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Prince Matsuoka Rin, only son of the deceased Sultan Matsuoka Toraichi and current Sultana Matsuoka Yuki, heir apparent to the glorious Samezuka Empire, knows that a dynasty rests squarely on his shoulders. He’s spent nearly twenty years preparing for his coming of age, readying himself for his 20^th year, for the day he’ll no longer be prince and instead become sultan.

He’s spent the last few months in near constant preparation, his days a stream of audiences alongside his mother, last-minute etiquette courses, political meetings with his closest advisors, and continuous weapons and self-defense training. These are all things he’s spent his lifetime doing, and yet the pressure of dwindling time has everyone around the palace pushing him harder, further, than they ever have before. It’s come to the point where he rarely can sneak a meal among friends, and only Sousuke has remained a constant presence at his side. The perks of being amongst his personal guard, he supposes.

Tonight, however. Tonight is different. He can’t hide his growing grin as he wanders along the cool stone floors of his private quarters, wearing nothing more than his lightest silks, stepping onto his rounded balcony and letting fiery red eyes rove over the city line before him, cold night breeze teasing along bared skin. Samezuka is beautiful. Not just because it’s his home, because it’s his, but because it’s the peak of desert culture and technology. Samezuka epitomizes the greatness of Arabia. It’s a cultural Mecca, a melting-pot of progressive ideologies and advanced technologies, containing the most prestigious medical academy alongside Arabia’s largest public library.

With a fond smile he recalls so many days as a young child, sneaking away into the city alongside Sousuke and Gou, dipping into the library and reading enchanting tales aloud to the pair of them. Though smart, Sousuke has always struggled with reading, has always fumbled over the words, never quite able to sound them out properly. Gou on the other hand was simply too young to handle reading at the level Rin’s favorite adventure books required, and Rin vehemently refused to limit their stories to those that Gou could handle.

Plus he did the best character voices, of course.

Samezuka prides itself on being ahead of the proverbial curve, of caring for its citizens, of providing the best to its people and earning their best in return. Samezuka had been the first major country to abolish slavery within its territory, even instating a minimum wage for servants and other workers. At the time many citizens had nearly rebelled, but 17 years after Matsuoka Toraichi had decreed slavery no more, the city was reaping the rewards of their progressivism.

Rin is well aware that he has huge shoes to fill. His father had been a good man. No, a great man. He’d even died a hero’s death, had drowned when his ship to the city of Iwatobi had capsized during an unprecedentedly brutal storm. Tiny Gou had been with him at the time, had begged him to let her accompany his entourage, young and squirmy and full of an uncontrollable energy, eager to see the sea for the first time. Their father had been smitten with his young daughter, had happily kowtowed to the majority of her childish whims, and this trip had been no different.

No one could have prepared for the storm that would change the country of Samezuka in one long, horrific night. Once Gou was secured on a lifeboat Sultan Toraichi, winner of many a swimming competition in his youth, dove into the water over and over again, attempting to rescue the non-swimmers among his crew, to guide them to safety. His own men had tried to stop him, had attempted to physically restrain him, to force him onto a lifeboat because he was the sultan and acting a fool. But advisor Yamazaki’s broken jaw had been proof enough when the survivors had returned. Matsuoka Toraichi could not have been stopped.

After countless rescues exhaustion had set in. In the dark of the night they’d been unable to relocate their sultan.

Gou returned home. Their father did not.

Rin swallows hard at the memory, blinking back the tears he’s not sure why he’s shedding- why get upset over a story almost as old as himself?- attention drifting back to the well-lit streets of the land beneath him.

No, tonight isn’t the time for sad memories and tears. Tonight’s a special night, the night that has single-handedly gotten him through the last two weeks of nonstop preparations.

It’s been two weeks since they’ve last seen one another, but tonight he’ll spend underneath his beautiful traveler, writhing in wanton need as all the weeks’ worth of accumulating stress is fucked out of him. For the next few hours he’ll no longer be the prince, the soon-to-be-sultan, the man carrying the weight of a country on his shoulders. He’ll simply be Matsuoka Rin, the boy who became curious at 12, enraptured at 15, and fell madly in love by 18. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, of course, to fall for a man who was born to wander, a nomad meant never to be bound by the chains of responsibility. Haruka had been born free and he’d always remain free, unable to stop moving, to settle, to be confined the way Rin would forever be. Freedom isn’t a possibility for Rin, bound by the responsibilities of his name, of his birth, but he finds an odd amount of joy in living vicariously through Haruka.

Haruka has seen the ocean. He’s swam in it, even, a few years back, when his tribe had followed the trail of water, seeking parts of the desert able to sustain the lives of their livestock.

Rin had spent his childhood reading fantastical novels, seeing the world through the eyes of written heroes who spent their lives journeying to unknown lands and meeting exotic new people from all over the world. Haruka though, Haruka has lived those stories. He’s gone places, met people, seen and experienced so many things that Rin can only dream of.

It’s too bad Haruka’s never been much of a talker.

He always humors Rin, though, during the sleepy post-coital hours between late evening and dawn. He strokes Rin’s hair quietly, slender, heavily calloused fingers drifting in and out of silky red locks, soothing and thoughtful and loving. His voice is low when he speaks, his words curt, but they’re captivating none-the-less, and Rin is always enthralled. Despite the fact he’s in a near-constant state of exhaustion lately, it’s notoriously hard to sleep during nights spent with Haruka.

A shiver rolls down Rin’s spine and he realizes he’s gotten lost in his own fantasies, that he’s been standing for a good fifteen minutes in the cold night air wearing nothing more than a pair of thin, silky trousers. His arms wrap unconsciously around himself as he wanders back inside, heading towards his private bathing room. The small fire he’d lit under the tubs should have warmed the water by now, and slipping into the bath sounds like a wonderful answer to the chilled bumps that have begun to rise along his flesh.

At this point it’s a waiting game anyways, and there’s a part of him that knows being naked in a warm bath, waiting for Haruka to join him, is what his traveler’s dream are made up of. Haruka had promised to arrive shortly after dark, but while Rin is punctual by both nature and necessity, Haruka is… not. ‘Shortly after dark’ often means ‘2-3 hours after dark,’ and Rin’s become so accustomed to it that it no longer bothers him.

He doesn’t mind waiting if it’s something worth waiting for.  

It’ll likely be another half hour to an hour before Haruka arrives, and so he strips himself of his final layer of clothing, stretching his arms out tiredly above his head before reaching for one of the small containers of oil he always keeps at his bedside. He might as well prepare himself in the bath if he’s going to be waiting around anyways.

Bottle safely in hand he crosses the threshold into the bathing room, heading towards the hanging linens, seeking out his favorite red towel to take with him. He’s a bit surprised when he hears the tell-tale sound of wood sliding along stone in his bedroom, knows without looking that it’s Haruka sneaking in through the emergency escape route hidden behind his bookshelf. Only a handful of people know of its existence, but Rin has guards beneath his balcony at all hours of the night and day, so letting Haruka be privy to such important information had been the only viable way for them to continuously meet unnoticed.

“And here I was, about to start the festivities without you,” Rin calls out, chuckling to himself, holding up the bottle of oil as proof, attention now on gathering two towels rather than one. “I should have known that threatening to prepare myself without your hands would be enough to lure you here earlier than usual. You’ve always been a greedy man. Hate when I pleasure myself without y-”

He never sees the iron coming.

--

For once in his life Haruka actually had intended to be on time, but meeting with Makoto after sundown had taken precedence over extra time with Rin. Rin’s birthday will be arriving soon, his coming-of-age ceremony, and Haruka has secretly taken to peddling his wares in hopes of earning enough coin to buy Rin something momentous for the occasion.

He’s a wanderer by trade, always has been and always will be, but after he made the decision to abandon his tribe and travel solo, he’s been forced to come up with means to support himself.

Even nomads need to eat.

He’s always been artistic, has had a way with his hands, and as a child he’d sit upon his grandmother’s lap, spending hours and hours learning how to weave baskets. Makoto was the one to come up with the idea initially, born and bred merchant that he is. He’d spoken with his father, a highly touted merchant and head of the local merchant’s guild, about possibly selling Haruka’s wares at their stalls. A 40% cut of any profits went to the Tachibanas, with remaining profits directly lining Haruka’s pockets.

It’s odd to hear the jingle of actual coins in his pocket as he makes his way down the narrow, stone hallway, lit-candle in hand. He’s usually lucky to have a single coin to his name.

The walk through the emergency route is always long and arduous, not because he’s physically unfit, but just because it’s cold and dank and he’s already impatient by the time he arrives at the hidden entrance that leads to the underground network below the palace. It’s a long haul, and by the time he reaches the sultan’s private oasis -the secret location that houses the covert entryway- he’s already desperate to see Rin once more.  The extra ten minutes of travel is a frustration at best.

As he heads up the flight of stone stairs leading to the second floor and Rin’s suite (along with his mother’s and sister’s), Haruka feels his heart start pounding, thumping deep in his chest. As a nomad his survival has always hinged on his instincts, and every fiber of his body is telling him to run.

He stops halfway up the stone stairs, hesitating as the feeling grows and twists in the pit of his belly. It’s wrong. Something is off, so off, and his instincts are screaming at him, screeching in his ears to run now, run as fast as he can because if he doesn’t someone’s going to die.

But for the first time in his life, that someone isn’t him.

He stumbles over the first two steps as he sprints up the stairs, scarf billowing behind him, dimly lit candle struggling to stay aflame. He reaches the top of the steps in a flash, and in a flurry of movement he turns on his heels, racing down the hallway, past the doors leading to Gou’s room and then the sultana’s, finally reaching Rin’s.

The door is already open.

He can’t breathe when he stumbles inside, blue eyes wide and wild, candle dropping to the stone floor as he looks first at the bed, no sign of Rin. He briefly loses his footing as he darts towards the bathing room, almost falling over himself as he turns the corner, breath still heaving in desperation and fear.

There’s blood everywhere.

“RIN!” He screams, voice animalistic and raw, losing his footing and stumbling to the ground as he tries to make it to that crumpled, naked, blood covered form. For the few seconds it takes for him to crawl the rest of the way to Rin, he doesn’t know if the prince is alive or dead, and it’s the most terrifying few moments of his life.

It isn’t until he makes it to Rin, sets his fingers on that blood-soaked neck, that he realizes Rin’s still alive.

Barely, but it’s something.

He starts screaming as loud as he can, screaming for help, for anyone, screaming that the prince is dying as he tries to assess the damage, to start treating Rin immediately. The left side of Rin’s face is bloodied and bruised, as though he was beaten in the face by a weapon. But the most telling is the gash lining from ear to ear, bleeding heavily.

Haruka immediately rips his scarf off from around his neck, hesitating as he tries to figure out what the hell to do. He can’t just wrap the scarf around Rin’s neck and squeeze, hoping to staunch the blood from his slit throat. Breathing is a rather important thing, after all. But can he just shove the scarf against the front of Rin’s neck and pray for it to stop on its own?

He screams again because why aren’t people here yet, their prince is dying, balling up his scarf and pressing it to Rin’s delicate neck, trying to apply pressure only to where the wound is, hoping it might somehow help. He’s not a doctor, but at least Samezuka has the best medical capabilities of any country in Arabia, so if there’s any chance of Rin somehow surviving this, he’s in the right place.

It’s Sousuke who arrives first, wearing only his underclothing, his hair mussed from sleep, teal eyes disoriented as he tries to figure out what the hell is going on. He’s not on duty but his room is across from Rin’s, and even though he’s a heavy sleeper, Haruka’s screeching is likely enough to wake even the dead.

As Sousuke crosses into the bathroom he freezes, staring at the scene before him, unable to move.

“Help him!” Haruka screams hoarsely, blue eyes wide and wet, dripping tears he isn’t even aware of.

Sousouke’s moving in an instant, kneeling at Rin’s other side, scanning over the crumpled body, trying to assess the situation as best as his sleep-addled mind can.

Another moment passes and everything becomes a blur as guards begin rushing in, screaming for the medics. Gou appears, sobbing in horror, and the sultana arrives not long after, body wracked with tears and sobs. So much is going on and Haruka can feel himself beginning to shut down, eyes locked on Rin as he’s placed on a makeshift stretcher, willing him to be okay, to get through this. Because he has no idea what the hell he’s going to do with himself if Rin doesn’t survive.

Once Rin’s gone he sits in silence, hands drenched in blood, Rin’s blood, fingers clenching and unclenching thoughtlessly.

“You! You did this, didn’t you!?”

At first Haruka doesn’t realize the words are aimed at him, eyes still downwards, staring at the pool of blood staining the beautiful marble flooring of the bath.

“You did this to my son! I never should have let filth like you around this palace, around Rin! Of course you were just biding your time, waiting for the opportunity to murder the future sultan! Why else would someone of your ilk keep coming back? I was so stupid, so naïve to think a traveler boy harmless. Who hired you? Iwatobi? Sano? Look at me when I’m speaking to you, child!”

“Nanase…” Sousuke mumbles quietly, reaching over to nudge at Haruka’s shoulder, forcing his attention up to the sultana.

Haruka looks up but his mind still fails to register her words, eyes glazed, limbs weak with worry. All he can do is mumble out Rin’s name, his tongue rolling over that ‘R,’ a meek affection penetrating his voice as his eyes drift once more to the pool of blood.

“Sultana Matsuoka, if he really did this to the prince, I highly doubt he’d stay at the scene of the crime, sobbing for hel-“

“Quiet, Sousuke! If he won’t talk now then maybe he’ll talk later. Lock him away. I need to see my son, now.”

--

By the time Makoto shows up, Haruka isn’t sure how long he’s been sitting in his cell, still covered in Rin’s blood, staring at the stone wall before him. He doesn’t register that he’s no longer alone, not until Makoto first clears his throat and then, still ignored, resorts to gently shaking the cell door.

Once Haruka realizes who it is he leaps to his feet, darting over to the cell door, wild eyes hyper-focused on Makoto. “Rin, is he alive!?” Haruka chokes out, the first words he’s spoken in a good long while already starting to bring him to tears.

“Barely, but yes. Sousuke’s been keeping me updated as best he can, but communication is rather difficult currently.”

Haruka wheezes out a relieved sigh, knees buckling against his will, unable to stop himself from dropping to the cell’s stone floor. Rin’s still alive.

“Haru, you have to tell me what happened,” Makoto says, voice soft and concerned as he kneels at the door, reaching through the bars to set a gentle, soothing hand along Haruka’s trembling shoulder.

“Before anyone interrogates you, tries to sway your words, I need to know what actually occurred tonight.”

Haruka swallows hard, nodding rapidly, the severity of the situation beginning to finally set in. In all his concern for Rin, he hasn’t bothered to think about himself even once. “I went to see him after our meeting. I took the emergency escape route in like always. When I arrived he was in the bathroom, already…” Haruka struggles to get out anything else, swallowing back the lump in his throat, fingers stroking nervously along the white of his red stained cloak.

“So you hadn’t seen him at all today? Before you found him?” Makoto frowns, finally removing his hand from Haruka’s shoulder, letting it rest on his own knee.

Haruka shakes his head immediately because he hasn’t seen Rin in two weeks, and to finally see him again, to see him like that…

“Was there anything of note about the passageways you took? Did anything look unusual when you got there, perhaps?”

“Not that I noticed. It wasn’t until I was climbing the stairs to the second floor that something felt off…”

“Off? Was someone else there at the same time as you, perhaps?”

Haruka hasn’t really thought about it, but if someone had been there at the same time as himself, he firmly believes he would have noticed. He likely would have been attacked as well. Someone wouldn’t attempt to murder the future sultan and then leave potential witnesses behind. “I just knew something was wrong,” Haruka shrugs, glancing up at Makoto and then back down at his cloak. “Survival instincts. But this time for Rin, not myself.”

Makoto nods absently, fingers toying lightly over the cloth of his loose trousers, face set in a perpetual frown. Makoto is a terrible liar, and when something is bothering him Haruka knows instantly. They’d met as small children, long before his first run-in with Rin, and despite his tendency to disappear for long stretches of time, he steadfastly considers Makoto his best friend.

“What is it, Makoto? Is it Rin?” he asks, voice tentative, nervous to hear whatever the response may be.

“Ah, it’s nothing, Haru…”

“Makoto, please.”

“Ah, Makoto. Good, you’re already here.”

Haruka glances up at the new entrant, recognizes the voice before Sousuke appears at his cell, piercing teal eyes settling immediately on him.

“Is Ri-“

“He’s still alive,” Sousuke cuts in, moving to stand alongside Makoto, glancing off to the side where Haruka can’t see. “You’re in charge of guarding the prisoner for the night, correct?”

“Ah, yes sir!” a hasty voice chokes out, and Haruka can hear the clank of light armor from what he can only assume is a salute.

Honestly, he hadn’t even realizes there was another person present, but he should have assumed he’d have a guard.

“None of what we talk about leaves this cell, you got that, Ryuugazaki?”

“Of course, sir. I’ve known the prince personally for quite a few years now. When he wakes up I’m quite sure he’d destroy me if he found out I spoke ill of his traveler.”

A small part of Haruka is smug over the words, over the fact that Rin has instilled the fear of the gods into his closest guards in defense of Haruka, but the feeling disappears immediately as the image of Rin’s blooded, battered face reappears in his mind. Rin will threaten no one anytime soon.

If he even survives.

“Good. And that’s right, he will make your life a living hell if anything happens to Nanase because of you. Anyways, Makoto, what have you found out?”

Makoto rises to his feet to stand tall beside Sousuke before speaking. “Ah, not much. I told you Haru was with me right before… the events occurred. He left and immediately went to visit with Rin. By the time he arrived through the underground passageway there was no one there, and Rin was already as you saw him.”

“He wasn’t with Rin previously?” Sousuke frowns, a loud curse escaping his lips.

“Why do you both keep asking me that?”

For a moment Sousuke says nothing, eyes darting first to Makoto and then to Rei. “Nothing leaves this cell?” Sousuke repeats.

“No sir!” Rei yelps, giving yet another salute to his superior.

“I was there with Sultana Matsuoka while waiting for the medics to finish working on Rin. When the doctor gave the medical report, he mentioned…” Sousuke pauses, clearly struggling to continue, taking a big, slow breath before forcing himself to continue. “He mentioned that Rin had very recently been… sexually active. Makoto and I had hoped it was you…” Sousuke sighs, the weight of the situation weighing heavily on his shoulders.

Haruka’s glad he’s already kneeling on the floor, otherwise he knows he would have collapsed right there. He and Rin have been with no one but each other, and to know that he would have been there with Rin when he was attacked had he not lollygagged at the Tachibana’s vendor, that he could have protected his prince from this…

“If it wasn’t you then… then I suppose we can’t officially rule out that he has another lover, but I know myself that he doesn’t. We’ve been trying to piece together a timeline of the events, in particular the order of his injuries.” Sousuke crosses his arms over his chest, frustration clear in his voice, eyes shutting for a moment as he tries to force himself to regain his bearings before continuing onwards. “If there is such a thing as good news in this situation, his attacker failed to slit his throat properly. The wound was deep enough to bleed, of course, but it’s mostly superficial. For whatever reason, his assailant was unable to finish the assassination.”

“Perhaps he started and realized the prince was already dead?”

Haruka’s eyes shoot up, wild and confused. “Rin!”

“Haru, I mean he thought he was dead. At the moment Rin’s still alive, I swear to you,” Makoto soothes.

“He may have started, gotten spooked, and fled the scene,” Rei hypothesizes idly, standing up straight as both Makoto and Sousuke’s eyes fall on him. “Just speculation, sirs!”

“Or perhaps he wasted so much time being the cowardly, disgusting cur he is, that he had to hastily attempt to finish off the prince before fleeing,” Sousuke spits out, balled fist slamming down on the nearest stone wall with an angry thud. “How dare someone sully Rin. I will find the man who did this, and they’ll rot in the bowels of hell after I’m finished slowly dismembering them for every filthy touch…”

Makoto’s hand instinctively rests on Sousuke’s shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze, attempting to abate the inferno within him.

Haruka’s never considered himself a very vengeful man, far too caught up in his own survival to worry about the pettiness of hate, but he can’t say he disagrees with Sousuke’s sentiment, and he silently prays to the gods he doesn’t believe in that somehow the man that did this will be found and made to pay with his life.

“First we have to prove it wasn’t Haru, Sousuke,” Makoto says, voice soft, laden with worry.

“Prove it wasn’t me?” Haruka parrots quietly. Obviously it wasn’t him, he was the one that found Rin for the gods’ sake, but Makoto’s worried tone lets him know that very few people actually believe in his innocence.

“Sultana Matsuoka is understandably upset, Nanase. Especially after, after the most recent news we’ve been given about Rin. It’s far from personal, she’s actually surprisingly fond of you. But she’s blinded by her own rage and grief right now. There’s nothing worse for a parent than to see their child injured. Raped.”

Hearing the word out loud has Haruka dropping his head with a sigh, staring at the cell’s flooring, the weight of everything beginning to compound in his mind. Rin’s still alive, but he soon may not be.

“She’s a good woman, I swear to it, but she needs someone to blame in her state of hysteria, and unfair as it may be, you’re the easiest target. We… we may not always see eye-to-eye, Nanase, but I know for a fact that you didn’t do this to him. We’re stupidly alike on that front. You’d rather die than let harm befall Rin. But evidence is absolutely not on our side right now, not with the only witness in the state he’s in. It’s late, however, and Makoto and I should be going. We’ll both be wiser with sleep, and come morning maybe we’ll be able to piece everything together. Ryuugazaki, when you have the chance, make sure to get Nanase a bucket of clean water and a rag. He shouldn’t be forced to sleep in the prince’s blood.”

Haruka’s line of vision drifts to his arms, crusted in red. He traces his fingertips lightly over the skin of his forearm, still struggling to come to terms with the fact that this is Rin’s blood.

“Of course, sir! I’ll get on it right away.”

Sousuke nods in approval, giving one last glance at Haruka before turning his attention onto Makoto. “Don’t stay here much longer, alright? Technically you aren’t actually supposed to be here.”

Makoto nods immediately, mumbling out his thanks as Sousuke retreats from the dungeons. Silently Makoto begins to unravel the striped blanket he always carries on him, one of the most lush pieces of cloth the Tachibanas sell, offering it to Haruka through the bars of his cell. “Take it, Haru. I don’t want you catching a cold down here.” Makoto smiles as Haruka reaches for the blanket, fingers running along the fine fabric for a brief moment before he moves to wrap the warm blanket around his shoulders, finding comfort in the radiating body heat.

“Ismail!” Haruka suddenly gasps, jumping to his feet, barely managing to keep the blanket in place. “Please go get him, Makoto.”

“Ismail? Where is he?”

“I-I left him at Rin’s private oasis, tethered to one of the trees. He has access to water but no food, please, can you…” Haruka chokes out. Camels are the lifeblood of nomads, and Ismail has been with Haruka since he was a child, a steadfast companion that, in his lifetime, has helped Haruka win more than his fair share of camel races.

“Of course, Haru. I’ll go get him tonight. He can stay with my father’s camels until you’re free.”

“Th-thank you…” Haruka says, voice heavy with relief.

“Haru… we’re going to get you out of here. I don’t know how, but somehow… You aren’t meant to be caged like this. You’re an innocent man.”

“Thank you, Makoto.”

“I should go get Ismail now. I’ll come back as soon as I’m allowed to check up on you, alright?”

Haruka nods, shifting the blanket over his shoulders.

“Try to get some sleep, Haru,” Makoto smiles softly, reaching through the bars to give one of Haruka’s hands a squeeze before finally disappearing from sight.

--

Sousuke quickly learns that trying to reason with the rest of the palace staff, from servant to sultana, is futile. Minds are made up by sunrise, and somehow between midnight and midday, gossip and speculation have become fact. Sousuke immediately knows he’s fighting a losing battle, but on the bright side, Rin has survived the night.

He’s still unconscious, of course, and only time will tell if he ever awakens again.

Sousuke visits him first thing in the morning alongside Gou, each taking one of Rin’s bandaged hands, attempting to both use the calm, soothing voices that the doctors have recommended for all visitors. Rin is a virtually unrecognizable mess, the only thing proving his identification his vibrant, wild red hair peeking out among a sea of heavily wrapped bandages. One of his eyes is completely covered with gauze, and Sousuke has heard passing, idle conversations between the medical staff speculating that Rin may have permanently lost the vision in that eye.

Not that vision loss really matters if he dies.

Rin’s throat is wrapped, of course, as are the fingers of one hand. Two of them are broken.

Apparently from stomping.

The rest of Rin is covered in soft blankets, and the morbid, furious part of Sousuke wonders what’s hiding beneath the deceptively plush, red fabric. He’s spent the entire night attempting to sleep, but his silly mind can’t stop from going haywire, unable to shake the knowledge that someone has violated Rin. His prince. His best friend.

Rin has always been a pain in the ass for sure, a snotty little, holier-than-thou child with an attitude and a feistiness that was admirable on good days, obnoxious on bad. But Rin is his brat. At ten-years-old, thinking themselves above the world, they’d even made a silly, childish blood pact. A bond of brothers, forged with the nick of a knife to two fat thumbs.

Social statuses be damned, they’re family.

