Chapter Text
3. “So your crush isn’t a girl?”
Dark Prince did not respond to Andrew’s teasing remarks when he arrived home.
That alone was enough to make Andrew look up from where he was sprawled on the couch, boots on the armrest, flipping through a spell catalogue he absolutely was not supposed to have.
“Huh,” Andrew said aloud. “That’s new.”
Alexander walked past him without a word.
No flowers. Helmet removed from his head. Shoulders tense in a way that meant something had gone wrong but he was refusing to acknowledge it.
Andrew’s grin crept in anyway. “So,” he called after him, already sitting up. “How’d it go? Did she swoon? Did you trip? Did you accidentally threaten someone again?”
Silence.
Then he heard the door closing. Carefully. Quietly.
Andrew blinked.
“…Oh.”
That was worse.
He was on his feet instantly, padding down the hall and throwing Alexander’s door open without knocking.
“Okay, I was gonna be unbearable about this,” Andrew said, leaning against the frame. “But wow. You look like someone just kicked you.”
Alexander was sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows braced on his knees, staring at the floor like it had personally betrayed him. His hair was slightly disheveled, armor discarded halfway across the room. He dragged a hand down his face and stared at the shadows pooling at his feet in the candlelight. They stretched and warped across the floor, unfamiliar. Wrong. He wondered, distantly, if Andrew would even understand. The prince never seemed to worry about things like this, never about who he was allowed to want.
Alexander opened his mouth. His tongue felt heavy. His chest felt too tight.
His eyes prickled with something sharp and unwelcome.
“Alex, come on just talk to me.” Prince moved and sat down beside him.
Dark Prince swallowed, keeping his eyes facing toward the ground. His jaw tightened the way it did before battles where failure was not an option. He had trained himself for years to keep his voice steady, his posture perfect, his weaknesses invisible. Wanting the wrong thing had always felt like a flaw to be corrected. He had a reputation to uphold, people who look up to him. How could he be different like this? What would others think when they find out?
“I’m bisexual, Andrew.”
The words came out hollow, like they’d echoed through him first and lost something on the way. He kept going before Prince could respond, before there could be disgust or disappointment.
“I tried to-” Dark Prince let out a shaky exhale, rare for a man like him. “I tried to push it down. Focus on my work instead.” Alexander stared down at the crescent indentations on his palm from his fingernails digging into his palms.
“ I thought if I just… ignored it long enough, it would go away.” His voice wavered despite himself. “But it didn’t. Clearly.”
He stared at the floor, shoulders drawn back too straight, hands clenched in his lap. He felt smaller than he had in years. Smaller than he had since they were children.
Prince was quiet.
Alexander braced himself for a lecture or disapproval.
Instead Prince sighed and reached out, fingers settling lightly on his brother’s shoulder.
“Alex…”
Alexander flinched anyway, a sharp reflex.
Andrew squeezed his shoulder, firm and grounding. “You’re my brother,” he said simply. “And trust me-who you like couldn’t concern me less.” A pause. Then, with familiar bite, “Not when the real crime is whatever the fuck that bucket helmet you wear is supposed to be.”
Dark Prince let out a shaky laugh that collapsed into a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His shoulders sagged as he leaned into the hug Andrew pulled him into, careful and uncharacteristically gentle. If Andrew noticed the tears slipping down his brother’s face, he didn’t comment on it.
“And for the record,” Andrew added, voice muffled against his shoulder, “I’m also… like you.”
Alexander pulled back just enough to look at him. “What. Bi?”
“Yeah.”
Alexander scrubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand and huffed out a rough laugh. “Great,” he muttered. “Dad has two bent sons, huh?”
Andrew snorted. “Tragic. Absolutely devastating. The kingdom may never recover.”
For a moment, the room went quiet.
Alexander inhaled, slow and deliberate, as if steadying himself before stepping back onto a battlefield.
“The ‘lady’ I gave the flowers to,” he said at last, voice carefully neutral, “was Mega Knight.”
Andrew froze.
“…Oh.”
Alexander’s gaze stayed fixed on the floor. “He thanked me. Called me a nice friend.” A beat. “He was very sincere actually. Very genuine.”
Andrew pressed a fist to his mouth. His shoulders started to shake. To Prince’s credit he did try to stifle any laugh that was threatening to spill out.
“Don’t,” Dark Prince warned, not looking up.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew wheezed. “I really am. That just-wow. That hurts.”
Alexander shot him a glare that lacked its usual bite. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I am not enjoying it,” Andrew said, lying through his teeth as he put his hands up in a surrender gesture. “I’m… processing.”
Despite himself, Alexander felt a weight lifting. The fear and secrecy drained out of him, leaving behind his feelings for Mega Knight. The rejection still stung, sharp and humiliating, but at least it wasn’t tangled with secrecy anymore.
Prince dropped his hand and looked at him properly now, expression thoughtful in a way that made Alexander wary.
“So,” he said slowly, “you’re trying to court Marcus. Mega Knight. The seven-foot wall of sunshine?”
“…Yes,” Alexander admitted.
Andrew blinked. Then nodded. “Alright.”
Alexander frowned. “That’s it?”
“Well,” Andrew continued, warming up, “That actually explains a lot. The staring. The flowers. The fact that you’ve been acting like you’re planning a military campaign instead of a date.”
Alexander groaned suddenly feeling self conscious. “I am not-”
“You absolutely are,” Andrew cut in. “Which is why this failed.”
Dark Prince’s jaw tightened. “Andrew, stop. I don’t think he sees me like that.”
Andrew tilted his head. “Because he called you a friend?”
“Yes.”
Prince clapped his brother’s shoulder “oh Alex you naive sweet little-“
“I’m older than you.” Dark Prince snapped
“-clueless thing.” Prince continued smoothly, as if he never heard him “I think you should just be honest with your…knight.” He snorted “ Mega Knight doesn’t seem like the type to read between the lines and god knows how long it will take him if you keep doing this…”
Alexander buried his face in his hands. “This is a nightmare.”
Prince clapped him on the back. “Perfect. Then we’ll fix it.”