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Royal banquets were not Touya’s thing. They never were, and never would be. Especially not when they were hosted in the honor of him.
Could that even be said, a true banquet hosted in his name? It was the same thing every time- his birth father would host a celebration for his son and invite people that could care less, his son would sit at a table full of future associates who would potentially go for the crown once he was old enough, and then he’d be pushed to the side for the rest of the evening in favor for alcohol. Touya had gotten used to the cycle that came every few months or so, and so the cycle would continue until he was eventually crowned king.
Just this thought lingers in his mind as he’s, unfortunately, in the process of sitting as the head of the table alongside his father’s throne while the guests dine, speaking of politics and deaths and (worst of all) romance. His fork pushes food around his plate as he eavesdrops, only opening his mouth to take small bites and speak when spoken to. It’d be awfully rude for a prince to be seen out of his place, after all.
“Are you enjoying your days as the next ruler?” asks some random noble from a land Touya’s probably never heard of, a plastered grin on chiseled cheeks when she looks at him.
Touya musters a close-lipped smile and meets her eyes only for a second before busying himself with pushing food around his plate once again. “Yes, I am.” If only his father knew just how much he lied.
(And it seems that his father is starting to become a little more observant, if the satisfied glance that he directs down to his son has anything to say about it.)
The prince is relieved when the nobles step away from their supper to dance and dine, expensive alcohol of some sort being poured generously into goblets and glass cups for everyone of age, and in the midst of the drama, he slips out of the ballroom and up the stairs, turning corners down hallways until he’s reached his bedroom, and closes the door behind him. Sighing, Touya undoes the white cravat on his suit and opens the doors to go outside to the balcony. It’s his way of escaping awkward conversations and useless words, after all, and it’s been proven to be foolproof for years of being the crown prince.
A nighttime breeze moving past runs through his hair and messes it a little bit, but he finds himself not minding a single bit. The view of the kingdom from the balcony is always beautiful, no matter what; it’s overwhelming, just the idea of owning all of the land covered by his family’s rule. It’s too much that it leaves his throat tight and his stomach a little sick.
Touya leans against the stone railing of the balcony, his eyelids falling shut as he tries to ignore the voices he could still hear from downstairs in the ballroom, and how no one had seemed to notice his disappearance from the drama of it all.
“My lord?” calls a familiar voice from his door, and a gentle knocking against the wood follows, “are you in there?”
Well, save for one, the only one who mattered. “You can come in, you know. There isn’t a reason as to why you need to ask,” Touya calls out in response without looking back, and he can hear the footsteps of metal against the floor, and when he turns around, the brilliant knight of autumn is just a few paces away. Akito Shinonome, that is.
There’s a grin on Akito’s face for whatever reason, one that manages to make Touya’s pulse skip a few beats. “Hey, just in case someone overhears, or somethin’. Gotta keep it professional in public, yeah? But now we’re alone, so…” The knight comes closer, and takes Touya’s hand in his own, lowering himself onto one knee and kissing the back of his hand with a chasteness that goes so far as to nearly melt the prince’s heart. It was something Akito did often when in private, and each time, Touya could only wish it would happen again. “Lovely evening we’re having, my prince.”
“And the same to you, fair knight,” the older replies with a fond look in his eyes, allowing Akito to keep holding his hand when he returns back to a standing position. “Why are you here?”
Akito hums, moving to stand by Touya’s side and leaving his arms on the railing, looking out into the distance. “Your father moved me from guarding the castle in order to go look for you. But I don’t plan on bringing you back to him, ‘course.” He rests his head in his free hand, leaning on his elbow and glancing up at the prince with mischievous eyes. “Plus, can’t I just have an excuse to see ya? It’s not every day that we can talk like this.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” he affirms, and the weight of Akito’s hand in his own is comforting. It’s warm, and gentle, and the total opposite of how he felt with the crown upon his head. Most of all, it was safe, a feeling that Touya didn’t get to experience often. “Do you have anywhere else to be, Akito..? Being a knight major, and all.” Their shoulders brush a little as the prince meets his eyes, glancing down at him before looking away, back into the sky dotted with stars. “I’d assume you would be with one of the other majors, like Akiyama- or maybe you would be with Tsukasa, because he’s the commander of the knights..?”
