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It had been a week since this awkward energy between King Julien and Clover had started.
A week since that stupid beach party.
A week since Clover had taken King Julien back to his hut to rest up after the party was over.
A week since…
It didn’t matter.
Clover had left before Julien even woke up. Before the soft glow of the sun could be seen casting over the great baobab tree.
Since then, Clover had done her absolute best to avoid King Julien at all costs. She spent as little time in the throne room as she could, constantly going off on ‘safety patrols’ and checking up on nonexistent security concerns around the kingdom.
King Julien, however, had done the opposite. Despite him not knowing how to feel about her leaving so quickly, he was always trying to get close to Clover. Talk to her. Nonchalantly throw an arm around her when they were out in public.
And his undying ability to be as irritating as possible. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵, he turned up to the max.
Which, of course, backfired as always. It just pissed Clover off even more than she already was, and her evasion got worse. She dodged his questions, ignored his flirty remarks, and refused to crack a smirk when he joked around.
This…concerned King Julien immensely. Did he do something wrong? Did he hurt her somehow? Was she mad at him?
More importantly, why did he care so much?
Him and Clover fought before. Hell, he fought with everyone. Argued with Maurice, yelled at Mort. It was nothing new. So why did 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 matter so much?
King Julien laid horizontally across his throne (Airplane seat), flicking his tail anxiously. He had tried again this morning. Talking to Clover. She made up an excuse about a noise complaint and jumped out the window before he could say anything more.
He had never viewed his relationship with Clover as anything other than close friends or colleagues.
Sure, he found her attractive. Who didn’t? And maybe when he first met her, he hoped he’d get some action, but as soon as they got to know each other, that thought died inside his mind.
He needed her, of course. But they were so… different. He loved his parties. His fun. His excitement.
And Clover loved her rules. Her job. The responsibility she felt. She was always so… dedicated. To keep the kingdom safe. To protect him from harm. He knew despite how angry she came across, she cared. Deeply.
And Julien loved that about her.
He froze, sitting up sharply.
Where did that thought come from?
𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. Ridiculous. He’d know if he loved her. Right?
Shouldn’t he have known that 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 he went and hooked up with her?
How rude of his feelings. To show up late. Impolite of them, truly.
Julien sighed, slumping back against his throne, gulping.
He did. He loved Clover. And he’d gone and ruined it, somehow.
He didn’t just want to talk to her now. He needed to.
As if on cue, Clover poked her head through the curtains, straightening up as she stepped into the throne room.
“Your majesty. I checked up on the noise complaint Ted filed. Nothing serious. Just a neighbor playing music too loudly.” She said quickly, her tone as professional as she could muster.
King Julien fidgeted with his hands, nodding. “Oh! Yeah, that’s great. Ted’s an idiot anyway. Good job as always, Clo-Clo!” He said enthusiastically, giving her two thumbs up.
Clover smiled awkwardly. “𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. Well. That’s all I have to report at the moment.”
King Julien nodded, taking in how beautiful she looked. How he’d grown to find the sound of her voice soothing. “Right. Cool.” He slouched slightly, leaning forward. “Can we talk?” He uttered quickly.
Clover’s green eyes flashed with something that Julien almost took for a sign of fear, before she clasped her hands behind her back. “What about?”
Julien fidgeted with a loose thread, scratching his neck. “Uh, y’know. About the other night. You left before I woke up. We didn’t get a chance to…” He tapped the tips of his pointer fingers together nervously. “You know. 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬.”
Clover stepped back. “Safety patrols!” She said, her voice rising in pitch. “Yep. Afternoon safety patrols. I should probably go take care of that.”
King Julien's ears drooped slightly as he fiddled with the edge of his throne. He clears his throat. “Safety patrols. Right! Of course. Those super important captain ‘thingies’.” Julien raised an eyebrow. “Wait, afternoon patrols? It’s still morning.”
Clover laughed nervously, inching her way towards the door. “Yep! When it comes to safety it’s never too early to assess if there are any threats.”
