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Ooh, awesome! I'm excited too! It's been a while since I've written something like this (I say, completely ignoring my bodyguard/princess duo in one of my stories).
Anyway, I can get started. Perhaps they're in a war meeting or something?
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yes, actually I was thinking precisely a war meeting would be fantastic for an opening.
Sebastian listened to one of the generals standing in front of the group drone on, squinting to look at the map on the wall. He didn't exactly have a head for strategy like this. He was more of a "point me where, and I'll take care of it" kind of guy. Good at listening to orders and taking them seriously.
Their gaze wandered over to Adrien. They wondered what was going through the other guy's head. He had never been too keen on this war, even before he was fighting it. Sebastian knew that much.
It was even scarier considering they were both expected to be on the battlefield. Sebastian had trained for that most of their life, but the added task of protecting another person was stressful. If Adrien died out there, or was gravely wounded, Sebastian didn't know what they'd do.
The general kept going, eventually talking about seizing a bridge that lead into enemy territory. Sebastian's interest was piqued.
"If I may, my leige," he started, "I think capturing the bridge is a good move. Easy access for us right?"
"And one of their supply lines would be cut off," the general added.
"Yes, and that."
Adrien shook his head and stood up, his eyes blurry and unfocused.
"I think we should avoid detection, lay low, protect ourselves…unless we are specifically targeted." He said quietly, standing up and using his index finger to point to the barrier around the kingdom, leading into the forest that divided Sunstasia and Quellestion.
"I think we should put protective barriers of some kind, I was thinking groups of guards, though i'm not quite sure how many" Adrien said, running his left hand through his hand, which was just as fluffy this morning when he was getting ready for this war meeting.
"That," Sebastian agreed, "Is also a good option. I know you want this thing over with. It's just the question of whether we sit on the defensive and hope we can reconcile things with them before losing too many, or whether we should be bold and just end it."
He couldn't see exactly where Adrien was pointing, but he trusted the other’s judgement enough.
"We should have plenty of knights to set up those guard posts. Now, where will you and I stay? Here?"
Adrien gave a unsure shrug, along with a small; exhausted, sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked at his feet.
"I need to stay in the castle, until I learn how to uhm-… fight…" he coughed quietly, his cheeks and tips of his ears red. He cleared his throat loudly, and rested his hands in front of him.
"Very well!" he said loudly and awkwardly "if that's all, I'd like to get some rest" he said in a monotone, while staring around the room, avoiding the others eye contact. He watched as they all exchanged confused glances, and got up, leaving the room quickly.
When they were all finally gone, and it was just Sebastian left, Adrien let himself fall inot a chair, his back straightened and exhaled shakily, his eyes closed.
"Milord…" Sebastian sighed, his gaze falling over the young royal, "Are you alright? If I may, you look damn exhausted."
His brow furrowed a bit.
"I can teach you to fight better when we have the time, but that's definitely not the only thing bothering you, is it?"
He rested his hands on the table and leaned in a little closer to Adrien.
Adrien sat up slowly, the sleeves of his coat a bit to long, and sliding over his hands,he pushed them back up reluctantly.
"If I many be truthful Sebastian…I despise this, I despise war, I despise the fact that my father left me this kingdom, and the thing I despise the most is myself." He said with a sharp intake of breath,
"when I was a little boy I always assumed I'd be…I- don't quite know-…fitting, masculine, able to fight, and coldhearted like my father…the fact that I turned out opposite disappointed me greatly, im no good at this."
He said with an exasperated sigh, his chin angled downward slightly, his elbow rested on the table, his head in his palm.
"And please Sebastian…don't call me that" he said quietly, his voice semi hoarse. His eyes a slight shade of blue in the room's yellow tinted light.
Sebastian cleared his throat a bit.
"Right… Adrien," he said softly.
No one else was here now. He didn't have to keep up the professionalism any longer.
"No one wants to inherit a war. Trust me. And your lack of… coldheartedness, as you put it, is going to make you a good leader in times of peace.
If I may be so bold, this war only came to be because of selfishness and hunger for power. And if that's what it is to be masculine, I would want no part in it."
They gave a crooked smile.
"You were dealt a bad hand, is all. It says nothing about your capability. Besides, while we ride this war out, you have all your generals who are seasoned in planning out wars. And most of all, you have me."
Adrien gave a small nod, his mouth drawn into a tight line, and he stood up slowly, his chair scraping the hard floor as it pushed backwards. He stretched then extended his arms, his coat making a weird sound, as he sat his arms back down.
