Chapter Text
You’re ahead in your work thanks to me, aren’t you?” Kiriya asked, taking a sip of his tea.
Across from him in the palace sitting room, Edward nodded over his own cup. It was a strong blend that was never as good as what Michelle brewed, but he couldn’t complain about the clearer head it gave him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I’ve never seen his table so clean,” mused Vic, seated with terrible posture at Edward’s side. If the three of them weren’t alone behind closed doors again he would have told his retainer to straighten up by now. “Yer a miracle worker, Kiriya.”
Kiriya smiled faintly, but it disappeared quickly enough for Edward to doubt he’d seen it at all. “And you still owe me for acting out this engagement.”
This was clearly going somewhere he wasn’t going to like. Edward narrowed his eyes. “Yes, I do. Why?”
Placing his teacup on the table between them, Kiriya leaned back in his seat. He looked as confident — and stubborn — as he’d ever been with his arms crossed like that. “I want to call in that favor now. The favor.”
Vic perked up. “Ya thought of something already?”
“You might regret deciding on that before this is even over with,” Edward warned him.
Unfazed, Kiriya stated, “I won’t.”
“Then you’ll have to tell me what it is before I can agree to it.”
“For some time now, I have been unable to make progress in the cure I’ve been working on. Last night I remembered a journal Honorable Savio wrote that is likely to have the answer I’ve been looking for. It’s one of a kind, and I own it, but I didn’t bring it with me to Burguss.”
“Then it’s back at yer old place all the way over in Halgita?”
“Precisely. I need to retrieve it.”
Edward could see two ways he could assist with that. Neither would be so much trouble that he would’ve made Kiriya do more than ask for it. “I could send some of my men to get it for you if that’s what you want, or you could take a few guards with you as an official escort.” That would be a lengthy trip, though; they’d be apart much longer than they’d been since the start of their agreement. It bothered him to think about it.
“No,” Kiriya said, staring straight at him. “I want you.”
“What do you mean?”
“If this wouldn’t be an inconvenience for you, I wouldn’t have called in the favor. The world isn’t as dangerous as it was under the Order of Chains, but bandits and wildlife remain, and Cobasna is a danger to anyone not paying enough attention. I plan to go myself, and I want someone I trust watching my back.”
“You’ve talked to the guards. You can’t trust any of them yet?”
Kiriya sighed loudly. “If you can’t tell the difference between them and someone I risked my life with more times than I can count, there’s no helping you.”
“No, I—I get that, but…” Edward turned his head toward the gated fireplace. “I’m the king now. I can’t just leave.”
“We know the Timberlands well and don’t have to waste any time. It won’t be that long of a trip.”
“It’s still a long time to be away from a post like this without good reason.”
Sitting up straight again, Kiriya reeled his attention back in. As soon as he had it, he smirked. “You have a wonderful reason: you’ll be making sure your betrothed remains safe on a trip significant enough to affect the entire country.”
Vic laughed, earning a glare from Edward that he didn’t wilt under. “C’mon, he’s got ya now. I’m excited to get out travelin’ again!”
“If I’m going you aren’t,” Edward replied wearily.
“Why not?”
“I believe I have enough people in favor of my rule for nothing to get out of control in my absence, but around here no one knows what I would do better than you. If you will put your old snooping skills back to work in keeping on top of things around here, then I’ll feel confident enough to go.”
“Ugh. Fine. I can do that.” Vic slumped dejectedly, but Edward could see him already mentally cycling through the new, shadier opportunities it would give him. All of this was a terrible idea.
He was annoyed with Kiriya for forcing it on him, but there were valid reasons behind the demand. Kiriya would likely go alone before he’d take people that had never been around him for long; he was as aware of his brusque manner as Edward was. Edward had both that knowledge and strength he’d proven, and he didn’t want to see Kiriya try to handle it by himself.
...He had to agree with Vic, too. Staying cooped up in Burgusstadt all the time was driving him crazy. He was born a noble, but he stopped living like one for a long time.
“Consider your favor taken care of. We’ll be even again once we get back.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Pleased, Kiriya stood. “The tea was better today. Tell your servant to keep at it.”
