#shamingcows

He could feel the small bubble of pride his his chest, because he had been the one to do that. He had been the one to render Sorey into a flushed mess. Then again, Sorey had been quick to return the favor.

Mikleo smothered a giggle against Sorey’s skin, wanting to shake his head at himself.

He wasn’t some young seraph and this wasn’t his first time. He could number his age in the thousands and Sorey was hardly the first human that he’d had sex with. But it had been so long and Sorey was special.

It had been a long time since he had felt like this.

He pressed a kiss to Sorey’s skin, hearing Sorey’s breath catch. Mikleo looked up at Sorey, shivering at the intense look that Sorey was giving him. Mikleo swallowed, ducking his head back down. He heard Sorey chuckle, Mikleo huffing and digging his fingers into Sorey’s ticklish sides. “Ambitious.”

“Maybe. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to.” Mikleo shivered as Sorey combed gentle fingers through his hair. “We don’t get a lot of time together.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. It’s not your fault. I can’t be easy to run a country.”

Mikleo grumbled to himself for a moment before lifting his head. It was hard to keep complaining in the face of Sorey’s soft smile. It made him want to burrow into Sorey’s warmth or kiss him breathless again. He did neither, Mikleo tipping his head to the side as Sorey’s hand slid down to cup his cheek. Mikleo smiled at the contact, turning his head to nuzzle into Sorey’s palm.

“There it is.” Mikleo paused to look back at Sorey. He breath caught when Sorey shifted his hand so he could run a finger along the curve of his lips. “I’ve missed that smile.”

Mikleo blushed and pressed his face against Sorey’s chest as the human laughed. He muttered a complaint against Sorey’s skin, sure that Sorey hadn’t heard it, but that didn’t matter. He loved the sound of Sorey’s laugh, it was bright and made his stomach flutter pleasantly. If he was completely honest with himself, it was the part of Sorey that he had fallen in love with first.

He smiled to himself before digging his fingers into Sorey’s sides.

Sorey stopped laughing with a yelp, jerking as he tried to get away from Mikleo’s fingers. With the way that they were lying tangled with each other it was hard for him to get too far away, and it was all too easy for Mikleo to roll slightly so he was perched on top of Sorey. 

Sorey went without a struggle, Mikleo able to hold him down with his weight alone as Sorey squirmed and writhed. Mikleo chuckled to himself, grinning down at Sorey. 

It was hard not to smile around the human, impossible to not want to touch him and hold him close. It was wonderfully heady and completely worth taking a few days from running the country. 

Sorey was worth the time.

He lifted his hand away from Sorey’s side, watching the human pant for breath. Mikleo smiled down at him, reaching up to push his hair behind his ear. He wasn’t quite fast enough, because Sorey caught the end of a strand and brought it to his mouth to kiss it.

Mikleo stared at him for a moment, his stomach twisting and turning on itself. It had been a long time since he had felt like this, but he couldn’t remember ever feeling so deeply in love in his life.

He swallowed and leaned forward, bracketing Sorey’s head between his arms.

Sorey let go of the strand of hair he had caught, reaching up to touch Mikleo’s cheek. Mikleo leaned into the touch, his gaze lingering on Sorey’s lips. It was a shame that he would have to go back to Pendrago once they were done, especially when he wanted nothing more than to stay like this with Sorey. But his duties were unavoidable, and it was silly to waste their time together. Maybe Sorey had been right to be ambitious.

He leaned further forward, seeing Sorey’s eyes widen as he caught on to what Mikleo was aiming for. Then he smiled and slid his hand back into Mikleo’s hair, guiding his head down into another deep kiss.

It was never a good sign when the entire council room went silent when he entered.

Mikleo hesitated at the door, glancing around at everyone that was sitting at the table. They were all used to his presence, which meant that the silence was always pointed. The last time they had gotten like this, it was because the plague that had started in Marlind had spread to Lastonbell.

He glanced around the room, trying to see which councilor who refused to meet his gaze. There was usually one who would indicate what the major problem was, but none of them would meet his gaze save for the Regent, and he was scowling. But that didn’t mean much, the man always looked annoyed at what was going on in the country.

