*Zelo’s POV*

I stared out the window watching Yongguk train with the other guards as they sparred. He was really good at fighting, it was almost mesmerizing. He made it look so easy as if it were natural. I couldn’t help but smile with pride as Yongguk beat his third opponent. I was proud to have the best fighter as my own personal guard, though I guess it’s already a given. But I was glad that it was Yongguk. “I see that my lesson is boring you.” A voice pulled me out of my trans.

I blushed in embarrassment as I turned to face my instructor’s unimpressed expression. “Sorry.” I apologized, bowing my head. She sighed, shaking her head, “I know that you can’t stop thinking about your party. But this stuff I’m teaching you is important too. You have to know what happens to your body once you turn 20.” She said.

I blushed even harder at her sarcasm. She was the only person that knew about my crush for Bang. Well, she was the only person that caught onto my crush. “Speaking of the party, have you chosen an yet?” She questioned. “No.” I pouted, “Do I have to have one?” “According to your parents yes, you do.” My instructor answered.

I sighed, leaning back in my seat, “There’s no one I want to go with.”

She raised an eyebrow, not convinced, “Are you sure about that?”

“I mean…” I glanced back out the window, witnessing Yongguk beat another opponent, “…do you think my parents will allow him to be my ?” I looked back at her.

She shrugged, “I don’t see why not. In fact, I think they’d be more comfortable with him as your than some random person, so he can protect you better.” She explained.

“But, I don’t want it to be like that. I’d rather him go as my , as my date. Not as a guard.” My pout deepened.

“I guess I’ll end the lecture here for today.” She said. I perked up at this, “Really?”

“Neh. Make sure you use this extra free time I’m giving you to think about your . Your parents need to know so they can set it up before the party.” She said. “Neh.” I smiled.

I waited for her to leave before standing up and walking over to the window. Yongguk was alone. He must’ve just finished his training as he sheathed his sword and wiped the little sweat away from his face with a towel that was handed to him.

A smile was glued to my lips just watching him. I knocked on the window, immediately gaining his attention. He gave me a confused look, but I signaled for him to meet me in the back meadow in 15 minutes. He nodded with an amused smile, getting the message. I returned the smile before quickly shutting the curtains and ran out the study.

I ran through the halls into the kitchen. Thankfully, Baekhyun was there, helping out the cooks and servants. “Uh, Your highness, what brings you here?” he questioned a bit confused when I approached him.

“Do you think I can get a big fruit bowl and a couple of sandwiches…um, now?” I asked. “Yeah, of course.” He smiled. He excused himself from the people he was helping and went to get the items he needed. I followed behind him.

“Um, Can I help you?” I asked shyly, as he started to cut the fruit. “Can you handle a knife?” was his response with a teasing smile. “Y-Yes.” I said. “have you ever used a knife before?” was his next question. “Yes.” I answered with a bit more confidence. “To cut food?”

“No.” I pouted, knowing where he was going with this.

He chuckled a bit, “here we already have some pre-sliced cheese, meat, and vegetables. You can put the sandwiches together.” He said, pointing to the said items next to him. I perked up and rolled my sleeves, about to start when Baekhyun quickly stopped me. “Uh, wash your hands first.” He reminded. “Heh, ah yeah, sorry.” I apologized in slight embarrassment. I washed my hands in the nearest sink before returning to the sandwiches.

It took a little longer than I expected, to finish the fruit and sandwiches. When I finished the sandwiches Baekhyun cut them into neat, clean cut triangles and decorated them onto a large plate. I also helped him place the cut fruit into the large bowl in a pretty cool color coated pattern. Baekhyun even whipped up small bowls of melted chocolate, strawberry jelly, and whipped cream to dip the fruits in.

“Do you need help?” Baekhyun asked as I cautiously lifted the tray of food. “No. I’m good. Thank you!” I thanked him. “You’re welcome.” He smiled. With that I left the kitchen and quickly made my way towards the back, while at the same time being careful not to ruin the presentation of the snacks.

Thankfully, Yongguk wasn’t at the meadow when I got there.

