in a few days they'll have to talk about the end of the world. in a few days, they'll have to decide their battlefield. they'll make choices and their lives will be all the worse for it, but now - well, now, she sleeps blissfully on. swaddled in his sheets, surrounded by his smell, she's able to sleep. 

that is, until something falls on her face. she sits straight up, bleary eyes blinking into the light, and almost goes to jerk into a standing position as reflexes take over. but then she stills and settles, rubs at her eyes. and then frowns down at king. 

angry is the dragon whose sleep is perturbed, but her annoyance fades when she finally manages a coherent thought. 

did he bake me a cake? 

"does this mean i can't be irritated with you for waking me up so barbarically?" she says dryly. she tugs up her chemise strap from where it had fallen off her shoulder and crawls forward to inspect her gift.

still-sleepy blue eyes soften. "it's so...cute."

KING WAYLAND

☉

king tosses a shrug in her direction.
[break][break]
"that's up to ye. but, of course, ye wouldn't get ta taste this cake for a while yet." he was, by no means, a professional baker. you wouldn't find king on one of those halloween special bake-offs. but, he knew his way around a the kitchen, surprisingly enough.
[break][break]
he scowls ever so slightly at her assessment, however.
[break][break]
"not cute. ferocious." that was until you got to the feet. he couldn't draw feet. at all.
[break][break]
"blow out the candles ye turd."

[attr="class","notes"]freya morningstar[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

"tempering a dragon's rage with sweets. a foolish venture." her eyes wander over the dessert and she admits silently that his plan isn't foolish, as it works well enough that she holds her tongue when she spies the paws. lyune would more than likely disagree that it's ferocious and the thought brings a smile to her face. 

she shakes off the last of her slumber with a toss of silver hair. the wax melts, splattering droplets of red and blue over the buttercream, so she puffs out her cheeks and thinks hard on her wish before blowing them out. 

as the smoke curls, she slips out of the bed, fingers trailing across the buttercream frosting. sugar bursts on her tongue and her lips tilt as she hums.

"king wayland - you didn't tell me you could bake."

KING WAYLAND

☉

king rolls his eyes, letting the silence that comes in the wake of her curiosity wash over the room. the chemise suited her, pale flesh bare in just enough places to allow his thoughts to fill in the gaps. he'd seen it all before, sure, but the day he wasn't interested in seeing it again, was the day he'd lay down and die.
[break][break]
"what's there ta tell? follow the directions on the box." there's more to it, yeah, but if you gave freya an inch...
[break][break]
deciding quickly he didn't want to do that, he changes the subject.
[break][break]
"what ye wish fer? hard ta believe ye need anything more than... this." he emphasizes himself with a quick flourish of both hands, teeth flashing in a grin.

[attr="class","notes"]freya morningstar[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

she takes another taste for herself, effectively ruining her appetite for breakfast, but smothering the sour taste in her mouth from sleep. confident her lips smell like nothing but buttercream frosting and sugar, she leans over the outstretched cake and steals a kiss from the egotistical man before her. 

"mm, yeah, very hard to believe," she says with a roll of her eyes. "unfortunately for you, i'm rather selfish and i have an insatiable appetite for things i shouldn't." like gods and monsters.

"and i know better than to say what i wished for."

KING WAYLAND

☉

her stolen kiss is anything but, as he gives into her willingly. his grin is wide and scheming, ever the rogue even now.
[break][break]
"so it seems like we have that in common, ye? ta think all it took fer ye ta fall fer me was for me ta beat ye senseless. odd turnaround, that." his chuckles wryly, choosing to not peruse that path any further.
[break][break]
"up 'n at 'em though princess. we can eat the cake later. let's get somethin' ta eat. fancy anything special?"

