It took a really long time for Sekaran to convince Yazhini to go to the princess wing. She was adamant about staying the night to make sure he slept but he had some things he needed to do. He also felt that they were too old to do that and it would be frowned upon. His sister left reluctantly but not before she made him promise to check in with her if things like this happened again.

He shook his head, before reaching over to his bedside. There was a little bottle that he shook the contents out of into his hand. Three little balls of herbs were rattled into his hand. He took two of them and was about to take the third when he heard a loud thud and quick footsteps. Something told him that the guest next door was in danger. He rushed out of his room and snuck into the hallway. There were muddy footprints on the floor and they went past his room in the opposite direction. Sekaran took a deep breath before inching towards the door. He was a meter away when he heard those rushed footsteps again. So he ran for the door, bumped into something when he entered, and ended up pinning someone to the door, a hand over their mouth when he realized what he had done.

The footsteps went past the door and he heard a voice mutter: “No! Not that door, it’s the younger prince’s room… Imbecile!” Sekaran relaxed a little and shifted his view down to where he noticed Song Haoran staring at him. His complexion flushed pink and he immediately put his hand down before looking at the man he had against the door. “Your Majesty?”

…

Haoran had simply been waiting. For what? He didn’t know. But he still paced back and forth in his room for a solid ten minutes, trying to remember why he was waiting. It was late and he knew that he should get some rest. And it’s not like he didn’t try laying down. His heart just kept beating fast and he couldn’t wait any longer.

In the hall, he had heard running and footsteps so he leaned an ear to the door. He heard voices speaking in a language he didn’t understand, probably Tamil, and noticed that they were speaking in a rushed and quiet manner. The voices seemed to move away from the end of the wing he was in, to somewhere else. He didn’t realize how tense his body had become until leaned against the door, relaxing and trying to prevent getting cramps later. Finally, it was quiet and he was about to return to his bed when a rushing wind seemed to blow past his door. He found this strange and moved to crack the door open slightly so he could see out in the hall. But it wasn’t until the tall man walked in, or more so slid into the room, and closed the door behind him, that Haoran realized he was stuck, pinned against a door, with a hand over his mouth, and his hands on the other person’s chest. Wow… nice pecs.

His ears felt hot as he looked up at the man who had not quite broken in but had definitely entered. Of course, the owner of the nice pecs had a nice face that came along as a sort of packaged deal. Haoran wanted to cry and die at that moment but he pushed those feelings down as soon as the hand moved from his mouth. “Your Majesty?”

The prince looked at him and they both felt embarrassed. It was then that he realized that Haoran was still pinned to the door. He backed away and his face went redder. “I’m sorry” He scratched the back of his neck and tried to think of a way to explain himself. Haoran just kept looking at him, waiting for a reason or something because he hadn’t expected to experience something so bewildering/Flustering. Sekaran couldn’t think of anything so he just apologized again and looked down.

“I was-” “I just-” They looked at each other, making eye contact. It was then that a feeling bloomed in their chests. Haoran felt the shock wash away as Sekaran’s embarrassment dwindled. “Did you hear the footsteps? I don’t think I’m going crazy anymore.” Haoran broke the silence first but neither broke the eye contact. “You aren’t crazy, they were coming for you.”

…

In the morning, Sekaran was informed, by his trusted servant Iniyan(Anna), that some looters had snuck into the palace grounds and had tried to find Haoran’s room. Of course, Sekaran had had a sneaking suspicion when he heard the footsteps in the hall. After he had made it to Haoran’s room, he somehow managed to convince him to come to his room for the night. And while he tried his best to make the situation not awkward, they still ended up with flushed cheeks. Neither got enough sleep that night but they both pretended they did. Sekaran woke up before sunrise, leaving Haoran alone so they could spare each other some embarrassment. He had gone for a stroll in the courtyard. No attendants were around except for Iniyan. They sat on a bench near the forest around the palace to watch the sunrise. Sekaran took a deep breath to calm down. Haoran would wake up soon and he’d probably want an explanation. It was stressful and now he had one more thing to look out for regarding Haoran.

The sun rose and so did everyone else in the palace. Business was carried on as usual as if no disturbances had occurred the night before. Sekaran was suspicious and knew that he must keep Haoran close. So he headed to his room but paused outside of Haoran’s. He knocked gently on the door, not wanting to intrude. But he was met with the beautiful sight that was Song Haoran, his new responsibility.