There he goes again.

He's taking another giant stack with him, the sixth one the last five hours, and he hasn't taken a single break. Not even once. She sees his body sways but he refuses to fall. His eyes are getting droopy but he forces them open.

She clenches her hands into tight fists behind her back as she stands guard by the door. She can do nothing but watch in despair as the Prince gets more and more exhausted at an extreme rate.

She knows partly that he's working very hard to be the Prince of the Kingdom of Yuuei and the successor of the throne, even if he absolutely does not want it. She had seen him surrounded by papers, towering higher than his total height. She had seen him in the training ground, practicing with that gray strand from his cloak with vigorous intensity.

She had also seen him spending time with a bunch of children that had captured his heart.

She had also seen him giving Eri his full attention, despite the mountainous eye bags under his droopy eyes.

"Miruko."

She snaps from her thoughts and straightens when the Prince is addressing her. She sees him pulling out a drawer from his table and takes out something from it.

"Please deliver this to Eri," he orders as he holds out an apple on a stick covered in caramel, safely wrapped in something transparent. She thinks it's called candy apple and it's Eri's favorite. "Tell her that I will be late and I am sorry for not keeping up to my promise."

He didn't even look up when he said the whole thing. His eyes never leave the paper he is busying himself with.

She sighs.

She steps closer to the Prince and wordlessly takes the apple from his hand. Then, she turns around and exits the room without saying any words. Either he doesn't realize it, or he doesn't care.

She heads to the hall where she knows the little lady is waiting. Upon arriving at the area, Eri is surrounded by a number of maids, trusted by the Prince to look after the little lady when either of them couldn't, guiding her with whatever she is currently learning.

"Hello, Eri," she greets once she is closer. The maids step away, bowing respectfully as they give space. The little girl looks up from the book and smiles up at her.

"Hi, Rumi," Eri greets back. She doesn't waste time and holds up the candy apple for Eri to see. Immediately, Eri's eyes light up like stars. "Candy apple!" The little lady takes it from her hand when she gives it to her, holding it with both hands with careful preciousness.

Her heart warms up at the excitement Eri is emitting. The little lady has gotten so far and is doing so very well, and she is proud of her.

"Is Shouta coming?" Eri asks excitedly.

The pride quickly subsides. Her mind flashes to the Prince, surrounded by mountains of paperwork and eyes pulled down by fatigue.

"Shouta says he is going to be late," she tells the sad news, kneeling down beside the chair Eri is sitting on. Eri's excitement fades away, as well as her smile. "He says he is sorry."

"It's okay," Eri replies as she puts the candy apple on the table. She could see the dejection on her face, and her heart disheartened. "Shouta is sleepy, too sleepy. Shouta is not feeling okay," she says with a quiet voice as her hand fists the gown she is wearing.

…Eri sees it too, huh?

"Can you… Can you make Shouta feel okay again?" Eri asks, looking up at her with wide teary eyes, looking so desperate that it stings her heart seeing such look on such an innocent face.

And then, she knows what to do.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he'll be fine," she reassures the little girl, placing her hand on the tiny fist and giving it a comforting squeeze. She feels the hand relax. "But that would mean he can't be with you right now. Are you okay with that?" she asks, just to make sure Eri is fine with this.

"Yes," Eri nods her head. "I want Shouta to be okay. Please?"

"I promise," she reassures once more, giving the hand one last squeeze before she stands up. As soon as she steps away, the waiting maids return to Eri's side. She gives the little lady one last look before she walks back, now with solid resolve in her steps.

She arrives in his room, banging the door open with zero care. Despite that, the Prince doesn't look up, and that only strengthens her determination. She walks around the table and grabs onto his upper arm.

"Miruko, what are yo- ARGH!" He yelps when she yanks him to his feet, caring very little that he had drawn a long line across the paper from her pull. Then, she drags him away from the table, ignoring his confused gasps and straight to the bed before literally throwing him onto it.

"You need to take a rest, Shouta," she demands, crossing her arms over her chest. The Prince, Shouta, fumbles around the bed, getting caught in the bedsheet, before he finally sits up and gives her a hard glare, which is impressive considering just how awfully exhausted his eyes are.

"I cannot rest, Rumi," he replies, already making a move to stand up. She quickly puts a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Why?" she asks. "Why can't you rest? And don't spew that work bullshit."

"I just… can't, Rumi. You know this," he answers in a dejected tone, looking down at his lap.

Insomnia…

She… almost forgot about that part of him. Those short naps he takes in his hidden rooms are the closest thing he could get to sleep.

He then pushes her hand off from his shoulder and stands up, but he suddenly sways before starting falling as his legs give out underneath him.

