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It had been several weeks since you'd met the Crown Prince of Brodia, Diamant. And it had also been about several weeks that you'd started to see him secretly. It was about as much of a whirlwind romance as one could be, the "love at first sight" sort which starts out hot and heavy, getting to know each other's bodies better than each other at first. That first day you met at Brodia Castle, your stolen glances communicated better than mere words could. And they were effective, at that- culminating into a quiet, breathless necking session against the rugged walls of the concealed training areas in Brodia Castle. Behind some crates of equipment and away from prying eyes, your back against the brick wall, hands gripping at his broad, muscular shoulders. His forearm pressed against the wall above you, his other hand on the back of your head, gloved fingers laced haphazardly through your hair. Neither of you had spoken words beyond formalities at that stage, so it was incredible how he was so comfortable addressing your unspoken wants. And for Diamant, someone normally so rational and level-headed, this arrangement was certainly not how he'd envisioned any romance of his would begin, but he wasn't about to complain- not when the rush of adrenaline from kissing you lit up all his senses, not when the feeling of you drove him this wild, not when your lips tasted as good as they did.
But like any whirlwind romance involving two high-profile figures, it wasn't wise to announce right away as it would only welcome gossip or slander. And so you'd both come to an agreement that it would be better to keep this as your little secret, at least for the time being. This meant coming up with some ground rules to prevent slipping up. Ensuring that you continued to use one another's titles, avoiding public intimacy at all costs, and avoiding spending excessive amounts of time around each other. It wasn't exhaustive, but it would help mitigate the risk of being caught.
Perhaps the fact that your relationship was kept a secret was what kept stoking the flames of your passionate romance to a fervent roar. Whatever the case, it was impossible to keep your eyes-- and your hands-- off of him. The tingling rush you felt from addressing each other as "Prince Diamant" or "Divine One" as if all were normal, knowing that just hours before you'd been gasping out his name.
One of your favorite of Diamant's is when he gives you this smoldering gaze during strategic meetings with the other royals, which lasts only for a split second while you're talking, but you know exactly what it means. It only happened very, very rarely, if the tension was that high between you, but whenever it did you'd find a way to excuse yourself and he'd meet you out in the hallway just moments after, where he'd immediately shove you up against the wall and crush his lips against yours, hard enough that you'd be left gasping. Then you'd have to excuse yourself for just a little longer, or you'd probably reenter that room with your face completely flushed. Diamant was better at keeping his composure, so he would usually return to the meetings first. Your secretive escapades only made your relationship feel more exciting and forbidden, the way every private and heated moment with him was seized away from other arrangements.
A slightly morbid realization you had was realizing you'd conditioned yourself to anticipate your next battles. The post-battle surveying, after all, were the most convenient times to have these secret, passionate sessions, because the both of you were expected to make rounds together, and an excuse could easily be made to "go patrol a bit further away". These moments were the most satisfying, sharing needy kisses between your affection-starved selves, most often behind ruins or even against buildings in a village at night, as long as no one was looking. Some of the more risky places you'd attempted this was behind a rock in Tullah Desert in broad daylight, and another time when it was dark out and Diamant had draped you behind his royal mantle in order to leave kisses along your lips and your neck.
The most risqué by far had to be the one battle you had by the coast, where you were swept away by the scenery and Diamant pulled you against him with his arm on your waist for a split second, leaving a sweet and tender kiss on your forehead after seeing your smile and wistful gaze into the sunrise on the horizon. After this, you felt stunned by his boldness and looked around you, only to find that the rest of the army were all far enough away, and happened to be occupied, such that this stolen moment managed to fly under the radar. There were many more romantic moments Diamant wished he could have seized in this way, but typically if he can get away with it, he'll try and hold your hand at very least. He's thankful for his royal mantle draped over his armor that conceals your intertwined fingers just about anywhere. One of the most lovely moments you shared was following the battle at the crossroads of fate, where you and Diamant stood together at the bridge, your fingers intertwined for but a fleeting moment as you gazed together into the beautiful orange sky.
Of course, there were several things that presented hiccups, the most notable of which were the introduction of a more romantic relationship with each other, and... having a younger brother with the eyes of an eagle.
Your budding romantic relationship happened naturally a little while in when you'd learned more about each other and your fears, your vulnerabilities, your hopes, and your dreams. The more time you spent with him, the more private sessions you'd spent simply talking with one another and enjoying each other's presence, the harder it became to adhere to some of these rules, much of them unconsciously broken. It was in fact this that made you both start to unconsciously disregard the very rules you'd set in the first place.
It had been more than one occasion that Diamant had addressed you by your name before correcting himself, much to the surprise of Alfred and Vander. Diamant made an excuse that it was because he was used to treating all his soldiers in Brodia in a familiar manner and apologized to you so genuinely, as if he had stepped out of line. This excuse, and his acting, was something that you'd both shared a laugh about later when he took on the next morning's wake up shift. Perhaps worse was your own indiscretion, however, calling him Di once when you were speaking to him casually, which raised a few eyebrows as you never behaved so familiar with anyone else. That was perhaps when Alfred first realized that you were a lot closer with the Brodian Prince than you let on, though he did assume it was just as friends, and he pestered you and Diamant in a friendly manner about it for a while after that.
And Alcryst was very likely the first to have caught on. His concern for his older brother's well-being extended into keeping a few tabs on him just to make sure he was okay. He first noticed at Solm Palace, when you'd left with Diamant to patrol the perimeter together and Alcryst had followed behind, only intending to provide backup if needed. He was surprised to see Diamant putting his arm around your waist and his hand on your face, his face less than inches from yours. He had to promptly leave in embarrassment when he saw his brother pressing a kiss to your lips. Alcryst later spoke to Diamant about what he saw that day, because he felt bad having seen that without his knowledge, and Diamant finally confirmed it to Alcryst knowing it was pointless to deny, but requested that he not breathe a word of it to anyone. In Diamant's mind, though, it could have been a lot worse, since Alcryst had so conveniently decided to leave right before Diamant had lifted your leg up to wrap around him while he smothered your neck with kisses and groped your exposed thigh with his hand.
Over time, though, with the looks that you and Diamant seemed to be unable to resist exchanging, the true nature of your relationship did become a topic of speculation. But they could speculate all they wanted-- it wouldn't be until a certain ring was discovered in the Lythos Gardens that you'd think of announcing this relationship publicly. No, it was far too exciting like this, for the time being.