Disclaimer - 1/2 Prince and all of the characters belong to Yu Wo.

Note - I think my head is going to explode with inconsistent pronoun use.


Gui couldn't imagine that anything in the entire world could compare in sweetness to Prince's voice as he sang. The clear notes that the young city lord created rang through the air like pure drops of rain falling gently on his face. Then again, everything Prince did was beautiful in Gui's eyes. The way Prince moved, the way his long fingers gracefully brushed his bangs out of his eyes when the wind sent them into disarray, the childish way his face lit up whenever he laughed. Even the weird face he makes when he sneezes is pretty...

With his eyes transfixed on the back of Prince's head, Gui stared as Prince lowered his microphone for the last time, waving his other arm energetically and yelling farewell. The audience that filled the stadium roared deafeningly. Gui lowered his tired arms and tucked his guqin under one elbow. The concert was over.

Stepping quickly around the drum set he waved and smiled at the audience as he followed Prince off the stage. Prince collapsed into the first chair he came to and gratefully took a towel and a cup of ice water from Lolidragon.

"Thanks."

"Sure thing!" Lolidragon turned to Gui and gave him a towel as well. "Great job, Gui!"

"Thank you," he smiled at her as she spun on her heel to give towels to the other band members who were sitting nearby. Gui dabbed at his face with the soft cloth and peered at Prince. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes closed tightly as he vigorously wiped his face. Gui's eyes widened as he watched a missed drop of sweat trail down Prince's neck, over his collarbone, and disappear under his shirt.

Ooh, bad thoughts... Bad thoughts... Gui covered his face with his towel, trying and failing to get various mental images of Prince out of his head.

Gui jumped slightly as Prince sighed and sat upright, shooting Gui a happy smile. "Another success."

"Yes," answered Gui, feeling his cheeks burn. He was grateful for the fact that his face was already red from the heat of the concert, allowing his blush to be concealed.

Prince stood up and stretched his arms overhead. "I'm going to go change."

"O-okay," Gui watched as Prince hurried into his dressing room. He took a few deep breaths before he went into his own, changing out of his stifling clothes Lolidragon had made him wear, and into his comfy, light-weight outfit he usually had on. He was grateful that the girls hadn't decided to spread their artistic tailoring skills to him, aside from the occasional outfit. As sympathetic Gui felt toward Prince getting treated like a doll, there was always one corner of his mind that enjoyed seeing each new look and couldn't help but admire how the girls managed to make such a wide variety of clothes.

Gui stepped out of his dressing room and leaned against the cold stone wall of the passageway as he waited for Prince to finish. He sighed with relief as the smooth wall chilled his back. He didn't have to wait long before the latch of Prince's door clicked and he stepped briskly outside, only to almost trip over the threshold when he noticed Gui was waiting.

Irritation flashed across Prince's face as he straightened up and coughed. "I'm done..."

Gui bit the inside of his cheek. He would rather have been punched yet again, than see Prince being so annoyed over his presence. "Shall we go?" asked Gui brightly as he pushed himself off the wall. Prince nodded shortly and wordlessly started down the passageway toward the exit.

It had been several days since Gui had lost his temper in the tower. He'd been so afraid to see Prince again the day after, he'd taken as much time as he possibly could grading papers at work. After a very long internal debate at home, he'd finally logged into the game, but used up more time wandering around to calm himself down before going to find Prince. The relief he felt at Prince acting normal had been replaced all too soon with a bitter, dejected feeling. Gui didn't want Prince to stress himself out even further over what he'd said, but he also didn't want Prince to casually brush it off and ignore the matter. It didn't seem like there was a happy medium when it came to discussing Prince's real identity.

Prince suddenly stopped, one bend away from the exit. Loud cheering was coming from outside, the echoes bouncing noisily off the stone walls. Gui stood silently behind Prince as he pressed himself up again the wall and looked around the corner with a grimace. His lips moved noiselessly for a moment, and then he turned around and walked quickly back the way they'd come. "Sunshine is coming to get us," he explained over his shoulder to Gui.

Great. If it's not raging mobs of fans getting in the way, it's a pet. Gui had been hoping to talk to Prince alone the night before, but never got a chance as they'd gone training rather than heading for the tower like he'd thought they were going to. It looked to Gui as if yesterday was about to repeat itself.

