Demon King's Gardener

Jurao felt light as he headed to the gardens - Braelin drowsily keeping pace as they went to his cottage for the human to change for breakfast. Little seemed to have outwardly changed, but it felt somehow reassuring to know the other man was aware of his romantic interest.

Once again, the Demon King waited outside the cottage as Braelin got ready - and thought, with their new dynamic, it might be prudent to suggest the human move some clothes to Jurao’s suite and use the facilities there instead of the early walk.

Before he could suggest this, as Braelin came back out of the cottage, the man asked, “Ah - are we courting?”

Jurao hummed, “I would like to be, if you’re not opposed.”

Braelin shook his head, “I’m not - I just realized I wasn’t sure what your expectations were. The cloak broach - that was a courting gift, wasn’t it?”

The Demon King nodded, “It was - I wasn’t sure if… well…”

“I understand,” the human replied, “If I hadn’t talked about it with Feyl and Princess Morvvan hadn’t asked how I felt about you, then I probably wouldn’t have realized you meant it that way. Oh, I should…” Braelin seemed to lose his train of thought for a moment, then shook his head, “Nevermind.”

Jurao nodded and started walking back towards the castle, “I thought, rather than walking this way each morning, you might want to move some of your belongings to my rooms - I don’t mind sharing the washroom and have plenty of space, after all.”

The human nodded, “Thank you, I think I will. I’ve… never courted before, my lord.”

“I’ve never courted either,” Jurao replied.

“Are there… steps?” Braelin frowned, “I feel as though there were… obligations for courtship in the Human Realm, especially for nobility.”

The Demon King hummed, “You may be right - we can ask Hujur; he knows about those kinds of matters.”

His gardener nodded, and they walked the rest of the way to breakfast in comfortable silence.

When they arrived, most of the others were already seated. Jurao went to his seat as he signaled for the meal to begin and asked, “Hujur, are there courtship obligations for nobility.”

Gavven started giggling, glancing at Braelin.

“You can’t be serious…” Vajur muttered, still at the end of the table despite the empty seat which had opened in Minaz’s current absence.

Gnori slammed a fist on the table but made no comment.

Hujur blinked languidly a few times, then glanced at Braelin and asked, “In what way, my lord?”

“In any way,” Jurao replied - then realized the possible confusion, “Ah. Braelin and I are courting now, but neither of us was aware if there were steps to be followed, so I thought to ask you.”

Gavven’s giggles rose in pitch and volume, eir head hitting the table.

“What a quick turnaround…” Festi sighed.

Vajur made a noise of disgust.

Morvvan grinned so wide it looked like her face had to hurt with the force of it.

Hujur closed his eyes for a ten count, then opened them, “Congratulations to both of you. While there are specific obligations regarding betrothal and marriage given your respective stations, there are no… rules regarding courtship at such an early stage.”

“Ah, I see, thank you,” Jurao inclined his head, glad to have such a simple answer.

“Since when are you courting!?” Gnori demanded.

“Since last night,” Jurao replied, tilting his head.

Braelin nodded in agreement, looking - as always - disappointed with his human meal.

“So Juju managed to confess?” Morvvan asked, leaning halfway across the table to see the human’s reaction.

“You were trying to confess?” Braelin asked, looking to Jurao instead.

The Demon King nodded, “For some reason, whenever I attempted to tell you I had a romantic interest in you, I wasn’t able to. I believe I was nervous.”

The human nodded, “I’ve heard that tends to happen.”

“What kind of conversation is this…?” Jouvi asked, messaging her temples.

“Wait, so… you didn’t confess?” Morvvan asked, putting her chin on one of her hands, “So how did you get to courting then?”

“Well-” Jurao started.

“A moment, my lord,” Hujur said, getting to his feet. He quickly ushered the servants out as they had finished setting down all the plates and drinks, then shut the doors to the dining hall behind them. Returning to his seat, he said, “Please, continue.”

The Demon King wasn’t sure why his Steward had felt the need to do such a thing, but chose not to question it as he said, “I offered to let Braelin share the bed with me, since the couch is not the most comfortable place to sleep and he tends to stay up late-”

“Oh, it was for that, too,” Braelin said, not seeming offended by the statement.

“Good call on the doors,” Festi said, patting Hujur’s shoulder.

“Yes, I thought the explanation might lead to… misunderstandings,” the Steward sighed.

“-and he accepted that offer. I suppose I woke him when I reached out to him in my sleep,” Jurao paused, looking to the human for confirmation.

“Mm-hm,” Braelin nodded, then went on, “I asked if it was usual behavior for him. He said it wasn’t, so I asked if it was because he liked me romantically.”

