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That night, sleepless and ready to train, Fogado finds Alcryst alone by the campfire.
He has a pensive, dour look on his face, which isn’t anything unusual for him, but he looks especially gloomy. He was staring at the fire like he saw something special in it.
“Hey,” Fogado calls, and Alcryst startles.
“P-prince Fogado!” he exclaims, “what are you doing out here…?”
“I was just going on a walk,” he lies. There’s no way he’s telling Alcryst about his thoughts on the war. He doesn’t want Alcryst to realize he’s not as cool as he thinks he is.
“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to ruin your walk. I can go back to my room—”
“No, It’s fine,” Fogado cuts him off, and he takes a seat next to Alcryst to prove his point. “I like being around you.”
“Oh…”
The air between them grows silent save for the crackling of the fire, and when Fogado chances a glance towards Alcryst, his expression is blank, but gloomy.
“Something on your mind? You can tell me if there is.”
Alcryst turns to look at him. “What?”
“You can tell me if something’s bothering you,” Fogado repeats.
“It’s… not anything interesting.”
“You say that all the time.” Fogado leans back to get comfortable; he’s not going anywhere until Alcryst tells him what's up. “So, spill. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. You know I’m no snitch.”
“...You’ll say I’m crazy.”
Fogado pushes himself up slightly. “Hey, no I won’t. Come on.”
Alcryst sighs, and he picks up a stick and pokes the fire with it. Then, defeatedly, he throws it into the fire and watches it burn. The stick is no more but ash by the time Alcryst speaks up again. It almost catches Fogado off guard.
“Sometimes… I like to watch the fire burn things away. And I wonder if…” Alcryst trails off, but under Fogado’s stare, he hugs his knees to his chest and continues. “I wonder if I’ll burn away too, just like the wood. There to keep the fire, but once it’s spent… there’s nothing left for it to do. There’s nothing left of it but the ash that no one needs.”
Fogado frowns. He was expecting something deep, as late night conversations tend to bring up those topics, but this was a slightly darker topic than he was expecting. It’s almost painful to listen to. He always knew Alcryst’s anxieties ran deep, almost irremovable with the way it seemed to cling to him, but while Fogado can relate to the feeling, he feels Alcryst’s ramblings are coming from a place similar to longing, rather than fear.
“Diamant is like this,” Alcryst says, and Fogado fails to catch on to what he’s saying until the brodian prince pokes at the fire with another stick. “Warm and comforting… people wouldn’t be able to live without fire. Diamant can do so much for our people, unlike me. And sometimes I think… if there’s nothing else that I can do as prince, then maybe giving my life for my country isn’t so bad.”
Fogado sits up fully now, unable to keep his concerns from showing on his face. Alcryst, dying? He couldn’t imagine that. In fact, he thinks living without Alcryst would be absolutely miserable.
He couldn’t live with the heartbreak.
“That’s not true,” he finally says. “There’s a lot of things that you can do. And, if we’re using the same analogy, then Diamant needs you. Fire won’t last without fuel.”
Fogado decides not to mention that he needs Alcryst, too.
“Ah– I’m sorry for talking about something so dark,” Alcryst apologizes quickly, fiddling with the ends of his vest. “...But if people had to choose between me and Diamant… It’s obvious who they’d choose.”
Fogado leans back. “Yeah. At the very least, I know who I’d choose.” Then, he reaches over and pulls Alcryst closer by his shoulders. “I’d choose you.”
“That’s…” Alcryst trails off, and Fogado doesn’t miss the red tint to his cheeks, “weird.”
“No it’s not!” He replies. “Are you saying I’m weird?”
Alcryst then sputters at the question and hurries to correct himself. “I— that’s… not what I meant… I mean, I do think you’re… rather odd for liking me, but I didn’t mean to imply that you’re the problem!”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. I was pulling your leg.” As an apology for stressing him out, Fogado pats Alcryst’s back.
“Oh…” The brodian prince sighs in relief, and he leans back into Fogado’s hold. “Right. I’m sorry… I’m not good at recognizing those sorts of things.”
