Taemin wasn’t too surprised when he woke up nearly the next morning. Embarrassed, yes, but he had expected it. He could only imagine what Minho was feeling. Mostly annoyed, probably.

‘Oh well, that idiot deserves it. Maybe mow he’ll give me a room of my own.”

While Taemin had expected this, Key on the other hand, was quite shocked.

“Taemin…what…umm…you…” Taemin couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. “It’s definitely not what you think, Key. I just move around a lot in my sleep, and sometimes I unconsciously take my clothes off.” He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. Key burst into laughter. “This just gets better and better! I’m so glad you’re here, Taemin! You make everything so much more entertaining!” 

“Ummm thanks?”

“I have to interrogate Minho about this later. I imagine he had a looong night.”

“I’m hoping I scared him off. I really want my own room.”

Key shook his head, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I doubt that. He’s very stubborn, and I don’t think your crazy sleeping habits are going to scare him away.”

Taemin released an annoyed whine. “But I hate this! I’m not really his wife, so why should I have to sleep in the same room with him?”

“You know people would think it strange if a Prince didn’t share his bed with his soon-to-be wife.” Key leaned forward to straighten his robes a bit before continuing. “Besides, it wasn’t so bad last night, was it? You slept peacefully, right? And you’ll always have someone to protect you at night.”

Taemin shrugged, his lips turning into a pout. “I guess…”

“Come on, let’s get you dressed and we can play senet again.”

~~~~~

The next few days that passed all blurred together, as he did the same things. Minho would come back at night, Taemin would wake up to see the bed empty, and he would sit in bed all day playing games with Key. It was excruciatingly boring, and he had actually missed Minho a bit wondered what that stupid Prince was doing every day.

He was really hoping to get out of this room soon, seeing as his injuries were nearly healed. His body no longer ached and the bruises were slowly going away, turning an ugly yellow.

He got his wish one morning, when he woke up to see Minho sitting on the bed, dressed quite comfortably. Minho looked over to him as soon as he felt the boy stir. “Good morning, Princess.”

Taemin stuck his tongue out at the older boy. “Ugh don’t call me that.”

Minho chuckled. “You are such a child.”

“You have no right to call me child. How old are you? 19?” Taemin challenged. He was getting sick of the stupid Prince calling him a child and a little boy when the Prince himself seemed only a few years older.

“I’m 25 actually,” Minho answered smugly.

“O-Oh…” Taemin was honestly surprised. He definitely didn’t expect Minho to be that old, not that 25 was very old at all, but it was older than Taemin had thought. “Well, you definitely don’t look it.” He pouted, embarrassed about being blatantly proved wrong. 

“I get that a lot,” Minho smiled, reaching forward to brush a stray piece from Taemin’s cheek. Taemin was shocked at the warm act, and he could feel his cheeks warming up.

“W-Why are you here anyways? You’re never here during the day.”

“I’m usually not this busy, but there has been a lot of conflict with a neighboring country lately, so I’ve had much to do. I decided to take a little time off today to take you somewhere. I can imagine that you’ve been bored cooped up in this room, hmm?”

“Oh…well, yes.” Taemin’s heart warmed a bit at the Princes words. So, Minho had actually been a bit concerned for him? “Where are we going?”

“I thought I could show you the garden today, and maybe around the palace if we have time.”

“Well, that would be…nice,” Taemin mumbled, not sure how to respond to Minho’s kindness. He wanted to hate Minho so much, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Don’t act so surprised. I’m not as terrible as you think I am.” Minho gave him an amused smile, and he only looked down at his lap, unable to answer. “Now why don’t you get dressed and tame that messy hair before we get going.”

Taemin’s hands flew to his hair, trying to flatten it, but not succeeding. He let out a sigh before climbing out of bed and into the next room to change. Key had taught him how to put on the robes the other a day, and he still had a bit of trouble with them, but eventually he got himself dressed. He wet his hair and combed through it quickly, eager to leave.

When he stepped back into the bedroom, Minho was pulling out a small ornate box. He opened it and pulled out an elegant, but simple necklace. He made his way to Taemin, and held out the necklace in his palm. It was a golden choker, complete with three sapphires; a large one in the middle, and two small ones beside it. Taemin had to admit that it was beautiful.

Minho walked around to the younger boy’s back and placed the jewelry around his neck, clasping it slowly. “This was my mother’s favorite necklace. She loved sapphires...she thought they were most beautiful of any stone.” He grabbed Taemin’s shoulders and gently turned him around. Minho brushed his thumb across the boy’s cheek bone, right below his eye. “I always agreed with her.”

“M-Minho…”Taemin felt his cheeks grow hot, and his mind went blank, completely stunned by Minho’s actions.

Minho laughed nervously, and shook his head, before backing away. “Shall we go?”

“Ah yes…” Minho nodded and turned to the door, Taemin following behind him. “Minho?”

“Yes?” He asked and turned around.

“Thanks.” And when Taemin smiled, Minho thought that giving him the necklace was definitely worth it.

