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Osamu lets out a sigh. Gray air that contrasts with the icy environment around him leaves his lips that have gone from being as red as his cape, to wearing a purple tint as if he had just enjoyed a plate of blueberries or had several glasses of wine; when once he opens the palm of his hand, only a small flame that is quickly consumed is the poor result he is able to glimpse. The first thing he does is roll his eyes because he can only blame himself, but then hugs himself to caress his own arms, his hands covered in purple gloves as well as the warmest coat he had managed to find before leaving his kingdom, unfortunately it being orange. But the reality is that what matters least to him is the color of his clothing, not only because both his orange coat is covered by a red cape that also covers part of his purple pants as gold details and lines give him a firm presence, but also because there’s no one to make fun of the colors, to see his pin with the symbol of the fire kingdom glowing in the center of his chest, joining the edges of his cape.
He can only see ice structures around him. He’s on the highest rock of one of the valleys between those, a lake in front of it that has a large waterfall, and he doesn’t ask how is it possible that it still consists of water that continues to fill the water when the winter cold is obvious and the water should be frozen since it’s the ice kingdom and therefore there is no point in asking such questions. He has left his kingdom with the words of his brother in his head, but he hasn’t thought that he is now in an enemy kingdom, and therefore doesn’t know where he is. There are no road signs, and although only the noise of the falling water accompanies him, between the layers of clothing he keeps daggers, ready to be used and thrown in case someone appears to carry out a surprise attack. He has just verified that he can’t use his powers to defend himself if he wants to. The cold, the winter neutralizes them, weakens him.
The sun shines through the clouds, the only day star being his last remaining source of heat. He is cold and hypothermia will probably hug him if he continues that way, so he decides to move to another of the ice structures around him. He moves slowly, his boots helping him to stay in balance because he has modified the soles of them so as not to slip after all the time he must step on ice, even if the back of his pants and the palms of his hands show that he has already fallen a few times anyway. His directions are to get to the waterfall, so he keeps moving between the plaques, at all times making sure to walk on the side furthest from the lake as possible because what he least wants is to fall into it.
The crown on his grayish locks remains hidden under the hood of his red cape, the same neutralizing most of the effects of the cold environment that only doesn’t shake his body because it’s enchanted to stay as warm as possible no matter if some flakes of snow slide down the fabric of the same, and which proves that it’s really protecting him when once he gets closer to the waterfall, the drops of water that reach it only slide down it instead of wetting the fabric. He thinks it’s an impressive and fierce sight, the noise of the falling water interrupting the silence of the environment. It’s a totally different kind of force and impact from what he is used to seeing in the volcanoes of his kingdom, nature once again showing him how interesting nature can be.
His visual field darkens because now ice structures cover his periphery, and he understands that he can no longer ignore the fact that the heat of his body is rewarded by the brightness of the sun because it ceases to accompany him as soon as he sees that the ground below him stops being broken ice structures to resemble a series of steps. He decides to follow them, the light around him continuing to darken although it can continue to prove that it’s daytime. The wind is no longer felt, and it’s finally clear to him that he is in the ice kingdom when he happens to be in the place that's apparently protected by the waterfall.
A huge ice cave looms before him. The roof is made up of structures that shut down the noise of the waterfall while below it a water source acts as a smaller lake, full of water so crystalline that it reflects a mirror for the ice hanging from the ceiling. Some ice structures are found floating in the water while a small riot created by some that had grouped together is evident in the middle of all the water. The only flat terrain is made up of small ice structures that he walks at that time to stay close to the water, a long path made of ice starts from those structures towards the rest of the water, assuring him that he can walk between them and then dive into the water as if it were a small deck. He bends down and removes one of his gloves to check that the water is frozen after just dipping the tip of his finger in it and removing it immediately.
He gets back up and looks around, capturing the details of the space that he will probably never see again. The only accompanying noise is a few drops of water that are probably falling somewhere, or at least that's what he thinks until a faint sound draws his attention to the end of the ice deck as he is able to glimpse a small movement in the water. He heads towards it to bend back and look at the water, realizing that it probably has some kind of magical property because although the water reflects the ceiling, he can’t see the bottom of the lake. He decides to take off the other glove and keeps them between his clothes, and again dips one of his fingers in the water.
"Auch!"
His hood stops covering his head and his back again finds an icy surface when he falls down, sitting after feeling something painful at the tip of his finger, which he shakes until his eyes fall on his own stomach because apparently what had moved turns out to be a white seahorse. It’s small and it begins to move on his clothes, and although he has bitten it, Osamu moves slowly to be able to leave the palms of his hands under it and thus be able to return it to the water, the tips of his fingers meeting the cold water.
