Baekhyun is excited, his heart is thumping inside his chest and his stomach is flipping around with giddiness; it tickles, and all Baekhyun wants is to run his way over the throne room, where Chanyeol most likely should already be by now and jump at him. Jongsoo had run to his bedroom a few moments ago, announcing the arrival of the king's and Chanyeol's car to the palace from the airport.

He, however, hides all those feelings and emotions behind a serious face, his arms crossed behind his back and a patient pace as he makes his way through the halls with Jongsoo by his side and ─much to his annoyance─  Kris behind them. He can't wait to see his prince after a week, even if he has to force himself to keep his posture and not wrap his arms around him and beg him to never leave again.

The throne room's doors are open wide, Baekhyun can hear the chattering and laughter; the booming voice of the king and Sooyoung squealing over what Baekhyun guesses are gifts from China. He takes a deep breath and steps in, the guards announce his name and Chanyeol immediately turns around; the smile on his face widening upon seeing him.

Baekhyun swallows and has to lower his face a little to hide the blush on his cheeks. Chanyeol is approaching him, extending an arm at him; Baekhyun takes his hand and smiles a small smile, fingers wrapping around the older's hand.

"Finally." Chanyeol mumbles, then, he leans in and gives his cheek a kiss. His lips linger over Baekhyun's skin for a few seconds, but it's enough to make his body burn and his heart skip a beat. "I missed you." Chanyeol says before pulling away completely.

"I missed you too." Baekhyun answers, almost breathless. He can see the surprise flashing in Chanyeol's face at the unexpected confession, but then the prince grins, his right eye twitching in overbearing happiness.

For Chanyeol, that is enough to give him hope.

"Come. I brought gifts." Chanyeol drags him along with him, there's a subtle skip on his step, like a puppy, Baekhyun notices; he's sure that if Chanyeol had a tail, it would be furiously wagging by now.

"Baekhyunnie, look!" Sooyoung exclaims as soon as they get closer. She shows him a red squared box and opens it, revealing an exuberant white gold necklace, a web of teardrops with black and regular diamonds incrusted on every pendant. Baekhyun's eyes widen a little.

"It's really beautiful, Soo."

"I know!" She exclaims, jumping a little on her feet. "I'm keeping this to wear it on your wedding." She closes the box again. Chanyeol chuckles. "Now, if you excuse me." Sooyoung says, motioning for a few of the servants to come and pick the bags and boxes of her gifts. She quickly disappears through the door.

"Where's Jongin?" Baekhyun asks then, upon noticing the young prince is missing.

"He's on his way. Said he was with a friend of his." Chanyeol shrugs. Baekhyun nods, knowingly. "But anyway," he motions for a male servant. The man comes closer, pulling along a medium sized trunk "I brought a few things for you, it's not much but... I hope you like them." Chanyeol says as he kneels on the floor. Curious, Baekhyun does the same.

The prince pulls out a chest, almost half of the size of the bigger trunk and places it over the edge carefully. He lifts the lid, revealing row after row of glass jars. "It took me a while to pick the scents, I hope they suit your taste." The prince smiles, pushing the wooden chest to Baekhyun.

In awe, he pulls a random jar out and stares at it for a few seconds, thumb brushing over the name engraved on the glass: citrics, the powders inside a mix of green, yellow and orange; bath salts. Baekhyun removes the lid and approaches the jar to his nose, closing his eyes when the slightly acid and mouthwatering smell reaches his nostrils. It smells delicious, it brings Baekhyun a sudden sense of calm that has him relaxing his shoulders and releasing a sigh.

"There's sandalwood, vanilla, coconut, berries," Chanyeol's voice brings him back "citrics and... I think you're going to love this one." He says, pulling from the last row on the right a jar with pale green crystals in it. Baekhyun takes in his hand and his lips stretch wide on a happy smile.

"Green apples." He says. Chanyeol nods enthusiastically.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it, thank you." Baekhyun murmurs, putting the jars back inside and placing his hand over Chanyeol's to give it a small squeeze as a confirmation.

"Wait, there's more." The prince excitedly announces, taking out a much smaller wooden box. The hard wooden lid is decorated with intricate patterns in gold and it has on the right inner corner, Baekhyun's name craved on it. "King Guanyu picked this especially for you from his private selection." Chanyeol tells him as he slowly opens the box; inside, there's several, small white sacks lined over one another. "According to him, each type of tea leaf has a different function and a different effect on your body. He..." Chanyeol's voice trails off as he looks inside the trunk and then pulls out a small sandy-brown envelope "wrote this for you, too." He hands it to Baekhyun.

