The Earth Kingdom did not really appreciate many art forms. They were the type to focus more on hard work, strength and building courage and endurance. But that did not mean that they were boring in any way. They had their own customs and beliefs, their own artforms that had practical usage most of the time. They were mostly an agrarian kingdom though, with a majority of the population being farmers.

Flowers were their language of romance. In the Earth kingdom, rather than a singular flower, if one wanted to express affection or any other feeling towards others, they were more likely to give a whole flowerpot with the flower blossoming on it. It was considered more useful and kind to the flower and plant. But of course, it would be odd to gift a flowerpot to someone from another country who doesn't know their customs.

In such cases, Earth people would plant the flower they wanted to give themselves, nourish it and then gift a singular flower to get their feelings across. They were the type to speak with their actions, rather than their words. The time spent in nourishing and cultivating the love was considered more important than making grand claims through words. Words were more useful if they were direct, honest and sincere.

Taehyun had grown up thus buried under books, training and the gardens of their vast palace. Of all the kingdoms, the Earth kingdom had the most notably beautiful gardens, where a wide variety of not just flowers, but also fruits and non-flowering plants were grown. The gardens were his favourite place when he needed some quiet time.

The image of Beomgyu nearly dying in his arms would not leave his mind. But Taehyun consoled his heart by reminding himself that the older boy was okay now. He had stayed watch next to him until the doctors had declared him out of critical condition and then had no choice but to part when Beomgyu's older brother had personally dropped by to get him back to their kingdom.

For now, all he could do was patiently wait for some message from the Air kingdom.

"Taehyun!"

The prince paused in his walking upon hearing his older sister's familiar voice. Kang Taeha made her way to her younger brother, one hand expertly holding up the dress she was wearing. She joined Taehyun in walking through the cobblestone pathways of their garden. They were both around the same height, but Taeha was shorter by just an inch.

"You caught a break too?" Taehyun asked, smiling as he felt the breeze in the quiet. Some distance away, one of the palace gardeners was doing something.

"I didn't really plan to come out here," she admitted. "I was just stretching and looking out the window and I saw you. Then I remembered I had something to tell you."

"Really?" Taehyun looked at her curiously. He hadn't really had a long conversation with her ever since he returned. It was hard to do that these days, ever since Taeha's coronation. She was always buried under her duties as the Queen, as the first in command.

"That and I missed you," she gave him a gentle smile. The two of them had been raised in intense physical training and held a much stronger view in front of others. When it was just the two of them, however, she was always a gentle and knowing sister before she was a Queen to him. "I received a letter from the Kingdom of Air this morning."

Taehyun froze, turning to face her immediately. She stopped next to him, giving him a reassuring look.

"Beomgyu woke up," she said. "He's doing well. But the doctors have still recommended bed rest until Saturday. Father and mother suggested that we go over to their kingdom again. There is… a lot to be discussed."

"What do you mean?" Taehyun was confused. Was there something that needed to be discussed? He couldn't remember. She eyed him in surprise.

"Your marriage," she said carefully, eyes glancing around to check if there were any people listening in. She continued when she saw none, "was arranged to form an alliance between our kingdom and the Air kingdom, so that we may have each other's back if the time came to go to war against the Ice kingdom. But because of your interference, that is no longer an issue. Since the risk of war is gone, there is no pressure for you to marry anymore. You can be free of this, like you wanted."

Taehyun remained quiet, glancing away. He couldn't quite meet his sister's eyes, unsure of how to explain the change in his heart over the past few months. Back when he had first suggested this marriage, it was Taeha who had known that he was not doing it out of love, but out of necessity.

"Even if you don't want it," she started walking again, so Taehyun hastened to catch up, heart thumping at her words, "It may still be the case that the Air kingdom wants to break it off. I admit, I had originally thought that you two wanted to do this but you are as easy to read for me as a book, Taehyun. If Beomgyu asks to break it off, what will you do?"

"He won't," Taehyun said with a confidence that he wasn't feeling fully. The half murmured confession still rang in the back of his mind all day. "At least, I don't think so… But in the event that he does, I suppose I will let him go. There's no use putting someone in a gilded cage because you love them; that only serves to replace love with a feeling of resentment. I'm happy being just his friend."