“Brother, can you hear me?” Gou whispers, slender hand shaking as she traces her thumb along the bound, broken fingers of her kin.

The day Sousuke made Rin his brother, he’d also made Gou his sister (though no blood-swapping had been involved in that one). He’s vowed to keep an eye on her for now, to make sure she’s okay, because it’s what Rin would want. Rin is the epitome of an over-protective brother, and while Rin’s bedridden like he is, it’s Sousuke’s job to take care of his family in his stead.

The only problem is that Rin’s family doesn’t include just Gou and Sultana Matsuoka anymore.

It includes Haruka, too.

He and Haruka have never really gotten along, but over the years they’ve settled into some weird, mutual understanding between the pair of them. Sousuke is willing to put aside every difference he has with Haruka because, for some odd reason, he makes Rin truly happy.

And he’d be an awfully pathetic brother if he didn’t want happiness for Rin.

Oddly, his sentiment has always been shared by both the women of the Matsuoka clan as well. Gou had instantly latched onto Haruka like he was her second- or perhaps third- brother. But Gou is one of the most loving people Sousuke’s ever met, so it’s not unreasonable that she'd automatically love whoever Rin loves.

Sultana Matsuoka had been the surprise. Was she thrilled over her son’s interest in another man, in particular a classless one? Of course not, especially one who couldn’t be assed to stay in Samezuka for more than a fortnight at a time. But the Samezuka Empire has always been a progressive one, and marriage isn’t actually a requirement for rulers. Years and years ago the laws had been altered, back when a previous ruler had remained a bachelor for the duration of his life.

The current sultan or sultana, when lacking biological children, has the right to appoint a relative to become their heir.

While biological children are obviously preferred, there are no laws that demand Rin produce his own successor.

To be honest, though, Sousuke isn’t sure exactly how much Sultana Matsuoka actually knows about Rin’s relationship with Haruka. If he reads into the fact that Haruka still resorts to sneaking into Rin’s room to rendezvous, she’s likely aware that they’re close friends, but perhaps not quite aware that they’ve long been lovers.

“Do you think he’ll ever wake up…?” Gou asks weakly, voice exhausted and scared.

Sousuke immediately glances over, squeezing Rin’s hand instinctively. “He’d better. I have no idea how we plan to clear Nanase’s name without the star witness. You hear me, Rin? If you don’t wake up, your precious traveler is in a world of trouble.”

He knows it’s rather petty to threaten someone who is currently in a coma, trying to survive having been beaten and raped nearly to death, but the determinedly optimistic part within him refuses to believe that Rin would let himself die knowing that if he doesn’t survive, Haruka faces execution. Rin has been stupidly in love for quite a long while, now.

“Who do you think actually did this to him, Sousuke? It wasn’t Haru, yet everyone already believes in his guilt…”

“I can’t say, honestly. Less than a dozen people know of the secret passageways’ existence, and even fewer know of their entrance. Whoever did this did use the passageways, however. The door was already open when Nanase got there.” Idly Sousuke runs his hand over Rin’s bandaged one, marveling at how small it seems in comparison. Though obviously taller, he’s never viewed Rin as a small person, really, but weak and bedridden he seems so fragile, so meek.

“How do we clear his name, then? Our only witness is… is like this,” Gou gestures, “and Haru, he’s such an easy target. It’s not fair. Everyone should be focusing on finding the person who actually did this!”

“Maybe this afternoon’s meeting will provide fruitful. I know the sultana’s advisors will all be present, as well as members of the judgment tribunal and the local representatives. High-ranking palace staff will be there as well. I know my father will be sitting in.” Sousuke’s father had been the best friend of Toraichi Matsuoka long before he had passed on, and for years he’s been steadfast at the sultana’s side. His father is a rational man, a realist, logical to the core. Sousuke hopes that perhaps his father might be able to swing things in their favor.

“Do you think he’ll truly believe us when we say Haru’s not guilty? All the evidence points to his guilt, Sousuke.”

Gou isn’t wrong, and deep down her words ring true. Sousuke isn’t sure how they’re supposed to somehow clear Haruka’s name, short of Rin awakening and being cognizant enough to testify in the traveler’s favor. He’s a personal guard, not a detective. Makoto sells wares for a living, not information, and it’s not as though Gou can just snoop around, going against her mother’s wishes.

“I don’t know what my father will think, honestly. Evidence is obviously not on our side, but he’s quite the skeptic, so maybe it’ll all seem far too easy for him to buy it. It is far too easy. It makes no sense for Nanase to be screaming for help if he was the one who beat Rin’s face in.” The words hurt a bit once they’re said aloud, and Sousuke lets one of his hands drift upwards, calloused fingers gingerly brushing along the gauze wrapped heavily over Rin’s eye. His head shakes back and forth in momentary stress before he lets go of Rin’s hand and rises to his feet. “I’ll see what I can find out, Gou. I’ll ask around the palace, the city if I must, and see what information is out there. Someone has to know something. The attempted assassination of the future sultan can’t possibly have gone unnoticed. Will you stay here with Rin for me? I… I don’t want him alone right now.”

“O-Of course, Sousuke! I don’t want him alone, either. In case, you know…” her voice trails off and she can’t finish that sentence, but Sousuke understands, gives her a reassuring nod. “Let me know if you find anything out, alright? And I’ll see what I can find out from mother after the meeting as well.”

“Thank you, Gou.”

Sousuke lets his hand drift to Rin’s hair, smoothing it down gently before disappearing from the medical ward.

--

Haruka has yet to sleep. He’s tried, of course, it’s not as though he has anything better to do while confined, but no news on Rin has him tense and antsy and so afraid, and sleep fails to come. Instead he sits around in a daze, conscious but far from all there, letting his mind wander to better times.

He imagines the first time he met Rin, when he’d been a bored 12-year-old who’d wandered away with Ismail in search of something to do, his tribe having settled outside the city limits, fearful of roving too far from civilization in the heat of summer.

Haruka has never seen anything like it in his life.

He’s wandered away from his people while all of the adults are tending to the livestock or preparing for the upcoming communal meal. He’s always loved his tribe, of course, but he’s also always been a ‘free-spirit’ as his grandmother used to say. Even among nomadic people, there are some born never to be tied down, not even to their tribe. His grandmother has always assumed that when he comes of age, he’ll never look back.

He isn’t expecting to find it, but as he wanders with his camel he spots it off in the distance, a gorgeous, crystalline body of water flanked by lush, beautiful palm trees.

He’s running in an instant, dragging Ismail behind him, desperate to reach this mystical, beautiful desert oasis that he never knew existed. He and his tribe are legitimately camped out in the middle of nowhere. While they’re still technically in the ‘outskirts’ of town, they’re well-beyond where normal city dwellers would dare to travel.

He wonders if others know this magical place exists, not trusting his eyes and his racing heart until he’s at the water, blue eyes wavering in excitement. He’s only known of this place’s existence for a mere few minutes, but already he’s claimed this desert paradise for his own.

Hastily he ties off Ismail’s reins to a nearby tree, his clothing immediately dumped to the wayside as he promptly dives naked into the clear, gorgeous water.

It’s cool and it’s perfect and if he believed in the gods, he’d think he’s truly found heaven. With eyes closed in contentment he floats blissfully in the water, listening to the gentle lap of Ismail’s tongue as the camel drinks along the oasis’ edge.

It’s a wonderful few moments, and a part of him wonders if this is the happiest he’s ever been in his life. He loves water, but life as a nomad makes swimming a scarcity, and water this clear and crisp is completely unheard of.

If he could, he’d never leave this place again.

“Oi! Boy, what are you doing in my oasis!?” a voice snaps, and initially Haruka chooses to ignore it because some squeaky voiced kid is absolutely not coming between him and his water, thank you very much. But when a pebble hits him in the face from above he forces one eye open with an irritated grunt, attempting to locate his assailant.

It takes a minute to place the voice, and he’s mostly only able to do so because of the very obvious rustling coming from the palm trees growing on one of the few small islands housed within the oasis. He frowns at first, squinting his eyes because it’s hard to look upwards towards the desert sun, but on closer inspection he realizes there’s a small, off-white hammock tied between the tops of two of the trees, an impish looking child hidden within.

“You don’t own the water,” Haruka says dully, eyes closing once more as he continues floating contentedly.

“Yes, I do! This is my oasis and I didn’t say you could be here,” the little boy snaps, and Haruka immediately loathes the brat.

“The sultan owns the water,” Haruka argues, voice a mumbling grunt. He just wants to enjoy the water, and this boy just won’t stop being so annoying.

“And who do you think the sultan is?” the child snaps, almost losing his balance in his hammock, yelping and flailing to regain his bearings, face flushing in embarrassment.

“A woman.” Haruka doesn’t really keep up on the inner workings of the cities they briefly pass through, but he’s fairly sure that Sultana Matsuoka has been ruling these lands for quite a few years now, not some snot-nosed brat who thinks he has the right to hog an entire oasis to himself.

“And who do you think is her son?”

Haruka’s eyes snap open in surprise at the words, and finally he forces himself to stop floating, to tread water so he can get a better look at the sassy, know-it-all child he’s being forced to bear the presence of. “That still doesn’t make you the sultan,” he argues childishly. He can’t tell if the child is lying or not, honestly, because it is a ridiculous claim, but at the same time this oasis, well… it does seem fit for the sultan.

“My mother’s the interim sultan, you know. Just until I’m old enough to take over. In eight years this’ll all be mine! Seriously though, this is the sultan’s private oasis. How did you even end up here?”

The child’s voice has gone from haughty to curious in a flash, and he’s finally stilled enough that Haruka can get a good look at him. The first thing Haruka notices is that the boy has the most fiery red hair he’s ever seen. In fact, despite being a traveler he’s never met a redhead in his entire life. Redheads are extremely rare in Arabia, with their sensitive, fair skin a detriment to their survival. Casually he swims closer to the small island, his own curiosity getting the best of him, piqued by the fact that this other little boy (who on closer inspection is roughly his own age, despite the still deceptively squeaky voice) is such an anomaly.

The next thing he immediately notices are those piercing, blood red eyes, and instinctively he dips his lips below the surface of the water, attempting to hide his surprise. He’s certainly never seen eyes like that before.

Vaguely he recalls his grandmother, full of worldly wisdom, mentioning the Matsuoka reds.

He’s knocked from his thoughts when another pebble smacks him in the face, and he breaches the surface to grumble out an irritable “hey.”

“Stop starin’ at me and I’ll stop throwing pebbles at you. What, never seen a prince before?” the child grins, and Haruka is once again shocked by those animalistic, pointed teeth.

How can someone look so, well, weird?

Haruka doesn’t bother answering, instead continuing to look over the boy, noting the oversized jewelry hanging off his skinny neck and the light-weight, luxurious fabrics covering his body.

“I said stop staring!” the boy grumbles irritably, once again throwing a pebble at Haruka, though this time Haruka has the foresight to duck. “I get stared at enough without some weird oasis moocher doing it, too…”

“You look weird,” Haruka shrugs indifferently.

“H-Hey! I don’t look weird,” the boy argues, his voice deflating, fingers brushing awkwardly through silky red hair. “And like you’re any less weird, anyways! What are you doing roaming the desert? You’re a kid, where are your parents?”

“Where are yours?”

“My mom’s at the palace, obviously.”

“Your guards, then?”

“We were talking about your parents, not my missing guards!”

“You snuck away, didn’t you?”

“Sh-shut up! You did too!”

For a moment they’re both silent, coming to some weird, mutual understanding that both of them had run away from their respective adults at the same time, desperate for some modicum of freedom.

“What’s your name?” the child finally asks, and for a moment Haruka isn’t sure he wants to respond. Does he really want the prince of the Matsuoka Empire to know his name?

Reluctantly he sighs out, “Haruka.”

“Haruka, huh?”

“Just Haru.”

“O-Oh, okay! I’m Rin, by the way. I never thought someone’d just stumble upon our oasis. It’s in the middle of nowhere. How did you even find it?”

Haruka shrugs. “On accident. Our camp isn’t too far from here.”

“Your camp?” Rin mimics, leaning over the edge of his hammock in excitement, once again almost flinging himself right out of the thing. “You’re a nomad!?”

Haruka nods silently, idly noting how loud Rin can get, especially when excited. There’s not really anything interesting about being a nomad, honestly, certainly not compared to someone who will be the sultan of the largest empire in Arabia in less than a decade, but it doesn’t seem to deter Rin’s interest.

“So you just wander all over the place? You don’t have a home? You’re just… free to go wherever and do whatever?”

“My home’s with my tribe.”

“Wow. To be free to do whatever you wanted…” Rin hums thoughtfully, leaning back in his hammock for a moment, both skinny arms crossed behind his neck. “I can’t even imagine that freedom. I’ve never stepped foot out of the city, really.”

Haruka remains silent, not really sure what to say, mildly surprised that Rin’s never been allowed to leave his gilded cage. The future sultan should be allowed to get to know his people, right? To forge bonds with neighboring countries and such. What was the purpose in locking him away?

“What’s it like, beyond Samezuka?”

“Sandy,” Haruka deadpans, itching to start swimming again but feeling like he has to humor Rin. He is the prince, after all.

“Well I know that, it’s the desert after all. I just meant like… the people. Have you been to the sea before? Oh, I heard there’s an ocean somewhere! Have you ever seen that? It’s salty water as far as the eye can see! Not good for drinking, but really nice for swimming.”

“Mmm, I’ve never seen the ocean, but I learned how to swim in the sea.”

“R-really!?” Rin chirps, sitting up quickly in his hammock.

“Why are you up there, anyways?” Haruka asks, attempting to divert the attention from himself.

“Huh? In my hammock? I’m reading. My little sister was being really annoying and Sousuke’s with his dad on a business trip so I came out here to get away.” Rin holds up a book that’s been stowed away in his hammock for emphasis.

“Reading?”

“Yeah, reading. You know, when you read words from a book that tell stories.”

“Oh.”

“You’ve never read before?” Rin asks. Haruka hackles at the accusation, even if Rin’s voice is clear with sincerity.

“Travelers don’t need to read. We tell stories, we don’t write them down.”

“Well then how do you remember them?”

“They’re passed down from generation to generation.” Haruka’s parroting his grandmother, now, repeating the same words she’s spoken time and time again while trying to make him actually pay attention to her stories.

“But don’t they get changed? Like… each person tells the story differently, because you can’t possibly remember everything.”

“It doesn’t matter if the core’s the same.” Haruka isn’t really sure why he’s arguing, but Rin brings out a disturbing amount of emotion in him, and a competitiveness has settled in his chest that he doesn’t quite understand.

“Hm, well, I guess,” Rin shrugs, choosing not to continue arguing, glancing at the book in his lap and then back at Haruka. “You want me to read you one?”

“…What?”

“One of the stories, dummy. It’s a really good book! One of my favorites. It’s about this king who finds out that his wife has been unfaithful to him. He has her executed and then marries another woman. Each night he marries a new woman, and then he executes her the next day before she can dishonor him like his first wife did. Finally he marries this new woman, except she tells him a story at night before they go to sleep. She doesn’t finish the story, though, and the next day, curious about the ending, he postpones her execution so he can hear the story’s end. She starts a new story every night but fails to finish it, preventing her execution for years. This book is a collection of the stories she tells him!”

“That sounds terrible.”

“Well it’s not!” Rin snaps defensively. “It’s a good book, Haru. You wouldn’t know, though, since you can’t read.”

“I don’t care that I can’t read.”

“Well…fine!”

Rin finally shuts up long enough for Haruka to starts swimming anew, his strokes leisurely and content as he circles around the small island, alternating between swimming and floating on his back.

“You’re a good swimmer,” Rin observes aloud.

Haruka sighs without thinking at the familiar voice, one eye squinting open, watching Rin watch him.

“We should race!”

“I don’t care about racing.”

“Why not? It’d be fun! And it lets you know who’s better.”

“Swimming isn’t a competition. It’s about feeling the water.”

“…Feeling the water? What are you, some kind of water nymph?” Rin giggles, smile turning into a frown as soon as he realizes he’s being ignored. “Can we at least swim together, maybe?” There’s an uncharacteristic shyness in that voice, but Haruka opts to not read into it.

“Whatever. It’s your oasis.”

Rin nods immediately, slipping out of the hammock and grabbing onto one of the trees, shimmying down before taking off all his clothes and jewelry, setting them aside carefully before diving in.

Haruka tries valiantly to ignore him, but he can’t help but grow irritated as Rin swims near him. Rin is obnoxiously good, and it’s supremely annoying.

Haruka attempts to keep a nice, calming pace, hands moving in easy, leisurely strokes, until he can just feel the presence of the other boy next to him. Rin’s casual about it, keeps a sensible distance, but he keeps passing Haruka.

He swears to himself that the increasing speed of his strokes, the one setting pace with Rin’s, is just his attempt at getting in a good workout. Upping the rate of his heart and such.

It is absolutely, 100% not because Rin is swimming alongside him and he can feel an uncontrollable fire surging through his veins. He needs to be better than Rin.

They spend over an hour in the water together silently, mutually racing, and though he’ll never admit it, Haruka’s kept tally in his head.

Of course they’ve tied.

“Ugh, I’m so tiiiiiired,” Rin whines, swimming to the shore of his little island, plopping dramatically on his back on the sand. “I love swimming but it’s exhausting. You hungry, Haru?”

Haruka’s a bit surprised at the offer, glancing over at Rin, flushing slightly over the alabaster skin of that very, very naked body. He’s horrified with himself that he’s even noticed, because nudity is a non-issue among his tribe, so why should he care if the prince is very… free-spirited? But he’s never seen skin that pale, and it’s so hard to ignore something that unique. That beautiful.

He’s horrified by the thought as soon as it crosses his mind, and Rin’s offer of food is a welcomed distraction. He nods silently, eyes looking anywhere but at Rin, as Rin goes to ruffle through a small satchel he’s left nestled in a patch of grass.

“I didn’t bring a lot, but I have some fresh dates and a pomegranate if you’re hungry. I don’t mind sharing.” Rin crosses his legs and takes a comfortable seat in the sand, patting the spot beside him, beckoning Haruka to join him.

Reluctantly Haruka climbs out of the water because while he’s never had a pomegranate before, he’s always wanted to try the fruit.

Rin hands him the pomegranate and Haruka just stares at it, because… how does a person open it up?

His face must be expressing his concern, because Rin giggles before taking the fruit from him. “I forgot to get a knife, so we’ll have to use the old fashion method!” Haruka watches in intrigue as Rin rolls the fruit over the surface of one of the palm’s trunks, hearing the confusing pops from within it. Once the pops stop Rin ever so gracefully bites the stem of the fruit, using those disturbingly sharp teeth to rip the stem clean off, spitting it aside before digging two thumbs into the hole, breaking the fruit apart. “And now you just eat the seeds!” Rin grins, handing one of the broken halves off to Haruka with one of his juice-drenched hands.

Haruka nervously tastes it and it is quite possibly the most delicious thing he’s ever eaten. It’s so bright and sweet and refreshing after a long swim.

Maybe Rin isn’t so bad after all.

“It’s good, right?” Rin says while chewing on seeds of his own.

Haruka nods silently, reaching tentatively for one of the dates.

“Go ahead! My food is your food.”

For another few moments they sit together, drenched in the sweet fruit juice, teeth a mess, chatting in between bites.

“Prince! Prince Rin, are you here!?”

Rin sits up straight at the voice calling from the distance, glancing over at Haruka and then at the approaching figure still quite a ways away. “Oh no! They can’t see you here. I gotta go, okay? You can keep the rest of the dates, though!” Rin hastily throws his clothes into his bag along with his book, sticky hands fumbling to close the satchel before he darts into the water. He keeps the bag held above the water as he carefully swims to the other side, quickly redressing as soon as he’s back on land. “It was nice to meet you, Haru! If you can find it again, come back any time you’d like! Next time we won’t tie!”

Haruka scowls because of course Rin was also keeping tabs on their races, but he can’t stay too mad as Rin waves impishly before darting off, intent on cutting off his guards before they manage to see Haruka.

Rin had been such a precocious child, Haruka recalls, so vibrant and full of life. Sure he’d also been quite annoying, but his good qualities had heavily outweighed the bad.

They still do.

Rin may be caged by Samezuka, but he’s still wild and exotic and dangerous, full of an electric energy and a sharp tongue that draw Haruka in like a moth to a flame. Long ago he stopped fighting his desires, stopped hating the idea that he wanted to give himself over to his beautiful prince. Rin is a cyclone of passion and romance and need and love and it’s all Haruka can do to just buckle down and hope he survives the storm.

If he has to die, he can think of no better way to go.

“Haru, are you awake?”

Haruka blinks himself back to consciousness, glancing up from the floor of his cell, exhausted, slightly-blurred vision settling on a very worried Makoto. He nods silently, grunting as he hauls himself upright. “Rin…?”

“Survived the night,” Makoto reassures with a soft smile, earning a sigh of relief from Haruka. “I just spoke with Sousuke, but I wanted to come let you know as well. Sultana Matsuoka is having a large meeting this afternoon in regards to last night. Gou said she’d do her best to either attend or at least get all the details. In the meantime, Sousuke and I are going to head into town, see if we can find any leads on who actually did this. I hate to ask you this again, Haru, but did anything last night stand out to you?”

Haruka shakes his head slowly. “Nothing seemed wrong. Not with the entrance, or in the tunnels themselves. But there’s been something bothering me…”

“What is it, Haru?” Makoto asks, leaning forward instinctively, sparing a quick glance at the guard quietly keeping watch. It’s not Rei this time, instead it’s a silver-haired youth that looks far too young to be standing watch over the most important prisoner in these cells.

“I keep repeating what happened over and over in my head, trying to make sense of it all. And it doesn’t make sense, Makoto. It takes around ten minutes for me to traverse the length of the passageways, but when I got to Rin… If it takes ten minutes for me to walk the length of the walkways, and there was no one there when I arrived at the entrance, which adds on a few more minutes… Rin should have been dead, right? He couldn’t have survived 15 minutes bleeding out, I don’t think. His wounds were too fresh. So how could I have not run into his attacker? The hallways are too narrow for one person to exit and not notice someone entering. So…how?” Haruka’s voice is heavy with frustration, and he feels stupid when tears begin prickling at the edges of his eyes. Rin’s supposed to be the crier, not him.

“Hm, I wasn’t aware they were set up like that. I should talk to Sousuke about it, see if he can maybe investigate them. You’re right, something doesn’t add up there…”

Haruka nods slowly in agreeance, wrapping the striped blanket tighter around himself. “You’ll keep me updated, right?”

“Of course, Haru. I’ll let you know anything that Sousuke and I find out. Or anything from Gou. If there’s a change in Rin’s condition, I’ll make sure to tell you immediately, okay? But right now we have to focus on clearing your name.”

Haruka nods once more, pulling his knees to his chest.

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Makoto finally asks, voice barely above a whisper, full of gentle concern.

Haruka shakes his head, because even if he tried to lie, Makoto would see right through him.

“Oh Haru… I need to get going, I have to meet up with Sousuke, but try to get some rest, alright? Rin’s… he’s stabilized some, I’m sure it’s okay to sleep now. You’ll need all the strength you can get, we have no idea what the sultana is planning.”

“Alright. Thank you for visiting, Makoto.”

“Of course. Sleep well, Haru.”

--

Makoto meets up with Sousuke before leaving the palace and disappearing into the winding streets of Samezuka. Makoto makes sure to keep an eye on his companion, having learned the hard way years ago that, no matter how long Sousuke has lived in the city, he can’t navigate it. At all.

In fact, the first time Makoto had ever met Rin had been when he’d seen a frantic young Rin darting around booths and stalls in the center of the shopping district, desperately trying to locate his best friend. Apparently he’d left Sousuke unattended for a few minutes while he’d gone to buy them pomegranate juice from a stall, and when he’d returned Sousuke had disappeared. Rin was fairly good with navigating the city’s messy streets, but the markets were Makoto’s territory, and Makoto had offered his assistance the minute Rin had started to tear up in worry.

Together it hadn’t taken long to locate Sousuke, but Rin had considered himself indebted to Makoto ever since.

After that, Rin had made a point of stopping by the Tachibana’s stalls whenever he and Sousuke snuck out of the palace, occasionally bringing Makoto fruits and such. Makoto didn’t really need gifts, he’d only been doing what his father had raised him to do (always help those in need), but it was hard to argue with how delicious the palace’s fruits were, and he always enjoyed making new friends.

It had taken him awhile to realize that Rin was the prince, but it hadn’t really changed much. As his father’s position within the trader’s guild had risen, Makoto had gained some access to the palace by association, and he’d forged a strong bond with both Sousuke and Rin. A bond that would, inadvertently, re-introduce Rin and Haruka.

How far they’d all come.

“I’d like to stop by Nagisa’s shop first, if that’s alright. Let him know what has happened.”

Sousuke nods in agreement, silently following after Makoto.

They’re both large men, which can make sliding in and out of the massive crowds a bit cumbersome, but at the same time it means they share a bit of an innate intimidation factor, and it doesn’t take them too too long to reach the cloth covered doorway that leads to Nagisa’s divination shop.

