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Life as a king had not been very meaningful to the new heir of the throne. In fact, it was quite often that he wondered what life would be like, if he had simply escaped as he wished many months ago when he asked his knight to lead him far from this very kingdom. Truth be told, he had lost count of how many days it had been already, at only nineteen years old, he probably only had been holding the throne for a little more than a year at this point, yet, it felt like it had been many more than that. He was grateful for the comforting company of his knight and his best friend all this time, during war scares, attempts at his life. They stood by his side, ever so faithful to their king and for that he felt blessed.
That very day had been quite eventful, the mighty supreme king had deterred yet another attempt at war to his kingdom, imprisoned the one responsible, an assassin from another kingdom and simply let the civilians roped into the idea, unable to take yet another life by his own blade. He watched them run away in fear, even if he kept his own darkness at bay, it proved useless as every man who came into contact with him, ran with fear. The stories had far been scarier than his own doing. Haou simply laid on his bed, his head gently resting on his precious protector’s lap as the blond man carefully tangled his fingers into his beautiful two-toned chestnut hair, brushing it out of his face as the royal simply stared at a painting hanging on his room; A painting of a beautiful light brown haired woman in a dress, holding a small baby and a man, a king, holding onto his dear queen.
“I wonder,” Golden eyes blinked, glossy as tears threatened to form in their beauty. “If mother, would approve of me. Would she be proud or-?”
“Jougo,” The blond knight spoke, brushing a strand of brown hair out of his lover’s face, voice soothing. “I believe the queen is very much proud of you. After all, you’ve done so much for the kingdom, as for the Gem Beasts, Yubel and even I.” Haou stirred slightly and moved, to now be laying on his back and facing his protector, staring into the beautiful white mask. “Your kindness reaches far beyond what any man deserves.”
A broken chuckle escaped the king, sniffling quietly as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of the gentle hand that now carefully caressed his cheek and wiped at the stray tear that fell from his eyes. He swallowed hard, allowing himself to relax into Mamoru’s comfort. Memories of his own mother began flooding into his mind, of her beautiful smile and her gentle honey gaze. Her stories of wonders and princesses being saved by their knights ingrained deep within his soul, her face when she explained how she had been unable to bear kids, but wished upon a star for once, and Jougo, had been her blessing that next year. That’s how he learnt to wish upon a star.
His eyes opened to meet once again with his protector’s mask whose expression, while mostly covered, gave the royal a sense of calmness, the curve of his lips making him feel safe enough to be vulnerable by his side. Haou began to wonder, if wishes truly came true, if his mother’s wish had been granted, then surely his would too. His thoughts wandered to what he currently wished for, he long gave up on a life of freedom but found himself thinking of his protector, his knight. He began realizing how much he wished to stay by his side, by all means possible, to tie their souls together, they must be soulmates, he thought to himself. A smile crept upon his lips as he stared at the blond’s face.
“Mamoru,” He began, hopeful, breathless. “I want to marry you.”
“P-Pardon?” The question has taken the knight by complete surprise, confusion in his tone and body language. “But, Jougo… you’re a king, surely you cannot-“
“Mamo… I want you to be the one to hold my heart.” His golden eyes softened, glowing with deep passion and love. Slowly his hands reached out, removing the mask from his beloved and allowing him to stare into those beautiful gem-like eyes. “None other shakes my being like you do. No princesses, queens or kings. It’s only you, who makes my heart soar.”
“…My king… I-“ Mamoru was speechless, his eyes shining with many emotions, happiness and warmth spreading from his chest onto his entire body, feeling something indescribable but akin to nothing but pure love, adoration. “I would… love to join our lives together but- We can’t, the rules say.”
“As the supreme king, I believe a wedding is up to us.” Haou’s gentle hand held onto the other’s cheek, a thumb caressing it sweetly, making sure to memorize the softness of his knight’s skin, the way he breathed out in deep bliss and the warmth he felt as the blond arched his body so their faces would be mere inches apart, their breaths mingling together and making their hearts beat as one. “Please… allow me to join my heart with yours, let our souls become one. I want an eternal oath to tie us together,” The brunet moved his head just enough just so that their lips could meet in a chaste kiss. “So we may find each other, every time, every life, for eternity.”
Mamoru said no words and simply began a barrage of kisses against his love, placing a hand of the one Haou had on his cheek, removing it just so he could hold it and intertwine their fingers together. Their lips danced in a gentle motion, caressing softly as if any roughness would break the magic of the moment, trying to feel more of each other, to convey their feelings with actions rather than words. Haou gently used his free arm to hold onto the back of his protector’s neck, bringing him closer as their kiss deepened. Little gasps of air escaped the king, but he cared not for being quiet or not, he wished to join his knight no matter the consequences to his actions.
