Sanada climbed the steps of a rarely used tower to reach the walkway connecting it to an even more abandoned one. Aside from Sanada, only patrolling guards frequented it. Therefore, he was met with great surprise when the guard at the entrance of the walkway stopped to inform him that Tezuka was currently occupying it. That astonishment grew when the guard told him that Tezuka had been here three times this week.
Sanada enjoyed the tower because being so high up and feeling the breeze against his face and body soothed the beast inside of him when he had no time to go for a proper flight. So he imagined that was probably what had brought Tezuka up to this area. The other dragon had probably not expected to run into him, but as it was hardly a secret that he enjoyed coming up to the walkway for fresh air, his mind was more than happy to supply him with scenarios of Tezuka deliberately trying to find alone time with him.
Thanking the guard for his work, Sanada stepped out onto the walkway and instantly caught sight of Tezuka. Normally being up here soothed and calmed his beast, but being so close to Tezuka after nearly two weeks of the other apparently avoiding him brought out all of his dragon's predatory instincts and desire.
He stamped down those instincts and moved toward Tezuka in even, measured steps to not look like he was stalking toward him and getting ready to pounce. Tezuka looked so peaceful that it would be a shame to ruin it. But as he neared, he knew he shouldn't have bothered trying to be stealthy. Tezuka was a dragon. And even if they didn't talk about such things openly, their senses were far keener than any human's could hope to be. While he may not have heard him speak with the wind all around them, his other senses were more than sharp enough to notice his approach.
"Good day, Kunimitsu," Sanada said. Tezuka had told him once to call him that, and he was hardly going to revert to more distant ways of address now.
"Your majesty," Tezuka said. He executed a flawless bow, and while Sanada wanted to tell him that he never had to bow to him, he was too happy to have Tezuka all to himself to waste their time on words that Tezuka wasn't likely to listen to.
"I see you have found my favourite retreat," Sanada said, and gestured to the view that looked over the city and the forests and the mountains beyond.
"It's very soothing up here. And a good place to think," Tezuka said.
That intrigued Sanada and he turned to look at Tezuka - who was far more lovely than any view - to make sure he didn't miss any subtle change in the other's demeanor. "About what?"
"Many things. I saw you in your dragon form…" Tezuka said, glancing over at him before looking back out at the view.
"And?" he prompted when he was unsure if Tezuka was going to carry on or not.
"I thought you looked quite handsome. I'd never seen a black dragon before."
That was not surprising to Sanada. As far as he could tell, the black dragon came from his line alone, which had, for the most part, tragically ended several years back in a horrible sailing tragedy. Even dragons could drown in a bad enough storm, too far from shore. But he refused to think such unpleasant thoughts when the creature of his desire was telling him how handsome he had been. "Thank you. I'd be most pleased to show you my dragon form in daylight, so you could better inspect it," he said. Internally, he could already feel his dragon self preening at the thought of being able to show off for Tezuka. He wondered if the man would shift and join him or pet him lovingly like a cherished pet.
Tezuka did ridiculous things to his thought process; he just wanted to pull the other man tight and kiss him until they were both breathless. To stop himself from such actions, he gripped the stone railing harder and focused on not driving his future consort off again. He knew that they were destined to be, but it did not mean that Tezuka had come around to accepting such a thing yet. And he did not need to risk Tezuka leaving to travel the globe with Atobe before he had.
"I could not dare to take up so much of the emperor's precious time. Especially when it seems that he is busy single handedly protecting his people from foul beasts," Tezuka said. Though the look in his eyes when he met Sanada's gave him hope that Tezuka really did want to take up his time.
"Nonsense. I wouldn't offer if I didn't have the time for it. And as for the beasts, I don't deal with them as single handedly as you may have been led to believe." Sanada chanced sliding a little closer to Tezuka so that he could almost feel the heat radiating off of him.
"Does that mean that you're not adverse to help?" Tezuka asked, turning such that he was properly looking at Sanada.
