Chapter Text
It’s very rare that Gavin ever leaves the castle.
His parents believe that he might end up getting injured or kidnapped if he ever goes out. It’s not like they force him to stay inside all hours of the day. He’s allowed to go out into the garden to get fresh air and bask in the sunlight, but it’s never enough.
Sometimes the garden is the only place he ever gets any peace and quiet from all the prince business. It’s nice to just lay in the grass, close his eyes, and relax. Feel the gentle breeze, the sunlight shining through the trees warming his skin, and forget all about his responsibilities and lessons.
He could hear children playing and laughing, people gossiping or arguing, and the pitter patter of them all walking around busily.
No strict rules or guidelines. No “Princes can’t do this” or “You’re going to get yourself hurt.” He can climb the trees, run around in the grass, and even take a nice nap if he wants.
Don’t get him wrong, he loves being a prince. He loves his parents and he loves all of the work staff in the castle that he’s close friends with. But it’s just so undeniably boring sometimes. He has to spend practically every minute inside because of lessons and their fear for his safety. Sure, the castle is huge and it’s fun to explore, but it gets old fast.
Especially when people are always scolding you for doing “dangerous” activities. And honestly, what’s so dangerous about running around or having fun? He’s hardly even allowed to handle a sword because he might get hurt.
Of course, soon he’ll be getting taught about combat and other such things, but only because they want him to be able to defend himself in case of emergencies.
Everything is ‘future king' this and 'future king' that.
It’s enough to drive a guy mad.
He knows that it’s important for him to learn how to become a king when his adoptive parents, Geoff and Griffon, step down from the throne, but does he really have to give up everything for it?
They’ve said numerous times that once he becomes king then he can go out all he wants to talk to the townsfolk, but that’s just too far away. He wants the freedom now.
He misses the days when he was a young child and could do whatever he wanted. When he didn’t have lessons and rules, and the garden wasn’t his only place to get some alone time.
Growing up sucks sometimes.
Which is why he’s decided to finally be a little rebellious for once in his life. With the help of Ray (his best friend and a servant boy) he’d managed to sneak out of castle through the servants door in the kitchen and get out into town.
He was sort of hesitant about it first. All of the words his parents would say to him about getting kidnapped or murdered out on the streets were terrifying. They were probably just trying to make sure he didn’t do any reckless (like he’s doing now) but it seems they might have just been too cautious with him.
But everybody seems nice, even though a few are a little bossy and pushy when they move past him others smile friendly at him or wave back. Nobody is recognizing him as the son of the king and queen, which is good.
It’s fun to be the rebellious teenage son. He almost feels like he’s just a regular kid, strolling through town and having a normal day.
He walks down the street, seeing more people crowded into one place than he’s ever seen in his life. He’s so used to everything being orderly and organized that it’s exciting to be in such a hectic and almost chaotic place.
Gavin isn’t sure why they’ve ever wanted to keep him inside. Yeah, maybe it’s a little dangerous. He knows not everybody is nice and would easily take advantage of kidnapping a member of the royal family to get a little extra money, but nobody knows he’s the prince right now. He’s just wearing a simple tunic and brown pants, nothing that screams ‘I’m royalty.’
He really needs to thank Ray a million times for not only helping him get out, but loaning him some old clothes as well. He isn’t going out there so that he can be bombarded and praised by the people in town, he just wants to be able to walk around and enjoy the momentary freedom.
He hasn’t been out here for long but knows that he should probably head back soon. If anybody notices that he’s gone then he could get in big trouble. He doesn’t want his parents to worry, he already feels guilty enough for sneaking out. If they panic too much and send the guards out to find him then he might be in big trouble once he’s found.
Well, he would turn back right now.
If only he knew where he was.
It seems his little stroll through the large town has gotten him undeniably lost. He’s been out in the town before, but always with others that know their way around. Maybe he should have taken Ray along with him.
This might not be going as smoothly as he hoped. He’d hate to end this with asking somebody for directions, because they might make the connection and recognize him. His accent would be a dead giveaway if they know what the prince sounds like.
His parents would find out and he would be in so much trouble.
Things can never go easily for Gavin, can they?
He turns and walks into a small alley, hoping that maybe he’ll come across something recognizable on the adjoining street. He’s trying to focus entirely on not panicking or worrying about how he’s going to get home quickly. Maybe he should plan out things more before going through with his ideas.
As soon as he’s about to reach the end of the alley, something runs around the corner and crashes into him.
He’s almost thrown off by the impact, but he has a quick enough reaction time to brace himself. The person that ran into him however, did not.
"Fuck," the person curses under his breath as he lands onto the hard pavement. Not even a beat passes before they jump up and are back onto their feet.
Gavin’s eyes widen in shocked confusion and he begins to immediately stutter out apologies, “S-Sorry! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you, I was just-“
His words are cut off by the boy covering his mouth with his hand and pushing him against the wall.
"Shut up," the boy hisses, glaring into his eyes. If his mouth wasn’t covered it still would have been enough to terrify Gavin into absolute silence.
Oh, God. Maybe his parents were right to never let him out of the castle without supervision. It’s only been a little over an hour and he’s already gotten himself into trouble.
He doesn’t dare move a muscle as their bodies are close to one another, his back pressed against the alley and the boy pressed against him, keeping him flat against the wall. He’s peering out from behind the corner to see if there’s any danger.
