Chapter Text
The lights of Cilicia glimmer as bright as its overjoyed citizens who flocked to the castle to celebrate the young prince's birthday.
The royal servants bustled about the castle trying to accommodate all the guests. But despite all the busyness and the commotion, the prince's quarters was relatively quieter.
The young prince sat in his room sulking. His older cousin sat by him not knowing what to do.
"Do you really have to leave to Edessia tonight, hyung?" Sunghoon asked
"I'm sorry Sunghoonie but mum said we had some business back at home," Heeseung said
"So you won't stay for the ball?" Sunghoon asked
"Yeah, I came to say goodbye to you. The carriage is waiting for me." Heeseung said sadly making Sunghoon's pout deepen.
"Oh and also, I wanted to give you your birthday gift," Heeseung said excitedly pulling out a small package.
"But you already give me a gift," Sunghoon said gazing at the box with curiosity.
"Surprise! I have another present for you." Heeseung said handing the present over to his cousin "Open it!" He said giddily.
Sunghoon delicately pulled on the ribbon to reveal a silver chain with a delicate circular pendant, a small four-petaled flower encrusted on it.
"It's beautiful" Sunghoon remarked
"It's a gift you can use whenever you miss me," Heeseung said and pressed the gem in the middle making the pendant click open and reveal a delicate engraving.
"Always together" Sunghoon read the words out loud and beamed at his cousin!
"Yep, and there's more!" Heeseung said excitedly handing over a small trinket box to the younger.
"Hyung you're spoiling me too much!" Sunghoon said.
"You deserve it! Now look, this pendant is the key to this box." Heeseung explained as Sunghoon curiously put the pendant into its slot and to his surprise the music box opened, a familiar melody played from it.
"This is the song we played together on the piano!" Sunghoon squealed and Heeseung laughed at the young prince's delight.
"Hyung I love it so much!" The younger said enthusiastically throwing himself into Heeseung's arms for a hug. "I need to show this to mom and dad!"
"Alright then little prince, I'm sure you have other places to be and I need to leave," Heeseung said lifting himself off of Sunghoon's bed and holding a hand out for Sunghoon to grab. The young prince reluctantly took the older's hand and left the confines of his room, music box in hand.
The two had barely stepped out when Heeseung noticed the frantic commotion outside.
"What is going on?" Heeseung asked but none stopped to answer.
"Hyung?" Sunghoon tugged on Heeseung's hand looking panicked
"Let's go to the ballroom-"
"Your highnesses!" A loud but childlike voice interrupted Heeseung
"Your highnesses! Thank goodness you're safe!" A boy who seemed just as old as Sunghoon ran towards them. Sunghoon recognised the boy as the army general's son.
"We need to get out of the Palace now!" The young boy said grabbing the two royals by the hand and pulling them with him. Sunghoon had no choice but to follow the boy. Heeseung on the other hand was resistant.
"Let go! Where are you taking us?!" Heeseung said trying to break free from the boy's hold.
"There are assassins in the Palace and they're out to kill every single member of the royal family!" The boy explained still running with an unrelenting hold on the two royals.
"My parents the.. they-"
"They've been killed your highness and so are our king and queen." The boy said solemnly. Heeseung's blood ran cold and Sunghoon's mind went blank at the news. They only had each other now.
So they ran with the servant boy who led them to a thick forest outside.
"We should be safe here." The servant boy said keeping close watch behind him.
"So they're gone?" Sunghoon finally spoke up. "My parents are dead."
Heeseung looked to the servant boy who sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"You're still alive at least," Heeseung said trying to reassure himself and his little cousin. But little did he know that was far from the truth.
An arrow came bounding towards the three children and straight towards Sunghoon who dropped his music box in fear. Before it could hit him, however, the servant boy stepped in and the arrow pierced through his shoulder. Sunghoon let out a mortified cry.
"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" The servant boy screamed and that was Heeseung's cue to hold on to Sunghoon and run.
