Chapter Text
Outside the castle walls, tucked in the heart of the woods, a clearing of flowers calls to Leo.
Dappled rays of sunlight illuminate the path. Leo hums to himself, letting his feet take him to his destination. He navigates the thick underbrush and hops over overgrown roots with practiced ease, careful not to let his cape snag on any branches. After all, these little excursions of his are meant to be a secret. Not a well-kept one by any means, if the exasperated looks from his father are any indication, but it’s the principle of the thing.
Leo loves his family and home dearly, but the lessons and formalities and expectations—they’re stifling. He should be grateful. Few get to experience the luxury and privilege that come with being royalty, but those are the parts he hates most.
Even out here, away from the servants and guards that constantly fuss over him, the steel at his hip is a reminder of his status. It doesn’t feel like a weapon. Leo thumbs the pommel, fingers curling around the soft leather grip. He’s only ever swung it at the training grounds, and it’s hard to imagine that the same blade once cut down hundreds. Thousands, maybe.
His lineage is a bloody one, but Leo is destined for a peaceful life. The war ended centuries ago, and now, his kingdom prospers.
When the trees begin to thin, Leo quickens his pace until he sees blue. The flowers grow in clusters. They’re small, but they cover the entire clearing, like a miniature ocean. Leo knows nothing about flowers and their meanings, but he thinks these are prettier than any of the carefully cultivated ones in the royal garden.
Prettier than any flower, though, is the man he finds dozing amidst the blue.
“Sena!” Leo calls, lips automatically curving into a grin as he covers the distance between them. “Se~na~ I found you!”
Izumi blinks, long and slow, not unlike the stray cat that inhabits the archery range. “You’re skipping lessons again.”
Leo shrugs. Practiced hands unbuckle his sword belt and toss it aside. “Mm, lessons are bor~ing. I hate them!”
“Oujisa—ack!”
“Nope! Wrong!” Leo proclaims, laughing at the wheezing sound Izumi makes as he flops on top of him. “Stupid Sena, it’s Le~o~”
“Idiot, get off!”
Idiot is better than Oujisama, but it’s still not right, and Leo sticks out his tongue. “Not until you say it.”
“You’re a child,” Izumi says, flicking his forehead. “A big, fat, overgrown, annoying child. You don’t act like royalty at all.”
“But if it’s Sena, I don’t have to, right?” Leo asks.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Why me?”
Leo scoots down until he can rest his head on Izumi chest, right over his heart. “Sena is special.”
“Don’t say it like that,” Izumi grumbles.
“Why not?” Like this, Leo can hear Izumi’s heartrate pick up ever so slightly. “Sena is my friend.”
“I’m your knight.”
“My brave knight,” Leo agrees. “My best friend, and my best knight.”
Izumi huffs. “There’s not much competition. Your other knights suck.”
“Don’t be mean! That’s why they don’t like you, you know?”
“They’re useless. You’d be doomed if the kingdom ever went to war,” Izumi says, and Leo can picture the frustrated scowl twisting his delicate features. “Ugh, never mind. You won’t listen no matter how many times I tell you.”
His other knights aren’t as hardworking as Izumi, but Leo loves them, too. They’re still his knights, in the end. “It’s okay. Sena will protect me, right? As long as Sena stays by my side, I don’t need anyone else~”
“Of course I’ll protect you,” Izumi says.
“Good! And I’ll protect Sena, too!”
“Hah? It doesn’t work like that. You’re the prince, idiot.”
The grass tickles his palms as Leo raises himself up to meet Izumi’s gaze. “I’m the prince, so I’ll make it work,” he says, determination hardening his usually melodic voice.
“You’re so stubborn, Leo-kun.” Izumi sighs, but it’s a fond sigh. One that says he’s used to dealing with Leo and all his eccentricities.
Leo laughs and rolls onto the empty space next to Izumi. “Sena’s the stubborn one... But maybe I am, too. Just a little.”
Around them, the flowers dance in the breeze, and Leo wonders what kind of song they would like. He wants to compose one, to capture the carefree moments of his youth within this space. A song for the swaying blossoms.
(A song he could sway to with a man he can never call his.)
“Thank you, Sena,” Leo says, and it comes out as more of a whisper with how soft his voice is.
“For what?”
“For being Sena. For staying by my side. You’ve always been there, haven’t you? For as long as I can remember,” Leo says.
“You don’t remember what you had for dinner last night.”
“That’s different. I remember important things.” Leo turns, admiring the lines of Izumi’s profile. Pauses. Then, “I’d remember, if it’s Sena.”
The red that stains Izumi’s porcelain cheeks is beautiful, even moreso because Leo is the reason behind it. “Remember me as I am, then,” Izumi says. “Young and beautiful.”
“Sena is always beautiful, just like the moon~ Even when you’re a hundred years old, I won’t be able to look away.”
“No way. I’ll live a short but beautiful life.”
Something in Leo’s chest twists at those words. There’s a million things he wants to say, but all that comes out is a plea that sounds too desperate to his own ears. “Don’t leave me.”
Izumi faces him, both of them lying on their backs side-by-side, and Leo drowns—in the pale blue of the flowers beneath them, in the clear blue of the sky above them, and most of all in the shining blue of Izumi’s eyes. “I won’t,” Izumi says. “I swore an oath to you, didn’t I?”
“Is that the only reason why? If I weren’t a prince… would you still stay by my side?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“I don’t think it’s stupid at all,” Leo says. Still, he’s not sure if he wants to know the answer.
“It is,” Izumi insists, turning away from Leo. He swallows, and Leo follows the movement of his throat—feels the urge to reach out and run his fingers across the supple skin. “To me, you’re more than just Oujisama.”
Leo knows he will always be a prince before he is a man, but, for now, he can pretend things are different. He can grasp at the unspoken words and feelings, cradle them close to his heart and breathe easy.
“I love you, Sena,” he says.
Izumi doesn’t say anything, but his hand is warm when it closes around Leo’s.