The moon was shining brightly on the night sky and the way it reflected on Andrew’s hair seemed ridiculous and perfect in a way Neil was now used to.
He wondered once more if somehow he was dreaming and was now part of some delusional reality were he and Andrew were free men, not bound to any crowns or kingdoms.
But then again, Andrew’s eyes seemed too beautiful in moonlight to ever wonder if it was a delusion.
“Staring”
Andrew said, as if sensing Neil on his periphery. Neil only hummed in agreement but didn’t even bother to try and look anywhere else. Andrew was simply to breathtaking.
“You’re gonna injure yourself if you keep thinking so hard”
Andrew mused.
“Yeah that’s about right”
Neil commented while moving his gaze upwards and trying to count the stars to compare them with Andrew’s freckles.
Who would have thought that Prince Andrew of Palmetto, someone known to be as cold and sharp as ice, was a man with endless freckles on his face if you looked close enough? No one actually, so Neil happily kept looking for constellations and thinking about how would they look on Andrew’s face.
“What are you thinking about?”
“What?”
Neil snapped from his thoughts just in time to see Andrew’s unamused face looking at him.
“What are you thinking about that has you making that stupid face, Oh Revered, Prince Neil of Baltimore.”
Andrew said it with a solemn air, as if thinking he was funny when he said things like that, as if Neil didn’t hate his title enough.
“Oh your highness, I plead of you to bear in mind my weak heart against your incredible sense of humor.”
Neil said snidely, but it looked like Andrew was not taking his elusiveness.
“Neil cut the bullshit, I know you’re worried about something, spit it out.”
Well, there went Neil’s plan of not bearing his heart out tonight but with Andrew he shouldn’t have expected anything else.
“It’s nothing… I just, I’ve been imagining things, even when you haven’t asked me to. I imagined that I ran away and met you here on Palmetto, the best fighter of the Royal guard, and I’m not yours but I make you so happy anyway, isn’t that ridiculous? Tell me to stop.”
Neil was rambling, he knew this and he was also aware of the shaking of his hands, it was a stupid thing to say. What was he thinking? , he couldn’t just say this to Andrew and expect something back, it was unfair, and now Andrew probably hated him and didn’t want to see him anymore.
Andrew was probably so enraged he wanted to declare war to Baltimore judging by the way he hadn’t said anything yet, so not only Neil has fucked up everything between them , but he also singlehandedly managed a war in less that 4 minutes. Oh god this was going to be awfu-
“Don’t stop”
Andrew said in a whisper. Neil freezed.
“Neil, don’t ever stop.”
And then Andrew was slowly bringing up his hand to cup Neil’s face in it, he touched his face like it was something fragile and precious. He made soft circles on the skin of his cheek until he reached his mouth, were he touched gently Neil’s bottom lip with his thumb and Neil felt.
Neil felt like fire was eating him up from the inside, he felt like in his stomach their two enemy kingdoms were at war and Neil was the battlefield. He felt like starstruck Icarus looking at the sun up close from the first time knowing it would be the death of him.
“Neil”
Andrew said patiently, and Neil finally broke away from his thoughts to look at him. To look at Andrew who somehow reflected everything Neil was feeling at that very moment.
“Yes or no?”
Andrew whispered it like a secret , so close to Neil’s face he felt Andrew’s breath of his lips.
“Yes”
And with a gentle hand, Andrew grabbed Neil by the back of his head, hand in his hair, and kissed him.
AndOh it was everything he ever dreamed it would be like but better. Andrew kissed like his life was on the line, like treaties and wars didn’t even matter when kissing Neil could be the last thing he would ever do in his life. He kissed like he’d been famished his whole life and Neil was the only food he would ever have.
And Neil responded to this need and want appropriately. He was surprised himself with the fever want that rose through his body at the thought of having Andrew so close. He felt like they could never be apart, like they were fusing with each other leaving no space for either of their kingdoms in between. It was just the two of them. Neil felt like he could defeat armies and take down kingdoms as long as he had Andrew by his side.
They broke apart with a sigh, and Neil looked up to hazel eyes that were already looking at him.
“Stay”
“Here? In Palmetto?”
“In Palmetto, in the forest beyond this castle, on the other side of the sea, I don’t care. Just stay.”
Andrew speaks in whispers as if afraid that saying it louder would trigger something and Neil would disappear into thin air.
- Andrew I would burn the world for you, I would leave my title and linege in a heartbeat. As long as you let stay there’s no other place I would rather be.
Andrew brings their faces together so their foreheads are resting on one another and takes a deep breath.
Neil takes Andrew’s hand and squeezes tightly. Their hands shake with the weight of the meaning this moment has, the weight of their kingdoms and expectations that take a toll on their bodies with the slightest gaze or brush of skin they share that feels forbidden.
“Neil, yes or no?”
Neil knew what the question was meant for. It meant fighting, it meant fighting for them, for their future and the hopeful future of their kingdoms . It meant the possibility of waking up with Andrew by his side every day for the rest of his life. It was too good to let go.
Neil brought his face back pressed a kiss on Andrew’s cheek.