The servant boy was holding their pursuers back it seemed because no one followed the two royals. Heeseung however wasn't taking any chances.
"Sunghoon ah, stay here. I'll be back in a moment." Heeseung said pulling the younger prince into a small cave. "Whatever happens don't leave okay?"
Too exhausted to argue, Sunghoon nodded. He bid a momentary goodbye to Heeseung and waited for the other to return.
But Heeseung did not come back
________________
"You ungrateful child! I raise you for twelve whole years and this is the thanks I get?" A crusty old lady said, scorn on her face.
"Oh please! The only reason you took me in is because you were running out of children to exploit." Sunghoon argued, now much older but unable to remember his royal lineage.
"Good! At least you're smart!" The lady said, "Now go get some fish, I have bellies to feed you know!"
"And if I don't come back?" Sunghoon asked
"Good riddance!" The lady said slamming the door in his face.
"Some orphanage," Sunghoon grumbled "SEE IF I EVER COME BACK!" He said louder than necessary
"OH! YOU WILL BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO OTHER HOME TO GO TO!" Came a response from the other side of the door.
Sunghoon blew a raspberry at the door and began his walk to the market. He'd get away someday.
The blonde pulled his flimsy coat tighter and adjusted his scarf. It was getting chillier and though he'd love to escape that dreadful orphanage, he'd rather stay there than be homeless and possibly freeze to death.
Off to the markets he goes.
_______
"Next!" Jake yelled out as he ushered another one of their failed auditionees away from their little makeshift stage.
"But I'm perfect for the role of the prince! I believe there was a negative energy surrounding my audition. I demand a second chance! I have knowledge of the royal family, the good looks, the valour-"
"Oh but you certainly don't have the attitude." Jake rolled his eyes "Have a good day!" He said pushing the auditionee outside slamming the door in his face.
"God, I'll never get used to these pretentious bastards," Jake said.
"Ugh, tell me about it." Jay chuckled from where he sat at the auditioner's table "Is that the last one for today?"
"Yep, that's the last one," Jake confirmed
"And do we have anyone auditioning for tomorrow?" Jay asked
"Jongseong, we've seen about everyone in this goddamn town but you keep finding some flaw in all of them and keep turning them down!" Jake said exasperated "At this point, you might even turn down the real prince if we somehow found him!"
"But the real prince is dead." Jay countered
"We don't know that for sure." Jake pointed out.
"It's been ten years since the prince's disappearance. There's no way he's survived for this long." Jay said as he stared out through the window of the little theatre they'd 'borrowed' for their auditions.
What exactly are these auditions for? Well, Lee Heeseung, the Duke of Edessia had put out a sort of request to the people of the country to find the missing prince of Cilicia, anyone who would be able to find the prince would be rewarded handsomely.
Although Jay was certain they wouldn't find the prince they were looking for, if they'd found someone who resembles the prince close enough, he and Jake would get their reward and the Duke would be happy. It was a scam, sure but Jay only had the best of intentions in his mind. Or so he believed.
"So since we've pretty much exhausted all the options we have in this town, should we move on to the next?" Jake questioned
"Yeah, we'll leave tom-" Jay stopped mid-sentence as something on the other side of the window caught his attention.
"What?" Jake asked but Jay didn't answer, instead focusing his vision on the marketplace adjacent to the theatre.
"Jay?" Jake called out.
"I think we found the one!" Was Jay's response before he dashed out of the door.
"Jay! Where are you going?!" Jake yelled following his friend.
________
Sunghoon was just minding his own damn business, trying to buy some cheap fish for all the kids back at the orphanage and trying to strike up good deals with the shopkeepers but apparently today wouldn't be a relaxing day at the market for him.
"Hey!" Came a voice from behind him but Sunghoon chose to ignore it. Surely they wouldn't be calling out to him right?
"Hey, you!" The voice got louder. Sunghoon rolled his eyes, the markets are always crowded and noisy.
"Can't you hear me?" The voice called out again but this time someone grabbed at Sunghoon's shoulder and turned him around roughly.
