epilogue

King Chaddick awoke that morning feeling particularly sore. The events of last night replayed in his mind, bringing a smile to his face. Eden had been so clingy and shy in the beginning only to become unexpectedly rough towards the end. Chaddick could almost feel him even after several hours had passed. He had been so...deep inside.

And now, he was gone.

The Akri king sighed as he looked at the empty side of the bed. The blankets were pulled aside and there were slight creases on the pillows; proof that Eden's head had lain there.

Chaddick hadn't even heard the other king leave but he knew it must have happened early in the morning, around four or five. Eden had spent the entire weekend in Akrin but he had to return to Volatos to attend to his duties as king. Chaddick already missed him and, after three years together, the older king still had trouble getting over the gaping hole he felt in his heart whenever Eden was not near.

Knowing that wallowing would get him nowhere, he decided to get up, wincing slightly as he stood. He made his way to the bathroom, feeling slightly upset that Eden hadn't left him a not like he usually did. King or not; Chaddick still got emotional over the tiniest things Eden did.

The Akri king got ready for his day with a frown on his face. He bathed, got dressed and limped his way past a number of guards who knew not to greet him that morning. They had learnt that Chaddick, although usually chipper, could be incredibly moody the morning after his lover left. He was smart, diplomatic and a responsible ruler but in the end, he was only twenty-three and so his emotional maturity tended to waver. He was as mopey as any other lonely teen.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Sirus greeted Chaddick as he entered the dining room. The émpistos was looking rather regal in an all-white suit. He was sipping on tea, having long finished his breakfast,

Chaddick sighed sadly as he moved to sit on the chair across from Sirus. He offered the older man a half-hearted greeting, "Hi."

Sirus put down his cup of tea and looked at the young king. "You seem...upset."

"Eden left," Chaddick mumbled, serving himself a croissant. "And he didn't even write me a note."

Chaddick wanted to add 'nor did he give me aftercare' but he assumed that even his émpistos didn't need to know the details of his sex life.

"I see," Sirus said before he pulled out his notebook. "Well, I think you might be pleased to hear that you have a lot of work to do today."

Chaddick frowned, "Why would I be pleased to hear that?"

"Because I thought it might help you take your mind off King Eden's absence."

Chaddick would have much rather preferred to lie in bed all day, eating expensive foods and wallowing in his misery. However, with his parents gone off to travel the world, there was no one he could share his workload with aside from Duke Henrik. But even then, Henrik was busy with his own stuff.

Sometimes Chaddick wished he could be like Phoenix who spent his entire day being rich and complaining about it...

"First on your to-do list is a pile of paperwork regarding the expansion of our..." Sirus began to talk Chaddick through his duties for the day and the king half-listened as he ate.

Once he was finished with his breakfast, he made his way to the office that used to belong to his mother but now belonged to him. He hated paperwork and considered it to be the most mundane part of running a kingdom but it needed to be done and so he would do it.

He opened the large, mahogany door and stepped into the room. However, he froze at the sight of somebody seated behind his desk. And not just anybody...

"Eden."

The Volatese king looked up from the files he was busy sorting. His heart stopped for a second before it began to race; the effect Chaddick had on him was still the same. Eden took in the older king's appearance from his curly hair, the stubble on his jaw and those lovely, mismatched eyes. He looked so kingly in his beige and white attire. Eden longed to rip it off, remembering how un-kingly Chaddick had looked as he moaned for him last night.

"I thought you had left," Chaddick said, approaching his lover. He hadn't expected to find Eden sitting behind his desk with his long hair tied up into a bun and those reading glasses on his face.

Gods, Chaddick loved it when Eden wore his glasses. Most people preferred contacts now but there was just something so sexy about Eden in glasses. Chaddick's back ached a little, reminding him just how sexy Eden could be.

"I asked Imelda to handle my work for the day," Eden mumbled, blushing as Chaddick limped towards him. "I figured you'd need my help here considering how...rough I was last night."

Chaddick smirked, loving how shy and easily flustered his boyfriend was. He was certain that Eden was the most adorable king to have ever lived.

"I was upset when I saw you didn't leave me a note," The older male admitted as he moved to sit on his lover's lap.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Eden whispered, burying his face in Chaddick's neck. "Are you sore?"

"A little."

"Can I give you a massage once we're done with this paperwork?"

"Hell yes."

The two kings picked up their pens and began to look through the files together. Eden wondered how they might have looked to their ancestors; the sons of rival kingdoms now madly in love. It was as laughable as it was absurd. In just three years they had transformed both Akrin and Volatos, putting and end to years of foolish hatred.

Eden had lost plenty throughout his life but, as Chaddick sat on his lap, biting down on his lip as he read through pages of paperwork, Eden's heart felt full.

The End