euphoria
;

Sehun didn't want to admit it, but he was already getting way too used to the royal treatment. He would never get tired of waking up in the morning snug and warm in a comfy bed, having tons of clothes to choose from, eating the tastiest dishes in the kingdom, and having Baekhyun to talk to. He was the best advice-giver Sehun could ever ask for, and he could always turn to him when he had doubts. Sehun chuckled as he recalled the one time he almost made a fool of himself after dinner when a servant presented a golden bowl filled to the brim with scented rose water. It was meant for Sehun to clean his mouth and hands after the meal, but of course Sehun didn't know it and lifted it to his lips, thinking it was a drink. Baekhyun was the one who hurriedly whispered something into his ear and saved him from looking stupid in front of the king and queen. Compared to when he was living on the streets a week ago, well, this was practically heaven.

The only fly in the ointment was that everybody addressed him as Luhan. When people called him by his title of prince, it was still acceptable. Whenever someone called him by his name, though, it just served as another painful reminded to Sehun that his bliss would not last long. The clock was ticking, and Sehun knew that better than anyone. Almost every moment was filled with a thought nibbling at the back of his mind about whether people would see through his guise. He was perpetually listless and jumpy whenever he was with people, not being able to properly focus on anything except the question whether he would be discovered. In the end, though, Sehun became fed up with these little worries, and decided to just enjoy himself since he was here. He was determined not to be concerned about his real identity anymore, and just be Luhan. This tactic proved to work very well—nobody even realised the slightest difference between this prince and the previous one.

Jongin came in after breakfast, as usual. Sehun's face lit up when he saw that familiar figure enter the room. Jongin smiled brightly, striding over to give Sehun a quick peck on the lips. After that first kiss, their hesitant touches and sneaky glances had become more frequent. They were no longer as shy as before. Not to the extent of openly making out, of course, but those barriers became nonexistent immediately after they were in private. Sehun wasn't comfortable yet with letting him into the bedroom, so they made do with the drawing room which had a brilliant view of the sunset. 

"Good morning," he breathed, exhaling hotly against Sehun's lips.

"Good morning to you too," Sehun chuckled, eyes crinkling into little crescent moons. He realised one more thing, too: he'd been smiling a lot more these days, especially when he was with Jongin. His cheek muscles were getting a lot more exercise. (Not that he had much to smile about before that in the first place.)

"What have you been up to recently?" asked Jongin, snuggling up to Sehun. Sehun relaxed into the embrace—Jongin was somehow able to bring him joy no matter what.

"Nothing much, just thinking of you." The cheeky reply earned a grin from Jongin, who swatted Sehun's arm playfully.

"Luhan, answer me seriously," Jongin demanded, but the smile still lingered on his lips.

"Well yesterday I had lessons. Literature," he added when Jongin shot him a questioning glance.

"Shakespeare?" Jongin asked, and was proved right when Sehun nodded in affirmation. 

"Why must I even study him when he doesn't even write in a language I understand?" 

"Well, his works have great literary value," said Jongin. "Studying his work is good."

"I'd prefer to study you any day."

"Haha. Very funny, Luhan." Jongin attempted to frown but he couldn't stop smiling. 

”You've never seen Kyungsoo's face when he teaches. He forever looks like a deer caught in the headlights. When I study, he'll sit opposite me with eyes boring holes into the back of my head. Pretty unnerving." Sehun ranted on about how having lessons with the royal tutor always perturbed him, and Jongin listened quietly with a twinkle in his eyes.

"He is a good teacher though," Sehun finally admitted.

"Glad to hear," Jongin laughed again, and Sehun beamed as well.

"Do you have lessons too?"

"Yeah, but mostly sciences. I study history too." 

Sehun whistled, turning to look at Jongin. "Wow, you're really smart. And talented." 

"Yeah, you must be wondering how you ever got so lucky, right?" Jongin smirked. 

Sehun jabbed Jongin in the ribs with his elbow, looking smugly as Jongin winced. "You wish," he scoffed. 

"But I too, can't stop wondering how I ever got so lucky to have you." Jongin flushed after saying that because god that was cheesy but he broke out into a smile when a visible blush blossomed on Sehun's cheeks.