“And I confirmed it was,” Jurao finished.

“Aww, all cuddled up in bed?” Morvvan grinned, “And then Braelin said he was romantically interested in you as well?”

“Oh,” Braelin blinked, “I guess I didn’t return the sentiment, did I?”

“I took your acceptance as such,” Jurao smiled.

“Acceptance of what?” Jouvi asked, looking like she might not actually want the answer.

“Of physical intimacy,” the Demon King replied.

Gavven had just gotten eir giggles under control when e started up again at that statement, banging eir forehead on the table.

Gnori reached over, putting his hand between the table and Gavven’s head as a cushion, and demanded, “You just mean more cuddling, right!?”

“Yes,” Jurao frowned, “Was that not obvious.”

“My lord,” Kloy smiled in amusement, “In my experience, most people use the phrase’ physical intimacy’ as a euphemism for sexual relations.”

“Ah,” the Demon King nodded, “Apologies for the confusion.”

“But wait,” Morvvan held up a hand, “Did you say it later, Braelin?”

“Say what?” the human asked.

“That you’re also romantically interested in the king,” Festi supplied.

“Oh,” Braelin said, then turned, “I didn’t, but I am.”

“I assumed as much when you asked if we were courting,” Jurao chuckled, “Though I thank you for the confirmation.”

“Juju!” Morvvan gasped, half standing, “You laughed!”

“Yes,” the Demon King asked, confused by her enthusiasm.

“You do not do so often, my lord,” Hujur reminded him.

“Except around Braelin,” Festi added.

“It’s so cute you asked if there were rules for courtship,” the princess laughed as well, falling back into her seat, “Like they would apply to the two of you even if they existed.”

“What do you mean,” Jurao asked.

“Well, if there were rules and either of you didn’t like them, you just wouldn’t follow them, right?” the princess replied.

“Oh, that’s true,” the Demon King said, looking over to his gardener.

Braelin nodded in agreement as well, adding, “There were a lot of rules about nobles courting in the Human Realm, but most people seemed to ignore them in private.”

“Really?” Morvvan asked, eyes gleaming, “Whatever could you mean?”

“Courting nobles weren’t supposed to kiss or have sexual relations until they’re married, but most of them seemed to sneak into gardens to do it anyway,” the human sighed, “Why make rules like that if people don’t want to follow them…”

“I believe,” Hujur said drily, “That mainly has to do with how humans handle succession, yes?”

Braelin shrugged, “In theory, I guess - but it still doesn’t make sense to me if people don’t actually want to follow it. I’m also not the best example of that, though…”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Morvvan said, “What’s the former crown prince like? Your older brother?”

“Malson,” Braelin nodded and considered the question - glancing at Gnori.

“What!?” the captain of the castle guard demanded, “Are you trying to say he’s like me or something!?”

The human seemed to consider his answer, then shrugged and said, “Yeah - I think he’s louder, though.”

“Now there’s a feat!” Gavven giggled, but e was finally able to sit up.

Morvvan threw her head back as she laughed, “Another shouty man! Delightful!”

“If he’s okay, at least,” Braelin said, a little sadly.

Vajur sighed, “He’s fine.”

The human looked up in surprise.

“He joined up with a pirate known as ‘Queen Abbay’,” Vajur sneered at the name, “And has been harassing Ferrick’s privately owned vessels with her. I already had one of my agents take a letter to be delivered to him since the King ordered it.”

“Thank you, Vajur,” Jurao said, surprised at how quickly the former Jostian royal family was being found.

Braelin sighed, “I’m glad to hear that. It makes sense that he’d join up with pirates.”

“It does?” Festi asked, arching a brow.

The human nodded, “He admires them.”

There seemed to be a few faces of disbelief around the table, but Jurao thought the logic was sound enough.

“Any word about the former king and queen,” Jurao asked, since they were on the subject.

“Not as yet,” Vajur frowned.

“Unfortunate,” the Demon King sighed.

“Does that mean,” Braelin looked up, “There has been word on my uncle and the twins?”

“Minaz went to the Human Realm to check on that,” Hujur replied, “She should be back within a fortnight if all goes well.”

The human smiled, “Thank you - I really didn’t expect you all to look into it.”

“Of course,” Jurao replied, “Even if I didn’t have a romantic interest, it was a small matter just to look out for information.”

“Hardly a challenge,” Vajur scoffed - though Jurao suspected it was more to suggest the search was not worth his talents.

Since he’s still doing it, I won’t press the matter, the Demon King decided.