It’s a quirky little shop, nestled away in one of the lesser-known streets, across from a produce vendor well known for selling over-ripened goods and adjacent to a cantina run by a pair of foreigners. When they duck through the cloths they’re immediately met with the strong scent of burning incense, some type of unusual sweet smelling, fruity mixture Makoto’s unfamiliar with.

The store contains no windows and is dimly lit by candlelight alone. It has shelves all over it, covered in odd trinkets, leaving minimal space to move around. There are jars full of different stones, as well as ones carrying fermented, floating oddities that Makoto’d rather not try to identify.

Sousuke wanders around, looking through the shop as Makoto heads immediately towards the back room where he knows Nagisa does his personal readings. He’s met halfway, however, as the spritely blond pops out from behind a chiming sea of beads, a grin spreading over his face.

“Mako! I was waiting for you to finally show up. And you brought Sousou, too?”

Makoto frowns a bit, even though he’s happy to see his friend. “You were waiting for us?”

“Huh? Well of course! I figured it was a matter of time, after what happened to Rin.”

“You already know?” Makoto stares in surprise. “Word travels so quickly…”

“You’re burning frankincense, right?” Sousuke says idly, fingers dipping into one of the jars of stones curiously.

“Yes, that’s right! Impressive, Sousou. I didn’t know you knew about incense!”

“Ah, Gou swears by them. I don’t know very much, but frankincense is familiar. She uses it during her… well…”

“Menstruation?” Nagisa offers helpfully, laughing when Sousuke flushes slightly, suddenly extremely distracted by the stones in his hand. “It’s not just frankincense. I added amber, too.”

“Isn’t amber extremely expensive?” Makoto balks. He may not be able to identify scents, but he certainly knows the going price for most things commonly (and even uncommonly) sold at markets.

“Very! Probably the most expensive thing I have in this store. But amber represents knowledge. It’s the best scent to use when seeking out information. I’ve never mixed it with frankincense before, but frankincense is a very powerful healing herb, especially for open wounds.”

“They’re for Rin, aren’t they?” Sousuke asks quietly, glancing over at Nagisa.

“Of course. I know they probably won’t work unless he’s actually there to inhale them, but it’s not like the palace staff will let me show up and start burning things in his room. How… is he?”

“Still alive, last I checked. I saw him this morning,” Sousuke sighs, glancing between the two other men.

“How did he look?” Nagisa questions, idly toying with the bangles around his wrist.

“Not good. But alive is what matters.”

“And Haru?”

Makoto licks his lips uncomfortably, mind picturing how… dead Haruka had looked that morning. “Exhausted. Worried for Rin. Probably traumatized, understandably so.”

“He found him, right?”

Sousuke nods. “He was there first, yes. Then myself, then the guards posted on the floor.”

“The city is already crucifying him,” Nagisa sighs out.

“I know. I asked around the palace earlier this morning and… minds are already made up,” Makoto sighs out, shaking his head in frustration. “We need to figure out who did this, and quickly. I don’t know how long the sultana will wait before punishing him.”

“He’ll go to trial first,” Sousuke explains with a frown. “The tribunal will handle his case. He’ll be interrogated, and likely those who arrived first, including myself, will be asked to stand witness. Whether the interrogation will happen behind closed doors or while on the stand I’m unsure. I’ve honestly never attended a tribunal proceeding. Rin has, of course, but… I obviously can’t ask him for details.”

“Has Gou?” Makoto speculates, eyes on Sousuke.

“Not that I’m aware of. Rin only started attending them the last year or so, in preparation for when he becomes sultan.”

“How long does it normally take for someone to stand trial?” Nagisa asks, shifting his weight from bare foot to bare foot, unable to keep still during the discussion.

“Normally it can take months. In this case… a week, perhaps? Maybe two? It’s unprecedented, obviously.”

“So we have a week to clear Haru’s name…” Makoto frowns, teeth worrying on his lower lip.

“Barring Rin suddenly waking up, yes.”

“I can ask around the streets,” Nagisa suggests, glancing between the pair of them. “I have some… sources, you could say, that might be able to find something out. This is Samezuka, nothing happens without someone catching wind of it. I’m sure someone, somewhere, knows something.”

“Please do, Nagisa. Sousuke and I can only do so much. Sousuke’s tied by his position, as am I. The merchants are valuable sources of gossip, but this seems too… underground for them to know much. Embezzling and such, sure, but attempted murder is well beyond their area.”

“Makoto and I will focus on the palace, then. On asking those who frequently travel in and out. Also, those who live in the palace as well: staff members and the like.”

“Oh! Sousuke. I spoke with Haru before we came out, and he mentioned something of interest. I can’t investigate it myself, however.”

“Mm?”

“The timing of everything apparently seems off. He can’t figure out how it is that he came to see Rin and didn’t run into Rin’s attacker. I was wondering if perhaps you could investigate the corridors of the secret passageways?”

“Interesting. Of course I can. I’ll make sure to do it tonight and report back in the morning. We should be going, though. The meeting should be over soon. We should also check in with Gou to see if she’s managed to find anything out.”

“Of course. Good luck you two, I’ll see what I can find out tonight as well,” Nagisa smiles, though the curve of his lips seems forced; the gravity of the situation is weighing down even on his shoulders.

“Good luck to you as well. Goodbye, Nagisa.”

--

When Sousuke and Makoto re-enter the palace, they’re immediately greeted with the pounding of bare feet on marble. A second later and Gou is rounding the corner, red silks fluttering in her wake as she waves and yells for their attention.

It’s unbecoming of the princess to be running through the palace, but Gou’s never been one for formalities, and is more than happy to leave all the royal duties to Rin. “Sousuke, Makoto!” she calls out, breath rapid as she stops before them, trying to regain her bearings.

“Gou, what is it? Is it Rin?” Sousuke asks immediately, and his heart begins pounding uncontrollably at the thought that Rin has passed while they were out looking for information on his would-be-killer.

“No no, he’s still alive. But this is urgent! Please, we need to go somewhere private.”

Though all eyes are on the trio, no one says anything as Gou grabs both of them by a wrist and drags them down the marbled hallways of the palace. At first Sousuke isn’t sure where she’s taking them, because the only part of the palace he no longer gets lost in is the rooming quarters, and to his surprise she’s not taking them there. In hindsight, however, it does make sense. While Gou may not care much for formalities, bringing a pair of unrelated men to her bedroom is very, very much uncouth.

He realizes it’s the medical wing once they turn a corner and he sees one of the many medics rushing by him, hands full of bottles of medicine and tubs of salve. “I thought you said Rin was alive…?” he asks nervously, teal eyes flitting over to meet Makoto’s concerned green, both tentatively awaiting an explanation.

“He is. I’m no liar, Sousuke,” Gou teases lightly, finally releasing both their wrists, assuming they’ll follow obediently. Very few are unwise enough to defy Matsuoka Gou.

“Of course not,” Sousuke replies humbly, keeping in step with the duo.

“They’ve just changed his bandages and given him fluids. They check on him approximately every half hour. That should be plenty of time for us to have a discussion in private. I also… I don’t care for the idea of leaving him alone for too long,” she shrugged, feigning nonchalance though Sousuke can tell it’s all acting. “Just in case.”

“That’s understandable,” Makoto smiles gently. “It’ll be good to see him myself, I think. I’ll be able to explain things to Haru better this way.”

They turn the corner into the large, private suite of the medical wing that is currently housing the future sultan of Samezuka. Makoto’s attention is immediately on the redhead, and he finds himself at Rin’s side without thinking, large hand gently touching the heavy bandaging wrapped around Rin’s face, thick fingers carefully brushing aside damp hair.

“They’ve just bathed him,” Gou explains, her voice wavering no matter how hard she attempts to steady it. “But this is about Haru.”

“Haru?” Makoto echoes, glancing away from Rin, eyes falling on Gou in uneasiness.

“The meeting adjourned about twenty minutes ago. I spoke to some of those in attendance. Haru’s trial is set to begin tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!?” Sousuke and Makoto choke out in unison, voices loud and heavy with confusion.

“Shhhh!” Gou immediately chastises, glancing at the door that’s closed, but not soundproof. “Yes, tomorrow. Apparently because of the enormity of the situation and the unprecedented nature of it all, they decided it was best to proceed immediately. They… they have no doubts that Haru did this, even though we all know he’s innocent. They want him tried immediately. If he’s found guilty they’ll…”

“They’ll execute him,” Sousuke finishes, glancing over at Makoto. “Publically.”

Makoto inhales sharply at the news, though it isn’t exactly a surprise. It’s just the speed that has him shaking, the fact that they may not have the time to clear Haruka’s name before he’s put to death in front of the masses. “But… but Samezuka doesn’t allow public executions anymore, right? There hasn’t been one since before your father began ruling, right?”

“We don’t use them to influence the masses anymore, no. People are still executed, of course, but it’s done privately. My father didn’t like the brutality of publically executing someone to attempt to deter others from committing the same crime. He believed that executing a criminal in a public space infringed on the rights of law-abiding people. Children accidentally out in the streets shouldn’t be subjected to seeing something like that. But… but it’s not as though they’re outlawed. In a case as magnanimous as this, it’s… it’s precedented,” Gou concludes uncomfortably.

“How long does a trial normally take?” Makoto asks, taking a ginger seat at the edge of Rin’s bed, careful not to jostle the prince as he idly rearranges that wine-red hair, attempting to put some order to it. Rin’s always loved his hair, and Makoto knows he’d be upset to know that it’s been left a nest while he was unconscious.

It’s also what Haruka would have done had he been there, rather than locked up in a damp cell underground.

“Who even knows at this point,” Sousuke grumbles, shaking his head to himself. “I hope Nagisa can find something out, we’re going to need a miracle at this rate.”

“We just have to be smart about this,” Gou says, nodding to herself. “Someone, somewhere, has to know something, right? For starters, they had to know of the existence of the tunnel system. They also had to know which room was Rin’s. Both my mother and I were in our bedrooms at the time, yet neither of us were bothered.”

“That’s true,” Makoto muses aloud, finishing up with rearranging Rin’s hair, letting his hand settle on Rin’s, thumb rubbing gently along the bandaging holding broken fingers together. “But who’s to say that they didn’t just follow Haru? Haru has been visiting Rin at least once a month for years, if someone figured out his relationship with Rin then it’s possible they’ve been following him for a while, right? They could have explored the tunnels before attacking. He would have had plenty of time to plan his attack…”

“Nanase wouldn’t be so foolish, would he?”

“He’s a traveler. It’s not as though he’s trained to avoid assassins or catch wind of being followed,” Gou points out, moving around to take a seat on the other side of Rin, claiming his free hand for her own, idly stroking the soft skin of the back of his palm, still greasy with scented oils. Rin has always been meticulous about caring for his fragile, pale skin, and so Gou had insisted that his caretakers massage in skin-softening oils after he’d been bathed. “It’s still not Haru’s fault, though. He didn’t try to kill my brother, someone else did this to him. Whether or not they used Haru or not, he shouldn’t be the one standing trial.”

“Why don’t I talk to Haru about it, then? Would I be allowed, Sousuke?”

“Hm? Yes, of course. Ryuugazaki’s on duty, I can escort you down to the cells and he can keep you company. While you speak with Nanase, why don’t I explore the tunnels? And Gou, you-“

“Stay with my brother, of course,” she smiles softly, glancing down at Rin, thumb still idling over the back of his palm. “Let me know what you two find out, alright? We haven’t much time…”

“Certainly. Shall we then, Makoto?”

Makoto nods, giving Rin’s hand one final, gentle brush with his fingertips before rising to join Sousuke. “Stay well, Gou,” he says, giving her a soft smile and a nod before disappearing from the medical wing alongside Sousuke.

--

“No one has been following me.”

“Haru, you can’t be sure,” Makoto rationalizes calmly, eyes analyzing Haruka’s sprawled out body in concern. Haruka hasn’t sat up yet, opting to just lay on his back in the center of his cell with only Makoto’s blanket to cover him, glazed eyes staring at the stone ceiling above him.

“I can and I am,” Haruka says firmly, voice heavy with exhaustion. “I’m not the one who gave someone access to Rin.”

“Haru, I’m not accusing you of anything. This isn’t your fault, there was no way you could have known you were being purs-“

“I was not being pursued!”  Haruka snaps, finally sitting up to glare at his friend. “Makoto, no one followed me. I would have known if someone were trailing me, I wouldn’t have survived as long as I have with survival skills that pathetic. If someone had been following me at any point, I never would have gone to the palace, especially not through the secret passageways. Not even you know how to enter them.”

“How else then, Haru?” Makoto sighs, glancing over at Rei and then back at Haruka.

“I’m not the only person that knows of their existence. And their entrance.”

“Well clearly it wasn’t Gou or the sultana. Sousuke was in his bedroom, though we both know he’d never lay a hand on Rin. Are you suggesting his father?”

“I’m suggesting anyone that knows of the passageway’s entrance and existence, whoever that may be. I find it hard to believe that the five of us are the only ones who know of its point of entry.”

“I… I’m not sure who else knows. Sousuke might. But Haru, it’s a bit hard to believe that one of the highest ranking officials in the Samezuka Empire would place a hit on the soon-to-be sultan. Why attempt to systematically destroy your own country? No one came for the sultana herself, she’ll just continue ruling in Rin’s stead should he die…”

“I don’t know the answers, I just know that Rin’s attacker did not follow me to the palace.”

Makoto wants to argue, because Haruka is being both irate and irrational at the moment, but he can tell from the heavy bags under beautiful, crystal blue eyes that Haruka still hasn’t slept since he found Rin. Any sense of rationality has long disappeared from his friend.

Makoto shifts his gaze briefly to Rei, who stands tall and keeps his attention straight at the wall in front of him, doing his best to be as unoffending as possible. He’s relatively sure that Rei is an intelligent enough young man not to repeat anything he hears here in Haruka’s cell, and so he decides to continue, even though he and Sousuke haven’t really had the chance to discuss it. “Your trial begins tomorrow, Haru,” he finally says, and he can hear his own voice shake at the words.

To his surprise he doesn’t get any shock out of Haruka, just a curt, knowing nod as the traveler falls back to the ground, sprawled out on his back once more.

“And the interrogation?” Haruka asks, head tilting to glance over at Makoto.

“Sousuke’s unsure if it will be on the stand before the tribunal or in private,” Makoto explains, frowning lightly at Haruka’s nonchalance. Does he not understand what an interrogation entails?

“Alright.” Haruka drags the warm blanket tighter around himself, tired, reddened eyes shifting to the ceiling first, then back to Makoto. “Did you see him?”

Makoto smiles softly, giving a short little nod. “Yes. He looks as well as one can hope. Stable, if there’s any reassurance in that.”

“Yamazaki didn’t give me any details…” Haruka mumbles, and Makoto can tell he’s hinting for more.

“Ah. He’d just been bathed when we arrived. His hair was a mess, so I made sure to fix it for you.” Makoto can’t help but smile softly, watching Haruka’s eyes drift back to the ceiling, lost in thought and yet somehow still listening. “They didn’t have to cut any of it off, he’ll be happy about that one. The left side of his face was covered in bandaging, but I’m sure you expected that, you saw the wound yourself. His right hand is heavily bandaged. It’s as though he has a club for a hand.”

“His hand?”

“Yes. Sousuke explained that it was stomped and a few of his fingers broken.”

“I didn’t notice….”

“There was likely too much blood when you saw him last, Haru.”

“He probably fought back, then.”

“Likely. Though his head was beaten, I doubt he was unconscious for it all…”

Haruka’s still looking up at the ceiling, silent under the weight of those words, and Makoto’s unsure if it’s the lighting or not, but he swears he can see tears trailing down Haruka’s cheeks as he stares unwaveringly above. “Likely not…” Haruka finally mumbles out, voice surprisingly steady as the tears roll.

“Haru, you should try to sleep,” Makoto says softly, fingers clenching around one of the cell’s bars. He hates seeing his friend fall apart like this, seeing Haruka, one of the most surprisingly gentle people Makoto’s ever had the pleasure of meeting, locked up like a feral dog. “Just know that Rin is alive and doing as well as he can, alright? He’s still fighting, Haru, and you need rest to do the same tomorrow.”

Haruka nods but doesn’t respond, eyes never leaving the ceiling.

Makoto says his farewells to no response, and finally, reluctantly, he leaves Haruka alone with his thoughts.

--

When Nagisa dances, the world around him disappears into nothingness. It’s just him, his body and the music as his wrists twist and his hips gyrate and the coins on the scarf around his waist jingle rhythmically on-tempo.

He dances with complete abandon.

He doesn’t hear the cheers or the catcalls, the salacious words of men who have imbibed far past the point of reason. He hears nothing but the rhythm until the music stops and his eyes open, the entire world reappearing around him.

He’s out of breath when his dance concludes, and he bows and waves playfully to the boisterous, cheering crowd, hastily stepping off the stage. He heads immediately to his favorite seat at the farthest edge of the cantina’s bar, away from the masses, and waits patiently for the cup of water he knows is headed his way.

“You were lovely up there as always, Nagisa,” a fond voice sing-songs, and just as expected a cup is slid in front of him and he’s able to gulp down his fill.

During the week he focuses his time and attention on his divination shop, but Friday nights he gives into his heritage and welcomes the heat of the stage. Though he’s settled down now, he identifies in a way with Haruka. While not a nomad wandering the heat of the desert, he’s been raised by a family of performers from the north, traveling from city to city to put on shows. He and his three sisters had spent their entire childhood city-hopping, performing intricate, flirtatious dances for the masses. He’s happy to be retired from that lifestyle, to finally have a place he can truly call his home, but sometimes he can’t help but fall back into his upbringing. Music, dance, it’s all in his blood, and if he didn’t have Friday nights at the cantina as an outlet for his frenetic energy he imagines he’d have long ago gone mad.

“Of course, Kissy. It’s in my blood,” Nagisa grins cheerfully, polishing off his glass of water and not-so-subtly waggling the empty cup for a refill.

“You’ll pay for the second, you know,” Kisumi grins, taking the glass and retreated to the back room of the cantina. Like himself, Kisumi comes from a family of foreigners, ones that had migrated from Sano years ago to open this very bar. Samezuka has long had a reputation as the most desirable city to settle in, and it’s been the top destination for eager immigrants for many a year. When Kisumi’s younger brother, Hayato, had been born with an undoubtedly weak constitution, their parents had taken it as a sign to move to a country where medical care came easier.

Kisumi returns with a flourishing ease, dropping off the glass before disappearing to serve other customers lining the bar. Nagisa knows he’ll have to bide his time, to wait for things to slow down post-performance. The bar’s traffic needs to ease up enough that Kazuki, the other bartender, can handle the crowd on his own, allowing Nagisa to head somewhere private with Kisumi and ask him a few questions.

It takes nearly two hours for things to begin to let up, and it’s well past midnight before he’s finally able to step into one of the back rooms with his long-time friend.

“So what did you need, Nagisa?” Kisumi asks, voice light and gentle and tinged with curiosity. “Is it about Rin?”

Nagisa nods because it’s pointless to play coy. “No one’s better at hearing rumors than you are, Kisumi. As I’m sure you know, Haru is the prime suspect in Rin’s attack.”

“But he’s not the one who did it, of course.”

“Of course,” Nagisa nods in agreement. “So we’re trying to find out who is. If you hear any rumors, anyone talking, would you please let me know immediately? If anyone can find something out it’s you.”

“Mmm, of course. I can fish around for information. I have some friends I could ask, and it’s the weekend. All I’ve been hearing about tonight is about Rin. It’s… it’s a mess. Haru’s some scorned lover apparently, who murdered Rin in a fit of rage.”

“Murdered?”

“Yes. Half the city seems to believe him already dead. The rumors are a complete mess. There’s talk of assassins, of the queen murdering her own son to prevent him from taking her throne, conspiracy theories left and right...”

“How do you sort through so many rumors, then?” Nagisa has gone to Kisumi for information in the past, but it’s never quite dawned on him that his friend has had to sort through mounds of lies to uncover the truth.

“Mmm, experience. You know who the theorists are, the liars, the attention whores and the pragmatists. Some are brutally honest and others weave tales from nothingness, and once you learn who’s who, digging up the truth becomes easier.” Kisumi can’t help but grin. “When you make a portion of your living selling information, you become good at it.”

“So what do I owe you?” Nagisa finally asks, because he’s well aware information doesn’t come cheap.

“Mm, perhaps dance an extra night next week? Our profits on your performance nights are enormous. People come from all over the city just to see a foreign beauty put on a stunningly exotic performance.”

Nagisa scrunches up his nose because he, like Kisumi, hates the fact that their pale skin and fair hair have them marked as foreigners even though Samezuka has long been considered home. “That’s it?” he asks, a bit surprised. He’d expected monetary payment, tradable goods from his shop or perhaps free labor around the cantina for the next month or so. He loves to dance; one extra performance is no skin off his back. The only problem will be finding someone to cover his shop, but Makoto’s always been a very easy sell.

“It’s for Rin, is it not? Do you really expect me to charge you to find out information about who’s tried to murder our friend? I’m not heartless, Nagisa.”

Kisumi has known Rin for years. Despite the restrictions of being royalty, Rin had developed a knack for escaping from the palace undetected years and years ago, when he’d been but a tiny tot. By the time he’d hit double digits in age, sneaking in and out undetected had become child’s play for the prince.

Not long after Hayato’d been born, after Kisumi’s family had made the arduous trek from Sano to Samezuka, a pair of boys had come tumbling into their cantina midday. Apparently one of them, the chattier of the two, had heard that they sold the most delicious pomegranate juice imported from Sano, and he was determined to give it a try. Kisumi had served the pair as he would any other customer, despite the overt queerness of the entire situation. The quiet boy had uncovered himself as soon as they’d entered the bar, but the other child, despite being out of the desert sun, had insisted on hiding his face.

Their identities had remained hidden only long enough for the chatty one to realize he’d forgotten his coin at home. When he’d offered to come back the next day with payment, Kisumi had been understandably skeptical. It wasn’t until he’d caved and revealed who he was that Kisumi’d been forced to take him for his word. Even newly arrived from Sano, Kisumi could recognize the Matsuoka royalty.

To his pleasant surprise, Rin and Sousuke had returned the next day, with payment to cover their previous drinks as well as enough to cover three new ones, one for each of them. They’d made a habit of showing up after that, usually around once a week. Rin was full of questions about Sano, its people, Kisumi’s family and so on. Their friendship had developed over time, and Kisumi could soundly say, years later, that he considered both Sousuke and Rin to be some of his closest friends.

“Thank you, Kisumi,” Nagisa finally says with a smile and a nod. He knows Kisumi wants justice for Rin just as much as himself.

“Come by tomorrow evening, Nagisa, and I’ll let you know what I’ve found out.”

“Of course, I’ll see you then. It’s late, though, I should get going.”

“Certainly. Good night, Nagisa. And let me know if there are any changes in Rin’s condition, alright?”

“Definitely.”

--

When Haruka takes the stand for questioning the next morning, he answers everything with brutal honesty. They ask him inappropriately personal questions before a sea of watchers and the hard eyes of the tribunal, but he refuses to lie. He has no intention of sugar-coating his relationship with Rin because it’s what Rin would want from him. There are no holes in his story, no flaws in his logic, because he knows every word out of his mouth is the truth.

The court seems irritated with his responses. They want him to fall apart, to tell them what actually happened, to crumble on the stand and admit his guilt. But a guilty man he is not, and he’s steadfast in his denial of having any involvement in Rin’s assault.

Eventually he’s released back to his guards and allowed to watch as the others, Sousuke and those that arrived first, take the stand one-by-one, questioned about the events that took place that night.

It’s always odd for Haruka when Sousuke comes to his defense, but he supposes his proxy to Rin grants him occasional protection from Sousuke by default.

It’s painful to watch the judges rip Sousuke apart on the stand, in front of his father and his people. Sousuke attempts to stand firm under their interrogation, tries to explain how illogical it is to assume that Haruka would stay at Rin’s side after supposedly attempting to murder him, but the court has determined that Haruka was sent on a suicide mission, and execution in the name of taking down the Samezuka Empire is a small price to pay.

They adjourn in the early evening, but Haruka isn’t taken to his cell like he’d presumed.

By the time he actually does make it back to his cell he’s lying barely conscious on the cold stone floor, having endured hours of brutal torture.

As he fades in and out of reality, brain mushed from pain, tongue shoved numbly into the empty socket of the molar that had been ripped out a half hour prior, attempting to staunch the still oozing blood, all he can think of is Rin. Rin’s face, Rin’s smile, Rin’s beautiful laugh and his smooth skin and his sharp tongue and his quick wit...

There’s no real explanation for why his mind wanders where it does, whether it be a brewing fever or something else, yet he’s brought back to five years ago, to the night he and Rin had both met Nagisa for the first time.

“One of my closest friends runs this bar- they sell the most delicious pomegranate wine you will ever taste in your lifetime.”

Haruka’s never been much of a drinker, finding libation a rather foolish hobby for those like himself who call the desert their master. But Rin is nothing if not persistent, and at fifteen he’s well into his rebellious stage, attempting to carve out a comfortable place for himself within the responsibilities of his birth. In a half decade he’ll become sultan, but until then he’ll test the waters of his freedoms, he’ll push and see how far his leash truly goes.

