#sunwoo dravble

"Are you sure you have to go?" Y/N had said lightly, though the said guard heard the soft lingering sadness in her voice despite her attempts to sound as jovial as she possibly could.

"They need me," he looked up from tying up his boots, catching sight of the princess's worried glances flying between him and the group of soldiers that were waiting outside the stables. She had been allowed to the servant's quarters with the excuse that she would be the one to send off their army. But it was quite unsettling to see her -- refined and pale and looking as fragile as glass -- amidst the piles of straw stacked in the corner and the smell or horse droppings in the air.

She shuffled uneasily, clearly distraught by the fact that he'd be taken from her side for days, weeks at most. Throwing a glance to ensure that no one was eavesdropping, the soldier reached out, grasped her hand, and dragged her to him. His legs parted so that she stumbled between them, tilting his head upwards to gaze into her dark worried pools of brown.

Reaching up almost out of instinct to curl her hair behind her ear, he said, "I won't be long. You'll blink and I'll be back."

"Liar," she shot back.

"Okay so maybe I'll be a little longer than usual," he grinned while trying to imprint her features into memory. God knows how long he'd be gone. He wished he could pause to enjoy this moment -- just the two of them -- for a little longer.

It was only upon feeling the softest brush of Y/N's lips against his forehead that he was brought out of his daze, gazing at her with questioning eyes.

She bit her lip, averted her eyes, "please be careful."

"I will," he wrapped his arms around her middle, hearing her take a soft breath as he dropped a peck onto her clothed stomach, "one day, what's inside will be mine."

"Sunwoo!" Her blush was so prominent atop her cheeks, she slapped his arm, "you cocky bastard."

And so they said their goodbyes with Y/N on the brink of tears and Sunwoo's heart heavy with emotion. When her voice broke as she told him to take care of himself, he had to steal one last kiss from her mouth while murmuring how much he loved her, chuckling as she flushed deep red even when shrouded by the darkness of the stables.

One week had gone by. Then two. Then, just when Y/N had given up hope altogether that her soldiers would find their way back home, she'd spotted the tiniest glimpse of the red Atheerian flag billowing in the distance and had practically fallen out of bed to alert the guards at the gates.

It was chaos. Blood splattered across every soldier's face, clothes torn and tattered in places she couldn't even imagine. Y/N barely kept it together as her eyes flitted from bruises to scrapes to trying to identify a familiar face amidst a sea of vague strangers.

Sunwoo, Sunwoo, Sunwoo, her heart and mind chimed together. But he wasn't there, he didn't seem to be there.

Emotion tightened her throat. Before her eyes fell onto a face.

A face she'd been waiting for all this time.

It was relief that hit her first. It crashed through her body and caused her shoulders to slump away all the tension. But just as quickly as it went, it came right back as soon as she spotted his mangled body being half-dragged by two other soldiers, bloodied shirt and all, and a badly-wrapped wound that was drenched in blood. 

Y/N didn’t realize that her mouth had opened on its own accord, that she was screaming -- until hands fluttered at her sides, pulling her back.

“No!” She screeched and batted the limbs away, before charging towards a barely coherent Sunwoo with a force she seldom knew she had, “Sunwoo!” 

“Y/N,” came his soft, breathy murmur, masked by a soft groan when his movement caused pain to ring through his side. She quickly went to his other side, slung his shoulder around her arm albeit the fact that her nightgown was getting all bloody in the process. He would’ve reprimanded her in normal circumstances, but he barely had any energy to peel his eyes open.

“Bring him to the hospital wing, I want his wound to be treated as soon as possible. Call all doctors if need be,” Y/N’s voice, despite echoing through his mind as though he was hearing her through muffled headphones, was sharp with authority, the power of her bloodline thrumming through her tone, “get the rest of the soldiers to safety. The ones who aren’t injured should go down to the city, gather as many doctors as you can. If there are others just like Sunwoo, get people to start treating them.”