I gently placed the tray on the ground and sat on the porch and waited for him. “Hm, maybe I should’ve brought some blankets.” I thought aloud as a cold breeze came through. But it was too late now, I didn’t want to miss Yongguk.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting your highness. It took a little longer for me to change.” Yongguk arrived a few minutes later, bowing. I frowned, “I said not to call me that. Call me Zelo or Junhong.” He opened his mouth o argue but I cut him off, “Plus, no one else is around.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Okay, Zelo.” He said. A smile instantly grew on my lips at the name. “Come on.” I patted the other side of the tray, inviting him to sit down.

“What’s this?” he asked curiously, sitting down, referring to the tray of foo din between us. “It’s food silly.” I said. He only looked at me, not accepting my answer. “Well, I saw you training earlier. So, I thought you’d be hungry afterwards.” I said, forcing myself not to blush.

He looked a bit surprised by this. “Is this for me?” He questioned. “It’s for both of us, but yeah.” I answered. He smiled, picking up one of the sandwiches, “did you make all this?” He asked. “Yes.” I nodded. He raised an eyebrow. “Well, with the help of Baekhyun of course.” I added quietly, earning a chuckle from the elder before he bit into the sandwich. “Thank you.” He thanked. “You’re welcome.” I beamed.

He looked around as if to look for something. “No water?” He finally asked.

“Wha-Oh! I forgot! You’re probably more thirsty than hungry!” I face-palmed myself for forgetting (which actually hurt). “It’s okay. I’m just kidding. I had plenty of water before coming here.” He laughed. He grabbed a piece of cut fruit and dipped it into the chocolate sauce. Then he went to dip it in the whipped cream when I quickly stopped him. “No! Don’t do that or…” but he dipped it in anyway. “…or you’ll get chocolate in the whipped cream.” I finished in defeat.

“Oops.” He said unapologetically, eating the decorated fruit anyway.

“Yah! You did that on purpose!” I accused. “And?” he said, his fingers before wiping them off on a napkin. “Now there’s chocolate in the cream. What if I didn’t want chocolate.” I pouted.

“Well, did you want chocolate?”

I paused, thinking hard about the question. “No.”

He scoffed at this, “Fine.”

He scooped two of his fingers into the whipped cream and scooped out the portion without chocolate. I watched him curiously. He then reached over and before I realized what was going on, he wiped the lump of white fluff along my nose.

I gasped at the cold contact against my skin

“There.” He said, sitting back down, “Now you have whipped cream without chocolate.”

“Y-Yah!” I spat, dipping my own fingers into the chocolate about to wipe it onto him when he caught my wrist and bended my arm back to wear he used my hand to wipe the chocolate on my cheek. It kind of hurt, but I didn’t dare tell him, this was fun.

“Hey~!” I whined. “That’s not fair.” He only shrugged, obviously not caring.

I dipped two of my fingers from both hands into the chocolate and went after him. This time he caught both of my wrists. “Not this time.” I said and tackled him, jumping on top of him, forcing him to fall back on the porch. We wrestled on the ground until I finally got chocolate on both his cheeks. As a result, we both ended up with a little bit of chocolate on our clothes.

“Now you can have all the chocolate you want.” I said proudly as we sat back down in our spots.

“You’re so childish.” He laughed. I frowned, “I’m not childish!” I spat. He only looked at me, unbothered by my outburst. “Oh really?” He challenged, referring to my past action.

“Well, you did it first!” I defended. “Because you were being childish.” He laughed harder at my seriousness.

My frown deepened. I really didn’t want him to see me as a child. Because if he does, he’ll never like me the way I like him. However, a slight smirk grew on my lips as an idea came to mind.

I slid the tray out of the way and scooted closer to him while he was still busy laughing. Then I leaned forward and slowly the line of chocolate that streaked his cheek closest to me. His laughing halted, and his body froze.

I pulled away, smiling cheekily at him. He stared at me speechless. “I told you I’m not a kid.” I said.

“P-P-Prince...P-Pri…” He struggled to find his words.

“Zelo.” I corrected.

“…Y-You shouldn’t…Y-You shouldn’t d-do things like that.” He forced the best words he could out of his mouth as possible. “Why not? No one’s here. This is our secret place. We can do whatever we want. You can call me Zelo. And I can you.” I simply said.

He only shook his head and wiped the chocolat