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The castle was a relatively mundane thing the majority of the time.
Malleus wasn’t allowed outside without some sort of guard to accompany him; instead typically holed up in his office chambers, a room situated across from his bedroom, signing documents and mulling over new regulations and governance laws as though they were his own thoughts. He couldn’t be bothered to fully read them over, if he was being honest.
Sure, it was probably worrying to the average citizen for the crowned prince to be so lax about his duties, but was it really a surprise? It’s not as though the fae was king yet, nor did he necessarily ask for these responsibilities. What a selfish thought, his mother would surely think.
A sigh passes Malleus’s lips as his quill hastily scribbles a signature over another lengthy paper, one of many, many more. A drop in the seemingly endless ocean of stained parchment and ministry jargon that has become known as local law and government. If boredom could kill, he is almost certain that it would have done him over two times by now. How could anyone be fit for something like this?
It certainly felt as though he never was going to be. Perhaps that was why it felt as though Lilia was so often scolding him as a child, because he was so good at placating his responsibilities.
Malleus smiled slightly. Ah, right. The reason he had become so prone to slacking off?
“ Yuu, ” He calls tiredly, settling his feathered quill back into the open bottle of ink before his chair squeaks backwards.
The knight at the far end of the room glanced up, attention caught from what Malleus could only assume was people watching through the window. “ Yes, your majesty? ”
“ Oh drop it, ” He sighs. “ It’s just us. ” With another creak of his chair, Malleus stood from the desk, sliding his far too heavy cloak from his shoulders in favor of making it his chair's problem instead.
Yuu eyed him thoughtfully, as if one wrong move would shatter the moment into a thousand intangible pieces.
With light footsteps, the fae carried himself closer to the knight until pale fingers pressed against the cool touch of silvery armor. “ Won’t you take this off? ” He asks in a half plea.
“ You know I can’t do that, ” Yuu replies with a grin, as if the question was meant to be a trick of some sort.
They’re far less unmoving now, grounded in a reality that was taken up by discipline and the quick slash of a sword. Even if he felt differently, Malleus took a moment to watch their chest rise and fall with each rhythmic step of their breathing; a strange reminder that they were in fact still alive and not a fragmented ghost of his childhood.
“ What happened to that reckless little child who used to steal extra tarts during teatime? ” He pouts, briefly thumbing at a particularly deep scratch in their armor. “ You’ve killed them. Who are you? ”
Yuu hummed out idly, as if the fact didn’t bother them in the slightest. “ I guess I had to at some point, right? I can’t be taking risks when it’s the prince’s life on the line. ”
With a scoff, Malleus retreated his hand, his palm far warmer and much more deserving to be resting on Yuu’s chest than some icy, enchanted piece of armor. Yet, that didn’t prevent a familiar ache from developing in his heart. He wanted to bring them closer, impossibly so, until nothing else mattered.
“ Your livelihood is hardly a worthy exchange for my life. ”
“ It is, ” They breathe, as if it were second nature. “ When it’s you, of course. ”
“ You’re horrible, ” Malleus mutters bitterly before turning away, opting to find a seat on the sun filled windowsill, the warmth hardly a fighting contender against the lonely cold longing in his mind.
A brief silence filled the room as Yuu looked away, hands uncertainly pulling at the leather of their gloves. “ I’m sorry, ” They prose, an intimate guilt seeping into their sheepish tone.
“ Liar, ” The fae counters just a quick, letting his own nerves be placated by turning over the glittering gem of his necklace, the emerald sparkling.
“ You’re not sorry, and that’s exactly the problem.” He sighs, evidently exasperated. It reminded Yuu far too much of when he just got done placating socialites for the day.
“ You’ll keep doing this until it wears you down to the bone. Do you think that just because that is my mother’s desire that it is also mine? ”
That’s bitter. Far too acrid and sour as the air thickens with an amplified tension thanks to Yuu’s prolonged silence. Malleus opts to rest back against the inner wood of the window sill, stirring in his own anger as pointed nails push into the necklace chain. It wasn’t until the clink of metal carried across the room did his attention divert, eyes narrowed to Yuu standing above him.
“ What? ” He asks a bit too quickly, eliciting another thoughtful pause from the human.
“ Malleus. ”
“ …Yuu, ” He replies quietly, pretending as though something in his breath doesn’t hitch. “ What do you want? ”
“ For… you to not be so angry. For you to be happy. ”
“ I said to quit it already, didn’t I? ” Malleus groans before sitting up, now face to face with the dull mirror of a chest plate resting over light chainmail.
