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In the beginning, there was nothing.
And from nothing, sunlight pierced in through the windows and slowly roused Ohn awake from slumber. For a while, it was all too bright, bathed in golden light. Naps were often disorienting, but it was always hard to resist them. Perhaps it was just in her nature as a Cat — Cale did say that certain species tended to sleep longer. Beastmen sharing some traits of their animal counterparts sounded perfectly logical to her.
Outside, the birds were noisily chirping through the afternoon. Were she any less awake, she would’ve thought it was morning with how loud they were, tiny melodious tweets thrown without caution into the wind. Ohn’s ear twitched slightly, registering the sound of Hong’s even breathing, the occasional purring that always came out whenever he was asleep. She could not remember a single instance that she listened to this sound when they were on the run — they were constantly hungry and the winters felt incredibly long and cold and it was difficult to fall asleep completely without fear of being caught by the other Cats of their tribe hanging behind them like a looming shadow. Now, every time Hong as much as fell into a short nap, Cale’s warm presence blanketed over them like a safe and secure blanket. Ohn could not be more grateful.
Raon rustled the bed sheets as he flipped onto his stomach, a sleeping habit he had been forming recently. In the distance, Ohn caught the sound of a spoon clicking against a ceramic cup — that’s right. She almost forgot they took their nap in the Crown Prince’s bedroom. It would be unthinkable for just any nobleman’s son to just waltz in to the heir of the country’s personal chambers like this were it anyone else. Having said that though, Ohn knew not to apply common sense to Cale Henituse — she had been with him and everyone else for years now after all. Hushed whispers flowed within her earshot.
“They seem really tired,” a familiar voice commented. Rowoon Kingdom’s prince, Alver Crossman, who sounded just as tired as his own words. Cale definitely did not miss this as he replied, “So are you, Your Highness. Have you even been resting?”
Alver chuckles, “When I have time, of course I do. I’m only a normal person — a ruler needs rest to function well too.”
Cale’s answering scoff, dripping in disbelief. A rush of water — most probably tea being poured in. The plops of sugar cubes dropped into the teapot. Quiet noises of someone stirring the tea. The lightest ‘ting’ resounded as the spoon was pulled off the cup. It must be Cale making tea then — he always dragged the spoon against the cup that way, somehow. Only privately though — times like these, just them in the Crown Prince’s chambers or together with the rest of their group back in the villa in the forest. Grandpa Ron hummed before and noted that it wasn’t something Cale used to always do and how it would be considered bad manners anywhere else. Ohn just associated it with moments where Cale let his guard down though, when he felt pleased, like a happy quirk he unknowingly picked up.
Curiously, one of her eyes blinked open, finding Cale’s back turned towards her. Alver’s light blue eyes met Ohn’s grey ones for a second, widening slightly before they crinkled into a smile. She quickly went back to shut her eyes once more, signaling Alver to not say anything. To take his time with Cale. The Crown Prince clearly received her message well, judging by his words to Cale soon afterwards. “It’s not like I want to be so busy either, you know.”
“Haa,” Cale sighed, taking a seat on the loveseat by the window and setting his cup on the coffee table in front of him. Alver soon followed suit. He was barely audible as he took his place next to Cale and received the cup of tea being offered to him, impeccable etiquette as always — fortunately, the Cat’s ears were just good enough to pick up small noises and Ohn was especially trained. She didn’t even need to open her eyes to guess that Alver was sitting intentionally too close again. “Your Highness, there’s no need to try to deflect. We all know you’re just a workaholic.”
Pot, kettle — they were both as bad as each other. Ohn clicked her tongue internally.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
It appeared that Alver had the exact same thoughts. Cale should reflect on himself a bit more.
“It’s nothing.” That’s right, it was probably naught to nag this oblivious guy. Cale really should reflect on himself better. How was someone so smart so dense as well? He was truly a contradictory person.
