Modern Prince

Chapter Seven: Jitters

He hummed almost cheerily now. "This ceiling movie experience is quite calming."

"Alright," she chuckled, shaking her head slightly while sliding the headphones on. 

Varian's shoulders shot upward, his wide eyes shifting over to the man beside him. "Hugo!" he said too loudly, pointing to the headphones. "There is sound expelling from this device! Can you hear it too?"

He covered his mouth to suppress a laugh. "No, Buddy. Only you can hear it."

"What did you say?"

The dentist lifted the headphones momentarily, and Hugo was giggling by now, saying, "You really do remind me of my grandpa..."

He frowned. "How dare you."

"I'm gonna put them back on if that's okay," she said, and Varian narrowed his eyes at Hugo while the headphones were slid back over his ears.

It was a good thing Varian's eyes and ears were occupied, because soon enough, a syringe was used to administer the shot in his mouth to numb the area. The moment it made contact, the prince gave a small gasp, his body seizing up.

Watching the long needle go in, Hugo could almost feel it himself and winced. That's when the drill started up, and water gathered at the corners of Varian's eyes as his shoulders lifted higher and higher.

Hugo took his hand in both of his own and squeezed. Frightened blue eyes flicked over to him. He gave a comforting smile and another squeeze. By the time Varian's gaze was back at the ceiling, there was an unmistakable red in his cheeks.

Hugo stared at it. 

Just a few days ago Varian had displayed immense levels of jealousy. For a prince that had multiple concubines, it was almost funny just how jealous he'd gotten. As the dentist drilled away, Hugo never once let go of the small, freckled hand, thinking maybe it wouldn't be so bad if things between them became more serious.

***

Varian lay on his side, the side that hadn't had dental work done on it, watching the rest of his movie on the couch in the living room. 

Hugo came and sat beside him, examining the dejected face. "How are you feeling?" The prince offered a small grunt in response. "Still numb?" Another grunt. "It's almost lunch time. Do you want something to eat?"

A soft sigh rang out. "I fear I will bite my own tongue off."

"Well, what if I make you a smoothie then?"

He tore his eyes away from the violence. "Smoothie?"

"It's like blended up fruit with yogurt and I add a little protein powder and oats to make it a full meal. Real good stuff."

"That does sound refreshing."

"Do you like raspberries?"

Something sparkled in his eyes. "Oh, I adore them. Do you have strawberries as well?"

"Sure do. I'll be right back with your smoothie!" He made to stand when a hand grabbed his own.

"Hugo."

He stared, his heart skipping a beat. "Yes?"

"T-thank you."

"Of course." He rubbed the back of his head with his other hand. "I may have lied to you about just how awful getting a crown actually is. I'm sorry."

"Do not fret. It was relatively tame as compared to previous encounters I have had with medical physicians. I am used to tooth specialists also performing bloodletting in the same visit. It was rather nice to not have that performed."