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Tweak says, "We built this city!"

Daniel Christopher Morgan ☀ Morgaine Le Fay (tothenunnery) wrote in thereincarnates,
@ 2016-11-03 10:22:00

Entry tags:

!au, !fairytale, alexander yates, alexandra turner, andy lang, beckett samuels, bren gallagher, catalina reyes, daniel morgan, david ryan, eligio serafini, ellie morgan, etienne norbert, finley melville, freddie morgan, garrett landry, hannah ryan, irving midgley, juno melville, krista landry, liam walker, raegan mallory, sabrina shipton, scott morgan, sean riesling, shannon andrews, vincent dilaurentis, zane rosen

Who: ANYONE AND EVERYONE; people of royal, noble, and poor birth alike. Only known villains weren’t expressly invited, otherwise the ball is open for everyone to attend, or attempt to crash
What: A royal ball
Where: The kingdom of Camelot, in the land of Fairytales
When: Early to late evening, feel free to time jump around in your own subthreads
Warnings: Let’s keep it to PG-13, for the sake of fairytale fluff

Camelot had always been the largest kingdom in any land, both in its sheer size and its many riches. Since it’s inception, the land of Camelot had always thrived, as if the very ground it covered had been blessed by magic. Most people in Camelot believed that it actually was, since everything that ever grew out of the ground only flourished, and most stories and legends originally came out of their kingdom. They never had droughts or famines, the people of Camelot never went hungry, even those of common birth. The ruling monarch always managed to find a way to send aid to those in need, including to many outside of Camelot’s borders, when they had the extra resources, and they often did. The kingdom was a happy one, for the most part, though no kingdom was perfect, even a great one like Camelot. Of course there were still always some problems, no matter how plentiful the land was or how generous your king, but the generosity and near mythical quality of the kingdom helped to set it apart from the rest.

Among the believers of magic in the land, there were also people in Camelot who thought that there was some kind of mysterious, mystical force that protected the kingdom's land and the lake that ran through it, as well as Camelot castle itself. What some people didn’t know was that it was actually true, to some extent, and that in the middle of the lake was a veiled island called Avalon, a place of great power that was also tied directly to the Morgan family’s long and legendary history. Ages ago, there had been a sword in a stone, and the once future king of Camelot had pulled the sword out of its resting place. Since then, the royal line had always been of Morgan blood; a family of knights, heroes, and kings of legend. The sword itself was passed down through the men in the family, each having to pass the test of pulling it back out of the stone, in order to prove their worth to rule the kingdom of Camelot, and then that sword was theirs throughout their (hopefully) long and happy reign until it was time to return it to its resting place. For as long as there had been magic in these lands, there had been Camelot, and for as long as there had been Camelot, there had been the Morgans.

Everyone knew the stories of the Morgan family, the sword in the stone, and King Daniel's story in particular. How Daniel had been placed under a sleeping curse by a powerful sorceress before he could pull the sword from the stone and take his rightful place as king. Years had passed before he was finally woken up by true love's kiss, and it had been the kiss of a commoner that had done it, not from a princess or another prince, or even a noble, as most people had expected. Zane Rosen had woken Daniel from his curse and just like every other Morgan king before him, he fulfilled the prophecy he and every Morgan male was born into and pulled the sword from the stone, taking his rightful place as king once the dragon was slain and the kingdom was secure again. Since then, his rule had been as happy and as fruitful as all the others, made all the more so by the fact that he had Zane at his side, and all of Daniel's years as king had been filled with immense joy and happiness that seemed to touch the entire kingdom, and not just the happy two.

Camelot castle in itself was a thing to behold. Of course it was exceptionally grand just in size, with countless rooms to wander through and decadent furniture and trimmings throughout the interior and exterior of the palace. There was a vast courtyard outside of it with a large stone fountain, numerous stables for the horses, and many high turrets from which to look out of for a spectacular view of the kingdom. The ballroom itself where the party was being held was one of the biggest rooms in the castle, lit by chandeliers and candlelight, banquet tables of food and wine, as well as a group of hired musicians in the corner to play music for the people who wished to dance all night. There was also a pair of double doors that led out to a balcony, and a throne positioned at the other end of the ballroom for when King Daniel and Zane wished to sit and observe the festivities, as well as comfortable sofas and cushioned chairs for any guests who might wish to sit and rest their feet for awhile.

