Work Text:
“And why is this your favorite spot?” Poppy asked, gesturing to the grove of orange trees that surrounded them.
From his seat on the ground beside her, Kieren leaned against the base of one of the trees, folding his arms across his chest. “It smells nice. Also, it’s one of my best hiding spots.”
“Ah, old games of hide and seek with Casteel?” Poppy asked with an arched brow.
Kieren smirked. “Said like a declaration but actually a question…”
They shared quiet laughter. Many years had passed since peace had been made in Atlantia and his initial frustration at her seemingly endless questions had faded into an inside joke between the two of them.
Kieren exhaled and shrugged his shoulders. “You could say that. But I do enjoy my space. It’s nice to… be alone sometimes.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Oh?”
Poppy nodded. “As… the Maiden it was rare that I was unaccompanied. Either by Tawny or Rylan or royalty or Vikter.” Her expression turned wistful. “Though it was rare I wanted space from any of them. I rarely ever grew tired of Vikter’s company.”
“Vikter was your personal guard, right?” Kieren asked gently.
“Yes… but,” she said, her tone thoughtful, “he was more than that. He was like a father to me really.”
It did not escape his notice that she refused to meet his gaze or the way her throat bobbed. Poppy was an open book - at least to Kieren and Casteel. Over the years he’d come to learn how to read her very well. As time went by, his apprehension to comfort her had waned. It no longer felt as though he was consoling Casteel’s heart mate, but rather, his own friend.
“Poppy,” Kieren said, drawing her attention back to him. “Will you tell me about him?”
The Queen of Atlantia paused, then sat up straighter, crossing her trouser clad legs. She leaned back on her palms and cleared her throat.
“He wasn’t a complicated person,” Poppy said with a soft smile. “He was kind. He cared about his men, about me. He never doubted me, never under-estimated me.” A quiet laugh. “And even through my veil he could read me like an open book.”
The corner of Kieren’s lip tilted upward. “You’re not the enigma you think you are…”
Poppy laughed and Kieren realized just how much he enjoyed having that effect on her. Not just because she was his Queen or the wife of the man who was practically his brother, but because she was his friend.
She exhaled, that plaintive look reappearing on her face. “I still miss him. I like to think I was as much a daughter to him as he was a father to me.”
At her words, at the sad glimmer in her eyes, Kieren felt an urge to comfort her.
“I’m certain you were.”
She smiled wryly. “Thanks.” Poppy looked up at the leaves of the trees, the sunlight filtering through them, making them glow bright green upon the oranges. “You’re a good personal guard too. Vikter would have liked you.”
Kieren felt his heart wrench at the sincerity in her words. Without thinking he reached over, placing a hand over her fingers that were laid flat on the earth. She looked at him, the edges of her lip curving up.
“Thank you,” Kieren said, his throat rough.
Poppy nodded.
Growing slightly uncomfortable in his vulnerability, Kieren squared his shoulders, his hand still over her’s. “Did you also pelt Vikter with an endless amount of questions.”
She snorted. “You’d be surprised.”
“Doubtful…”
Another bout of laughter was shared, then Poppy turned her palm up to squeeze his fingers. He looked down at their hands, then back to her face.
“I mean it though. You’re the best replacement.”
Kieren lifted a brow. “Better than Hawke Flynn ?”
“Between us, yes,” she grinned, eyes dancing with amusement. “Hawke was much too distracted in my opinion. And a huge liar.”
Kieren chuckled. “I’ll keep that between us.”
Eventually Kieren selected them each an orange. They picked off the peels in silence, eyes drifting down the grove to where the sun was slowly setting.
“Without Vikter,” Poppy finally said, “I wouldn’t be who I am today, you know. I was very fortunate.”
And Kieren wasn’t sure where the words came from, but the moment he swallowed the slice of orange he’d been chewing, they spilled from his lips, “If you and Casteel ever have children, I hope to be as good to them as Vikter was to you.”
Poppy’s eyes snapped in his direction. For a moment he felt as though he should apologize, then a tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away with the heel of her hand.
Kieren busied himself with one of the rinds he’d dropped to the ground. “Gods forbid they need a surrogate parent, I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” Poppy said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I’d rather they didn't have need of a Vikter either. But they’ll have something better. They’ll have a Kieren.”
Kieren’s chest felt full to bursting and when he once again met Poppy’s eyes, she was beaming at him. He tossed one of the orange skins at her. She batted it away.
“My Queen, you honor me with your sappy sentiments,” he said dryly.
She tossed a handful of her orange rinds at him. “You’re welcome.”
Companionable silence consumed them once again as they finished the remainder of their oranges.
Kieren released an exasperated sigh. “Gods help me if there is ever a miniature Casteel… or worse yet, a miniature Poppy.”
“Yes, well, a bickering miniature Kieren isn’t too appealing either,” she countered. “Someone asks what his name is and he goes: this again? How many times do I have to answer this question?”
Kieren laughed, a full bodied sound, and Poppy looked surprised at the reaction. Those laughs were far and few between for Kieren. He was much more inclined to snickering and chuckling.
The rest of the evening passed in much the same fashion. Reminiscing, teasing, silence. It was hard to believe that so many years ago Kieren had been anything but Poppy’s confidante. It was even harder to believe that he would come to care for her more than he did now.
His Queen, the woman who made his friend’s eyes light up, but most of all his friend.