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If stolen kisses are all he gets, he thinks he might almost be happy. It’s just that stolen kisses have turned into stolen nights, stolen promises whispered into his ears. And this—this time, this love— it’s all so very…stolen. Every happy moment the guard spends with the prince is borrowed, slipped through the cracks from the realms and universes where this little fantasy of togetherness might actually be feasible.
Alex keeps his face straight as he approaches Prince Sam’s chambers, standing tall as a man of his rank normally would, but not so tall as to seem uncharacteristically eager for his overnight watch outside of the prince’s bedroom. Although, the prospect of being unhappy in the vicinity of Sam is foreign to him. On the far outskirts of his memory, there is a time where his duty was a chore—a silent, boring affair that made his knees ache from standing so long. The frowns, the groans, the sighs, the hungry pang in his stomach before another guard came to relieve him.
Nodding to the guard in front of Sam’s door, Alex tries his best to swallow his smile at the memory of last week’s overnight shift. He ignores the buzzing feeling in his heart and the heat in his gut, reminding himself to look bored, but not so bored as to not be on alert.
The sky is a pale yellow, the sun hanging low on the horizon. Sam barely waits until the previous guard’s footsteps are far enough down the hall before he cracks his door open, whispering, “ Come in. ”
“Not yet,” Alex mumbles through gritted teeth, keeping his eyes down the hall and holding his breath, praying no one ventures down this way to see them.
Alex can practically feel the eye roll behind his back. “You would think you would learn better than to say no to your prince.”
His prince. Yes, his prince. His prince to protect. To obey. To love. The prince of the entire kingdom, of course, but by some gods given miracle, the prince that was only his.
“Wait until the sun sets,” he whispers, biting the inside of his cheek when he allows himself a glance at Sam. His green eyes are wide as his smile, glittering with flecks of gold. He’s so beautiful; he always is.
His blonde hair reflects the orange of the sunset, painted with streaks of red clouds. Alex turns his head to the window, frowning. Can the sun not sleep any faster? But there it is—that beautiful shade of navy blue high in the sky. That is the color of hope. That is Alex’s favorite color.
Sam twists his smile into a scowl, turning Alex's face to look him in the eye. “You will not say no to me so easily when I am king, you know.”
Alex shoots him a dirty look and resumes his watch.
“Then again,” Sam says, snaking his hands around the guard's waist and squeezing him tight. “I suppose you will be king as well.”
Alex never believes Sam when he says this, of course. Only a fool would. Sam will be married sometime in the near future—a fact that’s been looming over his head for quite some time now. He will be forced to produce an heir with his wife, who will be the queen. And best case scenario, they have separate bedchambers, and the two men can resume their secret affair on the nights the king isn’t busy. And on the nights the king is busy…well, Alex supposes he won’t have to pretend to be bored on guard duty any longer.
“What is it, my love? I’ve told you. Once I’m king, nothing can come between us. You believe me, yes?”
Alex shudders at the feeling of Sam’s breath hitting the back of his neck. His heart sinks. Sinks down with the weight of how much he wants to believe Sam. “Someone will see us.”
“I will have them beheaded before I let you go.”
“A king who rules by fear,” Alex observes, raising his eyebrows.
Sam grabs his guard by the chin and pulls him into a kiss. Alex’s eyes flutter shut, and even though he tenses with the knowledge that this is very much against the rules, he just cannot seem to resist.
“No,” Sam says, scratching the hair at the nape of Alex’s neck in the way that makes him purr like a cat. “A king who rules by love.”