Haou wanted his protector badly, nothing but to keep him to himself, his darkness hearing his wishes and occasionally creeping out during the night, wrapping itself around his beloved’s sleeping form as they laid together. He was entirely selfish and he knew his desire brought him to honor him as captain of his royal guard, but he did not work that role as intended. Haou had forbidden him from ever leaving the castle, in fear that the rumors of their affair would leave the castle and somehow, someone would hurt the Gem Beats’ protector. Perhaps this was an obsession, a deep attachment that his darkness acquired, but he did not care, nor minded. Mamoru was his and his alone and he intended to keep it this way. He knew he wanted him, the moment he met him.
As their lips parted, bright gold met with sapphire and jade, both flushed and panting to regain some of the lost oxygen during that long embrace. Something in Haou stirred as he saw his Prince Charming in disarray from his actions, but he merely smiled, certain that this meant his affections for the king were genuine and nothing was to be regretted. Quickly, the supreme king sat up on the bed, making Mamoru look in his direction and yearn for his touch as their hands separated, briefly reaching out to the two-toned brunet who simply spoke gently as if to soothe his worried knight,
“It’ll only be a minute.”
The blond man sat properly once again, fixing his posture while the supreme king rushed to one particular nightstand that stood by his bed,opening a drawer expertly and pulling out what looked like to be a small wooden box with a carving of a woman’s name. Carefully he pulled out a secret necklace that he kept with him, a key was attached to it and he slowly grabbed it and inserted it into the box, with a small movement the mechanism unlocked and he opened it, smiling fondly at the small letters kept inside it. He ignored them and grabbed two small items, holding them close to his chest as he closed the box, locked it tight again and turned to his lover, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“My mom… kept this box hidden and gave me the key before her passing,” the brunet began, slowly approaching Mamoru until he was face to face with him, his eyes downwards and looking at his hands pressed against his own chest. “Father and her shared rings to tie themselves together, but once he became obsessed with the gentle darkness, he took his off and refused to claim her as his queen,”
“J-Jougo you don’t have to-“ Haou shook his head in response, his gold gaze meeting with his protector’s.
“She kept the rings safe with her, and told me she wished for me to share them with whoever I wanted to marry, to join with,” Carefully he took his hands away from his chest and opened them, presenting Mamoru with two rings, one a beautiful silver color, the other dark like the night, except each of them held a gem in the opposite color. A dark gem for the silver one, a white diamond for the dark one, “and… I would like to share them… with you, Mamo.”
“Haou…” Mamoru’s eyes filled with intense emotions he couldn’t describe, Haou was for all intentions and purposes, proposing to join their souls as one with a promise of rings. The blond smiled softly, tears falling from his eyes as the warmth spread from his chest once again. “May I?”
“Please do…”
The blond carefully took the black ring and slowly took the supreme king’s left hand, with a gentle smile he slowly slid it onto his ring finger, the ring an exact fit to him, as if it was all along meant to belong to him and not someone else. He could hear the gentle sobbing coming from the king but he spoke with soft words, pressing Haou’s left hand on his own chest, to let his king feel his beating heart and swear on it.
“I shall make an oath to you, my king, Haou… no- Jougo, to love you for eternity, to look for you far and beyond. For our lives and souls to be eternally each other’s for I shall always protect and be by your side, my love.”
The king could feel it, how with each word spoken, Mamoru’s heart quickened, and began pounding against his hand. Each little beat making him take a step closer and realize that this love was real, that his heart too, desired to be his forever and the feeling of his own darkened heart was mutual and that was enough for his worries to fade as a smile crept across the king’s lips, sniffling as he too, took the silver ring and carefully took his hand away from his knight’s chest, taking hold of his left hand and sliding the ring on his ring finger mirroring his actions. Mamoru’s hand felt warm on his own chest and it made his heart pound as much as the blond’s had.
“And I shall make an oath to you as well, Mamoru, the Gem Beast’s protector. To love you for eternity, to look for you far and beyond. For our lives and souls to be eternally each other’s and I shall always belong to you, my eternal love, for you are my sanctuary.”
No more words needed to be spoken as Mamoru reached out to his king’s cheeks and softly pressed their lips in a gentle kiss. Haou wrapped his arms around his protector, wishing to stay by his side, for their promise to be sealed with their kiss and their eternal devotion. He hoped that no matter what, they’d remain together across many lives, find each other and fall in love over and over again, in an eternal loop. As their lips parted, the both smiled, staring into each other’s eyes, a new found devotion to the other was found that day, their foreheads touching as Haou whispered quietly.
“Our embrace shall always be our sanctuary, each other’s sanctuary.”