Summary: A huff of annoyance falls past Shun's lips. "You really are hopeless." [alternatively, Yuto finds himself wrapped around the pretty princess of Standard's finger.]
Pairing(s)/Character(s): one-sided Yuto/Yuzu, heavily implied Yuya/Yuzu (why does it always boil down to this)
Rating: K+
Warning(s): n/a
Words: 907
A/N: would you look at that i try to write otp fluff and it ended up sad. again.
this is a bit of a weird piece to upload, in all honesty, because it quite frankly belongs within a series of works or something and is based a lot upon events that i haven't actually written. i'm not quite sure whether i intend on writing more for this au or not, and if i do it'll likely be a very spontaneous thing... still, i've desperately been hoping to upload more braceletshipping since scars, but at the rate i've been going at it seems that the other piece i've been working on will probably be out by christmas lmao. that aside tho... this was a fun piece to write, and man, do i love the idea of yuto being hopelessly smitten with yuzu (and who can blame him, really), sooooo... hopefully you'll be able to enjoy it despite its... abstract nature? idk man. idk.
Yuzu is like a sunrise.
That sounds stupid, and God, it is, because despite everything - their allegiances, their statuses, their lives prior to and after meeting one another - despite it all Yuto still remains enchanted as he watches the Standard Princess sit in the morning light as soft pinks and oranges pour over her silken skirts. Despite it all, he can't tear his eyes away.
"Don't you think it's a bad idea to fall in love with her?" Yuto turns away from the extravagant garden he looks down upon in order to meet Shun's gleaming and mildly distrustful gold gaze, allowing a sigh to fall past his lips as he looks back to Yuzu and the variety of flowers budding around her. In all honesty, he had been expecting this to come about at some point, and the fact that it comes from Shun of all people is honestly not at all surprising. After all, he and Shun once both swore to look out for one another, to be the head upon the other's shoulders if one's vision ever became clouded or otherwise unclear. He takes no offence from Shun's question nor from his skeptical aura, watching Yuzu faithfully as he mulls over his answer.
"It's nothing serious." That's a lie - a tall one too, and Shun scoffs so as to let him know as much. Unfazed, Yuto tries again, "I see her the same way I do Ruri." Shun steps forward, leaning against the balcony in the same way Yuto had been before the prince had approached him.
"You wouldn't kiss Ruri," Shun states, matter-of-factly, and Yuto can feel himself stiffen at the remark. There was nothing hypothetical about Shun's accusation - so he had seen what had happened last night after all. "And if you would," Shun continues, his voice lifting slightly so as to indicate that he means what he says in jest, "Then we'll save that talk for another day."
Despite himself, Yuto allows a small smile to tug at the corners of his lips. "Fair enough," he replies simply, because there really is no point in denying it. He allows for a beat of silence, his gaze still trained on Yuzu as he mulls over his next response. "Though I'm not sure if you, of all people, are in the position to lecture me on emotional control, Shun."
"Is this about those curs from last night?"
"They did nothing wrong, Shun. Honestly, knocking ten men unconscious in one sitting... I fear for the day you take the throne." If there was a throne for him to take, that is.
"Saying things like that... I could get your head lopped off for treason," Shun snorts, before allowing the two of them to lapse into silence once more. Finally, he speaks up, the same grim tone he had used upon his approach weighing heavily on his words once more as he murmurs, "Really, Yuto... Falling for another kingdom's princess is far from your wisest move."
It's a bit of a low blow, but Yuto leaps upon the chance anyways - hey, that's what friends are for, right? "I could say the same of your quarrels last night."
"Yuto, for God's sake, would you stop bringing that up?" Yuto opens his mouth to reply, but Shun is wise enough to deny him that opportunity as he continues, "I'm sure you realize what you are to her, anyways." Yuto raises one brow, looking at his prince from the corner of his eye as he waits to him to finish what he started. Quickly, Shun glances down into the garden as though making sure Yuzu really was out of earshot before leaning closer towards Yuto, his voice low as though telling him a secret, "You're a replacement, Yuto."
... Fair enough. If he were someone else, someone bolder, someone brasher, Yuto might deny it. He might say that Yuzu sees him solely as Yuto, in the same way he's come to see her solely as herself, might turn a blind eye to the truth. But he isn't a fool, isn't so idealistic that he rather feed both him and Shun lies rather than face the facts. He still remembers the way she called him by the name of childhood friend on that day they first met, still remembers the way she buried her face into the crook of his neck as though she had known he would be the one to save her. Even last night, when she had leaned close to him and whispered his actual name, Yuto had suspected that it wasn't really him she meant to kiss, but he had fooled himself into drawing her closer and returning the gesture nonetheless. So he nods, saying nothing more for a moment more but making sure Shun is aware that he understands and agrees.
"You're right," he whispers, just loud enough for his prince to hear. But as he looks downs upon the princess they speak of, he can't really bring himself to care. That's bad, really bad, that even the realization that he's wrapped around her pretty little finger hardly concerns him. "But once again, you're hardly one to lecture me on emotional control, Shun."
A huff of annoyance falls past Shun's lips. "You really are hopeless."
Yuzu stands, gathering her skirts as she gracefully leaves the garden. At the back of his mind, Yuto wonders where she wanders to.
"I know." And nothing more is said.