Hi guys! It's been a while, but here you go, a little bonus chapter! This occurs when Tennet and Vellen are in their late teens. 

Vellen was all-too aware he and Tennet were almost alone in the palace that night. The prince, his guard, and a few others were too young to join the king and quee on the conference they had invited every palace worker that was of age to. Something about war, something about arranged marriages, something else where the minds of teenagers would just get in the way between a comment and a consensus. 

All afternoon, the few people left at the palace kept to themselves. It was rare enough to have a moment without at least a few people in the same room, let alone to not have responsibilities for the day. 

Yet while most took the day to rest, Vellen was restless. On most days, he was busy enough to not think about his prince. But the opportunity to have his mind to himself was a curse more than a blessing; all day, thoughts of Tennet blossomed in his mind. He wanted to go to him, to take advantage of the fact that they would have no eyes on them for a too-rare evening. It happened more and more often - the quiet yearning that drew him to the royal who would sometimes stroke his wrist when they were away from view, who would lock eyes with him for just a little longer than he would the other guard's. The light touches, the hallway whispers, they threatened to drive him crazy. 

He found himself wishing he could kiss him again increasingly often. The last time had been the first - they were barely children, it meant nothing, and yet everything all at once. 

And yet, every part of him knew they would never be able to fully be together. It would be easier to hold his heart closed than it would be to pick up its broken pieces. 

So, Vellen stayed in his quarters. He had recently been moved to a single room. Not having to share was a true blessing, he had to admit. 

It was only when the sun set that he heard a knock on his door. With a groan, he got up from his armchair and opened it to find Tennet there, whose face brightened once their eyes met.

"Hey..." 

"Hi- what do you want?" 

Tennet shrugged. "I thought, since we are effectively quite alone tonight, we could spend some time together?" Was that the lighting, or a blush the prince was fighting? Vellen couldn't tell. 

"I-" Vellen let out a heavy sigh, his heart beating too quickly. It felt like a dream. "I really shouldn't, you know that." 

"Why not?" 

"F*ck you, you know why." 

"Who said I was inviting you along to spend the night?" 

He had said it - the words they both knew were being implied. 

"Were you not?" 

"Only if it gets to that. For now, I just want-" the prince exhaled sharply. "I want to spend time with you. Is that so bad?" 

"Just because you're the prince doesn't mean you get everything you want, Ten." 

"Oh rare to see you be flirty." Tennet's cheeky grin was both endearing and enraging. 

"Shut up, what do you want from me?" 

"There's a display of aurora in the sky tonight. See it quite well from my room, on the other side of the palace. I want to see it with you. My friend." 

"Your friend?" 

"My... something." Tennet groaned. "Look, I've been thinking about this all day and so I finally was able to act confident enough to ask you to just be next to me for a few hours. We can talk, we can just spend more time together than those handfull of seconds here and there. Is it so bad I want to take this chance we have to hold your hand?" 

Vellen watched as Tennet's composure slowly crumbled from the smooth, confident prince to what he knew his true colors to be; a little nervous and just as frustrated by their distance as he was. He was a breath away from simply saying Take my hand, damn it all! in a stubborn, flutsered stance nobody else had had the privilege to meet.

Fine. 

Vellen slipped his hand Tennet's, immetialy calming at the distantly-familiar feeling. "Okay then, but one rule; you don't get to kiss me." 

The prince's eyes widened. "What? Why?" 

"Just... don't." Because if you do, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep our affection in the shadows.

Tennet scoffed and rolled his eyes. "The things I give up for you... fine, okay. Then I get to choose a rule as well; you don't get to run away." 

"Deal." 

The aurora were faint, but still the green-tinted sky was just an excuse to indulge. The pair were sitting on the floor of the balcony, the prince leaning on his guard, head on his shoulder. An hour passed, two, it didn't matter. 

"This isn't against the rules, is it?" Tennet sounded tired. 

"Of course not." 

