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“Once upon a time, because that’s usually how these stories go, there was a kingdom in a far-off land. There lived a King and Queen who loved each other dearly and decided to bring a beautiful child into this world. When the baby was born, the night sky lit up more than it had in thousands of years. It was like the Gods were celebrating his birth and were giving him his blessings. His skin shinned, like little diamonds placed in his skin. Everyone thought that this was impossible but- Low and behold, a baby born with skin that sparkled.
As the young Prince grew, the King and Queen had many doctors look over him, studying him, and making sure that their baby boy was completely healthy. Everything was perfectly normal with the boy, the only thing wrong is he had these weird shinning patterns. When the Prince was but a young child, one of the doctors figured out what the patterns were, at least, what he thought they were. Apparently, they were all the stars in the sky, all mapped out on his skin. If you looked hard enough, you could pinpoint all of the constellations visible in the sky just on the Prince’s back alone. The doctor said he was sure of this, so sure of this that he labeled it a sign from the Gods that this boy was special. He was meant to do great things.
Now you see, when a Prince is born, he is usually treated with the utmost kindness and respect. He is always waited on hand and foot to ensure his happiness. But this Prince was special! He was given a gift by the Gods, so of course, he must be! So, this Prince was treated even more so specially. I am explaining this of course to let you know that the conditions were just right for this Prince to turn into some snot-nosed brat who got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it, but that’s not what happened. As the boy grew, he showed to have excellent manners. He went as far as trying to help with the servants’ duties since he didn’t understand. The boy wanted to make others happy and from a very young age had shown his selfless behavior.
As the Prince grew into a teenager, he was allowed out of the castle. His parents had kept him inside not knowing what might happen to a son of a royal bloodline with a blessing given to him by the Gods, but as he proved to be capable of taking care of himself, his parents let him roam the Kingdom. All of the people in the Kingdom adored the Prince. Not only was he handsome, strong, and intelligent, but he was kind, generous, and empathetic. He caught the eyes of everyone while he walked the kingdom and captured the hearts of all he spoke to.
Now, as you can already tell, this story is about the Prince, right? Well, there is someone else in this story that I hadn’t introduced yet. You see, on the same night the Prince was born, another baby was also born to a poor family that lived in the Kingdom. Now I know what you may be thinking, but no, this baby wasn’t born with any special markings or anything of such. He was actually born perfectly blemish-free. Not one spot on the baby’s body. This other child grew up regularly for one born into poverty. He wasn’t as smart or handsome as the Prince, but he was strong and took care of himself and his family because he had to. Unfortunately, this meant the occasional stealing when work was slow or when his mother was sick. He would do anything for her and loved her dearly. Please understand, though, this didn’t make the other child a bad person, but he earned the nickname of That Hooligan within the Kingdom.
Now, one day while the Prince was out on one of his notorious walks, the Hooligan was coming home from a long shift from the mines. He just wanted to curl into a ball on the floor of his home and sleep for eternity. He must have not been paying attention though, because the Hooligan had walked the complete opposite path that he needed to take to get home. The Hooligan became frustrated with himself that he had gotten lost and sat down next to a pond. If he just calmed down, he could find his way home. Easy as pie. He looked down into the water and watched as small ripples rolled across the surface. It was soothing in a sense and it let him take some time out of his day to reflect on his life. It wasn’t the greatest, but not everyone can be born with a blessed life.
As the Hooligan stared down at his reflection, he noticed another person come to stand beside him. Someone whose reflection… sparkled? “Hello Sir, are you alright? People don’t usually stare at a pond so intently-” The Hooligan was startled to look up and see the Prince standing next to him. He was so startled in fact, that the poor boy slipped and fell into the pound beneath him. He had never seen the Prince in person before, he had only heard rumors of his beauty and eloquence, but he had never seen him up close. He looked even better in person. He looked better than anyone could ever describe and throughout all of the rumors no one had ever mentioned how soothing his voice was. It was scary. How could someone be so gifted and blessed and why were they talking to someone covered in mud and soot.