Ohn almost snorted out loud at the thought, but reigned herself in. Some shufflings came next and with an eye, once again, she peeked to find the cups set on the table. It was the familiar scent of a specific green tea brew Alver enjoyed these days, something he always had in plenty of canisters for busier days. Cale recently introduced it to him, citing that coffee was too much caffeine and it wouldn’t be good for the Sun of Rowoon Kingdom to neglect his health and cause his beloved people to worry. It had been a funny sight — the obvious grimace on Alver’s face, the clear distaste of the scammer tongue trying to work its magic. At the same time, Alver had just seemed soft, eyes shimmering with gratitude. Cared for, loved — it was a direct contrast to the brilliantly shining, yet scarily impenetrable Crown Prince they first met all those years ago. Perhaps to be loved is to be changed. To glow with a subtle joy and to exist peacefully knowing there was someone else to lean on, someone else to watch your back.
She found herself understanding Alver a little: although there was so much Ohn was kept in the dark on, she wasn’t the Molan household’s successor for nothing. An unfavored Crown Prince in the name only, Alver Crossman had years of living alone with everyone in this huge palace smiling and hiding their knives against him. It must have been difficult and a lonely path to tread on. Perhaps he would understand Ohn and Hong’s years on the streets better — palaces were often not much kinder to kids like them.
Still, right now, Alver Crossman was a Crown Prince who was due to claim the throne as his very shortly. Right now, he was someone with a lot of supporters and the most influential person throughout the Kingdom. Right now, he wasn’t alone nor struggling — Cale and Alver sat huddled next to each other, Alver’s head on Cale’s shoulder and his hand around the redhead’s, loose and loving. The Crown Prince idly played with Cale’s delicate fingers, free of calluses and dainty — and yet, it was also a hand that knew of so much work and hardships. His thumb trailed alongside the length of Cale’s index finger, a slow gentle caress as if an explorative journey — even if in truth, it was a hand beyond familiar to him, a person too dear and too near to his heart. Alver let out an exhale, turning Cale’s hand around and intertwining their fingers together into a firm lock.
Right now, he was here and loved. Something familiar and tender bubbled inside Ohn’s chest, the sensation ticklish. A fire that burnt happily to see two such hard-working people that meant too much to her and to her little brothers finding the quietest and purest happiness within each other. Her little eye spied the gentle curve of Alver’s smile, blond hair messily splayed on Cale’s shoulder. A real smile not often seen by anyone else, bashful and understated, lacking the usual exaggerated brilliance and a charisma like a mask, and still basking in delight nonetheless. A figure who at the moment wasn’t a prince nor a ruler, just the face of a common man. Cale’s auburn eyes flitted towards him, the edge of his own lips twitching.
Besides them, the white curtains waved inside, a strong breeze sweeping through the window. Ohn watched as Cale squeezed Alver’s hand and demanded, bossy, “Sleep, Hyung.” He brushed his lips against the crown of Alver’s head, a chaste and featherlight kiss loaded to the brim with waves and waves of endless affection.
Hurriedly, Ohn forced her eyes shut. Ugh — these lovebirds. She grumbled inaudibly as she shifted her position, a light crease on her forehead as she turned away, facing her back towards the direction where Alver and Cale sat. They just made it so hard for everyone else to exist outside their cute bubble without being awkward and feeling intrusive.
Unbeknownst to Ohn, Cale caught wind of her wakefulness — and spent the whole afternoon slightly self-conscious, his ears red and continually teased by an amused Alver about it even long after Ohn fell back asleep.
“Crown Prince! Congrats on the coronation next week! I guess I have to give you a new nickname soon now that you’ll be King!”
“Thank you, Raon-nim,” and swiftly, an almost empty jar of cookies was pushed forward on the table. “Feel free to have some. I was just asking the kitchen staff for some more cookies, but they should come soon.”
Raon didn’t get a lot of alone time with the Crown Prince — usually the Weak Human would be somewhere with them now and conversing with the Crown Prince instead. He was held up for the moment though, still back at home in the Henituse Estate for something related to his family. Raon would’ve normally waited for him to be done with whatever he needed to do, but he was told to go play. It had been a while since he last visited the Crown Prince and Raon suddenly was hit with the realization that he never visited alone and here he was.
