Blaming @shamingcows for this. We were throwing AUs back and forth, created this one and then this happened. Art for this AU can be found here. I plan on doing three of these and not expanding it beyond this for the moment, mostly because I have a backlog of fic I want to work on first before considering another large project.
Mikleo sighed as Sorey rolled off of him, smiling when Sorey was quick to gather him close again. Mikleo hummed happily as he nuzzled into Sorey’s chest. He lifted a hand to rest his palm over Sorey’s heart. He could feel it beating fast, Mikleo unable to keep himself from smirking against Sorey’s skin.
He could feel the small bubble of pride his his chest, because he had been the one to do that. He had been the one to render Sorey into a flushed mess. Then again, Sorey had been quick to return the favor.
Mikleo smothered a giggle against Sorey’s skin, wanting to shake his head at himself.
He wasn’t some young seraph and this wasn’t his first time. He could number his age in the thousands and Sorey was hardly the first human that he’d had sex with. But it had been so long and Sorey was special.
It had been a long time since he had felt like this.
He pressed a kiss to Sorey’s skin, hearing Sorey’s breath catch. Mikleo looked up at Sorey, shivering at the intense look that Sorey was giving him. Mikleo swallowed, ducking his head back down. He heard Sorey chuckle, Mikleo huffing and digging his fingers into Sorey’s ticklish sides. “Ambitious.”
“Maybe. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to.” Mikleo shivered as Sorey combed gentle fingers through his hair. “We don’t get a lot of time together.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t. It’s not your fault. I can’t be easy to run a country.”
Mikleo grumbled to himself for a moment before lifting his head. It was hard to keep complaining in the face of Sorey’s soft smile. It made him want to burrow into Sorey’s warmth or kiss him breathless again. He did neither, Mikleo tipping his head to the side as Sorey’s hand slid down to cup his cheek. Mikleo smiled at the contact, turning his head to nuzzle into Sorey’s palm.
“There it is.” Mikleo paused to look back at Sorey. He breath caught when Sorey shifted his hand so he could run a finger along the curve of his lips. “I’ve missed that smile.”
Mikleo blushed and pressed his face against Sorey’s chest as the human laughed. He muttered a complaint against Sorey’s skin, sure that Sorey hadn’t heard it, but that didn’t matter. He loved the sound of Sorey’s laugh, it was bright and made his stomach flutter pleasantly. If he was completely honest with himself, it was the part of Sorey that he had fallen in love with first.
He smiled to himself before digging his fingers into Sorey’s sides.
Sorey stopped laughing with a yelp, jerking as he tried to get away from Mikleo’s fingers. With the way that they were lying tangled with each other it was hard for him to get too far away, and it was all too easy for Mikleo to roll slightly so he was perched on top of Sorey.
Sorey went without a struggle, Mikleo able to hold him down with his weight alone as Sorey squirmed and writhed. Mikleo chuckled to himself, grinning down at Sorey.
It was hard not to smile around the human, impossible to not want to touch him and hold him close. It was wonderfully heady and completely worth taking a few days from running the country.
Sorey was worth the time.
He lifted his hand away from Sorey’s side, watching the human pant for breath. Mikleo smiled down at him, reaching up to push his hair behind his ear. He wasn’t quite fast enough, because Sorey caught the end of a strand and brought it to his mouth to kiss it.
Mikleo stared at him for a moment, his stomach twisting and turning on itself. It had been a long time since he had felt like this, but he couldn’t remember ever feeling so deeply in love in his life.
He swallowed and leaned forward, bracketing Sorey’s head between his arms.
Sorey let go of the strand of hair he had caught, reaching up to touch Mikleo’s cheek. Mikleo leaned into the touch, his gaze lingering on Sorey’s lips. It was a shame that he would have to go back to Pendrago once they were done, especially when he wanted nothing more than to stay like this with Sorey. But his duties were unavoidable, and it was silly to waste their time together. Maybe Sorey had been right to be ambitious.
He leaned further forward, seeing Sorey’s eyes widen as he caught on to what Mikleo was aiming for. Then he smiled and slid his hand back into Mikleo’s hair, guiding his head down into another deep kiss.
It was never a good sign when the entire council room went silent when he entered.
Mikleo hesitated at the door, glancing around at everyone that was sitting at the table. They were all used to his presence, which meant that the silence was always pointed. The last time they had gotten like this, it was because the plague that had started in Marlind had spread to Lastonbell.
He glanced around the room, trying to see which councilor who refused to meet his gaze. There was usually one who would indicate what the major problem was, but none of them would meet his gaze save for the Regent, and he was scowling. But that didn’t mean much, the man always looked annoyed at what was going on in the country.
Mikleo frowned and turned, freezing when he saw one of the maids standing by the door. She had a look of shock and horror on her face, Mikleo only getting a glimpse of it before she prostrated herself on the floor. “Forgive me, your majesty. I was told I had to, for the sake of the country. I would never betray you, great seraph. Have mercy on this poor woman.”
