Chapter Text
Tamaki was not enjoying any of this. The dress was something he could see on Nejire, not himself. It was awkwardly fitted, and the fact he had been in it for hours while they tailored it really didn’t make it any easier to move.
Neijire had decided to take a walk through the gardens before dinner. She had said getting used to the dress would make him feel more comfortable in it. So far, it was making him feel more like a fish out of water.
He took a step like he normally would, and instead, he stumbled forward.
“Tamaki. Take smaller steps.” Neijire caught the Prince by the shoulder, centering him as his face flustered and reddened.
“I really don’t think this is working, Nejire-chan.” Tamaki was on the verge of giving up. "You can't even see the heels. Why do I have to wear them? "
It had been embarrassing enough to have his feet measured but when he'd been presented with three pairs of heels, Tamaki had wanted to crawl into himself.
"It's supposed to help sell the look." Nejire shrugged, and grabbed Tamaki once more by the hand to guide him. "And I think you're doing just fine!"
There was Nejire, once again being the light to cut through the gloom. He sighed, taking another step forward.
“Just slowly and look ahead of you. You’ll get it!” Nejire squeezed his hand, encouraging him every so slightly.
Tamaki inhaled and tried to take a small, more confident step. "Are you sure?" He squeaked as his foot wobbled as he put his weight down.
"I feel like I'm gonna fall!" Tamaki felt his voice tremble as he almost tipped sideways, twisting his ankle.
"Just breathe. Look at me." Nejire smiled softly, her blue eyes drawing him in. It worked. It always worked.
Tamaki felt the tension roll from his shoulders ever so slightly and his pitched breathing mellowed. For just a moment, there was confidence in his step.
"See?" Nejire chirped, smiling widening in her lips. "Just '--like tha-"
Neijire's eyes wandered, speech sliding off in distraction. Sky blue eyes widened in surprise, and Nejire's hands pulled away from Tamaki.
Jolted, Tamaki shifted. He lost his balance as he saw what appeared to be a disembodied head sticking out of one of the garden walls.
As he felt the thin heel snap under the strain and weight of him, Tamaki watched as a man, around his age and only slightly taller, materialized through the wall. He was dressed in the royal colors of the Sunlands, no doubt a royal retainer to Prince Mirio.
There was only a moment that Tamaki blushed, trying to conjure up his own power to save himself from the fall. As tiny sprouts grew from his fingertips, strong arms braced him around shoulders and hip.
The blush deepened. Tamaki found himself looking straight up into baby blue eyes and perfectly straight blonde hair that spilled free from a circlet about the man's head.
Suddenly, Tamaki realized this wasn't just some retainer to the Prince. This was the Prince himself.
"Princess Tamaki! Are you alright?" Mirio's face was creased with concern, his grip unwavering around him.
Tamaki found his chest was tight and his heart thudded desperately. There was no saliva in his mouth as he fought the panic in his brain for words. All he saw was worry and the most strikingly unique eyes Tamaki had ever seen.
~~~~
Mirio’s body had acted on instinct. Before he had even realized it, he was moving. As soon as the Princess had made eye contact, Mirio had seen the issue. He had heard the snapping of the heel and the way that she had twisted in reaction to it.
Mirio pushed himself through the wall, his feet carrying him to action. The Togata family had been blessed with the power of permeation, though most of the descendants of his line had chosen to not master it. Mirio, on the other hand, was different. He had been determined. With little to no aid, he had mastered the magic in his blood.
It was easy for him to slip through solid objects, but sometimes it didn’t go exactly as planned. He felt his bare foot touch the cool stone pavers used as a pathway in the garden. Mirio had left both shoes behind in his haste. He also felt a cool breeze on his chest, thankful that at least his pants seemed to have followed.
There were only two thoughts, however, as Mirio rushed into action. Remain decent. Save the Princess.
Mirio’s fingers pressed into the silk cloth, tangling with the baby blue fabric as he gripped Tamaki to him. As he inhaled sharply, he realized that his heart was still wildly thrumming. Mirio hadn’t had a moment to decipher the feelings inside him. He had never felt this heavy heartbeat or the twisting in his guts. He felt drawn to Tamaki, and he needed to make sure she was safe. There was something about the Princess that required him to act.
“Princess.” Mirio breathed, finally realizing exactly what was going on.
Tamaki was flushing a deep scarlet, pointed eyes wide in surprise. The soft line of her mouth was closed shut, as if stunned beyond words. Her fingers were pressed against the hairless muscles of his pectorals, and Mirio remembered that he was currently shirtless.
“I apologize for my actions, Princess. I am not supposed to use my powers before people.” Mirio was finding it difficult to let Tamaki out of his arms. He wanted to make sure she was safe and unharmed before he released her. “I do hope you can forgive me. I acted without thought.”
For a timeless moment, they stared into each other's eyes. Even without speaking, Mirio could tell all he needed to know in the moment they connected.
