•when the world was big• [prince au, discontinued]

chapter one.

it was late.
like, oh boy why are you awake kinda late. Wilbur was hunched over his desk, staring down at a blank piece of paper. he was trying to write a song, but his mind kept coming up blank. he fiddled with his pen, instinctively dipping it in ink but writing nothing. he groaned in frustration, setting the pen down and standing up.

it was raining outside. the patter of rain against his large window calmed the prince slightly as he paced his bedroom. it was too late to actually mess around with his guitar, since he'd wake the other residents. the walls were quite thin, Wilbur had found this out a few days ago after he'd woken up his mother in the middle of the night.
an unusually loud tap startled Wilbur out of his thoughts, turning his attention to the window. he quickly paced over, pulling back the yellow curtains that covered them.

he jumped back in surprise when he was met with the face of a boy who looked maybe 19-20, around his age. he had curly, strawberry blonde hair that the rain stuck to his face and pale skin dotted with freckles. he looked familiar, Wilbur thought, but he couldn't place why. he realized he actually had to say something and cracked his window open a little bit.
"hello?" he questioned. it seemed to startle the other boy.
"he-hello." the stranger spoke. his voice was also strangely familiar, and it made Wilbur wonder how he seemed to recognize this boy.
"uhm... why are you standing at my window in the rain? not to mention, it's the middle of the night."
the stranger took a minute to process what Wilbur asked him. he looked like he was shivering.
"uh.... i don't know if you remember me, but can you please let me in?" The boy asked. Wilbur opened his window further, letting the stranger climb in.
"do i remember you? you seem very familiar."
Wilbur took a step back as the boy stumbled into his room. he was wearing a white button up shirt and a red cloak that had white fur trim, along with grey pants and black boots.
"maybe.. we used to be friends as kids? i'm from the other kingdom that you guys hate now but-"
"techno?"
the name came back to Wilbur so quickly it almost punched him. that's why the boy seemed so familiar. When they were a lot younger, maybe 7 or 8 years old, the neighbouring Kingdoms were allies, and the Kings often spent time together, causing the young princes to become best friends. But after a conflict, the two Kingdoms became mortal enemies. Wilbur hadn't seen Techno in almost 9 years.
"yeah. that's uh.. that's me."
Wilbur was stunned, totally shocked. His old best friend showing up at his window in the middle of the night, soaking wet? This couldn't get any weirder.

Wilbur didn't care, pulling Techno into a tight hug.
"oh my god, i never thought i'd see you again."
He murmured into the other Prince's neck. Techno hugged back, smiling softly. "yeah. it's a good thing i still remember what room was yours, or i'd be in big trouble." Wilbur laughed softly, taking a step back as he let go of Techno. He took a minute, noticing how Techno's hair is kinda curly and his eyes are almost red-brown and he's honestly way prettier than wilbur remembered-
"do i have gunk on my face or somethin'?"
Wilbur stuttered for a moment, realizing Techno caught him starting.
"uh. um- no. i'm just... shocked, i guess." Wilbur chuckled awkwardly.
"yeah. i'm shocked you remembered me.."
Techno glanced at the ground, scratching the back of his neck.
"hey. i know this is already really weird, but i have somethin' to ask you."
Wilbur raised an eyebrow, looking into Techno's eyes.
"yeah? ask away..?" Wilbur was nervous as to what Techno would ask. it could be anything. Techno seemed to hesitate before blurting out:

"how do you feel about runnin' away with me?"
Wilbur tensed up for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows.
"running away...? why?"
"bein' royalty sucks. i wanna get away from all of this.. you're the only person i knew who'd even think about joinin' me."
Techno was nervous, avoiding eye contact at all cost, his heart beating a mile a minute. Wilbur took a moment to think. He never really liked being treated as royalty. It felt like he was being babied and watched over all of the time, and he couldn't stand it. Maybe running away would be a good idea...
"yeah. i'll join you."
"wait, really?" Techno sighed in relief, although it sounded like a laugh. "i really didn't think you would.."
Wilbur smiled softly, looking out the window. It was still raining, but it had slowed down quite a bit.
"i never really liked being royalty anyways. i don't want to be babied." Wilbur made sure to keep his voice down, just in case anyone else was awake.
"yeah. i know it's sudden, but i didn't want to go alone-"
"it's alright. i'll start packing. what would i need to bring?" Wilbur interrupted Techno, heading over to his dresser for clothes.

"uh. i dunno honestly. stuff that doesn't scream 'hey look at me, i'm a Prince?'" Techno chuckled softly.
Wilbur grabbed a pair of black riding pants and a large yellow sweater he was gifted. He also grabbed a light blue cloak to wear if it rained. He threw them on his bed before grabbing an over-the-shoulder bag that he usually used when travelling.
"we should probably wait for the rain to die down before we leave." Wilbur stated, glancing out the window quickly.
"yeah. i do plan on leaving soon though... all we need is a horse."
Techno sighed softly, sitting down at the chair near Wilburs desk.
"i can get us a horse. the stable boy won't care, i doubt he's even out this late." Wilbur nodded before closing the window. He realized that he was basically wearing pyjamas, and that he was gonna have to change before leaving.
"uh. i'm gonna change.."
He said softly, and Techno quickly turned away from him. "i'm not gonna look." He said with a soft chuckle.
Wilbur quickly changed into the outfit he'd thrown on the bed, making sure he looked decent before turning back to techno.
"ok. you can look now. also, do we have a plan for this?"
Wilbur chuckled softly as Techno turned to look at Wilbur, shrugging.
"i say we steal supplies and a horse and just... leave. i found a map of bordering communities and things so we can navigate just fine."
Techno spoke, and Wilbur nodded.
"i can get us food from the kitchen, it's empty at this time of night. maybe wait here, and once i have food we can get a horse and go?"