Chapter Text
I have a feeling that today will be a great day for you. Btw, you always look so tired, so I included a chocolate too! Enjoy!
Gion crumpled the small sticker note. He wordlessly passed it to his most loyal servant, Livio, before grabbing the small bar of chocolate under his desk.
Livio blinked in confusion as he watched the prince carefully observe the chocolate like it was a foreign object. "Um, Your Highness, I advise you not to eat that… we don't even know who sent it to you," the silver-haired man remarked, his hand weakly reaching out to take the chocolate away.
Before he could grab the wrapper, the Prince of Italy had already torn it and taken a bite of the chocolate. Livio wasn't at all expecting this to happen as his breath hitched at the sight of Gion silently munching on the sweets.
Taking his last bite, Gion took out a handkerchief from his pocket and brought it to wipe the corner of his lips. "The brand is legit and the wrapper is fine, so I don't think this person meant anything bad to me."
The prince explained, placing the chocolate wrapper in front of Livio.
Livio sighed helplessly. "You're so calm about everything, Gion. Someone is stalking you, and you don't even want to consider reporting it to Alex or Principal Evan…" his head drooped.
Gion gave a side glance. "What stalking? This is normal for princes, receiving gifts from secret admirers. It's not a big problem to me, so you should stop worrying," the prince then calmly turned back to take out a few textbooks from his backpack.
"You really don't have any survival instincts, don't you?" Livio muttered, lips pouting slightly. He lowered his eyes, gazing at his fingers that were now fiddling with the crumpled paper and chocolate wrapper pitifully.
Gion placed the textbooks on his table before turning to his servant. He tapped Livio's table lightly. "Hey, I'm not that gullible. Aside from this one, I've stopped getting any kind of love letters anyway, so it really doesn't bother me much." he pulled away and leaned back on his seat.
"And besides, even if this person meant me harm… I have you, don't I?"
"…."
Livio's mouth gaped at the statement. He wanted to say something, but at that moment—
"Disgusting…"
A low voice rumbled behind Livio. The man jolted and looked behind him, only to be met with the cold eyes of Shintarou, who was frowning at both him and Gion.
Shintarou dropped his bag onto his chair. "Hearing such corny stuff first thing so early in the morning… I should've just stayed in the dorm…" he mumbled to himself despite being loud enough for Livio to hear him.
"P-prince Shintarou, good morning!" Livio stuttered, finding himself half standing already to greet the Japanese Prince. He gave a warm smile as he often did, appearing like a friendly puppy.
However, this friendly puppy received a dagger-like gaze in return.
"Does it look like I'm having a good morning to you?" Shintarou spat, arms crossed in front of his chest.
Livio scratched his head. "Uhh… well…"
"Just sit down, Livio." Gion, clearly couldn't bear to listen to this awkward interaction anymore, finally said something. His servant just showed a sheepish smile before correcting his position on his seat.
And thankfully, before any more awkward situations could commence, the teacher stepped into the classroom.
"Where did you get the juice box, Gion?"
Livio asked. He and Gion had just finished their daily evening run and were now sitting on one of the benches along the track, taking a breather.
Gion glanced at the juice box he had just pulled out of his sling bag. "That person left it in my locker. The one who sent those notes, I mean," he replied as he took another sip of the apple juice.
"Gion, you… you really just accept whatever a stranger gave you…" Livio shook his head, completely in disbelief that the prince was this easy.
The prince, however, didn't take offense at the statement. He handed the drink over to Livio. "Stranger? Well, considering how well this person knows me, I'm starting to think that he's probably someone I interact with often. Here, drink some too."
The servant had no choice other than to accept the offer. "Thank you," he mumbled before taking a small sip from the straw. "Even so, aren't you too accepting of this whole situation? You've been receiving things from this person for almost two weeks already, and you never even asked me to find out who the person behind this is. Will you just accept whatever anyone gives you with open arms?" Livio said, his tone tinged with accusation as if scolding a child.
Gion held out his hand to take the juice box back. "You're overthinking it. Don't you get gifts every now and then from admirers, too? What did you do with those gifts?"
Livio flinched, clenching his fist. His voice was low as he said, "I… keep them…"
The prince scoffed. "See? I'm just doing the same thing you do."
Gion didn't spare Livio a glance, only sipping the juice and occasionally giving the straw a bite. Livio was exasperated, beyond frustrated, knowing that trying to win against Gion was futile.
