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Natsume sighed, putting another pinch of rosemary into his cauldron. Being the royal mage was difficult. Whether there was a specific potion request from the castle, or his friends, or maybe a spell he wanted to use for himself, it was busy work. Well, to be fair, all of his friends were from the castle. And one friend in particular was annoying.
The prince, Tsumugi.
Natsume scoffed at the thought of him having any royal power. That poor kid didn’t have any confidence or assertion. He was too much of a push over. Personality wise, he was nothing like a prince.
Aesthetically, however.
Natsume thought about it for a minute before shrugging. He guessed so. Tsumugi was nice and polite. Maybe too nice. He was smart and did his best to help with what he could. And he looked the part. Well put-together, curly hair, pretty eyes, cute glasses and a cute face…
Natsume quickly snapped out of his thoughts, remembering he was making a potion. When he saw the color, he already knew the thing was damned, shining a light red.
He took out a bottle just to sample it and make sure, feeling his frustration swelling up. These types of potions were hard since you couldn’t zone out, otherwise it would change.
When he scooped out a sample and held it eye-level, he could tell that it was definitely not a strength potion. In fact, it looked like a love potion.
He blushed a little at the implication and threw the glass on the wooden floors, causing the potion to spill everywhere. A common occurrence for non-lethal potions.
He sighed again, thinking about how he’d have to empty cauldron now. And trying to not think about a certain someone else. Until, suddenly, there was a light knock at the door. Natsume groaned, not wanting to deal with another order and more work. He slumped towards the door, reluctantly opening it.
“O-Oh, Natsume! Sorry about the intrusion, but your place was closest so they-“
“You idiot, what happeNED!”
This, certainly, wasn’t what Natsume expected. It was Tsumugi, of course, that idiot. However, there was blood seeping through the top of his sleeve, and a hand covering the supposed wound.
“Get insiDE. Hurry uP!”
Tsumugi stumbled in, practically getting dragged by Natsume. He forced Tsumugi to sit on his small couch while he went back to grab the first aid-kit.
When he got back, Tsumugi was sitting in the same spot, unbothered about the situation. Natsume sat next to the other.
“Face mE. I need to fix your aRM.”
“Oh! Of course,” Tsumugi replied, nervously turning toward the other. Natsume immediately got to work, rolling up the other’s sleeve and cleaning up the cut. With how much blood there was, the cut itself wasn’t actually that bad. Not just a scratch, but it also wouldn’t need stitches. Natsume would never admit it, but he was relieved.
“So, what happenED,” he asked again after sometime.
“Uhm, well, I was doing sword training with Leo, but I think it was too intense for me. So, I got cut. Sorry for intruding, again, they told me to go here-ow!” Tsumugi was once again cut off, this time with a hit to the head.
“IdioT. Why would you do sword trainiNG? You’re a princE.” He glared up at the blue-haired boy. The prince looked lost in thought, watching the magician work on his arm. When he finally noticed Natsume staring at him, he looked up in surprise, a blush covering his cheeks. Cute idiot.
“They make me,” Tsumugi finally replied. “It’s for extra protection. Just in case. Or something.”
Natsume finished up the bandages before standing up. “That stuPID,” he muttered while walking away. When the red-head got back, Tsumugi was off the couch, staring at something on the ground.
That idiot!
“Get away from that while you’re injuRED,” he said, walking over to shoo the other away from the spill.
“What happened,” Tsumugi asked, not moving or looking away from the splashed potion.
“It’s nothiNG.”
Natsume went to grab a broom, deciding to clean up the mess before the prince got injured anymore. It was a bit difficult since he didn’t want the broom to get wet, so he ended up having to carefully pick up the shards on by one. The prince attempted to help before Natsume quickly snapped at him to not “cause another problEM.”
Once most of the shards were cleaned up, the mage then had to mop. He sighed, seriously regretting throwing the potion down.
“Who ordered a love potion?” Tsumugi asked, abruptly stopping Natsume’s thoughts.
“How do you know it’s a love potioN?” he asked, glancing over at the other. He was on the couch again, seemingly mesmerized by Natsume’s work. The red head willed down a blush.
“One time I was over when you were making one. And it looked like that, I couldn’t forget. It’s one of the few potions I remember.”
Tsumugi was now looking up at the mage, a huge smile on his face, like he was pleased he remembered such a small thing. The mage scoffed and looked away.
“Well, no one ordered IT.”
He had to change this conversation.
The puddle was almost gone now, hardly any trace of the red liquid left. Natsume dumped the mop in the water bucket.
“Hm? Then why is it there,” the prince questioned.
“It was just a mistaKE. Even I make them, though rarELY,” he scoffed in reply, hating that he had to admit his faults.
If the topic didn’t change, he might admit too much.
The red head left to put the mop back up.
“Your mistakes can make other potions?” How many questions did the blue hair have? Surely Natsume had explained this before.
“Yes, because of specific feelings or th-“
The realization hit Natsume like rock. He didn’t end the conversation soon enough. How does he get out of this? He cautiously went back to the couch, acting as casual as he could. By now, Tsumugi was completely turned around facing the back of it and peeking over the top. Natsume simply stood behind the couch, resting his arms on the back of it.
“Does that mean..” the prince trailed off, looking up at the mage. Obviously he had put the pieces together, but his face betrayed nothing.
Natsume was planning on outright denying. Maybe saying Tsumugi had read the situation wrong and didn’t know what he was talking about. But, well. If he keeps it vague. Dismisses the conversation and doesn’t say a name.
“It doesn’t mattER,” the mage replied, making it a point to look away. He tried to not sound sad, but the sorrow somehow crept into his words anyway. “It couldn’t happen anywaY.”
The room went silent after that. After a moment, he figured that was the end of their talk. He’d move on, talk more about how stupid knight training was for-
“I like you.”
Natsume whipped his head around, staring wide-eyed at the prince. He wanted to believe what he just heard, that that’s what Tsumugi meant, but it couldn’t be true. The blue hair didn’t mean it like that, he was just trying to cheer Natsume up! He never did say things how he actually meant. He quickly calmed down after reasoning with himself and chuckled a little.
“You’re not supposed to say things like that to me, mopheAD.”
“But I mean it,” the other quickly replied. This made the mage snap his attention back towards the other.
“I don’t know who you like but I thought I should take my chance while I could.”
Natsume stared blankly at the other.
I should take my chance.
He leaned down towards the prince, still holding eye contact. The other backed away some, but they still ended up merely inches away from each other.
“Who,” the mage started in a lower voice. “Do you think I could likE?”
Tsumugi continued staring back at him blankly. There was no answer for a bit, but Natsume would give the prince time to think.
“U-Uhm, I’m not really sure..” the other stammered.
Natsume smirked at the prince before backing away, chuckling.
“I don’t think a future king should be this de-“
He immediately got cut off, his neck being pulled down by two hands. He stood shocked, looking into gold eyes.
Tsumugi slid his hands down to Natsume’s shoulders wordlessly. He leaned in, stopping just a few inches away from the mage’s face.
The other softly smiled, before closing the gap.