Urhi could not consider himself a man.

A tool perhaps. But never a man. A man would have been able to save Nakia from the Hittite's bed and a man would have been able to raise a family with the woman he loved.

He was an item and Urhi did not resent this. He truly and honestly believed it until Nakia, his queen, had brought him the baby.

When those blue eyes caught his own and when those small hands reached his face, when those lips opened into a smile, Urhi could not help but think…

Juda should have been mine.

If anything, Nakia was a very determined woman.

Some, such as the people of Hattusa and the young prince Kail most of all, would call it stubbornness, but others such as her Urhi would describe it as a strength borne from the deepest hatred. It either case, there was a unanimous concession that nothing could stop the Empress Dowager when she sets her mind to it.

However, Nakia was sure that she had come to a dead at this point. She wasn't going to give up. No. That was for the lesser human who didn't have to sacrifice everything to become something. Nakia was far from that and this was precisely why Nakia could not give up on Urhi.

But she was willing to compromise.

That's why she accepted everything Urhi had to offer. She accepted in order to receive and keep. Nakia accepted because Urhi was hers.

And when she showed him the small child, the baby with his exact hair and urhi's pale eyes, she saw Urhi's enthrallment. They were so similer. They could have been brothers. And Nakia knew, as plainly as the resignation on Urhi's face, that she had captured him. Hook. Line. And sinker.

Love was too powerful of a word. They hadn't kissed in years. Not since when they were both teenagers. Nakia and Urhi were not those kids anymore and that budding attraction between them was pushed down in favor of things more practical; they were allies, comrades, master and slave, and the bond that held them together was a thick string of loyalty. If there was any lingering feelings between the couple, nothing was voiced and therefore everything was ignored.

However, on nights like these, Urhi sometimes had trouble remembering this delicate balance. After all, it wasn't every day that her highness forgot herself and fell asleep in an open courtyard in front of prying eyes. Albeit the other servents had long since retired to their quarters and it was only Urhi who was there to witness the Queen's moment of weakness.

The queen was asleep on the rock benches stationed around the seraglio courtyard and was shaded from the moon by a shaking flower tree. The petals were loosely making their way down giving off the appearance of snow dropping onto the Empress. Urhi shifted awkwardly, unaccustomed to this sort of vulnerability and uncertain as to whether he should carry the Queen back to her chambers or if she would appreciate being woken up instead.

Noticing a few stray hairs, Urhi smoothed out Nakia's face and flicked some of the falling petals off her hair. He stopped suddenly, staring at her face, startled. Since when had she looked so…young? So carefree? So content?

It was painful to know that he could not produce an expression like this from her but also rather exhilarating to see. He knew for a fact that Nakia did not linger in the king's bed longer than necessary and aside from him, a eunuch, no other man was allowed in the Seraglio. His heart sped at the knowledge that he was the only man who had and will ever seen Nakia's peaceful face like this. However small, it was a piece of Nakia that will be forever his and for the next few moments a weightless breathlessness filled Urhi and he felt like the petals that danced around the courtyard.

"My queen…" Urhi reached out to untangle her hair from the petals once more but this time gently brushed his hands against her cheek. "What am I to do with you…"

Mind made up, Urhi carefully lifted Nakia with his right arm under her legs and the other supporting her head to begin their walk inside.

Urhi carefully laid his queen in her chambers, knowing full well that in the morning this magical moment will have been forgotten.

The petals were the only witness to his soft touch and carried the words he could never give.

I love you.

AN:

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy holidays to those of you who do not celebrate the christmas ^^

Someone asked me for this and I'm giving it to her as a gift-fic but she seems to have left fanfiction for some reason :( Anyway, she did bring to my attention that there are no fanfiction for this couple and Urhi and Nakia need some love! 3

Thanks for reading and once again have a great holiday.

-kuroSora