Sunghoon gasped at the sudden movement.
"Dude, what the hell?" The blonde asked but the stranger who'd pulled him seemed to pay no mind. Instead, the man walked around Sunghoon like a shark would and looked him up and down.
"You seem to have good proportions. It's certainly what we're looking for" The man said "Though your ass is a little flat, but I don't think that matters too much."
"Excuse me?" Sunghoon asked offended "My ass is perfectly fine thank you very much but who the fuck are you?"
"Hm, you have a nice voice but we might have to fix that dialect of yours." The stranger continued on.
"Fix my dialect? What kind of creep are you?" Sunghoon asked
"Creep?" The stranger asked offended "I'll have you know I'm not a creep!"
"Well, you sure do act like one." Sunghoon said "Circling around me like a clown!"
"A clown?" The strange man asked offended
"Yeah, you dress like one too!"
"Well, I never! Do you know who I am? I worked at the royal court!"
"As the royal clown?"
"Oh aren't you witty!"
"Jay, you ran all the way here just to fight with some random shopper." A new voice interrupted Sunghoon's tiff with the stranger.
"Oh great, there's more of you." Sunghoon turned around to meet eyes with someone else.
"Oh hello there!" The new stranger said with a bright smile in direct contrast to the clown that invaded his personal space five minutes ago. "My name is Jake and I saw you've already met my friend Jay."
"Yes, I have," Sunghoon said not quite giving his name out yet.
"And you are...?" Jake prompted
"The prince of Cilicia!" Jay answered for Sunghoon
"Prince of Cilicia?" Jake and Sunghoon exclaimed at the same time.
And then it hit Jake what his partner in crime was planning. With a gasp, he scanned the boy in front of him.
"He's perfect!" Jake said, "His ass is a bit flat though."
"Excuse me!" Sunghoon shrieked
"That's what I said too!" Jay exclaimed
"What's your name?" Jay asked and Sunghoon was about to answer but cut him off "You know what, it doesn't even matter. From now on your name is Sunghoon."
"But that is actually my name," Sunghoon said. Jay and Jake stared at each other for a moment.
"He's already in character!" Jake exclaimed
"Character? What? Who are the two of you and how do you know my name?" Sunghoon said, now wary of the two strangers. Once again Jay and Jake looked at each other.
"Well, Sunghoon is a popular name because of the royal family," Jay explained
"That's true" Jake agreed
"Unless..." Jay said taking in the boy before him one more time, noticing the similarities of his features to the presumably deceased prince. Had they perhaps really found the true prince? No, that would be ridiculous.
"Can you two please leave me alone? Or I will report you to the police!" Sunghoon snapped having had enough of the two idiots who interrupted his shopping.
"Wait wait!" Jake said, "hear us out!"
"Don't you want to get out of this deadbeat town?" Jay asked, Sunghoon perked up ever so slightly. A chance to abandon the orphanage.
"You know Sunghoon, we can give you an extravagant life." Jay began "A wonderful life where you'll be swimming in riches!"
"A palace!" Jake said
"The most scrumptious meals!" Jay added
"Warm clothes!" Jake said
"Fashionable clothes!" Jay corrected, turning up his nose at Sunghoon's current ensemble.
"Family!" Jake exclaimed
"Yes! Lots of fam-" Jay stopped "Wait family? You botched it, Jake! Who in their right mind would want to leave their parents and come with us."
Family
"Family" Sunghoon repeated softly, the duo stopped arguing and looked at the blond "You can give me a family?"
Jake's eyes softened at Sunghoon's hopeful question.
"Oh yes!" Jay exclaimed next to Jake, dense and insensitive as always "But you just have to do as we say."
"You see, we know the Duke of Edessia, well kind of. And he has been looking for his cousin the Prince of Cilicia for ten years now." Jay paused and sighed dramatically.
"He's been searching far and wide for the lost prince but alas, he was unable to find him. But I believe today we have found our prince." Jay said pointing to Sunghoon.
