Chapter Text
Kaito focused on the rhythmic crunch of the gravel beneath the carriage wheels, trying his best not to panic over the upcoming event his grandparents made him go to. Typically he was able to face things head-on with a bright grin of confidence; however, this specific trip had him leaving his kingdom for the first time ever. His home, the Space Kingdom, was a land filled with beautiful night skies of shooting stars, famous for its studies in astronomy. There were many times when he was a young child that his grandfather would take him out to stargaze. He’d regale tales of the constellations to Kaito while they munched on star-shaped cookies his grandmother had baked for them.
The memories of home caused a soft ache in Kaito’s chest as he let out a shaking breath. He clenched tightly on his cape, a deep purple with tiny glittering sparkles, in an effort to settle his nerves. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why exactly he was so nervous! Although his heart belonged to his kingdom, the prospect of exploring foreign places had greatly excited him—even if it’s only to discuss an alliance between their lands. The Space Kingdom and the Dice Kingdom in recent years had tentatively begun to form a bond. But in order for it to be official, a marriage between them had to be held. Thus, the reason for Kaito’s visit was to speak with the Dice Kingdom’s prince to see if they were a potential match. His grandparents had conveyed the importance of this task to Kaito…which now that he considers it, is most likely the cause for his intense nerves.
He barely knew anything about the prince! Well, except that they were about the same age and both heirs to the throne. What did he look like? Was he kind, funny, brave, loyal? For galaxy’s sake, he wasn’t even aware of the guy’s name. Kaito just needed one piece of information to grasp onto. People of the Dice Kingdom are thought to possess remarkable intellect with clever minds adept at strategy and puzzles. It wasn’t enough to go off of; for all he knew, they could be exaggerated stereotypes. Kaito wanted to know the prince. It seemed his desire would be soon satiated as the carriage came to a halt in front of a large black and white castle. The flags were checkered print with a theatrical mask in the form of a diamond: a red smiling half and a white crying half. The symbol served to confuse and slightly unnerve him.
One of his coachmen hopped down to come open Kaito’s door for him, and after forcing on a wide smile, he stepped out. A small group of servants and guards was waiting to escort him into the castle, so he wasted no time in heading forward. He tried not to show just how rapidly his heart was beating as he entered the large, ornate throne room. His eyes flickered to the gleaming lavender gems dangling from a chandelier, the sight reminding him of the orrery that hung down from the ceiling in his own castle. A cough rang out in front of him, and his eyes snapped forward to meet those of Dice’s royal family. He hadn’t even noticed his servant introducing him and his royal title. “My bad,” Kaito quickly amended, “your castle is just very beautiful! Got a bit lost in it there.” With a slightly awkward grin, he rubbed the back of his head. The king and queen didn’t look very amused but refrained from any snide comments. His gaze caught onto that of the prince—wow, he’s pretty cute—who was smirking behind his hand. The dark plum strands nicely contrasted his soft pale skin.
The rest of the royal formalities seemed to go by in a blur, with Kaito absentmindedly answering in the traditional fashion he’d grown up being coached to do. His focus was kept solely on the cheekily smiling prince, who kept throwing him sly looks. He had learned the prince’s name was Kokichi, which had stumped him, as he’d thought a land notorious for being good at games wouldn’t have one of their royal’s names mean ‘little luck.’ And yet, there was some unknown charm to the guy he couldn’t help but be allured by. Perhaps it was his eyes, so full of mischief and youthful energy. Finally it was time for dinner as Kaito and Kokichi left to a private balcony together, a way for them to cultivate their relationship in a secluded setting. There was a small table where a servant had just finished setting up two plates of food and a bottle of low-alcohol wine for them to share. As soon as the servant exited, Kokichi spun to face him.
“Soooo Kai—can I call you Kai?” Kaito's face exploded in a flush at the nickname but was interrupted before he could protest it. “Anyway, tell me all about your kingdom! Do your people really study all the constellations and planets and space stuff? Do you guys seriously believe in aliens? Oh, oh, are you guys actually aliens?!” His eyes glittered brighter than the stars Kaito had spent years admiring. “W-wha?! No, of course not; that’s stupid!” He shouted, unsure if the prince was joking or not. Kokichi let out a shrill giggle that sounded exactly like a horse. Oh god, it was absolutely adorable. “I’m only messing with you! You guys are probably too boring to be cool galactic creatures.” Kokichi gave a look of pity mixed with teasing amusement. Kaito sputtered indignantly, “We are not! Space is a super exciting world of research. There are lots of interesting subjects like meteors, black holes—" “Yaaawn~. Don’t you have anything fun?” Kokichi burst out in more equine-like laughter as Kaito’s face morphed into a deep pout, his bottom lip sticking out. He couldn’t stay pouting for long, though, as the sweet sound forced him to smile.
