donghyuck's mind was everywhere except where it should currently be – precisely the kitchen of the restaurant he was doing his shift at. to be honest, his mind had been elsewhere ever since he had been thrown away from the royal palace hours prior.

he felt bad, having been caught by the queen both being inside the palace and having lied to her multiple times by pretending he was the nephew of another king; but that wasn't all. his heart was also aching, knowing that he hadn't had the time to say goodbye to mark, being forced to leave by the queen who most likely would have ordered a guard to kill him on the spot if he dared stepping closer to her son. and finally, he felt awfully guilty, having walked away from the palace and back in the safety of his village while he had left his lover back inside the royal place, in company of his mother who was furious.

now, hours later, after having turned his back on the boy he had learnt to love so much, the peasant stood miserably in the kitchen, a hundred questions spiralling in his mind and making him go completely crazy.

the questions were almost inoffensive at first, his usual curiosity getting the best of him.

had mark managed to stay safe in the palace?

had his mother refrained from being mean when talking with him?

had she scolded him badly?

had she forbidden mark to see donghyuck?

they slowly shifted to another depth, becoming more intrusive, with frightening possible answers.

would mark be okay?

would he miss donghyuck?

would he be able to see donghyuck again?

would he actually want to see donghyuck again?

bits by bits, the gravity of the questions morphed, now leaving the questions as nightmare-ish assumptions that donghyuck would rather never have to answer to.

what if he never saw mark again after this?

what if this afternoon had been his last interaction with mark?

what if the queen sent people to get rid of him?

what if he was banned from aes?

and finally, as he was fully consumed by the way his brain already pictured the worst-case scenarios, a wave of lucidity tainted by remorse and guilt took over him violently.

would have things been different if donghyuck had refused to leave mark behind?

would have things been different if donghyuck hadn't come back to the palace?

would have things been different if donghyuck had never listened to his father and visited the palace?

would have things been different if donghyuck hadn't fallen in love with mark?

would-

"donghyuck?!"

the tanned male's head shot up, tears flying from his eyes at the sudden movement. he immediately reached for his eyes with his sleeve, not wanting others to see that he was crying.

"are you alright donghyuck? you look sad." the worker that had disturbed him blinked, approaching the young male slowly.

"i'm fine." the peasant answer, clearing his throat. "just a rough day."

"ah." she flashed him a sad yet compassionate smile. "well, then perhaps that this will lift up your mood." her smile warmed up a bit as donghyuck looked at her curiously. "a friend of yours is there to see you."

donghyuck frowned at those words, blinking a few times as if it would help him make sure he had heard things right.

"a friend of mine?" he repeated sceptically, not recalling having any friend.

"yeah." the worker nodded. "he's from another village. didn't tell me which one, but... yeah." she shrugged. "he's waiting outside, come with me."

the tanned male placed the utensil he was previously using back on the counter before wiping his hands and following his co-worker through the restaurant. they walked across another part of the kitchen, a much busier one than the part he was in, and donghyuck received warm smile from the females working there.

it took them a few more steps to reach the inside of the restaurant and then the front door, where donghyuck's co-worker pointed at a male standing a few metres away with a brown cape and a hood.

"donghyuck's here!" the woman announced loud and clear, causing the guy in the cape to turn around and look in donghyuck's direction as the tanned male took careful steps towards the stranger.

however, as soon as their eyes met, donghyuck's body immediately froze, his heart dropping in his chest and his eyes widening both in happiness and fear, two emotions that he never thought he would be able to live at the same time.

"m-mark?!" he gasped, paralysed on the spot.

"donghyuck!" mark blurted out, taking a rushed step towards donghyuck and immediately taking him in his embrace. "i'm so happy to see you..." the royal mumbled close to his lover's ear, the warmth of the peasant's body between his own arms gluing back all of the shattered pieces of his heart.

donghyuck let himself bathe in mark's scent and embrace for a while, his eyes closing on their own as reassurance washed over him in big waves.

mark was here. mark was hugging him. mark was here. mark still wanted him. mark was here. mark was okay. mark was here, in his village...

