Rain sobs and gives his older brother a tearful hug, "Promise me when you get somewhere safe you'll write to me."
Noeul nods and takes his bag that Rain is holding, "I promise, now remember in the morning you have to pretend that you don't know anything about this. Mom and dad will be furious with me and I don't know what prince Phayu will do." Noeul has one moment of regret for leaving his family, especially his baby brother, in this situation. He knows he is being selfish.
Noeul doesn't know what kind of person Prince Phayu is, their marriage had been arranged by Noeul's parents and the Royal family. It had never been deemed necessary for the two of them to meet. Boss has assured him that his cousin isn't cruel but Noeul doesn't know him. Despite his worries he cannot bring himself to marry someone he doesn't love. Especially not when he is so in love with someone else.
Noeul hands Rain an envelope and with that leaves before he can change his mind.
Rain tries his best to keep his expression neutral as he is standing in front of his parents. He gives what he hopes is a curious look at the letter in his mother's shaking hands. As if he hadn't been the one to place it on his brother's pillow before going to bed the previous night.
"Your brother has run away to elope with Duke Boss." His mother tells him tearfully. Rain tries to look surprised at this. "Prince Phayu will surely have all of us arrested or beheaded for this."
"He will be here in a few hours. What will we do?" His father is furiously pacing the floor.
Rain doesn't say anything. The fact that prince Phayu was coming to collect Noeul today for their wedding is what had forced his brother's hand, causing him and the Duke to run away before the marriage could take place.
His mother looks desperately at Rain, "You'll have to take your brother's place. It's the only way."
Now Rain's surprise is genuine. "Me? Will Prince Phayu and his parents even agree to that?"
"It's our only chance," his father says.
Rain has no feeling about marrying the prince one way or the other. If Prince Phayu will agree to it he will do it to both keep his family safe and allow his brother to marry his true love.
"Gone?" Phayu repeats the word, not sure he's heard correctly. A cold rage has started to form at the corners of his mind. Would his cousin and fiance really be so stupid as to run away together and defy a royal marriage order?
The couple in front of him hit their knees as if they expected for him to call for the executioner at any moment now. "Yes, your highness. Noeul is gone, nowhere to be found," the man says.
Phayu feels his eyes narrow. It would be in his rights to have Noeul's family arrested or even put to death for this, but as angry as he is he hasn't yet decided the best course of action. If word gets out about this Phayu and his family will be subject to public ridicule and he can't have that. On the other hand Boss is his cousin, the closest thing to a brother that Phayu has, and Noeul is, <i>was</i> his fiance.
Phayu advances on the couple, "I could have you executed for this." He says coldly.
Seemingly out of nowhere there is a young man standing between Phayu and the couple. "Please, sire, allow me to take my brother's place and spare my family," he says with a bowed head.
Phayu stops amazed. This can only be Rain, Noeul's younger brother.
Phayu puts a finger under the boy's chin and lifts his head up to look him in the eyes. The boy is stunning, absolutely beautiful and Phayu feels his heart skip a beat.
Phayu's anger of a few moments ago has been cooled as if someone had dumped cold water on him. "You would take your brother's place, little one, and marry me?" Phayu says gently.
Rain nods, he looks at Phayu shyly.
Phayu finds himself intrigued by Rain's courage and innocence. Maybe this would be the most eloquent solution. The public announcement had only been that Prince Phayu Sermsongwittaya and the son of the Tangwai family would be married. Phayu looks back to his parents who only nod, they are giving him complete control over this situation. It's up for him to decide.
"I will marry the boy then," Phayu says. He leans in and whispers to Rain, "I hope you know what you are getting into, little one."
Rain and his parents return with the royal family to the palace for the wedding. Luckily Rain and Noeul are almost twins in size and looks so the ceremonial apparel tailored to Noeul fits Rain perfectly.
The wedding proceeds as planned. Rain isn't sure what to expect on his wedding night, his parents just tell him to be obedient and do everything that Prince Phayu tells him to. However the prince only gives him a single kiss on the forehead and tells him to go to sleep, he's had a long day.
