Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maybe he just has that natural charm. 

Maybe he’s just prettier than he thought he was. 

Maybe he just did his job really well. 

Or maybe he was a little too nice to him.

5pyder doesn’t know. 

He doesn’t know why Schpood suddenly started being so interested in him. After all, 5pyder was the one to fall first. 

Who could blame him? A humble,starving guy, willing to give his food to others, which then caused him to gain popularity in the speed of light - yeah, that’s the guy 5pyder fell for. 

It was a silly crush - more of a feeling of admiration than love. Watching him from the sidelines at first, excited to see what the emperor will say next. Constant butterflies in his stomach. It was a nice feeling at first. Loving his emperor from a safe distance, not having to worry about his crush getting in the way of his usual day to day. Helping around as much as possible, building, getting resources, giving advice on how to do things, making friends… all while shooting quick glances at Schpood whenever he got the chance to. 

Yeah, it was fun. Until he noticed that Schpood was shooting glances - no, obvious stares back at him. 

It was terrifying and exciting at the same time. The emperor would look him straight in the eye, as if analyzing him. His face was unreadable. 

 5pyder thought that he had like 3 days left - soon to be executed over a mistake only Schpood noticed. But it was much worse than that. 

--

It didn’t take long until 5pyder was called into a meeting. Sitting right across from the emperor, a small table separating them, he felt uncomfortable in every way possible. He couldn’t tell if his heart was beating this fast because his crush was talking to him, or because the emperor called him in for unknown reasons. 

“So you see 5pyder, I’ve been watching you!”

The brunet smirked, his voice loud and confident as always. "Oh?..." 5pyder bit his lip, avoiding eye contact. Schpood let out a soft chuckle.

“I noticed how popular you are around the people of Westhelm and how easy it is for you to keep track of all the projects each one of them is working on. Funnily enough, there’s a certain role this empire needs… and you might just be the perfect fit.” 

…

5pyder got a promotion. He was now the second in command, helping Schpood rule over Westhelm. Apparently, everyone but 5pyder himself expected it to happen.

It was an honor at first. It took a lot of encouragement for him to properly command people what to do, but as Schpood said - he truly was the perfect fit for this role. Communication was clear and keeping track of everything on his notepad was easier than ever. 

Unfortunately for 5pyder, the emperor soon figured out that he hated meetings. After abruptly leaving a meeting of the blue cross, it was now 5pyders duty to take care of all external affairs, representing his emperor’s wishes.  And that was exhausting enough to take all the admiration that he had for the other man away. 

His body ached from constantly traveling around. His throat was sore from speaking for hours at the meetings. Although owo6 was great help, all external affairs were alone 5pyder’s responsibility. He was the one to sit through the other world leaders yelling at him, he was the one to argue back, was the one who had to explain the thought process behind Schpoods, stupid, idiotic ideas. Their justice system was horrible, yes. Yet it was up to 5pyder to justify it. 

“Okay, so the winner is just… free? You guys let criminals walk around - you let MURDERERS free? This is absurd!” 

Oh Ish, it’s gonna be a long meeting.  

--

It’s not like 5pyder actually hated Schpood. But he sure did piss him off a lot. His reckless way of dealing with things, constantly messing things up for his consuls, having 5pyder and owo6 having to clean things up for him. It pissed him off really bad. 

Everything felt like an unnecessary extra load of work. He hated it when Schpood would smirk at him, oblivious to the torture he was putting the other through. He hated it whenever Schpood would pat his shoulder to show approval. He hated it whenever Schpood would give him a bunch of red roses - claiming it was a way to show his appreciation. He dreaded the weekly, unnecessary business meetings the emperor would invite him to. 

It was stupid. It was like Schpood did anything to waste his time - the business meetings weren’t even about Westhelm, they were just fancy dinners the other arranged for “fun”. 

Yes. It took 5pyder embarrassingly long to get the hint. It wasn’t until a conversation with owo6 that led him to the realization that none of this was the usual “emperor and consul” stuff.

“Wait, what? Are you serious.”

Six tilted his head, staring at him with his usual dumb smile. 

“ What do you MEAN you and schpood – …!! So you’ve never gotten flowers from him?? Or like, had dinners together?”

The other shook his head. 

“Dude… We have one meeting per week… where we talk for like 30 minutes. What do you mean with “dinners and flowers” ? Did you two get married behind my back?” 

5pyder just stared at him in disbelief. 

“Oh my Ish. Holy shit. I’m a fucking idiot.”

It finally clicked.

“I’m an actual idiot.” 

Schpood had been flirting with him for months and 5pyder didn’t even seem to notice. 

Suddenly, it was more obvious than ever. Every time Schpood smiled at him with his unusually soft eyes. When he’d make dumb excuses to take his hands. All the fancy dinners disguised as meetings. The subtle compliments he’d sneak into the conversations. This wasn’t just praising 5pyder for his hard work - it was sending him big, obvious hints. 

“5pyder??? 5pyder ~~ !!!” , owo6 called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. The blond just stared back at him, still trying to process what he just found out. 

“So… is it an appropriate time to mention another dinner he has invited you to?.... for tonight?.." 

– 

It was absurd. The nervous feelings were back. The ones he felt when he was still in love with Schpood - although he wondered if those feelings ever fully disappeared.  It was stupid how he actually put in effort in his appearance this time, like he wanted to impress the emperor. Styling his hair, putting on a somewhat fancy outfit. He spent way too much time in front of the mirror.

Did it even matter though? Was Schpood actually in love with him, or did he love him the same way 5pyder used to love him? Maybe he got it all wrong - maybe the emperor is just bad at acting professionally, it'd make sense for a person like him. Or worse of all, Schpood was just messing with him, toying with his feelings the same way he’d toy with the lives at the colosseum. 5pyder was just another person in the crowds of Westhelm after all. There was nothing other than his title that made him stand out. 

“Alright, enough of this.” he murmured, taking a deep breath. It didn’t matter anyway. He knew from the start that it was impossible to get that close to Schpood. A safe distance was his own personal preference anyway. 

– 

He always wondered how the builders finished the emperor’s room so quickly. Not only was it huge - it had a beautiful marble floor, tall pillars with carvings and rich paintings hung up everywhere. It was crazy to think that Schpood was once nothing more than a poor man, almost dying from starvation in the burning streets of Island 1. Oh, and there he was already. Sitting on his dark red armchair, waiting for 5pyder. The blond took a big sigh, stepping closer. 

“Your Majesty-”

“I missed you, 5pyder.” The emperor cackled, gesturing to him to sit down on the other armchair across from him. 

“You missed me?”

“Yeah dude. You’ve been everywhere but Westhelm.” 

5pyder stared at him. He bit his lip, stopping himself from replying with a snappy “Well no shit, you’re the one putting me through all of this.”

“Well, yes, your majesty. The blue cross doesn’t seem to agree with Westhelm’s policies. It’s been difficult to explain our reasoning.” 

Because there were no reasons. Their damn emperor was just bored.

Schpood nodded, taking a sip of wine. “The other leaders sure are exhausting to deal with, I can see why you seem so tired. I think we should send someone else to represent us for the next few meetings.” 

5pyder shook his head. “No your majesty, I can handle it. They already know me and – “

“I just want you to stay with me in Westhelm for a while.” 

There were a few seconds of silence. They just looked at each other, one unsure of why he said that, the other unsure of what he should reply with. 

It was awkward.

“If that is what you wish for, I’ll stay.” 5pyder eventually said, his head bowing to his emperor. 

Schpood let out a satisfied chuckle. “You look really good today, 5pyder.” 

“I appreciate it, your majesty.” 

“Did you put in that much effort in your appearance just for me?” He joked, letting out a loud laugh.

“In all honesty, yeah.” 

Schpood stopped laughing, followed by more seconds of silence. However, it didn’t feel as awkward this time. Maybe 5pyder was too honest. Were they moving on too fast? 

“Your majesty, is there anything else you would like to discuss?” 5pyder asked, trying to mask the absurd amount of nervousity he was feeling. He couldn’t bring himself to look into the emperor’s dark eyes. 