“Oh! I am terribly sorry Sir! I didn’t mean to startle you- Do you need a hand?” The Prince felt terribly bad that the Hooligan had fallen and stretched out his hand to help him up. The Hooligan could do nothing but simply stare at the Prince. Why was he trying to help him? He was so… dirty. He was not worth this beautiful creature’s time and yet, here he was, offering to help him. The Hooligan couldn’t speak, he didn’t have any fancy words to impress the Prince so he couldn’t speak. His voice wasn’t as angelic as the Prince’s either, so why bother?
The Hooligan slowly stretched out his hand and firmly grasped the Prince’s hand. His heart skipped a beat and he felt… something. It was like a tingling sensation that traveled all down his arm and into his heart. Oh no… Is this what love felt like?! It can’t be! He had only known the Prince from rumors and such, this wasn’t love. Don’t be foolish.
The Prince had felt this feeling too, except it felt like it was shooting out of his heart and into his arm. Was he having a stroke? Please Gods no! Not when he was this far outside the castle! Then, the Prince noticed something. He had pulled the Hooligan up and out and then yanked him close. Was this too close? It didn’t matter, he needed to see what was happening to his face. The Prince pulled the boy up to his own face and whispered out, “Oh my… You have the stars too-”
“Th-The stars?” the Hooligan asked out shyly. What was this guy on about? He didn’t like how close the Prince was getting, it was uncomfortable and when the Prince took the Hooligan’s face in his hands, he thought he would die of embarrassment. There was nothing on his skin, so what was the Prince looking at?
The Prince held a small smile on his face as he continued to feel the tingle through his arms. More and more stars appeared on the Hooligan’s face as he touched him. It was astonishing to him. This had never happened before! This boy- This boy was special too! This was a sign from the Gods! He had to bring him back to the castle to show everyone. The Prince let go of the Hooligan’s face and the tingling stopped. Was it connected to them touching then? How interesting! Did this mean the two boys were one and the same? Were they made for each other? The Prince placed on his gloves and grabbed the Hooligan’s arm. No tingles, and no new stars. That must be it! When they touch skin to skin the Prince can give his stars away! He had to show his family- he had to show the doctors!
The Prince dragged the Hooligan to the castle, to which the Hooligan protested greatly. “I’m not worthy! I am covered in muck! You cannot bring me to the King this way! It is a disgrace!” But the Prince did not listen. He was too excited to show that someone else could show the stars on their skin too! This boy- He was made for the Prince! He was made for him! The excitement filled his heart to the brim, no longer would he be alone receiving the stares from those envious of his skin. No longer does he have to suffer the doctors’ tests alone! No longer will he feel the burden of this blessing alone-
Once at the castle, the Prince gladly showed the Hooligan off to everyone, to his parents, the doctors, and the servants that had watched over the Prince since he was little. “Look, everyone! He is just like me!” he shouted from the top of his lungs. The Prince was so happy to not be alone anymore. When the doctors asked where the Prince found the Hooligan, he explained their chance encounter.
The doctors didn’t believe it, how could the stars travel from one boy to the next? It was preposterous. With disbelief, the Prince took off his glove and gently grabbed onto the hand of the Hooligan. Now, the Hooligan was speechless this whole time, he didn’t want to say or do anything that embarrassed himself in front of the royal family, but his face went a dazzling bright red as the Prince touched his hand. He still had no idea what the Prince was talking about, for the Hooligan still thought his skin to be clear, but he could not deny the tingling sensation that ran through his arm as the Prince touched him. He almost didn’t want to let go of the Prince’s hand because of it.
The doctors stared in utter shock as more and more stars appeared on the Hooligan’s face. They didn’t think such a thing was possible. The Queen, however, was not happy with the events taking place before her eyes. “What are you doing to my son- Stop it! Don’t hurt him!” she called out. The King sensing his wife’s distress, sent out guards to restrain the Hooligan and separate him from the Prince. The Prince didn’t know what to think. He tried to call out to his parents, saying that he wasn’t hurt at all, but they didn’t believe him. “You have no idea what you’re doing! What if you can never get your stars back! This boy is stealing your blessing!”
With that, the Prince had no response. He was just happy someone could share the beautiful stars that were left on his skin. He could do nothing but watch as the guards took the Hooligan away. The Hooligan was scared. He didn’t do anything- It was all the Prince’s fault! He wasn’t trying to steal the stars! He wanted to go home; he wanted to make sure his mother was okay!
