Hi!! may I ask how and when was the first time Kiku and Kou met? their reactions and impressions of each other? 💛💛
hello! what a cute question :’) well, kou is the palace healer, so kiku got to see him the first time on his first day at work. it was just quick glimpses though, as kiku had a full day of lessons and other princely duties; their first proper meeting is when kiku falls and scrapes his hand and decides to run to the healer’s chamber to get it looked at. so he does and he’s charmed by the quiet grace and charm of the healer. he takes his hand to examine it and kiku is like ‘!!!’ bc Boy Hold Hand.....kou effectively heals the cut, offering little tidbits of wisdom here and there, with a quiet grace that reminds kiku of a deity, or a guardian spirit, and kiku is immediately smitten. so, kiku is extremely charmed and flustered and makes up his mind to slip away to come to his chambers any chance he gets. kou thinks all the attention the young prince gives him is endearing (especially since, because he is blind, the sort of attention he has mostly gotten all his life has been demeaning), and he knows his frequent visits aren’t accidental at all, so he tries to show off every chance he comes by with a new demonstration of a healing technique or by preparing some new salve. he keeps him at arm’s length though because he’s a healer and kiku is a prince and he wants to play it safe--at the start. (kou realizes, quite a bit later, he’s starting to catch Feelings for him--’oh dear,’ he muses, ‘i was not expecting this.’)