He offered a hand to Sebastian, his fingers outstretched towards the other boy
"if I may Sebastian…I think I would like to go back to my quarters, would you accompany me?"
he said, raising his hand to his mouth to stifle a small yawn and his face rested back into its usual frown, something it had done a lot these past few months.
"I think I need some fun, would you be able to provide that for me Sebastian?" he asked with a quirk of his blonde eyebrow,
"relinquish your duties for now, and please just be my friend" he said, pleadingly, his voice filled with sadness and a craving for a friend.
Sebastian's gentle smile remained as Adrien asked this of him.
"Of course. You know I'm always glad to."
He took Adrien's hand and stood up.
"We'll make it through this, your highn- I mean, Adrien. One of these days this war is going to be done with, and you can do what you were really meant to do."
He laughed softly.
"My apologies. Seems being so straight-laced around those generals has me using formalities, even when they're not necessary."
Adrien shook his head and said "I really don't care about the generals honestly, though they are great…they're rather judgeful" he said with a playful smirk.
He then strided along Sebastian, down the corridors of the castle, until he reached the large wooden door, of his own personal quarters, when he pushed the door open, which took a lot of force from him, due to his extreme lack of upper body strength, he walked inside, and sat on the red velvet couch that was placed in front of his light, delicately carved wooden bedframe.
"Sebastian, may I be truthful with you again?" he asked softly, his head pounding, he watched as Sebastian sat next to him, their knee's slightly touching, he looked into Sebastian's eyes, Adrien's own eyes once again, pleading for approval
"They are," Sebastian agreed, shaking his head, "I would know that better than anyone. Some of them don't want me here. Makes me hate war meetings even more, since I don't really have the mind for all that stuff anyhow."
He sat down on the couch, a couple of feet from Adrien.
"Yes, of course. What's on your mind?"
Adrien furrowed his eyebrows in thought, trying to think of a way to put what he was about to say, in a completely honest tone.
"When I was younger, about seven years old, the day we met, I remember it distinctly…" he said as his eyes glazed over with the memory of their meeting.
"My father had uhm-…" he rubbed the back of his neck, his hair bouncing and he did.
"He had caught me trying on my mothers old dresses from when she was a child, just small enough for me… and he confronted me in the courtyard, while my mother and sister were visiting my grandparents" he said softly, his eyes now casted downwards.
"And you- you… saved my life, my father was an abusive and violent man Sebastian, always so against my ways, and that day, as he hit me for about the second time, you appeared…screaming and flailing your small arms" he said with a slight smile "and you saved me… I was scared I was going to die… but you yelled for him to let me go, and leave me alone… and you've been my best friend ever since"
he said, his smile now stretched from ear to ear as he continued his thorough, yet vaguely important speech.
"All those nights, I snuck you into my quarters, and we stayed up all night, pretending we ruled our own kingdoms, and you taught me a bit on how to better my stances" he said giving a soft giggle.
"I wanted to say thank you Sebastian…thank you for saving me that day, making my life just that bit more tolerable, thank you for everything." He said quietly, his eyes now on Sebastians.
Sebastian felt warmth spread into his cheeks.
"As many times as my brashness has gotten me into trouble, I couldn't be more glad it would at least come to protect you. It's just the kind of person I am. You don't have to thank me."
He stretched his neck a little.
"And I know it probably feels weird recieving thanks for this, but if I weren't here with you, if you hadn't allowed me into your life, my family would be starving. I'm not only in it for the money. That's not the type of person I am. But it does help. It's kept any more of my siblings from dying.
So thank you for giving me a place. I'm just lucky to have found such a good friend along the way. You've always made me very happy to be around. Even though I'm your inferior in rank- and by a lot, at that- you've never made me feel that way."
Adrien grimaced at the last bit, shaking his head violently.
"Oh I would never do that Sebastian, you're my friend, not a unequal… I would never treat you as my sister did, when we were growing up, oh how im glad she has moved away to marry" he said with a small smile
"sometimes I do wish though that my family could have been more like yours, so open and honest… and quite physical, my parents never touched me, showed me physical affection, which has made me crave it quite harshly these days." He said quietly, his eyebrows raised.
He gave Sebastian a small smile.
"It… had its cons, but yes, I'm very grateful to have come from such a loving family," Sebastian agreed, "It's really all we had, you know."
Sebastian opened his arms, inviting Adrien in to cuddle. He wasn't the best at being reassuring, perhaps (that isn't to say that he didn't try like hell), but he was very physically affectionate, even with just friends. It was a little offputting to some, even.