“I will. When do you want to go, anyway? I’ll need at least a day’s warning to try to pull the right strings.”
“Hm.” Kiriya tapped thoughtfully against his opposite arm. “Then why not the day after tomorrow? You can imagine how crucial it is to end this illness already, no matter how low the mortality rate is. Suffering isn’t only measured in death.”
“I trust you on that.” More than anything about Kiriya, Edward respected his medicinal knowledge. It had saved his own life once, and after that, countless others. “Come by the palace that morning with everything you need to travel, and then we’ll head out.”
“Ya better come back before those ministers try to eat me alive,” Vic said pointedly.
Kiriya started for the door. “They have each other to worry about. You’ll be fine. Probably.”
“Probably?!”
A hectic day and a half passed by. Even after rehearsing his argument with Vic, discussing it with the people of the palace was dreadful and slow. He talked his way through it while only nearly losing his cool twice, so at least that was the worst of it.
He would be allotted just the time necessary to find this journal and bring it back to Burguss. He would also be expected to take his personal guard with him as far as Kolton. None of them knew anything about the disorienting forest separating Kolton from Kiriya’s old home, and trying to ease them through it would just add more time to the trip. They did, however, know the dunes — and how to ride a ship.
The morning of, he pulled out the greatsword he held against Veros and swung it over his back once again. Edward had spent plenty of time training to keep in shape even since taking on the crown, but using a blade that powerful for it was overkill. It was still going to be overkill on the average bandit, but in his hand, any blunt stick would be. The remainder of his belongings went between three of the four guards heading out with him, granting him plenty of mobility to use either one.
They found Kiriya leaning back against the stone wall of the tunnel between the gates outside. Among the light packing, Edward spotted Kiriya’s old sickle with him. “Good morning. Are you still any good with that?”
Amused, Kiriya shook his head. “I’d give you a demonstration if I could. We can only hope I have to slice up a few bandits to show I more than meet your expectations.” He glanced over Edward’s shoulder at the greatsword’s hilt. “Why, have you lost your confidence in fighting with that?”
“You wish. You’re on, if we find any trouble.”
“Your Majesty,” spoke up Sandra, one of the guards. “With all due respect, It’s not a good idea to hope for trouble on our trip.”
“I didn’t say I hoped for it.”
The gates on the other side opened, familiar face Alberich striding through. When he realized what group he was about to pass through, he stopped and watched them nervously. “Your Majesty,” he said with a bow of his head, adjusted his feet as if to continue ahead, then swallowed and spoke again instead. “It’s not too late to decide against this. What will the country do if something happens to you?”
“I’m capable of defending myself, Minister Alberich. If that’s somehow not enough, everyone with me is capable of defending me in my place.”
“But do you really have to go with—”
“I will make sure both Kiriya and I live to see our wedding day,” Edward said resolutely. “I couldn’t trust anyone else as much with someone so important to me and to the country.”
Resigning his protests, Alberich forced a polite smile. “Have a safe trip. All of you.”
“Thank you. Take care of yourself,” Edward replied, returning it. The minister walked by the king and his guards, and Kiriya moved to join the group heading out. For a moment Edward’s eyes met his and found a spark of warmth in them, an unspoken recognition of what had been said in his defense. Then Edward looked away, and the moment was over. It still gave him a better boost in energy than that servant’s morning tea had.
Port Zala’s fair weather disappeared too quickly for Kiriya’s liking. A chill overtook the wind by the time the ship was halfway to Kolton’s shore. Out of boredom and spite against it he remained above deck, near the bowsprit, alternating his focus on the land growing closer on the horizon and the sails above.
“I can never get used to this weather,” he said aloud after catching Edward out of the corner of his eye. He continued speaking without turning his head. “I even prefer Fayel’s heat over Kolton’s snow. It’s closer to what I’m used to.”
“Are you comfortable in Burguss?” Edward asked him, stopping his approach a couple of meters away. He looked completely unconcerned with the cold. At least one of them was that fortunate.
“Obviously. The weather might vary over the year, but a short winter is better than how long it lasts in that miserable land.”
Edward chuckled. “We won’t be there long. You can stand it until then.”
“I know.” The corners of Kiriya’s lips curled up. “I just wanted to complain. It really doesn’t bother you?”
