Hi! This is my new multi chapter rinharu fic! Arabian AU! (I miss splash free! too much okay)

Anyway it was supposed to be a long one shot but I decided to cut it into small chapter instead. Here we go !

'Have you heard the news?'

'The Prince is turning 20 next month!'

'He'll be old enough to become the new King.'

'At last, it's been so long since his Father passed away.'

'But he needs to find a Bride before he can rule the Kingdom.'

'Will he find a Bride in time?'

'Some says he has made his choice already!'

'Some have already seen her! She is said to be the prettiest creature that had walked upon the Earth.'

'Oh!'

'I can't wait to see her!'

'Long live the Prince.'

'Long live the Bride.'

'Long live the King!'

.

From the corner of his eyes, Haru watches the old servants preparing dinner for the royal family. He doesn't have to pay attention to see that as they spoke most of their glances were leering towards his direction. And yet they all salute him as he passes by, their old and hurt backs bending in half when he walks in front of them. Being the Prince's Favorite has quite its advantage in such a place where hierarchy reigns – and considering where he was from, Haru couldn't have reached a higher rank, even in his craziest dreams.

The Prince was part of those kinds of people who hypnotizes you with a blink of an eye. He had that dragging power, that magnetism that makes every pair of eyes look at him every time he enters a place – every ones but Haru's, because he certainly doesn't need to see him to know that the Prince was looking at him, and only at him.

Who was this new bride to think she could overthrow him that easily?

It was only rumor, and thus Haru chooses to ignore it, to ignore them talking – and he gets back to his personal apartment; and as he did his footsteps were closely watched by every other courtesan of the Palace.

The Favorite - Chapter One

When Haru has been called, after a week of complete silence from his Prince, he honestly wasn't expecting this. The door leading to his Highness personal room was guarded by his two most loyal soldiers. They salute as soon as he came into view and Haru knocks on the door. Another servant opens him the door and quickly closes it behind him – in a vain attempt to hide the horny and dirty noises coming from inside the heated room.

Rin – it was the Prince's first name, and the way Haru addresses to him when they were alone, always – is having his way with a girl Haru hasn't seen before. The red silky curtains, embroidered with gold and small jewels surrounding his King sized bed were barely hiding the poor girl's body. He didn't even get completely naked; Rin has just lifted his robe and is just finishing to roughly fuck her in front of a small assembly.

It maybe wasn't meant to be personal but Haru takes this like an affront. Still, he watches them, watches their bodies move and join, he listens to their moans and short breathings – he can even guess that Rin is simulating, and the fact only makes him smile internally – and then, when he sees the way Rin's hands grasp on the woman's hips he knows he is about to come. His instincts doesn't fail him; soon after the Prince jerks his hips quickly a couple of times and drops the poor girl's body on the bed, as if she were a mere object he owns.

A mere belongings, just as Haru is.

"Sorry," he says, his voice not even slightly aroused, "it took a little bit longer than expected." Rin looks directly at his bright blue eyes but Haru doesn't let anything betray his inner thoughts. He knows the prince is playing with him – he just doesn't quite get why for the time being.

"If you had trouble getting hard again you should have called me sooner," he retorted, cheekily.

Rin arranges his hair and clothes, not minding the cutting remark, and with a single motion of his hand he dismisses both the girl and the servant who had been inside, leaving the two of them alone for the first time in ages.

At last, the Prince starts to miss him. Of course he must. They haven't touched in weeks – well, it has only been a week, seven days and seven nights, but it feels like an eternity because it had never happened before and Haru had been living here in the Palace for five long years now. He tries to remain stoic as Rin approaches him like a feline, but inside his heart is starting to pound vigorously and he can feel his fingers aching to touch the pearly, soft skin of the Prince again.

"Who was she?" he asks first, because he is quite curious about it – and not because he feels jealous, not at all, not when he had seen that Rin hadn't even enjoyed it.

"A new girl my mother bought me, I guess." Rin changes his course and heads towards a small table where a couple of long glasses and a bottle of date liquor are set. He pours himself a drink, for him and him only. He drinks it, looking expectantly at Haru while he does so, challenging him – but what for exactly?

"I hope she didn't pay much for it. She wasn't worth the shot."

"Oh, you were able to tell. I'm glad." His glass is now empty; he puts it back on the table and walks back to Haru, his robes weeping the floor.

"You're glad you didn't have a great orgasm?"

"Ah ah! No no, not that Haru, damn you're so blunt sometimes; I guess you haven't changed one bit." Rin laughs a bit and sits on his bed, spreading the curtains and giving Haru the sight of the printed body shape left by the new courtesan in the white sheets. "How have you been lately? It's been a while."

"Whose fault is it?" Haru walks towards the bed but the Prince stops him.

