AN: No excuse for this. No real explanation, either. Not even sure what inspired me to write for Sweetpea Beauty. And yet here it is. A Sweetpea Beauty oneshot. Enjoy!
"What do you mean that's not where England is?"
Giggling, Sweetpea shook her head as she extended her arm to point to the country on the large map laying out in front of them. "This is England. All the way over here. You're pointing to Romania."
"Oh boy." The prince sighed. "It's a good thing you're here. I'm the one taking the big trip and I have no clue where we're headed!"
"I'm sure you're mother will explain all of it to you as you get there."
Larry shook his head. "She's a very busy woman, especially on trips. I'm usually left to my own devices."
Sweetpea hummed lightly "Well, she does have a kingdom to run which I can only imagine must be very difficult to do when you're so far away."
"Well…yeah…"
"After England you have your last stop in Norway. Can you find Norway on the map?" the redhead asked, bringing the conversation back to its original course.
The brunette sighed "I dunno. I mean…I couldn't find anywhere but Germany!"
"You don't want to give it a try?" Sweetpea tried to encourage.
The prince looked at his friend, looked at her sweet smile. She had all the faith in the world in him. This girl could probably talk him into just about anything. Not that she ever would, which is part of the reason he bent to her will so easily. "Okay." He smiled back, before eyeing the map once again. Trying to remember all he'd ever learned of geography, his index finger landed on Finland. "Is this one Norway?"
"Really close!" she praised, before clasping the much larger hand in her own small, delicate one, and leading it two countries back to where Norway rested. "Right here." She explained.
He wasn't listening. How could he? She was holding his hand. She was holding his hand. He'd never held anyone's hand – well, other than his mom's when he was crossing the street back in the day. And this wasn't just anyone's hand he was suddenly holding – it was Sweetpea's. Sweetpea, the most odd and awesome and beautiful person he'd ever met in his whole life.
When he hadn't said anything back, she turned to look at him, confused. Following his gaze, however, she suddenly understood the silence. And the fluttering sensation in her stomach. Quickly, she released her hand under the ruse of rubbing wrinkles out of her dress skirt. "So," she began "You must be getting excited about the trip! France, Spain, England, Norway…"
"Well yeah, it's just…"
"Just what?" she asked, head tilting to the side.
The prince sighed, eyes now on the ground "It's just…mom's making me meet princesses everywhere."
"I love meeting new people!" Sweetpea beamed obliviously.
He cracked a little smile. "So do I. But…mom wants me to meet all the princesses…so one day one of them can be the queen of Most Fair."
Sweetpea nodded, but it hadn't really all clicked. And then suddenly, it did click. And her insides felt as though she was a piece of glass that had shattered into a million pieces. "Oh?"
"Y-yeah. Ya know, gotta keep that whole family tradition of looking fabulous alive!" he chuckled weakly.
She nodded and smiled, although it was probably one of the five rare fake smiles Sweetepea had ever fakely smiled with in her life. "Okay. But…is that what you want? Will it make you happy?"
His smile faltered a little. He knew the truth. He knew that if he married a very particular girl, one who was odd and awesome and sitting right beside him, then it would make him happy. But he couldn't say that. "I guess…I mean…making my mom happy, that would make me happy. So as long as she's happy, I'm happy." He smiled, and then looked at Sweetpea as she asked "Is the word happy starting to sound weird to you?"
"Now that you mention it…" she agreed with a giggle. "And that's incredibly sweet and kind of you, Larry. Your mother's lucky to have a son like you."
Larry felt the blood rush to this cheeks. "Aw, thanks."
"You're welcome." She smiled genuinely. "I'm only being truthful."
"I know." He smiled back. "I know you, so I know."
The two sat smiling like that in a few more moments of uninterrupted bliss. It was wonderful, really. But alas, those moments can only last so long. "Well, I suppose we both better head in. The sun's setting, and it'll be dark before long." Sweetpea babbled.
Larry nodded "You make a good point."
Sweetpea began to play with her hair, her nimble fingers twisting in and around the ginger braid as she murmured "A-and good luck with your trip. I hope you find what you're looking for."
She paused for a moment, unsure whether not what she was about to do would be worth it. But as luck would have it, her body began moving before her brain gave her consent. She was on her tiptoes, at his side, giving him a tender peck on the cheek.
And then she regretted it, so she turned and began walking away briskly.
The prince stared after her, completely dazed. That…that just happened. "Sw-sweetpea!" he called after her, as he sprinted to catch up with the pink clad maiden.
She spun around as he took her hands in his own, before lightly kissing her. A proper kiss. Right on the lips. It wasn't a peck, but it was still very chaste. As he pulled away with a big goofy grin on his face, her eyes went wide with shock. Her hands flew out of his to cover her mouth as she stumbled back a bit in surprise.
"B-but…the princesses…" she tried to formulate a full sentence, but her brain wouldn't allow it. She was still high on cloud nine.
"I'm pretty sure my mom already knew." He chuckled. "She'd been teasing me about before I even knew…" still chuckling, he had now moved his arm to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.
Sweetpea saw this as an opportunity, as she immediately wrapped both her arms around his torso, enveloping him in a tight hug.
This time, it was the prince's turn to stumble backwards a bit. He did return the hug almost instantly. Her hair smelled nice. Her hair smelled really nice. Snuggling the redhead tighter to his body, he decided that her hair smelled so nice that he almost didn't mind geography.
