Work Text:
Royalty.
HALLO I GOT THIS IDEA FROM @bebyebeeh ON TWITTER GO GIB THEM CLOUT
The market. For someone who didn’t happen to be royalty, it seemed so normal. A normal place, to do normal things. Like buy food, water, supplies, really anything, for a few shiny gold coins. And to Skeppy, this idea was fascinating. But royalty and the public didn’t mix. Not well, anyways.
“Aw, come on! It can’t be that bad!” Skeppy complained to the guard that stood in the middle of his room, arms crossed as a sign of annoyance.
“It can be that bad , and I’m not letting you go!” he responded in a tone that Skeppy knew he wouldn’t budge from. Not without a hell of an argument. One Skeppy was not particularly in the mood for right about now.
So, he walked away from the guard, and out onto the balcony, throwing open the pair of glass doors that stood in his way as dramatically as possible.
“You know I just want to keep you safe, right? After all, it is my job.” Skeppy looked out over the gleaming lights of the city he really wanted to walk in right then.
“So you wouldn’t do it if we were friends?” he wailed, leaning back over the edge, just because he knew it drove the older guard insane.
“I would, I would! I didn’t mean it like that! Now please stop leaning over the edge! If you fall you could get hurt!”
“Or die.” Skeppy scoffed, his friend did not look amused.
“Don’t joke about that! You’re practically asking for it!”
“But, Bad! It’s funny!” the other muttered something he didn’t quite pick up, and he was sure he wasn’t supposed to, so he just let the whole subject drop.
“Please?”
“Please what?” Bad crossed his arms again, staring Skeppy down.
“Can we go downtown?” Skeppy pleaded, stepping away from the balcony, to try and further please him.
“ No. I’m not doing that. How do you even suppose we get out there?” oh, poor Bad, how that smug look on his face was about to be wiped straight off.
“There’s a hole under the rose bushes back near the south wing.” Skeppy raised an eyebrow, pretending like it was common knowledge, just to further tick Bad off.
“Are. You. Kidding. Me?” Bad’s voice was firm, angry, almost. Skeppy wished he could backtrack to the smug look on the older man’s face. This was unlike anything Skeppy had seen before.
“People could have gotten in here? To you? What if you had snuck out, and you hadn’t told me ? What if someone had gotten in and hurt you ? Skeppy, do you even know what dangers you’re playing with by not telling anyone ?!” This was a side of Bad Skeppy had not seen before. He knew the older man had always valued his life, first because it was his job, then because they were friends. The only friend Skeppy had ever been allowed. Skeppy often felt it was just because Bad took pity on him, but of it was true, in this moment, Bad was surely doing a good job of hiding it.
“Skeppy, do you know how devastated I would be if someone hurt you and I could have stopped it ?” Bad gripped him by the shoulders, and held Skeppy’s chin to meet his eyes. He was crying. Bad was crying. Skeppy shoved down the butterflies in his chest, and the awkward shade of pink trying to taint his cheeks. Looking to the side a little he muttered a small “I’m sorry.” before Bad pulled him into an abrupt hug.
“I’m just glad you told me. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was just… afraid. Something could have happened… and I would know how-” Bad’s voice broke slightly, showing weakness meant for Skeppy, and Skeppy only. Skeppy felt both honored and stunned.
“But I’m okay now! See, maybe we should test our luck at the market! I heard they sell some really nice tea!” Skeppy joked, nudging Bad a little, to show that it was all a joke, having a feeling that Bad wouldn’t be up to the idea.
“ No one would hurt you if they didn’t know it was you… ” Bad whispered under his breath, facing away from Skeppy, beginning to pace the room. “ And I could really go for some of Niki’s tea right about now… ” Bad mumbled again.
“Bad…? What are you on about-” Skeppy didn’t finish before Bad straightened from his firm look at the ground, and turned to face Skeppy.
“Stay here, don’t do anything dumb. I’ll be right back.” and then Bad left the room. Literally. Bad just ran, with no context, he just left. And Skeppy was left confused.
“Oh well.” He mumbled to no one in particular, and flopped onto his bed, waiting for Bad’s return.
---
It had been at least ten minutes. And in those ten minutes, Skeppy had managed to experience the most boring ten minutes since after Bad had become his guard. He really didn’t think he was exaggerating.