King Julien shifted uncomfortably on his seat before he couldn’t stand it any longer. “Listen, Clo-clo. About that night-”
Clover skirted over to the door like she was running for her life, gripping the metal handle. “I should go-”
“Woah woah woah, hang on!” He leapt off his throne, grabbing her wrist. “Clover, I know you’re mad-”
Clover whipped her arm back, scowling. “What are you 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨? Let go of me, you know I don’t like to be touched!” She barked, her voice raising.
King Julien’s eyes darted down to where his fist was wrapped tightly around Clover’s wrist. Oops. He dropped her hand instantly, not wanting to anger her any more than he already had. He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Look, Clover. Can you just stop your avoidance thing for a few seconds and talk to me?!”
Clover tensed, staring back at him. “What avoidance thing? I do 𝘯𝘰𝘵 do an ‘avoidance thing’, that’s ridiculous. I don’t avoid anything!”
“Really?!” King Julien threw his arms out, his eyes widening. “Because you’ve been avoiding me for the last week and it is driving me totally ‘cray-cray’ here!”
“No I haven’t! I’ve been busy! 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.” She shot back, glaring at him.
King Julien dropped his arms. “You’re literally doing it right now. Oh, I swear to Frank the sky God, you’re so frustrating, Clover! You’re ‘yelly’ and defensive 𝘢𝘭𝘭 the time now! Stop being so uptight.”
Clover stepped forwards, shooting daggers with her eyes. “I'm the captain of the guard! It's literally my job to be defensive." She took another step towards Julien, backing him up against the wall of the plane. "The job that I worked incredibly hard for, the job that earned the respect and admiration of everyone in the kingdom, and the job that I'm 𝘯𝘰𝘵 going to have ruined because the spoiled party-boy wants what he wants!” She hissed, jabbing a finger at his chest.
King Julien’s jaw dropped slightly. As much as he frustrated Clover at times, she never yelled at him like that. Never… 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 him. Surprisingly, he wasn’t offended. In fact, he was finding it incredibly hot.
Clover was more surprised by her actions than Julien had been. What was she doing?! This was her king. Her boss. Her friend. She should 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 disrespect him like that, no matter what her personal feelings were.
One line stuck in Julien’s mind.
‘Spoiled party-boy’.
Was that really all Clover saw him as?
He had grown so much since he was first made king. Sure, he still loved his parties, but that wasn’t all he cared about anymore. He genuinely cared about his kingdom. His friends. His island. 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.
It wasn’t fair of her to have called him that.
Suddenly, his hands balled into fists. “Yeah. ‘Spoiled party-boy’. That’s all I am to you, right? You know, Clover, I didn’t force you to do it!”
Clover’s arm dropped, and she eyed him curiously. “Force me to do what?”
King Julien rolled his eyes, adjusting his crown. “You know what. I didn’t force you to stay. You chose to sleep with me!” He blurted out, crossing his arms and turning away.
It came out wrong as soon as he said it. But Julien couldn’t bring himself to care right now. He was hurt, and didn’t even realize it.
Clover scoffed. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 what you think this is all about? Wow.”
King Julien sniffed, gazing out of one of the plane’s many windows. “What else could this be about? You regret it. You left without even waking me up! Then you ignore me for the next week. I have feelings, you know! A lot of them! And they didn’t like that one bit. Just ask them!” He whined, digging his heel into the carpet.
Clover bit back a grin at his childish expression of emotions, keeping her arms glued to her sides, her face neutral. “Look…what happened was completely inappropriate and unprofessional. I just wanted to forget it as soon as possible.”
King Julien let out a sharp laugh. “Right. Yeah. Because it’ll be so easy to forget something like that.” He said sarcastically.
“Did you even listen to a thing I’ve said?” Clover asked desperately, stepping in front of Julien. He still avoided eye contact. “...If anyone were to ever find out about what happened, everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve built will be 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. I’m your head of security. Captain of the ringtail guard. I didn’t just get that position easily. I’ve worked 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 for my accomplishments.”
King Julien finally relented, looking straight into her deep emerald eyes. “I 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 that, Clo-clo. I do. Just because I tend to be immature sometimes doesn’t mean I don’t understand how hard you’ve worked. I didn’t just give you that position for fun. You deserved it.” He shrugged, glancing around the throne room before looking back at the beautiful crowned lemur in front of him. “Why does us… y’know. Being together, or whatever, have to do with your job?”
