the book of fluff (that usually isn't)

highness (xxx)

Mitch had started to fall behind. His parents and the rest of their entourage were getting increasingly farther ahead of him, but he didn't care enough to try and catch up again. It was the first time he'd been without supervision for pretty much his whole life.

Mitch took his time on the streets, looking in all of the shop windows and admiring the scenery. He had never really gotten the time to truly explore the village surrounding the castle where he lived, even though he'd been there countless times. Now that his parents were too busy greeting their subjects and his security was too busy making sure no one assassinated the royals to pay attention to him, he could take it all in.

"What are you doing out of the castle, Highness?"

Mitch turned at the sound of the voice, and a blush immediately rose in his cheeks when he saw the boy who had spoken. "Oh. I- I'm supposed to be greeting the subjects and stuff, but my parents left me behind."

The boy smirked and leaned leisurely against the wall of a nearby building, his icy blue eyes dancing. "Now, why would they want to leave behind the prince? You're the most important man in the land."

Mitch blushed more, but he brushed his hair out of his eyes to hide it. "No, that's my dad."

The boy clicked his tongue and shook his head, pushing himself off the wall so he could walk towards Mitch. "Your Majesty, I hate to disagree with you, but you're the heir to the throne. If something were to happen to you, who would take over the kingdom?" he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice. "Your parents should really keep better watch over you. I mean, no disrespect to the king and queen or anything, but they don't want their heir to slip out of their fingers."

"They can just make another baby," Mitch defended meekly, taking a step back as the boy continued to advance. "What- What are you doing?"

"Nothing, Highness." The boy stopped, and Mitch could see his eyes trailing up and down his body and his lips curling into a smirk. "I'm just admiring how pretty you are."

"Are you going to kidnap me?" Mitch asked timidly. "I- I'll scream. My security will have you arrested in under a minute."

"Oh, no, no. I would never do that. I just want to be friends, Highness, I swear it."

Mitch hesitated, eyeing the boy warily. His parents always told him to be careful when they were out visiting subjects because he was the heir and a lot of people would kill to get their hands on him, but there was no way those blue eyes could possibly commit such a vile act. Right?

"Okay," Mitch finally agreed against his better judgment. "What's your name?"

The boy smirked triumphantly. "Scott. Come on, new friend, let me show you around."

Mitch followed Scott around the village and listened to his tour, laughing at all of the stupid jokes he made. By the time their little tour was over, all doubts about befriending Scott left Mitch's mind. He loved having someone around who wasn't a snobby prince that never had to fight to get anything in life.

Eventually, Mitch had to leave to catch up to his parents again before they disappeared into the castle, but he didn't stop thinking about Scott for the rest of the day.

+++

Fast forward six months, and Scott and Mitch's relationship had developed into something more. Mitch confessed to Scott that he was gay, but he was pretty much doomed because his father would certainly make him marry a female for an alliance. That led to Scott kissing him, and they started dating in secret after Mitch got over his surprise. Deep down, Mitch knew they could never work, but a prince could dream.