That was, until there was a soft clearing of a throat from just to Mirio’s left. “Prince Togata?”
The response came from the woman who had been accompanying the Princess. For a moment, Mirio searched desperately for a name. Who would possibly be with the Princess? He was positive Sir had given him the names of everyone who had been important.
Long, curly. periwinkle hair. Soft, delicate features. Gentle smile and warm blue eyes. There were also hints in her attire as she wore something more extravagant than a simple serving girl or a handmaiden. She was royalty, too. There was no doubt in Mirio’s mind that this was the Princess of the Wavelands, noted to be in attendance as the closest friend of her Highness.
“Princess Hado.” Mirio shifted his gaze from Tamaki, still silent and blushing in his arms, to the other Princess in his presence.
“You think that maybe you could put down Tamaki?” She smiled softly, her eyes closing ever so slightly with the gesture.
“Oh. Of course.” Mirio shifted, pulling Tamaki, who was surprisingly light for her size, to an upright position. “Are you alright, Princess?”
Tamaki’s hand only shifted with the switching of positions. Mirio was aware of the press of fingertips into his flesh, and the goosebumps that prickled about his bare skin.
Simply, Tamaki nodded her head, taking in a deep breath as, with uneven feet, she steadied herself.
“Can I do anything?” Without missing a beat, Mirio offered his hand to the Princess, spotting a bench just feet away from where they currently stood. “Let me go fetch a new pair of shoes for you! Just point the way and I will be back in a flash!”
“Prince Togata, you really don’t need to do that!” Nejire smiled, taking a step closer to Tamaki who had still remained speechless through the whole encounter.
“I must insist!”
~~~~
Tamaki had been bridal carried over to the bench by the Prince and then, without any prompting, the shirtless Prince had rushed barefoot into the castle. Tamaki found himself unable to compose himself. He heard Nejire swooning over him, but his brain wouldn’t put the situation into retrospect.
He could feel the touch of Mirio’s skin on his fingertips. There was a tingle and sensation that was unfamiliar. Tamaki had never been around other boys, not like that. His parents were aware of his desires better than most in the kingdom. However, even with his disinterest in the opposite gender, Tamaki was completely unable to hold a conversation with anyone outside of the royal servants and the few whom he had known since childhood. Even Nejire had taken years to get to the point where he was comfortable with her.
“He is super cute!” Nejire cooed, sitting next to Tamaki, who was now starting to wonder if his heart would ever resume a normal rhythm.
“What?” The words spilled out of Tamaki’s mouth, only now realizing that he should at least respond to his best friend.
“I think he likes you!” Nejire’s voice raised an octave, and Tamaki wanted to just go back to his room and skip dinner.
“No. I don’t think he likes me.” The blush that had been present on his cheekbone deepened and spread to include his pointed ears.
“Oh come on!” Nejire nudged Tamaki playfully, her feet wiggling in excitement. “If he isn’t in L-O-V-E, I don’t know anything about boys.”
“Nejire-chan, you don’t like boys.” Tamaki’s words were quiet as he looked down at the folded hands in his lap.
There had been a feeling bubbling in his stomach from the moment he had looked into the eyes of the Prince. It made his skin prickle and his stomach tight. He had felt strange being so doted after, but it had been nice. It wasn’t the same sort of pampering he received from his royal status. This had been something different. He couldn’t get the feel of Mirio’s very perfect muscles out of his mind!
Nejire continued behind him, all the while he was tracing the memory of Mirio in his mind. Even through his dress, Tamaki had felt the strong muscles supporting his lower back. His hand had gone to grip fabric to brace his fall, and instead he had been met with perfect washboard abs. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered the very slight trail of blonde hair that had traveled down and disappeared beyond Mirio’s waistband.
With a deepening blush, Tamaki visualized the sculpted pecs, and how his hand had rested there while the Prince had stared into his soul.
“I can’t do this.” Tamaki blurted, louder than normal and in the middle of a ramble from his best friend.
Nejire stopped, thoughts forgotten at the sudden interruption. There was a moment where neither of them spoke, and Tamaki felt a shame rising within him that he couldn’t control.
“Of course you can.” Nejire responded with certainty as if that wasn’t even a thought on her mind. “You can do anything that you put your mind to!”
“It's not that-” Tamaki was examining his fingers as if they hold the secrets to the universe within the clenched knot. “He’s too nice. I need to tell him the truth.”
“I-” Nejire shifted, looking back to the castle nervously. “You know you can’t. Your parents, The King and Queen-”
“I can’t do this.” Tamaki felt his heart stop, unable to take the stress any more. His eyes watered, and he felt the urge to run as quickly as possible anywhere but where he was. “I can’t lie like this.
“What if he likes me, or worse, he picks me to be his-” Tamaki choked on the word as if thinking of it with his context was absurd. “ Queen ? ”
It was obvious by the look on Nejire’s face that she had been wondering the same thing. She swallowed as her mind turned looking for the right words. After a moment, she let out a sigh, her shoulders shrugging in defeat.
