Work Text:
When Drautos got the texts from the king, he wasn’t sure what to make of them. They were a pair of rather simple texts, commands really, sent to him at a little after 7 that night. “I need you to pick up Cor,” the first one read. The second one was the address of where to pick up the man.
He read and re-read the texts twice, brows furrowed as he wondered why he of all people was being asked to retrieve the marshal. Before he could respond, a third text came in. He snorted when he read it. “You can borrow the Regalia to retrieve the marshal.”
“This number is only to be used for pressing emergencies,” he texted back before he could think better of it. “Nonetheless, I shall retrieve the marshal as requested, your majesty.” He chewed his bottom lip, a detestable tic he had never fully rid himself of and sent another text. “Should I drop him off at the citadel?”
The response came quickly. “That would be preferable, thank you captain.”
He set off to the garage where the Regalia was parked without another glance at his phone.
…
It wasn’t until he arrived at the rather nice restaurant the address led to (Altissian cuisine from the looks of it) that Drautos wondered why he was even being sent here. Cor, although not as bulky as he was, was rather tall and could easily dispatch of men taller and stronger than he was. It was strange that the marshal could not simply excuse himself from the situation.
He stared at the entrance of the façade and frowned. Or perhaps it wasn’t so strange of a situation that Cor would need someone else to extract him, perhaps the marshal simply didn’t want to cause a diplomatic incident.
Drautos took a deep breath to steel himself before he walked into the restaurant. He beelined for the marshal when he spotted that familiar military cut. Though his eyes did not stray from the goal, he could feel the gaze of the other patrons staring at him. (He could also just barely hear the whispers of the people around him. Naturally they were concerned about the big intimidating guy that had just walked in.)
“His Majesty needs to speak with you,” he said as soon as he came within speaking distance of Cor. The man stood up hastily without even glancing at him. Drautos only received a nod of acknowledgement as the marshal all but stormed out of restaurant, pace quick and awkward.
“Hey! You can’t just lea-“ He turned back to the man that had been sitting with Cor, only just then realizing that Cor hadn’t been here alone. The man was young with unremarkable dark chestnut hair and hazel eyes. Drautos raised an eyebrow, he hadn’t been aware Cor was even into younger men.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your date, but His Majesty does not like to be kept waiting,” he said as he gathered the jacket that Cor had left behind on the chair in his haste. “Work must come first especially for a man as important as the marshal.”
The younger man snorted. “What? The king can’t let his lapdogs have even one day off for himself?” Drautos didn’t roll his eyes, no matter how tempted he was. He simply turned around and left as the man was left calling after him. (He had no time for fools, especially ones full of bravado and arrogance.)
“You left this in the restaurant,” he said as he handed the jacket back to Cor. The marshal seemed to be trying to sink into the seat and he frowned at the sight. It was unusual and rather worrying to see the usually stoic man on the verge of what seemed to be a mental breakdown.
“Th-thanks,” Cor said as he took the jacket from him and he slipped into the driver’s seat. Drautos said nothing as he drove them to the citadel, the radio turned onto a news channel with the volume set low for white noise more than anything else.
“We’re here,” he said when they arrived at the citadel steps. He turned to look at Cor who was staring at the car dash, eyes unfocused. “Marshal?”
He reached out to shake Cor’s shoulder when the man leapt away from him and whipped his head to face him. There was sheer terror in his eyes and Drautos found himself taken aback by the sight. “Marshal?”
Cor stared at Drautos for a long moment before the terror slowly faded from his eyes and was replaced by cool recognition. “Captain,” he replied smoothly. A few tense heartbeats passed before the marshal moved to unhook his seat belt and open the door. “Thank you for bringing me back, I apologize for the trouble.”
“It was no trouble at all, his ma-“ Drautos never got to finish as the door was slammed shut and Cor stiffly made his way up the steps where the shield of the king was waiting. He watched in silence as he saw Clarus immediately wrap his arms around the marshal’s shoulders and usher him into the citadel. He took in how tense Cor seemed to be and how he wasn’t looking at anyone as he walked. His eyes narrowed and he slowly inhaled.
He looked away a moment later and shifted the car out of park. While the king was kind enough to let him borrow the Regalia to pick up Cor, he doubted the king would like it very much if the car was gone for longer than strictly necessary.