Chapter Text
Mephisto knew, he probably looked pathetic. He was a grown man, a prince now, and a powerful sorcerer in his own right. He was going to be the father of the most powerful child in Xeris one day, and was slowly gaining the respect and recognition of royal families across Ephedia. His sister-in-law was a queen, his other sister a formidable militant, and his wife was a frighteningly dominant force in Ephedia in her own right. Still, it didn’t stop him from throwing a tantrum when he was upset, especially when it came down to a matter of pride.
Mephisto snorted and fumbled with his watch. His wife was part of the problem. Well, it wasn’t her fault. Talia was known to keep her emotions under wraps around others, even her closest friends. It shouldn’t even bother him.
No, it's not that she was reserved that bothered him. It was their friends’ idea of her. Was it really so hard to believe that she could act differently around him? Sure, they were always different, practically at two different ends of the spectrum, but they balanced each other out and understood each other enough to make it work. He knew Talia was more afraid of others than they were of her. She was much more concerned with what others thought of her than she’d let on. Mephisto, on the other hand, hardly cared. He knew he was good looking, smart, and powerful. What was not to love? If he didn’t love himself to an extreme, no one would, right? He refused to let anyone look down on him, even when he was in the wrong.
Still…it bothered him when it came to Talia. Was it really that hard to believe she could be a romantic, insatiable woman? Let alone enjoy his attention? Want it?
He crossed his arms, staring back at his reflection in the mirror of her room, taking in how he looked in his new suit. It was weird not being in his usual armor. It’d been years since they’d lived in Ellira’s home in Sunny Bay, but Iris had kept their rooms relatively the same. He’d given his room up to Izira, who had agreed to make a short visit to Sunny Bay for the weekend. It was rare that everyone could get together now living so far apart, but Auriana and Matt wanted to have a baby shower with their human friends, and per usual, she was making it a huge deal. She would be the first of their group to have a child, and Talia was adamant that it was their duty to attend every event Auriana scheduled, no matter how insane it seemed. He had to admit, even though the kid wasn’t his, he was just as excited. Their lives were really becoming something new, and if Auriana was having children, did that mean that maybe, possibly, it was time to consider an heir to the Xerin throne as well?
The thought was enough to make him smile, despite the pure aggravation he felt moments ago.
“You seem to be in a better mood.”
His eyes widened as Talia’s arms snaked around his waist, the warmth of her body against his back making him swell with pride.
“Well, how can I not be when I look so magnificent?” Mephisto smirked, running his hands through his hair.
“Well, I can’t argue with that.” Talia chuckled, pulling away from him and taking him in. He was troublesome. It was an act against the Melzors to look so sinful in a suit, “Remind me to thank Auriana for making this dinner black tie.”
“If you keep eyeing me like that, Princess, I’ll thank her myself. Hell, I’ll pay for the whole dinner.” Mephisto grinned, turning to face her.
Talia scoffed with amusement, “With what money?”
“I happen to be royalty, remember?”
“Oh? Do you think they take Ephedian money?”
“They will if they like not being encased in black crystal.”
“Mephisto!” Talia gave him a wry smile as she went to pull her new gown out of the closet.
“What? Old habits die hard. A nice suit, the Earth’s sweet scent of fall, and the Sunny Bay skies? Something about it makes me want to get into trouble.” He purred, teleporting to her side, “Shall I help you with that?"
“Hm, then we’ll never get to dinner.” Talia teased, pulling the dress to her chest, just out of reach.
“But I’m hungry now.”
“That’s too bad. I already asked Izira to help me. You wouldn’t want to be caught red handed by our beloved queen, now would you?” Talia sauntered past him, relishing in the dramatic groan he let out.
Frowning, he swiped his phone off the desk, “If I see her in the hallway I’m going to tell her you’re bullying me.”
“She’ll never believe you.” Talia raised a mischievous eyebrow.
“Tsk…” Mephisto winced a bit, and Talia blinked with surprise. Usually he’d respond with something much more clever.
“Mephisto?”
He waved her off, heading towards the door, “Hm. I’ll be downstairs. Let’s get a move on before Nathaniel starts in on his spiel about being on time. Otherwise I really will consider zapping him.”
Talia’s frown deepened. Was it something she’d said? She didn’t think she’d said anything unusual. Her curiosity only grew when she heard him meet Izira in the hall, and all he did was offer a firm acknowledgement when Izira asked if she was still getting ready. It seemed Izira picked up on his return to a sour mood as she came in with raised eyebrows.