~~~~~

Minho wasn’t quite sure what had gotten into him lately. Taemin never seemed to leave his mind. Even as he worked all day, he was always thinking of how the boy was doing. Was he eating well? Was he healing fast? He had come to the conclusion that it was purely guilt that he was feeling. But then…why was he always thinking about the warmth of Taemin’s body as he slept next to him? Or the few times that Taemin had smiled? Or the soft glow of his skin? Or his eyes? Minho couldn’t stop thinking about his eyes. And when Minho had been searching through his things and spotted his mother’s necklace, he instantly thought of the younger boy.

Although he had not talked to Taemin much, the boy seemed to have charmed him already. Minho only had to keep his strange, sinful thoughts in the back of mind, because they were not normal.

“Waaah…this is amazing!” He stared at the side of Taemin’s face, watching his blue eyes sparkle in excitement as he looked around at all the flowers. He bent down to touch the petal of a lily, and smiled softly. Minho felt his heart warm when Taemin looked up at him with that same soft smile. “It’s beautiful, Minho.” It was such a nice change to see the boy smiling. Minho had grown accustomed to only seeing him glare and scowl. He hoped Taemin was finally starting to get a bit comfortable here.

“My mother helped build it,” Minho said, staring across the garden fondly. “She instructing her servants to build it, but she never failed to help every day. My father protested, but she loved taking care of the flowers.”

Taemin fiddled with the necklace. “She sounds nice…”

“She was a perfect mother, and a great Queen.” Minho smiled sadly.

Taemin looked up at him with reluctance, hesitant to ask the question in his mind. “How did she…?”

“Die?” Minho finished for him. “She was murdered, and we still don’t know who the culprit is. My father had to marry quickly and he picked a concubine that had already birthed 2 of his sons; Sujung, the current Queen.”

Taemin stood up and Minho felt small fingers entwine with his own. He closed his eyes, relishing the warmth of Taemin’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Minho.” And Minho could feel that he really was. He could hear the sympathy in Taemin’s voice, unlike the monotone voices of all the people who pretended to care when his mother died. “I understand what it’s like…my father died a year ago. It was the most horrible thing to go through, and I did my best to be strong for my mom, but it was hard for me too…”

“What happened to him?” Minho asked, sympathy coating his words.

“Cancer.”

Minho gave him a questioning look, and he suddenly remembered that the older boy had probably never even heard of cancer. “It’s a terrible disease that kills a lot of people in my world.”

“Oh…I’m-I’m sorry as well, Taemin.” He gave Taemin’s hand a gentle squeeze, feeling as though he had gotten so close to the boy with just this short conversation.

“I just…hope my mom will be alright without me.” Minho immediately felt the guilt weigh down on his heart as he watched Taemin’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. “Taemin…I-“

“Prince Minho, I’m sorry to interrupt.” Minho turned around, a bit grateful for the interruption because he had no idea what to say, but annoyed that their intimate conversation was cut short. “Jonghyun wishes to discuss something with you, Your Majesty. It seems urgent.”

Minho nodded and reluctantly let go of Taemin’s hand. He watched as the boy blinked away his tears. “I’m sorry, Taemin. I’ll have someone you back to our room. Stay here until they arrive, alright?”

