"hello sunshine..."

it seemed like mark was a man of his words – not that donghyuck ever doubted it, but still, he felt a weird giddiness meeting eyes with the royal the second he walked out of the restaurant after his lunch shift.

"mark!" the brunette couldn't help but let out, throwing himself in the arms of the future king, pulling him tight against his chest as if they hadn't seen each other in months. it was far from being the case, their last encounter having occurred a day prior, as they both had woken up from a – more or less comfortable – sleep in each other's embrace, but the sole thought of mark going back to the palace where his mother had seemed so hostile was enough to make him believe that she could lock the royal in forever and never let him see donghyuck ever again.

"someone missed me, huh?" the future king chuckled, returning donghyuck's hug as he spoke.

"i was scared you wouldn't come." donghyuck admitted, pulling mark tighter against him if possible.

"i told you i would." mark replied.

"yeah, but what if the queen didn't let you? or what if you forgot? or if you had changed your mind and didn't want to see me again? or what if- "

"sunshine." mark cut donghyuck's rambling short, pulling from the hug and cupping donghyuck's cheeks with his palms. "that wasn't going to happen. i don't care if my mother doesn't want me here. i wouldn't forget about a meeting with you. and i don't think it is possible that i would ever not want to see you." the royal spoke slowly, holding the eye contact with the other. "so, rest assured."

donghyuck kept his eyes in mark's for a bit longer, cheeks colouring red as his heart fluttered inside his chest. he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have someone like mark by his side, loving and cherishing him.

inevitably, having mark's such intense stare on him for ten seconds straight got overwhelming for the peasant, and he couldn't help but lower his head in shyness. this had mark chuckling at the boy's cuteness.

"so, what are we doing today sunshine?" he questioned with a brow raised, trying to put the tanned male's attention back on him. "do you plan on making me explore the place you live in."

"i'd be happy to if you don't mind." the peasant answered shyly, cheeks still a flaming colour.

"are you kidding?" the royal snorted. "getting to know you better is like the top thing on my priorities list. and i'm a future king, so i've got plenty of things on my priorities list."

donghyuck could only let out a snort himself at those words, nudging mark's arm.

"stop saying nonsense." he sighed. "let's go. i've got a lot to show you."

and that being said, mark let himself being dragged away by the tanned male, their fingers intertwining and their smiles matching the whole afternoon.

♕

the two lovers met again the next day, the day after, and two days later, but neither of them seemed to get tired of these frequent rendezvous, each day looking forward eagerly to the moment they would be reunited again.

donghyuck's village was small, and they had practically visited everything in the village and on the surrounding lands after the first day, but it didn't matter to them. neither of them could care less about boredom whenever they were together, taking strolls mindlessly across the busy streets of the village, or sharing whispered conversations under the fruit trees on the lands behind the village. their presence somehow always made everything better.

"and let me guess..." mark hummed, brows in a frown as he looked at the small house they were standing in front of. "this is where you used to live when you were younger?"

donghyuck let out an exaggerated gasp. "how did you know?!"

"lucky guess." the undercover royal informed with a wink in his lover's direction, causing the two of them to burst into a fit of giggles before continuing their journey across the main street of the village and towards a place donghyuck was very familiar with but hadn't shown mark yet. he wasn't sure it would be the best part of the visit for mark, but it was rather important for him, and nevertheless, they didn't have anything better to do.

"donghyuck, would you be fine going to the royal palace again?" mark spoke in a hushed tone after a while. "we'll find more things to do."

"are you saying that my village is boring?!" the tanned male's eyes widened as he stared at the other with a hurtful expression.

"i'm not." mark rolled his eyes. "but after spending four afternoons with you there, i could become a tourist guide for the place."

donghyuck smiled at those words. "excuse me, your majesty." he bowed mockingly. "i am utterly sorry that my village is too small for your royal likings."

"shh!" mark hurriedly pushed his palm against donghyuck's palm to silence him. "don't say such things out loud!" he lightly scolded the boy, not being able to resist chuckling at his lover's cuteness.

"alright, alright." donghyuck stopped giggling as mark removed his hand. "i know my village is small, and as much as i love being with you, there is nothing we can do together here..."

"so..." mark blinked expectantly. "royal palace?"

