confrontation
;

 

Minseok was having a hard time trying to fit through the too small opening in the bushes. He wasn't nearly as nimble as Luhan, who could probably be a contortionist if he tried hard enough. "Do you do this often?" Minseok asked, grimacing as he attempted to twist his arm at an unnatural angle in order to get it through the hole, all while avoiding the menacing-looking thorns threatening to prick him.

 

"Every other day," replied Luhan, grinning. He was already on the other side of the bush, and he watched in faint amusement as Minseok attempted to shift, inching slowly so that none of the thorns would scratch him. Two minutes of manoeuvring later and without any apparent success, Minseok gave up. He made a lunge for it, tumbling out on the other side and rolling a few times before lying sprawled on the cool, soft grass. Luhan squatted and bent over, heart clenching as he traced his finger lightly over the little red marks that the thorns had mercilessly left on his otherwise flawless skin.

 

"I'm sorry, Minseok-ah. Does it hurt?" Luhan asked, brows furrowed and voice laced with concern. 

 

"A little," Minseok admitted, "but it's okay. A few cuts won't hurt me."

 

Luhan shook his head slowly. "Here, let me kiss it better," he offered. Minseok lifted an eyebrow dubiously, but didn't object as Luhan curled his fingers around his wrist and lifted it to his mouth. He left a trail of pecks down the inside of his arm.

 

"That actually tickles," Minseok commented a while later, when Luhan had moved on to his face and was leaving butterfly kisses down his neck. "I'm pretty sure I don't have cuts on my ear, Luhan," he laughed when Luhan's breath started ghosting over the shell of his ear. 

 

Luhan perched himself atop Minseok, eyes twinkling playfully before dipping down to kiss Minseok on the lips without warning. Minseok responded by hugging Luhan close to him, arms running up and down Luhan's back. 

 

"I think you're just finding excuses to kiss me," Minseok accused a little breathlessly, when they broke apart. Luhan hummed noncommittally as he got to his feet.

 

"And I'd say you're right," he grinned. Minseok stood up as well and stretched, flicking stray blades of grass off himself.

 

"Come on, lead the way," he said brightly, taking Luhan's hand in his. 

 

-

 

Jongin looked around the long corridor nervously. "Are you sure this is appropriate? After all, this isn't our palace—"

 

Sehun silenced him with a hand on his mouth. "Shush! Less talking, more walking." 

 

On the other hand, the adventures of the other royal couple didn't proceed so smoothly. After briefly debating on the next course of action, Sehun had decided it would be best to sneak into Luhan's palace. Jongin, however, wasn't so sure that that was the wisest thing to do. 

 

"But Sehun, if we get caught, we're doomed!" Jongin whispered furiously for the n^th time. Sehun was currently pressed with his back against the wall, eyes darting from corner to corner, scanning for any signs of movement. When the coast was clear, Sehun made a motion with his hands and Jongin and Sehun ran for it to the next corner, where they repeated the process.

 

"You just risked your life going to rescue me a few hours ago, and now you're chickening out?" Sehun stopped, giving him a quick onceover. "Stop being so timid, Jongin. It's not like we have any other choice." Sehun made a motion for Jongin to follow him. Jongin huffed indignantly, but relented and kept close behind Sehun as he navigated through the corridors. Sehun had familiarised himself with the layout of the palace throughout his two weeks there, and he was glad it came in handy.

 

Sehun appeared calm (or maybe it was just his usual expressionlessness), but Jongin could not be more nervous. Having lived open and aboveboard his entire life, he found it hard to sneak around and act all suspicious. Beads of sweat formed on Jongin's forehead, but he was so busy glancing around that he didn't even bother wiping it off.

 

"We're here," Sehun announced, stopping in front of a door. It was less decorated than the door to Luhan's room, but it was no less elegant. Sehun proceeded to lift a fist to the wood, about to knock, but Jongin stopped him with a firm grip around his wrist. 

 

"Who's in there?" he asked, eyes wide open with worry. His lips were bright red from the constant worrying.

 

"Don't worry, it's just Baekhyun," Sehun let out a quiet chuckle and Jongin released his grip. He didn't know who Baekhyun was, but he trusted Sehun. The latter knocked lightly on the door a few times, and a drowsy voice answered, "Who's there?"

 

"It's me, Sehun, and Jongin," Sehun whispered back. There was a muffled shuffling of feet, then a click and the door opened, with a disheveled Baekhyun standing before them. He rubbed his eyes a few times, before recognition settled in. "Wait, Sehun—weren't you in the dungeon? How did you get here? Or am I seeing things?" Baekhyun wondered aloud.

 

"No, I'm really Sehun, and can you let us in? We need your help."

 

"Alright." Baekhyun stepped aside to allow the both of them in, before shutting the door softly and double locking it.

 

"You do know that we'll all get in big trouble if we get found out, right?" Baekhyun asked when he was sure the door was securely locked.

 

"We do," Sehun replied hastily, "but we just need you to help us in a little way."

 

"Wait, before that, can you tell me how you managed to escape? As far as I know, the dungeon is rather heavily guarded..."

