Yuusei was getting older. It was an undeniable fact, made all the more noticeable living amongst the long-lived, youthful fae of Briar Valley. And while it wasn’t something that necessarily bothered him, for he always knew this would be his fate – him growing old and wrinkled and frail while the non-human residents of Castle Black Scale remained the same – he did often get fed up with the Senate’s constant reminders that he would die centuries before their prince, and his pathetically short human life wasn’t worthy of staying by his side.
He sighed as he fell back onto his plush bed, relieved to be done with the court proceedings for the day. The nagging, malice-ridden voices of the Senate still echoed in his ears: never satisfied, always hateful, and constantly picking a fight whenever he was included in their talks of bringing Briar Valley into a more modern era. For the umpteenth time, he wished they had corporeal forms so he could sock those ancient jerks in the face. He didn’t know how Malleus could stand working with them every single day.
As if on cue, an all too familiar energy buzzed in the air, bringing with it glowing green fireflies. Not a second later, the fae prince himself appeared in a burst of sparkles, graceful and hauntingly radiant as ever in his dark robes and the silver and emerald adornments of draconic royalty.
“You’re here.” Without missing a beat, he strode over to the bed and lowered himself to sit next to Yuusei. “I thought you would be in the library again today.”
Yuusei shook his head ruefully. “Those undead Senator bastards kept following me around. I needed some space.”
Malleus frowned. “What did they say to you?”
“The usual insults.” Yuusei sat up with a nonchalant shrug, hoping to quell Malleus’s rising anger. “Nothing worth repeating.”
Those bright reptilian eyes flashed, and smoke trickled from scowling lips. “Imbeciles,” Malleus spat, green flames slipping through his teeth. “They dare continue to insult you! They cannot go soon enough.”
Despite his pleas with his grandmother, Maleficia had no interest in changing the members of her court, not when they’d been her council for over a millennium. And especially not when there were already so many other changes happening within the Valley. Angry and defiant, Malleus had vowed the minute he was crowned king, he’d remove the ghostly members of the Senate.
But when that would be, no one knew. It could be months from now. It could be centuries.
Yuusei took Malleus’s hand and tried for an unbothered smile. “Maybe we should hire an exorcist and speed up putting them out of their misery,” he said, only half-jokingly. “Otherwise, they’re just gonna have to suck it up and endure me being here until I die.”
Unfortunately, his attempt to lift the mood only made Malleus’s frown deepen. He was quiet for a long moment as he looked over Yuusei from head to toe, inspecting every inch and more. His gaze was laden with worry, searching for something unspoken.
“Are you feeling well today?” he finally asked.
Yuusei raised a brow, a wry smirk forming on his lips. “Besides the ones you gave me last night?” he wondered, making a point to rub his sore lower back. “No.”
Malleus pouted, unamused. “I apologize for that. I do try to be gentle.” He brought Yuusei’s hand up and bent his head, placing a kiss on his knuckles. “But you are just so lovely. It drives me mad.”
Well, that was for sure, Yuusei thought, and he had the affectionate scratches, bruises, and bite marks to prove it.
“You’re still enticed by…this, then?” he asked, gesturing vaguely to himself in all its borderline bland, aging, human unimpressiveness.
Malleus stared him straight in the eyes, his look of dead seriousness burning straight into his soul. “Very much so,” he murmured, cupping Yuusei’s hand to his cheek and pressing a kiss to his palm.
Yuusei felt the heat rise to his cheeks, and he averted his attention to a tile on the floor that was suddenly very interesting. “Hm.”
A comfortable silence fell over them, the soft crackling of the green flames in the hearth turning into background noise that steadily warded off the castle’s constant chill. Malleus rubbed gentle circles into the back of Yuusei’s hand, his touch careful and delicate, his brow pinched in thought all the while.
“This year’s roses have bloomed,” he said, breaking their peace. He tilted his head imploringly. “Would you like to see them with me?”
Yuusei perked up a bit at that, his interest piqued. “Yeah.”