“Perhaps, my lord,” Kloy broke in, “Since the two of you are courting now, you could take your midday meals together?”

Braelin looked away from the physician, scratching at his chin.

“Why,” Jurao asked, curious by the exchange.

His physician smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes as he said, “Braelin has informed me he is unable to refuse any fruit the gardens offer him directly - and while I initially explained the situation to the garden itself,” he paused to sigh, closing his eyes a moment before continuing, “And that seems to have helped, I’m concerned the Royal Gardener will continue to ignore my advice without… controls.”

Jurao snorted and cleared his throat lightly, “I see. Well, I would not mind if it’s alright with Braelin.”

The human nodded, still carefully avoiding Kloy’s gaze as he said, “I would not mind, either.”

“Excellent,” Kloy said, still smiling.

“Have you seen his lock collection, Braelin?” Morvvan grinned, “He keeps it in his office.”

“The ones your aunt makes you?” the human asked.

Jurao nodded, “Indeed.”

“I haven’t seen them,” Braelin replied to the princess, then added, “But I would like to.”

“I’ll let Alae know to order an extra meal for there, then,” Jurao said - he had thought it would be refreshing to take the meal in the gardens, but that could wait for another day.

The human nodded, “Alright.”

“Father is going to love this,” Morvvan laughed to herself.

“Do you plan to stay much longer then, your highness?” Hujur asked politely.

The princess shook her head, “No, this has been delightful, but I just wanted to investigate the rumors that Juju had a crush. Leaving knowing he’s courting someone for the first time is much more than I expected.”

“I think it’s more than anyone expected,” Gavven giggled, tail swishing behind em.

Jurao certainly included himself in the number of those surprised.

Breakfast concluded soon after, and Jurao escorted Braelin to the gardens as usual before heading to his office.

He was met with Feyl already there, asking, “Did Hujur really shut the doors during breakfast? Why?”

“I was just explaining how I managed to confess my romantic interest to Braelin, and he seemed to believe it could lead to a misunderstanding,” Jurao replied, going to his desk. He smiled, “We’re courting now, though, so I do not believe it would be a misunderstanding like in the past.”

“Congratulations,” his valet chuckled, then sighed, “Well, that’s boring - I was hoping for something more outrageous. Wait, why exactly were they asking how you managed to confess?”

“I asked Hujur if there were any rules for courtship,” the Demon King replied, “Braelin said there were rules in the Human Realm, and I realized I wasn’t entirely certain. So I explained how we were courting then.”

“Oh, I see,” Feyl smiled, “I suppose it makes very little difference how quickly that news spreads across the castle, then.”

Jurao nodded, getting out his paperwork, “I’m glad there aren’t rules, though. Seems like it would have been complicated if there were.”

“What kind of rules even exist for that sort of thing?” Feyl chuckled, “Shouldn’t that be up to the courters to decide?”

“Apparently, human nobles are meant to refrain from kissing and sexual relations until after marriage,” the Demon King supplied.

His valet made a despairing noise, “What? What does that matter beyond whether the courters want to or not?”

“Hujur said it had something to do with human succession,” Jurao shrugged.

“Oh, their weird instance on firstborns and ‘legitimacy’,” Feyl waved a hand, sighing - then seemed to realize something, “Have you an interest, by the way?”

“An interest in what,” the Demon King replied.

His valet sighed and rolled his eyes at the unquestioning tone, then clarified, “In kissing or sexual relations with Braelin? I mean, you did start to realize your attraction after seeing him in a sexual situation, after all…”

Jurao paused, mind going blank at the question.

“Hm?” Feyl hummed, getting up from in front of the hearth to lean over the desk, “Jurao?”

“Nn,” the Demon King acknowledged.

“Is something wrong?” his valet prodded.

After a few extra minutes, Jurao tilted his head, “I don’t think so.”

“So then,” Feyl leaned back, “You are interested in that sort of thing with Braelin?”

“I,” the Demon King considered, feeling an odd mushy sensation in his gut as he remembered the way Braelin looked when being touched by the vines, “May be. Perhaps.”

“I think you may be taking this too seriously,” Feyl chuckled nervously, “You’ve never done any of it, so there’s no need to rush, you know? You can figure it out as you go - besides, you don’t even know if Braelin would be interested, do you?”

That seemed to break the odd blankness the question had prompted, and Jurao shook his head, “I do not. You’re right - I suppose I’ll ask him when he comes here for the midday meal later today.”

“... at least you’ll be in private,” Feyl sighed, “But don’t forget to shut the door!”

“Yes, of course,” the Demon King replied, writing a note so he wouldn’t forget later.