Eins x Ernst | The Prince's Chambers Continuation

Continuation Part XII

*thirteenth day*

Ernst is aware of many things.

But it is still surprising - or maybe it isn’t - that he still happens to forget the most important event he knows of.

Eins’s birthday.

Of course, Ein’s birthday is still a while away, but one can never begin preparations too soon, Ernst muses idly as he watches Eins sleep. He knows the king will throw a big party like always, both in celebration of Eins’s birthday and of the start of a new year. And every year, Eins finds it as much of an annoyance as the last.

This year - or rather, next year - is the year Ernst intends to change that.

Ernst is brought out of his thoughts as Eins lets out a short, huffed breath in his sleep. It sounds a tad exasperated, and Ernst almost thinks that Eins might be dreaming about him.

It’s a rare opportunity when Ernst gets to watch Eins sleep like this. Rest makes the worries and burdens fall away, and Eins still sleeps like he did when they were children: slightly curled up with his hands halfway between his head and his heart on the sheets, hair softly fanned out and legs tangled in the blankets, the tips of his toes just barely poking out from under the blanket’s reach. Carding his hands through Eins’s hair, Ernst can hardly think of a more perfect evening.

He almost misses one of Eins’s hands coming to catch his wrist. “Ernst.” Eins’s eyes are still sharp, even when he’s sleepy and they’re half-lidded. His voice is as composed as always, though it is a mere whisper. “Come into bed with me.”

“Trying to lure me into bed with you, princess?” Ernst’s tone is teasing. To his credit, Eins doesn’t respond but closes his eyes again, and pulls Ernst into the bed.

Ernst lets out a startled yelp as Eins tugs him into a comfortable position. The motion must have sent Ernst’s hat off his head, because Eins tucks his cheek and chin against Ernst’s hair, his hands falling around his waist and one of his legs moving to fit itself between his legs at the calves. Ernst smiles, one of his hands wrapping around Eins’s torso and the other pulling one of Eins’s hands away from his waist. Their fingers intertwine, and Ernst feels Eins gently hold his hand and smile tiredly against his hair as he falls asleep once more.

Ernst was wrong. This is certainly a more perfect evening.

It’s still a little while until Ernst falls asleep. He spends some time thinking, but mostly he simply enjoys being near Eins. The presence of his prince is comforting, just knowing that Eins is right here and with him, is enough to let Ernst relax and succumb to Eins folding around him.

Eins smells a little like lavender and a little like vanilla and a little like parchment. A little more like parchment, Ernst thinks. He remembers Eins locking himself in his office earlier that day to finish his paperwork, and he suspected him to also have been writing in his diary. He still suspects him, in fact, because Eins is like that. Ernst suspects that Eins is embarrassed to be writing in something so childish as a diary, but he thinks it’s cute.

Just thinking about Eins puts a smile on his face.

Ernst sighs, closing his eyes and curling up against Eins. It won’t do him good to think into the night and lose sleep, even if it is about Eins.

Before he knows it he’s asleep with Eins’s breath against his hair.

Suddenly, though, Ernst is awake again. Through the window he can see the blooming light of dawn, a smear of oranges and pinks and purples and reds and blues, so it must be close to morning. He usually doesn’t wake this early, so something must have woken him.

It doesn’t take him long to figure out what.

Eins is squeezing his hand tightly, a desperate look on his face that Ernst hasn’t seen in so, so long. He’s mumbling into Ernst’s hair, anguished sounds, and holding Ernst so tightly it might be painful if he wasn’t completely focused on Eins.

“Hey.” Ernst tries to wake Eins up, soothingly speaking to him. He can’t move with Eins wrapped around him so tightly, so instead he opts for trying to calm him down. “Hey, princess. It’s all right. I’m here. Shh. I’m here. It’ll all be all right. Shh, don’t worry. I’m with you. I’m here.”

He keeps the words up, soothing Eins, but inside he’s shaken to his core. Eins is never emotional. Never. Not really even when they were kids. What did it take to distress Eins so- so badly?

With another “Shh, Eins, princess, I’m here,” Eins lets out a wretched sob and buries his face in Ernst’s shoulder. He’s crying, Ernst realizes, holding him close. He lets Eins cry into his shoulder, holding him close and murmuring to him as the morning sun rises.

(A/N): Man, how long has it been? I hope I can get one out in time for Eins's birthday...