The King's Guard (BL)

Eyelash

"How was everything?" I asked as we walked to the room Nathan was to get fitted in.
"Delicious, but I don't think I can look at another apple for a while now..." he snickered.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it." I smiled.

We stepped into the room and inside waited a tailor.

"Good morning, your highness." he bowed and greeted.
"Good morning."
"What can I do for you today?" the old man asked.
"I would like a few formal pieces created for my friend here." I stated and put my hand onto Nathan's large shoulder.
"I see."
"Something for a party." I added.
"Understood, sir."
"Go ahead, Nathan." I instructed and nudged him forward.

He began walking to the old man.

"Nathan, is it?" the old man asked and held out his hand.
Nathan nodded.
"Hello, I am Abram." The two shook hands. "If you could stand up here, that'd be great."
Nathan took heed to his directions.
"Please strip down to your underwear."

"I'll leave you two be." I stated.
"Why?" Nathan asked and stripped off his shirt.

It caught me off guard for some reason.

"I umm...I have some important matters to attend to."
"Oh...okay." he said as he began unbuckling his belt and trousers.
"I'll just...I'll leave..." I stuttered and left the room.

What the hell was that? Why did my chest feel tight? Is it the inferiority? Perhaps I should go out to train. He makes me feel so frail and small.

...

I found myself with my sword and trainer.

"Aspen, what're you doing?" Creed asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked and stopped.
"You're not in it. We've been here for an hour and you aren't doing nearly as well as usual. Is your mind clouded? You seem to be thinking of something else."
"I'm not sure..."
"How about we take a break?" he offered.
I nodded.

Creed is another friend that I don't force to speak to me formally. I've been close to him and training since I was 11 and he was 18. I also used to tell Presley that he didn't have to but he refuses to listen.

"What's on your mind?" Creed asked.
"Nothing. I am fine."
"Well that's just not true."

"Creed...have you ever...um...have you ever had strange thoughts...about a man?" I wondered.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, never mind."
"No, I'm listening. Continue." he insisted.
"It's just...I umm...there's a new guard I have and...he's umm...he's nice."
"Okay?"
"And...and I think he's attractive..."
"Okay."
"Okay?" I asked in repetition.
"Okay, so you like a man. What about it?"
"Shhh! I don't like a man!" I argued.
"Sounds like you like a man."
"I do not like a man."
"I think you're full of shit."
"Creed!"
"Is that what's been fogging up your mind? You're scared to like a man?"
"I do not like a man. I like women..."
"Well, seeing as you mumbled on that last part, I'm going to assume you don't believe that. Are you scared of judgement? Because I'll tell you right now that I could not care less."

I stared at the ground and dragged my sword along it, digging up the dirt.

Creed was always so straightforward and didn't care about anyone's opinions. I could never do such a thing.

I don't believe that I like men. I believe that I am just comfortable knowing when a man is attractive. Yes. That's it. I like women.

"Sire?" Daniel came and found me.
"Yes?" I answered.
"Sir Nathan and Abram have requested your presence."

I stood up to follow him.

"We're going to finish this conversation later, whether you like it or not!" Creed shouted behind me.

...

We made it back inside the castle and I went looking for the room I left Nathan inside.

"How is everything-..."
When I opened the door, Nathan stood there in tailored attire. The base of the jacket was black, with a red sash and red wide band belt around the waist, it had gold shoulder plates with tassels, and gold accents along the jacket. It came with black pants.
This was my first time seeing Nathan dressed in anything besides a tattered long sleeve shirt and pants.

He looked nice.
I mean that in a platonic way of course.

"So?" Abram asked.
"Oh! Yes, very nice." I replied.
"I have to wear this?" Nathan wondered.
"Yes." I answered.
"It's a bit uncomfortable."
"You'll get used to it, I promise. It'll only be for a few hours." I explained.
He nodded.

"Are you hungry? Dinner should be ready soon." I told Nathan.
He nodded.
"Get undressed and I'll meet you in the dining hall." I instructed. "Presley will see you with your pay, Abram."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." He bowed and I left the room.

I found the dining hall and took a seat.

"The food will be out soon, sire." Presley stated as he went to find Abram.
I nodded and waited patiently.

The servers came out and they placed everything onto the table then began fixing mine and Nathan's plates as told.

Nathan came and sat next to me.

I rubbed my eye. Something was off.

"I hope the experience wasn't too terrible." I stated as I continued to rub my eye.
"No, it was fine. He was very nice."
"That's good."
"Are you alright?" he asked as I continued.

My eye began to water.

"N-No...my eye burns. It hurts and I can't find the problem." I tried to wipe the tear but more would come anyway. I attempted to blink the pain out. That didn't help either, it might've made it worse.
"Come." he instructed.
I leaned in. "What will you do?" I asked nervously.
He gently grabbed my face, his three fingers behind my ear, the index in front, and his thumb under my eye. He gently blew into it and wiped my tears.
I looked at him as he held my face.
"It's just an eyelash stuck in your eye." he gently blew it again.
"There." he said and wiped underneath my eye with his thumb to get rid of it and my extra tears.
He showed me his thumb and I looked at my eyelash on top of it before he blew it away.

I sat back in my chair correctly.

Why did I feel embarrassed?

"Th-Thank you."