Rin’s wild and untamed, but he still has a few years yet to grow into his title.

Rin’s hand is hot on his, grip strong, as Haruka’s dragged to one of the far corners of the stone bar. For a moment Haruka wonders how it is that Rin even manages to survive in the desert. The luxury of the palace helps, of course, but with his fair, easily burned flesh and his unnaturally warm body temperature, how he hasn’t boiled alive Haruka will never know.

“How you manage to escape the palace so easily I’ll never know,” a playful voice teases, and as he slides into his seat, feeling Rin’s grip on his hand release, Haruka glances up to see a fair-haired youth with a bright smile and curious eyes.

“Kisumi! Can you not speak so loudly?” Rin snaps, taking his own seat, warm thighs brushing unintentionally against Haruka’s as he readjusts the cloak hood that hangs low, covering distinctive red eyes and hair from onlookers.

“Yes yes, of course. So what’ll it be for you two?” Kisumi asks, voice lilting and fond as he leans over the counter, both elbows set on the stone, chin resting in his palms.

“Two glasses of pomegranate wine,” Rin responds easily, earning a laugh and a nod as Kisumi disappears to go prepare their order. “Would you like something to eat?” Rin asks, glancing over at Haruka. “They have fruit platters…”

“I think you consume enough fruit as it is, Rin,” Haruka teases lightly. Though Rin loves meats and has a varied diet, he’s almost always eating fruit of some kind. It’s a blatant sign of his wealth and his position that he has constant access to the cool, thirst-quenching fruits that few others do. He wonders if Rin is aware what a luxury those fruits he takes for granted are.

“I like tart fruits,” Rin argues weakly, and Haruka can hear a twinge of pouting in that voice. “They sell delicious meat filled dumplings here, though. Maybe those? Kisumi’s father picked up the recipe from some travelers that visited Sano from the Orient, and then he tailored them to Arabian palates. They serve it with a side of hummus, it’s delicious.”

“Here you go, gentlemen,” Kisumi says, swooping in to drop off the pair of glasses. “I can’t believe you got Makoto to let you borrow his traveler,” Kisumi muses, earning a scowl from Rin.

“It’s not as though Makoto owns him,” Rin snaps irritably, bringing his glass of wine to his lips for a sip. “No one owns him...”

“I also cannot believe you managed to convince Sousuke that it was alright for you to go out without him,” Kisumi continues, knowing smile playing over his lips.

“What Sousuke doesn’t know won’t kill him,” Rin mumbles dismissively. “Haruka’s only here for another two days, and tomorrow I have to sit in on audiences all morning and afternoon and then attend a banquet for visiting dignitaries from Iwatobi in the evening. Makoto can have him then.”

Haruka takes a slow sip of his wine. He’s had a soft spot for pomegranates since his first meeting with Rin, and there’s a warm, nostalgic taste as the tart booziness rolls over his tongue. He’d been skeptical of sneaking out with the prince of Samezuka, but Rin had been persistent, and despite having been familiar with one another for years, it’s the first time they’ve ever gone somewhere alone together.

Even Makoto is unaware that they’ve made off.

“Well regardless, you two have chosen the perfect night to come. We have a dancer visiting from Iwatobi performing tonight.”

“Is that why this place is so crowded?” Rin asks, glancing around the overstuffed cantina. Their food is delicious, so it’s often crowded, but tonight it’d taken real effort to weave through the masses and steal a seat alongside Haruka.

“Indeed.  That’s why some of the bar is free even though it’s packed; everyone wants a seat as close as possible to the stage. He’s quite the young beauty.”

“He?” Haruka echoes in intrigue. He’s visited Iwatobi as many times as he has Samezuka, and he’s never heard of any famous male dancers from the area.

“Indeed. He’s not born from Iwatobi, but he was raised there. He’s from beyond Arabia, I believe. He and his sisters have been dancing since they were small children. He’ll be performing solo tonight, however. His eldest sister has already been married off, and the younger two are apparently in courtships.”

“Have you seen him dance?” Rin asks, eyebrow raising in curiosity as he polishes off his glass of wine.

“Not yet, no. It’ll be a new experience for the three of us, my friends.” Kisumi moves to refill Rin’s glass without being asked, flitting off to go handle the rest of the bar as Rin and Haruka are left alone in their corner.

“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Rin asks idly, glancing over at Haruka’s barely touched wine with a frown.

“I’m alright,” Haruka says softly, taking another small sip of his wine. It’s not that he isn’t hungry, as a penniless wanderer he rarely isn’t hungry, but he has no intention of abusing the privilege of having the prince paying for his night out.

“But I can’t eat an entire platter by myself,” Rin mumbles, and Haruka can tell he’s reaching, he’s asking a question with his tone not his words.

“I can eat,” Haruka finally says, taking another sip and watching as Rin waves Kisumi back over to put in their order.

It’s odd, being alone with Rin for the first time since they’d met as children. Haruka doesn’t pay too much heed to Rin’s position, has no problem treating Rin like he would any other friend, but he honestly never thought he’d have the opportunity to spend time alone with the crown prince. But despite his own lack of concern over their class difference, there’s a tenseness in Rin he can just feel, even though he’s unable to even see most of Rin under the guise of his cloak.

“Are you alright?” he finally asks after Rin’s been unusually silent for a few moment too long, and he eventually manages catches a peek of those gorgeous reds as Rin peers at him from under his hood.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Mm, are you nervous being out without Sousuke?”

“What? No, of course not. I can handle myself alone just fine,” Rin snaps defensively, shifting in his seat, glancing down at his new glass of wine before taking a quick swig.

Idly Haruka recalls the brash, loudmouth child he had met at the oasis years ago. People change with age, of course, but it’s odd trying to reconcile Rin’s evolution from child to young man. Rin isn’t acting like young Rin anymore. He’s not even acting like the Rin he is when Sousuke and Makoto are with them. Haruka wonders if it’s something he’s said or done, but Rin had been the one to insist they go out alone, so he’s left stupefied by Rin’s unusual bout of shyness.

By the time their meal arrives the show is about to start. Haruka’s distracted by the food, though, because Rin’s right, the meat stuffed dumplings are delicious. They’re full of slowly braised lamb and vegetables, with a soft, puffy exterior that he’s never tasted before. If this is what food from the Orient tastes like, maybe one day he’ll have to visit.

Though first he has to figure out exactly how far away the Orient actually is…

The music starts playing and Rin’s attention shifts to the stage while Haruka keeps greedy fingers on the plate full of food, dipping a hunk of the dumpling into the hummus before popping it into his mouth.

Haruka is thoroughly distracted by the meal until he notices Rin recoil beside him, attempting to blend into the wall, hands dragging his hood protectively over his head. Confused, Haruka turns, only to have a pale hand appear before him, moving in time to the beat of the music, wrist twisting and bracelets jingling.

When he turns to look back he finally realizes that the young dancer, a spritely, beautiful young blond, is offering him a slender hand.

Honestly Haruka doesn’t really want to leave behind the rest of his food, but he’s met northerners before, and he’s well aware that dancing with them is a privilege few get to experience. To deny this boy is to practically spit in his face, so with a quick glance at Rin, still huddled into the wall in a pathetic attempt to blend in, Haruka reluctantly takes the proffered hand and allows himself to be tugged to his feet.

While nomads aren’t really dancers, this isn’t Haruka’s first time moving his hips and arms in time with the music. He’s always been graceful by nature, or so he’s been told, and a few times as a child his tribe had run into performers such as this boy, allowing them to make camp alongside the tribe for protection’s sake.

During those times Haruka had been invited to dance around the fire, and so as a child he’d learned a few basic moves, could handle undulating his hips to the rhythm, keeping his movements fluid and smooth and seductive.

“Let us give your lover a show,” the blond whispers into his ear as they slip onto stage, and Haruka’s immediately taken aback by the sentiment.

“We’re not lovers,” he frowns, idly wondering where the blond had even gotten the idea. Rin’s been on edge the entire night, nervous and wound-up and borderline cold, so how the dancer had concluded them lovers Haruka will never know.

“Mm, perhaps not yet, then,” the blond smiles knowingly, and before Haruka can respond once more they’re on stage. There’s a rush in his ears as the roar of cheering, drunken patrons sounds around them, and he’s nearly deaf to the music, focusing on his partner, letting the dancer guide him as they undulate in tandem. There’s an eroticism to the movement as the blond circles around him, bare abdominals occasionally brushing up against one another, the pair of them heavy with sweat, the bar muggy from the heat of far too many men crammed inside.

How long they’re on stage Haruka’s unsure, but he’s lost in the movement, in the shouts of patrons, in the sudden realization that Rin is watching, that his prince is watching, and unconsciously he rolls his hips deeper and tilts his face closer to his impromptu dance partner, sweaty dark hair brushing along that pale clavicle and for a brief moment he’s no longer with a stranger.

Suddenly it’s Rin before him, silks hanging loose, chest pale and bare and glistening with sweat, wine locks dripping, lips parting as he labors to breathe. It’s so hot, painfully hot, as their groins brush together with the roll of a hip, and if it weren’t for the untimely end of the music Haruka fears he may have to claim those lush lips for his own.

As the blond pulls away Haruka finally opens his eyes, the world reappearing, and he almost doesn’t notice as his dance partner briefly sidles close once more.

“You’re welcome,” the dancer grins before disappearing off the stage in a flourish of waves to his admirers, and it’s only when Haruka looks up, looks for Rin, that he realizes why he owes his new friend his gratitude.

Even from across the room he can see Rin’s eyes, hood having fallen back on his head, still concealing his hair but revealing crystalline reds. His lips are parted as though he’s struggling to breathe, his eyes blown wide, heavy with a mix of surprise and awe and, if Haruka’s reading correctly, lust.

Maybe the last is his own wishful thinking, but Haruka finds his feet moving before his mind can catch up, gliding through the crowds as he returns to the prince.

He takes his seat in silence, and for a moment there’s quiet between them, the only sound his own slightly labored breathing as his heartbeat slowly begins to lower back to normal.

“I… I didn’t know you could dance,” Rin mumbles, licking his lower lip, his voice thick with awe and a starry-eyed wonder Haruka’s never seen before.

“I’m no dancer,” Haruka explains quietly, taking a few gulps of his glass of wine. He’d prefer water, but he’s unwilling to ask for it, so the tart alcohol will have to do.

“Maybe not by profession you aren’t…” Rin mumbles, shifting in his seat, taking yet another sip of wine. Idly Haruka wonders if this is still his second glass or if he’s quietly made it to his third.  

He’s staring at Haruka and Haruka can feel it, and to his own shame the attention brings a pooling of heat to his belly and groin, along with a desire he’s not allowed to have. He’d be a fool not to find the prince beautiful; Rin’s reputation precedes him, and Haruka’s heard many a lascivious comment over the years regarding the Matsuoka heir, despite the fact he’s only recently left childhood. Only the blind aren’t taken aback by the prince’s beauty, and the hunger to make a conquest of Rin burns strong in many a man.

An odd sense of hindsight-driven possessiveness streaks through his veins as he thinks back to all those disgusting, covetous words he’s heard in the past, and he shifts purposefully in his seat, bringing his own warm thigh flush with Rin’s. It’s probably the wine talking, he’s never had much of a tolerance, but he can barely suppress the want, the sudden need, to lean over and crush their mouths together.

He didn’t do it, though.

In the end he’d gone back to their dumplings, had escorted Rin home after his two glasses of wine had become three and he’d no longer been steady on his feet. It’d be a while longer before they’d finally acted on their urges, but that night in the cantina had been a changing point. The air between them had never been the same after that exotic dance, and tumbling into bed together had become an inevitability rather than a mere possibility.

Nagisa had been right.

Perhaps they hadn’t been lovers at the time, but they certainly would be.

Through the foggy agony of his recent torture, Haruka finally, numbly, drifts off to sleep.

--

The next day brings a postponement to Haruka’s trial.

Not even Gou is sure of why, but apparently a closed meeting is taking place, so Sousuke, Gou and Makoto are left to their own devices. They take the extra day as an opportunity to do more sleuthing.

Makoto makes a point of asking around with the merchants. It’s not exactly the best place to go looking for information about Rin’s attack, but at this point they’ve gotten nowhere, and perhaps they’ll luck into getting news from unlikely sources.

Gou stakes out her usual place at Rin’s side, flitting in and out of the medical ward, fishing for news regarding this impromptu, hush hush meeting.

It falls on Sousuke to go check on Haruka.

He opts to go himself because he’s aware that Haruka spent the previous night being tortured, and he’d rather not let Makoto know about Haruka’s condition just yet. He brings a jug full of nutrient-rich camel’s milk, aware that Haruka likely can’t chew at the moment, even though he needs food to keep himself healthy. The last thing they need is for Rin to finally awaken only to find that his traveler has died before even being sentenced.

When he arrives he’s left almost speechless, staring at Haruka’s crumpled form, half buried under the blanket he’d been given by Makoto. He’d expected to find Haruka in a mess of a state, of course, no one comes out of torture smiling, and yet there’s still a shock to seeing Haruka’s battered face, bound fingers and swollen cheeks.

“Nanase?” Sousuke finally asks, voice shaky. Haruka doesn’t move but one of those light blue eyes pops open, rolling to stare questioningly at him. “I brought you some camel’s milk. You’ll need it for your strength.”

Sousuke isn’t allowed to just walk into the cell, he doesn’t even have the keys to do so anyways, so instead he leans forward, setting the small jug down on the ground just inside the metal bars.

“Thanks,” Haruka mumbles, and Sousuke has trouble even understanding what he’s saying, his voice is so thick with swollen gums.

“Rin’s still not awake yet,” Sousuke says quietly, leaning his shoulder against the bars, eyes still on Haruka. “But he’s alive, which is the important part.”

Haruka nods numbly, cheek rubbing against the stone floor.

“He was awake…” Haruka mumbles, and it takes a moment before Sousuke can piece together what he’s just said.

“He was awake?” Sousuke repeats imploringly.

“When he was attacked,” Haruka whispers, glancing down at the floor in front of him. “Probably while he was raped…”

“You don’t know that, Nanase,” Sousuke snaps gruffly, though it’s something that’s weighed heavily on his own mind as well. As hard as they try they’re still unable to piece together what happened exactly, but he’d like to think that Rin was unconscious for it all. He’d been that way when they’d found him, and while no one can change what’s been done, he at least hopes that Rin wasn’t awake for it all. It’d be a small consolation, but at least it’d be something.

“If he fought back he was awake.”

“We don’t know that he did.”

“Makoto said his fingers had been stomped,” Haruka explains carefully, eyes drifting shut for a moment.

Sousuke wants to argue but he knows it’s true. Unless his attacker decided to break Rin’s fingers on principle, Rin likely tried to fight back and was beaten into submission.

Nothing about this entire situation is okay, and Sousuke can feel his blood beginning to boil once more. Rin has to wake up. They have to clear Haruka’s name. All of this madness needs to be corrected because everything is wrong, so, so wrong…

“When Rin awakens we’ll ask him,” Sousuke finally says. “I need to leave, though. Drink up, Nanase. Regain your strength. Your trial resumes tomorrow.”

Haruka moans as he struggles to sit up, meeting Sousuke’s gaze with his own once he’s upright. He gives a quick, shallow, weak little nod before Sousuke disappears, leaving Haruka with his thoughts.

--

When Gou wakes, it’s to the sound of horrific, blood-curdling screams of agony. For a short, disoriented moment she has no idea what’s happening, red eyes bleary and confused as she struggles to fully awaken, to find the source of the howls, to register what’s going on.

After a few brief seconds, still half-slumped in the chair she’d turned into her own personal encampment the last few days, she finally makes the connection.

What sounds like a dying animal is actually her brother, his breath coming out in heavy pants, wheezing in pain as he wails between sobs.

“R-Rin!?” she gasps, immediately jumping to her feet, yelling for the medics only to realize they’re already arriving.

“Opium, now!” one barks to the other, and the three of them are doing their best to restrain the squirming, sobbing prince enough to pour a few drops of opium oil into his mouth.

Gou watches in horror, shocked at how it takes two grown man to restrain her disoriented brother, a third attempting to avoid being bitten and administer the painkillers. “Rin, please, calm down!” she chokes out, tears in her eyes, but he doesn’t hear here, too caught up in his own agony to register that his sister is there, watching him scream and fight.

The two medics have to hold him still for the few minutes until the opium begins to take effect, and eventually Rin begins to settle, face still marred with tears and mucous as the pain dims from catastrophic to barely manageable while he heaves for breath.

Gou watches patiently as the medics attempt to talk to Rin, but he’s still disoriented, and in his haze all he can do is ask for Haruka, over and over again, confused and irate when the medics tentatively refuse to bring him his traveler. “I’ll talk to him,” Gou offers, and the medics seem relieved by the proposal. Once Rin’s checked over once more the medics offer to step outside, though Gou knows they’ll stay close by in case she needs them.

“Rin?” she asks quietly, slipping out of her seat, going to grab the rag and bowl of water she’d left beside Rin’s bed. She’s made a habit of wiping his face clean while he was sleeping, and even though he’s awake now, he badly needs to be washed up.

“Haru…” Rin chokes out, hazy, drugged eyes rolling to eye her.

Silently she joins him, dampening the cloth before gently running it along the parts of his face she can see, cleaning those stained cheeks and that red, dirtied nose.

“What…?” Rin repeats, attempting to formulate confused sentences. He’s a mess of head trauma and heavy drugging, and Gou wonders how much he’ll even understand if she tells him.

“You were attacked, Rin,” she finally says, setting aside the soiled rag before letting her hand rest gently on his bandaged one.

“In my room…” he mumbles, eyes blinking rapidly as he attempts to piece together everything that has happened.

“Yes, in your room. You were waiting for Haru and someone else came through the escape route instead.”

“Where…?” Rin slurs, looking over at Gou with pleading, confused, helpless eyes. “Where’s he?”

“Who? Your attacker? We haven’t found him yet…”

“H-Haru… why isn’t he- he isn’t here…?” Rin asks, voice heavy with pain.

Gou bites her lower lip nervously because explaining why Haruka isn’t at Rin’s side is most certainly one of the hardest things she’s ever had to do. “He would be if he could be, I promise,” she finally says, because it’s not really an answer but it remains the truth.

“H-He left?” Rin assumes, attempting to shake his head, to clear it a bit, but the movement must send shooting pain through his face because he stops with a pathetic moan.

“No, he hasn’t left,” Gou sighs, because she doesn’t know how to breach this forbidden territory. She wishes that Sousuke were with her right now. Sousuke’s always been much better at being both blunt and frank with Rin, and she could use some of his brutal honesty at the moment. “He was the one who found you, Rin.”

Rin looks doubly perturbed now, red, bloodshot eyes blinking rapidly in confusion. “But… he’s not here?”

“Everyone believes that he did this to you,” she finally explains, wincing when Rin immediately attempts to shoot up from the bed, crying out in pain at the sudden movement. “I know he didn’t do it, Rin! Same with Sousuke and Makoto but… but he’s such an easy scapegoat in a situation like this, you have to understand and stay calm.”

“H-Haru would never, ever hurt me,” Rin chokes out angrily, and as he attempts to clench broken fingers he lets out a strangled, choked cry, tears stinging the edge of his visible eye.

“Rin, please, you have to stay calm. You’re very badly injured and you’re just making it worse right now!” Gou pleas helplessly.

“I need to see Haru,” Rin argues weakly, and Gou can tell he’s beginning to see again through the haze of pain, that reality and understanding is setting in.

“You can’t, Rin,” Gou sighs, exacerbation heavy in her voice. “I doubt you can walk right now, and I certainly can’t carry you. He’s not in his cell right now, anyways. His trial is currently going on.”

“…What?” Rin snaps, red eyes shooting over to stare at his sister. “How long have I been asleep!?”

“Only a few days. The tribunal thought it’d be best to start the trial proceedings immediately, given the enormity of the situation.”

“What why? I wasn’t even awake! How could they begin a trial when I was still alive? Why not wait until I was awake or dead. I’m the only one who can testify that Haru didn’t harm me!”

“I-I don’t know, Rin. The political climate, I think, I can’t really come up with another reason. Do you… do you remember what happened?” she asks quietly, voice firm but gentle, not intending to press her brother any more than he can take. His condition is too precarious at the moment; a few days ago she’d never thought she’d speak with him again, and she refuses to push him too far.

“I… some, I think,” Rin frowns, brow furrowing slightly.

“You won’t be able to help Haru if you can’t tell the tribunal exactly what happened,” Gou explains gently, letting her thumb rub soothing circles along Rin’s hand.

“It’s hazy but… but I was waiting for Haru. He’s always late, so I thought I’d take a bath while waiting for him. I heard the entrance open, but I just assumed it was Haru. I’m such a fool, I didn’t even think to question it, even though Haru’s always so much later than it was. He hit me from behind, across my temple.”

“Did you see him?”

Rin frowns, clearly thinking hard, trying to work through the pain and the concussion and remember everything that had happened a few nights prior. Finally, reluctantly, he shakes his head slightly. “No. I felt him behind me but, but I couldn’t get a good look at him. I just remember fighting and pain and… it was all so slick. I couldn’t get stable footing because the bath tiles were soaked in blood. I didn’t realize at the time that it was all my own. Too in shock, I believe…”

Gou bites her lower lip knowingly, because damned if she hadn’t hoped for more from their star witness. Rin hadn’t seen his attacker. Barring lying on the stand, the only argument he has in Haruka’s defense is that he knows it wasn’t Haruka because of familiarity. Future sultan or not, his word isn’t enough to clear Haruka’s name, not when the country is already firm in their belief of his guilt. “Haru and Sousuke are likely still at the trial. Is it alright if I leave for a bit? Get you something to eat and see if Makoto’s around? He’ll be relieved to know you’re awake.”

“Of course…” Rin mumbles, but his voice is heavy with worry and it leaves Gou with a sense of nervousness as she kisses her brother’s bandaged face before slipping out of the medical ward.

No matter how ecstatic she is that Rin is awake, that it appears as though he’ll survive his assault, she can’t help but shake the wariness of it all. If Rin can’t protect Haru on the stand, who can?

--

The moment Sousuke is free from the trial he’s accosted by Gou and Makoto, both flailing and excited and dying for his attention.

“What’s going on?” he asks, one brow raising in surprise as he glances between the antsy pair.

“Rin is awake!” Gou grins, and Sousuke’s heart is pounding immediately as his eyes widen in shock.

“He… he woke up?”

“Yes!” Makoto half shouts excitedly. “He’s very drugged right now and his lucidity is touch and go, but he’s awake! While you were at the trial we helped him take in some camel’s milk and eat some soft foods to build up his strength.”

“That’s wonderful…” Sousuke sighs in relief. “May I see him?”

“Of course!” Gou laughs. “Though he may be asleep now. He’s been fighting to stay awake, but I’m sure he’ll crash soon enough. I think he’s afraid to sleep, honestly.”

Sousuke nods in understanding. “You’ll lead the way, then?” he asks of Gou.

“While you two check on Rin, I believe it’s best I head out and let Kisumi and Nagisa know of the good news. And perhaps check on Haru?”

“Ah, I don’t think I can sneak you in tonight to see Haru,” Sousuke says, keeping his voice steady and careful. “I’ll check on him for you, though, and let him know about Rin.”

“Have people become aware?” Makoto frowns, and damned if that sweet, disappointed face doesn’t make Sousuke’s chest immediately swell with guilt over his blatant lies.

“Yes. Perhaps another time I’ll be able to let you see him, but for now it’s best if I’m the one who visits. I’ll keep you in the know, however. Relay any messages he may have for you, of course.” He doesn’t really like lying to Makoto, but with the messy state Haruka’s currently in, taking Makoto to see him seems unwise. Makoto’s too empathetic, too tightly bound to his friends, to not consider their pain his own. It’s already a small miracle he’s handling Rin’s condition as well as he is.

“Well alright. Thank you then, Sousuke, for checking up on him. Send Rin my regards if he’s awake, alright?” Makoto smiles, nodding at the pair.

“Of course, Makoto,” Gou says with a wave, watching as Makoto retreats down the palace hallways, leaving the pair alone. “No one knows you’ve been sneaking him in,” Gou muses aloud, the words pointed as she begins to lead Sousuke towards the medical ward.

“You haven’t seen Haru yet. Believe me, I’m doing this for his own well-being.”

Gou frowns at the comment but says nothing, and together they make their way to Rin’s private medical suite.

To Sousuke’s surprise, when they walk into the room Rin’s actually still awake, shakily smoking a pipe of opium with the assistance of one of the medics.

“The doctor decided it best that we space out the doses of pure opium oil and smoke it in between instead. Less likely to overdose,” the medic explains immediately, glancing over at Gou. She nods in understanding, and together they wait for Rin’s treatment to finish up.

Once the medic has finished and left the room, Sousuke immediately moves to take a seat along the edge of Rin’s bed. “How are you feeling?” he asks, and it takes every bit of self-control he has not to attempt to drag Rin into a hug. Rin’s in far too fragile of a condition for intense contact, but Sousuke’s just so happy to see his best friend, his brother, alive and awake.

“Like hell,” Rin giggles, and it’s an almost childish sound coming from a man who’s only narrowly escaped death.

