85 or 83 blackmadhi!!!!! your choice!!!
83. “It’s always been you.”
Send me a number and a pairing!
Nahyutanever liked having this conversation, so he often tried to stop it before ithad the opportunity to begin. But itwasn’t always easy to get the former queen to let go of something when her mindwas set. And when he was trapped in aroom with her, waiting for their guests from California to arrive, he couldn’tphysically run away.
“Althoughyou will only be regent until Rayfa has mastered spirit channeling, you stillought to consider it seriously. You’realready twenty-six, dear.”
“Am Ibut an old crone, then?”
“That’snot what I’m saying,” Amara sighed, feeling frustrated with her son’spushback. She didn’t understand why hewas always like this whenever this particular topic was brought up.
“That’swhat it sounds like,” Nahyuta clapped back, trying to not let his annoyanceturn into anger. “Will I be unwedable bythe time I hit twenty-eight?”
“AndI didn’t exactly have time to think about these sorts of things, you know,”Nahyuta reminded her, harshly. “She made sure of that.” Ga’ran wouldn’t let Nahyuta have manyvisitors, and the ones she did allow were usually loyal to her or only allowedto be with him for a short while. On theoff chance he was able to engage in any sort of consensual activities withanyone, they were for one night, and usually Nahyuta did not even get theirnames.
“I know that,” Amara responded with anequally harsh tone. She didn’t like thatNahyuta was insinuating that she did not remember all that he sacrificed. “But perhaps something should bearranged. Having someone by your side asyou rule would be in Khura’in’s best interest.”
“Sowhat…I marry someone to please this country for two or three years and thenhave to stay with this stranger for the remainder of my life?”
“Royaltydoes not often have the luxury of love,” Amara said, echoing a sentiment thather mother had passed down to her and her sister.
“Easyfor you to say, since you did havethat luxury,” Nahyuta snapped, hoping that he could end this pointlessdialogue.
Luckily,he received some help when the doors opened, and the guards announced thattheir foreign visitors had arrived.
Nahyutahad been working closely with Miles Edgeworth to develop a closer relationbetween their two countries; Edgeworth had been helping him with the rebuild ofthe legal system from behind the scenes, to which Nahyuta was verygrateful. There was much that Edgeworthknew about various legal systems across the world, and his knowledge washelpful and appreciated.
However,Edgeworth had a companion on this trip. One that Nahyuta was not expecting.
AtEdgeworth’s side was Prosecutor Simon Blackquill. He stood out in the room like a sore thumb;Khura’in’s royal chamber was decorated with vibrant and elegant colors, so theharsh monochromatic Blackquill was extremely out of place. What was he doing here? Nahyuta swallowed a lump in his throat thathad suddenly developed. Did Edgeworthdrag him along? Did he volunteer to comeof his own volition?
“ChiefProsecutor Edgeworth,” Nahyuta smiled and walked up to his guests, ignoring thevarious questions running through his mind. “We are, as always, honored to have you here.”
“Thankyou very much, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi,” Edgeworth responded, as respectful asever. Nahyuta’s eyes traveled to Simon,who had his arms crossed and looked…bored, if anything. How disrespectful of him.
“ProsecutorBlackquill. I’ll admit I wasn’texpecting to see you,” Nahyuta said, speaking as though it wasn’t a big dealthat Simon was here. Few images flashedin his mind: Simon’s bare back glistened in sweat, his hair wild and out of itsusual ponytail as Nahyuta watched him writhe and moan. Simon on his knees in front of him, withNahyuta’s hand twisting in those black and white strands. Simon grabbing Nahyuta’s jacket in a way thatsurely was going to wrinkle the expensive fabric, all to pull him into adesperate kiss…
Memories. Ones that Nahyuta did not need to be actively remembering right now.
Nahyutawanted to take him somewhere right now to teach him a lesson.
