Tezuka woke to the orange glow of sun's rays as the it made its slow descent behind the distant mountains. It took him a moment to remember why he had been sleeping during the day, and where he was. But it was hard to miss the arm wrapped around him, or the scent of the emperor filling the room.
In a way, he didn't regret what he did. The emperor was handsome and the sex had been fantastic. And there was a chance that now that they had both gotten it out of their systems that they could carry on. But it was a mistake to stay after they'd had their fun. Especially to stay so late.
He had to get cleaned up and change to escort Atobe to dinner. And he was sure that Sanada needed to get prepared for dinner as well, as it was the meal that he shared with his guests in the castle.
Noticing that Sanada was still asleep, Tezuka decided to trust that one of the emperor's many advisors or attendants would make sure he was prepared in time for his next engagement and did his best to slip out of the bed.
He was only halfway out of Sanada's hold when the arm he had almost escaped wrapped tightly around him again to draw him back.
"Going somewhere?" Sanada asked in a sleep rough voice that made his libido take interest. He stamped it down and focused on what he was doing.
"Yes," he said simply, and made to slide out of the bed again.
"Why? It's early enough still to enjoy each other a bit longer."
"Because this was a mistake; I need to go." Tezuka finally managed to escape Sanada's hold and sat up. The emperor immediately did the same and reached for him again.
"After you submitted to me so beautifully, you're running away? I don't understand."
It was true that Tezuka had enjoyed giving in, letting Sanada take over and do whatever he had wanted with him, but it didn't mean anything now. What he did during sex did not dictate what he did with rest of his time.
"I have a duty to Atobe and his family… I am his guard. And I promised to see him safely to dinner." Tezuka slid to the edge of the bed and stood before Sanada could pull him back. Now he just had to ignore the mess between his legs and find his clothes.
"The palace guards will keep him safe, and he has other guards in his entourage besides you. I'd much rather that you accompany me to dinner than him," Sanada said as he slid out of the bed on the opposite side and started moving toward him.
"I'm not worthy of such an honour. And I already gave my word to Atobe," Tezuka said, and would have grabbed his pants and left the room, but he saw that Sanada held his glasses in his hand. He held his own out for them.
"When will you understand that I get to decide what is and isn't proper in my kingdom, or who is and isn't worthy of my attention?" Sanada asked.
Sanada placed Tezuka's glasses in his hand and grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him in close. "I worked hard to prove to the nobles and the kingdom that I was strong enough to lead them, and that I deserved to be their emperor. Trust me when I say that they will not question me if it's you that I choose to have beside me at my table, in my bed, or in my throne room."
Tezuka swallowed at the intensity of Sanada's words, then shook his wrist out of Sanada's light hold. "You're mistaken. It's not me that you want."
And before Sanada could argue any further, he scooped up his pants from the floor and hurried out of the bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he hoped that Sanada would take the hint and not follow him out into this room, so that he could have the time to dress himself properly before making the trek back to Atobe's rooms.
As a shifter, he was not overly shy about nudity, but he felt it would not be wise to parade about the castle while naked. Especially not when there was still evidence of his activities with Sanada covering his body.
He sighed as he slid his glasses on and, after a moment to listen and see if Sanada would follow him in here, began dressing. If he hurried, he was sure he would have time for a quick hand bath before he needed to put on more formal clothes and meet Atobe.
-0-0-0-0-
"So… what did you do?" Niou asked as he stepped out onto the street beside Tezuka.
After seeing Atobe back to his rooms and declining an invitation from the fellow guards for a game of cards, Tezuka made his way back into the city to finish exploring. Or so he told Atobe and the others in his party. Mostly, he just needed to escape the castle, where at any moment he could run into the emperor again. He wasn't ready to see him again. Not when thoughts of their love making was still so fresh. Besides, the way the emperor had been glaring at everyone during dinner made Tezuka suspect that Sanada would not be the easiest person to speak with right now.
And all of this meant that the last thing he wanted to deal with while he was trying to clear his head was the weird guard of Sanada's who spoke entirely too much.
