Tooru feels stuck in a cycle that might go on forever. The tears that had already rollen off his face, have made ankle-deep puddles in this dark empty room. He couldn't try to move, the thought of moving even a centimeter filled him with horrible anxiety that forced even more tears out of his shaking body. It was the fear of moving before anything, and then it was the fear that someone else could be in this expanse unbeknownst to him, and now he's scared that he won't be able to stop even when the whole room is filled to the brim and he's drowning in his own tears of anguish. Now the water is up to his knees and no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop the tears.
"Pl-tap pl-tap."
Tooru can feel his stomach drop and his heart thump uncontrollably. Over the sobs that racked his body, he could hear faint footsteps in the distance.
First, he saw it reflecting in the water, then he could feel the sweltering heat. Blue flames danced closer to his shaking form and cool light bounced around in the dark space. Thick smoke conjured from the fire meeting his salty tears. There was barely a tussle between the two elements, the fire just grew and boiled the water then kept going. It was almost like the flames had a mind of its own, like an otherworldly being. Thick smoke from the fire choked him, momentarily stopping his sobs causing him to be hyper-focused on the crackling of fire and footsteps of the unknown, but also stunting his vision. He could see nothing but grey and blue.
"Thump Thump"
It felt as if his heartbeat and the noise blended into one--starting to follow the same melody. Tooru could feel the presence of a person along with the noises despite not being able to see them. It didn't feel human, maybe it once was, but certainly not anymore. Without his cries, he could hear the faint sloshing of something wet against itself but not quite liquid. The omega quickly cupped the last of the water in his hands and splashed it on his face. It stopped the smoke from choking him and also improved his sight. His eyes followed where his ears told them the being was, it was closer than he anticipated. But the creature's form was blurry because of the sweat from the heat falling into Tooru's eyes so he couldn't make out any specific features. He called out to the creature in a croak but it did not flinch, just continued to walk closer. Suddenly, he heard loud crackles coming from behind him, he slowly turned to see that the blue fire had grown to an impressive height, and it threatened to fall on him--but he could not leave for there were now flames in every direction he turned. His heart was painfully thumping well above normal rates, his knees felt weak and his whole body was wet with sweat. All he could do was watch in fear as the being and fire closed in on him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Rattle rattle"
The sound of wooden wheels whirling mingled in the air with the buzz of bugs and sunshine. Rays of light peeked through the covered window, illuminating the omega's body causing his curls to change from the usual rich chocolate to a light airy caramel. The world wasn't black anymore, he could see walls and a roof instead of an endless abyss of darkness. The sudden contrast confused and relieved him all at once. His hands trembled as they reached to cover his beating heart. It felt so real...
"Shit." Tooru whispered, looking around the moving carriage and seeing no one.
He never cussed out loud before but the situation felt fitting. He stumbled around the space looking to see if his husband left a note, he found nothing but a breakfast tray that looked like it was ravished by an animal tucked under the seat, Hajime. He looked out the carriage window and tried to spot the royal carrying carts, which held his and his husband's belongings. If he remembered correctly the man said he frequented it during his journey to the Western kingdom because it felt more homely.
Tooru's stomach dropped to his feet when he realized there wasn't one carriage in sight. Not any of the servant carts, not the royal carrying carts, and certainly not the guard wagon that was supposed to be in front of them—protecting them from any hijackers or threats. So he was alone again, so very alone.
The needles of hurt crawled up his body starting from his toes to his scalp leaving behind painful goosebumps in its stead. Since no one was there to see him and it seemed like there wouldn't be for a while, he allowed himself to wallow in pity. Regardless of whether he trusted his husband, the alpha was the only person he knew here. And now he was gone. He felt his heartbeat start picking up even more and his lips start trembling at the implication of him being abandoned. And not just him, what would happen to his kingdom now that he and in turn the treaty was rejected? What would happen to his little brother? The boy hadn't even presented yet...
"NEIGH NEIGH"
The omega heard the horses outside start getting loud, they seemed surprised by something.
SNAP
Was the only warning he received before the carriage was thrown in every possible direction by the horses galloping away like their lives depended on it. His arm was flipped in a painful position his forehead was banged against the wall, all he could hear was ear-shredding screeches from the poor things and buzzing that seemed to be coming from his own skull. He was ringing the bell that signaled the horses to stop but they just kept going. And that's when he realized-
Their lives probably did depend on it..
