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Prince Shun has always been considered a hero of their people because of his good deeds to his mother's land; Queen Suzume Kaidou has always doted on her eldest son for this reason, but that also meant that she has nearly impossible expectations from him. He doesn't usually complain about this because he was barely at the castle in the first place, but now that his expedition around the entire country was done, he is now home for good.
Prince Shun travelled the land with his right hand man and the commander of the first in line cavalry, Kusuo Saiki; They've known each other since they were kids, working closely with one another because Shun's late father was close friends with Kusuo's father who is the overall commander of their castle guards and cavalry. Kusuo has always been trained to take after his father when he decides to retire, but since that is still far into the future, he has decided for himself to be the right hand man for Shun.
The two were always together, after that; In the morning when the sun hasn't even risen, Kusuo was already there for the prince; In the middle of the day when Shun is off to do his princely duties, Kusuo is by his side; And in the night, when the moon is at its peak in the sky and everyone else in the castle has already closed off their oil lamps, theirs stays burning until there is no more fuel left.
Many people in the kingdom cannot understand why their routine always revolved around each other, because when looking at the brother and sister of Prince Shun, their servant and handmaiden respectively do not mirror the same routine. A few speculate about them, whispering in the shadows and feeding in rumours about the two; Some say that they’re plotting some scheme to overthrow the prince’s mother because of her strict nature, while some say that the two are sneaking in common women from the local pubs and using them as they please, but in the chorus of whispers… only one seems to be unanimously agreed on.
Whatever they do while their oil lamps burn, they do it together .
“Shun,” A murmur cuts through the static of the room, the scratching of quill on paper is put to a stop and the prince turns his head to the side and looks at his bed where his lover lay. “When are you coming back to sleep?”
“Kusuo, love, I need to finish signing this. I’m sorry I forgot to do this earlier.” The prince apologises, a sad smile on his face as he turns to the paper he was writing on and continuing. He can hear the sound of the bed sheets rustling followed by the shuffling of feet.
“Come back to bed with me.” Kusuo says sleepily, standing behind Shun and placing his hand lightly on his shoulder. “I can see that you’re almost finished.” He follows, matter-of-factly.
“Love, you’re correct- Just one more line.” Shun says, an amused smile on his face as he takes pride in being the only one to make the second in command fold like paper. He does as he says, writing one more line before finally setting it aside and putting away the ink carefully along with his quill; Kusuo helps with the clean up, kissing Shun’s temple before the bluenette stood up to follow his lover.
The two head back to bed, with Kusuo pulling the royal’s head to his chest like they do every night; Listening to the other’s heartbeat was common practice for Shun when they were actively in battle before and every day was a fight to be able to see the morning light again. Shun listened to Kusuo’s heartbeat each night to make sure that he was still alive, that the reason he was fighting was still alive.
“I love you.” Shun says, used to not hearing anything in return because Kusuo wasn’t the kind of person that says affection out loud and chooses to give love through acts of service. Something must’ve bothered Kusuo tonight because there wasn’t any hesitation in his answer.
“I love you too.” Kusuo answers.
The two slept well that night, the oil lamp remaining on until there’s no more fuel and the only noise that can be heard was the buzzing cicadas from outside. They didn’t know that chaos would greet them in the morning.
“Shun Kaidou and Kusuo Saiki, my eldest son and the next in line for the throne and son of overall commander Saiki, I never expected that there would be a day that I have to question you two here in the throne room but look where we are now.” Queen Suzume’s voice echoes in the throne room, the staff she’s holding looks heavy and threatening as she looks down at the two boys kneeling down on the floor in front of her with their heads down in shame.
“Shun, I’ll ask you first; Why are there multiple rumours going around that you and Kusuo are doing unsavoury things in the night?” Suzume asks her son, but he doesn’t answer and this frustrates her, but she tries her best to keep calm. She turns to Kusuo this time. “Kusuo, how about you? Why is it that this is the first time that I’m hearing about how Shun’s oil lamp is left burning for an entire night?”
Kusuo looks up at the queen. “Shun doesn’t enjoy sleeping in a dark room, your majesty.” He answers, and this piques the queen’s interest which makes her quirk an eyebrow at him. Kusuo can feel his blood run cold when he realises the mistake he made.
“Shun? Since when have you been this comfortable in addressing my son by his first name with no honorifics in front of me?” The queen asks, pressuring an answer from the boy; Shun raises his head at this, getting over his nervousness and anxiety and tears to fight for his lover.
“I want him to call me by my first name, mother.” He says firmly, holding back his tears when his mother turns her head to him and challenges his gaze. Suzume grips at his staff tightly.
“Oh really? Alright then. Now answer my first question, Shun.” The queen presses on, unsatisfied with the vague answers both teens have been giving her; She is the queen, god damn it , she should have the fucking right to know if her own son is doing anything that would compromise them all.
“The rumours are not true, mother.” He answers simply, trying his damn hardest to challenge his mother’s glare. Suzume grits her teeth in frustration, raising her staff up and slamming it back to the ground to emphasise her frustration. Shun flinches.
“If they aren’t true, then why are you and Kusuo inseparable even at night? You yourself should understand how compromising a look that gives off, right?” The queen asks, watching her son’s resolve falter right in front of her eyes.
“I know- I know… but I can explain.” Shun says, caving in and looking away from her gaze and finally letting out a sob before Kusuo pulls him into a hug without even thinking about the situation. The queen watches the two, the voice of reason in her mind clocks in and she relaxes her shoulders a little before leaning back on the throne.
“Fine, explain it to me.” The queen says, and that’s the cue that Kusuo takes to push Shun’s head off his shoulder gently and wipes away his tears. He keeps hold of Shun’s face in his hands until the prince stops crying, finally being able to breathe without a wave of tears following after.
Suzume didn’t need any further explanation other than the events unfolding in front of her, but she still waits for the verbal confirmation from the both of them.
“We’re in love with each other, mother.” Shun says, and Suzume doesn’t react at all. Her son continues on explaining, “I’ve been in love with Kusuo years before I was officially announced as next in line, before I excused him and I to explore the land, and before he was even my right-hand-man…. He spends all night with me, lulling me to sleep and making sure that I sleep warmly because sometimes the duvet isn’t enough.”
Kusuo’s heart swells as he takes his lover’s hand in his once again.
“And we keep the oil lamps on all night because I don’t want to sleep in the darkness ever again… I don’t know where the rumours of treason or sneaking women into the castle came from, but I can confidently say that it’s far from that. I’m in love with Kusuo, mother. That’s all there is to it.” Shun finishes, tears building up in his eyes again.
Suzume sighs. “Couldn’t you just have told me before it became the hottest rumour in the land? We could’ve settled this much more smoothly and less inconspicuously.” She says, using her free hand to massage her temples.
“Excuse me, what exactly do you mean, mother?” Shun asks, still not letting go of Kusuo’s hand and actually pulls the latter closer to feel more comforted.
“I’m saying that you should’ve just told the truth, Shun” Suzume says, smiling at Shun. “I hope you know that since we now have to tell this to the people to clear up the rumours, that this will make a very big impact in your lives; The impact may be negative, positive, or both. Do you both understand this?” She asks, needing to hear a proper confirmation.
The two look at each other and no words need to be exchanged between the two of them to know what the correct answer is— they intertwine their hands together and their grip onto each other’s hand tightens; They answer the queen with a simultaneous ‘ I do. ’