grand adventures, and all of Faalden's trash novels too. However, the books only took up space to the fourth shelf of each bookcase, presumably because Felix couldn't reach any higher without assistance. Normally the higher shelves kept small trinkets he'd gotten over the years, supplies to fuck around in the castle, and, honestly, what most people would consider trash. It'd all been consolidated to a shelf or two, haphazardly packed together, the rest left empty.

Any empty space on the walls had been covered with papers--maps and theater posters, some flyers from town long faded. However, the majority of the sporadic wallpaper was drawings and letters. Letters from people all over the country, thanking Felix for his previous help, some from random people just describing their usual days, and more than a few written in a sturdy, blocky hand.

Judging by the doodle he'd made on Caius' letter, it was obvious that all the drawings were made by Felix. Some a little more realistic, views from the window in the room, but most cartoony, far-off fantastical places and eccentric characters living there. A few almost comic-like pieces of the castle staff, and one of Felix himself with a man that wouldn't be familiar to Caius at all.

The rest of the room was rather barren now. A work desk with writing supplies. A large bed. A window seat and a couple of spare yet plush chairs. A fireplace well-used in the winter.

"Hey," Caius said, following Felix to the window, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know you said not to visit, but there's something I wanted to talk to you about, and honestly, I'm not sure how many opportunities we'll actually get to talk tomorrow? It's my first wedding, so I decided to just assume the worst and come see you now."

"Can I sit?" Caius asked, pointing to the empty spot on the other side of the window seat.

Felix looked around his room as Caius did, realizing it was the first time he'd seen it. It normally looked...quite a bit different, but he'd had to clean it for the Luminaries' arrival. And. You know. Because Caius would be moving in too.

"Mhmm!" Felix hummed, gesturing to the rest of the window seat. "This isn't you chickening out, is it? That would suck for literally every single person involved, even tangentially. Or..."

He lowered his voice, teasing smile fading. "Have your advisers talked to you about gross stuff?"

Caius winced, taking a seat and pulling up his legs to sit criss-cross style, leaning into the barrier between the window and the wall to look down at the view. It was actually gorgeous. You could see the whole town from here, and even farther out fields and trees, the roads that the Luminary Party had taken to get here. Caius realized, with a bit of surprise, that it was totally feasible that Felix, from this place, could have seen the campfires and outlines of their caravans, taking rest outside of the town in the far distance.

The stars were still here. That was always a good sign. Caius could feel assured, so long as that was always true.

"...yeah," Caius admitted, worrying the joints in his fingers again. His hands ached from the events of the last few days, but that wasn't anything new. The dull ache was one of those background pains, the kind Caius always carried with him. Easing his joints by popping them was also one of those mindless habits now, something he wasn't really aware he did. "Yeah, they did."

Gaining his courage, Caius turned to face Felix, putting his hands on the surface they sat on and bowing his head. His hair, having fallen into disrepair from his bedridden status for the last few days, was now loose enough to fall uncomfortably over his face as he said, "I'm sorry, Felix. I...I was naïve. I really thought!" Caius clenched his fists, shoulders tense and shaking as he got more and more frustrated thinking about it. "I really thought that I had been sent here with no ill intent. Honestly, I don't even understand why they would have brought it up this late! I swear, no one told me what I was being sent here to do...at least...ya know..." Caius slumped, disappointment filling him as he admitted, "...not in a way I would have understood anyway..."

Caius looked up to Felix, looking for signs of rage. Of disgust. And just...couldn't read him at all. It was, like he said earlier...intimidating. "I'm really sorry," he said, bowing his head again.

Felix sighed, but he didn't feel tired. He'd been sleeping for almost two days--he wanted to be awake for a while, dammit! Though, having seen this coming, it wasn't exhausting.

"Why are you apologizing?" Felix asked, slowly reaching forward to gently tip Caius' head back up. "They're not sorry, so why are you apologizing for people who don't feel remorse?"

"If you're here to tell me that you're going to usurp me anyway, even feeling like shit about it, then you really are a coward."

Felix looked over his betrothed with sympathy but not a trace of pity. To feel like he was forced into this position was...awful. But Caius wasn't a puppet. "Cai-mi, you promised me that you weren't here to take power for the Luminous Kingdom. That's not why you are here. Your advisers are here to make sure the treaty is valid, and that's it. Anything else they think they can meddle with is their own issue and has nothing to do with you. If they tell you to do something you don't think is right, ignore them. Part of being a leader is knowing bad advice when you hear it."

