Xingyun Oneshots

70 - Beloved Princes Fond of Literature (But Only One Will Steal My Heart)

(This is part 2 of chapter 66)

-

Chongyun set off for the East Lake at the agreed upon time, now donning his normal attire.

Xiangling had teased him relentlessly about getting all dressed up to go see the prince in the first place, to which he'd thought 'I'll show her' and managed to do just that.

Not that he really thought he would get this far, but still.

Once he arrives, he finds that the crown prince is already there, a book tucked in between his fingers while he sits at the edge of the vast lake.

Chongyun's heart pounds as he draws closer, and once he's made enough noise, the prince looks up.

"There you are. I'm very glad you came." He smiles as Chongyun goes to sit beside him.

"Course. Not every day I find someone who would consider, y'know, Dating me, or-"

He blushes hard and looks at his own hands. "Marrying me one day."

"I understand." The prince laughs. Chongyun's heart continues to beat faster and faster, and he prays he won't faint before their meeting is over.

"Anyways, I've been wondering for some time..." he readjusts himself to rest his head in his hands and raise his eyebrows in wonder. "Why do you want to marry me anyways? I'm curious as to what about me made you want to come see me."

Chongyun picks up a handful of rocks and starts to sift them through his fingers as a mild distraction, the click click click of the rocks sliding together putting him at ease.

"I'm not sure exactly. I guess, the way the girls described you, from my point of view, seemed like there was more going on than met the eye. I wanted to know what it was, but..." he shakes his head in a flustered fit. "I still wanted to meet you all the same. After I met you in person, you were even better than I expected."

"What were you expecting?" Xingqiu asks before pulling a smirk. "Maybe someone charming, or charismatic? What traits were you looking for in me?"

"Nothing in particular! Just saying I can understand why so many girls in the kingdom want you..." Chongyun blushes with a sigh. "Actually, if I'm not your cup of tea, I could probably find plenty of guys that like you too."

"Woah, woah, why would I not want you?" Xingqiu asks, concerned.

Chongyun drops the handful of rocks, all of them scattering to the ground with more click click clicks. "Because I'm...boring."

Xingqiu stares at him in shock, his crown sliding on his head. "You're anything but boring! You came to see me dressed up as a girl just so you could meet me in the first place! Then you were confident enough to ask why I was acting off, and told me you were a boy, but you still wanted to come and try to marry me, and-"

He crosses his arms and shakes his head, his crown slipping further. "I don't want you say that you're boring. Because if you're boring, then all of those other guys must be mundane."

"Mundane?" He giggles. The way Xingqiu talked was all eloquent and fancy, but it definitely suited him and made him even more appealing.

"Indeed. Actually, I think-"

Xingqiu's crown slips completely off of his head and towards the ground when Chongyun catches it and hands it back to him, the white and blue jewels sparkling in the sun.

Xingqiu takes the crown, only for him to place it back in Chongyun's hair.

"H-hey, I can't wear this! I'm not royalty, you are!"

"Yes you can. If you're going to be married to me, you'll be wearing one of those all the time. As well as-" Xingqiu pauses to show him a shiny ring on his finger.  "One of these. We'll have matching ones eventually, but this one is just one that I've had forever."

Chongyun adjusts the crown in his hair, the weight making his feel important. Way more important than he usually felt.

"I think it would be nice to wear one of these." He says, running a finger along the edge. "As long as mine matches yours."

Xingqiu smiles and looks out at the lake, the sun glittering hard against it.

"When you're my prince, we'll have matching everything."

**********************************************
Written: May 8th, 2023

Finished/Published: May 11th, 2023

(Word Count: 728)