Charming

[Dr. Sean Neville]

At his partner’s declaration of being tired, Sean scooted over on the bed to make room. “How about Prince Charming takes a five or ten minute break while we wait for the giant to make an appearance?”

Although Josh had more physical energy than Sean did at any given moment (except right after waking up in the morning, right before falling asleep at night, or when consumed with anxiety or guilt), the attorney remained fifty-five years old, and the telepath remained acutely aware of that fact. His partner had been prancing around the room, jumping when confronting the “vines and thorns”, and that took its toll.

Since they did have other tasks on the agenda for tonight, if not as their princely alter egos, then as Sean Neville and Josh Bernstein – two men on vacation while very much in love – he didn’t want his partner to exhaust himself on this task.

To that end, the telepath reached out to offer his partner a hand to climb into the bed.

If Josh wanted, Sean could rub his shoulders (since to do anything more involved would require them to remove part of their costumes). Otherwise, they could cuddle and rest for the few minutes before the prop became viable.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh accepted the hand and clambered up onto the canopy bed, falling backwards into the mattress. "Ahhh, what a beautiful countryside this is. If only it wasn't ravished by a horrid giant."

He rolled over so that he could rest his head against Sean, grinning up at his partner as he did so. "And how is the other prince holding up?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean did not fall with his partner, although he moved closer to him, once Josh had climbed onto the bed. “The countryside is lovely,” he agreed, speaking less about their particular shared roleplay environment and more about his partner’s choice of destination for their vacation. For the sake of preserving the surprise (to the extent that one could with a telepath), Sean had done what he could not to probe the other man’s thoughts. He knew it would be a fantasy-themed cabin, but he didn’t know the specific setting, nor the layout or décor.

Josh had truly gone above and beyond. And, considering the size and amenities, this cabin had been a steal.

Smiling down into his partner’s face, the telepath then turned his head, craning his neck downward to brush his lips across Josh’s. “The other prince is fine, far less exhausted than Prince Charming is.”

After all, the attorney had to cavort; Sean had been reclining on the bed enjoying the view and the interplay as it unfolded.

“However, he would like to try out that waterfall and Jacuzzi later. Its siren’s call is hard to ignore.”

Although they had a hot tub at home, the one in their house didn’t have a waterfall. Nor did it have the romantic motif or the nearby swing.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I think we can arrange a Jacuzzi visit later," Josh agreed, lifting his arms in the air in order to stretch. "Prince Charming would love to relax after defeating the giant, particularly if his prince is there to keep him company."

Although he supposed that they might have to stop roleplaying for the purposes of cuddling, since he might not have won his prince's hand by then.

"Prince Charming is amenable to anything that his prince desires."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“He might be, depending on the propriety of the situation.” Sean had to emphasize that caveat, because, although he and Josh would make sure that Prince Charming won his prince’s hand by the end of the weekend, that wouldn’t happen on Saturday night. To do so would severely limit their options for Sunday and Monday, and this weekend was about possibilities (as well as intimacy and romance).

“However, I promise you that Prince Charming or not, two people will be there.” Josh wouldn’t be alone, and, the telepath knew that he wouldn’t be either.

With that, he wrapped an arm around his partner’s shoulders and asked, “Do you want a brief backrub?”

Nothing intricate, nothing that would require a costume change, but since Josh had complained about being sore, Sean thought that he could relax his partner a bit and help to alleviate some of the pain and muscle cramps.

As for the rest of it, he smiled again. “His prince is quite happy to hear that, since he needs to be sure of his suitor’s intentions. It wouldn’t due to marry and merge their kingdoms, only to find that they weren’t a match.”

As though he and Josh, at this stage in life, were anything but a match.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I could use a back rub," Josh agreed readily, leaning into Sean's embrace. "Oh, of course, Prince Charming must prove that he's the perfect match for his prince. He wouldn't want to trap anyone into marriage with him. Courting is one thing, but entrapment is quite another. Even if the prince agrees to marriage Prince Charming will agree to an annulment if the prince ever decides it isn't meeting his expectations."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean tightened his arm around his partner briefly, before leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head. “Then you’ll get a back rub,” he promised. With that, he loosened his arm again and scooted back, just enough to put the necessary distance between them; he couldn’t give any semblance of a decent backrub if he was pressed up against Josh’s back, putting additional stress and pressure on his muscles.

Then he reached out to place his hands on his partner’s shoulders, flexing his fingers before he began a light massage. Nothing involved, mostly due to the costume jacket, but enough that, as he made his touch firmer, he would be able to soothe some of the aches. Slowly, he dug his fingers in a bit more firmly.

However, as occurred sometimes during their conversations, the line between banter and thinly-veiled references to their real relationship blurred. Occasionally, he couldn’t tell without his powers whether Josh was voicing a pledge about their relationship and/or expressing some degree of insecurity. He hoped not, since the telepath had been unambiguous in communicating his love and devotion.

Just in case, he said, “I love you,” rather than adding further banter about his prince persona’s romantic expectations.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh sighed in happy relief as Sean tended to his tense muscles. The car trip hadn't been a road trip, but it had still been a longer drive than he typically took. That combined with his attempts at pretending to be a spry twenty-something had brought on more than a few aches and tension.

"Mmmm. I love you, too," He murmured in reply, flopping over onto his stomach so that his partner had better access. "And Prince Charming will surely love his prince. He's sure, too, although I suppose he doesn't know him well enough to make that sort of prediction."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The fact that his partner had been running around like a man half his age had been Sean’s primary reason for wanting to give him a backrub. He wanted Josh to remain happy and healthy, which, in turn, meant that they needed to stay on top of minor health issues – physical as well as psychological – before they snowballed into more serious problems. A flashback becoming a full depressive episode. A pulled muscle leading to a broken bone and a trip to the emergency room. His less pragmatic, secondary reasoning was simple: he liked to give the younger man backrubs, because he liked to make his partner feel good, and he enjoyed touching him in any capacity.

When Josh flipped onto his stomach, Sean scooted back to make room for his new position, and then he came to his knees behind the attorney. Again, his hands moved to Josh’s back, pressing down between his shoulder blades to the degree he could given his partner’s costume jacket.

That Josh returned quickly to banter told Sean that this hadn’t been a reference to their relationship after all. Good. Although he valued deep, emotional conversations, he took great pleasure and pride in seeing the emotional strides his partner had taken over the past four and a half years. Josh displayed far less insecurity about their couplehood than he had shortly after their reconciliation.

“His prince hopes so. He wants to have that sturdy love with which you can build a life together. Not to mention rule two kingdoms.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh chuckled at Sean's remark. "Prince Charming would love to have help ruling his kingdom! What do you think their constituents will think about a merge?"

Perhaps it wouldn't effect them very much. After all, the peasants would be busy tilling the land and tending to beasts and fowl. Who had time to worry about what the ruling class was doing, unless the ruling class was tyrannical?

Josh didn't want to be a tyrannical prince charming.

"Perhaps we can work to give the lower classes a little more of a safety net in case their crops fail."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

It probably wouldn’t affect their peasants much, at least not immediately. Given that this entire fantasy existed in the Medieval-fantasy era, it meant that their serfs lacked any methods of mass communication. Quite possibly, their imaginary subjects wouldn’t know about the merge until months after it had occurred, possibly longer than that for some of the more remote villages. However, for the fantasy of this weekend, he could pretend that news of their merger would fill their subjects with joy, and, of course, that it would positively impact everyone in their respective kingdoms.

He nodded gravely in response to the suggestion. “The prince has wanted to create such a system for a while, although it’s easier said than done.” Which was to say that the prince had not yet become king, which meant that his policy ideas had yet to take effect. But someday.

He pressed down a bit firmer on his partner’s back, working to undo a knot of tension. Then he leaned down to kiss the back of the other man’s neck.

“It wouldn’t do for the lower classes to become destitute due to a bad summer.”

Of course, that was the system in which they lived, but both men also devoted all of their political energy to fighting that system.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"It wouldn't do at all," Josh agreed, sighing in contentment as Sean worked out the knots in his shoulders and neck. This was exactly what he wanted and needed; he would have to return the favor at a later point. Perhaps after he had defeated the giant.

"What else has the prince wanted to do?" He asked in a dreamy voice. "Perhaps Prince Charming and his prince can work together to achieve their goals."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean wouldn’t object to Josh returning the favor, even if he wasn’t in dire need of a shoulder or back rub, not the way his partner was with all of the prancing around and play fighting. It wouldn’t do for Josh to become so sore during the courtship phase of their roleplay that he find himself unable to enjoy the fruits of his efforts.

There would be time for the other man to return the favor, perhaps tonight after supper, while they were enjoying their time in the hot tub with the waterfall.

For now, the telepath was focused on his partner’s pleasure and on their conversation. He moved his hands lower, pressing under the other man’s collar bone as he teased out the tension.

Although Josh couldn’t see him, he smiled upon hearing his partner’s tone of voice. Only the other man would find a discussion about sociopolitical change from merged kingdoms during a romantic fantasy interlude as enticing as the rest of their activities. Sean loved him for that.

“The prince has wanted to build a better irrigation system and reinforce the roads to make them easier to use,” he replied, as he dug his fingers into his partner’s muscles. “And he was inspired by some of the Universities he’d heard about in the East; he’d like to build one here so that his citizens can learn to read outside of the Church.”

Perhaps that was a bit too progressive for the setting, but fantasy was fantasy.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Oh! Prince Charming knew he was wooing the right prince!" Josh sighed happily at Sean's recitation of improvements .

"And all of those plans will provide jobs for anyone who won't be able to inherit their family's land."

Which, in a more realistic scenario, would include Josh, given that he had an older brother. But including Matt would mess up his fantasy scenario of adding two kingdoms together, and so in this role he was a singleton.

Even if he had no real idea what that would be like.

"Although I suppose some of the construction jobs will only be temporary. There will still be a need for maintenance, but that requires less people than the initial project. Prince Charming would be honored to help come up with a plan to keep everyone employed and happy. Perhaps some of those who would otherwise lose their jobs after the construction projects are finished could be trained to take care of the disabled and elderly and the orphans? Prince Charming wants to tackle the problem of the homeless. Alms and poor houses only go so far."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean continued the massage, teasing out the knots of tension he felt along his partner’s shoulders, neck, and back. He could hear the other man’s pleasured thoughts, and he could feel him relax under his touch; he loved giving the other man backrubs for that reason.

As the oldest child and the only son, even in a fantasy scenario, the telepath needn’t pretend that his family dynamics differed from reality. It made it easier for any roleplay scenario when they had to take historical patterns into account, such as for this weekend.

“Personally, I’d like to encourage an Irish model,” Sean remarked. His hands crept down his partner’s back while they mused aloud. “They give a parcel to all of the children.” It worked out better that way for everyone involved.

However, the other man’s larger point was well-taken, and so he nodded to himself, although Josh couldn’t see him from that angle. “We can train them for caretaking so we needn’t rely on alms. This prince wants no beggars in his kingdom.” Not because they were evicted, but because they had enough to survive. “If everyone can read, then we can have more tradesmen and more craftsmen, in addition to farmers.”

They remained an agrarian economy for the most part.