“The opium,” Gou mouths with a smile. Sousuke’s never had the luxury of smoking opium. Despite ready access, Rin’s never been much of a smoker, and by association Sousuke has always been the same. He’s never stepped foot inside an opium den, and there’s something wrongly amusing about Rin’s inability to control his laughter.

“I need Haru,” Rin finally whines, and the amusement of his high quickly dissipates as the reality of the situation sets back in. “They can’t take him from me…” Rin continues pathetically, and there’s frustration in that weak voice, heavy with a mix of longing and anger.

“We’ll figure something out, Rin. We’ll save Haru, somehow.”

“Has mother been here yet?” Gou asks, and Rin shakes his head slightly in a no. “Hmm, I’m surprised. She’s spent a lot of time here, watching over you.”

Sousuke eyes Gou because it’s new information to him. Of course it makes sense that Rin’s mother would want to be at his side, to care for her son, because there is nothing but love between the pair of them. But the sultana is a busy woman, and he can’t help but wonder how she’s been able to get away so much, to spend such a large amount of time at Rin’s side. “She’s likely still with the tribunal,” Sousuke explains. “I was just a witness so I was allowed to leave, but I’m sure she’ll stay a bit longer with the other advisors and discuss matters. Did we ever find out what that closed meeting was about, Gou?”

Gou shakes her head, and Rin’s attention is immediately on them. “A closed meeting?”

“Yes. Apparently there was a closed meeting yesterday in place of Haru’s trial. No one’s been able to figure out what happened, though.”

“Why would they have a closed meeting…?” Rin wonders aloud, frowning slightly.

“That’s what we don’t know,” Gou reiterates softly.

“How much do you remember?” Sousuke asks, eying Rin.

“Some. I didn’t see my attacker, though…”

“We can’t figure out how Haru didn’t run into them. He came in so shortly after you were attacked, but he never ran into another person while he was down there. But I searched and I couldn’t find any secret entranceways or anything.”

Rin snorts softly and Sousuke’s immediately confused, staring at his friend and waiting for an explanation for the insulting noise. “You’re getting old, Sousuke. There are all sorts of other entranceways into the passage system. Who’s to say the sultan or sultana would be in their bedroom while attacked?”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’m pretty sure I’ve found almost all of them, though. I’d spend hours down there as a child looking for more hidden treasures.”

“So there are other entryways… do they lead outside the palace?”

“No, of course not. There’s only one entry and exit from the tunnels themselves, but there are many more entrances from within the palace itself.”

“So you’re saying that if someone were already within the palace and knew where these other entrances were, they’d be able to enter into the tunnel system, have access to other parts of the palace, and then go back to the entrance they originally used and close the door, covering their tracks?”

“Rin!?” a voice calls from the doorway, and Sousuke looks up to see the wide-eyed sultana staring in shock at her son. Immediately Sousuke’s on the ground and bowing, but he’s waved at dismissively as the sultana rushes over to her son. “Oh Rin, you’re really awake…?”

Sousuke’s never seen the sultana cry before, but there are tears in her eyes as she reaches her son, and she’s leaning over and kissing his unbandaged cheek over and over again while he groans and flushes in embarrassment.

Sousuke feels like he’s intruding on a very personal moment for the Matsuoka clan, and so with an awkward mumble he offers to step out, to give them their privacy with the promise of returning that evening to visit Rin once more.

He bides his time wandering the tunnels below the palace, attempting to find these hidden entryways that Rin had spoken of in his drugged haze. He returns empty-handed once more, however, and by the time evening is a few hours in he finds himself back in the medical ward, entering Rin’s room.

Apparently Rin was asleep when he’d walked in, but the sound of a guest has him waking up, disoriented and confused. “Sousuke…?” he mumbles, blinking away his tiredness.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were sleeping.”

“Mmm, s’alright.”

Apparently Rin’s been given a recent dose of opium oil and the pain is the most bearable it’s been since he’d first woken up. “Did you talk to your mother about Haru?” Sousuke asks, and Rin’s frowning immediately at the thought.

“She wouldn’t let me. She refused to talk about my ‘perverted wanderer.’ I tried to argue with her but she was so angry and adamant I just…” Under normal circumstances Sousuke is quite sure that Rin would have no problem arguing with his mother. But he’s drugged and sick and barely just survived both rape and attempted murder and Sousuke can’t hold it against him that he’d so easily submit.

“Your hair looks good,” Sousuke mumbles, unsure of what else to say.

“Ah, she washed it with the help of the medical staff. And then she brushed it for me.” Rin smiles softly and no matter how angry Sousuke knows Rin is with his mother, how upset he is over everything that has happened to Haruka, Rin is still a normal young boy and he loves his mother unwaveringly. They’ve both lost a parent at a young age, and much like his love for his father, he can’t bring himself to question Rin’s dedication to his mother, even after everything that’s happened these last few days. “It’s nice. It’ll look good for Haruka this way.”

“Good for Haruka?” Sousuke parrots, idly wondering if the drugs and the trauma have gotten to Rin enough that his memory is slipping in and out.

“Mmhmm. You’re going to take me to see him,” Rin nods firmly, red eyes on Sousuke, a fire burning in them.

“I don’t believe I agreed to that,” Sousuke says evenly, arms crossing over his chest as he eyes his best friend steadily. Rin is a complete mess. While he’s been washed and bathed and drugged enough to ease the intense pain, he’s still bandaged and has suffered through extensive blood loss. He’s weak and Sousuke very much doubts he could stand, even if he wanted to.

“Mm, you’re going to, though,” Rin grins, and for a brief moment it’s as though the prince had never been harmed, those sharp teeth gleaming in the firelight of the lanterns hung around the room.

“What are you planning? Do you intend to have me carry you all the way down to the dungeon?”

Rin nods, as though he’s requesting nothing more than Sousuke grab a glass of water for him. “I need to see him.”

“You’re no absolutely no shape to be leaving your bed. I doubt you can even walk, Rin.”

“So carry me.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll wait until the palace is asleep and I’ll crawl down there myself.”

Sousuke snorts because Rin’s being completely and utterly ridiculous, but deep down he has little doubt that Rin’s also telling the truth. Rin is the most stubborn idiot he’s ever met in his life (Haruka being a close second), and if he leaves Rin to his own devices he will most certainly find a way to his traveler, some way, somehow. “We’ll be seen.”

“Not if we go at night. I’m being dosed by the hour. If we leave and return within an hour after I’m treated, we should be able to slip in and slip out.”

“This isn’t like sneaking out of the palace as children, Rin,” Sousuke laughs, shaking his head to himself.

“It’s not as though anyone expects me to leave this bed. And regardless, what will they do if I’m caught? I’m making you do this, I’ll take full responsibility, and who but my mother is really going to challenge me? And, well, what she doesn’t know won’t kill her.”

“You’re ridiculous…” Sousuke sighs, but he’s already fully aware that they will, indeed, be doing this.

It’s after midnight by the time Sousuke finds himself with a prince hanging from his back, and as ridiculous as the entire situation is, this is far from the oddest thing they’ve ever done together. It’s a good thing he’s extremely fit as a member of Rin’s personal guard, and he’s mildly surprised by how easy it truly is to get to the dungeons unseen. Most of the guards are situated at the entrances and exits of the palace, leaving the hallways themselves mostly unattended. Few people are allowed in the palace at this hour of the night, so it makes sense to reallocate resources to the most commonly breached areas.

As they make their way to the bottom of the stairs Sousuke is panting lightly, because Rin’s not a huge man but he’s not exactly a small one either, and a jaunt through the expansive palace with dead weight hanging off his back is arduous at best. By the time they turn the corner Rei is gasping from his post in front of Haruka’s cell.

“Y-You highness!” Rei yelps, immediately bowing before the royalty.

“Shhhhh, calm down, Rei!” Rin snaps lowly, and Sousuke can hear the mad scramble from inside Haruka’s cell as Rin’s voice echoes through the stone hall.

By the time they make it to the front of Haruka’s cell he’s already pressed up to the bars, eyes blown wide, desperate to see if he’s been hearing things or if it is, in fact, Rin’s voice permeating the hallways.

Sousuke can’t see Rin’s face, but the moment their eyes meet he just knows, and immediately he feels he’s trapped in the middle of a deeply intimate moment.

“Set me down,” Rin whispers into Sousuke’s ear, and it’s as though the prince no longer has the strength to even speak, so hyper-focused he is on his traveler. Sousuke nods and obeys the command, stepping closer, squatting on the ground so he can ever so gently set Rin down before Haruka’s cell.

It doesn’t matter how battered the pair is, the moment Rin is close enough Haruka’s on his knees and though one is heavily bandaged, both his hands shoot out from between those bars, each palm planted on a bruised cheek. Sousuke rises to join Rei because he has absolutely no place in this scene, and he’s left to watch as the pair silently reacquaint themselves with one another.

After a moment Sousuke realizes they’re both crying, and Rin can’t help but lean his face forward, bandaged forehead resting between the bars, visible eye drifting closed as he chokes out an apology. “I’m so sorry… I… my people… they’ve hurt you so much… my beautiful traveler,” Rin whimpers, and Haruka’s hands are immediately on his shoulders, gentle and reassuring.

“I’ll be fine, Rin. I-I just can’t believe you’re alive. When I found you I… I thought you dead…” Haruka’s choking on his own words, his head tilting forward, forehead meeting Rin’s as he inhales, long and slow, as though needing a moment for it all to set in that this is real, that Rin is alive and awake and sitting before him.

Sousuke has the decency to look away when Haruka lifts his face, brushing his lips against Rin’s despite the bars between them. Awkwardly Sousuke and Rei stare at one another helplessly, because it’s quite hard to ignore the sounds of gentle, soft, needy kisses. It’s not as though either are unaware of Rin and Haruka’s relationship, but it doesn’t make the moment any less uncomfortable.

“I’ll get you out of here…” Rin whispers and Sousuke finally looks up once more, watching as Haruka runs his fingers through Rin’s wild red locks before dropping his hand to his lap. “I’ll delay the trial by any means necessary. I-I’ll stall it all somehow! They’ll have to wait until I’m ready to stand as witness, right? That buys us some time. In a few weeks it’ll be my birthday and I’ll become sultan. Once I’m in charge I’ll be able to call the shots, to put your trial on hold until enough evidence has been gathered to find the man who-who attacked me...” Rin nods slightly to himself, and when Sousuke looks closer he can see that Rin’s undamaged hand is twined between the bars with Haruka’s.

One of Haruka’s hands is a bound mess as well- he’s lost a few nails during his torture, and his fingers will remain bandaged until they begin to grow back. The thumb of his other hand however, having escaped the torture, runs soothing circles along Rin’s soft skin.

“We can’t stay long, Rin,” Sousuke quietly reminds, and two pairs of exhausted, owlish eyes stare up at him. They’ve certainly forgotten his presence.

Haruka mumbles something gentle into Rin’s ear that only the prince can hear, and Rin smiles weakly in response. Rin’s hands are beginning to shake, and Sousuke quickly realizes that the opium is already beginning to wear off. It’s a short-lasting drug, and Rin’ll need to get back to his treatment room sooner rather than later. “You should go, Rin,” Haruka says, and this time it’s loud enough for everyone else to hear.

There’s clearly a strong reluctance in Rin when it comes to leaving, but a gentle squeeze of his hand by Haruka’s gives him a small reassurance. Rin nods, leaning his face forward once more to claim Haruka’s lips for a final, needy kiss before his attention is on Sousuke. “Alright. Thank you for bringing me, Sousuke.”

“Of course,” Sousuke says, crouching back down. He’s not looking forward to carrying Rin up a few flights of stairs and back to his current room, but it’s his duty as both a friend and Rin’s personal guard, and he prizes his own fitness above all else. If he couldn’t carry Rin he’d be heavy with shame.  

By the time they make it back to Rin’s room the prince is wheezing, though he’s desperately trying to hide his obvious pain.

“You should go,” Rin hisses out after he’s been gently set back into his bed.

Sousuke’s reluctant to leave him when he’s sweaty and his chest is heaving in pain, but it will look questionable if he’s still with Rin well after midnight. Sousuke nods in agreeance. “Alright, I’ll come see you in the morning, Rin.”

With a quick farewell he departs, leaving Rin to wait in pain for the arrival of the medics.

--

Rin’s awakening manages to postpone Haruka’s trial for just under two weeks. In that time he and Sousuke make the trip to visit Haruka under the guise of night a daily occurrence. Rin does his best to hold on to the fruits he’s given for dinner, bundling them up and taking them down to Haruka at night. Though prisoners are of course fed, their meals are as bland as expected, and the idea of Haruka rotting away in a cell, forced to eat meals no better than what they feed the livestock, is disgusting for the prince.

It’s also become habit for Rin to bring along his copy of One Thousand and One Nights, reading Haruka a single story each night during their brief time together. Though Haruka had scoffed at the book as children, over the years, as their relationship had blossomed, reading to Haruka had become one of Rin’s favorite pastimes while together. He’d tried to teach Haruka to read, but Haruka’d been completely indifferent to the idea, preferring to curl up in bed at Rin’s side and let the prince regale him with the stories instead.

Eleven days have passed since he’d awoken, and Rin’s already beginning to go stir crazy, bound to the medical chambers as he is. He’s able to walk a bit, now, and he can sense Sousuke’s relief at having to merely assist him, rather than carry him, to visit Haruka. Rin is torn by it all, though. He wants to get better, he feels better, but the sooner he recovers, the sooner he’ll be forced to stand witness, and Haruka’s trial will resume.

He’s given no warning when the time comes.

He’s begun walking again, has built up some strength, and it’s while he’s taking slow, careful steps around the medical ward with the assistance of one of his medics that he’s approached by a trio of Samezuka guards. He knows them all, of course, but Sousuke isn’t present and that fact alone sends alarms off in his head.

“Your highness,” one says as all three bow briefly before him.

“Is something wrong?” Rin asks carefully, attempting to stand as straight as he can manage, still leaning on the medic for support.

“We’ve been asked by high councilman Mizuno to escort you to the courtroom, your highness.”

“…What?”

“It appears the council has deemed you fit enough to stand witness at trial.”

“His highness is in absolutely no position to stand witness! He barely walks without support!” the medic squawks, free hand flailing in dismissal at the mere idea.

“I’ll be fine,” Rin states firmly, and though his heart is attempting to pound its way out of his chest, he stands as tall as he can manage, carefully removing his arm from the supportive hold of his medic.

It’s a long, arduous walk across the floors of the palace to reach the council room. Rin takes the time to replay everything over and over again in his head, to mentally prepare for what he may be subjected to, to the questions he’ll most certainly be asked.

When the double doors to the council are opened by two of the three guards, Rin’s presented with a council room full of people. He stands as tall as he can manage, one hand being held firmly by the remaining guard, as he proudly enters the room, refusing to show weakness before his people. He keeps his eyes ahead of himself as he proceeds down the aisle, towards the front of the room.

His mother is off to the side along with advisor Yamazaki as well as her other advisors. Rin allows his eyes briefly to flit over, to meet her steady greens with tired reds. He can see the concern marring her brow, her lips turned downwards in a frown, her posture tight and wound. He can tell she doesn’t want him there, not yet, and so he keeps his chin turned upwards, high in confidence, in an attempt to abate her worry.

To the other side of the room sits Haruka, face healing from the beating and torture he’s endured, crystal blue eyes blown wide in shock. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting Rin’s presence today, but in his defense, Rin hadn’t been expecting it either. He offers Haruka a small, reassuring nod and a brief, ghost of a smile before refocusing on the judgment tribunal ahead. It’s a table full of the highest ranking men of Samezuka, the judgers and jurors that decide the fate of all the poor fools that are forced to stand before them.

High councilman Mizuno sits in the center, a spry, older man with wire-framed glasses settled along a hawkish nose, black hair long since grayed with age.

He’s flanked on either side by two of the other most high-ranking councilmen: councilman Saito and councilman Yano. Saito is the youngest councilman, having climbed the ranks quickly through dedication to the ruling family. Starting as a teenage guard he’d climbed the ranks using his intelligence and wits, and though not even in his fourth decade, he’s one of the most influential men in Samezuka. Young and solid, though losing some muscle mass to the physical inactivity of judging, he has many an admirer around the city.

Yano, a plump, genial man with a love of wine and pretty dancers, has been on the council since Sultan Toraichi had ruled the country. Playful and fun-loving, though quite stern when necessary, Yano is beloved by local and visiting dignitaries alike. Rin can still recall being dragged up onto one of those thick thighs as a small child and handed a bowl of fresh grapes despite his father’s best attempts to shoo him away. As a child Yano had been his favorite adult; unlike the vast majority of adults around the palace, Yano had never treated him as a nuisance. He’d been allowed to listen to stories, to share juicy fruit, and to even watch visiting dance performances he would have otherwise missed.

There are nine men in total that make up the tribunal, but Rin has less familiarity with the remaining six. It’s not as though he doesn’t know them, he’s been raised in the palace so there’s of course some familiarity there, but they’re a mix of recent members and reclusive ones, the ones not fond of dealing with children, and therefore he simply hasn’t been exposed to them.

“Please, take a seat, your highness.” Rin nods in response to high councilman Mizuno, and with assistance from his guard he’s gingerly led to the witness stand. A small, vain part of him wishes they’d actually given him time to prepare. He’s still in his sleep silks, with a hastily thrown-on night robe the only thing truly preserving his decency. He’s unbathed as well, hair a wild mess of red, facial bandages due for a change, but he sits in proud defiance of his disheveled state.

“Your highness, if you could walk us through the night of your attack,” Mizuno urges gently, pushing glasses up the bridge of his nose as he waits patiently for Rin to begin.

Rin affords one more quick look at Haruka before nodding, tongue darting out to lick suddenly dry lips. It’s a shame they didn’t give him a glass of water to ease this process along.

“It was approximately an hour past nightfall. Traveler Nanase and I had made an arrangement two weeks prior for him to come visit me on that night, so I was expecting his arrival. He told me he would arrive shortly after darkness, but he’s a horrifically unpunctual man, so I didn’t expect him for another few hours thereafter. I stood around my room for a while, then made my way out to the balcony. Watched the city, thought about my father… after some time passed I got cold from the desert night and headed back inside. I’d already begun heating the baths, so I decided to wash up before his arrival. I was in the private bathing room of my quarters, preparing to enter the bath, when I heard the entrance to the emergency escape route enter. It’s… it’s how Haru, ah, Haruka, always enters my quarters when we meet. I thought nothing of it- my own mistake, clearly. I was just standing in the baths, gathering some towels, when I was hit in the head.”

“Were you knocked unconscious by the blow?” one of the councilmen implores, and it takes Rin a brief moment to remember which one it is as he nods in affirmation.

“Yes, councilman Onoda.”

“Were you unconscious for the entire duration of the incident?” another asks, this one councilman Tsuda.

Rin licks his lips in discomfort- who had decided not to give him a glass of water?- before shaking his head. “I was unconscious only for a few moments.”

“When you were found you were unconscious once more. Do you have any memory of the time you were awake?” Mizuno questions carefully.

Rin inhales slowly, unable to look over at his mother, not wanting to see her face as he continues on. “As I was preparing for a bath, I was unclothed at the time. When I regained consciousness I was face-first in the tile of the bathing room. There… was a weight on my back, so I began to panic. My arms, they were pinned or bound or… I’m unsure, to be honest. Whether it was a hand or something else I…” Rin swallows hard, and this moment is quickly becoming one of the hardest of his life. He’s never felt as exposed as he does in this moment, and against his better judgment he lets his attention shift to Haruka, and the fear, the horror in those deep, beautiful blue eyes… Instinctively his body recoils slightly because the idea of Haruka having to listen to the details of that night has his chest tightening in pain.

But Haruka’s imploring for him to continue, to be honest and forthright, and with a slow, deep, mentally stabilizing breath he continues. “I tried to fight back but I was disoriented. Most of my vision was gone so I just kicked and bucked my hips and tried to get my assailant off me. The ground was drenched in blood and oil, I had a bottle of oil in my hand when I was hit, and it was so slippery. I just remember struggling to get some type of footing, some leverage.”

“Were you sexually active prior to the attack?” Yano asks, and Rin’s taken aback by the directness of the question, especially coming from a man who had coddled him affectionately as a child.

“D-Do you mean in general or just… that evening…?” Rin asks awkwardly, and he can feel his face heat, quickly becoming flustered by it all. His mother is right there.

“That evening.”

“A-Ah, no. I… I was not.”

“So the sexual act occurred during your attack, not prior to it?” Onoda asks, and Rin wishes that the floor would swallow him up because both his lover and his mother are present and oh gods how is he supposed to handle this? Strong a few minutes ago, he feels his confidence crumble as the questions get progressively more invasive.

Rin can’t say the words so instead he just nods, awkwardly mumbling a request for a glass of water.

To his relief one of the chamber servants immediately fills him a glass, and the cup is shaking in his hand as he brings it to parched lips.

“Were you conscious for the sexual contact or not?” Tsuda asks, and Rin can feel the thick lump in his throat but he will not cry. Not in front of his mother, in front of Haruka and the council and all of the advisors who run the country. In a week he will become sultan and he refuses to allow his people to watch him crumble.

“I was awake,” Rin admits, and he keeps his attention straight ahead, at the double doors that lead in and out of the room, doing his best to ignore the choke of a sound that comes from his mother’s side of the tribunal. He can hear advisor Yamazaki mumble a quiet reassurance to her, but he continues his hyper focus on the door because he absolutely cannot allow himself to let the reality of this all set in. He’ll lose every bit of self-control he has if he does.

“Could you please describe everything you remember,” Saito asks, voice firm. “I understand this is difficult, your highness, but we need all of the evidence before we can make our final judgment.”

All Rin can think in that moment is that at least Sousuke and Gou aren’t present. At least two people he loves won’t have to listen to him recount his assault. “I-I kept struggling, to get him off me. He grabbed me by my hair and slammed my face into the tile a few more times. I was so disoriented and weak by then and it’s hazy, all of it. At some point I stopped being able to fight back. I managed to hit him once, I think, I just… I remember my hand hurting. My knuckles. It’s so silly, in hindsight, how distracting it was that my knuckles hurt from flailing about and accidentally hitting him in the head…” Idly Rin runs his left hand over his still heavily-bandaged right.

“Is that all you remember?” Saito questions once more.

“I-I recall laying there while he used me. He had my hair held and my face pressed into the tiles until he was finished. I… my vision was long gone at that point, between the blood and the trauma. I believe he bathed afterwards, though.”

“He bathed?” Yano frowns, glancing over at Haruka for a brief moment before letting his attention shift back to Rin.

“Yes. I-I think. My hearing was rather dull but I remember moving water. Not like a waterfall but like… splashing. I was left alone for a few moments after the- ah, after he finished. But he came back and grabbed my hair once more. I blacked out after that, but I assume that’s when he attempted to slit my throat.” Rin lets his hand briefly reach up to his neck. It’s no longer bandaged, the wound having healed over enough to go uncovered, but he know the remnants of the wound remain.

“You make no mention of seeing your attacker, your highness,” Mizuno observes quietly.

“That would be because I never caught sight of him,” Rin affirms, and he knows where this is going before it gets there.

Kido, one of the newer councilmen, is the one who gets straight to the point. “If you failed to see your attacker, how do you intend on identifying him?”

“Haru didn’t attack me,” Rin snaps, and he immediately regrets the aggressive tone that permeates his voice. “Someone else came in using the escape routes in his place.”

“Have you told many people about their entrance, your highness?” This time it’s Inaba, and Rin can feel anger beginning to simmer within him at the suggestion that he would dare give out such important information to anyone.

“Of course not! I would never endanger my family.”

“And yet you did. You make no attempt to deny the fact that you gave a nomad boy access to the entire palace.”

“You’re presuming Haruka a danger to my family. He’s not,” Rin argues heatedly, and he can hear the watchers beginning to whisper amongst themselves.

“And yet you were attacked in your bedroom, waiting for this traveler boy to arrive, this traveler boy who was conveniently the first person on the scene.”

“If it weren’t for that ‘traveler boy’ I would indeed be dead! He saved my life, he absolutely did not intend to take it.”

“Yet there’s no way for you to know that, your highness. You didn’t see who attacked you.”

The condescension in that tone is making every nerve in Rin’s body catch on fire, and he’s half a mind to climb to his feet, walk two chairs over, and punch Inaba in his smug, elderly face. “I didn’t have to see him to know it wasn’t Haruka.”

“How could you possibly tell?” Tsuda inquires.

“Haruka’s a slight man, yet the man who attacked me weighed heavily on me while I was pinned to the ground!”

“When you’re injured and weak, any man would feel heavy, your highness,” Inaba continues, face perpetually stuck in an unimpressed scowl.

“His hands felt far too large on me!” Rin argues heatedly.

“As disoriented as you claim to have been, measuring assumed hand-size is hardly enough to rule out a suspect.”

“Why won’t you listen to me!?  In a week I am to become your sultan, give to me the respect I deserve! It absolutely could not have been Haruka because I know exactly how he feels inside me!” Rin shouts angrily, and for the few seconds following his outburst he’s quite sure a pin tumbling to the floor would be the loudest sound he’s ever heard in his life. “D-Don’t just stare at me as though I’ve said something wrong! Sodomy is not outlawed in this country. I have broken no laws and disobeyed no rules with my actions!” Rin snaps defensively.

