Archive of Our Own ^beta

Seungmin is sparring with another guard, keeping himself in shape, when he sees Hyunjin appear in the corner of his eyes. He maintains focus, though, and makes quick work of overpowering his sparring opponent so he can see if the prince wants anything. He knows that Hyunjin sometimes just likes to watch Seungmin spar, but as Hyunjin’s personal guard and companion, Hyunjin is his highest priority in anything and he wants to be ready for any request he has. 

Hyunjin claps for him when Seungmin and the other guard thank each other, and Seungmin can’t help but smile at Hyunjin’s happy grin. Hyunjin never fails to make Seungmin falter in his professionalism, and it all started when Hyunjin insisted that they’d be friends when Seungmin was assigned to be Hyunjin’s personal guard and companion after his training.

Seungmin was an orphan living on the streets and stealing food to survive before he was caught and given a second chance by the royal family. Because he was still young, they offered Seungmin a place to stay and food instead of a prison sentence, but with the catch that he would have to train and become the personal guard and companion of one of the princes. It was a smart move, in Seungmin’s opinion, and he’s grateful for it too. He was young, he didn’t want to go to prison, he didn’t have any loved ones, and he didn’t have anything better to do with his life anyway, so he would be the perfect person to dedicate his life to protecting the youngest prince. 

Of course, because it was an experiment and Seungmin was still young, too, they didn’t let him guard the crown prince, Hyunjin’s older brother, Minho, but Seungmin is glad for that in hindsight. Hyunjin immediately said they should be friends. They’d be around each other a lot and they’re the same age, so according to Hyunjin it was obvious that they should try to get along. 

Seungmin was hesitant at first because he was taught to remain professional and not take advantage of his job as Hyunjin’s personal guard, so he thought it was a test, but as Hyunjin kept on talking to him, starting conversations about anything and everything, asking Seungmin questions about his life too, Seungmin began to see that it was Hyunjin’s genuine own wish to become friends.

They were different, they still are, very much, and not only because of their different upbringings, but Seungmin and Hyunjin both found that interesting. They loved and still love learning new things, and whether it’s about plants, literature, magic, or about each other, doesn’t matter. Seungmin is positively fascinated by Hyunjin as a whole, his personality, his good looks, his knowledge (he can read, unlike Seungmin), and his magical abilities (he’s also a mage, unlike Seungmin).

Seungmin thinks that that fascination is the same from Hyunjin’s side to him, because Hyunjin often likes to tell Seungmin how much he appreciates his company and friendship, but sometimes Seungmin still finds that a bit hard to believe, even if Minho and even Hyunjin and Minho’s parents seem to be happy with their friendship. Sometimes Seungmin just gets into his head too much like he knows Hyunjin tends to do as well and he thinks that Hyunjin only likes him because it’s Seungmin’s job to be there for him and help him if he needs anything. Logically he knows that Hyunjin didn’t seem to like him any less after Seungmin finally opened up to Hyunjin more about himself too (maybe Hyunjin even began liking him more ), but brains don’t always like to follow logic, unfortunately.

Either way, Hyunjin loves it when Seungmin is “unprofessional” and smiles at him, so it’s all good, and even though they’ve been friends for quite a while, Seungmin is still learning to accept how much Hyunjin likes him.

“Hi, Hyunjin,” he greets the prince (it took a lot of insisting from Hyunjin’s side before Seungmin finally began calling him by his first name, and he still only does it when they’re in private or in the castle). “Do you need anything?”

“Hi, Minnie,” Hyunjin greets back with his signature sweet smile. “I don’t need anything in particular, but I was just wondering if you want to come with me on a walk in the forest. I want to relax before the royal festival and see if I can pick some pretty flowers and herbs for the kitchen, but if you’re busy with sparring—”

“No, I’ll go with you.” Seungmin didn’t mean to cut in (he definitely shouldn’t do that in front of others), but Hyunjin should know this. “I am required to go with you if you leave the premises of the castle, Hyunjin, you know that. And the forest isn’t exactly the most safe place to go either.”

“I know,” Hyunjin huffs and pouts. “I know all the dangerous plants and animals in the forest, though, and I can protect myself, too, so I wanted to give you the option.”

“If something happens to you, not only would your parents and Minho not forgive me, I wouldn’t forgive myself either,” Seungmin points out, and Hyunjin presses his lips together as he blushes. “That, and I like going on walks with you anyway, so I’m coming with you.”

“Well, I prefer it when you’re with me, too,” Hyunjin says, a bashful smile decorating his lips and a rosy color spread on his cheeks as he holds out his arm for Seungmin to take, and Seungmin mirrors his smile as they head out to the forest.

They often take walks together like this because Hyunjin loves nature a lot, and Seungmin likes it as well. He likes listening to Hyunjin talk about what he read in books about the plants, in which kinds of foods or potions certain plants get used, and which ones smell the best or which ones are poisonous. Seungmin doesn’t remember everything Hyunjin tells him, but he does know Hyunjin’s favorite plants and flowers and all their characteristics and properties all too well.

Seungmin also likes watching Hyunjin be in his element in the forest, his happy expression and the passionate sparkle in his eyes as he rambles along about what he did today, what he learned, or the new plants he can spot. Sometimes Seungmin gets a little too immersed in admiring the prince, though, like now, and while he’s always alert and on the outlook for potential threats against Hyunjin, he doesn’t spot the tree branch in front of himself, and he trips clumsily. He manages to catch himself with his hands, but the twigs and leaves and other plants prick them painfully.

He hisses as he scrambles up, his hands stinging, and Hyunjin is quick to fuss over him, asking if he’s okay. Seungmin waves him off, telling him he’s fine and blushing a bit at Hyunjin’s intense and slightly worried look, but Hyunjin relaxes when Seungmin insists that he just chafed his hands a little.

They continue walking, and Seungmin finally inspects his hands to see that the stinging sensation also came from a small, thin thorn stuck in his palm. He pulls it out and a tiny drop of blood follows, but it’s not too painful or bothersome, so he doesn’t say anything to Hyunjin, that’ll only make the prince worry, and it’s Seungmin’s job to protect Hyunjin , not the other way around. He’ll just make sure to wash his hand when they get back.

Hyunjin’s excited talking distracts Seungmin a bit from the pain, and by the time they get back to the castle, Hyunjin holding a basket full of flowers and herbs, Seungmin barely feels anything anymore.

“How are your hands?” Hyunjin asks after putting away the flowers and the herbs, and Seungmin huffs, the corner of his lips twitching up at how Hyunjin is still worrying over him a bit. Seungmin always feels a bit uneasy and embarrassed whenever Hyunjin fusses over him, but he does appreciate it, and perhaps it makes his heart skip a traitorous beat, too.

“They’re fine, they don’t really hurt anymore,” he assures, and he shows his hands when Hyunjin requests to take a look at them. “See?”

“Yeah, that looks fine,” Hyunjin breathes as he takes Seungmin’s hands in his own to inspect them, and he seems to relax a bit. Seungmin has the urge to roll his eyes at how concerned Hyunjin is, but he can’t stop the heat from creeping up his neck when Hyunjin grins at him and says, “Seems like you don’t need my magical healing, but you can still get a kiss to make it better, if you want.”

Seungmin snorts and tries to hide his reddening cheeks as he removes his hands from Hyunjin’s grip. “I’m fine. I don’t need anything.”

“Whatever you say,” Hyunjin chuckles with a fleeting touch to Seungmin’s shoulder. “If you still need anything, you know where to find me or the royal medic, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” Seungmin mutters, snickering at the fact that he sometimes tells Hyunjin things like this, and if Hyunjin wasn’t looking at him with such a gentle look, Seungmin would have thought he was mocking him instead of being concerned, but of course Hyunjin is nothing but kind and thoughtful. “But there’s no need to be concerned. I just tripped and scratched my hands, I’ve been through worse and you know that.”

“I do know that… but you always take care of me so well, even to the point that you sometimes neglect yourself, so I want to be there for you too,” Hyunjin says with a small pout, and Seungmin’s heart leaps into his throat.

“I— I appreciate that, but I can take care of myself too,” Seungmin says, glancing away from Hyunjin’s soft expression before he succumbs, either to his face overheating or his legs becoming weak and giving in. “You have enough princely duties on your hands, you don’t need to worry about me on top of that, especially if it's only a scratch.”

A slightly disappointed glimmer flickers across Hyunjin’s eyes and it makes Seungmin’s stomach twist uncomfortably, but before Seungmin can think about it too much, Minho appears out of nowhere, saying he wants to discuss something with Hyunjin about the festival. Hyunjin softly excuses himself to Seungmin before he leaves with Minho, leaving Seungmin with his heart pounding and his mind racing with thoughts about Hyunjin caring about him, kissing his hands, and so on.

He shakes those thoughts and feelings away quickly. Sure, Hyunjin is always urging Seungmin to treat him like a friend, like equals, and not like a prince, but Seungmin still has a job to do, and catching feelings for Hyunjin is definitely out of line. Seungmin always hopes that his feelings will fade away, but they only seem to grow stronger as he spends more time with Hyunjin, because the latter is just so… him. Hyunjin. Seungmin doesn’t know how else to describe it. 

Seungmin does pride himself on his ability to keep a straight face and hide what he feels well, but on the other hand, Hyunjin is an expert at catching Seungmin off guard (pun not intended) and at completely wiping away Seungmin’s carefully crafted mask over his feelings and his ability to think straight or keep himself composed, and it’s getting harder as his feelings grow.

Hyunjin is also an expert at invading Seungmin’s thoughts, especially at night, and this night is one of the ones where Hyunjin has Seungmin’s mind in a chokehold and doesn’t let him sleep because his heart is pounding in yearning for Hyunjin but his brain is telling him that he can’t have him. Needless to say, Seungmin doesn’t sleep well and he’s exhausted the next morning, which isn't great, because today is the start of the royal festival in town, so the whole day will be filled with following Hyunjin around and making sure he doesn't get harassed by random civilians.