"And what about your feelings?" Taeha asked, looking at him in concern. Taehyun stared at the bush of red carnations that was visible just a few metres away. The bush was devoid of the flowers, since autumn had now passed into winter.

"I will learn to move on, I suppose."

✿

They took a flight over to the Air kingdom on Saturday. Taeha and her husband, Su-won had to stay behind because they were too busy with their duties, but their parents joined Taehyun. The young prince couldn't help the way his heart was beating nervously. Beomgyu had confessed the last time they had talked. Even though he never finished it, it was clearly meant to be for him.

Taehyun managed to keep himself calm for the plane ride, distracting himself by talking to his parents about some of the reports he had read after coming back to catch up on the events of the past six months. But he couldn't suppress the nervousness when the plane finally landed and they were taken in a limousine to the palace. Choi Hangyu and his wife had come to greet them but Beomgyu was nowhere in sight.

"Beomgyu really wanted to join us," Shin-ae said as they led the Kang family to their drawing room. "However, we insisted that he not move around unless needed, so I hope you understand…"

"Of course, of course," Baek Noo-ri reassured her. Taehyun didn't say anything, instead opting to silently follow them into the room. Inside, Beomgyu was dressed in a white suit with a black undershirt, looking absolutely breathtaking. Just one look at him was enough for Taehyun's heart to squeeze in an unexplainable wave of emotions. The older boy stood up and bowed to the previous King and Queen of the Earth kingdom before sharing a timid and shy glance with Taehyun.

God, Taehyun loved him too much to put it into words. Seeing him like this, safe and healthy, was enough for him. As long as Beomgyu was happy and safe, it would make Taehyun happy. His heart was more selfish than that, though. It wanted to hold Beomgyu, to give him kisses and wake up every morning in the same bed as him. But being back in this room reminded Taehyun of the way he had acted the first time they had met. He felt like he didn't truly deserve to hold Beomgyu, not after having been so cold and harsh to him.

It seemed like he was not the only one who remembered. The adults were all tensed and glancing at each other, holding silent conversations, before Beomgyu's mother sighed.

"As we are all aware," she began, "the Ice Kingdom situation has been resolved for the most part. We are no longer under the risk of immediate war, and the main reason for the marriage between Taehyun and Beomgyu is no more a threat. In such a situation…"

She trailed off, eyeing her son and Taehyun carefully.

"We know you two didn't really want to get married," Noo-ri picked up where Shin-ae had stopped. Her words surprised Taehyun, who looked at her in shock. She knew? He had thought he had done a good job hiding it… "Admittedly, it took us some time, but we had hoped that you two would eventually learn to love each other. But, no matter what the case is now, we want you both to know that we don't have to continue with this marriage for the sake of alliance. Our trade alliance was already set in motion months ago, and you're free to choose whoever you want to marry, as you were before this situation."

There was silence in the drawing room. Taehyun stared down at his lap and fidgeted, feeling the stares of their parents on him. Quietly, he looked to his side where Beomgyu was seated calmly and looking at him with a blank expression. Maybe Taehyun was seeing things, but he felt like his eyes were softened at the ends, and were full of hope.

Hope. That's right. Beomgyu had already made his feelings known. Now it was Taehyun's turn. The brown haired boy sat up straight, looking at his parents with determination. This was the one choice he had, the one time he had the chance to make Beomgyu his. Even if it resulted in rejection, which he was sure it won't, he would have at least tried his best and made his feelings known.

"I admit we did not start on the best of terms," Taehyun felt his chest ache with just the reminder. "It's true, we didn't want to marry each other back then. But I want this marriage to go on. This time, I don't want to marry him because of war. I want to marry him because I love him."

There was a gasp, but Taehyun wasn't sure who did it. All of their parents looked over the moon at his words. Taehyun's hands were shaking as he turned slightly to gauge Beomgyu's reaction. To his utter relief and surprise, the older was blushing heavily, and grinning like a cat who caught the canary. Everybody could see just how pleased he was.

"I guess we were worried for nothing," Beomgyu's mother smiled knowingly. Beside her, Choi Hangyu started laughing loudly, clapping Kang Tae-geun on the back.

"You see that?" He grinned. "I say we are very good at matchmaking! What do you say about starting a matchmaking business with me once Beom-su is crowned King?"