"Not at all. Assistance with problems is always a welcomed gift," Sanada said. He hoped his voice did not betray the rapid beating of his heart. Any man would be affected by the way Tezuka looked at him, with that mixture of expressions slipping past undoubtedly long practiced shields. Surely, very few ever saw such concern and tenderness from the stoic dragon guard.
"Then, I'd like to offer my aid the next time these creatures attack, if I'm still in the area."
"And Atobe is okay with this?" Sanada asked. He then mentally kicked himself for bringing up his rival. He should not be distracting Tezuka from what was becoming a tender moment between them.
"He has given me his full permission to do what I think is best in this situation," Tezuka said.
The way Tezuka's eyes skittered away from his own made him think that there was more to that sentence than just fighting monsters. But fantasies were for his bed and not for now. So instead, he reached for Tezuka's hand and held it lightly in his own.
"Then I would be honoured to fight beside you. And perhaps you'd be willing to join me for a tactical meeting with my advisors. We've been discussing the possibility of following the battle back to the beasts' lair and destroying as many of them as we can." There was no need to tell Tezuka that they had already planned for his involvement in them. He did not want to spoil Tezuka's kind gesture by saying that they had been planning to ask him for help.
"Is there a reason for the desire to change tactics now?" Tezuka asked. And notably to Sanada, left his hand resting in his.
"The monster attacks have become more frequent. Once or twice a year was troublesome, but tolerable. But now it's every few weeks, and despite the low casualty rate, everyone is on edge," Sanada admitted truthfully. He had long since stopped considering Tezuka an outsider to Rikkai issues; To be honest, he wasn't sure he had ever thought of Tezuka as an outsider.
"And you hope that even if we do not fully eradicate these creatures, we can make their attacks less frequent once again?"
"Exactly. And with you beside me, I have no doubt we can do it." He gave Tezuka's hand a light squeeze before bringing it up to his lips to kiss. "I will send a messenger with a time and location for the meeting. It will likely be within the next two days, so that we can have a plan before the monsters attack again. Until then, I hope you remain well." And with that, Sanada reluctantly released Tezuka's hand and stepped back from him.
"And I you," Tezuka said. The light colour on his cheeks made Sanada want to kiss him, but he ignored it and his raging dragon. He forced himself to turn and walk back from where he came.
Tezuka wanted him safe. Tezuka wanted his city and his people safe. And Tezuka was not as adverse to his company or his touch as he claimed. All in all, it was a successful and pleasant surprise visit with Tezuka, and Sanada would not ruin it by pushing his luck.
As he walked away from the one he desired, he was sure both Yukimura and Yanagi would be impressed with his restraint and that he had, for once, used his brain and not just his instincts.
-0-0-0-0-
"So you can see their shoes are looking a bit rough. It'd be best to get it done before we head out again," Shishido said as he lifted up one of their larger mare's back legs to show one of the horseshoes that he wanted to get redone. "But if you think we'll be leaving in a hurry, I could put it off until we reach our next stop. I think that all of them but Thunder can make another trek just fine. And Thunder I'll get to later today if neither of you need him."
Atobe considered the state of the horses' feet and then looked over at Thunder, his favourite stallion, before walking over to him. "I think I'll survive a day without him. We all need days in which we're pampered, right Thunder?" He asked gently stroking the horse's nose. "As for our schedule…" He gestured to Tezuka, who was charged with keeping them all informed of impending dangers while they worked.
"You should be fine to see to all of them. If the emperor's assumptions are correct, another attack is imminent but there's a plan in place to hopefully eliminate the attacks completely." Tezuka had faith in their plan after hearing about all of the contingencies and back ups. It still relied on a bit of initial luck to find the lair, but if they could succeed there, Tezuka felt confident that the rest would easily fall into place.
Now, they just had to hope that the waiting did not cause any member of their plans to get restless and careless. Which was why Tezuka was more than content to throw himself into routine household maintenance with Atobe for the day. Even if talk kept turning from the task at hand back to the monsters and the emperor that he was trying not to focus on.
"Does that plan include two pissed off dragons raining down fire?" Shishido asked. He set down the mare's foot and leaned back against a stable door.