Sehun buried his face in his hands, embarrassed. "You're so mushy," he complained. 

"Thanks," Jongin grinned pleasantly, hooking an arm around Sehun's shoulders. 

-

That very afternoon Sehun found himself almost dozing off in another one of Kyungsoo's lectures. He couldn't help it—lessons were dry, and Sehun was the last person on earth who would be interested in exponential equations. What had started off as rapt attention quickly disintegrated into confused boredom. He had absolutely no clue what Kyungsoo was even talking about, which was pretty expected since he'd never gone to school before. What little arithmetic he knew was self-taught, which admittedly, wasn't the most correct. He listened until all the words and syllables blurred together and all he could hear was a smooth sound that was lulling him to sleep. Mathematics was never the most interesting subject.

"—and then you substitute in the x-value and—Luhan, are you listening?" Kyungsoo asked, his eyes opening extra wide. Oddly enough he didn't seem irritated, only a bit tired.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Sehun's head snapped up and his eyes flew open. 

Kyungsoo blinked. "What is with you these days, Luhan? You seem to be zoning off every time I have lessons with you."

Sehun struggled to find an explanation. "I, uh, I'm just—"

“Is it because of Prince Jongin?" Kyungsoo inquired. Sehun was more than grateful for the convenient excuse, grasping on to it like a lifeline. 

"Yes! I mean, yeah, it is," he corrected, toning down his eagerness a notch when Kyungsoo stared at him.

"Well, I know young love is very distracting, so I don't blame you. But you really have to pay more attention. You won't be a prince forever. Sooner or later, you'll ascend the throne and by then there isn't a leeway to give anymore."

Sehun looked down, not meeting Kyungsoo's eyes. "I'm sorry." Kyungsoo's words suddenly reminded him that he was now Luhan, prince of an entire kingdom. Maybe when he was Sehun he could still be selfish and irresponsible, but now he couldn't afford that. 

Kyungsoo's expression softened. "It's okay, I can excuse you. I too know what it's like to love." He ended off with a sigh, and Sehun tried to stifle his amusement. Sure you do, he thought, recalling the obvious glances and little touches that he and Junmyeon gave each other when they thought no one was around. He did think that it was high time they announced their relationship, because it was already as clear as day in the eyes of the occupants of the palace and probably everyone knew about it already.

"Thanks, Kyungsoo. And I'm sorry, I'll try to be more attentive," Sehun promised.

"Alright, on with lessons," Kyungsoo pressed on and Sehun found himself attempting to solve the equations presented before him with renewed vigour. 

-

"Jongin-ah, dance for me!" Sehun practically begged. "You haven't danced for me yet, and you promised!"

Jongin quirked his lips like he was deep in thought. "I... did?"

"Yes!" Sehun hissed. "You can't have forgotten."

Jongin furrowed his brows. Sehun listened in trepidation to his next words—was he going to refuse?

"Of course I remember, silly. And I will dance for you."

Sehun almost burst out into cheers and claps; for a moment there he was really afraid that Jongin would say no.

Jongin walked into the middle of the room, took a deep breath and bowed. Sehun was impressed the minute he stepped into the centre of the room; he'd turned into a totally different person. The Jongin who loved playing and joking around a few moments ago quickly transformed into one with overflowing confidence and charisma. 

Jongin danced to an imaginary track, body dipping and twisting to a silent rhythm unheard to anyone but himself. Sehun watched in awe as Jongin's sleek and fluid movements the breath out of him. The patter of Jongin's shoes on the marble floor was the only thing to be heard as the whole world fell silent. Sehun found his eyes straying to very inappropriate parts of his body—which he quickly stopped by looking at the ground. He gulped; really, he shouldn't be acting this way.

But then, as he watched, Sehun suddenly could hear. He didn't notice it at first, but a faint tune crept into the back of his head. He strained to hear it and the lilting melody disappeared. He stopped straining and the music returned, beautiful and haunting. Slowly and surely, it grew louder, as Jongin's movements grew more aggressive and powerful as the music came to its . Sehun guessed this was what it meant to be good at dancing—to make your audience actually hear the music you are dancing to.

