Comfort me!
These words rang like an alarm inside Hansel's head. He didn't know what in the world he could do to bring comfort to Derek. He was never asked to do this kind of thing before.
He looked down at Derek, who was nuzzling his nose in between his chest. He looked exhausted, frowning even when his eyes were closed.
Hansel knew that something had happened between him and the Duke and imagined that Derek might want to sleep the stress off.
So, he sang for Derek.
"Oh, hush my dear, and shut your eyes ~~
Let's dive into a world of paradise ~~ Hmm..."
It was a lullaby he had often heard one of the sisters sing in the orphanage. It was what helped him sleep on rainy days when he was little.
So, even though he had in mind his best interest for the second master when he chose to sing, it only made the crease on Derek's forehead deepen when his voice fell into his ears.
"What are you doing?" he asked, without raising his head. Hansel stopped abruptly; his mouth still open, as he was preparing to tackle a high note.
He quickly composed himself to reply him, "I'm singing you a lullaby." his face was oblivious, devoid of any expressions that could tell that he was joking. He was absolutely serious and the other party understood the bitter truth.
"I see." Derek's face was grim. The fact that his 'supposed to be lover' was singing him a lullaby at his age was embarrassing as it is, but it was something else which bothered him more than that.
Hansel was tone deaf. One look at his innocent face and it was clear that somehow, he was still unaware of the fact.
"Lullabies are no good for me, you see. Why don't you try something else?" Derek proposed nervously. There was no way Hansel was going to hear that he was terrible at singing from his mouth. He would leave the fact alone till Hansel figures it out himself, someday, hopefully.
"Rockabye baby ~~ Rockabye ~~" Hansel couldn't understand what Derek meant but complied anyway, thinking he wanted to hear something different. There were only two songs he knew and there was no possibility of second thoughts on what he was going to sing next. He was completely aloof to what Derek was implying by telling him to try something else.
Somehow, Derek's face distorted even more, if it was possible, but he hid it well so that Hansel wouldn't notice.
"I meant," he took a deep breath, "Try some other way to comfort me which does not comprise singing in any way."
He raised his head and looked at Hansel's face, anticipating a kiss or two. It would be even better if it was a kiss on the lips, he thought. But he doubted his own beliefs when nothing came to touch his lips for minutes.
Hansel was troubled by Derek's eyes which looked as if he was expecting something. He had no idea what it was though. Maybe he should try doing something which would help boost Derek's morals and also convey the idea that Hansel would always be by his side in the time of need. He blushed as he became aware of the word 'always'.
Derek's felt relieved when he saw Hansel turning red. He thought that his thoughts were conveyed to Hansel, though with some difficulty and at the expense of the comfort of his ears. But he thought nothing of it in front of the reward that he would be receiving soon.
Contrary to his expectations, Hansel raised his hands and tried to give a soft pat on Derek's head. But as soon as his fingertips touched Derek's wet hairs, he became extremely conscious of him and what was supposed to be a soft pat to boost morals, came out more as a reprimanding slap.
Derek absolutely had no idea what just happened to him and Hansel couldn't believe what he just did. They were both too shocked to process anything.
"I…I am sorry! I didn't mean to!" Hansel panicked. Touching Derek was so nerve wracking for him that he ended up doing something totally outrageous.
"Was I not convincing enough when I punished you in the bathroom, a while ago?" Derek flashed a sinister smile at Hansel. It meant he wasn't going to let him off easily.
"Nhh…" Hansel flinched. He had done something preposterous to Derek and no number of apologies could possibly undo it.
"I know a way you can redeem yourself." Derek said, almost sensing what was going on in Hansel's mind. To Derek, he appeared similar to a rabbit which he always managed to push into a corner, thanks to his cunning mind and twisted ways.
"Please tell me…?" Hansel asked, curiously. If it was something within his powers, he would love to show his utmost sincerity to his master.
"Go out with me." Derek replied seriously.
With Julia, his first love, he didn't even get to convey his feelings to her. But he wanted things to be different this time. There was no way he was going to repeat his mistakes from the past. He would say every one of his feelings out loud to Hansel and also make sure that he hears it.
"But I don't even have strength to stand properly. How can I possibly ride a horse in my current condition?" Hansel replied innocently, totally unsympathetic to Derek's feelings.
"My romance is dead." Derek muttered with a sigh. It was his mistake to think he could drive Hansel into a corner when they were out in an open field, with no corners to accommodate his wishes.
"It's okay. We'll figure this out later, alright?" It looked like Derek was reassuring himself rather than Hansel. "I'll explain it to you really slowly, when your body gets better, that going out has nothing to do with riding a stupid horse."
Hansel looked puzzled. He didn't even have a vague understanding of what Derek was saying.
Looking at his puckered lips that were a little swollen from before, Derek claimed them with his own. With one hand behind Hansel's neck, he kept his head in place, and with the other, he supported his own body, slightly slanted to accommodate him at the bedside.
Derek's tongue prodded into Hansel's mouth, playing with his. This time however, not only did Hansel not reject him, he even responded. His kisses were sloppy, however, indicating a lack of experience, which came as a delight top Derek. But Hansel was forced to submit soon as Derek's kisses grew more fervent and demanding. He skillfully rubbed his palate, knowing Hansel's sweet spots like the back of his hands and earning his moans as a reward. Derek kissed the daylight out of him and pulled away only after he had had his fill.
"Let's sleep now, or I won't stop." he said, looking at the apprentice knight who went red up to his ears. "And we are having dinner together, so don't even think about disappearing somewhere while I am asleep. Or I'll punish you in the training grounds tomorrow."
The apprentice knight knew well what kind of punishment Derek was talking about and complied without delay.
He fell back on his pillow, hastily pulling the covers over his head to hide his embarrassment. Derek chuckled, thinking his behavior was similar to how a maiden would behave after the first night of her honeymoon.
He rolled over to the other side of the bed, pulling Hansel into his embrace. The latter was shocked but didn't feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, he somehow felt reassured.
"The Duke called me over today." Derek stated in a matter of fact manner. He didn't know why he did it, but he just felt like saying it.
"I know." Hansel replied. After all he had heard everything when the Old Butler came to convey the message.
"You don't want to know what he wanted from me?" Derek knew well enough that Hansel wasn't going to ask him anything of that sort but from time to time, he liked throwing a question or two at him, just to gauge where their relationship stood within Hansel's heart.
"I am not authorized to." the young knight answered just like Derek had expected him to.
"You're the only one permitted though." Derek said, his eyes which looked at Hansel were warm. Now that they were talking about it, Derek wanted to make sure his thoughts were understood by him. "You're the only one I've allowed to ask me anything. So, if you have something on your mind, don't hesitate. I'll answer anything and everything you ask." He smiled broadly.
Hansel felt his belly warm up. No one had ever shown such emotions towards him. He didn't think he was anything more than a passerby in everyone's life, someone not worthy of remembering.
But whenever he spent time with Derek, it felt like his words tied one more thread to Hansel's hands, tethering the knight to him. He was ordinary but he wanted to become someone special to Derek.
Hansel blushed at his own thoughts and snuggled up to Derek, clinging to his shirt as if he was holding onto his sanity. He knew well that he was falling into something deep and it would be impossible to crawl back up, but he didn't mind because it was Derek who was standing at the bottom, waiting to catch him in his arms.