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The summer heatwave had reduced the Imperial Palace of Kou to a stagnant, suffocating standstill.
By early afternoon, the air inside the grand administrative halls had become unbreathable. The stone walls radiated heat like sun-baked bricks, and not even the palace’s resident Magicians could offer relief—their cooling spells dissolved into useless, lukewarm mist within seconds of being cast.
Koumei had officially suspended all court business until sundown, declaring that any official who attempted to force a meeting in forty-degree weather was committing treason against common sense.
In his private study, Hakuryuu sat alone at his desk, his forehead pressed flat against the cool mahogany surface. He was thoroughly, deeply miserable.
His outer robes hung loose around his shoulders, his skin damp with heat, but his body refused to rest. The silence in his empty wing felt unnaturally heavy, punctuated only by the distant, rhythmic drone of cicadas in the gardens outside. The heat had a strange way of stripping away his focus, leaving his thoughts to drift, unbidden, toward a single, agonizingly familiar presence.
Judar.
When the palace was frantic and loud, it was easy enough to keep Judar tucked into the back of his mind. But in this quiet, paralyzed heat, Hakuryuu couldn't stop thinking about him—about the sharp, unapologetic way Judar occupied space, the cool touch of his pale skin, and the lazy, infuriating smirk that usually meant trouble was only minutes away.
Unable to endure the stillness any longer, Hakuryuu pushed himself up from his desk and walked out onto the shaded wooden veranda.
He didn't have to search long.
At the far end of the eastern wing, draped across the lowest branch of a massive, ancient willow tree that overhung the garden pond, was Judar. He had stripped off his heavy sash, his dark trousers pushed up to his knees, his bare feet dangling just inches above the water.
"If you're coming over here to hand me paperwork, Ryuu, I'm going to drown myself in this pond," Judar called out lazily, his eyes remaining closed as Hakuryuu approached the shade of the willow.
Hakuryuu stopped at the edge of the wooden deck, looking up at him. The sight of Judar—unbothered, sprawling, and completely indifferent to imperial decorum—instantly eased the tight knot in Hakuryuu’s chest.
"The court is closed," Hakuryuu said, his voice quiet in the heavy air. "Nobody is working today."
Judar opened one crimson eye, looking down at Hakuryuu through the drooping green leaves. A slow, familiar smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Look at you. You look like a drowned rat."
"It's suffocating inside," Hakuryuu admitted, stepping off the porch and walking toward the trunk of the tree. "Even the Magicians gave up."
"Of course they did. Magic is useless against nature when nature decides to be a pain in the ass," Judar scoffed. He shifted his weight, dropping down from the branch with a soft thud onto the shaded grass beside Hakuryuu. He stretched his arms high above his head, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Since you've got nothing better to do than follow me around, sit down. You're making me tired just standing there."
Hakuryuu didn't argue. He sat cross-legged on the soft grass beneath the willow's heavy canopy, where the breeze off the pond made the air feel a fraction cooler.
Judar immediately flopped down beside him, unceremoniously dumping his head right onto Hakuryuu's lap.
"Judar—"
"Shut up. Your pants are made of light silk, it's cooler than the ground," Judar grumbled, closing his eyes again and settling his weight comfortably against Hakuryuu's thighs. "Besides, you were looking for me anyway, weren't you?"
Hakuryuu froze for a fraction of a second before relaxing, his expression softening as he looked down at the former Magi. Without thinking, his fingers reached into Judar's long, messy black hair, gently untangling the knots that had formed from lying in the tree.
"I was," Hakuryuu murmured softly, his thumb lightly brushing against the side of Judar's temple. "It was too quiet without you."
Judar let out a low, satisfied hum at the touch, his shoulders dropping as the tension bled out of him. "See? I'm essential to your productivity. Or your lack of it."
"You're a distraction," Hakuryuu corrected gently, though his hands continued their slow, soothing rhythm through Judar's hair.
"The best kind," Judar shot back, a faint flush creeping up his neck that had nothing to do with the sun above them.
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
The heavy willow branches drooped all the way to the grass, forming a shimmering green curtain that shielded them from the rest of the world. Underneath, the shadow was deep and humid.
Judar turned his head in Hakuryuu’s lap, his mouth finding the sensitive skin at the base of the prince’s throat. He dragged his lips upward, lazy and unhurried, pressing a hot, lingering kiss to the underside of Hakuryuu’s jaw.
Hakuryuu let out a soft, breathy sigh, his fingers tangling deeper into Judar’s dark hair. "Judar..."