The horses somehow broke away from the multitude of ropes and clasps binding them and everything stopped for a moment. The carriage fell still and he fell on the carriage floor with a loud thump. He wanted to sit there and catch his breath, collect his thoughts. But something compelled him to find what scared the horses. He leaned his body weight against the heavy door and pushed against it in desperation. It finally heaved open and he immediately stumbled out.
The wind fondled Tooru's curls and weaved through the grass as if it held onto secrets. It whispered in his ear little snippets of anxiety—of woe.... of fear.
His eyes searched through the thick morning dew for any anomaly that would've caused the horses to act like that. A shadow, a giant predator, an incoming storm. But there was nothing—and that was the worst part because the unknown is far more terrifying than anything a mind could see. He felt his eyes getting wet again. Tooru was tired of being scared, of the nauseous waves in his stomach, and he was so very tired of being alone.
"I am so bloody dramatic," Tooru whispered to himself, his hands thrashing around his face to wipe up the tears, "is this not what you wished for?"
He couldn't even count the number of times he wished for a freak accident to occur so he wouldn't have to be married off to the South— so he wouldn't lose the home he became accustomed to.
'I suppose this is karma...' He thought.
He walked back to the carriage on trembling legs. He was stuck on an unknown path in the middle of a forest he could barely pronounce the name of. He didn't know what to do other than sob.
So he did exactly that, with his curls spayed out on the barely standing carriage's cushions and his fists weakly hitting whatever surface they could. He let everything he'd been holding onto— tears for his beloved older brother Takumi, for his younger brother, for the treatment he received from everyone around him, and finally for this horrid treaty that ruined his already dreadful life— he let all of that out.
~
"This makes absolutely no sense. Just allow me out!" Hajime bellowed.
The men just shook their heads as if the alpha was childish or unreasonable.
"We informed you of this well in advance, my prince." One of the councilmen said slowly as if the boy was a baby.
This just caused the fury in him to rise even more.
"I don't care! He could die! I need to go to him!" The prince growled, and his stomach sank just a little more remembering how defenseless they left the omega.
"This is simply a test to see how Tooru-sama shall react! Do'th not be dramatic!" The oldest of them shouted back, he was the leader and highest authority of the Southern council.
Usually Hajime wouldn't talk back, but this wasn't the usual instance. His spouse could die because of their thoughtlessness—albeit, the one he just met but still all the same..
"This is simply messed up! He is a Western omega—We all know how they are raised, none if be true those folk could not possibly survive alone in any Southern forest. This is not just a test, this is a death sentence!" He snarled, his burly arms being thrown up to grip at his dark curls in desperation.
How could he explain to these buffoons that they are risking the life of their future queen?
"Hajime, your trusted guards are already watching him from afar. He shall be fine, what else could you want?" The shortest member cried out.
The alpha had to take a deep breath to not say anything he would later be punished for. He took a few steps toward the councilman and got in his face, with each step he cracked his knuckles in unison.
"My men—"
BANG
Just then they were all interrupted by the door suddenly being busted open with Hajime's best man, Bokuto pushing through it..
"There is something very wrong, sir." He breathed out in a shaky voice, from both exhaustion and terror.
Iwaizum felt his blood run cold.
"W-what do you mean?" He asked, gripping the nearest table edge to steady himself.
He watched as Bokuto's mouth opened and closed as if he was trying to find the right words. He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes.
"I do not know—something is out there following him. The horses got scared and ran off, he's all alone and the carriage is damaged." The other alpha finally spoke after a short silence.
Hajime didn't even give his brain time to fully comprehend the man's words before grabbing every single weapon he owned. He sped toward the front with arrows and swords in his grasp.
"Whether you try to stop me or not—and whether you choose to accompany me. I do not care, I shall go protect my newlywed." Hajime declared and marched out of the room with a pounding heart.
His face had never felt more on fire. It was a strange mix of anger, fear, and hesitation that crawled its way over his body. It darkened his vision as if he was looking through tinted glasses.
They just expected him to sit in an old military base while his husband was left alone and afraid?
He jumped onto his horse and whipped it into motion. They galloped with incredible speed in the direction of the nearest forest which he knew Tooru was in. The noise of hooves stabbing the earth echoed miles out but he couldn't hear anything over his pounding heart. Hajime knew that no matter how fast he went, he still wouldn't be there for another 30 minutes at least. He also knew it was strange of him to be so affected by an omega he barely knew— but at that moment he did not care.
So he prayed, he prayed for himself, and prayed for his husband.