The man let out a defeated sigh. "It's different—"
"How is it any different?"
When Livio turned to face the other man, he found that Gion had moved his face closer to Livio's, face calm like still water. Livio, on the other hand, had halted all movement at the sudden close distance. He gulped, forcing a smile while lowering his gaze.
Seeing Livio avoiding his eyes, Gion continued, "You keep gifts given by your admirers, and I keep the gifts given by mine. How is it different?" the prince asked, though with how gentle his tone was, it didn't seem like he was actually looking for an answer.
Livio rubbed his nape. "Y-you just are, Gion…" he muttered.
When he returned his gaze towards Gion, he found that the prince had already shifted a bit further away, quietly sipping the remaining juice. Livio coughed, clearing his dry throat. Now that both of them had fallen silent, it suddenly felt very awkward.
"L-let's go back to our dormitory, Prince Gion. Prince Shintarou must've been waiting for us! Can't let him wait too long!" Livio quipped, hastily standing up and gesturing towards the way back to their hostel.
Gion nodded curtly as he crumpled the juice box in his hand before throwing it straight into the trash can beside him.
"Have you seen Livio?"
Gion lifted his head from his phone, locking eyes with Shintarou. He shrugged without a word, indicating his own cluelessness about his servant's whereabouts.
Shintarou groaned. "He never disappears this early in the morning. I don't even care where he wants to go, but can't he at least make breakfast first? Pepper!" the prince called out to his robot companion.
"Good morning, Prince Shintarou, Prince Gion. How can I help you?" the robot slowly approached the two princes, its mechanical feet buzzing slightly against the floor.
"Go make some breakfast for us. I'm hungry," Shintarou huffed as he threw himself onto the sofa right across from Gion. The robot gave a small nod with a cheerful "Alright!" and strode towards the kitchen.
Shintarou smiled as he watched the robot swiftly move in the kitchen, taking out ingredients. A moment later, he turned back to Gion, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Doesn't he always inform you where he goes? What, he's in his rebellious phase now?"
"He's going to come back anyway, who cares if he told me where he's going to beforehand or not?" the brown-haired man remarked, obviously not taking the matter seriously.
Shintarou clicked his tongue at the response, turning his head to look at the early morning view outside, still too dark with the absence of sun. Gion stole a glance at him. He knew the other man was probably worried about Livio, yet refused to let it show.
"Livio is the last person you should worry about, Shintarou. You can stop shaking your legs now," he commented.
Shintarou flinched, head snapping towards Gion. "W-who's worried?!"
Creeeaaakk….
Both Shintarou and Gion's heads turned in the direction of the sound almost at the same time. As the main door creaked open, a figure with grey hair stepped inside slowly, turning around to close the door as quietly as possible. Once done, he breathed out a sigh and shifted his body… and froze when he got greeted by two pairs of eyes.
"A-ah, haha… good morning! Both- both of you wake up quite early today, I see! You guys must be hungry, right? I-I will make breakfast now!" Livio forced out a laugh, walking oddly stiff towards the kitchen while trying his best to avoid making eye contact with the princes.
"E-eh?!"
Livio paused right before he stepped into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Livio! I've prepared breakfast for everyone!"
Livio blinked at the sight of the dining table, already filled with 3 plates of sunny-side-up eggs with roasted beans and breads. Pepper stood beside it, gesturing to Livio to take a seat.
"Pepper, why…" Livio muttered.
"I asked Pepper to do it since a certain someone disappeared into thin air without a word, leaving us to die of hunger," Shintarou spat. He thanked Pepper warmly before taking his seat at the dining table.
"I- about that—"
"It's fine, Livio. Let's just eat," came Gion's voice from Livio's side. The prince tilted his head to the chair beside him, signaling to Livio to sit down.
Livio rubbed his cheeks awkwardly. He set the tote bag he was holding on the couch before heading over to join the others for breakfast.
"Where did you go this morning, by the way?"
Gion and Livio were now walking side by side to school as they always do. Livio seemed quite startled at the sudden question from Gion as his steps faltered slightly. "I… I just felt like doing a morning jog today, hehe," he grinned.
"Oh," Gion hummed. "Let me join next time. With the way Sports Day is around the corner, I should start getting fit too."
"What? I-I mean, sure, why not!" Livio showed a thumbs-up to the prince.
Their walk was filled with nothing but awkward silence the whole time. And finally, they reached their classroom. As usual, Gion would visit his locker at the back of the class first, while Livio would head straight to his place.
