“What?” He quickly replied, his duel-colored eyes widening at the mere suggestion. The last time he had kissed someone was when his mother was still alive and that was more than half a decade ago. While one wouldn’t see it in the dark, his entire face had gone red to the point of dizziness.

“I... Fuck, I don’t know...” he replied hesitantly, though not in flat-out anger. He knew the sexual tension, he wasn’t an idiot and he was just like any young adult. It was the first time that the young king was left to get clearly flustered, stumbling over his words a tad. “It... would be weird, right? I-I... mean...”
 
"Because I'm a demon and you're human? Because you're the King and I'm... just a servant? Because of the horrible things you've done to me and my kind? Sure, it's all weird; very weird. Doesn't mean I'm going to stubbornly deny myself a kiss with someone I think is cute," he shrugged, moving to sit on the bed when realising that the man's resistance wasn't all that solid. A little flirtation would easily break it down, and that was something Ambrosio often felt he excelled in. He was cocky enough to boast about the array of talents he held, and his natural charm was just one of them.

He didn't entirely know why he was doing this. He knew Luana would turn in her grave if she realised what he was doing, but he also wasn't going to deny himself the chance of being with someone he had developed small feelings for. It would also hopefully make his time in the castle easier, until the inevitable curse kicked in anyway.

"I'm not a disgusting monster; I have feelings and desires, Dom. It'd be easier for everyone if I liked someone else--I'm sure you didn't see yourself falling for me either," he snorted, sitting beside him with his legs crossed, his eyes eagerly glowing at how bashful the other seemed. It made a nice difference from the usual arrogance. "...You've kissed people before, haven't you? I don't usually make the first move, I like having other people take the lead-- but you seem really nervous about all this. I thought you were this big, strong King who knew how to get what he wanted~!"
 
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“I do know how to get what I want,” He quickly protested, watching the other climb onto his bed with pursed lips. Most people didn’t know about his more shy and introverted life, with the citizens only seeing him during important meetings or executions. If anyone found out about his bashful appearance and nervous smile, he’d be tainted immediately.

After some thought, though, he dared to at least initiate the kiss by taking the demon’s neck gently and pulling him in. He hadn’t kissed someone in years, that was true, but he was just a natural good kisser.
 
Even despite his taunting, the last thing Ambrosio really expected was to be pulled into a kiss, and for it to be utterly convincing and enjoyable. He had fully expected to be ridiculed or, even more likely, punished for his insolence. He knew that the young King liked him - he just never anticipated him admitting it through his actions.

For once in his life, the demon was caught by surprise, and that rendered him frozen for a few seconds, his eyes wide and unblinking in that shock. Only when the kiss fully registered did he manage to respond with a kiss of his own. At the back of his mind, he knew this was completely wrong. The man was responsible for the death of dozens of creatures like Ambrosio, some of whom had been close friends of his. He was a figure of pure hatred among the community, and yet Ambrosio was sat kissing him. It also didn't make sense to do so when he knew that, soon in the future, Dominique would probably hate him for the curse he was attached to, but the demon chose to ignore all of that for his own selfish satisfaction.

He liked Dominique and he wasn't going to ruin his chance at affection by blurting out the truth of the curse, or by listening to the inner voice that told him he should hate the King, rather than grow to like him. Listening to it would be the wisest thing, but the demon often made stupid decisions.

"You needed a hell of a lot of prompting to do this, but I suppose the wait was worth it," he gushed, leaning back happily with a finger tapping against his lips thoughtfully. "...We shouldn't have done that, you are aware of that, aren't you? That was so wrong on so many levels."
 
“... I’m aware,” he replied quietly once pulling away with beetroot cheeks. “That was a stupid idea, yes. God - just... get out of my room, Ambrosio,” he grumbled as he covered his mouth bashfully and laid back down to avoid looking at the other.

“Never talk about this again, understood?” He insisted. “If you mention this to anyone, I-I... I will personally hang you from the gallows for everyone to see, understood? If anyone were to find out, they’ll immediately claim you assaulted me and I’m sure you don’t want that over your head, do you?”
 
"I can't stay the night? My bed is awful, I'd rather stay here and cuddle with you. Nobody will find out. I'm the only servant that enters your room, nobody is going to stumble in here and discover the horrid truth that their great King is... somewhat fascinated with a vicious, evil demon," drawled Ambrosio sarcastically, his eyes rolling to himself at the stereotypes attached to his species. He could be violent, but only if he was pushed into a situation that demanded he defend and fight for his life. Usually, he was a lover, not a fighter, but nobody really seemed to want to give him the time to witness that.