Taemin nodded with a blank expression, but Minho could see the disappointment in his eyes. “I’ll try to finish quickly so I can show you around.”

~~~~~

Taemin wiped the stray tears from his eyes as soon as Minho walked away, internally reprimanding himself. Why did he just do that? Why had he just opened up so easily to Minho?

Maybe it was just because he had felt that he had some sort of connection to Minho at that moment, a grief they could both share.

Taemin continued further into the garden, admiring the flowers as he tried to keep thoughts of Minho out of his head. When he reached a small pond, very wide but only knee deep, he crouched down to watch the tiny fish swim around. “Annyoeng,” he mumbled, feeling a bit childish but not caring in the least. “I bet you guys miss being in a real river, huh? It being stuck here…”

“She’s even stranger than I expected.” Taemin whipped around, surprised by the voice. Three women stood over him, giggling at the statement one of them had made. Taemin stood, expression challenging. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you must have somehow tricked the Prince into to marrying a freak like you. He deserves much more.” The tallest girl scowled, looking him up and down.

Taemin rolled his eyes. If this girl really expected him to be insulted, she had another thing coming. He had to struggle to keep himself from laughing at their pathetic attempt at bullying him. He stood up, facing the tall girl with an amused smile. “Don’t be jealous, it makes you look uglier than you already are.”

The other two gasped, and the tall girl’s cheeks grew red with shame. “Don’t act so high and mighty, you stupid peasant. I don’t know why the Prince is wasting his time on someone who isn’t even a real Princess.” The girl reached forward to grab a strand of Taemin’s hair. “You are no better than dirt,” she said before pushing his shoulder. He lost his balance and fell straight into the pond, his back hitting the stone harshly. He yelped, the pain shooting up his spine. He heard the girls laughing as he sat up, his robes soaked and the tips of his hair dripping water.

Just as Taemin was about to get up at tell these girls off, a booming voice interrupted him.

“What’s going on?!” The girls jumped and their laughing ceased immediately. As they spotted the two men making their way over, they bowed. “Prince Changmin, Prince Mir, good morning.” They said in unison.

“I asked you what the hell is going on. What are you doing?” Changmin ignored their greeting and glared at the girls impatiently.

“Nothing, Your Majesty. She tripped and fell into the pond, that’s all.” One of the girls answered, looking at him with wide eyes.

“You dare lie to me?” The girls backed away in fear. Changmin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, trying to calm himself. “I’m sure Prince Minho wouldn’t like to hear news of you three harming his bride. I wonder what he would do?”

The three girls bowed simultaneously. “We’re sorry, Your Majesty. P-Please forgive us.”

“Just get out of my sight.” Changmin scoffed, waving them off. They scampered away quickly.

“Are you alright?” Taemin glanced up at the owner of the sweet voice, and immediately recognized the fifth Prince, Mir. He offered his palm and Taemin accepted, stepping out of the cold water. He hissed as the pain in his back increased. “I-I’m fine.”

“You’re injured, aren’t you?” Mir looked him up and down, eyes filled with worry.

“No, no! I’m fine, just a little cold.” He gave them a reassuring smile but they didn’t seem convinced. Taemin did not want anyone to know he was the slightest bit hurt; he didn’t want to have to sit in that damn room for another day.

“Well, alright, if you say so…” Mir reached inside his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He continued to wipe Taemin’s face and dry his hair a bit. “We should get you in some warm clothes, and-“

“Mir, you’re making her uncomfortable,” Changmin interrupted. Mir’s eyes widened and he backed away. “Ah, I-I’m sorry. I-I was only trying to help.”

Taemin giggled, earning a surprised glance from both of them. “It’s alright, I’m not uncomfortable at all. Thank you for the help.” Taemin bowed.

Mir brightened up immediately. “Oh it’s nothing. Those girls are absolutely awful for doing that to you.” He huffed angrily.

Taemin shrugged. “I’m a bit used to it really. Some people just have nothing better to do with their lives than ruin someone else’s.” Taemin accepted the handkerchief from Mir and continued to wipe his face. “Oh and thank you too, Prince Changmin.” Taemin bowed once again, but Changmin barely glanced at him. The Prince shifted his gaze, looking a bit frustrated. “Y-You’re welcome,” he mumbled.

‘Oh no…does he hate me too?”

“Ah! Changmin, it's your mother’s necklace!” Mir exclaimed, pointing to the choker around Taemin’s neck. “Did Minho give it to you?”

“Oh umm yea he did. I’m sorry, should I not be wearing it, or-“

“Oh no no! It looks lovely on you, and you’re the perfect person to wear it.” Mir smiled brightly and Taemin couldn’t help but return the smile. “Alright…”

“Taemin!”

Taemin jumped at the shrill voice, which he immediately recognized as Key’s “Oh no! What happened?!” Key ran towards him, grabbing his shoulders in hysterics. “I’m fine, Key! I’m fine! I just tripped into the pond.”

Changmin and Mir both gave him disapproving looks, and he could see that they both didn’t want him to keep what had happened a secret. But he really didn’t want any more drama, and he knew he would get just that if he were to tell.

He let Key fuss over him as he was led away. He waved at the two Princes and gave them a thankful smile before leaving the garden.

~~~~~

“She seems so sweet,” Mir said, smiling warmly. He looked over to see Changmin staring at the ground, his brow furrowed. If Mir wasn’t mistaken, he could have sworn he saw his brother’s cheeks blush.

“Yea…shes-she’s quite beautiful too, isn’t she?”

~~~~~

A/N: Ahhh I feel like it's been so long since I updated >.< I have no idea why I had so much trouble with this chapter....

Sorry if things are a little boring right now, but I'm trying to build the 2min relationship and introduce some more characters before I get into the real action. Just a warning, this fic may be kind of amusing now, but I plan on piling on the angst lol

Oh and it was pointed out that it was weird for Minho to be calling Taemin a little boy if he were only a few years older, so I had to slip his age in this chapter x)