The room is awkwardly silent for another few moments, and Rin’s face begins to heat up with the realization of what he just shouted before the high council, his mother and his people.

“While I commend your… passion, your highness, genital size is no more accurate a measurement of innocence than hand size,” Mizuno states, struggling to keep a straight, unperturbed face after Rin’s intense outburst.

“Haruka would never hurt me…” Rin chokes out, and he’s feeling stupider by the moment.

“Lovers can be quite scornful, your highness,” Yano reassures gently, and while Rin wants to growl at him in anger, there’s nothing but sympathy in those words.

“You won’t be sultan in a week,” Saito finally says, voice steady and clear.

“…What?” Rin hisses out, visible red eye falling hard on the youngest tribunal member.

“Has he not been told?” Saito asks, but this time his attention is on the sultana herself, not Rin.

For a moment she hangs her head before gently shaking it.

“The council, the advisory committee and the sultana have all agreed that it would be best to postpone your coming-of-age ceremony until you’re truly healthy enough to be presented to society as the new sultan,” advisor Yamazaki explains carefully.

“I did not agree to this!” Rin cries out, sitting up in his seat, eyes wide in fear.

“You were unconscious, Rin,” the sultana says, voice gentle as she looks up at her son, a concerned frown marring her beautiful face. “At the time we didn’t know if you’d ever wake up, and we had to make sure that there would be an acting ruler in place in case you… in case you passed. It’s just a temporary solution. We’ve moved the ceremony to six months from now, on your half birthday. It’s not quite the same, of course, but nothing about this situation is orthodox.”

“I-I need to become sultan…” Rin chokes out because it’s all beginning to set in that his words on the stand, they can’t protect Haruka. His witness statement has done absolutely nothing to sway the tribunal. Becoming sultan, forcibly postponing Haruka’s trial, it’s the only way he can keep Haruka safe. They will execute Haruka before him, against his will, if he can’t figure out a way to stop all this.

“And you will be, Rin. In six months’ time.” The sultana smiles fondly at her son, but his attention is on Haruka and only Haruka.

“Your highness, I believe we’ve heard everything we need from you. Thank you for the strength you’ve shown, standing witness only a fortnight after you were at death’s door. I believe it’d be best if you returned to the medical ward, however. Get some treatment and some rest,” Mizuno suggests, voice surprisingly gentle.

Rin can only nod numbly in response, sparing one final glance at Haruka before his mind begins to shut down. A guard comes to help him to his feet, and carefully, slowly, he’s escorting back to his room.

--

When Makoto comes looking for Sousuke, he can only hope that it’s with good news. Rin had come back from trial a certifiable mess, and their options for saving Haruka are growing slimmer by the day. At this point he and Gou are completely unsure of what to do, because time is the scarcest of resources at the moment and they’re no closer to finding the man who hurt Rin.

“I hope you come with good news because this is quickly turning into an uphill battle we may never win,” Sousuke sighs, greeting Makoto at the entrance to the palace before walking together towards Rin’s room.

“I just spoke with Nagisa who spoke with his sources. He wanted me to check something with you, though I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Mmm, you already have my friend,” Sousuke says in mild amusement. “Let’s wait to hear it once we’re with Rin and Gou. We’ve been brainstorming ideas and going over our options for the last hour or so. Perhaps your question might give us something more to work with.”

“One can hope,” Makoto smiles.

When they arrive in Rin’s chambers Makoto is immediately beaming, rushing over to Rin’s side. “You look so well, Rin!” he laughs jovially, and against his better judgment he’s pulling the prince into a gentle, giant hug.

“H-Hey, Makoto, no need for hugs,” Rin squirms, but there’s no fighting back when Makoto has one in a love hug. “How have you been, my friend?” Rin asks with a smile once Makoto has pulled away and taken a comfortable seat on the edge of the bed.

“Well. I had to leave for a week to accompany my father on a trip to Sano, but other than that it’s been the usual watching of the twins and helping around the marketplace. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Walking’s still difficult but it’s getting easier. Soon I’ll be able to remove the bandages from my eye and we’ll find out how much vision loss I’ve got.”

Makoto frowns but nods quietly, not commenting on Rin’s words.

“So this question, Makoto?” Sousuke inquires, arms crossed over his chest as he stands in the center of the room.

“A question?” Gou asks from her seat, and Sousuke can feel the hope beginning to rise in her.

“Ah, yes. I guess Rin’s well enough I could just ask him, though. I’m so sorry if this comes off as personal but Nagisa was quite adamant I ask…” Makoto hems and haws.

“Ask, Makoto,” Rin says gently. “It can be no worse than what the tribunal asked of me.”

“Ah, true. Nagisa wanted me to ask you if you, by any chance, have a birth mark on your…” Makoto flushes, hand flailing slightly.

“On my rear?” Rin snickers in amusement, unable to keep himself from laughing at Makoto’s discomfort. “I do, though. Haru’s always… well, nevermind that, but yes, I do. How does he know that, though? Not that I exactly take issue with nudity, but I don’t recall ever being naked around Nagisa.”

“He said Kisumi asked him if he could verify its presence. That it came up with his sources.”

“He’s going to tell his sources about my birthmark? Because that’s exactly what I want my people knowing about me...”

“His sources asked about it? How would they know?” Sousuke muses aloud.

“Mm. I’m not entirely sure. I spoke with Kisumi as well, he and Nagisa have been working together, and he mentioned some people talking at the bar about Rin. Which isn’t unusual under the circumstances, but I guess the topic of… sexual contact with the prince came up.”

Rin snorts at the idea, rolling his eyes. “Let me guess. A bunch of drunken fools bragging about having their way with the prince of Samezuka? It’s ridiculous how many men have claimed to bed me when I’ve only ever lain with Haru. At this point the rumors don’t even faze me. There’s certainly no truth to them.”

“But this time one of them mentioned Rin’s birthmark, Makoto?” Gou asks, fingers idly toying with the end of one of the silken scarves hung around her hips.

“But how would they kn- oh,” Sousuke trails off, brow furrowing.

“They can’t know from experience. Perhaps someone from the palace…” Rin begins, but Sousuke can tell he’s struggling to come up with an alternate explanation.

“Or perhaps they do know from experience,” Gou says gently, hand dropping her scarf as she reaches out to take Rin’s palm in her own, giving it a soft, gentle squeeze.

“But… but who would be stupid enough to attack the prince and then brag about it to his drunken cronies?” Rin asks, glancing among the group.

“I assume he didn’t mention it being an attack,” Sousuke says, peering over at Makoto for confirmation.

Makoto shrugs, shifting unconsciously closer to Rin. “I’m not sure, I wasn’t the one who was there. But I’d presume he didn’t. A confession of guilt for attempted murder would surely have drawn far more attention than an admittance of bedding the highly coveted prince. One is punishable by death, the other simply affords bragging rights.”

Rin snorts again over, Sousuke presumes, being called ‘coveted,’ but Makoto’s words are true regardless of Rin’s thoughts on the matter. “So somewhere there’s a man bragging about bedding the prince and claiming a birthmark Rin does in fact have as his proof of conquest.”

“It seems so.”

“How long do we have before Haruka’s judgment is passed down?” Gou asks, glancing over at Rin.

“I-I don’t know. My statement was worth only the embarrassment of baring myself before my family and kingdom, apparently, so I don’t know what else they’re waiting on.”

“It will likely happen soon, then,” Sousuke muses aloud, and quickly he regrets voicing his thought as both Rin and Makoto stare at him in abject fear. “I merely speak the truth, I’m sorry.”

“N-No, of course you’re right,” Rin finally says, tongue darting out to lick his lips. “We need to figure out whoever this man was and act accordingly. Perhaps Kisumi can identify him.”

“I’ll visit with Kisumi tomorrow, Rin,” Sousuke offers. “Did you still want to visit Haru tonight?”

“Rin, have you been sneaking out to see Haru every night?” Gou asks, and though she’s trying to act firm, there’s clear amusement in her voice.

“P-Perhaps…” Rin laughs nervously, unbandaged hand sliding behind his neck, giving it an awkward rub. “I don’t go alone, though. Sousuke has been coming with me to make sure I make it to and from alright.”

“Well that’s a bit better,” Gou sighs.

“I don’t want to go tonight, though. To see him,” Rin says quietly, and Sousuke can’t help but raise his brow in surprise at his words.

“Not after my statement. I believe it best to give him some time to… to digest everything I said. And I’m exhausted myself. I’ll sleep soundly tonight, that’s for sure.”

Sousuke nods because while he wasn’t present at the trial, he’s already heard exactly how well it went. It’s understandable that Rin would prefer to hide out for the night after yelling out his sexual activities to an audience that included his own mother.

“I’ll see if I can get Nagisa to elaborate on everything that he’s been told,” Makoto offers, glancing among the group.

“Sousuke and I will investigate the passageways this evening, then. How you found them all I’ll never know, Rin. You keep telling us how to access them and yet we’re still having trouble finding them.”

“Lack of imagination, clearly,” Rin teases. “You should become more familiar with the passageways, Gou. If something were to happen in the palace…”

“Yes, of course. Will you be alright if we take our leave, then?” Gou asks, to which Rin gives a quick, curt nod.

“The medics will be here soon to administer my evening dose of opium anyways. Thank you all for coming to visit. And for not poking fun at me for me… problems on the stand.”

“We could never, Rin,” Makoto soothes, giving Rin’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before rising to his feet.

“Have a good night, Rin. And if you need anything, feel free to have the medics come fetch me,” Sousuke says with a nod.

“Yes, of course. Good night, everyone.”

--

Haruka’s back in the center of his cell, blue, glassy eyes staring at the ceiling, replaying the day’s trial over and over again in his head. He hadn’t expected them to force Rin to stand witness so early, and it had been hard to watch Rin struggle to walk to the front of the room, to recall the events that had very nearly taken his life.

All Haruka can hear in his head, over and over again, is he had my hair held and my face pressed into the tiles until he was finished.

It isn’t that he was unaware, of course. Makoto and Sousuke had obviously let him know even before Rin had awoken from his coma. But it doesn’t make it easier, and hearing it straight from Rin’s mouth, a true affirmation, makes the reality of it all set in.

Shifting underneath Makoto’s blanket he lets his mind wander, waiting for the time to pass, for Rin to come visit him, to read him his nightly story. He thinks of the moment, a few years prior, when he and Rin had spent their first night together.

“How was your birthday, Rin?” Haruka asks once he’s been successfully snuck into the prince’s bedchambers. They’d nearly been caught a few dozen times, but Rin had managed to get the pair through the palace undetected, and now they’re alone together in his bedroom.

Haruka’s never been here before, because getting into the prince’s private quarters is far from the easiest thing one can do, but he’d wanted to personally deliver his birthday present for Rin, and it’d been Rin’s idea for the gift exchange to occur behind closed doors. They’d been tentatively… dating, was it? Maybe? For the last few months. It was hard for Haruka to really assign a status to their relationship, as their solo meetups generally occurred at the oasis, and mostly consisted of swimming races, sharing fruit, and the occasional handsy makeout session.

“It was pleasant enough. Far too much attention for my liking, and pretending to appreciate the gifts was bothersome, but the tarts they prepared were fantastic. I even saved you one, if you’d like it,” Rin says, gesturing towards the ornate table that stands in the middle of the room’s sitting area. Atop the marble surface is a beautifully pieced together fruit tart, full of colorful layers of concentric, meticulously sliced fruits. It looks absolutely delicious, but first Haruka wants to give Rin his gift.

He’d spent so long on it, and though he’d like to pretend he doesn’t care whether he gets a positive reaction or not, he does. He cares a lot. “Later,” he finally says, instead reaching into the pockets of his loose trousers, pulling out a small box.

“You do know you weren’t required to get me anything,” Rin teases lightly, but those red eyes are alight with excitement, and Haruka knows that creating this gift was worth all the time and effort.

“I wanted to,” he says with a small smile, nodding for Rin to accept the gift.

Rin waits a moment longer before relenting, taking the small, surprisingly ornate box in hand. “Where did you get a box like this?” he teases, because while their classes mean little to them while they’re together, Rin is well aware that Haruka rarely has a silver to his name.

“Ah, Makoto let me have it,” Haruka says, mildly embarrassed that once again he’d had to rely on his best friend for assistance.

“Well it’s beautiful regardless,” Rin laughs. Carefully Rin takes a seat at the edge of his ridiculously ornate bed, patting the spot beside him, waiting for Haruka to join him before carefully removing the lid. “What… what is this, Haru?” he asks carefully, brow furrowed in confusion as he pulls the necklace out of the box, taking a closer look at the stones.

“Apparently they’re called jade. I know you mostly wear golds and red stones, but when I was last in Iwatobi there were some Oriental visitors peddling their wares. I-I liked the colors, the green and the blue, and I thought… perhaps I’d make you something for your birthday with them. I mean, I don’t expect you to wear it all the time, it doesn’t go with Samezuka’s traditions, just… when we’re alone, perhaps.” Haruka has never felt more awkward in his life. He’d worked hundreds of hours over the last few months doing oddjobs so that he could afford the stones. He’d done everything from camel milking to mucking stalls to fruit picking for a few coins.

He’d selfishly wanted to make the necklace entirely out of the slender blue stones, the ones close in color to his own eyes, but he hadn’t been able to afford it, so the blocks of chunky green, lower quality jade had been needed to fill out the necklace enough for Rin to wear it.

“I’ll never take it off,” Rin whispered, immediately bringing the necklace to slide carefully around his head, settling on his neck. “It’s beautiful, Haru… really, you… you didn’t have to do this for me.”

“I wanted to,” Haruka responds immediately, head tilting away from Rin in discomfort. “But don’t wear it while swimming. The merchants said that it was best not to get the stones wet, in case of cracking…” he mumbles, and he can’t help but be embarrassed at his own awkwardness over this situation. He’s never been the best at showing affection, and he’s never really wanted to until now, until Rin.

“Of course. I’ll take it off when bathing and at the oasis, but otherwise…” Rin stops talking for a moment, and after a pause of quiet Haruka suddenly feels a warm breath along his neck. “Haru, may I kiss you?” Rin whispers, and Haruka can feel the shiver roll down his spine at the sweet contact. It isn’t as though he made Rin a present because he wanted a reward, but kisses from Rin are, well… they're quite the reward indeed.

Silently Haruka turns his face towards Rin, accidentally bumping noses for a brief moment, unable to help but exhale slightly in amusement before leaning into those soft lips. Rin’s lips are always supple and well-oiled, and Haruka can’t help but appreciate the smoothness of Rin’s body. Unlike himself, worn from the desert sun and constant travel, every part of Rin is soft. His skin is silky, always well-tended with fine oils, his hair washed with the most opulent soaps. He always smells delectable as well, and as Haruka deepens that kiss, glides his tongue teasingly along Rin’s lower lip, he can taste the remnants of expensive wine.

“How much have you had to drink tonight?” he asks idly against those pliant lips, and Rin pulls away with a small laugh.

“Only one glass, Haru. I’m not a stupid 15-year-old boy anymore, thinking I can handle three glasses in one sitting.” Rin smiles, leaning in once more to recapture Haruka’s lips, hand drifting up to cup one of Haruka’s cheeks, fingers toying through mussed hair. “I’m glad you’re here…” Rin mumbles idly against his lips, and this time it’s Haruka pulling away slightly, blue eyes steadily watching Rin, intrigued by the small blush working its way over pale cheeks.

“If you have something to say to me, Rin, then say it,” Haruka says, voice quiet and gentle. He’s known Rin long enough to know when something’s on his mind, and something is most certainly bothering the prince. While there’s always been an occasional shyness to Rin when they’re alone together, rarely does he fall into such a flustered state without there being a genuine reason for it.

“I…” Rin’s voice trails off, heavy with nervousness and doubt, and Haruka honestly has no idea what’s going on in the redhead’s mind. “It’s my birthday and just…”

“Rin.”

“Stop making this seem easy!” Rin snaps in embarrassment, face flushing redder by the minute, eyes looking anywhere but at Haruka. “I just… I don’t, I don’t exactly know what we are to one another, but I enjoy your presence. Immensely.” Rin’s slender fingers are now toying along that jade necklace, bare foot bouncing nervously along the marble floor.

“As do I, Rin,” Haruka says gently, reaching out to catch Rin’s wandering hand, stilling its frenetic movement, twining their hands together to hold it steady. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong! Just, I…” Rin’s tongue darts over those soft lips and Haruka is about to strangle Rin for his insistence on forever being difficult. “I want to make love with you…” Rin finishes, choking on those last few words, eyes squeezed shut, face hung as he awaits, presumably, a denial.

Honestly, Haruka has absolutely zero desire to say no because the idea of being intimate with Rin, here in one of the most opulent rooms in the palace, in a bed so luxurious he’s unable to even dream of the extent of its grandeur, is something he’s dreamt of for years. But tomorrow he leaves for Sano, and while unfamiliar with the specifics of same-sex couplings, he highly doubts that the future sultan will submit to him in such a manner, and the idea of riding camel-back mere hours after being taken by the prince is, well, not the best of thoughts.

“I-I’m sorry, that was idiotic of me. Make love, what am I, some silly schoolgirl? I just, sex. If you want. I don’t mean to label things, I know we’re not together, not really, just…”

“Rin, calm down,” Haruka gently reassures, giving that shaky hand a light squeeze. At this point he’s rather sure he’ll have to deal with the uncomfortable camel ride, because the last thing he wants is for Rin to assume he doesn’t want to do this. “I would love to make love with you.”

Haruka is careful in his phrasing, because while there’s a fluidity to their relationship, he likes the idea of their joining being more than just sex. Rin has a way of getting caught up in words and labels, but in this case Haruka finds a warm charm to the idea. It’s not realistic, he figures, a traveler romancing the future sultan, but in that evening, in the safety of those private chambers, indulging in the fantasy sounds lovely.

“I-I’ve been practicing,” Rin mumbles awkwardly, swallowing hard as Haruka gives him a mildly confused, pointed stare. Practicing?

“With body oils,” Rin flushes, and Haruka can’t stop the widening of his eyes. Is Rin implying what he believes is being implied? “Just with my fingers.” Rin clears his throat awkwardly, quickly yanking his hand free from Haruka's. “I-I thought about purchasing other products but, but it’s hard to buy such a thing as the future sultan without others finding out.”

Haruka is almost embarrassed by how hard the idea of Rin, curled up in the bed of his chambers, practicing with his oil-slicked fingers for the day Haruka will take him in full, makes him. He’s forced to awkwardly cross his legs to cover his shame, eyes steady on Rin. “If you want such a thing I have absolutely no qualms going to the marketplace in your stead for purchasing…” Haruka mumbles with a small smile, voice pleased at the thought, and he almost wants to laugh as Rin punches him lightly in the shoulder in disapproval.

“S-Stop smiling!” Rin snaps, and it’s very hard for Haruka to take the prince seriously at the moment because Rin’s flushed and jumpy and angry and also very clearly hardening in his silks.

“Mm, so how many fingers can you take, then?” Haruka asks with a raise of the brow, freed hand reaching over to run firmly along the curve of Rin’s very glorious ass.

“H-Hey! If we’re going to do this then at least take a bath first, you filthy traveler,” Rin barks, and he’s kicking at Haruka’s side with one of his surprisingly flexible legs, pushing Haruka away from him.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Haruka frowns, but he sighs and climbs to his feet anyways, because to be completely honest, he’s heard stories about Rin’s personal bathing room and he’s absolutely desperate to see it in person.

“O-Only two. Now go! And don’t sit in there for an hour like you’re apt to do. I’ll… I’ll get things started,” Rin grumbles, and his voice is hoarse and uncomfortable at his own words.

“Don’t.”

“…Don’t what?” Rin repeats, watching as Haruka nonchalantly steps out of his clothing, erection bobbing shamelessly, making his way towards the bathing room.

“Start without me.”

“F-Fine,” Rin hisses irritably, instead occupying himself with picking out which scented oil he’d like to use and rearranging all of the pillows covering his bed, over and over again.

By the time Haruka finishes up in the bath, taking full advantage of all those lavish soaps Rin has at his disposal, Rin has nervously slipped out of all his clothing and is sitting on the edge of his bed, oil in hand, wearing nothing but the necklace he’s just been given.

He’s a beautiful sight, honestly, all pale and unblemished, even though his body is wound tight with nerves. “You look beautiful,” Haruka breathes out, running the towel he’d claimed through his damp locks, giving them a quick shake once finished before tossing the towel aside.

“You’ve seen me nude before,” Rin grumbles, and Haruka has to force back the smile threatening to spread across his face. For a man born with flaming red hair, peculiarly sharp teeth and an entire country under his rule, Rin has a shyness to him when it comes to his emotions, and in the privacy of his chambers Rin is no different than any other nervous teenage boy. 18 is considered the coming of age in Haruka’s tribe, but it’s almost as if Rin’s innocence is somehow still preserved by his own country’s standards of adulthood. Rin won’t become sultan, become an official man in the eyes of the people, until he turns 20.

Haruka hopes that he somehow manages to hold onto that deceptive innocence when the time comes.

“Familiarity doesn’t make you any less beautiful,” Haruka shrugs, and Rin instinctively tenses more at the comment, clearly put on the spot, threatened by Haruka’s very blatantly roving eyes. “Which oil did you decide on?” Haruka asks carefully, moving across the marble flooring to take a seat alongside Rin.

“How can you be so calm!?” Rin sputters awkwardly, fingers clenching around the bottle of oil in his hand.

“Because there’s nothing to fear, here in your chambers?” It seems obvious to Haruka, he’s comfortable with Rin and though this is a crazy step, something he never quite envisioned happening, he has no reason to fear lying with Rin. ”It’s just me, Rin. And it’s just you.”

“Just me,” Rin repeats, scowling at Haruka. “You act like it’s as easy is that. And it’s hyacinth-scented…”

“You always did like the smell of flowers,” Haruka muses aloud. “And it is that easy, Rin. Do you trust me?”

“W-what? Of course I trust you,” Rin growls irritably.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about. Now show me what you’ve practiced.”

“W-wait, right here?”

Haruka nods carefully, blue eyes resting expectantly on Rin.

“Like… on my hands and knees?” Rin flushes, glancing around his bed.

“Whatever makes you the most comfortable,” Haruka says quietly, reaching over to rest his hand gently on Rin’s closest shoulder, giving it a soothing, small little massage with his thumb.

“Hold this for me, then,” Rin mumbles, offering Haruka the vial of oil for a moment as he crawls further towards the center of the bed on hands and knees, head hung low in embarrassment. “Have… have you done this before?” Rin asks, and there’s a clear, obvious assumption in his voice.

“Mm, no, not really,” Haruka shrugs, tongue darting out to lick his lips as he watches Rin settle awkwardly on his hands and knees. Silently Haruka moves closer, offering up the vial, eyes never leaving the firm, pale curve of Rin’s ridiculously beautiful ass.

“Really? I just assumed…”

“You assumed incorrectly,” Haruka says, lowering the vial within Rin’s reach, holding it steady so Rin can dip his fingers in whenever he’s ready. “As usual, I may add.”

“Hey!” Rin grumbles, smacking Haruka with the heel of his closest foot before finally managing to settle himself, ring and middle finger of his right hand gently dipping into the oil. “This is so embarrassing,” Rin wheezes out breathily, and Haruka can barely even make out what he said, attention on those fingers, watching the excess oil drip off them before Rin finally removes them from the vial.

Haruka’s hands are both wound tight around that metal container, and he’s not really breathing as he watches Rin’s hand move back, fingertips gingerly toying along that lovely, puckered entrance.

There’s something painfully erotic to those teasing fingers as Haruka waits impatiently for Rin to actually slip one in. He desperately wants to see that penetration, to see something shoved deep within Rin, even if it’s only a finger or two. Haruka’s almost shocked by his own desperation, his depravity, and he’s already as hard as he’s ever been, watching as Rin’s fingers tentatively move. “May I touch you?” he breathes out, and he can’t believe how harried his voice sounds as he shifts the oil to one hand, freeing up his other.

“O-Of course,” Rin grunts, and as Haruka reaches to run an exploratory hand along that smooth back Rin finally, carefully, slips one of his oil slicked fingers in.

Haruka doesn’t realize he’s moaned at the vision before him until Rin throws him a look that can only be described as a mixture of confusion and amusement. “Does watching me like this truly excite you that much?” Rin asks aloud, and Haruka refuses to respond, face heated, avoiding eye contact with Rin in favor of watching that finger begin easing in and out as Rin carefully stretches himself.

“Please…” Haruka whispers as his hand dips lower, dips into the muscular curvature of that well-toned back, thumb working along the bumps of Rin’s spine.

“Please what?” Rin’s clearly confused now, as he’s always had enough trouble understanding Haruka’s behaviors, and now that Haruka can no longer formulate a real sentence, it has to be borderline impossible for Rin to figure out what he wants.

“May I…?” Haruka asks, hand rotating slightly, thumb shifting from the base of Rin’s spine to instead rest just above his entrance, waiting for approval before moving any further.