Unlike balls held by Camelot in the past, this one was unique, for one reason in particular. It was an open invitation to everyone, both of royal and noble birth and commoner alike, and that invitation extended beyond Camelot’s borders to other lands. That idea had technically been Freddie’s, who had seemed suspiciously eager when he’d asked Daniel about it, but Daniel had welcomed the idea wholeheartedly. It was the perfect way to celebrate Camelot this year, as well as the anniversary of his and Zane’s love, by opening up the celebrations to anyone who wished to attend. Camelot was about extending the hand of friendship, after all, and what better way to do that then to have a ball where any and all could attend if they wanted. It wouldn’t be the end of everyone’s problems, of course, especially for those who were still in the midst of wars, but maybe it was a start. Something that could even help bring people together. Daniel could hope that it might still be the start of something. Tonight, as the gates of Camelot opened for the first of its arrivals, that’s what this all felt like. The start of something great.

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Re: Daniel/Zane

ashke
2016-11-05 12:15 am UTC (link)

Maybe they weren't newlyweds anymore, but some days, Zane still couldn't believe that he was lucky enough to be there, at Daniel's side. Not because Daniel was king of Camelot. Not because now, instead of sleeping on a thin mattress stuffed with straw that he shared with his brother, he was sleeping on one stuffed with down with enough room to stretch out, even with another body in the bed. Not because of the food, or not spending all day up to his elbows in animal guts while he helped slaughter the animals he, his father, and brother had hunted. No, it was all about Daniel, about the fact that he'd taken Zane's breath away from the second his eyes opened after his long sleep.

Of course, they were usually left the 'fuck me' that had slipped out of Zane's mouth the second their eyes met out of the stories they told about the breaking of Daniel's curse. Zane wasn't the best at being formal, or royal, but that hadn't seemed to matter to Daniel from the very start. Daniel had liked him, wanted him, loved him just the way he was, rough edges and all. That was more of a gift than anyone had ever given Zane, before. The rest of it, the money and the power, that was just something that he'd learned to shoulder, a burden that he helped Daniel bear because he loved him just as wholeheartedly and unpolished as he'd always done everything else.

And if, sometimes, that meant dressing up in the fine clothes that had started turning up in his wardrobe as soon as he'd woken Daniel up with a kiss, and sitting beside him at whatever feast, or ball, the king of Camelot was expected to throw, it wasn't as bad as Zane had expected. Not when he was there with Daniel, the two of them making their own fun where no one else could hear.

"I don't know, honey..." Zane had tried to get rid of the back country twang that he'd spoken in when he'd come to the palace, at first. Tried to make himself more like the nobles around him, the ones that had started off looking at him like they weren't completely certain what he was doing there. Daniel liked it, though, liked the way that Zane talked, the word choices that weren't quite what would be expected in polite company. "You think we can manage it before they do?" Not that they wouldn't take a couple of bottles of wine back to their rooms with them, when they went to bed, drink and kiss and tumble into the bed they'd shared since they'd been wed. Before the nobles, though... probably not.

Quick as a blink, Zane leaned over, brushed a quick kiss against Daniel's lips before pulling back to his own seat—part of him still resisting thinking of it as a throne, no matter that he knew that was exactly what it was. "I'm up for tryin', if you are." He grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners as he watched his husband's face, every line of it familiar now. He'd never get tired of looking at him, though. Didn't matter how much time they spent together, how long they'd been married. Zane would never get tired of looking over and seeing Daniel next to him, smiling at him with mischief in his gaze.

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Re: Daniel/Zane

tothenunnery
2016-11-05 09:45 pm UTC (link)

One of the many things Daniel loved most about Zane was that he wasn't like the other nobles. He wasn't like anyone else that Daniel had ever met, but he definitely wasn't like the nobles and other men at court that Daniel had come to know over the years. If that's what Daniel had wanted, he would have tried to settle down with one of the many people at court that he was sure some had expected him to choose, but it had never been them. It had always been Zane, from the very first time their eyes had ever locked on each other's, once Zane had delivered true love's kiss to him and Daniel had opened his eyes for the first time in a long while.

