"It's nice to hear you say that out loud," Taro said, leaning back on Sage's bed. He winced and rubbed his shoulder.
"Are you alright? I knew you were hurt!" Sage hovered over him with concern.
"Let's not change the subject, you've just admitted your feelings for me." Taro smirked. "Does this mean you're willing to give this thing between us a chance?"
"I'm worried you've not properly thought about it." Sage's head pounded after a day of stress. "Being with me would be like an occupation. You'll be at work every day, just by being by my side. It won't be nice, and the media will hound you. What if they somehow discover you're a plant person? And let's not forget about how the crown will sit on my head one day and I've still not told my family about... how I feel towards... m-men." Sage flopped back too, so they lay shoulder to shoulder. "I'm overthinking again."
Taro was quiet, so Sage turned his head. A calm pair of green eyes graced his own. "Let's take this one day at a time," Taro said. "You risked a lot to save me today. I hope you know that I will do the same for you. I don't care that the journalists will hound me, I don't even care that we'll have to keep this secret for maybe a year, I just care that we can lie here like this after a stressful day."
Sage's body tingled from head to toe. Excitement was too dull of a word to describe the spark in his heart. "You do get all wordy when you're emotional."
Taro scoffed. "And you freak out like I've just shoved you into the courtyard naked."
"This is a lot for me."
"I know." Taro patted the back of Sage's hand and decided to rest it there.
Sage's hand burned from his touch. His heart had a fit in his chest. I can't even control my breathing when he touches me. How can I ever keep this a secret? "Is it a lot for you?"
"Yes. A human knows my true form, that gets tricky. I have to be in my plant form at least once through the day, I don't eat your food, I can't drink anything other than water. Your Lord and Lady friends will notice that I'm not like them."
Worry tied Sage's lungs in knots. "One day at a time," he breathed. "We can work it out." I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening.
He went to bed feeling lighter than he had ever felt before. He finally had a clear vision of his future. If his feelings for Taro kept growing, he couldn't live without him for the sake of a crown. At least he had a younger brother that would have to take his place if his parents shut him out.
Taro laid next to Sage on the bed. He insisted that his shoulder didn't hurt that bad, and that he was wide awake after a day of sleeping. Sage almost asked if he could sleep a little closer, but no words came out when he opened his mouth. One day at a time.
He curled up in his sheets and tried to go to sleep. He couldn't, his mind wouldn't let him. "Are you sure you're okay with keeping it a secret?" he asked into the darkness.
The sheets ruffled next to him. "I'm more than okay with it," Taro replied. "Don't worry about me, I'll tell you if I'm not happy."
Sage believed him, and that put his mind to rest. "As long as you're definitely sure."
"I am." The sheets ruffled louder, and the bed dipped behind Sage, then something lightly touched his arm. He turned his head, trying to see in the dark. He managed to see an outline of Taro peering over him. Slowly, Taro laid behind him and snaked an arm around his waist. "I won't be here all night," he whispered.
Taro's hand rested over his heart, and Sage's heart didn't calm down for almost thirty minutes. Sage stayed as still as he could. Any slight movement reminded him that Taro rested into his back and held him tightly.
He had one of those sleeps where he didn't remember drifting off, and he felt as though he had been awake for most of the night, until he woke up to the birds chirping.
Taro wasn't on the bed when he rolled over and stretched. He wasn't on the bedside table either. Sage shot up and craned his neck over the side of the bed. He hadn't fallen off again, to his relief.
Taro was stood by the bedroom door, watching him with soft eyes.
"What are you doing?" Sage asked.
"Guarding. I should get paid for more than just hugging you through the night." Taro beamed when Sage blushed.
"What time is it?"
"Early. Did you sleep well?"
"I think so. I'm not used to sleeping with someone next to me."
As always, Taro's grin turned to a smirk and his eyes cheekily glowed. "You'll get used to it."
Sage left him grinning by the door and shut himself in the bathroom. It's too early to be this flustered. He washed his face and brushed his teeth and neatened his curls. His reflection, for once, didn't look like a stranger staring back.
Taro was still by the door when Sage returned to the room. He had a cup of tea and tried to focus on things he wanted to do that day, but no matter where he went in his bedroom, Taro's eyes followed him.
Even with his back facing him, Sage felt him watching.