"M- me? A prince?" Sunghoon stuttered "You must be mistaken. I'm just a poor orphan."
"I'm aware that you most definitely aren't the prince but you can act, can't you?" Jay raised an eyebrow
"So you're con artists!?" Sunghoon exclaimed taking a step back.
"No no, we have the best intentions in heart." Jay clarified "we simply want Duke Heeseung to find his long lost brother. Tell him, Jake!"
"Um, yeah." Jake answered awkwardly "and think about it, you'll finally have a home."
Sunghoon's breath hitched. A home but at the expense of a lie. A lavish life but at what cost? However, Sunghoon didn't want to go back to the orphanage and this was his chance to leave. He was being selfish, yes but after all his years of loneliness, maybe he deserved a family. Maybe this was life finally giving him a blessing.
Besides, he had nothing to lose.
"I'll come with you," Sunghoon said resolute.
"Perfect!" Jay clapped his hands "We leave for Edessia tomorrow!"
"We'll catch the first train to Edessia, tomorrow!" Jake said
A train? Sunghoon had never been on one before. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited.
__________
"I hate this," Sunghoon whined. "Why is there a cow next to me?" He said, shoving away a cow that had gotten close to his face. The cattle mooed at him in protest.
"We're two unemployed men, you think we can afford first-class seats? Sneaking in with the cattle was hard enough." Jay said from next to him.
"Ugh, I should have known not to trust you two," Sunghoon said
"Too bad for you, princess." Jay mocked
"Awe I'm glad you think I'm pretty." Sunghoon countered rolling his eyes
"It's a common misconception that princesses are pretty, I've met some really ugly princesses in my time."
"Wow, he invades people's personal space and he judges people for their looks. What a gentleman." Sunghoon applauded sarcastically.
"You know, I think I'd rather spend my day with these cows than watch you two go at it with your hatred flirting." Jake who had remained quiet for much of the conversation finally spoke.
"Flirting?!" The two others asked in unison
"What gave you that idea?" Jay asked
"Right, flirting with this clown is the last thing I'd do!" Sunghoon said the cow next to him mooed loudly.
"See, even Gertrude agrees!" The blond attested
"You named that cow Gertrude?" Jay asked, "looks more like a Samantha to me."
"Samatha? What kind of name is that?!"
"Well, it's better than Gertrude!"
"Gods save me from these morons." Jake softly said as Jay and Sunghoon continued to bicker.
"So," Sunghoon asked Jake once his bantering with Jay had ended "How are we going to do this anyway? It must be hard getting an audience with the Duke right?"
"Well, I know one of the duke's attendants. My darling fuzzy peach," Jake sighed blissfully. "He should be able to guarantee us an audience."
"Darling fuzzy peach?" Sunghoon said raising an eyebrow at Jay.
"His boyfriend that he loves to brag about at any given chance," Jay explained and Sunghoon nodded understandingly.
"Well, I can't help it if you're lonely and desperate," Jake commented making Sunghoon snort
"Moving on!" Jay said eager to change the topic.
"We might need to educate you a little before you meet the Duke though because..." Jay looked Sunghoon up and down "with the state that you're in I doubt you will be able to convince the Duke."
Sunghoon would have liked to argue with that but he knew for a fact that he was only a poor orphan in tattered clothes and a prickly attitude, quite the opposite of the prince.
"I think he's pretty prince like already," Jake said
"But we need to work on his attitude. Prince Sunghoon was elegant, gentle and well mannered, unlike this plebeian." Jay countered
"And you're gonna teach me?" Sunghoon asked side-eyeing Jay
"Of course! Is that a problem?" Jay raised an eyebrow
"Of course, it's a problem! I can't have a clown teaching me the ways of being a prince!" Sunghoon said, accompanied by the mooing of the cow next to him "See, even Gertrude agrees!"