“Okay, I’m back!” came a voice as Skeppy’s door was opened, and Bad walked through, carrying a folded piece of black clothing in his hands.
“Hm? Oh, thank goodness you’re back, I thought I was going to die of boredom.” Skeppy confessed, getting up from his spot on the bed and moved across the room, towards the doorway. “What’s that?” Skeppy eyed the cloth in Bad’s arms suspiciously.
“It’s a cloak! This is the best one I could find, the rest of them are torn from battle, sorry if it’s not comfy.” Bad gave a sheepish look.
“And why?”
“Because I don’t want you getting noticed! If the king catches wind of you being out there, he’ll have my head! Plus, I don’t want you getting hurt.” Bad ruffled Skeppy’s hair, and the prince whined in protest.
“Okay, I’ll wear it! But only if it’ll make you happy.”
“I’ll make me feel like you’re safe.” Bad offered with a smile, sitting down on Skeppy’s bed, something only Bad was able to do without having to ask, and watched Skeppy fumble to secure the cloak over his shoulders.
“What kind of button is this ?” Skeppy asked in slight frustration.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot to warn you; that button is hard to work with. Need some help?”
“Yes please.” Skeppy sighed in defeat, dropping his hands, and letting Bad walk over in an attempt to help him.
After a few tries, Bad ended up getting the button to work in their favor, and flipped the hood over Skeppy’s head.
“Perfect. You’ll blend right in!” Despite the soft shadow the hood created over Skeppy’s face, Bad still saw the excited smile crack across his face. Bad was worried, but he trusted Skeppy to pick up from what was going on around him.
“We aren't gonna go far at all, just to a small tea shop, and right back. Got it?”
“Got it.” Skeppy smiled.
Getting into and out of the garden without anyone seeing them was slightly more difficult of a task than Skeppy had thought it would be. Usually, there was no one out there, perfect for late night walks to clear your head. Even if your best friend was right behind you. But today, today was different. A lot different. Skeppy’s mother had some of the dukes and duchesses visiting from just outside the main kingdom, and they were sprawled out among the garden like little pests you can’t get rid of. It took all of Skeppy’s willpower not to groan in frustration. As exciting as this whole night was, this was something he did not want to deal with.
They ended up sprinting through the north halls until they found the south halls. Which, for both of them was the much less preferred option. By the time they had both squeezed through the small hole in the garden wall, they were both out of breath.
“Woo! Adventure!” Skeppy kept his voice hushed, if fear someone might hear them, but still let out his little celebratory yell of freedom.
The closer they got to downtown, the more Bad seemed to tense up. It bothered Skeppy to see him like this, so he made an attempt to try and turn Bad back.
“Hey, do you wanna go back? You seem tense.” Skeppy knew he shouldn’t have said that immediately. He should have said something about him, not Bad. Bad would then think it was his fault that they turned back, and would mope about it until the end of time. Then again, Skeppy would have done the same.
“No, we’re this close. The shop is right on the corner!” Bad smiled. A tense smile, but still one that could put the sun to shame. Skeppy wondered how Bad did that. Bad led them across the streets, and into the shop he had pointed to.
“Hello, Niki!” he smiled at the person behind the counter.
“Hi, Bad! How are you?” She smiled back.
“I’m alright, how about yourself?” Bad questioned back. Skeppy tuned out their conversion, and was too busy looking around the shop.
All kinds of plants and flowers lay dotted around the shop, some Skeppy had seen before, some new, and completely exotic. He was only brought back to earth when Bad had asked him a question he didn’t quite hear.
“Huh?” he turned to Bad, a questioning look on his face. Bad giggled.
“What flavor do you want?” Bad repeated, pointing to a board with different flavors and types of tea all written down on it.
“Whatever you get is fine.”
Skeppy doesn’t remember much of the trip home, and the rest of the night is a blur. All he does remember is sitting on the roof in Bad’s cloak, sipping tea, and exchanging conversation with the latter. He remembers saying is,
“I hope we do this again. It was really nice.” And Bad had responded with:
“I hope so too.”
But what he does know, is that he could surely get used to more nights with Bad, watching the stars, and being blanketed in a warm sanctuary. Maybe Royalty wasn’t all that bad after all. Maybe late night trips to the market were what made it worth it. Maybe it was the warm fuzzy feeling that clouded his mind whenever he thought about it.
Whatever it was, it was nice.