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You put down your wine glass for the final time, empty for the third time in the past hour. The suitor looked at you with a slight smirk on his face. " Tonight was amazing princess. Perhaps you would like to come to my quarters and continue the night there?"
Disgusting, you thought to yourself as he kissed the top of your hand with his lips, leaving a slight trace of saliva on your palm. You mustered up a fake smile and wiped your hand with the handkerchief at your side, wanting to grab the mug of hot coffee on your left, throw it at his face, and run away. "How could this lowlife think he's able to talk to me at this level? I'm not just some toy!" you wanted to say but instead replied. " I appreciate the offer, Daishou. but I'm afraid I must decline. Tomorrow is a big day, after all."
When you turned 20, it was your turn to take over the throne. Your parents were only able to conceive one child, and that child being a female. Gender roles stopped being present, but your parents encouraged you to marry just so you had the help of ruling an entire kingdom. Being boy crazy was never really your thing, as you refused to even let some of them into the castle if they wanted to see you. Hence the idea of the selection; where men from all over the kingdom either slightly older than you or the same age tried to win your heart over. You hated the idea. You really did. But you wanted to make your parents happy.
As you walked through the barren corridors, you pondered over the idea. There were three suitors left from the 50 that came to the palace at first. And honestly, you weren't interested in any of them. There was Oikawa, the conceited brat that only thought of himself. There was also Kenma, the antisocial one that rarely ever talked to you, but you kept him there for sympathy. And finally there was Daishou, the horndog that constantly tried pressuring you into doing things with him. The fact you were going to be engaged to one of them in the next 24 hours sent shivers down your spine. Gross.
As you turned the corner to get to your quarters, a familiar figure stood in the way. Your heart began to flutter as his hazel eyes met yours. "Fancy seeing you here, princess." You smiled and wrapped your arms around his waist. " Ha ha. Why so sudden with the formalities, Sir Iwaizumi?"you replied sarcastically.
Your best friend since birth. Iwaizumi's father was your father's most trusted guard and best friend. They both got married and had children near the same. You basically grew up together, from running in the castle's large corridors playing tag, to riding your bikes in the courtyard together, to having movie nights together in the castle theatre. The two of you even had a secret code word, apple picking, to signal the other to meet in a certain spot, hidden to only them; the tower. Now, Iwaizumi followed in his father's footsteps, working in the Royal Guard. Your mothers always joked around, saying the two of you would get married someday. As children, you both brushed the idea off, saying that's gross and you would never get married. But the problem was, you had fallen deep in love with him over time, but you couldn't let him know. And it broke you.
" I really need a cuddle right now. Can you come in for a few?" You unlatched yourself from him after embracing in silence for about a minute and opened the door. " Of course, what's up?" He said while taking off his coat jacket and shoes, leaving him in a white t-shirt, dress pants, and socks." Let me change first, then we can talk." You walked into the bathroom and peeled off your dress, exchanging it for a pair of sweatpants Hajime lent you and an oversized t-shirt. You also undid the intricate style your hair was in, letting it relax.
You came back into the room to see him laying on your massive bed, staring at the ceiling but moved his face to the door when he heard you walk out. " I was wondering where those went," he said, staring at the sweatpants draping your legs. You walked to the other side of the bed and laid down, exhaling dramatically. " Didn't you give them to me, dumbass?" He laughed, and wrapped his jacked arms around your waist, bringing you closer to him. " Isn't this what you called me in for? Say what's on your mind, ( Y/N)."
You inhaled deeply, trying not to ramble. " I don't want tomorrow to happen Hajime," you laced one of your legs through his. " I'm not happy. And I won't be with my current options. They're all just... not for me."
" Let me guess, Daishou tried to get you to hook up with him again?" He laughed.
You slapped his chest. " Yeah, but seriously." You felt your bottom lip quiver slightly, indicating that you were going to burst into tears at any given moment. " You know the books we used to read about how the princess would find the one for her? Her prince charming? That's absolute bullshit. I'm going to be lonely for the rest of my life Hajime. I- I'll never be h-happy." The tears came raining down, but his hand cupped your cheek, wiping them before they could reach your lips.
" Hey. You'll never be lonely. You'll have me, even if I'm not your prince charming. I'll be there by your side through everything. And if you're lonely I'll be lonely with you." Your hands made their way to his cheeks, cupping them as his warmth flowed into your palms. He kissed your left temple, then kissed the right, then kissed the middle of your forehead. " You got this, a-and I'll be there for you." He said, voice shaking. You wiped your eyes, only to see that he was crying. It was heart-wrenching for you to see him like this.
He never cried. He didn't cry when he had to get his knee put back in place after he dislocated it. He didn't cry during training, when the rest of the guard sobbed their eyes out, even the tough ones. He didn't cry when his ex-girlfriends cheated. Hajime wasn't a crier. Yet there he was, on his side in front of you, tears streaming down his face as you both held each other close.
But why was he crying? He wasn't the one getting engaged to someone they didn't love.
"Hajime." You said softly, and he looked at you with sorrowful eyes, tinted slightly red. Then, compulsively, you kissed his lips softly. As you broke away, his eyes moved around your face for a few seconds. Then he pulled your face and kissed you feverishly and ardently biting on your bottom lip, asking for entrance. You followed suit, kissing your first and last love like it was the last thing you would be doing on Earth.
