Inspired by some general themes I picked up on from my own re-reads or the Prince Kai fanpod.
Also I feel like there's a K-drama called marriage not dating but I really don't remember so please don't sue me.
Yes I have an addiction to writing dialogue. Hence, lots of dialogue.
Image credit to the lovely Taratjah.
"Like when I first met you, and you had that grease splotch on your forehead."
She groaned. "You saw that?"
Cinder and Kai lay beside each other on the spacious bed. Light from the dawning sunset bled through the window and cast its shadow onto Kai's back and Cinder's face, but it was not its light that was enveloping them in warmth. The latter yawned, causing Kai to unconsciously mirror the action before realising and playfully hitting her shoulder.
"It's not my fault I'm tired." She droned.
After a lengthy walk around the palace gardens (including the 15 minutes spent attempting to name all the Koi in the ponds, "Okay, so there's Yutaro" "Kai we already established that that's So-yeong") the pair were spending the time before dusk sprawled across his bed. Most of that time was filled with the 'riveting' work of answering comms on royal matters and reading through treaty agreements. However, upon the second hour of Cinder scanning through the mind-numbing outlines of dome boundaries regulations (which she wondered if it was entirely necessary to cover in her role as advisor) she realised she would not process anything if she read a single sentence more. Kai, noticing her pause, put down his portscreen and joined her in simply resting against each other.
"Did you go down to the garage today?"
Cinder sadly hummed a no. "I had that immigration meeting today, and Iko would've killed me if I got grease on my qipao."
Kai narrowed his eyes. "I don't think anyone would've noticed. It's basically your trademark."
"Yeah, but apparently royalty have to look presentable at all times. Which is unfair, I mean your hair is always messy and yet no one cares because it's 'endearing'." She moved her cyborg fingers in a quotation gesture.
"Are you sure it just looks messy to you? And also, why are you paying so much attention to my hair?"
She deadpanned. "Because I pay attention to your face, Prince charming."
"Well at least I don't point out your grease stains."
Her eyes seemed glazed over. "You notice them?" She murmured absentmindedly.
"Of course, like when I first met you, and you had that grease splotch on your forehead."
She groaned, brought back to the present. "You saw that?"
"Mm-hm, I wanted to wipe it off and everything."
She sent him a glare, though it held no sharpness.
"Oh come on, you know I liked you really early on".
She swatted his hand away bashfully. "No, it's just embarrassing."
"It was cute. Still is." Kai leaned so he hovered above her head before he pressed his lips to her neck. She would have felt weird with the knowledge that it was right beside her control panel if not the regularity of such a gesture.
An alert briefly returned them to their work, though it was interjected by their meaningless chatter. Somehow, in between such absentminded sentiments, Kai expressed remorse over a particularly defining moment. The ball. The way his heart had fluttered in seeing Cinder on the stair. A hope for change blossomed but quickly withered by the end. How he had betrayed her.
"Okay now that's just ridiculous. You did not betray me."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I know, but it kinda feels like it. I didn't trust you even though you risked your life to help me."
Her brow furrowed. "Is this because of what Thorne said?"
During their stay at the Benoit Farm, Thorne had relayed events of the revolution to
Émilie with rather theatrical exclamation. His description of Kai's reaction to finding out Cinder was a cyborg was technically accurate, but sensationalised in a way Cinder knew left a stinging in Kai's chest. Cress had promptly reprimanded him, and Cinder was glad Thorne was unaware of Kai's exact words, "you're even more painful to look at than she is." Stars knows how he would have dramatised that material.
Kai chuckled and reached over to caress his thumb against her forehead, mimicking the action of wiping off a grease stain - though this time there was none.
"You really didn't know me at all Kai; seriously think about it. We had spent no more than an hour together all up before you were asking me to the ball. That's barely enough time to establish trust."
He grunted, and despite her reassurances, he looked sheepish. "Still, knowing everything you went through with Adri, and then Peony, and then finding out you were Lunar, me turning against you was the last thing you needed."
