It was all very royal, really. Angelo would hardly be the first prince in history forced to marry for political reasons. Angelo just wished it didn't have to be with perfect little arse face Yuri.
It was bad enough Angelo had being married off to a boy to look forward to. It was completely unfair that the prince in question was the most irritating little suck-up ever. Everyone remarked on how perfect Yuri's manners were, and how clever he was, and sweet, and charming. Angelo, in contrast, seemed to be too ungainly, too energetic, too loud, and too argumentative. He was always getting into trouble and afterward compared unfavorably to Yuri. When Angelo was chastised, Yuri would look sad and shocked when the grown-ups were watching, but his expression turned slyly smug when no one was looking.
Angelo was absolutely sick of Yuri's shit.
Everyone in both Mirea and Tanzhir adored Prince Yuri. Everyone, that is, except the boy who would be stuck with him for life.
The two boys grew up together, like it or not. Mostly not, at least on Angelo's part. They spent time at each other’s castles. They were sent to the same boarding school. It was, Angelo thought at times, claustrophobic as hell. He would inevitably break away and flee, wearing the plainest clothes he had and pretending not to be a prince around the other kids he found. He could be loud and obnoxious and normal and no one cared. It was the only thing that kept Angelo from going totally apeshit, and even though he often got in trouble for doing it, when things got bad, his only option was escape. Angelo wished it was permanent, but that was never going to happen.
When Angelo slipped back into his bedroom at the palace, Yuri would usually be in there, waiting, a scowl on his overly pretty face. So when Angelo climbed into the bedroom from his open window, he wasn't shocked in the slightest to see his bedroom was occupied by a very pretty—and very angry—prince dressed in pyjamas covered in tiny red dragons. Yuri looked like a doll, not a thirteen-year-old boy.
“You're gonna get caught if you don't watch it,” Yuri pronounced in a tone that clearly stated how much he longed for that to come to pass. “And I'm not gonna save you.” His words catapulted Yuri from adorable infant to grumpy adult. He acted as if he was years older than Angelo and it pissed him off. Angelo was two weeks older than Yuri, for fuck's sake.
Angelo snorted in disgust but otherwise ignored Yuri. He dug in his chest of drawers, pulled out pyjamas, then exchanged them for his dirty t-shirt and jeans, which he hid in his hamper. “I don't need rescuing. Go to bed like the good little princess I know you are.”
Yuri balled his hands into tiny fists and put them on his hips. His blue eyes narrowed into furious slits. “Don't call me that,” he hissed.
“What?” Angelo asked innocently.
“Princess!” Yuri bristled. “I’m a Mirean prince!”
“You're a little shit is what you are. Are you going to tattle on me? Go tell Mama and Papa how I'm being bad? I know you wanna get me in trouble because it’s your hobby or some shit.”
“No. I'm not a snitch. But I think you should follow the rules. That's what rules are for!”
Angelo laughed derisively. “You follow them, then, since you like them so much. Princess.”
“Stop saying that!” Yuri had gone all red in the face. “You… you…”
“Can't even say a bad word, can you?” Angelo taunted. “Can't ever do anything bad. Perfect little princess. That's what you are.”
Yuri trembled with rage. A single tear streaked down his cheek. Angelo tried not to feel bad about that tear, but he kinda did, anyway. “I hate you, you… wanker!”
Angelo pulled back the covers then hopped into his bed. “I hate you right back, arse face.”
“Sod!” Yuri shouted.
“Nerd!” Angelo shouted right back.
“Dickhead!”
Angelo was reluctantly impressed. That was a new one for the twerp. He wondered where Yuri had picked it up and came to the conclusion it had to be one of his brothers, probably Archie. Apparently, the princess did know a few curse words and could be provoked into using them. Angelo filed that information away and thought of a comeback. It had to be something completely devastating or else Yuri would win, and Angelo couldn't be having that.
“Crybaby,” Angelo sneered. “Itty bitty cwy baby.” Then after the words were out of his mouth, it occurred to him that he might have gone too far.
Yuri must've felt the same, because he flew at Angelo like a demon, hopping onto the bed with his fists inexpertly pummeling anything they came in contact with, from Angelo to the pillow and mattress. “Take it back,” he sobbed, seeming wild with emotion. Angelo wished the grownups could see this Yuri. He only lost control in front of Angelo. Around anyone else, he was disgustingly well-behaved. “You fucking take it back.”
The nuclear bomb of bad words sat between them uneasily, making both of them freeze in place. Not even Angelo went around saying fuck. While Angelo was too young to put a name to the emotion that swirled within him, he would one day think back on this memory and realize he felt both shocked and scandalized down to his bones.
Prince Perfect wasn't supposed to curse. Not ever. That was against The Rules. And while it was acceptable for Angelo to ignore The Rules, it was not all right for Prince Perfect. Angelo felt his whole world slide off-kilter, like that crooked as hell portrait of Yuri's great aunt Cecilia that was hung in the Mirean portrait gallery.
Angelo, who easily outweighed Yuri by at least ten pounds, pinned the smaller boy to
