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The sudden declaration of battle was enough to cause panic all over the nation. Two of the strongest kingdoms going to war against each other was big news and enough to make everyone panic that what would happen to their small kingdoms now? if the situation gets out of hand, without doubt they too would be sucked into this blood battle.

Everyone tried convincing the Crown Prince otherwise, this is not worth the drama, the chaos, the blood that would end up on their hands but Jeongguk didn't listen to anyone. When people shifted to the King to convince his son, he fell silent. As if the father and son came to the conclusion that this is their final decision.

Jeongguk knew what he went through to keep his father silent. With constant nights of screaming at eachother, fighting with this decision. Jeongguk was sick of it, hearing the same thing over and over again about the Mad King being undefeatable and he wanted to call it bullshit. He saw the man, he was huge and even looked strong but Jeongguk has fought with too many men in his life to know how each one of them fight.

Scoffing at the fact, people are calling him childish as if he is a teenager making moves when he is a full adult who knows what he is doing. He is going to for once and all finish the fear in people's hearts when the Xethens are mentioned.

Since this was all because Xethens didn't want Elestial to be in alliance with Arothia, it was a risk to send back the Future Queen (and her precious brother, especially him) to Arothia like it was planned. So they decided to stay here for another week before heading back. Despite the fact that the stay got longer, Jeongguk wasn't able to even talk with his now fiancé and especially her brother.

He was too busy training,from horse riding to Archery, he needed to excel at everything. He didn't want his skills to get rusty. The other preparations for the battle were on too. Every soldier of his was training over time. Making sure all of their supplies are supplied in time and putting it in the carriages that would be taken to the battleground. They cannot lose this, it would shake the entire nation if they are to lose this battle.

The King did his best to oversee the entire operation, With his son who never went to any battle to now going to his first battle with the strongest nation was nerve-wracking. He put his trust into his son and he knows Jeongguk wouldn't disappoint him, he never has.

Jeongguk rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the straining. A full day of intense training does end up taking a toll on him at nights where he isn't even able to sleep. The thought of not being able to succeed keeps him up at night because this time if he loses, he wouldn't only lose himself but everyone around him would suffer the consequences of his decisions. He cannot have that much burden on him to cause the downfall of his prospering nation.

Walking down the dim hallways,he headed towards his bedroom after coming from the bathhouse. Sleep wasn't coming to him but he still had to sleep so his body could catch a break, he cannot afford to get sick or anything else. Just when he passed by another door, a hand grabbed him by his collar and pushed him inside the dark room.

The room was rather a small space, with a bunch of storage items stored in the cabinets with only one window as a source of light, the moonlight falling straight into the room. Jeongguk was shocked when he was suddenly pinned to the wall, only to face the person he hadn't seen in so many days.

He was more surprised by the fact how he didn't even catch his footsteps following behind him, the way he managed to catch him so off guard was quite impressive. He wonders how he learned to do that.

"Taehyung! you are glad I saw who it was before stabbing you with my dagger, don't you ever grab onto me like this again I swear to god next time I might just kill you." Jeongguk warned him, the expressions on the latter's face didn't falter, he was stern with a hint of anger in his face.

"Killing me would be better than the torture you are making me go through right now, Jeongguk." Taehyung said to him, Jeongguk stared at him in confusion.

"How am I torturing you?"

"What the fuck are you doing,Jeongguk? Have you lost your mind?? Going to a war against Xethens, have you taken intoxicating medicines to come up with a horrendous idea like this??" Taehyung yelled at him, grabbing his collars again to push him.

"Oh, if this is what this outburst is about then I don't have time to deal with you,Taehyung. I have heard enough about how this is not a good idea from every single person. I don't need to get a lecture from you too, I know what I am doing-" Jeongguk stopped himself when he saw how Taehyung's eyes were welling up with tears.

"Y-you don't know, you don't fucking k-know what you are doing, Jeongguk. Trust me, that man is so much fucking stronger than you think he is. He has killed hundreds of people with his bare hands, h-he is a monster,Jeongguk." Taehyung said to him, trying so hard not to cry but the tears kept coming in his eyes. He could feel his breath being stuck at his throat.