"I'm not a clown! Also, her name is Samantha!" Jay argued
"As the future prince of Cilicia, I order you to stop arguing with me!" The blonde said
"That'll only work if you convince the world you're royalty, which now that I see how infuriating you are, is never gonna work!"
"Infuriating?! I'll have you know-"
"Can you both stop!" Jake who'd just wanted some peace finally snapped, effectively shutting the bickering duo up. Coincidentally the train also came to a screeching halt with Jake's plea.
"Wait, why did we stop?" Jake asked, turning to Jay.
"If I'm not wrong, we have at least three hours before we reach Edessia," Jay said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"I'll go check," Jake said momentarily lifting himself off the carriage's floor and navigating towards the door among the flock of cows.
Sunghoon watched on as the scene unfolded before him, nervous for some unknown reason.
"Fuck!" Came Jake's voice from near the door, prompting Jay to tense up immediately.
"What's wrong?" Jay asked
"Th- the police are here!" Jake said turning pale.
"Shit!" Jay cursed, standing up "We need to get out of here! Right now!"
The police? Why were these men scared of the police? Though Sunghoon guesses that may be riding with the cattle without a ticket might be illegal.
"They're right outside, they'll find out if we leave through the door!" Jake said panicking
"We could just hide here," Sunghoon suggested
"We're dead if they find us!" Jay said
"Is riding without a ticket that big of a crime?" Sunghoon asked genuinely curious
"No, but the police is looking for us for bigger crimes," Jake said. So they were criminals? Sunghoon should have known.
"What do you mean?"
"There's no time to explain right now." Jay said pulling Sunghoon up by his arm "we need to leave this place first!"
"But the door-" Jake said
"There are other ways," Jay said looking straight at a small window leading out.
"We're gonna squeeze through that?" Sunghoon asked
"We have no other choice," Jay said kicking at the window with his leg, effectively shattering the glass.
"Out!" Jay said pushing Sunghoon forward.
"There are glass shards still on the window, we'll get hurt." Sunghoon protested
In the meantime, Jake had already somehow pulled himself out of the window.
"You'll be fine! Just go!" Jay said pushing Sunghoon towards the window again, taking quick glances at the door to check for the police.
Should Sunghoon trust these criminals? His head screamed no at him, the logical option would be to run to the police and report the two men. But they promised him a home, a family.
Sunghoon lifted himself up and hauled himself out through the window, his arm making contact with a glass shard, but it didn't hurt too much. Jake helped Sunghoon by pulling him out. The blond let out a sigh of relief when his feet hit the grass, he'd survived with minimal injuries.
Jay was the last to get out, throwing himself out through the window just as the door of their cattle compartment clicked open. Sunghoon heard Jay hiss, probably having made contact with some sharp glass in his haste to escape but succeeding nonetheless.
Jake took the lead, running into the dense forest with Jay and Sunghoon in tow. Jay had held on to Sunghoon's wrist at some point probably afraid that the blond would run away if he wasn't careful enough.
The three travellers staggered into the woods towards a clearing and once they were far enough away from the police, Jake stopped and caught his breath.
Jay let go of Sunghoon's hand and plopped down to the ground, a wince escaping him. It was only then that Sunghoon noticed the bloodstain on Jay's abdomen.
"You're bleeding!" Sunghoon exclaimed, immediately falling to his knees to check up on Jay. Jake had also just noticed Jay's injury.
"Dude shit, you okay?" Jake asked crouching down by Jay too.
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch." Jay said waving his hand in dismissal but Sunghoon wasn't having it.
"Lift your shirt," Sunghoon commanded
"Excuse me?? Are you trying to get into my pants?" Jay asked covering himself up.
"No, you pervert! Lift your shirt so I can check your injuries." Sunghoon said rolling his eyes.
"It's nothing, it's just a scratch!" Jay tried to convince Sunghoon once again but he wasn't having any of it.
"I said lift your shirt!" Sunghoon said resolutely "or I'll tear it off myself"
"Kinky" Jay said "but okay, try not to droll at my chiselled abs," He said lifting his shirt.