Keeping a secure grip on him, Malleus whisked them away to the other side of the palace in a whirlwind of sparkles. When the light cleared and the tingling, fluttering sensation of teleportation magic subsided, they stood at the entrance of Malleus’s garden. It was one of the very few places on the grounds where no one would dare enter and bother them, servant, councilman, or senator alike.
As a result, it was blissfully tranquil here. And incredibly gorgeous. Roses of different species, size, and season bloomed from bushes and archways set in neat rows along a path of dark stone. Red, white, black, green; delicate petals resting amongst black thorns and emerald leaves. Malleus had poured decades and decades of time and hard work into cultivating each shrub, each blossom, each rock on the path, and, of course, each gargoyle-esque grotesque decorating the lawn. It put the Heartslabyul rose garden to shame, in Yuusei’s opinion. But he’d never let Judge Riddle Rosehearts know that.
Arm in arm, they walked down the path towards the center of it all, where the newest addition to the garden awaited them front and center: a small cluster of rose bushes, healthy and thriving, and, to Yuusei’s surprise…
“They’re purple,” he marveled, eyes wide as he took in the flowers’ color.
A pleased smile graced Malleus’s features. “They are.”
Yuusei couldn’t help it. He gawked at the different shades of lilac, violet, and lavender seeming to glow in the pale sunlight. Purple, right smack dab in the middle of a sea of red, white, black, and green.
“They’re beautiful,” he managed when he’d regained his voice. “So your grandmother changed it up this year with your present?”
Malleus gave a minute shake of his head. “I planted these on my own. Separate from her annual birthday gift.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, beaming with pride. “These ones are for you.”
Yuusei blinked at him, unsure if he’d heard him correctly. “Really?”
Malleus nodded. “Do you know what purple roses symbolize?”
He shook his head. Sure, he knew the symbolism of colors – having artists for a mother and a brother had drilled that knowledge into his brain. But the complex and intricate language of flowers alluded him.
“Love at first sight. Enchantment. Deep admiration.” Malleus turned to him, taking both of his hands into his own and drawing him so close, they were almost pressed against one another, their noses nearly touching. He stared down at him, slitted pupils dilated, his breath warm on Yuusei’s cheek as he whispered, “I am enchanted by you. You are an impossibility for me made real. You captivated my heart and soul from the very beginning. These roses are everything you are to me. …You are everything to me.”
Yuusei’s heart skipped a beat, his breath escaping him. He was caught in that intense, glowing gaze, green eyes pouring every ounce of desire and affection and need into purple. If Malleus hadn’t been holding him, he was sure his knees would’ve buckled.
“You are mine and I am yours.” Malleus weaved their fingers together, engraving this fact into their story. He leaned in further, mindful of his crown and scales as he gingerly rested his forehead against his. “Then and now and forever, beyond our release from this mortal realm and our reunion amongst the stars. Nothing and no one can ever change that. Not my grandmother, and certainly not a senate of unchanging dolts.”
They stood there like that for what felt like an eternity, just the two of them as the rest of the garden faded away. Yuusei sighed, a weight on his shoulders lifting, the knot of frustration and anxiety in his heart unraveling. Pulling away slightly, he craned his head and stood on his tip toes to place a kiss on Malleus’s lips.
“Nothing can ever change that,” he murmured in agreement, eliciting a relieved and satisfied smile from the prince.
Here, even if for only a precious, fleeting moment in time, it felt like they were the only ones in the world, undefined and free of heavy, bothersome things like hateful senators and differing lifespans and species tensions. It was just them, two people who cherished one another, standing together amongst the purple roses.
This is my first time posting my writing for the TWST fandom. Please be kind 💜
Yuusei belongs to me. I have his main story in the works, so if he interests you, stay tuned.
**I do not own Twisted-Wonderland (duh). I do not consent to having my work used for training AI.**
Part 2 of TWST Valentine's Day Shorts 2026
Part 1: Five More Minutes
Part 3: Sugar Cookies and Cherry Pie
Part 4: In Front of the Fire