"Quite possibly. It seemed prudent to offer my assistance. It will certainly garner Atobe some favourable prices and future trades," Tezuka said. And that logic allowed him to ignore that it was truly his desire to help the emperor and fight by his side that drove him to make the offer.
"Yeah. And I bet you're pretty excited to have another dragon around. When was the last one we saw? That spastic green one that had convinced a whole village that he was symbol of luck or something and had to be worshipped? Some people will fall for anything."
"True. Though the man was harmless enough. And better worshipped and protected than ostracized. If Tezuka wants to stretch his wings out in a battle where his efforts will be genuinely appreciated, I see nothing wrong with it," Atobe said.
"You sure you can handle it? The stable hands were talking with me the other night, and they all have ideas on what these creatures really are. Some said that they might be manticores." Shishido always managed to get some of the most interesting gossip by posing as a harmless stable boy, a ruse made easier by his genuine love and knowledge of the beasts.
"Even manticores have trouble against dragonhide and fire. And if the emperor has managed to push them back on his own for some time, I'm sure that we'll be more than capable when we combine our forces," Tezuka said. And just to be on the safe side, the medics assigned to the various units in this plan would be well equipped with various antidotes.
"Fair enough. But you'll have to make sure to actually open up and share the story after, okay?" Shishido said.
Tezuka was about to reply when he heard an explosion in the distance and horns rallying around them. Tezuka turned to look at Atobe, but was waved off before he could say anything.
"Go. Shishido and the guards supplied by Rikkai can see me back safely," Atobe said.
Tezuka nodded and headed out of the stables, already undoing the uniform jacket he was wearing as he went to find somewhere somewhat secluded to shift.
-0-0-0-0-
It had been a long time since Sanada had flown beside a fellow dragon, and longer still since that person was someone other than family. So to be accompanied by Tezuka in all his shimmering, blue scaled glory felt like a dream. And even though they flew toward danger and Sanada's protective instincts were roaring at him to be on guard, he couldn't help sneaking glances at Tezuka. His lover was amazing to behold in both forms.
As they neared the site of the attack, Sanada's focus shifted back to the upcoming battle and what had to be done. He noticed the troops closing in on the location and looked further out to where Yagyuu suspected the lair was.
"Do you see where we need to go?" Tezuka's voice asked in his mind, startling him for a moment.
It had been so long since anyone had talked to him that way; it took him a second to realize that it was Tezuka's voice that he had heard. With that knowledge, he now wanted to hear more of Tezuka in his mind. It was one thing to communicate with other shifters mind to mind in shifted form, but to do so with another dragon, one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with? Well, it felt more than perfect, and even while flying into battle, Sanada took a moment to savour it.
"Follow me," he replied. He gave a mighty roar and flew past the small incursion, leaving it to the soldiers in favor of following the trail of wreckage that the creatures had left behind.
Sanada had to circle around an area a couple of times before he saw the exact spot they needed, then he gave another roar and swooped down. "Here."
Fortunately, the entrance to the cave was large enough for them to walk in while in dragon form; Sanada really didn't fancy shifting and walking around naked into dangerous and unknown territory. As they moved deeper into the ground, they heard noises up ahead and Sanada paused. "We're near. If the area opens up, I'll go left and you take the right. If not, cover my back and blind sides," Sanada ordered.
"I understand," Tezuka said. Sanada could practically feel Tezuka bracing himself for the upcoming battle. He had yet to see him fight, but he had no doubt that Tezuka would follow orders and either keep his blind spots safe, or do his job in clearing his side of the area.
Sanada moved forward as stealthily as a large dragon in a tunnel could and was relieved to see that the space opened up to a large cavern up ahead.
"It's a cave. Looks like plenty of room to work with. Let's go," Sanada said. He then dashed forward, fire shooting out in front of him and taking out several of the beasts before he burst into the cave. He spared a quick glance to see Tezuka coming up behind him and going right, like he was told.
