Henry shifted from side to side, peering at his reflection. He was currently standing in his suite, in the larger room adjacent to his bedroom. It was fit for visitors as well as his preferred location to get ready for important meetings. He had finished putting on his outfit, which consisted of a black tunic with a maroon dress shirt underneath and gold accents, which were pretty common in the Kingdom of Aima, in which he was the crown prince. He had white dress pants on and black boots as well, and had combed his black hair, though it still defied him, poofing upwards in an unnatural angle.
His tail swished from side to side as he grumbled, frowning at himself. It didn’t even know why he was bothering to look. He had never been happy with his reflection, and he knew he never would be. The few people he trusted, namely his two bodyguards Calix and Eleni had always told him it would get better as he aged, but now that he was nineteen, nothing seemed different at all. He still didn’t feel fit to be prince.
He was still attempting to push his hair flat as he heard his door open, though he didn’t bother turning around to see who was present. It was either one of his parents, attendants, or guards, he couldn’t imagine anyone else that could be let in without his explicit permission.
He gasped when a hand went around his eyes, covering it before he could spot them in the mirror. “Guess who?” A familiar voice said in his ear.
“Andre!” He gasped, his body relaxing at once.
Diandre was a noble he had been dating for almost a year now. They were taking their relationship slow… very slow, but that was what Henry had requested, mainly from his shyness and lack of experience ever dating anyone. Diandre was quite the opposite to him. He was lively, energetic, and the life of the party. Whenever they were at a party together, Diandre seemed to shine so brightly it almost blinded Henry, to the point where he constantly imagined Diandre being the prince instead. Diandre was dark skinned with beautiful diamond piercings on his ears, a wicked grin, and bright blue eyes that matched his inner wolf ears. He constantly smiled and showed off his fangs, which Henry found absolutely adorable - though he would never admit this outloud.
“You’re back already!” He said, wanting to turn around to hug his boyfriend.
“I am, did you miss me?” Diandre whispered. He was always so straightforward with their relationship, like he was so confident in Henry he never thought anything could ever deter them. He had gone out with his sister to a meeting regarding their family fortune, and Henry had been secretly disappointed, having hoped that they could spend the afternoon together. It was too late now, but they would have a little bit of time to talk before Henry’s own meeting.
“Yes,” he said, immediately blushing. He always did so when Diandre made him admit to such embarrassing matters.
Diandre let go of his eyes and hugged him from behind, and Henry couldn’t help but feel his warmth, already feeling so comforted by his presence. “I missed you too, mon trésor. I never could’ve imagined missing someone in just a few hours… then I met you.”
“You’re always saying such embarrassing things,” Henry said, feeling his body lean back against Diandre.
“And I know you love every second of it.” Diandre replied smoothly. He spun Henry around, and immediately began surveying his outfit. “This looks so similar to what you wore last week,” he tsked.
“This is Aima’s colors and what I’m supposed to be wearing,” Henry replied, a little disappointed by Diandre’s comment. He knew Diandre desperately wanted him to demonstrate his personality to the world - either by actions or through clothing - but it took Henry a year before he could even act himself in front of his own boyfriend, he couldn’t imagine doing the same to the whole country.
“You could at least… accessorize,” Diandre critiqued. Henry studied Diandre’s outfit, marveling at how it fit him perfectly, like it always did. He wore a tailored blue suit with black dress pants, and dress shoes that pointed at the tips with silver clips on top. His diamond earrings seemed to sparkle under the light, reflecting anything that touched it.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Henry said, feeling ashamed and flustered. Diandre could sense his unease, and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the couch. Henry could immediately feel himself move towards his favorite position with Diandre, lying on his lap as he looked up at him. Diandre began stroking his hair upwards, completely ruining all of the work he’d done on it. He knew it didn’t matter - nothing mattered when he was around Diandre. The rest of the world seemed to fade away.
“What do you want to talk about, baby?” Diandre asked, his voice far gentler than before.
“Hmm…” Henry replied, feeling playful again. “What do you want to do tonight after my meeting?”
Diandre smiled, showing off his fangs. Henry almost wanted to reach out and poke it, “I decided last time, it should be your turn!”
“I know you’re the one that likes to be in charge all the time,” Henry winked.
“Hey, I’m not the prince here!” Diandre retorted.
They both chuckled at once, though Henry began to really think, “I wonder…”
“Hmm?” Diandre said lazily as he pushed his fingers into Henry’s hair. Henry nuzzled into him, loving how it felt.
“I’ve been wanting to see my mother’s garden… but in the evening with you. Some of the flowers look like they glow in the dark, and I thought it’d be nice to bring a picnic with us… steal some food from the kitchen.” He closed his eyes, feeling a little embarrassed at suggesting such a cheesy date.
“You’re the most adorable thing I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.”
“Is that a yes?” Henry said, opening one eye to peer at his boyfriend.
“Of course that’s a yes.”
Henry jolted forwards. “I totally forgot about the meeting! Curse you and your magical hair petting fingers.”
Diandre chuckled, and stood up with Henry, watching him from behind. Henry fished his pocked, grabbing the final touch he needed to look presentable - his concealer pen.
“No!” Diandre said, trying to grab it from him.
“I have to!” Henry replied. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument. Diandre said he loved Henry’s freckles as much as the rest of him, and hated when he covered it up. Henry always refused to listen, wanting to cover it up everytime he left the room as part of his usual routine. Diandre usually got his way when he insisted though, and Henry wasn’t going to break this time - not for this.
“You don’t have to do anything, it’s just something you’ve convinced yourself that doesn’t look ‘princely’ enough!” Diandre raised his voice.
“It doesn’t look princely at all!” Henry replied with an equally raised voice, not caring if the guards outside could hear them.
“There’s no definition of what makes a prince - all they demand of you is the ability to care for your people, which we both know you’re one of the best at. This is completely ridiculous. Everyone will respect you just the same!”
“You don’t know that, though.” Henry said, wanting to break down.
Diandre grabbed his face, almost squishing his cheeks together. It forced Henry to look directly into his bright blue eyes, which he always tried to avoid from shyness. “Listen. I’ve told you this before, and I’ll tell you again.” Henry gulped. “You are a beautiful, beautiful boy, and it’s one of my favorite things about you.” He gently tucked Henry’s hair around his ears. “Do you remember how I reacted the first time I saw them?”
“You squealed and ran up to me to see it better…” Henry said sheepishly.
“I’m pretty sure I decided you were going to be my boyfriend at that very moment,” Diandre grinned, finally letting Henry go.
Henry nodded reluctantly. “Okay, okay. I get it. I need to have more confidence, and stop being scared of what other people think.”
Diandre snapped his forehead lightly. “Exactly.”
Henry moved forwards and abruptly kissed him on the lips, just a quick peck that left Diandre frozen. It gave Henry the chance to run to the door, quickly applying the concealer as he did. “I’m still going to put it on anyway!” He laughed.
“Curse you and your distracting kisses!” Diandre exclaimed.
Henry ran out the door, winking as he said, “see you tonight, Andre.”
“You better remove that makeup before you see me.” Diandre whispered under his breath.
Henry’s meeting was incredibly boring, but that didn’t matter to him at all. All he could think about was his exchange with Diandre, and how cute his boyfriend was. He felt fuzzy inside, like the hug Diandre had given him never went away. He couldn’t believe he was capable of doing that with just his words. Even better, he could still feel those soft fingers stroking through his hair. He was already beginning to miss him, and was looking forward to seeing him again for their date in a few hours. He would make sure to remove the concealer and put on a more spectacular outfit before then.