“You want to prepare me?” Rin asks, voicing Haruka’s question for him. Haruka nods silently, removing his hand from Rin so he can dip his fingers into the oil himself. “You’ll be gentle?” Rin mumbles, head turned to eye Haruka in search of proof.

“Of course,” Haruka says softly, and a tentative nod from Rin is all he needs before his fingers are slicked and this time he’s in control, swirling his fingers along that warm entrance.

“I-It’s so weird when it’s someone else…” Rin groans into the bed, ass waggling ever so slightly at Haruka’s touches.

He seems as though he’s relaxing some, accepting the idea of Haruka touching him, and Haruka takes it as a go-ahead. Carefully he slides one of those oil-slickened fingers into Rin, hesitating for a moment when his finger feels resistance from Rin’s muscles, but he gingerly continues, delving indeeper. “Are you alright?” he asks immediately, voice low, head tilting as he tries to catch a glimpse of Rin’s face.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” Rin sighs out, and Haruka can see that his fingers are clenching into the sheets. “I’m used to it, just… it’s odd when it’s not my own hand. Unexpected,” Rin mumbles, shifting back experimentally against Haruka’s hand, pushing that finger in deeper with a quiet gasp.

“May I proceed?” Haruka whispers, earning another short nod. With the okay he begins moving his finger, dragging it in and out, gently caressing inside Rin with a tenderness he never knew himself capable of. After a few slow, languid strokes, he can feel Rin beginning to relax around him, growing increasingly tolerant of their new level of intimacy. “Another? Or too soon?” Haruka asks, because he’s nervous about hurting Rin and he’s apparently even less experienced than the prince before him.

“Two is fine,” Rin reassures quietly, squirming against Haruka’s hand. The blatant gesture is enough to goad Haruka into moving, and carefully he begins to slip a second finger in. There’s a bit more resistance this time, understandably so, and so he’s mindful, opting to gently stroke and rub his fingers in a circular motion until his second finger successfully breaches that muscle. Rin inhales sharply, and for a moment Haruka’s tense, wondering if it had hurt, but on closer look he can see Rin’s sharp teeth nibbling on his lower lip, eyes closed, far from uncomfortable.

“You’ve never gone past two?” Haruka asks, unable to help but lightly smirk as he seats both fingers fully inside Rin. That primal sense of eroticism hits him hard once more, because Rin’s entrance is glistening with oil and puckered and pink and practically sucking his fingers in deep. He swallows hard, shifting in place, suddenly hyper-aware of his own desperate erection.

“No…” Rin mumbles into the covers, gasping quietly as Haruka shifts his fingers inside once more, nimbly circling them around as he carefully stretches Rin further. It’s a powerful feeling, having the future sultan squirm beneath him, and he desperately wants to add another finger, to see how much Rin can take.

He behaves, however, because the fun is certainly over if he actually hurts Rin, and so he refrains, continuing those gentle ministrations as he waits for Rin’s thighs and lower back to relax, for that ass to squirm wantonly against his hand.

“M-More is alright now, I think…” Rin finally mumbles after a few minutes, face flushed as Haruka nods, dripping a bit more of the oil down the curve of Rin’s ass, saturating his next finger before beginning to slow process once more.

It’s agonizing, really, because he may be inexperienced but he wants this so much. He’s pathetically hard, he’s beginning to sweat because his body’s warming in excitement, and his breath is starting to shorten solely because of the image before him. He’s a mess, fully and truly.

Another few minutes and Rin’s squirming needily against his hand, silently begging for more. “Do you think you’re ready…?” Haruka asks carefully, not intending to pressure Rin while also knowing it’s not really his own call to make. It’s Rin’s body and even though Rin feels fairly loose by his own very unknowledgeable standards, Rin knows best and he wants Rin to be the one to say when he’s ready.

“Ah, I… I believe so? If we go slow I can, I can gauge if it’s too much…” Rin mumbles, glancing back at Haruka, face flushed, sharp teeth gnawing nervously on his lower lip, red hair hanging in his face, dampened with sweat. “I just… ah. What position do you think would be best?” Rin asks, and Haruka can tell it’s stressing him to no end to have to be so forward.

“Mmm, it’s likely best if you set the pace,” Haruka shrugs, fingers still seated deeply, because he doesn’t particularly trust himself not to push too far too fast out of the sheer pleasure of being inside Rin. Not that it’s something he’s experienced, obviously, but he can just imagine how wonderful it will be, and as a man who’s always had piss-poor impulse control, it just seems risky.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right,” Rin nods carefully in agreement, gingerly moving his hips forward, pulling away from Haruka.

Haruka’s fingers slip out and there’s an odd disappointment at the lack of getting to intimately feel Rin’s heat, but a quick mental reminder tells him that it’s a small price to pay in exchange for getting to put something else inside Rin instead.

Rin sits back on his knees, glancing awkwardly between the pair of them. “Then I should… straddle you, I suppose?” Rin swallows hard.

“It’ll be alright, Rin. It’s just us, and it’ll do you no good to be tightly wound in fear.”

“Of course,” Rin sighs out, nodding to himself. “You should oil yourself, then…” he mumbles quietly, red eyes flitting around the room distractedly.

Haruka nods in understanding, pouring some of the oil over his already sullied hand, coating himself with a few experimental pumps, having to choke back the gasp threatening to slip out. He hands the oil off to Rin to set on the bedside table, watching Rin’s ass as he crawls away for a moment.

When Rin returns Haruka’s still stroking himself, keeping the movement light and easy because too firm and he knows this evening will be over far too quickly.

“So then I’ll just… straddle you, I suppose?” Rin repeats nervously.

Haruka sighs because Rin is, and always has been, a ridiculous creature. “Rin, come here,” Haruka orders gently, and he’s almost surprised when Rin immediately obeys, crawling the length of that massive bed to sit back on his knees before him.

Haruka keeps one hand on his member while the other reaches for Rin’s waist, wrapping gently around the redhead as he carefully pulls Rin close enough to brush their lips together. Rin melts into that kiss as always, because Rin is forever a passionate romantic with a ridiculous love of lengthy makeout sessions, and Haruka takes care to tease his tongue along that soft lower lip between a spatter of fluttering, loving little kisses. “Take your time, Rin. Only when you’re ready,” Haruka whispers reassuringly between kisses, mildly surprised when Rin pulls away, only to lean their foreheads together, one arm wrapping around Haruka’s shoulders fondly.

“You’re far too good to me…” Rin mumble, eyes drifting shut for a moment.

“Mmm, and you’re far too good for me.”

Rin’s eyes shoot back open and his face is flushing once more at the words, and if that’s the reaction light praise gets from Rin, Haruka will need to say things like that more often.

“Thank you, Haru,” Rin finally says, nodding against Haruka’s forehead before pulling his face away, eyes glancing down at Haruka’s very obvious hardness. Silently Rin scoots closer, moving to straddle Haruka’s waist, arm still wrapped around those strong shoulders.

“If it hurts, stop…” Haruka breathes out quietly, blue eyes firmly on Rin’s face. “We can always use more oil.”

Rin nods silently, leaning forward to steal another hasty kiss from Haruka, shifting just enough for Haruka to rub against that warm entrance.

It takes about as much self-control as Haruka has to not moan at the sensation, pleasure warm in his belly at this briefest of contact. He keeps his hand firmly wrapped around the base of his own member, holding it steady until Rin can get properly seated, even as every nerve in his body screams at him to let go and jerk his hips upwards.

When Rin finally begins to lower himself, arm strong on Haruka for support, it’s the most wonderful, foreign pleasure Haruka’s ever experienced. He tilts his head on instinct, burying his face against Rin’s collar, stifling his own desperate moan as Rin steadily, carefully, takes the tip.

“D-Does it hurt…?” Haruka manages to choke out, though he still can’t look at Rin, his attention now focused solely on keeping his own hips in check.

“No, not really. It just feels… it feels queer…” Rin mumbles, doing his best to keep his breaths steady, hips rising up only to once again push down.

Once Rin can take him more than a few centimeters Haruka releases his hold on himself, giving Rin more length to work with as he begins slowly bouncing his hips ever so slightly, gently taking Haruka deeper and deeper.

It’s a slow and arduous process, and Haruka focuses on his breathing, on almost dissociating, anything to keep himself from thinking about how insanely, deliciously, ridiculously hot it is inside of Rin. How all his nerves are on fire, how all his impulse control is crumbling around him as the primal need to thrust, to claim, to own threatens to set in.

Haruka’s so focused on distracting him that he loses sense of time, doesn’t even realize when Rin’s fully seated on him, breaths coming out in steady, short pants. “It feels so full…” Rin mumbles, and his voice is enough to bring Haruka blinking back into reality.

“But not painful?” Haruka asks once more.

“Just full.”

For a few moments they just sit there, until Haruka’s screaming in his head for Rin to move or he will move for them. It’s as though Rin is reading his mind, thankfully, and after some time waiting to become more comfortable, Rin begins lifting and lowering himself on Haruka, the movement slow and steady.

Haruka immediately wonders how long Rin expects him to last, because this enveloping heat, this sensation, this ridiculous level of intimacy, it’s getting to Haruka, and he’s already feeling heady from it all. “You’re so beautiful…” Haruka sighs into Rin’s neck, finally glancing up, looking at that look of pure concentration on Rin’s face as he finds a comfortable pace to his movement, ass gyrating and bobbing and truly it’s one of the most beautiful sights Haruka’s ever seen.

The only thing that can possibly compare in beauty to the image of Rin, sheened with sweat, flushed in need, teeth nibbled into his lower lip, hair a silky, wild mess, is the ocean herself.

“D-Does it feel alright?” Rin asks, as though he somehow thinks it actually possible that being inside of him feels like anything but the most pleasurable sensation Haruka’s ever experienced in his life.

Haruka nods silently, hands moving to slide down, to grab a solid hold of each of Rin’s firm cheeks, fingers digging in territorially, spreading him open further.

“Haru…” Rin chokes out breathily, hips jerking up and down, face leaning in to catch Haruka’s lips in a heated kiss.

The kisses are lovely but Rin’s pace is just a tinge too slow, and so carefully, experimentally, Haruka pushes his hips upwards to meet Rin’s downward motion head-on.

Rin gasps against Haruka’s mouth, eyes shot wide, frozen in place.

“S-Sorry, I shouldn’t have…” Haruka panics, because oh gods he’s hurt Rin because he’s too immature and impatient and Rin will never let him experience this insane pleasure again.

“D-Do it again…” Rin chokes out, eyes glazed, breath hasty and stilted.

Brow furrowing Haruka complies, their faces still close, and he can feel Rin inhale sharply at the sudden jerk.

“G-gods,” Rin wheezes, his own hips grinding down hard, desperately, squirming and shifting as he silently goads Haruka on.”Wh-when you hit in the right spot, it feels like all my nerves are on fire…” Rin sighs lowly, whimpering once more as Haruka repeats the moment, attempting to perfectly replicate his last two thrusts.

Watching Rin unravel before him is making holding out harder and harder, and instinctively Haruka squeezes his hand between them, grabbing a hold of Rin’s member, giving it a few experimental pumps in time with their mutual thrusts.

Rin’s doing his best to choke back his moans because the doors of the palace aren’t quite soundproof, but he’s having a miserable go at it, and he’s forced to resort to awkwardly hunching forward and shoving his face into Haruka’s neck, nipping and sucking distractedly at that sweaty, heated skin just to keep himself under some semblance of control.

Haruka isn’t faring much better, honestly, and he’s beginning to lose control of his thrusts, ramming up into Rin harder, faster, needing more, wanting to feel every inch of his gorgeous prince, to claim Rin entirely for his own.

Rin’s teeth are buried in his neck, and the mix of biting pleasure with his brimming orgasm sends Haruka over the edge, fingers digging roughly into the flesh of that ass they’ve claimed, other hand fumbling to continue stroking Rin but it’s so hard to focus on anything that isn’t finishing deep inside the redhead.

His strokes are clumsy and erratic but apparently enough, and Rin’s teeth go from digging deep to breaking the skin as he chokes on his own pleasure, coming hard between the pair of them, making a mess of them both as he draws blood, unintentionally marking Haruka for his own.

Haruka’s out of breath, still high off the insanity of what they’ve just done, and he barely notices when Rin finally unclamps those teeth, mumbling a breathy, heavily embarrassed apology. When Rin unseats himself he’s dripping semen down his ass and thigh, and if Haruka thought Rin remotely suitable for a second round, he might have proposed it. Desire and want and a powerful territorialism burn deep in Haruka’s belly, and though he knows he has no right, watching his own seed drip warm between Rin’s thighs makes him wish it were possible for the prince to be his and his only.

He’d left both Rin and Rin’s bed a complete mess that night, and they’d resorted to dragging all of the pillows and a spare few blankets out to the balcony, opting to sleep together under the stars.

It’s one of the fondest memories Haruka has, and it’s a much needed distraction from the reality of what’s happening to him, to what’s happened to Rin, as he waits for his nightly visit from the prince.

For the first time in nearly two weeks, Rin never shows.

--

Rin is well-aware that his plan is essentially madness, and yet he can’t help himself. He’s desperate and he no longer has the time to wait for Sousuke and the others to try to make some headway in finding his attacker. Kisumi’s words ring heavy in his ears, because no one should know of his birthmark unless they’ve seen it themselves. His treatments are scarcer now, and he knows he has a few hours of wiggle room to work with. Sousuke and Gou have gone to bed, and sneaking around the scant few nightly medics there are is child’s play for the man who made a pastime of escaping the palace undetected as a youth.

He’s been allowed to wear regular clothing during the day now, so his sick room is stocked with a few pairs of warm, loose trousers that he quickly makes use of. He slips into some of his warmer clothing, because the desert nights are cold and unforgiving, sliding on some sandals and a heavy cloak before beginning his plan of attack.

He needs to speak with Kisumi himself, to find out any detail he can about this man, because he knows he’s the only one with any hope of identifying who attacked him.

Only he can clear Haruka’s name.

Sneaking out of the palace is of little difficulty, even with his limited mobility. He’s slightly high off the lingering effects of the opium he’s smoked recently, and it manages to ebb the pain enough that he’s capable of making his way into Samezuka.

He keeps his cloak snug around him, hood hanging over his head, obscuring his face from view. He knows he must tread carefully; Samezuka isn’t the same country at night, and ruckuses are a frequent part of the city’s nightlife.

It doesn’t take Rin long to make it to Kisumi’s cantina. He’s surprised by the amount of people shoved into the cantina at this hour, but as he makes his way towards the bar, deftly weaving through the crowd, he hears drunken patrons raving about the beautiful blond dancer that had performed less than an hour prior.

It’s not Nagisa’s usual performance night, but Rin assumes Nagisa had needed the extra coin. Not lingering on the thought Rin heads immediately towards the bar, sliding into an empty seat, waiting patiently for Kisumi to notice his presence.

It’s nice seeing Kisumi again, and Rin can’t help but smile behind his cloak as Kisumi flits around the bar, sliding drinks across the countertop and chatting with patrons. How Kisumi can multitask so readily Rin will never know, but it’s impressive regardless.

“What’ll it be, sir?” Kisumi asks as he finally reaches Rin, and it takes less than three seconds for Kisumi to immediately identify who he is. “What are you doing here, you fool!?” Kisumi hisses out, violet eyes wide in both anger and surprise.

“I need to speak with you, Kisumi,” Rin says quietly, attempting to keep his voice low, not wanting to potentially out himself.

“I can see that, but it could have waited! Is this about what I told Makoto?” Kisumi asks, voice unimpressed. “How in the world did you escape Sousuke’s watchful eye?”

“You know Sousuke can’t stay up late, no matter how hard he tries,” Rin shrugs. To be honest he’s an early riser as well, but with his body a mess he’s been sleeping at all hours of the day, and he’d awoken from a few-hours-long nap not long ago.

“You shouldn’t be here…”

“Well it’s too late, I already am. Speak to me, Kisumi. Who was he?”

Kisumi sighs in irritation, glancing over as another patron calls for him, giving Rin a Makoto-level look of concern before disappearing to help the other customer without a word.

Rin’s left to sit alone for a few minutes, waiting patiently for Kisumi to stop being angry and start talking. Perhaps Rin had taken a risk by leaving the palace alone while still recovering, but with Haruka’s life on the line it’s hardly unreasonable. He doesn’t have the time to wait until he’s fully healed.

Kisumi stops by once more, but only to drop off a glass of water, giving Rin another unimpressed look before disappearing to the other side of the bar to pour more drinks. Rin will have to wait patiently for Kisumi to stop being mad at him for endangering himself.

Rin’s head’s resting on the bar in boredom by the time Kisumi finally returns, standing before him and sighing. “Alright, what do you want to know, Rin?”

“The man who spoke of me, do you know him?”

Kisumi’s voice lowers as he glances around to see who might be listening in, pleased by the emptiness of both stools flanking Rin. “Not particularly. He’s not a regular, but he’s been coming around lately. Past two or three week I believe. I get temporary ‘regulars’ all the time, traveling merchants and vagabonds and even nomads such as Haru, so it didn’t really stick out to me. Burly thing, quite the braggart. He doesn’t speak of his line of work but I’m under the impression that he’s a mercenary of some sort. He’s certainly not from Samezuka. I’d wager on Iwatobi if I were forced to take a gander, but even I’m not positive.”

“Has he been here tonight?” Rin asks, frowning a bit at Kisumi’s words. He remembers the man, remembers the feel of him, the heat of his breath, the power in his arms, but he has no recollection of what his attacker looks like or sounds like, and he doubts his own ability to identify the man even if he were to see him.

“No, not yet. He usually comes in even la-“ Kisumi doesn’t finish his sentence, his voice trailing off into a frown, staring beyond Rin purposefully.

“…Kisumi?” Rin asks carefully, blinking in confusion, glancing at his friend before turning to look over his shoulder, attempting to follow Kisumi’s line of vision.

“O-Oh…” Rin chokes out, and even though he never saw the man that night, even though he’s doubted himself for the past two weeks, has assumed he’d be unable to identify the person that had beaten him, had raped him, the second his red eyes settle on the man that’s just stepped into the bar he knows.

No question, the man who attacked him has just walked into the crowded cantina and is currently heading towards Rin with a disgustingly casual nonchalance.

For a second Rin’s frozen, terrified if he’s being honest (though it’s something his pride will never allow him to admit to), as the man dips and dives around other patrons, heading for the bar in search of a drink.

Finally Rin shocks himself into movement, jerks his head back around and fixes his hood and prays to all the gods that he’ll go unrecognized. He’d come to speak with Kisumi, to gather information; he hadn’t prepared to end up face-to-face with the man who’d come minutes away from ending his life. The man who had taken something that was only Haruka’s to have.

“What’ll it be?” Kisumi chokes out, and Rin’s stopped breathing because the man has taken a casual, tired seat in the barstool beside him. Rin’s heart threatens to pound out of his chest as he fights to maintain control, to not let the panic overtake him.

“Mmm, just a beer would be good,” the man says, voice surprisingly light and airy. From the sounds of it he’s younger than Rin assumed. He sounds playful and in good spirits and Rin’s lightheaded over the enormity of the entire situation. Rin can’t flee; his walking is shoddy at best at the moment and he’d be a fool to draw that attention upon himself. But he’s honestly, legitimately terrified, and there aren’t enough words in the world to quantify how desperately he wishes Haruka were here with him. Haruka’s his safe place and gods he needs his safe place in this moment. He’s absolutely not ready for this.

“So how are you this evening? Has it been a good day for you, sir?” Kisumi asks the man, and Rin’s never realized what an excellent actor his friend his. Kisumi is as playful and flirty as ever, winking at the man, leaning against the counter, waiting patiently for a response.

“It’s night now, isn’t it?” the man teases back. “But the day is far better now that I’ve gotten to see your smiling face.”

Rin can feel the disgust welling in the pit of his belly as he sits tense in his stool, and he wishes he had a weapon or something on him so he could shank this human pig in the side as he blatantly flirts with Kisumi. Working in a bar means Kisumi is very, very used to unwanted attention, but on principle, it being this man, makes Rin boil in overprotective anger.

Kisumi doesn’t deserve the affections of a murderous rapist, no matter how jovial the man may appear on the outside.

“It’s funny how often I get that. Almost every night, in fact,” Kisumi smiles, moving to fill up that beer at a speed Rin didn’t know him capable of. He knows Kisumi is doing his best to intervene, to keep the man from looking too closely at Rin, to keep him distracted enough that the situation can diffuse rather than explode.

“Ah, well, it is well earned,” the man laughs, taking a swig of his beer.

Kisumi and the man continue to talk in earnest, and Rin wonders if there’s any way that he could possibly sneak away unnoticed. He sips on his water, biding his time, trying to calm his frayed nerves so he can make a (hopefully) graceful exit.

Rin is completely unsuspecting when a large hand settles on his shoulder, and he cries out on instinct, attempting to jump away only to lose his balance and stumble to the bar floor in a pathetic pile of not-quite-fully-cooperative limbs. His hood’s fallen from his face and his breath is tight and panicked, eyes wide as he looks up in spooked shock only to see a very tired, very irritated, very worried Sousuke standing before him.

The din of the bar has silenced because his shriek has garnered far too much attention, and all drunken eyes are on the crumpled form of the prince of Samezuka.

“Rin…?” Sousuke asks, because while he’s clearly mad he's also very, very worried, but Rin’s not even looking at him anymore, red eyes glued on the deep, dark eyes of the man still sitting tall in the stool, surprised as the rest of the bar at the sudden scene.

For a moment everything is silent, and then the man is out of his barstool and fleeing the cantina without a word, Kisumi yelling after him because one, he didn’t pay for his drink, and two, he attempted to murder the future sultan of the country after raping him in his bedroom.

“Who…?” Sousuke asks, looking between Rin and Kisumi. Rin can’t formulate words just yet but Kisumi’s much quicker on his feet.

“Stop him, Sousuke! I’ll take care of Rin, but we can’t let him get away! We’ll never find him again!” Kisumi’s hopping over the bar because walking around to get through the door is too much effort, and he’s at Rin’s side by the time Sousuke’s mind catches up to the drama and he’s racing out of the bar after the man. “Rin, are you alright?” Kisumi asks, worry heavy in his voice as he squints in the dark of the bar, trying to get a good look at Rin’s wounds, to make sure nothing has reopened or been exacerbated by his fall.

“I-I’m fine. But Sousuke…” Rin grunts out, taking the hand Kisumi's suddenly offering him, attempting to ignore the shocked stares of everyone in the bar because -is this really the nearly murdered prince they’re seeing before them?- as Kisumi pulls him back to his shaky feet.

“Rin, you’re bleeding…” Kisumi frowns, gently touching at the bandages still wrapped over Rin’s head and eye.

“I said I’m fine, Kisumi.”

“Fine. For now. Kazuki, can you cover the bar for me?” Kisumi calls to the backroom, and the brunet appears around the bar with a nod.

“Of course. Don’t be too long, though, the regulars get whiny when you’re not around for them to stare at.”

Kisumi’s nose scrunches at the words but he nods anyways, keeping a supportive hand on Rin as they make their way out of the bar, attempting to figure out where Sousuke went.

“Kisumi, I just saw Sou- oh my gods Rin, what are you doing out here!?” Nagisa gasps.

“Which way did they go?” Kisumi barks out, earning a confused, slow blink from Nagisa.

“Uhm, that way,” Nagisa says, pointing down one direction. “Sousou was chasing some man about as large as he is! What happened?”

“That’s the man that attacked me,” Rin growls out with a curse, just praying Sousuke will be okay as he and Kisumi start walking as fast as he can manage together in the direction Nagisa has pointed.

Nagisa trots after them because he’s never one to miss the excitement, and for a brief moment Rin wonders what Nagisa’s even doing in the streets this late at night. But Nagisa is a creature of the night, so there’s really no telling what’s drawn him out in the darkness.

By the time they turn the corner they’re entering the large, open bazaar. It’s closed, of course, but the stands are still lining the area, and Rin can see two forms off in the distance, wrestling on the ground.

“Nagisa, hold Rin!” Kisumi shouts out, releasing Rin before taking off in a sprint.

“I’m not an invalid!” Rin snaps but Kisumi doesn’t hear him, and he’s left leaning up against Nagisa for the support he’s increasingly having to rely on. The opium is long-gone, and while he’s vastly improved from the state he was in a couple weeks prior, he is most certainly unfit for this much exertion.

“Let’s follow them, Rinrin!” Nagisa yelps, taking a hold of Rin’s arm and dragging the ailing prince towards the commotion.

Rin stumbles to keep up but he does, because he needs to make sure that Sousuke’s alright.

By the time they arrive both Kisumi and Sousuke are working together to pin the man to the ground, but he’s fighting harder than a rabid animal and there’s blood everywhere. Rin isn’t sure who it’s from but his heart’s pounding uncontrollably at the unknown. Sousuke and Kisumi appear alright, they’re both alert and fighting to keep this man pinned down, but it’s someone’s blood and their captive is certainly fighting as though he’s uninjured.

“Nagisa, run back to the bar and ask Kazuki for the first-aid kit and some rope!” Kisumi yells.

