A headcanon where Mina finally fall in love for someone (it could be Yuu) but they are dating someone else from NRC. I can imagine it's Leona or Jamil since they are kinda his rival.
If someone already did this request, Mina is in crush for someone but someone else also do.
Going to go with Jamil (since he makes more sense to me as Minajael's counterpart) + the first prompt (Mina falls in love with someone who's already taken).
Curiouser and Curiouser...
Minajael's no homewrecker. Only a truly despicable, depraved person would get in the way of a happy couple—and he doesn't have that in him.
He observes them from a safe distance, knowing it will hurt him to approach when they’re together. It’s not that anything particularly hurtful is said or done, it’s that it stings to see them so in love.
Jamil’s never been particularly expressive, but Minajael can tell in the subtle things. The way his shoulders and eyes relax when he sees his partner, the hand that lingers on them, how he fusses more than usual. And the way they look back at him… They’re lost in their own world, and Mina’s not a part of it.
Jamil knows that Minajael is jealous of him, and Minajael knows that Jamil knows that he’s jealous. Neither of them will say it or confront the other, it just brews into a series of passive aggressive stand-offs.
In fact, Jamil intentionally does things in an effort to rub his relationship in the sorry prince’s face. (He gets a power trip off of it.) When introducing his S/O to Mina, Jamil makes sure to use his full name and title. In every subsequent encounter, Jamil ensures that he drives his relationship status home to Mina. A hand wrapped around the waist, passing his partner glances, whispering to them.
Minajael just kinda has to smile and bear with it, saying things like “I’m happy for you two” or sometimes cracking a joke about how he didn’t expect Jamil to take PDA so far. “Maybe I underestimated you?” The teasing can only really deflect so much of his heartache, can only help him cope so much.
The sharp Minajael suddenly finds himself distracted. He daydreams of what-ifs, of a life he knows he cannot have. What if he had met them before they had Jamil? What if he had swept them off their feet? What if they had fallen in love with him instead? What if, what if, what if?
Being presented with marriage candidate profiles has always annoyed him, but he finds himself even more irritable than usual. Going down the line, he subconsciously compares them to the one he does desire. All the things missing, out of his reach. Minajael sends them away with blunt rejections, unable to stand looking at them for very long.
He tries to get his mind off of the love he lacks, substituting escapades and thrills for romance. More escapes from the palace, crazier adventures while he’s out, wild rides on his magic carpet. (His retainers and the local news wonder if he’s gone mad.)
… And yet, he still thinks of them. He sees their smile in the stars, hears their voice in every song, wonders how they’d look in this or that accessory. Everywhere he turns, there they are, etched in every corner of his life.
He could afford a therapist, but instead he vents to his tiger. Unlike a human, the tiger won’t tattle to his father about his feelings for some commoner, and the tiger won’t judge him for it. There’s also just something so comforting about scratching a big cat’s chin or snuggling in its fur until Mina feels better.
Some nights—during those moments of longing, when the darkness amplifies his most selfish desires—a horrible thought strikes Minajael. If he tried, he could have them. He could abuse the power of the crown, command or threaten Jamil. Steal, manipulate, succeed in taking that coveted love.
But Minajael knows that they are a person, an individual. Not an object, not some prize to be won. To truly love someone is to set someone free. And so, he does, choosing to allow the object of his affections to live like a bird, free to love whomever they choose. Even if it is not me.
“… I guess real life isn’t a fairy tale, hm?” It goes on, happy ending or no.
