be quiet, big boys don't cry ۶ৎ
pairing: jack benjamin x bsf!reader┃lavender marriage
summary: after king silas returns to reclaim his throne, he condemns jack to a punishment of imprisonment with his best friend turned fiancée. instead, you help anchor him, offering him childhood loyalty and trustworthy comfort during quiet, vulnerable moments.
warnings: family issues, forced intimacy, mentions of suicide, best-friends forced to be engaged, jack needs a hug, beard!reader, childhood best-friends (yes, there's a warning for that), royal status causes chaos. no homophobia will be tolerated. thank you.
a/n:: fluff! this was kind of based on like lucinda's role in kings, (the 2009 tv show, i've been watching over the span of a month) but also before she came into play; just a "what if" there was someone who knew about jack being gay and liking joseph, cause his sister didn't even know. anyways, basically reader is a childhood best friend of jack & michelle's and is the only person who knows jack loved joseph and supports him through everything. ends up being his fiancée on a whim, as a beard. and the last bit of ep. 13 is what's going on here. (iykyk) enjoy !!! :)
lavender marriage
playlist!
luna - smashing pumpkins
let down - radiohead
i'm not in love - 10cc
THE DOOR had barely sealed shut when the echoes of the confrontation outside replayed in your mind, sharp and unrelenting.
just before the guards had both you both away, jack turned to thomasina in the corridor, his voice nearly breaking as he pleaded, "please, don't do this. she has no part in this."
but she had walked away, her parting words a cruel whisper that managed to slice through the air; "just dream about someone who's dead."
you knew exactly who she meant—joseph—your own friend, and the ghost of a lover that haunted jack's every shadow, every thought. your stomach churned into knots at her callousness. pitying him like he was some fragile relic instead of the vulnerable man he really was.
it ignited a quiet fury in you; how could she reduce his pain to that?
jack's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with barely contained rage, but he said nothing more as they shoved you into the room beside him.
now, inside this barren, rich, prison—the anger simmered beneath his skin like a storm waiting to break. you could see it in the way he avoided your gaze, his fists balled at his sides as he resumed pacing the length of the chamber-like room. no extra clothes had been provided; just the ones you both wore, a deliberate cruelty from silas to underscore his singular—painfully, impossible expectation.
the bed loomed awkwardly like an accusation, the only soft thing in a space designed for what now, seemed like discomfort and coercion. water, tea and bread sat untouched on a small table, the window mocking you with it's unreachable moonlight.
"jack," you spoke softly, stepping closer but not too close as he needed room to breath. he was pissed, and rightfully so. pushing him now would only fracture the fragile patience and trust between the two of you.
you'd witnessed it all firsthand—the family's unraveling, silas' underlying iron grip on his son, tiresome and disgusting, along with thomasina's misguided barbs born from her own desperation to "protect" the family and it's throne.
earlier, in the days leading up to this nightmare, you'd tried to reach him, urging him rise above his father's legacy—to be a better king if the crown ever fell to him.
but those words felt like distant echoes now; repeating them would only prod at his raw nerves, making him retreat further.
he stopped pacing, his back to you, shoulders still a fraction tense. "she hasn't the slightest idea," he gritted through his teeth, voice thick with bitterness. "none of them do. dreaming about him—dead? right, that's all i have left." the reference to joseph hung unspoken, but it pierced you both.
you remembered the night after the news of your friends death, when jack had told you in the hall and had collapsed into your arms in your room. you'd held him then, whispering assurances that he wasn't alone, that his heart—flawed but resolute—was still worthy.
you wanted to bridge the gap, to tell him thomasina was wrong, that his vulnerability wasn't a weakness. but instead, you stuck to choosing silence, letting the quiet settle; for his sake, and your own.
to avoid the mounting tension, you moved to the far side of the room, leaning against the cool canvas wall and finding interest in staring at the silver of the moon in sky. it wasn't avoidance out of fear, but a deliberate space to let him process without feeling cornered.
you knew everything—from the abuse, to the losses and secrets—and that knowledge was the bond between you two, not a burden to wield, but an unspoken trust and mutual understanding.
minutes stretched into what felt like could've been hours, and the air remained heavy with unspoken grief.
finally, jack exhaled sharply, slowly crossing the room as he sank down beside you on the floor. his head took a bracket as it dropped into his hands, and that's when you heard the first hitch in his breath—a tellteale sign of the dam breaking.
without a single word, you shifted closer, offering your open arms. he leaned into you quietly, his body folding against yours as the tears came, hot and unfiltered. "why does it always have to come back to this?" he whispered, voice muffled against your shoulder. "i can't.. fucking pretend anymore. i don't—not even for silas, i mean he's g-gone!" he hiccuped, his breath stuttering as he choked on his words.
you could tell even after all those weeks, he hadn't quiet shoved the thought of joseph as far down as he pretended to.
you wrapped your arms around him, holding him steady as he cried, the way you always had. since those childhood days on the soccer field, in prep school, and over summers.
here, in this forced intimacy that neither of you quite desired, he could be his truest self—no prince, no heir, just jack—your best friend since childhood.
the platonic line between you two was a santuary, even under silas's shrewd order. "you're not pretending with me, you never have." you whispered, stroking his hair gently.
"and you don't have to, 'kay?" you hummed, resting your cheek against his head tiredly, "we'll get through this together, one breath—one thing at a time, like always."
as his sobs quieted into exhausted sighs, the tension ebbed away, replaced by a weary camaraderie. the bed waited, but you two claimed spots on the carpeted floor that night, backs against the wall, sharing some blankets from the mattress.
no deed was done, no heir was made, and no boundaries crossed—just the simple solace of presence. in the darkness, with jack's steady breathing beside you, sleep came unexpectedly sound, a rare peace forged in trustworthiness and quiet understanding.
even in the king's cruelest punishment, your closest friendship endured, a light against the encroaching shadows of this kingdom.
i just wanna wrap him up in a fluffy blanket and make him some hot cocoa. :( poor bby needs a hug. (sebastian and his emotionally wrecked characters) he cries so pretty though.
he looks like a bunny sorry. | cred: (@bromcommie)
div cred @bbyg4rlhelps ᢉ𐭩 !!!! | © VALE 2025 | first work, lmk what you think! ♥︎
❛ © 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄. — do not copy, steal, translate, rewrite or post/use my work elsewhere. ❜
