Chapter Text
Venion Stan glared at the annoyed guy in front of him.
Neo Tolz ignored his glare and kept talking.
"So the committee decided that you should play the prince."
"Why don't they tell it to the person who is literally called 'His Highness, the Crown Prince' instead of asking me?"
"He said he'd be busy with student council stuff, so they decided to tell you because of your hair color, which is closer to what they're looking for than your older brother's."
So he'd beaten Taylor to it.
"Okay."
Venion shouldn't have accepted.
All of his classmates were a total mess. Only he had a definite role, while the rest ran around while they put together sets and costumes.
At least they gave him his script, which was relatively easy because he only had to say a couple of lines and "kiss" the princess.
Venion would never actually kiss the girl who was the princess, poor her if she thought that would be the case.
On the third day of the same mess, Venion decided that he would not show up for "rehearsals" and instead just showed up on stage.
No one said anything to him, so he figured doing that was okay.
He was actually curious when he saw that his classmates seemed more relaxed. They had managed to convince trash Cale Henituse to help them with the costumes.
The trashy boy had incredibly skilled hands when it came to threads and needles. His family was somewhat dedicated to the art side of things, so it made sense. Though not so much when compared to his smart younger brother who was good at the business even as a kid, let alone the younger sister who had already won many awards in martial arts. A boy who could sew paled in comparison.
Anyway, Venion decided to go and see if it was true. It would be a good opportunity to tease the guy.
Venion didn't know why, but he'd had this itch to tease the other whenever they were around, it was something that started ever since they met.
Maybe his instinct told him that the guy was a useless brat from the moment he saw him, so he couldn't help but tease him every chance he got.
When he entered the room reserved for his rehearsals, he saw that everything was much tidier than before; there was also a specific group setting up scenery and another helping to move fabrics and mannequins.
Venion's gaze automatically went to the red-haired boy taking Amiru's waist measurements. His brow furrowed a little, then furrowed for real when the reddish-brown eyes landed on him.
"Shit, I thought I'd have to look for you myself. Come here."
"Excuse me?"
Venion looked speechless as the slender hand grabbed the corner of his jacket and pulled him toward the table where the other was working.
He was uncharacteristically silent as Cale Henituse moved his limbs to facilitate the taking of measurements and recited his lines from the play in his mind.
The costumes would be ready promptly, according to Cale. Venion didn't care about that.
By the way, who would be the princess?
The first time Venion met Cale Henituse, was for a birthday party for Neo Tolz.
He would have preferred to stay at home and, maybe, have his older half-brother accidentally fall down the stairs and be disabled for life. Maybe. But he had to come to maintain his facade of a benevolent friend.
So he didn't want to come. And he could bet that the boy who was scowling hard and glaring at everyone with contempt didn't want to either.
Neo Tolz hadn't wanted to invite Cale Henituse either, he'd told him, but the other was from an influential family that might even rival the Stan family if they got serious.
That was, frankly ridiculous- how could that classless boy's family rival his own?
According to his knowledge of Henituse, they were an average family with a lot of money. They weren't amazing. So they couldn't possibly be on the level of his family.
He thought the other might be nicer up close, so he walked over with Neo Tolz to say hello.
From up close, he could better appreciate the dark red hair that was as intense as blood and he could see the smooth white skin. Everything was going well.
"What's the need to act like you're an admirable nobleman, my dear viper?"
Until the boy spoke mockingly in response to Venion's dry greeting.
How rude!
The suit fit him perfectly. Venion arrived on the day of the play presentation at whatever the institute had arranged, and sighed.
It was a mess again.
The guys were running around with looks of anxiety and desperation.
The girl who would play the princess had not arrived because she had caught a cold, so everyone was in a panic because their turn would be soon.
It was at that fateful moment that Cale Henituse walked in with an iced tea in his hand. The guy came in with an annoyed look on his face.
"Why is there such a mess?"