Mikleo frowned and turned, freezing when he saw one of the maids standing by the door. She had a look of shock and horror on her face, Mikleo only getting a glimpse of it before she prostrated herself on the floor. “Forgive me, your majesty. I was told I had to, for the sake of the country. I would never betray you, great seraph. Have mercy on this poor woman.”

Mikleo shook his head and looked back over at the council table, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the cloak laid out on the table. 

He remembered dumping it in the laundry after coming back from the weekend he had escaped from his duties with Sorey. It had been stained after climbing around the ruins and being laid out on the grass. Mikleo was sure that there were other stains on it, more telling ones.

Mikleo shook his head and took a step back. “No.”

One of the priests stepped away from the table, bowing to him even as he spoke. “Your majesty, I understand your feelings on the subject.”

“I have none. It’s a mistake. You’re interpreting this all wrong.”

The priest looked up, Mikleo relieved by the confusion on his face. There was a chance that he could just keep them talking around the subject and never come to the point. Better yet, he could leave and go about his own business. The council managed most of their tasks handily on their own. They didn’t need him hovering over their shoulders.

He took a step back, about to leave when the Regent slammed his hand on the table. “For Maotelus’ sake, don’t be a coward about this!” The rest of the council immediately started to try and shush him, but the Regent didn’t seem to notice their censure. “We’ve suffered enough with your waffling. Just tell us who the person is so we can throw a crown on their head and get the whole thing over with.”

Sergei leaned forward, his hand on his sword. “Show some respect.”

The Regent sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t see why? We all know who the next emperor will be, and it’s some back country hick who doesn’t know the first thing about governing. I don’t think he’s even from Rolance.”

Sergei puffed up like he was about to say something else, but one of the other councilors was quick to grab his arm. The council all ducked their heads to have a quiet discussion, Mikleo watching them with a growing sense of panic. 

They couldn’t do this to him, not when he had tried so hard to keep them from coming to this conclusion. It was one thing for them to think he preferred Sorey’s company as a friend, but this was something else, something that he wasn’t ready for. He had hoped somewhere deep in his heart that they would never find out because he wanted one thing to keep to himself. After so many years of doing his duty, he just wanted one thing to hold onto for his own. 

He knew it was impossible, but that didn’t stop him from wishing.

The council came to the end of their deliberations far too soon for his taste, Mikleo still trying to back surreptitiously towards the door. He froze in place as the priest stepped forward again.

“Lord Mikleo, please. I understand your hesitation, but something must be done. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that your blessing over the country is becoming weaker and it’s a dangerous time for it to be doing so. Rolance has already suffered serious setbacks over the last few years and I’m afraid to think of what will happen if your blessing starts to shrink. We are dependent on it to keep Rolance safe, and I fear what would happen if its calming influence suddenly disappeared. I don’t know how many we’d lose to the malevolence.”

“I...” Mikleo swallowed, looking between the members of the council.

There was no way that he could refuse them, especially when it was for the people. The people had been the whole point of his oath in the first place. He’d made it when he was young, stupid and in love. He should have let his oath fall by the wayside centuries ago, but he had kept it up in the memory of the prince that he had loved so dearly, the prince with the same bright smile as Sorey. He had kept it up despite the number of cherished people he’d had to drag into the position of emperor.

He clenched his hands into fists, shaking his head. “I can’t. It would kill him.”

The Regent snorted out something that might have been a laugh. “Maybe we could get a decent emperor then.”

Sergei glared at him and kicked his chair, the Regent tumbling out of it as the chair tipped over to the side.

No one else on the council bothered to help the man back up, all of their attention was on him. All of their faces were sympathetic, but that just made it worse.

They all knew the terms of his oath, it wasn’t like Mikleo strove to keep it a secret. All of the council was told the specifics when they were raised to their position.

To keep the blessing over the entirety of Rolance, Mikleo had to give up the person he loved and cherished the most to the service of the people. They would help govern Rolance by his side, but at the cost of their own dreams and aspirations.