A few days had passed since the Prince last saw the Hooligan. He heard that the doctors were performing experiments to try to get the stars off of the boy, but it was to no avail. The Prince felt so guilty. It was his fault his new friend was locked away now; he should have never brought him back to his family. To be truthful though, these two weren’t even friends. The Prince just wanted someone like him while the Hooligan had only known the Prince from stories and admired him from afar. If the Hooligan was going to be locked up, the Prince at least wanted to know that he was okay.
For the next week, the Prince had searched all of the castle’s dungeons to find the Hooligan. His parents must have known he would try, because the Hooligan was hidden deep below the castle, down a corridor that the Prince was forbidden from ever going down. The Prince needed to see the man again though, he needed to apologize for his foolishness. He needed to set the Hooligan free and make it right with him.
One night, when the Prince had finally found the Hooligan’s cell, he immediately broke down at the state the Hooligan was in. He was covered in lashes and bruises and cuts on his face. They were trying to take the stars by force. It wasn’t fair- He couldn’t help himself than releasing his sorrow in cries that broke the Hooligan’s heart.
“Hey…It’s okay. I don’t blame you. You didn’t know.” The Hooligan’s words were soft and sweet. He couldn’t believe the picture of perfection was crumbling right in front of him just because some poor dirty nobody from the Kingdom had a few marks on his face. The Hooligan held a small smile on his face, never did he want to see the Prince of this land cry in front of him. The Prince was touched, how could this man, who he didn’t even know the name of, forgive him for what he had done? The Prince muttered out apology after apology and promise after promise to free the Hooligan but that isn’t what he wanted. “If you want to make it up to me, please go visit my mother. Tell her I am alright and make sure she is doing okay.” This was the only request the Hooligan had, and the Prince was determined to do any task, even this. So, the Prince had taken down the home he was to visit and left the Hooligan alone.
The next day, the Prince went out on one of his famous walks and stormed straight up to the house the Hooligan lived at. He told his mother everything, down to blaming himself for how her son was now being treated. He was about to cry in front of her when she placed a hand on his shoulder to console him. “It’s not your fault. Once they get the stars off of him, he will come home…right?” The Prince could not believe the kindness he was receiving not only from the Hooligan but from his mother as well. He promised her that he would set her son free and that he would do anything in his power to see to it.
When the Prince returned from his walk, he waited until the moon stood tall in the night sky before going to tell the Hooligan that his mother was okay. The Hooligan had started to cry. Thank the Gods that his mother was fine, thank the gods she knew he was okay. The Prince couldn’t help but feel guilty, he reached his hand inside the cell for the Prince to take to try to offer some form of comfort. The Hooligan hesitated but took the Prince’s hand in his own. The tingles from before had returned and slowly stars from the Prince’s skin appeared on the Hooligan. It was what got them into this mess in the first place- The Prince quickly released the Hooligan’s hand and started to apologize once more. “We cannot touch- If they find out you have more stars then…”
“Let them find out. I like the way it feels…” the Hooligan said as his eyes started to dry. All he wanted was to feel it just a little more, just a little longer, the tingles that ran straight through his heart. They felt nice. The Prince suggested a compromise for the Hooligan, stating that he would come down when he could, and they could touch slightly for a few moments each time. In return, the Hooligan would tell the Prince all about his life so maybe- just maybe- he could figure out why this boy was so special. The Hooligan accepted it gladly, he would get to feel those tingles and be able to connect with someone, how could he reject such an offer?
So, the Prince and the Hooligan met up daily when the Prince could sneak down there. The Prince would ask about the Hooligan’s life and hear how he had to work to support his family. The Prince was completely enthralled by the other boy. He never interrupted, he never spoke out of turn, and he never broke eye contact while listening to the Hooligan speak. The more and more the Hooligan spoke about his life, the more the Prince wanted to be a part of it. He wanted to be closer to the Hooligan, he wanted to listen to his voice all hours of the day. The Prince looked forward to their nightly meetings now and distracted himself during his daily duties with thoughts of it.