The next day Rain is introduced to his "staff" as Prince Phayu deems them. There are his two manservants. Sig, who helps him with picking out his clothes for events and daily wear. Por who helps him dress and does his hair. Then there is his assistant Ple who will schedule his appointments and visits. Lastly there is Sky who will be his tutor in everything to do with the kingdom and royal affairs. Noeul had been raised to be the Prince Consort from a young age. Rain would have to learn everything in just a few months. It all seems a little much to Rain but he quickly becomes friends with all four and especially close to Sky.
After their wedding, Rain doesn't see Prince Phayu at all unless they have to be together for a public event. It seems that Prince Phayu has decided that their marriage will be one in name only. At first Rain was relieved with this situation but as time passes by he craves more and more of Phayu's attention. At public events they pretend to be a close and loving couple but Rain decides that he doesn't want it to be pretend any more. He does the only thing he can think of, he goes to Sky for advice. Sky tells him to start small, give Prince Phayu little touches and smiles during their public appearance. Maybe Rain can make Phayu a gift as well and/or bring him snacks when Phayu has to work for long periods of time.
"Yu, why are you here again when you have such a cutie waiting for you at the palace?" Phayu looks fiercely at his friend. He has known Pai since they were both babies, which is the only reason the man can get away with saying things like that to the prince.
Phayu sighs, "It wasn't Rain's choice to marry me, he did it to protect his family."
"It wasn't Noeul's or yours either. It was always an arranged marriage." Pai reminds him.
It's true but for some reason it feels different with Rain. The way the cute boy had stood in front of Phayu begging to let him take his brother's place. It had gone straight to Phayu's heart. There was also the fact that Phayu <i>wanted</i> Rain more than he had ever wanted anyone in his life. It scares him though, Noeul running away had shaken his confidence, even if he had no feelings for Noeul at all. If he pushes Rain, who he does care about, too hard will he desert him as well. In the end Phayu is honestly just scared, scared of losing Rain and scared of being hurt.
"Are you here to lecture me about my marriage or share a drink?" Phayu asks irritably.
"Can't I do both?" Pai asks him.
"You are lucky I like you. What about your own cutie, are you making any progress winning over your boy? I had him assigned as Rain's tutor <i>because</i> I'm your friend." Phayu says, knowing that thinking of his own relationship issues will shut Pai up for a while.
During their next public appearance Rain began putting Sky's advice to use. He begins by taking Phayu's hand as they walk to the carriage that will take them to a ball given by a local nobleman. Phayu looks at him in surprise but Rain just smiles sweetly up at him. During the ball they are required to lead the first dance. Rain doesn't miss the chance to press close to Phayu, who frowns at him and puts space between them. "Rain." Phayu says warningly, but Rain just gives him his most innocent look.
The next day Phayu has a full day of meetings. Ple bribes one of the maids to find out when the prince will have a break and Rain brings him cakes and tea.
"What's this?" Phayu asks him.
"I know you haven't had time for lunch so I thought I could bring <i>my husband</i> something." Rain says, pouring Phayu a cup of tea and picking out a prettily decorated cake for him.
In an effort to find out more about the prince, Rain has started following him around in his free time. Mostly he goes to meetings, or goes to his friend Pai's house for drinks. Rain has come to know Pai pretty well because he sometimes comes around to talk to Sky. Although Sky tries to ignore Pai, Rain has seen him look tenderly and smile when he knows Pai isn't looking. Sig even shows Rain a wardrobe he can hide in the meeting room.
It's the dust that gives Rain away. He can't suppress a sneeze. It's a very quiet sneeze and no one in the room reacts so Rain thinks he wasn't overheard, until the diplomats that Phayu is meeting with leave. "You might as well come out, little one."
Rain sheepishly comes out of his hiding place.
"I don't remember inviting you to this meeting? Why are you here, Rain?" Phayu looks stern but not particularly angry.
Rain decides he has had enough of being subtle. "Prince Phayu we are married, I think we should at least spend time together and get to know each other."
Phayu raises an eyebrow at this, "By hiding in a wardrobe?"
Rain blushes, "I just wanted to see what my husband does all day." He crosses his arms and pouts, this always worked when Noeul was mad at him.