It was a steep price, too steep of one.

Mikleo shook his head again, hoping that the council would understand just this once. But none of them looked swayed. If anything, they looked sorry for what they were about to do. Then again, they always did. Every single council hated it almost as much as he did. 

He looked pleadingly at Sergei as the man came around the table. He opened his mouth to speak, snapping it shut when Sergei rested a careful hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, your majesty. But, for the sake of Rolance and its people, will you take me to Sorey? It’s time Rolance had an emperor again.”

Mikleo took a deep breath, feeling it shake as he breathed out. It wasn’t a question of if he would, he knew why it was phrased that way. It didn’t matter if he didn’t come with them, they would ask it of Sorey anyway and Sorey didn’t deserve that. The least he could do was ask Sorey himself.

He closed his eyes for a moment, swaying in place under Sergei’s touch. He heard the man make a questioning sound, opening his eyes before Sergei could ask anything else of him.

He turned on his heel and started towards the door, hearing Sergei scramble to follow. Mikleo didn’t bother to look back, his gaze fixed on a distant point ahead of him. 

It was easier to just forge ahead with a blank mind than try to figure out a way to get around the oath, because there was none.

The best outcome of the situation would be if Sorey refused and walked out of Pendrago and back to wherever he had come from.

Mikleo had dug up some old plans when the trouble had first started, and had said that there were levers that could be pulled to drain the water. Sorey wasn’t sure how accurate they were now, especially when he and the Regent had already stumbled into problems finding their way this far.

There were parts of the underground tunnels that had been closed off or reformed to make the streets and houses above more stable. There had been other parts that had just fallen down, parts that Sorey had memorized to bring up at the next council meeting.

If the underground tunnels were this bad because of the rain, then they would need to rethink how to deal with them before they could become more dangerous.

Sorey shook his head and waded forward through the rising water. At least walking on level ground was slightly easier than trying to climb up steps.

He scanned the flat area, grinning when he saw one of the levers. Sorey picked up the pace, ignoring the way the Regent called for him. It would take more than one lever to drain the tunnels, and they were quickly running out of time. Sorey wanted to get as many taken care of to save Mikleo the work out in the streets. No matter how powerful he was, Mikleo was only one seraphim. And it was his job as emperor to support him.

Sorey grabbed onto the lever, holding onto it for balance against the pull of the water. There was definitely a small current, which meant that the water was flowing out, albeit slowly. He swayed in place, getting his feet back under him.

He glanced back over his shoulder at the Regent before starting to lean against the lever. It was hard to get it to move, Sorey sure that it was a combination of old mechanisms and the water that had practically covered the entire thing. The only thing for him to grasp was the top of the lever, and that was hardly enough.

Sorey shifted his grip, shoving against the lever again before shaking his head. “I can’t get it to budge. I’m going to need a-”

He grunted as something hit him hard on the back of the head.

And then he knew nothing.

Mikleo paced in the small space between the window and the council table, his attention jumping between the rain that was pattering against the windowpane and the map. Every once and a while he would look up at where Sergei’s lieutenant was sorting through the reports that were being rushed in by breathless pages before the children ran out again to get the next batch.

And still there was no sign of Sorey.

Mikleo swayed into the table, catching himself against it. He heard the lieutenant gasp, but he ignored the man, focusing on the feeling of the water pattering down on the city. It was his element and the only thing keeping him sane at the moment.

Mikleo reached up to rake a hand through his hair, catching his fingers in the tangles. What he wanted to do was call a stop to the rain, but he couldn’t go that far. It had been the first thing he had suggested and the council had turned him down. The farmers needed the rain after the long summer drought that they had suffered. If they wanted to make it through the next year, they would need the harvest.

But he needed Sorey back by his side just as badly. It was getting bad.

He looked up as the lieutenant made a sound, glancing hopefully back at the man.

The lieutenant gave him an apologetic look before inclining his torso slightly. “I’m sorry, your majesty. There’s still nothing, just a report that the old tunnels under the city are overflowing into the streets.”

