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It’s the day Shotaro has been dreading for his entire life.
It was the day of his courtship. There was no stopping the onslaught of relatives and other kingdoms coming. How could he possibly tell his parents that he was gay now?
There he stood in front of his mirror, his tailor running around with pins and needles stuck all over his own clothes, different colors of fabric and outfits draped over me. Shotaro could only stare at himself, questioning why he never had the courage to tell anyone he wasn’t attracted to women. Maybe then this nightmare could be prevented.
He was decked out in a white silk blouse with frills down the middle and a black ribbon tied loosely around his neck. His tailor had made him wear black slacks and black boots, and a minimal amount of earrings despite the number of piercings he had. His hair was styled with messy curls, with his bangs curled just over his eyes.
Shotaro looked good; he couldn’t lie, but not when he was about to be presented to all the women in all the kingdoms, it felt. He didn’t feel good. His stomach was churning from the thought of having to sit through hours of the ceremony while trying to act interested.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and let his tailor and hair stylist do their finishing touches on him. The tailor threw a luxurious black suit onto Shotaro and pinned the kingdom’s emblem onto his breast pocket.
He took one last look at himself before he heard a gentle knock at his bedroom door. One of the double doors gently creaked open to reveal Shotaro’s knight and guard, Jung Sungchan. A tall, handsome, well-mannered man who had been by Shotaro’s side since he turned 18. He had grown very close to Sungchan throughout the years, Shotaro even treating him as one of his closest friends.
Sungchan stepped into the room wearing a white button-up under a black silk shirt with silver clips at the collar. He had on black slacks and black boots with a black cloak draped over his shoulders.
Shotaro eyed him up and down, unable to hide the blush pink spreading across his cheeks, hoping that no one would notice. His servants were too busy, but of course, Sungchan noticed. He threw a grin at Shotaro and winked, and Shotaro had to look away.
“Good morning, I’m here to pick up the crown prince for his ceremony. Is he ready?”
“Yes, Sir Sungchan, are the royals ready outside as well?”
“They’re slowly starting to trickle in, we might as well get going, right your Highness?”
Shotaro straightened up at his title being called and nodded. He stepped off the stand in front of the mirror to stand next to Sungchan. He crossed his arms in front of him and bowed deeply to his tailor, hair stylist, and makeup artist. He thanked them for all their hard work before Sungchan opened the door for Shotaro and led him away to the throne room.
He closed the door behind them and slid over to Shotaro’s side, snaking a hand around his waist.
“Hey, how are you doing?”
“Sungchan, stop, we can’t be doing this around here.”
“Why not, baby? No one’s around, and I can tell something’s bothering you.”
Shotaro’s lips pursed into a thin line. It’s not that he didn’t want to tell Sungchan; he was just more scared that another guard would see them acting so close, especially when it was right before his courtship.
“Fine, but only until we get closer to the throne room.” Shotaro took Sungchan’s hand off his waist and intertwined his fingers around his own. He tilted his head up to plant a small peck on Sungchan’s cheek before looking straight ahead again.
“You know about my worries, I’m just not looking forward to hours upon hours where all my family thinks I want to be with a girl. It’s so icky for me to force myself to be someone else when I could be spending my time with you. And the fact that everyone wants me to be this uptight prince that follows all the rules, like I don’t sneak off in the middle of the night.” Shotaro poured out his worries, followed by a deep sigh.
“Being a prince is so hard; sometimes I wish I were one of the musicians at the pub in the village, they seem like they’re having a great time doing whatever they want. No rules except to make great music. Hell, I’d rather even be the jester my family hires, he just has to dance and entertain us, doesn’t that sound nice?”
“Yeah, I know it’s hard Taro hyung, but you gotta hold out just for a little more,” Sungchan looked at him with sadness in his eyes. There really wasn’t much he could do to help Shotaro escape the confines of royal life, but he could ease the pain a little. “I can help you sneak out more if you want. We can do some fun things when you have the time if that makes you feel better.”
“Thanks Sungchan. Can you get me some dancing gig for the next festival? But make sure my parents aren’t watching, I can’t hide it from them there.”
Before Sungchan had become a knight for the royal family, he had worked some odd jobs in the village, a bartender at the tavern, a fruit monger at the market, and he even had a stint where he was friendly with the thieves and robbers. He knew everyone in the village before his time as a knight, and as his life was becoming more and more disjointed, he decided to join the knights as a way to pull himself back to his feet. Unknowingly, he would climb the ranks until he became Shotaro’s knight in shining armor, both literally and figuratively.
