Chapter Text
Kuni felt like he was going to puke. This had to be the worst day of his life, or so he thought. It was even worse than the worst day of his life last week. Not only was his mother making him attend this obnoxious ballroom party, not only he was also being forced to participate and dress the part- not only was he expected to mingle with the guests and be nice to them, but Kuni had to dance with a commoner.
“This is hell, and my mother is the devil…” Kuni thought as he was being shoved to the middle of the ballroom by his nanny, where the guests had formed a circle clearing. Kuni turned to face his partner, only to be greeted by no one; Across from him was the other side of the circle of guests. The prince smiled and turned to his pink-haired nanny.
“Well, Miko. It appears no one dares to dance with a royal,” Kuni sneered with a smile. “Since my duties here are finished, you may now escort me to my chambers.”
Yae Miko only smiled calmly, like she usually does in response. Kuni then heard the loud chattering and laughing of a group of boys from right behind him, then someone called out, “Go on!”
Yae Miko giggled and put her hands on Kuni’s shoulders. He shook his head, looking up at Miko pleadingly. It didn’t matter; Yae Miko never listened to him. Prince Kuni was spun around and pushed back to the middle of the circle, where he was now face-to-face with a nervous-looking, white-haired young man.
Kuni turned his head to glare at Yae Miko, letting her know she would not get away with this. She only waved back with a proud look in her eyes. Kuni groaned, then whipped back to his arranged dance partner. They stood across from each other, waiting.
When Kuni realized the boy was too nervous to move, he rolled his eyes and scoffed. He grabbed the boy’s hand and kneeled before him, kissing his knuckles. The boy gasped, and Kuni felt his hand flinch.
“This is what you’re supposed to be doing. It seems you don’t know the first thing about how to treat your royals,” Kuni sneered as he stood up, still holding the pale boy’s now trembling hand. At first, Kuni thought it was due to embarrassment or shock, but when he looked at the boy’s scrunched-up face, he only saw disgust and anger. Kuni finally felt a sense of amusement, as he knew why someone would make that face. He then pulled the boy in by the waist and snapped his fingers into the air.
“Music! Let’s get this started.”
The musicians began playing the slow ballroom music, and the prince immediately started swaying and stepping to the beat, his partner clumsily following along. Kuni’s eyes were locked with his, sheer anger pouring out of the boy’s amber-gold irises. Kuni laughed; He’d never come across anyone who wasn’t ecstatic or trembling with fear in the presence of a royal.
“What’s wrong? Expecting to dance with Princess Mura?” Kuni asked, his tone full of fake empathy.
“Tch. Trust me. If I had to dance with anyone, she would be my very last choice.” The boy’s light yet serious voice graced Kuni’s ears, much to his surprise. He didn’t expect the boy to be so bold as to speak- so casually at that. He was beginning to relax and move with the music a bit more freely. All the other guests had begun to dance as well, not paying attention to their prince anymore.
“You speak ill of the royal family in the presence of the princess’s brother. Have you no respect, boy?” Kuni asked, trying to sound commanding, though it was hard to look cool with an amused smile on his lips.
“You are her brother? I dare say no: I have little to no respect for you or your family, Prince Kunikuzuchi.” The boy spat, though his voice was so calm, it felt like a compliment. Kuni couldn’t help but laugh loudly.
“And who are you, he who has the gall to demean me to my face? What is your name?”
Kuni yelped and almost stumbled when he was spun around and pulled back in, now being held by his- apparently- not rhythmically impaired dance partner.
“Kazuha. Kaedehara Kazuha.” The boy answered with a chuckle and a slight glint in his eyes.
Kuni could only look back up at Kazuha with wide eyes. He could feel his face getting warm and his heart beating faster, a mix of fury and embarrassment bubbling through his veins. He stood up and pushed Kazuha away slightly with a growl.
“Well, Kazu-ha,” Kuni sneered. “I’m sure my mother would be delighted to hear of you and your profound dedication to this nation.”
Kuni then looked away. His dance partner had turned out to be amusing but also more annoying than Yae Miko. No one moved Kuni around as they pleased, and it pissed him off to no end that everyone here tonight was accomplishing just that. He wasn’t going to let himself be the party’s puppet.
“Oh, really? Well, after today, I doubt you’d ever be able to find me again. I’m going to be gone faster than the wind.” Kazuha was enjoying himself now, making Kuni figure he was getting a kick out of teasing the prince and getting away with it. Kuni then began pulling Kazuha in different directions, spinning all across the ballroom to gain some control back in this situation.
“I think I’d much prefer never seeing you again, Kaedehara,” Kuni sighed impatiently. The song was almost over, and the poor prince couldn’t wait to return to his room- All of his stuffed animals and pillows were never as annoying as real people were.
Kazuha had stopped replying, and the two of them continued to battle over who was taking the lead in the dance. Kazuha seemed to think that he could force Kuni to kneel and spin just because he was smaller, to which Kuni began to take harder steps and push Kazuha in the direction he wanted to go. The taller man barely fought back, though he never took his golden glare off the prince. The prince only glared back harder.
Soon, the song was coming to a close, and Kuni was already preparing to shove Kazuha away and dash up the stairs; However, he could hardly even cry out before the man's hand was on his back, and he was being swooped down. Kazuha’s other hand held up Kuni’s leg to his hip, but nothing held up Kuni's heart as it dropped from his chest.