"well, i'd say yes, but i'm not actually sure it's the best idea considering the queen would be... displeased by my presence." the peasant explained, flashes of the events of the week prior coming back to him.

the regent queen has been quite clear in her orders the week prior. the way she had screamed at donghyuck that she didn't want to see him ever again close to the royal palace had somehow forced the peasant to integrate that he couldn't be able to visit the palace anymore. and as much as he loved mark, he wasn't sure defying his mother's words could be something good – neither for him who could end up banned from aes, or even killed, or for mark who would surely get badly scolded by his mother.

"and... if i tell you that my mother isn't here?" mark raised a brow. "would you accept?"

donghyuck lifted his head expectantly. "she isn't?"

"my coronation is approaching and there are lots of things she needs to do fir it to be ready on time." mark explained. "she's visiting the kingdom of flores tomorrow to order the necessary decorations, and she will then visit one or two kingdoms a bit further north."

"oh..." donghyuck hummed, eyes glistening in hope.

"so... would you be fine coming back to the palace with me tomorrow? when my mother isn't here?"

"there would be no way for the queen to know i was there, right?" the peasant asked worriedly.

"definitely not." mark assured. "we'll just need to sneak past the guards, but that's nothing different from what we have been previously doing."

it took a few more questions from the peasant, answered reassuringly by the royal, for donghyuck to accept mark's offer of meeting him by the royal palace's back door the next day at the end of his shift.

donghyuck still wasn't a big fan of the idea, but as long as the queen wasn't there, he could suck it up and trust mark when the royal said that they would be able to sneak in without being seen.

"anyway, where are you bringing me?" mark asked, breaking the short silence that had taken place after donghyuck had finally agreed. "i don't remember us visiting this part of the land the other days."

"there's someone i want you to meet." donghyuck explained simply, flashing his lover a shy smile as he kept walking across the field they had reached a few minutes prior.

"you want me to meet someone?!" mark repeated, definitely not expecting this.

"i want them to meet the future king of aes personally." the peasant replied, without more details, causing mark to stop in his tracks.

"they know who i am?!" he shrieked. "h-how- "

"yes, they know who you are, stop making a fuss about it." the peasant's eyes rolled to the back of his head at mark's antics.

"do they expect me as the future king?! because i'm not dressed in proper royal-wear. and i don't have my sword and- "

"mark." donghyuck stopped walking, turning around to look at his lover in the eye, finding it rather cute how mark felt so insecure for nothing. "they won't care whether you are in royal-wear or not, rest assured."

"but- "

"no buts." the tanned male warned, cutting mark again. "just follow me, we'll be there in a minute."

mark obliged, nodding his head and following his lover across the field until they reached a small hill covered in hundreds of humps of earth. the royal stood by his lover's side, glancing between the piles of earth on the ground and donghyuck.

"what is this place?" mark asked barely above a whisper, eyes on donghyuck who was staring intensely at something mark couldn't pinpoint.

"the cemetery for people living on the western lands of aes." donghyuck replied simply, the familiarity of the place somehow helping him to feel at ease despite the meaning the place held.

mark was silent for a hot minute, eyes widened in surprise and heart thumping hard inside his chest. he would never have guessed that a cemetery could look like that. in the palace, the chapel in which his father had been buried was a luxurious and grand place, his tomb was built with noble materials and a beautiful tombstone rested above it, beautiful words engraved on it as a constant remembrance of the king's presence. but this, this was nothing but a field, one looking exactly like those they cultivated plants on, except that it was littered with humps of earth, as if moles had created tunnels underneath the ground and left the earth at the surface as a trace of their passing. there weren't even tombstones to inform who was buried where, as if after their death, the people that were there ceased existing and were forever forgotten.

"come on." donghyuck spoke in a hushed voice, letting his hand intertwine with mark's as he walked on the dried grass between the humps of earth, dragging mark along.

the royal didn't protest, following his lover silently as he looked at each hump sadly, wondering who all those people could be, and if their families still came to visit them from time to time.

and then, it hit him. donghyuck was dragging him across the cemetery, donghyuck had brought him here because he wanted him to meet someone. could it be that he wished for mark to meet one of his deceased relatives, namely his mother, someone donghyuck seemed to talk about a lot?