People were right to think the story was romantic, of course, though that wasn't precisely why Daniel loved it so much. He did love that Zane had fought for the right to be the one who delivered the kiss, and won, and he obviously loved that it had been Zane, and only Zane, who could have kissed Daniel awake. True love's kiss wasn't something that just anyone could have, after all, it was unique. You were only allotted one true love in a lifetime, or so people thought, so the odds of actually receiving true love's kiss might as well be one in a million for as rare as it supposedly was.

But true love had found Daniel, it seemed. Found him and woke him up from a curse that had kept him in a state of slumber for years. And it had been Zane, of all people, Zane who had what it took to wake the sleeping prince. Daniel would always love that part of the story, but of course, his favorite part was what Zane had said directly after Daniel's eyes opened for the first time. If there had been any question whether or not Daniel would love him, that slip of profanity would have insured that he loved Zane instantly. Only his Zane would accidentally blurt out something like 'fuck me' directly after something as profound as true love's kiss.

Since then, Daniel's life really had been something close to perfect. Of course, the world was never without its problems, even in the ever thriving kingdom of Camelot, but that didn't matter. As long as he had Zane by his side, Daniel thought his life could never get any better than this. Sitting next to his husband in a room full of people, many of them close friends and family, people that they loved, in the kingdom that they loved. Daniel also couldn't get enough of that slight lilt in Zane's accent that he still couldn't quite suppress, and Daniel hoped that he'd never succeed.

"You know I'm always up for a new challenge," Daniel smiled back warmly in the wake of the quick kiss, reaching over and taking Zane's hand gently in his to rest them both on the arm of the seat Zane sat in. He also liked that Zane brought out a side in him than no one else did, one primed for mischief and fun. It made Daniel feel younger, which was ridiculous since he still wasn't all that old. Having a crown could make you feel that way, though.

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Re: Daniel/Zane

ashke
2016-11-08 01:01 am UTC (link)

It was funny. Zane had never thought he liked things like holding hands in public, being completely obvious with a lover, before Daniel. Part of it had been that his dad hadn't been pleased with his oldest son preferring men, exclusively. Hadn't been anything to flaunt, when all it would get him if he'd done it was a sneer from his father, before he'd been lucky enough to wake Daniel up from his curse. After... after, it got him Daniel. Not that Daniel wouldn't have accepted it, without question, if Zane hadn't enjoyed displaying their affection in public. That was one of the things that made it hardest to keep his hands off of him.

Fuck it. Zane was young, and he was in love with a man who made him feel full to bursting with happiness. If he wanted to turn his hand palm up to press against Daniel's, to lock their fingers together while they rested on the arm of his chair, everyone else could fuck off and get over it. They were just jealous, anyway, that Zane's man was better than theirs. Literally, for most of them, probably... but they wanted Daniel for the wrong reason. They wanted Daniel the king. Some of the smarter ones might have wanted just Daniel the man, in spite of his throne instead of because of it. Zane wanted both, the man and the king, everything that Daniel was. Couldn't separate the two from each other. Shouldn't even try.

"In that case..." Zane scanned the room, picked out one of the nobles that he knew tended to overdo it on the wine, at balls, and nodded in the man's direction. "Dare you to try to keep up with him, tonight." He was pretty sure that Daniel could hold his wine better than the noble, of course. Neither of them would actually get drunk enough to embarrass themselves in front of a crowd. Still, pretty good challenge.

And if Daniel wanted to make it into a bet, Zane wasn't going to say no to that, either. No matter which of them won it, Zane was pretty sure that they both would be, before the night was over. Or maybe the next day, if they happened to overdo it enough to decide that they needed to put a pause on the rest of their anniversary celebration until they'd recovered. That'd be a damn shame, but it wouldn't be the make or break of anything about them. Zane had Daniel for the rest of their lives; one night where they got too drunk to enjoy one another didn't matter, when they had every other night together.

