½ PRINCE TWO SHOT

TITLE: On the Off Day

SUMMARY: "Gui...? I want to tell you who I am."

PAIRING: GUI/PRINCE, GUI/LAN

A/N: Hi everyone! I've been having a lot of 1/2 Prince feels and decided to write a two shot! I haven't written in first person in a long time, so I hope it's acceptable. I chose this style because it's the style the novel is written in (which I just recently started reading, the manhua doesn't update very often, sadly). So, yeah, I don't own 1/2 Prince, and it's unbeta'd, so sorry for the mistakes!

I was so… tired.

I didn't even enjoy fighting. The role of a stone cold killer had been forced upon me, and now I couldn't abandon it! Even when the Odd Squad was alone, I was either forced into the role of Prince—the cold landlord and ruler of Infinite City, or Prince—the clueless teammate that couldn't do anything right. What right did Lolidragon and the others have to place me at such a low standing? I wasn't stupid, or clueless, or uneducated. I was a university student for heaven's sake!

And yet they still felt the need to belittle me in any way they could, even if it was unintentional. It was always, 'Oh, Prince would get lost in the city, someone escort him!', or 'haha, Prince, you eat so much, perhaps if you put that much effort into ruling we would have more funds!'. Perhaps they thought it was obvious that they were joking and that it wouldn't hurt, but the fact was, well, it did hurt me when they said such things, despite knowing they were joking or trying to cheer me up in some way.

The only one who didn't say such things was Gui, that stupid bard. His stupid homo face made me want to hit him every time I saw him, but even that was getting tiring. He said he wouldn't care what I was like in the real world, hadn't he? He had said he didn't care what gender I was, or how I looked. He apparently loved me for me, despite both of us being men in-game. It was flattering, and sometimes I wished I could just accept his affections. Alas, I had to keep up my 'rage at pervert-Gui' act. I wonder if he noticed my hits getting lighter than usual.

I was glad that I could spend some time thinking of these things, alone in the throne room. Here I was, perched upon my throne, alone and in peace with my melancholic thoughts. Any moment now, I was expecting at least one other of the Odd Squad to log on, however. It was early morning, during summer vacation, and I was grateful that we had stopped coming up with a meeting time and place. Usually we just ended up finding each other, or we were too busy with other business to hang out with each other. It was a sad truth, but it let me relax.

"Mama, Meatbun's hungry…" the high pitched sound of my son—er, my pet meatbun's voice reached my ears, and I looked at the pitiful watery blue eyes. As if my stomach could sense the mention of food, it also let out a muffled gurgle, and it was at this time I decided it was time for breakfast. The kitchens weren't far from the room I was currently residing in, and in a flash, myself and Meatbun were out in the hall and walking towards the kitchen. I felt like making something today, opposed to just grabbing something out of the cold storage.

I felt like a chicken and egg stir-fry with cut veggies and fried rice would be adequate, if not a bit extravagant. I would probably end up making too much, but that was fine. I could always stick the rest in my inventory for later and eat it then if no one logged on soon.

It was just my luck, that in the middle of chopping the vegetables, a heard the ping of someone logging on behind me, and before I could turn around to see who it was, there was a happy cry of "Your Highness!", and warm arms soon wrapped themselves around my shoulders. I knew it was Gui, and with a nearby unused ladle, I hit him atop his head and fought him away from the stove and myself.

"Get the hell away, Gui! I'm trying to cook!" I ended up kicking him away, towards the simple table to the left of the room. I thought that I might as well feed him while he was there. Why he had logged off in the kitchen, I would never know. To my knowledge, Gui was a miserable cook. I wondered how he lived in the real world, and at this point, I felt sorry for him, and just a tad worried (not that I would admit that).

At the same time, I don't think any of the team knew I could cook. We usually ate at restaurants or inns. I could only desperately hope that Gui wouldn't try and interfere. Which is why, when I got back to cooking, I heard a chair scrape back and a faint rustling of clothes, I felt relieved. It must have been because it was still morning… which would mean my professor wasn't a morning person. That was… fascinating to figure out. I was thankful it would continue to be a quiet morning, at least until the others logged into Second Life.

As I proceeded with my cooking, I gradually forgot Gui was there, and ended up singing lightly under my breath as I cooked. I did it a lot at home, and now that I wasn't under the pressure of Lolidragon and the others, I could sing freely without the worry of fans and future concerts on my shoulders.

What I was humming and singing along to was an old song, at least about ninety years old. Technology was great for preserving music, and I found myself often liking this particular tune; 'What Makes You Beautiful' by the old boy band 'One Direction'. Apparently, according to the internet records, they had all been homosexual and in an illicit affair with each other. History sure was fascinating…

It was only when I heard the deep chuckle from Gui as I placed some of the food on a small plate for Meatbun did I remember who I was in the presence of, and I froze up for a moment in fright.