"But, if you are a coward and a promise-breaker, the kind of person that doesn't make their own decisions, then thanks for telling me, at least. I can get started on counter-measures."

Leaning back from the prince, Felix crossed his arms and watched curiously for what Caius would choose.

"...if you did have to counter me..." Caius said, looking up at Felix, his eyes...unusually serious, even in contrast to his more serious moments in the past. "Could you do it?"

"I mean, it wouldn't be hard, right? You have the love of your people, for one. They all seem to adore you. Plus, your father expects you to be the one to take the helm when he ends his reign if the conversation I had with him is any indication. Which is for the best, since you're better trained to be a leader than I'm pretty sure I was ever meant to be. So if...if..."

"If I couldn't be strong, you would be okay anyway, right?" Caius said, losing his courage and looking back down at his hands again, a whirlwind of emotion running through him. He wanted to fight something. He wanted to put his Prince of the Stars persona back on and hide behind that for a while. He wanted to lie to Felix and assure him nothing could convince him to betray his trust.

...but none of that would help, and Caius had told his friends he was bringing Felix into the fold. That meant telling him everything, as Caius understood it.

"I'm...I'm not that smart, Felix. And I can be brave. Really brave, honestly! But...when I'm put into a corner, I usually don't know how to get myself out of it. I usually need Alonne or MacKenzie, or countless other people to help get me out of binds. Because, again, I'm just...kind of an idiot."

"But! As long as I have help?" Caius said, pulling his fist next to his chest, a look of determination on his face. "As long as I have my friends? Yes, I can swear to you that I'll keep my promise! That I'm dedicated to supporting you!" Caius said with a grin, The Voice edging in there at the very end.

The grin fell away as, ashamed of himself, he continued on. "But the guy who told me this...who said I have to be a certain way with you? He...he's always been really good at isolating me. At putting me into corners that I just can't get out of. And I just...I just don't want you to be unprepared," Caius said, the shame burning at his stomach and stinging at his eyes. "I just don't want you to be unprepared in case I fail."

"It would kinda suck," Felix admitted, looking out the window again. "We all have different opinions, of course, but I'm used to everyone wanting the same outcome when it comes to leading Dicea. That's why they're here. Why I'm here. The person most suited for the job does it, and for this job, it means we have to care about every single person in the kingdom. Even if they hate us, want us dead, or think they could do better. We have to make a place where everyone can live happily."

"That is the reason for Dicea."

Felix was broken from his resolve for a moment and looked back at Caius in surprise. He spoke with Aiichi? ...if Caius could do that and still come out himself...

"I could fight you," he said with a smile. One that said what he was saying was the truth. "I could fight you, and Alo-mi and Makie-mi, and whoever else are putting you guys into that position. I'll do whatever I need to for my country, a-and...and I can fight for my, um. Maybe. Friends, too."

Felix flushed pink, looking off to the side again, messing with the hem of his sleepshirt. "...I was prepared to marry someone I hated who opposed me at every turn already. That it's not to that extent...it's an easier job, actually."

"...you'll be a Dicean, too, tomorrow. At least partially. You should get to live happily here too."

Caius watched him talk, mesmerized. He still, honestly, didn't understand how a kingdom like that could survive, let alone fulfill half of its ambitions...but if Felix really, really believed that he could do it when it was his turn to reign...

Well. Maybe Tua had sent him here, to this place, so that the Momento family could learn a better way of doing it then.

At the last line, Caius balked, chuckling nervously to himself as he clutched his pants, balling the fabric in embarrassment. Felix was so hard to look at sometimes, and it didn't help when he said things like that...looking cool and put together...beautiful, honestly...

"If...if you say you can fight me..." Caius grinned, chest soaring with genuine relief as he drew his fists to his chest, his muscles flexing and tightening in pure excitement as he said, "Then there's nothing to be worried about! It doesn't matter if I'm tricked, or cornered, or whatever! If the advisers want to make me a weapon against you, well, I'm personally gonna have a blast watching you kick our asses!"

Perhaps that was a weird thing to say with such...enthusiasm...but Caius didn't care. He was so pumped now! If Felix said he could fight him, then Caius believed Felix would win. It was as simple as that!