Although he’s utterly confused and scared, he tries to calm himself down by focusing on something unimportant. Like the boy’s appearance. Curly reddish brown hair, a few freckles, and probably about the same age as him. Judging by the small smudges of dirt on his face and clothes, he isn’t wealthy or very well-off. But attractive nonetheless. He’s panting and out of breath, presumably because he was running from something.
He isn’t exactly what he should be more afraid of. Whatever he’s running from, or the actual boy who’s still pressing him uncomfortably against a wall.
He squirms only a slight bit, but it’s enough for the boy to glare at him and says, “Be quiet or I’ll beat the shit out of you,” to him in an aggressive tone.
A few tense moment pass in silence until he lets out a sigh of relief. Just like that the angry and panicked demeanor is gone. The hand is slowly removed from over Gavin’s mouth and the boy steps back a few paces.
"He’s gone," he murmurs, still looking out suspiciously at the direction the man used to be. "Sorry that I kind of attacked you, but I just… really didn’t need that guy finding me."
Gavin takes in a deep breath, only just now realizing how difficult it was to breathe a few moments ago.
"It’s, uh, it’s okay," he manages to say, "Just kind of startled me a little bit."
"Startled?" he scoffs, "I almost thought you were gonna start crying."
Gavin furrows his brows, “I was not!”
The boy mocks his words with an overly exaggerated British accent.
Gavin glares at him although it isn’t particularly serious. Now that they have some distance and are able to talk like normal human beings, the boy is kind of intriguing. It’s very rare that he ever meets somebody outside of the castle that isn’t a noblemen or somebody of high importance.
He tried to avoid directly speaking to anybody during his stroll outside of the castle walls but the boy doesn’t look at him as though he’s the prince. When their eyes first met he’d almost expected him to be shocked or worried that he almost injured the ‘future king’ but it’s like he didn’t even notice. Maybe he isn’t familiar with the royal family or knows what they look like.
"I really do apologize," Gavin continues to babble while looking down. He notices that the boy must have had apples and they’d fallen to the ground during the collision. He bends down, picks them up quickly, and then hands them to him, not wanting it to look like he was trying to steal them. "Here. Once again, I’m so-"
The boy cuts him off and takes the two apples, “You’re sorry. I get it.”
Gavin nods, still feeling bad about the ordeal, but then holds out his hand for an introductory shake, “I’m Gavin.”
The boy gives him a hard stare, looking back and forth from his outstretched hand and back to Gavin’s face. He doesn’t accept it and instead says, “A handshake? Who do you think I am? The king of Endenham?”
Gavin raises an eyebrow with confusion as he lets his hand fall slowly, “Actually, Endenham doesn’t have a king.”
"Oh, great," the boy mutters almost to himself as he begins to move past him, "One of those educated assholes."
Maybe he really is spending too much time with royalty. It’s hard to forget that not everybody was raised to be overly polite and give handshakes upon first meetings.
He really doesn’t want him to leave yet, they’d hardly even met. “Wait,” he cries and walks quickly to catch up to the boy who’s now making his way back through the alley the way Gavin came, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you.”
"You didn’t offend me, moron. I just have more important things to do than stand here and shoot the breeze with somebody I don’t know."
"Well, I already told you, my name’s Gavin," he says with a smile and doesn’t offer his hand this time, "So it’s kind of like we already know each other. Almost like we’re friends."
The boy stops walking and raises an eyebrow at him, “Friends?”
Gavin holds his breath and prays that he’s somehow managed to get back onto his good side. But judging by the way he’s being stared at, that might not be the case. He practically jumps up and down while waiting for the verdict, who knew introducing yourself to somebody could be so much work.
It might be easier just to say ‘Hey, I’m the goddamn prince, be friends with me!’
"Fine," the boy finally says, "My name’s Michael."
Gavin grins widely, overjoyed that this is going well. It’s almost exciting to know somebody outside of the castle. It’s so rare that he even gets outside of the palace walls, let alone meet somebody. Especially somebody as interesting as Michael.
"I’m sorry for bumping into you too," Michael continues, "Wasn’t entirely your fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going."
"It’s fine," Gavin waves off, "I was the one running all over the gaff. Why were you being chased?"
Michael raises an eyebrow at the odd term but doesn’t comment on it. He smirks and then tosses one of the apples at Gavin who jumps and scrambles to catch it.
"Stole a few apples from him. He caught me and wasn’t pleased," he explains easily, "The alley happened to be the closest place to run and hide."
Gavin’s eyes widen, “You stole them?”
"Yeah. You’ve never stolen anything before?"
"Well…" he considers lying, but he’s an awful liar and Michael seems to be good at reading people. He’s already having a hard enough time not blurting out the fact that he’s the prince. Gavin’s never been good with lying or fibs. "No, not exactly."
Michael nods and takes a large bite from the green apple in his palms as they begin walking, the juice runs down his chin before he roughly wipes it away with the dirty sleeve of his shirt, “Your families well off enough to buy food themselves, huh?”
"Uh, s-sort of, I suppose," he stutters, and takes a small bite from his own apple.
"Where are your folks now? They aren’t wondering where their asshole son is?"
He can’t tell Michael, but yes. Probably. He’s been gone for quite a while so it wouldn’t be a big surprise if Geoff and Griffon are walking around the castle beginning to look for him. If he doesn’t get back soon then they might even start to get worried.
But maybe not. Maybe they’re busy doing king and queen stuff and don’t have time to worry about the whereabouts of their son.