The grin on his face might have been a little soppy. He didn't give a fuck. Anyone who was as lucky as he was would understand, and the rest... fuck 'em. Fuck 'em all. Zane was long past caring what anyone else was going to think of them, and anything that they did. Daniel was his soulmate. His unicorn. The true love that he'd never imagined that he would find. Most people went their whole lifetime without finding that. Zane wasn't going to be embarrassed about enjoying the hell out of it, wasn't going to take the treasure that he'd found for granted just because someone else might look at them funny.

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Re: Daniel/Zane

tothenunnery
2016-11-15 01:51 pm UTC (link)

There were a lot of things that Daniel loved about Zane. He loved the way he wasn't eloquent in the slightest. Not that Zane couldn't say something entirely meaningful, he very well could and had. The fact that most of the time what came out of his mouth was a string of jumbled words mixed together with swearing just made those moments when he spouted off something that completely floored Daniel even more special, but to be honest, Daniel was pretty fond of the cursing. It was just so very Zane and no one else, that it made him smile every time he heard Zane swore. People said love was blind, but Daniel wasn't blind to Zane. His eyes were wide open, and he loved everything about the man.

Another thing he loved about Zane was how Zane made everything feel like some kind of adventure. They didn't even have to be anywhere in particular, they could just be sitting in a ballroom packed full of guests, doing nothing except watching the festivities and talking to each other and Zane could still make something exciting out of it. Playing little games with each other in their more private moments together was one of Daniel's favorite past times, so naturally, he was immediately ready to rise to this new and thrilling challenge.

In all honesty, not everything about being king was as exciting as you might think it was. For all the prestige and recognition it could come with, not all of Daniel's days were filled with adventure and glory. More often than not, his days were full of administrative duties, working with his advisors on things like taxes, Camelot agriculture, keeping the nobles busy, the concerns of the common people, and all manner of very not glamorous tasks that were appointed to you when you were the king. The most exciting day of his life had been the day that Zane woke him up with a kiss, and every day after that had been that muc better because of it. Without Zane, Daniel might still love being king, but he wouldn't have anyone to love more than that, like he did Zane.

So as much as he loved Camelot and all of its people, there was always something he looked forward to more than balls and royal duties, and that was spending time with Zane. Daniel genuinely loved being king, of course, and truly cared about what happened to it. He was just very aware of the fact that his life would be noticeably empty without the love that he had with Zane, now that he knew what he'd be missing. He'd never regretted a single day since they first met, and tonight on the night of their anniversary, Daniel couldn't help feeling humbled and grateful to the fates for allowing him this measure of happiness.

"You're going easy on me," Daniel smiled, though he certainly didn't mind that Zane had picked out one of the biggest lushes in the kingdom, but also one of the nobles with the most tragic inability to hold his liquor. Chewing his lower lip in thought as he scanned the room, Daniel then pointed to one of the nobles at the far end, another who was known for drinking a little too much at these things, but he also liked to gamble with his drinks, so he often ended up drinking a lot more before his stamina failed him and the night was through. Sometimes leaving without the clothing on his back. "Dare you to keep up with him."

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Re: Daniel/Zane

ashke
2016-11-19 12:58 am UTC (link)

"And you're playin' dirty," Zane accused Daniel. He was smiling when he said it, though. He didn't mind a challenge at all, when it came to who he was keeping up with, with drinks. Besides, Daniel liked him just as well drunk as he did sober, even though Zane tended toward the ridiculous when he'd been drinking. Probably made these things even more fun, Zane guessed, listening to him ramble about whatever struck his fancy when he'd had a few too many. Balls, or any kind of fancy formal affairs, could get a little bit boring, if you didn't find your own way to entertain yourself during them. That might've just been for Zane, though. He knew plenty of the nobles enjoyed them just fine all on their own, whether they were in it for the dancing like his sister-in-law, or for the political maneuvering that you could do behind the scenes, but that wasn't Zane's speed.

Not that he couldn't handle the political maneuvering, these days. He'd never been a fan of it, and he still wasn't, but you couldn't be married to the king of Camelot without learning to deal with folks that thought that they could use you to get some kind of favor, or thought they could take advantage of the fact that you hadn't been raised up in court like they had, didn't know all the little games that they played. Zane had known, from the start, that he could either be Daniel's weak point, or he could be someone who braced him up, made him stronger... and Zane sure as hell wasn't going to do anything to make the life of the man he loved more difficult.