"Livio."
"Yeah?" Livio answered without looking, carefully took out the books required for their first period, and arranged them neatly on the table. Done with that, he moved to the back to take the broom, right beside the rows of lockers.
"I got the note again today."
CLANG!
"WHAT?!"
Livio lost his grip on the broomstick, letting it fall, clashing with the hard surface of the floor. Gion flinched at the loud noise.
"? You're overreacting again. I told you not to worry about it," Gion shook his head as he calmly read the note. Livio pursed his lips, hastily moving to Gion's side to read the note together.
Good morning! You have a meeting with the student council today, right? I hope everything goes well for you! Here, have an energy bar!
"…how could this be?"
Gion heard the man beside him mutter. "What?"
His servant had an odd expression on his face, his eyes looking a bit out of it. Right a second later, Livio shifted his gaze to meet Gion's. "Shouldn't you start worrying more about this… whoever this person is?" he said sternly.
Gion frowned. "Livio, it's just a note—"
"This person knows your schedule!"
Gion stiffened. It was rare for Livio to cut him off like this, so it caught him off guard. He sighed at this overprotective behaviour of his friend. "Livio. Everyone knows we have a meeting every Friday for our weekly report."
Livio didn't say anything in reply. He only bit his lips, as if wanting to say more but chose to hold it back. Without a word, he weakly walked back to pick up the abandoned broom. However, a hand gripped Livio's wrist, keeping him in place.
"Hey. You're acting weird these past few days. Are you okay?" Gion asked in a hushed tone, clearly worried about the other person.
Livio didn't turn around. "Um, I…"
"Oh, Livio and Prince Gion! You guys arrive early today!"
Gion immediately let go of Livio's wrist at the appearance of their classmate. The classmate approached Gion and proceeded to ask a few questions about an assignment tasked to him a few days ago. And just like that, Gion missed the timing to talk with Livio for the whole school session.
"Alright! It's time for our weekly report!"
"Sit down, Ciel. And why are you stealing Alex's line?" Albert huffed as he tugged at the blond-haired prince's uniform.
Ciel rolled his eyes before landing in his chair. "Hah! Can't even let a man have his moment. Even Alex didn't comment on anything about it, so what makes you think you have the right to?" he spat, twirling a strand of his golden locks.
"God forbid I speak on behalf of our dear president," the English Prince replied, clenching his fist on the table.
"Oh, how touching! Such a gesture of pure camaraderie could bring even the toughest man to tears!"
"Are you mocking me?"
"What? I am clearly complimenting you here, no?" Ciel smirked, though it seemed more like a sign of challenge to Albert.
"I don't like your tone," Albert gritted his teeth.
"What? This is my usual tone when talking!"
"Um… Prince Albert… Prince Ciel…"
"I've known you for years, and that is not your usual tone!"
"You don't know me that well, then. Or rather, you don't listen to my voice that well."
"You—!"
"Let's stop right there, friends."
A hand gently pulled Albert back right as the prince was about to lunge at Ciel. Albert lifted his head and saw Charles, smiling warmly as always. Charles patted Albert's shoulder briefly before taking the seat next to him. "It's nice to see you both so energetic during this time, but perhaps it would be better to save it after this meeting? Poor our president, clueless on how to stop you both."
Ciel and Albert turned their heads to Alex, who was now shifting awkwardly in his seat with that sheepish smile on his face. "Hehe… thank you, Charles," the president said, which received a nod from Charles.
Albert rubbed his nape, looking apologetic. "Oh, sorry, Alex… we didn't mean to—"
"What do you mean by we? It was only you." Ciel interrupted. To add to the fuel, he had stuck his tongue out playfully towards Albert.
"Hey! You were the one who—"
"Can we just begin the meeting already?"
All heads turned towards the person who had coldly stated those sentences. It was Shintarou, glaring at Albert and Ciel with a grim face. "I want to go back early," he added, voice reverberating in the now-silent meeting room.
Albert and Ciel looked at each other in tandem, obviously disliking this situation, yet both decided to stay quiet since nothing good ever came from going against Shintarou.
Leon coughed, breaking the silence. "Right. Let's just begin our meeting. Whatever you guys have to say to each other, keep it until this meeting is over," he remarked meekly before locking eyes with Alex as a signal to start the meeting's agenda.
