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"Why'd I agree to do this again?"
When tasked to become the Prince's servant, Tabito didn't think this would include castle breakouts and putting his life on the line in more ways than one.
Maybe if he hadn't listened to his father, he wouldn't be stuck having to hide Prince Eita like he was some smuggled good he had to protect.
Seriously, was this guy even royalty?
"Because you wuv me, Tabi~" Eita teased as they avoided another guard.
"Oh, cut the crap. If we get caught, I'm going to get punished, not you, asshole." Tabito snapped.
"We're never gonna get caught, you know." Eita's voice came from behind.
When did he get there?
"What-"
"I'm hurt that you think I've only been doing these escapades ever since you came around." he continued, both of them ducking to dodge the next guard.
"Sure I did. Cause nobody knows 'bout the troublemaker Prince Eita Otoya." Tabito said.
He rolled his eyes as he shoved the cloak hood Eita was wearing over his head, grabbing his hand and avoiding a cluster of servants chatting aimlessly.
Eventually, they got to the small back gate they used to slip out of the castle.
"Seriously though, ya really gotta think 'bout how this affects us. Bachira and Isagi almost got kicked out from the knight training program after you decided to make a scene that they had to cover up." Tabito said as he fumbled with the gate's lock.
"But they didn't!"
"Not the point."
The lock fell off with a small clink, landing silently on the ground.
"Assholes first."
"Oh, fuck you."
"So you went on another escapade just to get cream puffs this late at night?!"
"Your point?"
Kenyu shook his head.
"Eita! You have them every morning, freshly baked, still from me, for breakfast!"
"Breakfast is a different case. C'mon Yuki, can we have a few? We already came this far!"
Tabito chuckled at the small dispute the two were having.
Kenyu Yukimiya was the local baker that the royal family had learned to love because of the delicious pastries only he seemed to have the skill to make.
He was also Tabito's childhood friend, which was how Eita had gotten to know him outside the daily pastry deliveries.
"Okay, you two break it up. If Yuki's not giving us pastries, then we can leave and you can have them tomorrow, ya big baby." Tabito said, stepping in between the two.
"Tabiiiii!"
"Tabi?" Kenyu chuckled. "What, are you two dating?"
"Oh shove a cream puff up your ass and spare me the mere thought of it."
"Ouch." Kenyu said as they walked to the door. "Bye then. See ya tomorrow. Yeesh, not even a good night?"
"G'night!" Tabito manged to say before he was pulled out of the bakery by a pouty Eita.
"So are we going back to the palace now or are you gonna act all pouty you didn't get your strawberry cream puffs?" Tabito said as he pulled his hand away from Eita's grip and put it on his shoulder.
"It's getting late."
"Right."
Eita turned to face him.
"Thanks for tonight, I guess."
"The Prince Eita thanking me? Did the cream puffs break ya that bad?"
"Nah, just… remembered I never said it."
The streets were dark, the lanterns flickering as the wind blew past. Tabito could feel the ghost of his minty breath get closer with every passing second.
Just as he felt something brush past his lips, Eita pulled away. Tabito let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Well," he said, the mischievous look in his eyes evident in the dim light. "Race you there!"
"Oh, it's on."
They didn't know that Kenyu was watching them.
"I cannot stand another day of you two verbally and physically edging each other. THIS HAS TO BE IT YOU FUCKS-"
Eita was well aware that the kingdom was past its old, traditional ways.
Men could love other men. Women could love women.
And most importantly, royalty could be with peasants.
It was the reason the kingdom was thriving.
A foundation built off love.
It was how he realized that maybe Tabito meant a little bit more to him.
The late nights. The palace breakouts. The long talks. The mock politeness.
His smile.
He needed to pay a visit to the Yukimiya bakery.
"I'm surprised you even managed to get him off your back."
Kenyu sat down after pouring a cup of tea.
"He's with Bachira and Isagi. Apparently, sunshine boy wanted to go on a date, so he's covering for them while they're off to who knows where. Maybe that Mikage dude's house again. He and that white haired guy always do double dates with them." Eita said, taking the cup and taking a small sip.
The blend Kenyu had picked…
"It's chamomile. This is-"
"Tabito's favorite blend. Thought you would know that." Kenyu said, taking a sip from his own cup.
