Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The field where the Hollow once rested was still, the remaining wildlife curiously observing the new environment. The vivid green grass rustled in the light breeze. At the foot of a knoll, in a bed of small flowers, lay two boys, two Princes. 

A butterfly flew close, landing on a pale finger, the prince watched as it flapped once, twice, before taking off once again. “So, this is it,” Rupert mused, breaking the silence “We’re getting married”.

“Yeah” Amir agreed easily, he was lying on his side, facing his fiance, looking more relaxed than Rupert had ever seen him. The loss of the threat of the forest, the confirmation of his mother’s safety, and the newfound love with the boy beside him seemed to have calmed his mind significantly. “Are you excited?” he asked.

“I am” Rupert confirmed, turning so he too faced the other boy “I love you, I’d love to get married”. He gently took the hand between them into his own, intertwining their fingers. They sat in comfortable silence for another moment, listening only to the twittering and twitching of nature obscured by each other’s light breathing.

“We’re not getting married immediately though, right?” Rupert broke the silence again “Because, I do love you, don’t get me wrong- but we can't just rush into these things. We still need to make our new castle before the ceremony can happen; also I need to learn how to be king, I know you know how to rule but all I know is to throw parties which is- a little helpful sure- but I need a lot more before I can be a good ruler. Also again! I love you! But we’ve only known each other for a few days and I know that's more than most suitors but still I want to know you better y’know? So we should probably wait some time before getting married. I mean, only if that's okay with you! If you want to get married immediately that's okay too, I'm not going to protest that I'm just worried-”.

“Rupert” Amir interrupted, astonished that the Western prince had said all of that while barely stopping to breathe “We have time to figure all of that out later, for now just shut up and kiss me”.

Rupert blinked once, shocked, before his lips curled into a smile, leaning close to meet his fiance in the middle. 

Their lips had barely met for the briefest of contact when the shout of Queen Lavinia echoed through the field “Rupert? Honey, where did you go? If you’re trying to do anything frisky please wait until we get back to the castle!”.

Amir started laughing, loud and carefree, Rupert joined in despite his red face. “I guess we have to go” Amir mused, getting up and brushing dust off his clothes before offering a hand to his fiance “Come on”.

Rupert smiled brightly, taking the offered hand and intertwining their fingers once more “Lead the way husband-to-be,” he said flirtatiously, leaning his head on Amir’s shoulder. 

And as the sun shone on the grassy field, the two Princes took their first steps towards new beginnings.   

Chapter Text

Amir stood with shaky legs in the hall of their castle, his arms wrapped tightly around Rupert. His head still hurt from his memories returning to him with the grace of his mother’s warship crashing into a wall. Malkia and her sister had swiftly departed, leaving no proof of their presence except the wounds littering their bodies.  

In his grip, Rupert had started shaking with silent sobs, likely a result of the adrenaline catching up to him and the overwhelming memories of the past… week? Month? Amir couldn't remember how long it had been.

Couldn’t remember … he's starting to hate that phrase. 

For days he watched helplessly as his Rupert, his beloved fiance, put himself forward again and again, working so hard to save their kingdom. And what did Amir do in the meantime? Nothing! Instead of being there for the love of his life, he was off flirting with sirens and singing in bars! Sure, he fought someone or something now and then but what was a few swings of his sword compared to everything Rupert had done? 

He had even tried to… he had tried to sacrifice his precious Rupert to that hydra to save his own life. It was disgusting to even consider, Amir felt nauseous at the thought. How could he do such a thing? Were his memories the only thing keeping him a proper human being? Did he truly lose all morals, all hope and love and spirit just because he couldn't remember?

“I can hear you thinking” teased a familiar beautiful voice. Amir looked up to meet the eyes of his fiance (he didn't have to look down to do that anymore, he noted, they were the same height now). Rupert had a familiar fondness twinkling in his eyes, one Amir didn't deserve to have directed at him after what he had done, the tears had long since dried from his face. Rupert laid a pale hand delicately on his cheek, a touch Amir greedily leaned into, even if hadn’t earned back the right to that comfort. 