Kang Tae-geun roared in laughter and their wives started giggling too. Amidst the laughter, Beomgyu's hand slipped into Taehyun's. The younger froze, until he felt the gentle squeeze. This was real. They were truly getting married, in less than six months!

"I know that we don't have much time remaining for preparations," Beomgyu started to speak, keeping his eyes fixed on their parents rather than him. Just this once, Taehyun chose to watch him rather than pay attention to the elders. He was allowed to be a little disrespectful for the sake of love, right? They would understand, surely! "And I had been the one to suggest that you give us time to decide who will have to go into the other's kingdom."

Oh. Taehyun had totally forgotten about that. He remembered the nervousness he had felt last time, when the idea of being alone in an unknown kingdom amidst unknown people for the rest of his life was a daunting challenge. It still was a little scary, but now he knew he had Beomgyu. Somebody who he knew, somebody who loved him. He would be okay if they all decided on that.

Of course, he preferred to not have to leave his family behind. If Beomgyu could be the one marrying in, it would make him more at ease, but that might make the older sad. Taehyun knew that Beomgyu loved his family a lot, so he didn't want to part them either.

"Have you two decided on something then?" Noori asked curiously. The Air prince shook his head, his long black hair swaying.

"We never got around to talking about that somehow," he admitted. Taehyun knew it was because they were both hesitant to discuss marriage and ruin the friendship they had both settled on, but now… "I thought over this myself the past few days, while I was stuck in bed. Usually, we follow seniority in status, and if not that, then in age. However, I don't think our one year age gap truly amounts to much. For me, Taehyun is my equal in all senses. We're both second princes of our kingdoms and we have duties that will require us to be there. If one of us marries into the other kingdom, it will be a huge loss to the other."

"Of course," Kang Tae-geun nodded, glancing at his own son, who was still too busy giving Beomgyu heart eyes and hanging on his every word like it was the word of God. He sighed to himself, smiling when he realised that Taehyun would probably be the one to marry in. It would be the Earth kingdom that would bear the–

"I came up with a solution that might be a good balance," Beomgyu continued. He squeezed Taehyun's hand and the younger suddenly realised that it was wet. Beomgyu was nervous. "I was wondering… What if we both live together on the borders of our kingdoms? We would then be able to attend to the duties of our own kingdoms, and not have one person give up. Instead, we will both compromise and serve both of our kingdoms."

Taehyun just fell more in love with Beomgyu. He truly was the best decision the Earth prince had made. Even if he had tried, he could not have chosen a more kind and considerate person to marry.

"That's…" Taehyun's father was speechless. He hadn't expected such an answer from his future son-in-law.

"It does sound good in theory," Hangyu smiled proudly at his son from where he was sitting. "And it is certainly better than to have one kingdom face the loss of their second prince. We can definitely work through the technicalities to make this work, right, Tae-geun-hyung?"

"Definitely," Noori answered in her husband's place when she noticed that he was stunned speechless. She laughed at his reaction. "Looks like my husband really loves your idea, Prince Beomgyu."

"I'm glad," the said boy flushed, his grip on Taehyun's hand loosened but this time, the younger squeezed it, feeling proud of him. "And I was thinking that maybe we could also hold the wedding there? If that is alright!"

"I would love that," Taehyun said honestly, giving his opinion for the first time. He truly loved every idea that Beomgyu had thought of, to make things easier for them both.

"If that's what you both want, it can definitely be arranged!" Shin-ae beamed at the two of them, hands clasped together in happiness. "We should immediately get to work. There's a whole house and wedding venue to be built in that area. We will also need to redo the security on the borders and start making pathways to the border so you two can visit the palaces easily. There is so much to be done!"

"As much as I want you to leave it to us," Noori said through contained excitement, "I'm aware the Air kingdom's duties still mainly fall on Hangyu-ssi and Shin-ae-ssi."

"I want to be very much involved in my son's wedding," Shin-ae immediately said. "We can do this together, Beom-su is already handling most of the duties, in all but the title of King. Beomgyu and Prince Taehyun, you will be very busy these next few months– because this is your wedding, so of course you need to tell us how you want your big day to be."

"Definitely," Beomgyu giggled and the sound of it was enough for Taehyun's heart to become a gooey mess. He couldn't control the loving sigh that automatically left him. Taehyun's parents started teasing him too loudly about it and he was too embarrassed to notice the way Beomgyu looked at him in pleased surprise.