Despite the room in the cavern, it was still somewhat awkward to fight, as he had to beware of random stalagmites and stalactites as he moved. He also could not easily make out all of the small entrances to the cavern, until a monster had slipped through one and started attacking him.
Though with their size, tougher hides, sharp claws and teeth, and ability to breathe fire, they still at had the advantage. Sanada was making a good headway through his side of the cave.
There was a short break in the action around him; It felt as if the beasts were waiting to see who would attack first, or trying, with their simple minds, to form a plan. So he risked glancing over at Tezuka.
Tezuka was easily swiping and biting any beasts that made the mistake of getting too close and shooting bursts of flames at those still further away. He was just admiring how he moved when he saw a beast burst out of an upper tunnel to the cavern and land on Tezuka's back.
Tezuka roared and shook. The monster's claws dug into Tezuka's hide desperately, but for that he was repaid, with being smashed up against a cavern wall. It was over nearly as fast as it had happened and Tezuka had already turned his attention back to the other creatures around him. But Sanada had seen Tezuka be attacked. He could smell the sweet scent of dragon blood in the air, even over all of the putrid scents of the beasts.
His dragon couldn't stand the thought of Tezuka being injured. Especially not being injured while helping to fight his battles. Sanada's roar shook the cave, and before he even knew what he was doing, he was shooting molten fire in all directions but Tezuka's, and swiping his lethal claws and tail at anything that avoided his flames.
Everything became a blur, but when he stopped, he found himself in the middle of the room, panting and covered in blood, with nothing at all moving around him. "Kunimitsu?!" he yelled out to the other's mind. Had he inadvertently injured the man he was trying to defend? He would never be able to live with himself if that were the case.
He frantically looked around, but saw no sign of the beautiful blue scales he was already addicted to.
"I'm here," Tezuka said aloud, his voice echoing in the caves. He stepped out of a small tunnel off to the side and into the main room. "I felt it prudent to get out of the way."
Sanada shifted and ran over to his side, careful to avoid tripping on the remains of their foe as he did. "Are you okay? You were injured," he said. And not even taking into account they were both naked, he grabbed Tezuka and started examining him for injuries.
"It was just a scratch," Tezuka said, and then turned enough to show Sanada the thin red line near his left shoulder. "I don't even think it's bleeding anymore."
Sanada looked at the wound and then gently touched it. Tezuka was right. The injury was nothing more than a scratch now. And thanks to their quicker healing, it would probably be gone completely by morning. If anyone else had gotten this injury, he would not have thought twice about it. He probably would have even teased them, if they had complained about the pain. But this wasn't just anyone. This was Tezuka. His mate, his future consort and his reason for being. He still felt panicked by the thought of losing him.
He knew that they should report back to Yagyuu, or at least to some officer of his soldiers but he couldn't handle others right now. He especially couldn't handle others around Tezuka, even more so since he was nude. He needed some time to settle and find the balance between his dragon instincts and human mind again.
"Are you well enough to fly?" he asked after once more reassuring himself that the cut wasn't bleeding.
"Of course. I feel fine."
"Then there's somewhere I want to show you."
"Shouldn't we wait for the others to arrive?" Tezuka asked.
"No. They'll manage without us. Come on." He tugged on Tezuka's hand, giving him no option but to follow him away from the massacre and back into the open. He then shifted and was glad when Tezuka did the same without asking any more questions.
He flew high up into the sky, checked to make sure Tezuka was with him, then headed towards the mountains that they had both been admiring not so many days before. "I want to share a special place with you," Sanada said to Tezuka's mind as he flew.
Tezuka nodded and flew on strongly beside him. When Sanada veered toward a hidden caldera within the mountains, Tezuka followed.
"It's beautiful," Tezuka said as they circled the tranquil area before finding a good sized area to land in.
"It's really only accessible by air. So it tends to be a very private and untouched space."
"I can see why you enjoy it." Tezuka walked around the edge of the natural lake, first examining it, then admiring the surrounding trees. When he was satisfied with his exploration, he walked back to Sanada, who waited on the sandy beach for him.
