To say that Shouto was upset was an understatement.

There were so many different emotions in his head: anger, despair, sadness, and many many more that he was unable to describe. Sure, he was expecting his father to come out and say something like that to him. But to a poor, unsuspecting peasant? Now that was just downright cruel.

With the amount of anger he had, you'd think he would be able to go back and yell at his father some more. Wrong. He didn't even have the energy to cry. All he could do at the moment was lay back on his bed with his face to the ceiling, staring at the ivory marble above him.

No, he hadn't been moping. Right? It couldn't be, his father always was like this from the start. After all, he always did seem to be a bit more on the apathetic side when it came to everything.

But then again, he couldn't help but feel utterly horrible after that chance encounter. He turned sideways on his bed, looking off toward the large window. He could barely recall the look of hurt on Izuku's face. It was like he had the strong urge to help him, but where would he even begin with that? It's not like his father, of all people, would let him go off on his own.

Shouto groaned, rubbing at his two tired eyes. Oh how bad he had wanted to sleep, but his body refused to let him. It was like his mind was taunting him with that small boy's face. He wouldn't stay off of his mind, almost as if the memory of Izuku was clinging to him for a reason.

The memory of the greenette's calm and beautiful face seemed so distant, only replacing itself with the distressed and teary-eyed look he had given him not so long ago. It was haunting him, and he wanted it to stop. But no, it wouldn't leave him alone, not until he made it right.

He grabbed his pillow, smashing it into his face. It soothed him a bit, but it wasn't enough to lull him to sleep. The fact that it didn't do anything for him caused him to throw it across the room, hitting the opposite wall.

He stared as the pillow seemed to slide slowly down the wall, and finally down onto the floor. He looked back at his other pillow, realizing that he wouldn't be able to sleep without the last one, which was something he had learned a while back when one of the servants accidentally misplaced one of his pillows.

He forced out an annoyed breath, just before groggily pushing himself off the bed and walking toward his pillow. After he picked it up, he brought it to his face and started to sniff it. It smelled heavily like the shampoo he had used, especially since he took quite some time in the shower on his own, scrubbing at his hair aggressively every time an intrusive thought crossed his mind. He buried his face into it, turning back towards his bed.

That was, until he heard a knocking at the door.

He slowly turned his body towards the wooden doors. Who could be here this late at night? At his quarters? And what did they want? He hadn't known the answer to any of those questions, but he was about to find out.

Shouto approached the doors, reaching for the knob in a tired manner. Once his hand was able to grasp the gold, he managed to open the door, looking into the dimly illuminated hallway.

There he saw a similarly tired male. He recognized that spiky ash blonde hair anywhere. Yes, there he was, right at his doorstep. Katsuki Bakugou.

The dual colored male, not knowing what to do in this situation, narrowed his eyes at this. Katsuki Bakugou. Of all people. This wasn't the time for this. "What do you want? I'm trying to sleep." He tried to close the door on him, not in the mood for any of this.

Katsuki used his foot to stop the door, his gaze unmoving from Shouto's eyes. "Don't try and bullshit me. Let me in." Usually he would have let himself in, pushing past the prince like he didn't care. However, this time it looked like he was waiting for approval, being somewhat mindful of his privacy.

Shouto put his right hand over his forehead, sighing as he did so. Katsuki was the stubborn type, so there was no use resisting now. The only thing he could do now was open the door a little bit more, moving out of the way so that the other prince could come in. "Um... okay..."

Katsuki looked out towards the hallway first, as if to make sure no one had come and followed him. Once he was completely sure that nobody was behind him in the dark corridor, he entered the room, closing the door behind him with a silent pull.

Shouto went back to his bed, trying to ignore the fact that the other male was now in the same room as him, being surprisingly quiet for someone so loud. Not knowing what to do, he went to lay back down, his head resting on the pillows as it began to sink into their fluffiness.

The ash blonde seemed a bit out of place. He looked around the room in curiosity, staring at the beautiful red drapes and occasionally sneaking glances at Shouto.

Not moving his head to look at him, the dual colored prince blinked at the ceiling, taking in a deep inhale. "You can join me on the bed."

Katsuki seemed to narrow his eyes at this, however, he didn't have a complaint in mind. He sauntered over to Shouto's bed, taking a seat without question. Then, he decided that he was tired of having his back straight up, and instead decided to lay down next to his counterpart.

His hands trailed up to the back of his head to add onto cushioning, whereas Shouto's were holding themselves together in a polite manner. The two were silent again, Katsuki looking at the other male the entire time.

Shouto couldn't help but feel weird being stared at. Sure, he was used to the undivided attention of passersby, but at the middle of the night by one single person? Now that just felt strange somehow. However, he seemed unbothered by Katsuki laying next to him, it was actually quite comforting to say the least.

Then again, the staring seemed to give him sudden chills, and he was getting quite tired of the lingering silence. It just made the warmth of company feel like a complete waste. So, he decided to speak, not exactly sure what to expect. "Why are you here?"

