His breath caught. And he couldn’t stop it, or hide it, or pretend it was anything other than what it was. Nor could he stop the way his tongue darted out over his lips, gaze dropping to the others mouth in the manner that a man would a woman- or vice versus. Angel had never felt anything as strong as this…. sure there had been moments of attraction to the horse trainer, to the stable boy… but never as strong as what was currently going through him. It made his stomach tighten, his pulse speed up… his gaze to darken as they met the others.

His next words felt like they were giving the other permission… to do what, he was no longer entirely sure. “yes…” he says softly before swallowing. “They were certainly needed… you are in no way wrong, Knight…” His voice was barely more than a whisper, the masks seemingly allowing this to be right. Making the heavy glance shared between them allowed. And that was all he needed to pull his courage up and lean in. Fear ran through him, afraid he was misinterpreting things as he pressed his lips softly to the others, eyes closing.

Fear that he’d be pushed away and called disgusting. Or that they’d be seen. So many things could go wrong, and should someone go to the balcony and look down, they could easily be spotted by another of the guests at the ball.

No air entered or left his lungs in the year-like seconds that ticked by. Apprehension. Curiosity.. Fear. They all drifted through the air, felt to obviously by both, yet both were too fearful to interpret. Was it possible that in all the Kingdoms, of all the soon to be rulers in their midst, they’d found a counterpart as ‘lecherous’ as the other?

And suddenly, all of time stopped in a crashing halt as the world’s softest lips blessed his own with a timid kiss. Eyelids fluttered to a close as though it were a trained reaction, knee-jerk in nature. Knight pulled back less than a hair’s width. 

"…Remember this" his soft voice brushed against those perfect lips, "Always remember this", before he pressed back into the kiss. The hand on his Angel’s chin shifted, cupping the soft cheek in his palm. All the while, the prince’s heart pounded against his rib cage as though it were a wild animal who knew freedom was near. In this moment, he was sure. There was nothing wrong with this. Nothing.

Heart thudding against his ribs, Angel felt like he couldn’t breath. It was as if the world had come to a screeching halt and all he could do wish nod dumbly before the others lips were pressing back to his. Something inside of him exploded- all of those self doubts, the hateful thoughts towards his own uality. It exploded into the air and was whipped away, leaving him so fully content and at peace with himself for the first time since he’d become a teen. “I will.. always.” He finally manages to whisper back, lips brushing over the others.

A hand lifted to rest on the others chest, feeling Knights heart pounding just as hard as his own. It left him wondering briefly if he’d had the same self doubts, but thinking didn’t last long under the onslaught of emotions that poured through him. Arousal, appreciation. Curiosity. The need for just a little bit more. “someone could see…” he mumbles out even as his tongue brushed over Knights lips, a silent request for entry.

Angel had forced himself to kiss women before, had tried to force himself into enjoying the fairer , but to no prevail. But at least it had left him with experience, so that he didn’t look like a fool in this moment, with his Knight. Head tilting into the others palm, his eyes fully closed to just enjoy the sensation of the others lips pressed to his.

A breathy, whisper of a chuckle was the only response prompted. It was a possibility, but a worry? Hardly. Let them see. Let them grow envious of a feeling so many never allow themselves to dream of, never struggled to obtain. No, neither would pull apart. Not when this felt so perfect.

Red lips parted happily, what could have been a groan soon muffled, lost as their lips reconnected. Feeling their tongues press and dance together sent hot shivers through every vein in his being, addicting him more than any simple drug ever could. His Angel. His dear Angel. How perfect he truly was. 

Knight’s free arm held the other just slightly closer, hand resting on the curve of the blonde’s neck. How any single, reasonable person could consider this wrong, a sin was baffling.

The sound that left him couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a moan, his body pressing closer to Knights. His tongue danced over the others, massaging over it before exploring his mouth as if committing it to memory. Angel knew that most likely, this would never happen again. That even if he met the other again, he wouldn’t recognize him and that this would be his only memory to go off of when he got lonely.

A part of him wondered if their bodies would always react to one another.. if they’d be drawn even in the light of day to one another like a moth to a flame. Long fingers curled over so lightly around the others lapel, holding him close as if worried the wind would whip him away and leave him once more alone. The whole evening had turned from dreary to something out of one of his dreams, leaving him light headed.

Or perhaps that was from the kiss- from the heady feeling of the others lips on his, from his hand around the back of his neck. He’d never quite know, and for the moment he was content in not knowing anything other than the other’s lips on his.

'The crime of man laying with another man, for whatever erse reason, is a crime. It is a crime against nature, and all of mankind itself.' 

Oh, how little they knew. And oh how quickly a night could change. Cursing Father for his forced attendance seemed so imprudent now, considering what beauty it’d led to. There was truly so much beauty in the moment, the beauty of the kiss, of the feeling of justification in his inborn ways. Lastly, the beauty of this young man, this Angel, and the blessed sounds soon lost between their lips. 

"My angel…" The voice, his own voice whispered before the will to think surfaced. "My beautiful, beautiful Angel.." And what was he to do now? After the ball ended, how could he put up a pretense of apathy when every last thought would be filled with the Angel who so easily stole his mind? Heart wrenching, bittersweet thoughts be damned, this moment, this very moment was nothing short of perfect.

Soft lips pulled from the other’s, trailing down the incomparably formed jaw, memorizing every inch of skin as a breath of a chuckle whispered against the fair expanse. “How easily you’ve addicted me” 

His breath shuddered out as the kiss was broken, only to have those perfect lips trailing along his jawline. His heart fluttered like a bird trapped in its cage, seeking freedom from its confinements. The way night called him his- it made that little bird fight harder for freedom, flapping away until he felt it would burst into a million pieces. “The feeling is mutual, my Knight..” he whispers, eye lashes fluttering up so that he could open his eyes. And to think, he’d fussed over having to go… His fingers left the others lapel to lower his own coat from his body, a body that was over heated with everything he was feeling.

