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He regrets asking what his schedule is.
Today, his right hand advisor Stanton informs the pair that King Aventurine's schedule consists of one brunch with the cabinet, two hours of paperwork (which will probably be more like three, of experience is anything to go by), a knighting ceremony, a luncheon with a delegation and his husband that will go on for four hours, then an advisor meeting, and then finally, a dinner party with whatever Lords weren't able to make the luncheon.
Stanton then continues with King Veritas' schedule, and Aventurine genuinely considers breaking all of his own limbs just to get them both out of the day.
Veritas has the same dinner plans, but instead of the paperwork that he dearly wished for, he instead is forced to socialize with his cabinet on the expense reports for the next quarter, as well as plan the events on said expense reports.
It's enough to make Stanton ask if they'd like a "little something extra" in their morning tea.
Aventurine just asks him to bring the whole damn whiskey bottle.
--__--
"How much longer do we have?" The blonde groans. His head hits the desk with a 'thud', and Melica steps forward.
"We have one last... Stack..." She pushes the pile in front of him, and Aventurine lifts his aching head. Melica slow as she moves, almost as if moving the wrong millimeter is going to set him off. In a way, she's not wrong, but being set off just means Aventurine goes to find his husband and hide in his secret garden and hide from his duties, opposed to the explosive violence his assistant had known from her previous employer.
Instead, he opens his eyes and lifts his head, and when he opens his eyes-
"This isn't for me." He blinks. He rereads the letter, then rereads it again. Melica seems to do the same, and she reaches forward to take it. "No, this works for me. Melica, run to the kitchens and tell them to get a slice of whatever snack we have on hand, bonus points if it's sweet."
She bows and rushes out, and Aventurine grabs his coat and his fancy pen. While he waits for Melica to come back, he makes sure he's gotten everything else done. There's not a scrap of paper left to be signed, and he's got ten minutes before he needs to begin dressing for the luncheon.
Melica comes back with a cart of cake and tea, and Aventurine nods. "Apple pie works perfectly. Set the room up, I'll be right back, I promise!" He's out the door before she can corral him back to work.
He's honestly not sure where his husband is, but he's got a hunch he's in the throne room, pinching himself awake as he reads over diplomacy he'd much rather leave to his gambler.
He spots Gallagher at the back entrance to the room, and he plays up disappointment as he approaches. Unfortunately for him, the older man shrugs. "Sorry, kid. He's got ten more minutes, and then you both have a luncheon that you can't afford to miss again."
Aventurine pouts. "Ten minutes. I have very important papers I need him to sign." He looks up with his best puppy-dog eyes, batting his lashes and pressing his hands together. Gallagher is a brick wall, though, and he just shakes his head.
"Fine. I guess that apple pie will have to go to waste." The blonde shrugs, sighing in a disappointment that isn't entirely fake.
The brown-haired advisor shrugs back. "Shame. I'll tell him you came by in eight minutes, when he's getting ready for lunch."
"I could order you to let me in." The king tries.
"Sure could. But then you'd have a diplomatic relations issue that's more of a pain in the ass than I am." Gallagher finds amusement in the way Aventurine glares up at him. "Same thing if you fire me."
The blonde turns and stalks off, and Gallagher chuckles. "Good to see you, your highness!"
--__--
Lunch is dull. The diplomatic envoy from Salia is what Ratio calls "careful with their words" and what Aventurine calls "incapable of answering questions with more than two words."
"Was the drive here comfortable?" Aventurine takes a sip of his soup, and the delegation looks at each other.
They all take a moment, and then the hivemind replies, "Yes."
Aventurine puts his spoon down. "We have many sights we can take you to see during your stay, if you're interested. Did you spot anything on the way in?"
The collective looks between itself, then they nod. "Yes."
Ratio steps in before the blonde's smile cracks. "We're honored to have you here. Shall we begin negotiations?" He grabs Aventurine's hand under the table, squeezing gently as the delegation looks at each other.
Aventurine tries not to drown himself in consommé when he hears the dry, "Yes."
--__--
Gallagher, for all his (reasonable) gatekeeping of Aventurine's husband, is not a cruel man. He removes the Kings an hour early from their lunch. Negotiations were finished for the day, and the silence in the room was only broken by the occasional sip of tea from the unity.
Now, the pair are in their bedchambers.
Veritas is off his feet, laying down on the bed while he watches his husband.
Aventurine is undressing quickly. His raiments are left on the floor and his underwear is kicked off into an unknown corner. The blonde all but dives into his lover's arms, and Veritas responds by wordlessly wrapping his arms around his gambler. "Been looking forward to this all day." The smaller king whispers.
Veritas hums in agreement, leaning down to give his husband a kiss. "I heard you came looking for me earlier. I'm sorry that I missed you. Apparently there was apple pie that went to waste?" He nuzzles into his husband's neck with a content little hum, and the blonde twines their legs together.
"Mmmh. Gave it to Melica and she went to go flirt with her boyfriend in the kitchen." He closes his eyes and lets Ratio run his thumbs over his hips.
The scholar makes an inquisitive noise. "They've finally admitted their feelings to each other? It's about time."
Aventurine laughs, soft and quiet. "No, but apparently they've been taking lunch together because it's, and I quote, 'responsible time management'." He snorts, and Veritas' chuckle fills him with more warmth than the sun.
Nothing is said for a few minutes, and Aventurine kisses his husband on the head. He gets a gentle thigh squeeze in return, and he retaliates by pulling Veritas' gaze up by his chin, then he attacks.
He smooches everywhere, jumping before Veritas can respond. Over those pretty eyelids, over those plush lips, those gentle cheeks, those reddening ears, that beautiful nose, that chiseled chin, all the way back up to that perfectly-styled hair. He gives his hairline another kiss, then his forehead, and finally he moves back down and places one last kiss to his husband's pouty lips.
"You're infuriating." The taller king gripes. His face more heat than his words, and the smaller man laughs.
Aventurine grins. "You say that, but you haven't pushed me away. I would bet," he scoffs, and Veritas squeezes his hips, "that you secretly like my affections."
The scholar huffs, and he presses his lips against his husband's. "You would be wrong then, dear gambler." Aventurine raises a brow, and Ratio leans back down to nuzzle his head into Aventurine's neck. The gambler runs a calm hand through the soft purple locks in retaliation, and his eyes close peacefully as he hears the response.
"It's no secret at all."