Unfortunately, this blog is back on hiatus. I’ll be coming on every few days to check replies, but activity will be scarce. I’m up to my ears in schoolwork and I don’t have time to write lately. I’m sorry!
However, I will definitely be back. Thank you so much to those of you who have hung in there. It means a lot. I wish you all the best!
“I don’t know.. guess your face is the only one I’ll recall.”
It was strange, to say the least, that a pair of doe eyes could hold so much of his past in one look. The mere fact that they were even there, in each others presence— it filled the male’s bones with a familiarity he had never known. His index finger kept circling the rim of his coffee cup, idle eyes not really focused on anything except a ripple every now and then from within the cup. A question hung on his tongue, careful with what he chose to say because who knew what else might be triggered in your hard drive— a concept you’d think would be new to him but— “R2D2.” He chimed, the name reflecting itself on a past he was still trying to capture.
The amount of memory that spilled from the far corner of his “mind” was enough to render his glass eyes huge and heavy, lips permanently cracked into a half-opened shelf. He recognized Junhyung the very moment his distinct features briefed the television screen at the mall he was passing through. That was all he knew - until that childhood nickname crawled from small lips and unraveled more rope, images flashing and memories of older days causing the robot to perk, then knit his brows, lips finally clicking shut. The amount of information was overwhelming. Nearly enough to hold a second life.
Kyungsoo only glanced up again when he connected enough data to answer the question, treading softly enough as if rustling a twig would snap his neck. His head dragged in a slow back and forth motion.
➳♥ - ( perhaps sometime before or after their marriage! c: )
18 - Hip [ Royal AU ]
Her golden hair was pulled over one thin shoulder, so perfectly shaped that he’d questioned how he’d missed this simple view of her until now. Then again, it was their first night of actually sleeping in a bed together. The night prior was a show that even peasants were warbling about. Kyungsoo thought he would die when the elders sat down to watch— he’d been a virgin, saved for royal union, but the pressure was increased tenfold when their first time was— well, monitored.
But, he’d survived it. His new bride had a plethora of natural grace that he didn’t, evident in the subtle gestures used to soothe him when she knew he was nervous. It helped. Now all was quiet, they were left alone, and Kyungsoo felt confident that he was the only one of the pair still wide awake. It was surreal; this beautiful woman was now bound to him, and he to her, but still he felt shy about giving affection. Twenty minutes marked his brain before he’d finally gathered the courage to touch her. It was soft, like the tiny brush of a silkworm, as his fingers dragged along her pale skin and traced the crease of bone. He went from her shoulder to her spine, finally stopping at the last notch buried under milky flesh.
He checked once more to see if she’d moved - only a hair, he gathered, then maneuvered his way under the thick, pillowy blanket, his heart pounding through his ears as he pressed forward and kissed the first part of her body close enough to reach. His plush lips made contact with the back of her hip, lingering with a caution that melted into greed as he pressed another only centimeters away, then another, continuing until he settled at the curve of her spine. A gentle sigh escaped him and pooled like thin smoke against her shape, his forehead pressing to her back and arms winding over her stomach to draw her in close.
The green pigment was finally beginning to return to the trees. Blossoms and buds were just shy of opening their vivid colors, resting at the tips of branches and shrubs to soak in nourishment from the sun. It seemed like a race between families of flowers, yet none had caught Kyungsoo’s eye. That was- until a pink petal glittered down from the tree above the bench he sat upon. His head tilted back from the red scarf at his throat, a small grunt of amazement leaving cracked lips as he raised a hand to reach for it. The petal had other plans. His shaped eyes followed the milky-rose teardrop until it landed in the hair of the girl beside him, then tumbled, falling delicately once more until it settled at her bare shoulder. Kyungsoo contemplated asking her for it, but soon thought of something else. Carefully, he brushed her hair aside and grabbed the petal with two fingers, tucking it into his scarf and replacing it with a small, warm kiss, settled right at the blade. His nose brushed the junction of her neck and shoulder when he glanced back up, heart shaped lips pulling into a meek smile. “Sorry. Some believe it’s good luck to kiss the first petal of spring. But it seems to have fallen away.”
The small box in Kyungsoo’s lap jolted when his ride came to an abrupt halt. His fingers fumbled for the precious item, eyes wide and lips parted to let out a startled noise. He caught the thing before it could spill its contents, muttering a curse under his breath and straightening the royal blue silk of his hanbok. The gama wasn’t comfortable. Kyungsoo detested riding in it since he was a child, but royal tradition would not allow its rulers to travel anywhere without it. The prince expected a mumbled apology from whomever had caused the rough stop, but there was only silence as the glorified wooden box was lowered.