“I can feel it, but wearing a few layers does wonders in cold weather. You should try it sometime.”
“You are a little cold, then.” Skillfully ignoring half of what he said, Kiriya fell into a short silence, pondering. When he made his decision, he spoke assertively. “Come stand over here.”
Fixing Kiriya with a curious look, Edward did as he requested — slowly. When he stood in front of him, Kiriya turned around and backed into him. It wasn’t a hesitant move, but it wasn’t forceful either. Edward froze.
“This solves our problem,” Kiriya explained, settling in as closely as he could against the smooth fabric and firm muscle. He closed his eyes in relief. “Mostly mine. You’re a good guard against the wind.”
“...You could just go below deck and not worry about it at all,” Edward said from beside his ear. Not moving an inch, he didn’t seem to know what to do.
“I don’t want to. I prefer the smell of the sea to whatever’s down there.” And this was comfortable.
Edward’s voice lowered to a pleasant volume. “Fine.” With what might have been trembling arms, he gradually, loosely wrapped them around Kiriya’s waist. “Is this warmer?”
“Mm.” Warmer and left his stomach with a hollow feeling that wasn’t at all unpleasant. It felt like if they were any closer, that could fill it.
Edward took the chance to change the subject. “So Honorable Savio was the one that wrote this journal?”
“Yes. He filled it from cover to cover with his observations and knowledge. I left it behind because I thought it would be easier for someone to steal it from me if I took it out of the Timberlands.”
“Keeping it safe was that important to you?”
“He entrusted it to me. If he awakens in my lifetime, I want to be able to say I never lost it.”
His tone even more sympathetic, Edward asked, “Do you miss him?”
“Of course I do. He and Held were all I had for most of my years growing up. For a time I lived in Burguss while we were his apprentices, and I returned there two years ago to be closer to the land he watched over.” Honesty came too easily like this.
“Do you also miss Held?”
“No. He was a misguided fool.” Kiriya sighed. “But I don’t believe he deserved his fate, either.”
At some point he’d nestled in closer, curving his head toward Edward’s neck. If he wasn’t standing, he might’ve fallen asleep. During the agreeable silence that followed, a memory of Edward’s study played behind his eyelids. A question came to him, and he opened his eyes to greet the kingdom growing ever closer. “You have a portrait on your wall back at the palace. Is that the real Liberator?”
“It is. Lord Sigmund, the Liberator — it’s too bad you were never able to meet him.”
He did, in a fashion, but that would be getting into details that weren’t relevant. “Do you miss him?”
Edward tilted his head down. Kiriya could briefly feel the puff of his breath against his neck. “More than you can imagine.”
Kiriya felt a twinge of something unpleasant. Biting at the inside of his cheek, he said, “If he was still here, would you have…”
The question trailed off and stayed unfinished. Edward gave him some time to do so, but eventually probed for the rest. “Would I have what?”
Some self-loathing settled in over losing his nerve, but Kiriya decided he didn’t want to know. He didn’t have to; it would only force Edward to consider something impossible. The aristos could be awakened someday, but the dead couldn’t be revived. The answer wouldn’t change a thing.
“...Never mind.”
The long trek through the Cobasna Timberlands they spent alone was peaceful. Edward was familiar with much of it: which trails led to Halgita, to Kolton, and to Dais, and which dense mists turned the traveler around on the way. Part of the path only Kiriya knew, but he was efficient in getting them both through.
Bandits never descended upon them since the moment they left Burgusstadt. Edward had been disappointed about it until they stumbled into one of the forest’s natural carnivores. The wildcat, curled up against the root Kiriya unwittingly stepped over, was stirred into aggressive action. In a fluid movement, Kiriya had his sickle in his hands. With a whole-armed swing he cut into the beast’s fur as it leapt toward him — a warning, nothing near fatal — and it retreated.
“You're still impressive,” Edward remarked, pleased he’d gotten to see him in action again. It was entirely different to seeing him behind a book cover.
Kiriya twirled the sickle, returning it just as smoothly to his back. “Hmph. I told you I hadn’t lost my touch.”
Deeper within the forest, Kiriya’s old home came into view. It looked a little threatening from the outside, but he hadn’t had expectations of something much cheerier in such a thick, spooky forest hostile to unfamiliar explorers. He saved his remarks until they were up the creaking stairs and through the uninviting front door, only really able to see the place once Kiriya lit it up.
“Your home in Burgusstadt is nothing like this,” was the first thing to leave his mouth as he took the interior in. He heard a laugh from Kiriya in response.
“Burguss’ idea of architecture is much different from the Halgitian sensibility. Plus, not nearly as much sunlight gets through the trees around here.”
“Halgita does have an elegant lighting style,” Edward said, then lowered his gaze to everything else. “But everything in it is just like you.”
Left over from what Kiriya had taken with him when he moved, there were books all around, whether neatly stored on a bookshelf or piled haphazardly on the floor. Scrolls covered one of the tables, stained with either age or use. With no obvious designated storage area, the numerous wine bottles were scattered even more unpredictably: upright there on the floor, on their sides half-off the table, taking up space among the books on the shelf — there weren’t nearly as many of them, but they were one of only three things the home seemed to offer.
“My priorities are still much the same. Why would I change what I keep around the house?” Losing interest in Edward’s impressions, Kiriya left him to start searching for what he’d come for.
In the meantime, Edward continued observing. The way the windows glowed with the glare of yellow-green light, revealing nothing of the forest outside, was as beautiful as it was isolating. It was like stepping inside and shutting the door had placed them in a different world. It was perfect for a hermit devoting himself to research and drinking instead of connections with other people. “Are you glad to be back?”
Currently picking through the lineup on the bottom shelf of a bookcase in the back of the room, Kiriya replied, “That isn’t the word I would use. It does still feel like my home, but not more than the place waiting for me back in Burgusstadt. I lived here, and nothing more.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t want to leave again If you missed this place enough. I would have to return alone.”
“Please have higher expectations for my sense of duty,” Kiriya said flatly. “And here it is.” He stood, now holding a handcrafted book. He brought it to the main table, pushing aside the scrolls and placing the wine bottle carelessly on the floor. The journal was given a wide, reverent berth before Kiriya started to flip through it.
Edward joined him. After seeing Savio do enough writing and creating during the Force’s resting periods, he could tell it was that man’s work right away. The words were small and the sparse diagrams detailed, easily getting across that it wasn’t anyone’s idea of light reading. Kiriya’s eyes darted across each page as he leaned closer to it, eagerly scanning for the knowledge he hoped for.
Some time passed of Kiriya skimming the journal and Edward quietly standing by. Then, Kiriya closed the book, set it aside, placed both hands on the table and pushed himself up. “This is it. I knew my master would know what to do,” he said, expression bright with renewed inspiration. In the soft bloom of the lights, it was an enchanting sight only Edward could see.
Unable to tear his eyes away, he asked, “Will you be able to complete the cure with this?”
“You bet. I could use a more thorough read, but I believe I already have a good handle on it.”
“You should take it with you this time. Honorable Savio would surely prefer you use it to help others. You can keep it safe yourself.”
Deliberating the suggestion, Kiriya held a hand to his chin. “You might be right.”
Forcing his attention on the wall, Edward turned his back to the table. “You were reunited with him and met the others when they hoped you could cure me.”
“Yes. Your friends were nearly tripping over themselves in hopes of saving you in time.”
“I never really thanked you for it.” The face he turned on Kiriya was serious, but his voice was gentle. “Thank you for giving Capell the Lunytol and saving me.”
Kiriya’s eyes widened slightly, somehow surprised by it. He lowered his hand and looked away. “I didn’t do it for you. I didn’t even know you.”
“You know me now. Would you still save me if it happened all over again?”
“Without question. You’re important to me,” Kiriya snapped, then tensed, then paused. “...Like everyone else from the Force.”
With a small smile, Edward turned to him and reached for his hand. Kiriya studied him warily as he lifted it, but did nothing to resist. Neither of them really understood what he planned to do until he did it: “Thank you,” he repeated at his most heartfelt, pressing a soft kiss against the back of it where his lunaglyph used to be.