The said soldier willed his mouth to speak, to tell her that he was fine and that there was no need to worry, for his wound wasn’t that deep. But it seemed like he’d lost consciousness as soon as he was marched through the castle doors for the next thing he knew, his eyes were fluttering open to see Y/N before his bed, hands fisted and mouth twisted into a scowl directed towards the King and Queen of Atheera standing at the door.

Sunwoo wanted to ask what happened, only for a cough to rip through his lungs instead. Y/N was at his side in a flash, hand coming up with a cup of water that he downed without hesitation. 

“What--” he coughed some more once she pulled the empty glass away, eyes flitting from her defensive figure to her parents’ worried glances, “Y/N?” he croaked out, “what’s going on?” 

"Nothing,” Y/N’s stance was defensive, a feline that felt threatened, “I’m just trying to tell my parents to call off the betrothal because the man I love is right here, in this room.” 

At that, she tilted her chin upwards in a defying manner, causing Sunwoo’s stomach to coil tightly in a mixture of fear and apprehension. He didn’t dare spare a glance towards the king, whom he could feel was practically drilling holes into his head from where he stood.

“How?” Her mother was saying, stumbling over words with glassy eyes, “how did that--how even? How? We never--”

“Does that matter?” Y/N cut her off as her hands tightened into balled-up fists at her sides, “I always did what you ask. I never complained. I’ve done all my duties as a princess. But just this once, I want to have a choice,” desperation laced through her soprano, “please.”

At this point, embarrassment was boiling through the soldier’s lungs like wildfire. Reaching out to tug at her arm, he rasped out in a whisper, “Y/N, not now--”

“We--” the king cleared his throat. Their faces swivelled, rapt with attention as the older man raised a hand in mock surrender, “we'll talk about this later.” 

And that was when he stepped out of the room, soon followed by his wife after throwing one final glance in the soldier’s direction. It was definitely not a friendly one.

Y/N wasted no time to turn to him as soon as the door closed with a sound that left a bitter aftertaste in Sunwoo’s mouth. Her eyes, red-rimmed and tired, searched his face as she tried not to burst into tears.

“You--” she bit her lip, barely managing to hold on to the multitude of emotions that would’ve rendered her weak at the knees if she hadn’t been sitting, "you idiot.” 

"You’re the idiot,” Sunwoo blinked away the tiredness, hand finding hers to interlock their fingers, “do you want to give your parents a heart attack?”

She shook her head, “never mind that,” glancing down at the bed sheet covering his wound, her eyes scanned his face for any hint of injury, “how are you feeling?”

“Y/N?” Panic rose through his chest, “what am I doing here? Did you tell them--”

“You were dying,” she interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. When his eyes shot up to hers in surprise and noticed her gaze brimming with tears, his heart couldn’t help but give a painful twist. She exhaled shakily, “you were dying and I couldn’t--I didn’t have a choice.” 

Something that felt like horror churned uneasily in the pit of his stomach. That was it. He’d probably be fired as soon as he could walk and albeit the fact that Y/N would fight for his sake, it was clear where the said soldier stood in the eyes of the Royal family; in the stables where he belonged.

As though taken by a sudden impulse to make things right, Sunwoo made to throw his leg out of bed. Y/N quickly shot out, pushing his shoulders back as she said, “Oh no. What do you think you’re doing?” she tucked the sheets back around his neck in a decisive manner, “you’re not moving. Not when you’ve practically lost half of your blood’s worth.” 

“I’m fine, I need--” her hands were insistent and he was too weak to fight her off. He relented with a soft grumble, a guilty expression taking over his face as he noted the dark circles imprinted underneath her eyes, the worried lines along her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” his murmur was soft and barely audible if she hadn’t been paying attention, “I’m sorry, for everything--”

“You scared me,” her tone was fierce, eyes glassy as she squeezed his hand, “I thought you--I thought you were dead.”

“I thought I was, too.” 

“There was so much blood,” her voice broke halfway through her sentence, “there was so much blood Sunwoo, I--I lost it. I just wanted you to get all the help you could get. I didn’t think and I--” 

“Hey hey,” he tried reaching for her, wincing as a dull ache spread throughout his limb. She noticed and leaned closer, close enough that he managed to lift a shaky hand to wipe away the stray tears threatening to cascade down her cheeks, “I’m okay now,” his thumb traced circles over her cheek, “don’t cry.” 