~
Tooru awoke for the second time with much less relief than the first. Along with that, his eyes were raw and heavy from his sobbing, his nose was stuffed, and his vision was slightly blurry. The peach and lavender sky showed it was late afternoon. The sunshine warmed the atmosphere and he no longer felt that immense dread. But something else replaced it, and that thing was rage.
Tooru felt like he was deceived by his husband's charming smiles, funny accent, and the relatable air around him. He acted as if he wanted the omega—as if cared about his well-being just to leave him deserted in the middle of nowhere without warning. The sudden change honestly confuzzled him. Before he fell asleep the boy tried to reassure himself it was just an accident and Hajime would come running to save him but that wasn't true. He was never wanted by anyone other than his older brother..... but Takumi was gone forever. It was silly to even entertain the idea that someone could enjoy being around him.
For the first time since this morning, he looked down and examined himself to keep his mind off the situation. Instead of seeing the yellow dress he was wearing the previous night to dinner, he saw a deep blue nightgown flowing around his thighs that had purple bruises forming on them. The bruises were from the horses getting scared, he presumed but the nightgown puzzled him. He has never seen the dress in his life and he had no memory of putting it on...
' Did someone else undress me—oh my heavens was it Haji-?'
All of a sudden he could hear distant rhythmic noises. They were faint but Tooru could tell that was only because of the distance and if he was near the noise it would be deafening. With his red flushed face, he looked around the carriage and tried to busy himself with cleaning up the wreckage. He didn't want to get scared over some small noises so he worked to keep his mind off the sound. As he screwed in some loose nails and pushed in some loose screws he could feel and hear hooves getting closer. Though they were coming from the opposite direction he hoped it was one of the horses that ran from him.
After fixing everything he knew how to fix (which was barely anything), he decided to poke his head out the open wooden door to figure out what was galloping in his direction. It had gotten closer and he was positive they were only some meters away from him.
His eyes had trouble focusing at first but then he saw a spiky head of black hair…. and a white dress shirt…. and tan skin.
"T-that's Hajime…. Did he come back for me?? But—no he didn't….." Tooru whispered to himself and immediately pulled his head back onto the carriage.
His body unconsciously curled in on itself and he felt his eyes watering as the steps just got louder and louder.
"Tooru!" He heard the man shout from afar which caused the omega to flinch.
He bit his lip to keep his whines from being heard.
"Tooru!" Hajime called again approaching the broken down carriage.
He barely waited for the horse to come to a stop and lept off running toward the creaking door of the cart.
"Oh Tooru" He sighed in relief, seeing short brown ringlets of hair and pale milky skin.
He grabbed the boy as gently as his shaking hands could manage and hugged him close to his chest. Tooru let it happen but didn't reciprocate the hug, he just kept still holding in his cries as the man around him shook in relief, catching his breath.
"What has happened?" Hajime asked, concerned seeing his husband's trembling, "Are you hurt?"
Oikawa turned to him in disbelief with tears streaming down his pink, flushed cheeks, and his red lips pushed into a whimpering pout to try to stop the incoming sobs before he exploded.
"What has happened? you left me all alone!" Tooru cried, his fists gripping the alpha's button-up.
Hajime sighed.
He didn't know how to fix this. How would the omega react if he told him the truth? That he has known about this since way before they met the previous night—he was already upset and feeling betrayed...
"I know—I know...I'm sorry....." He comforted, shushing the boy and squeezing him even harder.
Under the loud evening winds and the soft noises of insects chirping, Tooru's soft cries could be heard muffled by his husband's chest.
"But what for?" He hiccupped, pushing against the man's abdomen to be released.
"They—I-I just.....I just went to a... rusty lodging and I... did expect those folk to take care of you—but at which hour I came back you weren't there!" Hajime explained, with frequent pausing in between as if he was thinking deeply.
Tooru sniffled and pushed back to make eye contact with the alpha.
"Really?" He asked, wiping the drops that were traveling down his flushed face.
'Aye! and my men said you—the horses went the wrong way!" He further stated with wide eyes that begged the boy to believe him.
Tooru just nodded and finally reciprocated the embrace. He wrapped his arms around the ravenette's neck and allowed himself to be dragged out of the broken-down carriage. The alpha smelt like amber, cinnamon, and fresh dew on flowers. They stood there in relief and contentment under the warm setting sun and the cool spring breeze—till it got painfully awkward seeing as they had met less than 2 days ago.
"We shall head back to the others, they're waiting for our return." Hajime nervously informed and walked the brunette toward the horse.
