the tanned male stayed silent, following mujin outside of the dungeon back to the surface and across the familiar corridors of the royal palace. the place was plunged in darkness, making donghyuck understand that they had to be in the middle of the night, and no guards seemed to be roaming around this part of the palace.

"where are we going?" donghyuck asked in a hushed tone, looking at his surroundings to make sure no guard appeared.

"the kitchen." mujin replied first. "you need to work your magic and cook something for his highness."

the prisoner blinked in confusion. "h-his highness? you mean m-mark?"

mujin continued to lead donghyuck, turning around a few corners before reaching the doors of the kitchen.

"he has been starving himself ever since... well..." the royal guard stopped talking, giving donghyuck a quick glance, still not sure whether recalling him of the events of a few days prior would help him to think straight.

"oh..." donghyuck seemed to understand immediately. "yeah, i get it..."

"so..." mujin cleared his throat. "so, his highness has barely been eating, and i was thinking that maybe you could cook something for him and bring it to him. that would perhaps help him."

donghyuck stared at his fellow villager with a brow raised, waiting for a few seconds before actually answering.

"i'm not sure he'll be pleased to see me." the tanned male sighed, the words hurting him badly. "and even less with food considering the past they have with poisoning..."

"you're not, but i am." mujin replied immediately. "there is no other way that i could think of to make him eat."

"i don't think that- "

"donghyuck." mujin cut his words, placing both hands on the peasant's shoulders. "i find mark crying to himself in his room every night and i find him lonely and void of any emotion during the day." the guard continued. "he misses you, donghyuck. he does so bad, and that's what has been preventing him to eat."

the tanned male blinked, eyes suddenly becoming glossy and heartbeat accelerating inside his chest. he couldn't bear hearing how awful mark felt after what he had done. he couldn't leave the boy he loved like this; he couldn't let him starve himself to death when he still had so many things to accomplish.

"mark needs you, donghyuck." mujin sighed. "and more than just mark, the whole kingdom needs you. without you, there is no way to make mark feel better. and without that, there cannot be a good future for aes."

mujin must have been learning the art of persuasion in his training to become a royal guard. donghyuck couldn't understand how he had been this convincing over something that the tanned male was certain about if not.

the words from the royal guards having had their effect on the prisoner, donghyuck simply took a deep breath before pulling his sleeves up.

"so, what am i making?"

♕

standing in front of the royal's bedroom, donghyuck gulped loudly, the hand on which was placed the plate full of food shaking slightly.

"i'm not sure it's a good idea." the tanned male whisper-shouted to mujin who was standing by his side, checking the surroundings.

"i assure you it is." the royal guard answered on the same tone.

"he won't even want to see me."

"stop saying nonsense, i'm knocking."

"no, wait-"

before donghyuck could speak further, mujin knocked firmly on the door of the future's king chamber.

"what is it?" the voice came very low from inside of the room, sending shivers all the way down donghyuck's spine.

mujin glanced at donghyuck. "sorry to bother you, your highness. her majesty the queen requested me to bring you something."

there were a few seconds of silence. "come in." mark's voice said.

"go on." mujin placed his hand on the handle, ready to pull the door open for donghyuck to go through. "i'll wait for you here and guard the door."

"what?!" the tanned male stared at his friend with wide eyes.

"just go, he's waiting for you."

"but- "

"i said, come in!" mark's voice sounded a bit impatient.

seeing how frozen donghyuck seemed to be, mujin decided to act, pulling the door open and pushing donghyuck inside, managing to do so without having the other tripping on his feet. and once donghyuck was inside, he shut the door behind him and left the two lovers alone.

donghyuck's breath got caught in his throat as they found mark lying on his bed, the royal looking back at him in sheer surprise, like a deer caught in headlights.

it was the first time in six days that donghyuck and mark saw each other, and just from that, donghyuck could tell that the mark in front of him wasn't the usual one. his face was pale, cheeks hollow and eyes droopy still wet from crying, and he seemed so small and frail in the middle of his giant bed, so different from the usually confident and powerful royal that he was used to seeing.

mujin wasn't lying, mark wasn't eating, he was crying a lot and he was closing himself dramatically, becoming the exact opposite of what the powerful leader of a kingdom should be.

"m-mark, y-you..." the tanned male stuttered, taking a few steps towards the bed, yes focused on the future king who was now staring into the void. "y-you look so pale..."

"what are you doing here?" the royal simply asked, keeping his eyes away from the other. donghyuck could see that the task was hard for his lover.

"o-one of the guards asked me to cook something for you." the tanned male explained, standing right next to the bed with the plate in his hands. "he said you were starving yourself..."

"and what would that do to you?" mark finally stopped resisting, turning his head to look up at the other boy. "i thought you wanted the death of the king."

"i-i..." donghyuck stuttered, tears slowly welling in his eyes at the words spat by the future king. "t-that's not what i want."