When he pulled away from it, he met Kiriya’s eyes. There was an unfamiliar, vulnerable look on his features, and he didn’t take his hand from where Edward continued to hold it. Running his thumb over the ring on Kiriya's middle finger, Edward spoke again. “That didn't bother you?”
“N—” It sounded like it was taking Kiriya great effort to answer him. “No. I’m not that much of a…” He stopped short and inhaled when Edward turned his hand up and left an even more lingering kiss on his palm.
“Your hand is soft.”
“What do you want me to say to that…?”
Edward turned his hand down again and stepped closer to him from behind the curve of his wrist. “That didn’t bother you either?”
Kiriya briefly looked annoyed by the question. By the time he replied, it faded behind the unguarded expression and shallow breathing. “I haven’t pushed you away, have I?”
After that ambiguous answer, he took his time cautiously letting go of Kiriya’s hand and closing the distance further. It was to give Kiriya time to decide he would shove him, mostly, but also to get revenge if Kiriya insisted on being dishonestly defensive. The hand still in the air moved to the blond hair hanging beside his jaw, its fingers sliding over and through the thin strands and thumb drawing across his cheek. With only the smallest stretch of air between their faces — one quickly warming with the exchange of their breath — he stopped. Kiriya took the bait and kissed him first.
For a second, part of him had worried about his inexperience. He forgot about it as soon as he felt the touch of Kiriya’s mouth against his and closed his eyes. Something he couldn’t express had been building in him like a storm, and only now did he start to feel some relief. With Kiriya only gradually easing into the embrace, Edward was determined to not overwhelm him by letting it all rush out at once.
Each kiss unearthed more of Kiriya’s own yearning. He gripped the fabric at Edward’s side tightly, chasing him when he took too long to breathe. Once he was comfortable enough to wrap his arms around Edward’s neck, Edward took the time to drop his hand and lower his lips to his jaw instead. Kiriya tilted his head back as he did. Whether it was intended as an invite or not, the only path behind his collar was uncovered. Edward took it, bringing a warm kiss to the even more feverish skin of his neck.
Kiriya made a short, strangled sound, tempered by surprise and restraint. He turned his head away in a hurry, putting more weight on Edward as he did. Edward bit his tongue to keep from laughing at him. It was the only good response in hindsight; it was equally embarrassing that it took him several long seconds more to realize he’d hit a weak point of Kiriya’s, giving him trouble standing on his own.
Still following his impulses, he said, “Hold on.”
“Hold...? Ah—”
Lifting Kiriya up by one thigh and then the other, Edward set him on top of the table. He was still at eye level, Edward between his knees. His face was flushed and defiant, but he hadn’t let go. “You’re lucky there was nothing to knock over.”
Edward only smiled in response, bringing another returned kiss to his lips before nestling up to his neck again. Melting underneath it, Kiriya let out a sigh, his pulse pounding under the contact and his fingers digging into the back of Edward’s shoulders. He soon drew his hands back, passing through Edward's dark hair before cupping his face in his palms. Edward allowed him to direct him back up, earning a restless kiss as a reward.
The closeness made it feel like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, but he still wanted more of it. That was all he knew: he couldn’t find the words, or the thoughts, or the plan to reach it. It felt like the only way he could find out was to search for that border between them with his hands, and those were still on Kiriya’s legs.
Recalling something he’d long been curious about as a fashion choice, his right hand moved around Kiriya’s left thigh to the diamond-shaped hole pattern on his pants. As soon as he touched the skin beneath, Kiriya inhaled sharply and pulled back. “D-Don’t flatter yourself,” he stammered, even worse at expressing himself than usual.
Patiently, Edward hovered where he was. “Kiriya.”
A perfect mirror of conflicted desire, Kiriya reluctantly responded. “What?”
“Do you really think now is the time for us to start pretending again?” He didn’t want to. As willing as he was to let go, he wanted to hold on even tighter.
Kiriya briefly closed his eyes. “...No, I suppose not,” he answered in the end, surrendering completely. He leaned back in, kissing him tentatively once before pursuing him more honestly than before. He wouldn’t allow the space to stay between them either.
