sandbox | dotae

VII

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As time went by Taeyong and Doyoung became closer. Their whole relationship with each other had changed. The late night conversations that they continued to have had blossomed a forbidden friendship between the two. No one knew of it, and it would probably stay like that, but Taeyong walking into his room every night to be greeted by the assassin, became something that the prince looked forward to. 

Their conversations became more personal as time went on and they began to understand each other. If Taeyong or Doyoung were to say that they still hated each other or felt uncomfortable in each other's company, it would be a lie. They enjoyed the presence of the other. If they didn’t, Doyoung wouldn’t continue to come back to the palace, basically risking his life. 

It was the night before the coronation and Taeyong’s night had been filled with so many things that he was exhausted by the time they finalized the final preparations for the festival. Taeyong now stands in front of his door and lazily opens it. Johnny and Jaehyun took their places in front of the door—both always stood in front of the door for an hour and then they would begin taking shifts so the two could still get sleep. 

After Taeyong shut the door of his room, he laid down on his bed, thoughts swarming his head like crazy. When he heard the sound of wood sliding from the opposite side of his room, he didn’t bother to look up, but rather let a small smile sit on his face. Taeyong continus to lay down on the bed until he feels the mattress shift as the other sits down. 

Taeyong sits up straight and opens his eyes fully, they were slightly closed before. He is met with Doyoung’s side profile only a couple of inches away from his face. Instead of moving, the prince stares at the other's profile for a while, appreciating it and removing the worrying thoughts that have been stuck in his head.

“How was the final prep day,” Doyoung turns his head as he talks to the latter, only realizing how close the older was sitting when he was face-to-face with the male beside him, but even then, neither move.

“It was stressful,” Taeyong replied, looking Doyoung straight in the eye. “I didn’t do all of this for nothing right? I’m not gonna die tomorrow, right?” 

Doyoung sighed. The one secret that he never told Taeyong of was that he was assigned to be the one to chop off the prince’s head on the day of the coronation. It was just a matter of if he was going to do it.

The silence of Doyoung made Taeyong’s heart speed up in worry. Is he really going to be killed tomorrow? Did Doyoung know something? Or was Doyoung just not saying anything because he himself wasn’t sure? The prince doesn’t know, and it is driving him crazy.

“Taeyong,” Doyoung takes a quick glance at Taeyong’s lips, which he regrets as now he really just wants to see what they feel like on his own, and looks back into his eyes. He doesn’t continue until he hears a small hum come from the latter. “You would be a great king…”

The assassin stops talking, but Taeyong knows that there is more. He doesn’t get happy, nor sad, he just waits. He waits for the other male to continue. He waits for the other to decide what to say. He waits for the man to think properly and collect his words. He waits... for the other to get courage he didn’t know he needed. 

“In another life,” the male talks slowly as he finally breaks eye-contact with the prince. “If you were born in a different time, a different place, a different family, you would be an outstanding king.” Although the message overall was positive, the assassin felt bad, he felt like crying for the prince. 

Yah sure, Doyoung is an assassin, but that doesn’t mean that he is thick skinned. Maybe to new people, or people he doesn’t like; however, when you get to know the man you find that his presence is like glass, and he can break quite easily, he can be quite fragile. Even though he is like this, he can also be strong, and seemingly unbreakable, and now Taeyong has discovered it, the breaking side of Doyoung. 

Taeyong looks at the assassin and notices a tear coming out of his watery eyes. The prince wipes it away and swiftly pulls Doyoung into a hug. Their first hug ever. Taeyong felt the need to hold the male until he was okay, but the hug made Doyoung feel worse. He cries harder when he feels the other’s arms wrap around him. Obviously he felt comforted at the same time, but the feeling of Taeyong caring so much, even to the point of running his fingers through the others hair, hurt him. 

The night ended like that, nothing more happened. A hug was enough for the two of them to feel like the night was worthy compared to others that lasted much longer. Their first hug. Doyoung had left right after the hug was over, they just bid each other goodnight and off he went.

In the morning, Taeyong was greeted with an alarm and many people coming in and out of his room telling him of the progress they had made. Even while Taeyong was getting dressed in his white and green coronation outfit, people would come in to ask him about what color of flower should be in the centerpiece of the main vase the workers are to finish before the ceremony begins. 

It isn’t until one hour away from Taeyong’s coronation that he finally gets some peace and quiet in his room. As he is sitting on his bed, he hears the wood on the opposite side of his room move. He doesn’t even look up,  but instead, he continues to fiddle with his fingers. 

“So if an intruder came in through this cute little opening that is a tunnel from outside the castle to inside the castle, you wouldn’t panic,” the voice did make Taeyong panic, however. The voice didn’t belong to Doyoung, so when the prince looked up and saw the Japanese assassin, he quickly stood up from his bed, his eyes growing in size. 

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𝕒𝕠𝟛:
ℕ𝕔𝕥𝕫𝕖𝕟𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕤