After a moment of silence between them, they moved their hands, hiding their blushing faces in embarrassment.

"Shall we continue, your Highness?" Virgil asked, rubbing his neck nervously. The prince nodded, allowing himself to fall in step with him as they continued to walk down the tunnel.

"So, does his Majesty know I sneaked up to your balcony last night? Or is his Highness good at keeping secrets?" the artist boy asked with a smirk. His former confidence was coming back, allowing playfulness to slip into his voice.

Roman chuckled, blushing a little. "No one knows about that," he said quietly with a small smile. "It can be our secret."

Something about that statement made Virgil's heart flutter. He smiled to himself, his teenage boy thoughts kicking in. I have a secret with the prince! I get to visit him at the palace at night! he thought giddily. Okay, calm down Virgil, you're acting like a teenage girl.

"You'll be able to meet me tonight right?" Roman asked, internally cursing himself for possibly coming across as obsessive.

"Your Highness, your wish is my command," Virgil said, smirking. The prince smiled shyly.

"You're sure you won't get in trouble?" Roman continued to ask, fidgeting with his hands.

The artist noticed this, looking at him in shock. "Your Highness," he said in a somewhat mocking tone. "Could it be that you are worried about me?"

The prince's cheeks went bright pink as he rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. Virgil raised an eyebrow, smirking at him. "I-It's my duty as the prince to be concerned for my future subjects," Roman answered carefully.

"Even ones you're asking to break into your palace?" Virgil said with a smirk. Roman blushed darker red, looking away. "I'm just playing with you, your Highness."

The artist laughed to himself as he continued down the tunnel. Roman tried to compose himself as he caught back up to him. As he did so, they reached a split in the tunnel, showing three different paths. Virgil confidently started down one of them without even pausing to consider the other two.

"Yeah, I'd recommend not coming down here without my dad or me," Virgil said as Roman followed him. "These tunnels have several different pathways leading to different parts of the palace. You can get seriously lost if you don't know where you're going."

The prince nodded, looking around the walls. He wondered where they were, where they were going, and how long they'd been walking.

"So, where are we going now?" he asked curiously.

"I'm taking you to the entrance that leads to the servants quarters," Virgil told him. "I assume his Highness will be able to get to his room avoiding trouble from there?"

"Yes, thank you," Roman said, blushing a tiny bit at the way the artist called him 'his Higness'. He wanted him to call him 'Roman', but he still liked the way he used his formal title. "And please, call me Roman."

Virgil shook his head, chuckling a little. "Your Highness, I respectfully decline that offer, again," he said, smiling to himself. "Why do you insist on it?"

The prince didn't have an answer; he opened his mouth to explain, but closed it as no words came out. He frowned at himself as a thought came to mind. Would he really do that?

"Because..." he said, quickly backing Virgil up to be pinned against the wall. He heard a almost inaudible gasp escape his lips, but he remained composed. Roman leaned forward, their faces almost touching as he continued. "I want you to acknowledge who I am. I'm not some nameless prince, Virgil."

Despite visually unfazed by the prince's words and actions, Virgil's heart was racing. Goosebumps had formed at the sound of the prince saying his name. He kept up his facade as Roman searched his eyes. Slowly, he backed off, unpinning him from the wall and continuing to walk down the tunnel as if nothing happened. Virgil was breathing heavily, trying to figure out what had just happened. He shook out his head and caught up to the prince.

They walked in a tense silence before reaching a ladder. Virgil cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, this is it," he said, gesturing to the ladder. "Through that hatch is the servants quarter."

The prince smiled gratefully, placing a foot on the first ladder rung. "Thank you very much for your assistance," he said. "I assume I'll be seeing you tonight."

Virgil rubbed the back of his head as he nodded shyly. The prince smiled and started up the ladder. "Until tonight, your Highness," he called as he reached the top and disappeared through the hatch.

Once he was gone, the artist let out a shaky breath and turned to go back. He couldn't make it two steps before he had to stop and lean against the wall. He clutched his chest where his heart hammered against his rib cage. His face burned as he bit down on his lip. Despite doing so, a small giggle escaped his lips, making him slap a hand over his mouth immediately. He hid his smile behind it as he rested his head against the wall.

What just happened? Did he really just do that? Does he have any idea what he's doing to me? Does he know what he just did?

As Virgil had these thoughts down in the tunnel, Prince Roman snuck his way back into his room and collapsed against the door. He smiled to himself as he ran a hand through his hair. He was extremely embarrassed with himself that he'd followed through with pinning Virgil to wall and trying to make him flustered. He almost backed out as soon as he'd done so, but he stayed composed enough to go through with it.

Now he leaned against his door, covering his mouth as he smiled. Roman's thoughts wandered to Virgil's eyes, how they were so determined and unflinching, even when in a position of weakness. It reminded him of how strong he'd been that day in the alley. The prince wish he could be that strong.

He sighed heavily with a lovesick smile on his face. "What is he doing to me?"