Chapter 367: Keep You Guessing.

Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Keep You Guessing.

Distractedly toying with his food, Loac leans his chin into one hand.

It’s not that the breakfast isn’t good, but it’s not Khobi’s. When it comes down to it, he likes Khobi’s food the most, even when he has to help make it.

It’s a real pain, and despite knowing full well that Loac spends most of the time going out of his way to mess with him, he always appraises his work with a dumb, stupid grin and a playful glint in his eyes and even if his attempts don’t look like Khobi’s the little snippets of praise he occasionally lets slip have this way of making Loac’s chest feel full in a way he didn’t know was possible.

​’ It looks pretty good ’

​’ Huh, not bad’

​It’s so stupid, but even a dry, ’ Wow, you didn’t spill anything this time ?’ kinda knocks him off balance.

And he’s got great balance.

​A small smile finds it’s way to Loac’s face as he chews on a piece of bread.

​(You look a lot like her .)

​That’s the one that got him worst, though. It didn’t just send him reeling, it tossed him right off the ledge and flat on his ass.

​In his chest, Loac feels the strangest little flutter; the same kind that had stirred within him the moment the words had left Khobi’s lips, and has been doing every time he hears them echo in the back of his mind.

Which has been happening a lot, actually.

Never really stopped, even. It’s not the same strange sensation that he gets when he catches Khobi looking all gloomy –that feels tight , like his chest is too small and his ribs are closing in on his lungs.

No, this feels different ; almost like there’s something inside him that’s too big and trying to burst out. That’s not to say it feels bad , it just feels... new .

​It’s not something he’s familiar with, and he’s not sure how he feels about it. It had been at its worst that day out at the lake; when even with snow in his hair and his face red from the cold, Khobi had looked at him with his eyes and his grin filled with warmth.

He’d looked really... happy . Just really, genuinely happy .

And it had felt stupid and Loac had felt stupid for feeling it, but the thought that he’d had something to do with it...

​Well, that had made him kinda happy, too.

​The memory makes him smile down into his breakfast.

​"Glad to see you’re in a better mood today," a voice remarks, and Loac looks up to find Binny hovering at the edge of the bench. "Or is the stew just that good?"

​"What?" Loac demands irritably, and Binny gives him a sympathetic look.

​"Oh sorry, it’s just that you’ve been grinning at your plate for like ten minutes now," he states, and Loac immediately bristles at having been called out for something he was definitely, totally not doing.

​" I was not ."

​(Even if he was , there’s no way he’s gonna admit it. Because grinning like an idiot over some idiot is...embarrassing, to say the least.)

​He must not be the only one feeling gracious today because Binny lets him have this one.

​"Sure you weren’t."

​...

​It can only be a bad thing that Binny’s rifling through his clothes.

​"Can I help you?" Khobi inquires flatly, standing in the doorway in nothing but a towel, dripping wet and still steaming from his bath.

​"You need new clothes," Binny states just as flatly, not so much as glancing his way as he fishes through his dwindling selection of shirts and not seeming particularly pleased with what he finds.

​"My clothes are fine ," Khobi complains, and isn’t sure what Binny’s getting at when he holds up the one closest to him and shoves three fingers through three separate holes.

"What’s your point?" Binny just sighs, drags a hand down his face, and makes a beeline for Loac’s things.

​"My point is that you can’t meet with the princess in this," he sniffs, shaking the shirt at him in exasperation, "This isn’t even a shirt anymore, Khobi."

Khobi snatches it back. Okay, so there are a couple of holes in it, including a few that have already been stitched up at least twice before, but that’s to be expected; it had been old even when Montrel gave it to him.

​(It’s one of his favourites and there’s no way he’s letting Binny throw it out.)

​"Who said I’m meeting with the princess?" he snorts, because this is the first he’s hearing of it. Not that he ever has much warning about this sort of thing –the king in particular seems to like springing random meetings on him with very little notice.

​"I did," Binny chirps, and makes a pleased sound when he has more success with Loac’s belongings and presents him with something blue and made of silk.

Something blue and made of silk that in the blink of an eye Khobi suddenly finds himself wearing. It’s honestly kind of impressive how quick Binny is with his hands. He still has no idea how he does it.

​"There we are," Binny remarks conversationally, patting him on the back and smoothing the creases off his shoulderblades, "Kinda clashes with the towel a bit, but it’s a start."

​" I can find my own pants ," Khobi heaves, and despite Binny’s very obvious reservations, manages to finish getting dressed all by himself.

​"...So, Rogard said something interesting the other day," he comments offhandedly, as he finishes towelling off his hair.

It’s intentionally loaded; a phrase that can bring fear to even the most hardy of men, and he’s pretty sure he’s not imagining the way Binny tenses, infinitesimally.

​"That’d be a first~" he chirps, right on cue, and since he’s never pulled punches when it comes to calling him out, Khobi does him the same courtesy.

​" –He reckons you’re sneaking around with someone."

​Binny doesn’t even have the decency to look aghast by the accusation. Maybe Rogard’s onto something.

There’s a scary thought.

​"Just because he was doesn’t mean everyone is," Binny deflects smoothly, and slings him a sly look that has Khobi glaring back at him, " Although ..."

​It’s a lazy insinuation, for Binny. And it’s not like he and Loac are... sneaking around or anything like that.

​Like he told Rogard, they’re just... fucking , is all. Having sex. Really, really great sex.

​(He immediately stops himself before he gets carried away. And it is way too easy to get carried away these days.)

​And this isn’t about that .

​"So you aren’t , then?" he inquires, straight to the point. Flitting around the room tucking away discarded clothes and straightening up the bedsheets, Binny flashes him a grin.

​"I didn’t say that," he breezes airily.

​"So there’s someone?"

​" I didn’t say that either ~"

​He’s not really all that annoyed, but Khobi still balls up his towel and throws it at him.