Archive of Our Own ^beta

The stars began to shine across the ocean sky, accompanied with the bright moon and the sounds of an orchestra coming from the palace. Inside the ballroom, there goes the entire Hinata line who rules the country named Staian. Starting from the first born prince with fiery hair named Shouyou, along with his grandparents, his uncles and aunts, his parents, and his lovely sister, Natsu. 

They are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the grand rulers of Staian, the king and queen, also Shouyou’s parents. Meaning, the gates are open to all of the royal visitors of the east, west, and southern countries. The first line of Kageyamas came forth to visit from the west, along with other royal families from the other seas. 

Shouyou sits by his designated throne along with his grandparents, clearly waiting for someone to enter the main door of the ballroom. His eyes only fixated on the entrance, and then before he knew it, he saw a 17 year old teen with a familiar face entering the ballroom along with his family.

Shouyou never ran so fast ungracefully. No one actually batted an eye on the 15 year old boy except their ears receiving a loud “Tooru!!” from him. 

Tooru immediately caught Shouyou who jumped into his direction and hugged him. “Hey there Shouyou, missed me that much?” Tooru asked as he gave him an eskimo kiss.

Shouyou nodded and nuzzled into Tooru’s touch. The latter let out a small chuckle and grabbed Shouyou’s hand, intertwining their fingers together. 

Both Tooru and Shouyou’s parents are actually grateful for their sons. They are relieved, knowing the fact that both Shouyou and Tooru already agreed in a blink of an eye when their parents announced that they are gonna put together their first born into marrying each other for more power to rule the continent.

At first, they expected that the two are going to be so difficult to deal with because of the huge family favor, but  of course, they will take what they can get when their sons just agree with the favor without any hesitation. 

But Shouyou and Tooru did not agree for the sake of their kingdom, no. But it is because they have already been fond of each other since they were little. 

Shouyou unconsciously broke his gaze away from Tooru and looked around. He saw the people around dancing at the center, Tooru’s parents walking away gracefully to talk to other people, and his own family having fun at the other side of the ballroom. 

He whipped his head back to Tooru and noticed that the latter leaned down on him. “Come on, I want to show you something.” His fiance whispered, causing Shouyou to let out a small chuckle. “Why don’t you show it to me right here?” He asked. 

“I have my own reasons.” Tooru replied as he pulled Shouyou away from the entrance of the ballroom.

They walked through the golden ballroom filled with royal visitors in regalia and gowns. Shouyou scattered his eyes around the place and saw a familiar girl who had the same shade of ginger hair as him. 

He watched as Natsu danced along with his mother and father. Natsu spotted him and waved, Shouyou did the same and gave his family a big smile before walking away with Tooru.

Shouyou felt Tooru’s hand unconsciously pulling him harder out of excitement as they were getting closer to the other side of the ballroom, an exit leading to the hallways. His fiance looked back and just flashed him a soft smile.

The pair went ahead and left the room from where the party is still ongoing, running down the empty bright hallways giddily. The place was echoed with nothing but their auspicious laughter, not until Shouyou realized that they were going further and further away from the ballroom. 

“Tooru? Are we heading to the castle gardens? The party is not yet finished.” Shouyou asked and just pouted when he received a silent treatment.

They eventually arrived in a familiar tall glass doors that are parted, giving them a huge space to enter the green castle gardens. Shouyou has no idea what they are doing and why Tooru brought him here. They are supposed to celebrate his sister’s birthday back at the ballroom. 

Shouyou noticed that his lover slowly softened his walking pace, so he followed suit and matched his footsteps. 

Tooru leads Shouyou towards the giant fountain that is a few miles away from them.

“You can still hear the orchestra from here.” Tooru commented and soon stopped walking when they were finally in front of the fountain. 

“Would you like to have this dance?” Shouyou looked up and saw a waiting hand facing towards his direction, waiting for him to take it.

Shouyou smiled and did not think otherwise, gladly taking Tooru’s hand. He then felt a fairly large hand pulling his waist closer to Tooru and listened to the music, gently swaying around along with the soft singing notes coming from the ballroom. 

They slowly danced around the fountain, taking one step at a time, forward, backward, forward, backward, spin, and repeat. Lazily encircling the whole garden with their redundant steps. 

Shouyou only looked at the piercing look given by his fiance, observing the way the moonlight kisses his soft skin, giving him an ethereal look, contrasting the other side of his shadowed face, enhancing his other features, especially his jaw line. 

He noticed that his fiance toned down their pace, and they eventually stopped dancing. 

“I’ve got something for you.” Tooru spoke and gently parted the first layer of his suit and reached out to his inner pocket. 

Shouyou whipped his head away from his fiance’s frame when he heard the dry leaves crackling. His eyes stopped scattering when he spotted a rusting bush, standing by the pillar where it holds the lamp as a light source. 

He just shrugged it off and returned his gaze at Tooru.

Shouyou spotted something shiny that was unravelling from his partner’s inner pocket. 

“Ta-da!” Tooru exclaimed as he pulled the small velvet box surrounded by numbers of small quartzes in repeated circle cuts.

Before he could speak, Tooru opened the box. Shouyou’s eyes were immediately greeted by the two matching sun and moon necklaces that hug each other, creating a perfect circle, like yin and yang, both of its eyes are made from a perfect diamond cut.

“This one belongs to you.” Tooru spoke as he tugged the sun jewelry by its lace and wore it around Shouyou’s neck. “And this one belongs to me.” He carefully dragged the other half and enveloped it around him. 

“This way, whenever I go back to my own country, you’ll have this. Whenever you look at your necklace, you will remember that this special moment happened, and that we will see each other again anytime soon.” Tooru once again leaned on Shouyou’s forehead and kissed him on his forehead. 

“Tooru… I- thank you.” Shouyou stuttered.

“But wait, there is more.” Tooru excitedly lifted the velvet layer of the box where the necklace was resting earlier, revealing a small ring embedded with diamonds and quartzes all over the outsides of the circlet. 

“You did not have to.” Shouyou gazed in awe as Tooru inserted the ring in his finger. 

“But I want to.” His fiance answered with a smile.

“I love you.” 

Shouyou was about to reply, but his words immediately cut off when both of them heard explosions and screams coming from the ballroom. 

Shouyou looked up to his fiance whose face was painted with confusion, eyebrows knitted together, creating an angry crease on his forehead. “What was that?” 

“I- I.. I don’t know… Let’s get out of here.” Tooru pulled Shouyou away as they went back inside the castle. 

Shouyou’s ears start to ring after hearing a lot of screams coming from the other side of the hallway. He could feel the way his heart jumps back and forth as if it was trying to leave his chest. 

The last time he felt this scared was when he accidentally broke a palace statue outside by the gates when he was five. It was his first time breaking something valuable that made him cry out of fear, thinking that his dad was about to kick him out of the castle after breaking a simple replaceable stone statue. 

After Shouyou snapped out of his reverie, he looked in front of him and noticed that Tooru was still holding his hand as tight as he could, walking down the bright halls. The way it was filled with echoes of scream and horror made Shouyou huddle closer to Tooru.

They were about to take another turn on the hallway to the left, but then Tooru decided to look back and saw Shouyou shivering in fear. The brunette stopped walking and stood by the corner of the hallway. 

The older teen slowly peaked his head, the next thing he knew was that he felt his lungs tighten and his breath shivering. He could not believe the scene that unfolded right before his eyes. 

Shouyou felt the way Tooru’s hands tighten around him. “Tooru? What’s going on?” Tooru turned around and saw Shouyou’s face painted in confusion and a small hint of fear that was caused by numbers of screaming from the distance.

Tooru snapped from his train of thoughts when he realized that they are stuck in a now dangerous place called hell. “We have to get out of here.” He said along with a loud gun shot followed by his words. “Now!” He yelled as he pulled Shouyou’s hand and ran back to the opposite direction from where they came from earlier. 

As they run mindlessly through the empty horror halls that once were bright, a trail of  flashbacks pangs in Tooru’s mind. Inside the ballroom, he saw how the blood scattered around everywhere on the floor, with bullet shells and broken knives flying around, and numbers of bodies with familiar faces lying on the golden tiles, dead. 

They were running as fast as they could, but then they came across other people in fancy clothing, screaming in terror along with the continuous gunshots echoing from the other side of the castle. 

“Keep up with me Shouyou!” Tooru called as he tightened the grip around Shouyou’s hand even more, going along the crowd who were also trying to escape the disaster. 

Not long after, a handful of familiar men in silver arrived and ran to the direction from where the crowd were running away from. Shouyou’s heart starts to sink as the beads of sweat pearls from his forehead, dripping down to his face and pants uncontrollably. 

Tooru took a glance at his fiance and saw his poor state. He looked around and saw another opening of the hallway. He pulled Shouyou with full force and took a turn, opening the spotted door and entering the room. 

“Okay, sit down here and breathe.” He said as he rested Shouyou on an arm rest and barricaded the door with the large drawer made in rich oak wood. 

He leaned down against the barricade to catch his breath too for a few seconds, he then looked at Shouyou whose face is still painted with mortification. 

Tooru was about to stand up to comfort Shouyou, but then the sounds of the banging door suddenly echoed through the room which made Shouyou hug Tooru. 

They turned their heads around the other side when they heard the wall opening. 

They turned their heads with fear displayed on their eyes as they watched the wall parting from each other that is slowly shaping into a small door. 

Shouyou watched in horror and was soon replaced with relief when a blond boy showed up behind the wall. “What are you guys doing here—” The blond’s question was cutted off when the three of them suddenly heard the sound of the door banging.

The blond in silver immediately shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. Come on your highnesses, this way.” He commanded respectfully as he observed the pair stand up and hurriedly went in his direction. 

When the two finally settled beside the mysterious blond boy, the latter quickly turned around “The door won't close from the inside, so I need the both of you to run through this tunnel. It’s safe, I promise. This will lead you outside the palace, just go straight ahead.” he said as he stepped out of the doorway. 

“But what about you?” Shouyou asked in concern. 

“Don’t worry about me! Just go!” The blond teen demanded. 

“No!” Shouyou screamed as he was about to reach out, but before he knew it, he felt the ring somehow slip away from his finger when the blond boy pushed his hand back inside before closing the door.

“We don’t have much time, Shouyou. We gotta move, now.” Tooru whispered and shook Shouyou’s shoulders, attempting to get him back into his own senses when Shouyou just stared at the wall where the boy stepped out earlier. 

Tooru felt frustrated with the current situation so he forcefully pulled Shouyou by his hand as pulled him through the tunnel, feeling relieved when his fiance didn’t protest.

“Keep up with me, love. We’re almost there.” Tooru calmly stated as they exited the tunnel and slowly felt the hard snow cracking beneath their feet. “Where are we going?” Shouyou asked. 

“Hey! Both of you there! You are gonna die if you guys go that way! Come on, in the train, move!” They turned their heads around and saw a handful of men by the train, loading more passengers. 

Tooru and Shouyou ran as fast as they could towards the train. “Hurry!” The man exclaimed as the engine of the train started revving. The pair are still miles away from the train, and Shouyou is already running out of breath, only the cold icy smoke is leaving from his lungs. 

The train starts to move on its own, going forward. Shouyou couldn’t hear anything but the endless chanting of men saying “hurry!” and “get in!” 

Tooru and Shouyou hurriedly extended their arms while running down on the cold floor, trying to catch up with the running train by foot, until finally, the man finally got to grasp onto Tooru's long arm and carried him on board.

Shouyou also felt the men pulling him up with his small hand, his vision getting blurry from all the exhaustion, headache pulling him in, and suddenly, his hand slipped away from the men, and Tooru’s.

He felt a hard metal hit his head as his body crashed against the pile of cold snow, with the throbbing pain that he received and now panging on his head, he just decided to rest on the floor. Shouyou was too tired to stand up and did nothing as he just watched the train drive away. 

“Shouyou!” He heard… Whose voice was it? He couldn’t even care less. All he wanted to do is to finally rest against the cold wind that is brushing his body. He shivered and closed his eyes. 

It’s cold…

———

The wind starts to howl against the windows, bringing a pile of dried leaves and papers. Some of the citizens are wiping up piles of snow that was scattered by the roads. 

Six years has already passed ever since the last castle raid happened, which killed thousands of royal guests and casualties, including the entire Hinata line. 

The people were devastated after hearing about the shocking news. This caused them to lose hope in their own country. With every line of Hinata brutally murdered, including the heir and heiress, nobody is gonna be able to run Staian into a functional country anymore.

Slowly turning into a long forgotten place, drowned in debts. Some of the citizens even moved away because of the current state of the terrible place. But some people are still holding onto a slim chance of hope, a rumor that keeps their head held high. Though the other half or even quarter of the population are just calling it a bluff, it’s just a false rumor.

A tiny ounce of rumor which has eventually made it towards the new Duke across the country, that maybe, just maybe, Tooru’s fiance is still alive. Because of that, he made an announcement. 

“Whoever brings him his prince in one piece, shall be granted with thousands of riches back at their very homes.” said that was written on the newspaper headline.