"wait." the peasant's eyes shot open as his mind repeated these words in his mind and became more aware of his surroundings. in a blink of an eye, he detached himself from mark and looked at him with wide eyes. "what the hell are you doing here?!" he whisper-shouted, his eyes diverting from the boy's face to his clothes which were still hidden behind the cape. "you're going to dirty your robes and everything!"donghyuck continued, utterly panicked by the situation. "you need to go back to the palace! why did you come all the way here?"

mark let out a snort at those words, his lips curving in a smile. "i don't give a shit about my robes. i really needed to see you." he explained. "and if my mother won't let you be at the palace with me, then i'm coming to you."

donghyuck stayed silent for a few seconds, the words igniting a small flame inside of him, one that warmed his whole body up in an instant and made him want to pull mark back in his embrace, to kiss him and tell him that he couldn't care less where they were as long as they were together, but he didn't give in the temptation.

"b-but mark! y-you can't stay here, you're going to be busted!" he said in a hushed voice before looking at their surroundings, checking the familiar faces that headed in and out of the restaurant. this place was the headquarters of the anti-royalists, a place where all those who wished royals to be dead came daily to come up with a plausible plan and enjoy a good lunch and dinner together. and mark, future king of aes, was standing there, right in front of the restaurant, unarmed and visible to anyone. "no!" donghyuck groaned, shutting his eyes closed in frustration for a second before focusing back on the royal. "you can't stay here, it's not safe for you! you need to go back and- "

"still with your friend, donghyuck?" a voice interrupted them, causing the tanned male to tense as he turned around to face his co-worker – the same person that had first told him mark was there.

"h-huh..."

"make him come in! we need more hands for dinner tonight!" the worker said with an inviting smile. "aera and her sister aren't here."

"what?!" donghyuck blurted out, not believing what his co-worker was suggesting. "no! he was leaving right away! he can't help tonight."

"i'm not leaving." mark nudged donghyuck's side, pulling the hood a bit so that donghyuck's co-worker could see his face. "i can help!" he added, giving a smile to the woman.

"no!" donghyuck protested immediately. "there is no way you're coming anywhere near the kitchen."

"come on, donghyuck!" the woman tsked as she took a few steps outside of the restaurant to approach the two males. "don't be a rude boy. look at that, your friend is willing to help. he's such a nice soul!"she continued, now standing right by mark's side and reaching for his wrist to drag him towards the restaurant. "you know how to empty a fish, right? if not, don't stress, donghyuck will help you. he's our best chef here, so of course he knows how to do it..."

mark listened to her blabbering as he was pulled by his wrist inside the restaurant and towards the kitchen area, donghyuck heaving out a long sigh as they passed near him before following them inside.

once in the busy part of the kitchen, donghyuck took the relay grabbing mark's wrist, and he pulled the royal towards the more calm part of the kitchen to ensure them privacy, informing the others that 'they will be on fish duty in the back of the kitchen'.

that being said, mark was finally dragged to a less crowdy area, allowing him to remove his hood fully.

"this is a completely stupid idea." donghyuck argued, glaring at his lover with his arms crossed over his chest.

"being able to see you is anything but stupid, sunshine." mark tackled back with a smirk, his head tilted to the side.

the tanned male tried ignoring the butterflies swarming his stomach at the royal's words as he kept his pissed-off mask on. "you don't look like you belong here. your clothes will be stained and full of filth. and what if someone recognises you?"

