rough draft 1 #2

His face burned deep,yet he did not speak nor move. Instead aurett rested his head on the edge of maurins shoulder,his throat burned. The lump that formed strenuous for him to rid of.

The prince tried to speak,but nothing came of it. His voice scraping his vocal cords faintly like the bow on violin strings.

Maurin let go and parted him with a grateful smile. Relocating his spot on the ground, and his page not long after.

"What books do you like?" Maurin asked,checking his face for an answer.

"I don't read much,but i like a few of them." Maurin nodded.

Aurett signaled for him,and the two of them sat on the side of the bed.

"Do you like science,or only space stuff?"

"No,i just like astronomy" he smiled to himself

Aurett made sure to remember,as it made him comfortable in knowing little things about maurin. He pried "read it to me?" His voice soft,teetering on considerate. 

"Are you sure?" These words met with a meek nod. 

Maurin pointed to the page "this ones ceres,a dwarf planet and an asteroid near mars. deep inside of it is nothing but ice. Ceres was the first dwarf planet to be visited by spacecraft actually." As maurin told of his book, the not-so-noble listened. He began to feel more at home,very faintly. Whatever home felt like. He had his room,which was comfortable,but now with maurin there,it felt more homely.

As he read,maurin took extra care to sustain an even volume.page,then another page. Despite the intricate concepts,the vocabulary wasnt too wordy,which made it digestable for them both.

Maurin

Aurett had sat closer now. Intently reading along with me. He seemed to like the book,at least the parts with meteors and asteroids.

Maurin didnt read anymore,he had discovered something he cared for more,auretts eyes. They were melting like soft taffy,and they moved like rain poking softly at a puddles ripple. He did not bother to know how long he watched them for. Neither did aurett,for he read contently next to him. They matched him somehow,the silhouette of his face,how each hair fell around his frame,how the oozing autumn toned windows of his soul struck out from behind his bangs.

Maurin had always known what he wanted,to run from his parents. All they had done was cater to plants. But he cared more for the space above him. The lost puzzle formation each star put in front of him. Stars were his favorite,unlike much else.

Maurin knew what he wanted,he wanted to be with him,he wanted for aurett,he wanted to be for aurett and his alone.

the air fell differently,guiding maurin back,aurett had finished the chapter quickly. Maurin never read with aurett before this,yet it felt almost abnormal for him.

"Did you like it?" He implored.

Looking up,he answered "yeah,it wasnt too bad,why?" The man beside him spoke.

"This is all i read really,you said you read,but you never told me what" 

This made Aurett ponder for a bit, eventually he had his reply. "Its mostly old myths and wivestales,like that man that turned everything and himself into gold."

An answer like this perplexed him,Aurett never came off as superstitious,so he asked. "Do you believe in bad karma and stuff like that?"

"No,i just found myths interesting,at least a little bit.if anyone's to ask,go to the queen,she thinks im her curse."

Maurin's nose scrunched into a half hearted "really?" 

"Mhm." This led to aurett telling him why,if not hed be asked again. "My mother hates flowered fangs,but their my favorite,she feels like it makes me more detestable in her eyes. Which is good for her,its only fair. Bitter people only earn nothing but more bitterness. Thats probably why she and dad wont come near my part of the castle. If they did the king would never hear the end of it from her."

There was a certain ambience that conversations like this left behind. It was suffocating. The "bitter" he spoke of felt as if it had poisoned the air like foxgloves. 

To combat the foul mood,maurin stood up and stretched before meeting auretts eyes again. Those soft puddles of mocha. And his,a sappy,fiery,blood orange red.

"What do you wanna do?" Aurett rose as maurin said this.

"You wanna finally take a milk bath? They make your face soft." The prince reccomended.

"Is that really whats so good about it?"

"Nah,its just fun,plus if you throw some petals in it makes you smell like flowers,kinda like perfume." He shrugged,before flopping onto hid bed once more.

He sighed, "fine,wheres the petal junk?"

Aurett picked himself back up before leading him to the bathroom,spotting the small box of flowers inside of the cabinet. He passed them to maurin as he left the room.