Atsumu immediately pulled away the newspaper that slapped on his face earlier, caused by the strong wind carrying it. He read the headline carefully, over and over. “Rin!” 

His partner jumped at the call and immediately turned his head around towards Atsumu’s direction. “What?” Rintarou asked with the hint of annoyance in his voice.

Atsumu hurriedly brought the newspaper with him, smacking Rintaro with it. His partner took the paper undisturbed and read it quietly. After scanning the said headline, he brought his eyes on Atsumu, back at the paper, and back at Atsumu again. “What does this have to do with us?” 

“We’re gonna be rich!” 

“Oh yeah? There’s no way that the Duke from another country is gonna believe us in a blink of an eye.”

“You don’t get it!” 

“Alright, well how else are you gonna make this work?” 

Atsumu grabbed his bag that was hanging on him and unzipped it.“You see this?”

“And? What does that have to do with anything?” Rintaro asked and looked at the jewelry that Atsumu was holding. “You don’t get it, don’t you?” Atsumu sighed. “Yeah, I do not. Care to elaborate your big idea?” His partner remarked.

Before Atsumu could speak, he took a deep breath before explaining his brilliant plan that was just formed into his head just now after reading the newspaper. “With this ring, and the ongoing rumor, we are going to be rich!” Atsumu said enthusiastically. “Wow, joy. Yay.” His friend rolled his eyes. 

“Just hear me out!” Rintaro scoffed at the words and took a few steps at the wall, leaning his back on it and crossing his arms. “Well, Go on.” He said. 

“As we both know, I used to serve at the castle six years ago. Meaning, I was there when the palace was raided.” 

Rintaro stayed quiet. 

“But I did not tell you about one thing.” Atsumu paused. “Is that during the raid, I saw them. Duke Oikawa and Prince Shouyou, were hiding away from the mobs who were attacking the castle. I was there when I opened the hidden door!”

“I prioritized their safety, shoving them into the tunnel from where I came from, which was hidden by the camouflaged door disguised as the wall.” Atsumu raised the familiar ring. 

Rintaro has no idea where the story is going, but he just yawned and listened to Atsumu’s pointless monologues.

“Right when I was closing the door, Prince Shouyou reached out to me, but he was soon stopped by Duke Tooru. Then his majesty’s ring slipped away from his finger!” Atsumu said excitedly and shoved the ring on Rintarou’s face once again.

“Now, with this, all we need is a redhead! a puppet, who is capable of acting as his royal highness.” Atsumu concluded.

 Rintarou stayed quiet for a second, thinking about what his partner just said and replied. “Well, even if this ring belongs to his highness, this thing might have other replicas from where it came from. So how are we gonna show up with this as the only proof? The duke might have possibly thought that we just got it from somewhere else!” He exclaimed, which soon followed up with Atsumu’s tutting.

“That’s where you’re wrong, my friend.” Atsumu replied, which made his partner scrunch his forehead even further. 

“You see, I was there when the Duke gave this to his royal highness.” He boasted. “I saw how his grace pulled the given jewelry from the box, you can pretty much tell that it was customized.” 

A trail of flashbacks occurred on the back of Atsumu’s head, he remembered the time when it was his turn to monitor the castle gardens while the ongoing party was being held at the golden ballroom. 

While he was walking down the gravel path, he saw a pair dancing slowly by the fountain. Immediately catching the heavy atmosphere, he hid away from the sight of the two royalties. 

He had no idea what he was doing, it was his first time doing this kind of work. Atsumu was just a knight in training after all back then. He did not know what to do and stupidly crouched towards the bush, accidentally stepping on a small pile of dried leaves as he leaned onto the pillar. 

Recalling a memory years ago gave him a small sense of nostalgia. Atsumu fixed his posture and faced Sunarin. “And then I heard the duke telling the prince that this-” Atsumu raised the ring and nearly smeared it on Rintaro’s face. “Is a unique souvenir to each other!”

A dead silence. 

“Ahem. My point is that since this jewelry belongs to the prince as his souvenir from the duke, it must’ve meant that this ring is customized! No other jeweler will make a replica of this!” Atsumu emphasized, hoping that he got his partner through his story and joined him. 

Rintaro fell into silence. 

1 minute has passed.

2 minutes. 

2 minutes and 30 seconds—

“Alright, I think I’m convinced.” Atsumu’s face lightened up after hearing his partner’s words. “So, what’s your plan mister conman?” Rintaro asked. 

Atsumu chuckled at the question. “Like I said earlier, first things first, we’ll find our own puppet to act as Prince Shouyou.” He grabbed his partner’s shoulder and began to whisper his other plans that were building up from his head. 

———

A fair amount of numbers entering and exiting the tavern hovered through the hazel eyes of the redhead. He has been waiting by the door for hours, hoping to receive his payment by selling his necklace. He tucked his fairly long ginger locks that were hanging by his view and carefully enveloped it at the back of his ear. 

He feels guilty, knowing the fact that he basically grew up with the beautiful jewelry. But he needs money to move away from this hopeless country. This place alone near the rundown palace with the crownless family, no one to lead the country is bad enough as it is. He needs to create a fresh new start at the age of 21. He wants to. 

A memory slipped in his head years ago, the redhead vividly remembers the time when he woke up cluelessly by the trail racks, wearing a disheveled regalia and was coated by a pile of snow. It was a very cold night. 

He was barely walking on his feet, trying to recall what happened, what on earth was he doing in the snow, with his head throbbing very hard, he must have hit his head very hard on something, might be on the metal? Who knows? 

As he was following the flickering lamp that was hanging by the pole with his cold shivering legs, he was luckily found by a man in a black coat who claims that he runs an orphanage. 

“Hey!” Sho yelped, immediately shutting off his train of thoughts as he got bumped rudely by a blonde with a tall frame, who was accompanied by another man with strange sleepy chinky eyes, causing Sho to nearly trip and his necklace nearly flung over from his neck. “Excuse you, watch where you’re standing.” The blond barked as the pair carried on walking. 

Sho is known as the one of the most confrontational boys known by the whole orphanage when he was a kid, and those words released by the rude blond made Sho’s eyebrow shot up filled with displease. He was taken back with how he was treated just now. No, there is no way that he is just gonna let that go. How hard was it to apologize? Seriously. 

“So you see, all we need is to find a boy with ginger locks— Do I know you?” The blond man asked as Sho stood right in front of them. “Really? How hard was it for you guys to apologize?” 

The rude man could only groan at such a trivial matter. 

“Well? I am waiting.” Sho said as he angrily tapped his foot with his arms crossed. The tall man could only let out a heavy sigh and pinched his nose bridge. “Look, I am sorry for bumping into you and me and my friend here are in such a hurry. Goodbye.” He said insincerely before taking another step away from him. 

“Hold on, Atsumu!” The lanky man called as he grabbed the other man named Atsumu by his shoulder. “Take a good look at him.” The brunette whispered as he leaned towards his friend. 

The blond slowly scanned Sho from head to toe as the man continued sending suspicious whispers at his ear. The man is looking at Sho carefully, observing him from head to toe, his mouth soon forming into an ‘O’ and facing back at his friend. 

Sho has no idea what is going on right now, with how their faces suddenly lit up as they looked at him… suspiciously. 

“Uhm.. Anyways, before me and my friend go to our merry ways, it is okay to ask you a few questions?” The suspicious blond chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It depends on the question.” Sho answered with his eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. 

“First, let us introduce ourselves. I’m Atsumu, and this is my friend, Rintaro. You may call him Rin for short.” 

“Hey there.” Rin greeted as he waved his hand. 

Sho blinked at Atsumu and Rintaro for a few seconds. “Alright, there is no way that I am going to ignore the fact that both of you huddled up and whispered something and suddenly became all friendly with me. And I am sure as hell that you guys are up to no good.” He pointed at them as Sho kept his guard up. 

“Woah, why so feisty? We just want to ask a few questions.” Atsumu remarked. “Ahem, anyways. What’s your name?” Rin asked. 

“I go by Sho...” He answered as he eyed the pair suspiciously.  

“Just Sho? What’s your last name?” This time, Atsumu asked with his furrowed eyebrows.

“Yeah, uhm about that. I don’t remember my last name, it’s a funny story actually. I just found myself waking up by the snow and for some reason, I can’t remember anything about my past. So, that’s that.” Sho answered as he looked away and fidgeted his necklace that he was about to sell.

Sho carefully looked at the pair as well, head to toe. They seemed… oddly professional enough to know some things around town. “Now, it’s my turn to ask some questions.” The blond man named Atsumu snapped for a moment who seemed to be thinking deep while looking at him directly after Sho spoke. “By any chance, do you guys know where to get travel papers to Lemis?” 

“Wait- The Lemis? Are you sure?” Rin asked as he subtly exchanged looks with Atsumu. “Yeah… Is there something wrong with it?” Sho asked. “Nothing, and you actually came to the right person to talk to! Because we have an extra travel document on the way to Lemis actually!” Atsumu answered as he showed the envelope that he’s holding. 

“You came to the right people, my friend... Is it okay for you if we talk somewhere else other than… here?” Atsumu leaned onto Sho’s frame and looked around from where they stand, full of people walking around, some are obviously eavesdropping while ‘reading’ some hanging posters by the sides. Sho just quickly nodded.

“Alright let’s go.” The blond man said as the pair walked ahead of him. 

“Wait, now?” The redhead asked which made the two turned around. “Why? Do you have some things to take care of?” Atsumu asked. 

Sho fell silent. Well, he has been standing here for nearly an hour, he doesn’t think that the man he is meeting is going to show up anyways. Besides, the pair already got what he needed. This is much easier than selling his beloved jewelry and going through a rough road for the travel papers. 

“Nope!” He smiled as he walked alongside the two. “So, where are we going anyways?” Sho asked. “Are you up for something to drink?” Atsumu chuckled. “Sure!” The redhead answered excitingly.

———

“Here are your drinks, sir.” The waitress spoke as she settled down the cups filled with flavoured drinks from the tray. “Thank you.” Atsumu nodded at the woman. 

They sat right at the very corner of the place, where there’s no people around the table and only cornered with wide windows. The two sat right in front of Sho, settling down and observing the quiet place. Sho then cleared his throat and began to speak. “So, about the travel papers.”

“Oh yeah, about that.” Rin fixed his posture and looked at Atsumu who’s sitting beside him, drinking his coffee peacefully. “You see, our extra travel paper is for the missing royal highness.” Atsumu spoke as he laid down the cup, then intertwined his fingers together. 

Sho stayed quiet and swallowed the lump in his throat. He is starting to regret going along with this and should have stayed by the road, feeling nervous that he is gonna exit the place empty handed. 

“And we think that we are giving the extra travel papers to the right person.” Atsumu concluded calmly. 

“What?” Sho asked, the tone loaded with nothing but confusion, his brows furrowing. 

“Listen, before you freak out.” Rin immediately spoke to shake down the heavy atmosphere. “The reason why we’re whispering at each other earlier, scanning you head to toe, we just can’t help it and assume that you resemble so much like the missing prince.” 

“And it made so much sense because you don’t know what happened from your past.” Atsumu articulated. “And you mentioned earlier on the way here that you call yourself ‘Sho’ because you remembered someone calling you by that name from your past.” 

“No one knows what happened to the prince.” Rin added. 

“You got their bright ginger locks.” Atsumu continued.

“The queen’s hazel eyes.”

“Princess Natsu’s smile!” 

“The king’s perfectly chiseled jawline.” 

“And the queen’s feisty personality.” 

The two stayed quiet after trying to convince Sho with the sentences that seemed to be coincidentally connected. But there is no way that Sho is gonna believe such suspicious information. “All we have to do is to bring you to the young duke of Lemis, who is currently looking for his lost fiance, who is also the missing prince of this country.” 

“We just want to help him, and you look so much like the prince! We can’t pass up the opportunity after you showed up right in front of us!” Atsumu leaned forward a little bit and smiled after he dropped some possible facts. 

“Wait, hold on. So you’re telling me that I could possibly be the missing prince and also the fiance of the duke from another country?” Sho increased his voice in whisper as he narrowed his eyes towards the two who seemed confident about the information that they were stating. 

Rin and Atsumu nodded without any hints of hesitation. 

“Well I don’t know, it’s hard to think that I could be a royalty after sleeping in run down apartments for years and working on minimum wage.” Sho answered. 

Silence enveloped the whole table as Atsumu took another sip of his coffee. “Alright then. We really want to help you, but our extra travel paper is for Prince Shouyou.” He said as he began to wear his coat and signaled Rin to pack up as well.

Rin followed suit and called the waitress for their check, it was their treat afterall. Atsumu pulled out his wallet and placed the bill on the table after the waitress came back.  “Until we meet again, Sho.” He said as the pair began to walk away.

“But Atsumu, what about our plan?! He fits perfectly to play the role as our puppet! He has no memories of his past, he looks exactly like him, and looks convinced enough to believe that he’s the prince!” Rin whispered in frustration while giving Atsumu a huge unpleasant frown. 

“Patience, Rintarou. He will be ours, dancing right on our palms. Now, just follow my lead.” Atsumu chuckled. 