He gently tried to guide the omega onto the horse but that was quickly rejected because the boy didn't want him peering up his dress—which he was assured would never happen but Tooru still forced the man on first with a pout. Now with his husband in tow, Hajime rode carefully back to the main path where they had left all the carriages.
—Both of them having completely forgotten about the thing that was following Tooru for miles.
~
Great Ginkgo trees crackled in the wind their leaves and silhouettes leaving large shadows against the grassy plain. The sky was a pale purple with spots of salmon and navy, as well as the blue moon peeking through a misty cloud.
"Tis already evening so we shall stay here in tents," Hajime briefed while softly pulling Tooru off the horse, "our tent isn't ready yet so you can do whatever."
The boy thanked him for the new information with a pink face at the physical contact. Though he was slightly confused as these Southern horses had no trouble transporting in the dark, but he didn't question it just yet. Instead, he decided he needed to look around the open field that was now full of people. There were servants nailing night lanterns into the ground and there were others lighting fires, Royal guards were sharpening their swords and arrows then practicing their shots off to the side. His eyes followed pretty light waves that reflected dust and debris in the air leaving a mystical atmosphere around the space—till his hazel orbs landed on curly licorice tufts of hair. Akaashi.
He was still mad at the boy for calling him a slut— but he also just wanted to know why. He was called a lot of things in the West, worthless, ugly, trifling, inferior, a bitch. but he'd never been called something akin to a slut before. He has only seen 17 springs and was almost never allowed outside the palace, so there was no reason for the term to be shouted at him anyway.
"Ho." The brunette called and took a seat on the soft grass next to the ravenette.
The ravenette shook in surprise and quickly looked to see who was addressing him. His face immediately fell seeing who was there and his eyes shot back to his lap.
"...aye." He greeted back, fidgeting with his trousers.
Tooru's eyes softened watching the boy's nervous demeanor.
"You know wherefore I am here, right?" He asked pursing his mauve lips together, suddenly feeling nervous too.
Akaashi nodded and closed his eyes tightly. They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke up to reply.
"I am so sorry. I do not know why I said that—I did not—and do not assume you a slut." He voiced slowly and calmly but his behavior spoke differently.
That didn't satisfy his curiosity but it seemed like questioning the boy further wasn't a good idea to Tooru, and he simply pitied the roughed-up servant.
"Do not be nervous. I am not important enough for you to be scared of offending me." The omega reassured with a polite smile, reaching out and gently grasping the other's hand.
The boy finally opened his eyes and gazed back into the prince's orbs.
"You are much nicer than people say Western omegas are," He said bluntly, reciprocating the action, "but there is no excuse for what I said." He continued, shaking his head shamefully.
Tooru nodded and chuckled.
"That is because my parents did not teach me Western ways, they did not teach me anything actually." He laughed covering his mouth with his empty hand.
Akaashi didn't know how to react so he just awkwardly chuckled along, which caused the other's smile to widen as if he just thought of something exciting.
"...Does ye want to be friends?" The brunette asked, looking down at the grass and back to him nervously.
The other's eyes widened beyond belief and his body tightened as if he was uncomfortable.
"...Oh—you do not have to if you do not wish to! That was just a question..." He added letting go of the boy's hand and fixing the curl that fell onto his face..
Akaashi seemed panicked and grabbed the other's hand again.
"No no! I just—I never had a friend before." He confessed in mild embarrassment.
Tooru grinned something wide, bright, and slightly crooked.
"Me as well... We can be each other's first!" He stated happily.
Their lips turned red from being stretched into wide, sweet smiles— they moved quickly and sporadically as they chatted about random things, each topic getting more interesting and more comical as they lost their polite filters due to the exhaustion that crept up on them. Tooru would double over in laughter not even being able to finish his joke or humorous memory and Akaashi would soon follow, falling on top of the shaking boy that layed on the grass. They were drunk with contentment and fatigue, the faint scent of a delighted omega and beta filled the air.
"Come eat dinner with us." Hajime suddenly appeared, walking up to crouch behind the laughing duo and startling them out of their happy daze where no one else existed.
He also had a large, sweet grin on his face that worked weirdly with his furrowed brows; he was glad to see that his newlywed found someone he could laugh with after something so traumatizing happened to him.
"Aye, we will." Tooru replied with a lazy smile.
The man nodded and walked off with the royal-designated food taster to the fire that had now been set up with dozens of boulders surrounding it. The omega got up to follow but noticed Akashi didn't move an inch.
"Are you coming?" He questioned, bending down to meet the other's eyes.
The boy bit his lip and paused before answering.
