Chapter 47: Just A Damn Dream

Darius retreated to his bedroom, closing the wooden door behind him with a soft click. He leaned his back against it, letting out a slow breath as he tipped his head toward the ceiling.

For a few seconds, he simply stood there, staring upward. Then he groaned softly and dragged both hands over his face.

"Oh, this is bad. This is so fucking bad."

The dream was still burning behind his eyelids, refusing to leave him alone. Having Basil sitting right in front of him throughout breakfast had been pure torture. Every time he accidentally looked up and saw him, the dream came rushing back. It slammed into his chest with relentless force, as though he were being dragged right back into it all over again. He had barely managed to keep his hands from shaking while holding his fork, forced to use every ounce of his willpower just to keep his expression flat and unreadable.

What would his prince think of him if he knew he had been dreaming about him like that?

The thought alone terrified him.

He was trying so hard to do things right, to go slow and let Basil get comfortable with him. He wanted his prince to trust him, to like him, to see that he was serious about building a real connection between them. The last thing he wanted was to turn Basil into some filthy obsession, to taint the fragile progress they were making by viewing him through that lens.

A groan broke from Darius’s throat as he rubbed his face with both hands.

Why the hell did his subconscious have to pull a stunt like that last night? Why couldn’t it have given him a normal dream like usual?

Deciding he needed to scrub the lingering heat from his skin before he lost his mind completely, he stripped off his clothes and headed straight into the bathroom. He turned the shower handle all the way to cold, stepping under the freezing spray to shock his system into focus.

He needed his head clear before they headed out. Hopefully, by the time they left for the tailors, he would finally have his thoughts under control.

~~~~

The moment Darius left the dining room, Basil found it impossible to focus on the rest of the meal. The uneasy feeling that had been sitting in his chest since breakfast only seemed to grow heavier with every passing minute. After forcing himself to finish the last few bites on his plate, he excused himself as well and walked briskly up the grand staircase to his suite, closing the door behind him with a heavy sigh. He began loosening the collar of his shirt as he made his way toward the bedroom to prepare for the day.

His thoughts refused to settle.

What exactly was going on with Darius?

The question burned relentlessly at the back of his mind. He couldn’t stop replaying the morning over and over, trying to pinpoint the exact moment things had shifted.

Was he angry? Or worse, offended?

Was this about how he had practically sprinted to the bathroom last night when Darius was still in the mood to celebrate? Was he upset about that? Had it looked ungrateful?

A knot tightened in his stomach. The other man had gone through all that trouble for him.

He had even gotten him a cake and insisted on celebrating their birthday together despite how cold Basil had been treating him.

Only for Basil to rush off like that. Or maybe Darius had noticed how flustered he had been?

Or perhaps he had taken his sudden departure as a harsh rejection, a sign that Basil still couldn’t stand being in the same room as him?

Every time he tried to pinpoint the reason behind Darius’s strange behavior, he found himself going in circles without finding a single answer.

With an irritated frown, he ran a hand through his hair as he crossed into the bathroom.

The thought lingered, leaving his chest aching with a strange, unfamiliar regret. He was the one who had been pushing Darius away at every turn. It made complete sense for Darius to finally draw the line, to stop reaching out when every gesture was met with a cold shoulder.

But wasn’t it too soon to give up?

It had barely been a day. Surely Darius couldn’t have run out of patience that quickly.

But why, now that the distance was actually there, did Basil feel a sharp, hollow panic taking root in his chest? He didn’t want the distance anymore. He wanted Darius to tease him, to invade his personal space, to force his way past Basil’s defenses the way he had done yesterday.

"Fuck, I’ve gone insane."

With a frustrated exhale, he stepped into the steaming shower, letting the hot water cascade over his shoulders as he tried to wash away the dread settling deep in his bones.

~~~~

"Pull yourself together, Darius."

His own reflection stared back at him from the large human size mirror in his bedroom. He was fully dressed in a dark green button-down shirt and black trousers, his hands trembling slightly as he adjusted his cuffs. He smoothed down his collar, forcing his fingers to stay steady.

"It was just a dream. A damn dream, that’s it," he told himself, locking eyes with his reflection.

"You want him to trust you. You’re not going to ruin everything by acting weird or making him feel uncomfortable around you."

He closed his eyes, trying to visualize the day ahead, only for the dream to come crashing back into his mind with humiliating clarity.

"Fuck, man, get a grip" he muttered, pointing a finger at his reflection. "You are going to spend the day with him, and you are going to act like a normal human being. You’re not going to think about last night. You’re definitely not going to remember that dream ever again."

Darius took one last deep breath, holding it until his lungs burned before letting it out in a quiet hiss. "Okay. Let’s head out."

Squaring his shoulders and forcing every trace of panic from his face, he turned away from the mirror and walked out the door to meet Basil.

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