Back at the table by the corner, with the footsteps beginning to slowly fade into small echoes across the Diner, Sho fell into silence and thought about the things that were mentioned to him. Some did make sense to him, especially the name. Could he really be Prince Shouyou? 

An idea popped into his head after realizing something and immediately stood up and followed the two men who were about to pull the door. “Wait!” Sho called from the table and stopped right in front of them. 

“Yes? Did we forget about something?” Atsumu asked, trying to hide his sheepish smugness with his hand, walking continuously alongside with Rin as the three exited the Diner.

Sho tried to catch up with his short legs and managed to catch up with them. “Well, who is to say that I may or may not be the crowned prince other than the duke himself of the Lemis, correct?” He asked, not minding the empty streets and flickering street lights that they passed by. 

“Hmm…” Atsumu quietly took a glance at his partner, exchanging looks and gazed down at Sho who was walking beside them. “Well, agreeing to our deal gets you out of this country either way. Right, Rin?” He asked and received a nod from Rintarou. 

The three eventually stopped walking and faced each other. “Do we have a deal?” Atsumu offered his hand at Sho which he took and shook hands. “Deal.” He answered. 

“Great! Welcome aboard, Prince Shouyou. To the Lemis we go!” Rin exclaimed as he pulled Sho into an embrace. 

It’s really happening, he can finally get a new life away from this country and find out about his past, whether he’s actually the prince that he is, or not? 

The bags are ready, Atsumu and Rintaro are walking right in front of Sho. The redhead has no idea what on earth are the two squealing about. Well, as long as the pair does no harm, he’s fine with it. 

As the two boarded the train, Sho was about to follow suit, not until he heard a small whimper coming from the side of the train tracks. He walked away from the entrance of the train cart in order to find where the whimpering was coming from. 

There, he saw an orange figure lying by the snow. He leaned down closer and noticed how the fox backed away violently as much as it could from Sho and whined. 

Seeing the orange figure limping, buried in the snow, gave him a hint of deja vu back when he also woke up on the pile of snow by the rundown train racks, all alone, trying to seek nothing but warmth against the harsh blizzard.

He reached out his gloved hands “Hey there.” He called as he carefully cupped the shivering fox. It let out a small whimper so he cooed at the poor fox and embraced the furry creature. “Don’t worry, you will be safe here with me.” 

“Sho! Where are you?!” The redhead gasped when he heard a familiar voice coming from the train. He quickly wrapped the fox with his own scarf, picking up his bags that he put down earlier and ran towards the choo-ing train. 

“What is that?” Atsumu asked as he eyed the sleeping fox that was resting on Sho’s arms, sleeping so dearly, wrapped around his thick scarf. 

“Well, I can’t just leave this poor creature shivering in the snow.” 

“Hold on a second, is the fox okay?” Rin asked as he looked closer at the wimping fox, he could see how it shivered as if the furry animal went through so much. “Yeah, fortunately.” Sho answered as he looked down on the fox who was huddling down closer on his arms. 

“Let’s head inside our cart first and take care of this fox later.” Rin suggested as he began to carry their bags and went ahead inside the cart. Sho followed him after and Atsumu followed suit. 

After they walked down the cart full of separated rooms for the passengers, Sho watched as Rin let go of some of the bags that he was holding and he reached out towards the metal hardware, sliding the door open.

“Here we are, you go first.” He said as he looked at Sho, giving him a signal to enter the room. 

Sho leaned into the doorway and set foot inside. His eyes were greeted with a small room, with two wide chairs sitting across each other, and a wide window that occupies the space given by the leaning chairs.

As the trio soon settled in their private room, Atsumu sat down beside Rintarou who seemed to be busy reading a book, so he then stared at the peculiar fox laying on Sho’s lap out of boredom. “So, have you thought about what you're gonna do with the orange mutt?” Atsumu questioned and instead received a small growl from the fox. 

“First of all, I think I’m gonna keep him.” Sho answered honestly and patted the fox’s head, gaining a purr from him. “Huh? It’s a he?” Atsumu raised his eyebrow and noticed Sho’s nod, answering his question effortlessly. 

“And maybe I’ll name him Max.” Sho suggested and earned a small bark from the red fox. He seems to like the name given to him, even though he can’t understand human language. 

“Alright, whatever floats on your boat, then so be it.” Atsumu sighed and stood up, reaching towards the luggage compartment and grabbed something from his bag. 

Max immediately jumped away from Sho’s hold and climbed up towards the chair from where Atsumu was sitting and curled up beside Rin. 

Atsumu turned around and was about to go back to his seat and noticed the mutt relaxing on his spot. “Alright, time to go back to your papa.” He remarked sarcastically and was about to touch the fox. Atsumu’s hands began to slow down as he heard the orange mutt growling and snarled at him. 

“Oh great, so Max gets the window seat then.” Atsumu groaned and looked at the empty seat beside Sho. So he turned towards the other unoccupied spot and slumped beside Sho, who is gonna play the role of becoming their puppet. 

Atsumu’s eyebrows furrowed when he noticed that Sho has been fiddling at his necklace for the past few hours ever since they met. “Could you stop fiddling with that thing? You are a prince and you are gonna act like it, so sit up straight.” He complained. 

Sho raised his eyebrow sarcastically after hearing Atsumu’s unnecessary remark towards him. “Atsumu.” He called as he fixed his posture, now feeling as if he is looking down on Atsumu.

“Yeah?” 

“You think that I am royalty, correct?” Sho calmly asked with a soft voice.

“Exactly.”

“Then stop bossing me around.” The redhead barked with an ice cold tone in his voice and slumped back to his chair, doing everything that Atsumu wishes in the opposite way, fiddling with his necklace yet again.

Rintarou’s hand immediately flung towards his mouth after hearing Sho’s jaw dropping remark toward his friend who is now left in awe and a wide expression of shock. 

The sounds of tracks crashing against the metal wheels of the train echoes through the empty forest, sending vibrations inside the passenger cart. There the redhead sits alone inside the passenger room, reading a book that he brought along with him and looking at Max from time to time who is now curled up beside him.

Sho looked up when he heard the door sliding open and got disappointed after he saw the certain blond walking inside the room. So he decided to ignore Atsumu by continuing to read the uninteresting part of the book. 

He pretended that he did not see Atsumu walking past him. 

He pretended that he did not notice the way Atsumu looked at him. 

He pretended that he did not hear Atsumu sit across from him. 

He pretended not to hear Atsumu when he cleared his throat. 

Sho only looked up when Atsumu began to part his lips, about to talk about God knows what. “If you are here to say sorry from earlier, I already accept your apology.” He butted in as he continued to read. 

He had to stifle a chuckle when he heard Atsumu groan in frustration. It’s a win for me. 

“Listen, I know that we obviously hit off on the wrong foot earlier, and I just want to say that you just have to act like a-”

“Yeah yeah, you don’t have to talk any more nonsense if it is going to upset me even more.” Sho looked away from the book for a second to reply with a negative tone so he could give Atsumu a glare to shut him up before returning his gaze towards the book. 

“Fine, I’ll be quiet then.”

“Fine.”

“Fine!” 

Dead silence. 

“...You think you are gonna miss it?” Sho asked. “Miss what?” Atsumu asked cluelessly as his forehead began to crease with the lines of his frustration, annoyance peaking in his brain. 

“You know, Staian?” He answered innocently as he looked outside the window. He could see the rundown country through his hazel spheres. “Staian is only a country that I once lived in, end of story.”  Atsumu answered timidly. 

Another dead silence enveloped the whole room, it felt so suffocating for the two. 

Their heads immediately snapped when they heard the door slowly sliding open and saw a familiar frame standing by the door, it was just Rin. 

Atsumu’s partner was taken aback when he read the atmosphere in a snap. “Uhh… The dinner is ready by the dining cart.” He called sheepishly. “Perfect.” Atsumu stood up in a flash and stormed away from the room. 

Rin slowly inched towards Sho and leaned. “What happened?” He asked. “I… think I accidentally stomped on a mine?” Sho answered cluelessly. “I don’t know, I just asked if he is gonna miss Staian or not.” He added in distress. 

“Oh… Don’t worry about it, dear. Just give him some time to cool down. Now, let us head to the dining cart and fill up your empty stomach. We would not want to starve the duke’s fiance, am I right?” Rin shushed as he calmly pulled Sho outside the room, bringing Max with them.

A few small steps coming from the two eventually brought them to the dining cart. Sho felt his heart sink a little when he saw Atsumu sitting by himself with an empty expression, just casually reading the menu with his eyes that could burn holes through the leather. 

“Come on, there’s Atsumu.” Rin called which made Sho snapped from his reverie, slowly following Rin towards the small round table for four, where Atsumu sits. 

Sho went ahead and pulled the wooden chair and sat a seat away from Atsumu, which gave him a full faced view across the blond. Rin casually occupied the seat beside Atsumu as Max did the same. 

He took the leather covered menu that was resting on the table across him as he casually opened the menu. Sho was in disbelief when he read the numbers of letters that were displayed on the menu. What on earth are these? He thought violently. 

“I’ve already read each page of this damn menu and I can’t believe there is nothing that sounds edible in here.” Atsumu commented frustratedly in a whisper. No wonder his face has been scrunched up the whole time while reading the menu. 

Rin clicked his tongue as he flipped the pages. “What even are these? And look at those ridiculous prices! Is there even such a thing as Buttered ox tongue ?” 

Sho’s face lit up when he heard Rin’s last few words. “Buttered what?” He asked. “Buttered ox tongue.” Sho immediately smiled when he heard Atsumu repeated Rin’s words to answer him. 

“I’ll order that then! How did I not see that? Where was the name located anyway?” Sho spoke excitedly as he flipped the pages of the menu, with his eyes full of sparkle and then eventually saw the name he was looking for. The price was not even that expensive, it was fair. The two looked at him in disbelief, as if Sho is willing to dig in an unknown poisoned food. “...Are you sure?” Rin asked with a hint of concern in his voice. 

Sho nodded with a flashing smile. “Mhm! It was a delicacy back at the orphanage where I grew up! Trust me, the food and taste is not as bad as it is named.” He replied. “You guys should try it too!” He suggested. 

Rin and Atsumu's faces were painted in disgust and doubt. Buttered ox tongue sounds odd sure, but remembering how it used to taste back at the orphanage sent nostalgic shivers down to Sho’s back, in a good way. He is now drooling just thinking about the dish itself. 

“Well, it can’t hurt to try something new. I trust you on this, Sho.” Rin swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat as he widened the (actually not) suffocating collar of his shirt. “How about you, Atsumu?” Sho asked innocently as he looked at Atsumu who was sitting across from him. 

Atsumu cleared his throat as he sat up straight. “I think… I’ll order something else.” He said, his voice squeaking a little bit as he chuckled nervously. “Alright, if you say so. Your loss.” Sho replied and shrugged his shoulders. 

After the three decided what to order for them, they called the attention of the waitress who was standing by the entrance, entertaining other passengers who were entering the dining cart. 

The waitress walked gracefully towards them as she took out a small notepad, ready to take in their orders. Rintarou told the waitress what they decided to order and watched as the uniformed woman in heels took the leather covered menu, including the unused one that was resting in front of Max, and walked away. 

“Atsumu, are you sure you are okay with what you ordered? The waitress did warn you that it is really really spicy.” Sho asked, full of concern painted on his face. 

Atsumu beamed a smile to him. “Don’t worry, I’ve eaten a lot of spicy foods across Staian. There is nothing that I could not handle.” Rin let out a snort which made Atsumu and Sho look at him with furrowed eyebrows. “I’m sorry… It is just that--” 

“Not a word, Rin. That was a long time ago.” Atsumu cutted Rin off. Sho looked at Atsumu and saw how the red splotches bloom in each sides of his cheeks. “Alright, alright.” Rin tried to stifle his chuckle after surrendering to Atsumu.

“What was that?” Sho tilted his head out of curiosity after witnessing how the two talked. He wanted to be included in the inside joke that they had just now. “Well Sho…” Rin flashed a smile when he caught Atsumu glaring at him, which made Rin’s voice strained to silence and shut it with the word “Nevermind.” At the end of his sentence. 

Not more than 30 minutes have passed, the familiar scent entered Sho’s nostrils as he heard the door open. He looked back around his shoulder and saw the waitress walking in with the tray, carrying two familiar dishes on it and a strange plattered meal on a plate. 

Sho did not pay much attention to the unknown food and focused his golden hazel spheres at his favorite childhood dish that he grew up with back at the orphanage. It has been such a long time ever since he last tasted it before he left the orphanage. 

“Let’s dig in!” He heard Rin exclaim.

Truth be told, the dish did not look as bad as the two thought it was earlier. But Sho decided to think about that later and picked up the silver utensils that were laying on the soft cloth beside the dish. 