Katsuki's eyebrows quirked upwards, expecting Shouto to keep the silence in the room. He himself had been alright with it, after all, he didn't want to cause too much discomfort. "Can't sleep."

"Ah. I see. I guess we're both sharing the same problem." He started to turn to face the opposite way from Katsuki, trying to avoid his gaze as best he could. Because of this, the ash blonde didn't know where to look, so his eyes trailed further down Shouto.

Even so, this didn't make Katsuki very happy, since, after all, it was kind of rude of him not to face a visitor. On top of that, it was very unlike him, so why was he doing this? Why was he acting so distant? "Fucker, can't you just face me? I don't want to be looking at your ass."

"Then don't look at my ass. Simple."

"I— Hah!? Shut the fuck up, I wasn't looking at your ass." Although that was a lie, he didn't have the energy to yell at him just as usual, so his words were restrained to nothing more than a defensive whisper. "Just fucking face me already. It's fucking annoying that you're not looking at me, alright?"

Shouto rolled his eyes, grabbing one of the pillows, and throwing it onto Katsuki's face with a dull 'whack!'.

"The fuck was that for!?" He tore off the pillow from his face. He grimaced, just about ready to strangle the other male.

That was until he realized that Shouto was using his finger to draw circles on his sheets. He seemed to be way more distracted now, still trying to ignore Katsuki's words.

The ash blonde just sighed angrily, "You know what, I'm fucking leaving. You don't want to talk to me, fine. But don't expect me to leave you off the hook in the morning. You're obviously not okay." He began to groan, pushing himself off of the bed.

That was when Shouto's hand grasped Katsuki's wrist. His grip was firm, yet somehow gentle, as he finally managed to turn and face the other male. "Stay," was all he said, a dejected and empty look drawn on his face.

Katsuki blinked, staring at the look on Shouto's face for a good five minutes. That was enough to make him lay back down, this time focusing on his heterochromatic pupils.

Before he spoke, he decided to run things back through his mind, doing his best to make sure he didn't accidentally slip when speaking. Although that was hard because he was used to being a hotheaded jerk for the majority of the time. "It's about the runt, isn't it?"

He responded sleepily, his voice dropping to a low mutter. "More or less..."

Katsuki ran a hand through his champagne colored hair. "Hmmm if it isn't that, then it must be your old man."

Shouto didn't say anything, he just looked around the room. His lips showed a hint of discomfort, which made it quite obvious that the statement was correct. His left hand trailed up to his face, starting to scratch at the large scar that coated his skin.

Being around him a lot made it easy to read what was on his mind, so scratching at his scar was nothing new to Katsuki. That action indicated that he was nervous, and even sometimes upset. He moved Shouto's hand away from his face, starting to hold it gently. "You're going to be fine. You know what? Tomorrow, you and I can go for a walk out back. I got something I need to talk to you about."

"Why can't you just tell me now?" The dual colored male furrowed his eyebrows in suspicion. They were both in here alone anyway, so why not now? But then again, he supposed it wasn't exactly the right time for whatever it was.

Katsuki bit his lower lip, shaking his head quickly like a dog would when it was soaked. "Like I'd tell you now. Fuck, I'm here so I can improve your mood, not ruin it. I'll just save it for tomorrow, don't ya think that'll be better?" His mouth then formed into a smirk instead, shaking off a previous thought.

"Oh," Shouto looked at their hands, then back to those deep crimson eyes, "You know... I appreciate you coming all the way over here..."

He wasn't used to being appreciated, so he scrunched up his nose. "Huh?? Why?"

"I just didn't think anyone cared, especially you."

Katsuki opened his mouth and then closed it. He couldn't bring himself to say something in opposition, since, after all, he always did give that impression to everyone. Instead he went with, "Oh.... uh..."

Just then, the dual colored male gave him a small smile, one that was filled with sweetness and gratitude, "But maybe I was a bit wrong to judge. I cherish our friendship, Katsuki."

Looking at that smile, Katsuki himself couldn't help but blush slightly at the charming sight. He jerked his head to the side, sticking out his bottom lip as he did so. "Shut the fuck up, we're not friends. Just go the fuck to sleep, you look stupid."

"Hmmm... if you say so. You and I both know you don't think that." Shouto yawned, his eyes shutting right afterwards.

Katsuki grumbled, pulling the blankets over the both of them slowly. "Whatever, like you would fucking know what I'm thinking, asshole."

Shouto let out an amused exhale, and his smile widened, just before it faded into a horizontal line. "Hmmm okay... goodnight, Katsuki." He scooted in closer so that he was buried into Katsuki's chest, drifting off to sleep in the matter of seconds.

