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The sound of rustling wakes Erin up and he cracks his eyes open. They accustom to the darkness of the room, the blur of his vision slowly sharpens and he turns his head to the other side instinctively.
Orion's silhouette is easily discernible, the subtle squirming of his body underneath the covers the reason of the low noise.
Good, still there, Erin thinks relieved and closes his eyes again to snooze a little while longer.
The next time he is pulled from his dreamless slumber is due to his name being called softly and a warm hand that pats his head. He shifts to lie on his stomach and slightly scrunches his face at the disturbance.
"It's time to get out of bed."
"It's time for you to get back in..", he whispers hoarsely and he hears Orion chuckle.
"We have a schedule.", the king of Lama answers, the tone exceptionally lenient.
"Screw that.", Erin utters and nestles his cheek into the touch of Orion's hand that caresses his face.
As he is suddenly deprived of the loving warmth, he finally opens his eyes to find Orion sitting on the border of the bed. The room is semi-dark and the sun is trying its' best to heat up the new day. Its' dim light that floods in illuminates Orion's pale skin and his silver hair shines like the moon.
"Good morning.", the ghost of a smile graces his lips and Erin feels the urge to reach out and touch him.
Orion's smiles are such a rare occurrence and one of the many things why Erin is hooked on him. He resists and repeats Orion's words with the same gentle expression instead.
"It's unusual for you to sleep in, Erin.”
“Well, we did stay up late last night.”, Erin replies and smiles even wider.
“And whose fault might that be?”
It sounds a little reproachful but Erin shrugs.
“Mine?”, he giggles before it dies down and he looks at the other intensely, “Were you able to rest properly at least, King?”
Orion averts his eyes and eventually turns away from Erin. “Sufficiently.”
That means no.
Erin has been worried about him for a while now. A few turmoils arising throughout Lama weigh heavily on Orion's mind, as if the responsibility being a king isn't enough stress for him already. Erin knows better than anyone how much Orion loves Lama and his people and it pains him to see Orion anxious. Anxious and worried to such an extent that he broods over it when he is supposed to sleep.
Sometimes he leaves the bed at night to walk around the palace aimlessly and Erin hates it.
Not the fact that he wakes up when Orion does it – that trait Erin is proud of - but his side of the bed turning cold while the nasty intangible mass of concern claims the place of Orion's body next to Erin.
He studies Orion's profile. “Postpone it.”
“Huh?”
“The appointment, whatever it is.”, Erin says and sits up to rest his head against Orion's broad and bare back, “Postpone it.”
“Don't be ridiculous, I can't do that.”, Orion sighs resigned.
“You are the king, you can do whatever you want.”, Erin insists and props his chin on the others' shoulder while snaking his arms around Orion's waist.
“That's exactly why I can't act unreasonably.”
Erin's eyes narrow and his lips purse into a pout.
“It won't do anyone any good if you collapse.”, he laments and lets go of the other, “Right?”
Orion's mouth twitches and he grumbles softly. He knows that Erin is absolutely right and he flicks his eyes at the others' red ones as Erin cups his cheeks.
“I'm worried.”, Erin whispers emphatically, “Come on, reschedule it just this once. If you won't do it for your own sake, then.. do it for me?”
Orion gives Erin a long-lasting silent look before he escapes his hands to stand up and walk to the door. Erin watches him open it just enough to stick his head out and he already celebrates his victory internally.
The king of Lama gets into a whispering argument with a servant outside, probably a maid and finally closes the door. He huffs and runs his fingers through his hair in resignation.
“Well done, King.”, Erin utters softly and outstretches his arms in Orion's direction, “Now come here.”
Orion doesn't move an inch and glances at his attendant skeptically.
“I'm not in the mood for that, Erin.”
“Even you think that all I care about is pranks, murder and sex? That hurts.”, Erin pouts and his arms droop.
Orion sighs deeply and walks over to stand in front of the other.
“It's not that farfetched, is it?”
“I'm not denying it but..”, Erin chuckles and reaches for Orion's hand to rub his face against the back of it like a cat, “I'd like for you to have a better opinion of me, my king.”
Orion doesn't give a response to that straight away. He patterns Erin's appearance, his thin but muscular torso as well as his arms suddenly seem fragile to Orion, even though he knows Erin is everything but. The blanket barely covers his nude body the way he sits in bed close to the border, only his private parts and half of his leg hidden by the fabric.
Orion's eyes eventually get stuck on the strands of fire that are usually tied together with a hairband but are untamed in that moment, like always in the mornings, and adorn Erin gracefully.
He adores Erin's flaming red hair - Erin once joked that it is dyed by the blood of his enemies but it rather reminds Orion of autumn leaves and roses in full bloom and it's the same with Erin's eyes. Orion always compares them to rubies, twinkling with mischief most of the time but he has also seen them being cold and hard like the eponymous gem.
A sudden surge of trust and fondness assails him and he takes a knee, resting his forehead on the bare skin of the spot above Erin's knee while holding onto his thigh.
Erin does not comment it but puts his hand on Orion's head to pet him repeatedly as a matter of course.
“King, why don't you tell me what's depriving you of your much needed sleep?”, Erin asks, the tone of his voice soothing.