“You’re right Sho! It is not as bad as it sounds like!” Rin commented as Sho watched him take another bite of the ox tongue. How can they not like it? Especially when it is drizzled in mushroom sauce, green beans and small diced carrots at the side. Whoever came up with the name Buttered Ox Tongue should be sued for false information. Well, who cares? As long as the dish can fill up your stomach-- 

“Oh shit!” Sho looked up when he heard a scream across him. He saw Atsumu fanning himself with the towel as he slammed the water down his throat, red splotches blooming from his chest, up to his entire face, including his ears. “It’s so- Argh! It’s so fucking hot!” He cursed, a stream of tears began to leak from his eyes. 

Rin’s laugh echoed across the table as he watched Atsumu who is currently suffering in agony. “Get me some water! Hurry!” He screamed, not even batting an eye at the other passengers who were giving him a strange look. 

“You fool!” His partner called as he continued to laugh like a hyena.

Max watched the dumb human pacing back and forth in his heels, fanning himself with his own hands, begging for the waitress to get him something cold that could ease up the increasing heat that is forming in his taste buds. 

“The waitress did warn you about it. How does it feel to be a dumbass now?" Rin spoke in between his wheezes. 

Sho immediately covered his smile in his small hands as he continued swallowing down his chuckle. He’s not a bad person, but he admits that seeing Atsumu suffer causes him joy. A debate started to initiate at the back of his head, whether he should or should not help the poor man.

“Is it… that hot?” Atsumu looked at Sho in disbelief, obviously tearing up from the pain. 

A sense of relief took over when they saw their waitress carrying a bucket of ice and a small cup of ice cream walking towards them, with the tip of her heel caps tapping down the floor.

With a tired-drunk situation foaming in Atsumu’s head, there’s nothing more he could do other than standing up, walking to the waitress who is holding a tray.

“Dear me! Forgive me for being clumsy.” The other passenger chuckled as the ice cube slipped out of the tongs that were intended to put it in his glass instead. The ice cube starts to slide down the floor, leaving trails of water as it continues to slip down, which eventually arrives in Atsumu’s direction. 

As Atsumu continued to walk weakly, he felt a bump against the right heel of his shoe. 

Everything went by like a flash. 

Sho managed to catch everything that is unravelling right in front of his very own naked eyes. He saw how Atsumu tried to catch himself by pulling on the table cloth, undressing the wooden table. A loud thud beamed through the room, causing every platter to vibrate against where it lies. 

The volume of laughter coming from Sho’s side began to increase, including Max’s cackling sound as the two watched Atsumu in pain and humiliation. Rin could feel his stomach aching from all the hysterical laugh and wheezing. 

The redhead foolishly shook his head as he stood up from his seat, carefully walking towards Atsumu who was in pain, a stinging sensation in his taste buds still remains. “Come on, let’s get you fixed up.” He said as he pulled Atsumu from where he was lying down. 

“I am very very sorry for the trouble ma’am.” Sho looked at the waitress who is in awe, still holding the tray of ice cream and buckets of ice. He looked down as he carefully grabbed the bucket of ice. “You wouldn’t mind if I grab some for him, right?” The waitress only shook her head. “Thanks!” He smiled, pulling Atsumu with him back to their room.

If there is something that Sho could make something disappear, that is the silence that loves to envelope them in every awkward situation. Like now, they are sitting inside their rooms after the incident. Quietly watching how the train cart passed each standing tree and how the breeze brushed outside the wide window. 

It is only the two of them. Atsumu, who is busy chewing on an ice cube, and Sho who is sitting quietly across from him. Where is Rin? Well, after the incident earlier, it is most likely that he is outside hopping each cart, exploring the whole train somewhere, accompanied by his newly made friend named Max. Yes, the red fox who also despises Atsumu. 

“I am sorry for what happened earlier.” Sho looked up apologetically at Atsumu. “That incident was nothing, you don’t have to be sorry about it.” Atsumu replied.

“No, I mean-- for  what happened earlier, in here. I wasn’t thinking about the words that I said, and I thought that I must have accidentally stepped on a bomb.” He replied, avoiding eye contact with Atsumu as he raised his legs, now hugging his knees that were covered with a thin blanket. 

Atsumu stayed quiet for a bit, trying to remember what happened before that.

Oh. 

Oh. 

  Sho looked up when he suddenly heard a light chuckle across him, now tilting his head in confusion when he saw Atsumu laughing. “What? What’s so funny?” 

“It’s nothing! You don’t have to apologize about that either. I should be the one who says sorry about how I showed my attitude earlier.” Atsumu scratches his head at his own words. 

Sho just pouted. “Don’t worry about it, there was nothing wrong about what you said earlier. You just asked, and I became such a baby about it.” Atsumu added. 

If only Sho could kill the one who created silence, because another wave of it came crashing on them. 

“So… What are you gonna do after all this?” Now it was Atsumu’s turn to look at where the voice came from. “What do you mean?” He asked. 

Sho let out a sigh. “I mean, after you and Rin have successfully delivered me to Duke Tooru. Do you get a reward or something?” A strike of shiver spiked through Atsumu’s spine. Reward . 

Oh yeah, the little man doesn’t know about the whole reward thing. 

“Hmm… Maybe I’ll be off to the western country.” That is the only thing Atsumu could answer, avoiding the word ‘ reward. ’ Sho’s mouth only formed into an ‘O’ and nodded. 

“You should rest, your highness. It won’t be long until we’ll head to our next stop tomorrow morning, and then we’ll take a bus to the capital of our next location to catch the ship that sails to Lemis, where his majesty is waiting for you.” Atsumu stated as he stood up. “Where are you going?” Sho’s hazel eyes followed Atsumu’s frame who was now wearing his coat as he walked to the door. 

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll just grab some fresh air. I’ll be back before you know it, and maybe Rin will too, along with his new friend.” They both let out a giggle. “Alright. Goodnight, Tsumu.” A yawn was followed after Sho’s last word. He stretched his body and began curling himself, not tucking his blanket properly. 

Not even a minute has passed and Atsumu could hear Sho’s light snoring. He smiled fondly at his frame and walked towards him, carefully dragging the falling thin blanket and tucking it up to the redhead’s shoulders, covering his whole frame with it. 

Atsumu is very much aware that staring is creepy, but he noticed a pierced hole on Sho’s earlobe, implying that he must be wearing some jewelry as well back on his previous life before losing his memories. 

He decided to just shake off the thought and fixed his posture, standing back up and looking at Sho who is now peacefully sleeping. 

“Good night.” Atsumu smiled before he left the room. 

Sho woke up when he heard the train letting out a loud howl. He opened his eyelids and saw that the sky is no longer in a shade of deep midnight blue hue. He could see how the sun peeked through the far mountains, shining against them with its warm orange light. 

The beam of warm light that was brought upon by the sun soon touched his legs. He looked around and saw Max sleeping by his foot, Rin who was sitting across them on the other chair, leaning by the door, snoring and drooling in his sleep. Sho chuckled for a little bit at Rin’s out of character-ish side, and then he felt like the world fell into a slow motion when he saw Atsumu. 

Atsumu was sitting by the window on a chair where Rin sits. His head tilted, leaning on the window, sleeping peacefully. Sho observed how Atsumu's pretty pink sealed lips kissed the sunlight.

Sho flinches when he notices Atsumu’s eyelashes flutter when the light meets the upper part of his face. So he immediately fixes his posture and looks at something else instead. “G’mornin’.” He shivered when he heard Atsumu’s morning voice for the first time. “G-Good-- Ahem! Good morning to you too.” Sho stuttered, ignoring the heat that was creeping up to his face and how his voice messed up just by greeting Atsumu back. 

“It seems like you were enjoying the view earlier.” Atsumu said, piercing his eyes on Sho, with a cocky grin forming in his lips. Oh shit, did he catch me staring? 

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t like the view though. I mean, look at how the sun rises from there?” He added which made Sho exhaled in relief. 

The two turned their heads around when they heard a loud yawn coming from Atsumu’s left shoulder. “Are we there yet?” Rin asked innocently as he removed the crusts from his sleepy eyes. The sound of the train choo-ing howled through the entire cart. “There goes your answer.” Atsumu replied as he looked outside the window. 

Sho also looked outside and he could see an unfamiliar structure that seemed like a train station. “Nice, now all we have to do is to ride a bus to the ship!” Rin exclaimed. 

“We should get ready.” Atsumu commanded as he stood up, putting down the luggages that was resting on the top shelf. Sho got up and folded the blanket, giving it back to Rin. “Uhh… that is not mine by the way.” Rin smiled sheepishly. “Huh? Then who does it belong to?” Sho asked. 

“It is mine, you’re welcome.” Atsumu softly grabbed the blanket from Sho’s hand and stuffed it into his luggage. “Oh… Thank You.” Atsumu only flashed a genuine smile to Sho as a reply. 

As the four (including Max) got off the train successfully, they set foot towards the bus station. Atsumu and Sho fell in line to grab their tickets while Rin and Max decided to stay behind by the corner to look out for their things.

“Hey, have you heard about that one rumor?” Sho immediately looked over his shoulder subtly when he caught an interesting topic that was being talked about by the two strangers behind him, who were also waiting in line. “Who doesn’t? I think every single person in this continent knows about the rumor.” Her friend replied. 

“Hey, we already got our tickets. Let’s go.” Atsumu called out as he showed him three bus tickets. “Oh, okay.” Sho nodded and decided to brush off the things he heard from the girls behind him. 

Atsumu and Sho walked towards Rin’s direction. When they noticed Rin turning his head to them, he stood up and fixed his things. “Are we ready?” He asked. “Say hello to the grand duke.” Atsumu answered as he showed Rin the tickets. 

The transportation to the capital of their stop went surprisingly smooth, nothing unfortunate happened to them, and Atsumu wants to keep it that way. 

“Osamu! I am coming home!” Rin exclaimed and Sho was relieved that Rin’s voice was not that loud for the people to hear as they walked down the street towards the ship, which is a few blocks away. (according to the people that they asked around.) 

“Who is Osamu?” Atsumu looked at Sho’s confused expression, asking him genuinely. Atsumu was about to speak, not until Rin decided to cut him and his words off unintentionally. “He is my one and only beloved! His hands are as soft as a feather when holding them, warm smile, angelic laugh, and oh… ” His voice trailed off after picturing him. 

Atsumu cleared his throat to signal Rintarou to stop talking, but Rin did not bat an eye on him and continued rambling about the person named Osamu. “And he is really hot when he follows the Duke’s orders back at the palace!” 

“What does he do exactly?” The redhead asked. 

“He is Duke Tooru’s secretary!” 

“Duke Tooru’s secretary?” Sho furrowed his eyebrows. “And my partner’s twin.” Rin added. “Unfortunately.” Atsumu rolled his eyes. 

“You have a twin?!” Sho gasped. “Yeah, but his twin is an upgrade.” Rin jokingly said as they continued walking.

Atsumu could only scoff. He then slowed down his walking pace and let the two set foot ahead of him. He could see the ship anyways, so it’s fine to fall behind for a bit for some alone time. (spoiler: he did not) 

He heard Max barking behind to annoy him. Oh great, the mutt followed.  

The man didn’t give a damn, as long as the fox knew what it was doing and not get lost. He carried on walking down by the road, not until a certain jewelry caught his eye. 

Atsumu stopped for a second to look at it closer, not minding the glass that separates him. He saw an earring resting on a velvet box. Atsumu was a bit confused for a moment on why the earring didn’t come in pairs. 

It was a single earring that has a blue topaz encircled by a gold border around the gem’s corners to prevent it from smashing, a fairly long striped feather that is around three or four inches, hanging on the blue gem stone and a red ribbon attached on it to add some details on the displayed accessory. 

He suddenly remembered that Sho does have a pierced hole in his earlobe. This made Atsumu think for a good minute, and decided to just give Sho a gift. There is nothing wrong with giving a friend a gift, right? 

A bark coming from his foot caught Atsumu’s attention and he swore that he saw the fox giving him a cocky grin. Atsumu just rolled his eyes and barked back at Max (literally) which made Max and the other people look at Atsumu weirdly. 

Atsumu didn’t mind the attention and just entered the jewelry shop, soon leaving the store with a smile, holding a paper bag. The price might hurt his wallet a little bit since it was fairly expensive, but he thinks it is worth it because it would definitely suit Sho.

He eventually caught up with the two who were waiting for him at the foot of the ship. “Oh God, where were you?! We were worried sick!” Sho exclaimed. 

“Max just got lost and I had to find him back there.” He lied. 

The red fox just gave him a weird look and barked at Atsumu, but Atsumu is not gonna let a fox bark at him all the time, so he barked at him again, literally. Sho just shook his head at the man’s antics and fixed his posture before turning around. “Alright then, let’s get inside.” Rin called as he grabbed the luggages.

———

Later that night, Sho felt a hint of deja vu when he watched Atsumu and Rin settle in the room, making themselves comfortable with the room provided for them. 

The ship that they are sailing is pretty cheap, that explains only having a solo sized bunk bed. “Dibs on the top bunk!” Rin yelled. Atsumu just shook his head. 

“What about you?” Sho asked. “I’ll be fine, I brought a blanket anyways, I’ll just sleep on the floor. Take the bed.” Sho grimaced at Atsumu’s answer, obviously not satisfied with his proposal. “I’m gonna be okay, trust me.” He said as he prepared his place to sleep in, burrowing a pillow from Rin and using his blanket to wrap himself around it. 