Judar groaned, his hand sliding down Hakuryuu’s chest, over the light linen of his unbuttoned robe, to rest against his stomach. His palm skittered over Hakuryuu’s damp skin.
"Ugh, gross," Judar complained, whining directly against Hakuryuu’s skin even as he leaned down, pressing a soft, deliberate kiss right to Hakuryuu’s bare abdomen. "You're all sticky, Ryuu. The whole world is sticky."
"You're the one clinging to me," Hakuryuu pointed out quietly, his voice thick with fond, amused exasperation. He leaned down to catch Judar’s lips in another slow, melting kiss, his thumb lightly stroking Judar's waist.
"Because your shadow is mine," Judar muttered against his mouth, nipping playfully at his lower lip.
Before Hakuryuu could answer, the heavy willow branches were rustled aside with a loud shhh-shhh sound.
"Ah! Found them!" a bright, unmistakable voice chirped.
Hakuryuu instantly froze.
Standing at the edge of their shaded sanctuary was Aladdin, wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat, along with Titus—who looked like he was personally insulted by the temperature, clutching a delicate silk fan—and Yunan, who was casually holding a massive, freshly split watermelon under one arm.
Judar didn't even bother to sit up. He simply rolled his head back in Hakuryuu’s lap, glaring up at the three of them with supreme annoyance.
"Do you idiots have nothing better to do in this heat?" Judar snapped, his arm remaining firmly slung over Hakuryuu’s waist. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Titus flushed a faint pink, quickly covering his eyes with his fan. "Busy?! You're sprawling all over the Prince in broad daylight!"
"Even the Kou palace stopped working today because of the heatwave," Judar huffed, swatting his hand dismissively in the air. "If the Grand Council gets a day off, I get a day off."
Hakuryuu, his face burning a dark crimson, quickly tried to sit up straighter, realization dawning on him as he looked between the three guests. "Wait... Judar, did you have a meeting with them today?"
Judar groaned loudly, flopping his forehead right back onto Hakuryuu's stomach. "Don't remind me."
"I can leave," Hakuryuu offered immediately, his hands resting on Judar’s shoulders to push himself up. "If this is official business between—"
Judar’s hand shot up, his fingers clamping down around Hakuryuu’s wrist with surprising strength. He pulled Hakuryuu right back down, refusing to let him budge an inch.
"Stay," Judar ordered, his voice leaving no room for argument. He glared up at the three Magicians standing outside their shade. "They don't have anything important to say anyway. They're just going to whine about damage control for the droughts in the southern provinces and whatever else."
"It's not whining, Judar, it's called helping people!" Aladdin said with a bright, easy smile, stepping completely under the willow tree to drop onto the grass near them.
Since losing his Magi status, Aladdin had made it his absolute personal calling to run around fixing every minor crisis in the realm—and, much to Judar’s eternal misery, he consistently dragged Judar along into every single one of his messianic errands.
"Besides," Yunan added smoothly, stepping into the shade and holding up the dark green fruit in his hands, "we brought watermelon. I thought we could all share."
"I want the middle piece!" Judar instantly demanded, not moving an inch from Hakuryuu's lap.
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
Yunan dropped unceremoniously onto the grass, carefully cutting the watermelon into thick, generous slices with a small pocket knife. He passed the largest piece straight to Judar—who snatched it without a word of thanks—before settling back against the tree trunk with a dreamy, wistful sigh.
"Ah, how wonderful this is," Yunan began, his voice dropping into the grand, melodious cadence of a seasoned storyteller. "You know, it brings a tear to my eye. To sit here in the shade, sharing fruit with my fellow Magi... It warms my heart. In my fourth life, during the great drought of the Western Plains, we had no such luxury. We had to wander for weeks through burning sands, with nothing but bitter roots to chew on—"
"Ugh, shut up!" Judar groaned, burying his face directly into the crook of Hakuryuu’s neck to muffle the sound. "I don't wanna hear any of that old man talk! Keep your tragic past lives to yourself, granddad!"
Hakuryuu, entirely unbothered by Judar’s squirming, didn't pay much attention to Yunan's speech either. Instead, he took the slice of watermelon from Judar’s hand, quietly breaking off small, seedless pieces and feeding them to Judar one by one. Judar accepted the care naturally, chewing lazily while keeping his heavy head planted firmly on Hakuryuu’s lap.
