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Yuno Grinberryall was a very picky prince.
Due to rising tensions among the Diamond border and faint whispers of potential devil worship within the kingdom itself, Yuno's mother had seen it fit to have the Royal Guard assign personal knights to the prince's quarters, as an extra means of protection and precaution.
However, each and every knight that had been assigned to him so far had left his quarters after no more than a few days with their tails tucked and ears flat. When questioned, every single one had no clue why the prince had rejected them.
As such, about twice a week, one of Yuno's attendants would visit his quarters to inform him of the next knight coming to meet him soon.
"Your grace, Prince Yuno," the attendant began timidly. "I know that you have not approved of many knights assigned to your personal guard, but your mother has hand-selected this knight from Clover royalty." Her eyes flicked up to the disinterested prince. "So perhaps you could give this one a chance?"
Impassive, Yuno simply huffed and gave a curt nod. The attendant, accepting that would be the only form of acknowledgment she'd get, bowed politely in response.
"He should be arriving to your quarters soon. Please see to it that you get to know him, at least." She gave one final curtsy before exiting.
Yuno groaned, rubbing a tired hand down his face. "Whoever it is should be gone within a few days anyways." He grumbled to no one in particular, grabbing his favourite slicker brush to run through his fur.
If there was one thing Yuno hated almost more than anything, it was caring for his own coat. The tedious, repetitive motions always made his wrists cramp, and he could never brush the truly hard to reach spots of his fur. The itchy feeling of having knots and mats drove him crazy.
The brush tugged on a particularly nasty knot, causing him to grit his teeth, trying to just push through it. After tugging a few more times and making no progress in anything but irritating his skin, he gave up on attempting to tame his unruly mane. He moved on to at least combing the loose fur out of his tail. The transition into the summer months where he began to shed nonstop were hellish.
An eager knock at his door startled him out of his thoughts, and the realization of who it likely was turned his expression sour. He really did not feel like handling some eccentric, boot-kissing, reverent knight who would do nothing but hover over him and treat him like he was made of glass.
With a quick stretch and a groan, he stood from his vanity and brushed away the loose strands of fur still clinging to his pristine outfit. A deep breath later, he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable awkwardness and uncomfortable borderline worshipping behavior that just seemed to come with every knight appointed to his side.
Ears preemptively pinned back in a displeased gesture, Yuno jerked the door open with a little more force than was strictly necessary. Sue him; he was ready to be left alone already.
But the sight in front of him was not what he was expecting to see in the slightest.
All of the knights so far had been well into their thirties or fourties, and did nothing but defer complacently and placed him on a pedestal of expectations far above where he cared to meet, quite frankly.
The boy standing in front of him was far more youthful than any other knight he had seen so far; the knight himself had a gorgeous scarlet mane tucked away into a neat, orderly braid that spilled down his back. He was of course much shorter than Yuno himself (not many people could compete with the Queen's malamute bloodline after all), but his presence was almost overwhelming.
Despite the icy blue colour of his eyes, there was something simply fiery about him. Something that called of warmth and home and belonging. The boy's grin was equally as dazzling as his gaze, and for once, the Prince of Spade was taken aback.
"Your Royal Highness!" He greeted cheerily, puffing his chest out. He donned the typical Spade knight's attire, leather armor padded with thick fleece, only wearing a Clover Kingdom cloak overtop. "It's wonderful to make your acquaintance! My name is Leopold Vermillion of the Clover Kingdom! It's an honor to serve the Spade kingdom, especially a handsome prince as renowned as you!"
Leopold stuck out his hand for the prince to shake. Still dumbfounded at the straightforwardness of his greeting, Yuno couldn't help the tiny wag his tail gave. Without noticing, his ears had unpinned and instead tilted forwards in rapt interest. He could feel heat rise to his face at his lack of composure.
Yuno took the knight's hand and shook it gently, silently marveling in the rough texture of the boy's pawpads in the brief moment they touched. He cleared his throat and stood at his full height, crossing his arms behind his back.
"Leopold, was it?" Yuno began softly. "I'll say, there have been many knights attempt to meet my standards, yet none have persevered so far. Do you think yourself able to appease me?" A small smirk pulled at the edge of his lips, exposing a glimpse of his alarmingly sharp teeth. The Grinberryalls, especially the Queen herself, had a fierce reputation for their frightening jaws.
Needless to say, no one spoke of former King Loyce anymore. Mentions of him would simply be met with Queen Ciel's wolfish grin.
But apparently, the knight was not so easily deterred. With a surprisingly catlike grin of his own, he crossed his arms and jutted his muzzle upwards. "Please, just call me Leo! And of course! Us Vermillions never back down from a challenge! Whatever your standards are, I'll meet them, no problem!" His smile grew wide and even toothier, tail making a soft noise as it wagged back and forth against his cloak.