The redhead bit his lip. There really are no other options on where Atsumu should sleep. Sho felt really bad because he must be tired, he even planned on sharing the bottom bunk together, but he doubts that Atsumu would agree to it. 

Before Sho could speak up, he suddenly heard a loud snore coming from Atsumu. Sho only sighed and decided to tuck himself to sleep. He felt his eyelids getting heavier in each second passing and eventually gave in. 

... Shouyou? 

Shouyou slowly parted his eyelids, only greeted with nothing but darkness and endless voices echoing through his head. He has no idea where he is standing right now. 

“Atsumu? Rin? Max?” He called, but received nothing. 

“You must remember.” Shouyou turned his head around, still nothing. 

“Who are you?!” 

“Fear not, it’s just us, Shouyou. Your family.” A manly voice spoke. 

“I’m getting sad now, you don’t recognize me anymore?” A high pitched voice that sounded like it belonged to a little girl asked. 

“Remember who you are.” 

Sho immediately got up from the bed, trying to catch his breath. As he tried to process what happened, he felt his beads of sweat trickle down to his forehead. It’s not only his face, but also his shirt that is now damp as well.

He pinched his nose bridge and evened out his breathing, soon getting up to grab his shirt from his luggage. Sho hurriedly peeled off his damp shirt and now felt refreshed when a dry cloth embraced his small frame. 

What was that? He thought.

A loud bang alerted Sho and stilled. He bit his lip, a flash of voices and familiar faces slapped him. There is no way. 

He got up and left the room, he needed some time to think. 

The boat continued rocking through the harsh waves, causing the insides of it throbbing back and forth, and that includes the small box that was resting right on the drawer where it’s slowly tipping over. 

Another set of waves brought a loud splash at the foot of the boat, and that’s the cue for the box to fall over on Atsumu’s head. 

"Ow! What the hell…?”

A groan echoed through the room as the blond got up from where he sleeps, rubbing his head irritatedly. Atsumu slowly squinted at the throbbing sensation that was sent by an unknown box. He scanned his eyes around and spotted the sleeping red fox beside him, Rintaro snoring at the upper bunk bed, and… an unoccupied bottom bunk? 

Atsumu stood on his feet on the wooden floor and went over to the top bunk to make sure that he’s not seeing things, and there he saw a disheveled blanket and an empty space. 

He ran his fingers through his hair in slight frustration and pinched his nose bridge. Now is not the time to think irrationally, Sho is a grown man, he can take care of himself. Besides, where else is he gonna go other than jumping in the deep blue sea? 

After Atsumu calmed his nerves down, he decided to just take in the fresh air and exited the room, climbing his way up to the deck of the ship. 

Before he could open the door that is leading towards the ship, he felt another set of waves slapping at the heavy hull of the ship that is located at the bottom area, which made him shift his movement. A few seconds later after he regained his stance, He finally opened the door and saw a familiar figure, leaning by the fence of the ship. 

He observed Sho as the breeze carried his ginger locks lightly, accompanied with the moon that was stroking his frame. 

Atsumu sighed in relief after spotting him and carefully walked down towards his direction for some company while taking in the cool wind along with the seasalt smell.

The sounds of footsteps alarmed Sho which made him turn around to his back. He squinted his eyes and saw a familiar frame walking towards him, it’s just Atsumu. The redhead returned his gaze around to the deep blue sea and ignored the lingering presence beside him, leaning on the fence and mimicking Sho’s posture. 

“So, what brings you here at the crack of dawn?” Atsumu asked, which Sho ignored and stayed quiet, burying himself in his own train of thoughts. 

Atsumu could only let out a sigh after receiving a silent treatment from him, so he just decided to tighten

Atsumu thought that it’s best not to disturb the quiet atmosphere and observed the deep blue sea ahead of them instead. 

“You know… I had this dream.” Sho remained still and just stared at the moon that is sitting right in front of them instead. “Lots of familiar faces appeared in it.” Atsumu stayed quiet. 

“This part is my favorite though.” Sho smiled. 

“Me and Tooru were inside the room, the sounds of gunshots kept on going and going, we were panicking, and had no idea what to do.” He sucked in a breath and continued. “Not until there was a boy, opening up a wall. He said that the tunnel leads through the back of the castle, or something. It was all a blur. But, the only thing that I could remember is that the boy saved me and Tooru’s life.” Sho looked at Atsumu. “And that knight looks exactly just like you.” He chuckled. 

Atsumu is as still as the stone statue right now, with realization that hit him. He doesn’t know what to do exactly with this information. He knows that the knight Sho-- No, Prince Shouyou was talking about, was him. He was the one who saved the two from getting murdered by the attackers. 

Atsumu took a deep breath and braced himself, he needed answers to confirm his theory. 

“Sho.” 

“Hmm?” 

“Is it okay to ask a few questions about your… dream?” Atsumu asked. “Yeah, go on.” Sho fixed his position a little bit. 

 “Does your dream… include where you and the duke were at the fountain? And gave you jewelry or something?” He asked nervously. “Yeah! How could you tell though?” 

Shit, it really is him.

“Atsumu?” Sho called. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a guess.” Atsumu chuckled nervously, and Sho uyou could only nod at his odd answer. 

Atsumu takes note to thank the god of the seas for occupying the dead silence lingering above the two as they stayed at the front of the ship. A memory popped inside of Atsumu’s mind suddenly and backed away from the fence. 

“Ah, do you plan on staying here any longer?” He asked and received a nod from Sho.

The redhead could hear the footsteps fading away from the deck as Atsumu walked away. He let out a heavy sigh after remembering the things he told Atumu. Also, the way Atsumu looked at him while telling him about his dream. 

“Honestly, what was that for?” He muttered to himself.

Shouyou watched as the thick line of pink and orange hues began to mix in with the blue sky. It’s morning already. Not even a moment later, he could hear the volume of Atsumu’s footsteps slightly increasing. 

“I’ve got something for you.” Sho turned around when he heard Atsumu called for him, who is now slowly walking towards his direction, to the railings of the ship. “Close your eyes.” Atsumu commanded, which made Shouyou raise his eyebrow. “A single prank from you and I will throw your ass off this ship.” He threatened as he closed his eyes.

He heard a light chuckle from the man. Not a minute later, the sounds of clanking echoed through his ears. “What’s that?” Shouyou asked anxiously, scrunching his eyelids and inches away unconsciously. “Don’t worry. There will be no pranks, I promise.”  Atsumu replied.

A few quiet seconds had passed and Sho slowly felt a small cold sensation touching his left earlobe. He can tell that Atsumu is trying his hardest not to hurt him, whatever he is trying to do with his ear. The thought of it made Sho lift a tiny smile on the other ends of his lip. 

Despite all of the bickering, mocking and small feuds that the pair had against each other, he still trusts Atsumu with all his heart. There is no way that Atsumu is planning other things behind his back, right?

He slowly opened his eyes and saw the familiar hazel orbs that were piercing through him. Sho quickly averted the direction of his own eyes away from Atsumu, which eventually lead his own eyes to Atsumu’s fine structured jawline that it looks like it was carefully sculpted by the gods, and then he looked at his soft pink lips, slowly glistening because of the sun kissed effect. He then looked at Atsumu’s cheeks that’s… red? 

He quickly looked up to Atsumu and noticed that he was blushing, with his hands still hovering by Shouyou’s ear. The look that was Atsumu giving him soon made him feel uneasy in a good way and felt a warm heat crippling up from his earlobes, down to his cheeks. 

Ah, shit. Both of them are blushing at each other. 

“...How does it look?” 

“It suits you, you should wear it more often from now on.” Atsumu answered, which made both of them giggle at the thought. “Will do, I promise.” 

Their attention from each other was soon taken away when they heard Rin groan by the stairs as he climbed up the deck while carrying Max. Rin blinked a few times at the view. Even though the sky is still fairly dark, aside from the other hues starting to mix in along with the orange sun, he still could not believe what he is witnessing at the moment. 

“Oh? Am I seeing things?” He reassured the pair and looked back at Max, and back at Atsumu and Sho once again who are now one feet apart.” By the way, Sho! That earring looks good on you!” Rin complimented. “Ah, I know! Since we are gonna meet the Duke and you haven’t gotten your memories back, it would be nice if someone teaches you about waltz!” He suggested. 

“I don’t think I-” Sho’s voice got cutted off. “Oh come on! It will be a piece of cake! Atsumu will teach you, go on!” Rin hurriedly lay Max down as he grabbed both of the pairs’ hands. He received no objection from the both of them as he continued to lead Atsumu and Sho’s hands on to each other, so he carried on. 

“There! And now, dance! One… Two… Three… One, two, three.” And Rin continued to count, until he noticed that the pair started to dance at their own pace. 

Atsumu continued to dance, circling himself and Shouyou around the wide deck. He is very much aware that he is getting very selfish at the moment, but it is hard to deny that he indeed, has already fallen for the wrong person who already belonged to someone else. 

He observed how the sun began to touch Shouyou’s soft skin. Atsumu is gonna miss him, that’s for sure, even though both of them only shared so little moments together- No. 

It has always been like this, ever since they were teens. 

Atsumu would always protect Shouyou from the shadows, making sure that he will always be safe and sound. He actually planned to court him once he earned a title as a knight, but things went downhill, all of his plans ruined when he later learned that Shouyou and the son of the duke from the other country got engaged at an early age. 

“Is there something on my face, Tsumu ?” He snapped from his mini flashback when he heard Shouyou’s voice, alarming him a little bit, in a good way. “Nothing.” Atsumu replied, shaking his head as he smiled fondly at Shouyou. If only he could keep him forever, but he knows that he is in no place to do such a thing. 

They continued to dance, eventually lifting Shouyou’s hand from time to time to spin him around. “Oh!” They both gasped when Shouyou nearly tripped, and Atsumu was there to catch him quickly. “Watch your step.” He told Shouyou in a gentle voice, and earned a slow nod from him as a reply. 

They slowly stopped dancing after some time, and only stared at each other. It felt as if they were the only ones who were on the deck right now. Shouyou slowly closed his eyes as he unconsciously leaned. Atsumu began to act impulsively as well, also gently closing his eyes and…

Unhurriedly backed away. 

“And that concludes your dance lesson, you did great.” Atsumu commented as he took a few steps back, slowly letting his hands go from Shouyou’s grasp, turning around and walking away with his heart heavy and confused. 

Rintarou was in shock, he didn't know how to process what he just witnessed in front of him. He saw how Atsumu looked at Sho, it was full of sparkles. It is rare to see Atsumu like that, so Rin has no idea, but all he knows is that if Atsumu continues to pull such a dangerous stunt once again, it is definitely not gonna end well, specially when the original plan is to hand in Sho, and play pretend as the duke’s fiance.

Rin returned his gaze at the sea for a moment and saw a small structure that seemed familiar, standing by the sea. He squinted his eyes for a second and recognized the familiar palace. They have arrived. 

———

The man in regalia showered with gold walked towards the tall doors, opening them and was greeted with cold air and the smell of the sea. He observed as the boat travelled slowly, entering his country. 

“It would be nice if he is here right now, standing beside me.” The brunette commented. “Are there any updates regarding the lingering rumour?” He asked. “It’s sad to say that neither our men nor I have received an ounce of information about your lost fiance, your grace.” His substitute secretary replied. 

“I see.” Tooru remarked as he rested his arms on the railings of his balcony, quietly watching as the tiny ship was sailing towards the main deck of Lemis.

———

“Psst. Atsumu.” Atsumu turned his head around when he heard Rin call him in a hushed voice. They just got off the ship and are now walking with their luggage on hand, now heading to the cab as Atsumu watches Shouyou and Max skipping ahead of them. 

“What?” He asked, leaning on Rin’s. 

“Aren’t we gonna… You know, review Sho to be able to pass Osamu? You know that he is pretty strict when it comes to palace matters.” He asked. Atsumu just smiled fondly at Shouyou’s direction, watching him grab a vehicle for them to ride on. “I know that you feel antsy on this one, but believe me. I know that Shouyou got this.” Atsumu replied. 

“And what makes you say that? Hey! Atsumu!” Rin called when Atsumu didn’t answer his question and just walked faster ahead of him, which made Rin scoff at the action and just followed Atsumu anyways. 

———

The rumbling sounds of the vehicle startled the sleeping red fox once they arrived in front of the fairly tall gate after the long drive. “Alright, we’re here. Thanks for the ride.” Atsumu thanked the driver and paid him before getting out of the automobile. 

“Osamu!” Shouyou looked up when he heard Rin greeting someone and watched as the tall guy ran towards a familiar frame that looks exactly like Atsumu, but with a brunette hair color. “Rin! It’s been such a long time! How have you been?” The man greeted, as his voice turned into a hush tone as he leaned on Rin’s frame. Shouyou immediately dragged his gaze away from the couple and looked at Atsumu, who was obviously just not having it. 