"It really is a lovely palace," Titus chimed in, fanning himself with delicate, elegant strokes as he accepted a piece of watermelon from Yunan. "I haven't had many opportunities to leave Reim, so seeing the eastern architecture up close is quite fascinating. Though..." Titus paused, offering a small, superior smirk. "I must say, I am surprised everyone here is so incapacitated by a little sunshine. In Reim, our summer climate is far more intense than this. A heatwave like this barely registers to me."
"Oh, swallow a cactus," Judar grumbled around a mouthful of melon. "I'm already doing a ton for this stupid empire by casting giant ice pillars in the main plaza! If my Magoi wasn't limited now, Kou wouldn't even have a heat problem to begin with!"
Titus leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he conducted a thorough, surprisingly intense inspection of Judar’s unbuttoned shirt, long braid, and smooth, pale face.
"You know," Titus said, his face completely deadpan, "I've meant to ask... Are you actually a woman? Your voice is far too low, but..."
Aladdin let out a loud, delighted burst of laughter, nearly dropping his watermelon. "Ahaha! Titus, I thought you were a girl when we first met! But I've never thought Judar was one!"
Before the banter could spiral any further, Hakuryuu cut in, his voice completely flat and devoid of hesitation.
"Judar is male," Hakuryuu stated plainly, taking a quiet sip of cold tea from a cup on the tray. "I have made sure of that by all accounts."
A suffocating, absolute silence fell over the shaded canopy.
Yunan froze mid-bite, his eyes wide. Titus’s fan stopped dead in mid-air, a dark, horrified crimson rapidly spreading across his cheeks. Even Aladdin blinked, his jaw dropping slightly at the sheer, unblinking bluntness of the declaration.
Slowly, Hakuryuu looked down. Even Judar—the usually shameless, loud-mouthed rogue—was staring up at him with wide, incredulous red eyes, a distinct rosy flush dusting the tips of his ears.
Hakuryuu simply offered a serene, impossibly soft smile, entirely unbothered by the scandalized stares. "At least he's not upset and yelling at you for that earlier comment," he murmured lightly, taking a slow, calm bite from his own piece of watermelon.
Judar’s stunned silence lasted for a total of three seconds before a mischievous, dangerous spark lit up his eyes.
Without warning, Judar shot his hand up, snatching hold of Hakuryuu’s wrist. Before Hakuryuu could react, Judar pulled Hakuryuu's hand down to his mouth. With a slow, wicked grin pinned directly on the prince, Judar leaned in and suggestively licked a stray line of sweet watermelon juice right off Hakuryuu’s fingers, dragging his tongue slowly over his skin.
"Careful, Ryuu," Judar purred, his voice dropping into a low, playful menace as Hakuryuu’s own composure finally shattered, his face flushing a bright, furious red. "Or I'll prove it to them again right now."
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
Before Hakuryuu could recover his lost composure or get a word in edge-wise, a heavy, exhausted sigh cut through the air outside the willow curtain.
The drooping green branches were pushed aside once more, revealing Koumei standing there. He looked thoroughly miserable, his dark circles deeper than usual, clutching a thick stack of parchment to his chest like a shield.
"Must you all lounge about so loudly?" Koumei grumbled, his voice dripping with dry resentment as he glared at the gathering. "The entire palace is treating a deadly heatwave as an excuse for an unearned holiday. Do not get used to being lazy and lurking around all day. The work does not magically disappear just because the sun is shining—it is simply piling up into a mountain that I will inevitably have to dig us out of."
"Ah, Koumei!" Aladdin called out with a bright, welcoming wave, patting the grass beside him. "Come sit down! You look like you're about to faint. You should really relax a bit—even the best administrators need a break when it's this hot!"
Koumei pinched the bridge of his nose, looking as though the mere suggestion of relaxation caused him physical pain. He was about to deliver a stern lecture on imperial efficiency when his eyes shifted toward Hakuryuu, who was slowly pushing himself up from the ground to greet his brother.
To cope with the unbearable humidity, Hakuryuu had unbuttoned the front of his inner robe entirely, tying the silk loosely at his waist. For once in his life, the usually stoic, stiffly dressed prince was showing an unprecedented amount of bare skin—his scarred chest, toned shoulders, and abdomen completely exposed to the summer air.
Judar turned his head, took one look at Hakuryuu standing up, and his jaw practically hit the grass.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Judar shrieked, instantly jumping to his feet and scrambling over. He grabbed both sides of Hakuryuu's open robe, violently yanking them shut over the prince's chest. "COVER UP! What is wrong with you?!"