He hoists himself out of bed and quickly washes up before he stops by Hyunjin’s room to check if he's awake as well. The prince tends to oversleep, and, as expected, when Seungmin comes in after knocking and not hearing anything, he finds Hyunjin spread out in bed, still asleep. 

He wakes the prince up with a gentle shake to his shoulder and a whispered announcement that it's the first day of the festival, and Hyunjin blinks a few times before he shoots up and whines, making Seungmin laugh. 

"I woke up by myself but I fell asleep again," Hyunjin groans. "I swear I can do it." 

"It's okay, I don't mind waking you up," Seungmin snickers as he helps Hyunjin out of bed. The prince somehow immediately manages to lift Seungmin’s mood. "And I know the other staff doesn't mind either, but then you'd have to ask them again, because the only one willing to go against your orders to let you do it yourself is me." 

“I know,” Hyunjin huffs as he gets a bath ready for himself (another thing Hyunjin insisted he’d do himself). “But I want to become more independent if I can, lessen the burden on our staff.” 

Seungmin softens and blushes a little as he sees Hyunjin shamelessly undressing himself in front of him, so he turns away. “That’s really considerate of you, Hyunjin, but I’m your friend, right? So I don’t mind waking you up.” 

“You are my friend alright, which means you don’t have to look away as I bathe,” Hyunjin snickers, the sound of water splashing filling Seungmin’s ears as Hyunjin gets into the tub, but Seungmin doesn’t want Hyunjin to see his red face which will definitely become more prominent if he looks at Hyunjin in the bath. “And if you really don’t mind waking me up… I appreciate it, but I want to be able to do more things by myself as well.” 

“I understand. I’ll only do it if it’s an important day like today, then,” Seungmin answers, sparing a quick glance back to see Hyunjin smiling at him. “Anyway, I’m going to eat something and inform the cook that you’ll be down soon.” 

“Thank you, Minnie~” Hyunjin calls after him as Seungmin leaves the prince’s room and heads down to tell the cook that Hyunjin is awake and get some simple breakfast for himself too.

As he sits down and sighs, he feels the exhaustion catch up on him again. He’s also not that hungry, but he definitely should eat something if he’s going to be out all day. He just munches on a plain piece of bread slowly, but even that makes him feel a bit queasy. Nevertheless, he finishes the bread even before Hyunjin is done with his breakfast, so he has a bit of time to let his stomach settle. It’s probably just protesting because Seungmin slept bad or something. He doesn’t know much about medical stuff, but he does know that not sleeping is bad for your health. 

Once everyone is ready, they head out to the town, and it’s already loud, filled with people looking at the stalls, attending shows, and trying to get the royal family’s attention. Seungmin doesn’t really like loud and busy places, and it definitely doesn’t help that he has a headache, but he’ll have to pull through, he can’t slack when it’s this busy. 

He already has to stop a few people from getting too close and asking inappropriate questions as soon as they get to the busy part, so it’s most likely going to be a long day, and probably a long weekend too. His headache is also getting worse with the noise and he can’t distract himself by looking at Hyunjin enjoying himself and squealing when he buys a pretty bracelet, because he has to make sure that no one gets close to Hyunjin or touches him. And while Seungmin can join the royal family for a big lunch after they watch a show, Seungmin is both hungry and he feels like he’ll throw up if he eats something.

“Hey, Seungmin, are you okay?” Hyunjin asks when Seungmin is just staring at his food. “Are you not having fun? Is it too noisy outside?— It’s pretty noisy, huh?”

Seungmin huffs and nods. “Yeah, it’s pretty noisy, but I’m also a bit tired. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, though.” 

Hyunjin lays his hand on Seungmin’s arm and looks at him with concern in his eyes, which makes Seungmin’s stomach contract involuntarily. “Is there anything I can do to make things better for you?” 

“No, it’s fine, we can’t do anything about me being tired, so just keep enjoying yourself, yeah?” Seungmin says, and Hyunjin softens, lifting his hand up to squeeze Seungmin’s neck comfortingly. 

“Okay, I’ll try,” Hyunjin relents, his hand falling down Seungmin’s shoulder and arm as he removes it from Seungmin’s neck. “But if there’s anything I can do—”

“I know, Jinnie–” Seungmin cuts in with a sigh, his headache pressing uncomfortably against his skull, and Hyunjin being all worried only makes his head (and his heart) hurt more. “Just— Don’t worry about me, okay?” 

Hyunjin presses his lips together and nods a bit dejectedly, which doesn’t help Seungmin’s mood, but he can’t handle Hyunjin being this caring right now. Whenever Seungmin isn’t feeling well, he just wants to be left alone in the sense that people aren’t worrying about him. because he can take care of himself just fine, and especially if Hyunjin is the one fussing, it makes Seungmin’s feelings act up, which he doesn’t need on top of everything. 

As the day goes on, Seungmin’s headache gets worse, his nausea gets worse even though he didn’t eat much, and he even starts to feel a bit dizzy, but he does his best to hide it from Hyunjin. Luckily, after a while of Hyunjin checking on him regularly, Hyunjin seems to be distracted by a trail of flower petals leading up to a small tent.

Hyunjin, ever so curious, enters the tent, so Seungmin follows to see some sort of fortune teller's tent. A man dressed in robes greets them, and Hyunjin immediately points out the fact that he's a mage, which makes him smile. 

"How observant of you, prince," the man comments. "Could I offer you a reading of your near future?" 

Hyunjin’s eyes light up and he nods, already getting out his pouch with coins. "Do you do these readings using magic?" 

"I certainly do," the man confirms, and Hyunjin opens his mouth to say something, but the man already continues. "It takes many many years to practice, so I am afraid that I cannot simply reveal my methods without taking hours to explain." 

"Ah, of course, I don't want to waste your time," Hyunjin says politely, and the man nods gratefully as he gets out his cards and explains what he'll do and that his words and the 'near future' can mean a lot of different things. Hyunjin watches with all his attention, and Seungmin is glad to have a bit of a rest in this quiet, more remote tent. 

"Let's see… Ah. I sense some agony and distress coming to you," he murmurs, and Hyunjin gasps softly. Seungmin’s stomach does a nervous flip, too, but that might just be the nausea. "Hmm.. It partially depends on you how it might end up, but if you and your loved ones are strong enough, you can get through it. How you will handle it will be crucial for you further on, it might be a turning point, if you will." 

Hyunjin is listening with wide eyes, almost entranced by the man, and when he stops talking, Hyunjin looks at Seungmin with those same wide eyes. Seungmin isn't sure if he should believe it or not, he doesn’t know if magic can predict the future, but Hyunjin seems to eat every word the man says up. 

"Wow, thank you, good sir! This was very intriguing." Hyunjin bows a few times to show his gratitude. 

"It was my pleasure. Would your… guard? or friend? like a reading too?" The mage turns to Seungmin, who politely declines. He doesn't have the money for that, and Hyunjin does offer to pay for him, but Seungmin only needs to know Hyunjin’s reading to already know his own. If the reading is anywhere near the truth, Seungmin knows that he will experience agony and distress as well, and maybe some kind of failure, because it's his job to make sure that Hyunjin doesn't experience any of that. 

They thank the fortune teller again before they exit the tent, Hyunjin rambling about how he's curious about what will happen and what kind of magic would be needed to read people's futures, and Seungmin just listens, letting himself enjoy the sound of Hyunjin talking. 

"Maybe it has to do with magic that uses— Ah! —" Hyunjin yelps and Seungmin suddenly feels someone coming between them, grabbing at Hyunjin and pushing him over in the process. Seungmin’s reflexes take over and he immediately intervenes, gripping the person's arm and yanking him away from Hyunjin. The person struggles and fights back a bit, and usually Seungmin would be able to overpower them easily, but now he's disoriented and dizzy, which makes it more difficult. The person manages to punch Seungmin in the stomach, making him topple over with a cough and fall on the ground, but that gives Seungmin the opportunity to blindly kick their legs, making the ambusher fall and drop whatever they were holding. They still try to grab whatever they stole, but Seungmin grits through his pain and pushes them off-balance while Hyunjin shrieks for help, so the ambusher gives up and runs away.

"Oh my gosh, Seungmin, are you okay?" Hyunjin comes crawling over to him. 

"Yeah– ugh– I'm fine," Seungmin coughs as Hyunjin touches his arms to inspect him. "Are you? I think they were trying to rob you." 

"Yeah, I'm fine, not hurt at all," Hyunjin assures before he grabs at his neck with a gasp. "My grandmother's necklace! Did they take it?" 

Seungmin shakes his head and scrambles over to where Hyunjin’s pouch and necklace lie on the ground. Hyunjin sighs in relief as he grabs his belongings and helps Seungmin up before he pulls him in for a big hug. 

"Thank you, Minnie. Gosh, that was a bit of a scare, but you saved me and my necklace." 

"I didn't do a very good job at it, though," Seungmin groans, holding his stomach. "If I already get beaten up this much by a simple robber, how can I protect you properly when the threat is bigger?" 

“Hey, you said you’re tired today, right? It can happen, I know you are able to protect me properly.” Hyunjin caresses Seungmin’s arm as he looks at him seriously. “And if the threat was any larger, I have my magic to help as well.” 

Seungmin knows that Hyunjin is right, but he can’t help but feel frustrated that he was caught off guard by a simple robber and struggled so much. Yeah, he feels like an absolute wreck today, but he’s also frustrated by being so affected by tiredness. Though, this can’t all be because he slept bad, right?

He looks back at the fortune teller’s tent, curious as to why the man didn’t leave the tent when Hyunjin called for help, but the tent seems to be gone. Huh? That’s weird. Would the fortune teller be in on this? Would he have an accomplice ready to rob them after a session?

“What if this was the agony and distress you were supposed to experience?” Seungmin wonders, nodding at the disappeared tent. “Do you think it might have been a scam and he tried to cover it up by saying it’s fortune telling?” 

