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When Jougo ascended to become king and fully accept the name his late father gave him, was when he decided to become Haou for good. The tragedy of watching his father die before his eyes and his best friend transformed into a monster for his own good, for his protection was too much to bear. Finally the gentle darkness that his father so wished to awaken had come out, and it took hold of the prince’s heart tightly.
The happy boy that once roamed the castle halls in laughter, now calmly strolled down the halls, the heel of his black shoes slowly making a muffled sound as he stepped on the red carpet lining the floors of the building. His red cape flowing behind him as his deep golden eyes stared far beyond the halls, deep in thought as the servants he passed by merely bowed at him in respect, he was feared yet respected. Haou had become a true monarch to not be messed with, his orders cruel at times, but mostly firm as to not let any harm come to his kingdom and especially those that he guarded within his castle walls with his life.
It was well known that two people who resided within those walls were the king’s favorites. One, his childhood friend who’d become a spirit to keep him safe from any harm. The other? The warm and bright knight he had met almost two years ago, the one that, to everyone’s surprise; Stole the then prince’s heart. It wasn’t much of a rumor at this point, it was known, that deep within those walls, in the darkness, you’d find the knight in an intimate embrace with the king. Some assumed they must be lovers, no one knew for sure and they dared not ask.
But when the king ordered for the back garden to be transformed into a beautiful flower garden with a gorgeous fountain depicting a pegasus in flight, it was hard to pretend that something else wasn’t going on. Haou had explicitly asked for it to be cared for by only a select few and no one was allowed in there ever. No one knew why, no one dared to peek. But the few that managed to said beautiful creatures shining like gems lived in said garden, a treasure the king perhaps stole from some kingdom far beyond their imagination.
In reality, when the prince had been crowned, he met with his knight. They had a discussion about a broken promise, about a failed escape plan for him to escape this fate, something that the blond had denied time and time again. But it lasted no more than a few minutes before the now king embraced the knight and asked him to move in with him, eyes deep in love as he begged.
“Mamoru… please, please live with us. I’ll keep you and your gem beasts safe, please.” Haou’s voice had broken and his golden eyes reflected the sun so beautifully that the gem’s protector had no reason to deny such a request.
“Of course, king Jougo.”
Hearing the blond refer to him by his real name had been more than enough to make Haou swoon and feel light for the first time in weeks.
And now the king stood, watching through one of the huge castle windows that faced the garden as his beloved knight sat on the fountain, chatting along with a beautiful horse like creature with wings and a gorgeous sapphire horn. He knew this area of the castle was forbidden of entrance anyway, this was were Mamoru’s bedroom resided and he made sure to have every precaution so no one would approach his presence or the Gem beasts’. You could call him jealous, but the joy he felt from seeing the blond laugh and smile as he held Sapphire Pegasus and the other Gem beasts gathered around for an all around group hug followed by a completely innocent game of tag was more than enough to make even a cruel king smile at the activity.
The way Mamoru ran through the garden, laughing in such a pure hearted way, his mask and sword long forgotten, left to stay by the edge of the fountain as his cape flowed behind him like wind. The way his hair moved as he tried to tackle the purple cat into a hug to tag her. He saw how she clearly slowed down, happy to receive affection from her guardian and lick his cheek softly, his laughter followed by the little carbuncle squeaking loudly as she tried to run far away from the protector, but it proved to be a bad move as she was almost immediately scooped up into the air by gentle hands, making her squeak in pure joy as Mamoru bombarded her with a few kisses to her head and set her down on the ground to sit by Amethyst. Five more to go.
His laughter began filling Haou with an indescribable feeling; Adoration? Love? He couldn’t quite tell but he was enjoying it so much that he got closer to the glass of the window, his golden eyes soft at the sight of who he called his prince charming who was now in the process of gently booping Emerald Tortoise on the nose and proceeding to catch Topaz Tiger who decided to apparently use Cobalt Eagle as bait so Mamoru would catch him instead in a gentle hold and then the protector ran so fast to tackle the tiger into a big hug that they all started laughing. Amber Mammoth had basically given up and carried the knight with his trunk to hold him too. Haou swore he heard the beasts laugh with the blond and just as Sapphire Pegasus arrived to finish the game, he noticed how Mamoru looked up and his beautiful jade and sapphire eyes met Haou’s golden.