The fact that they were cuddled up together sent Katsuki's heart soaring, something that he would never be caught admitting to any living person. He smirked out of satisfaction, having been able to help the other male fall asleep. "Tch, goodnight."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

"KATSUKI, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

Ah yes, the perfect thing to wake up to in the morning. The beautiful sounds of the birds chirping, the fresh breeze seeping through the openings in the window, the aroma of morning breakfast filling the air, and not to mention the not-so-soothing yelling of Queen Mitsuki.

Both males groaned. Though they had slept much later than they were used to, they seemed to have had the best sleep in ages. And with the loud yelling that echoed throughout the castle? That was something that ruined their peace, just as it would for any other person.

Katsuki was the first one to open his eyes. He had just about had it with his mother butting in whenever he finally settled down, so he had the urge to go right after her and yell at her. However, a weight against him stopped him from making any sudden movements, as he realized that Shouto was still against him sound asleep.

What the fuck happened last night? Was I fucking high? Why the fuck are we in the same goddamn bed? Wh— DID WE FUCK!?

Katsuki threw off the blankets. To his relief, they were both fully clothed, nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed.

I— Well that's a disappoi— relief.

Now that one problem was out of the way, there was still another thing that needed to be solved. What time was it? And how in the world would he wake up the other male?

It didn't take him long to find a perfect method, because a smirk traced his lips as soon as a thought crossed his mind. He grabbed one of Shouto's pillows, throwing it on top of him, "Wake up, sleepy head. You're going to miss breakfast."

Shouto woke up with a jolt, his widened eyes meeting with Katsuki's crimson ones. "What the fu— where am I??"

"In your bed, dumbass."

The dual colored male immediately fell into a subtle panic, trying to process the fact that Katsuki was laying next to him in his bed. "...Did... we... f—"

Katsuki's cheeks became rosy, "In your dreams, asshat."

Shouto let out a sigh of relief, pulling the pillow off of himself, and placing it back to its original position. He then looked out towards the window, watching how the birds landed on the balcony just outside. "What time is it?"

"How the fuck would I know? I'm just as oblivious as you, unfortunately." The ash blonde sat himself upright, stretching his arms out towards the ceiling to get ready for the day.

Then, there was a creaking at the door that was followed by a small squeak of a female. "Prince Shouto, I have your morning me—" She paused, looking at the shocked looks of both princes. "PRINCE KATSUKI I— PRINCE SHOUTO WH— I DIDN'T THINK YOU TWO— OH MY GOODNESS I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Her face became redder than the drapes in Shouto's room. She panicked, and placed the tray of food on the floor, dashing out of the room, and slamming the door shut.

Shouto blinked. "Um..." He got off the bed, taking the tray, and sitting with it next to Katsuki. He offered one of the two plates that he had over to Katsuki, which was usually for more options, just in case he didn't want what was first prepared. "Breakfast?"

Katsuki stared at the plate, "Don't mind if I do." He then snacthed it, starting to eat it like some kind of food gremlin.

"You—"

Shouto was just about to speak, however, the door was kicked down by another angry ash blonde. "KATSUKI FUCKING BAKUGOU!" It seemed that she had come here after hearing the servant yell, which had been an indication that her son must have done something wrong. She then lowered her voice when she looked at the bi colored prince, "I apologize for the disturbance, Shouto. BUT WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE, KATSUKI!?"

"Shit— this bastard and I were just talking. Give me a fucking minute, old hag." He rolled his eyes, turning back to the plate in hand.

Mitsuki wasn't taking that as an answer. Her instinct was to grab Katsuki by the ear and drag him off. "Don't think you and Shouto can just fuck and not tell me what the hell happened!"

"WHAT!? WE DIDN'T FUCK, LET ME GO!" He tried pulling himself away, but her grip was just way too strong. So, his voice faded down the corridor, and off to the guest room.

Shouto blinked, trying to process what the hell was going on. He then sighed, looking over at the plates and placing them back onto the tray. Usually, he would leave it in front of his doorstep so another servant could come and pick it up, but this time he decided that he would walk it to the kitchen since he was already dressed.

He stood up, going through the door, and walking down the hallway. There he saw a large figure walking in his direction. It had been coming from the second largest room in the entire castle. He knew who it was.

He turned left.

Shouto made an effort to avoid him today, knowing full well that his father would be the one to scold him after their argument the day prior. That was definitely something that he didn't want a part in, so thankfully he knew exactly where and when he went from years of reading his actions and movements.

He rolled his head around his neck, trying to crack it as he walked. He felt a bit stiff from the position he had slept in, but it was no matter, since it seemed like he slept in quite a lot.

When he approached the kitchen, he heard some scurrying around, and even someone ordering the cooks around. The kitchen would never have been so lively on any normal day, so what was all this ruckus about?

The prince pushed the door open, looking at the cooks who rushed from one place to another. "Um... what's going on in here...?"

Each chef turned their head to look at the prince, just before they shot uneasy looks at each other. "Princess Fuyumi and Prince Natsuo are returning today."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