Theirlittle secret arrangement had gotten a bit out of control, he would admit. It was meant to only be physical and only be once. But that turned into twice…and then three times…and then more and more;whenever Nahyuta was in the states now, he would find himself at ProsecutorBlackquill’s apartment during the night, wanting some stress relief from hisconsistently busy schedule. He neverstayed for breakfast though.
Itwas annoying when that Panda began invading his dreams, though.
Sure,it was a very nice break from thenightmares of his past, but Nahyuta found it frustrating nonetheless. And then when Simon started just popping upin his thoughts on their own…he wasn’t sure exactly what to do.
Whenhe mother would speak to him about marriage, he had always dropped the subjectsomehow or told her no. But recently hewould think about Simon goddamn Blackquill too; if he was married, he wouldhave to end…whatever it was they had, and he had zero desire to do so.
Butit was only physical, he would tell himself. Nothing more.
“Blackquill,you are a guest here,” Edgeworth reprimanded. “Please show our hosts the same respect you would show me.”
Nahyutawas surprised when Blackquill nodded. “Ofcourse, Edgeworth-dono,” he said, before looking again at Nahyuta. “Thank you for having us, Sahdmadhi-dono.”
MilesEdgeworth was the only person in the world capable of making Simon Blackquillact like that. It was almost magic, andNahyuta found it weirdly fascinating.
“Ofcourse. While we’re happy to have you here,I still am wondering why you’vedecided to come,” Nahyuta responded, still a bit confused.
“Ithought that it would be best for me to learn your country’s legal proceedingsfor my own edification. Edgeworth-donoallowed me to come as a sort of…ambassador,” Simon explained, not breaking eyecontact with Nahyuta for even a second. “AndI suppose to see the sights.”
Nahyutaknew what “sights” meant here, and felt a bit warm.
“Wellthen,” Amara said, coming up from behind Nahyuta and smiling at theirguests. “I suppose we should not keepyou two waiting. You’ve had a long trip,and I’m sure you’re both hungry and tired. Please…this way.” She beganwalking out of the room and Edgeworth followed, striking up a conversation withher as Nahyuta and Simon trailed behind them. Nahyuta was very well-trained in appearing different than how he felt;his almost blank stare ahead did not give away his rapidly beating heart.
Whileat dinner, the group postponed any discussion of work until the next day,instead choosing to just share stories and the like. Rayfa joined them for dinner, but she wasuncharacteristically quiet, saying that she was trying to keep her mind calmfor her training in the morning, and she left without saying all too much.
Whichwas…for the better. She and Simon wouldlikely not get along very well.
Afterdinner, the guards took Edgeworth and Simon to their rooms, and Nahyuta watchedSimon walk down the hall for an uncomfortably long time, tensing when Simonlooked back at him. He resisted the almostoverwhelming urge to follow him, instead finding his way back to his ownbedchamber.
Unfortunately,Nahyuta found himself unable to sleep. Blackquill was on his mind, and all of their past activities keptrummaging around in his head until he was no longer able to stand it. It was late enough that most people should besleeping – with the exception of the night guards – so Nahyuta soon foundhimself walking out of his room and towards a certain destination.
Hewent to the guest room that Simon was occupying, but instead of seeing a closeddoor, he saw a guard standing next to an open one. When Nahyuta requested to know whereProsecutor Blackquill was, the guard informed him that Simon had said he wasunable to sleep, and wanted to walk around outside. Another guard accompanied him.
Nahyutaknew he should just…try going back to sleep.
Insteadhe was outside, roaming around in an effort to find Prosecutor Blackquill andhis guide. They wouldn’t have goneoutside of the palace grounds at night, so he figured it wouldn’t be too longuntil he was able to find them.
Luckily,he was right; he eventually located the pair walking through the gardens. Simon had apparently found one of his mother’sbirds and was making a new friend; the little animal was resting in his handcomfortably while he spoke to it, pointing up to the sky as if he was showingit constellations or something.
“ProsecutorSahdmadhi!” The guard noticed him andbowed slightly as Nahyuta approached. Simon looked over and smirked a bit.
