Meet Me in the Garden (DSAF royal AU)

Chapter Two - Gloxinia

[tw; ch1ld @buse and light ableist language! sensitive content ends at the *!]

"Hey, I saw you talkin' with someone out in the garden today."

Dave tried to break the silence at the dinner table by talking about the events from earlier that day, but as per usual, there was no response from his father as he took a sip from his glass of wine, not even so much as a glance.

Dave pursed his lips together and poked at the salmon with his fork.

"Uh... 's he the new gardener?" He asked, looking up once more with an awkward smile on his face.

Once more, Henry didn't spare Dave an eye roll, although he did look more agitated.

"... You know," Dave began, his voice rising in volume, as well as his frustration. "It'd be really nice if you didn't always ignore me."

Henry rolled his eyes and scoffed, looking at Dave like he was a beggar on the street. "After all these years, you'd think you would have gotten the hint, William." He sneered, emphasizing his son's former name. "I'm not interested in a conversation with you."

A slam resonated from the young prince's side of the long dining table, making the glass of wine sitting beside Henry's plate spill. The king glared daggers at his son, who looked like he was holding back tears.

"I'm your son!" Dave barked, face turning sangria with anger. "You weren't like this with David! What makes me so-"

"Don't you dare bring him up!" Henry roared, making Dave fall back in his seat, the previous darkness of his face long gone. "Do you want to know why I wasn't like this with David?! He wasn't an idiot like you! He was easy to handle and care for, but you've been a problem since day one!"

Dave choked back a sob. "I... I'm sorry, dad..."

"I don't want to hear it." Henry waved his hand dismissively, sitting back down in his chair. "Get out of my sight."

Dave didn't hesitate getting up out of his seat, not even bothering to push it back in. The servants would deal with that later.

----------

The garden was big. Big, quiet, and rarely populated.

Perfect spot to be when you don't want to be around a single person at all.

Dave found himself frequenting the garden more and more often as the years went on. He found it to be a "safe space", even if the overbearing scent of all manner of flora would overwhelm him at times.

The gates to the garden were almost slammed open behind the prince as he made a beeline for the spot he always went to when he was having a Henry-induced panic attack.

The fountain, which was surrounded by large white willow trees.

It always felt so ethereal to be in that specific part of the garden. The streams of water jutting from the mouths of carved white fish, the fallen ivory colored leaves from the willows, and the occasional coos from a dove nested in one of the large tree branches made this one little piece of what was a vibrant paradise to many so otherworldly.

He'd almost tripped running to his destination, but Dave made it within three to four minutes. As soon as he arrived, he collapsed in front of the fountain, laid his head on the stone border, and sobbed.

Henry had never been afraid to cut deep. Before dinner that evening, Henry's personal insults mostly revolved around Dave's... 'issues', as doctors would call it. Be it mocking his repetitive actions or speech patterns, his behavior caused Dave to "mature" from those actions in order to appease his father.