OKAY I KNOW I SUCK AT UPDATING I'M SO SORRY FOR THIS TWO MONTH GAP OH MY GOD
THIS CHAPTER IS ALSO SHORT AF AND NOT PROOFREAD AT ALL BUT PLEASE BEAR WITH ME
I'm starting vacation early (I'll be in Taiwan on the 17th) and I'll probably have time to write more over summer break. I wanted to give you guys at least an update before I delve into finals week so here it is! I'm so thankful for everyone that has kept with this story! Thank you for not giving up on me (even though I'm a lazy bum)!
A/N: This chapter will feature cursing and minor content. However, I want to make you guys as happy as I can with continuing the story, so if any of it feels OOC, comment or PM me!
New Beijing was lit up by the slow, soft sunset of the disappearing sun. Barely past the horizon, it was still quite bright, although the many city citizens barely noticed the mundane event. To Selene, however, it was one of the wonders that she could barely turn away from. She came down the steps of the palace, pausing abruptly halfway. Kai watched, with barely concealed fondness (and amusement) as her jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widening as she stared at the golden-orange celestial body.
Kai didn't dare disturb the picture of serenity that stood before him, electing to gaze at Selene with (as any onlooker would notice) the same amount of admiration she was offering to the setting globe. He took his time, as she took hers, and noticed more and more details about the princess. He observed the dotted ridge of her nose, and the tiny baby hairs that refused to be corralled into tight hairstyles around the crown of her head. He flickered between her tight grip on her small pouch and the wanderlust in her eyes.
She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place who.
"It's beautiful," Selene breathed, coming to her senses and (rather sheepishly) descending the rest of the stairs. "Does that happen every week?"
Kai chuckled. "Try every day."
"No." Selene turned to face him, eyes like saucers. "Really?"
"Really."
"Lucky," she sighed, as Kai guided her gently down the street. "We don't see the sun on Luna nearly as much. There's a 29 day period between our sunrises and our sunsets, and even then it's not nearly as beautiful as the ones you have on Earth."
"Well, now I know your weakness," Kai replied, feigning seriousness. "Sunsets. It's what we'll use to seduce you into staying here."
Selene let out one of her easy, airy laughs. "Elissa would probably kill you."
"Well, as long as we're talking about capital punishment, I think Torin and Elissa are going to decimate each other before they turn their deadly talents on us."
"Probably. I wouldn't put it past Elissa to go completely insane if she found out that our return to Luna might be delayed. She's stressed out as is."
"So is Torin. Have you seen his office? Looks like someone tried to play baseball with a team of monkeys and lost."
"It's very hard to imagine Torin greenlighting that idea."
"Eh, I don't know about that. I'd just sneak the entire monkey family into his office while he's sleeping and let them do the work."
Selene let out a mock gasp. "So it was you! The monkey culprit!"
Kai pushed his forehead back with his knuckles, masquerading as a distressed damsel of old. "Oh dear! Whatever shall I do? You have caught me, Your Highness! I beg for mercy!"
Selene let out a fit of laughter, and she waved a hand in a queenly gesture. "I am afraid I cannot let you go easily, Mister Kai. The destruction of palace property is not something that can be easily fixed."
Kai grinned. "And what if Mister Kai shows you the most amazing noodle shop in New Beijing?"
Selene's eyebrows raised, piqued interest shining through. Linking her elbow with his, she fluttered her eyebrows coquettishly, almost breaking down in the middle of her facade. "I'll consider it, Mister Kai."
Goddamit. God. Fucking. Dammit.
Stars above, had that girl no sense? Had she completely lost her logic?
Elissa stormed around, reaching for her crystal bottle of whiskey before remembering herself and sinking back into her couch, a low, frustrated groan escaping her lips. No relaxation, no books to read, no pointless net dramas, no alcohol available. But somehow, the gods above had seen fit to sent her pounds upon pounds of material to be annotated, highlighted, read, and reread by the end of the week. And in addition to the three thousand stacks of paperwork, someone up above controlling everything had pushed one person into the queen nineteen years ago, and a problematic princess had sprung from that equation.