“Fine then, what’s so fun about you guys, huh?”
“Well, my dear Kai, our kingdom is full of entertainment like clowns and circus performers and a bunch of games!”
“Circus, eh? Our kingdom doesn’t have many of those, but we do have a lot of plays and opera shows.”
“I bet all your plays are about your beloved space, aren’t they?” Kokichi taunted with a finger in front of his lips.
Kaito huffed and shot back, “We’re more than just space you know!”
“Nee-hee-hee~, you could’a fooled me! What with all the space imagery. Even the inside of your cape is space themed!”
Indeed, Kaito’s cape had a detailed design with an accurate display of the constellations shining in the night sky. His grandparents had given it to him on his 16th birthday, quite a wonderful night with an extravagant banquet.
“Hey, my cape is awesome! Besides, your outfit isn’t much better,” he pointed accusingly at the checkered print inside of Kokichi’s white tailcoat.
Kokichi smiled with a shrug, “Fair enough.”
The two princes continued their lighthearted conversation as they ate their meal, sharing easy laughs and learning more about one another. After a while of back-and-forth banter something starts to nag at Kaito’s mind.
“So wait, I've got a question. If the Dice Kingdom is so filled with enjoyment then how come your parents seem like such sticks in the mud? Ah, no offence.”
Kokichi blinks before letting out a snicker. “None taken! They are pretty stiff. Honestly, my parents view carnivals and other similar events as ‘frivolous peasant activities.’ The only type of fun they take part in is sophisticated, things like poker.”
“Wait, then how do you know so much if your family doesn’t go to them?”
“Well, who said I went with my parents?” He responded with a coy smirk. “Let’s just say I’m pretty good at sneaking around~.”
Kaito had a scrunched look on his face as he thought over Kokichi’s words. On one hand, he couldn’t imagine going behind his guardians’ backs to do something they’d disapprove of. But on the other hand, sneaking out just to go see a carnival wasn’t harmful. If his parents were so strict, then it wasn’t a surprise there’d be some rebellion.
Kokichi twirled the small amount of wine that was left in his glass, a small smile on his face as he seemed to be considering. Suddenly his gaze shifted upwards to look directly at him.
“You know… Your—” He cut himself off with a cough. “This…this has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be. To be honest, I was expecting you to be some nerdy scientist talking about calculations and philosophy and whatnot. Since you’re from, ah, the Space Kingdom and all.” His cheeks had a slight blush to them as he spoke, and his eyes were gentler than they were earlier in the night—perhaps in part due to the wine. The sight of it made Kaito’s heart skip a beat as he fought back his own reddening hue.
“Ye-yeah, it’s been pretty sweet hanging out with you too! I was a complete wreck on the way here. Wasn’t really sure what to expect.”
Hints of playfulness shone in Kokichi’s eyes as he dramatically swooned, a hand coming to his forehead. “Don’t you see, Kai, it’s destiny that we’ve crossed paths!~”
“Destiny?! No way! I don’t believe in that stuff, no matter what the sacred stars say.” His arms came up to lightly hit his fists together in a show of conviction.
“Sacred stars? Are you saying some stars spoke to you, because that sounds like a hallucination to me.”
“Wha—no! They don’t actually speak. The great astrologers in my kingdom are able to read the stars for divine messages. My people have a prophecy that a person’s fate can be read through the constellation they were born under.” Kaito’s finger pointed upwards to trace a pattern resembling his own constellation. Kokichi’s eyes followed along, entranced by the idea.
He gave a wide, beaming grin. “But although I do respect them, I don’t believe in it! I think you have the power to shape your own destiny.”
“‘Shape your own destiny,’ huh? What if the fate you want is impossible?” Kokichi asked with a raised eyebrow.
“That’s easy, the impossible is always possible! All you gotta do is make it so.”