"Hey, sweetheart calm down, breathe baby, breathe for me,okay? it's okay, I am here, it's okay." Jeongguk grabbed Taehyung by his nape and pulled him into his chest. He was hyperventilating.

Jeongguk kept whispering calming words into the latter's ear, with his hands rubbing his back. Breathing together with him, he doesn't know what triggered Taehyung to lose control like this, what connection does he have with Xethen, especially the mad King, but this is not the time for questions.

He decided the room was too small and the lack of light and literally everything else is not a good sign to stay here. When Taehyung calmed down a bit, he took his coat and put it around Taehyung's shoulders, so his scent can be enough to make him feel he's not alone. Grabbing Taehyung's hands, he went out of the door.

They walked down the hallway, thankfully they were close to Jeongguk's room so he entered without sparing the guards outside a single glance. They are the last of his worries right now. He doesn't care what they think or who sees them, his priority right now is Taehyung only.

The latter sat down on Jeongguk's bed. Jeongguk encouraged him to just lay down instead of sitting up. "Be comfortable, sweetheart, try to calm down okay? I am going to be right there with you." Jeongguk said to him, he just nodded in response.

The Prince poured water into the glass for Taehyung. Walking over to the man and helping him drink it, putting it on the side table once he was done. Jeongguk went to the other side of the bed and went on it too. Moving closer to Taehyung who was seemingly okay now.

"Are you okay? Is there anything you need? I am sorry if it was because of something I said. I didn't mean to upset you like this." Jeongguk apologized and Taehyung sat up straight,
shaking his head.

"I should be sorry for making you see what I just went through, I don't know why I just-"

"No,no, you don't have to apologize. Don't make me feel terrible by thinking you showing emotions is something you shouldn't do,Taehyung. Please, your well being is more important to me than anything else in the world, sweetheart." Jeongguk kissed Taehyung's forehead as a way to show him he cares.

"Thank you,Jeongguk. You were so nice to me while I was yelling at you. The Mad King is stronger than you can imagine Jeongguk. His army is like a force of animals, they all come at you and make sure that there's no flesh left. Since you saw all that I guess I owe you an explanation too."

"You don't owe me any explanation."

"I still want you to know. Did you ever wonder why Arothia and Xethen never got along? sure The Xethens don't get along with anyone but they do have a reason for attacking the kingdoms they do."

"Now that you say it, I suppose there is a reason?"

"Yes, Well we go way back with Xethens. We were actually once allies shockingly. We had trade business with them, we would export a lot of resources to their kingdom and they would fund our kingdom, it was a give and take alliance. Until...My father decided one day to just stop the export, when I say we exported resources I meant almost everything. From wheat to rare metals for their weapons, when the export stopped they suffered a huge loss. With many of their people dying from the lack of food in the market to their newer weapons being built with cheap metal which ended in losses in battles. It was a mess."

"But why? Why would your father stop the export? weren't you guys getting funded from them?"

"Yes, it's because Arothia started to be funded by a stronger and better kingdom...Elestial. That's when our alliance started,it goes way back to around the time I was probably a child. Why would he stay with Xethen when a bigger kingdom is forming an alliance with him? It was quite simple but Xethens didn't like that." Taehyung told him and Jeongguk was rightfully surprised at the news.

"I have read tons of history books but there was no mention of any of this, my father also never told me how our alliance started. I should really start asking him more questions. Your father really makes questionable decisions at times. I would not risk the safety of my kingdom for a better alliance." Jeongguk mentioned and Taehyung was caressing his cheek.

"which is why you would be a far better king than my father ever was,Jeongguk. My father has been greedy from the moment he was born, he just wants more and more and he doesn't care who gets trampled beneath him because of that. From that moment on, from allies we went to enemies. We didn't go to war thankfully but Xethens started to torture us. From sabotaging our trades with other smaller kingdoms to killing our people. They thought that might make my father rethink his decision but it didn't.

My father didn't care how many people died as long as it wasn't him. That's when the mad King got personal and they...involved my mother." Taehyung's breath hitched at the mention of his mother. Jeongguk grabbed his hand when he saw a change of expression.