 

"It's all thanks to him," Sehun turned to look at Jongin, beaming with something like pride and love. Jongin merely bowed his head politely. Having only seen him for five minutes, he still had yet to form an impression of Baekhyun as a trustworthy individual. 

 

Baekhyun seemed not to be bothered by this, for he just laughed. "I probably will get to know the details soon enough, no worries. So how do you want me to help? I'll try my best, no promises, though."

 

Sehun spoke up. "We just want you to let us into Luhan's room."

 

Baekhyun lifted an eyebrow. "Why?"

 

"We plan to wait there till they come back, so that we don't have to waste time trying to find them. It's also less risky," he paused, tongue darting out to wet his lips, before continuing. "We need to discuss how to proceed from here."

 

Baekhyun nodded. "Fair enough, I'll help you. Luckily for you," he grinned cheekily, "I have a spare set of keys to Lu's room. I'm quite sure he wouldn't mind."

 

"Great!" Sehun exclaimed at the same time that Jongin nodded, lips pressed together tightly. He was still trying to cope with the fact that in the span of a few hours, he'd broken more laws than he ever had in his entire life. 

 

Baekhyun rummaged around the room, before finding what he was looking for. He held up a set of keys in triumph and jingled them slightly. 

 

"Shall we go, then?"

 

-

 

Luhan went a little slack-jawed when he saw Sehun and Jongin lounging on the leather armchairs in his room, and Sehun and Jongin merely sniggered at his reaction. Minseok entered the room behind Luhan, blinking a few times. He looked from Sehun to Jongin, and then from Jongin to Sehun, trying to figure out who was who.

 

"Sehun!" Luhan screeched when he recovered, before running over and enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. Jongin just stood at the side, laughing at their antics.

 

"How—how did you manage to come here?" Luhan pulled away from the embrace and asked, looking Sehun up and down. Other than appearing a little gaunt, Sehun looked perfectly healthy, and Luhan was extremely relieved. He still hadn't apologised for getting Sehun in this mess, and his conscience was gnawing at him to say those words soon. 

 

"Baekhyun let us in," Sehun revealed.

 

"Oh! Baek," Luhan's eyes lit up at hearing that name. "Speaking of which, where is he?" he asked, looking around.

 

"He said he'd come over later, sometime later in the morning when it's more appropriate," Jongin said offhandedly, and only then did Luhan realise that it was still early in the morning. Taking two wide strides to the window, he pulled open the ornate curtains in the room and was rewarded with the beautiful view of the sun peeking over the clouds in the horizon. 

 

"You're Sehun, right?" Minseok inquired, sticking a hand out which Sehun shook graciously. "Luhan told me you look like him. Evidently so," he grinned, "you're the splitting image of him. I'm Minseok." Sehun greeted him back, smiling politely.  

 

"Nice to meet you, Minseok." Jongin introduced himself, "I'm Jongin." They shook hands as well, Jongin's grip firm and strong. He smiled. "Luhan told me a lot about you."

 

"He told me about you, too," Minseok chuckled. 

 

"I really hope this works," Luhan sighed, rubbing his palms together out of nervousness. 

 

"Altogether, there's four of us. We'll help you," Sehun suggested helpfully. "Not like Jongin can marry you now anyway," he laughed. 

 

As they sat down and discussed their plan of action, Luhan couldn't help but feel that he had a chance. He found comfort in the fact that he would spend his utmost efforts to fight for him and Minseok, no matter what happened.

 

-

 

The queen entered the conference room with the king impassively following behind. Sometimes, Luhan really hated the fact that his father spoke only when absolutely necessary. He never knew how he felt about things, and this was a time when he really needed to know what the king thought.

 

"Oh, Prince Jongin!" The queen exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. "What a pleasant surprise! Have you, you know, changed your mind about the engagement? Because if you wish to marry Luhan again, we do not object at all and in fact would—"

 

"Mum." Luhan firmly cut her off. 

 

"Isn't this what this is about? I mean, I thought..." The queen gestured, trailing off uncertainly.

 

"No, mum. I called you here to tell you that I'm going to marry someone, who isn't Prince Jongin." Luhan steeled himself for the horrified expression on the queen's face. His mother stared back at him, open-mouthed, blinking wordlessly.

 

"What?" She spluttered. "W-Who are you going to marry, then?"

 

"Him." Luhan took Minseok's hand and stared straight into his mother's eyes. Minseok looked down at his feet uncomfortably, shifting his weight from one foot to another. He didn't like how the queen was looking at him, scrutinising him for faults and blemishes.  

 

"Who—who is he?" 

 

"Kim Minseok, the one man whom I love. I love him very deeply, mum."  

 

"What—what about Prince Jongin? He's more qualified and more compatible with you, Luhan. This isn't only about you; this alliance is supposed to bind our kingdoms together. How are you to refuse his proposal now? The engagement ring—everything—you can't throw everything away!"

 

"No, mum, listen to me," Luhan implored earnestly. "The engagement ring had lost its meaning long ago. In fact, I don't even remember where it is anymore. Jongin doesn't love me; he loves Sehun, mother. And Sehun loves him. And they're happy together. Same with Minseok and I." The queen shut her eyes, pursed her lips and rubbed her temples.