"I did nothing," Tezuka finally replied. And while he had done something, it was nothing he wished to talk about with the man beside him… or even think about again. It was a mistake. And that's all it should remain.
"Uh-huh. Nothing typically doesn't make my emperor literally steam from his nose."
"..." he would not be baited into saying anything.
"Or maybe that's the problem. Maybe you're a little too frigid and you left the guy hanging. That would make me steam too. You know?" Niou said as he slid in front of Tezuka's path.
It took all of his effort to not respond verbally or physically. It would be foolish to do either, but even he had male pride, and being told that he was either teasing Sanada and then leaving him, or too cold or inexperienced to complete the job well enough, was insulting. He was rather tempted to start steaming from the nose himself, but willed himself to remain calm.
"Hmmm a tough nut to crack, huh? Well I'm that sure something happened. The guards saw you two head to his private quarters for quite some time…"
Tezuka sighed. Guards were very good at guarding people from physical harm, but they were rarely as good at guarding their tongues as well as employers might wish.
"What I do is none of your concern."
"It is when it makes the emperor grouchy. He's not really all sunshine and roses on the best of days. And when he's pissy… well… advisors are happy if they manage to escape with just tears and not slaps, too."
Tezuka was about to say something that he was likely to regret when sounds of explosions and fighting filled the air. It was some distance away, but the noise was unmistakeable to Tezuka.
"What was that?" he asked, already bracing himself for a fight.
"Monsters," Niou said casually and gave a shrug. Despite being some sort of guard of Sanada's, he seemed to be in no rush to defend the citizens of the city.
"Monsters?" Tezuka asked. Surely monsters did not set explosives.
"They invade from the dark forests from time to time. Don't worry about it though. The citizens are well practiced in what to do if any are spotted, or if they infiltrate the city. But it's nothing for a foreigner to concern himself with."
"There was an explosion. And if these creatures are deadly, I can help. I'm a skilled fighter," Tezuka said. Matters between him and the emperor did not affect his desire to protect people, or to do what was right.
"Like I said, it's unnecessary," Niou said and then pointed to the sky.
Tezuka looked up into the sky and caught sight of a dark creature moving overhead towards the commotion. "Is that…?"
"A dragon? Yup." Niou said and danced out of the way of a few customers who had come out of a nearby pub to gawk up at the sky. "And with the mood you left him in, I expect he'll be more than happy to take it out on the monsters before they can hurt anyone."
It took Tezuka only a second to realize that he was seeing Sanada in his dragon form. And it took even less than that for him to acknowledge and appreciate just what a handsome dragon Sanada made. But then fear set in, and even if he shouldn't allow himself to care for Sanada beyond the fact that political stability in a region made Atobe's job easier, he couldn't help but worry. "But won't the citizens be angry? They may try to hurt him," Tezuka said. He was more worried about his people hurting him than whatever beasts may be attacking. Dragons were made of tough hide and could handle any small threat without fear of harm.
To his question, Niou just laughed and then gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder that caused him to stumble away slightly. "Why would they hurt someone who keeps them safe? He's their beloved emperor and he uses his powers, all of them, to protect everyone in his kingdom. They are thankful to him. Not fearful."
"..." Logically, what Niou said made sense. But Tezuka wasn't used to people being logical when it came to dealing with dragons. He had been run out of more cities than he'd care to admit when his identity was exposed, even if they had found out because he had shifted to save them.
"I take it that they don't feel the same where you're from?" Niou asked. And for the first time since they met, Tezuka felt like he was not being teased or insulted.
"Atobe does…" Tezuka admitted. He would not be travelling with the man if he couldn't stand dragons. Somehow, it was easier to let his guard down when he could see Sanada flying in the sky and hear the respect for him in the voices of the citizens around him.
"Is that why you're so loyal to him?" Niou asked, his voice soft.
"Among other reasons," Tezuka said, then quickly shut his mouth, as he realized that he had said too much. Niou was dangerous in more than the obvious ways, and Tezuka did not wish to share anything else with the man. Especially since he had a feeling that it would all make its way back to Sanada.
"If my help is not needed, then I should return to the castle. It seems that it's not safe to be out wandering today," Tezuka said, finally tearing his eyes away from the sky.