I guess we'll see then. Yuno thought to himself as he eyed the knight from head to paws once more.
Unbeknownst to any of the knights prior to Leo's arrival, the prince's standards actually weren't all that difficult to meet. He required one thing, and one thing only; To be treated as an equal. The only thing he truly hated more than anything else was either being treated like glass or being treated as some untouchable Godly thing.
He simply wanted to be. Have someone to talk to without feeling like he's just being told what they think he wants to hear. To spar and have fun and talk about random not-so-princely things.
Prince Yuno had one, foolproof test to see whether or not he'd find that in whatever knight was currently occupying his time.
He stepped back into his room, beckoning Leo to follow with a slight tilt of his head. With a smile as bright as the one before, the knight practically skipped after him, draping his crimson cloak by the door and shutting it gently behind him. As they reached Yuno's vanity, the prince picked up the jade slicker brush he had attempted to comb his fur with earlier and held it out to the mastiff.
"Will you brush out my fur?"
A pause.
Leo tilted his head for a moment, ears flopping cutely with the motion. After a moment of consideration, he beamed warmly.
"Sure!" He exclaimed, taking the brush from the other's grasp. His claws clicked against the intricately carved handle as he shifted it in his hold, seemingly getting a feel for it.
Yuno balked. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before finally settling on asking, "You're ... Okay with that?"
The knight looked at him with a perplexed expression. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be? It's not really that hard." Leo giggled. "Unless you're trying to brush my sister's mane, in which you'll probably die trying."
The prince chuckled alongside him, tension bleeding out of his shoulders little by little. Every other knight he had asked to brush his fur had either outright refused to "taint him" with their un-royal hands, or got far too nervous or embarrassed and just ended up yanking awkwardly at his fur. His double coat was difficult to manage and required specific care that not many knew how to provide.
Without another objection, Yuno shed the upper layers of his clothes, giving Leo full access to the upper portions of his coat. The knight began to run his fingers through the other's fur, feeling for knots or superficial mats.
He hummed in dissatisfaction, to which Yuno gave an inquisitive noise in reply. "Oh!" Leo startled, "I was just thinking about how knotted the back of your mane is. Do you have a metal comb or something I can start with?" A short nod and a brush swap later, Leo began to work his way down the prince's back.
It felt heavenly. Even when the other boy was gently combing out the knots, he kept it smooth and steady enough that it didn't yank at his skin or just rip out his fur. Once he had teased apart all of the tangled spots, he swapped to the slicker brush that Yuno loved so much, and he couldn't help the happy grumbles that emanated from deep in his chest.
Meanwhile, Leo chattered on about his life back in Clover. His family, the magic knights, places he'd been, things he's interested in, until his warm voice had practically lulled Yuno into a sleepy and pliant heap of fur.
After a while (but what hadn't felt like nearly long enough to Yuno), Leo declared "All done!" and swept the massive pile of shed fur he had combed out to the side. Yuno grumbled his lighthearted displeasure and threw his head back to stare at the knight behind him.
At some point, Leo had also shed the top layer of his armor, only leaving the soft fleece top with the sleeves rolled up. Without the leather tunic weighing down on his torso, Yuno could really see just how fluffy Leo was as well. Despite clear attempts to keep it contained, the fur around his neck and chest spilled out over the collar of his shirt.
The mastiff's face grew heated as he gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry about not wearing the tunic I was given, I was getting kinda overheated while I was brushing your fur."
Yuno shook his head and turned around to face him properly. "No no, you're absolutely fine. I overheat very quickly too. Thank you for doing that for me. It's been a while since I've been able to get anyone to get the back of my fur properly."
"No need to thank me, I'm happy to! I used to brush my cousins' hair all the time, and they're double-coated too! Mimosa wasn't too fussy with her fur, but Kirsch was scary when I did it wrong." Leo shuddered.
The prince simply smiled at him. "Well, I suppose you're alright. I'll be sure to let my mother know that you're the knight I choose as my personal bodyguard."
Leo shot up in surprise. "Wait, really? It was that easy? I just had to brush your fur?"
"Easy?" Yuno snorted, rolling his eyes and moving to sit on his bed instead of the vanity chair. "You'd be surprised. Half of the knight sent to me were prudes, and the other were practically devotees. It was weird." He flopped back with a sigh, reveling in the feeling of having nicely brushed fur for the first time in weeks.
The knight sat next to him, smiling and thumping his tail on the bed. "So, I did good?"
Yuno smiled, giving the mastiff a fonder look than he'd care to admit. "Yes, I suppose you met my standards. But you'll have to work hard to keep up with my demands, Sir Vermillion."
"Yes, your Highness!" Leo retorted playfully with a faux Clover salute.
Maybe Prince Yuno wasn't so picky after all.