“If only it was that easy. If it were up to me maybe-” his voice trailed off, unable to finish his sentence without anxiety gripping his tongue. Fear and a history of abuse kept Dragan from being genuine with anyone. Vulnerability was a sign of weakness - one that got him punished until it seemed there was nothing but a dull ambivalence inside the redhead. But, like most things in his life, Athena remained a constant anomaly. He could laugh freely, open up to, show his true anger and even express his worries with her. “Li is happy and I don’t think she’d want to come back. Who would? Tati died, I’m trapped here so it only makes sense she took the first flight out of Macedonia and ran off a professor. Looks like I’m in this alone in the foreseeable future.” Like a moth to light, his gaze kept interacting with hers. It was difficult for him not to. And there, in between their subtle glances, was a conversation without words. One where both parties understood there was little chance for a future. Whatever chemistry they did have needed to be resolved and eventually finished. Yet Dragan, a true rebel to his core, ignored all warning signs to end their connection; even if it was for only a few more days. Around him were staff and citizens who didn’t know who he was or what truly went inside his mind but Athena did. Losing that, losing her, was unbearable. His heart beat loudly against his chest, the same one her fingers were painting tantalizing patterns on, almost if attempting to wake up any feelings he may have tried to simmer. Listening more to it than his mind, in a surprising move on his part, he pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes closing in response. He didn’t dare speak, not wanting to accidentally force them to separate due to a slip of his tongue. What he wanted was to be near her, even if it was for the last time. To feel that bit of happiness he watched so many others have, the same one he was denied. It didn’t matter that eventually she would have to leave him or that his life would be dictated from here on out. At least not right now. His hands trembled slightly as he placed them in her hair, before finally lifting away and kissing her forehead.
“If you think I’ll be a decent king,” he whispered against her skin, “that’s good enough for me.” Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Dragan pulled back completely and allowed his hands to return to either side of her body. “Don’t let that fill your ego. Your head is big enough as is.” It was his way of finally closing the conversation on his future position and the harm his father had caused in the past. For now he’d focus on the present and Athena who was a part of it. “Damn.” He snapped his tongue. “Jason is married. Looks like you’re shit out of luck with both of us.” Although he wasn’t a fan of her now guarded stance, he also understood it. Though it didn’t mean he’d stop teasing her, if nothing more than to get it out of his system. Arrogantly, he cocked his head to the side. “Hm. If only we were in a massive, private building with more than six hundred other rooms. Unless you really were here just to steal food which would make your visit much more boring than it should’ve been. Or you’re here to steal the throne for yourself, and to that I say, please fucking take it. I’d give the entire royal bullshit to you willingly. Won’t even have a kid so they can fight you for it in the future. Call it nature’s birth control.”
She casted her gaze up at Dragan, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Her bright eyes bore into his, digging and searching for the ending of his sentence that he was unable to verbalize. She gave up once realizing he wasn’t going to, and she knew better than to ask him for clarification. A huge part of her wanted to wrap her fingers around his neck, to pull his face closer to her, reassuring him that it’ll all work out for him in the end. After all their time together, Athena knew that he earned his happiness, and whether or not she was in his life in the future, she wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. However, she kept still, glueing her body and fingers against the counter as if there was a weight up on her that wouldn’t allow her to move. “Lijana loves you. You’re her brother. Of course, she’ll come back to visit you. At some point she’ll get tired of all the lessons and him grading papers that she will return home to see you. And if not, I can drop by with a plate of waffles for breakfast once or twice a year. That’s if I’m not banned from here.” While her words were denying so, Athena knew that their current encounter would most likely be their last. His father would soon die and Dragan would get the crown, leaving Athena miles away. She was fully aware, but she wasn’t planning on saying her final goodbye, preferring to leave with unspoken words and keeping her feelings bottled in that will slowly eat at her as the years go by. Regret will follow every time she sees his face in the news, wondering if she had made a grave mistake of letting her fear ruin a chance of the unknown. But it was easier to accept those outcomes than it was to give him that sort of power to completely break her. She wanted their final days together to be spent the same way as they have been when they were together -- in bed, the laughing, the teasing, the skin to skin contact, the ease of knowing each other all too well. But the more she got what she craved, the harder it would be to get away from it. “You won’t be alone. There’s someone out there who is willing to put up with your mediocre humor and help you become the best king this place has ever seen.”
Athena’s anchor of holding herself back from touching him was broken to pieces as soon as his forehead was pressed against hers. Her hand broke loose of the puppet strings and gently rested against his cheek. She prayed he couldn’t hear how fast her heart was beating against her chest, carrying her blood up to her cheeks as they flushed. Her mind and body was at a battle with itself. One half fighting to completely wrap herself around him while the other pulling it back to the ground, reminding her to not cross into a territory that she would ultimately lose herself in. Athena was glad his eyes were closed, otherwise he would have witnessed the flames in her eyes, going against the pool of blue that hated him for having so much power over her. When he pulled away, she dropped her hand, believing that kiss on her forehead would be their final one. Maybe that was the goodbye she was hoping would never come. “How unfortunate. Looks like I’ll have to find my next target. I think Michael B. Jordan might be single,” she mused, breaking her eye contact with him and staring at a random point on the kitchen wall as if in thought. She brushed her tongue across her gum, temptation arising at his words. She purposely ignored the former part, looking back at him with a facade of surprise. “You caught me. I am here to steal the throne and for the free food that is always conveniently stocked up. But no, no, no. I can’t bear the thought of not seeing a little Dragan. If it means I have to fight some kid for the throne just to see a little you, then so be it.”