"i wore my most basic things." the royal explained, opening his cape slightly to reveal dark brown loose pants and a bronze-coloured shirt woven in a material that was worth the whole restaurant – but at least it wasn't embellished with golden or silver embroideries. "and no one remembers my face; i haven't appeared in public in front of our people ever since my father's funeral." he added, recalling that last time his mother had brought him in front of a crowd to present him as the future king that would take over her regency after his 20th birthday. "and even if they did connect me to the 10-year-old royal that i used to be, who would even think that the future king of aes is here instead of being in the royal palace?"

donghyuck's answer didn't come immediately, the boy staying against the counter he was leaning on, arms crossed over his chest and eyes almost glaring at mark until he couldn't keep them that way, allowing them to soften and to relax his tensed shoulders.

"good thing you're an amazing persuader." the tanned male sighed before he turned around, grabbing the knife on the counter and picking up a dead fish from the basin that was on the side, resuming to the activity he was doing before – simultaneously to letting his internal demons eat him alive.

the peasant skilfully placed the fish on the counter, lying his hand flat against it before poking the space under its chin with the tip of his blade and cutting a nice and clean incision all the way down to its fins.

"so... can i help?" mark asked expectantly from behind donghyuck, surely not seeing what donghyuck was currently doing as the tanned male faced his back to mark.

"i'm not sure you want to help." donghyuck simply replied, now focused on cutting the fish's head and removing its guts.

"i do." the royal insisted. "i told your, huh... your friend that i would. i want to help." he continued, and donghyuck could almost hear the smile that was painted on his face.

once the fish's head was fully cut, allowing him to pull on it and slide out of the fish its backbone and guts, donghyuck turned around, facing mark fully with the empty fish in one hand and the bowels in the other. "you want to empty a fish?" he questioned, a smirk taking over his features as he tilted his head to the side innocently.

the tanned male couldn't help the smile that etched on his face as he looked at mark's wide eyes and disgusted expression at the sight of the fish. the royal even let out a disgraceful 'ewww' at the sight.

"that's what i thought." donghyuck hummed, turning around again to discard the fish's backbone in the trash, its head and guts in a recipient and the empty body in another.

"no, i'll help." mark spoke again, taking a deep break. "i can help." he said, taking a step forward and coming to stand next to donghyuck.

"alright." the peasant nodded, using the cloth that was hung onto the strips of his apron to wipe the knife and put it in mark's hand. he then grabbed another fish and placed it on the counter in front of mark. "here you are."

mark's eyes wandered from the tanned male to the dead fish whose eye he was certain was looking right at him. donghyuck smiled evilly at the sight of the royal being so lost in front of something as simple and vital as emptying a fish.

not wanting to leave his lover suffering for too long, donghyuck took the knife away from mark's hand and reached under the counter for an apron. he helped mark out of the cape and draped the fabric of the apron around mark's head before turning him around to tie a knot with the strips.

"here, look at me. i'll show you." donghyuck declared, pulling a second fish out and grabbing a knife in one of the nearby drawers to make a small demonstration to mark.

the royal looked carefully as donghyuck's hands handled the fish skilfully, lifting his eyes every once in a while to look into the peasant's eyes as the boy explained the process with as much details as possible to make it easy for mark. and once he was done with one fish, donghyuck grabbed another one to repeat the process all over again with mark.

mark's first attempt wasn't the best, his knife having slid a bit too deep into the fish, causing it to bleed out. his second was better, simply, his angle of the knife when he cut the head was off, causing it not to separate as easily as it should have from the body. donghyuck was there every second of it, helping mark with care and patience, which allowed his third attempt to be much more successful – to mark's greatest pleasure judging by the way he had proudly shown the empty fish, its head, guts and backbone to the peasant.

"are you even okay doing that?" donghyuck asked as mark worked on his fourth fish on his own.

"why wouldn't i be?" mark replied with another question, not lifting his head from the fish, too scared to mess up again.

"well..." donghyuck paused for a second, stopping emptying his nth fish to look at the royal. "i-it's fish..."he continued a bit hesitantly, knowing it might be a sensitive topic for the other male.

however, mark's reaction came rather unexpected. "and?" he simply questioned, as if donghyuck's words were everything but logical.