Cinder sighed and sat up, leaning against the headrest while she looked down at him. Seeing him so laid back and transparent oddly brought her back to the moment in the elevator. It was years ago at this point, yet it had stayed present in her mind whenever she thought back to their initial meetings. With the overwhelming stress the both had been under, the little slice of relief and somewhat familiarity had served to deepen her budding feelings for him. She knew it was the same for him, especially with the memory that when their almost-kiss had been interrupted by her seizure, she had seen disappointment in his gaze. In retrospect their familiarity then was miniscule compared to now. It occurred to Cinder suddenly that they really hadn't spent much time together since then, and with this realisation she let out a laugh.
Kai looked up at her questioningly.
"You know, I just realised that we've never been on a date."
His face immediately contorted into a protest. "What? Of course we have!"
"Okay, when?" She smirked encouragingly.
He paused for a moment, his eyes contemplative as he stared into a middle distance. "Well, I guess none of the time during the revolution counted, the ball certainly didn't count." Another beat passed. "Hey, what about the Peace Festival and the time we were together before that?"
She shook her head. "Nope, doesn't count. That was basically glorified royal duties anyway."
He sighed exasperatedly, but the humour was evident in his tone. "What about these past weeks? We've spent heaps of time together."
"Yes…" she drawled, "but most of that time has been Ambassador work or Empress training that got derailed."
"Oh come on, don't harass a guy for wanting to spend time with the girlfriend - nay - fiancée he only saw once in two years!"
She leaned slightly so that her stomach was near his head, and he could feel as her laughter rippled around her torso.
The 'derailed' moments were never born from blatant disregard of their responsibilities. Rather, they would lightly joke or notice something through a window and get distracted before realising that they had abandoned whatever they had been occupied with. They usually tried to return to working, but it was mostly fruitless. So, they would elevate their jitters and procrastinate by taking a walk around the gardens, or aimlessly wading through books in the library.
"Anyway." She said, returning to the topic on-hand. "Those are never dates, more like boredom expeditions."
He deadpanned. "Are you calling me boring?"
She sighed sarcastically. "Oh, extremely. Honestly I'm going to have to get a giant netscreen in here if I want to survive forever and eternity without yawning to death". She didn't hold the joking manner for long, her face bearing a grin by the end of her monologue.
He too broke out in a smile. "Well then, your royal high-standards highness, what do you consider a date?"
She pondered over it for a second. "Where we go to do something for the very sake of going on a date. No war, no work, no royal business on the agenda. Just us, on a date like a normal couple, doing, well, dating stuff."
Kai nodded, accepting her definition. "Alright. Well it'd be an atrocity if we never go on an actual date, so how about we start."
"Start dating? Kai, I thought you'd never ask." Her voice lilted with faux-drama, and to add to the effect, she brought her hands up to fan her face.
He rolled his eyes at her show before they widened with realisation. "Hey! I recall asking you out to lunch back at the marketplace, so technically I have a clean record. And since I remember correctly, then you're the one opposed to dating!"
"I didn't have a foot, Kai, I couldn't very well have said: 'oh lunch sounds great, but you have to carry me there, and be warned, the leg is heavy'."
His brow furrowed. "Wait you didn't have a…" He trailed off. "Stars, you really need to sit me down one of these days and tell me everything that happened, cause I'm missing some details."
Cinder scrunched up her face. "I already did remember? On the Rampion, after we had kidnapped you."
"Well you evidently didn't mention everything, anything else you're hiding?"
Yet again, their conversation brought her back to another memory in the past, this time the fateful night at the ball and his incredulous but endeared reaction to what had befallen her silk gloves. It registered in her mind that his teasing grin was reminiscent of that moment.
"You know the gloves you gave me? And how they were covered in grease stains?"
He nodded wordlessly.
"I didn't get them dirty. Right after you left Pearl threw them on the ground and buried them under my tools."
He started, but only subtly, and his face morphed with emotions of anger, disappointment and overall, sadness.
"I'm really sorry Cin. That wasn't right"
She brushed him off. "Nah, it's fine, really."
Kai reached up to take her chin in his hand, his eyes boring into her own surprised ones. "No, it's really not. You deserve better. You never deserved to be treated the way you did. Not because you were royalty, but because you were human. It didn't matter if you were a cyborg, or a-" he grimaced "-second class citizen."