This ball, though, this was their night, and Zane didn't expect to have to deal with anyone but Daniel. Didn't plan on getting too far from Daniel the entire night, and if that made him a clingy husband, their anniversary was a damned good reason to do it. Everyone knew that the king of Camelot had been awoken by true love's kiss. What'd these fuckers think that true love meant, if it didn't mean that you could be around each other all the time without ever actually getting sick of each other? Probably didn't think about it at all. Dumbasses.

Not that he'd be saying that out loud. In public. He'd expressed that opinion to Daniel in the privacy of their rooms before, of course, when someone'd thought that they could flirt with one or the other of them to get some kind of favor, like either of them would be swayed by that when they were married and disgustingly happy about it. Yeah, disgusting. Zane could admit it, or at least he'd been told enough times that he stopped arguing about it even in his own head.

And he was woolgathering when he had a challenge to win. "Dare accepted," he told Daniel sticking out a hand to shake on it. Not that there'd be any consequences, if one of them failed the challenge. or any reward for the winner that the other wouldn't enjoy just as thoroughly. That was the best part of this bet; no one really lost, unless they ended up with a hangover. That, Zane couldn't control, especially with the man he was supposed to be keeping up with on drinks. "But we're startin' now, because I haven't been keepin' track of how many drinks either of 'em have had before this." If he was lucky, he might win by default, if his guy had been drinking more heavily that Daniel's already in the night. Fortunately, one of the perks of being royalty by marriage was that there was someone to keep their drinks filled, when they wanted them to. Otherwise, it would've been a long walk, every time they had to refill.

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Re: Daniel/Zane

tothenunnery
2016-11-28 04:20 pm UTC (link)

Daniel himself had never been all that endeared to palace politic. He wasn't as disinterested in them as Freddie seemed to be a lot of the time, but then again Daniel supposed that was just the luxury of being the prince and not the king. Daniel had to at least be moderately interested in the traditions and customs of the kingdom, in order to lead Camelot the way that it and its people deserved. Freddie was still young and had a lot to learn about things like compromise and sacrifice, whereas Daniel had already learned those lessons many years ago.

But just because he wasn't pretending to be interested in royal affairs didn't always mean that he wasn't a little bored by them at times. Not all the time, but it did happen. After all, there was no getting around the fact that a lot of ruling a kingdom came down to obligations and a whole lot of the same old. Daniel never complained. He liked being the person charged with taking care of Camelot, and he took his job seriously, but sometimes? Even his eyes started to glaze over a little at the repetitiveness with some of his responsibilities as king.

He was lucky in that he'd never actually had to experience being king without Zane by his side. Daniel had only been a prince when he'd been put under that sleeping curse, it wasn't until after that curse had been broken and he'd married Zane that he became king of Camelot. There was hardly a moment where Zane wasn't at his side, although there would always be some things that Zane couldn't accompany him to. Not very many, since Daniel was pretty adamant about including his husband in almost everything, both formal and the more political affairs, if Zane wanted to be involved. Thankfully, that included public functions like this.

Not that he ever minded a good celebration. There was always a ball to throw in Camelot, but even those could get a little stale. It was always the same people, the same music, the same food and drink. Often times the same conversations that Daniel was forced into, with the same nobles and other Camelot officials that always attended these things and enjoyed the repetition of it far more than Daniel ever did. There was something to be said about tradition and ritual, and Daniel held those notions in fairly high regard. It was still a little bit of a relief when he could actually afford to break those traditions, though.

Tonight was already different in so many ways. It was another ball, yes, but there was nothing political to gain from it, except maybe to make new friends. The invitations had been opened up to everyone, making it an entirely different sort of crowd from their usual one, and the sole purpose of the ball was to celebrate his marriage. Zane always made every function more interesting just by being there and being himself, but in this case, he didn't even have to try. This was their night, and Daniel's attention was entirely focused on him. He grinned, leaning over with his other hand to shake Zane's, mockingly formal, before he signaled for a nearby server to come refill their drinks. "I think that's fair, all things considered. Seems like you might need all the help you can get."