“Nah, don’t sweat it. I’m sorry, too.” Fogado trails his palm down Alcryst’s back, and when it arrives on soil, he digs his nails into the soil. It feels as if all of his insecurities are clogging up his throat and making it hard to breathe, but he tries his best not to show it. “But I mean it. I’m not an outlier. There are a lot of people who love you, and need you. Why not put your faith in them?”
Not wanting to stay around the campfire’s tense atmosphere, Fogado stands and holds his hand back out for Alcryst to take. “This place is kind of gloomy. Want to take a walk around the orchard with me instead?”
Alcryst stares at his hand for a moment before hesitantly taking it. “...Sure,” he says. His fingers are calloused, cold, but oh, so gentle. Proof of his hard work. Fogado likes them. He likes everything about Alcryst.
When Fogado gets back to his room, he’s sleepless, but his thoughts are full of worries quite different from his usual ones.
A skirmish brings them to a quick stop at Solm Palace, and while Fogado is glad to be home and sleeping in his (rarely used) childhood bedroom, the skirmish stresses him out more than he lets on. Every little skirmish and fight brings the war back to the forefront of his mind, and a heaviness to his heart that just won’t go away.
He can’t bear to lose anyone. Fogado hates heartbreak more than anything.
A knock on the door shakes him from his thoughts.
“Who is it?” he calls, and the door opens slowly, meekly. Then, a familiar head of blue peeks through.
“Prince Fogado?”
“Prince Alcryst,” he says in surprise. He motions for the brodian to come into his room and Alcryst closes the door behind him as quietly as he can. “Nice to see you. How’d you find my room, though?”
“I, um, asked the guards. They were… surprisingly helpful. I thought for sure they wouldn’t let me in, since I’m a foreign prince.”
“Ah, okay. Actually, I gave them permission to do that. Told them to help if anyone from the army needed directions.” Fogado pats the bed next to him, beckoning Alcryst over. When he does, he practically sinks into the plush of his bed. “So, do you actually have business with me, or did you just miss me?” he asks with a smirk, trying his best to mask the insecurities at the back of his mind.
“Um, something like that.” Alcryst twiddles his thumbs in his lap, and anxiously looks up after a short moment to ready himself. “I… wanted to see if you were okay. You looked really tired earlier. I was worried you sustained an untreated injury, or something of the sort.”
Was he really being so obvious? Fogado frowns. “Nah, I’m fine. If I were injured, I’d see the healers for sure. Is that all? You know you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I—” Alcryst bites his lip. He seems as if he has something more to say, but holds himself back. Finally, he says “No, that’s all.”
There’s definitely something on his mind, but he hadn’t pushed Fogado. Surely he should grant him the grace of doing the same.
Still, he deserves to let out whatever thoughts are circling around in his head. They both do.
“I’ll head back to my room now. I’m sorry for bothering you, Prince Fogado,” he says, but when he moves to stand, Fogado grabs his wrist.
“Hey, come on. You just got here. Why don’t we spend some more time together?” He pushes himself up to stand, and grins down at Alcryst.
“Um…” Alcryst turns red. “I would love to, really, but, uh… people might… start to assume things. It’s late at night.”
“Let them assume,” Fogado says courageously. “Let’s just have fun tonight. I’ll take you around the palace.”
Alcryst looks back at the door anxiously. “But…”
“Hey, I know my way around this place. It’s literally my palace. No one will even see us, promise,” he says, and maybe Alcryst sees the sincerity in his look, because he reluctantly nods. Fogado can’t help the grin that spreads along his face.
“Great! Let's go!”
He grasps Alcryst’s hand firmly despite the squeak he lets out and drags him out the door. After looking out for the guards, he drags Alcryst down the halls.
Their shoes slide along the slippery marble floors, and the two of them barely avoid slipping. Along the way, their barely concealed giggles echo through the halls, but Fogado makes sure they’re already rounding the corner before the guards can even turn their heads. It’s the most fun he’s had since the war started, even with all the parties he’s been to.