Hakuryuu blinked, utterly bewildered, swatting Judar's hands away as he tried to adjust his clothes. "You're wearing basically nothing! You literally walk around in loose trousers and an unbuttoned shirt every single day! Why are you complaining?!"
"Because you're hot, and people are staring!" Judar yelled back, his face burning red as he aggressively tried to hold the fabric together over Hakuryuu's chest, his eyes darting defensively toward Koumei, Titus, and Yunan. "Put some clothes on! Nobody else gets to look at that!"
Titus sighed, fanning himself with an amused, slightly envious shake of his head as he looked at Hakuryuu. "You really are lucky, Prince Hakuryuu. Dealing with someone this possessive must take an incredible amount of patience."
Judar snapped his head toward Titus, his red eyes flashing with pure venom. "Oh, shut up! Don't act all high and mighty! Weren't you fucking that one tan guy from Heliohapt?!"
Titus gasped, his entire face flushing a deep, scandalized crimson. He stiffened, opening his mouth to deliver a furious retort, but the sheer, brazen vulgarity of Judar's accusation left him utterly speechless. He huffed loudly, snapping his silk fan shut with a sharp clack, and chose to glaringly ignore Judar rather than dignify the comment with an argument.
Koumei simply stared at the chaotic display, looking more exhausted by the second. He slowly turned his gaze up toward the scorching sun, let out one final, soul-crushing sigh, and muttered, "I am going back to my office. At least the tax ledgers do not yell at me."
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
The heatwave refused to break. By the following afternoon, the sun hit its oppressive peak, making even the shaded corridors of the palace feel like a dry sauna.
As the hours dragged on, Hakuryuu found himself shedding more layers just to survive the suffocating humidity. He loosened his inner robe, leaving his chest bare and his shoulders exposed as he walked down the eastern wing to fetch a cool pitcher of tea.
The reaction from the palace was immediate.
Court ladies suddenly found reasons to linger in the hallways, whispering behind delicate silk fans with flushed cheeks as the prince passed by. Even a few off-duty imperial guards straightened their posture, their eyes lingering a second too long on Hakuryuu’s toned torso and scarred chest.
Judar, trailing three steps behind him, looked like he was about to start a war. Every time a servant so much as glanced in Hakuryuu’s direction, Judar would shoot them a glare so lethal it could curdle milk. He spent the entire walk violently tugging at Hakuryuu’s open robe, growling under his breath and practically throwing his own body in front of Hakuryuu to block everyone's view.
At first, Hakuryuu found it amusing. Judar was naturally possessive and dramatic, and watching him puff out his chest over a few stray glances was almost charming. But as the afternoon wore on, Judar’s hostility didn't fade—it deepened into a dark, tense silence. He stopped snapping, his red eyes growing quiet and troubled as he stared fixatedly at the floor.
Realizing this was no longer a joke, Hakuryuu pulled Judar into his private study, sliding the heavy door shut behind them to block out the rest of the world.
"Judar," Hakuryuu said quietly, leaning his back against the closed door. "What is actually going on? You've been tense all day."
Judar crossed his arms tightly over his chest, turning his head away. "Nothing. It's just hot."
"It's not just the heat," Hakuryuu countered gently, stepping closer and reaching out to rest a hand on Judar's shoulder. "I know when you're just throwing a fit to be noisy, and I know when something is genuinely bothering you. Talk to me."
Judar clicked his tongue, his shoulders hunching defensively. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the lazy hum of cicadas outside. Finally, Judar let out a frustrated, defeated sigh, rubbing his face with both hands.
"It's stupid, okay?" Judar muttered, his voice unusually raw and stripped of its usual bravado. "It’s ridiculous, and I’m not—I'm not going to tell you what you can or can't wear. That's not it."
Hakuryuu didn't interrupt. He simply waited, his thumb brushing comforting circles against Judar's arm.
Judar swallowed hard, looking up at Hakuryuu through his long black bangs. "It's just... do you remember what it was like when we were younger? When we were both just... the weird, broken kids in this stupid palace?"
Hakuryuu blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift, but nodded slowly. "I remember."
"Back then, nobody looked at us like we were normal," Judar said softly, his red eyes searching Hakuryuu's face. "We were excluded. We were the damaged ones. It was just you and me standing in the dark, hating everything together. But now..." Judar gestured vaguely toward the closed door. "Now people are actually looking at you. They see how attractive you are. They see a prince, someone strong and incredible. And every time I see them staring at you, I get this sick feeling in my stomach."