"Yuki-" Eita started.
"I know, I know. It's been painfully obvious. You're here about Tabito. Let me guess, you think you like him."
"How did you even-what?"
"I have eyes to see. If you were to ask me, you two are blinder than I am. And I have an eye condition!"
"Tch-okay, you got me. It's about Tabi." Eita said, raising his hands in surrender.
Kenyu sighed, seeming a bit more relaxed.
"And he admits it."
"I just don't get it! I like girls! Well, I thought I liked girls, but it's girls and a guy?"
"You like both. It's that simple."
Eita stared at him before bursting out.
"But does he?! Yuki, you gotta tell me!"
Eita slammed his hands on the table, spilling his tea.
"Great. You spilled it all over."
"Not the topic!"
"Okay, okay! He likes guys too! Like-just guys. There. You happy?"
Eita took a moment to process what he said, blinking.
"Are you even surprised?" Kenyu told him after a while.
"I… don't know."
Cleaning up the spilled tea, he poured more into Eita's cup.
"If that's all you came here for, you can finish the tea and leave. You want a cream puff?"
"Oh. Thanks, Yuki."
"Anything for my second favorite idiot."
“Second?! Ouch.”
“Of course, Tabito’s the first.”
Kenyu chuckled at Eita’s pouty expression.
“Have a cream puff. Should help your mood. Can’t have your sweet ‘Tabi’ worrying about you.” Kenyu snickered, watching Eita turn red.
“Shut up!” Eita exclaimed, taking a cream puff from the plate Kenyu had put on the table.
“Have fun dealing with that asshole!” Kenyu said as the prince walked out.
“Fuck off, Yuki!”
As he stepped out of the bakery, he saw two of the palace guards.
Great. They had noticed he was gone.
"Prince Eita, we have been searching for you." one spoke.
"Cut the crappy formality, I know that's you, Kunigami. You too, Chigiri."
Chigiri sighed, taking his helmet off.
"God, this is a public place. Can you at least try to act more civil when outside the palace?" Chigiri started, fussing with his hair a bit.
"The king is looking for you. Naturally, we were the ones tasked to go after you." Kunigami said, also removing his helmet.
"What does that old geezer want now-" Eita was cut off by being dragged closer to the two.
"Rensuke." Chigiri said, nudging the other knight.
Kunigami looked around, seemingly cautious, before looking at Chigiri and nodding.
"Eita, listen. We didn't hear much." Chigiri said, his voice quieter than usual.
"What? Chigiri-"
"We're not quite sure about this. We overheard it in the chambers when we were summoned." Kunigami stated, still looking around.
"But you're already 18. From what we heard, if you don't find a competent partner soon enough, he's going to send you to the next kingdom to learn how to be an independent king. Alone."
Chigiri's words echoed in his mind.
Alone.
Alone.
Alone.
Alone.
Tabito!
"What?!"
"Good morning, Eita."
"Good morning, Father."
He felt like he was going to suffocate. The king's chambers were not for him.
Tabito was told to stay with the knight trainees as this was something Eita had to handle alone.
Whether or not he was concerned, Eita couldn't tell.
"I suppose you are confused as to why I summoned you here. Sit first."
He reluctantly sat down on one of the chairs.
"As you might already know, Eita, your father is getting old. And you're 18."
"Yes."
Eita didn't really like where this conversation was going.
"So I was already thinking. Have you found a partner for yourself already?"
Eita sighed. Kunigami and Chigiri had already told him about it but it was still worse right now.
"No, Father."
"I see."
There was a brief silence before the king spoke again.
"You know I respect your feelings and value the fact that this kingdom is one built off love. So I would never want to force you into a relationship. However, Eita…"
However. He hated that word.
"You must learn to become a king soon. If you do not find a partner by the time you are 19, I will be sending you off alone to learn how to."
Eita's hands balled up into fists under the table, but he nodded.
"Yes, father."
"Thank you, Eita. You may leave. Your servant should be waiting for you outside."
"He has a name. It's Tabito." Eita said as he walked out, slightly slamming the doors as he went.
The king chuckled to himself.
"Tabito, huh?"