 

"Luhan, you're giving me a headache. Can you stop being so stubborn and just stick to what we've planned for you?" 

 

Luhan couldn't rein in his emotions anymore. "But that's what I have been doing all my life, mother!" He burst out, startling the queen, whose eyes flew open. "I've always been following the path that you and the palace have marked out for me. I was content doing so. I knew that I was the prince. But, I have my own life and opinions to care for too! I refuse to listen to you on this matter, mother." Luhan quieted down. Minseok rubbed soothing circles in his back to calm him down. It wasn't much, but Luhan appreciated the gesture."If you don't agree, I will have no choice but to abdicate." A collective gasp sounded in the room. Nobody, not even Minseok, had expected that to come from Luhan at all.

 

"You can't do that, Luhan, it's not—"

 

"Shh, Minseok, it's worth it." Luhan smiled. "I never really cared about being king anyway." Luhan stole a look at the king, whose expression was unreadable. He hoped against all hope that his father would be in favour of his request; having him back him up meant that the queen would be more easily won over. 

 

And Luhan told her all about his experiences at the orphanage. He recounted every single detail, even banal ones that had been left out the first time he narrated it to her.

 

"He saved me, mum," Luhan concluded. "I don't think there's anything else that can compare to that."

 

"Their love was a mistake! It was never supposed to happen!" The queen screeched. 

 

Jongin spoke up. "Your Majesty, Luhan is like a dear friend to me; I could never marry him. Sehun is the one I love. I don't deny that meeting Sehun was an accident, but falling in love with him was a choice."

 

The queen squeezed her eyes shut, looking as if she might faint any moment. She looked to her husband for support, but was shocked out of her wits when the king responded.

"Actually, my dear, I think our son's right." The king, who had been silent all those moments, finally spoke up.

 

"What?" The queen demanded. 

 

"Luhan's been obedient and he listened to us no matter what we said. He's been under a lot of stress as successor for the throne; he's smiling a lot less lately. I think we have to respect his opinions as well. You know, we can always strengthen our bilateral relations in other ways. Marriage doesn't have to happen."

 

Luhan's heart warmed up a little upon hearing his father's words. He decided to press on.

 

"Do you know the reason why I left?" Luhan asked bitterly, but it was never really a question to begin with.

 

"You wanted to try something new; you were rebellious, as boys your age tend to be."

 

"No!" Luhan raised his voice. Minseok squeezed his hand in silent support. "You don't understand. In fact, you never understood in the first place."

 

The queen was stunned speechless. Luhan had never talked back to her like that before, and never in her life would she have imagined that her son would utter such words.

 

"You kept forcing me to do things that I didn't want to do, but I bore it because I knew that I was the prince and it was my responsibility. I never said anything because I didn't want to worry you further. But that never meant I was happy," Luhan spat. Minseok noticed that Luhan's entire body was tensed up and shaking. He rubbed comforting circles into his back, and Luhan relaxed a little. Jongin and Sehun were a little appalled at the entirely different person that Luhan was. They had never seen the fighter side of Luhan before.

 

"Oh, Luhan, I never knew." The queen sighed and walked forward, enveloping her son in her arms. "I never knew. You always seemed so satisfied and—" she choked a little "—happy." Luhan relaxed into his mother's embrace, lingering in the familiar warmth that he had missed for far too long. It had been a while since he'd hugged his mother like that. In the midst of all their formal duties, neither of them had taken the chance to talk to each other, and both of them had inevitably drifted apart. 

 

The queen pulled away first. "I am the queen, but above all I am your mother, Luhan-ah," she spoke fondly, hands reassuring on Luhan's shoulders. "And," she added wistfully, "if this young man here truly makes you happy, then I have no reason to object."

 

Luhan broke into a smile, throwing his arms around his mother for a second time. "Thank you, mum," he whispered against her ear.

 

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Rest assured, I'll treat Luhan well," Minseok promised, when they parted away. The queen gave a faint smile and nodded, then turned her attention to Sehun and Jongin. "If you two aren't against the idea, we can hold a double wedding in our kingdom. Double the happiness. right?"

 

Jongin and Sehun looked at each other, sharing a moment of unspoken conversation, and nodded, hints of a smile playing on their lips.

 

"Yeah, we'd like that more than anything, Your Majesty," Jongin said.

 

The queen smiled wryly and turned to Luhan. "Call the royal advisor, Junmyeon, for me. We need to make a few plans."

---

A/N:

I don't do hiatuses well I'm sorry orz Btw if you see this chapter marked M, it probably is a glitch with aff (idk why it sometimes auto-marks this chapter M like hello?? this chapter is squeaky clean what are you talking about) so yeah it's completely safe to read! 

Also next chapter will probably be the last. Phew. This fic turned out way longer than I expected. Please comment with what you think because I'll be ending this story soon and ;; I really wanna hear what you guys think of the 9-month long journey with me so far (i sound so cheesy don't i) and comments make my day! I reply to every single one of you so don't be afraid, I don't bite :)) Hope you guys enjoy this update! ^^