Chapter 2 Always #3
Aquilan realized that he still had a hold of the young man. His hands were practically digging into Declan’s shoulders. But he did not want to let go.
“I am glad that you know for certain what happened to Tyler. I understand the pain of not knowing.” Aquilan could not help but think of his own parents. He would want to know what happened to them. To find their bodies… to perhaps give them a burial…
“So… you do not wish me to go?” Declan asked. “I can stay here? In Tyrael? With you?”
Aquilan focused on him. “Oh, Declan, no, I do not want you to go. I never want you to go.”
Declan’s eyes went wide. “I… I am glad, King Aquilan.”
“No, no. No king tonight. Unless you want me to call you prince,” Aquilan laughed.
Declan shook his head. “That’s not me. I’ve left it behind.”
Can you leave such a thing behind? Will Vex let you?
“Well, we should put that aside for now,” he said as he forced himself to let go of Declan’s shoulders.
His hands ached the moment he did that. And did Declan sway a little closer to him?
“Come, let’s eat. If you’re half as starving as I am you’ll want to simply grab that roast off the board and start taking bites out of it. ”
“You’re not wrong,” Declan laughed.
Oh, his laughter was a beautiful sound! Laughter meant happiness meant growing health and strength.
No more sadness. No more grief. No more guilt.
He would not have Declan thinking for a moment that he was responsible for what had happened with the wards and the war.
To Aquilan’s way of thinking, Declan was a victim of the adults in his life who should have taken better care of him.
Including me.
Declan glided to the balcony doors, but gestured for Aquilan to go out first with a slight bow.
The white curtains billowed inwards for a moment crossing between them.
Aquilan had the ridiculous urge to catch the fabric and pull it back so that his view of Declan was uninterrupted.
But instead, he walked out onto the spacious balcony, but before he could sit down, Declan had pulled his chair out for him and then tucked him in once he had.
“Thank you, Declan,” Aquilan said, a light flush of heat coloring his cheeks.
“I’m sure there are tons of things I should be doing for you since you’re king that I’m not,” Declan murmured as he took his own seat opposite Aquilan.
“All you need to do is have a good time,” Aquilan said. Both of their gazes went to the large side of beef with its crispy side of fat. “And eat as much as you want. Those are the only things that I would ever require.”
“You are a king of dreams,” Declan murmured. “Noble. Beautiful. Powerful. And just. Not to mention so kind and good.”
Aquilan blinked rapidly. “I assure you that I aspire to be a shadow of those things. But I am very flawed, Declan. The longer I rule the more that becomes apparent to me. Too many compromises. Too many bad deals. Nothing is as clean and neat as I would have liked or thought it would be.”
“You’ll do what’s right and best in the end. That’s the sort of person you are. The type of leader you are,” Declan sounded so sure.
But all Aquilan was certain of was that he was hungry and very desperately wanted more of this young man’s company.
“Let me cut us some beef here,” Declan said and expertly grabbed the two-tined fork and sharp knife. “Do you like more well-done or rarer?” He asked as he gestured with implements along the roast’s prodigious length.
“Ah, both. I love the crispy end bits with the fat and also the tender parts in the middle that melt in your mouth,” he admitted almost guiltily. “I am very greedy with my food. Wine?”
“You’re not alone. Yes, please,” Declan said as he neatly sliced off the crispiest bits at the ends and put them on Aquilan’s plate before cutting the roast down the very middle and shaving off razor-thin pieces of the interior that he arranged in a fan for Aquilan.
“You are good at this! I thought you were a bartender not a chef!” Aquilan laughed as he poured the dark red wine–the color of gemstones–into both their glasses.
“You have to be a bit of everything when you work at the Dawn,” Declan shrugged as he carved himself a similar portion of meat.
“Including a peacekeeper with orcs?”
“Mostly fairies. Those fairies are aggressive bastards,” Declan grinned.
“Potatoes?” Aquilan offered as he picked up the mound of crispy vegetables.
“Everything,” Declan admitted.
“Everything it is.”
Both of them began to reach across the table.
Instead of serving themselves, they filled each others’ plates with piles of potatoes, lakes of gravy, mounds of salad, and towers of crusty bread with butter and cheese.
Soon enough there were no clean places on their plates or even beside them.
Aquilan let out a satisfied sigh as he sat down to face that glorious food.
Declan made a similar sound and Aquilan grinned.
But then he saw the young man literally pull himself back and cut a tiny piece of beef before delicately putting it into his mouth.
He’s doing that for me. He thinks he has to be civilized. Well, I’ll show him differently.
“Now, this looks delicious! Where to start? Ah, how about this?” Aquilan speared a whole slice of beef dripping with gravy and a large potato on his fork. He then stuffed both into his mouth. At one time and chewed. Gravy ran down his chin. Declan stared at him and blinked. “Hmmm. So good.”
He pounded his fists on the table after swallowing the lot to show his appreciation.
Declan’s lips parted in surprise. But only for a moment.
He blinked a few times more. Those glorious eyes.
Crimson. Gold. Glowing. Then he, too, stabbed a slab of beef heavy with gravy and stuck it into his mouth. Gravy slathered those sweet lips.
“Good,” Declan said around the mouthful of beef and pounded his fist.
They met each others’ eyes and smiled. They were both digging into the food then. Tangy salad followed by crispy, salted potato followed by tender beef that did indeed melt in his mouth finished with bread and butter and aged cheddar.
“Perfect,” Aquilan murmured. “And I hear dessert is supposed to be even better.”
Declan, who was slicing them more rounds of beef, smiled. “And Cellica was worried she and the staff didn’t know what you liked. Hit it out of the park the first time.”
“And you? Are you enjoying it? Or is Helgrom’s roast beef better? I won’t tell,” Aquilan teased.
“I couldn’t be disloyal to the Dawn, but… oh, you have something… here, let me get it.” Declan reached over and cupped Aquilan’s face with one hand. His thumb gently moved over his chin and up to the side of his mouth.
Aquilan was very still. He didn’t want to scare Declan away from touching him. His skin tingled where that thumb gently stroked. And it kept stroking. Not cleaning off food. But caressing him. Had there been anything there in the first place?
Declan’s red eyes were hooded. They glowed brighter. The moonlight shimmered in his hair. “When I was in the Under Dark, all I could really think about was finding you.”
Aquilan slowly blinked.
“I could sense you. Feel you. Like the rising of the Sun on the horizon,” Declan murmured. “And I had to get to you. Above all else, I had to get to you, Aquilan.”
Aquilan rose from his seat. Declan’s hand did not leave his face. He mirrored that same movement. He cupped Declan’s cheek. He brought them close together until their fronts touched. Declan’s breathing hitched. Those red eyes burned.
“We were always meant to find one another, Declan. Always.”
He leaned down. Declan reached up. A first kiss. So sweet and aching and wonderful. Their arms wound around one another. Careful yet determined. A treasured moment.
And right.
And meant.
Always.