"When I said my mother contracted a deadly disease, I lied. She was poisoned by the mad King himself. He got..hold of her somehow in the Palace,I don't know how he was able to get inside but yeah, he tortured my m-mother in worst ways possible, her screams weren't heard because my mother stayed in the fucking servants wing despite being the wife of the king. By the time someone heard and came to her, that inhuman man was gone and when doctors arrived, she had already coughed too much b-blood out that it was quite clear that she might as well be d-dead now. She died because My father couldn't take responsibility for his actions. He never felt an ounce of regret." Taehyung explained the truth.

"I have never met someone as heartless as your father, Taehyung. How can he not even care?"

"I wish I knew, I really do. How does he manages to not fucking care at all? it surprises me, I wish I could do that too but I feel too much sometimes. Which is why I don't want you anywhere near that man,Jeongguk. I already lost the person who is so precious to me...I cannot lose you too." Those words were alone carrying such weight that he felt his mind changing for a second,despite everyone's effort to make him change his mind.

"Sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about. I would not let that excuse of a man defeat me, I won't leave you alone with that horrible father of yours." Jeongguk said to him and Taehyung wanted to believe him,he really did.

"Please don't leave me alone here,Jeongguk. I know your skills and I trust you to come back to me. I still think you shouldn't go because I really can't relive that pain but you are an adult and I can't change your mind when you are fixated on it."

For the first time what Taehyung said to him felt genuine, he doesn't mean it in a way that Taehyung hasn't been genuine with him but right now he feels like Taehyung is desperate, his emotions are laid out in a platter in front of him, all so raw and it scared Jeongguk. The fact he trusted him enough to say all these things, the fact he cared for him on a deeper level...it was quite surprising.

"As I said, you have nothing to worry about. I will come back to you alive and well. I won't let the mad King be the end of me, I promise you that." Jeongguk hesitated a bit before kissing Taehyung's forehead. "I hope I didn't overstep with that."

"We have done so much more than this."

"I know but it has been too long and our status has changed so maybe you don't want me to touch you anymore."

He doesn't know what their relationship is now, sometimes they are doing everything and other times they are strangers, with the complications of him being the fiancé's brother now has made it quite worse. He wants to...touch him so badly but he doesn't want to do something Taehyung doesn't want.

"Jeongguk, you said yourself, you want nothing to be changed after your engagement and even though I wasn't sure about that, these past few days I have found it quite hard to be without you so I am on the same page. Being with you brings me a rush of energy, it makes me feel...alive. I hope it's the same case for you."

"We can't stay like this forever."

"Future is too much of a burden for me to think about right now, it will not be as ideal as we want but I don't want to think about it right now. I don't want to waste the time we have right now on talks that can be held later. I want to be with you before you go to the battleground, I would have even fought to join the war but it's unfortunate that I am not from elestial so I can't join you."

"Even if you were, I would have never let you join me. The fact I am going is enough,blood on me wouldn't hurt as much as a scratch on your face would,Taehyung. I would have locked you up if you even dared to join as I can't imagine losing you, I feel like I'm suffocating by just thinking about it." Jeongguk blurted out his true feelings without thinking too much about it.

Arothian Prince wasn't an idiot. The way Jeongguk talked about him, the way he described him, this isn't what you feel about someone you are just 'fond' of. These feelings go deeper than that, a lot more deeper than even calling it infatuation feels like an insult to those feelings. His eyes water a bit when he realizes how far deep the Prince is. He doesn't think even Jeongguk knows of his own feelings.

Taehyung just smiles, trying not to cry again. There's so many regrets he has, a ton of them,multiple of this and that, but the biggest of them all is Jeon Jeongguk.

"You are insane,Jeongguk. I feel quite similar which is why this situation upsets me. I don't want to talk about it anymore, please. Can I...stay here?" Taehyung questioned him and Jeongguk just blinked.

"I thought it was established you would stay the night the second I told you to get on my bed."

"What if the guards tell someone? it isn't proper of me to sleep next to the Crown Prince-" Taehyung was going to ramble but Jeongguk grabbed his hands, pulling him closer to him.

