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Toya sat at the edge of his bed, waiting for come in per his request. He had noticed the knight's reluctance to even take off his layer of armor when he was around, hell, even some of Akito's co-workers had informed Toya that he wasn't undressing around them either. Usually, none of his guards had any problems concerning taking off clothing at all, so of course he was going to be a bit concerned for the one who refused to change around people he was sure weren't even going to look at him.
The two large doors at the end of his bedroom creaked open, and in came the knight he had asked to see. Akito's bangs were messy parted in the middle, as they had always been, and, of course, he still had all his layers on. Toya called out to Akito, ordering him to sit on the bed. Akito did just that, staring at Toya and inhaling.
“It's concerning your hesitancy to change in front of others. Would you mind expressing why you don't take off even the meaningless of layers in front of others when they aren't needed?” Toya addressed, staring at Akito with a curious look. He hoped Akito wouldn't try to avoid the question or lie to him. Toya had a strong sense of when Akito tried to lie. He knew Akito the most out of all the knights in the castle, after all. He didn't exactly know why, but he assumed it was an unidentified connection between the two that had formed somehow. Akito aimed his eyes at the floor, his mouth remaining shut. He wondered if he could open up to Toys about such personal matters. Then again, it felt too personal, and too silly. He was both worried about not being taken seriously, and worried about being made fun of for such a silly thought. He gulped the thoughts down and looked back at Toya. He decided to tell him the truth, as there was no sense in lying to a person of higher power, especially if he worked directly under them.
“I don't... like when the marks from my injuries of the past are on display for everyone else in the room to stare at. They make me out to be a weakling amongst the other knights.” Akito admitted quietly, a solemn look om his face as he told Toya. He prayed that Toya would understand his troubles, and Toya, being the considerate man he was, took Akito's words seriously.
“Akito,” Toya paused, rethinking his future decisions over, “Would you mind removing your top layers? All of them.” Toya said more like a question rather than an order, giving Akito the option to say no. “I won't poke fun at you, if that's what you're assuming I will do.” Toya made sure to add on, easing Akito's nerves in the slightest. Akito slowly nodded and reluctantly removed his first layer, showing the skin of his arms. They were just as Akito had described them, covered top to bottom with scars. They painted most of his skin, and stuck out more than anything else on his flesh. Then, came off his second layer. Akito's bare chest was exposed to Toya only. Much like the skin of Akito's arms, his torso, too, had scars spread all over them. So many tokens from the battles he faced from his enemies. All to defend him.
“Oh, Akito...,” Toya took both of Akito's hands, slipping off Akito's gloves for him and placing his own gloves on Akito's forearms. Akito flinched, as if Toya had touched a fresh cut on Akito's arm. He kept a firm grip on Akito's forearms, tracing the slim scars caused both by slashes and puncture wounds of the blades of his opponents, “These are far from repulsing to look at. They're like a million strokes of art on your flesh. All of them are to be accounted for, as when they're combined together, they make such a masterpiece.” Toya praised with a small smile.
“These scars are a part of you, Akito. They tell at least a thousand stories, and each and every single of those stories are nothing short of captivating novels a poet would wish to recreate in his own literature.” Toya described, tears forming in the eyes of the other. The redhead blinked the tears out of his glossy eyes, looking away from the prince. He had never heard such praise from everyone, and he never expected to hear it come from the mouth of royalty; lips of perfection. No cracks, no sign of dryness in sight. Every single word that poured of it would be worth at least a few thousand dollars to the public. Akito shook as he hugged Toya impulsively, his hands clenched into fists. His face burned up as tears spilled from his slim eyes. It was funny: a knight, who was supposed to protect and serve the royal family was sobbing over the words of the prince he worked for, and he was the one who started the hug, not the other.
This was the first time Toya was ever in a situation like this. He didn't think he'd share this sort of experience with one of his very own knights. However, he was glad it happened. Akito had very obviously been moved by Toya's words, and for that, Toya was thankful. He had hopefully changed Akito's view on his appearance, and one's perspective of their own looks was something so important it couldn't possibly be put into mere words. Toya embraced Akito back, gently wrapping his arms around Akito into a loose, yet caring, hug. He rubbed his hands on Akito's back. Even through Toya's gloves, Akito could still feel the coldness of Toya's hands on his skin.
“T-tha-.” Akito choked on his tears, his body jerking violently as he tried to inhale. “Thank you.” The knight thanked, tightening his grip on Toya's back.