"Hey, ya bit me, not my fault." He mentions to the creature when it floats close to him as if he's complaining, but then he sees it finally moving away from him, swimming below the water.
He can no longer see it but its movement shows him the way in the water, and in a matter of seconds his hand comes to rest on the dagger hidden among his clothes when he sees that the seahorse ends its path after hiding not only behind the ice island in the middle of the lake, but also behind the person who is also using that mound for protection, although not completely because otherwise Osamu wouldn’t have brought his hand to the only personal defense that he has left as he stays completely still.
His shoulders barely protrude from the water, the pale skin of his hands that he keeps resting on the ice structures, looking like another decoration of the place after being as white as the snow that Osamu has previously managed to see before heading towards the waterfall. With his eyes he runs centimeters of white skin until he finds half of a face that can be seen while the other half remains hidden behind the structure. He is not very far away so Osamu can only squint his eyes, the brown hair of the person who lets himself be seen being the only dark detail of his presence.
He’s the first human face that he has found since he has left his kingdom, and apparently that cave shouldn’t be accessible to everyone because the stranger looks at him the same way he does, silently inspecting him with his gaze, running his eyes over the clothing he has on. Osamu doesn’t overlook the fact that he realizes that he has left his hand on his dagger, but he continues to inspect it with his eyes until his gaze remains on his facial features, a barely visible movement of his head indicating that observing him has caused him some kind of emotion.
He swallows, and Osamu inhales a deep breath of air.
"The other twin."
He’s far but the composition of the cave lets his voice be heard.
Osamu narrows his eyes for a second, his only words assuring him that it’s not the first time that he has seen a face like his, but he has never seen him —he would remember otherwise—, so the only option remains for the person to have met his brother. He was the first to speak, which means a good start and helps him be the one to speak on that occasion.
"You know my brother," Osamu says. "I assume that if he hasn’t told you my name, it's to protect me from people like you."
He glimpses that his words cause the other to raise an eyebrow.
"Like me?"
"Habitant of the ice kingdom."
"And yet he is the one who comes here," He tells him, letting him know that detail. "Just like you." He doesn’t hesitate to emphasize, taking a look at him.
Osamu's hand unconsciously softens on his dagger. His voice is firm but smooth, it doesn’t collide with the ice structures but it’s dominant, as if he were used to discovering for himself the different symphonies that he could create by himself along with the ice.
"I’m lookin’ for my brother. I think you and yer kingdom have kidnapped him."
Those words are enough for the person to finally stop hiding the other half of his face behind the ice structure, revealing an astonishing view as well as defined facial features. "You are wrong." He assures him, keeping his tone of voice calm despite being accused of a serious action. "He usually comes here on his own."
Osamu raises an eyebrow. "Usually?"
"Yes, it's not the first time."
"Then you have seen my brother."
Instead of providing an immediate response, the person chooses to move a few centimeters in the water until he arrives at one of the platforms and rests his arms on it as well as his head on them to watch him. "He's safe if that's what you're wondering." He clarifies, his neutral expression indicating neither honesty nor a lie.
Whether he believes him or not, that depends on Osamu.
"How can I trust ya?"
He lifts his head after straightening up and stares at him.
"You can't, but lying to you it's not worth my time."
"Where is he?"
He tilts his head, getting a little closer after swimming towards him, Osamu noticing that the frozen water doesn't seem to be a problem for him. "I don't know," He says simply. "He's gone with my cousin. They always do it."
Osamu narrows his gaze. He stops holding his hand close to his knife to fix the cape around his shoulders, that movement being followed by the other that keeps staring at him.
"Yer cousin?" He asks.
He doesn't think he is lying but apparently Atsumu hasn’t only been leaving the kingdom for expeditions as he has been saying the last few times. If anythin' ever happens to me, go to the most dangerous waterfall in the ice kingdom. The coldest valley. You will find me. Atsumu has told him once. Now he understands that perhaps it wasn’t because the ice kingdom people can always find him and therefore capture him, but because he is aware that he has been in the same place many times.
"Why do you think he comes here?" He asks instead of answering.
"You seem to know." Osamu says, since he knows how much he can hide behind a serious expression.
The other seems to capture that detail behind those words and continues swimming towards him, closing the distance, but his face, his shoulders, and his hands, still being the only parts of his body that he can see.
"He and my cousin are in love."
"I don’t think so, ‘Tsumu wouldn't do that."
