You and Ryoma sent letters to each other frequently. Your coronation would happen soon, and you knew most Nohrians wouldn't be willing to negotiate with Hoshido unless everything was more than hypothetical. You explained as such after you received his first answer, which showed surprise about your hurry. You also wanted to try and sign the treaty on the week of your coronation, since it was the best time. The Hoshidans would save time by not having to go to Nohr twice, and it could work as your first edict as a king. A commercial treaty to ensure Nohr's food supply that didn't involve conquering others.
It felt like a hopeful first step.
Even if the letters you and Ryoma exchanged were ideas and suggestions rather than actual documents, once you received his answer on how much they could offer you for a certain amount of iron and steel, you immediately answered by telling him you could not accept such an offer, and demanded he make it a third of the supplies he had told you. For the moment, it would be better if the Nohrians didn't know exactly how wealthy their neighbour was. It was too risky, they were too used to conquer and take. And Nohr took, and took, and took. It would be easy for the treaty to fail if the wrong people pushed for more conquests instead of a more peaceful solution. You wanted to help your people, but you were also afraid, also aware of how easy would it be to break it before it could be properly established.
Ryoma seemed to understand, and in his next letter, he significantly reduced the amount he would give, although not as much as you had asked. You sighed when you read that. It would have to do.
The coronation day got closer, and you knew the Hoshidans would be there a few days before as neighbouring royals. It would be the perfect chance to celebrate the meeting and sign the treaty. After a lot of arguing, you managed to convince your ministers to at least make a meeting and see what the Hoshidans could offer, if not without scepticism on their part.
Their scepticism ended the moment they read the document Ryoma gave them. You already knew what was written on it, since both of you had planned the details, so you weren't as surprised. But the ministers' eyes grew wide when they saw it, and quickly started to talk amongst themselves in Nohrian. You listened closely, but there was nothing apparently conspiratory on their words, only an almost unconditional agreement to accept receiving such an amount of food for what they thought was little iron and steel.
The Hoshidan royal family was slightly disturbed by their reaction and agitation. Not because it felt exaggerated over what they thought was only a little food, but because such a reaction meant things were worse that they had dared to imagine before. You saw Ryoma looking at them in something that appeared to be mild horror, and he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something. You noticed, and made a small noise on your side of the table. The ministers didn't even notice, enthralled as they were with the possibility of more supplies, but you managed to get the Hoshidan Crown Prince's attention. You stared at him intensely with a stern face and almost imperceptibly shook your head. Ryoma stared back at you with what almost looked like a glare of frustration, but closed his mouth and said nothing. You couldn't let him make a bigger offer. Nohr would take, and take, and take.
In the end, every minister accepted the treaty and agreed to sign it, along with Ryoma and yourself. It was exactly what they needed, even if it was a different kind of food than they were not used to. Rejecting it would be absurd. You almost sighed in relief. It had been fast and there had been little conflict despite your insistence to have this meeting as soon as possible, even before your own coronation. You had doubts you would have managed to convince the ministers to agree to the meeting before your coronation if the situation in Nohr hadn't been so dire.
You went back to your usual afternoon duties after lunch, and despite the novelty of the Hoshidans staying in Castle Krakenburg, there weren't any incidents worth mentioning. Your siblings took proper care of your guests while you attended your duties. That night, just as you were finishing one of the documents that would need to be signed as soon as you were the new ruler of Nohr, you heard a few knocks on the door. You frowned, wondering who it could be at that hour, knowing your siblings and servants wouldn't bother you unless it was something truly urgent. You got up from your desk and approached the door, opening it slowly. To your surprise, Ryoma was standing in front of you with a bottle of wine and two cups. You blinked slowly when you saw him. What the hell was he doing there?
"This morning we just signed the treaty that will be the first step towards a lasting peace." The Hoshidan explained, and raised the drink he had brought with him. "So I thought we should celebrate it properly. May I?"
You wondered what exactly he meant by that. You also froze. You wanted to slam the door on his face and tell to never come back. You wanted to slam him against your bed and kiss him until dawn. You felt your heart racing against your chest, and decided it was time to say something or he would notice something was wrong with you. You blinked and managed to stop staring at his face and focus on the bottle on his hands.
"I'm going to start thinking you have a problem with alcohol." You said, but also stepped away from the door.
Ryoma laughed, and you felt your legs go weak. He entered the chamber behind you and approached the desk to leave the bottle there, but stopped with a small frown when he saw the papers, guessing it wouldn't be a good idea to put the drink above the still-fresh ink. You saw the doubt on his face, and offered the chair you had just been sitting in for him to put the bottle on. It was the flattest surface available besides the bookshelves, but it also meant neither of you had a good place to sit. You were realizing exactly that meant when you saw him approaching your bed with a curious look on his face. You felt panic rising in your chest until he spoke.
"So you do have a bed." His voice sounded as if he had confirmed some kind of secret.
You frowned, absolutely puzzled. He was looking at the bed as if it was some kind of exotic animal.
"Yes?" You didn't even know exactly what to reply.
You heard Ryoma chuckle. "We don't have beds in Hoshido. We simply extend a futon over the tatami and sleep on it."
"So you sleep on the floor?"
"Of course not! We sleep on the futon! It's… like a thin mattress, I guess."
"And why don't you just make a proper bed?"
"Why would we want that?" Ryoma replied, with a smile. "A bed can't be undone. You need to give it a permanent space in your room. But a futon is much smaller. You can simply put it away at morning and use the floor for something else. Chamber's don't need to be as big for you to have plenty of space to do whatever you need. A bed means wasted space."
You still frowned at how uncomfortable that seemed. "Sounds to me like everyone in Hoshido has back problems and catches many colds."
"I assure you we do not. But I will admit most of our constructions are made with wood, so the floors are not nearly as cold as the ones with stone in Nohr."
Neither of you was clearly willing to admit the other was wrong, so you simply rolled your eyes and opened the wine bottle to change the subject. It was white wine, you realized while you poured on both cups and offered own to Ryoma. He accepted it, and gave you a cautious smile.
"Since we don't have more chairs, can we sit on your bed? Unless you have cushions to kneel on the floor."
"Why would I have cushions to kneel on the floor?"
"That's what I thought."
You sighed, guessing it was either a bad joke or more Hoshidan cultural nonsense. You felt too tired to deal with more differences between your countries, and just nodded to him and sat on your bed. He did the same, sitting next to you. He raised his cup and you followed, toasting for the success of your treaty. He sipped his drink and you did the same, trying to focus on the conversation. Ryoma was talking again about his childhood. You asked him a couple of questions, and then told him something about yours.
You slowly fell into an easy conversation. You talked, and talked and talked until you went to refill your glass and discovered the bottle was empty. You hadn't drank more than a couple of cups, which meant Ryoma had drank most of the bottle. You stared at him, worried, and realized he was heavily leaning against your arm while giggling, his face blushing so intensely he looked like he was suffocating. The Hoshidan prince moved his head to look at you with his eyes half closed and an easy smile. You made the mistake of looking at him. Your mouth dried when you saw him, and you silently prayed to the Ancient Dragons he didn't look at your crotch.
It was probably a good time to end this friendly reunion.
"Prince Ryoma, this has been very entertaining, but I think it's time we rest."
Despite your words, you didn't get up to see him off. You hoped he wouldn't notice.
Ryome frowned at your words, and clumsily patted your back. "It's not that late, Xander. You need to be less serious, really." He complained.
You breathed deeply. "You're drunk. Please, go and rest."
"I'm not drunk." He replied, and got away from you to refill his cup. He stared at the bottle of wine and blinked slowly at it when no liquid poured from it. He touched his face. "Alright, I may be a little drunk." He conceded, unhappily.
He sighed and got up, smiled warmly at you while softly bowing his head and left your room.
"Night, Xander."
"Good night." You answered, while he closed the door.
You counted to ten, then you got up and locked the door. You threw yourself back onto your bed and furiously got rid of your clothes. There weren't words to describe the shame you felt while you pleasured yourself thinking of the smile your friend had given you, but you couldn't stop.
You barely slept the night before your coronation, scheduled two days after the meeting. You must have looked awful that morning, despite your frequent problem drifting off, because Peri stared at you in worry even after you had cleaned your face that morning and insisted on putting on some of her makeup to hide the worst marks. You felt too tired to even complain, admitting to yourself that perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea. You were supposed to look your best on the day of your coronation, to impress your guests as well as all the people that would congregate in front of the main balcony for your speech. You still warned her to not overdo it. She smiled brightly at you when she realized you agreed to her proposal, but nodded, accepting your conditions.
