long live the king - nct, markhyuck

♕ 17 ♕

"are you sure you're okay, mark?" the brunette asked, eyes peeking above the pan he was previously focused on, preparing something to eat for the future king.

The royal looked up into donghyuck's eyes, blinking a few times but keeping his mouth shut. donghyuck wasn't even sure he had heard him speaking in the first place.

"you seem... distracted." the peasant pointed out, eyes never leaving the other male despite the crackling sound that came from the food signalling that it was starting to be a bit too much cooked.

thankfully for donghyuck – and for the almost burnt food – something flicked in mark's eyes, as if he suddenly had woken up from the dazed state he was in. with a quick shake of his head, the royal stood up and walked in the cooking area to stand next to donghyuck who back to focusing on the ingredients burning in the pan.

"i'm just a bit tired, i guess. nothing too dramatic." mark assured once he was next to donghyuck, leaning against the counter as donghyuck's eyes flicked between the food and him.

"you should go rest, then. i can leave if you'd like. i don't want to disturb- "

"no." mark cut him firmly. "there's no need to leave."

"but if you're tired then i should- "

"i don't want you to leave." mark continued, this time locking eyes with donghyuck. the peasant noticed a glint of desperation in them, as if despite the use of 'want' mark was meant to say that he 'needed' donghyuck there.

the tanned male's cheeks took a rosy colour at the heartfelt confession, but mark believed this sudden flush was due to the heat of the food that donghyuck had just taken away from the stove.

"i-if you don't want me to leave, then i won't." donghyuck assured, making the food slide in a plate that he had previously pulled out – he knew what each and every cupboard in the kitchen contained by now, and he was familiar with which type of utensil and dinnerware to use for each type of food he prepared.

a small smile etched on mark's face. "thank you." he mumbled.

"of course." donghyuck discarded the pan towards the sink before approaching mark with the plate, stopping by one of the nearby drawers to pull out a silver fork and spoon. "here, hope it will help you feel better." he added, placing the plate in front of the royal.

mark flashed donghyuck another sincere smile before looking down at the plate that had been served for him, his stomach rumbling at the sole sight of the tasty food donghyuck had prepared. he didn't wait a second to grab the fork and dig into the dish, lifting a few pieces of vegetables and opening his mouth wide to fit the fork inside. but well, the fork never got the time to reach anywhere near his face as the double doors of the kitchen slammed open, revealing the regent queen of aes.

"mark!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening when she caught the sight of her son standing in the middle of the kitchen. lucky for them, donghyuck had had right the time to duck down and hide from the queen's sight before her eyes could catch him.

"m-mother?" mark stuttered, putting the fork back in the plate and giving a quick glance to donghyuck. "w-what are you doing here?"

"a servant told me they had seen you heading to the kitchen. are you hungry now? you didn't eat at all during lunch."

a slight wave of panic ran through mark as his mother approached the counter behind which he was – and most importantly, behind which donghyuck was hiding. the royal stepped forward in the direction of his mother, stopping at the counter so that him and her were face to face and that they were separated by the counter on which laid the food donghyuck had cooked.