Clover sighed, pressing her fingers against her forehead in a fit of frustration. “Do you really think anyone will take me seriously anymore if they find out we…” Her voice trailed off, and she gestured lazily with her hand. “I need the people to respect me. Or else my position as captain means nothing. I can’t protect and defend the kingdom if they refuse my help. That respect is what I’ve been working so hard to earn my entire life.”
Julien relaxed his demeanor, his brows slowly unfurrowing. He looked at Clover’s expression. She was…she was serious. This meant a lot to her. And if she meant as much to him as he believed, then he needed to hear her out. “I’m sorry, okay?” He gulped. “You know that’s hard for me to say, but I am. I’m sorry I made you mad.” He kicked a nonexistent rock as his grey and black striped tail curled behind him.
Clover rolled her eyes, sighing quietly as she shook her head. “That’s not- You didn’t 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥, King Julien.” She responded, her voice tired.
Julien’s mouth twitched as he looked up at Clover. “You don’t have to call me that right now. Just Julien’s fine.”
Clover looked up at him. At that moment, all she wanted to do was pull him closer. But instead, she stepped further away, folding her arms. “Wow. Not pulling rank. First time for everything, right?”
Julien narrowed his eyebrows. “Huh? What is this you speak of? ‘Pulling of the rank’?” He asked, tilting his head to the side.
Clover’s tail flicked. “Pulling rank. You, abusing the power that thing holds.” She explained, pointing to the crown on his head.
King Julien glanced up at his crown, still somewhat confused. “Abusing power? What? I’m not my uncle, Clover, I’ve never used my role as king poorly.”
Clover raised an eyebrow at that.
Julien rolled his eyes, nodding. “Okay, I’ve never used my role as king for 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭. I always try to do what’s best for my peoples. You’ve even said that before!”
Clover shook her head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I mean when we’re arguing, and I try to walk away, and you go and pull the king card.”
King Julien crossed his arms, leaning against his throne. “What ‘king card’? I have never-”
Clover cut him off. “Clover, as your king I command you to get back here! Clover, I am King so what I say is basically the law.” She said, doing her best impression of Julien.
Julien was about to get offended, before he realized something.
Clover was no longer talking to him as his head of security. She was talking to him as a friend. Or… maybe more.
King Julien blew a raspberry, turning away comedically. “I don’t sound like that, you know.” He said, his tone jokingly indignant.
Clover’s shoulders dropped, and she lowered her guard slightly. “Yes you do.” She joked back, quietly, a light blush hidden by the fur on her cheeks.
Julien glanced over at her, and he took a treacherous step closer, testing the waters. “Okay. No more pulling the ‘king card’. I swear.” He declared, placing a hand on his chest.
“No king. Just… Just Julien here, okay, Clo-clo. And as just-Julien, I have some things I need to say. And they’re important. So…listen up.” He stuttered, standing up straighter, his expression almost meek. Which was uncharacteristic for the pompous, egotistical ring-tailed lemur.
“Clover, when we…” He gestured with his hands, a light blush rising to his cheeks. “I didn’t expect it to feel like it did.”
Clover raised an eyebrow, and Julien’s eyes widened, realizing the implication behind his words.
“What? No, no, not like that!” He quickly corrected, shaking his head. “Like…I felt something. For you. Like… Like I just…” He sighed, his tail flicking nervously. “...Like going back to the way things used to be would feel like a punch in the gut. Do you…get that?” He asked, stepping closer towards her.
“Clover, I 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 you. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, like you. I didn’t realize it before, okay?” Julien ranted, running a hand over his neck. “If I had known I felt that way I would’ve done things differently.” He stared down at the floor, before glancing up at her, tentatively reaching out to lightly brush his hand against hers. “I love you, Clover.”
Clover stayed silent throughout his confession, although her thoughts felt like a jumbled mess of noise. This was 𝘯𝘰𝘵 happening. This couldn’t be happening. King Julien was declaring his love for her.
Romantic love.
Clover felt her hands shaking. She clenched her fists to steady them, taking a quivering breath. “Your majesty-”
“Julien.” He corrected, his gaze intense, but not threatening.