He knew just where to help his hyung escape the rigid structure of the royal family, much of which suffocated him. Activities like fencing, royal etiquette lessons, and listening to updates on diplomacy and the patriarchy bored him. He wanted to express himself, be creative, and he found his outlet with dance. Of course, he had to do it secretly and disguise himself every time there was a performance, but when Sungchan visited Shotaro during those times, he could see the light return to his eyes. If Sungchan wasn’t able to physically show that he and Shotaro were together, he would do anything to make his hyung happy, as seeing the joy he radiated was Sungchan’s biggest happiness.
Shotaro still had to follow through with his royal duties, so the long walk from Shotaro’s room to the throne room soon ended, and they had to physically separate.
“Ready?” Sungchan moved in front of Shotaro and looked back at him with a smile. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” and with gloved hands, Sungchan opened the double doors. The door opened to a vast room with arched windows and gold accents. The mural painted on the ceiling was highlighted by the morning rays pouring through the window. Rows of knights lined the sides of the room as Shotaro was met with the long walk up to his throne.
The king, queen, and Shotaro’s brother and sister were sitting patiently at the front, also decked out in royal attire. The trumpets sounded to announce the arrival of the prince, and Shotaro adjusted his posture and walked straight ahead into the lion’s den awaiting him.
Sungchan followed strategically behind him, and soon he was at his throne. He met his father and mother and gave both of them a bow, then turned his attention to his younger siblings and gave them a tight squeeze on the hands before settling down in his own throne. Sungchan made sure to stand behind his throne and a little off to the side.
The royal fanfare continued as the kings and queens from other kingdoms arrived in the throne room, strolling to the front of the room and bowing at the Osaki royal family before heading off to their respective positions.
After the kings and queens came in, next were the suitors, the princesses of the kingdoms. The stunning princesses came waltzing in, all in a line, wearing magnificently colorful dresses with accents of tulle and chiffon. Shotaro couldn’t care less.
They waltzed as if they were dancing snowflakes, smiling at each other before turning their attention to the crowned prince at his throne. They all curtseyed at him, and Shotaro stood before them and bowed a deep 90 degrees.
The entire ceremony felt like a blur to Shotaro; he had to sit there trying as best as he could not to yawn in front of everyone. The kings and queens brought their princesses up to Shotaro and introduced them to him, all the details about these princesses going in one ear and out the other. He tried so hard not to seem rude; in his heart, he really didn’t want to seem uninterested and did want to give the princesses his time, but not in the context where they had to court him.
At the end of the ceremony, it was tradition for the prince to do a waltz with each princess, waltzing as if he were dancing through a flower garden. Through all the tedious rehearsals with the palace dancers that felt silly, he readied himself for the dance. Shotaro genuinely took his time with each girl, smiling at them to thank them for coming, even though deep down he knew his one love was waiting for him behind his own throne.
After the dance, Shotaro took one last bow and the girls before going back to his own seat and waiting for the crowd of people to leave the room.
His parents turned to him and started questioning him about his type.
“Which one met your expectations?”
“I really liked the one in yellow, she had a nice face and nice eyes. I think she’d be good for you.”
“Or maybe the one in blue, she’s from a powerful kingdom, might be good for diplomatic relations, think about that too Taro!”
“You seemed to dance well with the one in pink. Did you like her the best?”
Like teenagers entranced with gossip, they kept bombarding Shotaro with questions. He was starting to wonder who the one being courted really was.
“Ah, mom, dad, I’ll take the next few days to think about it… It’s too hard of a choice right now…” he said through a fake smile. He couldn’t wait to get out of the room and be with Sungchan privately again. Throughout all this time, Sungchan had stood patiently waiting for the ceremony to end right behind him, even through the multiple girls flirting with Shotaro’s handsome face and dancing pressed up against him, he didn’t mutter a single word.
Shotaro stole a glance at Sungchan as his cue that he wanted to leave.
“I’m really tired for now, it’s been a really long day of talking to people and I’d like some time to myself to think about my decision.”
“Why, yes, of course! Let’s give our son some time to think about it. Sungchan, take Taro back to his room!” The king stated.
Shotaro looked back at Sungchan with his soft eyes, thankful that he was finally leaving. He quickly stood up from his seat and started walking toward the double doors leading to the rest of the palace. Sungchan quickly followed behind, and he could hear the king and queen’s chatter about the courtship to Shotaro’s siblings.
Sungchan made sure to open the door for Shotaro in front of the monarchy, and just as he shut the door, he grabbed Shotaro’s hand and dragged him away from the door.