“Tamaki. I don’t know. This is-” Nejire shook her head, her hand moving to Tamaki’s lap, folding over the bunched hand. “I am trying to help your parents. They made this choice. You would have to ask them. I don’t know.”
Tamaki didn’t respond. He simply looked at his friend's hands, trying to center himself. He felt terrible for deceiving the Prince. Mirio seemed like a genuinely nice person, and this was just wrong.
Tamaki wasn’t sure how long he sat there, stuck in his own head. However, the familiar voice of his knight Taishiro Toyomitsu, who called himself Fat Gum, pulled him from whatever had been thinking about.
“Is Tamaki alright?” Fat Gum sounded concerned as he rounded the corner into the main pathway that cut through the gardens. Tamaki remembered what was happening, and a blush blossomed over his cheekbones.
“She was when I left them.” Mirio was only a step behind them. For such a large man, Fat Gum kept up with and often surpassed people half his size.
There was a moment where Fat Gum’s face twisted in confusion before it relaxed with a smile and a full bellied laugh. “Ah, yes. Our ‘Princess’ is rather resilient.”
They were upon them, and Tamaki found himself looking back down at his hands. He couldn’t say anything because nothing made sense.
“Princess?” Mirio held a pair of shoes, this time a set of flats. “You are alright?”
Tamaki looked up, finding his gaze locked upon the blue of the Prince’s. His heart pounded in his chest, tightness like he had never felt before. It was almost as if he couldn’t breathe, similiar to when he had his panics. However, he could breathe. Goose flesh prickled his skin as Mirio knelt in front of him, drawing his attention down.
Tamaki realized after a moment that he was expected to answer. He nodded, the flush deepening as he found he couldn’t think of any words. He wanted to speak, but his throat had tightened around them.
“Do you mind?” Mirio didn’t take his eyes from Tamaki’s face even for an instant. On the other hand, Tamaki could feel all eyes on him. He nodded cautiously and slowly as a response.
Gently, Mirio rocked back on his feet. It was then that Tamaki realized that the Prince had yet to replace his shirt. Tamaki’s eyes immediately darted from Mirio’s face, to his chest and then lower. Instinctively, Tamaki’s hands rushed to his face so he could hide.
Why was he letting the Prince touch him? It had taken years before he was comfortable with Nejire's touches, not that he’d ever admitted that to her. Yet, with Prince Mirio, he felt more comfortable. Not to say that he was in the best of states, his social anxiety reaching a peak, but in comparison to most encounters, he was doing very well.
He took a deep breath in and out as Mirio gently and tenderly removed the strappy heels and slipped on the much simpler flats. Immediately Tamaki felt better. “Thank you.” The words were muttered as he pulled his hands away from his face.
What he saw was surprising. Mirio’s face was shaped pleasantly into the most compassionate smile Tamaki had ever seen. “Of course.”
His stomach felt like he had swallowed a swarm of butterflies. His breath hitched once more in his chest as he dug his fingers into the fabric of his dress. He nodded, and made a small squeak as he exhaled. Was he in love? Was that what people called this?
~~~~
Mirio had been surprised at exactly how his fingers had felt like electricity at the touch of Tamaki’s skin. It hadn’t been exceptionally soft like other princesses he had tried courting nor had her legs been shaved. Needless to say, it hadn’t bothered Mirio in the slightest. He had also noticed that Tamaki had larger feet than he’d expected, but it didn’t matter. Mirio wanted to do whatever he could do to get to know Tamaki.
It had only taken a moment for him to retrieve his shirt and replace it. After that, he offered his hand to Tamaki. “My Lady.”
It was already amusing just how much Princess Tamaki blushed whenever he talked to her. It was rather enjoyable to watch her react to him, so much so that he wanted to get as many reactions out of her as possible. His heart hammered excitedly in his chest, pushing him on as they walked together.
“I am very glad you are not injured.” Mirio began, walking slowly, in case the Princess had in fact suffered some small injury from her fall. Her hands were gripped on the crook of his arm as they walked. He could hear Princess Nejire and Fat Gum chattering behind him, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest.
They walked in silence, and Mirio kept the slow pace. He wasn’t sure if it was because the Princess felt uncomfortable or if she was in fact hurt, and that thought nagged at him until he spoke out. “You are okay, right?”
It was only then that Mirio stopped to look down at the Princess. Even without her heels on, she didn’t measure up to his height. She was actually rather tall for a woman, but it didn’t seem to matter. There was a joy building inside him at just being around Tamaki.
“I am.” Tamaki’s response was soft, and meant only for him. Tamaki looked up the couple inches that separated their height and smiled.
The blush that seemed permanently affixed to Tamaki’s face deepened, and Mirio grinned wider. “Good.”
Was it possible that the Princess from this small, secondary kingdom was his soulmate? Mirio would have never guessed that his future Queen would be so close to home.