But you're so hypnotizing
You've got me laughing while I sing
You've got me smiling in my sleep
She laughed. Laughed harder than she had in months. The kind of laughter that made her whole abdomen hurt, the kind of laughter that left her breathless. The best kind of laughter. She looked at the handsome man making her laugh so hard and smiled. He winked one bright hazel eye at her, and she grinned. This man loved her, unconditionally and limitlessly. For all the pain she caused him, he still loved her, and she doubted he would ever stop.
They all needed a good laugh. In the six months since Jonathan's coronation, the palace had been too somber, with nearly everyone in mourning. The king, his queen-to-be, and their advisers needed a break. Even Alanna, having just returned from the desert, needed one. Life had been too serious over the last ten years.
Across from the laughing redhead, behind a large, imposing desk, sat the handsome king she served as Champion. A few grey hairs now adorned his twenty-three-year-old head, products of a coronation rebellion. He ignored them, knowing the coming decades would increase, not decrease, their number. He also knew that they should be working, not laughing. But, oh how they needed a good laugh.
Jonathan took the hand of the beautiful woman seated beside him and squeezed. They glanced at each other with love-filled eyes, the kind of glance that made anyone less in love ill. Thankfully, the others in the room were used to it. Alanna and George had each other, Gary had Cythera, Myles had Eleni, and, well, Raoul and Buri didn't seem to need love… but were happy to tease their friends about it.
Gary yawned, stretching in his chair. "Getting old, Gary?" Alanna teased. "It isn't that late."
"You aren't up with the sun every morning," the older man countered. "Some of us do actual work."
"Watch it," Jonathan warned, eyes dancing. "We all know what happens when George is displeased." Catching on, George fingered his ear, grinning wickedly. That set the group off once again. Alanna wondered momentarily if stories of George's time as the Rogue would ever get old.
As the laugher died down, Gary said, "It is quite late." He rose and bowed to Jonathan. "With your permission, Majesty."
Jonathan waved his hand. "Go, go. You don't have to ask my permission, just leave. I don't want you drooling on your papers." Everyone else laughed.
"Players, all of you," Gary muttered, leaving the king's study. Myles left next, citing his old age. Buri went soon after, followed by Raoul. Jonathan, Thayet, Alanna, and George remained.
"Should we take the hint and leave too?" Alanna asked Jonathan, eyes dancing. "I wouldn't want to be rude."
"Since when?" Thayet asked sweetly. Alanna narrowed her eyes at her friend.
George patted her arm. "You wouldn't be you if you weren't, lass," he told her with a smile.
"Imagine Alanna without her tongue," Jonathan mused. "How peaceful life would be."
"All right." Alanna stood. "I'm going, I'm going." She turned to George. "Are you coming?"
George looked at the king and future queen with dancing hazel eyes. "How can I resist her when she asks so sweetly?" They laughed as Alanna rolled her eyes and led George from the study.
Shortly after, she slid into bed beside him with a sigh. He opened his arm to allow her to cuddle close. Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed once again. "What?" George asked quietly, stroking her red hair and softly kissing the side of her head.
"Nothing," she answered sleepily, eyes beginning to close. "Good night, George. I love you." A smile touched the corners of her mouth as she drifted off to sleep, wrapping in the warm, loving arms of a former thief.
So the one-shot didn't fit perfectly with the lyric section. It's hard to make the two match up! I hope you enjoyed it anyway. (: