Chapter Text
There was something oddly thrilling about going completely unnoticed. Riku had never been unnoticed in his entire life. Being a prince meant he was constantly the center of attention whether he wanted to be or not. He couldn’t exactly recall a grand occasion where he did wish to be noticed. It's just what it was. The stares, the attention, the music playing unnecessarily during his entrance at parties...
More often than not all he wished for was a quiet moment alone with his thoughts but those were far and few between.
Inside the castle walls he was Riku Caspian James Rainier, prince and heir to Scala ad Caelum. His life was micromanaged and his entire childhood had been more or less lesson after lesson that would one day benefit him to ruling a kingdom.
His only ‘free’ time had been when he’d come of age and had finally been allowed to train as a knight. It wasn’t required, but he’d thirsted for the change. He had been only thirteen when he’d started his duties as a squire. It was a touch early but he’d had so many other duties that he had been granted permission.
He was not spoiled, or even offered special treatment. He was the same as all the other squires during those hours of the day and he’d thrived. He’d been a quick study his entire life and by fifteen had earned far more freedoms than most. He would never get to become a full fledged knight, his birthright wouldn’t allow it, but he’d trained hard regardless. He’d been honored for the feats he had accomplished and strangely enough, the guards honoring him had felt more fulfilling than the novel words of his parents or peers.
Knights looked at him with faith and competence and that had him all the more willing to someday be a decent king.
He loved his parents, he did, but he did not understand how two people who had gone through the same training he had were so utterly easy to manipulate. When it came to treaties and matters of their nation, they were untouchable. But when Lady Fallow offered his mother a backhanded compliment she fell apart completely. When Duke Dunhan implied that his son had accomplished something Riku had not, his father winced.
Their poker faces were dreadful.
The court had discovered quickly he was not so easily pushed around. Riku was perhaps petty, but he enjoyed watching their faces crumple when he indifferently dismissed them, refusing to play into their mean court games.
He was either the ‘cold prince’ or the ‘almost knight’, but he was always known. To not be known…
Riku had managed to slip away as he could maybe once a week or so. Getting out of the palace courtyards would have been tricky had he not known so many guards that would conveniently look the other way when Riku wandered passed. He’d have to send them a bottle of something later.
Even in the city proper he had to be cautious. It only took one person to recognize him for everything to go to shit, but recently he’d found a few quieter streets to use as shortcuts and it wasn’t long after that before he was in a more homely part of town. Not poor by any means, but there were few, if any noble lines stretching out this far.
Things seemed more peaceful, and Riku liked to think it was one of the best districts in the entire city. Was he biased? Certainly. The headache that had been plaguing him all morning lessened a touch.
One of the best parts was the fact that no one recognized him here. In plain clothes and his hair falling down loose at his shoulders he was just as normal as the next man. No one suspected the crown prince roaming around.
He’d never been unknown before and since his first trip here months ago, he’d yearned for it more and more.
The bell chimed to the music shop as he entered and he was assaulted with the soft smells of wood and lavender. He had no idea why the little music shop smelled that way but he didn’t care either. It was nostalgic and comforting.
The walls were lined with carefully crafted instruments and all the little attachments were set about the shop. Things he never realized must be sold. Sheet music. Strings for instruments. Cleaning kits.
Truly, more went into playing an instrument than he’d ever realized growing up.
“Afternoon, Riku.” Ventus greeted. He looked up from the counter where he was studying his own music sheets.
It had taken weeks for Riku to talk Sora’s older brother Ventus, to use his name rather than ‘highness’. There was no way he could enjoy his day off from his duties if he was outed as a royal.
“Hello Ventus.” Riku managed a smile. “Might my favorite teacher be about?”
Ventus chuckled softly. “He’s giving a lesson but,” He paused to check the time. “He should be finished in about ten minutes or so.”
Riku nodded, that wasn’t an awfully long time really. “I’ll browse and keep myself out of the way.”
“You’re welcome to go upstairs if you like.” Ventus offered.
Riku nodded once but stayed in the shop area. Sora lived about the shop with Ventus and his sister and two other brothers lived next door. All five of them gave music lessons and from what Riku had heard, all five were incredibly talented.
Going up into their living space felt rude. He valued his own space too much to barge into someone else’s. Instead he wandered the shop as he had many times before. It was a world he’d known nothing about before Sora. Frankly, he still knew very little about it and wasn’t particularly musically inclined. However, there were few things he loved as much as listening to Sora play.
It soothed something in him he didn’t realize needed to be calmed. He’d carried tension around with him everywhere he went before Sora.
Music had just been a background noise for him growing up. Already present in some way but easily ignorable. Riku had never given much thought to who was playing the music, how well they’d been playing or how long they’d been practicing. It was it’s own craft and he was coming to appreciate it.
His parents had dragged Sora to the palace to give him lessons on a selfish whim and then promptly forgotten all about it, just as Riku had suspected. He’d anticipated being angry about it for a long time, but instead...he’d come out of the mess with a friend.
