Author's note: I got bored the other day so I found a prompt on tumblr and wrote this. Didn't finish it til today. Enjoy Neptune being a prince and Roman being the thief turned knight. It's great what having a good bloodline can do for him.
"As per rules of the tournament. I am granted one wish. I wish to marry your son."
The look on the king's face was comical to say the least. He was absolutely shocked by such a request. "I- I think not! This is not a kingdom in which I accept men marrying men!" he stammered out. "Even if I did, you barely know the lad!"
Roman sighed and leaned his weight on his cane. "Actually I know him better than you think your highness."
Behind the king, the man in question Prince Neptune, was blushing rather vividly. The king turned and looked at Neptune, "What does he mean? Talk to me boy what does he mean?"
The prince looked at the floor, quietly saying "It's nothing father. Just a little fling. I swear."
From the ground where Roman was, having to look up at the king was tiring, but he'd deal with it. Although that was mostly for the view of the prince. He gave a fake look of hurt, "My prince you hurt me with your words."
The king glanced back at Roman before looking at his son, "What is your relationship with this man?" he asked sternly.
Neptune sighed and looked up at his father. "Let's just say we're a bit friendlier than you'd like."
The king's face changed to a look of disappointment. "Son, I thought I'd raised you better than that. You're a prince and you're to marry a princess."
For a moment Neptune said nothing, nor moved a muscle. Slowly however he shook his head. "No father, you know the rules of the tournament, anything the winner wishes is his. In this situation the winner wishes for me to be his. As the king you cannot deny something you promised."
Once again the king's face turned to shock. First a man had asked for his son's hand in marriage, now that very same son dared to speak back to him? This was ridiculous! "Son for the last time you will not be marrying this man!"
"Well I'm certainly not marrying some woman you pick for me! I've dreaded that since I figured out I wasn't interested in them!" Neptune argued, nearly yelling at his father. For what felt like an eternity no one moved, no one even seemed to be breathing. Right before the king spoke Neptune turned and stormed off; ignoring the stares he got from spectators.
The king turned back towards Roman but before he could say anything Roman bowed, "I understand. I'll leave now and you'll never see me again," He said, promptly leaving.
He knew exactly where to go. Cliché as it sounded there was a place that Neptune had told him to meet at, should something like this happen. It was an old cabin that Neptune had found as a child. Deep in the forest where few would find it, the prince had only found it when he got lost. But it became a safe haven for Roman and Neptune. A place where the public wouldn't see them and Neptune could be simply a man and not a prince.
Roman arrived shortly before Neptune, not having had to deal with the hustle and bustle of a castle and paparazzi. The moment Neptune walked in the door Roman stood and walked over and pulled the prince into a hug. He ran a hand through the blue strands of Neptune's hair. "Hey listen, we'll be okay."
Neptune shook his head, "No we won't. My father removed my claim to the throne. I can't change the rules anymore," he said, burying his face in Roman's neck.
"Then we'll leave the kingdom. We can go to Vacuo or Vale. If your father cares so little about you we don't have to stay here," Roman said, running a hand up and down Neptune's back.
The blue haired boy pulled away slightly, just enough to look at Roman's face. For several minutes he just stared, not sure how to put his thoughts to words. He didn't want to leave Mistral, it was his home. All his friends were there, he couldn't just leave them. No matter how much he cared for Roman, he couldn't abandon his friends. "But my friends care about me. When I left Sun, Scarlet and Sage tried to stop me from running. They still care about me, even if my father doesn't."
Roman sighed, moving a gloved hand to hold the prince's face. "Well then what do you want to do my lord?" he asked. Honestly he kind of hated how far he was willing to go for the kid, but he wouldn't have asked to marry Neptune if he wasn't sure about it. Roman wasn't used to letting his emotions be seen, so this whole situation was taking a bit of a toll on him.
Neptune glanced around the cabin. It was small, only having three rooms, but it was nice. It could easily house the two of them. But would living in a cabin in the woods really be okay? Neither of them were used to such a lifestyle. Roman could make it work; being a knight he'd gone out on many quests that required staying in the woods. But Neptune couldn't say the same. He was a prince, he was used to others doing things for him. "I don't know. We could stay here, in this cabin, but you'd be taking care of me constantly. I can't do that to you."
"I'm a knight; it's my job to take care of you my prince. Even if it wasn't my job I would still do it," Roman said, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Neptune's forehead.
The prince sighed, leaning into his touch. "I'm not sure you can call me a prince anymore. With no claim to the throne I'm not different than you."
Roman shook his head, "You'll always be a prince to me."
"You've gone soft Roman," Neptune commented. Normally the older man was full of sass and witty remarks, but he did know how to be serious. Being a knight Roman had to know when to be serious. Neptune however did wonder how he got such a position. When they met Roman was a thief, and a well-known one at that. But then as soon as he mentioned being of noble birth the king's judgement changed. Neptune suspected his father was regretting that about now.
The older man chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on Neptune's lips, "You made me this way. From the moment I met you I knew I was doomed to becoming a sappy old man."
Neptune chuckled; glad the man's usual wit was back. Somehow seeing him be gentle was out of character for him. "Oh please, I had to chase you down. Your first thought when you saw the prince was 'Shit I should run!' There's no way you knew so quickly that this would happen."
Roman smirked. "Okay you're right. My first thought was to run. I was a thief what did you expect?" he said before leaning forward to whisper in Neptune's ear, "I will admit, the sight of you standing over me when you caught me was quite a nice view."
The prince blushed, burying his face against Roman's neck again. "Shut up."
"Oh and why would I do that? It really was nice. You were breathing hard from chasing me, your hair messy from the wind and that cape of yours hanging off your shoulders. It truly was beautiful," Roman teased, pressing a kiss to Neptune's neck.
Neptune squirmed a bit when he figured out what Roman was trying to do. He wasn't against it, but it didn't seem like an appropriate time for such a thing. "Roman, is now really the time for this?" he asked, almost whining.
Roman pulled back, just enough to grab Neptune's face and turn it towards his own face. "If you don't want to we won't, but I figured you wouldn't mind a distraction." Somehow his words were suggestive and comforting at the same time.
For a moment the prince debated the proposition. A distraction certainly would be nice, even if it was only for a little while. "We still have to figure out what we're doing in the long run," he said. It wasn't a denial to Roman's suggestion, but it was nagging on his mind.
He used both hands to gently hold Neptune's face, "Listen to me my lord, we will get this sorted. If it comes down to it I'm sure your friends are loyal enough to come with us should we have to leave Mistral. Until then, relax. It's not like you're in a hurry to be anywhere."
Neptune sighed, forcing himself to relax. "You're right," he said, leaning into Roman's touch. He leaned forward, connecting his lips with Roman's. His friends would listen when he figured out what he wanted, until then they would wait. Because for now Neptune needed the distraction Roman was offering.