Sure enough, there was a wound on Jay's abdomen and it most definitely wasn't a scratch.
"This isn't a scratch." Sunghoon said out loud "You're losing a lot of blood."
"I'll be fine." Jay insisted but Sunghoon wasn't gonna let it slide. He pulled off his scarf from his neck and inspected it for a moment. This will have to do.
"Stay still," Sunghoon said, wrapping the scarf around Jay's torso and tying it tight to prevent any blood loss.
"Ow! That hurts!" Jay exclaimed
"Stop being a baby." Sunghoon retorted tying a knot and making sure the cloth was preventing blood loss well enough.
"There, now yay won't lose blood and die," Sunghoon said stepping back.
"Ehem, the- thanks I guess," Jay said avoiding eye contact
"Right so now that this is sorted" Jake who'd been awfully quiet finally spoke. "If we travel by foot, it'll probably take us about eight hours to reach Edessia. Though I'd suggest we camp here for the night and give Jay some time to recuperate."
"No, the sooner we get there the better," Jay argued
"We're not going anywhere with your injuries," Sunghoon said
"Since when did you become my mom?" Jay asked turning to Sunghoon
"If I was your mom, I would have swallowed."
"Why you little-" Jay said, "why do I have to deal with this brat?"
"I don't know what you mean, I'm enjoying Sunghoon's company." Jake smiled winking at the blond.
"Now you're ganging up against me!" Jay said. "I'm hurt Jaeyun, I am hurt!"
"Stop whining!" Jake said "Anyways I'm going to go hunt us some food, think you can take care of him, Sunghoon?"
"I might just kill him." Sunghoon said
"Great! One less mouth to feed." And with that Jake was off
"Yah! You're just going to leave me here with him?! I'll be dead by the time you come back." Jay shouted after Jake. Sunghoon snorted
"Don't worry, I don't hurt the disabled," Sunghoon said
"Isn't that reassuring." Jay said and shifted a little, wincing at the sudden pain that came with it.
"Are you okay?" Sunghoon asked immediately springing up on his feet to help Jay.
"I appreciate the concern but I've had worse." Jay said
"You've had worse? I assume they're battle-scars from your criminal adventures?"
"I'm not a criminal!" Jay said as if the notion of being a crook offended him
"Then pray tell, why are the police after you?"
"Ah that, well Jake is the one wanted by the police."
"Wow, way to put your friend under the bus there."
"Nono, I'm not lying. Before we met Jake and his boyfriend-"
"The peach?" Sunghoon asked
"The peach." Jay confirmed "worked together as thieves. They were the self-righteous Robin Hood types. You know... steal from the rich and give to the poor."
"Somehow that makes sense."
"Mhm, but after a while, his boyfriend grew tired of stealing and sought after other jobs but Jake continued to be the Robin Hood that he is-"
"because fuck the rich?"
"Precisely! Anyways, he got caught eventually and was put in prison for a while but he managed to escape and that's when I first met him."
"Truly unfortunate," Sunghoon commented pulling out a huff from Jay.
"So, what about you?" Sunghoon asked
"What about me?" Jay asked
"What's your tragic backstory?" Sunghoon prodded
"Oh, you know..." Jay drawled out, not wanting to really share his past with the other.
"Hey, what's that on your neck?" He asked instead, changing the subject to the thin chain around Sunghoon's neck.
"Oh, this?" Sunghoon asked pulling out his necklace from where it was hiding under his shirt.
Upon closer inspection, Jay swears he'd seen that necklace somewhere but he just couldn't quite figure out where.
"I've had this since I could remember. I don't know who gave this to me but it's the only reminder that I have or had a family out there somewhere before I was orphaned." Sunghoon explained delicately holding on to the pendant.
"It's pretty."
"Yeah. I wish I had the memory of who gave it to me."
"Memory?"