"Rest with me?" Sanada asked, once he felt that Tezuka was done familiarizing himself with the area. He needed more time to find his balance and reassure himself that Tezuka was perfectly alright. His logical side was still drowned out by his draconic instincts. Spending some private time with Tezuka to collect himself was just what he needed.
Fortunately, it seemed as if Tezuka understood what he wanted, because he didn't question him. He merely nodded and moved closer to Sanada.
"I didn't like seeing you get hurt," Sanada admitted. Though there was no way that Tezuka could have missed Sanada's reaction to what he could now confirm was nothing more than a simple scratch. Blinded by fear and anger, he had been ruthless with his revenge.
"I noticed. But it was rather effective at destroying those beasts," Tezuka said with no fear or condemnation in his voice.
Knowing that he had not scared Tezuka away with his protective instincts helped to calm Sanada. And taking time for themselves after the battle in what Sanada considered a private sanctuary seemed nearly as special as their first time together. But not completely satisfied with the distance still between them, Sanada moved his tail so it rested over Tezuka's, and when Tezuka's curled his up around Sanada's, he gave a rumble of pleasure - the dragon form of purring.
No matter what words Tezuka might say about this not being right, Sanada wouldn't believe them. His mate knew just as well as he did that they were meant to be together and made a strong pair. With Tezuka by his side, his life would be complete. He would have someone to protect and direct his full dragon prowess toward without fear, and Tezuka would make him stronger by offering his support like he had during this battle.
"I'm glad you're alright, too," Tezuka voiced quietly into his mind. The simple pleasure of hearing Tezuka speak to him like this soothed more of his frayed nerves and he leaned over to rub his head against Tezuka's neck.
Right now, he wasn't an emperor. He was just a dragon in love, content with the world.
-0-0-0-0-
"Here's the report on everything that you missed," Yagyuu said as he set the stack down on Sanada's desk.
"And the main points?" Sanada asked, not at all interested in reading such a lengthy report right now. He didn't want anything to ruin the tranquil feeling inside of him after spending several pleasurable hours in Tezuka's company.
"The soldiers protected the citizens and took care of the small incursion with no fatalities and limited injuries. They went into the cave, discovered the mess that you two left, and concluded that no beasts remained alive. At least none they could find."
"That's good. And why do I need such a long report for that?" Sanada asked flipping through a few pages to see lengthy paragraphs.
"For future records, in case you or your descendants need to learn from this," Yagyuu stated, pushing up his glasses in a haughty manner.
"Fine. And what did they do with the cave and bodies?"
"It was such a mess, with so many dead beasts, that it was decided to close off the entrance of the cave instead of burning the bodies."
"Let me guess, Niou's idea?"
"He does love a good explosion."
"And it worked?" Sanada asked, not bothering to argue that Niou did in fact love a good explosion.
"Perfectly. So with that, combined with your and Tezuka's work, we believe that we should be free of these attacks for the foreseeable future. Possibly forever."
"But just to be safe, we have records to refer to in the future," Sanada said, lifting up the stack of papers.
"Exactly. Now. Let's talk about the victory ball," Yagyuu said, and slid into the chair across from Sanada at his desk.
-0-0-0-0-
Tezuka tugged down his jacket as he looked at himself in the mirror and wondered again why he was wearing this and not his normal uniform.
"You look perfect. Now stop fidgeting," Atobe said as he waltzed into the room in one of his best outfits. He looked royal enough to be a king, despite only being a merchant with no titles. Though he was certainly successful and rich enough to buy a title or two, if he ever wanted. But Atobe's nobility was not what he was most concerned with right now.
"Why am I in this again?" Tezuka asked.
"Because the Emperor's personal tailor dropped it off this morning with a note from the emperor himself saying that it would please him to see you in it. And I see no reason why you shouldn't please him with such a small gesture," Atobe said smoothly.
Tezuka frowned at that, like he had earlier. Yes, a part of him enjoyed pleasing Sanada and it was logical to do so when he thought about of Atobe's business benefiting from it. But he shouldn't have been so easily convinced into wearing something so obviously above his station. Somehow, it hadn't seemed as flashy when it had been laid out in the box.