He thought sometimes it must be a little lonely for the Crown Prince — to be the only one of them who had to live far away. They were part of the same family anyway, but the Crown Prince had to go work in the Royal Palace. It couldn’t be helped, of course, the Crown Prince liked being a Crown Prince too and he would like being a King soon.
“Hey, Crown Prince,” he called, just after swallowing sweet cookies with strawberry jam filling. Alver reached over to wipe some of the leftover crumbs near his mouth, an action familiar to Raon now — though typically done by his Human and not the Crown Prince. “What’s your favorite part about being a Crown Prince? My favorite part of being a Dragon is we are smart and cool and we are good with magic. Magic is really, really fun — you’re a mage too so you should already know that.”
Alver let out a chuckle, wiping his own hands with a handkerchief on the table. The warm, melodious sound too was familiar. The soon-to-be King’s laughter was probably up there along with the Weak Human’s, his mom’s and everyone else’s laughter as one of Raon’s favorite sounds.
“I wonder? I’ve never had someone ask me that question before, so you’ll have to let me think for a second, Raon-nim.”
“That’s okay! We’re waiting for the fresh batch of cookies too anyway. Did you ask for tea too?”
“Of course. It’s Jasmine Tea from the Eastern Continent — sent by an Endable Kingdom envoy.”
Raon nodded wisely, “Oh, those are always nice! They have good snacks and tea too over there, Endable is pretty good.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes disappeared slightly into crescents, a crinkle of his eyes that only showed up in his genuine, non-scammer smiles. He hummed then, placing down the pen on his hand and propping his face with a hand. Blue eyes stared off into the distance — specifically the peaceful scenery framed by the window of his office. Alver took a moment to pause from his work and ponder over Raon’s question seriously. It was worth a thought after all, he was being truthful when he said no one had bothered to ask him something like that before.
A few minutes passed by like that. Outside, the sun glimmered gently under a thin blanket of cloud wisps. The Royal Gardens were well-taken care of as always, a perfect green contrasting the blues of the sky. The sounds of people hustling and bustling about filled the whole palace — the busy atmosphere wasn’t something Raon was unaccustomed to, although at home where the Super Rock Villa was, there were much less people milling to and fro and chirps of birds and sound of leaves dancing along the breeze and other tunes of nature. In this way, Raon drank it all in, taking the chance to commit the atmosphere to memory. New experiences were fun, adventures to go through and memories to make. Pleasantly familiar and yet usually brushed off environments were fun too, a charm special to the mundane and a life outside his own.
Alver’s finger tapped on the wooden desk, drawing Raon’s attention back to him. After focusing on the window for a while, the cool air and the slightly shaded view of the office was a welcome contrast. Raon’s eyes flitted around the neat towers of documents and more documents, stacks of papers that seemed endless on top of the dark wood desk. The world felt wide even through the window sill’s small framing, the room small. Even so, he was well-aware that a lot of these thick files were the key to moving whole cities and even countries, a small droplet of water that would eventually ripple out and affect the lives of so many people in Rowoon and the Western Continent.
The Crown Prince finally began. “I suppose to someone else, it would seem like a lot of responsibilities — or just a lot of authority and power. That’s usually other people’s favorite part.” His lips curled, slightly bitter somehow, before the expression fizzled out again as he continued. “But Raon-nim asked for mine — the best part of being a Crown Prince is being alive and living well and being able to make sure the people I care about also live well.”
It was an answer that proved once again why Alver and Raon’s Human got along so well. Even so, Raon couldn’t help but point out in return, “You care about a lot of people though, Crown Prince. It’s a lot of hard work — you care for the whole country. You’re not like the Weak Human who just likes our family, new adventures and hitting people in the back.”
Alver looked like he was torn between grimacing or grinning ear-to-ear, hearing the phrase ‘new adventure’ being used in one sentence as Cale. Raon wondered why — he decided to voice this later after their current topic of discussion was over instead.