❀

They ended up spending the entire day planning with their parents. Beomgyu couldn't just ask them to give him and Taehyun some alone time and by the time they were done, the Kangs had to leave.

Sunday was spent packing up and catching a flight back to the Kingdom of Knowledge. His family fretted over his health, even though Beomgyu insisted that he was totally fine now. It took a lot of unbearable hours for him, but he finally got to be alone with Taehyun when they had both returned to their dorm room.

Outside, the sun was dipping beneath the horizon, but there were no windows in their room to cast that beautiful picturesque scene. Instead, the two were swamped with the sunrise in their hearts as they stared at each other, each wanting to speak out but hesitating. There wasn't really any reason to hesitate over the worry of rejection– it was just that neither of them had ever fallen in love before, and speaking about their feelings to each other was embarrassing even if they knew the other liked them.

But still, it's high time they talked about it, right?

"I HOPE YOU TWO AREN'T NAKED!" Kai's familiar shout startled the two, and their head snapped to the doorway with flushed faces. The younger boy was standing there, an evil grin on his face. "Glad to see you aren't–"

"Kai!" Taehyun hissed then looked away when Beomgyu spoke.

"I would love to catch up with you Kai," the older prince said in a serious tone, choosing to ignore Kai's words for now, "but could you give us an hour? We need to have a talk."

"An hour?" Kai raised an eyebrow. His upper lip curled downwards into an absolutely shit-eating grin. One hand on the door, he got ready to leave. "Mm, I suspect more than talk will happen but alright, alright! I'll let you have some alone time~ Oh, but remember, sex isn't allowed in the dorms, but if you want to break the rules, at least wear protec–"

"KAI!!!"

They could hear the Sky prince cackling all the way back to his own dorm room. Behind him, he had slammed the door shut so it was once again the two of them, now flustered and awkwardly unable to look into each other's eyes than before.

Taehyun sighed.

"Typical Kai, huh?" Beomgyu laughed awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Taehyun just glanced up at him for a second, then steeling his resolve, he got off his own bed and climbed into Beomgyu's, sitting across him. There wasn't even a foot of space between them, their knees touching. Even that light touch was enough to make his heart pound like crazy. "T- Taehyun?"

"Mm," the said prince just smiled and picked up Beomgyu's warm, soft hands. Carefully tucked in the corners of those hands was a roughness that Taehyun recognised from multiple training sessions with swords. Back home and at the Academy, they were all expected to be really good at handling weapons. Taehyun had never particularly cared about it before, since he was always expected to be the strongest in the kingdom being the prince. The Earth people prioritised strength. But seeing those marks on Beomgyu's hand was like a reminder of the fact that the older was just as strong, or else he would not have attempted to protect Sunghoon. "You… really scared me back then, hyung."

"I know," Beomgyu replied in a quiet voice. His fingers twitched when Taehyun suddenly started drawing what felt suspiciously like hearts on the back of his hand. "But, I don't regret it at all. It was scary for me too, because I really thought I would die, but that fear is what gave me the courage to finally tell you my feelings. I didn't realise when or how it happened, or maybe it was happening ever since we met but I just didn't realise it– I have been falling for you every minute since I met you."

"Then you have to be really stupid," Taehyun swallowed, tears welling in his eyes automatically. What was up with him? He hadn't cried in front of others for so many years and yet all it took was Beomgyu. Beomgyu. "How could you have loved me back then? All I did was treat you judgmentally, and yet you say this?"

"Didn't we agree that we were both at fault?" Beomgyu whispered, pulling down Taehyun so their foreheads knocked. From this proximity, the younger could feel the way Beomgyu's cheeks were exuding warmth. "It doesn't matter anymore. The you of now has proved yourself countless times, haven't you?"

"How did I manage to get the heart of the sweetest person ever?" The teardrop escaped the confines of his eyes, but Beomgyu was quick to brush it away, leaving a butterfly kiss on the spot where he wiped. "I am not that good with words. Especially when it comes to talking about my feelings. I don't have any grand confession to give you, but hear me out anyway?"

"Of course," Beomgyu smiled, fingers running up to cup Taehyun's cheeks. The younger smiled, feeling the world distort through his glassy eyes. "Always."