The pair stepped out onto the stage once more. Gui ran his eyes over the now-deserted array of seats. It was strangely quiet, given that almost the entire population of the central continent was standing outside, cheering as if their lives depended on it. He glanced miserably at Prince who was staring up at the edge of the hall, once again talking silently to someone in a private message. Gui looked away as he felt twinges of jealousy start to roil up. In the past, Gui had never been very possessive of his belongings or friends, to the point of driving away more than several significant others with his distant attitude. But as he spent more time with Prince, a dark feeling of resentment grew toward everyone else who came into contact with him, even if they weren't interested in Prince in a romantic way. His obsessive cravings for Prince were beginning to frighten even himself.

"He's here," Prince broke Gui out of his brooding with a thump on his shoulder and then waved at the incoming carpet. Caught off-guard by the swooping sensation in his stomach at Prince's casual touch, Gui watched him as he hurried forward to meet Sunshine. With a sigh, he stepped forward reluctantly.

"Thanks, Sunshine. It's a nightmare out there. One step out the door and we'd get ripped to shreds."

"Why would they want to do that?"

"Who knows, they're all insane. After such an awesome performance, I guess it's not surprising."

"Why would your concert make them insane?"

"Sunshine, he was joking."

"Oh."

Gui's head whipped upward at the unexpected sound of a third voice. Fairsky was sitting neatly at the front of the carpet next to Sunshine. Gui felt some of the stabbing jealousy alleviate as he smiled happily at the potential distraction of Sunshine's attention. Ever since Fairsky had switched her focus of affection from Prince to Sunshine, Gui had relaxed a considerable amount around her.

"Gui, hurry up," Prince stared down at him with an eyebrow raised at Gui's lack of progress across the stage.

"Yes, your highness!" called Gui as he ran over to the carpet and climbed on. Sunshine carefully lifted the carpet and they took off over the city. Loud cries of disappointment mixed in with the screaming as the crowd below saw their celebrity escaping in an unexpected direction.

"This feels great!" exclaimed Prince as he leaned backward with his eyes closed. The sweet-smelling wind whipped through his hair and he smiled happily. "It's so hot today, I thought I'd melt on stage."

"You looked like you were about to pass out afterward."

"I bet I would have right away if Lolidragon hadn't had water ready."

"Don't worry, your highness, Prince. If you ever feel like fainting, I shall be right there to catch you lovingly and safely in my arms, whichever way you fall," declared Gui, grinning widely.

Prince glanced at him and then smirked. Gui flinched and braced himself for a blow as Prince raised a fist. A gentle tap on the side of his head caused his eyes to fly back open. Gui opened and closed his mouth a few times, staring at Prince who was looking over the landscape with a smile on his face. He suddenly turned around and raised a finger warningly.

"If I ever fall on the ground, you better take responsibility."

Gui hesitated, not knowing whether or not Prince was joking. Prince rarely, if ever, humored Gui in his whimsical blathering. After a moment, Prince laughed and put his hand back down to rest on the carpet. Gui frowned and turned away. I was being serious... He looked over the edge of the carpet for a moment and found himself looking down on unfamiliar terrain. Rather than the thick woods and winding dirt paths that surrounded Infinite City, there were grassy fields flecked with wild flowers and rivers sparkling in the sunlight.

"Hey, where are we going?"

"We are going in 'that direction'," explained Sunshine. Gui waited for a continuation, but Sunshine, apparently thinking his vague answer was sufficient, began chatting brightly to Fairsky.

Gui turned to Prince. "Where?"

"Exactly what he said. We're going that direction." Prince waved his hand toward the front of the carpet.

In other words, you don't know. It wasn't the first time Prince had gone in a random direction and expected to arrive wherever he was supposed to be going. Gui simply went along with it, knowing that pointing out the fact that it looked like they were completely lost would be useless.

Several minutes later, Gui felt the carpet dip as Sunshine began to take them toward the ground. Gui looked back and forth, but there wasn't anything nearby that he recognized. There was a river, a small pond with some willows on the bank, and grassy hills as far as he could see. There weren't even any monsters in sight, which, considering Prince's love for killing anything he laid eyes on, was bizarre. Sunshine stopped the carpet a few feet off the ground and Prince jumped off, landing softly in the long grass. Gui followed him, feeling very confused.

Prince stretched himself out and then started toward the pond, humming one of the songs from the concert. Gui glanced at the two still on the carpet before following, lifting his cloak slightly so it wouldn't snag on the grass.