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The morning of the big announcement. You woke up to a frenzy of maids getting everything ready. "Oh, princess, you're finally up! It's time to get ready my dear! Also, there's a letter for you near the hair area. You can read it while you get your hair done. But first, go bathe. We prepared a lengthy bath for you!" You followed their orders, curious to see what was in the letter. Last night the last thing you remembered was falling asleep next to Hajime.
Hajime. He usually stays overnight, and the maids are used to seeing him. Why did he leave?
After the bath and getting dressed, you sat in the chair, waiting to get your hair done. You opened the letter slowly, shocked to see what it contained.
(𝘠/𝘕), 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, (𝘠/𝘕), 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘌𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴,𝘏𝘢𝘫𝘪𝘮𝘦
A storm of emotions clouded through your brain, hands shaking as you put the piece of paper down
We kissed last night.
WE KISSED LAST NIGHT.
He loves me.
He loves me?
You took a breath and fixated your eyes off of the piece of paper to the wall, overwhelmed with all the emotions coming out of you.
" Um, princess? You're crying." The maid doing your hair said, cutting your thoughts out.
" Oh," The tears came down subconsciously, so you wiped them as quick as you could.
As they continued getting you ready, you knew exactly what you would be doing in the upcoming hours.
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After hours of getting ready, it was finally time to let the suitors know if they got picked or not. You sat back in the comfortable chair, waiting for the first one to come in.
Oikawa strutted in first, confident that he'd get picked. " It's okay princess, you can tell me that I'm about to be your future husband. I gotta get the other guys hopes down." He laughed, which just pissed you off. " I'm sorry Oikawa, but it isn't you. All due respect, but I just can't see myself being with you for the rest of my life. You can leave now." He looked shocked but surprisingly respected your decision, walking away with his hands in his pockets.
Next came Kenma, who already knew he wasn't the one. " But hey, call me sometime so we can play together!" You said enthusiastically. You liked him, and could see yourself becoming good friends with him; just not as a husband. " Will do princess," he smiled, gave you a quick hug, and left the room as quickly as he arrived.
Finally came Daishou, the hardest one of them all. But he was surprisingly calm and composed when you told him he wasn't picked. " Correct me if I'm wrong, but if it isn't me, who are you picking? Because it doesn't sound like the other too choices are that appealing either. Do you like women?" You laughed, as he decreased part of your stress by saying that. " Yes, but the suitor is in fact male." He smiled sympathetically. " Thank you for the opportunity princess, it was really nice to get to know you." He smiled, and ushered himself out.
Now, for the hard part.
You were escorted into the broadcasting room, where your parents sat across from you, a camera crew getting things ready, and a pack of royal guard standing in the corner of the room.
He was there.
Your eyes locked for a moment, but he turned away, causing your heart to break slightly.
But it wasn't the time to be sad. The show must go on.
As the camera crews got everything ready, your parents kissed you one last time and you straightened out your dress, calming the nerves rushing throughout your whole body.
" Good afternoon everyone. This is Princess (Y/N). As you all may know, I have been holding a selection, trying to find an eligible suitor. And after many months, I have found my match. But here's the thing: he was not in the selection. I have fallen in love with one of the Royal Guard. This man has been by my side through the thick and the thin. From activities such as apple picking and...." You used your peripheral vision to look at him, and as your eyes locked he ran out of the room, going to your meeting spot. " other things, I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I hope you all accept us as a couple. I love you all." You finished your brief speech and began to get up, only to get stopped by your parents.
" It's Iwaizumi's son, right?" Your father ( or mother! or any guardian) said, a smirk on his ( her/their) face. You turned to your mother ( or father or guardian!), who was already crying. You teared up slightly, not expecting them to accept what you just did. " What are you doing just standing there? Go to him! We're so proud of you honey," They both said, accepting the fact that their daughter was going to get married.
You ran out of the broadcasting room, ditching the heels you were wearing, and began sprinting to the tower. You felt like a little kid again, playing hide n seek. The dress was being dragged on the floor, but you didn't care. You needed to get to him.
You reached the foot of the tower after multiple turns through the corridors and began running up the stairs. You reached the top, seeing his broad back. He was looking outside the window and tapping his foot slightly on the ground.
"Hajime?" you said, breathlessly, as your heart nearly leaped out of your chest.
He turned, and before you knew it you were in his arms. The tears began falling, and you felt his back expand and contract between sobs. He picked you up, twirling you around the room before putting you back down on the floor. You rubbed your hand across his tear-streaked cheeks, and the way he looked at you nearly made you faint from excitement.
" It was me this whole time? W-why didn't you say so?" He asked inquisitively, arm tightening around your waist. " Because I thought you didn't feel the same way? But that doesn't matter anymore. Hajime. You're the one. You're my prince charming. I don't want to spend my life with anyone else." You smiled at him, and before you knew it his lips were on yours.
That familiar haze returned to you. He tasted like cinnamon and love and happiness, making you feel euphoric. His face, sticky with tear residue, met yours, also sticky for the same reason. He picked you up, not breaking the kiss once, and pinned you against the wall gently. He broke the kiss and looked into your (e/c) eyes with pure adoration.
"I can't wait until the day I can call you my wife, (y/n). I love you."
" I love you too Hajime. The only one for me."