"J- Jaehwan!" Sanghyuk yelled as he bolted across the field towards the vegetable patch the elder was working on. "Jaehwan!" His face was bright red and he was panting hard.

Jaehwan looked up from what he was doing and threw down his shovel, opening his arms for the younger man to run into. "What?" He asked urgently, alarmed by his friend's alarmed tone "What's wrong?" Sanghyuk collapsed into his embrace, breathing heavily and shaking as the adrenaline still pumped through his body. He gulped and Jaehwan waited patiently for him to get his breath back. A few minutes later, the younger man recovered. "W- Wonshik," he gasped. 

"What about him?" 

"H- He... The tree... Th- The prince..."

"Woah there!" Jaewhan cried, shaking him slightly "Slow down, I don't understand. Wonshik?" Sanghyuk nodded. "Prince?" There was another nod. "Which one?" Jaewhan asked, although, he could have probably guessed. Sanghyuk swallowed thickly "Prince T- Taekwoon. They were... under the tree." The elder frowned and lowered them both until they were seated on the dirt mound he had created earlier whilst digging. "Now, what were they doing under the tree? Start from the beginning." He kept his voice clear and steady, despite his own worry, in order to get some sense out of the young man. 

Sanghyuk blinked furiously and nodded "I was working in the fields, collecting berries, like I was ordered to, and heard voices. So, I followed them," he looked down guiltily "I saw the prince first- he was smiling and laughing. At first I thought he was with some princess that the Queen had sent for him but then I heard Wonshik talking." 

Jaehwan's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates "Are you sure?"

"I hid in the bushes and watched them for a while... they were all wrapped around each other..." Sanghyuk seemed reluctant to talk about that, eyes darting round nervously as if scared somebody might be listening to them. "Holding each other..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wonshik grinned before leaning up and capturing the prince's lips, carressing them with his own before he could reply or retort. Taekwoon froze for a second. He reached down, the long, dry grass beneath them. He smiled and nipped Wonshik's lip playfully, silently ordering him to deepen the kiss. Wonshik's eyes widened in slight surprise at his actions but he didn't hesitate to submit to the command. 

Their tongues battled for dominance for a few moments when, suddenly, Taekwoon felt his hand glide over something lumpy on Wonshik's shoulder as he ran his hands over his body. He pulled away, earning a small, dejected whine of protest from Wonshik. He ignored it. "What is this?" he asked curiously, running the tips of his fingers over it once again. The skin was puckered and pink, shining under the light. 

"Ah," the peasant smiled sheepishly "When I was a kid and my father died, I went to live with my uncle. He had... interesting ideas on how to discipline me." Taekwoon's jaw dropped slightly; his parents and nannies had never laid a finger on him or his brothers. "Were you a bad child then?"

Wonshik laughed and shook his head "I was just a bit mischevious," he admitted "Especially when I was with Jaewhan and Sanghyuk; we used to terrorise the whole village with our games. Gosh, I miss those days." He sighed and leant back on the grass with his hands linked behind his head. Taekwoon leant over him, the cloak now pooling round their waists. "Hakyeon and Hongbin and I were just the same," he chuckled quietly "We used to drive the court crazy with our antics, Hongbin still does, I think. Bless him." He smiled softly at the thought of his youngest brother- he was still so sweet and innocent. 

They lay in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Wonshik bit his lip "What are we now, exactly?"

Taekwoon frowned "What do you mean?"

"Are we... together?"

"I suppose so," the prince shrugged slightly with a small sigh. He could feel his eyes fluttering with fatigue and knew it was getting to supper time but he wanted to talk to Wonshik more "What do couples do exactly? I don't know." The peasant thought for a moment, also turning onto his side with his arms folded over his chest. 

"They stick with each other, look out for one another..." He trailed off and pursed his lips "I've just realised I don't know much about you other than you are as stubborn as you are shy."

Taekwoon scoffed "And yet you 'adore me'."

The peasant smirked and looped an arm over his waist, pulling him closer "Maybe I like stubborn and shy." The prince blushed deeply and bowed his head. He bit his lip modestly and blinked slowly "We'd be in so much trouble if-"

"Nobody will find out," Wonshik promised, putting their foreheads together tenderly. 

Taekwoon was about to respond when, suddenly, the sound of the palace bells sounded off in the distance. His eyes widened and he leapt to his feet "I'm late!" He cried. Wonshik had barely registered what had happened by the time he realised Taekwoon was now sprinting away from him. "Hey!" He called after him "Late for what?" He ran after him but was unable to catch up. He came to a halt and let out a groan. "Well, goodb-"

Suddenly, an immense weight came flying at him and knocked him to the ground. He yelped in shock and rolled over, only to have both his wrists grabbed and pinned down.

"Start. Talking!"