Their little meetings were not secret though. The more and more they met, the more they held hands through the bars of the cell while they shared stories of their lives, the more stars appeared on the Hooligan’s skin. It was too obvious not to notice how they depleted from the Prince’s skin. The King and Queen had summoned the Prince before them one day to talk to the boy. In front of them laid the Hooligan, battered and bruised more than normal. The Prince’s heart sank at the sight. They knew…
“Can you tell us why you have been losing your stars?” The King’s voice boomed through the room. The Prince begged his parents to not hurt him anymore. Tears fell from his face as he tried to convince his parents that nothing was wrong with him, that they need to let the Hooligan go. He screamed his love out for the Hooligan, to which the Hooligan could only watch with teary eyes. The Hooligan had already known his fate. His voice was weak, and it cracked. “Please be quiet…” He couldn’t listen to it anymore. He hated that the Prince had grown so attached to him, he hated that even for a brief moment he thought he was going home. He hated that he was going to miss the Prince. He hated that he could say he felt the same.
The King and Queen tried to reason with the Prince, telling him that the Hooligan was dangerous. The only way to get the stars back was to execute him. This made the Prince irrational. He threw himself at the guard, trying to reach the Hooligan, trying to touch him one last time. He never asked his name- He must know his name! He screamed out begging to know as the guards dragged him away. The Hooligan sat there quietly as his heart broke and his soul was crushed. He couldn’t tell the Prince, hoping that keeping it from him might help the other boy get over hi-”
“Jean- I thought this was supposed to be a happy story…” Marco interrupted. Jean looked at the other boy confused. Marco laid in his arms this whole time, attentively listening to this bedtime story of his, and he wasn’t happy with how it was going. How adorable. Jean chuckled out with a small smile. He wasn’t used to telling stories, especially long ones like this but he had written this out just for the other boy.
“It is a happy story! I promise. If you don’t interrupt me then I can continue it,” he said as cocky as ever, already knowing the ending. Marco would like it if he didn’t interrupt.
“What do you mean! The Hooligan is going to die! How can this be happy-” Marco demanded to know.
“The story doesn’t end there! I have plenty more to it, just trust me.” Jean squeezed the other boy slightly in the hug. He loved the warmth that radiated off the other boy, especially when they were under the blankets like this.
“Oh alright. Continue…” he pouted out. Even if the story didn’t have a happy ending, at least it was interesting. It kept Marco’s attention better than even his favorite professor ever could. Jean gave the boy a quick kiss to the forehead before continuing on with his story.
“Okay, so…The execution happened early morning the next day. The Prince was forbidden from attending. He was locked inside the castle until further notice. He couldn’t even bring himself to leave his bedroom, though. That night, when the clouds had cleared from the sky, only half of the stars had shown through. Only half of what the sky usually held was there, reflecting the rest of the stars left on the Prince. All the people in the Kingdom thought something had happened to the Prince. They had thought he was sick and dying.
Throughout the next week, when the stars had not returned, the Kingdom started rallying outside of the castle. They demanded to know what was happening to the Prince, they demanded to see him and to make sure that their loving, kind, generous Prince was okay. They all cared deeply for him. While the Prince refused to leave his room, the King had sent out a messenger to relay what had happened. He told the truth, explaining that they had to execute the Hooligan for the sake of the Prince. This angered the crowd below. Could the King not see that his actions had angered the Gods? They were being punished for his hubris. The crowd below grew restless, but as long as their Prince was doing well, they decided not to act.
The Prince was not doing well, though. Every night when only half the stars showed through his window, he felt a piece of him missing. He prayed to the Gods every night to come to take his pain and suffering away. He prayed that it should have been him instead. He prayed so hard and for so long that one night, one of the Gods came down to answer his prayer.
The God had shown himself to the Prince. Upon seeing them, the Prince cried out for his love. He wished to be with the Hooligan once more and couldn’t stand the thought of being away from him. The God has asked if the Prince if he would do anything to see his lover again, and the Prince quickly nodded his head. Tears streamed down the rest of the stars that laid on his face. He just wanted to see the Hooligan again.
“If you give me the rest of your stars, you can see your soulmate again,” the God spoke out. The Prince wanted nothing more than that, and he would gladly give away his stars. He didn’t need to be special; he just wanted the Hooligan back. However, the Prince did not fully understand what the God had meant, and as soon as he agreed the God took his life-”
“Jean! This isn’t happy!” Marco protested out again. The poor boy’s mood had turned sour from the story. He didn’t like feeling this bad for some made-up characters.