"Sweetheart, they are my guards, They work for me! if they have any news they come to me, now they would not come telling me how I had another Prince in my bed, would I? Don't worry even if some ridiculous situation like that comes,they are smart enough to know going against me is a bigger crime than anything else in this kingdom. So,come into my arms as I don't think I can sleep without your warmth." Jeongguk opened his arms,Laying down properly on his her as he blew off the candle on the bedside table.

Taehyung laid down too, grinning so widely his cheeks hurt a bit. He jumped into Jeongguk's arms,smashing their lips together. It didn't even take Jeongguk a full second before he started kissing him back passionately, his arms on Taehyung's waist, pressing their bodies together.

The training has been so intense lately, the closer they get to the date the harder it is to make time for anything. Jeongguk barely even has time to eat, missing meals has become a usual thing in his daily routine of preparation. He has servants all around him reminding him to eat, that the dinner is served but the food always gets cold and forgotten by the Crown Prince.

Is he working too hard? no, Jeongguk thinks he isn't even working at all with the pace he's going, that's what he thinks but if you ask anyone else, they have never seen anyone work this much. Jeongguk's father who was a great warrior wasn't even this busy during world wars as Jeongguk is right now. It seemed like Jeongguk had made his life's purpose to defeat the Mad King.

Day or Night, the man had forgotten what time it was as training 24/7 became a habit in such a short time. Sleeping felt like he was lazing off, not doing enough, the guilt raised up to his thought and with just an hour or two sleep he was up again for the day.

He hasn't even seen his fiancé ever since he...got engaged actually. They pass by hallways and before Iseul can even strike up a conversation, Jeongguk is running to his next task. He isn't avoiding her on purpose, there genuinely isn't time on his schedule to give attention to his soon to be bride. Jeongguk doesn't want to admit it but one thing he can thank this battle for is that there is no wedding talk going.

If the battle wasn't taking place,the wedding would have been all his parents and fiancé would have talked about and it would have been held in like two months at maximum. Now no one is even bringing it up because winning is more important than anything else right now. He knows Iseul doesn't seem to complain either about the lack of meeting up with him.

The Palace and everyone else is already treating her like a Queen, His own mother is making sure to include her in her meetings, with her little tea parties with other high officials and taking her opinion in the kingdom matters. She's almost training her to be the next queen so she knows it's not an easy job, besides the work the life of luxury is going amazing for her. She's being treated better than ever even though she has always lived a good life but something about this is different.

Maybe it's for the best,this time apart would be good for all of them to think thoroughly through their actions.

There isn't much to do in the Palace when almost every other place is restricted to go to. Taehyung wants to room around, Taehyung wants to discover, Taehyung wants to go back out to the market and eat those delicious Jjinppang from the street vendor. He misses that time more than he thought. Now that he's even allowed to step foot outside of the Palace for his safety.

So he makes himself do other tasks that he had planned a long time ago. Some small tasks that do require a bit of rebelling but no one really has to know anyway.

By the sunset,he finds himself standing in the training grounds. You could see hundreds of soldiers just clashing their swords with their opponent's and others practicing Archery to the left. The sweat dripped down their foreheads and their clothes clinging to their body. While they were just looking exhausting and dirty with the mud stains and the sweat beads, the Prince looked like he was the main Protagonist of an action movie.

His long hair in a bun, with some strands sticking out, those fierce eyes fixed on the soldier he was practicing with. He was covered in sweat too but instead of looking musty, he was shining under the colorful sky because of the sunset. His posture was so straight as his muscles were more visible from the tight top he was wearing, fitting around his arms like a glove.

The Crown Prince managing to look handsome even in such a state is art itself. He is perfect from everywhere, working so hard for his kingdom. That is something he can admire, it's quite brave of him to take a step like this...having no idea what is ahead of him at all.

Taehyung was going to walk into the ground to make Jeongguk aware of his presence, to tease him maybe? they aren't spending too much time together so it would be nice to mess with him a little. His plans came to an immediate halt when someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

He stumbled back, almost falling when he turned around to face the Princess herself. "Sister, what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that. Taehyung, I don't know what you are planning but forget it all. I don't want you near my fiancé!!" His sister yelled at him while Taehyung just stared at her.

