Chapter Ten

As invigorating as dancing for hours may be to Yuu, there was something else, some greater feeling that came from sitting under the stars. It wasn't fast paced or thrilling at all- in fact, it was something completely different altogether. He felt at peace, like he could melt away into this moment in time and be fine with it.

Again, he seemed to lose track of time, and Yuu felt the panic rising up in his chest. He sat up quickly, reminded of where he was and who he was, and his first instinct was to go.

"What's wrong?" Mika looked up, hearing the shift when Yuu moved. He was threading dandelion stems together, making what looked like a flower chain. Yuu noticed his hands were shaking, and he wondered if that was from the precision necessary to make the chain or if he was nervous for some reason.

Of course he wouldn't be nervous, Yuu thought, brushing the comical idea off quickly. Nervous of what? Me? As if. Thrown off by the idea, he felt confused to the point where he couldn't properly speak a cogent thought.

"I have to-" Yuu's voice came out strangled, like the words were lodged in his throat. "-go," They said at the same time.

"Of course you do," Mika said, half disappointed, half annoyed. He couldn't even get himself to smile. As if a switch had been flicked, his easygoing aura stiffened into one that was standoffish and detached. "Can'tcha stay a little while longer?"

"I don't know," Yuu mumbled. "It's late, and my parents-"

"Don't actually know you're out right now?" Mika guessed for him before he could finish his sentence. When Yuu nodded, he sighed. "Will they get upset if they find out you're gone?"

"Probably," Yuu shrugged a shoulder. "Although, I doubt they'd notice."

Mika turned to face him, eyes wide. "Then what's the rush? Do you have to go running off like Cinderella again? Because I don't exactly have a glass slipper to find you from. Also, I'm certainly no Prince Charming."

Embarrassed at what he mentioned, Yuu stared down into his lap. He certainly is charming, Yuu thought. Even if he doesn't see it himself. Sighing, he relaxed his rigid posture and propped his upper body up by putting his hands on the grass behind him. "Alright, you're right. I can stay a while longer."

"Great!" Mika sounded excited. He was done by his flower chain at this point, tying it together to make a crown. He placed the dandelion crown on his head, and Yuu couldn't help but blush at his appearance. He was grateful it was dark outside. "Because I forgot to show you one last thing. Don't worry, it's close."

He stood up, brushing the grass stains off his pants, and waited for Yuu to stand up as well. "Come on," He ushered, heading back down the hill, stopping to grab a honeysuckle, and walked towards the clearing again. Yuu stumbled behind him aimlessly, wondering what else was in store for him tonight.

After entering the clearing again, Yuu smiled upon taking in it's beauty. However, they weren't stopping there, but they instead turned left, heading towards the noise of the stream. This time, there was no clear opening to get out of the woods, and they had to push through thorns and sticks to get down to where the rushing water supposedly was.

The walk took longer than he thought, considering the noise of the stream was so loud, but it wasn't until ten minutes later that he realized there wasn't a stream at all.

Almost twenty or thirty feet high, a waterfall pooled into a beautiful, aquamarine body of water. It wasn't like the gentle, man-made kind of waterfall you could find in Yuu's castle garden, but the kind where the rapids of water moved so quickly they would knock you over. Under the moonlight, the waterfall sparkled and rippled in waves. It was tranquil from a distance, but as he gravitated closer, the sound became deafening.

Mika didn't need words from Yuu to tell that he thought the waterfall was gorgeous. He could tell from the awe-stricken look on his face. Mika tried not to laugh at how Yuu's eyes practically bugged out of his head and his jaw fell slack. When Yuu heard his stifled giggling, he blushed and grimaced, immediately composing himself.

"Sorry, I don't get out much," Yuu murmured, embarrassed. "That's the first time I've ever seen a real waterfall," He admitted. "It's so pretty."

Mika nodded in agreement, already have experienced the beauty of the waterfall countless times. Still, every time he came back here, he was reminded of how serene the place was.

"How did you find all these places?" Yuu asked, filling in the empty void with his words when he didn't see Mika's nod. Upon looking back at him, Mika seemed like he was lost in thought.