"Are you completely sure?" He stops swimming to take a look at him.
Osamu pursues his lips, a few seconds being enough to change his answer. "No, actually I can believe ya," He assures him, since if there is someone who is able to leave the kingdom's security for a face, it’s his brother.
And apparently, himself.
"My cousin is the heir to the crown. He shouldn't trust your brother."
An accusation is hidden behind those words but Osamu holds his chin up.
"My brother is also the heir to the crown."
"Really? And not you?"
"No, he’s older for a few seconds. As always, impatient, he was born before me." He says, and one of the corners of his mouth rises when finally the one in front of him leaves aside the seriousness on his face to allow a small giggle to escape his lips, but soon Osamu forces himself to remain serious again when he realizes that that funny gesture echoing through the cave has been enough for him to smile. "So you are not the heir to the crown?"
He chooses to take a look around him, and a small smile decorates his face. "Only members of the royal families can come here." He says, running his eyes over the roof structures and then resting them on him again. "I’m second in line. If something happens to my cousin, it's my turn."
Osamu understands that both have the same position because otherwise they wouldn’t be there. "Then it would be interesting for you if something happened to him." He repeats the same words he's used to hearing. That it would be convenient for him for something to happen to Atsumu in one of his expeditions for the place on the throne to belong to him.
He arches an eyebrow, and his lips form a line. "Are you trying to insinuate that I am allied with the enemy?"
"Well, you still haven't killed me, have you?"
"Do you want me to?"
Osamu is about to respond but he can only raise an eyebrow when the other submerges his head in the water as soon as he finishes speaking, disappearing from his field of vision but still giving him a trace of his position after being able to follow the movement of the water. He confirms that the water must be enchanted because he can’t see him swimming, and only sees him again when he emerges again, much closer, so close that it would be enough for Osamu to stretch his arm to brush the skin that is travelled by small drops of water. Osamu swallows dry because he is human but he is a beautiful creature, his eyes denote seriousness but not any evil, and the golden color of them contrasts with what appear to be small white crystals around his eyes, so small that he can only see them thanks to the closeness between the two.
He still has to answer his question, and there are so many questions that he wants to ask him, but only one request appears in his mind as those golden eyes meet the grayish of his. "I want to know yer name."
"You must tell me yours first. You are invading my territory. You can’t demand."
"Osamu." He doesn’t hesitate to reply.
He smiles upon hearing him, and finally opens his mouth. "Rintaro."
Osamu raises the corner of his mouth and chooses to wrap his arms around his knees after bringing them to his chest. The trembling of his body has already been forgotten and the ice shelf below him is not freezing his body. His hands don’t tremble, and the way Rintaro lowers his gaze for a second to his lips, makes him think that their tonality has turned to red. If Rintaro belongs to the royal family that means that both are capable of controlling the same amount of power, and if he has moved his hands for him not to feel the cold, he doesn’t mention it.
"I'm just sayin’ that it would be in your best interest if my brother were to plot something against yer cousin."
"That’s not true, I appreciate him. If something happens to my cousin, I will destroy your brother and then you and then your kingdom." He declares without a hint of insecurity in his words. "Or you and your kingdom first, so he can see that he can’t mess with me, nor with my family, nor my kingdom." He says, looking around as if he was looking for the most appropriate option for that situation, and despite the implicit threat, Osamu smiles.
"Great words I see."
"You know where your brother is." Rintaro looks at him. "Why are you still here?"
"Are ya kicking me out?"
"I want to know your intentions."
"Depends on which are yours."
Rintaro decides to approach him until his hands rest on the ice desk, and Osamu forces himself not to be intimidated by the simple fact that Suna has the possibility of attacking him at that precise moment if he wants to, since after all he continues to find himself surrounded by ice, a weakness for him while a fortress for Rintaro.
"Don't flirt with me, enemy."
"I thought you wanted to know my name to call me by it."
"Don't flirt with me, Osamu." Rintaro says.
"Why not, Rintaro?" Osamu thinks mentioning his name feels good.
"I don't kick you out just to keep an eye on you."
"Yer looking after me."
"No. In case you think about going with your brother and doing something to my cousin."
"If I plan to defeat yer kingdom, it will not be with innocent blood."
"You don't know if my cousin is innocent, or me."
"So you've had blood on yer hands?"
Suna chooses to rest his arms on the platform as well as his head on it, allowing Osamu to run with his eyes the drops of water that slide down his neck as well as his arms, but he forces himself to focus on Suna’s eyes since they continue to be his most striking feature. "Of course, I have had accidents sometimes." He answers, and Osamu lets out a small laugh. "Why do you want to defeat my kingdom?" Suna chooses to ask him, and Osamu stops laughing when the two stare at each other.
