13 13| Adorable Ezekiel 2.0

So there I was staring at my phone like it was my worst enemy. Why you might ask? That was because I had received a message from no other than Adriano! Not what you were expecting? Same here. It had been a week since my 'incident' with Ezekiel and I was still nowhere near to figuring out who he really was.

I could not just pop up at the administration office without having a reason for being there. The administration office was the front face of the Royal Office and they took their job extremely seriously. I had to make sure when I got there I looked like I had a purpose, not to spy on a… love interest?

Anyway Adriano had been bugging me about it the entire morning and I was finding it hard to focus on the slides I was supposed to be working on. It was only two pm and I still had to go to the Palace tonight.

To be honest it was a bit weird to be on Palace grounds at night without Ezekiel. I had not come across him for days and even if I did he could have easily avoided me since he had a better understanding of the grounds than myself. Meanwhile I was still navigating my feelings for him. I was in a constant pull between not caring about the situation and terribly missing him.

My pride almost faltered and I almost considered texting him just to see how he was doing but I was pretty sure he did not want to hear from me. He had made no effort to contact me and I did not want to push it. He probably just needed space.

With a deep sigh I looked back at the microscope and wondered if it was even worth working when my mind was this frazzled. I could call it a day and leave, but just as the thought came across my mind I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I called out already exhausted with the conversation to come. I was not expecting anyone but appointments were non-existent when working for the Palace.

The door opened and guards filled the lab. I quickly got to my feet expecting it to be Prince Apollo once again but instead it was Princess Iris. She had a bright smile on her face, her hair was down and she was dressed in purple palazzo pants with a black top.

"Princess Iris. I was not expecting you," I bowed as she walked over to my work station.

"I'm sorry for not notifying you but I thought I might as well stop by and check the place out," she shyly shrugged, "You guys can wait outside," she said to the guards.

"Your highness you know we are not allowed to," one of the guards answered.

"My brothers won't find out. Plus Cloud wouldn't dare to hurt me, isn't that right Cloud?" she looked over to me with a begging smile.

"Never. You are more than welcome to keep the door open," I offered. All ten men looked at Princess Iris, who looked back at them eagerly. Within seconds they gave up and retreated. Although, one guard did stand by the doorway keeping a watchful eye over us.

"So when is your assignment needed?" I asked her as she sat on the stool opposite me.

"Next month so I have a few weeks. I'm going to start off with still life drawings before I bridge over to photography and paintings," she fiddled with one of the microscope glass slides.

"Well I come over to the Palace every Monday and Thursday so you are more than welcome to join me then. This week I'm focusing on the succulents," I smiled. I found them to be absolutely beautiful so I just hoped Iris enjoyed it as much as I did.

"Awesome! Adonis will be away for a few days so we won't have anyone breathing down our necks," she laughed.

"Thankfully," I smiled. I had a feeling the King was not a fan of his sister requesting to follow me around. Nothing had really happened for me to think that but it was a bit obvious from the way he looked at us. He constantly had this unapprovingly glare that not only looked into your soul but your parents and ancestors as well.

"Don't worry about Apollo he is always on his yacht or with his girlfriend," she waved her hand, "Well I just wanted to stop by. I hope I did not disturb you."

"Of course not it was lovely to see you," I smiled and stood up.

"Thanks Cloud I'll see you in two days," she waved and walked out the lab suddenly making the room feel so dull once again.

Not even a minute after they had left Gino burst into my lab with a huge smile plastered on his face, "Princess Iris eh?"

"Oh fuck off," I rolled my eyes, "You and Adriano have been hanging around each other too much lately you're starting to rub off each other."

"Shut up. We can't ignore the fact the Princess has taken notice of you. This is the second time you see her in less than a week. That's a record for all normal men out there. She likes you," he wiggled his eyebrows and nudged my shoulder with his.

"No she doesn't. She just needs someone to give her a closer eye on plants and I am their scientist after all. It's not like she had much of a choice," I sighed.

"Their family is worth billions, trust me she has plenty of options she just chose you," he winked. "But enough about the Princess any word from Ezekiel?"

"Nope," I made emphasis by popping the 'p' and tried my best to not show my hurt.

"Well if it makes you feel any better I have to go to the administration office in an hour," he enlarged his eyes, "This is your chance."