Hyunjin’s eyes widen but he doesn’t seem to be convinced. “Hmm… I don’t know. It could also have been a coincidence? I guess we won’t know, but at least you made sure that I didn’t get robbed for real.”

Hyunjin swings an arm around him and rubs his shoulder appreciatively as they walk back to the main part of the festival. Seungmin really wants to go home and curl up in bed to sleep his headache and nausea away, but he can’t, he has to power through. It’s difficult, but he manages to survive the more quiet evening without collapsing or throwing up (though not without suffering), and, when he doesn’t have any more duties for the day, he immediately retreats to his room to wash up and get in bed.

His dinner isn’t sitting well in his stomach, though, even if it’s been a while, and it makes it difficult to sleep. Again. What the fortune teller told Hyunjin is still weighing on him a bit, too. It could very well be that the robber was what he was talking about, but what if it wasn’t? What if Hyunjin is in danger and it’s because Seungmin is feeling sick that he can’t stop it? 

Eventually, he does fall asleep due to exhaustion, but he wakes up completely sweaty and in pain. His stomach is swirling uncomfortably, his head is pounding and feeling like it’s being split open, and his vision blacks out as soon as he gets out of bed. Seungmin breathes heavily, keeping his eyes closed as he washes up, and it’s already uncomfortable to stand, his muscles aching for some reason. Fuck. I can’t come to the second day of the festival like this, he thinks with a groan to himself, because today is the last day, with a whole closing show that Hyunjin loves going to. Get it together, Seungmin. Why do you have to get sick now? Hold on for one more day. 

After Seungmin is finally done with the hell that was washing up, Hyunjin suddenly barges into his room with a bright smile on his face. “Look! I woke up and washed up by myself!” 

Seungmin wants to smile and say he’s proud, because he is, and he finds it endearing how Hyunjin is proud of himself as well, but his smile probably looks more like a grimace, and Seungmin feels like if he’ll talk too much, he’ll definitely throw up, so he only manages a whisper. “That’s great, Hyunjin. Let’s go down to eat.”  

He walks past Hyunjin, going ahead already and hoping that Hyunjin doesn’t notice anything off about him, but Hyunjin stares at him a bit dumbfoundedly before he catches up and touches Seungmin’s shoulder. “Hey, wait— are you okay, Seungmin? You look a bit pale, and you sound a bit… strained?” 

Seungmin doesn’t spare him a glance, though it’s damn hard to. He’s already impressed by himself that he’s walking this steadily when it feels like the whole world is spinning and flipping like his stomach is. 

“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” he lies.

“Are you sure you’re not getting sick? Or maybe you ate something bad at the festival—” 

“No, that’s not it,” Seungmin cuts in. It’s becoming a habit at this point, but he doesn’t have the mind to feel bad about it right now. He can’t feel worse than he already feels. “I just– slept weird again.” 

That’s not a lie, technically, and he also knows that it’s not from the festival like Hyunjin suggested, because he already felt like shit before he ate anything at the festival. 

“If you aren’t feeling well you can stay here,” Hyunjin offers and Seungmin knows he’s just concerned, but it makes Seungmin’s headache worse. “And maybe you should go to see the royal medic after breakfast—” 

“I can take care of myself, okay?” Seungmin snaps, groaning as he presses his palm against his forehead. “And I need to come with you to the festival, especially after you almost got robbed yesterday.”

“I can take another guard with me, though.” Hyunjin keeps on pushing even as they sit down at the big breakfast table, his worried frown not disappearing off his face. “I don’t want you to push yourself when you’re feeling sick—” 

“Just stop it, Hyunjin,” Seungmin sighs in irritation, though he immediately regrets his tone after he says it. “It’s my job to take care of you, not the other way around.” 

Hyunjin swallows thickly and he looks a tad hurt, which stings, but it’s nothing compared to the pain in Seungmin’s stomach, head, and muscles right now, so he can’t get himself to apologize right now.

“Well— I care about you, too, Seungmin,” Hyunjin insists with a tight voice, and it feels like his words are reaching through Seungmin’s ribcage to squeeze his heart. “Our relationship isn’t only professional to me– and I thought you felt the same. So why can’t I care for you?” 

Seungmin’s heart is going crazy and he puts his head in his hands to ease the dizziness he feels, but it only gets worse when Hyunjin places his hand on Seungmin’s back. The pain and distress Hyunjin is inflicting on him right now is beginning to reach the level of physical pain he’s already feeling, and it’s horrible.

“Please don’t do this right now, Hyunjin. Can I– can I just decide this for myself, how I handle how I feel? Maybe I’ll feel better after eating something.” 

That’s also partially a lie, because even thinking about food makes his stomach churn in protest, but it seems to get Hyunjin off his back (literally) for now to get some plain rice for him, saying it might help to eat something warm. Seungmin doesn’t have enough energy to protest against that. 

He gulps when he gets the rice in front of him, and while he guesses that it’s better than bread right now, he still dreads eating it. Hyunjin is looking at him expectantly, though, so Seungmin starts eating anyway, and after a few bites filled with cringes and bad shivers, it gets a bit better. Maybe he really did just need to have something in his stomach, gather some energy to get his body to work on whatever is wrong. 

“And? Is it making you feel better?” Hyunjin asks when Seungmin has finished his small portion of rice. “Do you want some more?” 

“I– I don’t need any more, but I think it’s—” Seungmin stops and whimpers when a sharp pain shoots through his stomach suddenly, making him double over and grab at his stomach with a groan. Hyunjin is at his side immediately, but then an overwhelming wave of nauseousness washes over him and his fight-or-flight response takes over.

He stands up and stumbles over to the nearest bin as quickly as he can before he immediately empties the contents of his stomach into it, heaving, coughing, and retching. His own sounds make him want to throw up even more, but eventually there’s nothing left in his stomach and he just sits on the ground for a second, panting and feeling weak. 

“Fuck, Seungmin, you’re really not okay— woah!” Hyunjin sounds as Seungmin tries to stand up but his vision blacks out and apparently he lost his balance, because now Hyunjin is suddenly supporting him as his vision spirals. Seungmin is starting to get delirious, feeling like he’s burning up and not able to see properly without everything spinning, but he can’t let Hyunjin get sick too if this is contagious. “You really need to see the medic—”

“I can take myself there,” Seungmin breathes weakly, whining as he tries to push Hyunjin away and blinking rapidly to try to stabilize his sight. “You have to go to the festival– Jinnie.” 

He manages to give a harsher push, which makes Hyunjin let go, but Seungmin only accomplishes two staggered steps forward before his eyes roll back and he feels a pain that probably means that he hits the floor.

“Seungmin!” Hyunjin’s worried scream is the last thing he hears before he passes out. 

Seungmin wakes up in the bright chambers of the royal medic, Chan, and after blinking a few times and trying to get back to reality, he shoots up and looks around to find Hyunjin, the wet cloth on his forehead sliding in front of his eyes. 

“Woah there, easy, Seungmin.” Chan pushes him back down gently and readjusts the cloth. “You scared all of us for a minute there. Hyunjin carried you here in his arms all panicked, looking like he was about to cry and saying that you vomited and passed out and that you wouldn’t wake up. He wanted to stay as I examined you, but the king and queen needed him at the festival, and his brother had to physically drag him out of here. Hyunjin was really, really concerned for you, Seungmin.” 

Seungmin’s stomach flips uneasily, and he feels guilty for causing Hyunjin so much trouble and distress— that was the opposite of what he wanted to achieve. He’s glad that Hyunjin went to the festival after all, but he is afraid that Hyunjin is only going to be restless because he doesn’t know how he is doing. He bites his lower lip and looks at Chan with a hopeful look.

“Is– is there any chance you can go to him, or send someone, to tell him that I’m okay? I don’t want him to worry while he’s at the festival.”

“Well, unless you suddenly feel well enough to tell him yourself, I’ll need to check you first to see what’s wrong. I’m not going to lie to the prince,” Chan says, and Seungmin deflates. “I already established that you have a fever, we know that you must’ve felt nauseous if you vomited, and Hyunjin told me that it looked like you had a headache. Is there anything else you felt?” 

Seungmin sighs as he slowly goes through the laundry list of things he felt these past two days, and Chan’s expression turns more and more concerned by the second. He doesn’t seem to have any idea of what could be wrong, because grabs one of his books and goes through it with a pensive frown, humming to himself. 

That goes on for a bit, and Seungmin tiredly watches Chan go back and forth through the book, his expression not clearing up, and Seungmin is afraid that he can’t find anything. Chan looks up when Seungmin whimpers in discomfort — his nausea is a bit better now, but he still feels weak and shaky and everything hurts. 

"I'm sorry, Seungmin, I– I am a bit lost on what could be wrong with you," Chan stammers. "It sounds like you have the flu. It might just be a flu, though you don't have a sore throat or runny nose, and while you do have the dull aches that often come with it, the sharp pains are odd… Either way, you should rest, yeah?" 

Seungmin nods slowly, breathing heavily as he tries to ignore the pain. "Can-can you send someone to tell Hyunjin, please? Tell him that I'm awake and you're with me, examining me, and that— hnng— that you think it's just a flu." 

"Just a flu… you're obviously suffering, Seungmin," Chan sighs, and Seungmin gives him a pleading look, too tired to say that he just wants Hyunjin to have fun without worrying, but Chan seems to understand him. "Okay, fine. I'll get some medicine for you that'll hopefully ease the pain a little, and then I'll send a messenger to tell the prince that you're awake and probably sick with the flu." 