Adrien gave a soft, loving smile before scooting closer, and leaning into the arms of the other boy.
He rested his head in the middle of Sebastian's chest and exhaled audibly, his entire body feeling like it was on fire. Was this what affection felt like? He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and rested them on his shoulders.
"I always found myself wondering…we used to be so close when we were little, what events occured to relinquish that? I find myself barely having the time of day to know you anymore." Adrien said softly and quietly.
He felt the heat spreading to his ears, and nuzzled his head into Sebastian's chest more.
Sebastian placed a gentle hand on top of other's head.
"Oh, I didn't know you felt that way," they replied, "I'm sorry…"
Sebastian mulled over it a minute.
"Since the war started, my duty has become that much harder. Stopping more assassinations than you know, putting in extra training, all while trying to keep up relationships in this castle so no one wants me dead… That's really only the beginning. I may not have noticed as much, but it does eat up time and energy. I know these times haven't been easy on you either."
Adrien gave a slight sigh and pulled away slowly, his face back to being stern.
"I guess I should get some rest" he said standing up and unbuttoning his coat, sliding it off and placing it on the back of the couch. She straightened it and stood up straight, looking at Sebastian
"perhaps you could…spend your resting time in here, with me…like we used to do when we were younger." He suggested, his tone hopeful and full of anticipation. He then unbuttoned the white dress shirt he had on and slipped it off, this time less organized and precise, he threw this shirt on the ground. Revealing a yellow colored tank top, that showed off his slim shoulders and defined collarbone.
"I'd like tha- Wait… are you sure? It was different when we were little. There could be rumors, especially since I-"
He paused briefly, especially flustered now that Adrien was in less clothes than he'd seen him in in a long time.
"If you're okay with that possibility, then sure. I just wouldn't want anything bad to come of it, even though there really is no harm."
Adrien nodded and slipped his long fingers onto the bottom of his tank top, tugging it off gently, his hair disarray and glowing in the soft lighting of that small chandelier above his bed.
"I'd enjoy that very much Sebastian" he said softly, his voice low as he threw on a robe, then slipped off his pants.
Sebastian looked away for a moment, trying to be respectful of Adrien. Yet, the other didn't seem to care all that much.
"Well, alright then. I'll stick around, I guess. Would you like me to make us some tea before bed?" He asked.
Adrien gave a soft, yet loving smile as he nodded gracefully, laying down in his king sized bed.
"yes please" he said throatily, all the tiredness hitting him all at one time, ugh how I hate my father for this he thought to himself, he hated fighting, hated war, yet here he was leading one of the worst war his kingdom had faced in a long time.
Sebastian gave a nod.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to go change and get the tea leaves," they said, "Could you get the fire started up for me, please?"
Sebastian made his way out the door and back to his quarters to change into his loungewear. He smiled a bit to himself, glad that the two of them were hanging 9ut again.
They glanced over their dresser, which was a mess. Littered with papers and love letters, a vase with a wilted rose, and their small tea collection sitting to the side.
Sebastian picked up a tin of herbal tea, which he often had a cup of before bed. He tucked it under his arm and started back towards Adrien's room.
Adrien had gotten up, lugging some small bit of wood into the fireplace and lighting it, creating a fire, he then took his spot on the couch, the spot right in front of where he hung his coat and dress shirt, he waited for Sebastian to get back patiently.
He had his hands folded together, and sitting on his lap, his face drawn into not the usual stern look, but a soft smile.
(love letters?)
(Just random ones he's received over the years. They are very much not all from the same person lmao. Not to mention he can barely read them.)
Sebastian returned with the tin of tea in his hands. He put on a pot of water and sat by Adrien as they waited for it to boil.
"Miss me?" They joked.
Sebastian ran a hand through their hair, then set the tin of tea down the nearby table.
Adrien gave another soft smile, something he was keen to doing when Sebastian was around, his hands came unclenched from each other and sat loosely in his lap.
"Very much so" Adrien said, a smirk grazing his lips, and his head tilted upward a bit as he gave a soft laugh into the quarters lonely silence.
He quietly fiddled with the hem of his robe, his bare chest sort of visible, he got up and quickly slipped lounge pants on and a small tank top, then sat back down, exhaling sharply.
Sebastian laughed a little at the reply and leaned back into the couch.
"It's that chamomile and mint blend, by the way. I hope that's alright. It's one of my favorites to drink at night."
Again, Sebastian tried to avert their eyes, at least a little, just to be respectful while the other changed.