That was when she broke down into ugly sobs, pulling away from his hold and  leaning against the bed while her hands came up to hide her face from view. Sunwoo watched, own tears stinging the corner of his eyes. He wanted to hold her, to pull her close. His heart hurt at her broken countenance and he wondered how many nights had she stayed up watching over him, how many nights she’d cried herself to sleep. 

"Come here,” he rasped out a murmur and found her without protest when he managed to tug her. She wrapped her arms gingerly around his neck, pulled him close in a gentle hug and buried her face into the space between his shoulder and jaw.

“It’s okay,” he kept on repeating like a lullaby, alto so soft in her ear in made her shiver, “it’s okay, Y/N.”

It was only when her sobs had subsided into soft sniffles that she managed to lift her head to gaze at him with swollen eyes, and though she had never looked in a worst state, Sunwoo thought that she’d never looked so kissable right here, in this particular moment. 

And so he tugged her forward. Gently. 

She followed without hesitation, the softest kiss exchanged. It was one that sucked out all air from his body, one that caused all his nerves to light up in a fire of sensual temptation as he gazed at her through half-lidded eyes. 

She was close enough that he could tilt his head up and kiss her forehead. Her nose. Both cheeks. And her lips. Once, twice. 

Before he cupped the back of her neck to kiss her more deeply, mouth staining hers and moving her through a dance that was more rhythmic, more sensual. His tongue delved into hers and she let out a dying gasp as she relented to his attack, allowing his wet muscle to explore and twine around her own. A satisfied grumble echoed through his chest as he pressed her closer while the girl’s hands moved up to cup his face, caressed his jaw as she kissed back with just as much restrained passion.

He felt her desperate need to feel him close, her attempts to mold her entire body to his if that was possible, and smiled into the kiss before drawing away. The softest, muffled whine fell from her throat the moment he did, causing the soldier to chuckle as he watched her flush deep red with embarrassment.

"So what's going to happen?" He murmured, "now that your parents know?"

She shrugged, "does it matter? I'm not getting married to anyone but you. I made that clear enough."

"Y/N, you know it doesn't work that way."

"Oh don't worry," a wicked grin broke across her face, "the prince I'm supposedly betrothed to has already announced his engagement."

"What?" Sunwoo blinked, ears perked up and alert.

"We already had an agreement, him and I," she continued while playing with his fingers, "that both of us would be allied without marriage."

"Do your parents know about that?"

"Obviously," she paused, "not yet."

"Oh god," he let out a groan, "they're gonna hate me."

"Not if I do this first."

He didn't even have time to blink before he spotted her sliding something along his finger. A ring.

A ring.

His head snapped up in shock, jaw falling slack at her action. Y/N gazed back, flushed yet determined, gauging for his reaction.

He swallowed. Opened his mouth. Closed it. His ears flushed deep red.

Finally, he managed to cough out, "I--I was the one who was supposed to do that."

"Nobody ever said I couldn't do it first," she grinned back.

Sunwoo grumbled out an incoherent response and her grin widened even more upon noticing his embarrassment as he turned his hear away.

Giggling, she peered over at him, "are you blushing?" It was amusing to see Sunwoo, so brave and courageous, rendered to that of a small child who couldn't even meet her eyes, "you are blushing!"

"No I'm not!" He replied hotly.

"You so are!" She teased, "oh my god, Sunwoo. I didn't know you could be so cute."

He had nothing to say in his defense, only managed to bury his face back into her shoulder as she kept on laughing softly, hand going up to trickle through his dark strands.

"So will you?" She asked, "marry me?"

A whine escaped his mouth. But she pressed on, "I need a verbal approval."

He made another noise that sounded halfway between a mewl and a whimper. Y/N rolled her eyes and was about to flaunt that maybe she was asking the wrong person, when his hand grasped her shoulder to pull her back so that he could kiss her with much more intensity, a demanding kind of passion that left her breathless and causing a wave of desire to erupt through her stomach.