“Sungchan! Where are we going?” The knight pulled at the prince with such force that he was practically flying through the air. Through many hallways, he finally landed on one of the many bedrooms in the palace and pulled Shotaro in.
Before Shotaro could even register what was happening, a pair of lips was on his own and kissing him with great fervor. Shotaro’s eyes widened in shock, his shoulders tensing up before he melted into the kiss and grabbed Sungchan’s collar.
The knight clumsily locked the door with one hand while the other hand slipped up to Shotaro’s cheek, gently caressing it. After he was done locking the door, his hand snaked its way up to Shotaro’s jacket, trying its best to shimmy it off his shoulders.
They didn’t have much of a height difference, so Shotaro could take the lead if he wanted to. His hands also came up to cup Sungchan’s cheeks after his jacket was off his shoulders, pulling him in closer than they already were. Sungchan maneuvered them around so that the prince was pressed against the wall. His hands were busy untucking Taro’s blouse, and on impulse, he sneaked his hand up Taro’s waist and lower back.
Shotaro wasn’t willing to let his boyfriend take full control. He used his tongue to tease his lips open, and sure enough, Sungchan let him in. They both moaned at the intrusion, and Sungchan crept his hands further up Shotaro’s back. Taro shivered and squirmed in his hold, refusing to back down. He pushed further and snaked his hand into Sungchan’s hair, lightly tugging playfully.
Taro’s teeth tickled Sungchan’s bottom lip, their breaths becoming one, heating the room. Shotaro broke the kiss first and giggled into Sungchan’s lips. “You taste like chocolate,” he said, looking at him with crescent-shaped eyes. “I snuck some earlier before the ceremony,” Sungchan laughed and planted his lips back onto Shotaro’s.
Sungchan’s wandering hands made Shotaro whine into the kiss, getting swallowed up like a mouse in a trap. He could feel the jealousy coursing through the knight’s fingertips, the heat traveling deep into Taro’s nerves from the thought of having to watch his boyfriend be so affectionate with girls he’d never known. He touched Shotaro like he was starved of touch, like they were long-lost lovers, like it was their first time, as Sungchan drove himself further and further into the prince, trying to drink up every part of him, every part of his handsome boyfriend.
Sungchan was willing to give anything to him, to see that cute smile every time Taro did something he loved, or to hear his laugh that sounded more like a squeal when he was entertained.
Sungchan reluctantly left his lips on Shotaro’s and trailed them down his jawline to his neck, placing small pecks and burying his nose into the crevice of his neck, trying to get drunk in his scent. Taro always smelled like pears and musk, perfectly sweet and deep that Sungchan felt dizzy every time he was near.
Shotaro whined once he felt lips on his neck, tilting his head to give Sungchan better access. Their bodies grew closer and closer; he could feel the heat of the moment and the lust spreading throughout their bodies, and he could definitely feel the hard on growing for both of them.
“Sungchan, if only we weren’t prince and guard, we could be together without any problems…” Shotaro whispered sadly. “I know Taro hyung, I’ll make it up to you somehow, I’ll spend all my time with you, I only have eyes for you.”
Shotaro hummed with satisfaction, and just as Sungchan’s hands were about to go further down into Taro’s pants, he heard one of the royal guards shout about a missing prince.
“Hey, do you know where the prince and his knight are? They’ve been missing since the ceremony.”
“Is the prince not in his room?”
“No, but this palace is pretty big; he’s probably in one of the hundreds of rooms.”
Sungchan’s ears stayed glued to the guards’ conversation. He looked back at Shotaro’s wide eyes with a pain in his own.
“Ah, I think I have to go back to my knight duties Taro… They’re looking for you, and I don’t want them to send a full group of guards after you,” he smiled gently at Taro. “We can continue this another time, maybe tonight?” Shotaro knew this was the sad truth; Sungchan always had to be on duty as a knight, even if he was messing around with the prince.
He diverted his eyes away from Sungchan and Sungchan brought his thumb under Shotaro’s chin to look him in the eyes. “I’ll do anything for you hyung, I love you so much it’ll just be us soon okay?” He planted another kiss onto Shotaro’s lips before separating their bodies. “Make sure you get found by a guard soon so they stop worrying okay? I’ll see you tonight.”
Sungchan quietly opened the door and blew a kiss at the prince before jogging off to find another guard to “find” Shotaro.
Shotaro stood behind the door in silence, clothes and hair messier than they should be. Just how long would he have to wait to really get away from the suffocating royal life? Just how long is Sungchan making him wait? Would he have to do it himself? Just how long until he’s really able to love without hiding?