When Eric, Karin, and Amiru looked up at Cale with the same bright eyes, Venion knew things were going to turn out terribly.
The group was configured as follows:
Fauna: Eric.
Flora: Amiru.
Merryweather: Karin.
Maleficent: Neo.
King: Ailan.
Aurora: Cale.
Prince Phillip: Venion.
How terrible, who allowed this cast?
Venion wondered if he could refuse to participate.
"And now the next participation for class 2-A, with a play inspired by Sleeping Beauty."
He couldn't.
The set design was good at least. Venion watched as in the first act the useless extras celebrated the birth of the princess, who was a stuffed toy covered by a blanket.
Fauna was the first to come forward to bestow the gift of beauty to the princess. Then Flora arrived to give her the gift of a beautiful voice. As Merryweather approached, the smoke machine began to work, and the windswept it away. Gilbert was doing a good job managing things behind the scenes.
Maleficent appeared arrogantly to cast the curse on the princess.
"You will be beautiful and grow up well... But when you turn 16, you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die."
Then, Merryweather had the curse changed from dying to falling into a deep sleep.
In the next arc, the almost 16-year-old princess came out on stage and chatted with the fairies before going out to gather berries.
Venion didn't want to go out.
But he could see his annoying younger brothers and sisters watching in the audience, and no, he would never flinch.
Prince Phillip was walking near where Aurora was picking raspberries, she saw him and asked who he was. And since it was a fairy tale for little children, the prince chatted unceremoniously with the unknown person he met in the middle of a desolate forest.
"Who are you?"
The princess who didn't know she was a princess and who also didn't know that she shouldn't talk to any guy who crossed her path also answered.
"Aurora... And you?"
"I am Prince Phillip."
Because of course, you don't just give your name to anyone, you must also make it clear that you are a prince, that you carry a lot of money, travel without weapons, and are tired after the extensive journey that your father king sent you on because the other neighboring king was his best friend.
And just then the fairies arrive and take the princess away. Then they tell her as if talking about the weather that she is a princess and must return to the castle.
Venion was going to visit his contacts of dubious backgrounds, so he took a detour instead of using the luxurious car that every son of the family used to show his position.
He hadn't expected to find the trash, much less had he expected to find the trash playing with a stray cat.
Staying a respectable distance away, he watched the strangely endearing scene ahead and his gaze focused on the slight smile on the other's lips and how his fingers were feeding the cat.
He'd probably been watching it longer than he should have, but Cale Henituse got that cat in the end. Not caring about the dirt that covered the cat.
He was trash, though.
Even if he rescued the stray cats.
Prince Phillip arrives at the castle when everyone is sleeping because Aurora already pricked her finger. The fairies also find it reasonable that the unknown guy from the forest is the one who kisses the princess to wake her up. And like the good prince he is, he agrees to kiss the stranger.
So here he is now, kneeling at the side of the bed where Aurora is unconscious.
Venion's gaze couldn't help but go to the other's waist. It really seemed impossible, but the guy had gotten into the dress that was made for a girl. He had also been fitted with a red wig so that his hair was long and lipstick had been applied.
As he leaned forward, he could count the other's curly eyelashes. Their breaths intertwined as he moved closer.
No. It couldn't be that he...
Their lips brushed, perhaps more than they should, but he leaned a little closer until a small pressure formed between them.
It couldn't be that he really...
Eyelids fluttered and reddish-brown eyes met his green pupils.
"Prince Phillip?"
"..."
Ah.
"Good morning... Sleeping Beauty."
Not true!
On the school trip, Venion had already put the events of a month ago to the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about it too much, but his luck was terrible every time Cale Henituse was involved.
Not only were they going to the zoo again, but he also had to sit with Cale Henituse. He was running late due to the traffic jam and Cale because he had forgotten about the school trip.
Cale sat in the seat near the window, Venion didn't look his way and just leaned back in his seat. This was going to be a long trip.