"I was exploring the forest one day and I happened to stumble across the clearing. I followed the sound of the rushing water, and well, it led me to here," Mika explained fondly, slipping into a sense of nostalgia.

"It's a cool secret hideaway," Yuu added, admiring the scenery around him.

Mika smirked, arching his eyebrow. "But it's not much of a secret anymore now, right?"

Yuu felt warmth rise to his cheeks and he stared at his feet. I'm the first one Mika has shown this secret place to? He wondered, feeling flattered. There must've been a weird expression written on his face, because he saw Mika frown, blushing.

"Don't give me that look," He deadpanned. Much to Yuu's confusion, Mika began to pull off his boots and roll his trousers into cuffs above his ankles. His jacket dropped to the grass, joining his boots in a small pile. "Now come on."

"What are you doing?" Yuu's words were silenced by the splash of Mika jumping into the stream like a puddle, ignoring his question. The water was much more shallow than Yuu had initially predicted, because his pants didn't get wet, save for the droplets that splashed up from the impact.

"Ah!" Mika laughed as he waved for Yuu to join him. "Come on, Yuu-chan! The water's nice!"

Drawing out his movements as slowly as he could, Yuu removed his own shoes and socks and rolled up his trousers as well, up to just below his knees. He stepped tentatively towards the stream, feeling Mika's eyes trained on him, silently egging him on. Allowing a small sigh to pass out of his mouth, Yuu took a running start before splashing into the shallow water as well.

Mika giggled upon hearing Yuu screech in surprise. "Hey!" He shouted. "This water is not nice! It's freezing!"

Laughing harder, Mika was practically clutching at his sides, trying not to fall over. "Oh man! Your face- it's priceless!" Yuu stood there, his ankles and feet shivering in the numbing water. But Mika hadn't had enough of being a little shit just yet, because his hand scooped downward into the water and he slashed his arm out, splashing Yuu with a serpent-like whip of water.

"Ah, fuck!" Yuu squealed out. "Mika, what the hell?"

Mika smiled a bit. "That's the first time I've heard you curse," He noted aloud. "Good to know you're not just some stuffy teenager who wears tuxedos to pubs."

Scowling, Yuu took a step forward. "I am not stuffy." He defended himself.

"No," Mika agreed, "No, you're not."

"And to prove it," Yuu said, because he felt some need to prove that he was not the staid teenager everyone thinks he is just because he's a prince, "Take this!" Copying Mika's previous move, Yuu sent a wave of water flying Mika's way. His pants dotted with water, Mika splashed Yuu and began to take off towards the direction of the waterfall, hopping around various stones and pebbles at the bottom. "Hey, come back here!"

Realizing this splash battle just became a game of cat and mouse, with Yuu making futile attempts to chase after the dashing blonde. Well, Yuu thought with a twinge of embarrassment when he understood the double entendre, Dashing in the sense that he's running away.

The water got deeper as the waterfall drew closer, and eventually, Mika got out of the stream to cross across some large stones. They look sturdy enough, Yuu thought as he followed behind carefully, focusing on his footwork. The darkness made it difficult to stay upright, but luckily, his prediction deemed true. He crossed the stepping stones with ease, balance not faltering once.

The stone path led to the other side of the stream, where there was a small space to squeeze behind the waterfall. Mika slipped through it, not looking back. Following behind, Yuu turned so he wouldn't get wet and scooched through the gap. It was darker behind the waterfall, and the noise was so deafening he couldn't hear anything but the sound of rushing water pounding in his head.

The silhouette of Mika was in view, with him standing in the shallow water behind the waterfall. From the refracted light of the moon, the water had a bluish-white tint. He looked lost in his own world, admiring the falling water. He stuck his hand out absentmindedly, allowing the water to hit his hand, creating a divot in the falls and spraying water in different directions. Yuu watched silently, stepping closer to stand next to Mika, taking in every little detail of him out of the corner of his vision.

He had light freckles that dusted his nose and cheeks, and the tip of his nose was slightly upturned, which was hard to notice if you weren't looking closely at his profile. The dandelion crown was tangled in his unruly blonde curls, making him look cuter than he already was. When he took his free hand and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, Yuu noticed a faint, pinkish scar, almost invisible on his pale skin. Yuu couldn't help but wonder how he got it.