“Putting it into spoken words would be a disgrace, it's excruciating enough to just think about it.”
“Does that mean you're having impure thoughts? So, this is about the beautiful king of that water star we recently met?”, Erin tries to lighten the mood.
Orion lifts his head to glare at Erin, he is amusingly flustered.
“This has nothing to do with Sardinia.”, he mutters and a slight blush spreads on his cheeks, “Also, you're in no position to judge me on that matter, are you?”
Erin tilts his head in confusion. “Eeh~ I don't know what you're talking about?”
“Aren't you quite attached to that Bestian pup that clings to Fang?”, Orion says and raises his brows.
“Ah, Coda.”
Erin's hand ceases its' movement of rubbing a strand of Orion's curly hair between his fingers as he utters the boy's name. For a few moments the room is filled with silence before Erin's mind snaps out of the spontaneous reverie.
"Is that concern or jealousy I hear?"
“Neither. If anything, I'm happy for you, Erin.”, Orion smiles at his attendant.
Erin quickly takes his eyes somewhere else and pulls a face. “We're digressing, let's get back to topic.”
Orion chuckles and eventually lets himself be guided back onto the bed where Erin lies down and Orion finds comfort in his embrace and the warmth of his skin.
“Sometimes I wonder.“, he begins to explain reluctantly after a while and his voice is nothing but a whisper.
“Hm?”, Erin encourages him and continuously brushes his thumb along Orion's jawbone.
“.. I wonder if.. if I am really suited to reign Lama.”
Ah, so that's what it is. Erin closes his eyes and tightens his arms around Orion.
“You're doing good, my king.”, he simply says, “So good. But sometimes you need to take a break and regain your strength. If you're worn out, everything seems to be much harder than it really is.”
Erin shifts his head to place a kiss on Orion's forehead.
“I know you are the right person to be king. It just has to be you.”, Erin speaks with his lips still against Orion's skin, “And if you lose faith in your abilities then I'll have twice as much in your stead.”
Orion presses his face into the crook of Erin's neck and inhales deeply. Erin might tease him constantly, might act inappropriate and ignores his orders way too often but after all, he really is Orion's anchor, his gravity. The force that keeps him grounded, providing him an endless and selfless amount of support when he needs it.
The image of a younger Erin flashes through his mind. The one that has attempted to assassinate him, the Erin from back then that has told him that Orion is worthless.
Orion tries to remember what it was that he has said to that wild young boy to dissuade him from slashing his throat but all he is able to recall is his expression. Confused at first but then a glint of hope sparks up his fiery red eyes and since then, Erin is by his side.
Even if everything else fails him, he can always count on Erin to be there, right next to him.
The realization that he was once determined enough to convince someone hostile like Erin to entrust him with the deed to bring peace and smiles to Lama and its' people, the achievement to have changed his opinion about him from 'worthless' to 'worth to support and protect' lifts the dark clouds of his mind and makes way for exhaustion.
“Erin,”, he mumbles and briefly squeezes him, “thank you.”
“Mhm. You better remember this gratitude the next time you're about to get angry with me, my king~”, Erin snickers and Orion pinches him for his cheekiness.
Erin laughs and resumes to pet Orion's head, snuggling up to him even closer than before. His content hums sound like purrs and he bathes in their intimate togetherness. Erin suddenly experiences the same flashback to the past like Orion and the corners of his mouth curl into a grin.
Who would have thought that the successor of the throne, nothing more than a simple target to kill, would grow so important and dear to Erin? Not him, that's for sure.
Erin detaches himself from Orion and props his weight onto one hand while he rests the other on the king's chest. As he hovers above Orion, his long hair slips over his shoulders and surrounds Orion like a curtain of red waterfalls.
“You know, as long as I live I won't allow anyone to belittle or hurt you,”, Erin whispers in a serious manner and slowly decreases the distance between their faces, “and you're no exception from that, King.”
For a short moment, Orion looks like he is about to cry. His features soften right away and he reaches out to brush the tips of his fingers along Erin's cheek, eventually letting his palm rest on his nape to pull him close enough to make their foreheads touch.
“I apologize for burdening you with my weak sides, Erin.”, he whispers and it stings Erin's heart, “Thank you for being with me.”
Now it's Erin's turn to almost burst into tears and he gives in to his desperate urge to press his lips against Orion's. A peck follows and a second one, until Erin sniffs.
“You better rest now.”, he says and realizes at the same time that his voice is embarrassingly shaky, “Go to sleep, I'll watch over you.”
Orion entwines around Erin who instantly follows suit and nestles into the other, their positions the reversed version of how they held each other previously. The king of Lama takes a deep breath and closes his eyes while Erin rearranges the blanket to cover them both.
Erin's body heat warms him up even faster than the cover does and Orion chuckles briefly to himself, thinking that there definitely has to be a fire burning inside Erin, dying his hair and eyes and causing his whole being to be a source of consolation.
Erin's steady breathing and the sensation of being caressed again finally lulls Orion to sleep and the last thought he has before drifting off is that it's him that actually is supposed to bow his head to Erin in adoration and not the other way around.