Edward was completely breathless by the time he could speak again. He couldn’t think of anything else, past or future; only Kiriya in front of him. “I love you,” he whispered, and he knew Kiriya heard him from his body’s sudden new tension. Bringing the pause to an abrupt end, he brought their mouths together again and continued until he felt that tension disappear.
He knew he said it himself, but he didn’t want to know Kiriya’s answer to it.
They didn’t speak of what happened in Cobasna throughout the return trip. Kiriya wasn’t completely sure whose fault that was, but he never attempted to start the conversation himself. While the journey was amicable, he couldn’t deny a gulf opened between them. At least it was one he was used to keeping between himself and other people.
Setting foot in Burgusstadt was a surprisingly great comfort; he’d felt apathetic upon returning to his home in Halgita in comparison. It was enough to put off returning to that street of his just yet. He returned with Edward to the palace instead, expressing a desire to “make sure Vic wasn’t eaten alive after all.” The first face to greet them through the doors was the kid himself, dashing toward them from under one of the blue crystals mounted on the wall.
“Yer back! If ya sent more warnin’ I would’ve met ya at the city entrance instead. How are ya?”
With an affectionate smile, Edward reached out and ruffled his hair. Vic frowned, firmly showing his offense, but did nothing to stop him. “It’s good to see you too. I’m just fine. You didn’t expect anything to happen to me, did you?”
“I’ve never been better,” Kiriya answered, crossing his arms proudly. “I found that journal. All I have to do is get back to work. What about you?”
Vic brushed Edward’s hand from his head, instantly recovering some of his energy. “Good! It wasn’t easy tryin’ to keep track of these guys, I’ll tell ya that much. But I did, of course. No one’s better at that than me!”
“I’m sorry for leaving that to you, Vic. Once you fill me in on what happened in my absence, we’ll get everything back to normal.”
“Ya better! Oh, but I have to do somethin’ else first.” He turned to Kiriya. “Can ya come with me for a sec?”
“Me?” He glanced at Edward, who looked like he had the equivalent amount of a clue about this one (none). “If it won’t be long.”
“Don’t worry. C’mon.”
Vic’s light feet led him into the sitting room. Vic didn’t encourage him to take a seat before starting to talk, and Kiriya didn’t plan to linger that long anyway. “Okay, so. Somethin’ important happened about a week ago.”
“What was that?”
“Minister Alberich’s daughter announced her engagement. To someone else.”
“Oh,” Kiriya responded with disinterest. A beat later, Vic had his full attention. “Oh. Are you certain?”
“My information’s solid on this one. I guarantee it.”
“You mean this act can be over with.” Rather than relief, he could only identify the first chill of disappointment.
Vic squinted at him. “Is that what ya want?”
“What bearing does that have on it? We established this for a reason, and the reason is gone.”
“So it’s not what ya want.”
“You’re putting words in my mouth.”
“And yer bein' difficult.” Spreading out his feet, Vic put his hands on his hips defiantly. “I know what ya want would matter to Ed.”
Pressing his fingers to his forehead against a budding headache, Kiriya turned. “As nice as it is to see you in high spirits, I haven’t been home in a long time. I’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait!” Vic took several steps toward him, but stopped when he saw Kiriya wasn’t planning to make a run for it. “I don’t think the news is gonna reach Ed before I do. I’m givin’ ya the chance to be the one to tell him first.”
“Why should I do your work for you?”
“Because ya need to talk about it. I can’t do that for ya.”
It would be better if you could, he thought, but he tried not to speak his mind when it worked against him. “Fine. I’ll deal with it. You worked hard, and I inconvenienced you the most. Thank you, Vic.”
Vic blinked, losing his confrontational posture. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Uh, right. Yer welcome. Didn’t expect to ever hear that from you…”
Kiriya smirked, but cut the sight of it short as he made for the door. “We all change eventually. Even those of us that fight against it.”
Despite expecting to find the recently-returned king somewhere else, the two guards he asked both directed Kiriya toward Edward’s study. Under the pleasant sunlight streaming in, there was an impressive pile of work neatly spaced around the table. Edward appeared to be arranging it into an order that made more sense to him. He looked up as the doors began to fall shut behind Kiriya.
“Vic’s not with you?”