Riku glanced up when a side door opened. A young lady, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old came out with a violin case clutched in her hand. She waved with a smile as she skipped out, evidently pleased with the way her lesson had gone but Riku could relate. Spending time with Sora put him in a good mood too.
A minute later Sora emerged, stretching and looking… Riku huffed softly. He’d get stuck down a repetitive rabbit hole if he got started on how Sora was looking.
Sora moved to greet his brother but Ventus just nodded in Riku’s direction. When Sora turned, a smile lit up his face. “Riku!”
“Hey.” Riku smiled a little, setting down the mandolin he’d been playing with.
Sora’s smile faltered a little. “You got a headache?”
“Not a bad one.” Riku said, not bringing himself to complain to Sora.
“So it’s bad.” Sora said instead, turning back to his lesson room to grab his violin before reappearing. “C’mon.”
“I’m really okay.”
“Yeah, sure.” Sora said, lacing his fingers with Riku’s and tugging him along upstairs. “Ven, you good?”
“Yep, you two go.” Ventus waved them off, penning more notes down as he hummed.
It was all Sora needed to hear while pulling Riku up to their living quarters. “Did you have another one of those long meetings this morning?”
“Yeah,” Riku said dryly. He hardly remembered anymore when he’d begun whining to Sora about his daily duties and tasks. He hated to complain but Sora promised him the venting was healthy.
Riku had certainly been a lot happier the last several months not bottling everything up.
Sora dropped onto a sofa and pulled Riku along with him. “Your parents still trying to find you a princess?”
“Mm..” Riku grunted unhappily.
“You knew it was coming.” Sora said softly. Sora had been surprised that Riku hadn’t been promised to some princess as a child.
“It’s not going to happen.” Riku shrugged, feeling that tension headache in his temples grow. It was pain Sora always soothed.
“Isn’t it?”
“You know it isn’t.” Riku muttered, reaching out to card his fingers through Sora’s hair. “You know why?”
Sora sighed softly and inched closer. “I was never under any… grand illusions, Riku. I know you have to get married. You have to have a baby. You’re going to be king.”
“I’ll get married when i want to.” Riku muttered, tilting Sora’s head closer to brush a kiss against his mouth. “There are other ways to find an heir and i’ll still be king. What are they going to do? Dismiss me?”
Sora frowned, worry pinching at his mouth. “I dunno how all your fancy stuff works, Riku. You can’t refuse.”
“They can’t refuse my demands either. I’ve done everything, Sora. Everything. I’ll manage on my own if i have to.”
“You are stubborn and unbending.” Sora chuckled quietly.
Riku snorted and pulled Sora into a deeper kiss. Originally he thought it might have been crass to seduce his music teacher but there hadn’t really been many music lessons anyway.
“I was raised to stand firm, take pride in my position, and fight for what i want.” Riku muttered with a smile. “That’s all i’m doing.”
“No,” Sora laughed softly. “You’re being a brat.”
“All the same thing.” Riku shrugged. “It’s my parents fault anyway for signing me up for music lessons.”
“Which you never actually took.” Sora rolled his eyes. “Think of the business we’d have if the crown prince had bothered to learn his scales.”
Riku’s whole look warmed. “I was too busy falling in love with my music teacher.”
Sora flustered instantly. “I was the one overwhelmed in the freaking castle. Having to teach a far too pretty prince. I was probably lucky you didn’t want to learn anything.”
“I learned plenty.” Riku disagreed, bumping his nose against Sora’s. “I’ll figure it out somehow. How to make us work, i mean.”
“No one is going to let the crown prince be with a peasant music teacher.” Sora muttered.
“Once i’m king, they won’t have a choice.” Riku muttered, cupping Sora’s chin again. “Is that okay with you?”
There was pink to Sora’s cheeks but he smiled warmly. “Yeah, it’s okay with me.”
Riku breathed out a relieved sigh and slumped against Sora. He’d never be a knight. He’d never have certain freedoms. His birth wouldn’t allow it.
Sora however, was one thing he was not going to sacrifice.
“Lay your head down and i’ll play.” Sora said. “Let’s see if we can’t chase that headache away.”
Riku groaned. “Which might be the dirtiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He sprawled out against Sora’s lap, his face already pressed against Sora’s stomach.
“Oh shut up,” Sora laughed, waiting until they were both settled again before picking up his violin. He started right in on a lovely, soft song. One of Riku’s absolute favorites because he knew that Sora had written it for him. For them.
It was their song and more than once, Riku had caught himself humming it throughout his day. Sora was maybe halfway through before he felt the pain in his head ease. It was like magic, Sora was his magic.
“What time do you have to be back?” Sora asked quietly while he continued playing.
“Never…” Riku muttered.
“Mhmm,” Sora huffed fondly. “And when you inevitably fall asleep, what time shall i wake you?”
“Hour, wanna take you to dinner.” Riku muttered, his eyes did feel heavy.
Sora wiggled, delighted with the idea. “Okay.”
He started the same song over again, this beautifully nostalgic song. Sora really was his Dearly Beloved.
It put him to sleep every time but Sora being his personal pillow was always a major factor there too. He was never sacrificing Sora.