All I Never Knew || Ty & Lu
Who: Lucio Montague & Lord Tybalt Capulet When: All Saints Day Where: The Palace Notes: It’s been one year. Ty has a very important question to ask Lucio. Warning: Sap. All of it. All our feels.
Lucio couldn't help but look down at the ring on his finger. Suddenly, all he could do was imagine what it would feel like to have a collar around his neck. The question brought him out of his imagination for a moment. "Let's let them have their holiday. Let's have our own, Lord Capulet," he said with what was probably the biggest smile he'd ever smiled in his whole life.
Tybalt has spent a great deal of time thinking about this moment. He'd thought of many different ways to ask this most important of questions. But when it was announced that the Princess would be having a feast for all Saints, Ty knew there was no more fitting place than the palace. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked Lucio as dinner wound down.
Lucio thought about a year ago, the All Saint's Feast, back when he and Tybalt were a purely physical tryst, texting one another, Lucio sneaking into the estate and attempting to sneak out the next morning. It felt like a long time ago, but it was just one year. Tybalt's voice took him out of his thoughts. "Hmm? Yes, I am. I'm not sure I've ever spent a substantial amount of time in the palace. It's very beautiful."
"I'm not in the habit of spending much time here, either. Though I do remember being here as a child, obviously before the Princess took the throne." He looked over, Lucio was as handsome as ever. They'd come so far in a year's time. "Obviously there are certain areas off limits, but would you like to walk a bit. I recall there being some lovely artwork in a couple of areas open to the public."
Lucio imagined what it would have been like to be a child in the palace. Strange, he decided. “Yes, I’d like to see more of it if possible, especially if there’s an impressive art collection involved,” he agreed. “Plus, I’ve more than had my fill and could use a long walk.” The feast was always a little too heavy, though delicious.
“Come then," Ty said, holding out his hand for his submissive. "I can think of nothing better than a long walk and some time alone." He led Lucio from the banquet center and out to the main hallway. "I grew up in what some might consider a palace, and it doesn't even begin to touch this place."
Lucio gladly took Tybalt's hand and let the Dominant lead him away from the banquet. "It is very beautiful. But I prefer the Estate. I'm sure it felt a large enough a place to grow up." The Estate was everything he'd been told his family was owed when he was a child, and everything he'd been told to attain until he ran away.
"It definitely felt large enough," Ty said, smiling at his submissive as they walked through the hall. "I can't even imagine growing up here. It would be like existing in a museum, I think. It's beautiful but in a nearly untouchable way." Children certainly wouldn't feel comfortable here. At least at the estate, there were nooks and crannies to hide. " He led Lucio through the hall, to the palace conservatory. It'd been left open that evening, and Ty hoped it would have few people in it. It had been filled with plants to enjoy year round and was definitely warmer than being outside.
Lucio nodded his head. “I supposed only the politest of children would survive growing up here unscathed. I likely still would have run away from home,” he mused. Home was sometimes a complicated subject for Lucio. It had meant so many different things throughout this life. But it had all led to his feeling more settled now than ever before and that was decidedly not such a bad thing.
"Given the current royal family, I imagine that is less true than you think. The Princess is many things but polite is not a word I'd use to describe her." He turned to his submissive, stopping in front of one large window. The light from the moon spilled over the marble floor. "While I wouldn't wish what you've been through on anyone, I am eternally grateful it put you in my path."
"True," Lucio agreed. Tybalt certainly had a point there. He watched as the Dominant stopped them, the light landing on Tybalt perfectly, making him far too handsome, Lucio decided. "I don't regret any of it. I've always known I was making the right choice. The day I left, I knew. And now that I'm here with you, what I've known for so long has been validated." He smiled, shaking his head. "I thought my success would be what proved me right. But it was you." He'd worked so hard for so long, almost without purpose, just with pure drive, pure desperation to keep on existing. Now, it all had meaning, and his life felt full. Not just busy.
Ty was speechless for a long moment. Lucio's words only validated his purpose tonight. He took Lucio's hand in his own and brought it to his lips. "This last year has been...more than I ever thought would be possible for me. Not because of the title and all that came with it. But it's been you. You are what's always been missing...you are everything I never knew I needed." Ty smiled, lips brushing the back of Lucio's hand again. "Lucio Montague, you beautiful, intelligent, strong and occasionally infuriating man, will you be my Claim?"
Lucio listened to Tybalt, wondering what exactly had put them in this mood, both of them speaking so openly, so vulnerably. It wasn't the first time, but this felt different, like it was leading to something big. And then, there it was. The question he'd never expected to hear in his whole life, the one he'd never expected to want or wait for. "Kiss me first. Then I'll give you my answer." He brought his hand up to Tybalt's cheek, smiling quietly.
Ty's smiled softened as he mirrored Lucio, his free hand moving to cup Lucio's cheek. He connected their lips with a sigh of happiness, content in the knowledge that the submissive in his arms was truly already his.
Lucio smiled into the kiss, and as their lips parted, he whispered, "Yes." He rested his forehead against Tybalt's. "Yes." He kissed his Dominant. Their love was a future he'd never imagined for himself, but he couldn't be happier about it. The world had somehow managed to surprise him. "I love you."
In that moment, he couldn't help but think of the people that he wished were around to see this day. His father. Miranda. He knew without a shadow of a doubt they would be proud of him. Be happy for them. "I love you," he answered, slipping a box from his pocket. "It's not a collar. Not yet. But I would very much like you to wear this until you can have both," he said, opening the ring box for Lucio's inspection.
Lucio watched Tybalt as he grabbed something from his pocket. A ring box. The ring inside was perfect. It was simple, but not plain. Elegant. The fact that Ty could pick out the perfect jewelry for him was not lost on him. Lucio offered his hand in response. "It's beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you," Ty said, taking that elegant hand and slipping the black band on Lucio's finger. He smiled, admiring it for a moment before pulling Lucio into his arms again, a passionate kiss following. "Shall we inform people tonight, or shall we sneak away and let them know later?"