"No... have fun." Was all he said before turning away and starting to get up in the other direction.
Tooru was a little surprised but kept pushing.
"Why for?" He asked.
The other stopped but didn't turn back around.
"I shouldn't be around royals looking like this." Akaashi whispered so low that the brunette almost couldn't hear it.
Almost.
"What? No! You look....beautiful." He tried to reassure.
The ravenette laughed hollowly.
"Do not sugarcoat. I look a mess, I am shameful." He stated and turned around with a pointy frown.
Tooru thought for a moment about how to respond before his caramel eyes lit up.
"Let us make a deal?" He asked and continued when he didn't see any protest from the other, "Come eat dinner with us. And after I shall give you a complete remodel!"
The beta's eyes softened with admiration.
"Thank you.....but I can not possibly take something like that—" Akaashi tried before being interrupted.
"Do not be silly! Of course, you can!" Tooru bellowed and dragged the boy with him to the fire.
They sat together next to Hajime and were handed wooden bowls filled with potatoes, meat, and broth— which Tooru was informed is called 'Nikujaga' in the South.
The omega watched as the others quickly devoured their portions while he struggled to swallow the hot, overly seasoned-thing.
"Too much?" His husband questioned trying not to laugh distastefully.
Tooru pouted and nodded.
"It is too spicy!" He explained, trying to take another spoonful but ending up sneezing off to the side.
The alpha laughed, his thick eyebrows unfurrowing—showing off his deep dimples and boyish smile. To Tooru, he looked like the personification of the word prince.
"You will get used to our way of cooking," Hajime stated and unconsciously wiped little pieces of broth off the other's chin with the pad of his rough thumb, "But I do have one trick for it?"
The brunette turned pink and shoved away his husband's hand in embarrassment, continuing to shovel only the potatoes into his mouth. Those were the pieces that took up the least broth. Why was he so affected by a little touch? He wondered.
"Alright then." The man replied to the action chuckling, "I guess you do not want to know the trick." He joked.
Tooru pouted even more and his pink cheeks squished with his sour facial expression, which caused the alpha to smile even wider.
"Iwaizumi-sama thinkest you are very airashi right now." Akaashi whispered into the omega's flushed ear monotonously but with a sly smirk.
He looked at the other with a questioning expression but the beta didn't elaborate causing Tooru to just pray 'airashi' didn't mean something like stupid or anything insulting. He amusedly watched as his husband glared at his new friend and continued slurping his stew like an animal.
"It means-" Akaashi started before being interrupted by the alpha bellowing something in Watihain at him with a red face.
Akaashi laughed silently and winked at the brunette.
They all finished their stew in silence with the occasional sneeze from Tooru then a laugh in reply from Akaashi and Hajime. The world turned into a dark shade of indigo with thousands of stars shining in the deep sea of sky. The new Southern prince and betan servant excused themselves from the gathering to 'freshen up in the river' which was code for 'look for all of the omega's clothes'. They stumbled over pointy rocks and uneven earth, sneaking around to find the royal carrying carts.
"While we art on the topic of robes..." Tooru started, "Do you know anything about this nightgown?" He asked, looking down at the silky thing the unheard question hanging thick in the air.
"Oh! I did that—do not worry!" Akaashi answered with a straight but polite face.
The prince sighed in relief, his hand going to his heart and clenching it in satisfaction.
"Did ye think it was Iwaizumi-sama?" He teased with almost no change in his facial expression other than a slight smirk, "You are half right—he said you looked uncomfortable and called upon me to change you into a more breathy apparel."
The brunette blushed in embarrassment but more so with adoration for his husband's kindness, he didn't know if the man was faking it but he enjoyed it nonetheless.
"Well, thank you. I know that was not fun—There it is! My carrying carts!" He called.
He skipped over to the closest one, the pastel colors showing through the window indicating it was his. He tried pulling the door open but failed and then the other tried but also failed. They both had to pull at the same time to get the doors to budge and then they both flew open. He immediately started sorting through the gowns he was provided trying to find one that would match Akaashi. Only a few of the dresses he had seen before, most of them being gifts from guests for the wedding and the rest being specially sewn by the kingdom for his travel. He searched through creams, chestnuts, maroons, aquas, and many more before finding a beautiful deep sapphire silk sundress.
"Oh, my heavens! This is perfect for you!" Tooru excitedly exclaimed, then held it up to Akaashi's self.
He watched as the beta's eyes lit up and started watering. But then he looked away and gently pushed the dress.
"I am dirty—I can not wear something so lovely." He stated with a sad tone.
