The Blue Danube [OLD]

- 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔶 𝔱𝔴𝔬. ﾐ

Standing up, he gazed down at Paul one last time. He felt bad that he had to leave him so soon, but he didn't want to wake him when he was sure to have a bad hangover, and he couldn't wait any longer than he already had. Leaning down, he pressed a butterfly kiss to his lover's forehead with a fond smile, letting his fingertips brush away a strand of raven hair our of Paul's eyes before straightening.

"See you soon, my love." With that, he turned and picked his coat up from the floor, slipping it on and buttoning it up over his body to protect from the early morning cold; once he had done so, John opened the door and looked back at Paul's sleeping figure one last time before closing it after him, his footsteps echoing through the empty hallway as he made his way to the stairs, descending as quietly as he could - it seemed he was unsuccessful, however, as he heard a quiet thump and a floorboard creak behind him before a soft voice called his name;

"John?"

He turned around to see who it was - Ringo stood there at the top of the stairs, shirtless with his arms wrapped around himself, shivering a little at the cold. His bleary blue eyes gazed at John, looking slightly unfocused, and he reached up to itch at his ruffled hair that was sticking up in every direction.

"Hey. Go back to bed, Rings. I'm just goin' home." John flashed a small smile in his direction, shoving his hands in his pockets as he gazed up at his friend from the bottom of the stairs.

"Okay. Did you wake Paul?"

"No, he looked far too peaceful. He'll know why I had to leave early, though."

Ringo blinked at him sadly, hurrying down the stairs before pulling his best friend into a hug. John hugged him back tightly before they pulled apart.

"Do you know when you can come see us again?"

"Not really," John shrugged, sighing defeatedly. "I'll definitely try to get away again to hang out with you guys. It's been a rough few weeks without you three."

"We miss you, too," Ringo pressed his lips together. "well, hopefully this'll all be over soon, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll try and suck up to Mimi as much as I can if it'll get me off quicker. See you later, Rings." John nodded, feeling sadness wash over him like a wave, closing up his throat and pressing down on his chest with a surprising strength. He had to leave his friends again for god knows how long and be stuck by himself, longing to see them and staring out the window like a princess trapped in a tower.

"Bye, John! Safe travels." Ringo called after him as he opened the front door, leaving the warmth of the Starkey residence and entering the streets. An icy wind jostled him back and forth and he pulled up the folds to shield his face. There were people walking about, and he didn't want to be recognised as he didn't have a disguise that day. The memories of last night were hazy, but he had a pretty solid idea of what went down. He was pretty sure he was in the clear, anyway - it seemed nothing crazy had happened, since he would have remembered it. He hadn't gotten that drunk.

Picking up the pace, the prince began his trek to his prison under the rising sun.

✧✧✧✧✧

"Hurry up, John! We're going to be late."
Mimi's irritated voice called from the ground floor; John groaned internally as he hopped up and down on one leg, trying his best to force his leg into his pants as quickly as he could manage.

"Coming!" He yelled over his shoulder. Eventually, he managed to get his foot through the pant leg and he pulled up the expensive trousers, doing them up as quickly as he could before slipping a belt through its loops to make sure it didn't sag. The family was off to some sort of social event - John didn't even know what it was for - and he had only just got home in time to find out and have a bath before dressing (he still stunk of alcohol and sweat, but luckily Mimi didn't notice in her rushed state). It was absolutely the last thing he wanted to do while hungover, but he had gotten used to rolling with the punches at that point. It was worth the hangover if he had gotten to be with his friends again.