"Stay against the wall," he orders, and Haru obeys because he has no other choice – Rin owns him, he owns his body, his belongings and he owns his life; it not like he can protest against him whenever he wants to. He wonders if they are going to do it against the wall though; in hindsight it's not something he would mind, a little bit of roughness when it has been such a long time won't displease him in the least.

"You didn't answer my question, Haru."

"You didn't answer mine as well."

"Hn," Rin chuckles, "You talked as if we were equals."

"You told me we were, at least when there is just the both of us; you told me we were just men."

Haru moves of the place he was grounded, insolence and confidence running through his veins, and as soon as his back leaves the wall Rin sends him a death glare. "I told you not to move." He warns him, and by the sound of his voice it's now crystal clear that even if they're very alone in Rin's room, the Prince doesn't see him as his equal at all. Haru feels hurt, and fights not to show his disillusion too much. After all, it's maybe just a new sadomasochist game the Prince wants to play; he's probably hurting him on purpose and wants him mad just to fuck him better at night.

"Your answer." He urges him, harshly.

Haru holds his hard glance. He can't lie to the Prince, that's part of the deal; but Haru is clever and never misses an opportunity to be mischievous instead of honest. "Not bad. Could have been better but I'm definitely not someone you need to be sorry for. What about you, my Prince?"

"I've been busy."

"Yeah I had the chance to witness that just a couple of minutes ago."

If these words had been from anyone else Rin will have asked for their heads but because it's him, because it's Haru who speaks to him, he only gets slightly mad and jumps out of his comfortable seat to grasp Haru's tunic and to crush him harder against the wall. Haru can't help but shivers at the closeness of their bodies – and the Prince seems to notice; he grins.

"Have you missed me, by any chance?"

Oh, he hates when he is like that, he hates when he can read him so well; as if possessing him wasn't enough already Rin has to own in his mind as well. "I could have been better." He repeats, hoping it will lure Rin enough so he could let him go and to put some space between them.

Rin's body is what can be called a perfect work of art. His skin is softer than the softest silk Haru has slept in, whiter than all the milked bath he had luxuriated in, his eyes and hair are red like the falling sun reflecting on the Oasis at the Palace's feet and yet Haru can't touch him. It's forbidden, and considered as a sacrilege to touch the Prince when he hadn't touched you first. It's the same as for speaking to him – no one in the Palace with a lower rank than him could talk to the Prince. The only one who could initiate a conversation with him was the member of his family – his mother and his sister only.

Rin runs his lips against the skin of Haru's cheek. He only brushes by, never kissing never biting, never touching too much; it's just enough to literally make him ache for more, and Haru whines. He feels Rin smile, as he reaches his ears. If only he could kiss him already, if only Rin could give him the permission to kiss him...

But Haru won't beg. Not in Rin's wildest dreams.

"Mh, maybe it's not enough yet..."Rin mutters loud enough just for Haru to hear. Enough for what, exactly, Haru will never know because Rin releases his grip on his collar and leaves the room. He can only hear the slam of the room's door; and soon after, another soldier enters to guard the room.

Haru slides against the wall, his eyes clouded with unsatisfied lust and his heart aching for what seems to be a one-sided adoration. He even feels tight in his pants now; the day couldn't have started in a worse way than this.

"Haru! You're back! How was-"

Nagisa is a younger courtesan who came here, approximately at the same time as Haru. They became friends rather quickly and when Rin had given him the luxury to own a room and a couple of servants to take care of his place, Nagisa had been his first choice - he was his female companion as he liked to be called.

"Don't want to talk about it." Haru says weakly. It doesn't prevent Nagisa from coming closer and patting him on the back; but in a way even if he wouldn't have agreed if Nagisa had asked to do so, he feels better, it feels warmer where Nagisa had touched him.

"Anyway," Nagisa says after they ate, "You've got a new assignment while you were away."

This time it's gardening. Another thrilling activity that doesn't include being with Rin or next to him or inside him; and he was really tired of playing hide and seek with him. More than tired. If it was only not being able do be with Rin, Haru wouldn't mind that much but lately, with the rumors concerning an incoming marriage and all, people were glaring at him as if he was a pestiferous, as is he was something noxious and unwanted in the Palace because he would stain the Prince and his holy marriage.

And now that he wasn't even called to the Prince's room anymore, people were laughing at him. They didn't even hide their grin when he walked down the alley to the common bathroom, or when he promenaded with Nagisa on sunny days. It was as if slowly every single aspect of his life was slowly crumbling. Everything he had worked so hard on...

Haru cuts the wrong plants. A soldier passing by hits him with his lance. "Careful you slut. Next time the Prince will cut your head if you mess up with his garden."

