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Cyrus knew he shouldn’t have been feeling these things. but he also found it quite hard to ignore the beautiful blonde boy sitting across the great lawn of the Kippen palace.
the way the sun sat just right on his face and hair, he looked to be the brightest thing Cyrus had ever seen. it wasn’t fair, none of the girls really seemed to shine like Tj Kippen did
“Cyrus, isn’t it just lovely?” Cyrus’ mother asked, finally taking the young boy’s attention away from the other, who seemed to still be very engaged in this particular game of cards.
“marvelous” Cyrus replied, not entirely sure if his mother was refuring to the home itself, or the weather at the moment. she had been speaking, Cyrus had been only half listening.
after asking both of his parents very politely, Cyrus stood up and brushed off the slight tea cookie buildup from his suit. and started walking over to where his older sister and Tj were sat. it seemed to cyrus that his parents thought that they would be good friends, because everytime they came to visit the kippen home. the two would end up playing together.
Tj was a year older then Cyrus. his sister being only two years older then him. so Cyrus could see how they would be friends, sure.
Cyrus sat down on the lawn blanket carefully. his sister, who was called Naomi, immediately glared at him.
“Cyrus! we’re in the middle of a card game, go on and find something else to do” Naomi said looking to Tj, who had been looking at cyrus the whole time.
“let him stay, Nomi. it’s not like it’s all that exciting around here” Tj said, smiling at both of them. Cyrus smiles back at him. Cyus felt as if Tj was made of sunlight.
Naomi nodded, never one to fight with Tj. but Cyrus knew that if it were anyone else, she would have made him leave anyways. she was always nicer when Tj was around, strange.
“want me to deal you in for the next game?” Tj asked cyrus politely, still smiling widely at him. Naomi rolled her eyes slightly, but neither boy bothered with her.
“that would be great, thank you” Cyrus replied, smiling back brightly.
————-
he didn’t like the way they looked at him.
everyone loved Tj Kippen. he was the most well known and respected prince of the nearby lands.
but nobody looked at him the way he deserved to be looked at.
he especially didn’t appreciate the way naomi looked at him. he had concluded that she had a crush on him over the past year, but cyrus didn’t quite know why this upset him so. he couldn’t possibly be jealous. he’d asked his mother last year, a simple question, and she had said that it was impossible for a boy to like a boy, simply impossible.
but nobody looked at him like cyrus did.
the brown haired prince told himself this as he looked out of his bedroom window, gazing down upon the usual palace guests that were the kippen family.
Tj’s hair had gotten a bit darker over the past year, he had grown tremendously taller as well. and still after all of these days, cyrus was unable to find someone who challenged the boys utter beauty.
but, it didn’t matter. a boy like cyrus wasn’t supposed to like a boy like tj, that was simply preposterous.
even if tj was the only person to ever make cyrus’ heart beat like this. even if he was the one cyrus wanted to dance with at his family’s annual ball, even if tj secretly felt the same things cyrus was feeling. it could never be.
but cyrus still watched. still watched from his window seat as the group of girl’s laughed at a joke that hadn’t even been told yet. and as sunshine hesitates to laugh along with them. sunshine being tj of course, though cyrus would never get to call him that other then in his own precious thoughts.
“sir goodman, i believe it’s high time you join your family members out in the garden? i’m sure the guests have been waiting to see you again” Edward, one of the palace guards, interrupted cyrus’s train of thought.
cyrus turned around to look at him. nodding and smiling shortly before standing.
once he walked down to the main hall, two people, one of which he recognized, were in his line of sight. it was Amber Kippen, Tj’s older sister. and a girl with short black hair and a particularly long maroon dress. he didn’t know who this maroon girl was, but her and Amber seemed to be getting along very well, if you could hear their giggles over the band playing in the garden, that is.
but cyrus was unable to pay them much mind though,as he strolled his way to the empty table, it was underneath his favorite tree, and -most importantly-away from the hustle and bustle of family and friends across the way. he knew they would want him to join them instead of sitting over here, but crowds made cyrus’s head hurt.
he rested his elbows on the table with his head in his hands, and looking down at the cashmere clad table, he imagined the lecture his grandmother would give him if she saw him sitting this way, it made him chuckle.
cyrus then heard someone sit in the chair across from him, he wouldn’t have noticed if not for the squeak. he quickly sat up, getting his elbows off of the table to avoid being locked in his room for a week. only then did he look and realize who was sitting there.
“you’re alright. sitting pretty gets tired after a while, doesn’t it?” Tj said, smiling at cyrus softly.
cyrus relaxed his position, but in turn his cheeks turned the color of a strawberry.
“y-yeah...yes it does” cyrus stutters out, his face only blushing more. Tj just looked so...open. his posture wasn’t anywhere as strict as it usually was, his smile seemed brighter. it was strange, but very welcome, to cyrus.
he could feel his sisters eyes on them. the other girls,too. but it didn’t matter to him. they looked away after a few moments anyhow.
“it seems i haven’t seen you in forever, or, well i’ve seen you but we haven’t talked” Tj said after a second.
“i suppose we haven’t talked, have we” Cyrus smiled at him widely, glad that Tj hadn’t forgotten he exists.
Tj nodded, still smiling as he pulled something from his navy blue blazer pocket.
“and oh, i found this and thought it had your name right on it” he held a sunflower, it was bright bright yellow and unlike any flower cyrus was able to find around the castle, as they always seemed to die before he got to them.
cyrus would smile more, if it were possible at this point. he didn’t know weather to reach out or not, so he did nothing. but it was only a few seconds before Tj leaned forward slightly, moving his hand so i could place the flower in cyrus’s hair, perfectly sat there. both boys thought that their hearts might beat right out of their chests.
Cyrus wasn’t sure how to show Tj how much he adored it, and him. so he continued to blush brightly. “tha-“ as he was just about to say his soft thank you, he was interrupted by someone’s footsteps, walking towards them. Tj quickly sat back in his seat as his father grew closer, immediately becoming more stiff and certainly less sunny.
Cyrus wasn’t sure if he should take the flower out of his hair or not. but he came to a quick conclusion of “i like it and if they don’t, they’ll just have to deal with it”
“Tj, we’re going to depart rather soon, come say your goodbyes to everyone else” Tj’s father-Peter Kippen-said, once he made it over to where they were sat. he looked over to cyrus, mild disgust on his face as he looked him up and down, but turned away quickly.
Tj nodded, and stood. he walked to the other side of the table and, surprising even him, hugged cyrus tightly. despite his dad looming over them for the entire short hug. Cyrus hugged him back, they hadn’t done that since they were toddlers.
“good bye, cyrus” Tj said, smiling warmly
“good bye, Tj” 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆, is what he’d wanted to say.