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“I’ll be back.” Regis called out as he promptly hopped off the Haven, walking in the direction of the bushes and boulders. They’d been on the road for hours at this point, finally stopping to set up camp for the night. They were all tired, sore, hungry and could likely use a few minutes away from each other. Unfortunately for Regis, they weren’t normally allowed.
“Oi! Git yer ass back here.” Cid sighed and shook his head as Regis blatantly ignored him, continuing down the path away from the Haven. “Damn kid. Still thinking he can just wander off without a care in the world.”
While it wasn’t necessarily true, the closer to Insomnia they got as their trip came to a close, the worse Regis became. Instead of letting his retinue protect him, Regis would jump between them and the enemy. Warping dangerous lengths to areas out of their reach, for no other reason other than he could do it. Regis had been sat down by Cid many times telling him to stop, which resulted in folded arms, eye rolls, and a ‘yeah, I know.’ which left Cid fuming, and Cor laughing in the background.
Clarus had been watching Regis closely, and knew there was something else there, something deep and buried that the man wasn’t talking about. “I’ll go talk to him while you get camp set up and dinner going. We’ll be back in a bit.”
He was met with a grunt from Cid, and soft hums from Weskham and Cor. No one got between the Shield and his Prince. Hopping down, Clarus followed down the same path Regis had gone. This spot wasn’t unknown to them as it was an easy, centralized location they stopped at frequently while making their rounds between Leide, Duscae, and Cleigne. There was a large rock hidden from view of the path next to the river that the two men had taken to escaping to when time allowed, sharing private moments together. If he knew Regis, the man would likely be sitting there.
With careful steps through the brush and across some water, Clarus rounded the corner to see Regis sitting at the edge of the rock. One leg hanging over the edge, with the other pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around it and his chin resting on his knee. Clarus stopped in his tracks and took the sight in. Regis’s expression was hard to read from this angle, though he knew the man had a lot on his mind.
It made his heart ache.
Clarus couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he had fallen in love with Regis. They had begun to grow closer, as the Prince and Shield should, before one day he realized that he loved Regis. Loved with a love that burned slow and deep, a love that would make him move mountains, cut through oceans, just to ensure that his Prince, his king would be safe.
“I know you’re there, Clarus… You’re heavy footed, I could have heard you from a mile away.” Regis glanced over to Clarus, who blinked a few times being brought back from his thoughts, and shrugged with a sheepish grin on his face.
“Perhaps I wanted you to hear me, though you should have known I was going to follow. Not just because I’m your Shield, but better me than Cid.” Clarus closed the distance between him and the rock, climbing on top of it to sit beside Regis. The Prince only shrugged and went back to looking across the water, his gaze unfixed on anything in particular.
With comfortable silence settled between them, the only sounds really to be heard were the soft croaking of frogs, and the distant yips and barks of a pack of voretooth roaming nearby. Clarus wasn’t worried about them getting close, with the sun setting they were likely heading back to their den to escape the wrath of the daemons which were coming out soon.
“Regis, we can’t stay out too long. Cid will come looking for us when it starts to get darker.” Clarus glanced at the raven haired man before looking to the sky. He estimated they had thirty minutes before they should start walking back to camp lest someone came to fetch them.
The only response he was given was a soft hum, and Regis tilting his head to the side. His eyes had become unfocused, as if deeply lost in thought, and as Clarus pulled his gaze back to the man from the sky, he decided against trying to talk to him any further. Whether Regis wanted to talk about what was bothering him or not was up for him to decide.
Clarus would simply sit with him.
As the minutes ticked on, the sky shifted from pale to darker blues in the distance and a chill had crept up in the air, making Clarus shiver, chocobobumps breaking out across his skin. As he made up his mind to tell Regis they should head back, the man began to speak.
“I’m struggling Clarus... With the marriage to Aelua. The war raging on. My father’s failing health.” Regis paused for a moment and sighed deeply. “The magic and the upkeep to keep the wall standing, it’s killing him. It will kill me too if we don’t stop this.” His voice dropped to almost a whisper. “I know it’s my duty to protect my people, to ensure their safety, but I don’t want to die like that.”
This wasn’t the first time the two had spoken about their worries for the future, especially regarding the king, the crystal and the magic. This was, however, the first time that Clarus had heard such sorrow coming from his Prince. He watched the subtle changes in his posture as he spoke, and Regis seemed to close in on himself.
Clarus turned towards Regis, placing a hand on his shoulder gently, slowly rubbing circles with his thumb along the collar of his jacket. The weight of the world weighed heavily upon Regis’s shoulders, and it was beginning to show. The bags under his eyes, the creases and worry lines that could be seen on his forehead. What Clarus wouldn’t give to be able to carry a fraction of what Regis did.
“I cannot promise I can take the pain away, or prevent anything from happening. That any of this will be easy. What I can promise and guarantee is that I will be at your side from now until our last breaths are taken. That no matter what paths we are forced to take, you’ll always be able to lean on me when you are weary. That I will carry you when you cannot walk. I will be with you to the very end.”
Clarus’s words seem to spur something in the Prince as he unfolded his arms and turned towards his Shield. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lip as he reached to grab Clarus’s hand, pulling it towards his face to press against his cool cheek. “You’ve always been my rock, Clarus, even when we were younger. Always knew exactly what to say, when to say it. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you at my side through all of this.”
A soft chuckle came from Clarus as he leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together, taking in a deep breath. Regis smelled like soft linen with hints of petrichor, even under all the grime from their travels. It was a scent that Clarus would never get tired of.
“You’d still be the Prince, possibly on a road trip with other people protecting you. Still taking risks you shouldn’t be doing.” He nudged their noses together before pulling away enough to have just Regis’s face in his field of vision, stroking his cheek. “You would still be the headstrong man that you are, with the fierce need to protect his people and do the right thing. But you do have me, and I will keep reminding you that you are never alone in this journey, no matter how hard it gets.”
Regis leaned into Clarus’s hand a little more and closed his eyes, letting out a soft sigh, as if trying to soak in this moment, to remember it always. “Thank you for bringing me back to reality when I get lost in my thoughts.”
“What kind of Shield would I be if I let my Prince wander off alone, whether physically or mentally?” Clarus smirked. “I will always tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear, even if it hurts.”
As Clarus leaned forward to softly kiss Regis, one of many stolen kisses throughout their lives, they heard distant footsteps. They both pulled away and sighed, knowing their private moment was over. Clarus stood up first, offering his hand to Regis who accepted gratefully, wrapping his arms around his Shield’s neck before they left.
“I love you Clarus.” Soft, whispered words against his skin.
“As I love you, Regis.”