Honestly, could someone just leave her alone?! For one fucking moment, could she just have a good night's sleep, a period of rest where she wasn't constantly chasing deadlines and meetings? If they weren't so awkward and cool to each other, Elissa would have asked Konn Torin how he had dealt with being a royal advisor and a babysitter to an equally rash heir.
Elissa leaned back as far as she could in the plush armchair, and although it was not officially a recliner, years of delegates staying in the same room had worn away the sharpness of the chair's legs, allowing her to push off the ground. She closed her eyes, the dryness and soreness becoming a recurring familiarity in her day-to-day rests (and lack thereof).
She tried in vain to relax her posture, even grudgingly reaching for her bottle of water (albeit glancing longingly at her bottle of whiskey) and downing half the canteen.
"Is this about Selene?"
Elissa's eyes snapped open, and her pocketknife was out before she realized who had spoken to her. Her cheeks burning at the lame weapon, she closed it. "Isn't everything nowadays?"
Aiden looked troubled by her answer. "Not everything." He reached out, tucking his arms around her smaller frame. Between them, they had a ten-inch height difference, but Elissa took advantage of it. She leaned into his broad chest, feeling the slow warmth spreading its way down to the tips of her toes. Aiden buried his nose carefully into her hair, mumbling into her scalp.
"I missed you."
Elissa broke away for a moment, placing her hands delicately on Aiden's shoulders. He looked back at her, eyebrows raised. Elissa reached up and threaded her fingers into his short hair, pulling her up on her tiptoes in order to kiss him. He responded in kind, kissing her passionately.
Elissa pushed a little towards him, moving the both of them around the room. As he realized that they were getting closer to the bed in the middle of the room, he stopped. Elissa managed to nudge him down a little, and he sat down on the plush mattress, pulling her down onto his knees.
"Elissa-are-you sure-we-can do-this?" Aiden said breathlessly between kisses.
Elissa broke away for a second and cupped her lover's face gently. "Are you off duty right now?"
Aiden nodded, staring up at his goddess.
"I'm already pregnant, there's not much that can happen that hasn't already," Elissa murmured, leaning down again. Aiden seemed to concede, as he threaded his fingers into her hair and pulled her down onto the center of the bed with him.
"I love you," mumbled Aiden as he managed to undo Elissa's updo.
"I love you too."
"This is amazing," Selene declared as she manged to transport a noodle from the bowl to between her chopsticks and then into her mouth. "What is this again?"
"Noodles with beef sauce," Kai said, laughing. "That's all there is to it."
"All there is?!" Selene protested. "On Luna, we don't even have beef!"
"Really? So you're all vegetarians?"
"No, we just don't slaughter cows much for food. We like their milk more." Selene leaned over and stole a noodle out of Kai's bowl. Swallowing it, she screwed her face up into a pained expression.
"Why-is-it-this-spicy!" Selene gasped out frantically. Kai exhaled, a burst of laughter expelling from his lungs. He pushed an iced bubble tea towards her. Selene accepted it gratefully, chewing on the pearls.
"Mmm..." She mumbled. "What is this again?"
Kai chuckled. "Bubble tea."
"This is amazing. I'm never leaving this place."
"Head Thaumaturge Elissa would decapitate me if I let you do that."
"Okay, maybe. But she'll want to stay once she tastes this-this-" Selene scrambled for words. "Food from the gods."
"Food from the gods? You're setting the bar really high for something most people in the Commonwealth can cook."
"Most people?!" Selene gaped. "This is the best thing I've ever had!"
"Seriously? You guys don't have spicy noodles or beef noodles on Luna?"
"Everything we have is dressed down to a muted flavor. I've never tasted something as vibrant as this."
"That's too bad. If you stay, I'd take you to eat this everyday." He paused. "You know, provided that the Head Thaumaturge doesn't behead me."
Selene laughed lightly and hooked her arm through Kai's offered arm. Together they walked down the central road, looking like any other young couple on the street.
From a table at the noodle shop, he set down his spoon and followed the prince and princess with his dark eyes. Reaching inside his side bag, he felt for his comm and pressed the button on the side without hesitation.
It was time for the next step.
A/N: I love bubble tea. Seriously. If you've never had it, you need to get it. (Or milk tea or milk tea with grass jelly if you don't like pearls.)