And the protector smiled, waving at him with the brightest smile he had ever seen. He swore Mamoru’s smile was more radiant than the sun itself. If he was darkness, surely, Mamoru was the brightest light there was. He was his light, his star. Perhaps, even if he tried to pretend he didn’t wish it so… perhaps the blond truly was the wish from his star. Maybe he couldn’t save him from turning into a king, but, perhaps he was there to save his heart from falling deep within the clutches of the gentle darkness. Maybe that was the reason, why he could still spare mercy even if he felt someone deserved death. Mamoru was kind, a pacifist, gentle. Death was not an option to him, so jail time in the dungeons served as the answer to crimes as awful as treachery.
“Jougo!” He heard the faint voice of his knight call over from over the garden, his heart skipping a beat whenever his real name escaped his lips. “Come down here!”
Haou wasted no time in listening to that request. He ran down the halls as fast as he could, passing by one of the few servants that was allowed in that wing of the castle and who could barely squeak a soft “Lord Haou!” As he ran past her at incredible speeds. He even swore he passed by Yubel as they took that as notice that the king would be busy for today and they would need to take in any royal matters into their own claws for the time being. Yubel did not mind, as long as it kept the brief smiles in their king’s features.
The king finally reached the big wooden doors and the long staircase that took him to the garden and he ran, with a big smile. His red cape flowing behind him as his hair moved with the wind, he felt like a kid for the first time in a while and his smile grew bigger when he passed by the beautiful rose flower arch that marked the entrance of the garden and caught sight of his beloved knight. It didn’t take long for Mamoru to turn around and in a matter of seconds, Haou had ran into the blond, embracing him tightly and resting his head against his chest, breathing in Mamoru’s soft strawberry scent, hearing his breathing and the rhythm of his heartbeat. He was real, he was here and he wasn’t ever leaving the castle. That, he made sure of.
“Hello, Jougo.” As those words were spoken, he could feel his knight’s strong arms wrap around his waist in a protective embrace and Haou looked up. He felt blessed to now be allowed to look at Mamoru’s face.
His features were soft. He had long beautiful eyelashes, lips so soft and pink that the king constantly wondered how would they taste, if they were as soft as they looked that day. And now he knew as well, that his knight had different colored eyes, a thing he vividly tried to hide in fear of rejection and rumors spreading about him not being human. Haou did not mind, as those eyes, to him, were beautiful; One a beautiful sapphire color, deep yet mysterious like the ocean. The other like an emerald, or perhaps… a Jade fit more? It wasn’t deep, yet it bore the color of a newly born plant. He may have looked odd to anyone, but to Haou he was far more mesmerizing than he ever imagined.
“Hi, Mamo.” Haou responded, breathless as he finally pulled away a small smile spread across his features as Mamoru led them both to sit by the edge of the fountain. Ruby Carbuncle following along by hopping onto the knight’s lap as she tilted her head up to look at the monarch.
The king had grown used to the rejection of the Gem beasts and in fact, he resigned himself even further once they found out that he was the carrier of the gentle darkness. They did not know what it meant, but apparently, in their land, as creatures of the light in some way or another, they feared darkness and in return, feared Haou. Except for one: Ruby Carbuncle. She still remembered him as the prince that used to play with her, pet her and occasionally make her do tricks like fetching something or spinning in circles. She was the only one of those creatures to willingly approach him.
And approach him she did, as she squeaked loudly and ran to Haou’s lap, opting to quickly climb on his dark long sleeved shirt and take perch on his shoulder, quickly deciding that in fact, the king deserved some long overdue kisses. And that’s when the attack began. Ruby, perched on the king’s shoulders began to happily lick his cheek while squeaking over and over. She was happy to see him as it had been at least two weeks since Haou had dared to approach the garden in which the Gem beasts now resided and she decided that he was in need of some loving.