Judar looked away, his jaw tightening in rare, genuine insecurity.
"I feel like... the more popular you get, the more people realize how great you are, the harder I'm going to have to fight just to feel worthy of standing next to you," Judar whispered, his fingers curling into tight fists. "It feels like that stupid, miserable feeling when your only friend suddenly becomes everyone else's favorite, and you're just left behind again. Like eventually, you'll realize you don't need a broken former Magi hanging off your arm anymore."
Hakuryuu stood frozen, a sudden, heavy ache settling in his chest.
He didn't say a word. Instead, Hakuryuu reached forward, wrapping his arms securely around Judar’s waist and pulling him flush against his chest. Judar stiffened in surprise for a fraction of a second before melting into the embrace, burying his face deeply into the crook of Hakuryuu's neck.
"You idiot," Hakuryuu breathed softly, his cheek resting against Judar's soft black hair. "You complete idiot."
"Hey—"
"There is no one else," Hakuryuu interrupted, his voice dropping into a fiercely sincere, unwavering whisper. "Do you hear me? You are the one and only person in my life, Judar. There is no crowd, no court lady, and no guard in this empire who could ever take your place."
Hakuryuu pulled back just enough to frame Judar’s flushed face with both of his hands, forcing Judar to look him directly in the eye.
"I don't care about their attention," Hakuryuu told him, his dark eyes shining with absolute devotion. "I don't want to look good for anyone in this world other than you. If you aren't standing beside me, none of it means anything. You are stuck with me."
Judar stared at him, his eyes wide, the lingering anxiety completely evaporating from his face. A deep, burning flush spread all the way to the tips of his ears, and he let out a watery, embarrassed huff, pushing his forehead against Hakuryuu’s chest to hide his smile.
"God," Judar mumbled softly, his arms tightening around Hakuryuu's waist. "...But you better mean it."
"I always do," Hakuryuu murmured, pressing a warm kiss to the crown of Judar's head.
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓₓ˚. ୭ ˚ ✩ ◦˚ ✩ ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི ˚◦ ✩ ˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
The heatwave was still blazing at full force the next morning, but Hakuryuu had a point to prove.
When Judar lazily slid open the door to Hakuryuu’s private study around mid-morning, expecting to find the prince struggling through paperwork in his light linen robes, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Hakuryuu was sitting at his grand mahogany desk.
He was wearing his full, official imperial court armor. Beneath the heavy metal chestplate, he had layered a thick winter inner robe, an embroidered mid-robe, a ceremonial high-collared sash, a fur-lined mantle, and heavy leather gauntlets. Sweat was practically pouring down his face in steady rivers, but his posture was completely straight, his expression calm and stoic as he dipped his brush in ink.
Judar stared at him in absolute, utter horror.
"SERIOUSLY?!" Judar shrieked, sprinting over to the desk. "Are you out of your mind?! You're going to give yourself heatstroke!"
Hakuryuu calmly set his brush down, looking up at Judar with an entirely straight face. "I am simply ensuring that no one in the palace can gaze upon my body. I am fully covered, as requested."
"I GET IT! I'M SORRY!" Judar yelled, frantically reaching over to tear at the buckles of Hakuryuu's heavy shoulder guards. "I was being stupid yesterday! I get it! Now take your damn clothes off before you combust into flames!"
Just as Judar was aggressively yanking at Hakuryuu’s collar, trying to strip the ten layers of thick silk off the sweating prince—who was quietly chuckling to himself—the sliding door to the study burst open.
Aladdin stepped into the doorway holding a stack of fans. "Hey, Hakuryuu, Lord Koumei asked if—"
Aladdin froze.
He looked at Hakuryuu, who was bright red, dripping in sweat, and covered in ten thick layers of heavy winter robes. Then he looked at Judar, who was frantically tearing at Hakuryuu's clothes with a panicked, breathless expression.
Aladdin’s eyes went wide. A look of absolute, unadulterated horror washed over the young Magi's face as his mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion.
"I-I'M SORRY! CARRY ON!" Aladdin squeaked at the top of his lungs, his face turning bright crimson.
He slammed the door shut so hard the wooden frame rattled, and his frantic, sprinting footsteps could be heard echoing violently down the hallway as he fled for his life.
Judar paused, one hand still gripping Hakuryuu's collar, staring at the closed door in disbelief.
"...What the hell was his problem?" Judar grumbled.
Hakuryuu finally let out a loud, breathless laugh, wrapping his arms around Judar's waist and pulling the complaining former Magi right down into his lap.