"It's nice out here," said Prince, tilting his head back to stare up at the clear blue sky. "Second Life is so huge."

"Yeah."

Prince glanced back at Gui's sullen expression and frowned slightly. "What's up with you?"

Gui shook his head and tried to look cheerful again. It was difficult. "Nothing. Sorry."

Prince glared at him before grabbing his arm and roughly dragging him into the shade underneath one of the twisting willow trees. He sat down and pulled Gui onto his knees in the grass, and then began staring out over the pond. Gui looked over his shoulder to see if Sunshine and Fairsky were following. His eyes widened as he saw there was no sign of them, on the ground or in the air.

"Um, your highness. They-"

"Don't worry, I told them to come back for us in a few hours," said Prince as he picked a blade of grass and began shredding it length-wise. "I just wanted a change of scenery. You've been looking kind of tired lately, I thought maybe it'd be good for you, too."

Gui's heartbeat sped up slightly. He hadn't known that Prince was that attentive of him. It was difficult to keep his composure at times like this.

"Also," continued Prince, somewhat hesitantly. "It was difficult to think of a place where we could talk... alone." He scratched the tip of his pointed ear before picking another blade of grass. Gui silently observed as the piece of grass met a similar fate as the one before it. At last, Prince threw the pieces to one side and suddenly turned to look at Gui face-to-face.

"Well?"

"What?" Gui stared at him.

"You're sitting there so quietly, it's creeping me out. I thought you wanted to talk. If you don't have anything to say to me, we might as well go back, or go find something to kill."

"I'm sorry," Gui quickly shook his head.

"Stop apologizing. You act like I'm going to murder you if you say anything."

"...That's what you usually do."

"That's 'cause you say everything in such an idiotic way. What do you expect me to do whenever you blurt out stupid things? Run over and hug you and scream how much I appreciate it? It bothers me when you treat everything like a joke. Not that I expect you to be serious all the time. That would be weird..."

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"I said stop apologizing," grumbled Prince as he leaned back against the willow's trunk. "You're making me feel like a bully."

Gui took a deep breath and looked down at his hands. "Yes, I wanted to talk to you."

"...And?"

"I wanted to-" Gui stopped himself and felt his face burn. He'd almost apologized again. I really need to stop giving myself reasons to say sorry. "H-have you given any thought to what I said? In the tower..."

Prince sighed and didn't say anything for a moment. "I have. I think I gave it too much, actually." He abruptly sat up and shoved Gui, but not roughly. "You have horrible timing, you know that?"

Gui stared wide-eyed at him. "I do?"

"You waited to bring all that up 'til I was swamped with memorizing all those new songs, band practice, training, and even homework! And then you expected me to give you a coherent answer to your rant right away? Do you know how much pressure you put on me? Idiot!" Prince clenched his fists and punched the ground.

Gui glanced at him worriedly. "I'm s- I didn't mean to do that..."

Prince sighed. "I know you didn't. If you had, I would have thrown you out my tower window." He chuckled for a few seconds as if picturing the act. Gui still couldn't decide if Prince actually was as violent as he seemed on the surface.

"Now then!" yelled Prince suddenly, causing Gui to jump. "I'm going to say things straight out. As I said, I've given what you told me a lot of thought." Gui started to feel extremely nervous as Prince paused. "I'm going to stand by what I said before. I'm really... reluctant to tell you who I actually am."

Gui felt as though all the air had been knocked out of him. It had been a very long time since he'd seriously cried, but he could feel the tears start to sting at the corner of his eyes at Prince's rejection. He'd attempted to prepare himself for this outcome, but there was little he could do when Prince actually answered.

"I see," he finally answered.

"Truthfully, I've thought about telling you," said Prince as he shrugged, a complicated expression on his face.

"Why can't you?"

"I told you already."

"What?" Gui felt confused all over again. "For goodness sake. How many more times and different ways do I have to tell you that my feelings aren't going to change before you'll believe me?"

"I know that already," Prince said quietly.

"You're contradicting yourself!"

"I am not," he looked at Gui angrily. "You love me, right?"

"Y-yes!"

"There! That's exactly it!"

"Huh?"

"Remember the time you were at the little cafe with that girl?"

Gui gaped at Prince with a horror-struck expression. HE SAW! "P-Prince, it's not what you think, really! She... She asked me to go with her, it wasn't a date or anything! She's just one of my students! You have to believe me!"

