there were pillows decorating the king sized mattress, with a teenager sitting up in the midst of them all. baekhyun was awake, staring at the embroidered tapestries for about fifteen minutes before he heard a knock on the door.

"yes?"

a young man slipped through the door with a pile of clothes neatly folded in his arms.

"good morning, sir."

"i told you 'baekhyun' was fine."

"sir, i can't-"

"chanyeol, of course you can. im only older by months."

the other let out a sigh and walked over to baekhyun's bedside.

"your parents might overhear."

"so?"

baekhyun's expression challenged the servant to reply, but the one he recieved was not to his liking.

"prince baekhyun, your father and mother would like you inside the dining room in about thirty minutes. if you need assistance with getting ready, I'll be here to help."

over the span of a few months, chanyeol and baekhyun's relationship had changed from 'in love' to servant and master. little by little, baekhyun would notice changes in his friend's speech ('baekhyun' to 'sir,' for example) and actions (bowing everytime he was dismissed, eyes staring at the ground rather than at his face). it bothered the prince once he started seeing the changes, and tried to plead with chanyeol to go back to his old ways. he never recieved a certain answer though, for the giant always changed the topic.

this morning in particular, the heir's mind was filled with thoughts pertaining to his relationship with a certain male. he was so tired of chanyeol's bland nature; he wanted to know that he still thought of him the same way, and not just another member of the royal family.

with a racing heart, baekhyun decided to ask chanyeol to do a simple task. the prince knew he had to keep his composure steady and not turn red, or else the other might not do as he would ask.

"my arms feel tired today. please strip me."

his words came out dry and forced, his eyes staring into chanyeol's averting ones.

"yes... sir..."

deep brown met warm eyes for the first time in ages. chanyeol had set the clothes down on the side of the bed. slowly, he made his way closer to his prince; baekhyun moved towards the edge of the bed, hoping chanyeol didn't notice the wobble in his arms as he did so.

with his legs hanging over the edge of his bed, baekhyun stared a hole into chanyeol's chest, knowing that he wouldn't be able to control his breathing if he dared look at the expression on his face. chanyeol's hands moved to undo the first button of the prince's night shirt, his fingers shaking. the loose fabric began to fall around baekhyun's shoulders as chanyeol went on, the skin underneath seeing sunlight. once the taller had all the buttons done, he leaned closer in towards baekhyun's figure, gently pulling the prince's arm out of the sleeve (the servant hasn't touched baekhyun in any way since the change, the smoothness of the other's skin surprising chanyeol once again). baekhyun's bare chest was now exposed, the morning air sending chills down his spine. chanyeol neatly folded the night shirt with shaky hands, the folds not as crisp as usual.

"chanyeol, I'm cold."

"would you like for me to help you still?"

"hug me, please?"

byun baekhyun was turning sixteen that day. he sounded like a child still, but he missed chanyeol too much to care.

"sir-"

"please?"

"you don't have a shirt on."

baekhyun took the clean shirt from the pile of new clothes and slipped it over his head swiftly.

"it's just a hug, chanyeol."

"it's not a part of my duties."

baekhyun stood up from the bed. he had on a long sleeved white sweater and the pajama shorts he hadn't changed out of yet. his arms were close to his side, and his bangs were right above his eyes. chanyeol turned to completely face him, and although he was six months younger, he definitely appeared older in height.

"i thought you loved me."

"sir, not now-"

"stop calling me that! why can't you just be like before? i thought you loved me. i thought we promised that even though we were destined to be like this, we wouldn't follow the stupid rules!"

"baekhyun, please-"

at the sound of his name, the poor prince fell forward into his servant's arms with tears forming in the wells of his eyes. how he missed the sound of his name rolling off his lips.

"i just wanted... i just- i missed you."

"i was always here."

"no- you left me. you stopped calling me your love and you stopped coming by to kiss me good night."

chanyeol's entire guard fell at that, his chest swelling a bit at the reminder of the past.

"I'm sorry, my prince."

slowly, baekhyun felt chanyeol's arms wrap around his waist, keeping him pressed against his white collard shirt. they stayed there for a moment before chanyeol began to let go. frantically, baekhyun clutched onto his shirt harder, afraid that this moment might never come again.

"prince byun- please, your parents are-"

"let's run away."

"sir-?"

"let's leave. i don't care about the throne, chanyeol. i want you to be you again."

"I've always been me."

baekhyun shook his head against his chest.

"what did they tell you? that they'd kick you out if you continued to be close to me? that i would be betrothed to a princess? tell me, and I'll tell you the truth, yeol."

"what do you-"

the prince pulled away from the giant's chest, looking him in the eyes.

"i want you to love me again. I'll tell you everything, please... i want you to sneak in some nights after the guards finish patrol just to sleep next to me. i want you to leave letters on my tray of food. i want you to drop this act..."

chanyeol looked deep into the smaller's eyes, watching as they grew warmer with every memory filled sentence he said. he too wished they could run away. he also missed those risky escapades he made from the servant's quarters to the prince's bedroom. however, he knew they could never go back. prince byun baekhyun was betrothed to princess kim taeyeon from the Fifth District. the king and queen had personally told him to stay away from their son as much as possible; they told him that if any sign of affection was shown, they would send the prince off to live with his soon to be wife.

"prince baekhyun, your parents are waiting for you in the dining hall. this is a waste of time."

Delete Commentcrappyeolto do this to byun baekhyun crushed park chanyeol's heart. chanyeol had noticed the lost and longing look in the prince's eyes ever since the day he had started to change. now, the pain was intolerable. he was beginning to break down. he had no idea if he could keep up his act any longer. so, it was a relief when he saw baekhyun's body go limp at the arms, a sign that he had given up.

"please tell them that i will be down in a few minutes."

the coldness hidden in baekhyun's soft voice made chanyeol's blood run cold.

"i will not be needing any more assistance this morning. thank you."

for a second, the giant thought his knees were frozen straight. slowly, they began to move on their own, bringing park chanyeol outside the bedroom. he just wished his legs had worked faster so he couldn't have heard the sound of tears right as he closed the door behind him.