Chapter 2

(AN: Since I ran out of space in the summary, I should state here that this is a fanfiction for my rarepairs, which you'll see as the story goes on. Thanks for reading, everyone!)

Jaden's first few weeks as prince were all a blur. It had all gone so fast, with princely knowledge and manners shoved down his throat. Jaden was never the type to present himself as a prince would; the staff of Slifer Palace knew that, yet they continued to try and correct the youth. Meanwhile, Aster Phoenix was waiting for him to crack.

"I know he will. But, why did I propose him to be king? I know there are much more suitable options, and yet I've faltered," he mumbled under his breath while he looked off the balcony at the stars. "Slifer is a beautiful kingdom, but why would he ever want to rule it all? Those are ambitions larger than I thought someone as thick as Jaden could possess. Or, maybe he doesn't. The reality will hit him, I'm sure." Aster sipped his tea and looked out at the bright and bustling city of Ra, Slifer's capital city. "I suppose it's not my problem anymore," he reassured himself, and straightened his back. "At least I can still live here." Aster turned on his heel to return to his room and prepare himself to sleep. He walked the lavish hallways of the palace, lit by gorgeous chandeliers hung masterfully. "I'd say I should have stayed prince, knowing how Jaden will handle it. But he made a choice to be here; I can't feel bad for that. Pity, maybe," he told himself, deep in thought. He was almost at his room now, and his teacup was almost empty. "I must admit that I'm curious as to why. Maybe I should ask. Yeah, I think I will." Aster entered his room and set his teacup down on the nightstand, then left to go find Jaden. His room was surprisingly close to Aster's; it made Aster feel a little less alone in such a large palace. He found himself at Jaden's door soon and lifted his hand to knock, but found himself intimidated. He withdrew it an inch or two, but did not return it to his side. "Why would I be intimidated by Jaden? He's barely royalty!" He shook off his doubt and knocked, for real this time. There was no answer. "It's nearly curfew for him by now; why wouldn't he be in his room?" Aster questioned, then remembered that he was thinking of Jaden. "Of course he's not in his room. It's Jaden, he's never had a curfew and even if he did, he'd break it." Aster scrunched up his nose a little at the thought. "He won't survive in a place like this." He turned sharply to leave, but caught glimpse of Jaden coming down the hallway to his room. "So he isn't late after all. That's a surprise." Aster thought.

"Hey Aster!" Jaden cheered from across the hallway with a big smile. "What's up?"

Aster pushed a finger to his lips with a sharp hiss. "I need to talk to you," he said softly.

Jaden gave him a confused look. "Okay, come into my room." He led the way in, unlocking it with the key around his neck. He sat on the bed next and gestured Aster to sit next to him, but Aster shook his head curtly and declined.

"Do you want to be prince?" Aster asked Jaden bluntly.

"Well, I don't have a choice! I won the duel."

"I'm aware. I asked, do you want to be prince?"

"Well, truth be told, I didn't duel Sartorius to be prince. I just wanted to duel the king." Jaden smiled at Aster softly.

"That's what I assumed." Aster balled his fist. "You don't know what's in store for you. I'm warning you that there will come a day when you won't want to be prince anymore, and you'll have nowhere to go."

It can't be so bad, can it? I'm living the good life! Delicious food all the time, servants and maids who will do whatever I want! It's not bad, why wouldn't you want to be a prince?"

"You're really a fool. You'll understand it someday when your naivety is gone. You could have saved yourself had you declined our invitation. I can't say I ever thought you would refuse, though."

"If you hate it so much, you should be happy that I took it from you! Right?"

Aster narrowed his eyes. "Yeah."

"Then, I'm glad to do it for you, Aster." Jaden grinned widely.

"The least I can do for you is teach you how to be a prince correctly."

"Hey, they're already teaching me enough as it is!" Jaden groaned.

"They'll only teach you what they want you to know. I can at least teach you what you'll actually need," Aster smirked. "Tomorrow, we'll start. Okay?"

"Okay. They stop lessons at noon."

"Perfect. Meet me in the courtyard," Aster grinned at Jaden, and let himself out of the room. "Goodnight, your Royal Highness," he bowed a little.

"Just call me Jaden." Jaden laughed.

At noon, Aster waited for Jaden in the courtyard. The gardeners were trimming the bushes in silence. "All of this space, and I still feel trapped," Aster thought to himself. Jaden arrived shortly after, untucking his shirt and unbuttoning himself for comfort. He also dug a hair tie out of his pocket and tied up his long hair.

"They won't be happy to see you like that." Aster almost giggled at the new prince.

"Oh well. How do you dress like this every day? I miss my sweatpants!"

Aster smirked at Jaden. "Get used to it."

"Princes don't tie up their hair! They keep it down to show off its natural beauty!" Jaden mocked his servant teachers.

"That's why I keep mine shorter."

Jaden rolled his eyes.

"First lesson is posture," Aster said. "You're slumping." He corrected Jaden's posture, and Jaden grit his teeth.

"Do we really have to stand like this?"

"When adults are around, yes." Aster's words triggered a loud sigh from the shorter boy. "Now, walk like that." Jaden did. "Chest out. Don't look at your feet." Truth be told, Aster Phoenix knew that these things weren't that important. He wanted to shape Jaden into a more solid, clean-cut person; he knew it would get him through the days in Silfer Palace. The duo trained for hours.

"Now that you're a prince, you need a new deck. So I'm taking you out to buy one." Aster pulled on a light jacket and dropped a roll of bills into his pocket.

"They'll let us go out alone? No guards or anything?"
"No. But I always did, and nothing ever happened to me. And besides, a guy needs to have fun sometimes."

Jaden pulled up his hood and the duo left the palace undetected to go into the city of Ra. "It's nice to see this place again. I thought I'd never be allowed out again." Jaden sighed with relief. "Where are we going to shop for cards?"

"The blue building on the corner of Luster Avenue and Exodia Square." The two walked in silence. Jaden Yuki had missed his home city.

"Why didn't Sartorius ever have a kid, Aster?" Jaden broke the silence.

"Sartorius wasn't prepared to be king. He wasn't meant to be, he only became king about a year ago. But, that's a story for another time."

Jaden only nodded. Nothing else was spoken until they were inside the shop. Aster approached the counted with confidence, asking the young worker to show him their best cards.

"Of course, sir." The worker was tall and built, with piercing gray eyes. Jaden lingered behind Aster. He brought out a case with three heavy locks, setting it down and looking up at the two. He bowed at the sight of Jaden. "Greetings, your Royal Highness," he said with a smile, locking eyes with Jaden. Jaden was taken aback at the intensity of the young man's grey eyes. They almost pierced through his skull. The boy couldn't be more than a year older than him.

"You can... Just call me Jaden," Jaden breathed. The boy nodded and looked away with a small smile, unlocking and opening the case.

"These are our best cards."

Aster browsed through the cards, consulting Jaden every so often. Jaden found himself uninterested in buying these prestigious cards. Time passed, but only Aster decided to buy new cards.

"Jaden, I told you that you needed a new deck."
"I love mine just the way it is," Jaden protested. But, the entire experience seemed like a blur. Aster paid and they left, but Jaden didn't really stop to think until he was in bed. As he closed his eyes to sleep, he could only see grey eyes. "I'll feel better in the morning," he told himself and went to sleep.

Across the city of Ra, the shop worker was telling himself the same thing. "It isn't possible," He lectured himself, "under any circumstances." He shook his head gently. "I cannot have allowed myself to fall in love with the prince of Slifer."