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Io sighed at his father's third attempt this month at bringing up the idea of searching for suitors.
He had already shot down the previous two by bringing back the memory of the catastrophe that idea had brought a few years ago. The poor girls had been traumatized by the obvious lack of interest the prince had in them that they couldn't help take it personally. It dented their relationship with various royal families to say the least, and Io had lost precious time for dealing with the kingdom’s finances.
Yes, Io had other things to worry about than romance. Of course, marrying a wealthy bride made financial sense at first, but in the long run that stability would only make him too trusting and lose the financial skills he had gained, which had lead to an already prosper kingdom.
So he had rejected that idea long ago. The fact that he also had no interest in the opposite sex didn't help. Of course, he never mentioned this particular detail to his father, but he thought it was of no consequence: he did not plan on being in a romantic relationship with anyone, male or female, any time soon.
In fact, he had just been finalizing some plans to meet with an important merchant in the town tavern. Of course, this was all undercover, and not even his father would know he had gone. Those meetings were one of the ways Io made sure to be informed of every financial aspect of his kingdom.
So Io put on a hooded cape and discreetly made his way out of the castle. It wasn't a long distance to the town, but Io had to always be on his guard if he wanted to avoid somebody recognizing him. Once inside the tavern, he took the corner table and waited for his informer.
some time passed and the man had still not arrived. It was not common for others to leave him waiting, so Io wondered if he was alright.
"Someone left you hanging too?" A voice at his side said. Io couldnt help the small jump he gave, not used to being spoken to by random citizens. He looked away, hoping the person was simply a drunkard who would get bored of him and leave, but instead he heard the chair infront of him be moved. "I certainly didn't appreciate it either! So much for a first date."
The voice seemed young, like someone Io's age. The prince couldn't help move his head lightly and peak at this person. Bright brown eyes met his immediately, strands of pink hair crowning the person's face, which held a terribly appealing smile.
"There you are." He greeted with amusement. That was when Io realized that his face was pretty much completely visible to this person now. It was only a matter of seconds before they realized- "My name is Ryuu. Yours?"
The prince blinked in surprise, remaining quiet. The pink haired tilted his head with a smirk.
"Are you going to leave me hanging too?"
In that moment, Io knew that this was one of the most interesting people he had ever interacted with.
"Io." He finally answered with a small smirk of his own. He supposed since this person had not recognized his image, he would not recognize his name either.
"Io." The pink haired repeated, and a shiver went down the other's back. Ryuu watched him for a second longer before suddenly standing. "Well, I'm bored out of my mind here! Want to join me in a little outing?" He winked. "It doesn't have to be first date unless you want it to."
And Io wanted to laugh because no one had ever talked to him this way; so bold, so open, so real. Merchant forgotten, Io found himself standing.
"Lead the way."
This pretty much went against everything he had been taught as a child. Don't go out of the castle without telling mommy or daddy, don't accept invitations from strangers, don't walk into dark scary woods...
Now Io was doing all of them, and he couldn't even find it in himself to regret it a single bit. Ryuu's voice rang through the trees as he dared Io to chase him, and his laugh was contagious and genuine as he'd take Io's hand when finding the prince after he'd gotten lost in the chase. His stories were entertaining, and much more full of life than any a royal had ever told him.
"Then my grandmother was yelling at me again, and I had to search for those herbs myself! It's not my fault her assistant got food poisoning, its a miracle I didn't get it myself! Her cooking was terrible."
"Is that why you left?" Io teased, probing for information at the same time. Ryuu turned to him, slightly impressed.
"How did you know I'm not from here!"
"Just a hunch." Not knowing the ruling monarchs was a bit of a hint.
Ryuu lead him through a path that seemed familiar to him.
"Then how do you explain I know these woods so well?" Ryuu asked curiously.
"You are a restless individual and decided to go exploring. I'd dare to believe you even wondered these woods before the town itself."
Ryuu whined good natured.
"No fair! You're too good at this!"
"You're just too open."
"And you need to let loose some more!"
They walked for a long time, but Io did not feel tired. If anything, he felt energized by Ryuu's every word, every action.
"We're here!" The pink haired cheered as he pulled Io into a clearing. "I know the path here perfectly, but the way back is a little harder so make this time count!"