Seungmin mutters a small thanks and accepts the medicine to drink before Chan leaves the room for a bit. It's an excruciating wait for Chan to return and the medicine to kick in, and he can't seem to stop worrying about Hyunjin worrying about him on top of that. Oh gosh— and what if Hyunjin is in danger right now like what the fortune teller predicted? Maybe he should've asked Chan to send another guard out too—

Seungmin cries out at a sudden sharp sting of pain, squeezing his eyes shut and curling in on himself in agony. Fuck, he thought the pain was supposed to become less after taking the medicine, not more. He barely even notices Chan storming in and fussing over him, cursing to himself and muttering something about the message they sent Hyunjin. 

“Seungmin? Did the medicine not work?” Chan asks, and Seungmin shakes his head, finally noticing Chan’s hands on his shoulder and back, rubbing soothingly. “Shit– Why, though?— Let me examine you again, is that okay, Seungmin?”

Seungmin takes a few deep breaths and feels a bit of relief when the worst pains subside. He’s still uncomfortable, but relative to a few minutes ago, it’s better. He nods at Chan’s question belatedly and removes his arms from around his head to let Chan do his thing. He watches the ceiling as his chest moves up and down with heavy breaths and his sweaty hair sticks to his forehead until Chan gasps as he holds Seungmin’s wrist. 

“What is this on your palm, Seungmin?” Chan shows Seungmin his palm with an ugly purple and blue splotch on it. Chan carefully presses next to it, and Seungmin flinches a bit. “It hurts? Do you know how you got this bruise?” 

Seungmin’s head hurts too much to think properly, but he does his best to ignore the feeling of needles piercing through his skull so that he can answer. “Uhm– maybe when I fought that robber? No– wait. I fell when I— was walking with Hyunjin– ugh. Thorn. Hand.” 

“You fell while you were on a walk with Hyunjin and you got a thorn in your hand?” Chan asks to clarify, and Seungmin nods heavily. “Hmm. That could be a coincidence, but I think it’s worth investigating, though I’m no expert on plants– Hyunjin is. Can you describe the thorn for me? Or do you remember the plant?” 

Chan grabs the fallen cloth to wipe some sweat away from Seungmin’s forehead as Seungmin thinks about it, but it’s difficult. “Uhm– the thorn was thin. Light color. The plant– I don’t know, it was a whole pile of leaves and twigs. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll get some books and see if I can find something.” Chan seems a bit restless and uneasy, maybe a tad guiltridden because he doesn’t know what to do, but Seungmin doesn’t blame him for anything. “I should be back shortly, but is there anything I can do or anything you need in case I take longer?”

Seungmin groans and shakes his head. “No– anytime I eat or drink something, it’s followed by– by excruciating pains.” 

Chan presses his lips together in worry and tells Seungmin to yell if he needs something before he’s off. Seungmin tries to fall asleep in the meantime, and he doesn’t know if he just spent a whole while staring up at the ceiling or if he actually fell asleep, but he’s hallucinating about Hyunjin — either Hyunjin being attacked and hurt or Hyunjin carrying him around and taking care of him — until he’s startled by the sound of footsteps quickly approaching the room. Hyunjin?  

As soon as Hyunjin even catches a glimpse of Seungmin, he all but dashes over to him and immediately embraces him in a tight hug, caressing the back of Seungmin’s neck and whispering soothing words. It should feel uncomfortable with his sickness, but it doesn’t. Somehow, with Hyunjin, it never does. 

“Oh my gosh– Seungmin– Minnie, how are you feeling? I was so worried– gosh, you passed out for goodness sake!” Hyunjin pulls back and looks at him with watery eyes as he continues in a frantic, strained, and shaky voice, “They said you might have the flu, but– you need to take care of yourself, okay? Don’t wait until it becomes bad enough that you throw up and pass out. I was really scared.”  

Seungmin avoids Hyunjin’s eyes in shame, because he knows Hyunjin is right, but he feels too awful to have this conversation right now, and before Hyunjin can push, Chan gently grabs Hyunjin’s shoulder and nudges him away from Seungmin. 

“We now think it might not be the flu,” the medic explains, and Hyunjin frowns and asks for an elaboration. Chan tells him about the weird symptoms and that medicine and food are making things worse. Seungmin is able to drink a bit of water without going through excruciating pain, but that’s about it, and as Chan tells Hyunjin about it and the thorn and which books he has been scouring through, Hyunjin’s expression gets more and more concerned and upset. 

“You were pricked by a thorn and you didn’t tell me? Or anyone?” He turns to Seungmin with an incredulous and almost hurt expression, and Seungmin's heart bounces in guilt. “I always talk about the many properties that plants can have, even just touching them can already have an effect and definitely if you get pricked! You—” 

“Hyunjin, calm down.” Chan steps in before Hyunjin gets too worked up and Seungmin feels even more terrible. “It happened. I know you’re just concerned for him, but I think Seungmin is already suffering enough to know that he should be a bit more careful next time. Let’s focus on what we can do now, yeah?” 

Hyunjin presses his lips together in guilt and softly apologizes for snapping, running a hand through his long hair. Seungmin can’t get his voice to work enough to say anything before Chan already shows Hyunjin the book about the plants he thought that might be relevant in hope that Hyunjin might recognize the plant they saw with help of Seungmin’s description of the thorn. Seungmin watches with an extra added pain of an aching heart as Hyunjin and Chan do their thing and he’s getting too dizzy to keep looking, so he puts his arm over his face to try to ease the headache, but unfortunately there’s nothing he can do to ease the guilt stinging his heart. 

“This one! Right– this one grows near here,” Hyunjin says after a while, the sound of his finger tapping on the book reaching Seungmin’s ears, but he doesn’t have the energy to remove his arm, so he just listens. “Let’s see… Shit–”

Seungmin stills, his stomach dropping at Hyunjin’s tone, and he slowly removes his arm to see what’s going on. “What is it?” he manages weakly. He’s starting to feel that he hasn’t eaten all day.

“Uhm– it says that this plant is often used to strengthen magic potions or replenish magic energy,” Hyunjin explains with a nervous flicker of his eyes. “And the thorns are harmless to mages, but humans… they can't channel the magical energy out, so until that is somehow removed, their bodies will react as if everything is an intruder.”

Seungmin groans and nods, trying to get across that that is definitely what he's feeling — his body is fighting against itself as if it's Seungmin fighting against people who mean Hyunjin harm. “Please– do you know how to make it stop?”

Chan and Hyunjin share a worried look before the former speaks up, “I– I’m afraid I don’t know much about removing magic from humans. I can maybe think of one way with a potion, but that requires a lot of ingredients and a lot of time.” 

Seungmin suppresses a discouraged whimper — he really can’t handle this for more than a few days, and they have to find a way to keep him from throwing up his food as soon as he has eaten something, too, otherwise he’ll starve. Hyunjin voices that same concern, but Chan says that this is outside of his expertise, though he’ll try to do anything he can do to help.

“Maybe– maybe I can try something,” Hyunjin offers, a slightly panicked edge to his voice as he moves to sit on the bed Seungmin is lying in. “I… I know there should be a way to tap magical energy from someone, but I’d have to research it first. If you’re okay with it, though, I can try to ease the pain or strengthen your stomach so you can eat something. It might not work and cause you more pain– I have no idea, but—”

Seungmin stops him by grabbing at his arm and looking at him seriously, but it’s hard to do when there’s sweat dripping from his brows and down his lashes. “Please just try it– Anything.”

Hyunjin nods with a concerned frown and resits on the bed so that he’s properly facing Seungmin before he cups Seungmin’s jaw gently. Hyunjin looks into his eyes in a way that makes Seungmin’s heart act up, trying to pound out of his chest and into Hyunjin’s hands, and Seungmin barely even notices that Hyunjin is whispering a spell until a rush of relief courses through Seungmin’s veins.

He gasps and Hyunjin flinches but relaxes when he notices that Seungmin is breathing in alleviation and not in pain. “Oh my gosh– thank you, Hyunjin. That’s so much better.” 

“I’m glad,” Hyunjin breathes out in relief too and briefly hugs Seungmin before he says he’ll try to help him eat something, and Chan announces that he’ll get something for him from the kitchen. 

Seungmin finally feels a bit alive again as Hyunjin mutters his spell, even if he’s still very hungry and thirsty and weak, but the pain is at least somewhat bearable at the moment. He knows it takes a lot of energy from Hyunjin to heal, though, so he motions for the prince to relax and sit next to him. 

“You’re a lifesaver, Hyunjin,” he breathes as Hyunjin pulls him to lie on his chest. “Now that I can properly think and focus for a moment, I can ask how it was at the festival.” 

“Well, for starters, I was incredibly concerned for you,” Hyunjin tells him ever so honestly, and Seungmin grips Hyunjin’s shirt more tightly, trying to hide how he flushes. “I really was about to lose it— I almost broke down in public if it weren’t for Minho talking some sense into me. I did manage to enjoy it a bit after they told me you were awake and Chan thought you might have the flu, the end show was spectacular as always, but, to be honest, I just wanted to go home and see how you were doing.” 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you this much,” Seungmin mutters into Hyunjin’s chest, feeling Hyunjin’s fingers run through his hair soothingly. “I’m sorry for being so stubborn, too.” 

“I know. You’re always thinking of protecting me, but you should protect yourself as well.” Hyunjin’s words sound like a please, and Seungmin can feel the prince’s heart pounding under his head. Hyunjin buries his nose in the crown of Seungmin’s hair as he continues in a shaky whisper tone, “I know it doesn’t have to be me who takes care of you– I know you can do it yourself, but– please , actually do it, too, and don’t always put me above yourself.” 

Seungmin swallows thickly, and instead of from the fever, his head feels hot from Hyunjin’s desperate words. He wants to say something, he doesn’t want to leave Hyunjin hanging, but he also can’t promise anything right now when he can barely think straight, especially not because it’s his job to put Hyunjin first and himself second, so all he can do is bury his burning face deeper into Hyunjin’s chest and hope he understands. Soon after, Chan comes back with some late dinner for him and Hyunjin helps him sit up so he can eat comfortably, but it still pains Seungmin to see Hyunjin’s worried eyes on him.