Mikleo narrowed his eyes. Sorey had volunteered to go out and try to stop that from happening. Mikleo would understand if Sorey could only open a few of the drains before the water had gotten too high, but for sections to be flooding the city meant no water was moving at all. Which meant things were worse than they thought.

He cursed under his breath before stepping up to the map of the city. “Where-”

He jerked his head up as the doors to the room were shoved open. Two more pages darted in just ahead of the Regent. The two children dropped off their reports before rushing out of the room. The Regent watched them go, shaking his head as soon as they were clear. “Useful little things, aren’t they?” When he didn’t get a response, the man flopped down in the nearest chair. “How is Pendrago? Not sinking I hope.”

Mikleo shot the Regent an annoyed look before he went back to staring at the map. He’d have to figure out the places where the city was low lying enough for the streets to get swamped with the water from the old passages beneath the city. And maybe he’d meet Sorey along the way. The only reason Sorey wouldn’t have come back with the Regent was if he had gone to try and evacuate the people.

He traced his fingers over the map, trying to remember all the places where the underground tunnels had a route onto the surface. The lieutenant seemed to figure out what he was trying to do, because he leaned over to start pointing out particular places. Mikleo nodded as they were pointed out, committing them to memory. It would give him something to do other than worry endlessly.

“Get a squadron out to bring the people to higher ground, either in the city or out of it. I’m going to try and get the water moving. If you see or hear from Sorey, send the word on where I’ve gone and what you need his help with next.”

Mikleo pushed away from the table, intending to rush out and start work. He couldn’t bear to be kept in the palace for much longer.

He made it halfway across the room before he heard a chair screech across the floor followed by the sound of the map and the paper weights hitting the floor. Mikleo turned, staring at the Regent as the man straightened up. His gaze darted to the floor to where most of the weights were carelessly scattered.

Mikleo dragged his gaze back up to meet the Regent’s, watching the man twitch back in fear. The Regent cowered back against the table as Mikleo stalked forward. “Why did you do that?”

“Because it’s obvious. He isn’t coming back. He took one look at his first big disaster and thought better of it.” The Regent shrugged, the motion shaky and quick to turn into a flinch. When Mikleo didn’t say anything, the man made a motion with his arm. “You said it yourself, he wouldn’t want to be emperor. He must have just stuck around for you and left when he got tired.”

“No. Not Sorey.”

“How would you know that? You know nothing about him!”

The Regent shrugged and made a move like he was going to just wave him off, but seemed to rethink the motion. The man curled his arms back towards his body, looking around before shrugging. “No, I don’t. And, if you remember correctly, I was the one who was against him from the start. We are here to keep the people of Rolance safe, and choosing Sorey did none of that. It was a selfish act, just like every other emperor that you have chosen for this country and over the heads of men who deserve the position more!

“My family has served you for generations, for centuries, and never once have they been chosen. We’ve always been better than whoever you pick up from the streets, always. But all of loyalty has never been rewarded. I just got tossed to the side as soon as the next pretty boy came along.”

Mikleo grabbed onto the front of the Regent’s shirt and shoved him back up against the wall. The Regent grunted and scrambled at Mikleo’s hand for a moment before going limp. Mikleo narrowed his eyes at the smirk on the man’s face before pushing the man away.

He didn’t have time for the Regent, he had the people of Pendrago to look after and Sorey to find.

Mikleo shot the Regent one last look of disgust, watching as the man rubbed at his throat. He tensed when the Regent looked up at him, unnerved by the self assured grin that crossed the man’s face. “You’re going to run out of time to look for him. The emperor can’t hold his breath forever.”

“How...” Mikleo jerked to a stop when he understood what the Regent was saying, and it made his blood run cold. He stared down at the smiling man before turning on his heel and walking quickly away. “Lock him up until I come back. No one is to release him on pain of my anger.”

He didn’t wait around long enough to hear the lieutenant reply, he didn’t need to. The man would take care of things. And he had something more important to worry about.

Mikleo broke into a run as soon as he was out of the room, not caring about the odd looks that he got as he tore through the halls. If there were places in Pendrago that were flooding, then that meant that the underground tunnels had flooded completely. That didn’t leave him much time.

He sprinted out into the courtyard, seeing a few of the soldiers turn to look at him. A few called out, but he was already moving past them. He was focused on a small statue to the side of the shrinechurch and the grate that he could see in the ground.

Mikleo dropped to his knees as soon as he was by the grate, his fingers already working at the lock before he grew impatient. He forced ice into it and shattered it apart, not caring about the bits of shrapnel that fell on him.

He shoved the grate away, about to drop into the waters beneath when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Mikleo turned to look at the Platinum Knight standing close, cutting the man off with a shake of his head. “Get everyone back. I’m going after the emperor.”

The knight’s eyes widened before he gave a sharp nod. “I’ll send for a doctor.”

Mikleo didn’t bother to acknowledge the knight, instead letting go of the edge and dropping into the water.

He felt the shock of cold water for a moment, but that was easily pushed to the back of his mind. It was more important to reach out into the water and try to find something that was blocking it, something that wasn’t walls or stairs.

‘Find him. Find my Sorey.’

The water responded slowly, Mikleo searching through the ripples and currents. He had to be thorough, but it was hard to be patient with the constant knowledge that he was running out of time. He bit his lip, reaching out with everything that he had to try and rush the process along.

When he found it, he almost skipped over it in his haste. It was an obstruction that wasn’t a wall or a set of stairs, it was too small for that.

Mikleo’s heart skipped a beat as he reached out to pull it back towards him. ‘Bring him to me.’

The water responded to him easily, Mikleo feeling the currents in the underground tunnels shifting and moving. He urged them to greater speeds, watching their precious burden as they carried it closer.

He reached out to the curl of water as it came close, wrapping his arms tightly around the body that it had brought to him. He cradled Sorey close, easily shifting his concentration to work the water upwards and out. He felt the water strain against his commands before it finally moved, rushing out of every exit. Mikleo felt some of it forced up through the other grates throughout Pendrago, but his attention was already moving away from the water and to the body in his arms.

He knelt on the ground, rolling Sorey carefully to the side as he reached in to seek out the water in the human’s lungs. Mikleo winced at it came easily at his call, horrified by the amount that he easily coaxed out. It was too much, which meant that he had been too late. He didn’t know how long Sorey had been in the tunnels with the water rising and what point he had lost consciousness.

He didn’t even know if he was holding a dead body in his arms.

Mikleo choked back a sob, holding on for a little while longer until he couldn’t feel any water left in Sorey’s lungs.

He quickly turned Sorey over his arms, his fingers fumbling as they sought out the pulse in Sorey’s neck. For an eternity, he felt nothing.

Then he found it, the faint pulse of Sorey’s heart.

Mikleo sobbed and leaned forward to press his face into Sorey’s hair. He rocked the two of them back and forth, trying to gather Sorey closer to him. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

Sorey coughed, Mikleo lifting his head slightly to see if the human was waking up. But Sorey didn’t move, the cough rattling worriedly. Mikleo shivered and shifted so he could take off his coat one arm at a time. He lifted Sorey from his lap awkwardly with one hand so he could tuck the coat under Sorey. He wasn’t sure how much it would help, but it had to be better than nothing. Mikleo tucked his jacket more securely around Sorey, frowning when Sorey coughed again.

He waited until the rattle was gone before scooping Sorey into his arms and standing up. Mikleo threw a look over his shoulder, glancing at the ladder that led up to the grate. He couldn’t imagine climbing up there with Sorey, and he didn’t want to let go of Sorey.

Mikleo ducked his head, pressing his face into Sorey’s hair. He breathed Sorey in for a moment before lifting his head again. There was another way out of the tunnels, one that led into the shrinechurch. It would be faster and it meant that he could keep a hold on Sorey.

He nodded to himself and set out at a brisk walk, pushing himself as fast as he could go.