“Right. 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯.” She repeated. “Look, there’s… no universe where we would ever work out.”
The only sound that could be heard throughout the throne room was the soft whistle of the wind outside.
Julien cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
“Anddd, why is that?” He prodded.
Clover tapped her foot quietly, avoiding eye contact with Julien. “We’re complete opposites.”
“Opposites attract, right?” He jested, his arms outstretched as he stepped even closer, until they were a hairsbreath away.
“Not in this case. I like order. Security. You like… parties and fun. Living on the edge and all of that.” Clover explained, waving her hand dismissively.
Julien rolled his eyes, draping an arm around her back, pulling her impossibly closer to him. She froze for a moment, before reluctantly relaxing against his soft fur. “Yeah, of course. You’re all serious and angry and ‘Clover-y’. And I’m all amazing and exciting. We balance each other out, Clo-clo.” He challenged, gesturing in between the two of them. “Besides, we’re similar where it matters.”
Clover’s shoulders tensed at his words. “How? I am 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 like you.”
Julien ran his hand over her arm, feeling her fur against his palm before he took her hand in his. “We both are super devoted to the kingdom. Me with my kingly-ness and you with your captain of the guard-ness. We both care about keeping the people safe.”
Clover couldn’t deny that. He had a point there.
“You always have my back. No matter what happens, I can trust you’ll always be there to protect me.” Julien continued, squeezing her hand. “And I have your back too. Even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.”
Clover sighed, her expression a mix of worry and…sadness?
“You’re the king. My 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴. If this ever got out, my career would be threatened. You have to understand that.” She snapped. It wasn’t out of anger. It almost sounded…hurt.
Julien pulled back slightly, gazing into her eyes. “What do you mean? I’m the king. I 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 you captain of the ringtail guard. Us…being like this isn’t going to change that. You earned that position, Clo-clo.”
Clover shook her head. “No, not like that. Look, the people respect me. They trust me. That’s why I’m good at my job. Because the people feel safe with me in charge. If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t be as open to abiding by my security precautions and protocols. They wouldn’t work the way they do.” She explained, her hand still clasped around Julien’s. “Do you think 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 going to still take me seriously if they find out we…”
“...Did a thing?” Julien finished her sentence, a warm blush flooding over his cheeks.
“Yeah. ‘Did a thing’.” Clover exasperatingly sighed, although her welcoming posture did not change. “I know the people. They’ll fabricate dumb stories. They'll start believing I didn’t earn my position, and then no one will follow my security precautions, and people will get hurt. That defeats the entire purpose of the captain’s job. I’m supposed to keep your kingdom safe.”
Julien opened his mouth to protest, before taking in her words.
She was right.
She made some good points.
And he had been trying harder to listen to others opinion’s more often instead of just ignoring all other voices but his own.
The people 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 easily swayed. If they found out him and Clover were… 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, they would probably start spiraling out of control with their crazy theories.
The fact that 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 what Clover was worried about made his heart swell. This wasn’t about her not wanting him, it was about protecting the kingdom from themselves.
“Okay.” Julien nodded, staring out the window. “I can see that happening.”
Clover’s shoulders slumped slightly. “...Besides, we aren’t even each other’s type. Us being together? It’s laughable.”
Julien’s head snapped back, and he scoffed dramatically. “Oh, come on. I’m the king. I’m everyone’s type.” He teased, grinning as he watched her try earnestly not to crack a smile at his joke. “Who says you’re not 𝘮𝘺 type, huh? I’ve always found you, like, super pretty, y’know.”
Clover rolled her eyes, taking into account that despite how this conversation had gone, he still wouldn’t let go of her hand, and he hadn’t made any effort to remove his arm around her back. “...friends?” She asked. She knew it was a stretch, but she hoped they could at least go back to the way it used to be between them. Before all of this ridiculous drama.
Julien shook his head at her meager suggestion. “Clover, I can’t do that. Not now that I know how I feel about you.”
Clover’s tail flicked. “We just established that we can’t do this. It’s unprofessional, and a complete disregard for the kingdom’s safety.”
Julien squeezed her hip slightly. “What if…we kept it a secret?”
