The ball was going well. Until it wasn’t.

It took all of Yue’s willpower to not react as he saw Mark. He wished he could grab onto Viktor’s hand and step in front of him but he couldn’t. This wasn’t like Viktor’s birthday party where it didn’t matter how intimate they acted. He couldn’t just touch Viktor out of nowhere, not while he dressed like a woman that is.

Mark had a smirk on his face as he looked at Yue’s expression. He wasn’t sure why Yue looked peeved but just seeing that made him happy. 

“Vitya, it’s been a while. I was hoping to go to Italy back in March but I got busy.” Mark said with a grin.

“…That's alright,” Viktor murmured, glancing at Yue. He had recently come to realize that he was being a bit too lenient on Mark. He didn’t really understand Yue’s anger a while ago when he came to the conclusion that he and Mark had “been together” in a way that wasn’t exactly consensual in the past. He understood now though, he’d imagined the situation as if it was happening to Yue and he nearly broke his desk after thinking about it.

He was annoyed that he still couldn’t hurt Mark though. He stayed quiet until he heard Yue speak.

“I don’t believe we’ve ever formally introduced one another,” Yue said and smiled elegantly, moving with Mai to stand beside Viktor instead of behind him.

“I don’t believe we have,” Mark said, coldly. He was shocked that Yue knew Russian.

“I am Yue Xia, this is Mai Nguyen. We are his highness’ classmates.” Yue said, he held back a glare as he heard Mark’s tone.

“My name is Mark Delov, I am a former classmate and a very good friend of Vitya’s,”  Mark said with a grin, placing his hand on Viktor’s shoulder.

Viktor pushed Mark’s hand off of him.

“Vitenka,” Elena called out as she walked over. She was dressed formally, crown and all. She really seemed like a calm and elegant ruler like this.

Mark bowed to her, Yue and Mai had already spoken to her not too long ago so they didn’t bow and Viktor just turned to her.

“The ball will end soon. You should dance at least once.” Elena said with an amused smile as she made it clear that she was looking between Viktor and Yue.

Yue brightened up and Viktor chuckled a little. 

Viktor glanced at Mark for a second before he reached out to Yue. He took Yue’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, pulling Yue along into the center of the Ballroom.

The other people in the ballroom looked over at them, they were shocked. The prince was dancing with a woman? No one thought that would ever happen.

“I don’t know how to dance. Can you tell?” Yue giggled, he was trying very hard to not step on Viktor’s feet while still following along with what others seemed to be doing.

“I almost can’t. But you keep glancing at other people.” Viktor whispered with a laugh.

Yue giggled, “I’m trying to memorize it for next time.” 

“You don’t have to worry, people will be too shocked that I’m dancing to notice a mistake or two,” Viktor whispered.

—

The ball ended soon after the dance and people quickly started to leave. Lots of particularly chatty nobles were eager to share the news of how Viktor danced with someone at the ball.

Mai went on ahead with Yue walking her to the door. A maid told her that she had received a letter so she wanted to quickly go to her room. 

Mark walked up to Viktor with a smile, “When is your graduation? I would like to go, Vit—“

“Vitya!” 

Viktor faltered a little and turned away from Mark immediately as he heard Yue’s voice.

“I’m sorry to bother you…I can’t remember the way to my room...” Yue murmured with his best ‘I’m sorry to be a bother look’. He looked like a pitiful little lady, asking for a small favor.

Mark was glaring furiously as he watched Yue’s coy expression.

‘Does this woman really think her puppy eyes will work on Vit—‘

Viktor bought it. He knew it was a complete lie but he played along regardless.

“I’ll walk you there,” Viktor said and slid his arm around Yue’s waist.

Yue knew from the grip that he definitely might regret using that name, but he didn’t care. He was determined to not allow Mark around Viktor. He turned to Mark as they walked and glared. He hid his bloodlust so it seemed like a catty look at most and not a fierce glare like it could’ve been.

“You’re jealous enough to do that?” Viktor whispered in Yue’s ear.

“I’m not jealous. I’m just putting him in his place.” Yue murmured, his cheeks reddening as they walked through the halls. He hadn’t memorized this castle’s layout but he knew for a fact that this wasn’t the way to the room that was prepared for him.

“And you care about that enough to not mind what’s gonna happen to you?” Viktor asked in Yue’s ear after he pulled Yue into a dark room. Yue flinched, flustered and the door closed and he and Viktor were stuck in the dark. Both of them had exceptional eyesight and could see pretty well regardless but the darkness that surrounded them was still thrilling.

“It’s like a reward really.” He probably should’ve been smiling but Viktor being pressed against his back suddenly caught him off guard and his grin turned into more of a nervous look.

Viktor didn’t respond, his lips were pressed against Yue’s neck and his hands were undoing Yue’s clothes. He had planned to talk with Yue in his room for a while after the ball just to chat about what they should do for the few days they would be in Belarus. But this sort of ‘talking’ worked too.

“I don’t know if you’ll really think of it as a reward by the end.” Viktor laughed.

“Eh?” 

—

“Still a reward?” Viktor asked, a smirk adorning his slightly flushed face as he looked down at Yue. Yue was bright red and clawing at a pillow while trying to hold back a moan.

