Lucien opened his eyes a tiny bit, breathing deepening again. "A…ki?" He said slowly, soft as a breath. "Don't…cry." he squeezed the other male's hand gently.
It's not in the Cards (O/O)
Aki looked up, his eyes widening. "P-prince Lucien…" He bowed his head a little. "I-I'm sorry… You're alive! You're alive!" He looked happy. "I apologize for my behavior." He suddenly look downcast.
Lucien coughed softly, a faint smile twitching at his mouth. "No apologies… necessary." He said slowly, through labored, slow breaths.
He glances at the other. "You're… you're not mad…?" He whispers, clutching onto Lucien's hand tightly.
"At…?" Lucien trailed off, looking at him through bleary eyes. "What you said? I…I think I love you too." he mumbled.
Aki looked down, waiting for harsh words. But what the other said made his eyes widen. "B-but what about-" His voice trembled. "What about…" he couldn't bring him to say about what the kingdom wanted.
"What about what?" Lucien asked. His voice was hoarse, and soft, but stronger than it had been in a while.
"What about your fathers rule…" He whispers, "About you needing to marry a woman… You can't… you can't love a man…" Aki whispers.
"I can love one." Lucien replied quietly. "I just…I can't marry one." he reached up and lightly ran a hand through Aki's hair.
Aki leaned into his head into the gentle touches. "I know…" He whispers quietly.
Lucien closed his eyes for a moment. "I…I'm sorry." he said quietly. "I really am. That we can't be…anything really official…"
Aki nods and sighs softly, leaning into his touch. "I-It's okay…" He mutters, feeling his heart shattering. "It's okay…" He said it the second time more to assure himself.
"I still…But I still want you…" Lucien shook his head a little. "Please?" he opened his eyes, looking at Aki.
Aki looked up and nods, gently grasping his hands. "What… whatever you want…" He whispers, desperately. If all he could have was a tiny part of Lucien, then he would do it.
"Only if you really want…this." Lucien waved a hand vaguely. "I don't want to…to pull you into anything you don't want."
"No, no. I do I do want this…" He whispers, his eyes wide. "I would love to…" He whispers as he looks up at Lucien.
Lucien gave a small smile. He cupped Aki's cheek in one hand, and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Me too…" He trailed off. "Now…please tell me that that was the first of many cures, because I'm not the only one who needs it. Needed it? How many doses does it take?"
Aki smiled, leaning into the others hand. "It only takes one… and I have the doctors mass producing it." He mutters, leaning onto the bed. He looked exhausted, dark bags under his eyes. He was still hurting about the loss of his teacher, and he had been working non stop.
Lucien nodded. "Okay." He gently pulled the other male into the bed. "Come on, then. You need to sleep." He kissed the top of Aki's head.
Aki crawled into bed, his eyes shutting. "Alright…" He mutters softly, leaning into his gentle touches. "Thank you, Lucien." He whispers softly, kissing his cheek gently before leaning into the covers and snuggling into Lucien.
Lucien spread the covers over Aki. "You're welcome…but I probably don't smell all that pleasant, so I don't know how much of a favor I'm really doing you."
"I don't think I smell much better." he whispers before snuggling into the other and kissing his cheek. He shut his eyes and sighed.
Lucien held him close, closing his eyes. "Mm. Alright. Sleep well." he murmured. He let out a soft, tired sigh.
(Time skip?)
(sure. To when? And do you want me to do it, or do you want to do it?)
(Could you do it? And do you have any ideas in mind?)
(sure! Uhm…not really lol. I mean…maybe Lucien takes Aki out to the gardens to show him something? Because at one point Aki asked if Lucien would show him Lucien's favorite place, and they never got a chance to do that?)
(Sure! We can do that!)
(alright! So that would be a time skip of a few days, maybe? Since Lucien needs a little bit to recover from the disease?)
(Yeah! That can work!)