By The Crest

❃22❃

With the new found expression on San's face. Wooyoung also got a boost of happiness in him as he let out a giggle before focusing back on their race. The prince allowed his smile to stay on his lips, especially when the other let out his giggle.

Both of them were now getting closer to the entrance of their destination. However, the opening was only big enough for one horse to pass through, and neither of them were slowing down to get behind the other since they knew that that meant an automatic defeat. Their horses ran at the same speed, sometimes going back and forth with one another.

The prince kept glancing from the nearing entrance to Wooyoung on his horse. One of them had to move since both them and their horses could get injured in some way. And on the second the dirt trail broke into grass, San made the last decision to pull on Calix's reigns. The stallion neighed loudly at the sudden turn of his head to the right before slowing down into a trot. The royal watched as the male zoomed in the opening, disturbing the idly leaves of the willow trees.

Following right after him, he felt the leaves brush his arm as he used it to cover his face since Calix was still going at a fast pace. He then removed his arm to see what seemed to be a hidden plains. Small daisies and buttercups were dotted all around to add more colour to the greenery. The trees curved over one another to provide the right amount of shade while still letting a few rays of light pass through. And then there was Wooyoung in the near distant making his mare go into a trot before coming to a stop.

The male waits for the prince to place his stallion next to Farren. He then gets down from his horse with slightly wobbly legs from not using them for a bit. But before he could fall on the ground, he felt the arms of the royal on his own arms. Looking up, he sees San's face flash with worry before putting on his neutral face back on.

"Can you stand now?" He asks softly. As if allowing Wooyoung to take his time and that he won't let go until he perfectly capable to move. The male brushes off the tingles going off in his body as he nods while slowly getting the feel over his legs again.

The two then started to fix their picnic near the pond. A white blanket laid on the grass so that the grass blades wouldn't poke their legs and to not ruin their clothing with the dirt. The sandwiches were squished on some sides, losing their pristine shape and form. Even the drinks that Junyoung had packed for them got shaken up during their race. Two medium canisters with water, and oddly, a bottle of wine with wine glasses. Wooyoung thought that it was miracle that they didn't shatter into pieces considering how fast he was going.

Both males began eating their snacks. Leaves and branches rustling every time the wind would pick up its pace, even the pond would respond with a few ripples of its own. Farren and Calix were left untied for them to roam the area since there were fences to the side.

This felt like an actual vacation for the two.

No responsibility, no pressure, and no one to entertain. It was just the two of them, their horses, the hidden area, and a bottle of untouched wine. Wooyoung kept switching his gaze from the daisy that he plucked out onto the lines of his latest sketch. This wasn't for work, but for his personal entertainment since San wasn't talking to him, who instead was laying on the blanket with eyes closed and his hands behind his head to support it as he relished in the few rays of the sun.

The male drew his lines softly, wanting to recreate the same dimensions and texture that the flower had onto a dress version of it. He finishes the last stroke. Contented, he shakes his hand that held his pencil to relieve the muscles in them.

He lifts his eyes from his book to San who still didn't move his spot. Soft yellow rays reflected off from his smooth skin, as if there was a halo around him. Long and dark lashes rested on his cheeks as he kept his eyes close to keep him from staring straight into the sun. And his chest rose and fell in a repeated pattern, showing how comfortable he was in his position. Wooyoung feels himself being glad that he was able to help the prince to unwind like this, even if it was just for a short period of time.

His small grin didn't leave his lips as he flipped his book to give him a new canvas to draw on. For the first time, his tries drawing a person as his new sketch, the model being the male in front of him. Carefully, the pressure of his hand on the pencil kept changing to help him give the drawing a few light and faint lines and then switch to more bolder and apparent lines. His gaze kept flickering between his book and San, wanting to make everything as similar as possible. Shading a few parts to capture the shadows and to make the picture more life like.

The male thought that if he had colored pencils then maybe this would more better, he was also thankful for the old 'Wooyoung' for possessing such wonderful drawing skills that he probably didn't use in the past.

"Have you finished?" Wooyoung flinches at the prince's voice. Looking up, San was still in his laying position with his eyes closed as well.

"How did you-"

"I have trained myself to know whether someone is watching me."

The sentence had the male's gaze fall, not liking the fact that he was thinking about San who was on constant alert even if things seemed peaceful. How the royal's walls were always up and ready. Wooyoung wants the other to feel how he was earlier, relax and care-free. He admits that he is worried for the prince, worried that what if he fails to finish the plot of the book, worried that San would have to live through a nightmare all over again.

Wooyoung gets shaken from his thoughts as he feels movement on his lap. San is now sitting down properly and was getting the male's sketch book to look at his self portrait. Embarrassed, Wooyoung urges for the prince to give his book back.

"Your Highness, please give it back. I'm not done and it doesn't look presentable enough."

The royal doesn't listen and twist his body so that he wasn't facing Wooyoung. Ignoring the other, he views the sketch in his hands. Some lines were thin while others were thicker, there were light shading in some parts while some were more darker, and the details were hard to miss. San was... Impressed.

"Your Highness." Wooyoung became more desperate and embarrassed as seconds pass without his sketchbook in his hands. He digs his knees on the picnic blanket and reaches for his book. "Why? It looks good" San stretches his own arm so that the shorter male couldn't reach. The male falters in his action at the prince's words, giving his mind a second to process what the royal said about his drawing. Though, he starts reaching for his book again out of pure embarrassment now.

"Please, Your Highness"

The male didn't care if San could see his blushing face, only wanting to have his sketchbook again. Crawling closer, he stuck his hand out to grab his book only for San to pull it away, making Wooyoung struggle. Blinded by his own humiliation, the male doesn't realize that the royal was actually messing with him.

After letting out huffs and grunts of frustration, Wooyoung had enough and lunges forward to reach his book. The action took San by surprise making the both of them fall on the blanket with his unoccupied arm wrapping around the other's waist. Wooyoung's eyes grew wide at what he did. His arms were on both side of the royal's head, their chest had no space between them, and both of their faces were so close. The male felt his whole body heating up at that point.

"I'm terribly sorry, Your-"

Just as he begins to scramble and rise up from their position, he gets pulled back down onto the prince's chest. Confusion paints his features on why San pulled him by back down.

"Stay"