Shouyou only smiled awkwardly and saw how Atsumu crossed his arms together and blatantly rolled his eyes. Max is also not having it, so he instead just curled his body and hid his gaze with his tail as the couple became more… touchy with each other. 

“Osamu… uhm… we have an audience here by the way.” Rin cleared his throat when he realized that they were still in public. Rin shyly looked at his friends and returned his gaze at his boyfriend. “Oh, hey. Definitely not a nice sight to see a filtered mirror.” Osamu spoke sarcastically to Atsumu as he held Rin by wrapping his arms around him. 

“Ha-ha. Very funny.” Atsumu remarked and wrinkled his nose sourly. 

Osamu just stared at him in disbelief. “I still can’t believe that you just disappeared from me three years ago, and then I suddenly hear from someone that my twin decided to become a con man from another country.”

Atsumu just shrugged it off and smiled, with a spike of smugness in each corner of his lips. “Well, I’d rather be back in there to create fast money instead of walking mindlessly with the life that I had in here for what? Only a year?” Osamu grumbled at his twin’s words. “Anyways, before we murder each other here on sight. Me and Rin actually want you to meet someone.” 

Shouyou backed away shyly when Atsumu looked at him and saw how his twin’s eyebrow immediately shot up intimidatingly. “And who do we have here?” He asked as he walked over to Shouyou’s direction. Atsumu followed his twin and stood beside Shouyou. “Osamu, let me introduce you... to Duke Tooru’s fiance, who is also known as the lost prince of Staian, Prince Shouyou.” Atsumu smiled at Osamu and watched as his twin’s face twisted into shock. 

“Are you kidding me?” Osamu asked, looking at Shouyou from head to toe. “You got to believe us, love.” Rin spoke and back hugged his boyfriend, feeling a soft tender touch from Osamu’s hand and felt a squeeze on his hand softly. Osamu breathed in for a second and looked at his twin. “Atsumu, may I speak to you for a moment? Alone?” He asked. 

“Sure.” Atsumu replied unbothered.

“Both of you guys may enter my place and wait in the living room, including your pet over there.” Osamu called as he looked at the red fox. He noticed that Rin nodded in his favor. “Good, please sit tight for a few minutes while me and my brother will have a… talk .”Osamu looked at Rin and the small man and watched as his boyfriend pulled the redhead inside his house.

After the two and the fox are finally out of sight, Osamu faces his twin and looks him dead in the eye. “Do you have any idea how it feels to have a con man who is also my twin, showing up in my house so suddenly after disappearing for three years and bringing God knows what if the small guy is a prince or a fraud?” 

“Great, we’re starting off with a scold again huh?” Atsumu remarked and rolled his eyes. 

“I was just worried about you. You are all I’ve got left as a family.” Osamu replied with a stern voice. “Okay, I know that I may have done some things before, showing up to your door with a bad image, but I want you to know that the man I brought here is the prince! Just take a good look at him!” Atsumu exclaimed. 

Osamu pinched his nose bridge for a second and breathed out. “Fine, I will. Let me have a short interview with him before convincing me that he is the real prince.” Atsumu’s face lit up at Osamu’s answer.

“Listen, you may be a family to me and my one and only twin, but once I caught you lying through your teeth, I will never speak to you again.” Osamu threatened him. “Didn’t you say that you were worried about me a few minutes ago? Just admit that you missed me, come on." Atsumu teased.

Osamu didn’t answer and just walked away, which made Atsumu gasp when he realized something after witnessing how his brother reacted. “You did! Oh my God!” He laughed as he catched up to Osamu. “Come here my little brother and give me a hug!” Atsumu circles his arms around Osamu’s neck violently. 

“You were literally just a few minutes ahead of me.” Osamu grunted at Atsumu’s action and tried to get out of his brother’s iron grip as much as he could. 

Shouyou and Rin looked up when they heard the door opening from the entrance and saw the twins now walking inside the living room. Shouyou felt the couch adjusting when Atsumu sat beside him. “Alright.” Osamu spoke. 

“To see if the man that you brought in here is actually the real lost prince, I hope you don’t mind that I am gonna ask to have a… short interview with him.” 

Shouyou only remained silent, not an ounce of worryness is bouncing at him. 

After what happened to him back at the ship, the loud crashing noises triggered some of his memories to come back. To be completely honest, Shouyou is a bit nervous because he could only pick up a few bits of pieces from his past, but he is completely confident that those are enough to ask a few simple questions to prove himself. 

“I have no problems with that.” Shouyou replied. “I am just gonna answer a few questions, right?” He asked. 

Osamu nodded at him impressively. Confident, just like how his grace always describes his lover. He thought. 

“Very well, right this way.” Shouyou stood up and followed Osamu outside the living room, heading down the small hallway, leaving Atsumu and Rin behind. 

It only took a few minutes to walk by the hallway before they stopped. Shouyou looked around for a bit and noticed that there is a door right beside them and a few chairs conveniently sitting by each side of it. It is like a waiting area. 

“Sit down here for a while. Since you guys came here unannounced, let me prepare a few things before I’ll let you in the office for the interview.” Shouyou nodded and watched as Osamu entered the room. 

Shouyou quietly sat down and looked at the place while he was waiting. Osamu’s house is simple yet it gives off a cozy vibe. He looked at the wall clock by the corner of the hallway and observed as it ticks every second. 

Just a while ago he was very confident for the interview, but as the wait felt longer and longer, his thoughts came crashing in his brain and his nervousness kept on growing and growing. He breathed in and out for a while, trying to even out his heart rate. 

“Are you nervous?” Shouyou jumped when a sudden voice spoke beside him. He looked up and saw Atsumu sitting down comfortably beside him. Shouyou only nodded and kept his head down. “Don’t worry about it, you will pass this interview, no doubt.” Atsumu reassured him.

“I know… I’m just nervous for no reason, I guess.” 

“For no reason? Are you okay?” Atsumu scoffed jokingly and looked at him, not removing his eyes away from him, which made Shouyou gulped.

He noticed how Atsumu came back to his senses and darted his eyes away slowly, thinking about something for a second. “Oh, you remember the dreams that showed up recently by the ship?” Yeah, but it wasn’t a dream. Shouyou nodded. “Alright, and you seemed happy in that dream, right?” Shouyou nodded again. 

“Good, now think about it, once you get past this interview, you will get to relive those dreams once again, becoming the prince that you truly are, got it?” Atsumu gave Shouyou a warm smile and tapped his shoulder to remind him that he’s there by his side. 

“Are you ready?” They heard Osamu calling, standing by the door and watching them. “You got this.” Atsumu whispered when they both stood up. 

“Let’s get inside, and you stay here. No outsiders allowed.” Atsumu just rolled his eyes at his twin’s words. Yeah, right.

Right when the door shut, he just smiled at himself. Remembering that he knows that Shouyou is definitely not gonna fail the interview. “Hey.” Atsumu looked up when he heard a familiar voice calling for him. 

Rin just looked at him, his eyes narrowed and arms crossed. “I need to talk to you about something, come with me.” He spoke and walked ahead of Atsumu towards the door which leads to the outside of the house. 

“How are you not worried that what if Sho fails this interview?!” Atsumu breathed for a second before answering Rin. 

“Hey, it is gonna be okay. Just trust me on this one.” 

Rin closed his eyes and let out a very deep sigh. “You know that I always trust you deep down in my heart ever since, but can you at least tell me what you are up to and what strings are you exactly pulling?” He asked. 

Atsumu was about to tell him that he is not pulling anything for Shouyou to pass the interview. Admittedly, he is nervous for him too. “I’ll tell you later in a bit, I promise. Anyways, don’t you have something to say to me other than being worried about him?”

“Yeah.” Rin fell into silence before speaking again. 

“Listen, I cannot just play dumb about this any longer. I know that look that you are giving to Sho, and it is dangerous.” Rin’s words felt like cold water getting dumped on Atsumu with his guard down. It was ice cold, straight forward. 

“You know, I’m gonna tell you the truth too. Don’t worry, whatever you are thinking that is growing within me and Sho, it is definitely never gonna happen. Besides…” 

“Don’t freak out, okay? But we may or may not have found ourselves a puppet.” Rin tilted his head at Atsumu’s words. “What do you mean?” 

“We got the real prince. The man who is inside that room right now? Having an interview with Osamu? He is the one.” Atsumu smiled, not even having any plans on letting Rintarou speak as he cut him off. “And the reason why I am telling you what Sho and I are having right now, the connection? It will end soon. Because I never had him in the first place.” 

Atsumu bit his lips for a second, and spoke again. “I may have been in love with him for years, but it was always one sided. Up until today, I am still in second place in his heart.” 

Rintarou breathed in for a second when Atsumu stopped talking, rubbing his temples hard with his eyes shut. He looked up at his friend. “So you're telling me… That you fell in love with him over again? No- hold on, scratch that. You have been in love with this guy and it never faded from the first place?!” Rin exclaimed, and Atsumu could only nod at the undeniable truth. 

“And the guy that we have brought in as a puppet is actually the prince? Who has a royal blood that is running through his very own veins?!” Atsumu squinted at Rin’s description. “Geez, you don’t have to put it that way. But yes, he is.” 

“Hold on… in a sec… I need some place to sit down.” Rin said while clutching his chest, feeling dizzy with the new information that he just received from him. 

Atsumu immediately held his friend and guided him to the wooden bench for three people. “Atsumu, you have to remove what you feel towards him, towards Shouyou. The guy is already engaged in crying out loud!” Atsumu just sighed. “You don’t have to worry about me, I already accepted the fact that he is not mine to begin with.” He replied and heard a sigh from his friend.

“So, what are we gonna do now?” Rin asked. 

“The same thing that we have always been doing, deliver the prince to the waiting duke at the palace.” Atsumu answered. 

Their conversation was cut short when they heard a familiar chirpy voice coming from the entrance of the house. “I did it guys! I passed the interview!” Shouyou ran and hugged his friends. Rin and Atsumu laughed and just hugged him back. “Congratulations!” Rin cried. 

Atsumu looked at his twin who looked pretty convinced. “Now all we have to do is to go out and buy some clothes for you to be able to look presentable before meeting your fiance.” Osamu chuckled. 

“Woah! It’s been a while since the last time I saw a city this lively!” Shouyou exclaimed as he walked freely around the pavement, with numbers of vehicles passing by, letting out incoherent noises such as honking. But Shouyou didn’t mind it either way. 

He observed as the gray sky floats above them. Shouyou hopped on one of the railings and balanced himself while walking. “Don’t leave us behind!” He heard Atsumu’s voice exclaim and the next thing Shouyou knew is that Rin is now walking in front of him on the rails too. 

Shouyou was too busy walking but he heard the rising footsteps from behind, he didn’t bother looking at it and sang as he continued walking. 

Osamu only chuckled from behind while walking a few meters away from them and watched as the trio walked on the cemented rails. This short trip to his grace is gonna be interesting. 

The endless of people chattering inside the restaurant that complements along with the jazz music playing as a background somehow made Shouyou feel like he was home once again. It was always like this back then when he was eating with the other royal guests at the castle from his past life. 

“Enjoying Lemis so far?” Shouyou snapped from his reverie and looked at Osamu who was sitting across from him. He nodded enthusiastically. 

They are sitting at a square table of six. Atsumu sitting beside Shouyou, Rin beside Osamu, and Max occupying the solo space on the end of the table all for himself. 

The food arrived later on as they all began to dig in. They crack jokes every here and there when they are given the opportunity to squeeze in the conversation, exchanging little chats with each and everyone who are sitting on the table, excluding the fox who can’t talk. 

“So… Your highness, how are you feeling once you finally get to be reunited with your fiance again?” Osamu asked. 

Shouyou swallowed the food that he was chewing earlier and fixed his posture, sitting up and drinking his glass of water to clear up the remaining food in his mouth before speaking. “Honestly, I feel very excited. I can hardly contain myself that I can get to meet him once again.” He answered sincerely. 

All Atsumu could hear right now was how the chattering of the environment slowly ringing in his ear gently, not noticing how he watched Shouyou who keeps on talking and talking about how he feels before meeting his beloved once again. He observed how Shouyou’s lips formed into a smile whenever Osamu kept on asking about the duke. 

Atsumu looked down on his glass of red wine resting by his hand, he sighed and drank it in one go. “Woah, Atsumu, calm down on the drinks.” He heard how Rin warned him. “Sorry, I just can’t wait for this to be over.” No he’s not. 

The entire night before they proceed to Oikawa’s palace, Atsumu only laid his eyes on Shouyou. The way he smiles everytime they enter a new boutique, his giggles whenever Rin and Osamu compliments him, his little jumps whenever Max plays with him every time he has an opportunity to do so. He just looks stunning in every angle and action that he does with his petite body, at least, that’s what Atsumu thought. 

He found himself sitting on a bench outside the 6th boutique that they visited, along with Max who was clearly tired, resting by his feet. Atsumu looked up at the stars and saw how they twinkled. It is hard to believe that he is gonna once again let go of the prince that was never his to begin with in a few hours, it’s better to make the most of it while it lasts. 