"well..." the peasant sighed again. "y-your father..." he told barely above a whisper, now scared that he would cause mark to close off at the mention of his deceased father.

the royal froze for a second, as if he suddenly realised what donghyuck meant.

however, he was able to start moving again a second later, remembering that he knew something that donghyuck still ignored. he used to hate fish and to refuse to eat it because he had believed that it was what had killed his father years prior. but now that he was aware that his father had been poisoned and that it had nothing to do with the fish he had eaten that night, the thought of eating fish hadn't been as scary as it used to be for him – but if he was fully honest, that thought had stopped scaring him so much after donghyuck had cooked him fish one day and made him eat it without he realised what it truly was.

yes, that's all the power donghyuck had over him, and he was very aware of it.

brushing these thoughts aside, the royal flashed his lover a smile. "i told you that i wanted to replace all of the sad memories coming from my father with happy memories of you..." he stated, probably not even realising the dept of his words.

donghyuck stared at him, his heart missing a beat, something that happened oddly frequently when he was with the older male. "m-mark..." he mumbled, tugging at his bottom lip.

"you're healing me, sunshine." mark simply stated, looking into donghyuck's eyes as if he was his everything – perhaps because he was. – "i'm not affected by fish anymore."

♕

"shouldn't you head back to the palace?"

the royal looked at his lover with his brows raised. "should i understand that you don't want me here anymore?"

"that's not what i said!" donghyuck protested immediately.

"well, i sure heard something about going back to the palace."

"i just don't want you to get scolded by the queen..." a pout appeared on the peasant's lips as he crossed his arms over his chest, feigning annoyance and earning nothing but a fond look from the royal.

the night had fully set by now, and the restaurant was almost closing. mark and donghyuck had finished emptying and cleaning the fish as well as preparing the fillets and the fish soups for the night. they had also helped with the vegetables and the cooking, and donghyuck had taken part in the service, absolutely refusing mark to help, too scared one person might recognise him. and now that they were done with cleaning the dining room and the last dishes, it would be time for them to head back home – thus justifying donghyuck's first question. however, it seemed like mark couldn't care less about heading back to the palace.

"going back to the royal palace is perhaps the last thing i want to do right now." mark spoke truthfully, approaching the tanned male and taking his hands.

"won't the queen worry if she doesn't see you? what if she sends guards to get you?" the brunette asked worriedly.

"i don't care if she does." the royal answered. "they'll have to physically drag me away from you... because i won't let you go." he continued, his hands sliding around donghyuck's waist and pulling the male even closer so that their chests were pressed together.

donghyuck couldn't help but flush again at those words, letting out a cute giggle.

"oh, wow!" a gasp startled the two lovers, causing them to jump away from each other, as if they had been caught doing illegal things – not that smooching the future king of aes seemed much legal for a peasant like donghyuck, but we'll pretend it didn't happen.

the lady that had just stepped inside the back part of the kitchen looked at them with a smirk. "come on, don't put that much distance between the two of you." she told. "i know how bad the urges of staying close to your loved one are at that age."

the two males stared at her with equally flushed cheeks, staying glued on their spots, and not daring to approach each other again.

"anyway, i was coming to tell you that you could leave and have fun. we'll take care of the rest. you enjoy your youth." she continued, seeing that the two boys were too embarrassed to give her an answer. "i don't want to see any of you in this kitchen anymore."

seeing the look his co-worker gave him, donghyuck quickly reached for the knot of his apron on his back, quickly undoing mark's as well to get rid of the two aprons. he then reached for mark's cape that had been discarded on the side and took the royal's hand in his.

"thank you." he mumbled, giving a shy smile to his co-worker.

"it's normal, donghyuck." she replied with a grin. "and don't forget that your father's only coming back tomorrow. so, just spend the night how you'd like, alright? he won't know, your secret is safe with us."

donghyuck's face was now burning red all the way to the tip of his ears, but he nodded, flashing her a grateful smile. somehow, everyone around the kitchen knew how demanding donghyuck's father could be, and even though he was the tanned male's role model, his education style might be a bit harsh at times, but thankfully, his co-workers always got his back.

after muttering a quick goodbye and signalling their departure to the rest of the kitchen team, donghyuck dragged mark outside of the restaurant, the two boys finding themselves in the poorly lit streets of donghyuck's village, hand in hand.