"As you wish. Should I escort you?" Niou asked.
"No. I can make my own way. I'm sure that you have business here in the city to handle." Tezuka didn't wait for a reply before turning and making his way back to the castle. While he may not have pushed Sanada completely from his mind, at least he had numerous other things to keep him occupied. Thoughts of monsters, dragon acceptance, and a handsome black dragon were sure to make sleep elusive.
-0-0-0-0-
Tezuka returned to the castle and, after checking in with the others to assure them that all was well, went to talk to Atobe. After preparing tea, Tezuka sat down on the couch in the small receiving area of Atobe's room and filled him in on what he had seen that night.
"Is it something that we need to be concerned with?" Atobe asked, as he picked up his tea.
"I don't think so. From what I can tell, the citizens are well trained on what to do when creatures attack and the emperor quickly handles it," Tezuka said.
"And the explosion you mentioned?"
Tezuka was curious about that too. But Niou hadn't seemed at all concerned, which made Tezuka reconsider what it was. And if the creatures attacking were indeed some form of monster, not shifters or humans, then being attacked by bombs made little sense.
"I think that it may be a crude defence and warning system in one," Tezuka said. "I don't know if a sentry would activate it, or if there is a trip wire in place or something. But I suspect that the explosion would slow down the attack long enough for people to seek shelter. And considering how clearly I heard it with how far away I was, it certainly is an effective way to warn others."
"I'm not fond of doing nothing even if I feel assured that our business here won't be disturbed by the attacks, as you assure me they're contained."
"I feel the same way. But we can't force them to accept our assistance when they don't feel that they need it. And this is the Rikkai empire, they are hardly a helpless farming village," Tezuka said. With how welcomed they'd been in the city, and how limited the guards were around the city and castle, it was easy to forget that this was the center of the great military powered empire of Rikkai.
Though Tezuka supposed that a great deal of the soldiers were off with the general, waging wars or defending borders, and those not on active duty would be visiting family or training in barracks, wherever those may be. Still, he was confident that anyone foolish enough to attack the heart of Rikkai, beyond mindless monsters, would be in for a rude surprise. If they had not known that Sanada was a dragon shifter before visiting, he doubted that many others would.
"You're right. Though I may make some subtle inquiries to those I'm doing business with to see how long this has been happening, and if it's getting worse," Atobe said.
Tezuka nodded. The nobles would only assume that Atobe was concerned with his safety, and it never hurt to have more information about such things.
"Good. And now that that is sorted. Do you plan on telling me what is going on with you and the emperor? He was sending you the most confusing mix of looks all through dinner and was scowling at everyone else."
"It's complicated," Tezuka said with great reluctance. If he didn't say anything, Atobe would only find other ways to pry. It was best to at least give an appearance of confiding personal thoughts.
"Love always is," Atobe said.
"Love?" Tezuka said sounding slightly more shocked than he meant to.
"I have a feeling that the emperor certainly seems to think so. I'm not so sure about you yet, Tezuka. You've always been a hard man to read. I think it may be from too many years on the road."
"And who is to blame for that?" Tezuka asked, quick to latch on to a topic that was not his or the emperor's love life.
"You would have still travelled, even without me. But at least in my service you were given a respected job and treated as a skilled equal," Atobe said. And Tezuka had to agree. The area where his family once lived had quickly turned against dragons and all shifters after an unfortunate accident. And it seemed that the sentiment was spreading faster than he could travel. Atobe had saved him from being a poor and hungry nomad and he could never thank him enough for that.
"But perhaps it's time you settle down. I'm not sure that this lifestyle is suited to you," Atobe added when Tezuka didn't reply.
Tezuka gave Atobe a curious look and wondered, not for the first time, just how much Atobe was able to see and parse together with limited information. It was useful when it was turned against others, but always unsettling when that same set of skills were focused on him. "Or perhaps not," Tezuka said, though it lacked the conviction that most of his words held.
Atobe shrugged in a graceful manner that would put even the most dignified nobles to shame, then set his now empty cup down. "Either way, I'm sure that you that have no plans to stay, so I will bid you a goodnight here."