"I am not planning anything, you need to stop spending time thinking such useless things, you are going to be the queen of this kingdom and maybe focus on that. Is the lack of Prince presence around you making you lose your mind?" Taehyung scoffed at her, he has had enough of her shitty attitude. He doesn't care if she's the Queen of Elestial soon or the entire world.

"Y-you! You need to s-shut up!! I don't want you near him or trust me, Taehyung, it won't be good for you." He pushed the right button, the way she's getting worked up, it brought him satisfaction.

"What would you do? What can you possibly do? Ask Your Fiancé to Stay away from me? Trust me,my darling sister, I can stay away from him but he, he would die without me." Taehyung walked up to her, looking down at her, glaring at her,challenging her.

"How dare you even say that?! you are nothing, father abandoned you and so would the Prince when he finds out about your real self. You are nothing, without the royal status to your name so don't provoke me once I become the Queen I would not even let you enter this Palace,mark my words." She pushed him away before walking off there.

Taehyung clicked his tongue in annoyance. They will see about that.

Dipping his legs into the steamed water, with smoke all around the bathhouse. He fully got inside, his aching muscles finding ease, a nice bath by the end of the day was all he needed in his hard routine.

This is probably the only time of the day he looks forward to most. No nagging voices around me, no noise of the swords clashing against each other, no complaints, no problems, just him and the sound of the water. Silence is very much appreciated at times like this. A companion to sit next to him and listen to his worries would be nice too but he really doesn't want to burden anyone with his problems.

Iseul is too busy with her queen to do activities,besides Jeongguk has been avoiding her on purpose even when he accidentally finds time. He has been having his meals with Jimin and lately it feels like Jimin is reading him and that doesn't make Jeongguk comfortable, he can't blame Jimin but there are some things he has to figure out on his own before talking with his best friend.

Then there is Taehyung, Kim Taehyung. The guy who has single handedly changed his life ever since he met him. How can he confide in Taehyung when many of his problems are caused by him. He doesn't blame the man but he blames himself for letting him get so swept away by his Fiancé's brother out of all people.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear just came true when he heard the door of the bathhouse open. He didn't turn around to see who it was, if it was any guard they would have alerted the Prince of their presence immediately. Iseul wouldn't dare come here, it's a men's bathhouse. Jimin would be fast asleep by now and so would be his parents. That only leaves one person if it's not an intruder worst case.

Jeongguk backed against the tiled wall as half of his upper body was out of water. His arms on the floor, spread out. He waits, soon he hears footsteps coming closer to him. Looking up to see Taehyung standing on the edge of the pool, looking breathtaking as usual.

He only had a towel around his small waist. His naked torso out for display, the curves on his body, the smooth fair skin that had water's reflection like a pretty tattoo. The steam surrounding him felt like Taehyung was an angel, blessing him with his presence. No words were exchanged, just the eye contact spoke enough words.

His narrow piercing eyes stared at him as he was stripping him down slowly, even though he wasn't wearing anything in the first place. Taehyung dipped his foot inside the pool, the warm water greeting him, making it easier to get the other foot inside too. There were stairs inside the pool so he slowly got down, his body engulfed inside.

The eye contact stayed, Taehyung came closer to him,soon standing right infront of him with his naked glory. He pushed his wet hair back and smirked at Jeongguk who wasn't even paying attention to anything else. It's like the whole room blurred and Taehyung was all he could see.

His legs were parted by Taehyung's, their bodies now pressed against each other. Taehyung grabbed Jeongguk's nape and pulled him closer by pressing their lips together into a kiss. Jeongguk smirked into the kiss, grabbing Taehyung's waist and pulling him closer than ever.

His lips felt like home. So soft and inviting him to come for more, he has never tasted anything sweeter. Their lips moved together in a beautiful sync,fitting against each other so perfectly. He bit his lips not so harshly, making Taehyung let out a moan. He used the chance to insert his tongue inside.

Their tongues met and tangled against each other, rather than rough the kiss was more passionate, softer than their other kisses. More feelings went inside the kiss, they were aching to be pressed together, dying for a little taste. Jeongguk has never kissed anyone like this before. Not even stopping to take a breath because he fears if let's go, he wouldn't be able to taste those lips anymore.

