(AN: Hey guys, I totally spaced this chapter because I'm a terrible author. I am so sorry, but school's almost over, so not next Monday, but the Monday after that, my updates should be coming )

Chapter 21

"Sam, you can't go."

The taller man slung his bag over his shoulder and sighed deeply. "Gabriel, I have to. You know that. I have to go now. I'm already running late." Sam sighed and shook his head. He pulled Gabe into a tight hug. "I'll come back to you. I promise."

"You better be in one piece." Gabriel mumbled against his chest.

"I will be. I'll always come back to you. Always."

With that, he placed one final kiss on his prince's lips and left to join the rest of the recruits down in the courtyard.

Gabriel watched the mass of new soldiers from the window, and within the hour... His fiance was gone.

-Handprint-

The training was hard, but as a former hunter, it turned out to be easier than he had thought it would be. He advanced through the ranks as soon as he was recognized for his battle planning and fighting skills.

Before long, Sam had been assigned as a recruit trainer, under slight supervision of course, but the real leaders had better things to do than train farmers to properly handle a sword. There was a war going on, and their enemy had been preparing for this for years. The enemy forces were stronger, better trained, and more numerous. All they had been waiting for was an excuse to declare war. When there had been an honest mistake, Queen Abadon had taken advantage of it.

Sam thought of that everytime he called his squad into formation. Every time he ran a drill. Every time he moved and felt his ring thump against his chest from it's place on a leather strap under his shirt. He thought about it every time a new wave of recruits showed up. Basically, he thought about it constantly, especially on the day a few months after he started train. The day that he was watching the new recruits arrive and he turned away, he couldn't stand the sadness on their faces anymore. He was about to walk away when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind and squeeze his middle tightly and a face nuzzle against his back.

He pulled out of the grasp quickly and turned around, ready to reprimand whoever dared to take such familiarity with him, but his mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide when he saw who it was that had been hugging him.

"Gabriel? What the hell are you doing here?"

The prince grinned happily and pulled Sam into a tight hug.

"Seriously, Gabe, what are you doing here? This is a war zone."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm a crowned prince who wants to 'support his people' in this war." The shorter man snuggled closer to his fiance.

Sam sighed and stroked the shorter man's hair. "Gabe, you shouldn't have come out here."

"Sam, I missed you. "

"I missed you too, but this place is dangerous."

"I know, Sam, but I'm a prince. I'm more dangerous than you might think. I've been trained for battle since I could hold a sword." Gabriel smiled and kissed Sam on the cheek. "I'm small, but deadly."

The hunter shook his head and looked down at the smaller man. "Gabe, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't."

"How do you know that?"

Gabriel smiled."Because you'll be here to protect me."

"Come on, Gabe, I don't even know if I can keep myself safe." Sam sighed.

"I can keep you safe and you can keep me safe. That's what partners do. They watch each other's backs."

Sam took a deep breath. "Gabriel, I love you... I just want you to be safe."

"I know, Sam, but I want to be happy, and I'm happy with you, so I'm staying here."

Sam went quiet for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Okay, fine, but you stay out of harm's way okay? I've gotten myself assigned to train recruits. So you can probably so the same thing... They always need more people to train the others."

"Good." Gabriel smiled brightly. "Can I get my 'Hello, Gabriel'/ 'I haven't seen my fiance in over two months' kiss? "

Sam cracked a smile and nodded. "You can get a kiss whenever you want, Gabriel."

The prince grinned and went up on his toes as the hunter picked him up so that their lips could lock together in a passionate kiss. It went on and on, until both of them had to break away for air.

Sam set Gabriel down and they rested their foreheads together. Their breaths mingled as they panted, trying to catch their breath.

"Was that good enough?" Sam asked breathlessly.

Gabriel tilted his head thoughtfully. ''Hmmm... I don't know... We might have to do it again just to be sure."

With that, Sam grinned and they kissed again. Longer this time, but their smiles were just as genuine afterwards.

"Gabe, you do realize that this is an incredibly bad idea right?"

"Yeah, I know, Sam... But I had to know that you were okay."

The taller man shook his head and smiled down at his love. "Well, Gabe, since you're here, you'll need a leather strap."

"What for?"

Sam smiled and pulled his ring out from under his shirt. "Because, if you wear your ring it'll get damaged or lost." Sam tucked the ring back underneath his shirt and smiled. "Come on, we can go and get one for you right now."

The prince smiled and nuzzled Sam's neck. "Let's go. We've got a big day ahead of us."

(AN: Sorry this chapter is so short guys, but I'm so tired and I really have no idea what to do with this chapter. Like I said before. I could really use some ideas on how to continue this. I did enjoy that thiscouldbealittlemoresonic had the same idea that I did. I like it when my ideas are validated by reviews. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. If you want, leave a review spitballing ideas at me. Please, my brain is dead.

-AJ)