Lilac Sunrise (Mile x Apo) [Mile x Apo]

Part 2:

What the hell was he even doing there? Mile blamed his moment of insanity on desperation sprinkled with a touch of madness, perhaps even a hint of hope. After all, one had to be mad to request a direct audience with a prince he'd only come to meet the afternoon prior. Barely armed with a name to go by.

"The prince will be down shortly, please make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you. For the tea as well..." Mile gave a polite nod of his head to the valet who had seated him in a private corner of the hotel, booked apparently just for the royal with his entourage, and he could only stare at the tea leaves swirling in his porcelain cup. The value wasn't what was astounding him, it was the casual use of an antique; clearly held sentimental worth to be used for a tea sit in. He was pretty sure he'd seen a duplicate of it, in a museum, and his mind reeled.

The official title of the being he came to see was Nattawin Wattanagitiphat, youngest son to the King and Queen of Huahin, a regional kingdom close to Thailand where he originally hailed from himself. They were infamous for their generosity and modern way of progress, three children, two girls and a son. Mile only knew this information having gone to school abroad with one of their daughters by chance. Banyen Wattanagitiphat. She always prattled on about her baby brother and how cute he was. Mile never asked for pictures, but she readily supplied them. Teenager at the time had clearly developed into a young man with charismatic features and he couldn't believe he'd been plagued from 2PM the day before to 9AM currently. He had only assumed that if he extended an invitation to the royals that their appearance would make the event a showstopper. His friend had claimed to be busy herself, so she'd share it with her parents. How was he to know that they'd send the son he'd never met and only heard tales of?

"How am I supposed to address him?" A slow murmur as he lifted the fragile cup to his lips, pressed literal history, and somehow felt empowered by the gulp. Obviously exaggerated, Mile just sat back to glance at the wall of bodyguards as he praised his luck to even be here.

His assistants told him that if he was going to do anything with anyone, it'd have to be in the morning as he was jam-packed with meetings. Whatever that meant. Mile could literally wipe the slate clean for the day if he wanted to. The power of owning one's own business meant that he also commandeered his own day. He figured that was also how he was able to have this breakfast meet-up with the prince. His name brought reputation, prestige, and an element of financial connections that was alluring to anyone.

"I almost didn't recognize you since you're not wearing neon."

The smile on Mile's lips was almost instantaneous as he looked up from where he had been predicting his future via the tea leaves sinking to the bottom of the teacup and encountered the amused smile, fluffed hair that looked entirely relaxed as if not having to meet an expectation of appearance. Not one to be fooled though, Mile could clearly see that the clothing was designer as the prince bounded to sit down across from him in the chair. Legs immediately crossed over one another and graced the elder with the view of the lush of tanned skin that looked radiant from where he sat. The younger wearing shorts ... that accentuated muscle that looked strong. The safest adjective his mind could supply. He shook his head, that thought was notkosher, and he cleared his throat, "I should be saying that."

"You were pretty adamant that neon was in season now."

"No, I was defending the designer and their choice of color."

"Considering there's an enormous explosion of colors to pick from, I was just pointing out the obvious," Apo just offered a grin, handed his own cup of tea from the set his parents had sent him with. He told them that they were being extra by sending him with a full staff, a specific tea set from the multitude of ones they had at home, all to show off their regality. He snorted at the thought. He didn't have to show off to anyone; that was an exhausting process. Instead, Apo preferred to be casual and comfortable, it was why he was nicknamed the prince of the people. Sipping, he continued, "I assume you didn't come to my hotel to chase me around to complain about neon, right?"