The two of them stop with their backs against the wall of one of the large balconies looking out into the courtyard of the palace, hands still clasped together, and giggles dissipating into the night air. It’s getting cold, but the sweat they worked up while sliding along and avoiding guards around the palace makes it so it’s barely noticeable.
“Close call,” Fogado breathes out once the footsteps of the guards disappear down the halls.
“Yes,” Alcryst says, equally out of breath, and Fogado’s breath hitches when he looks down and sees a shaky smile on the other’s face and red cheeks. Time seems to slow down when a quiet giggle escapes Alcryst’s lips, and the feelings which have been stewing at the bottom of his stomach that he’s been trying to keep down hit him in full force.
He loves Alcryst.
Oh, gods.
“Fogado?” Alcryst calls, smile smaller but not even slightly dimmer. He turns down at the call of his name, and time starts moving again. “Thank you.”
“Yeah,” Fogado says, still out of breath. Or was it that he was holding it? Alcryst seems to be doing fine now. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” Alcryst says. “I could never do things like this back at Brodia Castle. I wish we could do this again sometime…”
“Then we should come back here,” Fogado says, leaning closer, “and we can do it as many times as you want.”
Then, Alcryst blushes and looks away. His eyes glint in the moonlight. “I’d like that,” he whispers.
And oh, gods, Fogado would love that too.
Fogado leaned forward, lost in the feeling of being so badly in love, and Alcryst’s gaze returned to him as he let himself be held. Then, as if it were natural, it happened. He had his hand on the other’s waist, the other on his cheek, and—
Their lips meet, his hands tangle in Alcryst’s silky hair, and the two kiss for a short, sweet moment.
Then, when he pulls away, Fogado realizes his mistake, and is just about to apologize before Alcryst dives in and kisses him again. Alcryst doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing, but Fogado guides him through it. The two of them lose track of time like that, kissing gently, softly, before it devolves into something a little more passionate, and Fogado is embarrassed to admit there might have been a little bit of tongue.
The two of them pull away, out of breath like they’d just went running along the halls for a second time, but only because footsteps draw closer. They share a panicked look despite their reddened cheeks and wet lips, and they plaster themselves against the wall. The guards mumble about having heard something in their direction, but soon leave once they notice nothing seems amiss.
“Maybe this is a sign we should get back to our rooms,” Fogado says. They definitely got carried away.
Alcryst nods bashfully. “R-right. We should.”
Expertly evading the guards roaming the palace halls, Fogado brings Alcryst back to his room so he doesn’t get lost. It wouldn’t be suspicious to see Fogado roaming the halls of his own palace, but it would be suspicious if the second prince of Brodia was.
“Okay, I don’t think anyone saw.” Fogado turns to look at Alcryst, who seems to be lost in thought again. “I’ll… see you tomorrow?”
“Um, actually,” Alcryst wrings his fingers- a nervous habit, Fogado has noticed, “I… was going to ask if you wanted to, uh… hang out. A little more?” He looks up with a pleading expression not unlike that of a hungry cat, and really, how is Fogado supposed to say no to that?
So, he grins, and says “yeah, of course,” and as Alcryst leads him into his room, Fogado kicks the door closed behind him.
“So, how are we going to hang out?” Fogado asks, and Alcryst, as if he hadn’t considered it, stiffens.
“Oh, I.. uh, didn’t think of that…” He turns around to look at Fogado. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to spend more time with you… I didn’t think that far.”
“Hey, that’s fine,” Fogado assures, “we can just play it by ear.”
The two of them go silent save for getting situated on the edge of Alcryst’s bed. Fogado has to admit, it’s a bit awkward, especially considering what happened on the balcony just a little while ago.
He should really apologize for that, huh?
“Hey, actually,” he starts, “I wanted to say sorry. I definitely should have asked before I did that earlier.”
“Oh, no,” Alcryst says quickly, shaking his head, “I should be the one to apologize. I also… should have asked. B-but for what it’s worth I… really liked it. I hope that’s not presumptuous for me to say!”
Fogado turns to look at Alcryst. The only light inside the room comes from the candle on the desk, and the brodian prince looks really good in the lighting. “It’s not.”
