Shut Up, Cinderella

What If

So this is love, huh.

Now that the realization had struck him, in hindsight it seemed quite obvious. He had fallen head over heels for Gemstone Crystalline, the very last person he had ever imagined falling in love with. And it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

The question was just, what should he do about it now?

He had come to terms with his feelings. What next? He could act on them, of course, whenever he wanted. He already knew his feelings were reciprocated; that wasn't the problem.

But if he did, what would happen?

Ever planning to get married? Have a family or something?

Would Gem expect them to get married if Cinder acted on his feelings and they became a couple? Would that mean having to leave his home and roots behind and live with Gem among the nobility and royalty, becoming prince consort someday? He didn't want that. Even with Gem at his side, he really didn't want that.

What then? Begin a relationship with no plans of marriage?

Cinder might be fine with that, but he doubted Gem would be. He was a prince, for a start, and princes needed a spouse. He wanted one, too. Gem was old-fashioned in that sense, a hopeless romantic. He wouldn't want it to be just a fling, just a relationship without tying the knot and making it official.

Under these circumstances, would it even be alright for Cinder to give him hope? Wouldn't he just hurt Gem, entering a relationship with him while knowing their life plans and needs could never match up in the long run?

Wouldn't it be better to just hide this love that had grown within him, allowing Gem to move on and find someone he could be fully happy with, without either side having to give up what they wanted?

He didn't know.

"You're spacing out," Gem's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Something on your mind?"

"Nothing," Cinder lied. They were still in his room, neither of them in a hurry to leave even after getting fully dressed for the day. "Just not fully awake again."

"You're such a sleepyhead," Gem answered, propping himself up on the windowsill. He looked outside. "Hey, what's that?"

"What?" Cinder asked without standing up. "The yard?"

"That tree over there." Gem pointed. "There's something under it...some kind of stone?"

"Oh, that." Standing up, Cinder stepped up beside him, his eyes following Gem's to the apple tree over his mother's grave. "That's...something I can show you sometime. It's a long story."

Gem turned around. "Show me now."

"Now?" Cinder repeated. "I thought you should return to the palace."

Gem shook his head. "I don't have anything I can't skip today," he said. "I can still stay for a bit."

It was a risk, Cinder felt. A gamble, spending another whole day together, with his feelings being what they were and everything. He still needed to think, but spending time with Gem might just lead him to do something...irrational.

All the same he didn't have it in him to say no.

"Fine," he said. "Let's have breakfast. Then I'll show you."

Hestia and the girls seemed to have left the house already. Cinder was glad; he wasn't in the mood for having to explain where Gem had come from and what he had slept on, since Cinder hadn't used the spare mattress. The only one present was the maid, who asked no questions but was simply delighted to have Gem at the table again.