“It is hard work,” the Crown Prince started by agreeing. “And you’re right too, Raon-nim — I’m not like that dongsaeng of mine. I guess I just like being a Crown Prince. There’s just something rewarding about it though, seeing my people live well. Kids,” he coughed, barely faltering, “...and cool Dragons like Raon-nim or beast people like Ohn or Hong should also live well, eat a lot and play and study things you like, live the way you want to live. People should just live well and get better and better, don’t you think? So the country and the ruler have to be able to make choices that lead to the people living better too, I like helping with that.”
“You’re right, Smart Crown Prince! People have to live well,” Raon’s paw touched his chin as he contemplated Alver’s words. “I guess you just like being a Crown Prince because it comes naturally to you? Like being good at magic comes naturally to me, so I like it and like scamming people comes naturally to the Human so he always smiles when he does it.”
“Pff– yes. Exactly like that. We grow up and just find out there are things we like more than others, right? So it’s difficult to keep a favorite part.”
The Crown Prince patted his round head, his hand quickly snatching the last available cookie and feeding it to Raon’s mouth. The black dragon dutifully opened his mouth, receiving the cookie well and munching with all his concentration, making sure to swallow before he spoke up again. “The cookies are a bit slow today, Crown Prince,” he commented, voice quieter, thoughts still preoccupied with Alver’s answer earlier.
Alver softened, “They are, Raon-nim. Let me try calling for an attendant to check on the kitchen again.”
A lot of things in life were simpler than grown-ups made them out to be. But not everything.
In particular, when it came to happiness, things were usually simpler than people liked to think. It was an emotion that came freely, in Hong's opinion, from day to day as one went through it all. A hearty warm meal shared with a sister and a little brother, a roof during rainy days, clothes that fit well and feel comfortable to wear, a loved one's smile. Happiness didn't have a lot of requirements.
However, matters that are actually complicated needed to be approached with care — that was what Hong had seen everyone do over the past few years. Sometimes things that appeared simple were complicated and things that seemed complex were in actuality simple. Some other times, the matter at hand was both complicated and simple at the same time.
Like Cale's — whom one could call Hong's and his sister's favorite Human — marriage and future partner.
That's right, marriage! It was a key aspect to any grown-up humans’ lives, especially nobles like Cale. And yet, the person in question showed no consideration to the problem. Nothing at all, not even acting like it was simple and just selecting a partner and going through it like other grown-up humans seemed to do or having a whole strategic selection process like over-complicated nobles fancied instead.
It was a real problem. Did Cale have no desire to have a happy ending like those fairytale books Raon liked?
“What are you thinking of? That's Cale, right, nya ?” Ohn showed up next to him, popping her head into his field of vision. Slowly, the claw that was tracing an image of Cale he drew on the sand trailed off. The shade provided by the trees surrounding them was a treat under this summer heat — other than the ease of doodling on the sand, it was the reason Hong chose this as his spot of contemplation. Hong faced her, sighing, “Nuna, don't you think Cale is too careless with his life? He's a grown-up now.”
“You’re not wrong,” but ‘what do you mean?’ was kept silent. Hong thought his sister had that look on her face as if she was wondering what he was on now. He also knew Cale had been a grown-up for a while now and even since they first met — that wasn’t it. “Is it because he kept on getting hurt?”
And — fair, that too.
“It’s not just about that, nya ! Don’t you think it’s time for Cale to settle down and get married? Like in Raon’s picture books?”
Ohn’s face morphed into an indulgent small smile. “You know that’d mean less new adventures for us, right?”
“Less new adventures? That’s bad!” Raon gasped, zooming in the moment he heard, joining the discussion as he hovered, skittish, around the two cats. “What problems are we facing? What are we having less new adventures, should I tell the Human?”
Hong couldn’t help but pout at Ohn’s earlier words. He eyed their cute youngest for a second before his attention was soon taken away— the scratched doodle of Cale’s deadpan face on the sand seemed like it was telling him to think over it more. “... I heard people are usually happier after they get married,” he sulkily drooped.
His sister circled Hong’s slightly smaller body and patted his back briefly with her fluffy tail. “Marriage isn’t a must. A lot of grown-ups aren’t married either, nya .”
Raon observed the two of them carefully.