The prince exhaled shakily, lifting their hands that had still not let go of each other, kissing his guard's wrist. 

"That is pushing the rules, though," Vellen said with a smile.

"But did it break them?" 

"... I suppose not." 

Tennet leaned his head back just enough to look at Vellen, who was already looking at him. The guard was certain even the few other guards in the palace could hear his heartbeat in that moment. The prince brought up his free hand, lightly running his fingers on Vellen's face, on his cheekbones, on the outline of his lips. 

"... one day." The prince muttered, eyes locked on his guard's lips. 

"... I hope so." 

Tennet cleared his throat, sitting up. "This is torture, your rule is vile." 

"Hey now, this whole evening was your idea." 

 "If it had gone as it did in my mind I'd be kissing you now." 

"So why aren't you? You tend to get what you want." 

Tennet's eyes caught Vellen's as a silence started building between them. "Because I respect you, Vel. You asked me not to, so I won't. I like you too much. So... f*ck, if following your rules means that you maintain your esteem of me enough to keep being somewhere near when I feel the need to be grounded, so be it. I guess it serves me right for being in love with you in the first place." 

Vellen's mouth fell open, his eyes widened, the world around him stilled. "For... being in love with me?" 

Tennet blinked once, twice. "Yes? Yes. I feel like that much has been clear for years, though only defined as such recently." 

"... Me too. I love you too, if it wasn't obvious." 

"... it was, and as much peace as it brings me, I wish-"

Before Tennet could express what they both knew they felt, Vellen pulled his prince into a hug, holding him close. "I know. I suppose we simply need to decide if the fleeting joys are worth it." 

Tennet burried his face in Vellen's neck. "They are. To me, at least." 

The pair held each other until their mutters turned into silence. Vellen noticed Tennet's eyes become heavy with sleep, and carefully helped him get up. A breath caught in his throat. 

The lightest gust of wind would be enough to finally close the gap between their lips. 

Yet, Vellen stepped back. 

"Stay with me tonight?" Tennet asked. "I just- please?" 

"I agreed to not run away." 

"I know, but I'd understand if you'd say this is too much." 

Vellen considered it. "It is, but..." He let his words drift off as Tennet led him back into the room, tossing a spare pillow onto the bed. The moment Vellen sank into the bed, he let out a sigh. "Gods above I heard your bed was comfortable, but I didn't think it was the very definition of the word." 

Tennet raised an eyebrow as he changed into his night clothes. "And from whom did you hear such things?" 

"One of your many courtesans, they're chatty," Vellen teased - the entire palace knew that the prince was more than a little reluctant to let anyone into his bed at all. 

"Oh, shut it!" The prince threw a pillow at his guard, making him laugh and prompting him to throw one back. It didn't take long for them to run out of pillows entirely, opting to playfully wrestle instead, as children. Their laughs echoed in the room, and in that moment, they were young again, unaware of the laws of marriage the prince was bound to.  

Only, everything froze when their eyes met. Vellen was looming over Tennet, holding his wrists by his head. Ha! I win! I get the last chocolate tart! 

They were no longer children, and there was no way they could win the game they were born into.

"I constantly find myself surprised by how strong you are, Vel."

Vellen ducked down to press a kiss to his prince's cheek, before letting go of him and sinking into his side of the bed, leaving him stunned, silenced. Tennet turned towards him, barely brushing his fingers with his own. 

"Is this alright?"

"... maybe, maybe." 

"You can leave if you'd like." 

"You can kiss me if you'd like." 

The prince let out a quiet chuckle. "As much as I want to, we both know there will be no more pretending if I do. One day, we will. You have my word."

They fell asleep like that, a distance between them only barely bridged by the brush of their fingers.  

Vellen woke up first, having slept better than he had in years. But the sun was high in the sky - people would be looking for Tennet. He carefully got out of the bed, reaching down to stroke the prince's cheek before leaving the room. 

"One day."