Chapter 34: The Letter (1)
Adrien woke up the next morning and prepared for his early-morning jog, though it was still more of a walk with small intervals of light jogging mixed in at this point.
With the sky still dark out, he left his room. A faint fishy smell assaulted his nose as soon as he stepped outside of the dormitory. It had rained the night before and the ground was a little damp. Keeping an eye out for any slick spots, Adrien started the morning off with a light jog.
The soft glow from the Light Mana Crystals illuminated his path as he made his way to the walkway that went around the pond. His breathing was starting to become labored as he struggled to catch his breath.
I’ll try to last just a little bit longer before I switch back to walking, Adrien thought to himself with determination.
As he was passing by the bridge, he heard the bushes nearby rustle as something passed through them. He slowed down to a walk prematurely and looked over toward where the noise was coming from. A small rabbit poked its head out from underneath the bushes before darting across the walking path, heading for the nearby garden.
Adrien let out a sigh of relief, feeling like his nerves were too on edge. After catching his breath and allowing for his racing heart to settle, he continued on with his light jogging, wanting to slowly increase the amount he could do.
Not far off from where the bridge cut across the pond, a flash of white alerted him to movement on his other side. Prince Mikyle, wearing a white tee-shirt and black jogging slacks, jumped out from behind the pillar leading to the bridge.
"Ah!" Adrien shrieked. He tripped over his feet when he tried to take a step backwards.
Adrien felt himself tumbling back towards the ground, his arms spreading out like a windmill trying to slow down his fall. Prince Mikyle’s red eyes widened. One of his arms shot out and wrapped around Adrien’s waist while his other hand gripped one of Adrien’s wrists. With a hard yank, Mikyle pulled Adrien into him, pressing their bodies close together.
They were so close together that Adrien couldn’t tell whose heartbeat he was hearing pounding into his ears, though he had a feeling it was his own. The familiar heat that he had felt before when Mikyle had touched him ignited, burning him wherever their skin made contact.
Can Mikyle feel this heat, or am I the only one who can feel it?
"Are you alright?" Mikyle asked once Adrien was steady on his feet. Their chests were close enough that they were pressed together and Adrien could feel how firm and solid Mikyle felt underneath his shirt.
The heat that he was feeling was starting to make him dizzy and Adrien could feel his breath quickening. Not only was his breathing becoming rapid, but his face and arms were feeling warmer by the second and a hot feeling was starting to pool down low in his stomach. Is this caused by Mikyle being a Fire Elementalist, or is there something else going on? This can’t simply just be from attraction, could it?
"Wh-what?" Adrien asked, realizing that Mikyle had asked him something.
Prince Mikyle slowly released his grip on Adrien and took a hesitant step back, but was still close enough that Adrien could feel the lingering heat.
Adrien stole a glance at Mikyle while he tried to catch his breath and refocus his mind enough to figure out what Mikyle had asked him. But that stolen glance proved to be just as dangerous as the earlier heat.
Prince Mikyle’s eyes were a dark red and looked unfocused and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. His sculpted lips were parted open and a light shade of pink stained his cheekbones, highlighting just how defined they were. "I asked if you are all right." Mikyle’s voice sounded lower in pitch and he spoke slower than normal.
Adrien shook his head, chasing away the remnants of whatever it was that he was feeling. He opened his mouth to answer the prince but was once again surrounded by the man’s heat.
Mikyle, who had stepped closer to Adrien, brought a hand up and cupped it underneath Adrien’s chin while his other hand went up to his hair. "What happened here? This scar still looks fresh."
He can see that tiny scar through my hair in this light? He must have really good eyesight.
"I was in a small accident a few weeks ago." Accident is certainly putting it lightly.
Mikyle rubbed a thumb over the scar, sending a warm, tingling feeling running down Adrien’s spine, making him shiver.
"Did you not take a potion for it?"
Adrien locked his lips in a tight line, finding this situation both uncomfortable and. . . not uncomfortable at the same time. He wasn’t sure what to make of it with how muddled his mind was becoming.
He licked his lips as a way to pull his focus onto something other than the feel of Mikyle’s skin against his. "I did. It healed another injury I had at the time instead."
Mikyle released an angry-sounding hum, his attention fully placed on the scar on Adrien’s head. Before Adrien could process what was happening, Mikyle leaned in and placed his lips against the scar.
A warm feeling, one that didn’t feel all-consuming like the other one, washed over him. The warmth sent a tender feeling through him, making him feel warm and light at the same time.
Mikyle leaned away, a small smile splayed across his lips, drawing Adrien’s gaze to them. "That should do it."
What should do it? Wait, he isn’t someone who seriously thinks a kiss would make everything better, is he? Adrien’s eyes followed the small curve of Mikyle’s lips, his mouth becoming dry again. Well, maybe they do? It couldn’t hurt anyway.
Mikyle took a step back, removing his hands from him. "Hmm. I’m sorry about earlier. I saw you coming and just couldn’t help myself."
It took a moment for Adrien to try and follow Mikyle’s train of thought. In truth, he had already forgotten about the little heart attack that Mikyle had given him from his prank scare.
Adrien narrowed his gaze. "What were you doing out here anyways?"
"Same as you. I like the feel of an early-morning run," Mikyle answered him, his eyes no longer staring at the scar on his head.
Adrien felt his eyes widen, finding this prince full of surprises, even though he shouldn’t have been. Running was a good way to build up stamina and the prince certainly had a lot of it if he could keep up with hours of sword training.
"That makes sense," Adrien mumbled.
Mikyle’s smile was warm and his eyes were no longer dark with want. "Would you like to run with me?"
Adrien’s face twisted at the suggestion. He had a feeling his lungs nor his body would be able to handle a run. "I can barely jog for five minutes straight without keeling over," he admitted without reservation, even if it did make him feel strange in doing so. "So I do not believe that I would be able to handle going for a run."
Mikyle’s lips hardened into a straight line, concern lacing his jeweled eyes. "That doesn’t sound good. Are you unable to do more because of your injuries?"
"That and because I have never tried exercising before this." The Original Adrien had done everything he could to avoid training with a sword and stamina training because he was afraid of receiving a rebuttal and a lashing from the Count for being useless at it, plus he really just wanted to paint and play music. "I was more focused on the arts while growing up."
Mikyle gave a small nod of his head, a thoughtful expression softening his facial features. "That makes sense. Your drawing from the other day showcased the time and effort you placed in learning the skill."
Adrien found himself smiling. "Yeah."
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