"Do you have memories of yourself till you were about eight?" Sunghoon questioned
"Vaguely but yes," Jay answered
"I don't and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to remember my life before I was at the orphanage." Sunghoon said, "The old hag there said it might have been because I was dropped on the head or something."
Jay barked out a laugh at that and Sunghoon gave him a dirty look.
"Sorry" Jay apologised still laughing
"Don't laugh at my misery, asshole!" Sunghoon said
"Sorry but it's too funny, I bet your old hag and I would get along pretty well."
"Oh, I'm sure you will," Sunghoon grumbled with a pout.
"But hey if it's any consolation, a lot of us would rather not remember our embarrassing childhoods so consider yourself lucky."
There are many things more things that Jay wishes he'd forgotten from his childhood. Many traumatic incidents that he was forced to witness. Sunghoon should be lucky he wasn't caught in- wait Sunghoon specifically said he had no memories till the age of eight.
The Royal Family was assassinated when their prince was eight years old. This Sunghoon couldn't possibly be prince Sunghoon could he?
"Why are you staring at me like that, you clown!" Yeah, no he definitely isn't the prince.
"I was just thinking," Jay said
"What's your deal anyways?" Sunghoon asked
"Huh?"
"Why are you looking for a substitute prince? What's in it for you? The Duke will finally have his brother back and I'll have a home but what about you two?"
"Oh, we don't really have much to gain," Jay said conveniently leaving out the million jewel reward but Sunghoon wouldn't need it after he became royalty anyways. "We do it from the goodness of our heart. As the subjects of our Duke, we're saddened by his sorrow. We just want to help."
"I can sense the ingenuity." Sunghoon countered
"Well, it's the truth, princess." Jay said
"Don't call me princess, you clown!"
"Oh, you two haven't ripped off each other's throats. What a surprise!" Came Jake's voice.
"We came pretty darn close." Sunghoon commented
"I'm glad it didn't happen." Jake said, "Anyways I caught some fish with my bare hands, this should do for supper right?"
"Impressive." Sunghoon whistled
"Oh, this is nothing he wrestled a bear once." Jay bragged on behalf of his partner.
"Remind me not to mess with you." Sunghoon said, watching as Jake set up a fire ready to cook dinner.
___________
The gang of three had spent the last night in the clearing and had set off towards Edessia at the crack of dawn, Jay insisting that he was feeling better and that they needed to get to their destination as soon as possible.
However, Jake had suggested they'd stop by the market district on the way to their destination to get a new set of clothes for Jay who had blood soaked through his shirt as well as a more princely wardrobe for Sunghoon.
This brings Sunghoon to his current predicament.
"Ruffles?" Sunghoon asked repulsed "are you trying to inaugurate me into your clown cult."
"Stop making a fuss and just go try it on!" Jay said through his gritted teeth
"Jake look! He's insane! He's making me dress like a clown" Sunghoon whined to the other
"I'm sorry hoon, I can't help you. Jay's the resident fashionista so just trust him." Jake said with a shrug of his shoulders
"Hoon? When did you two get so close?" Jay narrowed his eyes "Wait, never mind that, Sunghoon please just go try it on."
"Fine, but don't blame me when I come out looking like a court jester." Sunghoon said
"Just go!" Jay said pushing Sunghoon into a dressing booth. The brunette pinched at his nose as soon as the blond had gone in.
"The amount of stress, this boy is causing me." Jay said
"Looks like you've finally found your match huh?" Jake asked
"My match? Jake, I can barely keep up with him."
"But hey it'll all be over in a few days. Bet they won't let us commoners interact with the prince, huh?" Jake consoled and for some odd reason, Jay felt a pang in his heart.
"Okay, I tried it on." Sunghoon's voice came from inside the dressing booth "and I hate to admit it but I look great! But that probably has nothing to do with Jay's fashion sense. I'm just really good looking."
"Tone it down Narcissus" Jay said offended
"Also, fuck you guys my ass looks great in these pants. I look good!" Sunghoon said
"Come out!" Jake said enthusiastically from next to Jay "we wanna see too!"