"so... how are we spending the night?" mark questioned after a second, looking at his lover with a brow raised.

"sleeping, i guess." donghyuck answered with flushed cheeks.

"together, i hope." the royal smirked.

"huh..." donghyuck blinked. "i'm not sure i'll be able to take a step next to the royal palace, if that's what you're implying." he explained. "and well, my house definitely doesn't have the comfort you're used to, so i don't think you'd like it."

"how could i not like it if i'm with you?" mark huffed, as if the answer to that question was logical.

donghyuck sighed, looking into mark's eyes as the royal looked back at him with equal fondness. they somehow got lost into each other's eyes, their hearts beating in synch as small smiles decorated their faces, their thoughts running wild for each other.

"i don't want you to leave just yet." donghyuck admitted, breaking the silence.

"i don't want to leave you either." mark replied.

"and i might want you to come to my house and spend the night with me." the tanned male added, his head lowering in shyness as his cheeks became rosy.

"and would it be a bad thing for me to say i want to go to your house and spend the night with you too?" a smirk appeared on mark's face as donghyuck's head shot up to look at him in the eyes, not expecting this bluntness.

another silence took over them, except that this one lasted barely a few seconds before donghyuck broke out in a fit of giggles, his hand finding mark's as he decided to drag the royal across the village all the way to his place.

mark followed suit, a smile shining brighter than the sun decorating his face as he laughed along, heart as light as a feather and mind freer than ever.

they were young, they were in love, and for them, at this exact moment, heading back to the comfort of a house, getting ready to spend a long night together, between tangled limbs and loving embraces, nothing else mattered.

and even better, for them, nothing else should ever matter.

♕

donghyuck couldn't remember when it had occurred. he had no recollection of when it had happened, and when everything had suddenly changed. and yet he had, and he was now painfully aware of it.

he was madly in love. he had fallen deep, perhaps a bit too much, for a royal, and not any royal, but precisely the future king of the kingdom whose lands he lived on. and right now, as his eyes had fluttered open first thing in the morning and fell on the principal culprit of his lovesickness, he couldn't help but realise that a love that was so forbidden was in fact so worth it.

mark was still asleep, eyes closed and mouth slightly open, allowing light snores to slip past them melodiously. even now, in this position, mark looked ethereal, just like a beautiful prince out of a fairy tale – perhaps because he indeed was a prince.

donghyuck did his best to move around, too scared to disturb the little sleep that mark was able to catch. he was aware that his poor excuse of a mattress – well, his father's actually, since it was much thicker than his own – was nothing compared to the fluffy beds they had in the royal palace, and mark wasn't used to such absence of comfort. the boy hadn't managed to stay still all night long, constantly moving around in discomfort and waking donghyuck up in the process, thus making the younger boy aware of his impossibility to fall asleep. so now, the only thing donghyuck could do was to grant him a few minutes of peaceful sleep.

the tanned male stayed unmoving and looking at his lover for a bit more than an hour, letting his thoughts run wild in his mind and picture a beautiful life for the both of them, as if it was already set that they would move on together.

it is only when he felt the royal's embrace tightening around his body that he allowed himself to readjust his position. mark let out a long breath as he pulled donghyuck's slim body closer to his, suddenly making the younger aware of their bareness.

"good morning, sunshine..." mark muttered, voice so raspy first thing in the morning that it sent shivers all the way down donghyuck's spine.

"good morning..." the tanned male replied shyly befre burying his face in the crook of mark's neck, the royal chuckling at the action and processing to place one of his hands on donghyuck's nape to caress his hair.

"have you slept well?" the royal questioned, his vocal cords vibrating against donghyuck whose face was pressed there.

