Regiphobia

The Threat

Goda, as he usually did, woke up alone. But this time... it felt off. It was still fairly dark out. He usually wasn't awake by this point, and when he was, Gabe was beside him. He looked around, glancing to the window. Nothing. He slipped out of bed, grabbing his crutches and moving to get dressed. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep with this anxiety.

It only took him a few minutes, since he'd long since given up on trying to do anything with his hair. He limped out of the room, quiet as he could. He went up to Gabe's study, looking to try and find his fiancé. He heard some mumbling, sighed in relief, and lightly knocked on the door.

The mumbling went silent and his anxiety spiked. He heard a familiar set of footsteps, and as the door creaked open, he looked up to meet Gabe's ice blue eyes.

"Love, what are you doing up so early?" Gabe asked, voice soft as he moved a hand onto the smaller's cheek.

"I d-dunno, I just woke up and you weren't there-" Goda mumbled, noticing the three people standing in the room behind his soon to be husband, "I'm sorry, did I int-terrupt? I can leave..."

"No, it's alright, my dear. Why don't you come in and sit down?" Gabe said. Goda nodded, being led into the room and taking a seat on a chair near Gabe's desk. He was used to sitting there when he was feeling really anxious or depressed and needed to be in the same room as someone.

"Lucas, Astrid, as you may know, this is my fiancé, Goda," Gabe introduced, placing himself behind his desk. Goda gave a tiny smile and waved to the two he didn't recognize. The third was the head of the palace guards, Officer Pastor, who he avoided like the plague. Memories of school with him stuck in his mind, no matter what he did.

"We should get back to the topic at hand," Léo stated, looking back to the king from Goda, where his gaze had been.

"Of course. What do you recommend we do?" Gabe said, taking his seat.

"We should add defenses to vulnerable sections of the palace walls. They broke in through a crumbling area of rock last time," the man Gabe introduced as Lucas stated. Goda slowly picked up on the topic but had no idea why they'd be discussing it this early.

"Shouldn't we just go through and fix the old sections of the wall? That would be much easier," Astrid questioned.

"We can't spare that kind of manpower. Not with that whole 'important persons' rule still in place," Léo chimed in.

"Alright then. When can we get people in to fix the walls?" Gabe asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. He clasped his hands together, going silent.

"At the earliest," Astrid started, "probably next week, I'd guess the sixth."

"That's Wednesday, right?" Lucas said. Astrid nodded before Gabe interjected.

"I'll be out of the country that day, someone else would have to supervise that it's getting done. Plus, we may not have that kind of time. The note didn't say 'Take your time, have some drinks, let us know when's convenient,' it said 'Watch your backs.'"

Goda looked confused and worried now, but he didn't want to interject. Léo then added, "If you're willing to weaken security on some people, we could have a couple of men making rounds around the perimeter."

"...Alright. Drop the guards from my brothers until Wednesday, I'll talk to them in the morning. Schedule someone to go around and fix the walls," Gabe said, gesturing for them to leave. They all did swiftly, and he was alone with Goda.

"...What hap-ppened?" Goda asked.

"We received a note from an unknown individual at the palace gates this morning. It was addressed to me, from the small rebel group in the country," Gabe sighed. He held out a paper to Goda, who stood to take it.

King Gabriel.
You, your father, your entire bloodline has done nothing for us.
We won't stand for it any longer.
Watch your back.
The Alliance.

The final line had a small image he'd seen painted on the walls when the rebels attacked just weeks before.

He looked over at Gabe, wide-eyed and concerned. Gabe seemed stressed, to say the least. Goda set down the note, making his way behind the other's chair. His mind pushed the idea of wrapping his hands around the other's throat into his head, but he just leaned down and hugged him, arms over his chest and head on his shoulder. Gabe hummed moved one hand, running it through Goda's hair.

"Are you OK?" Goda asked, closing his eyes as he mumbled into Gabe's ear.

"Yes, I am, darling. I am now that you're here," Gabe turned his head, kissing the other's cheek. Goda smiled a little, a bit too tired to focus completely. The king stood, taking the smaller in his arms.

"I love you, my angel. I love you more than any planet, any galaxy, or the universe itself. You are everything to me, doll. I don't know how I'd live without you," Gabe said in a sweet tone, looking at his fiancé as if nothing else existed. Goda flushed lightly, hiding his red face in the other's shirt. Gabe chuckled, his voice deep and warm, as he slightly tightened his arms around the other.

"Want to head back to bed, my prince?" Gabe asked. Goda nodded into his chest, then pulled back to grab his crutches. The two men made their way back down to Gabe's room, where they simply changed back into pajamas and got in bed. Gabe put an arm around the other, holding the younger's back against his chest. They drifted off together, nothing but their breaths breaking the silence.

When Goda woke up again, Gabe was still there. Goda turned in his grip, looking up at his sleeping face. He placed a soft kiss on his cheek, then slipped away to get dressed. He was out the door before Gabe woke up, which was rare.

He went to breakfast, forcing himself to eat, before checking his mail. A note was inside.

9, your study.
-J

A messy heart was drawing on it, causing Goda to smile. He glanced at the time. He had an hour or so until then. He decided to go up to his study early and get some drawing done. He was hoping to finish his most recent project by the end of the upcoming week.

He took the elevator up a few floors, eyes forward the whole time. He walked across the floor, closing himself in his study to draw undisturbed. He grabbed his pencil, sharpening it slightly, before taking a seat and getting to work.

The sketch was almost complete. He'd gotten the intricacies on his hair, the shape of his jaw, the muscles on his body, the details of his outfit, but he couldn't seem to get his eyes just how he wanted them. He leaned back in his seat after a few minutes of trying, furrowing his brow. Then his eyes lit up as he realized what it was. He finished the eye as it was, then grabbed a few different colored pencils. He started coloring in the eyes, and as he added the shading and highlights, he could see the playful, emotional, open look in his eyes already. He smiled as he remembered it, continuing his artwork.

Before he realized how much time had passed, there was a knock on the door. He hid the artwork, jumping to his feet and grabbing his crutches. He made his way over to the door, adjusting so he had a free hand. He reached out, grabbed the doorknob, turned and pulled. When he looked up at those green eyes, filled with warmth and adoration, he smiled just a little wider.