Since it was early, most started to fall asleep on the way. Cale fell asleep too, Venion knew it when he felt the other's head fall on his shoulder.
He lay very still, not knowing if he should push the guy away or if he should gently push him away. Because he wasn't going to let the other one sleep on him.
Venion looked down and caught a glimpse of the guy's soft lips. That time...
He finally woke Cale up when they reached the zoo. The other's confused and puzzled expression was a good sight.
Venion had come to the zoo before on every school trip in his life, so he went straight to an open area, and oh, clearly Cale Henituse was there too, sleeping under a tree.
How did he fall asleep so quickly?
Glancing around, he confirmed that no one was there and went over to sit next to the guy.
Venion stared at him for a few seconds and looked away.
No, it definitely couldn't be true.
Just in case, he looked at the other guy again.
Then, following his logical thinking that demanded proof to confirm that it wasn't true, he leaned forward and captured the other's lips.
It was only for about two seconds, though, because the guy suddenly pulled back, hands covering his lips and pupils widening. Looking at the blush that crept up the other's face, he concluded.
"Shit."
The second time Venion Stan had seen Cale Henituse was at the beginning of the new school year, the other had arrived with Eric Wheelsman in the classroom and had simply ignored everyone and sat all the way to the back row.
Venion was the class delegate that year, he walked by delivering something, he doesn't even remember what it was- and got to the last seat in the back row. Cale Henituse was there, asleep on his desk.
Exasperated, Venion poked him in the shoulder with a pencil. The guy only stirred after grunting frustration.
Reddish-brown pupils, clouded with sleep, looked straight at him.
"What?"
Clearing his throat, he held out the paper sheet to the other.
"Your worksheet."
The other's thin white hand took the blade, so close to his hand he could almost feel the warmth.
Then Venion frowned.
"Stop sleeping during school hours. I'm going to report you."
Cale Henituse rolled his eyes, straightening in his seat.
"How annoying you are."
Very rude!
The walk back was even more awkward than before.
After the two of them—mainly Venion—refused to talk about what happened, things between them naturally took on a tinge of awkwardness and embarrassment.
He should have known that the guy wasn't really asleep. He should have stopped more to question his actions.
Since they were all running around, all of their classmates fell asleep as soon as the bus started.
Except for the two of them.
Venion looked to his side, Cale was staring out the window, still holding a hand over his lips. The tips of his ears were red.
When he glanced around, he confirmed that everyone was asleep. Then he returned his gaze to his side; he pulled the hand that was over the other's lips holding that wrist.
Cale's eyes widened as Venion brought his face closer and his free hand reached across his chest to stop him.
"You... We're on the school bus."
Venion chuckled.
"So it's okay if we're not on the bus?"
Cale frowned a stark contrast to the red in his cheeks.
"That's not what I meant."
Humming, Venion cupped one of Cale's cheeks, approached to leave a small brush of lips at the corner of his right eye, and rejoiced as he felt the outstretched hand on his chest flex the fingers.
Cale was still trying to pull himself back when Venion pulled away.
Venion, stupidly, had discovered that the strange feelings he was experiencing around Cale were not out of disgust or hatred. It was simply that his foolish mind and foolish heart had decided that the trash was perfect for him.
In retrospect, he was acting like a grade school boy pulling the hair of the girl he liked to get her attention. It was a little too silly to be true.
Releasing Cale's cheek, but keeping his grip on his wrist, he leaned back against the other's shoulder.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
The other hissed angrily, though there was confusion and nervousness behind it as well.
"You slept on my shoulder in the morning, it's my turn."
Hearing no more complaints, he simply lay there. If he accidentally fell asleep for real and woke up with pain in his neck, then no one should know.
It had been good sleep.
"Do that again."
Venion raised his eyebrow at Cale when he heard that.
They were finishing putting the balls away after playing basketball in their PE class, they were in the storage room. There was no one else there.
Because no one thought it would be a bad idea to leave the two guys who are always fighting over little things in an enclosed space with no one to mediate.