It’s a risk Gavin’s willing to take because he doesn’t really want to say goodbye to Michael yet, especially now that they’re getting along.
"Nah," he tries to say nonchalantly, but the worry seeps through and Michael notices.
There’s a few moments where Michael just stares at him suspiciously before a look of realization dawns on his face.”Oh, I know what’s going on,” he grins mischievously.
Gavin almost drops his apple in disappointment, “You do?”
"Yeah, you’re a runaway, right?"
That wasn’t the response he was expecting, but he’ll go along with it regardless.
"Uh, yeah sure," he murmurs.
"Yeah sure?"
He rolls his eyes and grimaces at the words as he speaks them, “Yes, I ran away. Jeez.”
Michael doesn’t comment on it any further, assuming that it’s a sore subject. They aren’t going to get anywhere if he spends the entire day trying to pry information from him. Besides, he knows it isn’t any of his business.
"Well, what are you doing out in an alley?" he asks, "Don’t you have somewhere to be? Ya’know, other than here, getting on my nerves?”
"Actually no. In fact, I was trying to find my way around before I bumped into you."
"Really? Have you never been to these parts before?"
It’s not that big of a realm, almost impossible to get lost in if you know the area. But Gavin’s never really been out here that often so it’s not really a big surprise that he’d gotten lost so easily.
"Not really," he says it quietly.
"Where are you from then?" he asks, not wanting to dampen Gavin’s apparent optimistic mood.
"I’m from here."
"You are not," Michael rolls his eyes, "You can tell me, dude. I’m sure as hell not gonna send you back."
"No, I really am from here. I’ve lived here my entire life," Gavin insists.
"Then why don’t you know the area?"
"I don’t know," he shrugs, "I just don’t get out much, I suppose."
"Well, you’re on the streets now, buddy. The only place to be is out.”
"There’s no inn or anything that I could stay at?" he asks, the fact that he’s the rich prince of this town has almost completely slipped from his mind. Maybe he’s a bit better at lying than he’s thought because he very easily slipped into the role of rebellious runaway son.
Michael raises a brow again, “You have any money?”
Of course he doesn’t. He’d only went out to the town to get some fresh air and freedom, he didn’t plan on buying anything or getting lost. It’s not like he’ll actually have to spend a night in an inn anyways, but maybe it would have been a good idea to take a few coins.
He really needs to think through his plans more.
"I’ll take that as a no," Michael smirks and rolls his eyes.
"I just don’t know much about being on my own," Gavin shrugs, "I’ve never been independent before."
"Everybody’s always done everything for you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, luckily we’re friends then," Michael beams, almost sarcastically, and puts his hand on Gavin’s shoulder, "Because your dear best friend Michael Jones is going to help you."
"Help me? You mean-"
"Yup! Because I am such a kind hearted person and not as much of an asshole as I probably first seemed to be-"
"You didn’t seem like an that."
"Dude," Michael states, "I shoved you against a wall and threatened to beat you up just for struggling a little."
"And now we’re friends!" Gavin reminds him playfully.
Michael shakes his head with amusement, “You are way too trusting of people.”
"So are you."
Michael doesn’t comment on that, “How about I show you around town?”
Gavin doesn’t bother telling him that he actually does live in this town, mainly because he still doesn’t have a very good excuse as to why he doesn’t know his way around very well.
Besides, the whole reason he left the castle was so he could explore the town for a day. Having a tour-guide would make it a lot easier.
"Yeah," he smiles, "Sure."
"Come on then," Michael holds out his hand.
At first Gavin thinks that he wants to shake hands as a formal agreement to the tour, but he doesn’t want to look like an idiot because Michael already reminded him that shaking hands is not something commoners do.
Michael rolls his eyes after a few moments of silent confusion from Gavin as he just stares at the outstretched hand.
"Here," he says, and takes Gavin’s hand in his. Instead of shaking it he just holds it tightly in his and then begins walking, pulling Gavin along with him.
He isn’t a complete shut in. He’s heard of holding hands before, but it’s only something that townsfolk do with people they love or care about. Kind of like kissing but not as affectionate. But he’s never held hands with anybody before. It’s seen as improper and only something that only poor people do because they can’t afford to give gifts to show their care.
Regardless, it fills his stomach with a warm feeling and he can’t wipe the smile off his face as he walks along side Michael, they’re finger intertwined.
Michael lets out a laugh when he sees Gavin’s rosy cheeks and dumb grin, “Man, for an educated rich kid, you sure are stupid.”
*
And that’s how they spend the next few hours.
Michael pulls him around town, pointing out different areas and telling him things about it. Gavin’s just so excited to see and learn about everything that it’s so easy to show him about all of it.
During this time they talk a lot, tell stupid jokes to one another, and laugh their asses off. It’s almost like they’ve been friends forever. They don’t let go of each others hands the entire time.
Gavin wishes that he would have sneaked out of the castle a long time ago if it meant knowing Michael for a longer period of time. He knows for certain that he’s definitely going to sneak out again if it means getting to see him more.
"That’s the entrance to the castle," Michael says along their tour while pointing at the gates to Gavin’s home.
His eyes widen as he stares at them. It’s so weird to see the castle from the outside like this. It looks pretty. He’s been gone for longer than he’d originally planned, hopefully his parents aren’t wondering where he is.
