Brimsley and Reynolds

Chapter 20 Pt. 2

A/N: I know I know, but I just had to do another chapter in Reynolds' perspective😭 Anyhow, hope you enjoy, don't forget to vote <3

Reynolds lied awake, watching Brimsley as he slept. The sun was just breaking through the horizon, weak pale light pouring in through the window. He got up, knowing he would fall apart if he kept on thinking about what was happening today.

He got dressed as quietly as possible, giving one last fleeting glance as Brimsley's sleeping form before he slipped out of the room.

As he wandered the grounds, he found The King already awake in his observatory. Reynolds nodded in greeting, "Your Majesty," he said. The King turned around, obviously surprised he was here.

"Reynolds! I figured you would be...sleeping in today," The King said. Everything from his face to his tone made it clear.

He knew.

Of course he knew. The Queen knew, and he was her husband. "Why would I Your Majesty?" Reynolds responded calmly.

The King tilted his head sympathetically. "You know why," he said softly. He stepped towards Reynolds but Reynolds moved back, shaking his head.

"I don't want to talk about it," he blurted out. The King nodded intently, moving back to his seat.

An awkward silence drifted over the conversation, neither looking the other in the eye. Finally, the conversation started up again, this time about The Queen's health and of course baby George. After nearly twenty minutes of this torturous chitchat, a footman entered the observatory.

"Breakfast is served in the dining hall Your Majesty," he said in a reverent tone. They both nodded in response as the footman exited the room as quickly as he had come.

They made their way to the dining hall, where The Queen was already waiting, Brimsley standing off to the side as he always did. His face looked worse than it had last night, the reddish bruises now gone an off-purple. It hurt Reynolds just to look at them.

The King sat down, and Reynolds took his place next to Brimsley as The King and Queen began speaking of an upcoming meeting with parliament.

Reynolds felt soft, warm breath brush his ear gently. "The Queen convinced me to stay another week," Brimsley whispered, "She says its 'unbelievably inconsiderate to pick up and leave with only a days notice'," he laughed as he repeated The Queen's stiff words, but Reynolds could tell it was forced.

Painfully forced.

He didn't know how to respond. Was this supposed to make him feel better? Did Brimsley expect him to be happy that he would be tormented by another week of knowing that soon he would be gone? At least when he left, Reynolds wouldn't have to keep up the charade. He could turn his emotions off, numbing himself from the pain he had always so deftly avoided. But with Brimsley here, he couldn't do that, he couldn't turn himself off. Brimsley had always had way of making him feel everything, especially the things he didn't want to.

"Alright,"

Alright. What a stupid, unemotional response. Nothing about this was alright, nothing. He could see the hurt on Brimsley's face, a slight flinch at the indifferent response. It disappeared as soon as it came, replaced by the placid mask that everyone wore at the palace.

The King and Queen were together for nearly the entire day, which meant the King and Queen's men were five paces behind, together. Reynolds and Brimsley spent the day in stony silence, neither wanting to be the first to speak.

They now stood outside of the door to the nursery. The King and Queen were inside, leaving them alone for the first time since last night.

"Is this truly how it's going to be? Are we just not going to speak until I leave?" Brimsley asked in a hushed tone.