“Got it!” Nagisa yelps, gently helping Rin lean up against one of the empty market stalls before sprinting back off to the bar.

Kisumi and Sousuke are having a hell of a time keeping the man on the ground, and Rin can’t help but watch in sick fascination as the man who pinned down him down and violated him on the tiles of his bathroom floor is shoved face first in the dirt, much in the same manner. It’s oddly satisfying, honestly, and Rin’s so distracted by the sight he doesn’t notice a panting Nagisa come racing back, box and rope in hand.

Nagisa drops near the pair, offering up the rope as Sousuke and Kisumi work together to bind the man’s arms behind his back.

Once the man is fully bound Sousuke stands up, leaving Kisumi to sit ever so gracefully atop the man’s back. It’s then that Rin notices that the blood is coming from Sousuke’s arm, shoulder gashed deep, blood dripping down the muscles of his forearm.

“Sousuke!” Rin cries out, immediately pulling away from the stand he’s leaned against, stumbling towards Sousuke, taking a moment to regain both his bearings and his footing as he makes his way over to his best friend.

“I can’t believe you ran off,” Sousuke huffs out irritably as Nagisa and Rin work at binding Sousuke’s wounded arm with gauze from the first-aid kit. “You’re the biggest fool I’ve ever met. I can’t believe there are people stupid enough to be making you sultan one day. If I hadn’t gone down to tell Nanase why you weren’t visiting tonight and he called you out on your idiocy, I never would have thought to make sure you were still asleep in your room.”

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Rin mumbles out, and as his heart rate begins to drop down towards normal he realizes his eyes are shining with tears that are threatening to brim over. It’s all overwhelming, this night a crazy one he already wishes he could forget, and once Sousuke’s arm is bound in a temporary wrapping Rin can’t help but step closer, slinging a weak arm around his best friend’s good shoulder as he leans his head against his friend. “Between you, Haruka and myself we’ve now only have three working arms between us. What a pathetic lot we are...”

“I would kick your ass, your highness, if I weren’t so glad you’re alright,” Sousuke mumbles against Rin’s hair.

“As adorable as your brotherly love may be, you two, I’d really rather not be stuck sitting here all night. It’s not exactly the most comfortable seat and Kazuki will beat me if I lollygag too long.”

Rin immediately releases Sousuke but he hovers close anyways. Even injured Sousuke is a safe, solid mass of reassurance, and Rin knows if he begins feeling too weak Sousuke will be there to support him.

“Kissy, I could go help Kazuki! Rin can barely walk and Sousuke is injured, they need someone stronger than me to help them take this filth back to the palace.”

“Can you really manage, Nagisa?” Kisumi asks, but Nagisa’s already waving him off dismissively and darting back to the cantina with the first aid kit in hand.

“Well, alright then. I’m sure my patrons will be excited to have their exotic foreign dancer serving them beers for the rest of the night.” Kisumi glances down at the man beneath him, who has been trying to buck Kisumi off for the past few minutes but has mostly just succeeded in exhausting himself. “I don’t know why you’re fighting so hard, my friend. You’ve spent the last three weeks trying to get beneath me, you should be pleased you’ve finally managed.”

Kisumi and Sousuke have fully bound the man’s arms and partially bound his feet, leaving enough slack for him to walk but not enough to do much else. Kisumi eventually climbs off the man and immediately grabs at the hefty knot tying his hands together, dragging him to his feet with more force than Rin knew Kisumi capable of.

“I handle drunks all night long,” Kisumi laughs, noting Rin’s wide eyes of surprise as he holds the man standing in place with firm, strong arms.

Rin looks the man up and down, able to better see his features by the light of the moon. He’s around Sousuke’s size, but his skin is relatively dark, just a shade or so lighter than Haruka’s perpetually sun-kissed skin.

Immediately Rin feels wrong at comparing this man, this beast, to Haruka, and instead he focuses on standing tall, on keeping red eyes steady, on staring into those foreign eyes with a burning intensity and an anger that’s finally beginning to well up now that the fear is subsiding. “Who hired you?” Rin demands, stepping closer, footing growing steadier with each careful movement. He’s gone from running on fear to running on anger and he refuses to kowtow before this man, whether his body agrees or not.

The man says nothing, head turning away from Rin, and if Rin were in any better shape he’d have grabbed that cur by his hair and made him answer the question.

Thankfully for Rin, Kisumi is able to read the mood quite readily, immediately grabbing ahold of that head of dark hair and forcing the exhausted man to look forward. “My prince asked you a question, my friend,” Kisumi smiles sweetly.

Silence reigns once more, and Rin can’t help the building anger. This man will talk, whether he likes it or not. Haruka is sitting in a cell in this filth’s stead, and Rin will be damned if he doesn’t make sure that the right man face execution. “Who hired you?” Rin repeats carefully.

Again, no answer.

Rin has half a mind to start beating the man until he speaks.

“When I ask you a question, you answer it! Say something you disgusting cur!” Rin snaps, voice loud and angry and every emotion he’s bottled up over the last few weeks comes pouring out and if his hand weren’t broken he’d surely be punching this man, no this thing, over and over again until it bled. “Speak!” Rin screams, tears beginning to well once more because he’s no longer in control of himself, his heart pounding uncontrollably, limbs shaking.

It takes another few moments for the man to finally open to mouth, to stare Rin dead in the eyes before speaking. “No one paid me to fuck you. That was just for fun,” the man says, leaning forward, dangerously close to Rin’s face as he continues, “your highness.”

Rin’s wet eyes widen in shock at the brutally honest comment, taken aback by the crassness and the disgusting, horrible honesty.

Rin’s completely blindsided when a hand flies by his face in a blur, the crack of knuckle on bone shockingly close as he watches the man crumble before him, Kisumi crying out in annoyance as he struggles to handle the fact that there’s suddenly a massive amount of dead weight in his hands.

“S-Sousuke! I know he’s a piece of trash but did you have to deck him?” Kisumi snaps out angrily, finally giving up and letting the body crumble to the ground before him.

“Yes, I did,” Sousuke shrugs. “He’ll wake eventually. We’ll take him to the palace then. Bastard’s lucky my right hand’s amess. My left hook’s much weaker than my right…” Sousuke muses aloud, shaking his hand a bit, working out the lingering pain from the punch. “Are you alright, Rin?” he asks, attention back on the prince, teal eyes full of concern.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yes. You didn’t have to-“

“I did.”

Rin nods silently, because he can’t really argue with Sousuke on this. “I’m sorry I ra-“

“It’s forgiven, Rin.”

Rin nods again, unsure what else to say or do.

He settles in leaning his shoulder against Sousuke’s uninjured one and gently, affectionately, kicking at his calf.

--

Once Rin’s attacker, apparently a hired mercenary by the name of Shunzou from Iwatobi, is in custody, all of the pieces of what happened that night begin to fall into place.

As Haruka was adamant about, he wasn’t the cause of the breach of palace security. No, the breach had come from much further within, from deep inside the web of the palace’s hierarchy.

The next few days would reveal the scale of the betrayal, massive in a way no one possibly could have imagined.

It all began with a few of the sultana’s closest advisors, plotting to keep the power granted to them by their positions. Believing a woman easier to manipulate than an obstinate boy stumbling into manhood, the plan had been to rid the palace of its future ruler before he would have the chance to officially take over. The sultana had always relied heavily on her closest advisors for guidance, having been thrust into the position as temporary ruler after the untimely death of her husband, leaving her susceptible to their influences. A mother bereft with grief, already heavily dependent on her advisors, would be easy to manipulate as they pleased.

Also, without a proper male heir, she’d be forced to choose her eventual successor, mostly likely from among her advising staff.

Any son of Gou's apparently would have been 'taken care of' as needed. Failure to survive childhood wasn't exactly uncommon in Arabia. 

Haruka’s arrival so closely after Rin’s assault had apparently been completely unplanned, but had worked out by providing the perfect scapegoat for the crime.

Once again, Haruka had been correct. Rin’s attacker had still been around when Haruka had made his way through the underground passageway. They’d nearly run into one another, in fact. Shunzou had been in the passageway himself when Haruka had entered via the exit. Hearing the sound of the exit being opened, Shunzou had hidden in one of the empty, old, unused storerooms of the palace, the entrance of which Haruka was completely unaware.

He’d waited until Haruka had passed by before fleeing the palace undetected during the commotion of Haruka finding Rin.

How Shunzou had known of the storeroom had been another of the big questions, the answer to which traced all the way back to, unknowingly, advisor Yamazaki. Far too trustworthy of his coworkers, one celebratory night full of wine had led to him telling a few stories about the late Toraichi, about their misadventures as small children, weaving in and out of the passageways playing hide-and-seek. The storeroom had been the one entrance that even Toraichi hadn’t found yet, despite having been raised within the palace walls. He’d spent hours roaming the passageways trying to find his missing best friend, and after Yamazaki had revealed himself, the storeroom had become their secret childhood hideout together.

Another mole on the inside, councilman Tsuda, provided the pressure needed to rush Haruka through trial, to take advantage of the convenient scapegoat that had fallen into their collective laps.

Had it not been for the bragging of a foolish man, Haruka would be dead and a hierarchy full of traitors would continue to rule alongside Rin.

During the flurry of days following the arrest of Shunzou, Haruka remains confined to his cell, just to ensure that he is truly innocent before he’s freed. When he's finally released it’s late in the evening, and only Rin, Gou and Sousuke are present.

Gou is the first to move in close and give him a large, fond hug.

“I’m so glad you’re free…” she mumbles out affectionately, and Haruka can’t help the widening of his eyes. He’s never hugged Gou before, but the gesture is touching none-the-less. He may not care much for human contact that isn’t coming from Rin, but it’s a silent reassurance, a reminder that no matter what has happened in the past month, she still steadfastly considers him her family.

Gou releases him and steps back, letting Sousuke give him an awkward pat on the shoulder.

“I’m pleased you’re not dead,” Sousuke finally says, because now that all the drama has subsided, that the correct people are in custody and the insanity of the past month is over, they can’t help but fall back into their awkward, barely tolerant relationship. It’s as close to affection as he’ll get from Sousuke.

When the other two step back it’s Rin’s turn, and Haruka doesn’t wait for the redhead to come to him, boldly moving forward and meeting Rin halfway, arms immediately wrapping around Rin’s shoulders.

“I’m so glad you’re alright, that you’re free…” Rin chokes out, burying his face in Haruka’s neck, and Haruka is well aware he’s beginning to cry. “I was so scared that I’d lose you. Th-that I would be forced to watch you die…”

“I’m fine, Rin. I’m here and I’m safe and I’m well.” Haruka lets his uninjured hand move upwards, to settle in Rin’s silky hair, giving the fine locks a gentle pet. Rin nods against his neck but says nothing, and they’re left standing for a few moments until Gou glances up at Sousuke and then back at them.

“Why don’t you two head back to Rin’s room for the night? It’s not as though people are unaware of your relationship anymore, and you both deserve some rest. You’ve certainly earned it.” Gou’s voice is gentle and borderline parental, and Haruka can only nod, glancing over at Rin, face still tucked against his neck. Carefully Haruka pulls away, smiling softly as Rin immediately twines their good hands together, refusing to let him go.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Rin mumbles, head hanging, and Haruka can tell he’s trying to rein in his emotions.

As they walk through the palace, hand-in-hand, Haruka can feel the stares of all the staff still milling around the hallways. They’re breaking no rules and their relationship has been outed to the masses after a secretive two years, but that doesn’t make the curious eyes any less disconcerting.

Haruka’s grip tightens on Rin’s hand as they enter the hallway that leads to the royal family’s private chambers, and slipping into Rin’s bedroom brings an overwhelming mix of affection and discomfort to Haruka. So many of his fondest memories occurred in this room, he love this room and everything it stands for. The palace may not be, but this room, here with Rin, is the closest thing Haruka has to a home. No matter how much he wanders, how far he roams, this is the only place he dreams of returning to.

And yet his memories still can’t unsee Rin’s bare, blood-drenched body, bleeding out on the pristine white tiles of that massive bathing room. Not yet, anyways.

“I’ve been with the medics so long, it feels almost odd coming back to my own room,” Rin mumbles, gently releasing Haruka’s hand as he moves to re-inspect his own bedroom, peering into the bathing room with a light frown. “I don’t like that the last memory I have of this room is so…” Rin swallows hard, opting not to finish his sentence, instead turning back to look at Haruka, eying him up and down. “You need a good washing.”

Haruka can’t help but snort at the comment. It’s ridiculously true, though, and he wonders how Rin’s even tolerated walking as close to him as he has been, given the fact he hasn’t had a bath since he’d been sent to the dungeon.

They’ve only two working hands between them, and Rin only one working eye, so they have to work together to help remove their clothing for the bath. It’s clumsy and they’re laughing, but by the end their hands are intertwined once more and together they’re heading into the bathing room.

Their first steps into that room are together, and Haruka’s happy it’s that way, because he can’t imagine re-entering this place without Rin’s steady, warm presence at his side as reassurance. It’s easier to keep the emotions at bay when Rin is alive and well, having survived the brutality.

Rin lights the fires below the baths; it will take a few minutes for the water to warm, but Haruka doesn’t care if it’s cool. He’s been deprived of the water for so long, he hasn’t the patience to wait.

He releases Rin’s hand, slipping immediately into the washing tub. He can’t help but sigh in pleasure because the feel of water around him, however cool, is as heavenly as he remembers.

“Haru, it’s not even warm yet!” Rin laughs, shaking his head, coming to stand at the bath’s ledge. He takes a careful seat, dipping his feet in with a shiver, watching as Haruka sinks deep below the surface, eyes closed, leaving only his bandaged hand above the surface. “You’re shameless, you know.”

Once Haruka surfaces Rin pats the tile in front of him, beckoning for Haruka to come over.

Haruka wordlessly complies, coming to sit comfortably between Rin’s smooth, pale legs, content to let his arms brush up against that soft skin.

“You’ll have to help me, Haru, I’ve only one hand,” Rin laughs, reaching for one of the bottles of shampoo he keeps in a built-in storage area at the tub’s edge. He pours the viscous fluid over Haruka’s head, setting the bottle down as he begins to gently massage Haruka’s scalp, cleansing his hair.

Rin’s hand feels amazing as it scratches and toys along his scalp, and Haruka’s rather sure he could fall asleep right here. Rin takes his time before playfully shoving at Haruka’s head, telling him to dip back under the surface.

Once the water fully heats Rin dips in to join him, and together they wash Rin’s hair, then each other. It’s a wonderfully intimate moment, and idly Haruka thinks how close they came to never being able to share something like this again. Once clean they move from the washing tub into the expansive, main bath. They don’t linger as long as they normally would because Haruka’s unable to swim without wrecking the bandaging on his nail-less fingers, but they still waste a good half hour floating within the pristine water.

It’s getting late by the time they dry off together, awkwardly helping one another with their towels. Haruka knows they should sleep, knows that he’s been running off a few hours of rest a night for the last few weeks, that Rin is recovering from near-death, and yet being this close to Rin, just being with Rin after far too long, has him wide awake. By the time they make it to the bed he’s leaning in and kissing Rin, over and over again, refamiliarizing himself with his prince.

“Haru…” Rin moans out breathily, uninjured hand wrapping instinctively around Haruka’s waist, holding him close. “I missed this so much. I missed you…”

It’s been over a month since they’ve held one another, since they’ve lain together, and after everything that’s happened, Haruka desperately wants to feel that hot, comforting closeness once again. “Rin,” he sighs out between soft, sweet kisses, nose nuzzling up against Rin’s as he looks warmly into Rin’s red eyes. “I want to make love with you…”

Rin groans at his words, face flushing, pulling away with a sad laugh. “You’ll never let me live down our first time together, will you?” Rin whines dramatically.

“Never,” Haruka smiles, leaning forward to kiss Rin’s flushed cheek affectionately. “Is there hyacinth oil here?” Haruka hums lightly, and Rin’s shaking his head and laughing.

“Hyacinth oil, just like old times? You’re ridiculous, you know. But yes, it’s in the drawer of my table.”

Haruka feels a welling of love deep in his chest as Rin laughs. It’s such a warm, familiar, musical sound, and he can’t help but feel like he’s falling in love all over again. It’s the simple things with Rin that endear him so thoroughly. His silly tears, his playful laugh, his competitive spirit and his fiery energy. His prince is most definitely the epitome of perfectly imperfect.

Haruka moves towards the bedside table, searching for that oil while Rin lays patiently on the bed waiting for him.

“Haru…” Rin starts, and Haruka turns around as soon as he’s located the oil, brow furrowed slightly in worry. There’s a nervousness in Rin’s voice that he’s not quite comfortable with. “Are you really sure we should be pushing things? I know you’ll likely be leaving soon, but I’m not sure if… if I can keep up just yet.”

“Do you think you can handle just lying there?” Haruka asks. “I don’t intend to take you, if that’s your worry, but if you believe yourself unable we can wait. If you’ll have me I think… I think I’d like to stay for a while.”

“R-really?” Rin asks, eyes widening in surprise at the prospect.

Haruka shrugs. “I’d rather not leave you just yet.”

“I just assumed…”

“Still assuming incorrectly, I see.”

“You ass,” Rin laughs, shifting and sitting up against the pile of pillows covering his bed, waiting impatiently for Haruka to come join him.

When Haruka returns with the oil Rin dips his fingers within, and Haruka quickly sets the jar back on the table before doing the same with his own digits. He doesn’t make a show of preparing himself because he’s far too invested in having his mouth pressed against Rin’s, and so he straddles Rin’s legs and leans in for a kiss before tentatively dropping his fingers to his entrance.

Haruka’s a bit surprised when Rin’s hand beats him there, and he can’t help but gasp as Rin’s well-oiled fingers toy gingerly around his hole. It feels glorious and intimate and he can’t help himself, face leaning in, tilting to the side, catching Rin’s lower lip with his mouth. There’s so much emotion poured into this moment, and there’s a preciousness to it, a quiet enormity. Lying in his cell he’d honestly thought he’d never get to hold Rin again, to see him in this capacity.

He’d spent many sleepless nights imagining Rin forced to bear witness to his execution.

To be here, so comfortable among the lavish pillows, freshly bathed and sharing in Rin’s ridiculous body warmth, those fond, loving fingers toying in blatant want along his warm flesh… it’s overwhelming, to say the least.

“May I?” Rin asks once Haruka releases his lips, and Haruka can only nod because yes please he wants those fingers so badly. He loves the sensation, the feeling of Rin deep inside him, despite how rarely he gets to experience it. With how brief his stays often are, Rin usually volunteers to lie beneath him out of thoughtfulness. He knows Haruka is constantly walking, moving, riding camel-back for days on end, and Rin won’t risk leaving Haruka sore before travel through the unforgiving desert.

But Haruka’s committed to staying, for a few weeks at least, and so now he’s ready and willing to bow before his soon-to-be-sultan.

Rin’s first finger is tentative, because despite those sharp teeth and that fiery personality Rin is a ridiculously gentle creature when it comes to those he loves. Haruka’s content to sit atop Rin’s lap, placing a plethora of fond, loving kisses along the uninjured side of Rin’s head (the heavy bandaging has thankfully been removed, but he’s still forced to wear a covering over his injured eye- only time will tell if he’ll recover from the partial blindness brought on by his trauma) as that finger works deeper and deeper.

After a few moments a second slips in, and Haruka can only sigh out in comfortable, familiar pleasure against Rin’s cheek.

Rin’s carefully pumping those fingers in and out, breath heavy against Haruka’s neck, lips occasionally fluttering against Haruka’s warm skin. He pulls his face away only when a third finger moves to join his two, red eyes wide on Haruka’s. “Together?” Rin asks in surprise.

“Mmm, why not?” Haruka shrugs. “We’ve only two hands between us.”  

It’s an unusual feeling, having a mix of their fingers shoved inside him, but it’s not unpleasant by any means, and there’s an odd eroticism to feeling Rin’s fingers in this manner. It doesn’t take long before they’re quietly making a competition of it, and Haruka’s torn between laughing and moaning and whimpering as the three fingers thrust and twist within him.

By the time three turn into four he is squirming, because he’s starting to feel full and in the throes of their competition he and Rin are taking turns bumping up against that sweet spot deep inside him.

“R-Rin…” he finally chokes out, slipping his own fingers free, hazy, lust-heavy eyes falling on the prince. “Can I…?”

Rin nods wordlessly, removing his own fingers and hastily rubbing the remaining oil from his hand on himself as Haruka lines himself up against Rin’s very, very hard erection.

Apparently he isn’t the only one who finds competitive fingering deceptively erotic.

As he sinks down on Rin he can only whine quietly in pleasure, blue eyes drifting shut as he takes Rin all the way. It’s been awhile since they’ve done this, yes, but he’s well-prepared and rather desperate to feel this closeness again. He feels so good, so full, so close to Rin as he waits a moment or two and then begins lifting and lowering his hips, eyes opening only to stare at Rin.

“Mmm, lay back, Rin. Let me take care of you,” Haruka mumbles out, hastening his pace as he lifts and lowers, up and down, riding Rin with a level of need he hadn’t even been aware he had.

Rin’s good hand settles on his hip, grip firm and fond, as Haruka works him hard and fast. Much like their first time Haruka knows this isn’t destined to last; it’s been far too long since they’ve been together, and there’s an increasing sense of desperation to it all.

They’re both lusty and needy, the forced separation weighing heavily, but at least they can rest assure that tomorrow is another day where they’ll be together. It’s okay to be greedy now; there’s plenty of time for gentle, romantic affections to come.  

For the next few weeks Haruka will happily belong to Rin.

Haruka can’t help himself as he leans forward, using his only good hand for support, bracing it alongside Rin’s head as he shoves their mouths together. He wants to taste Rin, wants to choke on his prince while he comes, wants to feel Rin gasp and heave for breath as he finishes deep inside him.

They’re both lightheaded and Haruka’s struggling to take full breaths, mouth mashed inelegantly against Rin’s, hair and body slick with sweat, when Haruka manages to angle just right, sending jolts of wonderful pleasure down his spine, deep in the pit of his belly, with each undulation of his hips. “R-Rin…” he chokes out and he can already feel it building, and rather than fight his orgasm he welcomes it, can tell just by looking at that beautiful face that Rin isn’t far from joining him.

It only takes a few more determined, sharp, demanding snaps of his hips before he’s coming, too hot and pleased to care that he’s very thoroughly sullying Rin’s chest and belly as he orgasms hard.

Rin’s equally distracted, it seems, jerking up as Haruka slows down, pushing himself to climax, mouthing at Haruka’s jaw to silence himself as he finishes deep within Haruka.

It’s almost embarrassing to try to put into words how hot and delicious and wonderful and full it feels for Haruka when Rin comes inside him. It’s erotic and it’s primal and deep down it feels like he’s being marked as Rin’s territory.

He loves being Rin’s territory.

For a few moments he just sits there, heaving for breath, smiling softly as Rin continues to try to catch his own breath in between those tired kisses just below Haruka’s jaw. Once he’s settled, has regained sense back to his body and mind, he reluctantly pulls himself off Rin, opting to collapse pathetically alongside his prince.

He’s wet between his thighs and he loves it, face burying in the crook of Rin’s neck, sighing contentedly as Rin’s fingers idly work their way into his hair, giving his scalp a slow, affectionate scratch.

“Mmm, we’re going to need another bath…” Rin sighs with an affectionate nuzzle of his sweaty cheek against the crown of Haruka’s head.

“Oh no, another bath. How disappointing,” Haruka snorts in amusement, tilting his head upwards and stealing another hasty kiss.  

“And once again we’ve sullied my bed,” Rin mumbles, glancing around with his good eye.

“Mm, the stars are beautiful tonight, I wager,” Haruka shrugs lightly.

“Sleeping under the stars for old time’s sake, then?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Reminiscent of their first night together, they spend the evening cuddled under a mound of blankets on a pile of pillows, heads nestled close, staring at the sky.

Here, curled up together, a tangle of limbs as Rin explains constellations to him, Haruka can only think that yes, there’s absolutely no doubt.

Rin is home.

--

In two weeks’ time Haruka and Rin stand together, side-by-side, during the mass executions. Rin struggles to watch, but Haruka keeps firm, cold blue eyes on the men before them, gaze unwavering as he watches their lives end.

In six months’ time, early in the morning hours in a futile attempt to escape the harshness of the desert’s afternoon sun, Rin is officially made sultan. He walks proudly as he takes his place as the new ruler, no longer hindered by lingering pains of his attack. The vision in his left eye has mostly been recovered, though he still deals with sensitivity to light and blurring. There’s some leftover scarring on both his neck and face, but it’s not visible unless seen up close, and Rin’s come to terms with the fact that there will always be permanent reminders of what happened.

Haruka’s trips back to the palace occur more frequently now; he’s found it’s become harder and harder to stay away from Rin for too long, and with the stress of becoming sultan, Rin needs his support more now than ever.

But not even Rin can keep him from roaming; Haruka, a wanderer by birth, can never be contained, not even by a beautifully gilded cage.

Rin doesn’t mind, though. He has his friends and his family while he waits for Haruka to return, and part of falling in love with a traveler has always meant accepting that he won’t always be around.

Haruka is forever free.   

And Rin wouldn't have him any other way.