He always feels so guilty whenever he worries them. Usually it happened a lot when he was a young boy and doing something silly like not coming out of his hiding place after a game of Hide-and-Seek. Hopefully they won’t panic when they see that he’s no where to be found within the palace walls.
"That’s the blacksmith," Michael continues, not noticing how interested he is in the castle. Gavin shakes his head and puts it out of his brain, focusing more on the tour than his home.
"And there’s the town fountain," Michael says and gestures to the pretty white fountain in the middle of town.
"I’ve seen that before!" Gavin gasps, excited to see it up close.
The only time he’s ever been in town center was when he was in a carriage. He watched children playing in the fountain from his seat and begged Geoff and Griffon to let him out so he could play too. They felt bad for having to say no, but they had to go to an important dinner and couldn’t have Gavin arriving soaking wet.
He was only a child then, but the idea still hasn’t lost it’s appeal.
"Come on, Michael!" Gavin yells excitedly and pulls him towards the fountain.
Once they reach it, Gavin steps in and jumps around, making the water splash violently around him.
He’s never felt so free in all of his life. Nobody to yell at him that playing in a fountain is dangerous or improper. No rules to follow or people to please. He can practically do whatever he wants.
Michael tries to shield himself from the water using his hands but isn’t too bothered when he gets splashed a little.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
"Playing in the fountain!"
"Only children play in fountains, moron," he says, but he can’t bring himself to actually be angry. The sight of Gavin hopping around in the shallow water (that’s only a little above ankle deep) is almost adorable, especially when he’s giggling like that.
"Well, let’s be children for a while!"
Michael rolls his eyes and for a moment Gavin thinks that he’s going to turn him down and demand that he get out of the fountain. But then he bends down to roll up his pants (although they’ll probably get wet anyways) and then steps in along with him.
Gavin lets out a loud squeal and begins splashing him with water. They playfully fight like this for a few moments, paying no attention to the people that stare at them as they walk by.
Goddamn being away from the castle feels so good. It’s like he’s only now realizing how stir-crazy he was going in there and all of it is finally melting away.
He grabs Michael’s hands and begins spinning around with him, sort of like a ridiculous version of ring-around-the-rosy.
It really didn’t take long for he and Michael to become comfortable with one another. They’ve become such fast friends that they’re able to dance around in a fountain together and not care what anybody else thinks. They’ve spent the large majority of the tour making fun of one another and cracking inappropriate jokes.
"Hey! You two! Get out of the fountain!" a loud voice interrupts their fun.
They immediately stop jumping around and look up to see somebody marching towards them. Gavin recognizes it as a palace guard and fear creeps up his spine.
If anybody’s going to notice who he is, it would be a guard that works at his actual home.
Michael seems just as alarmed as him though and they both being to scramble out of the fountain.
"Run!" they yell, but they’re both laughing like idiots. Everybody witnessing it is laughing too, enjoying the entertainment of two silly boys having fun together.
Michael’s faster than him so he almost trips over his own two feet the entire time, but he’s giggling the entire time.
"Get back here!" the guard yells, "You’re the boy who was stealing earlier!"
Michael stops laughing and curses under his breath. Gavin continues to laugh, not finding in within himself to actually be annoyed or scared of getting caught. This is just too exhilarating for him to be angry.
He’s pulled along even more roughly by Michael while the guard continues to chase them.
It doesn’t take long to lose him in the crowd of other people in town. Michael’s an expert at getting people off his tail when they’re chasing him, it just happened to take a little longer because he was pulling a laughing Gavin along with him.
*
When they finally stop they’re both out of breath and panting heavily. Gavin’s finally stopped laughing but only because he feels like he’ll suffocate if he doesn’t get anymore air inside of his lungs.
"That was fun!" he exclaims once his breathing begins to turn back to normal.
"Fun!? You think running from palace guards is fun?"
"Well, yeah," Gavin shrugs, choosing to ignore Michael’s obvious annoyance, "It’s like an adventure!"
"Tell me if you’re still having fun when we’re caught and arrested for stealing."
His eyes widen at the thought, “Would they really do that?”
Michael smirks and opens the door to the building they’ve stopped in front of, “You really aren’t from around here, are you?”
Gavin lets out an annoyed huff as he follows him inside, not really paying attention to where they are. “Of course I am. I grew up here.”
Michael somehow still doubts that.
"Besides, why are you so worried about the guards? You only stole an apple."
"Yeah, because that’s the only fucking thing I’ve ever stolen in my life," he says sarcastically, "Before now I’ve been a golden citizen of society."
"You swear a lot," Gavin points out.
Despite the fact that his own father, the goddamn king, is constantly spewing off curse words, Gavin’s teachers have always scolded him for disrespectful language. Apparently those kinds of words are improper and not fit for a growing young man.
Gavin thinks it’s ridiculous.
"No, I don’t. Maybe you just don’t swear enough.”
"I swear plenty!" as soon as he says it, they both know it’s a lie.
"Oh yeah? Swear right now then," Michael challenges with a smirk.
The request throws Gavin off a little, but he manages to bounce back with a determined glare, “Fine! You’re a smegpot!”
"The fuck is a smegpot?"
"An annoying person, which you are."
"I think you made that up so you wouldn’t have to actually swear."
"I did not! It’s a real world."
"Sure it is," he snickers.
Gavin rolls his eyes, not wanting Michael to dampen his good mood, and instead looks around at his surroundings.
"Where are we?"
"This is my place," Michael responds easily
"You live here?" Gavin asks, looking around the place.