The breeze felt good against the thin navy shirt, although it did nothing to alleviate the fire burning inside of him. “what are we going to do…. after tonight ends…” He whispers, voice huskier than it had been just moments before, the others lips dancing over his skin sending his pulse racing faster than the grey hounds his father used for hunting. “will this all become just a wonderful dream…..” Angel found he was more speaking outloud than anything, a wistful sigh shuddering from his chest.

He didn’t want this to be just another dream for him to pine over… and oh would he pine. Thoughtful gazes would go out the window when he was supposed to be studying, wondering about the Knight in blue who had stolen his breath in a single kiss, who had captured his heart and set it free in such a small amount of time. 

Urges to mark this soft skin, to claim the Angel as his own was only burgeoned by the knowledge that such could never happen. Heaven forbid his fair Angel’s father caught a glimpse of any markings (as his would not be any dainty mark of any sort). The thought of what could come from a few seconds, the thought of pain and possible exile of his Angel was enough to deter his urges.

Instead, soft, hungry lips left kisses wherever there was fair flesh in sigh, claiming it however invisibly. Soft words, barely more than wanton whispers, music to the Knight’s ears, cause him to pull back. Once more he locked their shrouded gazes, hand cupping the velveteen cheek. 

"No…No my dear Angel I refuse to let this die.. This… What we feel is more than-" His words were interrupted only so he could press a long kiss to the drug-like lips. "More than the effects of wine or proximity. Our first meeting cannot be our last I.. I couldn’t bare it" But then what were they to do? That was the pressing question.

Soft sighs and moans left him at each touch of those lips upon his skin, fingers curling in the others lapel as some sort of anchor. Angel felt as if he could fly away at any moment from how perfect he felt in the moment, from how glorious each touch felt along his skin. His tongue darted out over lips swollen from kisses, tasting the other upon his mouth. He so badly wanted some kind of reminder of this night- to assure himself in the morning that it was naught but a dream.

He whimpered when the lips pulled away from his slender neck, eyes barely open as he looked at the other. He felt drunk on the sensations, more potent than any wine he had ever ingested. His lips were parted slightly, a silent request to taste more of the other.

"but how, my Knight?" He whispers, tears already threatening to well in his ears, stinging and burning in warning. "We don’t know who the other is…. And I feel that is for the best for now." Swallowing hard, he pressed into the drugging kiss, practically climbing into the others lap like some wanton woman. "How, my fair Knight…. how will we continue this? I do not want this to end… I do not want this to be just a wonderful dream that I hold close to my chest to keep me warm…"

It was amazing, really. Truly amazing.. At the night’s inception, he was Park Jaehyo, eventual leader of Northern Sqaure and sole beneficiary to the King’s fortune. Now? Now he was the Knight for an Angel, and Angel he’d silently sworn to protect for as long as possible.

And therein lay his idea.

"No.. It would behoove us to remain anonymous for now. In the event, however improbable, that we are seen, at least we’ll still have our identities.." His hand caressed that gentle skin, lips stealing yet another kiss as though he were an addict living with an apothecary. Strong arms wrapped around the perfect form, chests pressing in the embrace.

"But we can still meet.. The Elder Woods are.. fairly central to all Kingdoms. We could meet there nightly-" A sense of urgency rose as the music of the Waltz began to play. Proceeding this, there was only one final song played before such events came to an end… This moment would be coming to an end. But he’d not leave, not until both were guaranteed to meet again.

"how often? when?" His eyes met the others, growing marginally wider at the sound of the Waltz. No, he didn’t want the night to end, not yet- His fingers tightened, speaking of his feelings even as his face remained slightly slack from the passionate kisses. "I could maybe sneak away maybe one night a week… Father has little game nights with his friends where they drink and smoke and forget about me.."

His eyes closed and he leaned into his Knight, placing his face in the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply of his scent as if to memorize it. So that when he drifted off to bed tonight, he could remember this moment and dream of it, and be able to spend just a moment more with his Knight.

"I don’t want this night to end.." Lifting his head, he brushes his lips softly over his Knights once more, lips lingering as if they could not bare to part. "I never want it to end…. you have addicted me to your taste in such a short amount of time… I do not know how I will be able to live without it…"

It was easy to feel.. The clock ticking away at their precious moments together, time drifting away with each note and muted footstep. And Angel felt it too, which was , perhaps, the most heart wrenching of all. Never before did the Knight wish to talk another more than he wished to calm those of his dear Angel..

Strong arms held that perfect form against his own, revelling in the way their bodies just fit together so seemlessly. This would not be the last time either felt such perfection, He would make that certain.

Knight nodded slowly with the whisered words that danced like the most graceful song into his ears. “Father usually goes out on those nights and doesn’t return until light of the next day..” Ironically enough, he would always sneak out on such days. The servants and staff all knew of it, so it’d not seem out of the ordinary.

But every thought; Every single thought came to a fluttering halt when those lips brushed against his own, blessing the knight with their touch. A large, gentle hand cupped his Angel’s cheek, head shaking slowly.

“Nor can I, and we will not have to, dear Angel.” His words quickened as the last song of the night began. It’d be longer than the other’s but they could not be caught out here..together. “We will meet in the Elder Wood when the clock strikes eight, every one day in a week, the day I will allow my heart to beat freely again. We will have to wear our masks, as there is little to no other way for us to ensure the other’s identity.”