"The first time I saw you, I was sure you were a divine being sent to Earth," Taehyun began with a watery chuckle. "Thinking back, I was definitely just struck by how good-looking and ethereal you were. Now, those words sound so cringey…"

"So what?" Beomgyu said boldly, looking at him with a pout. "Who cares if the words are cheesy or cringey? All I care about is the sincerity with which you say them. So don't worry about how it sounds. Tell me everything you want to say without hesitation."

"Ah, this," Taehyun blinked away, trying to clear up his eyes but all it did was push the tears out. They met Beomgyu's gentle hands midway and seeped into the gaps between his cheeks and the older's hands. "I had heard of your reputation. Even though we hadn't met, I only heard good things about you. When the time came to do something for my country, I decided to do an alliance. Even when I didn't know you, you were my first and only choice.

"But when I met you for the first time, I was so afraid. That I might have made the wrong choice. I kept trying to look for a bad interpretation of your every action, trying to convince myself that I had made a mistake, because I was scared. Scared that I had made such a right choice, that I would fall in love with you all by myself."

Beomgyu didn't interrupt this time, instead silently continuing to wipe the tears; on his face, however, was a shy smile.

"I distanced my heart, told myself that in fact I hated you and you hated me too. I was such an idiot back then, to think that way. Now I realise that falling in love with you all by myself is still better than having you purposefully hate me. When I finally stopped pretending, it didn't take any time or effort. You just naturally fell into place in my heart, taking up space like it was yours to begin with.

"I want to cherish you forever, Choi Beomgyu. If you would let me, I will be the best husband you could ever dream of having. If you will have me, I will be everything you want me to be."

Beomgyu paused at those words, searching Taehyun's eyes for something. The younger stayed silent, giving him a hopeful smile.

"Don't be silly," he said, eyebrows tilting slightly in anger. "Rather than what I want you to be, just be who you are. Even if that Taehyun, who is prickly to strangers, shy behind his facade, and incredibly kind beneath the surface, is someone you don't like– it is someone I love very much. It's the Taehyun I fell in love with. I accept you with all your flaws, and I just want you to accept me with all of mine."

Taehyun released a breath he didn't know he was holding. This was real. This was really happening.

Beomgyu cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed about speaking so straightforwardly. "You say you're not good with words, then proceed to say all that… I don't have any hope of saying anything that can better that. All I have to offer is… If you will have me, Kang Taehyun, I will be there for you every step of the way. If you will love me, I will wake up by your side every day. If you will hold my hands through tough times, I will always be there to hold yours. If you are there at the end of the world, I will even cross the seven seas to get to you. Because the truth is, that it was never possible for you to fall in love by yourself. I fell in love with you too."

It was better than anything he had hoped for. To have Beomgyu to love and cherish, to hold him through both good and bad times, to be there to see all his smiles and save all his tears– there was nothing more he could ask of the pretty boy he had fallen a little in love with the first time he had seen him.

❀

A week into December, a small box arrived at their dorm room. Since they had decided on the venue, the invitations had been designed and the lists were made. The box contained the invitation cards for those who were also attending the Academy with them, such as the children of the noble houses of Air and Earth kingdoms, and any of their trusted friends.

Royal weddings were always surprisingly quiet affairs. They were celebrated kingdom-wide but the only people allowed to attend were those that could be trusted, because weddings are always a time where the attention of the royal family is focused on the event. So there weren't a lot of people they wanted to invite in the first place; just a handful that they were particularly close with, or had alliances with.

"I found the one meant for Kai," Taehyun announced, pulling out an envelope with flourish. The golden ink on it gleamed under the lights of their dorm room as he waved it lightly.

"Perfect," Beomgyu flashed him a smile, showing the two neatly piled stacks he had created himself. "I separated the ones for our kingdom and the ones for yours. We can start with the rest and then give Kai's last, since he already knows all the details anyway."

"Works for me," Taehyun got off and changed into a newer suit. Beomgyu followed him right after. The two carefully tucked the invitation cards inside their jackets and locked their dorms. They had to do a whole round trip around the dorms to give the invitations to everyone personally.