In the silence of the old tunnels, there wasn’t much to distract him from the sound of Sorey’s pained breaths. They echoed strangely in the close tunnels, Mikleo hating every time there was a pause. He was never sure if he would just be left with silence and he feared that above all things.

He wasn’t ready for that. He’d only had a few years and that wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter that whatever time he had was never enough, at least he had time to prepare himself. At least he could see it coming and fall back into the usual reassurances that he told himself as an emperor or an empress lay dying.

Sorey hadn’t gotten the chance to live a long and fulfilling life. The only things he had managed to do was find his way to Pendrago and then stumble into the trap that Mikleo’s oath was.

Mikleo stumbled down a flight of stairs, adjusting his hold on Sorey. He gritted his teeth and looked up the passage. He saw a flicker of light, Mikleo perking up at the sight. It meant he was close. It meant that he still might save Sorey.

He tightened his hold on Sorey, practically running up the last flight of stairs when he saw a squad of knights rushing around the corner with torches.

He wasn’t sure what they saw on his face, but the knights immediately formed up around him, Mikleo hearing one of them shouting orders. Mikleo wasn’t sure what the orders were, he was beyond hearing them. All he knew was that there was a solid wall of armed guards around Sorey, all of whom would be the first line of defense in case any one else decided that Sorey had to be taken care of.

The thought made him clutch Sorey closer to him.

No one else was going to touch Sorey. The human would make it through this ordeal.

He had to.

Mikleo leaned the side of his head against the window, staring down into the courtyard. The entirety of the Pendrago guard was assembled there, all of them waiting in their careful parade lines. The assembly formed a straight route from the doors of the palace to the gates that led out of the royal quarter. And all of them were looking towards the palace doors.

He was in the wrong place to see who they were leading out, but he didn’t need to. There was only one person that the entire guard would gather to see.

Mikleo narrowed his eyes as he saw the Regent being led away from the palace in chains. He was too far away to see anything and, with the window closed, there was no way to hear anything either. Then again, Mikleo didn’t care. He’d heard enough the one time he’d been called from the room to testify against the Regent. The man had spewed enough venom at him in that one afternoon, Mikleo didn’t need to hear anything else.

The Regent was shoved towards the cart waiting for him. The man seemed to be struggling, but it wasn’t enough to deter the two knights from lifting him bodily and throwing him into the cart. The two knights shut and locked the back gate before stepping away, giving the cart room.

It was a good thing that they did, because all hell broke loose in the courtyard. The careful avenue was still maintained, but the soldiers had started throwing mud and rotten fruit at the man in the cart. Mikleo followed the arc of what looked like a rock before turning away from the scene. The whole thing was out of his hands and stopping it would just make everything worse. The whole city had heard what the Regent had done and Mikleo had gotten reports that all of Pendrago had turned against the Regent. He was sure that the news of what the Regent had done to the emperor would spread over all of Rolance, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they reacted the same.

Mikleo turned to press his forehead against the glass, closing his eyes as he tried to block out the rough sound of Sorey’s breaths. It didn’t work for long, Mikleo turning to look back at where the doctor was sitting by the bed.

He watched as the woman listened to Sorey’s chest for a moment before sitting up. The doctor nodded, Mikleo not quite sure how to take it until the doctor turned back to look at him.

The woman bowed before leaning over to pack up her kit. “Things are progressing well. His fever is going down and his breathing is starting to sound better. He should be waking up soon.”

Mikleo sighed and leaned back against the window. It wasn’t the same as hearing it from Sorey himself, but it was something better than the worried looks that the doctor had given him while she had been working the first day. Progressing well was far better than all the guesses that she had made before and the phrase “Only time would tell.” He’d heard that enough in his long lifetime to associate it with the worst.

“Your majesty?”

Mikleo pushed away from the window, giving her a weary nod. “Thank you.”

“It’s my honor to be trusted so much.” She stood up, turning her head to look at Sorey with a smile. “They’re praying for his recovery in the shrinechurch. It’s been around the clock since the news got out. The people love him dearly. It’s good to see such devotion.”