"Thank you." Baekhyun mumbles. "You really shouldn't have..." He says, opening the envelope and unfolding the paper sheet inside; he smiles at the neatly written letter and at the greeting on the first line: To our precious ray of light... our dearest Baekhyun.

"There's more." Chanyeol says, getting on his feet. Baekhyun looks up from the letter and raises both of his brows. "Those are waiting in my studio. Come with me, please." The prince offers Baekhyun his arm and he takes it, hooking his own around.

Chanyeol guides him through the hallways, slowly, with no rush. Baekhyun peeks over his shoulder every once in a while, his jaw clenching every time he catches sight of Kris, who's been following since the throne room, with his eyes on Chanyeol's back. He's been patient and understanding of Chanyeol's reason of putting his care and safety up to someone he trusts dearly, but Baekhyun thinks there are boundaries; he's sure Kris still hasn't overcome whatever he had with Chanyeol.

"How was the trip?" Baekhyun asks, for the sake of distracting himself.

"Well," Chanyeol begins, reaffirming his hold around Baekhyun's arm "aside from all the boring political matters and formalities, it was pretty good. Maybe we could go there and pay king Guanyu a visit... just you and I." He clears. "Guanyu is very excited to meet you in person."

"Why wait." Baekhyun smiles brightly. "I'll personally send his invitation to the wedding." He says; his heart skips a beat when he sees Chanyeol's face lighting up.

"That would be great."

Baekhyun hears Kris subtly clearing his throat, but the hallways are long and walls high, they both hear it. Baekhyun stops once they're by the studio's door, making Chanyeol do the same and turns around.

"Are you okay, Mr. Wu?"

Kris fixes his eyes on him. "Yes, Your Highness." He bows his head slightly.

"Good. You can leave. We won't need you for now." Baekhyun speaks, tone firm and eyes locked with Kris'; but the man doesn't move, he flicks his eyes towards Chanyeol and only does as Baekhyun tells him when the older prince nods his head at him.

Kris bows, turns around and leaves on the opposite direction.

"I don't like him." Baekhyun mumbles without thinking.

"Baek?" Chanyeol asks, wondering if he just heard wrong.

"He never does what I say. You put me under his charge, yes, but I am his prince─ soon to be king. He's disrespectful, not to mention that he thinks he has the right to mistreat my personal servant."

"Maybe you just need to get used to each other─"

"And you're defending him, of course." Baekhyun grits his teeth, removing his arm from around Chanyeol's and taking a step away.

Chanyeol bites his lip, sighing quietly. "I guess Kris is just... not used to be back. I let him do whatever he thought it was the best for my security back then. But you're right, he should listen to your commands now. I'll talk to him."

"Thank you." Baekhyun replies, furrowing his eyebrows. "But I'll say, if he doesn't change that behavior of his, I want him gone."

Chanyeol remains silent for a couple of seconds, then he nods. "I didn't know you were this bossy." He jokes. "No, wait, scratch that, you've always been bossy."

Baekhyun scoffs. "There are things that don't change." He grins.

"Indeed. And you know what?" Chanyeol says, crossing his arms on his back and taking the small step separating him from Baekhyun. "I like it."

Baekhyun seems taken aback for a very short moment, but then he's smirking and opting the same position as Chanyeol, getting a little closer to the taller prince and looking up. "Do you, now?" He teases.

Chanyeol's smile widens. He hums and leans his head down a little more, closing the distance between them.

Baekhyun's heart is beating wildly inside his chest, so hard and loud he's afraid Chanyeol will hear it.

Chanyeol is no different: he feels his heart thumping against his chest with so much strength, he swears it's going to rip through his chest and take its rightful place next to Baekhyun's; it is where it belongs, after all.

They're dangerously close. Baekhyun is breathing rapidly; Chanyeol is itching to reach for the other's face and touch his skin; Baekhyun unconsciously his lips and Chanyeol looks down at them. One more tiny movement and they'll be kissing, just one more tiny─

"My princes." Junmyeon's voice resonates across the halls, deep and long. The princes pull apart and they both clear their throats, looking everywhere but at the advisor. Junmyeon, upon realizing what he just interrupted, takes a step back, eyes wide in horror and ashamed for ruining what could have been a special moment between the princes. "I'm sorry, Your Highnesses." He begins to bow his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to─"

"It's alright, Junmyeon." Chanyeol says, solemn and smiling.

Baekhyun's still looking at the floor, cheeks burning in embarrassment. "I─ uh... right! The key, Your Highness." The man rummages inside his pocket until he finds the small object.

"Thank you. We'll talk later." Chanyeol mumbles when Junmyeon comes closer to give him the key.

