@hvrtcfx from here
he glanced at leyla beside him, her features softened by the moonlight, and for a brief moment, he forgot she was soon to be queen. to him, she was still the girl he’d grown up with, the one who could hold her own in a sparring match, or laugh at his crass jokes without judgment. that’s why, without thinking, he asked the question. it was a sharp, unfiltered thought voiced aloud before he could reel it in. he knew it was crude, but it had been a long time since they’d spoken like this—without pretenses, without the weight of their respective duties hanging over them like a swordand for a fleeting moment, he needed to feel that sense of familiarity, to provoke that unguarded laughter he remembered so well. her laughter came, muffled behind her hand. a sound so genuine it made the tension in his shoulders ease. he'd been worried—worried that time, duty, and distance had altered their friendship beyond repair. but here she was, laughing like they were still just two friends wandering the woods, not the soon-to-be queen and the commander of the royal guard. he shrugged, offering a small smirk. crass was putting it lightly, but leyla had always known how to deflect without denying the truth of things. it was part of what made her so remarkable. tristan let her words wash over him as she shook her head, speaking of her mother’s schemes and the grim reality of being bartered like a commodity. his chest tightened, not for the first time, at how little control she had over her own fate. he’d seen it coming, of course—the marriage to the king had been inevitable, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear.
when she cleared her throat and mocked him with that high-pitched voice, mimicking some absurd courtly seduction, he couldn’t help but chuckle. she nudged him, leaning in closer, and for a heartbeat, it felt like they were young again, sneaking out for mischief. he leaned in, his voice dropping conspiratorially. "ah, but had someone ever been bold enough to ask so directly, i might have found myself utterly helpless," he teased, though his gaze lingered on her, searching for something deeper behind the playful exchange. and then, she said it. the words that made the world around them blur and the heaviness in his chest press down just a little more. her voice was softer now, and tristan felt the weight of her words like a blade between his ribs. he swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. he had missed her too, more than he could ever admit. life had been simpler—before the royal titles, before the court politics, before everything. there had been a time when it had felt like it was just them against the world. but that time had passed. she was soon to be queen, and he had sworn an oath to protect her, not just as her friend but as her commander. he couldn’t be tristan, the boy who had grown up with her anymore. he had to be sir valenwood, the knight who would shield her from whatever storms came her way—even if it meant stepping back. "i’ve missed you too, leyla," he replied quietly, forcing a small smile. he wanted to say more, to tell her how much it pained him to see her trapped in a life she hadn’t chosen, but words failed him. all he could do was be there, silently walking beside her, as they both wrestled with the ghosts of what once was.