Did I get angry at him and tell him to leave while violently beating him… or did I ignore him and serve him a plate? I decided on the latter, though I could feel my face burn slightly. It was embarrassing! After I placed meatbun on the table with his portion of food across from Gui, I stood back and crossed my arms in silent contemplation. Did I dare feel Gui? Was he even hungry? I think he would have left if he weren't… he did have duties around the city, after all.

With a determined nod to myself, I locked eyes with Gui for a split moment before spinning around and serving up two plates. There was a perfect amount for the two of us, and internally I was smiling. I did, however, curse at my need to feed people. This would just attach Gui to Prince even more… and leave myself in the dust. The way to a man's heart was through his stomach, after all. The thought made my mood drop only slightly, yet I still placed the food and utensils before the demon bard and sat beside Meatbun, diagonally from Gui.

It was silent as I watched Gui take the first bite, and forgetting how Gui was usually, I smiled outwardly when his eyes grew large and sparkly. Despite being annoying, he truly was an adorable man, even in the real world.

"My Prince truly is a talented person! Your Highness, why don't you ever cook for the team?" it looked as if he were about the melt into his seat, he looked so happy. Had my food really been that delicious? I looked away from him, embarrassed from his praise. I didn't know what to say to answer his question.

"I never have the right cooking equipment, and besides, we all eat so much…" the last part was muttered under my breath. If I cooked for them, spices and the like would be much more expensive than eating out.

Gui gave me a funny look. Why? Oh… that's right, I never usually answer any of his questions without violence. It was an odd day, then. I had been feeling strangely out of it since I woke up that morning, and even all night, until I had logged on early. Even then, the feeling had carried on to Prince. It was unsettling for me to feel so down.

At least I didn't have to wear all that heavy armour when not making a public appearance. That would surely sour my mood more than it already was. Instead, I was wearing something similar to my beginners' clothes, though with less armour and more soft fabric. It was nice.

I ended up gobbling the rest of my food down, and with a sigh, I stood. I intended to go to my room and perhaps play a game with Kenshin or something… "Is my Lord alright?"

Hadn't I told them to stop calling me that? With another sigh, I stood, sending Gui a reassuring smile as I left my dishes in the sink. An NPC would come around later and clean it up. "I'm fine." I passed Gui on my way to the door, and as I did so, I reached for him. He flinched, obviously expecting to be hit, and that made me feel guilty. I would definitely have to stop being so violent towards him… he wasn't so bad.

Instead of what he expected though, I patted him gently on the head, which obviously stunned him. His eyes were wide and surprised, and I could already see a small blush forming on his face. "Tell the others I'll be in my room if they need me… and please ask Lolidragon to tone her personality down today. I… don't think I'm up for her attitude today." Something really was wrong with me... I ended up petting Gui's hair as I spoke, and it was very soft, not that that surprised me. "And also let Doll take care of Meatbun."

After I felt his faint nod under my hand, I lifted it and left the room, thinking over what I had just done. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I berated myself mentally. What was I thinking? This would surely cement Gui's love for Prince, not… Feng Lan… For some reason, that made me seriously sad. Could it possibly be that I was actually in love with the silly, obsessive bard?

The answer was yes, I was, and that made me sad, because no matter what, he was gay and I was female. I could only hope he wouldn't hate me when the time came for a live confrontation. I had heard Lolidragon and Wolf-bro talking about meeting in real life… They both knew who I was, however. I had no idea how the others would react to me being, well, me.

A thought came to me, as I walked alone to my room. Why didn't I just tell Gui who I was? It would be embarrassing, as we'd already technically been on a date, and we saw each other nearly every day, but it would be smart. It would be better if he heard it from me, wouldn't it?

I would do it. I definitely would… very soon. I trusted him, and he was intelligent. I knew that, and yet I still felt hesitant. What if he really was only infatuated with Prince? No matter how much he asked about my real life self, I always had that small amount of doubt, and it frightened me, to think that his affections would change after knowing who I was. Despite beating him up a lot, I also relied on him more than anyone emotionally. Not even Zhou-gege gave me as much support as Gui.

With my mind made up, I waited several hours, alone, in doubt, and in an off mood before I PMed Gui. I was ultimately surprised he hadn't burst into my room at some point through that time, but he must have still been stunned by my actions earlier. I didn't blame him; I don't think anyone in the Odd Squad thought I could be gentle.

"Gui…? I want to tell you who I am."