It seems to be an old abandoned shop. It’s dirty and has a slightly musky smell to it. The floorboards look rotten, and Gavin isn’t one hundred percent sure but he thinks he just saw a rat scampering across the room out of the corner of his eye. But it’s also getting harder to see because it’s almost night and the sky is turning dark.
"Yeah," Michael grins, "It’s not much, but it’s home. Certainly beats living on the streets."
Gavin supposes, but he can’t really imagine how cold it must be at night. He sees only a few thin blankets in a corner, but nothing else that could really protect him from the cold. There aren’t many personal items around other than that.
Maybe he’s stupid for complaining about living in the castle. Sure, it’s suffocating sometimes, but at least it’s a warm roof over his head, his stomach is always full, and he’s got a loving family to support him. Michael seems to be doing well on his own, but it didn’t take him long to agree to be friends with Gavin. Maybe he’s a bit lonely.
"I know it’s probably shit compared to where ever the hell you used to live but-"
Gavin cuts him off immediately, not wanting his curiosity and silence to come across as disgust or hesitation. “No, I like it. This is nice. There isn’t much, but it still feels like a home. Like someone lives here…” he trails off contently before shaking his head with self-annoyance, “Sorry, that probably doesn’t make any sense.”
"Nah, it’s cool," Michael smirks, "Maybe one day I’ll live in a big house with plenty of food and warm blankets, but until then…" he gestures playfully to the area surrounding them.
Gavin smiles fondly. He knows Geoff and Griffon don’t think that they’re too high class for things like this, but he can think of a few other royal families that would stick their noses up in disgust. Gavin’s able to see the beauty in it.
Michael’s just a poor boy with only a few stolen apples to his name. But he’s optimistic and able to look on the bright side of things. It’s nice to meet somebody that’s worked hard for everything that they have instead of just receiving it on a silver platter.
It certainly puts things into perspective and makes him wish he weren’t so oblivious to how lucky he really is. Michael should be the one living in a grand and luxurious castle, not him.
Michael almost seems to read his mind because he smiles softly before saying, “Hey, you know you’re welcome to stay here with me. But, are you sure you don’t want to just go back home? Patch things up with your folks?”
"I…I don’t know," Gavin murmurs.
He didn’t actually run away from home. That was just a lie to keep Michael’s mind away from any prince connections. But he should have gone back home a long time ago and the more he’s out here, the more it feels like the lie is true.
"Listen, I don’t mean to sound like some parenting asshole to you because I’m like, what, a year or two older than you? And I’m practically a runaway myself so I’ve got no room to judge, but I’m also just a stranger that you quite literally bumped into on the streets."
"But you’re not a stranger, I’ve already told you that we’re friends. You can’t get rid of me now whether you want to or not," Gavin grins cheekily at him.
Michael rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh, but the smile on his face shows that he’s more amused than annoyed. “Fine, you can stay here with me for tonight, but if your rich ass can’t handle it then you can run back home to mommy and daddy.”
"What makes you think my family is rich?"
"Well, one, you’re obviously educated even though you lack all common sense."
"Hey!"
"And two, just the way you carry yourself is very pompous and high class, especially compared to me. Trying to shake hands and have good manners and all of that nonsense."
Gavin didn’t realize that he’d been ‘carrying’ himself in a particular way. He was raised to be polite and elegant around those he met, otherwise it might give the kingdom a bad name. He’s not allowed to be rowdy or childish around people’s he’s just met.
"I am not pompous or high class," he argues.
Michael snickers and raises his hands in front of his chest, “Hey, hey, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. If you have a family wealthy enough to care about manners and morals more than food and shelter, then that’s good.”
"You don’t make it sound like it’s good."
"Mainly because everybody I’ve ever run into that’s like that is a total asshat."
"Am I an asshat?"
"Only a little, but you’re growing on me," Michael says with a grin and then ruffles Gavin’s hair playfully.
Luckily the run from the palace guards has dried their clothing a little more so they aren’t soaking wet. Gavin has to resist the urge to giggle when Michael runs a hand through his head to check if it’s dry.
It’s weird.
If you told Gavin yesterday that he’s be here, standing in an old abandoned store with a charming thief that’s oblivious to his royalty, then he’d probably laugh and tell you to sod off.
His snobby relatives would probably be incredibly shocked and horrified if he truthfully admitted to the fact that he has a small crush on the boy.
"Why are you staring at me like that," Michael asks with amusement.
"It’s just…" Gavin trails off, unable to explain it intelligently, "This is nice."
"You said that already."
"Doesn’t make it any less true. I don’t know why, but I like being near you."
"Yeah, well, that’s a natural feeling, Gavin," Michael grins cockily until Gavin shoves his shoulder.
"Shut up, I’m being serious. I do love and miss my family, even if it’s only been a day, but being out here with you is so refreshing compared to that. I kind of don’t want to go back."
"You can do whatever you want."
He isn’t used to having full control over situations. He’s grown so accustomed to everybody doing everything for him and refusing to let him be independent in his choices.
"But that’s the problem, I don’t know what I want.”
"Once again, it’s only been a day," Michael points out, "No need to make any irrational decisions yet."
He doesn’t want to choose one over the other. He wants to stay here with Michael, become closer and have fun with him like they did today. But he loves it just as much as the castle, his parents, and being the prince. It hurts him to think that he might not be able to have both.
