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Impulsive Act

King Marius slammed the Astrian Prince into the tiles at the bottom of the pool, pinning him down by the shoulders. The air he'd had in his lungs escaped in a whoosh of breath. The moment Kai looked into Marius's face and saw his scowl of death, he laughed. He couldn't help himself. It was such a silly, petty thing for him to have done anyway, throwing water in his captor's face like that to spite him, but he couldn't help it. He'd wanted to do it, if only to see what face Marius would make, and so he'd simply done it. He hadn't given it more thought than that.

Marius's expression did not disappoint. His scowl was dark and twisted, and it resembled something between a frowning dragon and an upset jaguar, his large black tail swishing furiously behind him exactly like a restless jaguar's. His perfect jaw was clenched tightly, as if he was desperately trying to control himself. From beating Kai to a bloody pulp?

Kai teared up as he laughed and his tears were carried away in the water. He felt himself turning red as he laughed. His mother had once commented that he turned as red as his hair when he truly, excessively laughed.

Marius's face softened abruptly. The twisted lines disappeared as if they'd never been.

Kai's laugh slowly faded.

Why was Marius suddenly looking at him like that? He couldn't quite describe the way Marius was staring at him, and he didn't think he wanted to. It deeply unsettled him.

Suddenly, he regretted his little prank.

He became much too aware of where Marius had his hands on him. The skin underneath his palms felt heated and tingling.

"Laugh lines suit you." Marius said. An indecipherable look flashed in his blue eyes.

Kai's eyes rounded when he realized that he wasn't being mocked. He'd been expecting a slap to the face, not... this. A compliment? From Marius no less? Had Marius already drowned him and this was some strange afterworld hallucination?

And was it him, or were Marius's intense shark-like eyes looking particularly soft?

Kai's heart stuttered.

"What?" he blurted, stunned.

"You should laugh more."

"I... I haven't had much reason to lately." Kai said honestly.

"Hmm. You're right."

The hands on his shoulders disappeared.

"We must go." Marius announced abruptly and swam away. As he did, he swam over Kai who was still lying at the bottom of the pool.

Kai felt as if a great whale had glided over him, dwarfed by it

His eyes were fixated on the fearsome black tail, its scales shimmering black and silver underwater. Kai imagined that if Marius swung it hard enough, it could cause some serious internal damage. Possibly even decapitate a head.

Swallowing to wet his suddenly dry throat, Kai exited the pool five minutes later to find that Marius had already left the Royal Baths, leaving behind him wet human footprints on the tiles.

Kai looked around for a towel to dry himself but didn't find one. He was forced to resort to shaking himself off like a wet mutt before he went to join Marius in the Royal Wardrobe.

He tried not to reveal his self-consciousness by cupping himself, forcing himself to walk as casually as he could.

Luckily, Marius had his back to him.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he walked in on Marius standing naked in the middle of the walk-in closet yet again. He had only just picked out an outfit for himself; he hadn't gotten to the getting dressed part yet.

The man had a tight ass that could stop traffic, he had to give him that.

He quickly looked away.

"I picked an outfit for you." Marius said, and then paused as if to let the weight of that statement sink in. Indeed it did. Kai never expected King Marius the Conqueror to pick out a grave to bury him in, let alone spend time pondering on what his half-breed slave should wear.

"There," he raised a hand and pointed without ever turning to look at Kai. "Nice and presentable, just like you wanted."

So he was finally being treated with respect and dignity.

Relieved, Kai went to the closet in which a single outfit hung, displayed neatly.

"Oh, wow," he exclaimed softly.

It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that would have had famous Italian designers clamoring over themselves just to get a peek. He wasn't much of a fashionista himself, but he knew good thread when he saw it, and he knew that this cost a small fortune. It looked like something a young Russian prince would wear to his first royal ball. The outfit consisted of a tunic black tunic with rich gold lacework down the middle with equally-rich embroidered sleeves, complete with ironed black trousers and shiny leather black boots. He was surprised that it looked distinctly human and European rather than merman and Nostrazian.

Right over his heart, what Kai assumed was Marius's coat of arms was sewn. The coat of arms was a mermaid wearing a golden crown, her hands crossed in front of her bare chest. Behind her, two black tridents crossed each other, and beneath her was a gold and black shield bearing something in writing in a language he could not read.

As Marius's Royal Concubine, he'd have to wear his coat of arms and parade around with it to royal events and invitations.

It irked Kai, but he held his tongue for now. Something told him Marius would never compromise on this no matter how much he complained or bargained.

He took it off the hanger and started to wear it, piece by piece.

At some point as he dressed, he became acutely aware of Marius's gaze on his back. As always, he ignored it -or tried to at least. Once again, he pondered over how an entire amphitheater of scrutinizing immortals had watched him fight naked, but it was always Marius's gaze on him that made him overly-aware of his state of nudity. Suddenly he worried if he'd started to gain weight since he was kidnapped and was forced to abandon his daily fencing and swimming exercises. Suddenly he was squirming. Suddenly he was whatever it was he was doing, even something as simple as dressing, became a chore.

Somehow, he managed to not put on his trousers backwards.

The clothes fit him perfectly, like they'd been tailored for him. No, they had been tailored specifically for him. The tunic sleeves and trousers were exactly the right length, not one inch off. How and when did they get his sizes?

His reflection in a nearby mirror caught his attention.

"Oh, wow," he whispered to himself, in awe of himself, or rather the way he looked in these wonderful clothes. He looked like he was about to hit the Met Gala. The theme of the year was 'European Royalty: A History'. He was going to make waves on social media.

He turned to see that Marius too had finished dressing.

He barely stopped himself from uttering a word of complement to him.

Suddenly he didn't think he looked all that good. Not when compared to Marius.

While Kai probably looked like a fraud in his princely attire, Marius once again proved that he was born to be king. He definitely looked the part.

He was clad in a tunic and trousers that resembled the one Kai was wearing, but his was a lot more... kingly. It had more gold thread and intricate embroidery, and the way the fabric fit his shoulders and wrapped around his muscles spoke of excellent tailoring for an excellent physique. Wearing this, he exuded power, like a fire emitting heat.

Their eyes met.

A current passed between them.

"You look..." Marius started.

Kai unconsciously held his breath.

"... like you're in desperate need of hair brushing."

Kai's shoulders slumped. "I don't have a comb."

"Sit." Marius commanded, gesturing to the nearby chair.

Kai dropped into it.

He felt Marius come to stand behind him, and then a comb slipped into his hair.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to read further, consider joining my Patreon/Ko-fi for exclusive NSFW short stories, side stories and NSFW art, as well as being the first to access the latest chapters, in addition to access to all my other stories! If you like gay mature romances, give my story The Prison a try!