I'm a bit of a David fan.
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King!David who receives Angel not in chains, but with a smile too measured to be kind. He calls them guest in public and problem in private.
ForeignRoyalHostage!Angel who refuses to be cowed, who corrects David’s history mid-council and calls it “a difference in perspective.” The court freezes. David only arches a brow, amused despite himself. Later, he tells them, “You’re brave.”
Angel replies, “You’re threatened.”
King!David who enjoys sparring with Angel more than he should. Their conversations are knives wrapped in silk, debates about borders that sound like flirting, insults disguised as wit.
They circle each other verbally the way soldiers do before a duel.
ForeignRoyalHostage!Angel who bites back, always. Who smiles sweetly while pointing out flaws in David’s rule, who asks innocent questions that expose uncomfortable truths.
David starts scheduling councils where Angel must be present, under the excuse of “diplomatic transparency.”
King!David who walks Angel through the palace himself, not out of trust, but curiosity. Angel comments on the architecture like they’re already imagining how it would burn.
Neither of them looks away.
ForeignRoyalHostage!Angel who sees the cracks first. The fatigue behind David’s control. The way his jaw tightens when certain names are mentioned. They stop mocking him then, just for a moment, and David hates that more than the insults
King!David who protects Angel without admitting it. A threat against the hostage is met with swift, brutal consequence. When Angel calls him out on it, he simply mutters,
Angel replies just as softly, “That’s not what this was.”
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Eventually, they become lovers who no longer argue to wound, but to understand. Their debates still spark, sharp, clever, alive, but now they end with shared smiles instead of drawn blood.
The court notices; the air feels lighter when they disagree openly and still leave together.
King!David who trusts Angel with his silences. He no longer feels the need to perform strength around them. When the crown is heavy, he removes it in their presence without ceremony and lets it rest forgotten on the table between them.
Royal!Angel who stays. Not because they are bound, not because it is expected, but because they choose to. The word hostage fades from use, quietly, deliberately, until no one remembers when it stopped applying.
King!David who softens in private. He kisses Angel’s knuckles absentmindedly while reading reports. He rests his forehead against theirs after council meetings, grounding himself in the familiar instead of the ceremonial.
Royal!Angel who becomes his equal, not his ornament. They stand beside the throne, not behind it. They speak when they wish. They are listened to. They are loved.
King!David who would still burn the world for Angel, but now lets them talk him out of it. Angel does not fear his power, they temper it, guide it, trust it.
Royal!Angel who once challenged his authority and now reinforces it, not through obedience, but through belief. The kingdom feels it; a ruler who is steadied by love is harder to shake.
germansingergirl
dailybridgerton
jbbartram-illu
titsay
baratheonpilled
vaporwave