It was quiet for a few moments as they locked into a deep stare. His expression was unreadable; Kaito wasn’t sure what the other prince was thinking at this moment. Slowly he began to shift nervously, worried he had accidentally said something offensive before Kokichi shook his head. “You’re a weird guy Kaito,” he stated in affectionate bemusement.
He puffed up and crossed his arms. “What’s that mean? I’m serious! If you sit around worrying about something being impossible then you’ll never try it. With enough hard work you really can do anything!”
"Is that right? Then I suppose you’d be up for a little challenge, hmm?〜”
“A challenge? What kind of challenge?”
Kokichi grinned with sinister mischief. “‘Only one of the most extreme high stakes games ever!”.
Kaito gulped, a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead. Yet, he stood tall, ready for whatever the game would be.
“You’ll have to beat me aaaat…chess!”
Kaito froze for a moment before letting out a squawk of protest. “Chess?! How is that a high-stakes game? There’s no danger in it at all!”
“I never said it would be dangerous! Chess can be plenty high-stakes,” he teased with a horse-like giggle. His face morphed into a low smile. “You said anything is possible, right? If you really think so, then you'll have no problem beating me in a game.”
Kaito froze as he digested the idea. Chess was one of, if not the, patron games of the Dice Kingdom. It was why so much of their decor was checkered black-and-white. Trying to beat the crown prince no less… He lifted his chin high as he next spoke.
“Hell yeah, I'll definitely beat you! Like I said, the impossible is possible! All you have to do is make it so, and a real man never goes back on his word.”
Kokichi sent back a look of excitement, lighting up as if he were a child on Christmas. “I was hoping you’d be dumb enough—I mean, brave enough to agree!”
Before Kaito could argue his intelligence, Kokichi continued, “Oh, we should do a reward for the winner! If I win, then you have to be my slave forever and ever! Sounds fair?”
“That’s not fair at all! I’d never agree to be someone’s slave.” He growled with a raised fist.
“Nee-hee-hee~, but I thought you said you’d definitely beat me? Are you scared you won’t?”
“Grrrr…fine. I know for sure I’ll beat you, so I don’t care what prize you pick! What do I get when I win?” Kokichi smirked and blew a short whistle. “Cocky aren’t we? Well I suppose if you win, thhheeenn…. I’ll agree to marry you!”
“M-Marry me?! I mean, yeah, that’s what we’re spending time together right now to figure out, but do you really want to base the decision on a game?” He furrowed his brows with hesitation.
“Oh don’t worry, I'm not. I already know I'll win so I have nothing to fear.”
“That’s it, let’s play now so I can beat you already! Just don’t go crying over it during our wedding.” Kokichi laughed and called for a servant to bring them a chessboard.
Predictably, as anyone besides Kaito could’ve guessed, Kokichi ended up being the winner. After some pleading Kokichi humoured Kaito by playing another round. Then another. And another… and another.
“Jeez Kai, I knew you’d be easy to beat but I didn’t think it’d be this easy! I mean really, it’s like you want to be my slave.” He boasted with a highly amused chuckle.
Kaito gripped his hair as he looked upon the chess board where he had, once again, been cornered and defeated.
“No that’s not it at all-”
“T-then you just hate the sound of marrying me th-that much?...” he lamented, eyes instantly watering with crocodile tears.
“N-no, I think it’d be great to marry you-”
Both of their eyes widened at the slipped confession. He debated diving off the balcony railing as Kokichi burst into delighted cackling. With a wheezing breath, Kokichi wiped a tear from his eye as he mused, “I’d ask if you’d want another round then, but I think it’s getting a bit too late. Despite how effortless these games have been, I've gotten rather tired. Buuut, if you want to play again so badly, then we can tomorrow.”
Kaito looked up to see the pitch-black sky, the stars sparkling down at him with a soft glow. He let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, we can end it here. But it’s not over yet! Tomorrow let’s have a rematch, and I’ll beat you for sure!”
Kokichi quietly looked at Kaito. The other prince was so determined, still not giving up after losing so many times. As foolish as it was, it was also kind of admirable. He was also pretty funny… It truly had been incredibly enjoyable to spend time with him.
The two bid each other a goodnight, exchanging one last smile before they parted to their separate rooms. Tucked cozy in his plush bed, Kokichi couldn’t fight back the lingering feelings of warmth and fondness. His hazy, exhausted mind had one last thought before he finally drifted off to sleep:
‘Maybe…it wouldn’t be so bad if I lost tomorrow.’