Mikleo nodded, keeping his mouth shut. It didn’t matter that there had been other emperors and empresses who had inspired the same devotion. It was still amazing whenever it happened.

He crossed the room to the chair that the doctor had vacated, barely paying attention as she bowed and left. Mikleo didn’t look up when the guard opened and shut the door, he only had eyes for Sorey.

Mikleo sunk down into the chair, running a hand through his hair. He sighed, slumping forward for a moment before shaking his head. He could keep going for a little while longer and he didn’t want to run the risk of missing anything. It was one thing to hear that Sorey was recovering, but it was another thing to see it. And he needed that desperately.

He scooted his chair closer to the bed, picking up Sorey’s hand where it rested on the covers. He kissed Sorey’s knuckles before resting his forehead against Sorey’s hand. “Please, wake up soon.”

Mikleo woke up to fingers stroking weakly over the side of his face. He blinked sluggishly, staring at the patterned covers before sitting up abruptly. “Sorey!”

He got a smile from Sorey, the human reaching up for him before letting his hand drop back to the covers. “Hey.”

Mikleo stared at him for a moment before clambering into the bed. He heard Sorey make a confused sound, the noise quickly turning into a cough.

Mikleo flinched at the noise, quick to curl himself around Sorey. He rested his head on Sorey’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart and straining to hear any kind of rattle in his lungs. He doubted that it would disappear so easily, but he couldn’t be too careful. More importantly, it meant that he was close to Sorey, close enough that Sorey could run a shaking hand down his back.

“Mikleo?”

“Don’t do that ever again.”

“What-”

“You owe me.” Mikleo turned his fingers into Sorey’s shirt. “You owe me at least sixty more years. Understand?”

Sorey was silent long enough for Mikleo to be worried. He went to move his head, stopping when he felt Sorey’s hand settle on the back of it. Mikleo allowed himself to be pulled back into position, closing his eyes as he clutched at Sorey.

“I must have scared you pretty bad, didn’t I?”

Mikleo didn’t answer, but that seemed to be enough for Sorey. He heard Sorey sigh, flinching at the wheeze he heard.

“I’m sorry, Mikleo.” Sorey’s fingers started to stroke through his hair. “I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“But-”

Mikleo shook his head. “I’m not ready. I need the time to...It hasn’t been enough...”

“Oh Mikleo.” He felt a soft tug on his hair, a request to look up, but Mikleo couldn’t bring himself to. He didn’t want to, not when he’d have to face too much. He wasn’t ready for Sorey to die, but he wasn’t ready to face Sorey knowing yet either.

He felt Sorey shift, Mikleo clutching at Sorey as the human moved so he could hold him as well. He pressed his face against Sorey’s shoulder, feeling himself shake as Sorey stroked a hand down his back.

“How long have you done this?”

“Don’t know.”

“Beloved...” Sorey trailed off for a moment before nuzzling his face into Mikleo’s hair. “I’ll give you those sixty years, and many more. You can have as many as you need.”

He smiled and picked up his pace eager to make the most of the time he had. He always built time off during his day, but he hadn’t regretted not giving himself more for a century or so. Then again, there hadn’t been a good reason for him to take time off for a century or so either.

Mikleo rounded the corner, pausing to lean his shoulder against it when he saw the group at the fountain.

His gaze immediately went to Sorey were the human was perched on the side of the fountain. It was impossible not to focus on Sorey when the human was smiling and laughing. It never failed to brighten his day and make his heart flutter.

Sorey hadn’t noticed him yet, he was too busy talking to the children who had gathered at his feet and the adults who were lingering on the edge of the square as they went about their work. From what he could hear from the conversation, it wasn’t anything important, just about the weather and how each of them were doing. Mikleo wan’t surprised that Sorey knew the names of everyone in the neighborhood. He was just that kind of person.

