Kai spun his chair to the left, then to the right. He shifted the stylus on the edge of the desk, then brought it back to its previous position. His hand twitched, wanting to push back his hair, but instead he folded his hands into his lap.

He tried so hard to be patient, but he genuinely could not stand waiting for this meeting to start. His commlink was ready, and he was right on time. Unfortunately, none of his colleagues could say the same. Meetings were scheduled for a reason, after all. He was about to get up to grab a glass of water when a blue light flickered in front of him.

The holograph shimmered, then the likeness of Prime Minister Kamin of the African Union came into view.

Kai nodded at her. "Prime Minister."

She returned the courtesy. "Emperor. I was worried I'd be the last to join, but it appears the others have yet to arrive."

Before Kai could reply, three more blue lights shone in front of him. They came into focus as Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Bromstad of the European Federation, and- Kai sucked in a little breath- Cinder.

He had to remind himself that here, he should probably call her by her real name, full title, like he did with everyone else. Queen Selene of Luna. Kai wasn't exactly sure if he could manage that.

Cinder exchanged pleasantries with the others as Governor-General Williams of Australia entered the commlink, followed shortly by President Vargas of the American Republic.

Kamin cleared her throat. "If we could officially start this meeting, now that we've all joined."

The other diplomats nodded and quieted down, waiting. Kai drummed his fingers on his knee, ready to begin. He looked up and his eyes met Cinder's.

She smiled, just a little, the corners of her mouth pulling up.

She looked regal, and if Kai hadn't spent months learning her body language, he'd say she looked comfortable. However, the set of her shoulders gave her away. If anything, she was ready for some sort of fight.

Not that he was particularly surprised. Cinder seemed to live her life as a never-ending series of battles.

Kai's attention was torn away from her as Kamin projected an itinerary into the center.

The Prime Minister of Africa gestured to the list. "As discussed last month, these are the issues we need to focus on today."

Kai skimmed the items, but before he had time to really process anything, Bromstad spoke.

"I'm glad to see that the removal of the Lunar operatives is first on the list. They've been terrorizing my citizens for months now, and what is Luna doing about it?"

The entire group's attention moved to Cinder (Selene, he really had to remember).

She nodded, every second the queen. "We're trying, Prime Minister, but the operatives refuse any orders of surrender or recall. They are, effectively, deserters. Currently, we're trying to get together agents to send down to Earth to better take care of the problems."

Vargas sighed. "That's all well and good, your Majesty, but innocent lives are threatened daily nonetheless. More efforts are necessary."

Camilla gave a soft snort. "Vargas, you'd do well to remember that Luna is- no offense, Selene- in shambles. They're barely in a position to be doing anything."

Kai saw Cinder shift uncomfortably, either from Camilla's blunt assessment of her country, or from her given name.

Vargas spluttered a little. "Of course, I know that, but the blame still lies with Luna."

Kamin held up her hands, a gesture asking for reason. "We're a Union. To assign 'blame' is to force us apart."

Before Vargas could reply again, Kai butted in. "We're in a time of peace. Maybe we could all spare some military personnel to capture the Lunar operatives and hand them off to be taken back to Luna."

A few of the leaders refused to meet his eyes as he looked around the table, but no one outright disagreed with him.

"Where would you propose we 'hand off' the operatives?" Governor-General Williams asked, tapping his fingers against a table Kai couldn't see.

Cinder tucked a stray strand of hair behind one ear. "I'll establish individual drop sites with each of you?"

Kai nodded, and most of the others seemed to share the sentiment.

Camilla looked up at the itinerary. "Next issue, then?"

Bromstad cleared his throat. "No, I've got a question. Who's going to pay for the task forces to apprehend these Lunar operatives? Does this qualify as an international issue?"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "We're talking about it. That's what makes an international issue, right?"

Bromstad cocked his head. Kai could feel Cinder biting back a laugh, even though he wasn't looking at her.

"I suppose," Bromstad conceded. Williams grunted, and Kai stopped himself from shooting him a glare.

"Next issue?" Camilla repeated. No one argued this time. "Right then. New age anti-trust legislation. What do we have there today?"

The meeting continued, leaders throwing words back and forth. Everyone was polite, but Kai often found himself gritting his teeth. Sometimes, he just wanted to shout, but years of training kept his face passive. Aggression made everyone get defensive, and then nothing would get done.

With that thought, his gaze slid to Cinder again. Her chin was resting on her metal hand, her attention entirely on the discussion. He traced the pattern of those interlocking plates with his eyes. Honestly, it was impressive that she remained calm through these conferences. Though working her mechanic's both must have given her experience in customer service. This was practically the same thing.

He realized he'd been staring. And she'd noticed, too. She met his eyes with a slight smirk. He hoped he wasn't sporting a blush to match the heat he felt in his cheeks. As subtle as possible, he tried to return her grin.

"Emperor Kaito?" someone said, and he tore himself away from his girlfriend to go back to his job. (Running a country. Stars, why couldn't he focus?)

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cinder make a slightly embarrassed shift in her chair.

He really hoped none of the others had noticed. The last thing that either of them needed was their colleagues thinking they were lovesick teenagers. (They absolutely were, but no one needed to know that).

Through the rest of the meeting, they avoided each other's eyes, trying to make up for the mistake. Finally, after almost three hours, they decided to conclude.

"Until next time, then?" Vargas said.