Clover froze, before shaking her head. “No. No way. I know you. You have a big mouth, You’d blab it to Maurice, or Mort, and then word would spread.” She countered. “...Besides. You were engaged to my sister. It’s kind of weird to think about us being together after 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”
Julien let out a sharp laugh at that, smirking. “Hey, I can keep a secret if I need to! I am the best keeper of secrets, like, ever.” He boasted teasingly. “And, what? Crimson? Pfft-” He laughed softly. “This might seem unbelievable, but I am much more attracted to lemurs who aren’t trying to end my life.” He joked. “And look, if it makes you feel any better, I never slept with her.”
Clover’s green eyes widened, and she cringed internally at his joke. “I did 𝘯𝘰𝘵 need to know that.” She muttered.
Julien chuckled in response to her reaction. “Whattt? I’m just trying to make things less weird.”
“You? Less weird?” Clover raised an eyebrow. “This whole situation is weird.”
Julien hummed, agreeing with her declaration. “Very right. You know what would make it even more weird? In a good way?” He asked, rubbing her hip slightly.
Clover rolled her eyes at his flirty tone. “If we forgot this ever happened?” She responded, sarcasm creeping into her tone.
Julien tightened his hold around her, now rubbing circles on the back of her hand soothingly. “No. If we kissed.”
Clover froze. “What? No, we just went over this-”
Julien cut her off, gently pushing his lips against hers. Usually he was rougher with his kisses. Lazy. Not this time.
This time he wanted it to mean something.
Clover paused for a moment, stunned, before she kissed back. Reluctant, at that, but not because she didn’t want it. Want 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
Because she was scared of just how 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 she wanted him.
Her free arm moved from her side, sliding up to grip his shoulder as the kiss became deeper. More desperate. Hungry. Like they both wanted to cherish the moment before it was harshly ripped away from them by the cruel reality. The fact that they could never be together like this.
Julien’s tail flicked against Clover’s as they both began to pull their mouths away from each other slowly, the need for air too much for either of them to bear anymore.
“This is doomed.” Clover stated, looking up at the ring tailed lemur.
Julien nodded, kissing her forehead, enjoying the feel of her fur against his lips. “Maybe, yep. But I know I’ll regret it if we don’t at least 𝘵𝘳𝘺. And if it goes up in flames, then come on. So what? We’re really good at putting out fires, you know.” He teased.
Clover bit her lip, avoiding eye contact once more as she thought it over. She never in a million years expected this to happen. But here it was.
Happening.
King Julien loved her. And although she wasn’t ready to admit it, although she had been fighting it internally ever since that fateful night, she loved him back.
And now she had a difficult decision to make.
Should she take the leap? Should she risk it? Was it worth it?
As she gazed at Julien, her thoughts calmed.
Yes. It 𝘸𝘢𝘴 worth it.
“...We take things slow. And this stays a secret for now, got it?” She barked, almost aggressively, despite her tone being filled with affection.
Julien was met with a sense of uncontrollable joy as her voice met his ears. Secret. He could settle for that. For now.
Julien was definitely the type of lemur to want to boast about these sorts of things. Truly, if Clover allowed him, he’d have already shouted from the very top of the baobab tree that he was in love with her. But he knew that was the one boundary Clover had set he could not, under any circumstances, cross.
Julien nodded quickly, squeezing her hand again as he responded. “Secret. Yep. I can do that. I’m, like, totally a vault.”
Clover raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Are you sure? You’re not going to go blab this to Maurice two seconds after I leave?”
Julien’s jaw dropped in fake offence. “How 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 you! I would 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. If Maurice, or anyone else finds out, it won’t be because of me. I promise. Cross my heart.” He swore, smirking. Suddenly, a look of anticipation filled his deep brown eyes. “So…we’re doing this? Definitely?”
Clover sighed, pulling her lips into a small smile. “Yeah. We’re…doing this.” She gripped his hand tightly, looking up into his eyes. Every logical thought Clover’s body was screaming at her to stop. To run away. Protect herself.
But she knew she couldn’t deny herself this unexpected love anymore. Especially not after everything that’s happened.
The lemur king and his captain of the guard.
Who would’ve thought?