Minho stops by to see how Seungmin and Hyunjin are doing before he’s heading to bed, too, and he offers to help them research some things as well — he’s not a mage, though — but Seungmin declines it, knowing how busy Minho always is, being the crown prince. Minho wishes them good luck and Seungmin to get well soon before he leaves them. Hyunjin and Chan stay in the room and they look through their books while Seungmin gains a bit of energy from finally eating.

When it’s getting late and Chan asks whether he wants to stay here for the night or in his own bed, Seungmin thinks he feels well enough to sleep in his own bed, which is more comfortable than this one. That, and then he can wash up a bit, too. Chan and Hyunjin both offer to help him with everything, but Hyunjin eventually manages to convince Chan to let him do it because his room is on the way to Seungmin’s, and Chan sleeps in the room adjacent to this one.

Hyunjin snakes his arms under Seungmin’s back and legs before he lifts him up with a groan, and Seungmin holds onto him tightly in hope of making it easier for Hyunjin. He wonders how Hyunjin did it when he was passed out, because he knows that Hyunjin isn’t the strongest out there (also not the weakest, every prince gets some self-defense lessons, too, but that doesn’t mean he can easily lift and carry anyone). It’s kind of weird to have Hyunjin do this for him, because usually Seungmin is the one helping Hyunjin, carrying him whenever he trips and hurts himself or treating small scratches from forest walks whenever Chan isn’t available, or getting him anything he needs whenever he’s sick, and so on, but now the roles are reversed, and Hyunjin doesn’t seem to shy away from doing his best to take care of Seungmin. It makes Seungmin’s heart go wild to say the least. 

“Can you stand? Do you need help with washing up?” Hyunjin asks with a low, tight voice, his arms obviously getting tired from carrying Seungmin. 

“Yeah, I– I think I can do it slowly myself,” Seungmin says, and Hyunjin puts him down, failing to be careful when his arms give in, but he makes up for his mistake by stabilizing Seungmin and preventing him from collapsing by hugging him tightly as Seungmin gets used to standing on shaky legs again. “Thank you, Hyunjin.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” Hyunjin isn’t letting go of Seungmin yet, and Seungmin doesn’t think Hyunjin is going to be satisfied if he hasn’t helped. “Oh! I can get your pajamas for you as you wash up. Can you change yourself?” 

Seungmin chuckles softly and nods. “Yes. I can just lie down and shrug it all off if necessary, and I can sit down as I wash up, I did that this morning, too. And the pain is basically background noise by now.”

“Okay, but I’ll get your pajamas.” Hyunjin finally lets go of Seungmin and does as he says while Seungmin shuffles over to his small ensuite to get ready for bed. 

Hyunjin is still there when Seungmin returns, and the prince perks up from where he was invested in a book before he rushes over to help Seungmin to his bed. 

“You can go to bed now, too, Hyunjin,” Seungmin says as he tiredly changes into his pajamas. “And really go to sleep, okay? Don’t spend the night researching spells to tap magic from others. Your healing has already helped me. And… I'll try to take care of myself.”

Hyunjin presses his lips together and mutters an affirmation before he helps Seungmin into bed, pulling the blankets over him (even though Seungmin can do that himself, too, but Hyunjin apparently loves reminding Seungmin of his feelings by being so sweet). “Should I do a bit of healing for the night too?”

“Do you have enough energy for that?” Seungmin retorts weakly. “I know how exhausting it is for you to heal, and I don’t want you to get sick because you depleted your magical energy.” 

Hyunjin sighs and relents, though he doesn’t look too happy about it. “You’re right, I should save my energy for when I can extract the magic from you.” He stands up and his hand brushes along Seungmin’s arm. “Are you sure you don’t want someone to stay near?” 

“I’m just hoping I sleep through the night now that I don’t feel like I’m dying,” Seungmin exhales, his eyes already starting to fall shut. He feels Hyunjin’s hand card through his hair before he whispers,

“Okay, good night, then, Minnie. Don’t be afraid to wake me up if you need something.” 

Seungmin nods sleepily, already halfway to dreamland, and he falls asleep to Hyunjin’s hand caressing his cheek. 

Hyunjin watches Seungmin slowly drift off to sleep as he caresses his friend’s cheeks, hoping to soothe him and help him fall asleep for the night. Hyunjin doesn’t really want to leave, he wants to stay and make sure Seungmin actually sleeps through the night without suffering too much, but he knows that Seungmin won’t appreciate that. It really pains Hyunjin that Seungmin doesn’t seem to want to lean on Hyunjin when he’s suffering. Even though he knows that it’s already pretty rare for a prince to be this close with their personal guard, Hyunjin considers them to be friends and he knows Seungmin does so too, even if he seems to be afraid to accept Hyunjin’s help and he’s using his job as an excuse. 

Hyunjin doesn’t know if it’s only because Seungmin is afraid of other people’s opinions if they get too close or if Hyunjin is totally not being subtle with his feelings for Seungmin with his worrying (though if he wasn’t head over heels for Seungmin he would have been worrying his head off too) and Seungmin is uncomfortable with the idea of Hyunjin liking him in that way. It could also be something else, but Hyunjin doesn’t want to think too much about it and make himself even more miserable. 

He eventually goes back to his own room to get ready for bed as well, because Seungmin wants him to rest, and if he wants to be able to help Seungmin tomorrow, he needs that rest. Nevertheless, he has difficulties falling asleep, even if he’s exhausted from worrying all day, so he decides to read just a bit more to ease his mind. He grabs the book about extracting magical energy and opens it on the page about extracting it from other mages, because that’s the closest he can get to the situation they’re in right now, but it already warns that it might be painful for the mage who is losing the energy, and it’s not efficient for the mage performing it, because even though you gain magical energy while casting the spell, overall you still lose magical energy, though less than the other mage. 

It looks like a difficult spell, but Hyunjin doesn't see any other option, and he gladly does anything to make sure Seungmin gets better. He wouldn't mind getting sick from magical energy depletion for a few days as long as it puts an end to Seungmin’s suffering. Thinking about how Seungmin threw up and collapsed this morning makes tears well up in Hyunjin’s eyes, but he blinks them away and focuses on the book. 

He falls asleep at his desk while memorizing the spell, and he jolts awake with an aching neck. He wonders how long he slept for, but the only thing he notices is that it's now definitely night. He cracks his neck and stretches himself out before he blows out the candle on his desk and he stands up to go to bed for real, but he stops right before, hesitating. He contemplates stopping by Seungmin’s room to see if everything is still going well since some time has passed. If all is well and Seungmin is still sleeping, Hyunjin will go to bed at ease, and if not, Hyunjin can get help or help himself. Seungmin might get a bit mad, but it's not like Hyunjin hasn't slept at all yet, so it should be fine. He just really needs to know if Seungmin is still doing okay, even if Seungmin said he'd get help if something happened. 

Hyunjin slides on his slippers and heads out his room and into the dark hallways towards Seungmin’s room. The candles in the hallway all have already been extinguished, but Hyunjin knows the way to Seungmin’s room like the back of his hand from all the times he went there to have late night conversations, Seungmin listening to Hyunjin talk about everything and nothing and sometimes supplying his views and ideas. 

As he approaches the guard's room, he hears a sound, and his heart drops through the floor when he realizes it's the sound of Seungmin crying. He instantly starts running even to the point that he trips over his own legs and crashes into the door while trying to get to Seungmin as quickly as possible, and he sees a horrible sight when he finally enters Seungmin’s room. 

Seungmin is on the floor, completely curled up, crying and whining in agony, and it shatters Hyunjin’s heart. Hyunjin crouches next to Seungmin and desperately tries to get his attention and ask what's wrong, but it's in vain, Seungmin doesn’t seem to be able to talk through the pain and his sobs. 

"Fuck— Seungmin, hang on, okay?" Hyunjin tries to not go into full panic, but his breathing is matching Seungmin’s in its erratic rhythm and he feels tears pricking his eyes. "I– I'm going to heal you." 

Seungmin shakes his head frantically, his whole body shaking as he blindly tries to reach out to Hyunjin. "No– no, don't deplete your— hnggh— magical energy—" 

"I am not going to just let you suffer like this!" Hyunjin exclaims, his voice breaking, and he's unable to believe that Seungmin still wants to put Hyunjin above himself in this situation. "I slept a bit so I'm fine, I— I'll survive. I won't use it all up but the least I-I can do is alleviate the pain a little!" 

Hyunjin puts his trembling hands on Seungmin’s side and tries to take a few deep breaths, but he's already crying, his vision blurry as he watches and hears Seungmin be in this immense pain. Come on, Hyunjin. Focus for a second, he thinks as he sniffles, tears falling off his lashes down his cheeks as Seungmin shakes and groans, but Hyunjin manages to collect himself enough to start casting the spell.

"Stay with me, Minnie— Please– I– I've got you." He hiccups through it, blubbering and whining in agony both for Seungmin, who's still crying, heaving, and writhing on the floor, and because the magic is tough on him, especially with as little magical energy left as he has. He really does his best for Seungmin, but unfortunately it doesn’t take long before he already feels drained. Seungmin draws in a large breath between his sobs, and Hyunjin really hopes he did enough to make Seungmin feel better. 

“Seungmin— Are you okay? Did it work?” Hyunjin sniffles between ragged breaths, trying to get his friend to look at him, and Seungmin does remove his arms from his head, but instead of looking at Hyunjin or answering, he just clamps himself onto Hyunjin tightly, his head tucked in the crook of Hyunjin’s neck as he trembles and softly weeps like Hyunjin is too. 

“Yes– yes, I—” Seungmin cuts himself off with a whimper, making it seem like it didn’t make all the pain go away. “It’s a bit better now.” 

Hyunjin pulls Seungmin closer and runs his hands through the hairs on Seungmin’s neck as his breathing evens out a bit, but a few stray tears are still falling down his cheeks. “I’m– I’m glad. I’m glad I came to check on you.” 