“Hah, as if Tsuk- Sir Tsukasa,” Akito scoffs before correcting himself, leaving Touya to chuckle softly, “doesn’t already run off to mess around with that one weird marquess- Kamishiro, was it? And don’t even get me started with Mizuki. They spend all of their free time making fun of those rich guys downstairs, and getting my sister into trouble.” He clicks his tongue, shaking his head to himself. “Guess us knights aren’t as professional as you think off the field. But aside from that, I’d rather just spend my time with you.”
Touya feels his face heat up, and wishes that in some other world, he were a little more confident in his certain and utter love for the boy next to him. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
“It’s the truth, yeah?” Gazing up at him with lidded eyes, Akito grins, bright enough that it cuts through the dusk of the night. “Nothing much, just admitting it.”
“If that’s how you feel, then I feel the same.”
You make me feel too much, Akito.
It’s with the knight that Touya really does notice the beauty in the sky, from the stars to lights gradually flooding the kingdom with illumination. Their linked hands become just another detail in his memories as he surveys the view, all while blissfully ignoring (or trying to, at least) Akito looking at him from the corner of his eye. It couldn’t get any worse- in the best way possible- really, since being with Akito was overwhelming enough. The idea of a boy, one that had grown up with Touya, being able to cause such emotions was scary. It was something that Touya feared and yet longed for all the same.
Really, what could one say about Akito Shinonome other than his blatant strengths? Even when they were younger, and Touya was nowhere close to becoming a prince while Akito was still in training, he was always striving to get better. It’d be a lie to say that Touya didn’t vividly recall how Akito would sneak Touya out of the kingdom at ungodly hours of the morning just to watch the sun rise outside the castle walls, or how they’d duel after curfew with wooden swords. Akito was his sun, the one who had brought him happiness during the days where he felt nothing but loneliness; Touya was ever grateful that he had still lingered by his side, even as their time together became limited, and they’d been caught up with the ideas of becoming a king and his honorable knight.
Plus, when did Akito get so… attractive? Like, dear God.
He clears his throat suddenly, attempting to throw that thought out of his mind for good, and feels a shiver go down his spine from the chills. Taking in a deep breath, Touya focuses on the goosebumps that were now dotting his arms rather than the worried look that Akito shoots his way.
Akito shifts beside him, fixing his posture so he was standing upright with his free hand holding the railing, his eyes diverted onto Touya with a raised eyebrow. “You cold? Hey, don’t ignore me like I’m not right here,” he adds when Touya dismissively shakes his head, not daring to look him back in the eye. It’s with this that Akito breaks their handhold, takes his leather glove off of his hand, and moves his hand under Touya’s chin to turn his head towards him. Eyes of olive-green study Touya’s expression until he’s forced to meet Akito’s stare, trying his hardest to ignore how warm Akito’s hand was on his skin.
“... I’m not cold,” the prince blatantly lies, averting his eyes, and Akito snorts. “It’s nothing major that I should worry about, even if I were.”
“Guess I’ll worry for you, then,” says his knight, just as leisurely as one would ask for the time of day, and proceeds to undo the cape draping over his sleeves, shrugging it off casually and holding it out to Touya. The prince stares, and the offering only hits Touya a few seconds later, when his eyes widen a little.
Thank god for the darkness of the sky, or Akito would be looking at a rather embarrassing sight, actually- who knew that the heir to the throne could melt with just some simple words?
Touya sucks in a breath and shakes his head quickly. Not only would taking Akito’s cape make him feel bad, but it’d just be embarrassing. (He tried to repress the fact that he really did want to wear it.) “It’d be too much to ask from you to wear that, Akito,” he responds quickly, looking back out to the open air, “and besides, you must be cold yourself, no?”
His friend chuckles, putting his glove on before folding his cape over his arm, not making any movement whatsoever as to drape it back over his shoulders. “Nice try, but not really. Tsukasa’s big on the whole ‘stay warm during expeditions’ shit, so he makes us all layer under our uniforms. Which, I guess, comes in handy right now, doesn’t it?” Akito studies his noble’s expression for a moment or two before exhaling, raising his eyebrows again. “C’mon, Touya. Put it on for me?”
