Work Text:
Damianos and Laurent had ugly things in their shared past, as Nikandros had learnt. More than he imagined at first, still not surpassing his suspicions upon hearing of his friend's former status as a bed slave.
There were simple ones, like the flogging. It was violent yet it had no deeper meaning, it was a straight-forward doing.
There were those which hurt the heart, like the death of Kastor. It had to happen, in a way it was salvation for Damianos. Still, he lost his brother. Or the body that had carried Kastor even if his heart wasn't the same, leaving no room for understanding how Kastor's mind took the turns it did.
And some were so dark that sometimes they managed to crawl back to their hearts and tear them to pieces again, destroying happiness in the dead of the night. He saw how it took time for the clear sunshine to heal those wounds again and again. It was the death of Prince August that had always brought uneasiness to their hearts. Sometimes they would just converse about the past and have it lightheartedly and sometimes it was heavy with resentment for the people who did not suffer enough before they were declared traitor.
There were things that they did not discuss, everyone uncomfortable with the situation, so Nikandros had little understanding of what happened in some vaguely mention garden between Damianos, Laurent, the Veretian lord, Berenger and his redheaded lover.
Some turned into lessons for both of them, the fights they had by words and by swords, true men against each other, the way they never intended to stand again.
The happening Nikandros had the fortune to be part of were one of their most favoured topic of humour. When they wanted some privacy in the town they still used the same utterly dumb tactic. They became Charls and Lamen and laughed their night away. Those were the things that after a time made Nikandros age way too quickly.
The hardest one to survive was an unexpected one. When he first heard Laurent calling Damianos lover, he thought he understood why his friend tensed for a moment. However he did not understand why Damen was so cautious when he greeted the Veretian with a sweetheart. He remembered the way the air was filled with unspoken words. The blond man didn't anticipate the pet name and looked taken aback. In the end Laurent smiled shyly. At that time Nikandros was reluctant to admit he hardly ever saw his friend as joyous as he did, when Damen reciprocated the gesture.
Nikandros had the pleasure to learn the story behind their pet names upon a few weeks, when things started to get out of hand and he insisted he needed to know. Laurent was only calling Damen by his name when they were playing, or the blond was faking annoyance or making a scandalised face and Nikandros mostly heard "Laurent" from his friend's mouth when he caught them in their early morning love making. Which also started to be something reoccurring.
Any other situations they were placed in, they had the audacity to act as if it wouldn't attract attention. At balls, at the court room, at formal dinner tables the words lover and sweetheart now counted as usual. They used it for their own amusement, to make someone blush or feel uncomfortable and lately, without question, just to mess with Nikandros. He made the mistake of voicing his opinion about these outbursts of affection and they would've been damned not use it against him. Nikandros felt like this wasn't what they all have fought so hard for.
Nikandros felt like there should've been limits. He understood that the King of Vere lacked a childhood when he could've acted playful or silly. He was aware that Damianos was determined to court his love with all the grace and courtesy that he deserve. However, it was infuriating at times. Nikandros was annoyed to a surprisingly great extent with this, more romantic side of his friend.
Of course it was the only risk they took, their mind was set on fixing all the problems of their lands, but they never failed to address each other incorrectly and in a childish manner. It made them look like foolish teenage boys, not kings or soon to be kings.
With each day passing it became more evident that he had no chance of winning this small battle. It peaked at one night sitting in front of a table filled with unfinished treaties and sketches of pacts, when he lost his temper. "Will you refer to each other as lover and sweetheart at the wedding too?"
The wedding wasn't planned yet, only in Damen's loving gaze. No one mentioned it, they were occupied with sorting out the most urgent problems in between the semi-friendly kingdoms. That's what was going on, preparation for trade negotiations with an informal inner circle of advisers, friends. That's why Nikandros let himself act so brash. And because they drank wine during the negotiation and it was their sixth hour, with only one break included.
Laurent slowly turned to Damianos, face, uncharacteristically, of a young man with uncertainty. "Of course we are" Damianos said softly. Laurent extended one hand towards Damen, who laced their fingers together.
Nikandros immediately felt uncomfortable. Later, he would curse himself for putting the extreme festive that came with the royal wedding into motion, but at that moment he only felt like an intruder in his friend's and Laurent's space. They had no right to be there, intimacy in the air, things that shouldn't have been disturbed.
At least it seemed the talk was over, everyone took a deep breath, let their numb limbs move and politely left the kings to themselves.