Seungmin nods, his wet eyes and cheeks rubbing off on Hyunjin’s shoulder and neck as his fingers curl into Hyunjin’s pajama shirt. “I wanted to– to go to you, but— it was too much.” 

Hyunjin hums, glad to know that Seungmin at least tried to get to him when he was suffering, but it pains Hyunjin to imagine how Seungmin wasn’t even able to move forward more than a few steps before collapsing. He can’t help but kiss the top of Seungmin’s head, holding him tight, safely in his arms. “It’s okay. I’ve got you now. I’ll stay with you.” 

He rubs his hand along Seungmin’s back as they both slowly calm down, their tears drying and their breathing syncing up, and Hyunjin thinks about what to do, what will be good for Seungmin, and what will help him through the night. 

Eventually, he decides that he wants Seungmin close, in his room, so he can keep an eye on him. He doesn’t care that he only has a little magical energy left, if there’s anything he can do to make Seungmin suffer less, even if it’s only sharing his comfortable big bed, Hyunjin will do it. 

He shifts Seungmin in his hold so that his legs cage in Hyunjin’s hips and his arms wrap around Hyunjin’s neck, before Hyunjin grabs Seungmin’s thighs and tells him to hold on tightly. Seungmin gasps and tenses his arms and legs around Hyunjin as he lets out a noise of confusion. 

“What are you doing?” he asks softly when Hyunjin stands up and walks out of Seungmin’s room. His voice is still rough and weak, but his breath fanning over Hyunjin’s skin makes heat creep up Hyunjin’s neck. 

“I’m taking you to my room so you can sleep in my bed and I can be there for you if you need anything,” Hyunjin explains, quickly continuing before Seungmin can protest. “I– I’m not taking no for an answer, Seungmin. I will sleep better knowing how you’re doing, okay? It will help me, too.” 

He continues in a trembling voice, needing to get everything out of his system, “You scared the life out of me again, Minnie, and I will go mad if it happens again when I’m not there, so you’re staying with me, okay? That— That’s an order.” 

Seungmin deflates as he relents with a whimper and a nod, his warm cheeks still resting on Hyunjin’s shoulder as he hides his face and breathes heavily. Hyunjin wonders what’s going on through that head of his, if there’s even anything on his mind aside from being in pain. Hyunjin at least hopes that Seungmin isn’t uncomfortable with Hyunjin bringing him to his room, he hopes he isn’t taking advantage of Seungmin being sick, but Seungmin usually isn’t afraid to go against Hyunjin’s orders, so hopefully he isn’t too tired to do that right now either. 

After navigating the dark hallways and getting to his room, Hyunjin carefully puts Seungmin down on his bed, and he finally sees Seungmin’s face, illuminated by the moon shining through the cracks between the curtains. Discomfort, fatigue, and agony are prominent in his features, but if Hyunjin follows the tear streaks up to see the glimmer in Seungmin’s eyes, Hyunjin thinks he finds some appreciation, too. And– gosh, why does Hyunjin’s heart start acting up now? Why does he, even now, find Seungmin beautiful, and why does he ache to kiss him, kiss his tear streaks away, and tell Seungmin how much he means to him? Today has already been a rollercoaster of emotions. Hyunjin isn’t even the one who's sick and in pain, but he cried twice and nearly cried five other times because he just cares so much about Seungmin, and he wants Seungmin to know, but he doesn’t want to overwhelm Seungmin with his feelings right now. Hell, Hyunjin is already overwhelmed by his own feelings.

"Where will you sleep, Hyunjin?" Seungmin weakly reaches out to touch Hyunjin’s hand, pulling him out of his thoughts and sending tingles through his nerves, making his heart skip a beat at how Seungmin is still thinking about him through all of this. He swallows away a lump in his throat before he answers, he can’t cry a third time today.

"If… I thought the bed is probably big enough to fit both of us without it being bothersome— though I don't mind it if you're in my space, but if you'd rather not have that…" Hyunjin trails off, looking around his room. "I can sleep on the couch, that's pretty comfortable too, I think." 

"No, there's definitely enough space in this humongous bed of yours," Seungmin half-chuckles half-groans quietly, and Hyunjin almost chokes up at the fact that Seungmin is joking through his pain. 

Hyunjin climbs into bed next to Seungmin after making sure that he doesn’t need anything, and they face each other as they lie down. It hits Hyunjin now how tired he is, but he wants to see Seungmin fall asleep first, so he fights against his fatigue, which Seungmin seems to notice, because the corners of his lips twitch up — though that also could be a grimace. It’s dark, so it’s hard to see.

“Go to sleep, Jinnie,” he whispers, and Hyunjin’s heart makes a fuss over the nickname. “There’s nothing— You did everything you could for me, so you can sleep now.” 

Hyunjin blinks and nods, no energy and no arguments to protest left, but he still feels warm at Seungmin’s words. “Good night, then, Minnie. I hope you’ll sleep well, too. Or at least just sleep.” 

Hyunjin’s eyes are already closed when Seungmin hums, and he doesn’t manage to stay awake for much longer, drawn to sleep by physical, mental, and magical exhaustion. 

“Hyunjin?”

“Hyunjin.” 

“Hyunjin!”

Hyunjin shoots up with a gasp, completely disoriented and groggy, his breathing erratic and his eyes wet as Seungmin is looking at him with a concerned frown. Seungmin. He’s okay. He’s not screaming in agony nor is he pushing Hyunjin away and cursing him out. 

“Are you okay? It looked like you were having a nightmare– you were calling out my name.” Seungmin is leaning on his elbow, his hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder, and if he didn’t still look pained and exhausted, Hyunjin would be fooled to think that Seungmin is feeling fine aside from being worried. 

“Yeah– I was, it–it was— not nice. Thank you for waking me up,” Hyunjin exhales, his breathing evening out as he blinks the wetness out of his eyes while Seungmin comfortingly caresses his shoulder. He then turns to Seungmin to distract himself from the lingering horrors in his mind. “How are you doing? Did you manage to sleep a bit?” 

“I did. A bit, thanks to you.” Seungmin manages a slightly forced smile, but it still eases Hyunjin’s heart a bit, especially after that nightmare which is still giving him bad shivers. That calmness doesn’t last long, though, because Seungmin’s face contorts and he whimpers as he tenses and doubles over. 

“Oh no– what’s happening, Minnie?” Hyunjin asks frantically as Seungmin whines, his heart going into overdrive. “Should I do some healing again?” 

Seungmin shakes his head, sweaty strands of hair moving as he does so, before he grits out, “No, I— it’s– it goes in waves. You should– you should save your energy.” 

“Is there anything else I can do to ease the pain?” Hyunjin runs his hand along Seungmin’s arm as the latter breathes heavily. 

“I– I don’t know. Maybe… just distracting me,” Seungmin answers eventually, turning to Hyunjin in an exhausted motion. 

“Would you maybe like to have a warm bath?” Hyunjin suggests, knowing that he would personally enjoy that, and Seungmin nods, seemingly feeling a bit better already, so Hyunjin gets out of bed and hoists Seungmin out of it too, Seungmin’s arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. 

It feels quite intimate to help Seungmin with taking a bath, but Hyunjin likes it, and he, again, hopes that Seungmin isn’t uncomfortable, because Seungmin always looks away whenever Hyunjin takes a bath in front of Seungmin, even though Hyunjin says he doesn’t mind Seungmin looking, but Hyunjin likes to have faith in that Seungmin tells him whenever he doesn’t like something. 

As Seungmin is relaxing in the bath, Chan stops by to talk to Hyunjin about a few things. First of all, he gathered some ingredients for some magical energy replenishing potions that might help Hyunjin help Seungmin. And second of all, he comes to ask when Hyunjin wants to eat breakfast. Hyunjin first thanks Chan with a big hug for coming up with the genius idea to make replenishing potions, and then he says he’ll eat breakfast together with Seungmin after he’s done bathing, because if they’re making magical replenishing potions, Hyunjin can make sure Seungmin is able to eat something again. Seungmin accepts it reluctantly, but only if Hyunjin just does it once and waits at least until the evening and the potions are ready before he does it again. 

Hyunjin lends Seungmin his clothes after the bath because it's easier, and it doesn't help the intimate feeling that Hyunjin can't seem to shake away. He shouldn’t focus on himself and his feelings and how good Seungmin looks in his clothes, tough, he should focus on Seungmin’s comfort.

The rest of the day Hyunjin spends either researching the spell to help Seungmin or brewing potions or doing some princely duties (without Seungmin, unfortunately, but Chan is with him). Seungmin hangs on pretty well because of Hyunjin’s healing, but sometimes he still has some waves of pain, and the sight never stops breaking Hyunjin’s heart. 

“I want to try the spell to remove the magic,” Hyunjin announces that evening when they’re all in his room, and Seungmin and Chan’s eyes widen. “I want to at least try it.” 

“Do you have enough energy for that?” Another considerate comment from Seungmin. One of these is going to be the drop that makes Hyunjin’s bucket of feelings overflow, but he’s still safe for now. 

“Yeah, I can do just a little bit, and if it’s working, I can maybe drink a potion and try to get most of the magic out?” Hyunjin suggests, his hands clammy in nerves, but he wants to release Seungmin from his suffering as soon as possible. Seungmin accepts, and Chan says he thinks that’s a good idea too. 

Hyunjin crawls onto his bed and places his hands on Seungmin’s jaw, feeling the magic trapped under Seungmin’s skin flow, and he softly asks whether Seungmin is ready. Seungmin nods, and Hyunjin tries to not get lost in Seungmin’s eyes and lose his focus for the spell. He closes his eyes for a second and gathers himself before he starts muttering the spell, immediately feeling the magic flow in and out. Seungmin jolts and groans in discomfort, so Hyunjin quickly stops, opening his eyes to check Seungmin’s expression. 