Mikleo shook his head and looked back over at the council table, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the cloak laid out on the table.
He remembered dumping it in the laundry after coming back from the weekend he had escaped from his duties with Sorey. It had been stained after climbing around the ruins and being laid out on the grass. Mikleo was sure that there were other stains on it, more telling ones.
Mikleo shook his head and took a step back. “No.”
One of the priests stepped away from the table, bowing to him even as he spoke. “Your majesty, I understand your feelings on the subject.”
“I have none. It’s a mistake. You’re interpreting this all wrong.”
The priest looked up, Mikleo relieved by the confusion on his face. There was a chance that he could just keep them talking around the subject and never come to the point. Better yet, he could leave and go about his own business. The council managed most of their tasks handily on their own. They didn’t need him hovering over their shoulders.
He took a step back, about to leave when the Regent slammed his hand on the table. “For Maotelus’ sake, don’t be a coward about this!” The rest of the council immediately started to try and shush him, but the Regent didn’t seem to notice their censure. “We’ve suffered enough with your waffling. Just tell us who the person is so we can throw a crown on their head and get the whole thing over with.”
Sergei leaned forward, his hand on his sword. “Show some respect.”
The Regent sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t see why? We all know who the next emperor will be, and it’s some back country hick who doesn’t know the first thing about governing. I don’t think he’s even from Rolance.”
Sergei puffed up like he was about to say something else, but one of the other councilors was quick to grab his arm. The council all ducked their heads to have a quiet discussion, Mikleo watching them with a growing sense of panic.
They couldn’t do this to him, not when he had tried so hard to keep them from coming to this conclusion. It was one thing for them to think he preferred Sorey’s company as a friend, but this was something else, something that he wasn’t ready for. He had hoped somewhere deep in his heart that they would never find out because he wanted one thing to keep to himself. After so many years of doing his duty, he just wanted one thing to hold onto for his own.
He knew it was impossible, but that didn’t stop him from wishing.
The council came to the end of their deliberations far too soon for his taste, Mikleo still trying to back surreptitiously towards the door. He froze in place as the priest stepped forward again.
“Lord Mikleo, please. I understand your hesitation, but something must be done. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that your blessing over the country is becoming weaker and it’s a dangerous time for it to be doing so. Rolance has already suffered serious setbacks over the last few years and I’m afraid to think of what will happen if your blessing starts to shrink. We are dependent on it to keep Rolance safe, and I fear what would happen if its calming influence suddenly disappeared. I don’t know how many we’d lose to the malevolence.”
“I...” Mikleo swallowed, looking between the members of the council.
There was no way that he could refuse them, especially when it was for the people. The people had been the whole point of his oath in the first place. He’d made it when he was young, stupid and in love. He should have let his oath fall by the wayside centuries ago, but he had kept it up in the memory of the prince that he had loved so dearly, the prince with the same bright smile as Sorey. He had kept it up despite the number of cherished people he’d had to drag into the position of emperor.
He clenched his hands into fists, shaking his head. “I can’t. It would kill him.”
The Regent snorted out something that might have been a laugh. “Maybe we could get a decent emperor then.”
Sergei glared at him and kicked his chair, the Regent tumbling out of it as the chair tipped over to the side.
No one else on the council bothered to help the man back up, all of their attention was on him. All of their faces were sympathetic, but that just made it worse.
They all knew the terms of his oath, it wasn’t like Mikleo strove to keep it a secret. All of the council was told the specifics when they were raised to their position.
To keep the blessing over the entirety of Rolance, Mikleo had to give up the person he loved and cherished the most to the service of the people. They would help govern Rolance by his side, but at the cost of their own dreams and aspirations.
It was a steep price, too steep of one.
Mikleo shook his head again, hoping that the council would understand just this once. But none of them looked swayed. If anything, they looked sorry for what they were about to do. Then again, they always did. Every single council hated it almost as much as he did.
He looked pleadingly at Sergei as the man came around the table. He opened his mouth to speak, snapping it shut when Sergei rested a careful hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, your majesty. But, for the sake of Rolance and its people, will you take me to Sorey? It’s time Rolance had an emperor again.”
Mikleo took a deep breath, feeling it shake as he breathed out. It wasn’t a question of if he would, he knew why it was phrased that way. It didn’t matter if he didn’t come with them, they would ask it of Sorey anyway and Sorey didn’t deserve that. The least he could do was ask Sorey himself.
He closed his eyes for a moment, swaying in place under Sergei’s touch. He heard the man make a questioning sound, opening his eyes before Sergei could ask anything else of him.
He turned on his heel and started towards the door, hearing Sergei scramble to follow. Mikleo didn’t bother to look back, his gaze fixed on a distant point ahead of him.
It was easier to just forge ahead with a blank mind than try to figure out a way to get around the oath, because there was none.
The best outcome of the situation would be if Sorey refused and walked out of Pendrago and back to wherever he had come from.
The worst outcome would be if Sorey actually said yes.