"we're here." donghyuck informed after a while, stopping in front of a pile of earth – mark wouldn't be able to recognise it among the hundreds of other piles scattered on the land and looking exactly the same, completely impersonal.

mark could only gulp, eyes wandering from the tomb to donghyuck with a sad smile.

"i-is this your mother?" he asked carefully.

donghyuck nodded, keeping his eyes on the earth in front of his before letting go of mark's hand and plopping down on the ground, seated right at the foot of the tomb. "hello, mom. i have someone that i wanted you to meet with me today."

donghyuck then looked up at his lover, patting the space next to him on the ground.

"sit with me?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side.

mark couldn't refuse the proposition, bending his knees and letting himself fall back on his butt to be seated next to donghyuck who flashed him a greateful smile.

"mom, i've talked to you about him plenty of times, but i felt like you'd rather see by yourself, so... meet mark, the future king of aes and the boy i love..." donghyuck spoke calmly to the tomb, leaning against mark's side as he talked.

the royal gulped in nervousness before glancing at donghyuck who flashed him a reassuring smile. "h-hello, i'm mark." he stated nervously. "a-as your son said, i'm the future king of aes, and... a-and i'm in love with your son."

the tanned male chuckled at mark's nervousness, arms reaching for mark's own arm to hug it tight.

"she loves you already, don't be so stressed." the tanned male whispered in mark's ear, making the royal tense more.

"h-how do you even k-know...?"

"with how much i've been talking about you and mentioning how perfect you are, she sure loves you. otherwise, she'd have found a way to separate us." donghyuck explained, eyes rising up to the sky before falling back on his mother's tomb. "i'm happy that you could meet mark, mom. he's someone very important to me, and i really wanted you two to meet."

there was a small gush of wind that made donghyuck's locks of hair fly around, tickling mark's face that was close. mark's arm reached for his lover's hair to rearrange them slightly before sliding his arm around donghyuck's shoulders and pulling him close against him.

"i am very happy and honoured to meet you. donghyuck said so much great things about you, and i am certain you would have been a lovely person to have around." mark smiled, pressing donghyuck tighter against his side. "i know your son said you already liked me, but... but there are still a few things i wanted to tell you."

mark quickly glanced down at donghyuck who was looking back up at him with adoration in his eyes. the peasant's heart was hammering in his chest, not believing that two of his favourite people in the whole world were interacting.

to be completely honest, donghyuck had wanted to bring mark to his mother's tomb ever since the first day mark had been visiting his village, the tomb being one of the places he spent most time at. but at the same time, he was a bit afraid to scare mark off and to appear as weird for being able to sit down on that tomb and wait for hours.

in the end, it had taken him four days to crack and decide to bing mark, hoping with all of his heart that no bad trait of character would surface from the royal. and well, right now, as he looked at his lover talking so calmly and seriously to his mother, donghyuck couldn't help but feel stupid for believing once that mark could have any ounce of bad in him.

"you may not have liked the idea of your son hanging out with a royal at first, know how different we can be, and i understand that perfectly. however, i must tell you that i have always treated donghyuck as my equal, if not as someone more precious and important than myself." mark admitted. "ever since i met him, i've felt this urge to protect and take care of your son. i fell in love with his curiosity and his capacity to be fully amazed by his surroundings. now, with how things evolved and with how well we are together, there is nothing more i hope than making these differences between royals and non-royals disappear so that i could openly show the world our love." the royal continued speaking, never letting go of the boys in his arms whose heart had, by now, missed much more beats than physically possible. "i love your son, from the bottom of my heart, and i don't think that there is anything that could make me stop loving him so hard. i wish to stay by his side forever and to protect and care for him until his last days. but i cannot possibly do that without your accord, so i am now asking you to allow me to love and treasure your son like the precious boy that he is."

and after a minute of silence, mark could only smile at the second gush of wind that came messing donghyuck's locks again.

"she approves of us..." the tanned male whispered, looking up at mark with tearful eyes.

mark could only smile at that, pulling donghyuck's body impossibly closer and fluttering his eyes close as he sealed those words with a long lock of their lips.

♕

"hello sunshine." mark spoke as soon as the tanned male came into view, a bright smile plastered on his face as he stared at his lover finishing to climb the hill that led to the royal palace's back door.

