The letter had come in that morning- a letter from his mother requesting that he visit home soon. She'd filled him in on all the goings on within the family, and how everyone missed him, which made him snort, for he highly doubted Fiyero was capable of that.

But his mother's intent, and her plea of "come home, Shayne" stuck, and with a sigh he scribbled a response and mailed it home. He'd return within the week or so, but not alone. He wasn't about to be cornered by Fiyero for leaving home and joining an "uncouth group of rebels," for what a disgrace to the family he was- though the latter might occur all the same, for new reasons.

He had some things to break to Grantaire.

~ ;) ~

Shayne walked the familiar distance to Grantaire's flat much quicker than usual, fists shoved into his pockets. He wasn't nervous, or so he had convinced himself. He wasn't ashamed. He was simply eager to get the discussion of his birthright out of the way.

He knocked on Grantaire's door, suddenly jumpy and yearning for the familiar scruffy face he loved to set him at ease. Grantaire, his… friend? Hardly fair to either of them. Lover? Often. Boyfriend? ... They had made nothing official, or at least formally so, but he couldn't help referring to him mentally in such a way.

The moment Grantaire opened the door, his lips spread into a bright smile. "Hey."

"Hey." He reached for Shayne's hand, interlacing their fingers and pulling him inside. The flat was now familiar to him, in its Grantaire-esque, disheveled way. Even more so was his bedroom.

He shut the door behind him, making his way over to the couch with Shayne in tow. "And what brings you here today?"

"Mmm… you do." He grinned, grabbing Grantaire by the waist and pulling him in for a long kiss. He couldn't help but get carried away, not with Grantaire's hands winding through his hair, his body pressed up against his own, so he let the kiss drag on a blissful few minutes. Eventually he pulled away for air, and the purpose of his visit. "I wanted to talk to you."

Grantaire nodded, pulling him over to the couch and sitting down, clasping Shayne's hands in his. "What's up?"

He paused, eyes fixated on their hands. "It's about… well; you know I'm not from around here." He felt Grantaire's fingers brush against the blue diamonds trailing down his neck and smiled at the contact. "They mean something, you know."

"Do they?"

He nodded, lifting a hand to cover Grantaire's on his neck. "They're… this is going to sound barbaric no matter how I put it. They're sort of sacred where I'm from. Honorary markings."

He lifted his gaze to look at Grantaire, whose head was cocked to the side curiously. "How so?"

With a sigh he pulled Grantaire over to him, burying his face in his neck and cutting to the chase. "I'm kind of sort of… a prince of a land called the Vinkus."

He could feel Grantaire tense up, whether in shock or disbelief he couldn't tell, and he kept his face hidden, letting his words sink in. He knew he certainly didn't seem the royal type, and yet, here they were. Surprise, I'm royalty.

After a moment, Grantaire ducked his head a little, shifting to meet his gaze. "… I can't say I was expecting this," he said finally. "Doesn't change how I feel about you, if that's what you were worried about."

At this Shayne's lips twitched into a smile, and he leaned over and kissed him, which, like all of their kisses, quickly got carried away, and ended up with Grantaire pushing him back onto the couch, hovering over him. He broke into a goofy grin. "You don't seem the type."

Shayne laughed, leaning up indignantly and kissing him again to shut him up, and easily accomplished that goal. He flipped them over, lips wandering from Grantaire's and trailing down his neck. "'Least I'm not old enough to have any claim on the throne. That's all for my brother. I…" He trailed off momentarily to graze his teeth below his ear, "have much better things to do with my time."

Grantaire shuddered. "Do I want to know what brought this on?"

He lifted his head to meet his gaze, hesitating a moment before responding. "… I'm visiting home next week."

"… Oh?"

Sighing, he leaned his forehead on Grantaire's, looking him in the eyes pleadingly. "I want them to know about you."

He could see the reluctance in his eyes, the worry that to do so would cause more harm than good, but after a few moments of agonizing silence he gave a little nod, leaning up and kissing him. "I love you."

A grin tugged at Shayne's lips. "I love you, too."

~ ;) ~

They left for the Vinkus the following Sunday, and by that evening had arrived at Kiamo Ko. He could tell that Grantaire was impressed by the size and grandeur of the castle, which strangely satisfied him- strangely because he'd never really liked it there.

Such was the grand effect Grantaire had on his life.

The servant who answered the door led them inside, whisking their bags away and leaving the two in the parlor, face to face with Queen Raina Tiggular, who promptly leaped over and hugged Shayne for all he was worth. "I told them you'd come," she murmured excitedly. "Oh, I've missed you."

Shayne and his mother had been quite the dynamic duo as he grew up. When he and Fiyero got into little boyish fights, he'd always run to his mother crying, "Mommy, mommy, Yero's being mean!" while the older boy in question stood back grumbling to his father. He was his mother's son, and went to her with everything on his mind. He really was glad to be home, if only for her sake.

"And you must be Grantaire," she said kindly, once she'd actually let go of Shayne, though her gleeful beam had yet to wear off. "It's good to meet you. Shayne's told me much about you."

"Has he?" He sent a sideways glance at Shayne, who shrugged sheepishly. They'd agreed to at least attempt to not act so much like a couple until Shayne was confident enough to break it to them, but all the good things he'd said in the letter regarding him were true- he merely left out that he loved him a little more than he let on. "Well, I'd certainly hope it was nothing bad."

She laughed, a light, happy sound, and Shayne sighed. He loved his mother. He really had missed her- visiting had simply reminded him just how much the missing went.

His father was also in the room, but he knew his wife and had let her fuss over Shayne first before stepping up and clapping his son's shoulder. "We're glad you're home."

His mother latched onto his arm, giving him a little squeeze, and he sighed happily. He looked over at Grantaire, who was merely watching, grinning at them in awe.

Fiyero was nowhere to be found, but that was just as well.

~ ;) ~

But he did live there too, and he was harshly reminded of that fact later that night. It was after dinner, and everyone was off to bed- everyone except Shayne, or so he hoped as he wandered the hallways of Kiamo Ko wistfully. Remnants of his childhood, his teenage years, and memories from that last year he'd spent here after dropping out of Shiz before he moved to Paris, everything was achingly familiar. He ran his fingers along the ornate wooden railing of the staircase leading to the bedrooms, sighing.

"Shayne."

He froze immediately, and it took him a minute to spin around. He knew that voice. It was Fiyero.

"… Yes?"

His older brother stood a few feet from the staircase, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. "What the hell were you thinking, just up and moving out, huh?"

"Fiyero, I-"

"You crushed mom," he spat, stepping closer. "She loves you, Shayne, and you just left. What the hell?! Don't you ever think about anyone but yourself? And I expected a lot more from you, you're always running to her when you don't get your way-"

"When I don't get my way?" he growled, darting down the staircase angrily. "When you start a fight! When you start yelling at me!"

"Poor baby!" Fiyero shouted, teeth gritting together. He sighed, averting his gaze momentarily and attempting to calm down. "… And what's this with your little friend?"

He froze. He didn't know. He couldn't know, not yet. "What about Grantaire? You're bringing him into this, too? Haven't you done enough?"

"You think you love him."

Shit. Shit. His whole body tensed, his heart pounding in panic, in fear. "He's my best friend," he attempted weakly, but in vain. "Fiyero-"

"Don't," he hissed. "You think you're in love with that guy. I'm not as blind as dad is, or mom, for that matter. Mom thinks you can do no wrong and dad just doesn't care. But you're the one ruining our reputation, and they won't admit it, but they know it."

He could feel his face heating up, the angry tears forming in his eyes threatening to well over. He wanted to hit him. He wanted to scream at him. He wanted to be anywhere but there. He thanked his suddenly lucky stars that Grantaire was off in his room, and prayed he couldn't hear. It was agonizing enough for himself to hear it, from his own brother, but Grantaire? No. That would just be a stab to the heart.

When the tears started falling, he wasn't angry. He was hurt. His chest throbbed and he stumbled backwards, staring at Fiyero in pain, utter pain. Regret flashed across his brother's face, but he didn't speak, and neither did Shayne. He screwed up his face to try and keep the damned tears back, but they kept falling and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

Fiyero would never approve of him. What was he expecting? Everything he ever did was wrong, the drinking, the failing grades, moving out, and this, his sexuality, was just icing on the cake.

He brushed past Fiyero, running a hand through his hair and gritting his teeth together to keep from sounding like he was crying as hard as he was. He didn't say a word. Didn't make a sound. And Fiyero didn't stop him.

~ ;) ~

He found himself in the doorway of the parlor minutes later, just sort of hovering uncertainly. His mother was inside, sitting in a giant chair with a book in her lap. It took her a few moments to notice him and look up, first smiling, but once noting the tear streaks, caused by tears that were still flowing freely, her eyebrows furrowed in pain. "Shayne?"

He stumbled inside slowly, keeping his eyes on the floor. The world was a blur, a painful, hardly bearable blur. Everything was foggy and in slow motion.

You're the one ruining our reputation, and they won't admit it, but they know it.

His mother stood, setting the book aside and rushing over to him to embrace him tightly. "Oh, Shayne, tell me what happened. You can tell me."

But he didn't say a word, instead wrapping his arms around her tightly and sobbing brokenly into her shoulder. She let him, rubbing his back and shh-ing him, trying to get him to calm down. She pulled him over to the couch, sitting down with him, and even then he continued to cling desperately. "Shayne, what happened?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, hiding his face in her shoulder still. "Fiyero," was all he said, and honestly all he had to say for her to understand, but after a moment of trying to breathe mostly evenly, he continued. "… Said I was a disgrace… bad mouthed Grantaire…"

She lifted his head suddenly, cupping his face with both hands. "Shayne Tiggular, you listen to me. You are not a disgrace. You were never a disgrace. I'll talk to Fiyero, alright? You are not a disgrace, do you hear?" He nodded weakly, and she managed a smile, kissing his forehead. "We love you very much. I know Fiyero doesn't tend to act like it, but he missed you, too. You know how he is."