The whole “running away from home” thing still isn’t genuine. He didn’t leave the castle because he was fed up with it and had to leave, he just wanted some excitement and freedom for once. No people doting on him every second and doing everything for him. He can’t even take a bath without people offering to do all of it for him.
Being out here is the complete opposite of that. Michael is willing to help him get used to it, but he’s still doing things on his own. Meeting new people, making ridiculous spur-of-the-moment decisions, and actually sort of choosing who he gets to like. Nobody to tell him, ‘Go dance with that person, their father is king so and so,' or 'Stay away from that one, although their wealthy, their parents have recently ruined their family name.’
Here, in this little run down shop, there’s nobody to look at Michael and say to him, ‘No. Absolutely not. He’s just a poor street rat. Stay away from him at all costs.’
"I like you," he states outright, still slightly lost in his own thoughts.
Michael chuckles and without skipping a beat murmurs back, “I like you too, rich boy.”
Gavin’s about to protest the name calling until Michael reaches up and cups his cheek in his hand. The contact sends a tingling sensation to both the touched skin and the pit of his stomach.
It’s a quick kiss, only a tender peck that lasts a few brief seconds. But when Michael pulls away, Gavin hums happily, almost as though in a satisfied trance.
"You really don’t get out much, do you?” Michael asks, highly entertained by how visibly content Gavin seems to be.
*
Gavin’s never slept on the floor before. He’s used to his big, comfortable, fluffy bed.
When he wakes up the next morning his limbs are aching and incredibly sore.
For a few disoriented seconds he doesn’t remember where he is and panics, but he feels Michael shift along side him and then the memories quickly flood back.
He turns around so that he’s facing the boy who’s still sleeping soundly, looking so peaceful and quiet compared to when he’s awake.
Due to the limited amount of blankets Michael has, and the fact that it gets very cold at night, they agreed it would be best to sleep next to one another for warmth.
Gavin didn’t have any objections simply because what he said earlier was true. He likes being near Michael.
Goddamn, it’s only been a day and he’s thinking sappy shit like this.
If only he felt this way about the nobles that his relatives wish for him to be interested in. Luckily, his parents have stopped any discussions of arranging him into a marriage, but that doesn’t stop their persuasions.
Honestly, he does like all of the people they try to set him up with. But more like friends. In fact, he considers most of them to be his best friends despite the fact that they only get to see each other during visits. He could spend hours making silly and inappropriate jokes with Princess Barbara, running around the castle and accidentally destroying everything in their path with Prince Dan, playing with the cats in the stables with Princess Lindsay, or playfully pestering Prince Jack.
But none of that compares to the feelings he has for Michael. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn’t. But all Gavin knows is that he doesn’t want to leave Michael forever.
It’s only been a day, but he knows he could spend the rest of his life like this. Just being himself with a boy that he likes. No worries about any royalty or kingdom stuff.
Whenever he meets somebody new, it doesn’t take very long to determine if he’s fond of them or not. Maybe he’s just good at recognizing the good in people. Even when he’d met Prince Ryan, he saw past the creepy and terrifying side and saw that he was actually just a big softie underneath all of that.
Geoff says that he’s too trusting of people, but Gavin fails to see how that’s a bad thing.
But at least all of those people know who he is. He wasn’t lying to them or pretending to be something that he’s not. Michael has no idea that he’s Prince Gavin Free, son of King and Queen Ramsey. To him he’s just an annoying rich kid that’s run away from home.
He feels incredibly guilty for hiding his true identity from him, but knows that if he’d introduced himself truthfully, Michael wouldn’t have given him a second glance and passed him off as being a stuck up snob. Which he still sort of thinks Gavin is.
Why does life have to be so complicated?
*
"So, how does this whole stealing thing work?” Gavin asks as they walk into town. People have up some foodstands and there’s a large crowd of people all gathered around to buy things.
It’s still just as hectic as yesterday, but still just as new and exciting to him. Maybe he’s still in disbelief that he’s actually outside of the castle. So much has happened in just one day, and although he still feels incredibly guilty for everything that he’s doing wrong, he considers it all to be worth it.
"I don’t know, just grab whatever you can and try not to get caught."
"There’s no techniques or rules involved?"
During lessons he’s always told a full outline on what he has to do, how to do it, and then has to watch somebody else do it numerous times before ever getting the opportunity to do it himself. Learning to ride a horse took almost three years because of this process.
"No, are you stupid?" Michael gives him an exasperated look, "It’s just stealing food. It isn’t breaking into the goddamn royal castle."
"Well, I’m nervous," Gavin practically whines, "I’ve never stolen anything before in my life."
"Just go over there, grab something to eat, and then get away."
"But what if-"
"No," he states, "Do you want to do this or not?"
"I guess, but…"
"It’s easy, just come with me and I’ll do it to show you how."
Gavin’s still nervous when Michael pulls him over to the food stands. He really should have taken some money with him when he’d left the castle. He didn’t really mean for this lie to go on for so long, but now he’s actually going to steal.
He’s never done anything like this before. In fact, before yesterday he hadn’t ever broken any rules given to him. Sure, it’s been stressful, but also exciting for all of the same reasons.
If he just went up to the stand in his formal attire and said something like ‘I’m Prince Gavin, can I have an apple please?’ they would probably give him one without question. All of the townsfolk really like the royal family, simply because they’re very good and fair leaders.