"But what if we get there and he just doesn't want to see me. I would be so embarrassed," I sighed and covered my face with my hands.

"Then I will kick his ass. Come on Cloud let's just do it and if it doesn't go well, it doesn't go well," he shook my shoulders trying to cheer me up, "Look if you come with me I will get you a caramel mocha-chino."

My weakness.

"Fine, but if it goes badly I want pizza as well," I held my index finger up.

"It's a deal. I'm going to prep my documents then we can leave. Try to look decent," he chuckled.

I frowned and looked at my reflection in the mirror. To my horror I had a blue smudge on my cheek due to one the stains I used to colour the cells. The Princess had seen me looking like a 'Smurf'! The horror was overwhelming. I quickly rushed to the bathroom to wash it off and tried to make my denim pants, band tee and sneakers look worthy of being at the Palace.

Gino came back after thirty minutes and we hopped into his car so he could drive us to the Palace. I barely spoke as my heart beat thundered in my ears. This could go really well or really badly. What if Ezekiel decided that he no longer liked me and went back to his girlfriend?

In fact! What had happened to that woman he was speaking to? I had never gotten the chance to ask him about that and there I was kissing him like I was desperate. What type of person was I? Helping men cheat on their significant others!

The shame!

"Stop overthinking," Gino chuckled as if sensing the forbidden thoughts that ran through my head.

What if Ezekiel realized he was in fact was not into men and made me go through all of this for nothing? This was not a wise choice. I should have stayed at the lab and prepared for tonight, but there I was acting desperate for love I was not even sure I wanted.

Before I could think about jumping out of the car and making a run for it, we were at Palace gates. The guards opened for Gino with a smile and he drove towards the parking.

"I think I should wait in the car," I nervously smiled.

"I'll drag you into that Palace myself," he deadpanned. I knew he was serious so with a heavy sigh, I followed him to the entrance and from the few employees that were leaving I could tell my attire was not suitable.

What if I accidentally ran into the Royals? The King already seemed a bit apprehensive about me, imagine what he would think if he thought I was that comfortable to wear casual around them.

"Good Afternoon Linda, looking as beautiful as ever," Gino smiled at the lady at the front desk.

"Hi Gino, what can I help you with?" the lady with dark hair and square framed glasses smiled.

"I'm here to drop off this paper work for the new press release, is there any chance I could see Ezekiel?" Gino smiled.

"Ezekiel?" she pursed her lips and looked up, "I think he just came back from lunch so of course, just head down the hall and his office will be to the left. It's marked so you will know it is his."

"Thank you," Gino winked causing her to giggle.

Always the flirt.

I followed closely behind him hoping my body was perfectly hid by his large one. No one seemed to pay much attention to us as we made our way through. After a quick walk we made it to the end and behind a white door we knew Ezekiel would be waiting.

"Remember you have every right to be upset. Don't be worried," Gino reassuringly squeezed my shoulder. It gave me a boost of confidence and I mustered to give him a smile in response. With that he knocked against the solid wood and just from the response I knew it was not the Ezekiel I knew.

"Come in," a soft voice called out.

Gino and I frowned at each other but I just prayed maybe Ezekiel had the flu. When the door opened a man with straw blonde hair sat on a swirl chair dressed in black jeans and a white button up shirt. We were almost same the stature but he was shorter than me. I was average height and lanky. He on the other hand was just small.

"Hello I'm Ezekiel what can I help you with?" even though I was disappointed it was not the Ezekiel I knew, I could not help but admire the man in front of us. He was adorable. He reminded me of a cute young anime character. He was definitely around the same age as me but his rosy cheeks made him look so youthful.

"Hi Ezekiel, I'm Gino and this is Cloud," Gino responded quickly shaking the smaller man's hand, so did I. "I came to drop of these press statements. I normally go to Steven for these but he isn't around."

"Oh that's perfectly fine, I can get the King's approval then send it back so you can publish it," he smiled.

"That would be excellent. It was very nice to meet you Ezekiel," Gino smiled.

"Same to you, you will hear from me soon," and the fact he had a small gab between his front teeth made him all the more adorable.

"Bye," I waved before we left.

"Okay you know what we are just going to have to ambush your Ezekiel. He has gone too far!" Gino yelled once we were back in the car, "If we have to camp outside all night then so be it!"