The two fall silent, and after a beat, Alcryst speaks up. “Can I ask… why did you do that?”
“Why did I kiss you?” Fogado asks. The other nods his head in response.
Isn’t it obvious? “I like you,” Fogado says plainly. He knows that Alcryst probably won’t believe him, but it’s the truth. “I love you.”
“Love?!” He sputters, shying away from Fogado’s gaze. “That’s—”
“Weird?”
Alcryst quiets at that, and Fogado grabs his hand. They’ve already kissed, so why worry about something as innocent as clasped fingers?
“I told you before, it’s not weird. There are a lot of people who love you… But when I say I love you, what I mean is I want to be with you. Won’t you believe me?”
Alcryst stares at Fogado’s hands clasped over his, and after a moment, he returns the gesture. “It’s… hard to believe you. But… I want to.”
He wants to, and that’s enough for Fogado.
Fogado leans in for another kiss, and this time, he doesn’t feel the need to apologize. Alcryst returns the gesture sweetly.
The two of them fall asleep soon after, and Fogado’s determination to win the war is stronger than ever.
Fogado wakes up that morning by Alcryst’s hair tickling his face, and he kisses the other’s forehead. They didn’t have labels yet, but it’s fine. They’d play it by ear.
As Fogado pets his head, Alcryst slowly wakes, and as if he’d forgotten everything that happened that night, he shrieks and falls off the bed. It’s a little funny, Fogado has to admit.
“Hey, you alright?”
“P-prince Fogado!” he exclaims, and he returns a grin.
“Morning, sunshine. How was your sleep?”
“I— slept well…” he says quietly, and he pulls himself up onto the bed. “I didn’t snore, did I?”
“You did. It’s fine though, it was cute.”
Alcryst flushes at that, and the pout on his face is also very cute. Fogado holds his face and leads him to lie down on the bed again. “Even your pout is cute.”
Fogado kisses him, and despite his earlier pout, Alcryst returns the kiss, albeit awkwardly. Arms wrap around his neck and Alcryst digs his fingers into his shoulders, and Fogado deepens the kiss. If there weren’t a war, he wouldn’t mind staying like this forever, with Alcryst’s arms around him. It almost makes him forget about his worries altogether.
Then, a loud, firm knock sounds from the door. The two of them break apart so fast that Fogado almost gets dizzy. Even worse is the familiar voice of the crown prince of Brodia calling “Alcryst! It’s morning.”
“Diamant!” Alcryst whispers in dread, and he pushes himself up to sit. “Oh, gods. He’s going to be so disappointed in me if he sees me with you! N-not that you’re the problem, but… agh…” Alcryst starts wringing his hands against his thighs. “What would he think, seeing someone like me with the Prince of Solm?”
“I don’t know, maybe that the Prince of Solm is a lucky guy?”
Alcryst looks over at him with pleading, dreadful, teary eyes, and Fogado smiles bashfully in apology. “Sorry. Should I hide under the bed?”
“I-if that’s fine with you, please do… I’m not ready to tell Diamant about…” he trails off, fiddling with the seams of his shirt. “About us,” he decides vaguely. Fair enough.
At that, Fogado crawls under the bed like he used to as a child. It’s a bit harder now that he’s multiple inches taller and not particularly a small guy, but he makes it work. Alcryst stands to open the door, and he peeks out from under the covers to see Diamant greet his brother.
“G-good morning, Diamant. I’m sorry, I overslept a bit.”
“It’s quite alright. I know you were tired after the skirmish yesterday. Still, it won’t do to oversleep at another kingdom’s palace. The prince and princess are already out of their rooms,” Diamant says, and Fogado perks up at his own mention. Little does he know, the first prince of Solm never went back to his own room for the night.
“Yes, I understand… I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
Diamant smiles at his younger brother. “There’s no need to apologize.” He ruffles his younger brother’s bed-messy hair, which only serves to make it messier, much to Alcryst’s (vocal) dismay.
Then, Diamant makes an inquisitive noise. “Oh, do you have a visitor?”