"And I'm not blind, Tezuka. I know you want this. Besides, it's obvious that with an outfit like this he wants you there as his date. Even if it seems that both of you two are stubborn to work this out yourselves," Atobe said. He then walked up to Tezuka and pulled him down for a light kiss.
"Atobe," Tezuka said, a little startled.
"Go live your life, Tezuka. You deserve it." And with that, Atobe walked out and left Tezuka alone, feeling both warmed by Atobe's friendship and very confused about where his life was about to take him.
Tezuka had a feeling that if he entered the ballroom through the main door, some sort of scene would follow. Wanting to avoid such attention for as long as possible, he snuck into the ballroom by one of the side entrances normally used by servants and guards, an entrance he had found in his numerous wanderings of the castle throughout his stay.
Slipping inside, he scanned the crowd and took in all of the well dressed nobles who were relaxed and enjoying themselves. There were musicians playing lovely music off to the side, guards watching the room, and servants making sure that food and drinks were always at hand and that everything flowed smoothly. He could not fault Sanada's ability to throw a proper ball.
Looking to see where the emperor was in the hall, he was slightly startled when Niou slunk up beside him and poked him in the shoulder. "Looking for someone?" Niou asked.
Tezuka straightened his glasses and held back a sigh as he looked over at Niou. "Just admiring the turn out."
"Yeah, sure," Niou said with a dismissive wave. "You know, he was worried that you wouldn't come. Was driving us all nuts by pacing back and forth forever."
Tezuka gave him a curious look, unable to picture Sanada, the strong brave dragon he knew, to be the type to pace in worry over someone attending a ball. "I'm sure that you exaggerate."
"All the time. But not this time. And I bet his jaw dropped when you walked in wearing that. We worked hard making sure that it would fit you perfectly."
"It would have been rude to turn down such a thoughtful gift. Though I'm surprised to that hear you helped." Tezuka didn't think that Niou was overly fond of him, and he didn't see how Niou could have helped with fashion choices.
"I have special skills that come in handy for things like that," Niou said vaguely.
"I see…" Tezuka said. He really wished that Niou would leave him alone.
"Have you been avoiding him?" Niou asked suddenly.
"Pardon?"
"Since the battle. You two seemed close when you came back, and his royal grumpiness was actually happy for a bit, but then you were scarce again. I didn't know that dragons were such scaredy cats."
Tezuka frowned at Niou, who had insulted both himself and Sanada. "As an emperor, he has a lot more important things to do than worry about me."
"He doesn't think so," Niou said, and gestured to where Sanada was in the crowd. He was resplendent in his finery, and even from the length of the hall, Tezuka could feel the burn of Sanada's gaze warming him. "And I don't think that you really do either."
Niou slid behind him and gave him a less than gentle shove in the right direction. As Tezuka stumbled forward a few steps he turned to glare at Niou, but found him already walking away. He blinked as he thought he saw several fox tails waving behind him. When he caught sight of him again, Niou was back to his human self.
If Niou were a kitsune shifter, it would explain a lot about his skills and his attitude. But kitsune were known to be tricksters and not overly loyal to anyone. If Sanada had managed to tame him in some way, he was even more formidable than he imagined. But then, Sanada had also managed to tame a blue dragon, and what was a kitsune compared to that.
-0-0-0-0-
As Tezuka was pushed in his direction by Niou, Sanada took that as his cue to go to the other man. Excusing himself, he stalked across the hall with a look on his face that would make people think twice before approaching. He was pleased to see that, after Tezuka's initial confusion from Niou, he seemed to regain his usual grace and started walking toward him as well. They ended up meeting halfway down the hall.
"Kunimitsu," he said. He felt a bolt of lust as he took in Tezuka up close in the outfit he had chosen for him to wear. The man looked absolutely stunning in the latest of Rikkai fashion and in the Sanada family colours.
"Your majesty," Tezuka said and gave a bow. Sanada wondered if he could get Tezuka to do that in private, then reach over and just casually push him down to his knees. He gave his head a slightly shake to snap back to reality. Now was not the time for bedroom thoughts.