The other murmured their acknowledgement, and then their holographic likenesses disappeared.

Kai slumped in his chair and let out a small groan. He was tired- he'd barely slept last night.

At a knock at the door, he turned to look at Torin.

"Your Majesty," the advisor said, giving him a nod. "How are the other leaders?"

"Everyone's fine," Kai said, standing up. Maybe he'd go get that glass of water now. "Politely trying to tear each other's throats out. I hate to say it, but Luna's giving us a rough patch."

Torin raised an eyebrow.

"Not Cinder, obviously," he quickly added. "But everything has been changing with them in the picture. For the better, of course, but it's a little rocky."
"To be expected. Good things often don't come easy." The adviser gave him a knowing smile.

"No, they really don't," Kai said, but his tone was light. "I'm getting some water. I've got what, an hour before the meeting with the representatives?"

"Forty-five minutes, sir."

Kai chuckled. "Thanks, Torin."

He smiled. "Should I leave you alone for your forty-five minutes of peace?"

"That would be wonderful."

Kai grabbed his long-awaited glass of water and returned to his desk. He pulled his portscreen out of his pocket and absentmindedly scrolled through the newsfeeds, looking out for some new crisis. (It wasn't that he wanted there to be one, he just needed to be informed). Finding nothing, he spun in his chair, sipped at his water, looked at the ceiling, looked at the time, and decided to go for it.

He pulled up Cinder's contact information and touched the 'call' icon.

He really hoped she wasn't busy.

The call went through, and Cinder's face appeared before him. She looked tired, he noticed. The confident set to her shoulders from the meeting was gone, and she was slumped in her chair.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," he replied. What now? He'd called her on impulse, he didn't really have anything to say. He mostly had just wanted to see her.

Cinder watched him, a smile tugging at her mouth. "What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize," he said, trying to find something to say. "For blatantly staring at you through that meeting. That was not…"

"Professional?" she offered. He saw her fidget with her hands. "Yeah, I was staring a little, too."

"Completely unprofessional, Your Highness," he teased. "Unbelievable, especially for a person of your status."

She gave a soft laugh. "Right, sorry. You sound like my advisers, you know."

"I am your adviser." He shot her a shameless grin.

"Shut up. You're not a real, official, true Lunar adviser. You need to be so much more…"
"Pompous?" Kai offered, biting back a laugh.

"Yes, exactly. If you want to be my advisor, you're going to have to step up your levels of pompousness." Cinder's grin was wide and full of mischief. "Shouldn't be too hard for you."

"Ha ha," he said, schooling his expressions. "Now that's unprofessional. Making fun of another world leader."

"You know what's truly unprofessional?" she said, keeping her face carefully blank. "Calling another world leader, individually, after a meeting with all of them. They'll think we're plotting something, you know."
Kai snorted. "Guess we just won't tell them, then."

"It can be our secret," she said with a smile.

Kai's heart skipped a beat.

He really, really wanted to kiss her. Even though she was right in front of him, he felt her absence like a stab to his chest. Stars, she was far away. It would take days of travel to see her. Days of travel that simply weren't possible, for either of them.

Cinder's smile faded. She must have seen some of what he was thinking in his face, in his eyes. "What?"

He let loose a breath. "I just…" He gave a sad smile. "I really miss you."

Cinder wrapped her arms around herself. "I miss you, too."

Silence.

Kai gave a laugh. "Stars, this is hard. Harder than I thought it would be."

Cinder looked away. "Is it still worth it? For you?" Her voice was so, so small.

His stomach dropped. "Of course it is. Of course it is. You're kidding, right?"

She didn't say anything, but she smiled and met his eyes again.

"Cinder," he said, reaching a hand out on instinct, before he remember she was on a screen. "You're definitely worth the distance."

She sighed, and covered her face. "You know I can't blush. What am I supposed to do here?"

He chuckled. "Tell me I'm worth it, too?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well…"

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding. You're absolutely worth it." He could see how her eyes sparkled, even through the screen.

They sat in a more comfortable silence for a beat.

"How long until the peace festival?" he asked, his voice soft.

"About six months."

"You've got a computer in your brain," he said. "Give it to me exact."

"Down to the hour?" she laughed.

"Yes, exactly."

"Five months, twenty-four days, and thirteen hours."

He nodded. "Cool. I'll start my countdown clock now."

"You do that." Her smile made his stomach spin.

"You owe me a dance, remember? I'm just waiting to collect." Kai leaned back in his chair.

Cinder rolled her eyes."I believe the actual agreement was that I owe you a date. And a dance or two is included in that package."

"Even better."

She shook her head in mock disapproval. Her eyes went in and out of focus, an action he knew meant she was looking at something on her iris display. Cinder sighed. "I have to go."

Kai looked at the time. "I probably should, too."

They looked at each other, trying for a moment to dissolve the space between them.

Cinder grinned. "Bye," she said, and the screen went dark.

He gave his own grin to the empty office. He spun in his chair one last time, then stood up. Straightening his jacket, he collected himself back into his role as Emperor, trying to wipe the stupid, lovesick smile off his face.

He wasn't sure he succeeded.

I really just... talked about politics for the first 1,000 words of this? Fun. And the second half was just flirty teenagers, which is always a good time. Anyway, now I have to write them actually reuniting for my own closure.

Thanks for reading, have a good day or night. Take care of yourselves.