Geoff and Griffon are very good at socializing with people and always want everybody to be happy. They take time out of their day to listen to any complaints that anybody might have and then try their best to fix it. Their against human slavery, arranged marriage, and all of that other stuff that Gavin can’t stand. He knows if he were just a regular kid with no connections to them at all, he would still really like them.
But he’s with Michael right now, and nobody has made the connection yet that he’s the prince.
Michael casually picks up an apple from the stand that they’re closest too, and Gavin’s breath hitches in his throat. He feels like a mischievous little boy that’s breaking rules just for the sake of it.
He’s so lost in his thoughts he hardly even notices that Michael has continued walking until he feels the tug on his hand. He continues to walk, worried about anything that could have gone wrong at this point. Michael is an expert at stealing things though, and he’s probably done it numerous times before.
He lets out a sigh of relief once they’re a far distance away and nobody’s said anything.
"You okay?" Michael asks with a smirk.
"Yeah, I think so, it was just really nerve wracking."
"What? To steal some apples? That’s child’s play."
"But you only took one."
"Did I?" Michael asks, and then pulls another apple out of his pocket besides the one in his other hand.
Gavin’s eyes widen, still slightly worried about this whole ordeal, “I only saw you take one.”
"Nope, here you go," he tosses the apple to him, and it reminds Gavin of yesterday when they’d first met.
He shakes his head, a cross between amused and impressed towards Michael’s thieving skills.
He’s about to take a bite of his apple when he hears a soft crying sound. Michael doesn’t acknowledge it, used to fussy children being upset in the middle of town, but it’s a new experience for Gavin.
He turns to see a young boy with shaggy brown hair, holding hands with his mother. Fat tears are rolling down his cheeks as he stares down at the ground where he dropped his orange into a puddle.
It’s very rare that Gavin ever sees children. One of the royal guards has a new baby, but nobody really trusts him to hold it. He doesn’t blame them, he wouldn’t trust himself with such a tiny human either. Other than that, the youngest person he knows is probably Ray (who’s only a year younger than him.)
Seeing the poor boy crying really pulls at his heart strings, and before he can really question if it’s a good idea, he walks over.
"Hello there," he says in a friendly and welcoming tone.
The young boy wipes the remaining tears from his eyes and looks at Gavin, who crouches down lower to be at eye level.
He’s wearing simple clothing like Gavin, but his mother doesn’t pull him away once she sees him. He’s thankful that he doesn’t look so disheveled and dirty that he’d worry her. But he knows he can’t look good, especially after still wearing the same clothes he’d worn yesterday and sleeping in them.
The boy looks down shyly, and it isn’t until his mother gives him a gentle nudge that he finally meets Gavin’s eyes with rosy cheeks and responds. “Hi.”
"My name’s Gavin," he says, and he worries for a moment that they might recognize him. But either they’re just as unknowing as Michael, or the thought hasn’t even come to their mind.
Gavin isn’t that popular of a name, but the accent probably would have been a dead give away. But he hasn’t been seen or heard much in the eyes of the public, usually only from a distance where he’s standing shyly behind Geoff and Griffon. They’d also never expect the king and queen’s son to be out in town without supervision and dressed the way he is.
"I’m Alex," the boy says, growing more confident as the conversation continues.
"I saw that you dropped your orange."
"Yeah, it just fell from my hands. I’m always dropping stuff."
Gavin nods in understanding. “I do that a lot too. But here,” he hands Alex his fresh apple and the boy’s eyes widen.
"You mean it!?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Oh, sweetie, we really can’t accept that-" Alex’s mother begins to say to him, but he cuts her off and stands up.
"No, no, it’s totally fine. I can’t stand to see children upset, especially over something as easily replaceable as an orange."
"Thank you so much," she smiles at him warmly and then nudges her son, "Alex, what do you say?"
"Thank you, mister!" the boy beams, no longer shy or nervous and actually leans forwards to hug Gavin’s leg.
He grins and ruffles the boys hair before they say their goodbyes and part ways.
When he looks back at Michael he sees the eyebrow raised in amusement and the crossed arms.
Gavin’s almost expecting him to be annoyed for giving away a perfectly good apple, but instead he shakes his head and smiles. “You big softie.”
"Sorry, I just… felt bad that he lost his orange."
"It’s cool, they actually seemed to really like you. You’re quite the people pleaser, Gavin." Michael looks almost impressed at him, but the words make him a lot happier.
He really did handle that well, didn’t he? Maybe it’s just the way he was raised, to care for everybody and make them all happy. He doesn’t want anybody to be upset, even if it’s just a little boy losing fruit in a puddle. It makes him feel more confident in his role as future king. Maybe he won’t be as much of a screw up as he thinks he will.
Michael presses a firm kiss to his temple before they begin walking again, and it makes Gavin happy all over again.
*
"There are a lot more guards out than usual," Michael points out as they duck past another one.
Gavin can pick out a few palace guards asking questions to people that look nervous or scared during the conversation, but it doesn’t help to explain anything that’s going on. It wasn’t like this yesterday, everybody was so lively and active compared to the few that look concerned now.
He grips Michael’s hand in his, missing the interaction and also growing worried that something is wrong.
"What’s going on?" he asks.
"I don’t know, but people seem pretty distracted. Might be why it was easier to sneak food from the stands earlier."
He feels torn between both sides. He does agree with Michael and thinks that this is probably a good thing for them, but the ‘future king’ part of him wants to find out what’s wrong with the people in his kingdom.