Alex flinched. He gripped the file in his hand before beginning his speech. "Well, as always, we will start by going through our suggestion box! Since the Sports Day is around the corner, I'm assuming that there will be many suggestions by the students!" he said, bending down to pick up a box the size of half his torso and placing it on the table.
Felix pulled the box to himself, shaking it a little to hear the rustling sound of the papers inside. Leon leaned closer, inspecting the box as well.
"Are we sure these are all suggestions?" Leon asked.
"Yeah! Last time, it was almost filled with letters from our admirers and no actual suggestions!" Felix added, passing the box back to Alex.
"Hehe. I have it handled, don't worry." Alex grinned as he opened the lid of the box. "I put another box beside this one, which is exclusively made for letters from our fans. That way, it won't get mixed up with the suggestions!" he ended with a wink, which received applause from his friends.
"Our president is so smart!" Livio exclaimed in a teasing manner.
For the next hour, the light atmosphere was no more as the student council started discussing the matters seriously. There was a slight argument each time an opinion clashed, but even that got handled peacefully.
…
"And now we're done with the suggestions!" Alex exclaimed while closing the suggestion box. The other princes leaned against their seats, looking drained after a whole hour of brainstorming.
As some of them began chattering about what to do once they got back to their dormitory and what to eat for dinner, Charles nudged the president. "Shouldn't you put some kind of safety lock?" he gestured at the suggestion box.
Alex raised his brows. "It's just a suggestion box. Nothing that worthy to be stolen, to be honest. The same goes for our fan letters box, too," he explained while placing the box back on the floor. At that moment, a realization hit him. "Oh, I almost forgot!"
The president turned towards Gion. "Prince Gion, can you help get the letter box?"
Gion, who was discussing tonight's meal with Livio, seemed quite surprised at the sudden request. "I'm sorry?"
Alex grinned sheepishly. "The letter box is on the table at the back of the shelf, just right behind you. Can you help get it, please?" he clasped his hands together, trying to appeal to the prince.
Livio stood up. "I will get it—"
"No need. I will be the one to get it. Just sit here, Livio," Gion cut Livio off, already leaving his place and moving to get the letter box.
Livio froze, feeling a bit ashamed as he slowly sat back down.
A few moments later, Gion came back with a box similar to the suggestion box, but with a paper that read: LETTERS FOR PRINCES GO HERE! He handed the box over to Shintarou, where it got passed around until it reached Alex.
Once Alex received the box, he opened the lid and began taking out a letter. "Alright, after this, we will end the meeting! Firstly, a letter to Prince Charles!" he gave the letter to Charles before immediately pulling out another letter. "And this… for you, Prince Ciel!" he received an excited "Yippie!" from the French Prince.
Gion didn't pay the name-calling session any mind. Instead, his gaze fell on his written report while waiting for his name to be called.
…
"Is that all, Alex?" Felix asked as he smoothed out the surface of his own fan letters.
Alex nodded. "Yes! Now, we can all go back to our hostel!"
"NOOOOOO!!!!"
Ciel screamed, causing all eyes to fall on him. The man sobbed to his hand, holding up his 5 letters. "Last week I got six! Why do I get one less this week?! Does that person hate me now???" he wailed dramatically, covering his face with his long hair.
By this time, everyone had gotten used to this particular behaviour of Ciel. "Just be thankful that people still send you letters, you drama queen…" Albert muttered weakly, already too tired to deal with this nonsensical act.
"Hey! I heard that!"
Charles chuckled. As the room once again got filled with chatters, he eyed everyone, trying to see who got the most letters. Unsurprisingly, Leon got quite a stack of them as Felix was now making a pyramid tower using Leon's letters. A smile formed on Charles's lips. Then his eyes wandered again and…
"Gion, you didn't get any?"
The room fell silent.
"EH???!!!!!!"
Gion's eyes twitched at the collective gasps. "Tone it down, can't you guys?" he mumbled.
"But this can't possibly be right! Even Shintarou gets 2 letters (Shintarou: Oi!), so why didn't you get even one?!" Ciel slammed the table with a BAM! as he turned to Alex.
"You sure there's none for Gion?" he questioned. Alex shook his head, holding up the empty letter box. Ciel let out another dramatic gasp, hand covering his mouth.
"Prince Ciel, it's great that you're concerned, but even Gion didn't care much about it," Livio remarked, supported by Gion's curt hum.
"C-concerned?! Me? To him?! Bah! Don't be ridiculous! I just- just- want fairness! Haha, yeah!"