You had to admit you looked like a wreck, and you weren't entirely sure why. You were somewhat nervous for the coronation, even if you had unofficially been governing Nohr for the past few months. You were worried about the future of your country, despite Ryoma's promise to try to make things better for both Nohr and Hoshido. You were nervous about the festivities and accomodation and enjoyment of all of your guests, since Houses from afar would be coming for the capital to spend several days there. And knowing of the Hoshidan family's presence didn't do much to calm your nerves either.
You got dressed for the event —an elaborate, black surcoat with golden details and the Nohrian emblem on the front, two gold armills on his arms showing the Dusk Dragon painted in black; golden, decorative spurs in your black boots and the Siegfried hanging on your hip. No circlet this time, for you would be given your rightful crown during the ceremony. You distinctly remember the weight of the crown on your head and the weight of the black royal mantle with white fur and the Nohrian emblem your father had once wore over your shoulders, but everything else, from the act to the speech to the banquet itself was like a blur on your head once it ended and you suddenly found yourself on the king's chambers, your new bedroom.
It was spacious and lavishly furnished with an extravagant bed, several bookshelves, fur-covered armchairs close to the fireplace, and extravagant canvas and tapestries all over the walls depicting previous military victories. The space felt incredibly cold and oppressive. The sun had set, it was starting to get late and you felt awfuly tired, but the thought of staying in that room any longer was unbearable. You got out and wandered in silence around the hallways until you got to the royal garden. Once you felt the fresh, cold air on your skin you took a couple of steps outside and breathed deeply for five seconds. You felt a little better, calmer, after you did.
The garden was another statement of the Nohrian harsh soil and cold weather. The great majority of the space had been used to grow food and medicinal plants that could help feed the royal family and servants that lived in the castle, leaving a very small portion for flowers. Only cyclamen and pansies, as well as ivy climbing one of the inner walls, were able to survive for long periods of time in the castle. You couldn't say you particularly liked that part of the garden. It was a sad sight compared with what you could find in a southern place like Cyrkensia, and you had always thought the dark marks of the pansies were mildly disturbing.
"Xander?"
You spun around instantly, startled by the sudden voice behind you. Ryoma stepped back as well, slightly startled by your sudden reaction. You stared at each other in silence for a few seconds until you cleared your throat, embarrassed.
"My apologies. I did not hear you approach, Prince Ryoma."
He smiled at you. The hard look on his face disappeared while his thin lips lengthen and went slightly upwards while the muscles around his eyes changed almost imperceptibly and his eyes softened. You had to tear your eyes away from his face before he noticed you were staring too intensely, and looked at his clothes instead.
With the stress of the ceremony, it was the first time you actually looked at his clothes. Ryoma seemed to be wearing some kind of shirt with long and wide sleeves and knee long pants made of white silk with white leggings, covered with golden patterns of clouds, and black shoes covered in what looked like bear fur. He also wore some kind of red, long jacket with a delicate flower pattern in the inside of the cloth, and a river on the outside. It also showed the symbol of Hoshido embroidered to the frontside and the backside. The Raijinto hanged at the side of his hips.
It was the strangest clothing you had ever seen, and he seemed to notice the curiosity in your eyes. He chuckled.
"Do you know what I'm wearing?"
You sighed, resigned to your own ignorance. "I'm afraid it's most likely I do not. The only Hoshidan clothes I know are the kimono."
Ryoma smiled even more than before, as if he had already been expecting the answer.
"It's a yoroi hitatare with a jinbaori." He explained, grabbing the side of the jacket and showing it better when he said the last word, making sure you understood what was which.
"Ah." You answered. You were sure you would forget those words in less than five seconds, despite your best efforts.
You noticed then he had kept talking, but you had no idea what he had said. Your brain hadn't registered anything else, and he was staring at you with a frown on his face. You managed to realize he was worried or upset about something.
"You've been acting weird since the ceremony. I thought it was the stress, but you don't seem better now. Are you alright, Xander?" He asked, with genuine worry.
No, you were not.
You had a country to fix, to save from absolute collapse, and there was little you could do unless you got help from your neighbours, most of whom you had been oppressing for years. You had to prepare a stupid ceremony for something that would only mean more wasted money and resources, money and resources you did not have. A ceremony that meant the final confirmation of the death of your father, a man you had loved, but who you had lost a very long time ago, long before you managed to open your eyes, and realized for yourself that the father you had known was no longer there, replaced by a puppet, a monster. A ceremony that meant the arrival of the person that had turned your private life into an utter wreck, bringing more pleasure and shame you felt you were able to stand.
You wanted Ryoma to be there with you and comfort you about all the losses and hardships you were enduring for the sake of his country. You wanted to put him on a carriage and send him away as fast as you could, forbidding him from setting foot in Nohr again for as long as you lived. You wanted to stay in the garden all night. You wanted to go back to your new chambers and lock yourself inside. You wanted time to stop forever in that moment, away from your responsibilities, the pressure you felt, and simply stare at the night sky with the company of your friend. You wanted it to be morning already never stand in the courtyard again. You didn't know what it was that you wanted.
And right there in the garden, that night with a few clouds that allowed you to see a shining, waning moon among the thousands of stars, wearing the strangest yet most expensive clothes you had ever seen on him, with an expression framed with a worry directed at you, emphasized by the shadows from the moonlight, you couldn't help but think that Ryoma was beautiful.
You kissed him.
You pressed your lips against his, firmly, but caringly. They were soft and warm, and you noticed a sweet scent similar to plum coming from his clothes and hair. It was better than any of the dreams you had before, but also more ephemeral than any of them, because he didn't move and you suddenly realized what you were doing.
You stopped and stepped back, your face painted with horror and shame while he just stared back at you blankly. You apologized profusely for your behaviour, turned around, and left. You ran. You fled through the stone hallways, in a daze, your heart beating so fast you almost had trouble breathing. You thought you heard him calling you, but you didn't stop, not until you realized you were in front of your old room again. You entered and locked the door, sitting heavily on the chair and putting your hands on your head.
What had you done? You had acted like some kind of impulsive teenager, some irresponsible child that did nothing but follow his whims. You hadn't been a king for a full day and yet, you had managed to make the worst political mess imaginable. Hoshido would certainly refuse the treaty now, insulted as it had been. And your people would continue to slowly starve until the death of your country. And, to make things worse, instead of trying to apologize again, to beg him to continue with the exchange of resources, for the sake of your people, you spent the next day drowning yourself in work and documents to avoid him as much as possible, even insisting on eating in your room despite the blatant disrespect it showed towards your guests with the excuse of not feeling too well after suddenly abundant meals of the celebrations. You only saw him again briefly two days later, before him and his family would go back to Hoshido, during a small farewell.
You spent the next days and weeks working without rest to put order again on your country, while trying to pretend a terrible letter that would dash your hopes for a better future wouldn't arrive sooner or later. Your siblings were clearly worried, but you were adamant, and insisted that you were fine, and your tiredness was simply due to the stress of ruling a country. To your surprise and relief, the first shipment of food arrived a week and half later, with exactly the quantity that had been established in the treaty, and even with a small quantity of wood as a present.
You ordered the immediate distribution of the supplies among the closer areas to the capital, to ensure the safety of the next shipment once it was sent through the roads to the places where it was needed most. Yet, you didn't allow yourself to hope there would be another shipment, and tried to ignore the petitions of your ministers who insisted on making another commercial treaty for some wood in exchange of stone.
You spent your days working nonstop as the new king of Nohr to distract yourself from your fears, while at night it was more impossible than ever to sleep. Ryoma's lips haunted you in dreams, and you woke up again soon after you had fallen asleep, and were unable to go back to your bed. Each day you felt more tired than the previous one, but still insisted on taking care of all of your duties by yourself, despite your siblings worried faces.
"Xander!"
You woke up with a jolt and immediately felt something wet and sticky falling on your arm. You had fallen asleep on your desk and, startled, had knocked off the ink bottle over your arm and part of the documents. You stared at the mess you had made over the papers, while a part of your brain yelled because of the perfectly good shirt you had just ruined.
Leo was standing next to you, with his arms crossed and a frown on his head. He stared, waiting for an explanation. You had never fallen asleep while you worked.
"I'm merely tired. There is a lot of work to do for the kingdom." You explained.
Leo didn't look impressed by your answer. You had said it so many times recently that, while true, it was starting to sound like an excuse. You saw your brother closing your eyes and breathing deeply, as if he was restraining himself from saying something he shouldn't.
"Xander," He started, then. "You're my brother, and I love you, but you're an utter idiot."
You stared at him, puzzled by the unprompted insult he had throw towards you. Leo didn't elaborate. He simply got closer, put a letter on the desk, and left without saying a word. Your eyes fell on the paper tied with a red and golden cord to ensure its privacy, and the blood inside your veins turned into ice.
It was the official invitation to the Hoshidan coronation of the Crown Prince Ryoma.
One more to go!