Maybe Michael has it easier than him in the sense that he doesn’t have to worry about things like this. Gavin isn’t even in charge of these people yet, but he still feels responsible to make them happy and satisfied during their day to day life.
"We should ask somebody," he murmurs, trying to subtly hide his face from a guard that they walk past.
"Like who?"
"I don’t know. Anybody."
"It doesn’t matter. It’s probably just some dumb crap about the royal family or something."
"Royal family?"
"Yeah, if something bad happens then everybody gets upset along with them. Once the king broke his leg or something while riding a horse and everybody mourned about it like someone died," Michael rolls his eyes.
Gavin remembers that. He was actually the reason that Geoff had fallen off his horse in the first place. They were goofing around and acting like children, much like they always do when just the two of them hang out. Gavin was in tears with laughter when Geoff got hurt, and then continued to laugh through the entire recovery process.
"Do you think something serious has happened?" he asks, growing worried.
If Geoff gets hurt when with him, then it’s funny. But the fact that Geoff (or any other member of his family) could be hurt right now without him knowing about it is terrifying.
"Who cares?"
"I do," Gavin says, almost childishly, but Michael pays no attention to it.
"Come on, we’ve still gotta get you another apple to replace the one you gave away."
"The poor boy was crying, Michael!"
"How is that our problem?" Gavin lets out an annoyed huff in response but Michael just laughs.
*
The thought of stealing doesn’t worry him so much anymore. Watching Michael do it so easily has helped calm him down a little bit, but he still doesn’t think he’d be able to do it himself.
This time it doesn’t go so smoothly.
It all happens so fast that Gavin can hardly keep up or catch any details as to what’s going on around him.
When Michael swipes an apple, the man behind the stand notices. One second everything is fine, and then the next people are yelling and Michael is pulling him away in a quick hurry.
"Fucking run, asshole!" Michael says to him, but Gavin’s brain still hasn’t caught up to the fact that they’ve been seen.
He can briefly hear somebody yelling out after them, but he tries to just focus on keeping up with Michael and not tripping over his own two feet.
It’s only when they turn a corner and are faced with a dead end that their forced to stop running. Nothing runs through Gavin’s head besides fear. He’s never been on the wrong side of the law before or had to run away from guards. It’s actually pretty terrifying when he hadn’t just been doing something silly and fun like playing in a fountain.
"Fuck," Michael curses under his breath, and he’s able to drag Gavin another direction but they’re grabbed before they can do anything about it.
Maybe something serious really has happened if the palace guards are treating a small theft so seriously. He isn’t exactly sure what he should be more worried about, his family or the fact that he and Michael are in major trouble right now.
"Let us go!" Michael yells out angrily, and wildly kicks his feet in a futile effort to get away.
The area that they’ve ran to isn’t as crowded as where they’d stolen the apple, so there aren’t any people around to stop and stare at them being captured like this.
One guard is holding Gavin in place, mainly because he isn’t as aggressive as Michael and not so quick to fight back. He’s more paralyzed into fear at this point. He just stands there in silent panic, too terrified and worried to move or say anything.
The other two are holding Michael, but he’s really fighting hard against them. They hardly even flinch, obviously used to people trying to get away from them in situations like this.
The grip on his arm tightens and he almost wants to cry out from the pain. He hadn’t realized how strong the palace guards are.
"The punishment for stealing in these parts is clear. We caught you both and you have to suffer the consequences."
Gavin isn’t too familiar with the town itself, but knows enough about the laws to understand that they may spend a long time in the dungeon even if it’s just a petty crime such as stealing a few items.
"You can’t do this!"
"Gavin didn’t steal anything! It was all me! Let him go, just fucking take me, you pieces of shit!" Michael yells.
This is all Gavin’s fault. Michael would never have been caught if it weren’t for him. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s obvious that he can’t pretend to be a normal boy anymore. He isn’t going to make Michael suffer just because he doesn’t want him to find out the truth.
He looks up at the guard that’s holding him and puts on his serious face. Geoff often refers to it as his son’s ‘Going to be the king of all you bitches soon' face whenever he gets annoyed with somebody in the castle.
"I’m Gavin Free." he states coldly, "Son of King Geoffrey and Queen Griffon Ramsey. If you don’t let me go right now, I’ll have you arrested."
He hates to sound like such a self righteous snob, but right now all he’s worrying about is not getting Michael into massive trouble. If the boy was right earlier, then he really doesn’t need to be the reason that somebody is killed for petty crimes.
Luckily they recognize him immediately once they really take the time to look at him, and a large majority of the guards have heard him talk before and are familiar with his accent. He feels the grip on his arm loosen until he’s completely free of the hold. The guards that had attacked them back away once they make the connection.
"Our apologizes, Prince Gavin. We did not know who you were," one says, and they all bow slightly.
Gavin winces at the title placed before his name. Although it’s impossible to deny at this point, he’s never been a big fan of flaunting his status to others (even though everybody usually already knows.)
But he’s still instantly relieved that they’ve recognized him so quickly. They haven’t let go of Michael yet and still have him in their tight hold, but he’s still witnessing all of this. The guards are still bowing and probably praying that Gavin won’t hold a grudge against them.
"You’re a prince!?” Michael yells, his eyebrows furrowed together in nothing but anger.
Bollocks.
"Oh…" Gavin lets out a weak and forced laugh as he scratches the back of his neck, "Did I forget to mention that?"