Osamu is not welcome there and Suna is not welcome in his kingdom. Because of the colors they use, the powers they have, and the kind of environment they prefer, they must declare themselves enemies and treat each other as such. Their families can’t be found in the same place and for the same reason Suna is still aware of the fact that Osamu has daggers as Osamu does not overlook the fact that Suna could create daggers at that precise moment by moving his hands and use the ice around them to his advantage.
"You don't want to defeat mine?" Osamu decides to ask him.
"I want to have a future." Suna looks at him.
"A future where you defeat my kingdom."
"Unless you defeat mine first."
"I don't think that with my brother and yer cousin dating, a war is possible, don’tcha think?"
Suna arches an eyebrow. "Isn’t war something around as already?"
"And yet here I am."
"You are only assuring me that our security is poor, weak." He assures him, since in case his kingdom was really well protected, Osamu wouldn’t be there and Atsumu's visits wouldn’t be casual.
"Yer security is good, but my skills are better."
"Because your fire can't be felt. You're weakening." Suna points out. Even though Osamu is not trembling, he can’t feel his powers as a threat at that moment. Osamu is exposing himself to him without his powers in his favor. "Why are you here?"
"I wanna know how is it possible that my brother doesn’t get weak every time he is here."
If he has learned through Suna that his brother has been there several times, it’s because Atsumu has had no signs of having been to another kingdom before returning to his own. Without purple lips, without cold, without signs of having been surrounded by ice, without signs that his weakness is present.
"Then you do have a particular interest."
"I want ice and fire to dwell in peace."
"You want ice to team up with fire to go against water. Don’t you?" Suna asks him. "You know that my kingdom is small, and if you haven’t attacked us yet, it’s because we have water kingdom’s protection. I’m not the prince you are looking for if that’s what you are planning to do. This." Suna lifts one of his arms to move one of his hands over his own head, and crystallized smoke from his fingers materializes in the form of a crystalline diadem over his head. "It's nothing compared to that." He says, pointing to Osamu’s crown with his head.
Osamu understands his words and the serious tone of voice that accompanies them.
In terms of geographical limits, people and resources, his kingdom can triumph over Suna’s without any problem, and the protection of the water kingdom is the only thing that stops them from doing so. But he is not there to demonstrate that his kingdom is stronger and more powerful, but to show that despite the same, he doesn’t plan to feel superior or assure him that he represents a threat, so after analyzing it for a few seconds, he raises the palms of his hands, only getting Suna to get away from him.
He opens the palms of his hands to assure him that he doesn’t plan to attack him, and continues to move his arms until his hands touch his crown and slowly removes it from his head, a gesture so simple to carry out yet so difficult to understand because removing the gem from his head implies accepting that they are the same, that he is leaving aside the symbol that transmits royalty and the importance of his person for Suna to trust him and assure him that he is seeing more than just the second heir of the fire kingdom.
Osamu slowly leaves the crown on the ice shelf, and Suna watches it.
"I don't want a war between kingdoms, I want to be understood." Osamu determines. "I could have kidnapped you and I'm not doing it, I could have attacked you and I haven't."
"Considering where you are, I have you kidnapped."
"I'm here voluntarily, just like ya. You could have already left."
Suna stares at him after ceasing to look at his crown. A few seconds elapse for his to dissolve into crystalline smoke that finally disappears, and he approaches the platform again to leave his fingers on it as well as his chin, allowing the gold of his eyes to be illuminated by the gold of the Osamu's crown, who keeps staring at him even as Suna finally looks up at him.
"I don’t have anything better to do. I don't like family or administrative meetings. They are boring."
"I like them, but I'm always tired of hearing that people, my people, are fallin' at the borders." He says. "Ya don’t? I want to achieve change, and I know my brother too."
"Your brother is blinded by love, just like my cousin. If they fight, we will."
"Have some faith."
"I have no faith, I have real thoughts and confidence in my instinct."
"And what does yer instinct tell you about me?"
"It's not something you want to hear." Suna assures him.
Osamu wants to sigh but he doesn’t. He understands Suna's attitude towards him, since after all he is the one who has been able to invade his territory and also what seems to be his private space, but in case it had been a personal attack, he would have already tried to complete his mission and then go, but instead, his daggers remain forgotten as well as his crown.
"I'm here, I’m weak. I do want you to listen to me."
"How can I trust you?" Suna copies his previous question.
