The snow that covered the Capital city of Aries told all with a very clear voice that winter was approaching. It was the very first winter that Sungmin spent with Kyuhyun after their wedding. Months had come and gone ever since their somewhat overly grandiose wedding ceremony and still, Sungmin felt a bit embarrassed every time he was reminded of his current status.

The faint blush that always adorned his cheeks every time he was being reminded of his present position seemed to already have a permanent attachment with him. Yet Kyuhyun seemed not to be disturbed even a bit to be referred as 'The Grand Duke of Sentia and Prince Consort of The Holy Empire of Northern Lights, His Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Cho Kyuhyun'. If Sungmin did not know better, he would have assumed that Kyuhyun actually enjoyed the long title he now possessed.

He sighed. Many things had already happened and he doesn’t want to remember every single of it. Sometimes he dreams of it, the shadows of the demons that danced along the corridors of Northern Villa haunts him and the echoes of gun fires sounded lively on his ears. There would be those nights of torture but Kyuhyun is always there to wake him up from the nightmares that never let him sleep.

He had heard a countless ‘I Love You |s|’ from Kyuhyun and he never get tired of hearing them. Never.

As his mother’s request, he was transferred to Aries. There, he got a new room, a more peaceful surrounding and the remnants of the past war weren’t there to remind him. At least for now. He is glad too that Sentia finally reconciled with them and Kyuhyun is currently the Grand Duke of it. And Southern Lights had come to a ceased fire and the Central Point is too weak to perpetuate a war.

Sometimes he would lament over the notions that he is not adept enough to be a prince who leads a nation. His brothers do it well. Though they are not entitled to hold a heavy responsibility since it is their father’s job but still a prince is someone who is regarded highly of his status.

And Sungmin of Northern Lights feels that he is of no use.

He is just a frail-looking cute and adorable Prince of Northern Lights.

Sungmin sighed faintly as he thought about his Kyuhyun. His eyes roamed outside the window, a habit that he still found hard to leave, and his eyes caught the sight of snow gently falling from the sky. Winter was coming, he noticed with a faint frown and without realizing it, he had already worried his lower lip with his teeth.

The coming of winter always brought some kind of apprehension to him. The cause of which was probably the fact that he seemed to always catch the cold during winter season. The moment those white snowflakes began dancing in the cold air, Sungmin would have a frown gracing his forehead. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore, no matter how warm he kept the temperature of his room, no matter how many kinds of vitamins he consumed, he would still catch the cold. It had become some kind of annual occurrence and by the time he reached his fifteenth birthday, Sungmin had given up on trying to avoid it. Rather, he would just shrug his shoulders and wait for the fever to strike, as it always did every year without failing.

And that year, too, was no exception.

The morning when he woke up with a light dizziness, Sungmin had been prepared. He merely groaned and tried to throw the heavy blankets covering his body to get up from the bed. Yet he forgot that he was sharing his bed with another human being who instantly was awakened because of his movement.

A pair of amazingly alert chocolate brown eyes greeted him, making him smile despite of his pounding head.

"Good morning," he greeted warmly. "Did I wake you up?"

Kyuhyun smiled as he ran a hand through his messy brown locks. "Not really, I'm a morning person naturally. But it's unusual to see you up so early."

Sungmin then sat up. His upper torso got revealed when the blanket fell swiftly from around his shoulders to his lap. Kyuhyun then saw the faint scars that almost blended on Sungmin’s milky white skin. There is this short gash near his shoulder blades and on his side just near the ribs. Kyuhyun then unconsciously ran his finger over it causing Sungmin to look at him.

"Yes?" Sungmin mumbled as he pressed one of his palms against his temple. He needed some medicine right now for this headache. "I need to get something."

Kyuhyun’s thought travelled back again to the rebellion that happened the last time and guilt immediately rushed off to him. If only he refused Sungmin’s plead to join the military forces then that incident wouldn’t happen. That night when he came home, Sungmin learned of the oncoming advances from the rebels of Sentia and Central Point. Sungmin pleaded him to help his beloved Prince Kangin in executing plans.

Never had they thought that the rebels would infiltrate the Palace and would have the Empress’ family as their victims. Never had they thought that the rebels would bravely infiltrate the Palace even with the strong forces of military waiting for them. Never had they thought that the rebels had made a suicidal plan to enter the palace.

Sungmin told him that it was his decision to send off his Knight to help out his mother’s family and that he shouldn’t blame his self. But Kyuhyun can’t help to blame his self for not fighting against Sungmin about it. He sworn to protect him at all cost but that time and yet he failed.

"Hm?" Sungmin saw Kyuhyun tilting his face a bit to the side as what his habit was whenever he inquired something.

 A strong hand came from under the blanket. It reached for his face, as if wanting to sweep his hair from his eyes. But the moment that hand touched his forehead, it stopped. And when Sungmin saw how Kyuhyun's eyes widened in surprise, he thought he might understand what had prompted the sudden halt of that hand.

"Min-ah," Kyuhyun said, a bit nervously. "You're burning up."

He chuckled. Kyuhyun’s face looked so comical like that with confusion and worry and fear mixed up in his expression. Yet his chuckles died down when that hand caressed his face. The apparent worry on Kyuhyun’s face warmed up his heart, and Sungmin found himself leaning to the touch, feeling a bit guilty of making Kyuhyun worried so much.

"It's just a fever," he said. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just need some medicine."

"Wait there, I'll get it for you," Kyuhyun said sternly. A rustling sound of bed sheets followed, and by that Sungmin knew that Kyuhyun was getting up. A tender kiss landed on his forehead, one which Sungmin took appreciatively, closing his eyes as he felt Kyuhyun’s lips against his skin. When he opened his eyes, he could see those chocolate brown orbs staring back at him in worry.

"I'll be back soon. Don't try getting out of the bed by yourself."

"It's only a mild fever," Sungmin protested cutely yet he conceded to the request, burying his body deeper to their soft and comfortable bed. He watched Kyuhyun walking to the direction of their bedroom door lovingly. It was nice to have someone care over him like that.

Turning his body so he lay on his back, Sungmin mused as his eyes fixed to the ceiling of his room. In the past, whenever he got ill, it was either his mother or Hyukjae or one of the maids who would take care of him. Yet he knew that his mother also had her own business, considering her position as the Empress of The Holy Empire of Northern Lights, so he tried his best not to bother her much with his illness. With Hyukjae, he can’t take interrupt his brother from his studies just to have him took care of this silly fever.

But with Kyuhyun, it almost seemed natural to just lie back and let himself be pampered. It was only right according to the norm, right, Sungmin thought. After all, Kyuhyun and he were... well, married now. It was only right to take care of one's partner.

A knock on the door disrupted his thought. Biding entrance, the click of the door afterward was the only thing heralding the coming of Kyuhyun with a silver tray balanced against his hip. With practiced ease, he walked to the bed and after putting the tray along with its contents on the nightstand beside the bed, His Lordship Lieutenant Colonel Cho Kyuhyun sat down on that overly spacious bed.

"I brought some breakfast too. You cannot take the medication with empty stomach," Kyuhyu said and Sungmin once again felt the sensation of that strong hand landed gently on his forehead. "Should I call the royal