He managed another small nod, but he dropped his gaze, eyebrows furrowing. "… Mom?"

"Yes?" He didn't respond, hesitating, a fearful glint in his still tear filled eyes. She frowned, scooting closer to him and stroking his hair. "Shayne, what is it?"

He squeezed his eyes shut, sighing. "… He said that I thought I was in love with Grantaire, too."

Silence. He immediately regretted bringing it up, but she continued to stroke his hair, though not saying anything for quite some time. She kissed his forehead again. "Shayne, look at me." It took him a moment of deep breaths, but he did so. She was smiling. "I know. I know you too well to not have noticed the way you look at him, the way you talked about him in your letter… I left some parts out when I read it to your father, so he doesn't know." She giggled, tapping his nose. "But that doesn't make you a disgrace, and I don't love you any less for it. If that's how you are, then that's how you are. Case closed."

He watched her for a long moment, eyes wide in amazement at this woman, his mother. His mother accepted him. His mother loved him. All that worrying, putting this discussion aside, and fear was for naught. It wasn't long before he cracked a weak smile, moving to hug her again. "I love you, mom."

"I love you, too, Shayne." She gave him a little squeeze before letting him go and ruffling his hair playfully. "Now go to bed, it's nearly midnight!" But the light in her eyes had other implications, and with a grin he leaped up and rushed out of the parlor, tossing a, "Thank you!" over his shoulder, and set out for Grantaire's bedroom.

~ ;) ~

He slinked into the bedroom mostly quietly, earning an "mmph?" from Grantaire as he shut the door. Grinning, he stepped over to his bed quietly, sneaking in under the covers and immediately curling up against him.

"Mmm… what're you doing here?" Grantaire murmured sleepily, rolling over and wrapping his arms around him.

He brushed his thumb against Grantaire's cheek, still smiling faintly. "Mom knew about us the whole time," he said, leaning his forehead on his. "She's cool with it."

"Who was yelling?"

Shayne sighed. So he had heard them. "Who do you think?"

A pause. Grantaire tightened his arms around him, pressing his lips against his firmly, to which Shayne complied very willingly. But unlike many kisses, it remained just a kiss, faint butterfly touches, bodies barely touching. He broke away slowly, but Shayne, being himself, moved to trail kisses across his jaw, which earned a chuckle from him. "I love you."

He kissed back to his lips after a moment, smiling into the kiss. "I love you, too."

Grantaire grinned, moving to bury his face in his neck. "Think you can behave enough to stay with me tonight?"

He sighed dramatically, the smile not yet gone. "I can try."

~ ;) ~

The next morning, Shayne sneaked out of Grantaire's room to return to his and get dressed. He stayed close to the wall opposite the railings that opened up beyond the staircase and revealed the hallway below, praying anyone that wasn't his mother wouldn't see him.

But his luck had diminished since the night before, and it was Fiyero who had started down the staircase and to the dining room for breakfast when Shayne left Grantaire's room, and it was Fiyero who was staring up at him as he hurried to his room. The two locked gazes for a moment. Fiyero's face was blank, unreadable- Shayne, on the other hand, felt the pang of knowing he would never be worth anything to his brother in his chest, and with that twisted look of pain on his face, slinked into his bedroom and locked the door.

He ventured out a good half an hour later, not exactly eager to face his brother again, so he took his time in walking to the dining hall. There he saw his mother seated beside Grantaire, in some deep, secretive conversation, and both grinned when he entered the room. His father nodded. Fiyero kept his eyes to the table, a look Shayne couldn't place taking over his features. He took his seat beside Grantaire, almost expecting a glare or some other disapproving look from Fiyero, but instead, he simply lifted his eyes to look at him.

"So you and Grantaire, huh?"

His eyes widened at how casually his brother had made the statement, but Grantaire reached for his hand under the table and squeezed it gently, so he was able to nod. "Yeah."As if he hadn't noticed before.

But Fiyero just managed a wan smile, glancing between Shayne and the table a few times. "Well, I'm happy for you."

Grantaire laced their fingers together, and it was as if he knew that Shayne would explode if he couldn't keep contact with him right now. His eyes were still wide with shock, his lips playing at some sort of lopsided, confused, but no less pleased grin. I'm happy for you. He had never heard those words in that order from Fiyero, nor had he expected to. And yet, here they were.

He had Fiyero's approval. Near eighteen years too late, but he had it, and his heart seemed to swell up at the thought. It wasn't as if he especially needed his approval. But approval was something he'd never been given from Fiyero, not as a child, not as a teenager, and certainly not when he dropped out of Shiz and moved out. No matter what he did, Fiyero scoffed at him, called him out on his failures, and everything was for nothing. And now this.

His mother shot him a knowing smile, almost as if to say, I told you so.

Grinning still, he leaned his head on Grantaire's shoulder. Maybe peace could still be found within Kiamo Ko, even now.