“What’s going through that head of yours?” Rupert muttered, stroking his cheek. He looked so worried, it pained Amir’s heart that even after everything he had been through, Rupert’s heart still bled for all those around him. It was one of the many things he loved about him. 

He would be concerned, Amir knew, he would try to convince him that Amir was deserving of his love, that of course they were going to get married, that this didn’t change anything.

And, logically, Amir knows this. They both still love each other, and they still will for as long as they live. But he needs time, time to process, time to sort through everything, time to adjust to the memories, new and old crowding his brain.  

This is what Rupert means by micro-managing , the thought is enough for a small smile to break through which he directs to the beautiful boy before him. “It’s nothing, I’ll be okay” he promises, laying his hand atop the one on his cheek “For now, there’s a kingdom we need to check on”.

Chapter Text

The 24-hours of joy spell had long since faded when the two husbands woke up on the morning after their wedding. Rupert, by some miracle, had woken up first for a change, smiling softly down at his husband (his husband!!!) curled up beneath his arms. 

He turned over slightly to face the window, wincing slightly at the movement - he was still a little sore from the previous night. Outside, clouds darkened the morning sky, meaning Rupert had no idea what time it was. The entire kingdom seemed slightly subdued, the loss of the joy spell allowing the people to properly process the last few days and the events that had transpired. Rupert’s arms automatically tightened around his husband at the thought.

Amir grumbled in response, pressing into his husband in some sort of unconscious comfort. Rupert laughed softly, pressing a gentle kiss into Amir’s hair. They had been through so much, and there was still more to come. The Kingdom would need their guidance in recovering from the most recent tragedy, they had so many meetings with advisors put off due to wedding preparations that they would need to catch up on, not to mention he absolutely needed to ask Cecily about her date with Joan. 

Rupert’s musings were interrupted by a quiet knock followed by the creak of the door, looking up, he was met with the shy gaze of his newly adopted son peeking into the room, his mop of brown hair hanging over his eyes. Rupert raised his hand in a wave, which Wenceslaus seemed to accept as a valid invitation because he didn’t hesitate to walk in and climb right into the bed, wiggling in between Rupert and Amir so that Rupert’s arms were wrapped around both his son and his husband. “Hi” Wenceslaus whispered loudly, looking right at Rupert, being absolutely adorable with the gap in his teeth and the twinkle in his eyes only children seemed to possess. 

“Hi” Rupert whispered back, adjusting himself to be able to comfortably talk to his son “What’s up buddy?”.

Wenceslaus didn’t respond immediately, electing to instead bury his face into his chest, curling up around his new father. “Had a nightmare” he confessed eventually in a whisper. 

Rupert made a sympathetic noise, carding his free hand through his son’s hair in what he hoped was a soothing manner. “I’m sorry to hear that bud” he muttered “Wanna talk about it?”. Wenceslaus shook his head, face still obscured by Rupert’s silky pyjama shirt. 

Rupert wasn't sure what to do, the last time he had consoled this child it had been in the dead of night amidst cheap decorations and fake mythical creatures, and he was as clueless about it then as he was now. Rather than try to talk to him like he had last time, Rupert pulled a page out of his mother’s book and did what always calmed him down from nightmares as a child- he started to sing.

Well, hum, actually. He couldn’t really recall the song from his childhood, just the comfort of the familiar tune. Wenceslaus seemed to find it comforting too, judging by the loss of tension in his shoulders and the soft breath he released. 

At some point, around halfway through the song, Amir had started to stir, immediately catching sight of his husband and their son, a smile forming at the sight. Silently, he reached out to place his hand on Rupert’s arm, the one holding their son. Rupert looked up at the action, smiling softly at his husband but still continuing his humming. 

He continued even after Wenceslaus had drifted off to sleep and Amir had started lazily tracing patterns along his arm, content to just lie together with their little family.  

There would be many more adventures to come, but they would face them. Together.