Rather than looking relieved after hearing Gui's frantic explanation like he thought would happen, Prince looked more like he was about to burst into tears. Panic began to rise in his chest as he tried to think of something convincing to say.

"I swear, I'm telling the truth-"

"I KNOW!" Prince suddenly screamed at him, his face turning a deep shade of red. "She's just a student to you! That part is extremely clear! I already know everything you said when you two were talking." He sniffed and Gui felt his confusion go to a whole new level.

"If you knew that already, why in the world are you getting so upset?"

"BECAUSE THE ONE YOU LOVE IS PRINCE!"

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" For the second time in about as many days, Gui felt like hitting Prince. He wasn't making any sense. Gui trembled with anger as he watched Prince quietly rest his head on his knees.

"You love Prince. You don't love me."

Gui almost didn't catch Prince's hopeless whisper. He finally realized what he'd been saying. Gui closed his eyes and fell back against the willow tree, feeling exhausted as Prince's cryptic words began to look slightly clearer.

"Oh, what the hell..? That's what you meant? Prince, do you honestly think I wouldn't love you if I met you and you weren't like your in-game character?"

Prince slowly nodded.

"Wh... Then, what about me?"

Prince shot him a bewildered glance. "What?"

"Do you feel differently about Min Gui Wen than you do Guileastos?"

"Of course not," he shook his head and then mumbled, "You're both idiots..."

Gui decided to ignore Prince's little addition. "Then what makes you think it's any different for me?" asked Gui quietly. He put his hand on Prince's shaking back. "Even though I don't know who you are in real life, I'll love you the same either way."

"But you're..." Prince bit his lip.

"Huh?"

"Never mind..." He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes with a sigh. "I'm a lot different than Prince."

Gui almost laughed as he shrugged. "Isn't that how it's supposed to be? I doubt anyone is the same as their game-selves. That's the great thing about playing Second Life, you get to be whoever and whatever you want. Since you seem to know me in real life, you can't exactly say that I'm the same as Guileastos, either. It would be completely irrational of me to expect you to be just like Prince."

He smiled as Prince looked a bit calmer and he nodded in agreement. Gui felt slightly better as he watched Prince stretch his legs out on the grass. Disappointment at Prince's hesitation toward meeting face-to-face was pushed aside and Gui tried to focus on the moment. Maybe leaving things are they are isn't so bad. At least for now.

They sat quietly, watching ripples in the water of the pond as a fish broke the glassy surface. The vine-like branches of the willow swayed slightly in the breeze.

"It really is beautiful out here," mumbled Gui.

"Mm-hm."

Feeling somewhat daring, Gui shifted closer on the grass to Prince and set his hand on his head, slowly running a lock of the silky, white hair through his fingers. He paused as Prince turned and stared at him guardedly.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing with your hair."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"Well, stop."

"Why should I?"

"Because," huffed Prince as he tried to slap away the hand. "It's embarrassing, I don't... want you... to..." His voice trailed off as Gui took his hand and leaned forward. "Wai-wait-"

Gui gently pressed his lips to Prince's, and felt his body tense. The hand that gripped his drew tighter, almost painfully, but Gui barely noticed. Placing his other hand on Prince's back, he drew him closer and deepened the kiss. He felt somewhat surprised as Prince slid his hands up Gui's back and grasped him by the shoulders as he returned the embrace. Gui never knew the nerves in his back were so sensitive. The spots where Prince's hands pressed and where his lips had touched felt like they were on fire and it was steadily spreading. Pulling Prince's body against his own, he slowly fell backward with a soft thump as they hit the grass. The earthy smells of the ground mingled with the somewhat spicy scent of Prince's hair and skin. Gui started to feel lightheaded as sensation after sensation washed over him. For as many times as he'd imagined this moment, the real thing was almost suffocating. He nearly lost himself when Prince let out a quiet groan against Gui's mouth.

Gui wasn't sure just how much time had passed, it may have been minutes, or hours, or even years, but all too soon, as a breathy sigh passed between their lips, it was over. Prince didn't bother climbing off Gui, but simply laid there with his head resting on Gui's rising and falling chest. He absently twirled a strand of Gui's long hair around his fingers. Gui gently tightened his arms around him, enjoying the warm weight of Prince's body, staring up at the patches of sky he could see through the rustling tree branches.

"D-don't do that with no warning..."

"Sorry."

"Didn't I say stop apologizing?"