Tabito couldn't relax at all. Isagi and Bachira had to hold him still to try and calm him down a bit.
"Just calm down, you crow. Eita's going to be fine." Isagi said.
"But what if he isn't?!" Tabito exclaimed, startling them.
"It's a hassle to think about it. Just sleep." a muffled voice came from behind him.
"Easy for ya to say, Nagi!"
Nagi's purple haired companion, Reo, chuckled. He lifted up the boy he was piggybacking before turning to Tabito.
"You know, Seishiro's kinda right. You need to calm down."
They were in the palace courtyard, sitting on the grass and waiting for Eita to finish up with his father.
Tabito had tagged along with Isagi, Bachira, Chigiri, and Kunigami, and Reo wanted a change of location and decided to tag along, bringing Nagi with him.
"Easy for ya to say, too. You're both noblemen anyways." Tabito said, looking at the pair.
Chigiri snuggled into Kunigami's lap before talking to him.
"Why are you so worried, though? He just hasn't found a partner." he told Tabito.
"Exactly! While you've already been snuggling up with your boyfriends, Eita doesn't have one. Both of us are older than all of ya!"
"Then why don't you become his partner?" Bachira said.
The group fell silent, only interrupted by a small "Meguru!" from Isagi.
"Wha-I-uh-he likes girls!" Tabito began to stutter out, not realizing he was turning red.
Chigiri facepalmed while the rest gave him a confused look.
The group was silent again for a bit before Nagi spoke up.
"Eh. Love is so complicated. What a hassle. At least I have Reo." Nagi said, burying his face in the crook of Reo's neck.
This elicited a small giggle from Reo and Tabito just rolled his eyes.
"There you are! I thought you were waiting for me outside the chambers! Mean!"
"Ah-Eita!"
Tabito smiled as he saw him.
"Aw, did Tabi miss me?" Eita said as he finally reached the group, leaning in close to Tabito.
"I told ya to stop calling me that, idjit."
Too close.
"I thought you liked it~"
"In fact, no." Tabito said, booping Eita's nose and pushing his face away from him.
"Well, nice to see you guys, but I'm taking back Tabito." Eita said, grabbing him and waving farewell to the group.
"Ah-well, bye guys!"
As they walked away, Isagi turned to the rest.
"They're fucking stupid."
"I'm winning this bet, Hyoma, so you better start polishing that sword."
"Oh, fuck you, Rensuke."
After a short pit stop at the kitchen, the pair made their way to their shared chambers.
Tabito liked moments like these.
Chatting the day away, stealing cream puffs from the kitchen, and falling asleep on Eita's huge bed cause he was too lazy to move back to his own.
It usually started with small talk. It would move on to different topics as time went on.
But it always ended the same.
Falling asleep together, messy plate smeared with cream puff filling forgotten, and silent snores echoing in the room.
But today, Eita couldn't sleep. He was plagued by the thought of having to be alone.
He never wanted that to happen.
He looked over to Tabito.
He was sleeping peacefully, breathing steadily.
In and out.
In and out.
Eita saw some cream puff filling on his lips. Guess he forgot to lick it off.
What happened next was something even Eita didn't expect.
Because the next thing he knew,
he had kissed him.
Tabito stirred. What Eita didn't expect was for him to kiss back.
"Eita…"
"Tabi…"
They stayed like this for a few moments before pulling away to breathe.
"You know, I really thought that I liked girls. Guess I like girls and maybe one guy."
Tabito's eyes fluttered open.
Tabito looks cute.
Why the fuck is Eita so hot?
"You… do?"
"Yeah."
They stared into each other's eyes for a while. Suddenly, Eita started laughing.
"Wha-hey!" Tabito exclaimed.
"Sorry-I just-" Eita managed to get out between
laughs.
After he had calmed down a bit, he spoke to Tabito again.
"I'm just… happy."
"Me too."
"I love you, Tabi."
"I love ya, Eita."
Eita leaned in for another kiss, pulling Tabito closer.
The lingering taste of strawberry cream puffs were on his tongue.
But Eita knew Tabito was sweeter than any treat he would ever eat in his lifetime.
An endless sweetness he'd have for the rest of his life.