“Towhat do we owe this pleasure, Sad Monk?” Now that Edgeworth wasn’t around, Simon could act as he desired.
Nahyutainstructed the guard to leave them, and waited until the man was out of sightbefore approaching Simon.
“Beautiful,isn’t she?” Of course, he was speakingto the little bird that Simon still had in his hand.
“Yes. Though I usually prefer birds of prey myself,”Simon responded, lifting his palm up to let the bird fly off; he watched as sheperched herself in a nearby tree.
“I’maware,” Nahyuta remarked, remembering how much Simon’s beloved hawk despisedhim. Too many times had Nahyuta neededto fend off talons or deal with some scratches on his body. Of course, Simon never offered any sort ofcomfort. He would just tell Nahyuta tostop pissing off Taka.
Whatan annoying, disrespectful, and godless man he was.
“Theyare my mother’s,” Nahyuta continued, looking up at the tree and seeing a fewmore. He said nothing for a moment, andthen for reasons he wouldn’t have been able to explain, he mentioned: “She’sbeen…telling me that I need to wed soon.”
Washis mind playing a trick on him, or did he actually see Simon tense up andfrown after that statement?
“Shethinks it would inspire more confidence in the new regime. Having someone at your side as you rule ismore…customary, I suppose.” He laughed,though there was little joy in it. “It’sfunny…I just escaped Ga’ran and now my mother wants to clip my wingsagain. So to speak.”
“…Areyou going to do it?”
Nahyutastared at Simon. He waited, thinking ofwhat he should say in this moment. Helooked at Simon’s face, as if memorizing every little detail of it. Unlike Nahyuta’s eyes, which were so trainedto show little emotion, Simon’s eyes gave him away a lot of times, even when hewas trying to hide his deeper thoughts. Right now, there was a…fear in them. Fear of what? Of losing Nahyuta?
“…Itwould be in my royal duty if I did. Ialways need to think about what is best for Khura’in. I don’t have the luxury of always thinkingfor myself.”
Simonscoffed, but said nothing in response at first. He turned his head away angrily, his jaw clenching as his fists balledup at his sides.
“Verywell then. I’ll leave you to it.”
Simonstormed past Nahyuta in a hurry, but Nahyuta caught his arm and prevented himfrom leaving.
Simonlooked back at him, and again his eyes gave him away – he was hurt.
“Idon’t always have that luxury, but it doesn’t mean I don’t do it, you know.” Nahyuta squeezed Simon’s arm tightly, afraidthat if he let go, Simon would storm off and that would be the end. “I’ve been…avoiding the discussion as much aspossible. Perhaps she is right that itwould be better for the country but Idon’t have any desire to marry right now. And there is something that has been on my mind…that has been making mewant to ignore this royal duty of mine.”
“Oh,and what would that be?” Simon asked thequestion accusatorily, causing Nahyuta to laugh a bit.
“You’rean idiot sometimes, Panda. It’s you.” Nahyuta smiled, practically hearing the fast-paced beating of his heartin his ears. “It’s always been you. Even as I tried to deny it…tried to tellmyself what was between us was just physical…” He was shaking now…this was his confession,wasn’t it? How was Simon going torespond? Was he going to yank his armback and walk away? Yell atNahyuta? Laugh?
Hedid none of those things.
Instead,Simon brought one hand to the back of Nahyuta’s head and pulled him into a deepkiss. And when Nahyuta let go of his armto put his hands on Simon’s chest, Simon used his free hand to cup Nahyuta’scheek, careful not to break the contact between their lips.
Howlong did they kiss? Nahyuta wasn’t sure,but he did notice that both of them were panting softly when they broke apart,faces still close as their foreheads touched.
“Don’tget married. Go on a date with meinstead,” Simon whispered, his face flushed from both the kiss andembarrassment. “A real one.”
“Iguess I could do that,” Nahyuta answered, before bringing Simon in to kiss himagain.
Needlessto say, he had to tell his mother that any future wedding was cancelled.