When Yuu realized he had done enough staring that had passed the line of creepy, he swallowed and broke the silence with a dumb question. "Does that not hurt your hand?" He asked. The water pressure had to be painful.

"No," Mika said quietly. "This waterfall isn't nearly as strong as some of the larger ones of the world. Those are the bone-crushing, brain-mashing types. Here, see for yourself." Mika took Yuu's wrist, pulling it up into the thick wall of water. The impact of cold water shocked him, almost causing him to lurch back, but he remained grounded in his stance, allowing the water to splash down violently on the soft skin of his palm. Mika dissolved back into his daydreaming state, a distracted look on his face.

After a few minutes of quietly standing there, allowing the atmosphere to be filled with the rippling sounds of crashing water, they came to the unspoken agreement that it was time to start heading their separate ways for the second time.

"It's getting late." Mika mumbled monotonously.

"We should probably get going now," Yuu agreed, just as dejectedly. The more time he spent with Mika, the harder it made it to part ways at the end, but he didn't understand why. He wondered if Mika felt the same way. Most of the time, it was hard to read him or predict what he was thinking.

This time with Yuu in front, they crossed the stepping stones, the night even darker than before. The moon had moved behind a cloud, turning the world into a pit of darkness. Yuu's shadow had dissolved into the unforgiving blackness, and he could barely see his own two feet, let alone the rocks. And just because reality was a raging bitch, the night couldn't end without one more embarrassing moment on Yuu's end.

Yuu would like to think it was the rock's fault for being particularly wet in the place where he tried to step, but subconsciously he knew it was his own inherent clumsiness that made him slip and tumble ungracefully into the water.

Yuu screamed out in surprise, hitting the shallow bottom with enough force to legitimately knock the air out of him. Most of his body submerged in the freezing water, immediately hitting his skin and giving him rough goosebumps everywhere.

"Yuu-chan!" Mika called out, his voice sounding far away. "Are you okay? Did you fall in?"

"Y-y-yeah..." Yuu's teeth were chattering, making it difficult to speak. He stood up, feeling heavy from the amount of sopping water trailing off his body. It didn't help that this evening was particularly cold; amidst the freezing water and chilly winds nipping at his face, Yuu felt like he could turn to a block of ice in a matter of minutes.

Yuu crossed the stream as quickly as possible, fumbling around blindly in the dark. "M-Mika..." He shivered. "I'm really cold."

"We have to get you home," He heard Mika's worried voice, closer this time. He figured Mika was next to him. When he made out the image of the teenager, bending down to retrieve their shoes. "Here, sit down."

Yuu followed his direction, and Mika busied himself by putting on Yuu's shoes. He moved hesitantly, holding Yuu's ankle as he slipped the right shoe on, and then the left.

"Well, it's not really a glass slipper...," Yuu couldn't help but say between harsh jolts of shivering. A breathy laugh escaped Mika's throat, and Yuu could picture his smile whenever Yuu said something stupid.

"I guess I kind of am Prince Charming, now," Mika agreed lightheartedly, although his voice sounded shaky. Perhaps it's just my head messing with me, Yuu explained to himself, not allowing it to be any other possibility than that.

He heard Mika stand up, and after a moment, a heavy piece of cloth was draped delicately around his shoulders, instantly working to warm him up. Yuu felt the steady breathing of Mika as he stood behind him, guiding his arms into the sleeves, looking both determined and flustered from the proximity between them. His jacket? Yuu thought, feeling suddenly sleepy.

"Sorry, that's all i have right now," Mika said apologetically. His voice was fading away, getting more and more further away. Yuu felt the light touch of Mika tenatively touching his cheek, feeling his skin. "Yuu-chan, you're so cold," Mika whispered. "I have to get you home now... Where do I have to go?"

When Yuu didn't answer, Mika's voice turned harsh with distress and concern. His shoulders were now being shaken, but Yuu was too tired to say anything. He mumbled something incoherently. Mika's voice was desperate, getting louder but registering softer in Yuu's head, begging for a response. "Yuu-chan! Wake up! Yuu-chan!"

And as Yuu's heavy lids drooped to a close, the world turned even blacker than the moonless night.