Yawning loudly to emphasise how tired he was, he slowly slid under the covers and wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Dominique from behind. He was smaller than the King was (albeit not by much), but he had no problem being the one to cuddle him and taking on the more dominant role. As long as he got to be close to someone, he could care less who was doing the cuddling, or who was leading things.

"And hey, people say I'm like a heater-- I'm naturally pretty hot, literally. Comes with being a demon, I 'spose," he continued to mumbled, pressing in closer with an affectionate kiss to the other's neck. "Honestly, you're so tense. This isn't risk-free for me, either. If someone does find us, I'm the one who gets killed while you can play innocent and say I attacked you. You can enjoy this and get away with it; I don't have that luxury. Yet here I am, happy to risk it for a cuddle. Kinda pathetic, really."
 
“Very.” He replied simply, his body staying stiff despite Ambrosio’s words. Not only was it embarrassing but it was weird, the physical touch. He only ever received physical affection from his mother in the form of hugs, though he would be pulled from them to do other things. For this to be the first time sharing a bed and being this intimate was incredibly terrifying and uncomfortable, naturally, especially when the consequences of being found out were so high for them both.

“Why are you like this? Why are you doing this? You could just leave and we could pretend this never happened but you just want to make me vulnerable, don’t you?” He whispered as he gripped the edge of the blanket, the warmth from Ambrosio doing very little to relax him.
 
"Maybe. Maybe this is all one huge scheme to get you vulnerable so you don't see an attack coming. Or maybe I'm falling for you and having you constantly bring up how I should hate you isn't very welcoming. It's not... helpful, Dominique. I want to enjoy myself with someone I like. I don't need you constantly reminding me that I need to hate you and that my behaviour is weird," he grunted, rolling away and hugging a pillow to his chest instead, just to trick himself into thinking that he was getting some much needed affection by cuddling something. In the end, it obviously wasn't enough, and he grumpily slid from the bed, doing very little to disguise how pissed off he was.

"Fine, I get it. I'm still a disgusting servant and a disgusting demon to you-- and you're still a piece of shit to me. I thought I could put that aside and try and... get to know another side of you, but you don't want that. If you did, you'd stop reminding me that we're enemies," he hissed, opening the balcony for the cold air to hit him. It was the best way to leave the King's room without being seen, and the long jump down wouldn't kill him. It would bruise him a little, but that was well worth it to make his escape quick and hassle-free.

"I don't think I want to work here anymore, but I'll visit for your birthday, if you'd like? Luana left you a gift and I want to make sure it's to your satisfaction. I'm sure you'll love it. Luana was the best at giving gifts."
 
“... what?” He grumbled, sitting up quickly in shock at the rash decision. Looking at the balcony and shivering, he hesitated before patting his side on the bed again, albeit with a nervous smile. The whole situation was ridiculous in his eyes and the fact that he was going against everything his father taught him felt forced, naturally.

“... come back... please,” he whispered, cringing at how desperate he sounded. “I... I don’t want to sleep alone. God, this sounds all so pathetic, really, but... you’re my main servant and you have been for years now, I don’t know if I could handle not having that in my life. How corny is that?”
 
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"You forced me here after killing my best friend. I don't like it here, Dominique. I stayed because it's best to keep enemies close, isn't it? I thought this was a good way to learn how to take you down, that's the only reason I stayed. Then I started to like you but you're hardly receptive to that. Don't fucking pretend," he mumbled, hesitating by the door despite his harsh words. The desperation in Dominique's tone was unmissable, and it did genuinely provoke debate in the demon's head about how he should proceed.

"I could spend the night with someone who actually likes me, you know? Who doesn't insult me and doubt how I feel. Someone who isn't human for a start, that'd be nice," he grunted, though did shut the balcony doors. He regretted the decision almost immediately, but flippantly changing his mind every few seconds would only provoke ridicule, so he put on a nonchalant expression and took a seat away from the bed.

"Go to sleep. I don't want to get into bed with you, you've pissed me off and I'm not so pathetic that I'll crawl back into bed with someone who's upset me. I'm not as desperate as you clearly are."
 
“So you’d rather just sit and watch me sleep?” He confirmed with a slowly raised brow, though the mix of the whole day was exhausting. He just wanted to sleep and start the day over again and if that meant suddenly being left without that foreign yet needed feeling.

“Well, I’m getting my beauty sleep,” he murmured before burying his face into the pillows and practically wrapping himself up completely in the blankets, burrito style. It was cute and equally immature for an adult.
 
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As soon as the man drifted to sleep, Ambrosio made the decision to leave the castle itself, rather than just the King's room. The experience of getting close to him and actually professing his growing feelings, however confusing they were, was one he immediately regretted, even though Dominique had indicated he felt the same. It was the reminder Ambrosio needed that he was heading down the wrong path and betraying not only Luana, but their community itself.