"Do you also want to know if it's true?"
Cale nodded firmly, without removing his facade of arrogance.
Without needing to hear more, Venion's hand found its way to the back of the other's neck, playing with the short strands of hair as his lips moved over each other.
Yes, it was definitely true.
Venion's tongue licked the other's lower lip, earning permission for their tongues to begin a dance. He had always viewed these things with distaste, but he could see why people did them.
"Venion! Cale! It's time to go!"
When he broke away from the other, he looked into the unfocused eyes with superiority.
But now they had to close this place down.
A few days later, they were in a coffee shop.
Venion took a sip of his tea gracefully, he could feel a twitch in his eye every time Cale made noise as he drank his iced tea through the straw.
The other was teasing him on purpose.
He knew it because he could see the amusement and mockery in his reddish-brown pupils.
Cale was the first to speak.
"So, what do we do now?"
Venion shrugged.
"We could give it a try. You know, go out and stuff."
"You really want that?"
The guy looked rather surprised at that, his eyebrows raised and his lips slurped tea through the straw unconsciously. Noiselessly, which confirmed his earlier suspicions that the other was teasing him.
"Well, I literally kissed you while you were pretending to sleep twice and ate your mouth in the gym annex room."
"Hmm, you have a point there."
"So?"
Cale Henituse clicked his tongue.
"Okay."
Venion nodded, of course he was going to make it.
"We'll fix your trash reputation first."
Now the other frowned.
"Forget that."
"Why are you so insistent on ruining your reputation? Don't you want to inherit your family's estate?"
Venion always worried about his appearance. How would he get into his father's eyes if he wasn't qualified enough?
When he turned eighteen he could begin his real fight against his brother and gain the upper hand while his younger brothers and sisters were not yet old enough.
"I don't want to inherit."
He stopped his motion to raise the teacup when he heard that nonsense.
"You're just going to give up like that? Leave everything to your younger brother?"
The look on the other's face indicated that he wasn't lying, Venion couldn't understand it.
"He doesn't want to inherit either."
"Your sister then?"
Although he couldn't see that girl who wielded fencing swords and won medals in martial arts competitions being a businesswoman.
"She doesn't want to."
"How will they decide the heir if none of them want to?"
Wasn't that silly? The Stan family was fighting with everything they had to inherit the estate, the Henituse were apparently fighting not to inherit.
"I don't know, we'll probably play a card game or a chess tournament. Whoever loses first would be the successor. That's a long time away, though."
Unbelievable.
The Henituse family was amazing.
Venion set his backpack down on his seat and walked to the back row. Cale Henituse was there, lying in his arms.
"Hey."
"Mm."
"Sit next to me."
He ignored the exclamation of surprise he heard near him and watched as Cale stood up, looking at him with exasperation.
"I'm fine here."
"No. Come on."
"Why are you so insistent?"
Venion's jaw twitched - wasn't it obvious? Even if the other didn't want to inherit, it would affect his image. Besides, it was a good way to get rid of Neo Tolz, who always sat next to him.
"Isn't it enough to say I want to sit next to my boyfriend? So move quickly."
"Bah, just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean you have power over my decisions, I want to sit here, so I'm staying here."
This guy was so stubborn, Venion wanted to teach him how to behave and wipe was smug smile off his peach-colored lips.
Venion did the most logical thing he could do in that situation. He kissed Cale on the cheek and took advantage of the other's daze to grab the backpack that was practically empty and threw it on the seat next to him.
Cale had no choice but to sit next to him in the front row.
"We'll fix your notes for something better first."
The sound of annoyance he received was what he expected.
Surely the whole city would know he was dating Cale because his classmates were gossipy and loved to gossip. Venion could already feel the stares being pinned on their backs.
But that was okay.
Glancing at the boy who was playing with a pen next to him, he leaned over to leave another kiss on his cheek.
"Shameless."
The other hissed.
It really was true.
Venion had fallen in love.