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Re: Daniel/Zane

ashke
2016-12-01 12:45 am UTC (link)

Fucking right it was fair. There was no way Zane was walking away from the night without getting drunk, he wasn't going to make himself sick trying to catch up fast. Not that he wouldn't stop, if and when he needed to. As much fun as it was, these little competitions with Daniel, just to pass the time, it wasn't like Zane had any problems with losing. Sure, he might groan about it, or tease Daniel when he happened to win, but as far as actually being a sore loser, that just wasn't who Zane was. He'd already won the most important competition in his life, the one that had given him the right to try out his luck at being Daniel's true love. One he'd never thought he had any kind of chance of winning. Anything less than that, that wasn't worth the effort it took to get pissy about.

He still leveled a finger at Daniel as he took up his drink with the other hand. "You're just tryin' to get me drunk and take advantage of me, Your Highness." There wasn't any gravity to the title. Zane'd never much been impressed by it, or by all the trappings. That hadn't been why he'd tried his hand at winning the right to try to kiss a prince awake. That'd been all about Daniel, the look on his face as he slept, how much Zane wanted to get to know the man. The title, that was just something he used to tease Daniel, said with a smile on his face and a hint of a laugh in his tone. After all, why would he have any problem with Daniel taking advantage of him. "I like it."

Damn, but he liked it. Liked everything about Daniel, really, but there was something special about how comfortable they were with each other. They'd fallen into it easily enough, even when the whole thing had still been new to them, but the new had worn off a long time ago, now, and Zane was just finding something more to love about Daniel every day. Even the things that irritated him, he still loved them. Loved the proof that Daniel was a real person. That he was comfortable enough with Zane to show him the less perfect bits. He really loved Daniel 'taking advantage' of him, not that Zane didn't do plenty of taking advantage, himself.

Raising his glass in a toast, Zane started drinking, watching the man that Daniel had challenged him to keep up with out of the corner of his eye. Just because he didn't mind losing, didn't mean that he wasn't going to try to win. After all, Daniel wasn't a sore loser, either, and the win'd be more fun for either of them if the other had put up a fight before they got there. Nah, Zane was gonna pace himself as much as he could, not get ambitious and finish his drink any faster than the noble that Daniel had pointed to was. That'd be fast enough, anyway, he didn't need to make it worse.

Unless, of course, making it worse gave him an excuse to drag Daniel outside onto one of the balconies for a while, to get some fresh air... and steal a kiss or two, like they were newlyweds again, sneaking off whenever they could because they couldn't keep their hands off each other. It was their anniversary. Zane was pretty sure that, in spite of how many people there were packed into the ballroom that night, not a single damn one of them would begrudge him the chance to steal a few kisses from his husband on their anniversary.

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Re: Daniel/Zane

tothenunnery
2017-01-04 05:44 pm UTC (link)

The way Zane said 'Your Highness', it always felt like more of an endearment than anything actually approaching respect. Truth be told, it was the only way he could actually stomach being referred to that way. The words 'Your Highness' uttered from anyone else's mouth was usually always out of some formality, stiff and reverent in a way that made Daniel inwardly squirm, but Zane always made it sound like he was teasing him. There was a certain fondness and lightheartedness to it that always put Daniel at ease, instead of making him more tense and aware of who he ultimately was to an entire kingdom.

In the end, there were a lot of reasons why Daniel loved being with Zane. Countless reasons, actually. So many that he'd lost track of just how many years ago, but that one was close to the top. Zane never made Daniel feel like the king. He made him feel like himself, and that was who Zane loved. Not the king of Camelot, but Daniel Morgan. The man that years ago, Zane had woken up with a kiss, purely by chance. If there was anything that made Daniel believe in fate, it was that. Through a set of extraordinarily random circumstance, Zane had been the one to enter that contest and win it, he'd been the last person to every try their hand at waking up the sleeping prince, and he'd been the one to succeed. Everything else was history.