“Would you like to stay a little longer? Have dinner together and whatever” Schpood requested, taking one of 5pyder’s hand. The blond slowly looked up to the other. Oh ish, this felt so weird, so wrong. Like this wasn't supposed to happen. After all, this was the emperor of Westhelm in front of him, holding his hand. Was he scared ? Or simply still in love? Once again, he couldn’t tell. Feelings are strange.

“5pyder?”

He couldn’t bring himself to reply. For once, he wished he was at a meeting instead - it was easier to argue with world leaders than it was to look Schpood in the eyes.

Chapter Text

Despite his strength, his hand still felt tender, the look in his eyes soft and gentle as always. The only new thing was the uncertainty in his eyes. 

It was him, one of Schpood’s most loyal people ; 5pyder. And he was perfect. No one else could represent his empire that well, nobody in Westhelm would have the energy to travel around for days just to deal with even more stress at the meetings. Not even the emperor himself. 

At first, 5pyder was just a very loyal worker to him. Schpood had watched him for days prior to promoting him to second in command. He stood out to him, already being considered an unofficial leader among the people of Westhelm. Though some feared 5pyder’s reputation would’ve hurt the emperor’s pride, Schpood took advantage of it instead. 

Then, 5pyder became someone he appreciated, someone who was trustworthy enough to rely on. He understood what his duties were and how to fulfill them - it was just so incredibly easy to communicate with him. But after just a few weeks, Schpood started taking genuine interest in him. 

Something about 5pyder was so intriguing. It was like he unintentionally had wrapped the emperor around his finger. It was just impossible to take his eyes off him, instead he studied every move the other made. Though the consul might seem harsh on the outside, the stern words that came out of his mouth were said with softness, followed by his gentle body language and gestures. 

Additionally, it was just nice to look at him. His gorgeous, long, dirty blond hair, his sweet olive green eyes, the scar on his face … it was like all those features were meant to be. They looked perfect - just the way 5pyder himself was perfect. 

And now, that man was sitting in front of him, his hand resting in Schpood’s. He wasn’t replying. Fuck, was Schpood pushing him too much? He thought that 5pyder didn’t really mind (or maybe just didn’t care about) all the hints he had given him. He didn’t mean to do anything that’d make the consul uncomfortable. 

“I’m sorry 5pyder.” 

Schpood said, surprising the other with those words. It was rare to hear an apology come out of the emperor’s mouth. “I’m sorry if all of this made you uncomfortable and stuff. We can just… move on? You don’t have to stay. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do anyway.”

5pyder slowly shook his head, took a deep breath and finally looked him in the eye. Oh ish, his eyes were mesmerizing. Schpood had to use all of his strength to not get lost in them and focus on the conversation. 

“I want to stay … and talk with you.” 

“About what?”

5pyder was hesitating again. Did he feel unsafe around Schpood? He knew that he was known to be a pretty unstable leader who might act a little too impulsive, but he assumed that 5pyder would know his calmer side pretty well by now.  

“You know that you can be honest wi-”

“Would it be easy to replace me?” 

Oh wow, they were horrible at keeping a conversation flowing today. 5pyder looked him deep into his eyes - not even in a romantic way, no, it was terrifying - the look was piercing through Schpood’s chest. “What the fuck?”

“5pyder, what ?.. No!! Are you insane?” 

A deep look of relief settled into 5pyder’s face. He finally held Schpood’s hand, his lips curving into a faint smile. 

“Okay, that's good. I thought you were playing with me.” 

“.... WHAT” 

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, his mouth tasted like wine instead of blood. Well, it should’ve been to be expected, considering they both kept sipping wine as they talked about everything. Everything, from before Westhelm was even founded to the moment before Schpood decided to lean into a kiss.

5pyder confessed to everything as Schpood listened patiently. How he fell in love at first sight, how he couldn’t take his eyes off him, how he felt after he was promoted to second in command and how uncertain he was about everything now.