He only then remembered that Vic had set their meeting up as “something to do first”. Kiriya’s brow furrowed. Whatever game the kid was playing with him wasn’t funny. “No. I’m sure he’ll be responsible eventually. For now, I have some news for you.”
“Go ahead.” Edward sat down behind the table, his motivation to be responsible himself cut short without his little support at his side.
“My sources say you won’t have to worry about Alberich again. His daughter’s engaged to someone else now.”
“Your sources? What sources? You just got here.”
“That’s not important. The rest is.”
Edward wasn’t satisfied by that answer, but he limited it to a silent glare. “Say you’re right. What then?”
“Then we stop pretending. There’s no further reason to do so.”
“You’re right,” Edward readily agreed, and it felt like a needle pushed into Kiriya’s pride.
“...Glad we could come to an understanding,” he said, tapping rapidly at his arm in frustration. There was nothing more obliging him to be there, so he began to leave without another word.
“Kiriya.”
He paused and looked back. Even with the table’s heavy load he could see Edward clearly. “What?”
“I meant what I said to you in the Timberlands. I know that as the king I can’t give you the quiet life you want, and I don’t want to pressure you to accept that.”
He’d said “I love you” so softly that night. Now Edward was telling him it wasn’t just a moment’s runaway passion Kiriya more rightfully deserved. He went quiet, clawing his way through his own defenses. Honesty would damage his heart and his pride, so his well-trained reflexes refused it. His heart and mind wouldn’t allow that to work this time.
“A quiet life be damned. I haven’t been a hermit in years,” he said with an arrogant tilt of his head. His shoulders slumped slightly afterward. “But I’m no good for you. I don’t have the tongue to act like I respect people I don’t, and that is very important in your position.”
“I know. I’m not perfect at it either.”
“That makes it worse, you fool.”
“No,” Edward began, cracking a smile, “It means we could work on it together.”
“Hm.” Tempting, but not fully convincing.
“We don’t have to go through with the engagement, now or ever, but you’re the one I want at my side for as long as I can. I want to see every side of you that you’ll show me.”
Flustered (and still trying to hide it), Kiriya redirected his attention to the wall. His response came out more amused than he intended: “That sounds like a proposal to me.”
“I-It’s not! Unless you want it to be. I mean…” Tired of floundering, Edward lowered his face into his hand. “Just tell me how you feel already.”
“I love you,” he said simply, savoring the freedom of cracking his guard enough to say so. His body and spirit felt lighter for it. “Thanks to the people we’ve both grown into.”
Edward’s look of amazement turned into a grin. He leapt to his feet. Moving with less urgency, Kiriya met his approach a little under halfway. He was pulled into a strong hug, and his arms moved lightly around Edward’s back in return. It too felt like home.
“...Aya’s really going to have something to say about this,” Edward said suddenly, as if recalling he’d left a fire burning somewhere else.
Kiriya snorted. “As if I could care what anyone says about me these days, short of another exile. There is enough to prod her back with in her difficult relationship with Capell.”
“They do have the added problem of what to do with Casandra now, so we can’t blame them that much.”
“You’re too kind.” With that mild disapproval, he let go and felt Edward do the same. “Vic still isn’t here. We should find him before you have to wait here all night.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“I have an idea.” The guess was the sitting room, as little as he had intended to return there after passing on the news. They didn’t have to go that far; once Kiriya tugged the door open, Vic tumbled right into him.
“Woah! Uh, hey guys!” Vic said, pushing himself away from Kiriya and shaking off his confusion. “I just got here, and I needed to rest, so—”
“You mean you were listening,” Edward accused.
“Ugh. If Kiriya didn’t walk so quietly, ya never would’ve found out…” Vic grumbled. “No point in hidin’ it then. Congrats on gettin' together! I knew ya could do it.”
Feeling his face flush in both anger and embarrassment, Kiriya stepped around him. “I’ve had enough of you for today. Keep him in line while he’s helping you, Edward.”
“You got it,” Edward told him, and Kiriya walked out. His brisk stride belied the content smile he wore outside the others’ view.
“I owed you a lot for this,” he heard Edward announce through the closing door, “But now we’re even. Let’s get started and stay on topic.”
Vic laughed shamelessly. “Yes, Your Majesty.”