“ I would be less upset if it were just us. Far away from here without anything tying us back like pathetic puppets. ”
Yuu swallows dryly, the discomfort only growing as the thought of pushing their way atop his lap briefly runs through their mind. “Your- Malleus, I’m devoting my life to you.” They stated, staring at him with those eyes that reminded the fae far too much of the overflowing hoard down stairs known as the treasure room.
“ I haven’t changed, not nearly enough to cause all of this. I wouldn’t do all of this for just anyone. Not then and not now. “
And Malleus… can’t help but think that over. His fingers curled, nails briefly scraping the wooden sill beneath him as his emerald gaze fell anywhere except onto the young knight's face.
“ Yuu, ” He eventually asks, tentative and beseeched. “ Please… take off your armor. ”
Hesitation. Malleus can see how their muscles tense out of instinct before eventually moving to comply this time, gingerly removing the clunky pieces to the patterned floor in a small heap of gleaming silver.
“ Is… this alright? ” They ask, now reduced to something far more casual in terms of knight wear, having only their shins adorned with any sort of protection.
“ More than. ” Malleus agrees, hastily undoing the awkward buckles and knots that consisted of his own everyday attire, tossing aside the garments in favor of sitting in a loose blouse and trousers. “ Yuu, ” He reaches out once more. “ Come here. ”
Yuu’s eyes gleamed in realization before moving forward, pressing themself against Malleus until the prince fell back once more. They allowed their hand to slide down and capture his in their own, far too scarred fingers linking together with ones longer in a familiar ease.
Yuu kissed him gently. Cautiously, something Malleus would almost define as unsure if he didn’t know better. He could tell that they had been longing for this just as much as he did, still uncertain about the fae’s current temperament to ask for too much.
“ Malleus, ” Yuu murmurs once they part, a shaky breath following suit.
“ Hm? ” He hums back, now idly running a palm over the small of their back. “ I don’t recall being referred to like that when we were younger. ”
Yuu grins in a type of fond exasperation, sighing. “ Mal. ” They finally offered. “ I’ll whisk you away. ” They offered quietly, callused fingers brushing through his hair, pushing back a few strands of his bangs. “ Somewhere… nice. Pretty. With just us, like it always has been. Would… you like that then? ”
Malleus could melt. The feeling of affection was one he didn’t realize he was so deprived of until it came to them.
“ Horribly. ” He agrees, having to resist the urge to close his eyes and push into their palm like a content cat. “ I wouldn’t travel to the ends of this planet and back if it meant you were right beside me the entire time. “
Yuu couldn’t help but chuckle against his lips as the picture was further painted in their mind, sighing. “ I can’t figure out what would kill me first, ” They eventually murmured. “ You, your mother, or the other guards. What do you think? ”
“ Don’t talk like that. ” The fae huffs back, moving a hand up to cup their face. “ You know that I would intervene before any such thing would happen. ”
“ Ah, beloved… how rude of me. ” They smile. “ Getting your hands dirty like that all for me. ”
A light pink bloom began to form on Malleus’s face at the sudden pet name, opting to turn his head away out of instinct. Yuu dipped down in return, beginning to litter the pale expanse of his neck with a few kisses, feeling the other shiver and grip at the fabric of their top.
“ Take me away then, ” He murmurs fervently. “ We… can go somewhere unknown to everyone else. Somewhere where I can play with your hair for hours, ” He offers, idly twirling a few strands of Yuu’s hair. “ I’ll make you another flower crown, hm? Far better than any heavy golden or jewel encrusted one. Just like from back then. “
“ Just like from back then? ”
“ Just like from back then. ” The fae affirms softly. “ We can leave tonight. No one has to know anything. ”
“ You’re truly devious, your majesty. ”
Malleus scoffed as a pout came to his features, giving their hair a light, almost warning pull. “ Stop that. There won’t be a crowned prince soon, if you were being truthful. ”
“ You’ll always be a prince, Malleus. You’re my prince. “
“ So sentimental. Just promise that one day you will take me far away from here. ”
Yuu smiles, sitting up over him now before reaching for his hand, delicately wrapping their pinkies around one another. “ It’s a promise then, sealed by fate. ” They chuckle. “ And suddenly it’s like we’re actually kids again. ”
Malleus merely hummed, saying nothing as their skin burned against his. It was a long moment before they let go to gather themselves together; it wasn’t much longer before noon would strike and afternoon tea would begin after all . Maybe Yuu would go out of their way to swipe a few extra pastries like before just to placate him.
Either way, he was far too giddy. Giddier than he had been in the few years of relentless training and endless paperwork. Everything would be left behind soon enough. The kingdom, the responsibilities, the pressure… everything. Nothing but Yuu would be left.
Nothing but Yuu.