And as they sat down together on the grass, Io thought that maybe he should. As the prince intertwined their fingers, Ryuu paused in his story to look at Io, a mix of a smirk and a smile on his face.
"You're looking so focused, is there something on your mind?" He asked innocently.
"Nothing at all." Io teased as he began to lean in, Ryuu following suit.
It was the walk back that gave him away. As they reached the edge of the forest, they were stopped by a couple of guards looking strangely intimidating.
"It is not allowed for people to be in this part of the woods."
"What? Since when!" Ryuu said angrily, obviously unhappy to be denied a place he had grown so familiar with.
"I don't remember that law being announced." Io said with suspicion. The man grunted.
"It's new. So what will you do? You could end in the dungeons if we reported you..."
"What are you implying." Io hissed angrily. Corruption? In his kingdom? He would not allow it.
"Let's get out of here." Ryuu advised, but the others crowded around them.
"Oh, you're not going anywhere until we figure something out..."
Another man took hold of Ryuu's arm, and Io thought he saw red.
“That’s enough.” The authority in his tone was palpable, making everyone stop what they were doing and look at Io. He removed his hood, and the guards gasped, the man letting go of Ryuu as if he had been burnt.
"Your highness!" They all bowed severely, obviously terrified. "We’re sorry for the disrespect, w-we meant nothing by it."
Ryuu blinked in confusion from Io, to the guards, and back to Io.
“What…” Then he saw the bracelet on Io's arm: a crowned golden heart with wings. He recognized it as the symbol of all of the royals of the land. “WHAT!”
Io felt a tug of dissapointment at having his secret revealed, but he ignored it for the time being. He glared at the men before him.
"Go back to your group leader. If I don't hear you reported your actions, there will be far greater consequences."
“O-of course, your highness."
Ryuu watched silently as they left, turning back to Io with wide eyes.
"Huh?!" He expressed, obviously asking Io to explain himself.
And so they began walking back to town, Io reluctantly talking about himself and what had gotten him at the tavern that day.
“So you were supposed to meet with a merchant?”
“He’ll forgive me.”
“Of course he will.” Ryuu snorted. Io looked at him from the corner of his eye, before stopping for a moment.
"You know who I am now." Io began as Ryuu watched him with a raised eyebrow. "I would just like my true identity to not have an effect on our interactions."
Ryuu was silent for a moment, and Io wondered with if maybe this request was not something that would be possible.
“True identity?" The pink haired finally spoke, crossing his arms. "Are you not as much Io now as you were a moment ago?”
Ryuu grinned at Io's surprised look, and walked ahead. Io remained that way before giving a small smiling. A strange warmth spread through his chest as he watched Ryuu's retreating form.
Yes, he was the one.
“Go away!”
The royal guard outside of Ryuu’s door could do nothing but look around at his comrades with a raised eyebrow. He knocked again.
“You must understand, we have orders from the prin-“
“TELL HIM IF HE WANTS TO GIVE ME SOMETHING, HE SHOULD COME HIMSELF.”
The man sighed. This was the third attempt of the guards to give a token from the prince to this commoner. When the others had told him that this person refused to accept it, he could simply not believe it (it was from the prince after all) so he had come to see for himself. It seemed the reports were true.
“The object is worth too much to just leave it outside for him.” One of the guards murmured. Ryuu heard, and was yelled with even more frustration.
“TAKE IT, THEN! I DON'T WANT IT!”
The people walking by stopped for a moment at the outburst before looking at each other and walking on with caution. The leader of the royal guard sighed, deciding it would be best to leave before more of a scene was created.
It was a few hours later that Ryuu heard nocking on his door once more. The pink haired fumed, practically stomping to the door.
Looks like these guards need me to yell at their faces before they get the message across!
“Haven’t I told you a million times-!” He began as he practically slammed the door open.
The words died on his lips as an elegant head of green hair and a wardrobe of bright gold touches greeted his eyes.
“That it should be me coming here.” Io finished the sentence for him with a hint of amusement. “Yes, it was quite clear.”
Ryuu blinked for a second, still in a bit of a shock, before giving a playful scowl.
“What took you so long.” His face broke into grin, which Io thought brightened his expression marvelously. Yes, this had been worth taking time from his finances.