Nobody would dare forgive him if they found out he was growing affectionate towards the man that had declared an unjust war on them.

He had every intention to return -he wasn't going to miss out taunting Dominique when his birthday came along- but he did need a break, just to get himself in check and remind himself where his priorities were. He could ignore his feelings in favour of justice and equal rights for his own kind; the latter was far more important and something he had fought for for centuries. A little crush on his literal enemy was hardly of the same importance to him.

When his fellow servants discovered his absence, understandable fury ensued, which continued on without anyone realising that the duty to wake the King up had gone overlooked. It was a good hour before they realised that they had forgotten to wake him from his sleep and in that time, guests had arrived; important advisers and figures that had travelled far from a coastal kingdom to propose Dominique marry the princess there. As they (understandably) raged at the servants for delaying the meeting, having travelled days to make it happen, the accompanying princess opted instead to wander to Dominique's room to wake him herself, seeing as nobody else seemed to take the duty on. It was probably something her guards and advisers would grow pale at - she was expected to be quiet and speak when spoken to, not take the initiative and bravely walk into the King's room. She was one of many potential wives being considered for him, and she knew that her advisers would hate for her to mess that up by doing something 'reckless'... but she also wanted a little fun and listening to her party yell and shout was the opposite of that.

"You should never keep a lady waiting, sire. I thought you'd have known that." Bella murmured slowly from the table in the room, watching the young King stir with an amused smile on her face. She was equally as young as he was, which was at least a positive; she had had offers of marriage from royals twice her age who she had nothing in common with. She didn't want to marry anyone, but Dominique was the best option out there. "We were supposed to meet at 9. It's now half past 10. One of your servants went walkabout and hasn't returned so nobody thought to wake you-- are all your servants this inadequate?"

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Waking up to Ambrosio was bad enough, so to be woken up by a complete stranger was far from ideal. Narrowing his eyes as he slowly stirred awake, Dominique replied with a groan before rubbing his sleepy face.

His life didn’t revolve around marriage in his eyes, especially when every person he met was only ‘meh’. He was never particularly rude to anyone but he wasn’t one to sugar coat his interactions with others - that included the current one as he shot a glance towards the woman.

“Who are you?” He flatly questioned as he reluctantly sat up in his bed. “Ugh... so he finally ran away, did he? Unfortunate. I’m... sorry for the situation and my poor staff,” he murmured with a heavy sigh before getting to his feet, tugging on a robe to cover himself quickly. “I’m sure this isn’t a very pleasant sight, really. I’ll have to punish him properly when he returns. Now, who are you again?” He questioned, shooting a glance to the princess.
 
"You don't know who I am? If I had a raging ego, I'd be offended. I'm Annabella, third child and only daughter of the ruling couple from the Ra'azul kingdom down south. We were supposed to meet to discuss a potential union. Now, you clearly can't have been excited about it. Either that, or you've simply been overwhelmed with meetings with potential wives, and I'm just another name on that long list," she laughed, setting the teaspoon down after stirring in a few cubes of sugar in her tea, taking a careful sip. Whatever she did, she was always told to be graceful and as 'dainty' as she could possibly be, being informed that that was what was most attractive to suitors. It took a lot of effort to constantly remember that, of course, and she never felt happy having to change her behaviour to conform with what she was told, but it was easier to do that than have her parents yell at her for disobedience.

"Come and sit down, we can talk together here," she encouraged with a gentle pat against the other chair, smiling to herself at how awkward the man looked. "You look fine, I think. It's rather charming to meet you like this, I think it's far more relaxed and casual, don't you? Now forget this silly servant nonsense, I want to talk to you about this... potential marriage, assuming you choose me. I don't... want to marry anyone, I'm sure you don't either, but you're the best option for me. I don't particularly want to marry someone twice my age who I have little in common with."
 
“Well, no matter your age you most likely won’t have anything in common with me,” he countered before taking a seat opposite of her with a sigh, his bod achy from just how tense he had been last night. Rubbing his shoulder for emphasis, it was just another reminder of how much he needed the demon.

“Ah, Annabella. That’s right, I... have to admit, I am getting overwhelmed with this marriage thing. Do you know how many princesses I’ve met with in the past year? 25. You’re the 26th princess I’ve talked to as a potential wife, Annabella. I’m sure you’ve spoken to countless husbands, yes? It’s all so tiring. I’m... in 19 and they want me to get married off as soon as possible to have an heir. That’s ridiculous, right?” He babbled on slowly with pursed lips before rubbing his face, his brief lapse in professionalism endingconce he offered his notoriously charming smile.

