Chapter Text
It didn’t hurt as much as Kojiro thought it would to get dressed. Regent Queen Carla’s healing over the last few days had worked a charm, or like the magic it was. And, on the last day of healing, the final push was given by Kaoru, who personally healed him. At long last, and for the first time in months, Kojiro was fighting fit.
‘Why couldn’t you do this before?’ Kojiro had playfully grouched. He didn’t even pretend to mean it, far too overjoyed to just be in Kaoru’s presence again. The elf had been busy of late, but Kojiro couldn’t fault him, kings did have the tendency to be busy.
‘Because, you ungrateful gorilla, I had to fuel most of my magic into keeping Carla present. It took a considerable amount of magic to do so.’
And a considerable amount of skill, Kojiro was sure.
‘Well thank you for healing me through Carla and personally.’
It would have been so easy to ignore Kojiro, claim to be lost in palace activities, too busy to meet a mere human.
But Kaoru had made time.
‘It’s nothing,’ Kaoru blustered, aiming for dismissiveness and hitting embarrassment.
Being healed by Kaoru had helped Kojrio feel better than he had in weeks. Of course the regular access to food and rest helped a lot too. As well as the general feeling of safety.
But today would be the first time in almost a fortnight he’d dared to travel from his opulent room that had been his temporary home. Curious to a fault, that was unheard of usually from the young prince, but bed bound and invalided for most of that time, and rehabilitating for the rest of it, hadn’t led to many opportunities for exploration.
He’s wasn’t even in his normal garb today. It was a special occasion after all. He’d just shrugged on a fine silk vest, one of many layers he would be dressing in.
It had been a long time since elves have entertained a human guest. According to Regent Queen Carla, at least.
Kojiro stood at the large, gilded full-length mirror as a small army of footmen dress him in the ceremonial wear that had been delivered from his kingdom. After sending a lengthy letter to confirm his survival, and brag a little about his success in reaching the elven kingdom, he’d requested his ceremonial garb be sent for the upcoming royal meeting.
He’d kept carefully vague about his success in finding the lost jewel. He was unsure how to approach it without outright lying, or revealing Kaoru’s secrets, and so, in the end, he had decided it would be wisest to avoid the topic all together and let his father and his council form their own conclusions.
As requested, his uniform had been provided, promptly, thanks to the convenience of magic.
It was a matter of pride that he heard the envoy had been similarly unwell after teleportation magic. A vindication that it was not only he so weak to magical travel.
Now, before the mirror and fully taking in his appearance, for the first time in a long time, Kojiro could feel like the prince he was. Not in his father’s shadow, the darkened and fearsome shadow it was, but in his own renown, a human delegate, a prince, a knight, a friend of the elven king, though ever longing to be something more.
A rich green was not the colour of the Naha royalty. No, his father favoured opulent and regal purples, with so many gold embellishments it was almost vulgar. But Kojiro wore the forest green nevertheless. He did not speak for his father, but for his kingdom.
He checked his outfit for the hundredth time. It’d been a long time since he’d needed to dress in such garb. His boots were fine. Leather, thick and hitting the knee, they were never fully broken in, so infrequently worn. They accentuated his powerful calves, that rumour had it could send the ladies of the realms swooning.
His trousers were simply designed and exquisitely made, black, high-quality material, undoubtedly the best the tailors could get their hands on. He’d refused all offers for embroidery on his trousers, he felt his jacket he wore already more than spoke for itself with its intricate embroidery. High necked with gold military buttons, a right he had earned to wear on the battlefield, his jacket was a symbol of his status that spoke a lot about the man that wore it. Green was the overwhelming colour, flecked with gold from the little decoration placed here and there, hand blown glass beads, so small only the most expert of artisans could prepare them.
Other than the gold of his military buttons down the centre of his jacket, Kojiro had rejected all gold. It was a pity in some ways, gold always looked so charming against the tan of his skin, but he’d favoured a cool silver instead. It was representation of and nod to the tall walls that protected most of the towns in Naha, provided by the royalty to protect civilians. It was a reminder of Kojiro’s position of protector to the people.
His belt was black, the buckle silver. It was repurposed from an old regulation belt he once wore on the battlefield. His cape displayed epaulettes on his broad shoulders, with tassels also dipped in green and not gold. The lining of the plush and velvet cape, as forest green as his jacket, was a shimmering black, shiny as the night sky. One might presume that such an inky fabric would be adorned with depictions of the night sky, but it was quite the opposite, with the sun taking centre stage in the design.