“Are you okay?” he lightly brushes his thumbs over Seungmin’s cheeks as the latter’s grimace smoothes out. 

“Yeah– I am,” Seungmin answers softly, leaning into Hyunjin’s touch. “It’s a painful spell, I guess, but you already warned me about that. Do you think it worked?” 

“Yeah, it did, I felt it,” Hyunjin says, continuing to caress Seungmin’s jaw. “I… I don’t know how to make it less painful, though.”

“That-that’s okay. I think I want you to do it anyway,” Seungmin decides. “We’ll have to do it sometime, and I’d rather have it sooner than later.” 

“Okay, I’ll drink a potion then.” Hyunjin turns to Chan, accepting the potion from him before chugging it to replenish his magical energy. Once he’s done, he straddles Seungmin’s hips with his legs over the blanket and softly apologizes for his clammy hands as he cups Seungmin’s jaw again. “Tell me when you want to stop, yeah? Just– either say it or squeeze or slap my arms a few times or something.”
Seungmin gives a nod, his cheeks feeling warm under Hyunjin’s hands. Hyunjin can’t hold Seungmin’s gaze and closes his eyes again before he starts chanting the spell. Seungmin’s muscles tense and he is obviously trying to hold himself back from whining in pain as he grasps the back of Hyunjin’s shirt tightly, but he endures it for now. 

He’s letting out short muffled whimpers that slowly get louder as Hyunjin drains the magic out of him, and Hyunjin startles when Seungmin suddenly cries out in pain, but Seungmin heaves out that he can continue, even though he’s almost ripping Hyunjin’s shirt in his tight grip. Hyunjin doesn’t know if he can continue when Seungmin sounds like he’s being burned from the inside, so he opens his eyes and leans down to rest his forehead against Seungmin’s in hopes of distracting him from the pain.

“Just– just focus on me, Minnie,” he whispers, slightly panting as he tries to pull the magic out of the depths of Seungmin’s body. “It’s almost done. I’m here, so just look at me.”

Seungmin slowly opens his formerly screwed-shut eyes and looks up at Hyunjin, his chest moving up and down with labored breaths and his eyebrows drawn together as sweat drips down his forehead.
“You’re doing great, Seungmin,” Hyunjin tells him, looking right into Seungmin’s teary eyes, his own long hair shielding them from anyone who’s watching. He caresses Seungmin’s jaw as he keeps whispering encouragements, and Seungmin’s sounds become a bit less pained. They’re immersed in their own little space right now, Seungmin being the only one Hyunjin can see, and him and the magic that Hyunjin is draining the only thing he can feel as he supports and distracts Seungmin with anything that comes to mind. 

“You’re so strong, enduring this, Minnie. I am glad I can finally help you for once, too. You are always there for me– and I know that’s your job, but you’re also there for me as a friend, and I’m so grateful for you, Seungmin. You mean so much to me, and I hope you know that I’d do anything for you, like right now.”

Seungmin whimpers, but Hyunjin isn’t sure if it, and the tear falling down Seungmin’s cheek, are because of pain or Hyunjin’s words. He involuntarily closes his eyes as he feels the magical fatigue overtaking him, but he pulls through for the last bit, groaning in sync with Seungmin before sighing as he lets go, stopping his spell. 

“How are you feeling?” he asks breathlessly, still mindlessly caressing Seungmin’s cheek. “It should all be out of your system now.” 

“I— I feel tired, weak, still aching, but… no active sharp pains,” Seungmin says, sounding equally out of breath, and Hyunjin exhales in relief. “Thank you, Hyunjin– for everything.” 

Hyunjin presses his lips together as he swallows away a lump of gratefulness and relief and blinks away some wetness that is forming in his eyes. His palm brushes Seungmin’s cheek as he sits right up again before he does something reckless in the heat of the moment. “Of course. As I said– I… I’d do anything. I’m still ordering you to stay here for the night in case something still goes wrong, though.” 

Seungmin chuckles weakly, his genuine smile beautifully decorating his lips, and Hyunjin takes a moment to enjoy the sight of it. Unfortunately, the moment is interrupted by Chan clearing his throat a tad awkwardly and offering Hyunjin another potion to replenish so he doesn’t get sick. Hyunjin gladly accepts it and drinks it, and Chan leaves after making sure that they don’t need anything anymore. Hyunjin collapses on the bed and his heart calms down for the first time in the past two days. 

“You can wash up first, if you want. You’re probably exhausted— oh and you can borrow one of my pajamas, I'll get them,” Hyunjin says after a moment of catching his breath. “And I’m gonna go tell Minho about the spell working, he was really worried, too.” 

Seungmin smiles and takes Hyunjin up on his offer to wash up first, and when Hyunjin comes back from talking to Minho and washing up, Seungmin is looking cute all tucked in bed, obviously trying to keep his eyes open. He perks up as soon as he sees Hyunjin and Hyunjin tells him that Minho is relieved as well and said that he can go to sleep at ease now, which makes Seungmin smile again, a sight that Hyunjin can’t get enough of. He’s so happy to see it again.

Hyunjin crawls into bed under the covers next to Seungmin and can't help but hug him tightly. "It was awful watching you suffer. I'm so glad we found a solution and I could help you." 

"Me too." Seungmin’s voice is almost inaudible in fatigue, so Hyunjin thinks he'll leave the rest of the conversation until later, though he still wants to ask one last question before Seungmin falls asleep. 

"Can I… Can I hug you as we sleep, Seungmin?" Hyunjin inquires softly, his cheeks feeling a bit warm. "I think it would put me at ease, you know, so that I can… feel that you're– safe, if that makes sense." 

Hyunjin is a bit embarrassed to say it, and he isn't sure if Seungmin even heard it or if he has already fallen asleep, but, silently, Seungmin huddles a bit closer, sharing his warmth with Hyunjin, which Hyunjin takes as that he wouldn’t mind being hugged. 

Hyunjin carefully puts an arm around him and closes his eyes as well, feeling calm with Seungmin close to him. He also feels safe, but in a different way than he usually feels around Seungmin. Usually he feels protected around Seungmin, but now he feels like he returned the favor for once, and he feels more safe to be himself and show his feelings a little more. 

First he'll focus on helping Seungmin back to full health, though, and Hyunjin will try to catch up on some sleep, and he imagines that Seungmin, too, finally, will sleep like a log. 

Seungmin feels groggy, warm, and fuzzy as he blinks his eyes open. Slowly, Hyunjin’s sleeping features come into view, and Seungmin remembers where he is, why Hyunjin has an arm and a leg swung over him, and why Seungmin is clutching Hyunjin’s pajama shirt under the blankets. 

Yesterday, Hyunjin healed him, and he didn’t only do that, he also helped him get through it while saying some incredibly sweet things that Seungmin can’t get out of his head. ‘You mean so much to me’ and ‘I hope you know I’d do anything for you’ especially haunt Seungmin’s mind. He was struggling with accepting help from Hyunjin because deep inside he was still afraid of their difference in status, afraid of burdening Hyunjin as a prince, but that also made him afraid of accepting the fact that Hyunjin might return his feelings– or worse, not return his feelings but still being so sweet and caring. 

Hyunjin’s words make it hard for Seungmin to ignore his feelings, but he doesn’t want to push them onto Hyunjin and give him another burden to deal with. He has already finally accepted that it isn’t a burden for Hyunjin to take care of him in return, that Hyunjin wants to do that, but confessing his feelings is one step too much at the moment. Hyunjin would really have to take the lead on that one.

He’s lost in his thoughts until Hyunjin groans and nuzzles his nose into Seungmin’s neck, heat creeping up on it, but Seungmin doesn’t push him away. He likes Hyunjin’s skinship, especially now he’s still feeling a bit sick and weak. If he’s honest to himself, he kind of likes being protected, too, he just never let himself indulge in it until now. 

Hyunjin rubs his face on Seungmin’s shoulder, holding him more tightly before he freezes, which Seungmin takes as a sign that he finally woke up. Hyunjin slowly removes his head and blinks at Seungmin, his cheeks red much like Seungmin’s probably are, and he looks… captivating. 

“Good morning, Hyunjin,” Seungmin whispers, unable to stop the corners of his lips from twitching up in fondness. 

“Good morning, Seungminnie,” Hyunjin responds softly, his voice still thick with sleep. “How are you feeling?” 

“Well rested, but still a bit… meh,” Seungmin admits as Hyunjin’s hand finds his arm and lightly caresses it. “I still have to get back to strength, I guess, but this is already so much better than before.”

“That’s good. I’m glad.” Hyunjin squeezes his arm, and they stare at each other for a moment before Seungmin starts to think that this might be a good moment to voice his gratitude for Hyunjin. He’s still not feeling completely healthy, but he’s feeling well enough to thank Hyunjin.

“I… I just want to say thank you again, Hyunjin,” he begins slowly. He’s not the best at voicing his feelings, he rather likes showing silent support through actions than words, but right now he can’t really do that, and for Hyunjin he’s willing to step out of his comfort zone a little to make sure he knows that he’s appreciated. 

“I know that I have been difficult with accepting your help, it– it just didn’t feel right because it’s my job to help you, but… as you said, we’re also friends, and I– sometimes I forget that you really see us like that, and I become afraid that I’m overstepping. Now, though, I realize that I’ve been giving you less credit for your kindness than you deserve.” 

“I really appreciate that you care so much about me, Hyunjin, and I– I think I’ve learned to accept that now, I think I’ve learned to believe that it makes you happy to help me, too. So, thank you, Hyunjin. And I’m sorry for worrying so much.”

Hyunjin pouts and his eyes have become a bit watery. “I– You don’t have to apologize, Seungmin. I’m just glad that you realize now how much I care, that you’re not uncomfortable with it, and that I could help you for once.” 

“I’m never uncomfortable with you, Hyunjin,” Seungmin admits before he even realizes that he said it, but Hyunjin deserves to know. Hyunjin’s pout becomes bigger before he pulls Seungmin into a warm hug, squeezing the back of Seungmin’s neck comfortingly. 

