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“Your parents will attend the wedding, yes?”
“No.”
The clipped response made Yuri rock back on his heels, blinking in surprise. He waited for Otabek to elaborate, but he seemed to be content to leave it at that. Yuri probably shouldn't have expected otherwise, just like he shouldn't have expected the common courtesy of Otabek actually turning to face him, but that didn't mean it didn't still irk him.
What irked him even more was how regal Otabek looked from this angle, all golden skin and sharp features, his eyes pools of liquid bronze as he gazed out the window at the far countryside where his people had settled at the foot of the hills – the army that allegedly was not an army.
It seemed very much clear that Otabek would have preferred to be out there with them instead of being stuck in the castle with Yuri. It also seemed very much clear that he deemed the conversation – if one could even count it as such – to be over.
But Yuri wasn't going to give up that easily.
“Surely they would want to attend their son's wed-”
“They have more important things to do,” Otabek cut him short, “Actually important things.”
The hostility in his voice held a hint of bitterness that gave Yuri pause, not least because he caught a whiff of it in the alpha's scent, but also because his words made no sense.
“I did not get the impression during the negotiations with your father that he found this alliance to be of little importance.”
Of course, Yuri had only written correspondences to go by, as well as a few meetings with a sub-negotiator, but at no point had it seemed like the Khan did not take this matter very seriously. He supposed they would have come to a deal a lot easier – or not at all – had it been otherwise.
“Then go ahead, write him some more letters and see if you can convince him, if you think you have him wrapped around your little finger.”
Yuri balled his hands to fists and told himself to be patient even though he was swiftly growing tired of Otabek stubbornly insisting on turning every conversation into an uphill battle. But even though Yuri may not have been a warlord like Otabek - not even a soldier - he had no intention of losing.
“I will certainly send your parents an invitation, whether or not they choose to accept is not up to me.”
“They won't.”
“I'm sure we'll be able to find a date that suits them-”
“Find a date where King Seung-Gil stops his attack, and convince the Eastern tribes to surrender, and maybe you will get your happy family reunion,” Otabek all but snarled, “Unless those things happen, my father will be busy defending the border and my mother will be busy reclaiming our territory. A wedding has no place in their schedule, nor should it.”
“Of course. I understand,” Yuri replied, schooling his face into what he hoped was a pleasant smile that was completely wasted on Otabek because he still refused to look at him, “In any case, I do hope their efforts at each of those borders reap fruitful rewards as swiftly as possible.”
“Would be a lot more swiftly if I was able to assist those efforts instead of being stuck on the other side of the country.”
If the Khan agreed that you were needed so direly he probably wouldn't have sent you away, Yuri thought. Maybe that was what Otabek was truly bitter about. Yuri held his tongue, though. Insults would not help the situation, no matter how much he wanted to give this arrogant asshole a piece of his mind.
“Allow me to ask: if you think so little of this arrangement, why did you agree to it?”
Otabek continued to glare out of the window and did not offer a reply.
“...Oh.” Yuri swallowed thickly as realization finally dawned and lowered his eyes. “I see.”
He had suspected this of course, with how very clear Otabek had made his disdain for the entire affair, but actually knowing that his future husband had been forced into this union against his will didn't sit well with him at all.
“Did you, uhm- Did you let your father know how you feel about the matter?”
Otabek's jaw tensed as he gritted his teeth, eyes still trained on the far horizon.
“My opinion was heard.”
Yuri took a deep breath and nodded, feeling the full weight of his responsibility for all of this close like a clamp around his heart.
“Well,” he began, trying to choose his next words with care, “I'm sure you can see the benefits of-”
“I am here, am I not?”
“Indeed,” Yuri nodded hastily. The hostility rolling off of the alpha was making his skin itch, and the part of him that wanted to cower made him angry. He had the urge to lower his gaze again even though Otabek was hardly even looking at him, and it irked and bewildered him. Lilia was the only person who could evoke this response in him. If he cast his eyes down for an alpha it was only because it had been drilled into him that it was the polite thing to do, not because he felt some innate need to do so.
Unless a King came to visit, he usually outranked those alphas, and he thought it was stupid that he had to give a sign of submission to someone below his status merely because that someone happened to have a knobby dick. When he had phrased it like that once, Lilia had smacked him so soundly he could feel the echo of it to this day and had never said it out loud again. But that didn't mean he had stopped thinking it.
“May I ask why you feel like you need to act like you've been sent here to be a political hostage of some sort, when in fact it is quite the opposite?" Yuri asked, unable to fully keep the bite out of his voice, "Trade deals and alliances aside, there is a lot to be gained from this for you personally. You are to be crowned alpha King of this country. Most people would kill for that kind of power and privilege.”
Otabek finally turned to look at him, brows narrowed dangerously.
“I have killed for less.”
“That's...” Yuri needed a moment to recover from those words, and the menacing tone they were delivered in. “...an odd and rather disturbing thing to boast about, but alright. And the fact remains that-”
Yuri's voice faltered and his mouth ran dry when Otabek was suddenly right in front of him, staring down at him with burning eyes.
“If I had any interest in this country, if I wanted to seize these lands and have the kingdom fall to its knees at my feet, I would not have to go through months of negotiations and marriage to do so. I have far more efficient methods at my disposal. It would be done within a week.”
Otabek drew back so abruptly that Yuri flinched, heart pounding. Then he stepped past Yuri and headed towards the door with strong strides while Yuri was hardly able to convince his suddenly weak knees to keep him upright. He struggled to catch the breath he'd been holding, trying to ignore the spice of Otabek's scent lingering in the air, and trying to convince himself that the hot flushes that shook his body were anger and nothing else. He clenched his fists and whirled around to glare after Otabek, who had almost reached the doorway.
“It would not be that easy,” he called after him, hating the audible quiver in his voice, “We're not defenseless, and the terrain does not favor you.”
Otabek barely slowed his steps, merely turned his head enough to shoot Yuri a withering sneer.
“That's why I said a week.”