Not so long ago Haru would have laughed, he would have been sassy and would have insulted the soldier just to get Rin here and to flirt with him in front of the man who had dared to touch him, and the soldier would have been fired, or even worse. But now with all of what was happening Haru judges that it isn't the best time to test his luck - he blows his head, barely pronounces 'Yes Sir' and concentrates more on the right stem to cut.

As the night falls on the Palace Haru stands outside his door, looking at the moon from the small terrace, listening to the crickets singing in the grass. They used to do that a lot, in the past, when Rin was much younger and carefree, when he didn't have the weight of the whole Nation upon his shoulders. Times are changing. He can feel it, it's in the air, in the people's glare, in the way Rin walks towards him that night.

Something irreversible is about to happen and Haru can't do anything but watch his fate being torn.

"I heard you cut one of my white camellia."

Haru looks at Rin's feet; it's still to hard to glance at his eyes. "It reminded me of your dick, so I cut it out."

Of course it's a lie, and Rin just laughs at his bad joke. "You're that mad at me?"

"I didn't think it was that obvious. I am very sorry my Prince, I'll be more careful next time." He replied, his voice as monotonous as it can be.

"Next time don't cut my 'precious flower' then."

"When will there be a next time?"

"Not any time soon I'm afraid; I need my flowers to grow back before you'll be around there - I don't want you to ruin years of good work just because you don't like my dick."

"Rin!" Haru shouts, and it's now clear that he is not talking about gardening anymore.

He would hate to beg. His voice has come out so desperately, he hopes Rin won't make good use of it, or laugh at him like any other people here. Was it all a joke, all these years? Was it really just for fun? Why nobody warn him that after the Prince would turn 20 his life will have no more meaning? It's just crazy. He could have bet he'd seen love in Rin's eyes, a small week ago and now...now, there is nothing left for him.

"Eight days, seven nights; hasn't it?" Rin says as he walks dangerously close to where Haru stands.

"So you're counting too."

Rin cocks him a smile. He looks so gorgeous. So evil and terribly gorgeous. "I made a bet. That's why I'm counting."

"You bet on how much time you can keep your hands off of me? It's gross, you know."

Rin laughs louder, or does he stand really close to him now? Haru finds out when he finally has the courage to look at him in the eyes. The night makes his pupils go wide. It has probably nothing to do with the fact that he might want him here and now as much Haru wants and needs him.

"You're wrong." He murmurs seductively, "We've bet on how much time you'll need to beg for me to touch you or to break into my room at night to ravish me."

Haru can feel his breath on his cheek, just where he had run his lips this morning. God, does he have any idea of how much he affects him? Of how all of this is just another kind of torture to him? Because no one else but Rin knows better about Haru, and about his pride - he had been one of the first victims of it, and to be frankly honest Haru had been quite a turbulent courtesan; he is rather lucky to be still alive - and it's just another one of his provocation, of his games, a way to show him who really has the power.

Haru thought these times when Rin needed to get reassured were behind them. He is surprisingly sad to find out he's wrong about it.

"It's really disgusting. You're disgusting. There is no way I'd beg for a swine like you."

"We'll see. I haven't lost yet - I knew how stubborn you can be after all."

And with those words, the Prince walks away.

Haru doesn't want to say goodbye. Not yet. He doesn't want to spent a eighth night without feeling him - but he will certainly not surrender either. Rin might own him, but there are some things that will stay forever out of his reach.

"By the way one of your soldiers hit me on the top of my hand." Rin stops his steps. Haru shows him the bruise, and fakes a whine when Rin presses his finger on. "It hurts terribly. I'm sure that if you kiss it though it will be more tolerable and-"

"Your sly tricks won't work on me Haru," Rin lets his hand fall back on his side. "I know them all. But thank you for letting me know that you're that much on edge."

Haru frowns deeply. He hates it when Rin talks down to him.

"The air is starting to get chilly. Go back inside your apartment, Haru; it's an order - it didn't give you a bed to watch you get a cold."

Rin's long, greyish cape hides the sight of his muscular back as Haru stares at him walking away. He still feels a little bit frustrated - eight days and eight nights; his mind tries to forget but his body can't - but at least he knows now that it's not because of a so called future wife, or a future wedding that has never been officially announced. He would have told him if it was the case. He would have been the first one to know.

Haru gains his apartment as soon as Rin's silhouette disappears from his view. Nagisa is already sleeping in the little room he occupies next to his. Haru sighs and takes off his white, lined robe before getting under the sheets of his comfortable bed.

Rin had been right earlier, it was much warmer inside.

Sleep takes him quickly to a land where Rin isn't a Prince and where he isn't a slave; a place where they are only men and only love each other, in the simplest way possible.