"You can't, but lying to ya it's not worth my time." Osamu responds, allowing one of the corners of his mouth to rise because he knows that Suna knows that he has copied his previous words. "You shouldn't be afraid of me."
An amused smile takes over Suna's face as soon as he hears him. "I’m not afraid of you. You should be afraid of me."
"I'm not afraid of you." Osamu assures him, leaning down so that their faces remain closer.
The two are staring at each other. They are enemies declaring face to face that they don’t fear each other. They know that everything can change with just one bad move because they are both equally powerful even if one comes from a bigger kingdom while the other is part of a smaller kingdom. Osamu visualizes the crystals on Suna's face and Suna investigates Osamu's eyes.
"An ice burn hurts more than a fire burn." Suna warns him.
"So if I trust you, you trust me."
Osamu runs the crown to one side and stands up with an outstretched arm and the palm of his open hand towards him, assuring him that words can’t be the only round trip between them. His powers can be just as deadly when burning regardless of the color of it.
Suna looks at his hand and then looks at him. The threat is always present and he would consider himself a fool to believe that he has the advantage only because it’s his kingdom, since Osamu only has to draw one of his daggers to leave the ice kingdom with one less heir and thus declare war not only with the kingdom of ice, but also with the kingdom of water. For the two of them each word and each action determines the state of the relationship between their kingdoms regardless of whether they are first in line for the crown or not.
Osamu remains still, waiting for Suna to take his hand, and doesn’t step back when Suna moves his arm and their hands finally meet, the trust of their kingdoms on their shoulders as well as the warnings in their thoughts. Their skins form a contact and no betrayal is carried out once Osamu gently tugs on him to help him get out of the water, the water drops running down Suna's skin, gathering together to transform into a crystalline layer that covers his body as he comes out of the water. Now they stand face to face, Suna being the taller of the two and neither attacking the other.
Osamu breathes deeply. "You didn’t burn yerself."
Suna stares at him and Osamu only needs to look at Suna's eyes to know that he is not the only one who has known the truth all along. "I’m aware of the deal between your kingdom and mine, Miya." Suna assures him anyway. "I know that they have promised me to you and that apparently my cousin and your brother are doing everything they can to dissolve the contract, love has been a secondary effect, a surprise. I still don't trust you even if you will be my husband."
Osamu has chosen to leave the security of his kingdom because he has finally grown weary of all the people around him assuring him that he is already engaged to the second heir to the crown of the ice kingdom. The agreement between them declares that fire won’t go against water because now an alliance with ice exists, as well as that unless they want two kingdoms uniting forces, earth and air will remain in their own affairs. They being the second heirs implies a discreet decision but still safe because they are still part of the royal families, and after all, it’s still an arranged marriage, so Osamu has gotten tired and chosen to find out for himself the person he will have to marry.
"I will earn yer trust." Osamu declares.
Their hands are still together.
"Good luck trying."
"I don't need luck, I know I will. I wanted to meet ya, that's my purpose. That’s why I’m here."
"You wanted to meet me to find out if I'm your type?" Suna raises an eyebrow.
"You are." Osamu responds without hesitation. "Yer beautiful."
Suna runs his face to look into the water for a few seconds, and Osamu decides to take that as a good sign once Suna looks back at him. "I already told you, don't flirt with me, Osamu."
"Why not, Rintaro?"
"I'm not here to play."
"I'm not playin'."
Suna lowers his gaze to their still joined hands.
It doesn't hurt, it doesn't burn. He looks up again as Osamu caresses him with his thumb.
"Do you really want to risk everything?" Suna asks him.
"For you, yes."
Osamu raises his hands and looks at Suna before resting a kiss on the back of his hand.
"You don't know me."
"Let me know you."
"Very well." Suna finally accepts after listening to him, and gently removes his hand from his. "Take a risk then." He adds, and turns to allow the palm of his hand to face the platform, ice steps appearing underwater. He moves to lower them, the crystals covering his body disappearing as the water is the one to embrace his skin until again only from his shoulders he can be seen. "And trust me." He says, looking at him over his shoulder.
Osamu takes a deep breath.
Suna wants him to accompany him into the water.
For him, the water is frozen and probably all his defenses will collapse if he even remains surrounded by it for five seconds without any protection. He just asked Suna to let him know him and to trust him, so it's only fair that Suna asks him the same in return. Soon there will be golden rings decorating their fingers, expressing the union between the two kingdoms, and if they can’t trust each other, their own kingdoms never will. He knows there is no going back once his cloak slides down his body to touch the ice shelf.