"mmh, of course i did." donghyuck replied, without removing his face from there.

there was a short silence, mark expecting for the question to be returned to him, but unfortunately, donghyuck never started speaking again.

"are you not asking about my night?" the royal asked quizzically.

"i know you didn't sleep well." donghyuck mumbled. "what would be the point of asking the question then...?"

"oh." mark let out. "well, i would have answered that as much as i couldn't sleep, i'd rather spend the rest of my nights by your side than alone in a comfortable bed."

donghyuck pulled his face out of mark's neck to look at his lover in the eye, blinking a few times as mark only smiled back at him.

"stop lying to make my heart flutter." he simply told, brows in a frown.

"oh, but i'm not even lying." mark replied, leaning his face closer to donghyuck's to rub their noses together. "i love you so much that i'd give up on any comfort to stay by your side."

the peasant was sure mark could hear his heart beating inside his chest at that point, but he couldn't care less. at least, the royal would be able to know how bad donghyuck was affected by his words without him needing to actually open his mouth.

the two lovers stayed in the bed for another hour, cuddling and chatting mindlessly about topics that were so cheesy and sweet that they'd be able to give them diabetes. and unfortunately, as an ounce of realisation hit them, they were forced to part.

"your father will be back today, right?" mark questioned, pulling his lover closer as he spooned him from behind, his chest being pressed against his back and feeling each and every of his ribs with how thin the poor boy was.

"yeah, he should arrive soon." donghyuck hummed, pressing his body further against mark's.

"hmm." mark let out. "not that i don't want to meet him or anything, but... i feel like judging by what your friend said yesterday at the restaurant... well... he might not be pleased to find us like that...?"he finished more on the questioning tone.

donghyuck took a while to answer, just needing a few seconds to process mark's words.

his father wouldn't be pleased to find them like that, it was the least to say.

how would donghyuck break it to him that he invited someone to stay over when he wasn't there?

how would he break it to him that they had slept on his mattress which was considerably thicker and more comfortable than donghyuck's?

how would he break it to him that the guy donghyuck had slept with and had developed feelings for was none other than the future king of aes?

yeah, donghyuck was pretty sure that his father's answer to none of these questions would be nice to witness.

"y-yeah..." he mumbled. "we should probably get dressed."

mark understood immediately, guessing that his and donghyuck's father might have a complex relationship, probably a bit like him and his own mother, but to their own scale. the fact his father was rising him alone as well since donghyuck had lost his mother also surely had had an impact on his father's protectiveness on his son, and on how he would react to the news.

after reluctantly letting their limbs untangle, the two lovers got out of the bed and took a while to get ready, wearing their clothes, adjusting their hair and rearranging the bed so that no trace of their night was left in the small house.

and knowing best than getting caught twice in two days, the two boys headed towards the door, mark turning in the doorway right after wearing his cape.

"i'll come back tomorrow, after lunch." he explained with a smile, looking down at his and donghyuck's intertwined hand. "i'll find you in front of the restaurant, and you can show me your village in the afternoon."

"i'd love that." donghyuck nodded.

mark grinned at his lover's words, pulling onto the male's wrist to drag him closer and pull him in a tight and loving embrace. he wrapped his arms around donghyuck to cage him in a tight hug, placing a delicate kiss in the crook of the boy's neck which was reachable to him.

"this is what i want..." he mumbled, his lips brushing against the tanned skin of donghyuck's neck. "i don't care about being the king or anything anymore..." he continued, breath tickling donghyuck's skin, but the peasant couldn't care less, loving mu much the feeling of his lover so intimately close to him. "waking up next to you and holding you in my arms forever..." mark kissed the skin again. "this is all i want..."

and as if to seal these words, to put a stamp on them and ensure their veracity, mark pulled away for a second, only to dive back down on donghyuck's lips, gluing his own to the tanned male's and pouring every ounce of love he felt for the younger in this heart-felt loving gesture.