“Our usually peppy serpent seems to be losing his bite.” Izira chuckled, closing the door behind her.
“You look wonderful, Izira.” Talia smiled, shaking her head. Izira had taken a liking to suits when she came to Earth, and had chosen a simple yet elegant white suit with a soft chiffon train attached by a diamond encrusted belt. Praxina had encouraged her to get it, and Talia couldn’t help but agree that it was the perfect choice for her sister.
“Yeah, I’m not so sure what that was about.” Talia sighed, handing her dress to Izira so she could remove her robe. “He’s been in a mood since he came home yesterday from his little boys’ night out with the guys.”
“Oh? Perhaps he’s having baby fever?” Izira grinned, unzipping the back of the dress.
“Izira!”
“I’m kidding. Well, only a little. I’m not pushing on it. Maybe something happened last night. I know you’ve both agreed to wait a bit until Xeris is on more solid ground. Reconstruction is going well, so I hope you two can start to relax a bit more.” Izira smiled softly as Talia held onto her shoulder to balance.
Izira was happy she found a way to tag along to Earth. It was small moments like these where she was able to be just Talia’s older sister instead of the queen to one of the most influential realms on the planet. It was new, and exciting, and she got to do fun things like shopping trips with her girls and trying new food spots with her brother-in-law and friends. She’d even gotten to see the human world zoo. Earth was quite enchanting, and she understood Princess Iris and Prince Nathaniel’s affection for Sunny Bay. On Ephedia, they were constantly in the spotlight and leading society. In Sunny Bay, they were simply two young women getting ready for a dinner party. No guards, no ward, no council, no need for perfection. Still, she hated to see Mephisto with such a sour look on his face. He was usually so curious and happy, just enjoying himself without shame.
“I’m sure he’ll talk to me about it eventually.” Talia concurred, pulling on the sleeves of her gown, “Maybe I should ask Zach or Nathaniel about it.”
“That would be wise. If he’s pouting, it's likely he might be too embarrassed to tell you himself if he didn’t come home raving about it.” Izira laughed, zipping up her dress, “Oh, I love this! He’s going to love it!”
Talia laughed as Izira hugged her shoulders, “Well, you did choose this one.”
“Yes, I’m hoping it will lead to a very eventful night so that I can retire early in life.” Izira grinned, laughing at the way blood rushed up Talia’s cheeks, “Careful, now, little sister, in this dress everyone can see you blushing!”
“Izira!” Talia gasped as Izira laughed, dodging her swats as made her way towards the door.
“I’m only looking out for you! Because I love you, of course!” Izira offered, “I’ll go downstairs and see if I can squeeze out a confession from your husband.”
Talia called after her, but her sister had already taken off. Earth was starting to rub off on her and she’d begun to meddle already. Izira didn’t look like the type, but she would silently push buttons as much as she could if she thought it would result in something amusing. She’d been like that even when they were kids, she just was better at Talia about not getting caught. Talia sighed, shaking her head with an amused smile. At least she was enjoying herself. As Talia moved to put on her earrings, the phone on her desk began to ring.
Talia grabbed it, answering the call, “Hello?”
“Ah, Talia? It’s Zach. Is Mephisto still getting ready?”
“No, he’s downstairs waiting.” Talia frowned, confused, and pulled the phone from her ear, flipping it over, “Oh!”
In his rush, Mephisto had grabbed her phone, and she only just noticed. No wonder Zach sounded confused when she answered.
“It seems he grabbed my phone in a hurry. He seemed upset.” Talia sighed, “I can let him know you called when I head downstairs, or you can call my phone if its urgent.”
“No, no…I figured that may be the case. He’s probably just annoyed from us razzing him yesterday. We didn’t think he’d actually be mad about it.”
“So something did happen?”
“Uh…well, you know. Mephisto was being Mephisto. Showboating and all that. His usual antics.” Zach chuckled, knowing how the younger twin could be.
“I see…” Talia smiled in understanding, but she couldn’t shake off the mixed feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, “I don’t mean to pry, but, earlier, I made a comment to him and his mood seemed to flip on a dime. What exactly did you all say to him?”
She heard a deep sigh over the speaker, “Well, he was just kind of saying some stuff about you that wasn’t adding up. Nothing bad, it just seemed made up.”