Sehun was so entranced by Jongin's dance that he didn't even realise he had already ended and was walking towards him, sheepishly scratching his head. He was still staring off into space. Jongin had to wave a hand in front of him to snap him out of his reverie.

"So... how was it? Did you like it?"

"I loved it! It was absolutely... breathtaking. Just, wow," Sehun gushed. His eyes were shining and they were trained on Jongin, who shyly looked away. Sehun couldn't help but view Jongin in a different way now after his stunning dance performance. How an already perfect being could turn out to be even more perfect was promptly added to Sehun's list of mind-blowing mysteries of the universe.

"I never knew you could dance like that," Sehun rambled on, and Jongin blushed because it wasn't everyday he received such sincere compliments from people.

"Thanks," he answered, scratching the back of his ear. Sehun noted it as a cute little habit Jongin had when he was nervous—he did it a lot during the first few days of their acquaintance. "Actually I was a little hesitant in the beginning about showing it to you, because, well, I haven't really performed in front of anyone before," Jongin admitted. Sehun widened his eyes and his jaw slackened—he wasn't sure if he had heard him correctly.

"Really? Why not?" Sehun was so filled with confusion that he looked so very childlike in that moment. Jongin caught sight of his adorable expression and laughed.

"Because the prince is supposed to be the heir to a kingdom. He isn't really supposed to dance right? I could only practise in secret. Dance is thought of as an entertainment, performed only by dance troupes and entertainers and the like. I was too afraid of what people would say, what they would think if I ever danced. They wouldn't have accepted it." Jongin sighed. "My parents would have refused, too."

"But then... why did you perform it eventually, then?" Why me? Jongin understood the burning question that Sehun wanted to ask, even though the words never left his mouth.

"Because you're different." Jongin laughed lightly. "This sounds extremely cliché, but I trust you. You wouldn't judge me for being different, despite being a prince yourself."

Sehun's brain tried to process this information to the best of his ability. "I'm so honoured, Jongin," he mock-bowed, then burst out into guffaws as Jongin bowed back. 

"No, Prince Luhan, the honour is all mine."

“But for a prince, you don't really act like one. Not in a bad way, of course," Jongin rushed to explain, "but it's more of the way how you have no airs about yourself at all. You're so different, and so real," he continued earnestly, reaching out to take Sehun's hand. "That's what I love about you."

"Love?" Sehun's heart skipped a beat, trying to grasp onto what the word might mean in this context. Did he really mean love, or was it the friendship kind of love...?

"Yes, I love you, Luhan." Jongin tilted Sehun's chin to meet his own gaze, and Sehun could see his own self, unsure and bewildered, reflected in his coffee brown eyes. 

"I know we're engaged, but I haven't had the chance to ask you this question properly yet."

Before Sehun could react, Jongin knelt down before him, never once letting go of his hand. "I love you, will you be willing to marry me?" 

"I—I," Sehun was at a loss for words. Jongin's gaze was so sincere it almost broke Sehun's heart. I love you too, but I won't be the one you're marrying. 

I really shouldn't be saying yes, I really shouldn't be saying yes, I really shouldn't be saying—

"Yes," Sehun rasped out. "Yes, I will." Jongin smiled, squeezing Sehun's hand. He got up and Sehun's eyes fluttered shut as Jongin's hands encircle him. Sehun hugged him back, melding their lips together in a gentle kiss. Sehun felt kind of light-headed, and had to hold on to Jongin to prevent his wobbly knees from buckling under him. 

Is this heaven? Sehun thought. Because it felt pretty damn close.

Too bad good things were never meant to last.

A/N:

Because princes do actually have lessons as well xD

Just a heads up: I won't be able to update at least until after the first week of April. I've got 3 exams coming up and I have to take part in Chem Olympiad and I really need to start mugging for the both of them D:

To make it up to you guys, here's a Sehun portrait I drew for one of my friends. My scanner so you can't really see it clearly (it isn't supposed to be this light wtf). 

(I can't draw denim for nuts.)

Anyways, hope you liked this update as usual and thank you to all those subscribers and commenters :3 No matter if you're a new reader, or one that has been supporting me from the start, I just wanna say I love you guys <3 We're about halfway there :)