Mamoru momentarily worried, thinking that maybe the king would be upset and he even reached his hands out to hold the carbuncle gently and pull her away and as he was about to apologize- he was interrupted by something magical.
“P-Pardon me, king! She doesn’t-“
“Ruby! Stop that, you’re tickling me!”
Haou had broken into a laughter. A genuine, laugh. Pure joy emanating from his voice as his laugh filled the garden and made the rest of the Gem beasts turn in his direction and slowly approach them by the fountain. Sapphire coming closer along with Amethyst and Topaz from the east side by the rainbow rose garden, Cobalt taking perch on a beautiful white column nearby, Amber approaching from the far end of the garden and Emerald leaving the bath he was taking by the small pond they had built for them. They all stared in awe at the sight of the gentle darkness laughing happily from none other than Ruby.
And Mamoru was hypnotized by the sound, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. His eyes full of adoration and love. This lasted for about two minutes, before Sapphire had noticed their protector’s gaze and decided to clear his throat loud enough for Mamoru to notice, who decided to pretend he had NOT felt butterflies in his stomach and gently pick up Ruby, who began protesting loudly and squirming in his touch.
“Rubi! Bibi!” She squeaked loudly as she did her best to escape the protector’s gentle hold on her abdomen.
“Ruby! I taught you to be a much more refined lady. You cannot possibly disrespect the king like that” He reprimanded the carbuncle with a small pout and a firm gaze.
“…Rubi.”
“You think because you’re cute, you’re forgiven of manners?” The blond asked quietly and confused, making Haou look at the exchange with a big smile.
He never understood how Mamoru could speak to the Gem beasts, but the way he so kindly spoke to them, treated them like any person and with such respect melted his frozen heart time and time again. Nothing could make his stomach do flips more than his knight. He never wanted to be separated from him, which was why he requested he not leave the castle, not for now at least. Selfish, perhaps. But the opportunities to see interactions like this, made it worth it in his mind.
“Bibi.” The carbuncle finally replied, clearly content with her answer. And by Mamoru’s reaction, Haou guessed that she had actually admitted that yes, she was forgiven due to cuteness.
“It’s alright, Mamoru.” Haou’s voice interrupted them, making the blond look up at him in surprise and confusion. “She’s allowed to give me kisses. But only her.”
The protector felt confused at the king’s response, so much so that he had softened his hold on the carbuncle enough that she managed to squirm out of his hands and fall on the ground gracefully as she ran to Amethyst cat who quickly bend her head down to lick the carbuncle’s head gently like a mother would.
“I shall make a new rule, so only two individuals are allowed to kiss me.” The king began, firm as he got closer to Mamoru, making the knight flinch as their hands touched and his golden eyes met his, lost in the bright gold. “One is Ruby…” He spoke softly as he approached closer, Mamoru could feel Haou’s breath on his face, he began closing his eyes, feeling hypnotized by the shine of his gaze. “The other… is you, Mamoru.”
Nothing more was needed to be heard or spoken as Haou pressed his lips against Mamoru’s in a chaste kiss that lasted no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to make the protector’s heart speed up at the feeling of his incredibly soft lips touching his. He could feel connected to the king at that very moment, see the innocent prince who asked to kiss him that one time, because he had confessed his love to him, even if things were different now. The way Haou treated him, made him feel like he was seen as a fragile being, like a flower that the king wished to protect for the rest of eternity and when the king pulled away and he could feel the love in those eyes he knew that was most likely the intention behind his adoration and care.
Maybe Haou truly was as cruel as he heard time and time again, but, to him… Haou was the most wonderful man anyone could hope for, an innocent heart that yearned for the light that was Mamoru, just as Mamoru for once in his life, wished to become closer to the dark that was Haou.
And the Gem’s protector was more than willing to fulfill that wish for his king.