Maybe it's the fear of what comes tomorrow, the day he has been training for tomorrow. Maybe deep inside he doesn't believe that he might even come back. Maybe it's none of that but instead the fear of coming back and not seeing Taehyung, not feeling him in his arms like this anymore.

He deepened the kiss, his hands supporting Taehyung's back as the boy was leaning backwards because of him Jeongguk was. They spend a good amount of time making out in the pool this late at night with no worries about anything else in the world. The sensation was enough for them to last centuries like this.

They parted away, finally taking a breath, panting a bit. Their foreheads pressed against each other, a giggle escaping Taehyung's lips. Jeongguk looks up at Taehyung's pretty face and he remembers that all of this is real.

"Missed me that much,my Prince?" Taehyung teased him by calling him Prince, Jeongguk's head falling on his shoulder, Jeongguk placed a kiss on his naked shoulder.

"Mhm, so much. I was just thinking about you." Jeongguk admitted, Pulling Taehyung back closer to him by waist.

"What were you thinking?"

"How you are the cause of one of the things that has been bothering me."

"and what is bothering you?" Taehyung questioned him, confused.

"My heart is bothering me and so is my mind. All it does is think about you when you are not around. My heart beats faster when you are around, it loses all sense of morality the second it sees you. Taehyung, you are driving me crazy."

"Jeongguk." Taehyung said, not sure if he can even say what he wants to. This is all going fast.

"I don't want to overwhelm you with my feelings but tomorrow when I leave for the battle...I don't know if I will even come back. I am confident about my skills and how far they can go, but we can't rule out the possibility of something bad happening, so I want to be honest before I leave."

"Jeongguk, don't scare me. Nothing will happen to you, you are strong that fucker has no chance against you. You are the Future King of this empire, The oldest son of the present King, the great heir that this kingdom has. Besides your title, you are a friend and a soon to be husband for my-" Taehyung was cut off mid sentence by the Prince.

"What about you? what am I to you,sweetheart?" Jeongguk asked Taehyung, who had nothing to say. They stared at each other for a full second. Jeongguk chuckled at his expression.

"Hm, just like I figured, what I feel for you is bigger than what you think. It's bigger than what I thought I could feel too. You are all over my mind and It looks like I didn't even cross yours. I think about you morning,day and night. Before going to sleep, I wonder if Taehyung has eaten, if Taehyung is well rested, if Taehyung is living peacefully here. When you are not with me I feel incomplete. The more we are forced to be distanced apart the harder it gets each and every time." Jeongguk grabbed his hands and intertwined them together.

"At first I thought it was just lust. Maybe it's my hormones that are making me go crazy at the sight of you. But lust doesn't make you feel jealousy, lust doesn't stop at one person, lust doesn't keep you awake nights, aching to be held by that one person. Romance is not something I'm familiar with but being with you, I learned more about it than I have ever learned about anything else in my life. I have been thinking about these feelings for a long time, beating myself up for it. It's wrong isn't it?"

"Jeongguk, I don't know what to say.."

"You don't have to. I know it's wrong, you are a man and worst of all I'm engaged to your half sister. There's so much wrong involved with being with you then why does it feel so right? if it's supposed to be that fucking wrong, then why does it feels like I have the heavens and the earth in my palm when I am with you?" Jeongguk asked him, Taehyung was looking at him with wide eyes.

He didn't expect this to happen so soon. He didn't have this planned at all. This is not supposed to be happening right now because he has no answer. Taehyung is speechless, he cannot respond.

"I have romantic feelings for you, I want to court you, I want to lay in the same bed as you, I want to see your face the first thing when I wake up. I never want to be apart from you. I never thought I could feel something this strong for anyone but here I am. I'm so deep that I can't come back...not for long at least. You don't have to answer me and I'm sorry that it had to be like this. I won't apologize for my feelings, it took me too much time to come to terms and I can't go back anymore."

Jeongguk kissed Taehyung's forehead, smiling at him one last time before he swam away from him. Getting out of the pool. Jeongguk left the bathhouse, he knew Taehyung didn't have an answer and Taehyung is glad he left.

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