Trope: Crown Prince x Personal Guard
Pairing: EJ x Nicholas
AU: Royal | Forbidden romance | Quiet rebellion
Tone: Intimate. Low-burning. Final... until it's not.

👑 Scene: The Night Before the Crown

The palace is quiet tonight.

Too quiet for a kingdom on the edge of coronation.

The crown rests in a velvet-lined case just down the corridor. Heavy. Waiting.

And Crown Prince EJ stands alone in his chambers, still dressed from rehearsal, boots dusted in rose petals that fell from some ceremonial arch.

There's a knock.

He doesn't turn around.

"You always knock," EJ says softly.

Nicholas steps in. Armor half-shed. His usual sword at his hip, even now.

"Still your knight," he replies. "Until dawn."

That line hits too sharp.

EJ turns.

Nicholas looks tired. Like the idea of not being at his side has already begun to wear him down.

"They've confirmed it then," EJ says. "You're being reassigned?"

"The northern border."

"Four days from here."

"Three. If I ride fast."

A beat.

EJ exhales.

"You should've told me sooner."

Nicholas looks at him then, like he wants to say a hundred things. Instead, he bows slightly.

"You'll have another knight. Better trained. Less..."
His voice trails.

"Less what?" EJ asks.

Nicholas doesn't answer.

He doesn't have to.

🕯️ Scene: The Request

EJ crosses the room. Stops just in front of him.

He lifts his eyes.

"Then give me something before you go."

Nicholas tenses.

"Anything."

"A favor."

"Of course."

"Kiss me."

Nicholas freezes.

"EJ—"

"Just once."

"You're the crown prince."

"And for the next seven hours, you're still mine."

Silence.

EJ adds, quieter:

"I don't want to remember you bowing."

Nicholas stares at him.

🌌 Scene: The Kiss

Nicholas is still frozen after EJ's request.

He's sworn an oath. Trained to obey, not to feel.

But EJ?
EJ is standing in front of him like a confession wearing a crown.

And he's asking.

"Kiss me like I'm not your prince."

So Nicholas does something reckless.

He steps forward and cups EJ's jaw—like he's made of something breakable. His thumb brushes just under EJ's lip.

"You know this is a line I can't uncross."

EJ's voice is barely there.

"Then don't go back."

Their mouths meet—not quick, not desperate.

But intentional.

Like both of them want to memorize this.

The pressure of Nicholas's lips against his. The way EJ breathes out, shakily, like he's waited years for this exact moment.

Nicholas kisses him again—slower this time. Deeper. With the kind of hunger you keep buried in the name of duty.

EJ's hands grip Nicholas's cloak. One trembles.

Nicholas finally pulls back.

Their foreheads touch.

"Say it," EJ whispers.

"Say what?"

"That it meant something."

Nicholas leans in again, a breath from his lips.

"Everything."

EJ's hand curls into Nicholas's collar. Nicholas presses a hand to his waist, grounding them both.

When they part, breathless, Nicholas whispers,

"I'm going to break my oath."

EJ blinks.

"What?"

Nicholas cups his face.

"I'm not leaving."

"You'll be dismissed."

"Let them try."

EJ swallows hard.

"Why?"

Nicholas leans in.

"Because I made a promise with that kiss.
And I keep those."

At sunrise, the crown is placed on EJ's head.

He doesn't flinch under its weight.

Not when he knows Nicholas is still behind him.

Not as a knight.

But as his.

Blackmail in the Court

The new head of the royal intelligence wing is young. Ambitious. Cruel behind charm.

He finds them.

Not in bed. Not in a compromising position.

But in a moment too soft. A hand lingering too long on a shoulder. A letter passed when no one was looking.

And he doesn't go to the King.

He goes to Nicholas.

"You like being his knight, don't you? Loyal. Trusted. Untouchable."

"Get to the point."

"I want your command. I want your silence. And in return, I don't destroy what you have."

Nicholas's jaw clenches.

"You'd blackmail your crown?"

"No. Just you. He can't afford another scandal. You'll walk yourself to the shadows before you let him fall."

Nicholas doesn't answer.

He doesn't need to.

Because the threat hits exactly where it's meant to.

🕊️ Time Skip: Three Years Later – War & Return

EJ is now King.

Nicholas is still his knight.

But not his the way he was before.

After the blackmail, Nicholas stepped back. Remained loyal. Professional. Always near—never close.

They haven't spoken of the kiss since.

But they feel it. In the way Nicholas never quite looks him in the eye. In the way EJ watches him walk away every night.

Then comes the threat.

A neighboring empire breaks treaty. Marches on their borders.

The court wants Nicholas to lead the defense.

"He's too important to the King," one minister protests.

"That's why he'll win," EJ replies.

Nicholas meets his eyes, for the first time in months.

There's something unspoken. Something almost broken.

But not gone.

Never gone.

⚔️ The Night Before Battle

EJ finds him on the practice field, sharpening a blade.

"You're still leaving without saying goodbye?"

Nicholas doesn't look up.

"I wasn't sure I had the right."

EJ steps closer.

"You always did."

A long silence.

Then EJ adds, softer:

"He's dead, you know. The one who tried to use us."

"How?"

"I ordered it."

Nicholas finally looks at him.

"You would've ruined yourself."

"I already did. When I let you walk away."

He places a hand on Nicholas's chest.

"I don't want to rule without you. Not from across a battlefield."

Nicholas exhales hard.

"Then tell me not to go."

EJ swallows. Then says it—

"Don't go."

Nicholas doesn't hesitate this time.

He kisses him like it's war and victory all at once.

🏹 Final Line:

They ride into battle together.
Not just a King and a Knight.
But a story rewritten—one kiss, one war, and one kingdom at a time.