Post by Tamari on Apr 11, 2013 8:13:21 GMT 10
Title: Avoidance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 501
Pairing: Kaddar/Kalasin
Round/Fight: 1/A
Summary: After they're finally married, things are a little awkward for the new royals. Written with prompt “It took you forever to notice me… I wondered if I was invisible." Warning for implied sex.
The rush of the week before slowed down after Kaddar and Kalasin's wedding night, partly because Kalasin was spending most of her time alone. She wasn’t sure if Kaddar was really that busy or if he felt as awkward and embarrassed facing her as she did facing him. The halting, vague talks she was given by her mother before leaving hadn’t prepared her at all for the realities of marriage.
Kaddar avoiding her did have some repercussions. Many of the palace’s residents gave her pitying or smug looks as she passed by. She tried not to let them bother her, with limited success.
She’d also inquired about her duties and been brushed off. So she began attending daily meetings and briefings to try and learn more about the situation in her new home. Even though Kaddar had been Emperor for quite a few years before their marriage, there was still unrest and conflict in many of the further provinces.
At present she rested her head on her desk and crossed her fingers behind her neck. If Kaddar would only talk to me, she thought. It’s like sharing a bed with him turned me invisible! Kalasin was fairly sure that wasn’t how it was supposed to work.
“Is everything all right, Princess?” came Kaddar’s quiet but distinct voice from the connecting room.
“Empress,” she mumbled into the desk. “I’m your wife, aren’t I?”
“What’s that?” Kaddar’s footsteps wandered into the room until she could see his slippered feet and the hem of his robe from the cracks between her arms.
She raised her head at last and stood up, noting how he still wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Everything is fine, sire,” she said, “but I wish you would call me Kally. Kalasin at least.”
“You don’t call me Kaddar,” he pointed out.
“I might if you stuck around long enough for us to speak!” Kalasin snapped, her voice becoming heated. She immediately clapped her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean--” Kaddar was still silent, so she rambled on. “I did mean, but not like that -- you just, I, marriage shouldn’t be like this.”
“Like what?” Kaddar said.
They were still standing toe to toe in their nightclothes. Kalasin was a very tall woman but Kaddar still towered over her.
“So much silence,” she said. The anger in her voice was gone and her tone was sad and soft. “Could we not be friends? We must be partners. Friendship -- it would help us, I think. Everything’s easier when you’ve got a friend.” She tried to force a smile but ended up staring at the floor.
“You’re right,” he said.
She looked up again in shock.
He met her eyes then, his own very dark and very tired. “I think you have a better understanding of ruling and human nature than I do, and you’ve only been an Empress for two days.” He smiled ruefully. “Friends?”
Kalasin nodded and they smiled at each other.
It was a start.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 501
Pairing: Kaddar/Kalasin
Round/Fight: 1/A
Summary: After they're finally married, things are a little awkward for the new royals. Written with prompt “It took you forever to notice me… I wondered if I was invisible." Warning for implied sex.
The rush of the week before slowed down after Kaddar and Kalasin's wedding night, partly because Kalasin was spending most of her time alone. She wasn’t sure if Kaddar was really that busy or if he felt as awkward and embarrassed facing her as she did facing him. The halting, vague talks she was given by her mother before leaving hadn’t prepared her at all for the realities of marriage.
Kaddar avoiding her did have some repercussions. Many of the palace’s residents gave her pitying or smug looks as she passed by. She tried not to let them bother her, with limited success.
She’d also inquired about her duties and been brushed off. So she began attending daily meetings and briefings to try and learn more about the situation in her new home. Even though Kaddar had been Emperor for quite a few years before their marriage, there was still unrest and conflict in many of the further provinces.
At present she rested her head on her desk and crossed her fingers behind her neck. If Kaddar would only talk to me, she thought. It’s like sharing a bed with him turned me invisible! Kalasin was fairly sure that wasn’t how it was supposed to work.
“Is everything all right, Princess?” came Kaddar’s quiet but distinct voice from the connecting room.
“Empress,” she mumbled into the desk. “I’m your wife, aren’t I?”
“What’s that?” Kaddar’s footsteps wandered into the room until she could see his slippered feet and the hem of his robe from the cracks between her arms.
She raised her head at last and stood up, noting how he still wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Everything is fine, sire,” she said, “but I wish you would call me Kally. Kalasin at least.”
“You don’t call me Kaddar,” he pointed out.
“I might if you stuck around long enough for us to speak!” Kalasin snapped, her voice becoming heated. She immediately clapped her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean--” Kaddar was still silent, so she rambled on. “I did mean, but not like that -- you just, I, marriage shouldn’t be like this.”
“Like what?” Kaddar said.
They were still standing toe to toe in their nightclothes. Kalasin was a very tall woman but Kaddar still towered over her.
“So much silence,” she said. The anger in her voice was gone and her tone was sad and soft. “Could we not be friends? We must be partners. Friendship -- it would help us, I think. Everything’s easier when you’ve got a friend.” She tried to force a smile but ended up staring at the floor.
“You’re right,” he said.
She looked up again in shock.
He met her eyes then, his own very dark and very tired. “I think you have a better understanding of ruling and human nature than I do, and you’ve only been an Empress for two days.” He smiled ruefully. “Friends?”
Kalasin nodded and they smiled at each other.
It was a start.