As Ciel began spouting nonsense, the pyramid tower Felix built fell. Felix pouted while Leon patted his back, saying they would build it again together once they're back in the dormitory. Felix nodded and helped Leon tidy up the letters.
A letter caught Felix's eye. He brought it closer to him, eyes widening once he noticed something. He tugged Leon's sleeve, showing the letter to his friend. Leon had almost the same expression as Felix once he noticed what Felix was trying to show him. He took the letter from Felix's hand.
"Sorry, guys, but Felix just found something."
Leon held up the letter. "I believe Alex had mistakenly given me someone else's letter," he glanced at Alex, who was currently blinking his eyes rapidly in confusion. Later, his eyes fell on a certain someone.
"This is actually addressed to you, Gion."
"He still has one—?!"
Slap!
The room fell silent (yes, again) as everyone looked at the one who had exclaimed just now. Livio, face currently pale, had his hand slapped over his mouth. He himself had frozen as well, indicating that he hadn't expected to exclaim that loudly.
Slowly, he removed his hand. "Aha, of course, Gion would have one. Al- also, it wasn't your fault that you'd mistaken Prince Leon's name as Gion's, Alex. Their name would often look similar in certain handwriting." Livio rambled on, ignoring the odd look the princes gave him.
"Just now…" Albert began.
"The meeting ends here. Let's all go back," Gion cut Albert off. He stood up and walked over to Leon, taking the letter. He then returned to Livio, nudging the other guy to walk out of the room.
"Livio."
Livio flinched as Gion's voice came from his bedroom door. He looked up from his homework and saw the Italian Prince in his pajamas, standing right beside the door frame, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"I remember not being done talking to you yet this morning. Is it okay to continue it now?" Gion spoke softly.
"But… it's almost midnight already, Gion…"
"Hm. It's the weekend tomorrow anyway. Shouldn't be a problem," Livio watched as Gion invited himself to sit on Livio's bed, right beside the study table.
Livio sighed and closed his exercise book. "Alright, then. What do you have to say to me?"
"What do you have to say to me?" Gion replied.
The question had Livio startled, eyes widening slightly. He lowered his gaze and, with a low voice, "There's none."
Gion huffed. "Is this because of the letter? You've been so on edge lately that I can't ignore it anymore. You're not really good at hiding your emotions in the first place anyway, so just tell me what's bugging you," he remarked, leaning his body forward. "You know there's no need for secrets between us, right?"
"I know, just…" Livio began fidgeting, playing with his fingers. "It's not… really a big matter."
"That's not the issue here, you know that," Gion shook his head.
Livio pursed his lips. He truly could never win against Gion when the prince was this persistent. He bet even if he kept dodging the question, Gion would still be at it until sunrise, until Livio finally spoke the truth.
Livio wiped his face. "I'm just worried about you, Gion," he finally lifted his face to look straight at the prince. "That person literally opens your locker every day to put the notes. Who knows just what he did to your stuff in there? It's… it's just creepy no matter how you look at it, Gion, I don't know how you're still so composed about this."
Gion stayed silent. He only stared at Livio, as if waiting for the servant to continue his words. "And? That's all?"
Livio blinked. "Y-yeah…?"
"You're just worried? Nothing more?"
Livio was suddenly confused. It felt like Gion was expecting him to say something, but he wasn't so sure what it was supposed to be. "Am I… supposed to say something else?"
Gion huffed and looked away. "No, nothing."
In the next moment, Gion pulled something out of his pocket, holding it out to Livio. "If I tell you that you may look for whoever it is that has been sending me these letters for the past two weeks, will that put your mind at ease?"
Without a pause, Livio nodded firmly.
Gion opened his mouth, yet no sound came out. He pursed his lips and placed the letter on the desk wordlessly, pushing himself up to stand on his feet. "You may do whatever you want. I apologize for interrupting your study time, by the way. Good night."
"Ah— good night too, Gion."
Livio said, but by the time he finished his words, Gion had already left the room. Livio sighed, feeling a bit devastated at the cold treatment, yet his hand still reached for the letter Gion gave him and unfolded the piece of paper. Once his eyes fell on the words written, his breath hitched.
The paper crumpled instantly in his hands.
"Haha… this audacity…" he chuckled. Without sparing the paper any more look, he threw it right into the trash can across the room.
And on the poor paper's surface, a string of words was still visible.
Prince Gion, I'm rooting for you for the upcoming Sports Day! Also, once the Sports Day ends, can we meet? I have something to tell you ;) Wait for me below the maple tree right beside the school's main gate!
