TFL | MW [✔]

08.

Mingyu seemed content to sit by Wonwoo's bedside all night. He'd tried to shoo him off, but the alpha was stubbornly insistent. All he'd been able to do was get him to agree to retire to his own bed once Wonwoo was asleep. They talked for a little while, then fell into a companionable silence. Wonwoo's eyes grew heavy, his yawns frequent. Between one blink and the next, he was lost to slumber.

He woke to the early morning light peeking through the curtains and, for once, didn't want to bury his head under the pillows and wish the day away. Instead, he sat up, swung his feet out of bed, and reached over to ring the bell to bring Yana.

She hurried inside a few minutes later, worry in her eyes. Only to smile when she caught sight of him. "You look bright this morning."

"Do I? Maybe I caught the sun yesterday." Before Yana could reply, he added, "Prince Mingyu and I are to go to the beach today. I think perhaps a bath to start the day, and then you could help me pick out something to wear?"

"Of course, my prince." She beamed at him, dropped into a quick curtsy, and hurried toward the bathroom, a skip in her step.

It seemed that Wonwoo wasn't the only one having a good morning.

Once he was washed and dressed, he checked to see how bad the sunburn was. He couldn't feel it, so it probably wasn't that bad. He'd have to be more diligent with the balm he'd been given if he didn't want to end up red as a lobster. A glance in the mirror didn't show a flush of red anywhere on his face or neck. His eyes might have been a tad brighter, and his skin a little less washed out. He looked well-rested, which wasn't a common look for him these days.

He pondered that as he went to the door, his stomach already rumbling in anticipation of breakfast. Right outside his bedroom, hand poised to knock, he found Mingyu.

"You're up," the alpha said, his surprise turning to a pleased smile. "How do you feel?"

"Much better, thank you."

"I'm so glad to hear it."

He glanced at Mingyu's outfit and the basket in his hands. He looked like he was ready to depart. "I thought we were to have breakfast..." Maybe the alpha had made other plans. He tried to quash his disappointment.

Mingyu lifted the basket with a grin.

"You thought correctly. I've just come from the kitchens. Breakfast, wherever we would like to have it. I thought on the beach before it gets too hot, and we have to retreat into the shade."

"Another picnic?"

"Is there a more romantic meal than a picnic by the sea? Ants, sand, a blanket that won't stay straight, and even more sand. Hungry seagulls, too, if we're lucky."

Wonwoo laughed. "With you painting such a wonderful picture, how could I say no?"

"I'm just lowering your expectations, so you're not unduly upset when a gull makes off with your biscuit."

"Will you shift into a cheetah and chase it down for me?"

"For you, anything," the alpha promised with a laugh.

Grinning, Wonwoo ducked back into his room for his sun hat and the bag Yana had packed for him with towels and other necessities. He was glad that Mingyu hadn't distanced himself after yesterday. Nor was the alpha walking on eggshells around him, like Wonwoo might break if the wrong word was said. If Mingyu had proven anything the day before, it wasn't in the rescue, gallant though it was. It was in not leaving Wonwoo's side for a moment after as if knowing he felt safe in the alpha's presence and wanting that feeling to chase off all others. It gave Wonwoo hope for the first time that this marriage might be more than just a piece of string to tack a treaty together. That the burst of need and want he'd felt on looking at Mingyu might be something the alpha felt for him in turn.