“Like what?” Talia scowled, raising an annoyed brow. Zach paused, recognizing her tone as one there was no way he’d get away with just hanging up on her. He had a feeling the night was about to get a little rocky between the royals.
-
Mephisto tapped his foot, arms crossed, eyes darting to his watch. She was taking too damn long. They were going to be late. It didn't help that Izira was being cryptic. He wished Praxina was there to at least share a mutual annoyance, but she was helping Zach set up with his band. She'd opted to stay with him instead, claiming the house was overrun with noisy pests but everyone knew she simply wanted to be alone with Zach for the weekend.
He side eyed Izira, who caught his glance and winked.
'What the hell???'
"Stop that!"
"Stop what?" Izira grinned knowingly.
"Smiling!"
"Smiling isn't a crime, Mephisto." Iris interrupted, carefully helping a waddling Auriana down the stairs.
"Oh! You all look amazing!" Auriana grinned, "We have to get as many photos as possible! I hope Doug is bringing his best camera!"
"Considering you threatened to hogtie him if he didn't, I'm sure he'll remember." Nathaniel gave her an amused, half-lidded smile, moving from the couch to give her the seat.
"I'm so excited! Matt said the decorations would be a surprise. I bet it's dinosaurs. It's probably dinosaurs." Auriana added, deep in thought, "I told him to do something exciting!"
"Don't worry! We all took part in making sure you'd love it. And Praxina said she'd feed him to a real one if he went overboard." Iris giggled, fixing Auriana's bangs.
"Oh! I can't wait! Let's go! No! Wait…where's Talia?! She's coming, right? Is she sick? She's sick, isn't she?!" Auriana gasped, her emerald orbs shining with threatening tears.
"I'm fine, Auriana. Zach just called and things are running smoothly."
Auriana bounced up, startling Iris, who nearly fell from the couch. Auriana's sudden bursts of energy were going to be the death of her. Luckily, Nathaniel was able to catch both girls before they toppled over.
"Talia! You look like starlight!" Auriana squealed, taking her in, "I was so wrong about the hair! It looks perfect curled!"
Talia’s exasperated expression softened at the earnest compliment. Auriana was known for her unfiltered comments, and Mephisto was more than eager to agree. Many words crossed his mind the moment he saw her; dazzling, breathtaking, angelic. Starlight was perfectly right.
He wasn't sure which curve to follow. Every rushed inch of tulle only made his eyes linger, and he wasn't sure when his eyes would find somewhere to stop. He didn't really care if he was caught staring, maybe if he'd stared long enough they'd all leave and he could have her to himself. The sweet cream cascaded down the rich, warm brown of her skin like milk and honey and he could feel the ache in his fingers as they fidgeted, eager to reach out and touch her. His eyes met her own, and he found himself frozen in place. She was far too beautiful to truly express with words.
"Oh. By the way, there's been a bit of a mix up. I believe you have something of mine." Talia hummed, making her way over to him and extending her hand. It was then that the tantalizing scent of her hit him and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. His eyes fell to his phone, and he stupidly uttered his thanks.
She cleared her throat as their friends snickered, glaring at them before stepping closer, "Can I have my phone, or do I have to fight you for it?"
"Uh, no! Um," Mephisto seemed to snap out of his stupor, fumbling around for the phone, "Where did I put.."
Talia smiled, placing a hand on his chest and leaning into him, her soft tone making his ears tingle, "Isn't it where you always put it?"
His eyes widened as her finger tapped against the hard surface in his jacket pocket, and he quickly reached into his coat to retrieve her phone, "My bad…"
"It's alright, although we'd better get our mother-to-be to her dinner. Matt isn't very bad tempered but he's probably pacing around worried." Talia smoothed out his lapels, wrapping her arm around his as his cheeks picked.
Nathaniel gave Iris a curious look before agreeing to start the car. Izira followed suit, followed by Iris and Auriana who giggled as they eyed the couple.
Mephisto blinked rapidly, confused, but followed them as Talia began to walk after them.
"Are you feeling okay? Did something happen?" Mephisto whispered, looking down at her suspiciously.
"Not at all. I just had a very interesting conversation with Zach, that's all." Talia shrugged, "I think tonight will be a lot of fun, don't you?"
Mephisto once again responded with a look of confusion. What did Zach say to her? He wasn't sure where this was going, but it was obvious from the mischievous smile on her face that he may very well be in trouble.