When the time came for Taro to dress him, it felt different. There was a tension between them that was much stronger than before. Sage didn't know where to look because every time he looked at Taro, his pale fingers softly pressed into Sage's waist a little more, or his arms, or his collar when he fixed the top button of his shirt.
If he looked at what Taro's arms were doing, he got the urge to grab them and pull them around him. Sage resisted his urges and put their agreement of developing their friendship to one side. He was scared and not sure what to do.
I'm not resisting, I'm just a bit lost when it comes to relationships. Why can't I tell him that? Sage smiled at Taro before they left the room. Taro smiled back, and Sage somehow knew that Taro understood his frustrations.
He ate breakfast with his family, while Taro stood outside the door with the other guards. In one year, would that still be the same? Would Taro still be the outsider, and only be a part of his heart behind closed doors?
I hope it doesn't take me that long to be brave, for Taro's sake.
For the rest of the day, Sage spent time with his family, and Taro followed like a shadow, not being noticed by anyone other than Sage. Their eyes always found a way back to each other. Sage never meant to look at him, but he couldn't help himself.
He always wanted to see what expression Taro had on his face when they talked about politics, family drama, or future Royal engagements. Taro showed little emotion to most of what they talked about, but he listened and absorbed.
Sage noted that Taro was interested when they finally had time alone together. "So, you'll do everything your mum does when you're king?"
Sage nodded.
"She seems so busy."
"Yeah, this time of year is usually quite packed with duties, but she does a lot of her duties with dad," Sage said. "But it means that they cherish family time more than anything. I think that's why they're so strict with not being late for breakfast. Meals together are the only times we're all guaranteed to be in the same room at once."
"I like that your parents do the duties together." Taro sat on the floor by Sage's desk and crossed his legs. "I'm going to change now."
"Okay." Sage looked down from the desk chair. "I'll tell you when it's time to change back." Sage wrote in his journal and stared out of the window. He read a chapter of a book and scrolled through his phone, ignoring news sites and quickly scrolling past anything that mentioned his name.
Taro changed back when Sage was in the middle of staring at his heart-shaped leaves. He wore his turquoise jumper and pouted at it. "I want another new pot."
"We'll get you one." Sage then changed into more formal clothing. He had yet another evening of entertaining guests, only this time his brother, mother, and father would share the load of keeping the room comfortable.
Taro dressed him in smart black trousers, a green shirt and a black waistcoat with golden buttons. Sage wore his golden cufflinks with emeralds in the centre.
Taro stood behind him, admiring Sage's outfit in the mirror. "You look handsome. I can barely stop looking at you." Taro's hands moved to the bottom of Sage's waistcoat and he tugged on it. "I can barely keep my hands off you."
His breath shivered the back of Sage's neck. He wanted to lean into Taro, but they were running out of time. Instead, Sage dared to grab Taro's hands. He locked their gaze in the mirror. Sage smiled at Taro's subtle surprise. "Let's go," he said quietly and made sure to squeeze Taro's hands before stepping away.
Down the corridor, Sage was thankful he left his blazer behind because he felt clammy with nerves. Touching Taro's hands had sent his heart and soul spinning into the fire burning in the pit of his stomach. He forced himself to settle when Oxley caught up with them on their way to the hall.
By the time they greeted a few guests, Sage's mood was dropping lower, and lower. All he wanted to think about was Taro, but he had to pretend that Taro didn't exist, and to talk about his uncle's latest hunting trip, and his Aunts latest racing horse, and Sage's future plans of finding a wife.
That topic depressed him deeply, especially when Taro's green eyes stared in-between the many people filling up the colossal room, with a ceiling three times his height and a chandelier three times his weight.
People rushed by, their mouths moved fast with lots to boast about. Important people kept their heads high and their egos even higher. Meanwhile, Sage sank in his chair.
In such a fancy room, Sage had come to acknowledge his mortality. Most ornaments would outlive him. Paintings would have new perspectives, landscapes from the window would adapt, floors would be carpeted, or varnished, or both. New families would come and go and find joy in a room where he found only solitude.
As he lost himself in the green eyes across the room, hope lingered.
Sage could change his story. He could plant his life and bloom his immortality. People would talk about him for hundreds, and maybe even thousands of years. He would be a breath in humanities history, but one breath more for someone inspired by his courage. He wanted to be remembered as the Prince who chose happiness above all else. That, as a human being, was his liberty.