When Atsumu felt a strain on his neck, he decided to look down and rest. He scattered his eyes for a moment and saw a small flower shop in a stall across the road by the side. Atsumu debated for a second, rubbing his chin with his hand. 

The next thing he knew is that he stood up from the bench and heard his own footsteps heading towards the flower shop. Atsumu is relieved that Max came along with him. 

“Welcome good sir! Feel free to select whatever you want! Are you giving it to a friend? A loved one? A relative?” The owner asked. 

Atsumu waved at the owner of the shop as he began to look around at the different flowers that were sitting on the small stall. He was about to purchase a few red roses, but a certain one caught his eye. It stood out among the different colors of roses because it is the only one left as it is placed around the single colored groups. A yellow rose with a red tip that looks like it is about to bloom. He knows the exact meaning of this.

“Excuse me, I’ll take this one.” Atsumu pointed at the rose and heard a happy yap from Max. He totally agrees with the choice of flower.

“Oh! Yellow rose with red tip, I see.” Atsumu only nodded at the florist as he watched her walk over the register. “This rose gives me a certain flashback, I remember when a friend of mine gave this to me. He didn’t know the meaning behind the rose so I told him.” They both chuckled. 

“He was so flustered when he learned about the truth, that this rose-,” She paused and looked at the rose before wrapping it into a beautiful design. “Means that the person is falling in love with their friend, that explains the color of friendship and love combined.” She smiled at Atsumu. 

He then reached out for his pocket to give the payment and smiled back.“I hope this night goes well for the both of you.” The florist said as she gave the beautifully wrapped flower to Atsumu. 

Atsumu and Max walked back to the boutique, along with the rose. 

He could see two small figures making their way outside the store. He recognizes Rin and Osamu holding hands together. Atsumu curiously walked faster along with the fox beside him and stopped in front of the entrance where Rin and his twin stood. 

“Where is Sho?” He asked the two. 

“I’m just right here.”

Atsumu turned around and did not expect a man who was not in his usual clothing anymore. Shouyou is now covered with neat clothing that is away from his usual wearings. He noted just how Shouyou looks good in every single angle with his current clothing, it is as if he grew… brighter. 

Atsumu is stunned. 

“Uhh… Earth to Atsumu? Hello?” Atsumu snapped when he noticed a small hand waving in front of his face. 

He immediately composed himself and heard the two snicker from behind him. “Oh, uhm, by the way, here. This is for you.” 

Atsumu caught a small gasp coming from Shouyou’s lips. “Thank you, you didn’t have to.” He said and took it anyway. “Oh, it has a unique color to it.” Shouyou remarked. 

“Do you like it?” Shouyou nodded and smelled the rose. 

“Alright, it is almost time before my duty starts. We should head out to the palace now and I will introduce you soon. Come on, I don’t think my substitute could handle more responsibilities from his grace for more than 24 hours.” 

Lemis never fails to amuse Shouyou in several different ways. Shouyou could see the palace from the window of the vehicle. “Woah! I can’t believe that we are finally here.” He exclaimed as he continued looking at the palace, soon noticing that it is getting bigger and bigger in every meter as the automobile proceeds through the road. 

“Okay, this is our stop.” Osamu called when the vehicle stopped right at the entrance of the palace. “Thank you.” He said to the driver before stepping down as the other four followed (including Max) before the car drove away. 

“I am gonna arrange a few things so that his grace is able to meet you. I am sure that despite how he drowns himself with his duties, he will make time for everything just to see you.” Osamu said as he turned around. “You guys may explore the palace as long as you don’t break anything. If a guard stops you, just say that you are here for palace matters that involve me.” 

“Also, Rin. I want you to come with me… for moral support.” He added and heard a chuckle from his boyfriend. “Whatever you say.” Rin replied as he clung onto Osamu’s shoulders. 

“Is it okay for Max to come with us?” Rin asked in a babied voice. Osamu just sighed and replied. “Sure.” 

Shouyou and Atsumu watched at the couple who were walking ahead of them and then they exchanged looks and smiled at each other. “Shall we head inside, your highness?” Atsumu teased as he offered his hand. Shouyou gladly took it and they walked inside the palace. 

Everything felt like a deja vu, as if Shouyou had already been here before. The way the gravel clicks against the heels of his shoes, the rose bushes standing that reach Shouyou’s hips, and a few even numbers of carved statues standing across each other. “It felt like I saw this in one of my dreams.” He told Atsumu. 

Atsumu closed his eyes and inhaled, later letting out a deep sigh and spoke. “Well, some people say that the palace gardens of Staian and Lemis look quite similar because of the strong bond that was formed between the two kingdoms.” Shouyou only nodded at the answer. 

Dead air lingered among them after Atsumu answered, not until Shouyou decided to call him.

“Atsumu.” 

“Hmm?”

Shouyou took in a breath, biting his lips and unconsciously slowed down the pace of his walking, which made Atsumu do the same on purpose, until they finally stopped. “I remember everything.” Shouyou shutted his eyes after he let go of words from his lips. He now has no courage to look at Atsumu’s face right now, he knows that deep inside, Atsumu should be happy, but a part of him feels like Atsumu is gonna-

“I know.” 

“Huh?” He looked up, seeing and expecting nothing but a painted empty face. But instead, Atsumu looked… sad. “I’ve always known, right when you told me about your dream.” 

Shouyou only stared at him. 

“But are you sure that you remembered everything ?” Atsumu asked with a hint of pain coming from his voice, and Shouyou is not gonna pretend that he did not just see how Atsumu swallowed a lump in his throat. Is he mad?

“Do you remember the boy who saved you and his grace back at the palace?” Shouyou furrowed his eyebrows for a few seconds, thinking about what Atsumu just said. 

“You told me back at the ship not too long ago that I looked exactly like him, and yet you don’t remember that I am that boy?” Atsumu asked foolishly which took Shouyou’s breath away in a bad way.

Atsumu evened out his breathing and smiled bitterly. “It doesn’t matter now, don’t worry about it.” He added. 

“But-” 

“What’s important is that we’re having a good time before parting ways, before I hand you over to him.” Atsumu cutted off his words and just smiled at him acrimoniously. 

Shouyou bit his lip really hard, mentally hitting himself right now. Ofcourse it was Atsumu who saved Tooru and him, who else could it be other than Atsumu? 

“Come on, it won’t hurt to smile a little bit, right?” Shouyou sighed at the words and looked up to him. “There we go, let’s head to that statue over there.” Atsumu chuckled and earned a yelp from Shouyou when he pulled him away from where they both stood. 

They were busy skipping around, observing each odd figure that was displayed in the garden. Suddenly, Shouyou leaned and poked at Atsumu, yelling “You’re it!” and ran away from him as fast as his legs could take him. 

“Oh, it’s on!” Atsumu rolled up his sleeves as he began to chase the running prince. 

The sounds of gravel getting aggressively stepped on echoed through the place, including the little laughs and faint yells coming from the pair when Atsumu nearly catches Shouyou. “You’re cornered now.” He snickers as he watches Shouyou giggling as he steps backwards and feels the tall bushes against his small frame. 

Shouyou plans to escape where he stands and immediately runs to Atsumu’s direction, attempting to dodge his wide arms, but unfortunately gets caught by him. “Gotcha!” 

The sounds of their laughter panged through the bushes as they decided to stay there and rest for a little while. 

“There you guys are! What happened to the prince?!” Atsumu and Shouyou’s attention was pulled away from each other as they steered their heads to where the voice was coming from. “Let’s just say that we chased a rabbit from Alice in wonderland.” Atsumu teased and received a giggle from Shouyou. Osamu was just confused as hell. 

Osamu shook his head and fixed his posture. “It doesn’t matter. Your highness, let’s get you fixed up. You’re covered in sweat!” He exclaimed. 

Atsumu and Shouyou just looked at each other and smiled as they began to walk back to the castle, with Osamu walking ahead of the two. 

“Oh, by the way, before we head inside.” Atsumu whispered and pulled Shouyou to stop quietly, letting Osamu walk ahead of them unnoticed. Atsumu gently pulled out the velvet box that he has been keeping ever since before he and Rin started to embark on their journey. “You will need this.” He said and opened the box. 

Atsumu heard a gasp coming from Shouyou as expected and watched as tears began to escape from Shouyou’s eyes. “If the duke didn’t believe that you are the lost prince, show this to him.” 

“W-where did you get this?” Shouyou stuttered as he carefully picked up the familiar jewelry. “The night that I saved you, the ring slipped off behind me. I nearly left it, it’s a good thing that I picked it up.” Atsumu looked at the ring which Shouyou was holding and grabbed it, carefully slipping the jewelry carefully on Shouyou’s fingers. “I find it odd that the size of your fingers didn’t change, at all.” Both of them chuckled. 

“There, now you are ready to meet the love of your life.” Atsumu remarked, trying to hide the bitterness escaping from his voice. 

As they walked down the hallway, with Osamu leading the two, Atsumu noticed the way Shouyou was fiddling his hands together with the handkerchief given to him earlier. So Atsumu inches his way closer to Shouyou, and then sneakily grabs his hand together, intertwining them. 

Shouyou looked up to Atsumu’s sudden stunt that he just pulled, but then he only saw Atsumu winked and mouthed “It’s gonna be okay.” As they continued to walk.Shouyou didn’t dare to complain, because he somehow felt warm and calm when Atsumu held his hand. 

When Osamu stopped in front of the very tall door, the pair who was following behind him stopped as well and immediately broke ties with their hands before Osamu could turn around to talk to them. 

“Well, this is our stop.” He said and faced Atsumu. “His grace wanted to talk to you first by the way, his highness will stay behind and wait here.” Atsumu nodded before taking a few steps towards the tall doors, he looked around over his shoulder and smiled at Shouyou before getting inside. 

“First of all, I would like to thank you for bringing Shouyou here to me, safe and sound, unharmed. So, as promised, the million cash prize will be handed to you by your twin once you step out of this room.” The duke said in a gentle voice. 

Atsumu stood still and kept his eyes towards Oikawa. “Your grace, I want you to know that it is truly an honor to retrieve the lost prince. But...” He let out a sigh and said “I don’t want the money anymore.” The duke was taken aback when he heard Atsumu’s unbelievable words. 

“Are you sure about this one?” The brunette asked, Atsumu only nodded without hesitation. He heard Oikawa suck in a breath before he spoke once again.

“Alright then, so what do you want? Protection? Fame? Name it and I will give it to you in a snap.” 

“I want none, your grace. I just came here to deliver the prince safe and sound, that’s it.” Atsumu replied.

The duke stared at him as if he heard something unbelievable (which it actually is). “From what I remember, your twin told me something.” Atsumu looked up to Oikawa.

“You were that knight from the palace, no?” Atsumu hears footsteps going towards him. “I thought that Osamu was the one who saved us. I was thanking him over and over, and then I found out that he has a twin.” 

Atsumu looked up when Oikawa stood right in front of him. “So tell me, you saved his life and mine, and yet you want no reward?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain. But for now, seeing the prince being happy being reunited with a familiar face that he hasn’t seen in years, that is an enough reward for me. It is my duty to serve him after all.” 

What Atsumu said made Oikawa smile. “If you say so. I don’t think I can do anything to change your mind, no?” Atsumu shook his head respectfully at the duke. “There is no way, your grace.” He replied. 

It has only been 10 minutes ever since Atsumu entered Tooru’s study, and yet Shouyou feels like an hour has already passed. There goes his nervousness climbing up against his back yet again. Shouyou starts to fiddle with his ring that was given by Atsumu, which came from Tooru, (technically) in order to calm himself down.

Incoherent thoughts start to fog up his mind, not until he hears the door open. He looked up and saw a familiar brunette walking out of the study. He looks so mature now, compared with when Shouyou last saw him, which was years ago. 

He stood up, anxiety remaining still in his head. Shouyou wants to walk towards Tooru, hug him, tell him how much he misses him, even kiss him. Overwhelmed with everything that is toggling his brain, his body moved in an instinct. Instead of doing the things mentioned earlier on how he craves Tooru’s warmth so bad, 

He just ran away, to the opposite direction where Tooru stands. 

“Shouyou!” He didn’t turn around and continued running when he heard a familiar voice that he hadn't heard in a long time. Shouyou immediately stepped up his pace when he heard another aggressive thudding that was matching his pace. Tooru is chasing him. 

Atsumu was about to follow Shouyou, but when Oikawa chased after him, he could only watch. He decided to give the two some space once Oikawa caught up to Shouyou. Atsumu just sighed. 

Shouyou could feel his breath running away from his chest, he tried to power through his feet to run even faster, but there was no use. He already feels a large hand on his arm. “I finally caught you.” Tooru pants as he held tightly on Shouyou. 

Shouyou scattered his eyes for a moment and realized where he was once again.  

Him and Atsumu were just here a few minutes ago. 

Back at the palace garden.

Tooru looked over his shoulder and noticed something from behind. “I think it’s best to sit down and rest for a moment.”  He said. Shouyou looked over Tooru’s figure and saw a low running fountain. 