The man nods and bows before heading off.

"Well, that was─"

"─weird─"

"─yeah─”

"Shall we─" Chanyeol points at the studio's door. Baekhyun nods.

Chanyeol proceeds to unlock the door and lets Baekhyun in first.

"Junmyeon let me in here a few days ago. I hope you don't mind." Baekhyun quietly says, looking around, becoming familiar with the surroundings once again.

"I don't. I'm pleased to share everything with you." Chanyeol says, casually, but Baekhyun's heart goes wild once again. The prince purses his lips, hoping he'll be able to hold back the smile that threatens to appear. "So..." Chanyeol speaks again, standing by the desk and pulling from underneath another wooden box, rectangular in shape, glossy and of a darker color. He motions for Baekhyun to get closer, and so he does, taking small steps towards his prince; only then he notices the inscription over the surface, in big and cursive letters it reads: BBH.

"What is that?" Baekhyun asks, glancing at Chanyeol and back at the box.

"Well... I brought this for you hoping you won't get mad at me and also, hoping you will consider" Chanyeol places his fingers over the thick lid and lifts it open "start painting again." The open box reveals a set of several vials and on the side, brushes of all types and sizes. "Chinese ink."

"Chanyeol, I─" Baekhyun swallows loudly, fingers dancing over the content of the box.

"You don't like it." Chanyeol mumbles when Baekhyun fails to say anything else. "I knew I was crossing the line with this, I just─"

"No, no. I like it." Baekhyun rushes to say, placing a hand over Chanyeol's arm. "I was just... not expecting this. I... I know you still keep my old sketchbook." He adds. Chanyeol flips his head up.

"You do? I─" Chanyeol sighs and averts his eyes "I'm sorry, I couldn't get rid of it. I tried but... but it felt like I was getting rid of a part of you." He mumbles the last word. "And I couldn't get rid of you."

This time, Baekhyun can't hold his smile back. He removes his hand from Chanyeol's arm and moves it up to place it over his cheek. Chanyeol closes his eyes and leans into the touch, sighing and wishing his heart wouldn't beat this way every time Baekhyun does something like this.

The signs are confusing. Baekhyun had left it very clear when he first arrived that he didn't love him, that he was here just to fulfill a duty and Chanyeol had come to terms with that; but then again, Baekhyun acts this way, looks at him with that adoration in his eyes; says the things he says and almost kisses him on his own will. It only makes Chanyeol's resolutions crumble and he wonders if he's seeing things where in reality, there's nothing there. Maybe Baekhyun's attention is just a way to show him he's willing to do what he's supposed to do, nothing more.

"Thank you." Baekhyun mumbles, rubbing the pad of his thumb across the prince's cheek. "For not getting rid of me."

"I would never." Chanyeol's whisper is barely hearable, but Baekhyun manages to hear it perfectly.

"So..." Baekhyun drops his hand and moves to sit on one of the chairs in front of the desk; a smirk playing on his lips as he slumps down, places his arms over the armrests and crosses one leg over the other "you said there were two gifts. I'm waiting, Your Highness."

Chanyeol lets out a small laugh and proceeds to take a small key from a cup with the shape of an owl; he works it on the lock of one of the top drawers on the left.

"Actually," Chanyeol begins. Baekhyun watches as his hand disappears inside the drawer "this isn't really a gift. I didn't bring it from China and it has been waiting here for quite a long time." His words spike Baekhyun's interest, his brows furrow and he gets on his feet, moving around the desk to stand next to Chanyeol. "Sooyoung is going to kill me for doing this without her being present." Chanyeol chuckles. "But I know how much you appreciate your privacy and I wanted this moment to be just between you and me." He pulls out a small, squared, velvety black box.

"Chanyeol..." Baekhyun's voice trails off, eyes fixed on the box.

"Baekhyun." Chanyeol says, speaking and moving slowly, almost as if measuring his words and actions. "Would you accept to be my best friend again? My prince, husband and my future king?" He opens the box, revealing a white gold ring, with the diamond in the middle almost the size of a bean; smaller ones incrusted over lines that go above and below the stone and blue sapphires on each side, giving the piece of jewelry a splash of color.

Baekhyun's eyes widen in awe. He glances up at Chanyeol to see the hopeful expression on his face; Baekhyun lets out a shaky breath and instead of replying, he turns around and walks towards the back of the room, by the end of the bookshelf, where the fake door is, missing how Chanyeol's face falls and swallows to hold back the tears.

Chanyeol only reacts when he hears the echo of the wooden door opening. He swirls around so fast that the ring almost falls from his h