With that it was quiet,just maurin and the box,there wasnt much to it apparantly. He mixed the bath and poured in the flowers of his choice,and there he lie. Shutting his eyes he thought to himself. He felt fancy,too fancy. It felt off,his eyelids opened and he stared at the ceiling. A glassy quartz sky light,dying the surrounding walls faintly with pink. Too fancy,he didnt know when,or if hed get used to it.

The moons were shifting again,taking turns. As the kingdom darkened,aurett scavenged through his garments. Until he found his best pair of fuzzy socks,he grinned and slipped them on discretely. He lay on his bed,looking at them comfily before stretching.

A door creaked and aurett turned his head.

Maurin hugged himself with his towel despite being clothed to keep himself warm. His head tilted to the side to look at aurett. Then he asked him "did it really make me smell like flowers?"

The prince smiled with his eyes as he sat up. "Only a little"

Maurin settled next to him and lay back,his hair flowing above his head into the blanket. "I feel weird."

"Oh?why?"

"Because i feel snobby,i lived on castle grounds, but it was never this fancy. My family were gardeners. My mom always smelled like pink tulips. Now i smell like flowers,but i smell stuck up."

Aurett pouted and leaned back meeting his eyes. "You smell good,the flowers in the bath were fancy,not the flowers themself,stupid."

"Mm." Maurin narrowed his eyes as he stretched,beginning to feel more comfortable. "Probably." He mumbled,closing his eyes fully,melting into the mattress.

By this point,the prince was off in his own world. First watching the wall,then the ceiling. "How many planets are there?"

Silence. He shifted his head to face the other,soon finding he had fallen asleep. Milk baths never made him this tired. Slowly,he pressed his hand down on the bed and moved off of it onto his feet. The prince quietly retrieved the blanket from the floor and place it over him,taking caution to not wake him up.

"Night." He mumbled prior to piling his pillows into his arms and going to set himself up on the floor. The fabric of his sweater felt a tug. He glanced behind himself at maurin and sighed,leaving 4 more pillows and another blanket for him.

He propped his own pillow up as he slipped into his comforter. "Night." He whispered,drifting off.

The two of them both up with a scratched groan,aurett rolled to his other side,his arm soaked in pins and needles.

Tired,he rubbed his eyes trying to figure out the time. "Maurin,get up"

Maurin grunted and threw the blanket off of his body, scratching his arm. "Whyd you sleep on the floor?" He prodded,followed by a yawn.

"You fell asleep on my bed." Aurett grunted,digging his face into the pillow.

"Well your beds not comfy" maurin passed him,picking up one of his shirts and pulling off his sweater,the shirt taking its place on his back.

"Better than the floor" he thought. Aurett fell back asleep,he was too exhausted to change his clothes. To fix this,maurin tapped auretts stomach with his foot. "Wake up." All he got from this was a made,undecipherable noise. He lifted his face from his hair and pillow. And he stared at maurin. "Dont be a jerk,let me sleep in." His head hit the pillow case with a cushioned thump, and a muffled whine.

Too bad. Maurin gave up and sat on the bed,opening his book,he turned to the page they left off on. Leaving a folded corner,then going to another chapter. 

It was quiet,he had noticed. However he wasnt bothered by it. The soft outside sounds. The castle noises. Auretts quiet sleepy breath. This soothed him as he furthered his read.

Flipping to the next page,then the next,and another after,and then another. He felt a heaviness in his eyes,and made a failed attempt to reopen them,brought him to an unexpected slumber. He never knew sounds like these could lull him to sleep the way they did now.

Maybe he could get used to this. A vague thought crossed him,he had thought it before. He was pretty when he was quiet,when all was calm and no shrewd schemes or anger in his eyes. Just the faint rippled puddle subsiding in the brief tranquility.

Minutes passed and soon enough aurett peeled himself from the comfort of the ground. Clearing his throat as he stood. He peered at the bed. "Ill leave him alone." Aurett decided, tracing the previous way his hair fell in his fingers,catching the knots. Sitting himself against the window, his sides propped against the sill. Watching the guards bored him. His gaze fell on the looming branches in his willow tree. Feeling a sigh release. He looked down at the vines tearing into the outer wall with life. His hand reached down,feeling the thick stems and the way the leaves stuck out other ways. He thought of how maurin used them to get into the castle. Lucky he didnt pick the wrong window. If so,the kingdoms would have had a fit. These things kept him amused. Though he was happy to have company.