"Okay!" Sunghoon said and stepped out, doing a little spin to show off his outfit. And holy crap, Sunghoon is beautiful.
"Oh, my gods! Hoon, you look amazing!" Jake clapped
"What do you think, Jay?" Sunghoon turned towards him and fuck, he looked good. Jay really hopes he isn't drooling.
"W- wow," Jay said, making Sunghoon smile, a little shy.
"You like it?"
"Your ass looks great," Jay said, wait no he's not supposed to say that. Jay's face turned red "I- I mean, you look great! Yeah, you look good. The ruffles really suit you and you've got great proportions so the pants look really good on you. Your ass looks great, I mean I'm only saying that cause you said your ass looks great but I'm not just saying it cause you said, I think so too but I mainly said it cause you said it and-"
"Dude," Jake stopped Jay's rant. "Stop talking, sometimes less is more."
"Anyways, now you truly look like a prince, Hoon!" Jake said filling in the awkward silence that Jay had left.
"Great, now all I need to do is learn to act like one," Sunghoon said
"I guess all you need is the basics; always stand straight and don't slouch, be kind, wave at people and dancing I guess."
[Cue the Disney-esque montage of Jake and Jay teaching Sunghoon how to be a prince to a catchy tune]
"Now, the final step is dancing!" Jake said clasping his hands together.
"Dancing?" Sunghoon raised his eyebrows "Isn't that just a plot device to get two people together"
"I'm just gonna ignore that." Jake said "Anyways, Jay teach him how to waltz."
"Me? Why can't you do it?" Jay whined
"I don't know ballroom dancing, also you worked at the Palace so you should know." Jake said
"Alright fine!" Jay rolled his eyes "come here" he beckoned Sunghoon forward, the blond complied
"Do you want to lead?" He asked
"What does that mean?" Sunghoon asked confused
"Nevermind, I'll lead." Jay said, "put your hands on my shoulders."
Sunghoon complied and carefully laid his hands on Jay's broad shoulders. Jay's hands hovered by Sunghoon's waist. This was awkward, they're both men so why is he hesitating. It's only practice, that's all.
"M- may I?" Jay asked Sunghoon, just in case the other might feel uncomfortable with Jay's touch
Sunghoon nodded and Jay gripped lightly at the other's waist.
"It's simple, really. It's only three steps, just follow along with me." Jay said putting his left foot forward and urging Sunghoon to put his right foot back. Jay carefully explained the steps one by one and soon enough the two had started a light waltz.
"Am I doing this right?" Sunghoon asked eyes on his feet, brows furrowed in concentration.
"You're a natural." Jay complimented "Just remember to keep your head up and hold eye contact."
Sunghoon looked up at that and tried to maintain eye contact with Jay, keyword being tried because Sunghoon was shy and Jay's gaze was too intense. Jay chuckled at Sunghoon's flustered reaction.
"Why won't you look into my eyes?" He asked mockingly wiggling his eyebrows "Are my devilishly good looks making you all flustered?"
"More like your hideous face is repulsive." Sunghoon countered
"Yah!" Jay said playfully shoving Sunghoon away, only he might have shoved too hard and with a yelp, Sunghoon felt towards the ground
"Woah Woah!" Jay exclaimed, holding on to Sunghoon tightly before he could hit the ground.
"I'm sorry, you okay?" Jay asked and for a long moment, Sunghoon didn't respond, only gazing back into Jay's eyes. Sunghoon had very pretty eyes, Jay inferred. They were a deep brown and were really big, curious and they seemed to sparkle prettily. Sunghoon himself was very pretty if he could just lean in a little and-
Sunghoon pushed himself out of Jay's hold and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"You- you're pretty much a pro at dancing at this point so I think we can stop our lesson for today." Jay said
"Yeah, um thanks." Sunghoon said, "We should probably go find Jake."
"Yeah we should," Jay said and they were off, neither of them wanting to acknowledge the newfound development of their relationship.