It was an ode to his mother, to the sun goddess and to all those who toiled their days away as citizens of the empire. The sun protected those it shone upon. And after the darkest night, it would always rise again.
So too would Naha.
Kojiro had dedicated his life to ensuring that was so.
He allowed the footmen to arrange his hair, lamenting audibly their upset at how short it was.
‘I forgot that so many humans have that foul tendency to cut their hair,’ one bemoaned.
Kojiro, whose hair was long for human male standards, said nothing and allowed them to futz. In the end they tied it back in a small ponytail, and allowed his natural bounce and wave to be free. He appreciated it. His footmen at home would often slather his hair in pomade until it was flat and smooth.
He had more on his mind, and a weight in his pocket that burdened him more.
An additional request from his father, and something that might just ruin the tentative something building between Kaoru and Kojiro. He’d asked his father for so little in his life. It made sense that he’d grant him this one thing he requested.
‘It’s time to go, your highness,’ a footman murmured.
‘Yes, thank you.’
He smoothed down his jacket one more time and willed his nerves to settle.
---
The meeting chambers were large, and nowhere near as sterile as those in his kingdom. He’d expected the high, grey walls unadorned and simplistic, a dais upon which the king sat, declaring his opinions from on high.
But it was not. A large room, it held a large array of seating and the walls were covered in the same flowering ivy as he had grown accustomed to admiring in his bedchambers. The room, he presumed to be a throne room, was beautiful. Polished wooden floors gleamed like marble, an intricate pattern of lightwood and darkwood he could have spent hours admiring.
Each side, east and west, were mirror copies with each hosting a dozen towering columns that, to his great surprise, turned out to be tall trees, whose leaves could be seen through the tall glass roof.
There was a throne, though not on a raised platform, the king on equal footing with his advisors and his people.
Kojiro startled when he heard his name, dully, though it was stifled by the blood rushing in his ears.
All thought had escaped him, all sense drained as he saw Kaoru sitting upon his ornate throne.
How could he ever have seen him as anything else but a king?
His throne looked as though it had grown from the earth, his meeting chamber simply built around it. Perhaps that was exactly what happened. Nature and the elves seemed so combined, so in sync. Woven delicately, likely with magic, the back of the throne reached high to the sky, arching above him, like a gloriole. Nature and elvenkind his to command.
Kaoru’s outfit was different today, his light and flowing fabrics were still there, only more plentiful, more formal. He looked as though he had been dressed in layers upon layers of silk. Nothing had been buttoned, only tied, and it combined formality and beauty with unerring skill. He’d not worn a skirt today, instead favouring a pair of hakama, something Kojiro only noticed as the elf sat cross-legged and authoritative.
His long hair, which he often wore loosely tied in a half-hearted attempt to keep it out of the way, was down today, and he wore a crown that looked as though it had been made by live branches, a plethora of cherry blossoms blooming.
It looked more wonderful than any crown in his father’s vault.
Kojiro walked from the entrance of the room to the throne, aware that as he strode through the long room, their eye contract remained unbroken.
‘Your majesty.’ Kojiro greeted with a polite smile.
‘Your highness,’ Kaoru replied, a little amusement in his eyes. ‘I hear you have come to make a formal request.’
‘I have.’
‘Another?’ he asked, playfully.
‘If you insist, your majesty, we can interpret my request to meet with you in the most official capacity I can.’
The request had once been made to Carla, and granted so that he could be here today.
‘I am in a good mood,’ Kaoru said. He did not seem it. He felt unapproachable in his throne, a distance between them that had not existed before. ‘I shall listen to your request. After all, I am to believe that humans considered me the missing jewel of the forest. You took great to lengths to bring me home.’
Kojiro was wondering if for once, he had been right to trust his gut in such things.
But he pressed on. Though Kaoru seemed cold and unapproachable now, he was giving permission in his own way by not interrupting him, and letting him speak freely.
He could have stopped every word before they left Kojiro’s lips in every step. He could have refused the meeting through Carla. He could have only let him meet with advisors, and specifically chose those disdainful of humans. Goddess knew, Kojiro had learned quickly that there were a great many.
‘Your majesty. I have made no secret to you that I yearn for peace. I have travelled through the elven forest your people have gifted to us, allowing us to consider part of our land, despite the magic it holds. I am aware of its importance to the elves. I am sure all of your advisors are aware of what I have risked to protect it. And to protect you.’