Hong continued, “But wouldn’t it be nice if Cale also got headpats? He gives us headpats all the time and it’s nice.” He strengthened his argument, perking up slightly with the amount of conviction he had, “If Cale got married, someone would help give him headpats a lot more — And! Someone would also be there to remind him to get hurt less.”
Hong finished with a final pout, “Maybe then we can finally get him to listen and be safe, nya .”
For a moment, summer cicadas made their presence known. The Dark Forest was populated to the brim with various strong monsters and odd faunas — though the summer cicadas were definitely among the more normal ones. A contemplative silence fell over the three, collectively busy with the things in their own mind.
Their cute youngest started this time, a low voice that grew confident as he went over his words, “If the Weak Human got married, it should be with someone strong. He faints a lot — he should stop doing that — but someone strong will be able to carry him.”
Hong nodded. “Strength is required. Cale also gets into fights and causes trouble a lot, so this much is needed, nya .”
“And someone rich as well, nya . Cale likes money.”
“Yes! Our Human needs someone kind too!”
“Someone good-looking,” Ohn added again.
“A person who provides good headpats and great hugs, that’s the most important,” Hong reiterated solemnly.
“And someone with a similar blood type, just in case,” Ohn cleared her throat, “Preferably someone with the same hobby and similar interests—”
“Someone who likes scamming and looting people too?” Raon cluelessly interjected.
“—and someone with good intentions and personality as well.” She finished.
Hong tilted his head, “How are we going to know if they have a good personality?”
“I just have to check myself.” His sister flippantly said, chin angled high as her mouth stretched into a small eerie grin. It was the kind of vicious smile that spelled trouble for their opponents in the battlefield — deeply misplaced in such a peaceful afternoon, sunny and hot and humid with only their humble daily life as a background. Hong had more faith in her and her capabilities over anyone else in the world.
Raon bobbed his round black head in agreement, all wise and business-like. “I trust your judgment.”
Once again, a hush blanketed the three — a solemn quiet that naturally followed the fateful nature of their discussion. A breeze flew and tickled his red fur, ruffling him into a mess — and still, Hong and his sister and his youngest little brother remained deep in thought. Hong finally spoke up, the final problem in his mind, “But is there anyone like that, nya ?”
Naturally, it didn’t occur to him that anyone would ever not want their Cale’s hand in marriage. Cale was a delight, even if a lot of the time he was also a self-sacrificial mess who got injured way more often than any of their companions would like. He was kind, he was good-looking as well according to grown-up standards, Hong was sure, and he also had a lot of money and he knew how to eat well. It was a matter of who was the best match possible for their Human — that was all that Hong was concerned about.
As far as he could think, everyone on the Western and Eastern Continents couldn’t possibly measure up with their Cale.
“It has to be the cookie-giving King,” Raon suddenly suggested. Ohn shot him a look that clearly seemed glad — glad that someone was catching on.
Hong blinked. “The King?”
“He’s handsome! Cookie-giving King always says he’s handsome when the Human and I are calling him,” Raon explained, spirited at first, though his sentences slowly grew a tinge of uncertainty as if Alver being handsome was a fact he didn’t consider much before. “And he’s a King, so he’s rich — and he’s strong enough to carry our Human if he faints!”
Any good old noble of Rowoon perhaps would faint as well at the sight of a young Dragon talking about their newly crowned, brilliant King this way.
“And he’s nice,” Raon concluded. “I had the.. the time to talk to the cookie-giving King more recently — but he’s always been nice!”
Ohn hummed, agreeing quickly, “The King and Cale like each other quite a bit too.”
“They do?!”
This was complete news to Hong and Raon.
Certainly, there was a longer discussion to be held — at least, Hong’s search for a marriage partner candidate for their Cale was coming to an end. Their ordinary summer day became a lot more productive than intended as the three discussed and exchanged information.
It turned out that a lot of things in life really were simpler than people made it out to be.
“Let's go and exercise a little bit, Your Majesty.” He said.
“It’s not healthy to be seated all the time. Moving is better for our bodies.” He said.