Fogado feels dread wash over him, and he can see the way Alcryst visibly tenses. “What?”
“There’s another pair of shoes,” Diamant points out, and as if he forgot, Alcryst turns to look. Fogado’s shoes lay neatly placed near the wall next to Alcryst’s. “Aren’t those Prince Fogado’s?”
“Oh. Um…” The panic in Alcryst’s voice is very noticeable, and it’s making Fogado wonder if he should come out from hiding to end his agony. “P-prince Fogado came over last night! He asked me if I was alright because I looked tired after the skirmish. He must have forgotten them here.”
Technically, it was the other way around, but it was at least a fairly decent lie. It was a half truth, kind of.
Diamant doesn’t seem to buy it, considering shoes were an odd thing to forget about, but he spares Alcryst the scrutiny. “I see…” he says. “Well then, be sure to thank Prince Fogado when you see him later, alright?”
“Y-yes. I will.”
“I’ll leave you to get ready, then. I’ll see you later, Alcryst,” Diamant bids farewell, and Fogado doesn’t miss his glance around Alcryst’s room, as if looking for something.
“See you later, Diamant.”
The door closes with a soft sound, but the sound of Alcryst’s messy, loud fumbling to lock it comes soon after, and Fogado crawls back out from under the bed.
At Alcryst’s relieved, horrified expression, Fogado can’t help but laugh.
“Please don’t laugh!” Alcryst pleads, and it only makes Fogado laugh harder. “That was terrifying!”
“Sorry, I know! It’s just, the situation was so ridiculous!”
Fogado kisses him as an apology afterwards as they get ready to leave the room. Alcryst still seems rather nervous whenever Fogado displays his affections, but he’ll make sure Alcryst gets used to it. He deserves to be used to the feeling of being loved.
“The perfect gift for Prince Alcryst?”
“Yeah.”
Fogado watches as Lapis closes her eyes in thought. “Prince Alcryst likes reading, especially about fish. I believe he has a soft spot for things relating to fish, but it depends on the kind of gift.” Lapis turns to look at him and tilts her head inquisitively. “What’s the gift for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He turns the question over in his head. Everything, Fogado thinks. My feelings, his feelings, our love. But that’s a little bit too forward, isn’t it?
“I want to let him know he’s appreciated,” he settles. Lapis nods, and the smile she gives is gentle.
“That sounds wonderful, Prince Fogado.”
Just as Fogado is about to open his mouth to reply, Citrinne, who had been quiet and staring at Fogado for the last few minutes, opens her eyes as if she had an epiphany.
“I have the greatest idea!” Citrinne speaks up, and the excited grin she has on her face makes Fogado lean out of his chair in anticipation.
Citrinne states her grand idea, and Fogado grins, holding his necklace in his hand. It’s definitely a great idea.
With plans at the ready, Fogado makes his way to have everything set. Alcryst deserves the perfect gift, and that’s what he’s going to get.
“Prince Alcryst!”
The boy in question perks up when he hears the call of his name. “Oh, Prince Fogado.”
“Hey, could I borrow you for a moment? I need to talk to you about something.”
Alcryst glances at Citrinne, his dining partner, anxiously, but she only shrugs and plays ignorant. “Oh, don’t worry about me, Alcryst. You go see what your boyfriend wants.”
Alcryst flushes at the label, but he doesn’t deny it. He pushes himself up to stand, and Fogado grabs him by the hand and leads him away with thanks to Citrinne. She only smiles at him in response; silent encouragement.
They stop by the gazebo at the garden, and Fogado doesn’t let go of Alcryst’s hand.
“D-did you need something from me, Prince Fogado?” he asks anxiously. Fogado shakes his head.
“No, I don’t need anything from you,” he says, “well, besides your attention. I have something for you.”
“For me?”
Only then does Fogado let go of Alcryst’s hand, and he digs into his pocket to pull out his gift. “A symbol–” Fogado motions for the brodian to hold out his hand. “–Of my love…” He places the small gift in Alcryst’s gloved hand. “For you.”
Alcryst stares at his closed fingers hesitantly, and his eyes widen when he opens them. A delicately carved pendant.