Tezuka nodded, and was thankful that Atobe had at least used his insight to know that Tezuka would not be open to an invitation into his bed tonight… and likely no time in the near future. "Thank you for your time" he said politely. "And have a goodnight, Atobe." He gave his boss and his dear friend a slight bow and headed out to his own room.
-0-0-0-0-
Sanada paced his office, growling at Yagyuu as he continued to ramble on about reports. "I know that the attacks are getting more frequent," he said. Of course he knew. He was the one that usually took care of them. They had gone from once a season to once a month, and now to every fortnight. He feared what would happen if they came more often than that. He could handle the incursions, but they were growing stronger each time, and the people on the edge of the city closest to the attacks were becoming more vocal in demanding that more be done.
"No need to take your bad mood out on him. He's just a weak little paper pusher," Niou said as he slid into the office from the balcony doors. Why he decided to take that route and not the main door like a civilized creature, Sanada didn't know. And not knowing or understanding the way Niou worked made him even more frustrated right now.
"Are you saying I should take it out on you?" he asked as he stalked towards Niou, Yagyuu momentarily forgotten.
Niou held up his hands and danced out of the way. "Hardly. But if you set fire to Yanagi's carefully selected advisor, he's going to be pissy. And you know that when he's angry he talks to Yukimura about it, then that will make Yukimura annoyed… and you know who he'll take it out on… I'll give you a hint. It's not me."
Niou's grin was far too big, tempting Sanada to burn it off his face, but he suspected that somehow that would still lead to Yukimura being annoyed with him. And damn it. He was supposed to the emperor, he shouldn't be giving in to his generals and advisors, they should be answering to him.
He cursed himself for surrounding himself with strong, capable people who weren't afraid to challenge him when he was being unreasonable, but were still unfailingly loyal. Or mostly unfailingly loyal. He would really prefer Yukimura and Yanagi at his back instead of Niou and Yagyuu. At least they were competent, and not likely to cause too much trouble for him with real trouble facing the kingdom.
Taking a few breaths to remind himself that they were on his side, he managed to calm down enough to not want to melt either of them and turned back to Niou. "Alright. I will not catch Yagyuu on fire. If that's all you had to say, then you can go."
"Not so fast. Didn't you say that you wanted me to keep an eye on your eye candy?" Niou waggled his eyebrows as if he had just said something clever. Yagyuu was fortunately wise enough to feign going back to work, even if Sanada could tell he was still listening closely.
"If you have something to say about Tezuka, say it," he said, and was proud of himself for not strangling the information out of Niou. He wanted to know everything about Tezuka. Especially if Tezuka had mentioned him, or if he was having second thoughts about fleeing from Sanada's bed with the word mistake on his lips.
"He went for a walk again last night. I think that he does it when he has too much on his mind to sleep."
Sanada could relate to that. He often enjoyed strolls in the garden or flights over his territory when sleep evaded him. It would be nice to have company on the nights when such thoughts kept them both up.
"Anyway, it meant he was out in the city when the attack happened."
With Niou's nonchalance and the lack of official report, Sanada logically knew that Tezuka was not at all injured in the attack. But still, his heart clenched in fear at the thought of his dragon being injured. No matter what Tezuka thought, Sanada knew that his fellow dragon would come around and acknowledge that they were meant to be.
"And?" Sanada urged through clenched teeth as Niou paused to poke at a flower, then flop onto a couch.
"Oh yeah… well he saw you in dragon form. Seemed really impressed by it. And he was really worried for you. Thought that the people in the city would attack you or something. Crazy, right?"
Sanada frowned at that thought. Yes, he was quite pleased that Tezuka apparently found his dragon form alluring, and he was even more thrilled that Tezuka was concerned for his safety. But for Tezuka to think that his own people, the people he protected, would turn against him made his heart ache for his dragon mate.
He knew, of course, that things must have been tough for Tezuka to leave his homelands. Dragons were extremely territorial and disliked being forced to leave a place that they considered home. And he had also pieced together that Tezuka's loyalty toward Atobe was more likely from Atobe's help in the past and continued protection than from any contract, no matter what Tezuka said.