In the end, how did the newly crowned King of Rowoon Kingdom wind up being roped into this situation? A hoe on his hand and a bag of seeds attached to his belt. Alver didn’t know, it was just one thing after another. One thing that he had been sure of was that the love of his life moved like a hurricane that swept everyone around him into a questionable mess as he went. Alver would perhaps curse Cale out more for that — after being handled matter after matter and being driven crazy over and over again — but it would be a dirty understatement to say Cale’s unpredictability was one of his biggest charms that Alver himself fell for, unfortunately.
“Cookie-giving King, over here too!” The young black dragon waved his paw and signaled him to come over.
“Haaa,” Alver sighed. These bunch were truly the only ones within the entire Western and Eastern Continents who would treat the King of Rowoon this way. He complied anyway, not at all denying the pooling fondness at the sight of Raon floating around and relaying Cale’s instructions of where to hoe and sow the seeds.
When he looked up, sweat gathering around his now shiny forehead, it was to a sight of the sun rays brightly dancing over the entire field. The eastern side was packed with tomato plantations, which to his knowledge was tasked to be harvested now that they were red and ripe, the kittens and Mary the necromancer being in charge of that area. Raon was dutifully tasked with communication. This field was Alver’s job to prepare and plant, whilst the next field over was Choi Han’s and the field to his left was Choi Jungsoo’s and to the left of that was Sui Khan’s and Cale’s. A slave worker as usual — Cale truly had a gift of wringing everyone dry. If the person in question heard Alver’s current thoughts though, he would undoubtedly protest and cite Alver’s own slave-driving tendencies he couldn’t possibly refute.
Chuckling at the thought, the newly crowned King quickly got back to work, swinging his hoe as taught and instructed by the rest of them earlier. It was a new experience to work on a field this way and he’d be lying if it wasn’t tough — it was certainly a different experience to be tilling and planting fields himself and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t give him a newfound appreciation for farmers and agriculture workers.
His arms burned slightly with a distinct sense of physical fatigue unlike what Alver usually experienced whenever he trained with a sword or spent the whole day seated by his desk overlooking documents. A spot plowed and another one, another one, another one — it was repetitive work. His brain was uncharacteristically static through all of this, instead focused on the rustling of leaves and the distant teetering and tweets of birds within the Dark Forest, the sight of the accumulation of his hard work behind every row and column he tilled. Light wind blew over and tried to disrupt his concentration, though it failed spectacularly, the sensation coming and passing ignored. The sun’s heat prickled his skin and it too went ignored by Alver, the King showcasing a razor-sharp single-mindedness usually reserved for Kingdom-related matters on an activity as simple as farming.
“I’m done with my part. Let me help here,” a voice came suddenly, finally breaking his concentration. Cale Henituse, the source of all Alver's recent troubles and blessings, in his full glory — decked in simple clothes fit for their activity of choice this noon, healthy flush high on his cheeks thanks to the physical nature of farming as well as the sun high up on the sky, and a hand outstretched. “I'll do the planting, so Hyung can just focus on digging.”
“Isn't that the same as basically telling me to do the grunt work? I'll need to remind you that no one in their right minds would tell the King of the strongest Kingdom in the entire land to do this,” Alver protested.
All Cale did was shoot him a small, mischievous smile. “Let’s get back to work so we can be done soon, Hyung.”
“Your Majesty,” he corrected.
Cale let out a bright crackle of chuckles at the grumbling tone, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Once again, a patch of soil plowed and then another and then another. Everywhere Alver led, Cale followed by sowing in the seeds and covering them back with the rest of the soil. His hands were bare, the dirt clinging and contrasting to the pale skin of his palms.
“Why aren’t you wearing any gloves? Your hands are getting dirty now.” Alver halted his movements, rummaging through his right pocket and throwing a pair of gloves at Cale who caught it readily, dusting off his hands and quickly putting the gloves on. “I left it back in the villa.” Alver didn’t need any more prompts to understand that the redhead was just too lazy to get it now.