“Well, handling a kingdom could be considered a slightly occupying job.” He said with ease, Ryuu rolling his eyes. The pink haired was about to invite him for an outing, when Io lifted a small golden chest he had been holding, which Ryuu had been too distracted to notice. “And here is the token you have been so famously rejecting.” He opened the case carefully and revealed an obviously very expensive and extravagant necklace. “I don’t understand why you wouldn't take it before, it’s not like it changes if I give it to you personally or not.”
“You really think that?”
Io had looked away from Ryuu and instead at the gift for a moment. When the prince looked at the other once again, he felt a strange sort of sinking feeling in his chest. Ryuu wasn’t smiling anymore, and there was something in his eyes that Io did not like. A hint of sadness, maybe.
“Well…” Io continued, slightly disturbed by the change in the other. He motioned for Ryuu to take the chest, certain it would fix whatever it was that had gone wrong. “Will you accept it now?”
A spark of humor returned to those brown eyes, and Io was surprised at how relieved that made him feel. Ryuu tapped his chin with a hum, as if considering the offer.
“No.”
Io stood there for a second, convinced he had heard wrong. He blinked, waiting for Ryuu to laugh and say it was a joke, but the other had become expressionless.
“Wha- why?” The prince stuttered ungracefully, completely taken by surprise. The pink haired gave a step back.
“You heard me. I wont be accepting that. Thank you for coming.” And before the prince’s incredulous eyes, Ryuu shut the door on him.
Io had been too shocked to try and speak to Ryuu again. He went back to the castle, in his mind the scene playing over and over and simply not being able to understand how Ryuu could reject such an extremely valuable object like that necklace.
It was something the boy would never be able to afford for himself even if he saved for it for the rest of his life. And even if it hadn’t been of his liking, he could have sold it for any sum he would have wanted. There was literally no reason not to take it.
At least, not any Io could form.
And as the day came to an end, he could still not stop thinking about that pink haired boy or fighting the grin that started forming on his face. Already he thought this boy was the most interesting person he had ever met.
The gift was inadequate. Io reasoned, determination flowing through his veins. Next time, It’ll be something better.
It became a sort of game for Ryuu. Every day, Io would stop by and try to offer him treasure after treasure, all probably worth at least 10 times his own home. Every single time, Ryuu would pretend to consider before giving a strong ‘no’.
Io’s expression was still hilarious every time, as if he actually expected the gift to make a difference. Sometimes when he was bored, Ryuu would imagine Io getting distracted from his own work as he thought of the thing he would try to conquer Ryuu with next. The image warmed his heart in its own way, but it wasn’t what he wanted.
This went on for almost a month. Finally one day Ryuu woke up to thundering knocks on his door and he knew that this time would be different (that, or the guards had come to arrest him for getting on the prince’s nerves, but Ryuu was an optimist).
Still in his sleeping robes, Ryuu made his way to the door and opened it cautiously. There, empty handed and minimally dressed, stood a blushing prince; breathing heavy as if he had ran all the way from the palace, and Ryuu felt he might have.
“I don’t understand.” Io stated, catching his breath but eyes never leaving Ryuu. There was a longing and impatience in his voice that Ryuu had not detected in previous meetings. The prince clenched his fists. “Don’t you want to spend time with me? I-“ He took a moment to catch his breath once more, Ryuu feeling his own heart speed up. “I just really want to spend time with you!”
And there were the words Ryuu had been waiting for so long. He felt his shoulders sink with relief and other emotions. He took a step forward and carefully laced his fingers behind the other’s neck.
“Ok.” He said simply, smiling almost giddily as he looked right into the other’s eyes. Io blinked, surprisingly even more incredulous at this response than the usual one.
“What?” The prince asked, placing his hands on Ryuu’s waist and pulling him back as if to search for the answer to his confusion in the other’s eyes. “B-but why this time?”
“Because it’s just you.” Ryuu said with a wink. “That was all I wanted.”
Io simply stood there staring, trying to process those words. Ryuu laughed with a shake of his head and quickly planted a kiss on the prince’s cheek.
“You’re on your way, your highness,” The pink haired said cheekily. “To understanding that love is priceless.” He had taken the other’s hand, and had begun to pull in the direction of the forest. “Now come, there’s this waterfall I’ve wanted to climb with you for some time!”