He wanted to leave now, give Tezuka a big hug and tell him that if he stayed here, he would never be asked to abandon his home again, and that they could protect their lands together. But he knew that right now such actions would not be welcomed. And at the moment, his duty had to come before his heart.
"You told him that he was incorrect, right?" Sanada asked instead.
"Of course. I basically told him he was crazy. And you know what? Despite thinking that all shifters or whatever would be attacked even for helping, he still wanted to run off and help the citizens. And then when you showed up he looked like he wanted to help even more… but I told him it wasn't needed. We didn't need you getting distracted by Tezuka while you're roasting monsters."
"A wise decision," Sanada said. He was glad that Niou had stopped Tezuka from entering into the battle, as the man's sudden appearance would most definitely have thrown off his concentration, especially given his turbulent mood. But the thought of Tezuka wanting to protect his people and the idea of fighting side by side filled his heart with hope. His goal to make Tezuka completely his seemed that much more in reach.
"Do you think that he'd fight with you if you asked?" Yagyuu asked, proving that he had indeed been listening closely.
Niou shrugged and looked at Sanada. "I think it depends on this guy," Niou said, pointing a finger rudely at Sanada.
"Do you have something in mind? Because right now, one dragon is more than enough to handle the beasts. I don't see what a second one would do," Sanada said.
Yagyuu and Niou both froze and stared at him in surprise; Sanada replayed back what he just said. He supposed that it had been a bit of a secret beforehand. But with his plans to make Tezuka his consort and Yagyuu wanting him to help protect the capital, the truth was going to come out soon enough anyway.
"He's a dragon?" Yagyuu asked at the same time as Niou's, "Did he show you?"
"Yes. He's a dragon, though I haven't seen his dragon form yet."
"If he's a dragon, the two of you could, with some ground forces for support, likely take the fight back to the monsters' base. Even if you don't destroy it completely, you could cause enough damage to scale the battles back to only a couple of times a year." Yagyuu pulled several rolls of paper from a shelf and brought them to the large table, which was already covered in the maps that Sanada used to keep track of Yukimura's movements and maintain the borders of his kingdom.
Intrigued by Yagyuu's words, Niou and Sanada both helped him unroll the maps and weigh them down.
"All of the previous attack locations and times have been recorded. Several of your top strategists still in the capital have been debating over how best to use this information to lead us back to their shelter," Yagyuu explained as he pointed out and marked different areas of the map.
"So the location has already been narrowed down quite a bit. This could actually work. We might be able to rid ourselves of these weird demon creatures for good. Or at least give us a break from them. I'm tired of re-rigging traps so often," Niou said.
"Agreed. Now we just need to get Tezuka to agree."
"We?" Niou asked and raised a brow.
"I will find a way to speak with him."
Niou gave a snort. "Good luck with that. And am I still on babysitting duty? He's a dragon, so you can't be worried about him getting into trouble. And you want him so badly that you probably wouldn't care if he robbed the treasury."
Sanada understood what Niou was saying, and it was true. He had asked Niou to watch over Tezuka to make sure that he stayed safe and didn't get into mischief. The latter was a common practice with new acquaintances staying in the castle, but asking Niou to personally watch over someone was a rare assignment. Even knowing that Tezuka was a dragon, not a more fragile shifter, did not change his desire to make sure that he was safe. Dragons were difficult to kill, but not impossible.
"No. Keep watching over him. And report back if anything else of interest occurs."
"Aye, aye captain," Niou said. With a mock salute for Sanada and a wink and feral grin for Yagyuu, he headed back toward the balcony. Sanada didn't know whether he would continue scaling down the wall to the ground or take a nap out in the sun, but either way, he turned back to Yagyuu.
"Alright. Let's get some work done." He was still annoyed at the monsters and with Tezuka's decision to want nothing more from him. But after Niou's news and Yagyuu's idea, he was feeling balanced enough to focus on business. There was little else he could do for now, until either Tezuka calmed down enough to be cornered by him or the beasts chose to attack again.