"i could swear it was when you held a sword at my throat the other day."

mark spat the words at the other with venom laced to his voice, in a way that should be hurtful and that should have donghyuck back away. but at the same time, in all those months of crazy love, donghyuck had learnt to read mark, and the royal still was the same man he used to know.

donghyuck could see that mark didn't judge him dangerous and that the words were used with the sole purpose of hurting him. otherwise, why would mark act so calm when donghyuck was in front of him? why wouldn't he be calling for guards to take donghyuck away? why wouldn't he be reaching for his sword to defend himself?

that was because he knew that there was no risk in having donghyuck standing there in front of him in his bedroom.

the tanned male ignored mark's words, taking a step closer to the royal.

"you look pale, you need to eat." he informed, holding out the plate of food he had cooked for him to eat.

the royal raised a brow, eyes focused on the inside of the plate and recognising that the presentation looked nothing like what the royal cooks could make. in fact, he understood that this dish was donghyuck's doing.

after a second of silence, mark looked back up into donghyuck's eyes. "letting myself die on my own takes too much time for you?" he questioned. "you'd rather get it over with and poison me too?"

the tanned male blinked, his brain stuttering before understanding the implication behind the words. with a sigh, he reached for the fork that was placed in the plate and picked a forkful of food right in the middle of the dish before bringing it to his mouth.

he munched and swallowed the food without hesitation, then preparing a second forkful and lifting it in the air.

"i did not poison the food if that is what's preventing you from eating it." he stated once he had finished what was in his mouth. "now open up." he added, approaching the fork full of food to mark's mouth.

"i'm not hungry." the royal replied, eyes diverting between the food in front of his mouth and the brunette's eyes. and as if his stomach had heard this statement, it is this exact moment that it chose to rumble loudly.

donghyuck raised a brow. "your stomach says otherwise." he pointed out. "now stop being stubborn and trust me."

"trust you..." mark huffed. "see where that brought me, trusting- "

before mark could finish his sentence, dounghyuck found a moment when mark's mouth was open enough to slide the fork inside and force the food inside his mouth.

mark let out an immediate noise of complaint, and donghyuck almost thought he would spit everything back out, but instead, the complained turned into something similar to a moan, and his eyes opened wide.

donghyuck couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face as mark munched on the food and swallowed it. even from only this, mark's face had started to regain in colour and life.

"it's delicious..." the royal admitted in a low voice when he was finished.

"of course, it is." donghyuck snorted before holding out the plate and the fork to mark. "here, enjoy."

"feed me." mark ordered, opening his mouth wide.

the tanned male blinked again before reaching for the food with the fork, preparing another forkful for mark to eat. as he was doing so, a pair of arms wrapped around his hips and pulled him closer until he was seated on the fluffy mattress, just next to mark.

too scared to say something that would make mark change his mind, donghyuck let himself bathe in the joy that was being so close to mark and have him so docile, preparing forkful after forkful and feeding the royal as if all of this was normal.

in a couple of minutes, the food in the plate had fully vanished, and mark's previously hollow face was now back to what donghyuck was used to.

the tanned male placed the empty plate on the nightstand close to him before turning to face the royal again. mark was looking back at him, and although his face was now full of life and colour, it wasn't as lively as it had been when donghyck fed him.

"i'm sorry for how i spoke to you a while ago..." the royal broke the silence first, his eyes avoiding donghyuck's.

"i-it's okay..." the tanned male sighed. "i didn't expect anything other than that after what i did..."

"no, but... i'm also sorry for what i did. i-i... i-it was cruel... and awful... and what you had done did justify any of this."

donghyuck stayed silent for a while at those words, flashes of everything that had happened somehow making their way into his mind. he wished he didn't have to talk about it again, but he knew that there was no other way for him and mark to go further if not passing through this awful discussion.

"i-i have to apologise for what i did too." donghyuck spoke with a trembling voice. "whether it is p-poisoning the king years ago... or p-pointing a blade at you, i... i-i'm sorry about that. i'm sorry that i lied and hid the truth on who my family really was..."

donghyuck lifted his head to look at mark only to find him with tears rolling down his cheeks. damn, it hurt to see the royal in this state, and donghyuck hated himself for being the one to cause all of this.

"i'm sorry too, donghyuck... for killing your father in front of you, for having you imprisoned and for being so mean to you... this is not how i wanted things to turn out..." the royal sighed. "it's just that... i-i should be hating you for what you did. i should be torturing you to death for what you caused in my life... but i can't bring myself to have any negative thought about you..."

a sob broke past mark's lips, the royal immediately hiding his face into his hands to collect the tears that were escaping his eyes.

