"I don't really want to move."

"That's fair. You could stay here and text Asher to meet us?" 

He doesn't know how to explain that he'd be uncomfortable with having his childhood best friend watch him do this, in part because he doesn't know what this is and why he'd be uncomfortable with Asher looking at it. 

Instead he just curls up more on Chen.

He curls around Ben and holds him closer, protective. 

"When you hold me it feels like things are going to be okay."

"I'm glad I can give you that." 

Maybe instead of talking to Asher what Ben is going to do is curl up quietly on Chen until he falls asleep.

Ben can do that. 

Chen tucks his face into Ben's hair and lets himself relax. 

Eventually Kaleva returns home and... the prince is sleeping on Chen's chest. Fine! This is fine.

He is uncomfortably aware that he wants to fall asleep on Chen's chest.

"Hi," he says very quietly, doesn't move in any way that would wake Ben. 

"Hi," he says uncomfortably.

"Sorry for kicking you out — I don't think he'd want me to tell you what happened but you'll know by the end of the week." 

"Okay."

Chen knows Ben's secrets. Kaleva's jealous! He's super jealous. It feels like a sick pit in the middle of his stomach.

He can tell Kaleva is unhappy — he's been able to tell for weeks — and he has no idea what to do about it. 

Kaleva goes to bed, unhappily. He dreams about Chen holding him and saying he's the most important person in the world and then the dream gets vague but he knows Chen is touching him and he feels warm and intimate and loved and so so good and when he wakes up his underwear is sticky.

He falls asleep with Ben in his arms and his face buried in Ben's hair, and dreams about holding Ben keeping him safe dreams about Ben underneath him dreams about — 

He wakes up in the morning still wrapped around Ben. 

Ben smiles up at him blearily. "Good morning."

Ben is very very good. "Good morning." 

Ben woke up in Chen's arms and his back hurts and his feet are asleep and his neck has a crick in it and everything in the world is good and okay and Ben is a terrible person.

"I bet Asher has made breakfast."

Kaleva comes out of the bathroom and bows his head and says, "...Your Royal Highness."

"Oh, call me Ben."

He doesn't touch Ben's hair again, even if he does want to. "I bet he does," he agrees. "You should probably go talk to him." 

"You two should come with me!"

Of course Ben is a nice person who invites Kaleva to have breakfast with him, unlike Kaleva, who mostly wants Ben to fall off a cliff.

"Sure."

"Alright." Probably he should not wear the same shirt he was wearing yesterday.