Phayu sighs, "If I promise to have dinner with you in your quarters will you promise not to sneak in here again? If the wrong person found out it could go very badly. The prince consort isn't allowed to attend diplomatic meetings without being invited."
Rain nods and smiles at this little triumph.
Sig throws up his hands in disgust. Almost every outfit that Rain owns and at least half of the ones that Noeul left behind (Rain had packed these along with his own clothes) are laid across the bed.
"Why don't you just greet him naked instead, that will accomplish your goal much faster and will cause a lot less mess." Sig says only half kidding.
Rain sulks at this. "Aren't you supposed to be good at picking out the right outfit for the right occasion? That's your entire job right?"
"I didn't expect operation husband seduction to be an occasion." Sig says as he and Por begin to put the rejected outfits away.
"What about this?" Sky brings over a small chest he has just found. Inside was a gift from Noeul. He had given it to Rain for his last birthday and it had been intended for Rain to wear after they had both come to court when Noeul became Prince consort. That had been before Noeul had met Boss while on a diplomatic mission that involved a trade agreement between Boss's dukedom and which Noeul's family would provide ships for.
Rain had almost forgotten the gift, it was a fitted vest with a royal blue and silver leaf and vine pattern. When the six silver buttons were fastened it would accentuate Rain's waist beautifully. There was a billowy white shirt made of a thin material and a tight pair of black trousers. It was perfect. Por helped him dress and tied his hair at the nape of his neck with at black velvet ribbon. The three stand back to look over the finished project.
"Prince Phayu doesn't stand a chance." Sky assures him.
Rain waits nervously for Phayu to join him for dinner. He dismissed the servants after they laid the table and brought the food. He feels like his heart will stop when there is a soft knock on the door.
Rain opens it and gasps. Phayu is wearing a black shirt open at the neck and a simple pair of black pants. On him the outfit is sexy. Rain wonders for a minute who is seducing who here. "So handsome," Rain murmurs then blushes when he realizes he said it out loud.
Phayu raises an eyebrow at this, "thanks for the compliment. May I come in?"
"Oh," Rain says and moves aside for Phayu to enter.
Rain leads the way to the table, he serves Phayu several dishes before filling his own plate. He is surprised when Phayu holds out his fork to feed Rain. It makes Rain feel a little shy, especially when Phayu picks up the napkin and gently wipes Rain's lips.
Once they finish eating, Rain isn't sure what to do. He stares down shyly wondering how one initiated a seduction. He doesn't hear Phayu move behind him, but shivers when the Prince leans down and whispers in his ear, "You look good in this. Trying to seduce me, little one?" He runs a finger along the neckline of the vest.
Rain worked up all his courage and said, "Can't I seduce my own husband?"
Phayu chuckles and holds out his hand to Rain pulling him into his embrace, "You can." Phayu says kissing him.
Phayu smiles down at Rain sleeping in his arms. His fingers lightly trace the marks he had made on Rain's chest the previous night as he remembers fondly putting them there. Rain squirming, moaning as he had licked and bitten his way down his chest. Last night, before joining Rain for dinner, Phayu had decided he wouldn't hold back any longer. If Rain would have him then Rain would be his. He wouldn't let his fears keep them from happiness.
Rain stirred and stretched, grimacing at the pain he probably felt in his muscles. "Good morning, little one." Phayu says, kissing him on his forehead. Rain smiles up at him and it's almost too much for Phayu's heart, he bends down and kisses him properly on the mouth.
Rain pulled back after a few minutes, "You ignored me, I thought you didn't like me."
"Rain, I liked you from the moment you stood in front of me asking to take Noeul's place. Maybe more than like." Phayu says.
"Oh, I don't know what I felt at first. I was scared. Soon though all I could think about was you. Sky said I was being annoying and if I liked you that much I should go after you." Rain says thoughtfully.
Phayu thinks he will thank Sky later, maybe with a promotion.
"Sometimes you do things too slowly, Prince Phayu." Rain says as he pulls Phayu down for another kiss.
********
Second of 2 royalty fics written for Noeul's Birthday