Cinder blinked. Twice. He had said things of a similar nature before, reminding her that what she went through was in no way earned. Still, she thought, spending most of her waking time treated with disregard from all but two friends, it was hard to root out feelings of inadequacy. This brought her back to Kai, the genuineness in his expression, the remorse and love in his eyes. He never looked at her with pity, but instead always appeared as if what she had endured was somehow his fault. If he verbalised this she would of course rebuke him for his selflessness, especially when he in no way needed to be responsible for others' failings. Cinder knew though that this was merely who Kai was, a ruler who couldn't help but feel like injustice was indicative of some kind of lapse on his part.
Kai had sought refuge in her in their first few meetings. He had been so open, so blasé about his feelings and frustrations and even political matters. Cinder had asked him why on the day before Scarlet and Wolf's wedding, when they had spent hours talking their mouths dry. His answer had been simple, and was his conclusion from the first time he met her: he had been doing his best, and she was one of the first people who hadn't been impressed by that. Rather than being offended, Kai had found it refreshing amongst constant praise. Reality. Grounding. All the things you need in your forever person. Which was precisely why he had been drawn to her. That, and as he attested, her 'endearingly disheveled bluntness'.
She was drawn back to the present and noticed the lull of time that had passed. Kai didn't seem bothered, comfortably resting nestled into her side. Scooching down so they were face-to face, Cinder brought her left hand up to rest on his cheek. He didn't flinch from the cool metal, but pressed his face into her touch. The movement brought the glimmering gold upon her ring finger into her line of sight. She didn't wear the ring often, the both of them opting from the start to keep their engagement private from everyone for however long was needed. This included everyone barring Torin and the directors of her aforementioned Empress lessons. Even with their friends they had been discreet, planning to break the news in only three more weeks time. They both suspected however that the crew were expecting the announcement anytime soon, and so revealing the impending news did not cause them any serious anxiety.
To keep their engagement under the radar, Cinder kept the ring in its box in her calf compartment where press and even palace servants wouldn't see it. Aside from this reason was that upon her arrival Cinder had taken up Mechanical work in the Palace in her spare time. This was of course in no way required, but she felt that the short moments of pouring herself into the familiarity and reliability of machinery was a godsend for her sanity. With that being said, she would rather die than damage the priceless heirloom working, so she kept it tucked away for most of the day. When she was in the confines of her office however, or spending time in recluse with Kai, she would pull out the delicate ring and gently slip it onto her finger. Doing so never failed to make Kai grin.
Here now in the fading light of the emperor's quarters Cinder could see the ring glisten against her own gleaming hand. Contrary to her initial reaction, the ring no longer looked laughable or tacky on her metal finger but almost, almost natural, though she was incredibly biased in saying so. Iko claimed it was practically a part of her body at this point, but her overwhelming excitement was too clouding her rationale.
Oh, also, Iko knew about their engagement. Really, it was not even brought into the question of whether or not to wait to tell her. When Kai and Cinder had decided to hold off telling their friends it went unspoken that Iko was an exception. Besides, if Kai's advisor Torin knew, then it was only fair that Cinder's advisor and above all best friend knew. Cinder had told her a week after the proposal, and was met with lots and lots of excited screaming. Iko exuded excitement everywhere she went and prioritised wedding inspiration planning over everything else. She was restlessly impatient to actually start planning, but until the couple formally announced their engagement to parliament, she couldn't begin her 'masterpiece'. Thankfully, a benefit of being an Android was that she wouldn't spill the secret, although the temptation had her contemplating whether she should install a program to physically prevent her from doing so.
An alert across Cinder's retina display jarred her back into reality from her thoughtful stupor. She dismissed the inconsequential message, and her internal clock told her that it had been around ten minutes since either of them had last spoken.
After another heartbeat she broke the comfortable silence. "So."
WIthout opening his eyes, he reached up and pulled her hand down to his mouth, pressing his lips just above the ring. "So?"
"Where will we be having this date?"
Kai chuckled, squinting up to look at her. "Hmm...marketplace?"
She almost guffawed. "Really?"