"I'm glad to see that my gift fits."
"It's perfect. But far too fancy for my status as a merchant guard."
"Nonsense. You're one of the heroes of the ball. And eventually you'll realize and accept that you're the one that I want by my side," Sanada said quietly. The people around them were keeping a polite distance, but it never hurt to be cautious.
"I do realize that's what you want… but I'm not sure that you've fully thought it through," Tezuka said.
Knowing that Tezuka knew what he wanted was a large step forward and made Sanada feel bold. If Tezuka accepted that Sanada wanted to make him his, then all he had to do was soothe the other silly reasons holding Tezuka back. "In what ways?"
"You're an emperor. You will be expected to find someone of a suitable level to stand by your side. I'm not even from Rikkai."
"Most partners from royalty come from outside of the kingdom. It not only brings fresh blood into the bloodlines, but also a fresh perspective on how the kingdom is run. You'd be an invaluable asset that way. As far as pedigree is concerned, you are a dragon. I could ask for no better mate than that," Sanada said.
He reached out to hold Tezuka's hand, needing to touch him. He wanted so much for the other dragon to understand that he needed him, and for Tezuka to realise that this was what Tezuka wanted, too. There was no reason or excuse that Sanada would accept to keep them apart.
"You will be expected to have children."
"I don't think that will be a problem. Do you?" Sanada asked. He brought his eyes down pointedly to Tezuka's stomach before raising them back to his face, just in time to see him become a little flustered and blush. "I didn't think so. Any other objections?"
-0-0-0-0-
Tezuka was initially shocked by Sanada's surety and gaze as he answered his question about children. He should have expected something like that, but it had been so long since he had spent any length of time with a fellow dragons shifter that he had forgotten what it could be like at times.
Tezuka let go of Sanada's hand and looked around at all of the well dressed nobles watching them and trying to act like they weren't. Would they be able to accept a male dragon shifter as the emperor's consort? Or would this finally push them too far with how unnatural shifters could be, and sow the first seeds of fear and hatred in a kingdom that seemed to actually accept his kind?
"I'm sure that the nobles around us will think of some," Tezuka said, after a long pause. Even he knew that his arguments against this were getting weaker. But disrupting the stability of the empire and risking the safety of Sanada and his future children was, in his mind, a legitimate fear.
"As I told you before, I've already had a battle of wills with them; I won. And if they feel that they need to question me again, I will remind them once more why I'm emperor and they are not. The people support me. And in time, they will support you and our family, too," Sanada said.
The way he spoke, with such surety and strength, eased the worry that was growing inside of Tezuka. There was still a lot more he needed to learn about Rikkai, and even more so its emperor, but he now felt that he could give himself the time to do so.
"Alright," Tezuka said. "I'll trust you."
"Good. Now I think we should stop wasting time with worries and enjoy ourselves. May I have this dance?" Sanada asked and held out a hand to him once more asking to hold his.
It would have been easy to ignore the hand or dismiss it, to deny Sanada a dance with him and make a spectacle of the both of them in front of all of those present. But if he did that, it would be a significant gesture of refusal, one that would be hard to reverse. And while he may have tried to run away from Sanada once before, and perhaps tried too hard to deny what was between them, Tezuka knew that right now there was only one choice to make.
Without any hesitation, he placed his hand in Sanada's and gave him the smallest of smiles.
Sanada smiled back at him, gave his hand a soft squeeze, and led him to the dance floor. As they walked, people cleared to make room; a general hushed awe fell about them. Everyone watched, captivated, as the music started and they moved together. Tezuka realized that he had accepted a lot more than just a dance when he took Sanada's hand. But deciding to follow the emperor's suggestion, he would worry about it later. For now, he would enjoy the feel of Sanada's warm hands on him, leading him around the ballroom.
It was, after all, what he had wanted deep down in his heart from the moment they had laid eyes on each other. And if he were lucky, this dance with Sanada would last a lifetime.
- the end.