Winter Affliction

Part 14

How exactly had he gotten himself into this mess?

Alver tried very hard not to allow a very new and special brand of panic fill him as he stayed pinned in the cramped alleyway with his young and grouchy fiance eyeing the entrance for pursuers.

This was stupid. How the hell had this situation escalated to this point? Alver could hear the sound of confused guards debating whether they'd imagined seeing the young master out here in the dead of night. The debate went on for a frustrating amount of time and sounded as though it was growing closer to their hiding spot. Alver was quite tempted to snap at them that if they weren't sure then the obvious solution was to return to the estate in order to check rather than uselessly wandering about and arguing.

Cale appeared to be thinking about something equally unfavorable as he glared out of the mouth of the alleyway. Alver ought to look too but he was looking at Cale's face instead. How long had it been since he'd seen Cale's face up close? A year? Two years? He'd never been this close to Cale as Alver–excluding the incident of course and back then he hadn't been looking at Cale's face at all– it was amazing how much Cale had grown over the years.

In his mind's eye, he still imagined the nine year old Cale smiling brightly at him as though he were the best thing that had ever existed. The smile that still remained in Alver's memory as one his most cherished memories.

The trouble was that Cale looked different now.

It occurred to him for the first time that Cale wouldn't remain a child forever. Certainly he would be a child for a few more years at least and he looked far from an adult at the tender age of twelve but he wasn't that nine year old boy anymore. He wasn't a sullen five year old anymore either.

Cale was changing and Alver couldn't quite understand why the idea bothered him so much. Of course Cale would age. Everyone aged. He had also grown a significant amount since their first meeting seven years ago. It only made sense that Cale wouldn't remain a child forever. He would grow and learn and change.

The smell didn't help anything either. Did no one in the Henituse territory know about suppressants? Alver had thought the previous year that they just hadn't realized matters yet but they surely had to know now? He would certainly be having a long conversation with the Count about this distressing matter.

For now he was unable to focus on those future plans because Cale was still holding a hand over his mouth. Alver had grown over the past year, once again overtaking Cale but Cale was still growing as well and appeared to be catching up at a distressing rate.

What happened to the child who only measured up to his waist? Alver searched for him and only found an angry scowling preteen who was standing far too close and had absolutely no regard for Alver's personal space at all.

"Fuckers are gone." Cale hissed, finally pulling away from Alver enough that the prince could breathe properly. Alver had been too lost in thought to hear the end of the guards debate but that was well enough for him. Cale turned to glare at Alver. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Why did Cale always have to go for the difficult questions? Alver sighed. If his experiences with Cale had taught him anything over the years it was that honesty was going to be his best friend when dealing with the perceptive, suspicious, and judgmental boy. Cale might not like the truth but he smelled lies like a hound on the trail of prey and he always presumed the absolute worst when he was lied to.

"I saw you leaving before." Alver said. "I was worried so I chose to follow you."

Cale clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes in disapproval at Alver's clearly deranged decision before dislodging himself from the nook they'd hidden inside of. It was perhaps overly generous to refer to it as an alley. It was certainly the space in between two establishments and there was clearly enough space that a person could theoretically walk through, but not comfortably. It was a bit more than snug for the two teens but Cale showed no sign of minding.