"So… do any of you guys know if Gion has a secret lover— I mean, admirer? Who's so obsessed with him?"
The bodyguards collectively exchange a confused look. This secret base, which had become the meeting spot for this group of people, was now feeling a bit stuffy due to all of them gathering together.
Merlin was the first one to speak. "Is this supposed to be some kind of test?"
"Could be," Jelena nodded.
"Maybe this kid just needs some kind of validation," Engel added.
"Heh. Probably needs an ego boost as well," Quentin scoffed.
Livio frowned. "What? No, I'm asking a serious question here,"
Once again, the room fell into an awkward silence. A groan could be heard clearly. "Can't believe I left my post just for this…"
James patted Raven's shoulder, giving the man comfort. He turned to Livio. "Do you really ask us all to meet here just so that you can ask that?"
Livio gave a firm nod. "Well, what's wrong with my question?"
Jelena and Merlin looked at each other with equally puzzled faces. They stayed like that for a moment, eyes blinking and brows furrowing as if exchanging telepathy. At last, Merlin nudged the woman's side, urging her to just say what both of them were thinking already. Jelena rolled her eyes, but stepped forward anyway.
Jelena coughed into her hand. "I don't know if you're asking that question seriously or not…"
"I'm being serious!"
"…but everyone here already knows that you're the biggest fans of Prince Gion."
"…"
Livio was at a loss for words because what Jelena said was… true.
"Yeah, remember when he told you to remove every love letter Prince Gion received under his desk, Iseya?" James began, his voice tinged with a hint of tease. Iseya flinched but only nodded in reply, choosing not to comment any further.
Engel hummed. "I remember the kid looking gloomy during our meeting once, just because a certain teacher paired Prince Gion with someone else during P.E," he chuckled, winking playfully at Merlin beside him. The other man cleared his throat, caught off guard at the sudden mention.
Merlin crossed his arms, and a smirk formed on his face. "Haha, I was just trying to get Prince Gion to interact with other students. I didn't expect Livio to ignore me for the whole week after that…"
Laughter boomed in the small room as everyone recalled the moment.
Livio felt his face heat up with humiliation. "Can we not get off topic? Gion has been receiving letters from a certain person every day, even after I thought I had gotten rid of them all. Which means he's probably crazier about Gion than me!"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I even tried comparing his handwriting to almost everyone in the school for the past 3 days, yet I found no match! Just who is this person??"
The bodyguards stopped laughing, looked at each other, and low murmurs of, "So he admits he's crazy about his prince…" resounded in Livio's ears.
Quentin moved away from the crowd and leaned back against the wall. "I don't know, kid. I can't imagine anyone else pulling such a thing for Prince Gion other than you."
James joined him, "I agree. Also, Prince Gion has that many admirers, so having one who's this persistent is not unusual. Cheer up, little guy. Your prince isn't gonna get taken away anytime soon. Stop worrying too much about this," the blond-haired man added, offering a warm smile to the distressed Livio.
Livio, and the other hand, didn't feel any better about it.
"Eh?! If someone among the princes, like Prince Gion?!"
"Shh, Alex! This is supposed to be a secret between us!"
Livio covered up Alex's mouth, eyes wandering around to make sure they're the only ones crouching behind the big bush of the school field. Thankfully, the surroundings were still so hectic with the sound of whistles, chatters, and students cheering for their teams, so chances are nobody was eavesdropping on this conversation.
The grey-haired man sighed and lifted his hand from Alex's mouth. Alex gave a questioning look, still confused by Livio's earlier request. "I… I don't think any of the princes have feelings for Prince Gion. At least, not that I know of…" he mumbled.
Livio huffed in frustration. Sports Day had come to its very last day, and his search for the anonymous admirer still bore no fruit. He was even more frustrated that, due to this mission of his, the time he got to spend with Gion had decreased significantly since he was always out trying to dig out any clues regarding that person (spoiler: he didn't get any).
"B-but don't worry, Livio! None of us dares to get between your relationship! As much as a teaser the princes are, they're not people who would break apart a couple! Haha!" Alex held a thumbs-up right in front of Livio, grinning as widely as he could to convince the man.
"…what did you just say?"
"Uh? That the princes… won't break a couple…?"
"And the couple is…?"
Alex blinked. It suddenly occurred to him.
"A… aren't you and Prince Gion a couple?"
