Leo had never seen the plains before. He had never expected them to be so vast, to have so little greenery, or for the breeze to be quite so sharp. Luckily, he didn't feel it as much as he would have had the Father not given him a cloak. It was lined with thick wool and wrapped nicely round his upper body. He had also given Leo a small bag containing a small loaf of bread and some cheese, along with some paper and a quill so he could write to him. 

When the young man had argued and wept that he didn't want to go, he had given him his rosary, looping the small glass beads round his neck and hiding the crucifix under his shirt. Leo had refused to ride with any of the group, instead opting to ride one of the other horses himself.  

Wonshik was not to be trusted, he had decided, and he had only agreed to this to please his father. Yes, his father. Prince or not, he would not consider any other man his parent. His mistrust didn't stem from the fact Wonshik had presented him with the seemingly rediculous story. It more stemmed from the way he looked at him. His eyes kept themselves gazing at Leo almost the entire time they were travelling, flashing with all sorts of emotions- sometimes anger, then sadness, then desperation, and the one which scared Leo most, lust. 

"His highness seems trapped in deep thought," Sanghyuk mumbled as he snatched a glance behind him at the elder. He, Hakyeon, Jaehwan and Wonshik had all formed a sort of protective circle round Leo with their stallions, the other soldiers forming an outer-barrier. 

Leo jumped at his sudden remark and ckeared his throat, avoiding eyecontact "Well, wouldn't you be in my situation?"

"I probably would have stopped caring by now," Jaehwan chuckled "Just try relax; worrying will make no difference." 

"We have a nice place for you to rest so you won't have to bunk with the common soldiers," Hakyeon assured him, noticing the sky getting darker. They had been riding East for three hours. Leo snorted and shook his head "I do not plan on sleeping all." Nobody responded as they entered a large camp already set up at the foot of one of the many hills in the valley. Wonshik hopped off his horse and gave the reins to one of the soldiers that approached him, allowing him to lead the animal off.

He turned and lifted his arms, offering to help Leo down as the elder eyed the men nervously. "Come on, your highness."

Leo's lip curled and he turned his nose upward slightly "Don't call me that," he spat.

"Leo," Wonshik sighed "Allow me to help you down." The soldier had been trying to distance himself as much as possible as to not make his old lover feel uncomfortable- but he knew he was failing. Taekwoon was so scared of him. Leo had never spent so much time with somebody that wasn't the Father. 

“Come, it's perfectly safe.”

Leo scoffed "What safety can you garuntee?"

“More than you realise,” Wonshik said and Leo caught the flicker of humor in his eyes. Carefully, he took his hand.

“Only because the horse is making my sore,” he said with a small huff. Wonshik couldn't help but smile: his bratty prince still hadn't changed. 

"Of course," he grinned as he took the elder's hands and helped him slip from the steed. He motioned for another soldier to take the horse away and led Leo over to one of the larger tents. It was one of three surrounding the largest, grandest tent in the camp (one which Leo assumed belonged to his supposed brother). Wonshik pushed back the curtain and crawled in, shuffling along the sandy floor and over to the bedding area. 

Leo felt heat rush to his cheeks "I- I am to sleep beside you?"

Wonshik nodded, suddenly becoming wary "Prince Hakyeon believes I am better suited to protect you," he explained, pulling back the quilt. The other man swallowed thickly and pulled his cloak tighter around him. "Protect me from what?"

There was a long pause.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Wonshik reassured him "Now, come on in. I don't bite." Leo pouted his plump lips. He looked down at the quilts. When was the last time he had slept on anything but a stained matress on the attic floor?

“Fine.”

*******************

The dull, hazy pink of daybreak accompanied the rustling of feet outside Wonshik's tent. He opened his eyes groggily and stretched an arm over his face with a muffled groan, before he shifted and turned his head. Leo lay spread out on the other half of the tent, legs and arms thrown about everywhere and shirt riding up and slipping off shoulders, dangerously close to showing things Wonshik knew he probably didn't want him to see yet. He chuckled,and studied his face. He really didn't look any older than five years ago. He was still breathtaking even when his features were puffy from sleep and he had drool slipping from the corner of his mouth.

“Cute,” Wonshik snorted as he sat up. He shivered and ran a hand through his hair, wiping off the grains of sand that had slipped onto his forehead. Then he froze. There were more feet shuffling outside....shuffling too quickly.

Carefully, he got to his feet and moved to the corner of the tent and lifted it to see outside.

“Thieves!” He gasped and let the curtain drop back down. No, no, no,no!

“Mmh,” Leo whined in his sleep, twitching slightly.

Wonshik turned to him as the elder's eyes fluttered open. "Ssh!" He quickly reached out and pulled him into his arms, the other man stumbling slightly in his half-asleep state. Leo gasped and struggled violently in his grip, attempting the remove the younger man's arm around him “Wh-What the- Mmphh!”

Wonshik panicked and covered his mouth. “Shh, we're being attacked!” He whispered urgently. 

“Mnhm!” Leo tried clawing at his hand. Wonshik pressed a hand low on his stomach to keep him still, just above his groin- low enough to frighten him, but high enough not to make him feel violated. The intruders had just infiltrated it seemed, so they might just have enough time to escape if they were careful. 
 

Ta Da!

I leave you with Fairy Leo because I think I've found my new aethsetic <3

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading!