[It got better, he was going to say. It got easier. But Iris distracts him from the point he was trying to make by tilting toward him and shoving his shoulder, and maybe it doesn't matter anyway. Maybe Iris already understands that part too.
Anyway, he half laughs, half winces as his roommate pokes at his royal status. He puts off answering by slipping more wine, and appeases Iris by offering the bottle again and hitting him with puppy eyes.]
It just never came up...? [He shakes his head, then clarifies:] I was a prince. I'm not anymore, not really. I'm just Wilhelm.
[Wilhelm doesn't miss it. The weight of such grand expectations resting uneasily on his narrow shoulders, and the weight of so many eyes following his every move, so many cameras zooming in on his mistakes. The sense, knotted in his stomach, that he was going to fail. He was going to disappoint everyone.]
You're not going to start calling me your highness, are you?
[ iris hasn't yet mastered how to handle drinking from the wine bottle in the half-laying, propped-on-his-side position that he's in that wilhelm has seemed well adept in, and so when he takes his own swig he winds up spilling enough that it dribbles down his chin, but fortunately get caught up in his shirt before reaching any of the quilts or pillows. he swipes at the liquid with the back of a sleeve paw, lifting his brows in an innocent-but-not-so-innocent way when wilhelm questions him. ]
Only when I want to annoy you, [ iris promises. the kind of promise one immediately knows he'll make good on, eventually.
he passes the bottle back to wilhelm, before deciding he'd rather sit back up again to avoid any more spills. legs crossed, he maintains the sparse distance between them by leaning in, chin and cheeks cupped in his hands. ]
[Wilhelm's eyes follow the dribble of wine down Iris' chin. A grin tugs at the corners of his lips. Through years of wallowing in here alone and commiserating with friends now gone, he's become something of an expert in drinking straight from the bottle. It's all about the angle, as he demonstrates when Iris passes the bottle back.
Although he makes a face at his roommate, he doubts he'll be all that annoyed. Half because it's Iris, and half because your highness just feels so disconnected from who he is now. It's like calling him the wrong name. He blows out a sigh.]
I guess I could have whatever I wanted, as long as it could be bought with money. [Unfortunately, so many of the things he wanted had nothing to do with money.] But you can just do that with your powers.
[He gestures to the hat perched snugly on his head.]
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Anyway, he half laughs, half winces as his roommate pokes at his royal status. He puts off answering by slipping more wine, and appeases Iris by offering the bottle again and hitting him with puppy eyes.]
It just never came up...? [He shakes his head, then clarifies:] I was a prince. I'm not anymore, not really. I'm just Wilhelm.
[Wilhelm doesn't miss it. The weight of such grand expectations resting uneasily on his narrow shoulders, and the weight of so many eyes following his every move, so many cameras zooming in on his mistakes. The sense, knotted in his stomach, that he was going to fail. He was going to disappoint everyone.]
You're not going to start calling me your highness, are you?
no subject
Only when I want to annoy you, [ iris promises. the kind of promise one immediately knows he'll make good on, eventually.
he passes the bottle back to wilhelm, before deciding he'd rather sit back up again to avoid any more spills. legs crossed, he maintains the sparse distance between them by leaning in, chin and cheeks cupped in his hands. ]
C'mon... There had to have been some perks.
no subject
Although he makes a face at his roommate, he doubts he'll be all that annoyed. Half because it's Iris, and half because your highness just feels so disconnected from who he is now. It's like calling him the wrong name. He blows out a sigh.]
I guess I could have whatever I wanted, as long as it could be bought with money. [Unfortunately, so many of the things he wanted had nothing to do with money.] But you can just do that with your powers.
[He gestures to the hat perched snugly on his head.]