 It was nervewracking, knowing that the man in front of him was not only the emperor, but the very person he used to – no, the person he is in love with. 5pyder just couldn’t stop talking, nearly choking on his own words several times while Schpood silently listened to everything. Oh ish, it was so embarrassing. He felt like he was confessing to 30 crimes at the same time. 

Schpood, on the other hand, thought it was sweet. He couldn’t help but smile as 5pyder told him that he actually didn’t pick up on any of the hints Schpood was giving him. He just assumed that 5pyder just didn’t care and that he was interested in someone else - seems like they were both wrong about each other. 

“Oh ish, and when I did realize yesterday…” 

The blond groaned, taking a deep breath. “I started overthinking like crazy. I thought you were toying with me, just - just messing around cause you were bored or whatever. Or maybe I was stupid and too full of myself for expecting that the Emperor of Westhelm himself was showing interest in me. And maybe I still am, maybe I am an idiot for assuming all of this. I don’t even… I don’t even know at this point. I’m sorry.” 

He paused, taking another deep breath. 5pyder felt Schpood take his hand again, placing it on his lap.

“Well, you sure are some kind of idiot.” 

“... what.” 

5pyder looked up to him in shock. Fuck, so he was wrong? Did he just confess to everything, about loving and fearing Schpood, just for this to happen? Oh, he’s so gonna get executed over this, he was – 

“Wait, sorry, not in that way. I mean, you’re an idiot for not noticing sooner.” Schpood cackled, watching as the other’s body immediately relaxed again. “I really do like you 5pyder.” He placed a tender kiss on 5pyder’s hand. 

“I think I should’ve been more direct with you - I’ve had my eyes on you ever since you became my second in command. It’s like I can’t take them off you, I just hope you didn’t put some kind of spell on me.” 

They both chuckled, the tense atmosphere finally easing. It felt good to finally get all of those suffocating words out. Schpood lowered his head, resting it on 5pyder’s hand as he looked up to him with a smirk. 

“Well, kinda weird now, huh?” 

5pyder smiled, letting out a small sigh. Schpood’s dark brown eyes looked even prettier from this perspective. He could’ve sworn his pupils were bigger than usual. 

“It’s complicated. I’m just glad I got to tell you about all of those thoughts I had. Otherwise, I think I would’ve gone crazy.” 

Schpood nodded. “One more question though… you do like me right? Like, right now. I guess you don’t admire me in the same way you used to before we got to know each other, but… “

Before Schpood could finish his sentence, 5pyder leaned in to whisper into his ear. ““I like you too.” 

He wasn’t able to see the emperor’s face, but watching his ear slowly turn red was enough. The blond chuckled, before flinching as the other cupped his cheeks to place a kiss on the corner of his lips. 

They both held still, uncertain as of what to do next. Then, 5pyder grabbed the other's right hand, holding onto his left wrist with his other hand. His lips curved into a teasing smile.“ I didn’t know you were that shy, your majesty.” 

Schpood scoffed dramatically. “Don’t call me that after I just kissed you! And what do you mean with shy?”

5pyder just laughed. “I mean, kiss me properly.” 

It was probably the first time he had ever demanded something from Schpood. And he immediately went on to fulfill that demand.  

The emperor stood up, placing his knee on the edge of the armchair 5pyder was sitting on. He leaned in, his hands pulling his consul closer to him. They crashed into a kiss, making 5pyder flinch from the sensation. Schpood’s lips tasted like the wine they were drinking, his own probably did too. The grip he had on other’s hand tightened, the emperor's snaggletooth slightly scraping against his lips. Schpood gently pulled away, just for 5pyder to pull him back for another kiss. He let out a soft groan, the other thought it was adorable. 

They kissed a few more times before Schpood placed one last kiss on 5pyder’s cheek and buried his head into the other’s shoulder. Other than their heavy breathing, the room was silent. Schpood didn’t want to let go off the other, holding him close like a fragile piece of glass. 

“Thank you for your hard work, 5pyder.” 

“Please shut up.” 

He smiled, caressing Schpood’s hair. It was over - there were no more secrets between them.  They’ll finally get some good rest tonight.