Yue’s attempt to answer was lost when a slight shift made Viktor’s length reach farther inside him.

“I think you forgot about how long it’s been.” Viktor chuckled and looked at Yue’s overwhelmed expression and smudged eye makeup.

Yue was once again trying to speak but the words just wouldn’t come out right. Viktor let him get used to having him inside. He was feeling merciful and was curious about what Yue would have to say.

“You’ve been working out often? Sparring With Mai?” Viktor asked, looking at Yue’s toned abdomen.  Maybe it was because of his small waist or just their difference in stature but Yue, even as he reached the same amount of muscle as Viktor, always looked much cuter In comparison.

“N-No…I spar…. w-with Anya when s-she comes to deliver letters…” Yue murmured, breathing heavily.

“Instead of just going to the manor to spar with me?” Viktor pouted.

“S-Sorry,” Yue murmured with a sheepish smile that quickly washed away as Viktor grabbed his hips.

“Hmph! I’ll let it go for now.” Viktor murmured and pulled Yue so he was sitting up with his length still sheathed within him.

Yue wrapped his arms around Viktor’s neck, holding on for dear life as Viktor actively started to pound into him. It took him a while but he gradually got used to the pace. The sensation was still overwhelming but the speed of Viktor’s thrusts was semi bearable.

Staring at Viktor’s pale white neck, however…that was unbearable. The desire to leave a mark on Viktor’s skin only increased as he noticed that Viktor had already trailed marks down his chest.

‘It’d take a lot of force to make them….’ Yue thought to himself, pulling himself closer to Viktor’s neck, trembling a little as his moving caused Viktor to slam into him more.

When he placed his mouth on Viktor’s shoulder Viktor paused for a second, surprised.

“Are you trying to make marks? It’s going to be hard because of my—ack!” 

Yue wanted to giggle as he heard Viktor’s uncharacteristic yelp. He realized he probably wouldn’t be able to suck enough to make a mark so he decided to do the next best thing, bite.

Biting down enough to pierce Viktor’s skin wasn’t very hard. Yue’s fangs were there for a reason after all. He did worry about how he was going to remove them and whether or not he would end up having his fangs stuck in Viktor’s shoulder but he luckily managed to remove himself. He stared at his work with a slight smile. It wasn’t quite the same as the marks that Viktor left on him but it was close.

The sight of his bite mark on Viktor’s skin definitely sparked something in him. He couldn’t tell exactly what but it was probably something akin to possessiveness, and it was definitely because he was a dragon.

“You wanted to leave marks too?” Viktor murmured, lifting his hand to his shoulder and wiping the slightly bloody bite mark.

“Did it hurt a lot? I’m sorry Vitya.” Yue said and stroked Viktor’s hair.

Viktor shuddered a little as he watched those words come from Yue’s smiling lips. Was that on purpose? Was Yue copying his smile and tone on purpose?

“Don’t go giving me weird fantasies,” Viktor murmured with an embarrassed sort of expression, covering Yue’s smile with his hand.

“What do you me--an?!” Yue asked, his question turning into a moan as Viktor started thrusting into him again. Viktor didn’t end up answering him.

—

Yue managed to wake up earlier than Viktor in the morning somehow. He was still very tired so he just watched Viktor’s sleeping face and admired the bite marks he had left.

“I see why he always does this.” Yue giggled quietly.

There was a knock at the door after a while.

“Your highness, my lady? Are you awake?” Anya asked.

Yue slowly got up and covered himself with Viktor’s dress shirt, whining a little to himself about the pain in his behind before walking over to the door.

“Vitya is still asleep.” Yue giggled.

“Ah…There’s still some time until breakfast, he’ll probably wake up by then, would you like me to set up a bath?” Anya said and walked into the room, she was carrying one of Yue’s Hanfus.

“Yes please.” 

--

Yue awkwardly smiled at Anya as he noticed her concerned expression as she did his hair. The white section of his hair was now more like a white half.

“My Lady--”

A yawn cut Anya off, Viktor was walking over to them sleepily. 

“What time is it?” He asked Anya before leaning down to kiss Yue’s cheek before walking over to the bathroom.

“Around 9:30 AM, Young master,” Anya responded, finishing Yue’s hair.

“Has Mom already finished breakfast?” Viktor asked.

“She left hours ago to speak at the academy’s commencement ceremony in Nizhnevartovsk.”

“Hmm...Okay…” Viktor murmured.

“The academy?” Yue asked, confused.

“The top-ranked military academy in Russia, It’s generally referred to as the Knight academy. It’s accessible to all people regardless of social status but it is incredibly rigorous. The queen founded it around 50 years ago. His highness graduated from there prior to entering the Academy of Magic Arts.” Anya explained.

“Is that where he and Mark were classmates?” Yue asked, rolling his eyes a little.

“...Yes..” Anya murmured, carefully observing Yue’s expression.

“Trust me, Miss. Mark Delov is most certainly not a threat to you.” She reassured him.

“I know that,” Yue said and glanced at the bathroom door, “It would be so easy for me to kill him. I can tell. And Viktor is definitely not interested in him. But the fact that I can’t kill him despite everything I know...makes me so angry.” Yue murmured.

“I’m sure you’re not alone in that sentiment,” Anya said and sighed.