"…"
"…?"
*After a long explanation time*
"I'm sorry, I didn't know!"
Alex bowed to the ground repeatedly, voice shaking as he apologized again and again.
Livio chuckled dryly. "It's fine, haha… ha…" It's really not fine, truthfully.
"L-Livio, please don't feel down…!" Alex began fidgeting as Livio slumped to the ground, dead eyes looking at the sky.
Alex ruffled his own hair, "If you're that troubled, can't you just tell Prince Gion not to meet this person?" he suggested.
Livio shook his head. "Already did yesterday."
"Gion, will you really meet with that person tomorrow?" Livio asked hesitantly as he carefully placed a plate of lasagna in front of Gion.
The prince nodded right away. "I should thank him in person for giving me snacks often, so I might as well go," he replied while reaching out for the fork.
Livio scratched his cheeks. "Um, can you not go?"
"Why?"
"I just… don't think it'll be a great idea."
By this time, Livio could no longer hold eye contact with Gion's piercing gaze, so he resorted to staring at the floor instead.
"Look at me when talking, Livio. Why do you think it won't be a great idea?"
Livio flinched. Even though Gion didn't raise his voice by even an octave, the sheer authority in that voice was enough to make a person shiver. With a heavy heart, Livio lifted his head again.
"I told you, I'm worried that he would turn out to be a creep…" he weakly answered.
"That answer again…" Gion clicked his tongue. "Then just watch over me from afar. I'll still meet this person, no matter what. Maybe try giving me a more solid reason next time if you don't like the idea that much."
Livio forgot how the whole dinner went, but he remembered not talking to Gion at all since then. Gion seemed to be upset about something, and Livio, too, was not in a much better condition.
…suddenly Livio felt terrible about himself.
"I'm such a stupid person…" he whined, gripping his hair tightly.
"L-Livio, your scalp! Your scalp will get damaged!"
"Just like how my relationship with Gion is… damaged…"
"Seriously, stop that!" Alex begged, using everything in his power to yank Livio's hands away from his hair. Alex heaved. "Livio, I really… really think you should just be honest to Prince Gion."
Livio finally freed his hair. "Honest… about what?"
"I think Prince Gion knows that you're not being truthful to him. Just admit that you're jealous that he is indulging his admirer, and I think you guys will be fine again." Alex suggested earnestly.
Livio pouted. "But I don't want to confess yet… I need to make sure we're in a romantic setting first," he complained while pulling at the grass.
Alex stilled, as if trying to comprehend what he just heard. "Uhh… friends can be jealous too, you know? Like… ha! Like when Charles is jealous when Albert keeps talking to someone else, or… or Felix being jealous when Leon shares his food with another person… oh, and when Ciel is jealous whenever Gina mentions another man— um, wait…"
Livio held back a laugh. "That does not sound like friendship, Alex," the other man felt his face heat up, belatedly realizing his mistake.
Alex waved his hands rapidly in panic. "W-what I meant to say is, friends still can feel jealousy when the other person pays more attention to someone else! So it won't count as confession!"
"Yeah, I get what you mean, Alex," Livio muttered, tracing his finger on the ground. He was still feeling conflicted, but if what Alex said is true, then maybe… it won't hurt to say it?
"Argh… this is frustrating…"
Livio groaned. The closing ceremony would commence in just a few moments, and once it ends, Gion will go to meet his admirer, and what if… what if he confessed to Gion before Livio got to?!
"Livio, they're starting to call out everyone to gather around. Let's get moving," Alex patted Livio's shoulder, urging the man to stand up. Livio had no choice but to follow, with a heart still dreading what was to come.
Livio immediately made his way to the meeting point once the closing ceremony ended. The medal for being the winner of the high jump category still hung around his neck, dangling about with Livio's hasty movements.
"Maple tree… maple tree…"
Livio huffed under his breath, looking around for any signs of Gion… or that damn admirer.
And, lucky him, he saw the brown of Gion's hair the very next second. Well-combed and neat as always, looking as proper as Gion's demeanor.
"G-Gion!" Livio heaved. He felt quite out of breath now, which he only had himself to blame for running all the way from the school field to the main entrance.
Gion, who looked like he hadn't broken a sweat (which was understandable since Gion had most likely skipped the closing ceremony, as he didn't really win any category), raised his brows at the sight of his servant. "Livio? Has the ceremony ended?"
Livio nodded. "That's… not the point here…!"