Mikleo pushed away from the wall, Sorey’s head turning immediately. Mikleo’s heart skipped a beat at the smile that Sorey gave him. It shouldn’t have done that considering that they had known each other for practically half a year now. But it kept happening, just like the very idea of Sorey out in Pendrago kept luring him down from his duties in the palace. 

At first it had been promises of an interesting discussion about the history of Pendrago and the rest of the world. 

Mikleo would readily admit that he was a little shaky on new discoveries outside of Rolance. His oath didn’t keep him bound to the country, but he always worried about what would happen if he left the country for too long. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his council or his Regent, but he’d been in the midst of ruling the country for so long that it felt weird if he wasn’t up to date on the goings on. Having Sorey to talk to was like a breath of fresh air.

Mikleo still liked coming down to talk to Sorey, but he wouldn’t lie to himself that talking about history was his only reason anymore. He just couldn’t figure out exactly when he’d gone from loving Sorey’s company to loving Sorey. The latter was something that he had gotten used to lying to himself about, if only for self preservation.

He stepped up to the fountain, turning a benevolent smile at the people and muttered the variations of his title. The children just stared at him in awe, but he was used to that to. 

Mikleo carefully stepped around the group of children sitting on the cobblestones, coming around to the side that Sorey had left open for him. He sat down on the edge of the fountain.

Sorey was quick to lean in, brushing their shoulders together in greeting. Mikleo took the chance to lean into Sorey, wishing that they were somewhere a little more private so he could just close his eyes and just be with Sorey, but it was possibly too soon for that. They had just started to edge into something more than friendship, and he didn’t want to come on too strong.

He blushed when he felt Sorey’s fingers brushed over the back of his hand. Mikleo swallowed and turned his hand over, relaxing as their fingers tangled together.

It took him a moment to gather himself together before he could look at Sorey. Even then Sorey’s smile was brilliant and Mikleo wanted to taste it, but he held himself back. 

He couldn’t move too fast. He wanted Sorey to stay.

Mikleo cleared his throat, trying to find something to say, something to bring it back to the way they had been before. 

Sorey beat him to the punch, bumping their shoulders together again. “It’s good to see you. I thought they would never let you out.”

“We’re doing a lot of planning for the next festival.”

“Your festival.”

Mikleo waved his free hand. “It’s as much Rolance’s festival as mine.”

“As much as the Sacred Blade Festival is for Ladylake as much as it is for the Lady of the Lake?”

Mikleo opened his mouth to argue before shaking his head. Sorey had a point, and there was no reason to argue about it. Then again, he could derail the conversation by saying that he had known the original Lady of the Lake once upon a time, and her successor too. But he hadn’t kept up with them, his own duties in Rolance had kept him in place save for the rare times when Lailah would travel his direction with a Shepherd. Those were always the times that he missed his prince the most.

He sighed and shrugged. “I don’t like being made a fuss of. I’m too old for that.”

"I’ll make sure to treat you gently then.”

“Stop it. I can still take you on.”

“Can you?” Sorey grinned before shaking his head. “Picking a fight with the Seraph-Consort is the last thing I need though. I’d probably get kicked out of Rolance. And there’s so much left to see...”

Mikleo struggled to keep his expression in check. “Are you leaving soon?”

Sorey shook his head. “No. I’ve been up and down Rolance already. I’ll want to make a quick trip back every once and a while, but...Pendrago is pretty interesting.”

Mikleo blushed at that, trying to come up with a reply when Sorey leaned close and brushed a light kiss over his cheek.

Mikleo froze, staring at Sorey as the human stood up.

Sorey was blushing bright red, but he hadn’t let go of his hand. Sorey’s free hand was rubbing the back of his neck and he was looking everywhere but at Mikleo. “Well...uh...if you’re free, would you like to spend the day with me?”

“Yes.” Mikleo was sure that he answered too quickly, but it didn’t look like it mattered. 

Sorey beamed at him and pulled him to his feet. “Come on. I’m sure you know all the best places.”

Mikleo laughed at that, allowing Sorey to pull him close. He wanted to rest his head on Sorey’s shoulder, but he held himself back. That would come later. He would read the situation and figure out how far to push.