"hi..." donghyuck let out, slightly out of breath after climbing up – he used to be trained to climb this hill every day, but after a full week of being banned from the royal palace, let's say he wasn't as comfortable with this little sport session as he used to be.

as soon as the peasant was within arms' length, mark wrapped him in a tight hug, letting out a breath of relief as the feeling of the younger boy in his arms.

"i'm so happy to have you at the palace again." mark admitted, tightening his embrace.

"i'm happy to be here too." donghyuck replied, reciprocating the hug and letting himself bathe in mark's scent.

a few seconds later, mark pulled back from the hug, interlacing his and donghyuck's fingers before pulling the brunette inside the palace across the familiar corridors. they both giggled sillily as they rushed as silently as possible, hoping to reach the royal's bedroom without crossing paths with anyone.

and well, it would have been a very successful mission if it wasn't for the royal guard walking at the end of the corridor and turning around as he heard the light footsteps of the two boys arriving in front of mark's bedroom.

at the sight of the royal guard turning around, mark froze on his spot and donghyuck paled. the royal acted quickly, pulling the door of his room open to hide donghyuck, hoping that the guard hadn't seen the peasant as he turned around – but who was he kidding, donghyuck stayed in sight for at least a second.

"your highness." the guard bowed at mark as the royal pushed donghyuck further inside the room.

"yes." mark spoke robotically, back straight and body conveying everything but ease and calmness.

"is there a problem?" the guard questioned, looking at the royal sceptically. "can i help you with anything?"

"please pretend like you didn't see anything." mark stated, almost begging as he stared at the guard with expectant eyes, pupils shaking. "if the queen asks, pretend like you didn't see."

the guard blinked a few times before his face softened. "why? is there anything i should have seen?" he inquired, a subtle smile appearing on his face as he looked into mark's eyes.

the future king stayed frozen for a while, looking intensely at the guard as if he was trying to process what he had said. he stayed unmoving for long seconds, expecting for the guard to laugh and tell him that he wouldn't cover him, that he would immediately call back the queen and have donghyuck thrown away from aes forever.

but nothing of the sort happened.

"your highness, if you don't need me, i'll go back to the main entrance where i was previously heading." the guard spoke as he bowed. "do not hesitate to come to me if you need any assistance."

mark stared in disbelief as the royal guard turned on his heels as if nothing had happened, leaving mark on his own in the corridor with his bedroom door open just like it had previously been to hide donghyuck.

"is the guard gone?" donghyuck asked in a hushed voice from the inside of the room.

the future king blinked, his attention leaving the guard who had reached the end of the corridor by now, and focusing on the tanned male inside the bedroom. "y-yeah..." mark muttered hesitantly, getting inside the room and locking the door behind him, not wanting to risk having donghyuck being seen.

"oh, thank god." donghyuck let out, shoulders visibly relaxing as he walked further into the room. "it scared me so bad."

mark didn't answer, his mind still buzzing with activity as he wondered what had just happened. had the guard really not seen donghyuck? it seemed impossible, there had been a full sedonc of them facing each other before mark was able to open the door that hid donghyuck. but then, why had the guard asked if he should have seen anything? was he pretending like he hadn't seen anything like mark had asked him? or was there a much more complicated scheme behind, perhaps one that the queen had imagined... has mark's mother bribed the guards and asked them to tell her immediately if anything weird occurred, and to pretend like nothing was wrong in front of mark?

it was a possibility, perhaps the worst thing that could happen to mark right now. he had no idea what he would do if this was the case, and if his mother came back home in a hurry just to scold him with all of her might and throw donghyuck away like a tyrant. yes, there was nothing worse than that that could actually happen right now for mark, and he could only hope with all of his heart that things wouldn't happen like that.

"oh! you found it!" donghyuck exclaimed happily as mark was too busy with his dark thoughts. "i was so devastated when i lost it, i thought i would never find it again!"

the royal was pulled out of his daze, turning around to face donghyuck who seemed preoccupied by completely different matters. "what are you talking..." but he froze instantly as his eyes fell on the tanned male. "...about?"

okay, maybe that his mother plotting something with the royal guards wasn't the worst thing that could happen to him right now. yeah, because the worst thing that could possibly happen was currently occurring as mark watched donghyuck beaming over the golden piece of jewellery that was resting on mark's desk, the same one they had pulled out from a sugar bowl full of arsenic days prior.

"my mother's bracelet! i finally found it again!"