“Sorry about all of this, Miss. You’ve one all this way just to see me in such a poor state, I doubt this was the interaction you were anticipating for. This is incredibly unprofessional and I promise to make it up to you.”
 
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"On the contrary, I find this refreshing. We do have some things in common - I've had to meet with plenty of potential husbands and they all flaunt their wealth, as though that's the thing that'll persuade me to accept their offer. They all boast and show off and... this is nice, this little relaxed meeting with you in your pyjamas. I like this," she declared easily whilst stirring her tea again, just to give herself something to do as she absently admired the surroundings. Wealth wasn't something that would win her over, but it was difficult not to be amazed by the opulence around her. She was from a royal family, but she wasn't going to pretend they were as well off as Dominique was. His family were amongst the highest in power ranking for a reason, whilst hers lay a fair few ranks below.

"We also have our hatred of marriage in common. I don't want to do that. It's basically forced on me. My parents are dying to marry me off to some wealthier King, it's their sordid little dream. They're willing to pay you, in fact-- to get me off their hands. It's hardly a compliment," she tutted, resting her head on her hand as her own smile finally made an appearance, mostly in reply to his.

"You know, putting on the charm isn't going to make me fall head over heels like everyone else does. I've heard plenty from others who have met you; they all seem to adore you. It's a talent, I suppose. Making people love you like that. I can see through it, but it's rather amazing nonetheless."
 
“Ah, really? I disagree, I think my charm has done pretty well,” he replied with raised brows. “After all, you seem to be interested in a notoriously bad person like me, yes? Maybe not romantically but at least you haven’t said anything rude about me despite greeting you in my robe and underwear. That is proof of something, isn’t it?” He offered with a soft chuckle before sipping his tea.

“So, princess, how far did you travel? I don’t have a very sound understanding of the other kingdoms, if I’m to be honest. It seems most people come to me, after all,” he explained honestly as he tapped his free hand’s fingers against the table, letting his eyes drift out the balcony briefly in the hopes to see Ambrosio... though those chances were low.
 
"If anything, it's simply proof that I'm intelligent. I've heard of your temper tantrums, sire. i wouldn't want to possibly provoke one of them by revealing my negative thoughts on you, that'd be silly. I'm happy to simply play to your ego instead and keep you on side," she smirked with a playful roll of her eyes, which soon followed Dominique's out onto the balcony, though in her case, it was to watch a few butterflies fluttering about, rather than wait on a servant who was unlikely to appear.

"My guards, advisers and I travelled for days, it wasn't comfortable. But like you said, you weren't likely to come to me and my parents are desperate to make this work; they're eager to marry me off and as soon as they heard I was on your exhaustive list of potential wives, they all but forced me out the door of our castle. If you don't choose me, I'm sure it'll kill them; they'll die of disappointment. Now, that might not be such a bad thing. Maybe it's cruel of me, but I wouldn't shed too many tears if they passed," she admitted casually, tapping her fingers slowly against the rim of the cup, her smile slowly reappearing again. "Not that I'd get the family throne, of course. I have two older brothers who have their own children already, I'll barely get a look in."
 
“I can assure you that killing your parents isn’t the wisest idea,” he replied cryptically before setting a finger to his lips in feigned thought. In reality, he knew exactly what he would propose to get his own advisors off his ass. While half of him wanted to just set them to the chopping block, the other half knew - and would never admit - that he was really just a kid, still technically a teenager. The average king was well into their forties, yet here he was.

“Now, I have a proposition for you,” he began slowly with a hum. “You and I both don’t want to be married, yes? This might be a wild suggestion, but... we could always marry and, in reality, seek our own interests?” He offered before taking a sip of his tea. “We could be free to pick whoever we like and have a mutual understanding, not to mention we wouldn’t have to deal with haggish older people to be our spouses. Of course, if you’re totally innamered with me, then it wouldn’t be much of a sham...”
 
"Oh, I'm not enamoured with you, you're not really my type," she stated as politely as possible. Now, she usually had no issue professing her opinion, even though her parents tried to punish that behaviour out of her. Usually, she would have told Dominique that her type was someone far more manly and rugged, not so thin and boyish, but the proposition stopped her immediately. It was far too good to ruin with her forthrightness.

She could marry someone her age, have her parents off her back, continue living in luxury and get to pursue men she actually was attracted to? It was the perfect offer and she wasted little time nodding her acceptance.

"That's something I could agree with," she replied happily. "Of course, there are going to be issues with that, regarding the whole 'heir' nonsense but I don't want to ruin the moment thinking about that-- I accept the suggestion, it sounds perfect."