They continued working on the field like that, a combination of very much not mutual efforts by two pairs of hands. Occasionally stopping to make little conversations, from which Alver gleaned even more information about the fields and Cale’s whole decision to farm; it was apparently a thing among him and Sui Khan — Lee Soohyuk — and Choi Jungsoo of his previous life. The plant they were in the process of growing was a field of lavenders — which was good to repel flying pests away from their other vegetables and fruits.
“I see, so that’s why it’s located in the center,” he nodded, just before hoeing another spot on the ground. The King took the lapse in motion as a chance to wipe off the excess sweat on his head, brushing away the strands of his bangs that incessantly tickled his face. The sun was slowly sinking lower and lower onto the horizon, the skies bleeding into a shade of purple and an orange tinge.
“That’s right, Your Majesty. It would help the rest of the other fields’ maintenance that way. Choi Jungsoo was the one with the most farming knowledge, so we had to listen to him.” Cale sighed. His hands moved quickly to scatter the seeds and replant the soil into a mound over them. The wind picked up its pace and blew over them, messing up Cale’s red ponytail significantly. He let out another heavy exhale — he wouldn’t be able to fix his hair with the dirty gloves on.
Alver hid an easy smile, biting it back down, “I’ll help you fix your hair, come here, we’re done anyway.”
He shed off the gloves on his own hand — filthy beyond no ends — and tucked it somewhere on his belt, a hand still holding the hoe. Cale obediently came closer, huffing lightly and peeling off his own gloves. “You know I can do it myself.”
“I know.” Upon inspecting that his hands were both visibly clean, Alver — in a set of familiar motions — gathered the stray red strands that escaped Cale’s ponytail, moving back to stand behind him and tidying them all up into a single neat ponytail once again. It was a gesture commonplace to both of them these days — both having lost count of how many times Alver had helped Cale with these sorts of things in the recent years. “I just like doing it.”
“The Sun of our Rowoon Kingdom,” Cale faked a blissful tone, going on and on, sighing dreamily, “Without a doubt, a shining star who put his people over anything else in the world. You live to serve the good of our home country and we live to serve you in furthering our cause, our most beloved King and the greatest ruler within Rowoon’s history.”
“Quiet now. Stop stressing me out,” Alver pinched his cheek, both tired and amused by his antics as always. This cheeky bastard — he was truly one of a kind. Cale snorted a laugh in response.
The two of them packed up their belongings, heading to a recently built shed that hosted most of the group’s farming tools. A collection of hoes, sickles, shovels, watering cans and other equipment awaited there — along with a wall full of shelves and shelves containing all kinds of seeds. They put away their respective items where it belonged and quickly made their way out of the dark shed. By the time Alver and Cale were finally finished closing up the shed and locking it with a key Cale had in hand, the fields were mostly empty already, everyone else having gone ahead of them to wash up and have dinner. Naturally, it was a nutritious and ample feast prepared by Vicross, who was just as hard at work as they all were.
Right now though, Alver allowed himself to linger in front of the wooden shed, Cale right beside him. The redhead looked like he was puzzling out some words he wanted to say, hair neatly tucked in a single ponytail of Alver’s work earlier and vibrantly scarlet against the increasingly darkening blue sky. Barely any clouds peeked out at them and the stars shimmered gently from afar — a stark contrast of the world Cale, no, Kim Roksu initially came from, Alver thought. And he found that Cale fit this world of his nicely. Like a puzzle piece finally meeting a spot that matched it perfectly and like a thoroughly fleshed out painting after an artist’s grand finishing touches.
“You know, recently, the kids have been—”
“Cale, I’m sorry for interrupting but can I ask you something?” It felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest by how hard it thumped and protested against his rib cages. Alver briefly wondered if his Father ever felt this way at all with his Mother or any of his other wives. He shoved the thought aside though, choosing to commit to memory the sight of Cale in front of luscious deep green leaves of Dark Forest’s trees, the dimming skies. The high flush on his cheeks thanks to their whole day of physical labor and exertion, the healthy glow of his skin, the way his bangs stuck slightly to his forehead, matted by sweat and the slightly confused yet intrigued line drawn on his mouth.
“Yes, Your Majesty. What is it?” He calmly asked back.
“Will you marry me?”