"Sho!" She manages to catch him before his head could hit the floor. She then gently lays him down, placing his head on her lap. "Sho, are you okay? Fucking hell, you asshole. I know you can't sleep but at least take a rest once in a while. Even Eri is worried."

He slurs a few incoherent words before his eyes suddenly slide shut, which causes her to worry.

"Sho? Sho, my Black Cat, are you okay?" she cups his cheek, brows furrow in worry as she looks down at his face. He doesn't answer.

Then, she hears his breath evens out.

Realized, she releases a sigh. Worry seeps off from her body, replaced with relief. She tries to make herself comfortable, sitting on the floor next to the bed, with her lap full of her lover.

Of course he would get a good sleep here.

.

He's at it again, working himself to death.

She massages her eyebrows, refusing to even look at the Prince, who is once more surrounded by mountainous stacks of paper while sipping on that toxic black water that he calls sustenance of life. She knows that he is prohibited from drinking such "substance" by Physician RG, and she knows that he is very much aware that he's ignoring it.

Who in their right mind would see a bunch of small brown circles and go "Hey we could drink that."?

And whoever introduced it to the Prince needs to be beheaded.

She had just guarded the meeting room the Prince had attended that had taken three years off his life (it was only three hours but the Prince is just being dramatic) and then he headed straight to training without a second to waste. And as soon as he was done with that he didn't take a single break and got invested in all this… paperwork.

She is so thankful she doesn't have to slide papers around as her duty as the Prince's bodyguard Knight.

She releases a deep sigh. There is only one thing to do with this scenario. She begins to shed off her armor, letting them fall onto the floor and leaving a trail of armor pieces as she walks around the table, towards the Prince.

"Come on, shithead," she says, grabbing his hand and stopping him from writing any further. He doesn't put up much resistance, already putting down the quill and pushes his chair back, as she pulls him to his feet and leads him to his bed. It's good to know that he realizes it's futile to fight.

She sits down on the bed, getting herself comfortable before she pulls her man down onto the bedsheet. She adjusts his position until his head lies on her lap.

Instantly, she feels him relaxes. She runs her fingers through his hair.

"You should sleep for a bit, Shouta," she tells him, not stopping in her motion while feeling herself relax as well, sinking into the bed that slowly begins to show its use. "Don't want Eri to be worried again. And you need all the energy for later, and I am not talking about that toxic water you're drinking that is giving granny RG a heart attack."

"How am I going to sleep with a sight like this?"

Confused on what he meant, she looks down at him with a raised eyebrow. She realizes he is looking directly at her, the corners of his eyes creasing.

"Just shut up and get to sleep, dumbass."

.

"What do you mean you can't sleep, Sho-Sho?"

"I just can't."

"You can't just close your eyes and knock yourself off?"

"It's not as simple as that, Ru-Ru."

The little white haired girl hums thoughtfully as she rubs her chin. She had never heard of someone who just can't sleep, yet somehow the black haired boy before her said as such.

At least it's more believable than him saying he's the prince.

"Maybe… you don't have a good pillow or something," she says after a thought. The boy rolls his eyes.

"I have the best quality pillows and bed at my disposal yet none has made any difference," he replies drily. She can't help but agree with him. Nothing can beat the softest pillows.

Then, an idea pops in her head.

"It doesn't have to be pillows, then. Come here!"

She jumps off the tree stump and kneels down on the soft grass. Then, she grabs onto the boy's arm and quickly pulls him towards her, causing him to gasp at the sudden pull, until he lies down on his back.

"Ru-Ru, what are you doing?" the boy asks, confused, as the white haired girl adjusts his position and pulls his head until it's resting on her lap. He immediately stiffens once he realizes his current position.

"I saw a woman doing this to a man and they look comfortable," the girl tells him, adjusting in her sitting until she's comfortable with the new weight on her lap. "What do you think? Are you okay?" she asks him, smiling down at him.

She seems to ignore the boy's heated red face.

"Do you realize what you're doing right now?" he asks back, almost choking on his words.

"Is it wrong?" The girl tilts.

"N-No, there is nothing wrong," he answers hastily. "And uhm… Y-Yeah, I'm good." The girl smiles in satisfaction at the answer.

"So? You feeling sleepy yet?"

"How am I going to sleep with a sight like this?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

The black haired boy finds himself beginning to relax as he continues to stay where he is. He feels his eyes begin to droop against his will. The white haired girl watches with mute curiosity and expectation.

"It feels… kinda good."

As soon as he finishes his sentence, his eyes close shut and he is already dozing off. His hands, once stiffly interlaced on his chest, are now lax and slides off to his side limply.

The girl continues to watch, letting her ears listen to his even breaths.

Then, she begins to run her fingers through his hair.

Slowly, but surely, now that there are no witnesses, her cheeks begin to burn over her boldness.