They both sat by the fountain and tried to catch their breath. “Seriously, why did you run away from me ?” Tooru asked in between his breaths. 

“I-I’m sorry. I just got nervous.” Shouyou stuttered. He could feel the tears pooling up between his eyelids. Tooru looked at him and immediately held his hand. “Hey, it’s okay. Really.” 

“No, it is not okay. Running away from you is honestly one of the dumbest things that I have done yet.” Shouyou continues to ramble about things, but Tooru did not pay attention to a word that he spat out because he noticed something shining that was coming from Shouyou’s neck. 

Tooru grabbed the familiar necklace which made Shouyou stop talking. “I can’t believe that you still have this.” 

“Huh?” Shouyou looked up when he noticed Tooru’s hands pointing at his necklace. “Oh, this? I never removed it right from the beginning.” Shouyou replied with a smile, which made Tooru giggle in gratitude. “That’s nice to hear.” He remarked. 

“You have no idea how much I missed you, Shouyou.” Tooru added as he carefully cupped Shouyou’s cheeks, slowly leaning his lips right in front of Shouyou’s forehead and gave him a gentle kiss.

Atsumu coincidentally bumped into the door of the palace garden to grab some fresh air before leaving, but he didn’t know that the two were there, laughing, having a good time. So he just stood there and watched for a moment. Atsumu didn’t want to be a creep, so he decided to leave after.

He began to walk down the hallway, there was nothing left for him to do in the palace anymore. He finally delivered the lost prince back to his fiance. 

“Hey.” Atsumu looked up when he heard a familiar voice calling for him. He saw his twin standing up in front of him, holding a briefcase. “Here is your prize, for returning the prince back to his grace.” Osamu said and reached out the case to Atsumu. 

Atsumu only looked at the case filled with prizes, and shook his head. “Didn’t the duke tell you? I am no longer interested in money, not anymore.” 

“That’s odd, you always do things for money-” 

“Not anymore.” Atsumu remarked firmly. He scattered his hazel eyes around the box to inspect it, but what he did not expect was to see an unfamiliar jewel twinkling on Osamu’s ring finger. “What’s that?” He asked. 

“Oh, this.” Osamu chuckled nervously. “I proposed to Rin earlier, he said yes.” He answered. Atsumu could see the happiness beaming through his brother’s eyes. “Really?! Congratulations! Bring it in, come on.” He said as he invited Osamu for a hug. “So what are you guys planning?” Atsumu asked after he pulled away from the hug. 

“Rin and I decided that we are gonna live here in Lemis together, so he is gonna be left here. He is waiting for you at the house by the way, along with Max.” Oh. 

So Atsumu is going back empty handed indeed.

Not that he is being selfish and all, he really is happy for his twin. Atsumu did not just expect the news to come up so suddenly. 

“Alright then, I’ll just pick up my things from your home, say goodbye to Rin, and head out.” He said. “I’ll miss you, Tsumu. Come back soon, and please keep in touch this time.” They both let out a chortle. 

Atsumu began to walk ahead of Osamu, and never looked back. 

———

The sounds of laughter echoed through the garden as Shouyou tried to catch his breath, wheezing at Tooru’s story retelling about their past. “How could I forget?! The chef’s expression was priceless when we stole the whole tray of dessert for the party! I could remember the feeling when he started to chase after us!” Shouyou said in between his wheezes. 

“And we were wearing some weird costumes that made us unrecognizable as the royalties! Ah, the good old days.” Tooru said as he finally calmed down from his laughter. 

Silence enveloped the two, but it’s a comforting type of silence. Maybe it is because they were so used to each other’s presence years ago, and it never changed. Shouyou is not sure if everything didn’t change though. 

“To be honest, I could barely remember the past. I am still unsure about the things that made me the Shouyou that you know years ago. I don’t know who I really am, not as a prince, but as a person.” Shouyou lifted his legs and hugged his knees while he was still sitting by the fountain beside Tooru.

“Hey, you still remember other things that only we both know, and that is good enough for me. Your other memories will come back soon, there is no rush.” Tooru replied as he quietly looked at Shouyou’s hand. He saw a familiar jewelry resting on his ring finger, and then glanced at his neck. Tooru only smiled and kissed the back of Shouyou’s hand. 

“I am glad that the knight is nice enough to bring you home to me, all the way from another country. He did so much for us, it is such a shame that he didn’t take the money after all of that.” He commented. 

“What money?” Shouyou immediately fixed his gaze to Tooru with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Didn’t you know? I am the one who demanded to take you here with a cash prize when a rumour spread in Staian weeks ago. A rumour claiming that you are still alive.” Tooru replied. 

Shouyou stayed silent. He didn’t know how to react. So in conclusion, Atsumu used him, but didn’t take the prize? Why would the man do such a thing? That is just straight up stupid. 

“Listen, Shouyou.” The redhead focused his eyes on Tooru when he called for him. “I just want to let you know that… Whatever happens, I will always be here, with you, no matter what." He said with a smile. 

"What do you mean?" Shouyou asked.

"I was here earlier, I saw how the both of you ran around in this garden.” Tooru took a breath for a second before proceeding. “You know, after talking to you, and comparing how you were with the knight, it is different now." With Tooru's words, Shouyou could only look at him in confusion, his mind is like a ball of tangled string, trying to find where those words came from.

"I know what I just said. Don't get me wrong, it feels warm to finally have you back but, you are not the Shouyou I once knew before." 

“...What?” Shouyou asked. “Don’t take my words the wrong way, but just so you know that your happiness comes first before everything else. And your smile is really different when you are with him. ” Tooru replied. 

The next thing Shouyou knew was that he was now hugging Tooru, and heard a whisper. “It’s okay, go.”

After pulling away from the hug, Shouyou exchanged goodbyes with Tooru and ran towards the exit. 

“Excuse me! May I borrow a vehicle to drop me off somewhere?” Shouyou called towards one of the guards who were standing by the entrance of the palace. “And who might you be?” The guard asked in suspicion. 

“Don’t you dare speak to his royal highness like that, he is the lost prince.” Shouyou turned around and saw a familiar frame walking towards him. He thought he saw someone he was looking for, not until he noticed that his outfit and voice was different. 

“O-Oh… I apologize, please forgive me your majesty.” The guard said in a sincere voice and gave Shouyou a bow after they heard Osamu speak, carefully walking away.

Osamu stopped in front of Shouyou’s tracks after taking a few steps towards him. “And where are you headed, your majesty?” He asked. “I want to find Atsumu, I have something to say to him.” Shouyou paused for a second when he saw the way Osamu’s eyebrow shot up. 

He let out a sigh before continuing. “So I assume that hopefully, there is still a chance that he is still at your place to pick up his stuff before leaving.” Shouyou added. 

“Oh? So what are you waiting for then? Go get him. Rin said that Atsumu will be leaving in a few minutes, hurry up!” After hearing Osamu’s encouragement, Shouyou did not waste his time and immediately boarded the car that had just arrived for him. 

When the door opened, Shouyou saw that the guard who stopped him was now driving the automobile for him. 

He heard Osamu saying “take care!” before Shouyou went inside, but he didn’t get to reply to him and right after he settled inside, the car revved and drove away. He could see the gates of the palace slowly fading away from his sight, but he didn’t mind. All Shouyou could think is if Atsumu is still there, he’d better be. 

Right when Shouyou finally arrived at the familiar house, he jumped off from the car and opened the gate. He finds it odd that some of the lights of the house are dimly lit, he still hopes that Atsumu is still here. 

“Hello? Is anyone here?” He called as he knocked on the door, no answer.

Shouyou’s impatience starts to crawl behind him as he knocks once more, nothing. He was about to give another louder knock, not until he heard footsteps and a familiar bark from the fox coming from the inside. “Sho? What are you doing here?” 

Shouyou looked up and saw that it was Rin who opened the door, along with Max yapping from behind, excitedly circling around Shouyou and snuggled on his feet. “Where is Atsumu?” He asked. 

“Atsumu? He left just a few minutes ago. Why? What’s wrong?” Rin asked cluelessly. 

Shit. He cursed silently in the back of his head. “Well, do you know where he is going?” Shouyou asked, silently praying that his friend would say yes. 

“Actually I do, he told me earlier that he is leaving Lemis, so he must be heading towards the nearest terminal to go to the southern country?” Shouyou felt relieved, at least he knew where to follow Atsumu. Before he leaves, he leaned down on Max’s direction from where he lies and patted him. “I’ll miss you.” He said and gave the fox a kiss on the forehead.

“Alright, thank you Rin!” Shouyou waved as he stood back up and ran back towards the car, noticing a familiar ring that matches Osamu hanging on his finger, he added. “And Congratulations!” He yelled before riding on the vehicle. 

Shouyou leaned to the driver’s seat and said “Drive me to the nearest terminal that heads to the southern country, and please hurry.” The driver nodded and started the vehicle before leaving. 

———

“Next!” Atsumu moved forward when another person moved away from the line after collecting the ticket. Just a few minutes and he will have to leave the country soon to start a new life. He just needs to wait for the two people standing in front of him to collect their tickets before it’s his turn to do so. 

He will surely miss the life that he had. It’s not the first time to leave his brother to move to another country, but he will surely miss him and Rin, also… him . 

Atsumu would do everything for Shouyou to be his, but unfortunately, they are born with two completely different lives, so there is no choice but to accept that Shouyou will never be in his arms. He’s a royalty, and Atsumu was just a knight, a conman, and now a nobody. 

“Atsumu!” 

Atsumu immediately snapped from his reverie when he heard a familiar voice calling for him. He is one hundred percent sure that the voice came from behind. “Atsumu!” 

There it is again, so he walked away from his lane, he couldn’t care less if he has to wait again from the back of the line, he needs to see if he is hearing things or not. 

“There you are!” Atsumu turned around, he still couldn’t see the person calling for him, so he took a few turns, still nothing. “I’m here you idiot!” The blond snapped his head and saw a familiar redhead standing a few meters away from him, all drenched in sweat and panting, trying to catch his breath. 

“Wait- S-Sho? What are you doing here?!” Atsumu exclaimed. 

“Do you seriously think that I wouldn’t find out about the money? That you only used me for it?” Shouyou breathed. 

Atsumu was taken aback when he heard Shouyou’s words, confused. Did he seriously think that he took the money? 

“What are you talking about? Listen-” His words got cut off when Shouyou started to walk towards him slowly, so Atsumu carefully took a few steps backward unconsciously out of fear.

“I am so sorry, but believe me, I didn’t take the money after! I-” 

“Do you know how much I trusted you? I mean yeah, you took me to where I meant to be, but for the sake of money? Really?” There is a hint of shiver itching on Atsumu’s back when he hears Shouyou’s voice slowly rising in every step he makes towards him. 

 “It is such a shame, really.” Shouyou smiled sarcastically. “No, I didn't just come all the way here to scold you. I also want to thank you before you go.” He paused for a second to take a deep breath and began to speak again. 

“Thankyou for taking me back to where I belong, for reuniting me with my family, and for the things that you have done to me for the past few days. Now please, accept this as a thankyou gift too.”

Atsumu didn’t know what happened next, all he knew was that Shouyou was right in front of him, with his lips touching against his own. What is happening? 

With his eyes blown wide, it took him a few couple of seconds to realize that he is actually kissing Shouyou, the prince who is engaged to the duke.

Before Atsumu could react, he felt Shouyou’s soft lips pulling away from him. He blinks, once, twice, thrice. What? 

“Atsumu, let us create our own story and build a happy ending together.” 

Atsumu snapped for a second when his senses finally came back to him after processing for such a long time for being clueless ever since Shouyou arrived. “Wait, hold on for a second! What happened to you being tied to your fiance?!” 

Shouyou could only smile and shake his head. “Not anymore.” He answered. “Now tell me, Atsumu. Do you feel the same way?” He asked. “Please do, I can’t just run all the way here to kiss you, confess and end up getting turned down now.” He added in a joking manner, which made them both let out a small chuckle. 

Atsumu lifted his hand, carefully dragging it towards Shouyou’s face, first to caress it, and then tucked his ginger locks that were flying around his face. “I do.”

———

“Your grace? There is a letter coming from his royal highness.” Osamu spoke while holding the letter. “Read it.” Tooru commanded and Osamu followed as he cleared his throat before speaking after unfolding the delivered letter. 

“Dear Tooru, thank you for making me follow my own happiness, don’t worry we will be together in Lemis soon. Don’t worry, I am safe out here as long as I am with Atsumu, the knight who saved us years ago. I will see you when I see you.” 

Osamu squinted after he read the letter before returning his gaze at Toory who is just smiling at the balcony as he stares at the stars that are shining on the blue sky. 

“What a perfect way to create a perfect beginning.” Tooru whispered to himself. 

———

The sounds of giggles and excited footsteps pang through the tunnel as they climbed through the tower of Lemis, when they finally reached the top, Atsumu rested their things by the metal floor near the railings, along with their coats. Shouyou could only smile at him and rested their foreheads together. 

“I love you.” Shouyou whispered. 

“I love you too.”  Atsumu replied and gave Shouyou a quick kiss under the moonlight.