Gui laughed at Prince's indignant tone. "I'll try to remember."

Just as Gui was starting to feel sleepy, Prince suddenly lifted his head looked around wildly. He stood up and began frantically brushing grass and leaves off his clothing. Gui winced and rubbed his stomach where Prince had forcefully launched himself off.

"What's wrong?"

Footsteps coming through the grass made Gui turn around. He felt all the blood drain out of his face as Lolidragon strode up and came to a stop next to him. She gave his disheveled look a once-over, and then stared at Prince's horrified expression before bursting into laughter. Gui slowly stood up and brushed himself off as he watched her slap Prince on the back.

"Stop laughing!" yelled Prince as he stomped away.

Lolidragon gasped and wiped a few tears away, her sides still shaking. "I tried to warn you! It's your own fault for not responding to my messages. I didn't mean to interrupt your little tryst, but Sunshine was getting impatient over there."

Even Prince's ears had turned red with embarrassment as he awkwardly climbed on top of the carpet where Sunshine was sitting. Gui hurried over and sat down beside him.

"Did you have a nice talk?" asked Sunshine as he looked from one to the other with an interested expression. Gui nodded briefly as Prince crossed his arms, trying to ignore Lolidragon's unconvincing pleadings for forgiveness. As the carpet took off, Gui opened the list of his private messages. There were several brief, unread messages sent by Lolidragon over the span of about ten minutes.

[05:23 Hello-o-o, Gui! I'm coming with Sunshine to get you guys~! We're almost there!]

[05:23 You better not be naked!]

[05:25 Scratch that last message, be naked all you want! It'll make a great addition to our next portfolio!]

[05:26 I can see the pond!]

[05:26 We're here! I'll give you a few more minutes, so hurry and finish!]

[05:28 I hope I didn't put too much pressure on you! But seriously, hurry up.]

[05:30 Sunshine is starting to threaten me with his flying carpet tricks, get your butts over here! I don't want to die!]

[05:32 Okay, you asked for it. Here I come.]

Gui put his head in his hand as he listened, the urge to push Lolidragon off the carpet grew stronger with each new message. As irritating and meddling Lolidragon could be, he was slightly grateful that Wicked hadn't been the one to accompany Sunshine. A moment of embarrassment at getting caught in a situation like that was far better than finding himself with his head getting chopped off. Unease settled in his stomach as he watched the walls of Infinite City get closer. All his blissful feelings had been left under that tree. He glanced at Prince. His eyes were fixed on the city, a troubled look drawing his eyebrows together.

As the carpet came to a halt inside the city, Gui felt his mood darken. Wicked hurried up, looking furious. As Prince hopped off, Wicked grabbed him by the shoulders and began to pull him away toward where the rest of Dark Phantom was standing.

"Where in the world have you been? I messaged you a ton of times."

"I was just outside the city for a bit."

"Don't do that, okay? I was really worried."

Gui glared at him and turned away, striding quickly out of the area. It was easy to be angry out of pure jealousy, but he could feel sympathy welling up for his rival. Gui would have acted the same way – if not more panicky – if Prince had disappeared somewhere Gui couldn't find.

"Gui!"

Gui froze in his steps as he heard Prince's voice call to him over the messaging system.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Sorry, for that..."

"It's not your fault. Don't worry about it."

Gui leaned against the cold stone wall of one of the nearby buildings, watching people walk by. He silently waited for Prince to message him again. His internal clock was telling him it was almost time to wake up. Come on...

"Gui!"

"Yes?" Gui smiled with relief as Prince's voice one again sounded in his ears.

"What are you doing after school?"

"Grading stuff."

"... How long will that take?"

"Not long, probably. I can be done by four if I work fast."

"Four thirty, then."

"What?"

"At four thirty, come to the coffee shop near the university."

"..."

"Gui?"

"S-sorry... Yes, I'll be there."

"See you, then."

Gui stared vacantly at the wall of the building across the road, praying he had correctly heard Prince's invitation to meet. A quiet beeping noise that no one else seemed to notice started to fill the air. Slowly, the street of Second Life faded out of sight and he woke up in his bed. Quickly silencing the alarm clock, he took off his headset and placed it on the low bed-side table next to his lamp. Sitting up, he rumpled up his already-messy hair with one hand and sighed into the darkness.

He could still feel the warm brush of Prince's lips against his.


I was tempted to take that one part further... Sorely tempted... xD