"…what even is your life." 

"My boyfriend is part of a secret council! This is so cool."

"Isn't it?" 

"Do you think if I get in a fight with the king I too will get to be part of a secret council?"

"I would not advise picking fights on purpose, no, he had a specific plan that would have seemed fine to someone from Auradon but was terrible in ways that are very obvious to an islander, and I can't think of anything where you have quite as large of an experience gap." 

"...This sounds like a challenge."

"Please do not pick fights with King Ben," Chen says without looking up. "See you," to Sasha's back as he leaves for the library. 

"I'm still mad at you about the beignets thing!"

"No you aren't." They're cuddling again now that nobody else is in the room. 

"I'm so mad that you should probably tell me to never kiss you again."

Kaleva has a good smile. "Don't kiss me." 

He climbs in Chen's lap and kisses him for a long time. He tastes like beignets. 

"I love you," Chen murmurs into Kaleva's mouth. 

"I love you too."

He is so happy and loved that he hardly feels bad at all about tempting Chen to do something wrong

It hurts, a little, to know he's wronging Kaleva, and to know that he does want this however much he tells Sasha otherwise. 

He kisses Kaleva back anyway. 

By coincidence, it also hurts a little to know he's wronging Chen! Not a big hurt. Sort of like a cross between nausea and being stabbed in the gut by a very tiny knife. 

He puts his hand in Chen's hair and tries not to cry.

He goes soft and pliant and sweet under Kaleva's hands, leans into the touch. 

"Don't," he says softly, and doesn't put a verb at the end of the sentence. 

"Don't what?"

"Anything." 

Kaleva smiles at him and sits very very still.

Wait no. 

…maybe Kaleva doesn't want that, independently of whether Chen does or not. That would be — better, objectively, that way neither of them is doing anything wrong. 

Chen leans into Kaleva, is very careful not to kiss him. 

Kaleva kisses him. "I like kissing you," he says into his mouth.

"You have a good smile," Chen says, carefully doesn't say anything about whether he wants to be kissed or not. "You have a good mouth." 

Kaleva kisses his cheek, his jawline, his throat. "So do you."

He tilts his head back to give Kaleva more room. "You're soft. 'S good."