"Yeah," he moved onto his back and gazed at the ceiling as he relayed his idea. "We could get lunch, walk around, checkout out the hotspots, and," he grinned, "we could do it all in hoodies."
She rolled her eyes. "Very conspicuous."
He nodded triumphantly. "It's very effective, and besides, last time I wore mine I met the coolest person in my life, so good things are bound to come to us in that disguise."
Her mind latched onto the final word and pondered the transparency of it. If she really wished she could simply glamour them as they walked around, averting the public eye from them. But without the pressure of a revolution, it no longer felt like it was necessary, like it could be justified. Calling the hoodies a disguise was sort of comforting, as if somehow they had returned to a world where scrutiny was not blatant manipulation but a simple piece of clothing.
"The coolest person huh? Me hitting Nainsi against a table didn't scare you off?"
"No, I actually used that trick myself. But seriously yes. Although I don't think coolest fully covers it."
He turned to face her then and her fingers itched to reach over and pad along his cheekbones. With nothing inhibiting her, she did just so.
She hummed for him to continue.
"Well, certainly stubborn, and angry, and reckless." He sent her a pointed look. "But mostly determined, selfless-"
"Shall I go get you a soapbox?"
He ignored her and continued. "-caring, resourceful, and beautiful."
His smile was too genuine, his eyes too truthful, his hand on hers seeping too much sincerity into her skin for it to be false. She thought that if she instead had a truth detector her retina display would be screaming with colour as she looked at him.
It was then that she kissed him, leaning forward to seal the gap that he was just as content to remove. They had settled into a routine, no longer needed to kiss to bide them over until they next saw each other. Instead, their kisses were more relaxed, more tender and languid. Though their engagement was private, the palace staff, the entire world, and the moon itself knew that they were in love, regardless of what debates were held against them. Thus, the couple weren't opposed to kissing even when they may be seen, though they saved much of their affection for when they were alone.
They broke apart after a while, to which Cinder whispered a "thank you".
His smile said it all.
They did end up going on their first date a week later, walking hand in hand through the streets of New Beijing, all the while donning their hoodies. They went largely unnoticed with the exception of the shopkeeper who served them okonomiyaki. After their profuse nervousness subsided to a degree, the server plucked up the courage to ask them why they were out on the town. Kai simply, and rather proudly, proclaimed that he was enjoying his first date with Cinder.
They later began trailing back to the palace as the city lit up with the nighttime.
"That went well."
She sigh-eyed him. "Why? Expected the worst?"
Laughter broke free from his throat, lost in the bustling city to everyone but her. "Well you know, first dates can be very daunting. I want to make a good impression."
It was her turn to laugh. "From the sounds of it you might just have a chance with this girl."
"I know, and I thank the stars above for it everyday."
"Doesn't hurt that you're engaged to her either."
He bound her up in his arms. "It makes it even better, no matter how unconventional it may be."
"That's a good way to put it. I can see the headlines already, 'Emperor marries cyborg mechanic: A national offence?' "
He rocked on his heels. "What, no mention of being the Lunar Queen?"
Cinder feigned ignorance. "I don't know a Lunar Queen, I've only heard of a former one."
"I think you will always be the Lunar Queen to people Cin, though being a cyborg empress may just overshadow it."
She leaned up and pecked a kiss on his lips. "That certainly sounds unconventional."
With Kai's arm slung over her shoulder, the pair trekked up the path towards the gleaming palace casting its presence onto the city. It was a symbol to the country, a statement of surety. Cinder had never imagined such grandeur for herself, and yet had come to see the towering roofs and shimmering fountains as her home. Because it was where Kai was. And it would be their home together, where they would be married, where they would welcome their friends, and, dare she say it, raise their children. The thought didn't come wrapped up with boundless anxiety. Rather, hopefulness.
"Though, I have to say I still think there's something more unconventional then all that".
He gestured for her to continue.
"I really don't think most couples go engagement then dating."
"Ah, there it is."
OK SO THE PRINCE CHARMING WAS OBVIOUSLY SARCASTIC BUT I SAW THE OPPORTUNITY AND TOOK IT!
Now I want to make okonomiyaki. Anyone want some I'll mail it to you.
Anyways thanks for reading.
À bientôt!