Gion tilted his head, looking puzzled.
"Can you… can you not meet him?" Livio said at last.
The prince seemed bored. "We talked about this yesterday, Livio. You have to come up with a—"
"I'M JEALOUS!"
Gion's eyes widen in surprise. And Livio, too, suddenly felt shame consuming his whole body. He couldn't believe he actually said it. He glanced at Gion, expecting a weird expression due to his cringe words just now, but… was that a smile on Gion's lips?
"You're jealous? Why?" Gion asked calmly, but Livio swore his tone sounded a bit too delighted in contrast to that stoic face.
Being interrogated, now he felt like he was being cornered by Gion. "B-because my best friend is—"
But Gion didn't let him finish his words. "I give you five seconds. Five seconds for you to actually tell me why you're jealous, Livio. One…" he held up a finger.
"Wait! What does this mean?!"
"I don't know, you tell me. Two…" another finger was held up.
Livio was in a grave situation. A very, very grave situation.
"Hold up! What—ack!—what would happen once the countdown ends??" he stuttered, so badly he actually bit his own tongue.
Gion didn't faze. "I'm still thinking about it. Three…"
The prince was still speaking so vaguely that it put Livio in a distressing state. His head spun as violently as his heart was beating right now, and his lips moved before his brain could register it.
"IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!!!"
I LIKE YOU
I like you
ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ
ᶦ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ʸᵒᵘ….
The words echoed in the silent evening.
Oh, shit. Now Livio had done it. He covered his face, throwing so many insults at himself for spouting such things right away, placing him in a tight spot. He couldn't bear to see Gion right now. Oh no, what if Gion was disgusted by his words…
"Pfft."
?
Livio's head snapped up, looking at the prince in front of him, who was now chuckling into his own hands. "Eh?"
Gion removed his hand, showing his genuine smile. His eyes curved slightly, "Can't believe it took a countdown for you to finally say it. I should've done it sooner," he shook his head, stepping closer to Livio.
"E-eh? What do you…?"
"I like you too, Livio."
"What?!"
Livio's mouth hung open at how direct and composed Gion was right now. Saying that so casually as if ordering food. And not to mention, Gion was getting so close to him right now that he was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.
Gion tilted his head. "What's with that reaction? Don't want to date me?" the prince taunted, a playful smirk forming on his lips.
"I do! I do!" Livio nodded as he answered, though he was immediately ashamed of how eager he sounded. But hearing another low chuckle came from Gion, it didn't seem like the prince was bothered by it.
Gion crossed his arms. "Great. Now that everything is said and done, let's go back," he remarked before making his way in the direction of their hostel, leaving Livio, who was still frozen in place.
Livio blinked in confusion. He should be happy, right? He finally got to date his crush! But wasn't all of this happening too fast?! And more importantly, "Wait— what about your admirer? Aren't you guys supposed to meet here?"
Gion's steps halted. He turned back to face Livio and looked up briefly, as if thinking of something. And finally, a grin returned to his face. "There's no admirer."
"...What??"
"No admirer. I wrote those letters myself."
"WHAT??????"
He felt like his brain was malfunctioning due to this sudden information. What does it mean— so does this mean—so all this time—
Livio was pulled forward out of the sudden, snapping out of his now-messy thoughts to find that Gion had pulled him by the medal.
The prince had a beautiful smile at the moment, and Livio never realized that Gion could make such an expression. But wait, weren't their faces too close now?
Livio felt heat creeping up his face. As Gion moved his face closer, he immediately shut his eyes and heard a faint whisper.
"Hook, line, and sinker."
Chu!
A kiss landed on Livio's cheeks, immediately making him snap his eyes wide open, now staring at Gion with a baffled face.
Gion hummed and moved away, patting Livio's chest. "Oh, I forgot to say it," he stopped and turned his face back, facing Livio. "Congrats on winning the high jump, boyfriend," he ended his sentence with a wink before continuing walking ahead.
And Livio… was still speechless.
He blinked.
There was no admirer… Gion wrote them himself… Gion liked Livio too… Gion kissed Livio's cheeks… Gion called Livio 'boyfriend'… Gion liked Livio too… Gion kissed Livio… Gion called him 'boyfriend'… boyfriend…
Livio's mouth gaped. It finally occurred to him.
"Wait! Gion, we are dating now?!"
He made his way to Gion's side, catching up to his…boyfriend. Gion didn't answer, but Livio was sure he heard the prince laugh heartily in response.