It started off with simple, "We would like to invite you to our wedding…" to making up half-truths about their relationship, "Haha, yes, we are just private about such matters, so we never told you personally until now!" Some of the questions they got were frustrating but the compliments…

"I am so happy for you two!" Seo Ji-eun, a noble's daughter from the Air kingdom, who was just a few years younger than them had said giddily. Beomgyu was acquaintances with her, and she was very romantic and enthusiastic by nature. "Every time I saw you two in the hallways, the way you looked at each other was just like straight out of some fairy tale! I can't wait for the wedding!"

In other cases, their past mistakes came to haunt them…

"To be honest, Your Majesty," Jin Wonyoung, a haughty noble from the Earth kingdom had passed a subtly snide comment, "I had thought this was just an arranged marriage for alliance. It looked like that from the surface, especially when I saw Prince Beomgyu giving that yellow rose to you."

"Right," Taehyun smiled forcefully, trying to not get defensive lest it looked even more suspicious. Wonyoung wasn't wrong, because at that time, that was all it was.

"That was a mistake on my part," Beomgyu laughed lightly, to bleed out the tension. "I wasn't aware that flowers hold particular meanings in the Earth kingdom, but well. We all make mistakes and we learn from them! That's what makes a relationship work, right Wonyoung-ssi?"

"Yes, of course," the boy had to plaster on a fake smile but it was obvious that he was very sour about their relationship. "Truly a match made in heaven…"

He muttered the last part to himself but they both heard it anyway. Beomgyu just gave him a beam and said, "Thank you for the compliment!"

There were many like Seo Ji-eun, and thankfully less like Jin Wonyoung. Taehyun asked Beomgyu if Sunghoon was part of the list, but the older told him that since they did not have a formal alliance with the Ice Kingdom yet, and considering the current situation of the Ice Kingdom, their parents had decided to not draft an invitation to the young King.

The last stop they made was Kai's dorm room, which he shared with Kim Sunoo of the Kingdom of Snow. The younger prince was out when they caught Kai in his room, so thankfully it didn't make for an awkward interaction where they gave only Kai an invitation card in front of Sunoo.

"Now this is rare!" Kai smiled, letting them both inside. "Both of you, coming to my room… What's going on?"

The two waited until they were all sitting comfortably on Kai's bed and then presented him with the last envelope from their now non-existent stack. The younger took it in interest, realisation dawning.

"Oh!"

"We are very pleased to invite you to our wedding, Prince Huening Kai of the Kingdom of Sky," Taehyun said as formally as he could. Even then, he couldn't keep his lips from twisting up in a giddy smile, finally letting his emotions surface after going around for hours talking about his weddings to others.

"We hope you will grace us with your presence at our wedding," Beomgyu tacked on, resting his head on Taehyun's shoulder as he watched Kai open the envelope and read the invitation.

"This is so pretty!" The Sky prince complimented, fingers tracing the golden and black decorations at the margins. "Is this invitation extended to my whole family or…?"

"Oh, no," Taehyun shook his head, "We sent a family invitation to your kingdom directly. This one is from us to our dear friend."

"Aww," Kai's face crinkled up as he cast them both a warm smile. He was the one who had truly watched their relationship blossom from the beginning. He had watched them transform from a pair of cat and dog into two people tangled together like grape vines. It was like just seeing them happy and in love was enough to make him feel like his own heart was full and bursting with happiness. "I'm so happy for the both of you."

The two princes gave him shy smiles. Beomgyu opened his arms to pull Kai into a hug, and the three of them sat on his bed in a three way hug for a few minutes in silence.

"I wanted to thank you," Taehyun said quietly in the embrace. "Kai… You truly are the best friend I could have ever asked for. If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I would even be here today, giving you this invitation because–"

"–because you were a total idiot," Kai finished for him, flicking him playfully on the forehead. "I know. The amount of times I had to convince you to do things because you were being all weird and illogical and so unlike yourself. But you got here! I'm so proud of you."

"I have to thank you too," Beomgyu nudged Kai, soft smile playing on his lips. "Because of you, we moved past our own hesitations and found each other."

"Aish," Kai leaned back, looking embarrassed. "Stop it, you two. I really didn't do anything to warrant so many thanks."

"I have one more thing to thank you for though," Beomgyu pouted. Even Kai wasn't immune to the Air prince when he wanted to be cute.

"What is it?"

"Thank you for being my friend too."

°•❀•°