The omega rolled his eyes and grabbed the other's shoulders.
"Then we can go bathe in the river!" He proposed and pushed the dress into the arms of the other.
He started looking for a gown for himself, sorting through many before landing on a dark teal so he could match his new-found friend. He picked up the bar of soap Hajime had given him and started walking back toward the river, where they really were supposed to be.
"Come on! He called, the other starting to follow him.
They arrived at the river but both were too shy to take off their clothing. Tooru said he would go first but only as long as Akaashi promised not to look—and the other did, covering his eyes with his hands. The omega stripped and immediately jumped into the water, the blue tint not hiding his embarrassed flush.
'I am blushing so much this present day.' He thought.
The boy took that as a sign he could look and uncovered his eyes, then he politely begged the prince to cover his eyes. Which he obliged and both were now awkwardly floating next to each other in the river water.
"Pass the soap?" The beta asked to cut the awkward air.
After passing the soap back and forth then cleaning themselves thoroughly, they sat in the semi-cold water chatting about their childhoods and past. Tooru learned that the other wasn't Southern or Western, he was from an Eastern tribe that went by the name 'Fukurodani.' His family was forced out by new legislation when he was 6 years old and they had nowhere else to go. They lived in the woods for a while, scavenging for animals and berries before being caught by Western slave catchers. They took the family to their base where the parents were able to negotiate indentured servitude for their youngest son, Akaashi Keiji. Instead of being forced to be a sub-human slave, he was able to live and grow up as an orphan child that also had to do slave labor thanks to his family. His parents were sold to the South for 5 years before being sold back to the West, where they reunited. He only got to spend a year with them before they sadly passed when he was 12 years old due to the slave labor causing their health to deteriorate fast. He never saw his siblings ever again.
Tooru couldn't help his eyes watering and his nose running while the beta talked. It was already so unfortunate and he got the feeling Akaashi wasn't telling all of it to soften the blow.
"I am so sorry." The brunette tried comforting.
The other just nodded with a straight but somehow somber expression.
"We should get out now." He stated.
They both got out carefully so as to not look in each other's very naked direction. They shook off the water and put on their respective gowns. Tooru felt a little dry from not being able to use the oils he usually did but he couldn't find his cosmetics cart and didn't want to seem stuck up so he kept quiet about that. What he did talk about was how good akaashi looked in his new gown.
"Oh! Behold you! I can not believe how quite beautiful you look!" The omega exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement around the other.
"Stop it!" The Beta called in embarrassment, covering his face with his hands and tottering in the direction of the campsite.
Tooru followed with hyper steps, carrying their dirty old garments.
"No! That color belongs to you! Look at the way it contrasts against your tone!" He cried, clapping his hands with a satisfied smirk.
The ravenette yip-yapped in embarrassment, saying this is one of his first times wearing a real dress. The brunette just kept complimenting him and talking about how well they matched. They shoulder-pushed and teased each other all the way back to the tents where they saw a grumpy Hajime sitting right where they left him.
"You folks took so long! Now my men and I will have to bathe in the black of night!" The alpha complained, crossing his arms like a child.
They stumbled over laughing and peeking at each other.
"So so sorry Hajime-sama. We apologize!" Tooru replied with a teasing tone, "But, would you happen to know where my tent is?" He asked, with begging eyes.
The other rolled his eyes and pointed to the big beige one with wooden sticks surrounding it.
They thanked him and skipped over to the tent. The inside looked like it was straight out of one of the prince's fantasies. There were small fireflies swinging in glass jars tied to the sides and top of the thing. The walls were decorated with tribal paintings of gold or turquoise symbols and warriors that seemed to come to life under the light of the insects. There were two neatly laid out cots on the grassy ground, the whole expanse smelled like fresh dew and sleep. It was like a magic trick, the inside looked seemed to grow as they crouched in.
"...Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous?" The omega questioned, shocked by the simple beauty of a royal traveling tent.
The other didn't reply, also in shock at his surroundings. The boys eventually got over it and laid down in their respective places. They continued talking about their past and bonding, he also learned that Akaashi was the only non-alpha who worked near the palace that knew both Corish and Watihain so that is why he came along on the journey to the South. Tooru told Akaashi about his late brother Takumi, and how he was the only person in his life that genuinely cared for him—from when he was a baby till his passing. It gave him a little bit of closure, to finally be able to grieve and talk about it with another human being.
Instead of going to sleep with a heavy raw heart, and stinging eyes— for the first time in a month he went to sleep thinking of nothing.