"What an accusation," Daniel laughed warmly, feigning an innocent look like he would never presume to try such a thing. If anything, they'd be getting drunk and taking advantage of each other before the night was over, or at least that's what usually happened after these sorts of functions. The simplicity of having a little too much to drink and falling into bed with Zane had become one of Daniel's favorite past times, and it was perfectly acceptable for the king of Camelot to get a little drunk at primarily social functions where no official diplomacy was involved in the proceedings. Besides, this wasn't just any social function, this was their anniversary. They could get as drunk as they wanted, and leave for the night whenever they wanted to. Daniel was looking forward to that second part.

For a moment he just watched Zane as the younger man took his first drink, Daniel's glass still raised for a few seconds longer before he took a sip from his own. He honestly didn't know what he'd been doing all those years before he met Zane, but his life had certainly been a lot more empty. No matter how many years they'd spent together already, Daniel only found more things to love about Zane, enjoying every moment they spent together and agonized through every moment they were apart. Daniel grinned, swallowing and looking at Zane with nothing but love in his eyes. "... Though if you keep drinking like that, you won't exactly be making my job all that hard for me."

Even though they'd already toasted, technically, Daniel felt compelled to raise his glass again, this time letting it clink on the rim of Zane's before pulling it back, blue eyes sparkling. He counted himself lucky that he'd found someone like Zane to be by his side who made every day feel like an adventure, and Daniel honestly couldn't ever ask for more than that. Tonight was perfect. "To us. If it's possible I love you even more today than I did yesterday."

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Re: Daniel/Zane

ashke
2017-01-12 08:46 pm UTC (link)

The way Zane figured it, Daniel's job was hard enough already. There wasn't anything easy about the kind of expectations that rested on Daniel's shoulders every day, no matter what folks may have thought about spoiled nobility, spoiled royalty. No matter what Zane might have thought, once, before everything. Before he'd become a part of that world, even if he would never really feel like he fit into it. He didn't want to feel like he fit into it. That was something he could give Daniel, something he could bring him, that no well-bred lord or lady could have. Zane knew what it was like to be one of the commoners, one of the poor people to whom the king was a distant star.

Daniel was a good king. Even if Zane hadn't fallen in love with him, even if he'd only ever known him as the king that he served, he thought he'd have loved him with all his heart just for that, looking up to the man on the throne who actually gave a fuck about the rest of them. About his people. Daniel was more than the king of Camelot, he was Camelot's heart. Zane just happened to be the one lucky enough to steal Daniel's heart, with a kiss. Hard as Daniel worked on everything else? Zane sure as hell didn't mind making as many things as simple for him as he could, in as many ways as he could. "What can I say, honey, I'm always gonna be easy for you." He'd prove it, too, later, once they weren't in front of all these people. Zane was willing to prove that as often as they could find the time alone for.

He may have been teasing, but what Daniel said... that made his heart jump in his chest, warmer and fuller than he'd ever thought it could be. It'd never felt that way, before Daniel. He'd never felt that way, before Daniel. He hadn't known that love could really be like that, outside of stories, outside of the songs that he'd sung for his mother, when his father wasn't around to yell at him about singing, and love, being womanly. Now, he couldn't imagine living any other way. The way he loved Daniel, that was like a feast that would keep him filled for a hundred years, a fire that would keep him warm through the coldest, darkest nights. It was better than all the stories, and all the songs, that he'd ever heard.

Someday, he'd find a way to say all of that out loud. To really have the words to tell Daniel how much he meant to him. Inside his mind, Zane was a poet. It was just in getting the words from his brain to his tongue that he started having trouble. Lucky for him, Daniel knew it anyway. Daniel always knew what it was that Zane meant, even when Zane couldn't find the right words.

Until then, he was just going to have to keep showing it, in every way he could. By being by Daniel's side. By giving him his unquestioning support, lending him a hand to take some of that weight he was carrying off of his shoulders. By telling the damned idiot to take a night off every once in a while, or reminding him that he couldn't save everyone, he couldn't fix everything with his own two hands, that sometimes shit happened and he couldn't blame himself. By giving Daniel something, and someone, who could be just his, who he could be selfish about like he wasn't about any other damn thing in the world.

"To us." Zane touched the lip of his glass to Daniel's. His smile, this time, was softer. More private, something meant for Daniel alone. "And to loving each other even more tomorrow than we do today."

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