“I’m happy to hear that. I hope you know that the same is true the other way around,” he whispers, breath fanning over Seungmin’s ear. “I don’t care about our status difference or that you’re my personal guard. You’re my friend and equal first and foremost.” 

Seungmin’s stomach does a little flip, not in nausea but in happiness and because Seungmin is touched by Hyunjin’s kind words. He lets himself enjoy the hug as he sighs, “I’m glad. I’ll try to treat you more like that, too, and let you do it more as well, because I– I do see you and care for you as my good friend as well.” And maybe as someone who I want to kiss as well…

Hyunjin hums happily and places a firm kiss on the side of Seungmin’s head, and Seungmin’s heart makes a whole fuss about it. His head is probably beet red, so he hides his face a bit, willing his heart to calm down before Hyunjin can hear it trying to pound out of his chest. Hyunjin runs his hands through Seungmin’s hair as a heavy silence falls — at least, to Seungmin it feels heavy, because they just said that they see each other as equals and friends, which is true, but… for Seungmin there are still some things that he didn’t say yet, and he wants to say it, but he’s scared.

“Is…” Hyunjin begins, but he stops, obviously hesitating to say something, so Seungmin pulls back a little to see his face and encourage him. Hyunjin’s cheeks are red and his eyes are flitting back and forth as Seungmin hums in curiosity. 

“What’s on your mind, Jinnie?” 

Hyunjin chews on his lower lips for a moment before he shakes his head. “Nevermind. I– It’s selfish.” 

“Well, unless you were going to ask me to fight or do some heavy lifting for you, you can tell me anything,” Seungmin assures lightheartedly, and Hyunjin chuckles. Seungmin is happy that he has the mind to make jokes and make Hyunjin laugh again, but he’s genuinely curious about what Hyunjin wanted to say, so he squeezes Hyunjin’s arm in support. "I'm sure I won't find you selfish, Jinnie." 

Hyunjin smiles gratefully, and a bit of his nervosity seems to disappear when he exhales. 

“I… I was just wondering if friends, and I guess prince-guard, is the only way you could see us,” Hyunjin whispers, his cheeks deepening in color, and Seungmin holds his breath in surprise, wondering if he’s still sick and somehow hallucinating this.

“How– What do you mean?” 

“I— well…” Hyunjin stammers, his whole face as red as a tomato, which makes Seungmin smile and gently brush his palm over the warm skin to encourage him to speak up, making Hyunjin look down shyly, his hair fanning out over the pillow. “I— I’d like to see us as– well, lovers, but– of course only if you would want that as well. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do it because you have to adhere to my wants.” 

Seungmin retracts his hand in shock, his heart ramming in his chest as he tries to comprehend what Hyunjin is telling him. Lovers. He wants to see us as lovers. 

“Well– you know that I’m not afraid to go against your orders and wants,” he dumbly responds, and Hyunjin seems to interpret it the wrong way, because his expression contorts and his face falls. Seungmin’s heart sinks in panic as soon as he sees it, so he quickly continues to clarify,

“ So– I can say that, without feeling pressured, I-I sometimes like to imagine us as lovers too.” It comes out a tad awkwardly, but it makes Hyunjin gasp and look up at him with wide glimmering eyes, and, while they’re still lying in bed and Hyunjin’s fancy pajamas are partially covered by the blankets, Seungmin really feels like they’re not a prince and his guard for a while, instead he feels like they’re just two friends confessing their feelings to each other, which is nice. 

Hyunjin pulls him out of his thoughts by reaching out and softly caressing Seungmin’s cheek, Hyunjin’s shocked expression traded for a beautiful, fond, and bashful smile. He shuffles a bit closer until they can feel each other’s breath on their skin, before he whispers, “May I have the honor of kissing you, Seungmin?” 

Seungmin’s breath hitches and his heart stutters, all thoughts and worries about how they’ll do this disappearing and being replaced by the pure desire to kiss Hyunjin or let Hyunjin kiss him, so he nods, breathing out, “Yes”, as he leans in as well. Hyunjin smiles softly before his eyes flutter shut and his plump lips brush against Seungmin’s. 

Seungmin closes his eyes as well as he leans into the touch and they kiss chastely, butterflies flapping up a storm inside Seungmin’s stomach despite the gentle and careful nature of their kiss. He feels warm and content as their lips softly drag over each other, and– gosh, Seungmin feels more loved and safe than he has ever felt. 

They pull back not too long after, fondly and bashfully gazing at each other for a moment before Seungmin catches up on the reality of what just happened. He kissed Hyunjin, the prince, and he is his guard. They can’t just decide that they want to be together because they would like to be lovers. 

Hyunjin seems to notice Seungmin’s pondering, because he brushes his thumb over the crease between Seungmin’s eyebrows to smoothen it out and looks at him curiously. 

“What has you frowning, Seungminnie?” 

Seungmin is hesitant to bring it up, because he doesn’t want to pressure Hyunjin, but he can’t lie now Hyunjin asked. “Do… do you think it’s a possibility to– to make it reality?— Us, I mean. Being lovers.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widen before his expression softens and he sweetly caresses Seungmin’s cheek. “Yes,” he says before an embarrassed smile forms on his lips. “I– I actually already sort of arranged some things and asked around in case you would actually return my feelings.” 

Seungmin almost chokes on air hearing that. “Wait— really? ”

Hyunjin’s smile turns brighter as he nods. “Yeah, I did. I… I’ve liked you for a while, but I also did it because I just wanted to know that I can be with whoever I want to be with even if you wouldn’t return my feelings. My parents and Minho are very supportive and open-minded, so… yes, there is a possibility we can be lovers. That is, if you’re okay with everything that comes with being the lover of a prince, but we can lay low for a while as well.” 

Seungmin is a bit stunned at how far Hyunjin has thought this through already, he’s touched by it, and he’s also grateful that they won’t have to go through the whole hassle of asking for permission and being afraid that they can’t be together. “Yes, of course I’m okay with that. Wow– I didn’t think it would be this easy.” 

Hyunjin grins and leans in to peck Seungmin’s lips lovingly. “Me neither, but I’m happy it is. Maybe we’ll encounter some bumps on the road, but we have each other and my family as our support system.” 

Seungmin mirrors Hyunjin’s smile, feeling all giddy even through his lingering sickness, because he now believes that Hyunjin and his family care for him more than as only a guard for Hyunjin, they showed that while he was sick and apparently when Hyunjin asked about the possibility of them being together. 

Seungmin places a light kiss on Hyunjin’s lips in return before he prompts them to get out of bed and wash up for today. Hyunjin has a cute goofy grin on his face as he jumps out of bed and offers his hand to Seungmin to help him. At first, Seungmin doesn’t think he’ll need it, but his legs are still a bit unstable when he stands up, so he lets Hyunjin help after all. And– okay, maybe it’s nice to have Seungmin hug him as he washes up.

“Do you want to borrow my clothes again?” Hyunjin asks after washing up, back hugging Seungmin and rubbing their cheeks together. “I have enough clothes. I don’t mind. We could even match.”

Seungmin huffs and blushes a bit as he holds Hyunjin’s arms. “Sure, but don’t give me your fanciest clothes.”

“Why not? I think you’d look good in them!” Hyunjin tells him happily, which doesn’t help Seungmin cool down. “But okay, I’ll give you my more casual clothes.” 

“By which you mean, you’ll give me your clothes that still look very upper class but are comfortable and, in your words, comfort is unroyal,” Seungmin retorts, making Hyunjin bark out a laugh, which makes Seungmin smile and sneakily kiss Hyunjin’s nose. 

Once they’re dressed — Hyunjin of course looking way more elegant than Seungmin does, but Seungmin likes it that way, and now he can shamelessly admire how Hyunjin looks — they eat breakfast, and it definitely helps for Seungmin in terms of gaining some energy. Minho and Chan check on them, and while they don’t tell them about what happened this morning yet, the crown prince and royal medic seem to notice it anyway. 

Seungmin isn’t feeling well enough to go back to his usual routine of training or following Hyunjin around yet, but it’s okay, because Hyunjin is still by his side whenever he can, and Seungmin accepts his help, he accepts being wrapped in a blanket when he’s a bit cold, he accepts Hyunjin bringing him soup and other food, he accepts Hyunjin carrying or supporting him, and he accepts Hyunjin doing things himself instead of with Seungmin’s help. 

They also talk about what they want their relationship to entail and what they can expect and where their boundaries lie in public and in private, and it’s comfortable. Being with Hyunjin and talking to him in general is just comfortable, but especially now, as they rest in Hyunjin’s room, talking about their feelings, and sharing a warm blanket, soft kisses, and loving touches, Seungmin wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Yes, it was awful to be sick and Seungmin definitely could have handled it better, but Seungmin likes to see it as a learning experience and opportunity to grow. It made him accept Hyunjin taking care of him, which in turn opened him up to accept Hyunjin having feelings for him, so in the end, the positive outcomes outweigh the negative ones. A few days of suffering meant that he could appreciate Hyunjin and his genuine feelings towards him, and he can enjoy when Hyunjin will take care of him in the future. 

Seungmin will still be Hyunjin’s guard, Hyunjin’s protector, but now they’ll be lovers, too, and Seungmin will let Hyunjin protect him as well (and he will of course let Hyunjin kiss him and let Hyunjin insist that Seungmin spends the night in his room and have even deeper conversations and more intimate moments). 

For now, they lay low, which isn’t bad at all, they just take walks together while holding hands and pick flowers for each other aside from often spending evenings in Hyunjin’s room where they can enjoy full privacy, but Seungmin knows that, when they’re ready to open up to the outside more, they’ll have each other’s back, and they’ll protect each other, because Seungmin is serious about Hyunjin, and if the way Hyunjin took care of him when he was sick and still does now, Seungmin knows that that feeling is reciprocated. 

The end.