For me. That , in itself, would be enough for Touya to do relatively anything just for the boy next to him, who just so happened to also be the boy he’d loved for around all of his life. As much as his consciousness could remember.
Silently, the prince nods, and his knight laughs softly (affectionately, even) as he takes the cape in his gloved hands, reaching around Touya’s shoulders to rest the cape around his body, and tie it tightly in the front with the golden rope.
Touya doesn’t quite realize that his eyes are shut until delicate fingers sweep the stray pieces of his hair away to frame his face- it’s a simple movement, but it’s enough to bring him back to reality. His eyes readjust to the lack of lighting, until they’ve made out the shape of Akito’s face, and he registers the new warmth of Akito’s cape around his shoulders. The cape smells homely, just like the feeling Akito himself gives off, strongly reminiscent of leather and pine tree. Subconsciously, he feels himself relax a little more.
The heat of Akito’s skin seeps through the leather gloves he’s wearing, and Touya leans into his touch as the younger holds his face, rubbing his cheek gently. Admittedly, the touch is enough to get a sigh escaping from Touya’s lips, and he doesn’t need to open his eyes to know that Akito is smiling.
“God, I…” Akito sighs, his tone dripping with a fondness the prince has never heard, “You’re stunning. Seriously, I’m jealous, y’know?”
It’s with these words that Touya’s focus is back on his knight’s expression, gray eyes curiously meeting those of olive green. “Of who? Me?”
Another few moments pass when Akito hums dismissively, running his thumb softly over his confidant’s cheek. “‘Course not, idiot. I’m jealous of whoever’s got the highest honor of your hand in marriage.”
The silence that follows his words is unsettling, and it takes Touya the entirety of a minute to process what Akito had just told him, and to realize that the words were for him , and that- oh. Well, that’s a little flustering, isn’t it?
Akito wants to marry him.
In fact, the statement itself is a two-way shock, what with the way the knight’s eyes immediately widen and avert to the side anxiously, and he takes his hand off of Touya’s face to clear his throat, looking away with embarrassment. “Ah, jeez, that’s so embarrassing. Forget I said anything..?”
“No, Akito,” Touya cuts in, shaking his head with a gentle smile on his face, reaching out to take Akito’s hand in his own and holding it close to his chest, “That’s… sweet of you to say. Really.” The warmth in his heart from being with his best friend, the boy that had stayed by his side, is so intense that Touya gets a sudden rush of confidence; there’s nothing more that he wants to do than to simply be with Akito, as long as Akito would take him with open arms. “And if it matters, then-” The older one takes a deep breath, drawing closer in the slightest, “I wouldn’t particularly mind if you were the one to have that honor.”
Akito inhales sharply. If it weren’t so dark outside, Touya would be certain that his cheeks were rosy. “You’re joking?”
“I wouldn’t joke over something like this.”
“So, you’re… serious.”
Touya laughs. “Well, if I’m not joking, then of course I’d have to be serious.”
“You’re an idiot, that’s what you are,” Akito exclaims with dimpled cheeks and bright eyes, the tone in his voice affectionate as he pulls the other into a tight embrace, burying his face into the comfort of Touya’s shoulder. A hug- so simple, yet something so forgotten between them that Touya remembers just how much he’s desired it from Akito specifically. It’s with this notion that Touya carefully wraps his arms around the other’s body, drawing him in as close as two individuals can possibly be. His eyelids flutter shut, leaning his head against that of the orange-haired knight’s. “I’ll marry you, Touya. I promise, but will you wait for me?”
“I’ll wait for a lifetime so long as it ends in your proposal, Akito. Millions of lifetimes.” He doesn’t quite realize how devoted, how vulnerably loving his voice sounds until Akito’s hold on him tightens, and they fall silent once more. It is the truth, of course. Every feeling that Akito’s provoked in him is released into the air through quiet breathing, through how much he’s loved his friend (his soulmate, truthfully), and how much his Akito loves him back.
If they remain on the balcony deep into the hours of dusk, enjoying each others’ presence in private, then no one needs to know.