‘That is so.’
It concealed a lot, three little ambivalent words. But Kojiro could tell that Kaoru was holding back his teasing, and it eased Kojiro’s worried heart.
‘At first,’ he continued, ‘peace was all I desired. And yet, upon passing time with you, it is clear that the elven royalty do not admire selflessness as much as the human realms do.’
‘That is obvious.’
A barely bitten back retort, Kaoru’s strength was commendable.
It sent a little bolt of excitement through Kojiro.
Will he remain so calm after this?
‘So as Kojiro Nanjo, Prince of Naha, and the mortal man who risked his life to protect sacred forest and king, I would like to make a request of you, your majesty.’
‘You propose an alliance between man and elf.’
Kaoru could hold it back no more and he could not resist nipping Kojiro’s moment of glory in the bud.
‘No,’ Kojiro said with confidence.
‘Pardon?’ A crack in the visage shattered when Kojiro knelt on one knee, his hand in his breast pocket to reveal the ring box he had requested.
‘I propose a marriage between man and elf. You and I specifically, though I’m sure an elf as smart as you could know that.’
‘You never told me that!’ Kaoru was standing in an instant, shooing the guards who had rushed to crowd Kojiro when he reached in his pocket. ‘Are you mad?’
‘Completely,’ Kojiro grinned. ‘You told me to be more selfish, and so I will. I don’t just want an alliance, I want a marriage. Not a political marriage either. One for love. I’ll be your knight, your defender. Kaoru, if you let me, I can be your sun, your moon. I’ll be your everything, because you have become mine for some time now. So, marry me?’
There was a ruddy red in the elf’s face he could not quell. And it was nothing less than complete and utter mortification.
Kojiro grinned, this had been just the reaction he had expected.
A wave of Kaoru’s hand had Kojiro’s smile falling.
‘No-’ the world descended to a spiral of purple and pink. ‘-Don’t teleport m- Oh My Goddess, I’m going to vomit.’
‘Yes. I will. You buffoon. Before you do something even more stupid.’
‘Will what?’ Kojiro asked with closed eyes clamping down his nausea.
He would not vomit during his proposal.
He could not vomit during his proposal.
If nothing else, Kaoru would never let him live it down.
‘I will marry you,’ the elf said, as Kojiro took a final resolving breath, standing up and pushing all nausea aside, though he kept his eyes firmly closed so as not to feel the room spinning.
‘I know you will,’ he smiled, taking the elf’s hand. He didn’t need sight to find it with ease.
‘You knew I’d say yes?’
‘I’d hardly ask if you’d say no,’ he teased.
He opened his eyes, reluctantly albeit, to reveal a room he had not visited within the castle. A room that was blessedly not spinning around him.
‘Your private chambers?’
Kaoru nodded, short and curt.
Kojrio wiggled his eyebrows, which was shot down with a death glare but he ignored it expertly and pulled the elf king to his side, lifting a hand to slide on a ring carefully.
‘This is a ring for the sun,’ he explained.
‘It matches your tattoo,’ Kaoru noted.
‘It was my grandfather’s,’ he admitted, pleased Kaoru had remembered such a thing. ‘It is a sign of protection. ‘
‘Should I need it?’ Kaoru joked. ‘You will be protecting me, didn’t you say?’
‘You have quite the knack for getting in trouble. The more protection the better.’
‘I have the knack? Have you’-
The words were nipped in the bud as Kojiro pressed his lips against Kaoru’s. The kiss was sweet and comforting. The intimacy that they had not dared to broach before was as wonderful as they hoped.
‘I love you, you know,’ Kojiro said.
‘I know,’ Kaoru scowled. ‘You make it disgustingly clear.’
‘And you love me,’ he agreed.
‘I haven’t said that,’ Kaoru snapped.
‘You don’t need to. But I’d like to hear it.’
There was a moment of embarrassed silence.
‘I do.’
‘Do what?’
‘Love you,’ it was admitted through gritted teeth but the reward was a waterfall of saccharine kisses over his face.
Kojiro had found what he’d been looking for all along, and with the trial and tribulations he had faced, the wounds he had sustained and the scars that still lingered, he could honestly admit he’d do it a hundred more times, just so he could end up with Kaoru again.
No matter how inhospitable a forest could be, all natural land nurtured.
It tended to new lives, new beginnings and new loves.