“Shhhhh,” Jean hushed the boy. “It is not over yet. Stop interrupting. You’ll like the story I promise you.”
Marco sighed out, but he wouldn’t protest anymore. He cuddled himself up next to Jean as he listened to the rest of the story, burying his face into Jean’s chest. Hopefully, there was a happy ending to it.
“Okay… back into it then, and don’t interrupt until it’s over this time. So, the God had taken the Prince’s life, and with it, all the stars in the sky disappeared. The Kingdom instantly knew something was wrong when the sky went dark and they demanded to see the Prince at once. The King had his guards search high and low for the Prince, but no one could find him. He was just gone. It was like he had never lived there at all.
This angered the people into a revolt. They stormed the castle and overthrew the throne. They were all mourning their benevolent Prince. Even the guards couldn’t help but let them. For they had loved the sweet Prince too. If the King and Queen hadn’t killed the Hooligan, then the Prince would still be alive.
When dawn had come, the King and Queen had both lost their lives. The Kingdom mourned over their losses, for not only were they without a ruler, but they were without their Prince. Who would come stroll through their gardens and brighten their days now?
The God was pleased with the actions of the people. He had given them a gift that one night long ago, and the King and Queen had taken it away from them. He returned in front of the kingdom and spoke out to soothe their souls. “Fear not my children, for the lovers shall be reborn until the end of times. As long as there are stars in the night sky, you will know that they are with each other. If some nights you cannot see some of the stars, it means one of the lovers had passed on into their next life. They are my gift to humanity, and if anyone shall treat them poorly or interfere with them again, may they meet the same fate. They shall stay together, forever and always, so fear not my children. Your lovely Prince and hardworking Hooligan shall be back with you soon.”
And so it was. The Kingdom was rebuilt with a new ruler, and the story of the Prince and his Hooligan was passed on for generations. Everyone in the Kingdom looked up at the bright stars in the sky and hoped that they would find each other soon. And so it went, forever and always. The lovers lived their lives finding each other again and again and falling in love. The Prince and the Hooligan were with each other once again every time they were reborn.”
Jean looked at Marco with a soft gentle smile as he finished his story. He wrote this story for them. To Jean, Marco was as handsome as a Prince, and as kind as the one in the story. His freckles danced across his skin like the stars danced in the sky. He could draw the constellations on him if Marco had let him. He wanted to know that Marco was loved- that Jean had loved him. He wrote this to say that even in the next life, Jean would come to find him.
“Is that it?” Marco spoke out softly. He couldn’t believe it. His eyes started to tear up as he thought about the ending. Jean was this sweet? No way- It wasn’t possible. “I loved it-” he spoke out with a slight crack in his voice. He couldn’t contain his own emotions. When Jean had told him that he wanted to tell Marco a bedtime story, he never thought Jean would tell him this. A big cheesy smile had overtaken his face as he pushed it into Jean’s chest. He was embarrassed that the story had made him so emotional.
Jean absolutely adored the other boy’s reaction. He couldn’t help but smile out himself as he brought a hand up to ruffle Marco’s hair. Marco had always told Jean about the stars and all the Greek stories connected to them, so he thought he would try his best to give Marco a story he’s never heard before. His tone was gentle and caring as he spoke out, barely raising it above a whisper to keep the delicacy of the moment intact. “I’m glad you liked it so much, Freckles.”
“I did- But Jean, you know you’re not a hooligan, right?” Marco said with a small chuckle. Oh, that boy was going to be the death of Jean.
“Course I am, I’m one who gets into trouble when he needs to and protects the handsome Prince when he can. Plus, I love how it feels touching you and I can’t keep my hands off you!” he teased out. He reached down to place a sweet kiss on the top of Marco’s head, pushing the hair out of his way. He loved to see Marco like this, especially laying so peacefully on top of him. “But come on, it’s getting late and you have class early tomorrow. Get some rest, okay baby?”
“You have class too, jerk-” Marco mumbled out playfully as cuddled into Jean more. It was so comfortable like this, so warm and safe. He was glad he had found his Hooligan again; he couldn’t imagine life without him. “Goodnight Mr. Hooligan, I love you.”
“Goodnight my star-splattered Prince. I love you too.”