"i tired so hard..." the boy continued. "i tried persuading myself that you were the one to kill my father and to deprive me of a happy childhood... that you were the one to cause me to be mourning for so long... that you were the person i should kill from my own hand for everything you made me endure... but as hard as i tried, i couldn't find myself thinking like that..." he marked a pause to take a breath. "but every single time i tried i failed miserably... i even... w-when my mother told me that you were the one to kill father and that you didn't deny it, i go so angry... i-i didn't think, a-and when your dad said that you were a disappointment, i just... i couldn't bear it anymore and i killed him..."

the royal's cries doubled in intensity, forcing him to stop talking for a while. facing him, donghyuck wasn't in a much better state, eyes puffy and cheeks wet, bottom lip quivering as he fiddled with his fingers in anxiety.

"i-i couldn't look at myself in a mirror after that..." mark admitted once he had calmed down a bit. "i-i just... i hated myself so bad for acting so impulsively... i figured out that you must hate me for doing so, and... a-and this broke me down even further... n-not only did i realise t-that i loved you too much for hating you, but i also r-realised that there was no way you'd ever come back to me, f-first because you'd hate me for taking your father away from you, and also b-because you are condemned to death for what you did... a-and..."

another fit of sobs took over mark, the royal collapsing completely on the bed as his royal façade disappeared to leave the place to a sad and lost little boy that didn't know how to deal with his emotions and actions.

donghyuck wasn't better on his side of the bed, slowly putting the pieces back together and realising that indeed, his days were counted. but still, the tanned male used the back of his hand to wipe a few tears from his eyes before placing his hand one mark's as delicately as he could.

"mark..." the brunette called, but the word got barely heard because of the royal's sobs. "mark, listen to me..."

the future king slowly lifted his head, trying to calm down his sobs to let the tanned male speak.

"i don't hate you for what you did... i cannot." donghyuck spoke loud and clear despite his trembling voice. "just the same way you said you loved me too much to hate me, i-i think i cannot hate you either, not when you made me realise how toxic my father really was, and when you made me so happy and free..." the tanned male continued, eyes not looking away from mark's. "i love you, mark. i love you more than anything else, and there is nothing that hurts me more than being kept away from you..."

there was a second of blank, a second of silent nothing during which the two boys stared at each other through teary gazes before acting.

in a swift motion, mark pushing himself up with enough force to land on top of donghyuck, his arms wrapping around the brunette's shoulders and his eyes shutting close as his lips met donghyuck's.

an airy breath left both boys as their lips met again after six days of dark thoughts, neither of them daring to release the other as their lips moulded together. it felt like finding a purpose again, like coming back home to a familiar warmth, like being alive and full.

as air started to lack in both their bodies, the two males were forced to part, but they kept their mouths close, separated by an inch as they took deep breaths in unison.

"i don't know how i could do that to you, donghyuck..." the royal broke the silence first.

"i don't know how i could do that to you either, mark..." the brunette replied.

"please, promise me that nothing like this will happen ever again."

"i promise, mark." donghyuck breathed out. "i never want us to part again."

"me neither." the royal was quick to add.

the temptation being too high, the boys leant forward again, chasing each other's lips for the second time that night. mark's hands ended up tangled into donghyuck's locks while the tanned male held onto the royal's waist, fisting his pyjamas with all of his might.

"i missed you so bad, sunshine..." mark breathed out between kisses. "i was so scared i'd never be able to see you again..."

"i'm here." donghyuck replied with an innocent chuckle. "i'm here, and i won't leave you again."

"you better not..." the future king smirked before gluing their mouths together again, addicted to the feeling they procured.

however, after a few seconds of intense make-out, the royal blinked, pulling back and witnessing the brunette chasing his lips.

"wait, how are you even out of the cell?" mark questioned.

"it's nothing you have to worry about." donghyuck shook his head.

"excuse me, but having my prisoners escaping their cells is pretty much something i have to worry about." the future king replied. "look, let's promise each other something. from now on, we can't hide things to each other, we need to be fully honest, even if what we have to say might hurt the other. i won't be able to survive what we went through a second time."

donghyuck looked back into mark eyes, feeling the sincerity in them as he nodded.

"okay. no more secrets hidden, as hard as the truth may be." the tanned male spoke.

"promise." mark held his pinky finger out.

"i promise." donghyuck laced his pinky with mark's and let their hands twist to seal the promise with a touch of their thumbs.

"great, so now that you promised, how did you get out of jail?" the royal asked again.

donghyuck rolled his eyes. "one of the royal guards working for you is someone from my village. he recognised me and upon realising how miserable you were without me, decided to have me come and lift up your mood."

"mmh..." mark frowned.

"so, did it work?"

the royal hummed. "i think it did." he stated unable to resist a smile to appear on his face as he wrapped himself around the brunette.

"i'm glad it did." donghyuck leant against his lover. "he may or may not have saved the kingdom of aes."

"that is certain." mark assured. "now shut up and let me kiss you again..."

it felt too good to be true, and considering the misery of the past days, neither mark nor donghyuck could afford spending a second more far from each other, so this conversation, as impromptu as it had been, both males knew they would be cherishing it forever, as the start of something new, sure, but mostly, as the start of something true.