[attr="class","notes"]freya morningstar[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

out of context, their coming together doesn't sound like the healthiest thing. the thought makes her smile against his lips because thereafter she admits that even with context, it's still a tad out of sorts. but she can't let it go, can't let him go without being corrected. 

her thumb finds the hollow of his throat, pressing as she looks down at him with hooded lids: "you saved me, idiot. that's why."

she spares one last wistful glance at king's handiwork with the cake and then saunters past him to the restroom. she actually brushes her teeth, wrangles what she can of her hair back into a braid, and splashes some water on her face. takes a moment of staring into the mirror. 

"my father would always get these little pastries for me from a little café in town," she says with a halfhearted smile. "but that's off the table. we can dress and find a little restaurant? unless you'd like to eat in."

KING WAYLAND

☉

his throat moves beneath her thumb, swallowing in the wake of their kiss. his own lips form a smile against hers, and the bite of sarcasm that escapes from them, is likely expected.
[break][break]
"jury's still out on that, i think."
[break][break]
as she moves to get ready, he steals a glance. placing the cake back into the kitchen during her small time of preparation, he too moves to finish his own. shoes, a watch, a coat. nothing special. as she exists, he cocks a sky-blue eyebrow.
[break][break]
"why's it off the table?"

[attr="class","notes"]freya morningstar[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

starlight spools over her shoulder as she stoops to rifle through her drawers. his drawers - her clothes are just in them. they hadn't discussed it, like they hadn't most things. she was too proud to ask, but with her parents' resources funneled into maintaining the displaced dragons, her funds are low and she couldn't afford an apartment to herself. 

she withdraws black leggings and a silver dress, gaze flicking up to him as she discards her sleepwear. 

"i'm recognizable, especially in sootopolis. and you let the champion through to save FERNANDO SILPH. we can't be seen together, nevermind there." she tugs on her socks, slips the dress on, and works her fingers through her hair. 

"so it's off the table."

KING WAYLAND

☉

"huh."
[break]
[break]
king mulls over her words, jaw slightly slacked, tongue pushing against the inside of his bottom lip. he'd forgotten about all that. so used to the trouble that followed in his wake, the remnants of his decisions were often left as forgone memories.
[break]
[break]

"i mean, what are the odds they recognize uh, y'know? how many of these rocket clowns just put on a hat 'n all of a sudden no one can recognize 'em?" but getting into a discussion on the lunacy of 'rocket disguises' was something he didn't really want to do.
[break]
[break]

instead, he smiles, teeth flashing, and takes a step closer.
[break]
[break]

"ye tell me where ye want ta go, 'n come hell er high water, we'll go there."

[attr="class","notes"]freya morningstar[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

there's little reason to believe herself notorious. part of it is irrational, fearing the world may have forgotten about her. better to be an infamous someone than a washed-up no one. these prideful, shameful thoughts stem from her conversation with fernando.

she was never as big a piece to his puzzle as she thought she was. and somehow, after all this, that hurts. 

but be here. be now, freya. 

"you'll burn the world down for me so i can taste confections? how romantic?" she rolls her eyes and fetches her coat, tucks her feet into boots. "i'll take you there when we take sootopolis back. how about that little bistro in slateport? the one we keep saying we'll try but we don't."

KING WAYLAND

☉

"romantic? no, i just like ta cause a little chaos." he gives her peck on the cheek, stuffing hands into his pocket and his mind wanders, considering.

[break]
[break]
"bistro, bistro." did she mean that place? king shrugs, pushing his lower lip out in acceptance.

[break]
[break]
"sure, it's yer birthday princess. ye think they'll clap 'n sing if i tell 'em as much?"

[attr="class","notes"]freya morningstar[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

"ah, see now that makes more sense. that's the king i know." she leans into the kiss out of habit, marveling at the domesticity of it all. marveling at how natural it is. how long has it been? the two of them playing pretend? not long enough. 

she reaches a hand out before he can really step away, twines their fingers urgently together. squeezes and then the moment passes and the world keeps turning and her anxiety settles. 

sudden existential dread is a symptom that manifests in post-traumatic stress disorder, but she doesn't have a therapist to tell her that. 

"if you do that, i'll gut you with my steak knife. and i'll still enjoy dessert."

KING WAYLAND

☉