As Caius calmed down, he continued, somewhat sheepishly, "Not that I want it to come to that. And the threat was suuuuper vague, so honestly, I'm not sure if the Head Secretary even has a plan. MacKenzie thinks he might have been bluffing as a last-ditch effort...though, that's not really like him..." Caius considered the stars in the sky for a second before grinning. "Not that it matters now, I guess."

Caius looked back over to Felix, the light shining and putting the small prince in this sort of...silver glow, that just bathed over him as he sat there in his... sleeping clothes...a lot of his legs exposed...huh. This was...probably the most exposed Caius had seen Felix yet...

Caius's face burnt bright red, and as was his wont to do when he got a tad too engrossed at looking at Felix, he slammed his palms into his eyes. "Uh..." Caius said through the space in his arms, waiting to calm down before he would drop them, "..so...we're okay? We're not back to being mortal enemies again?"

Felix let out a snort, raising his eyebrow at Caius. All...built up to be larger than life. "Please be a little worried. Maybe then you'll see something coming--it's more fun to be in cahoots than to plot something on your own. And, if they do try something, I doubt all this would have to come into play anytime soon. Aiichi's not even in his fifties yet, despite being an old fart. Jerk's a big ol' control freak, so I'm not gonna have to step up for a long time."

In the best-case scenario, anyway. Felix wasn't always a fan of how his father carried on, but he was a good leader. Despite the war, under Aiichi's guidance Dicea had flourished. He'd taken over at 16 when their last leader had unexpectedly passed away, and now, 30 years later, the man didn't show any weariness towards his duties.

Felix thought back to how Aiichi had stood up for him when they talked about name changes. If it would threaten Dicea, he'd have his father and every other person that loved their home to back him up too.

Shifting a little, crossing his legs off to the side of the bench, Felix regarded Caius for a quiet moment. For the first time in far too long, he felt comforted. Secure. Even with everything that might happen, they'd make it through. The two of them. Felix and Caius. Aphelion and Kai.

...he could marry this man.

Especially when his hair managed to look even goofier when it was down.

Felix laughed a little, patting out a gentle beat on Caius's elbows as he pressed his hands into his eyes. "Mortal enemies? While I do like the sound of that, how about...partners in crime? We're okay, Cai-mi. Though I think we'll be even more okay tomorrow."

Looking out of the window again, Felix returned his hands to his lap, clasping them nervously. "...or is it today already?"

Feeling his heart calm down a little, Caius took a breath and let his hands fall, feeling better about everything. "Honestly, I have no idea. But it is late, and man, it's probably going to be non-stop tomorrow. I should be getting back," Caius said, standing up and stretching. "I'm glad I came, though. That was a lot to get off my chest. It's gonna make it way easier to enjoy tomorrow!"

Caius looked down at Felix, argued with himself a little...and then leaned down and, as quick as he could get away with, kissed Felix on the corner of his forehead. He then took several steps back very quickly, chuckling nervously as, beet red, he gave Felix a wink and a thumbs up. "There! Now the very first time we've kissed won't be our wedding day! That takes some of that pressure off, huh?"

Then, not knowing what else to say, Caius said, "Okay, bye," before heading out the door.

Sending Caius something of a smile, Felix hummed in agreement. Both that this was a nice talk to have, and that it was probably far too late to stay up. He didn't particularly want to go back to bed, but he couldn't be running on fumes tomorrow. The city, people traveling from other parts of the country, the Luminary Party--they'd all be there, watching. Seeing the moment the war ends.

They were ending the war.

The hopeful smile was just for himself. No one would have to meaninglessly die anymore...

And then all thought came to a screeching halt.

His bangs were messily splayed over his face, but Felix felt the lips on his forehead clearly, his eyes widening and mouth falling open in shock though he did...nothing. How could he do anything?! Was he supposed to do anything?!

"A...a..."

Felix didn't even start to move until Caius had already fled, covering his red face and letting out a flustered whine. That wasn't even a kiss! It was something Ike used to do before he tucked him into bed, it was just!! But it still managed to get his heart pounding. Managed to make the squirming in his stomach so present that Felix had no choice but to acknowledge it.

He was getting married in a few hours. They'd have to kiss.

Before he could work himself up any more, Felix scuttled back into bed and willed himself back to sleep, his blush only fading once he was out.