"wh ... !" tousled hair tangles further in the pillow's embrace as he attempts to bargain with his partner's weight first thing in the morning. he's grown accustomed to it. used to it, even—if the sleepless nights caused by its gaping absence ( and resulting attempts to remedy it with heavy leather jackets ) were any indication at all. the fervor contributed by the man's lower regions is a variable that exceeds his expectations, though. a shiver seizes his spine and ends with a light tremor in his fingertips just as he manages to free the latter from soft sheets and dispatch them from there. "——this early?!" drowsy palms latch onto his partner's hips in a futile endeavor to stifle future motions in-the-making. time isn't the only issue here; what with the vague memories that begin stirring in his mind the longer he's exposed to this familiar, hungry body heat? a month is a stretch. hell. even a week might be. there's nothing 'little' about this proposal either. there never is.

 perhaps once upon a time you wore a crown. perhaps once upon a time you didn’t. it hardly matters anymore. your head is no longer one to bear that weight; instead your sword sits heavy, hilt in fist. once people bowed to you, all reverence, and now you bend the knee to edelgard. it’s not servitude, though; you’re far too proud a beast to be chained down. if you wear a collar now, it’s your choice. though you don’t. you know you don’t. you’d feel it. 

this feeling of mutual devotion, the promises the two of you have made to each other without saying a word - these are the things that weigh the most on you. it’s not a bad weight. in fact, it’s good. you know how it feels to have nothing on you. floating, lost, empty - it’s by learning to tie yourself down that you’ve learned the most about the world around you, and you have no one to thank for this more than edelgard. really, you owe her so much. more than you could possibly say. 

 they have wars to fight, behind closed doors, but they’ll do it together. they will. there’s too much at stake for them to loose this battle. and you’ve lost so much to these enemies - both of you.

 but between running the empire, and fighting these private political skirmishes, the public appearances, there’s moments like these: soft and emotional and charged with words that neither of you entirely know how to say, nor do you need to. your experiences - all that the two of you have been through together, your connection, has given you an understanding of each other.

 the golden headdress slips onto your head like it was made for you, but you know better. it was made for edelgard, custom made, and so bits stick into your forehead, and your hair is slightly too thick for it, really. it’s slightly lopsided, but that’s not the point, really.