He had arrived. Kyungsoo swallowed whatever lump rested at the root of his mouth and straightened with the posture of a king. He wasn’t yet, of course, but rules were still intact even this far away from home. The rice paper screen opened. A hand was offered. Kyungsoo took it without offering the servant any recognition and skillfully climbed out of the carriage with light steps. Thousands of people with foreign faces were gathered behind the neatened walkway to a lavish court. They all wore ridiculous clothing, in his opinion, but not entirely unlike the rags his own impoverished people donned during long work days. That added sympathy to his father’s argument of shipping him off to France.
Despite the pounding beat in his chest and the swarm of insecurities that threatened to shatter his skull, the young prince walked forward. His silk shoes pinched over the washed stone, gaze held high and straightforward, while hands hovered at his back. The people of France were silent. A union such as this was certainly the first of its kind; both sides were hesitant. Only the parents of their nations had seen great prosperity through marrying together East and West. It was evident through the many colored eyes that burned into the back of Kyungsoo’s robes.
He let out a silent breath of relief when he reached the steps of the grand structure. Awaiting him were King and Queen with faces like stone, and behind them, a princess so beautiful that Kyungsoo had to catch himself. His eyes pricked with interest, then lowered to the ground, his mind desperately trying not to race as he leaned forward into what felt like the deepest bow of his life, arms outstretching to bestow the box he had guarded so heavily on his journey across giant seas. He only lifted his stature when the royal couple accepted his gift. The formalities were hard to get through without sneaking a glance at the girl he’d traveled for. When the giant doors closed, the pressure of a thousand eyes had faded. Now there were six royal ones that weighed him down like rocks.
Tours. So many tours that even Kyungsoo lost count of the lavish rooms; but he enjoyed it. The architecture was magnificent. The bricks and furniture and windows that could capture beautiful verandas sparked a childlike giddiness that made it hard to keep still beneath his hanbok. Dinner was exquisite. The royal family didn’t say much, only occasionally presented him with questions similar to “Do you eat genitals of animals as they say you do?” --In Korea, that sort of insult would be punishable by death. But here, it was nothing more than casual conversation. Kyungsoo had to reply in the foreign tongue he’d worked so hard to build since he was seven. The effort was well worth it, for even polite responses held no difficulty for him. They rolled off of his tongue as if he’d been raised in lavender fields and honey.
Being left alone in his room after all was said and done was excruciating. He began to get butterflies. He began to think of the beautiful princess and what little words she’d spoken. He began to wonder if she found him awful or gaudy or scary, as most Westerners tended to think. Then he became angry. A silent bubble of sludge rolled around in his stomach when he thought of how unfair it was for his father to send him away; how unfair it was that he hadn’t been born crown prince, like his older brother, and how unfair it was that he was the one to be stuck in a country so different that he was confident he’d lose his mind.
Then he decided to stop staring at the ceiling and sit up. The King and Queen had welcomed him to wander the palace, on the condition that he avoid the princess and all breakable items. The white robes were too big for his shoulders, but he slid them on anyway and brought his tapered candle close to his belly, venturing out of the lavish room and embarking down the looming hallway. He vaguely remembered the path to the royal library.
The young prince navigated so carefully that even a mouse wouldn’t match him, the first genuine smile in weeks carving his lips when he found the enormous wooden doors which opened to a treasury of books. He slipped inside without a sound and carefully closed the door behind him, thinking of which books he might find when he turned, and then-
“Ah!” He pipped in surprise and nearly dropped the candle, shielding the flame with his palm and staring with huge eyes at the girl seated comfortably on a windowsill.
“Princess...? Why are you awake? Ah, no-- why are you in here? We’re not supposed to see each other...I should go back.”
Usually Natasha could be out of restraints within a couple of seconds, but this time it was more difficult - the knots weren’t budging no matter how much she fiddled with them behind her back. She watched him slip the blade back into his pocket, wondering what he was planning.
“It doesn’t feel like anything. It’s just my job.” The agent replied simply, not wanting to reveal too much, though she suspected she’d read up on her record by now. It wasn’t hard to get a hold of after she’d released the entire database.
“If you’re going to try and kill me, why haven’t you started already?”
Kyungsoo liked that idea - the idea of murder coinciding with mundane routine. It only emphasized his own reasoning. He decided that he liked this human more than the men who sent him to catch her. He wanted to play with her a little more.
“I don’t want to kill you.” He replied honestly, plopping into a cross-legged position on the ground and peering up at her.
“I want to know about the people you’ve killed. Then I’ll let you go. I promise.”