“I had my necklace recast.”
Alcryst whips his head up to look at Fogado. “Y-your necklace?! The— the one you wear all the time?” The brodian prince turns his eyes and scan’s Fogado’s neck as if he needed solid proof. Fogado is, in fact, not wearing his necklace. “But why?”
“Well, I only had the ring melted down. The chain is still with me.” Fogado starts with a grin. “Lapis and Citrinne told me in Brodia, it’s tradition for medals to be recast when they’re given to someone else. My necklace isn’t exactly a medal, but still.”
“It’s a symbol of my love,” Fogado continues, “and I hope that you’ll take it. I thought it’d be romantic if I went with one of your traditions. Do you like it?”
Alcryst turns his gaze back to the pendant and runs his fingers over the intricate designs of the pendant. “It’s… it’s beautiful, Fogado. I feel as if I’m not worthy to accept such a thoughtful gift… are you sure you’re okay with giving this to me?”
“I had it made for you, so, yeah.”
Alcryst goes silent for a long moment, eyes trained on the pendant in his hand. Then, the gentlest smile appears on his lips, and Fogado feels his chest tighten up and his stomach start fluttering.
“Oh, Prince Fogado… thank you,” he says with a voice that sounds as if he’s on the verge of tears. “I wish I had something to give you in return. I couldn’t possibly come up with something that could compare to such a wonderful gift.”
“You don’t have to give me anything!” Fogado says, “you accepting the pendant is already the best you could have given me in return.”
Surprisingly, Alcryst turns closer to Fogado and looks at him with a fiery look in his eyes. “No, it isn’t! This gift is so… so beautiful! And cool! And you’re so cool! I will give you something in return!”
Fogado leans back, and Alcryst leans forward. He’s cute when he gets forward like this, he thinks to himself. He can feel his cheeks start to heat up, but thankfully (or maybe regretfully. Fogado didn’t exactly mind the lack of distance), Alcryst backs away before he notices anything.
“If you’re so set on it, then I’m not gonna stop you, haha! I have an idea for a gift that’s perfect for me.”
Alcryst looks at him attentively. “What is it?”
“Promise me that you’ll stay with me, even when the war is over? You can’t die.”
Red eyes widen in surprise, a clear sign that he wasn’t expecting that response. Still, he looks at him passionately when he says “Yes, of course. We’ll get through this. I promise.”
Fogado grins. It’s the best gift he could have asked for, surely.
Suddenly, Alcryst backs away, searching for something in the many hidden pockets of his coat. Then, he pulls out something and closes his fist around it. “I know you said that’s already the perfect gift for you, but I still feel like you deserve more. This is… ugh, this is so lame compared to your gift, but… uh,” he holds out a beautiful gem, “this is a crystal I received from my father. You can have it… unless you think it’s lame, which it is, then it’s really fine if you don’t take it.”
Fogado picks up the crystal from Alcryst’s hands and holds it up. A stone that’s red and blue… almost like the divine one, but also, just like Alcryst. “It’s got your colors,” Fogado points out, amused.
“Yes, my father said that too. He said it’s a very rare stone.”
Fogado turns it over in the light. It’s beautiful. “You’ll never find gems like these in Solm. I love it.”
“Oh, you do?” Alcryst smiles, and his shoulders lower in relief. “I’m glad… please, feel free to do whatever you want with it. It’s important to me, so I want you to have it.”
Fogado tucks the beautiful gem away in his pocket. He’ll be sure to tuck it away somewhere safe. “Thank you, Alcryst.” He holds his lover’s face in his hands, and Alcryst smiles. The two of them kiss, uninterrupted this time, giggling like they were the time they went sliding around the halls of Solm Palace.
“We should tell Diamant, and your sister” Alcryst says between kisses, “and get their blessings.”
“I don’t need my sister’s blessing. Just your brother’s… but that can wait. I’d rather spend time with you.”
Fogado is sure that his worries about the war won’t disappear. Not until the war is over. However, he has someone to share them with, and a promise that no matter what, Alcryst will be with him, even after it all.