Chapter Text
Many might be surprised at how much the Crown Prince of Brodia cherishes and dotes upon his loved one. He loves to shower praise upon you at every opportunity, his tone of voice always so soft and affectionate with you compared to his usual tone with others, and he checks on you so frequently that it's very apparent it's not mere coincidence. He goes out of his way just to make you feel special, giving you all his attention whenever you want or need it, despite how busy and strict with himself he may be.
But it had been a few days now since you had fought in that one battle, where you were forced to make a difficult decision to allow someone else to Engage with your Emblem ring in order to survive. And ever since then, you've noticed Diamant behaving just a little differently around you. It wasn't anything noticeable on the surface by others, as he still greeted you with the same love in his eyes and his warm smile, but it was something you noticed immediately since Diamant now avoided prolonged physical contact with you as opposed to his typical endearing reciprocation. It was enough to make you worry if you had done anything wrong, or if Diamant was starting to feel distant from you. Either way, this was something you had to get resolved sooner rather than later, because it was starting to get painful.
You chose nightfall as an opportunity to speak to the prince. You didn't want to put him on the spot or air out your concerns in front of everyone, after all. You manage to find him sitting at a table in the Café, long after the kitchen has closed, scrawling out letters to the Brodian nobility. Diamant was once again burning the midnight oil to get more work done, an admirable trait, but it makes you worry that he overworks himself.
"Hi, Diamant... Are you almost done for the night? I was hoping I could speak to you about... us." You say quietly. "Maybe we can talk somewhere a bit more private once you're done." You motion upwards to your room, right above the Café.
Diamant follows your motion with his eyes and contemplates your words for a moment before setting aside his pen, folding the letter and sliding it into his pocket. The letter could wait.
"We can go talk now." He says as he stands up and extends his hand to yours.
This is the first time in a while you've gotten to take his hand like this. You walk with him up the ivory steps to your chambers and push open the door.
The view from inside is beautiful and serene, the night sky lightly veiled by the sheer curtains surrounding the room. The exposure to open air made the room feel so... vulnerable, with the sheer curtains doing little to offer any semblance of protection. As if anyone could gaze upon them anytime, if they so wished it. And yet, it still felt intimate and private, the sounds of your footsteps not traveling beyond the immediate vicinity of the room, with the natural lighting meaning that it would be as difficult to see you from outside the chambers as it was for you to see others from within. Diamant breaks the silence first.
"Divine One-- It's not like me to keep secrets from you. And yet, something tells me that the way I've been feeling might be better left unsaid."
He looks somewhat determined, the very mention of these words opening up a floodgate that can't be closed again. You bring up the situation from a few days ago that you felt might be most appropriate to discuss now.
"Diamant, it's been feeling... to me, like you've been distant. Ever since that day, where I engaged with another."
Diamant's lips twitch for a split second into a frown you don't really recognize when he hears your words, as if he were displeased from hearing the incident being rehashed again. But he quickly shakes his head and raises his hand, his expression growing calm again.
"Hah. I'm impressed you know exactly what caused me to behave this way. But I apologize if I made you feel that I was distant. That was never my intention." Diamant says. "I suppose it's not fair for me to conceal this any further when we promised to be open with one another."
Diamant slowly lifts his right hand to your face and cups your face, gently running his thumb across your cheekbone, under your eye. He maintains a fixed gaze into your eyes for several lingering moments before giving out a soft sigh and casting his eyes to the side.
"I've been working myself so hard lately to distract myself from it, to distract myself from you, but... That day, I felt some kind of... not jealousy, not anger, but... maybe... possessiveness, watching you engage with another. Allowing someone else to fight at your side, fighting with you as closely as you have fought with me." He pauses for a moment. "Ever since then I've had this burning desire to have more of you. To be closer to you in a way no one else could ever dream of. I know it's a selfish desire, and perhaps even sacrilegious given your position. I kept our distance physically, lest my convictions break and I become tempted. I-... Forgive me for feeling this way."
Diamant appears to be quite troubled, a hint of a blush creeping onto his face at the words he let escape from the confines of his mind, the impure feelings he dared to admit in front of you.
"It's difficult for me to be here with you right now. I was doing all I could not to have those... thoughts of you, but it's impossible not to when we're alone like this."
You stare up at the night sky as you process the words coming from the crown prince, an unfamiliar feeling coursing through your body and lighting up your nerves. Perhaps it's something about your surroundings, the intimacy of the night sky and this late hour, and the complete silence in your chambers. The pressing tension that Diamant's words ignite between you makes this once familiar ambiance feel foreign to you. His words serve as a catalyst, triggering the fervent pounding of your heart against your chest. Knowing that Diamant wants you... the sight of him, the stolen glances of his powerful figure tugging against the delicate threads of his shirt, his overpowering stature compared to your own, causes this near-insatiable heat to manifest in your abdomen. Your blood saturates your cheeks and your ears in warmth, flushing them with a beautiful crimson and causing a delicate pulsing just under your skin. Diamant is intoxicating, addictive, irresistible. The sheer chemistry burning between you makes it impossible for you to think this through.
Pure liquid courage coursing through your veins, you close the distance between you and Diamant, your hands sliding up his chest and your fingers slipping underneath his vest near his sleeves. You grip tightly, pulling him closer to you, in a movement that startles him and causes him to put his arms around your waist, the tips of his fingers resting, almost carefully, on your hips. You brush your lips lightly, teasingly, against his.
"Your only mistake here was not telling me sooner, Diamant. If it's... wrong, or sacrilegious, to want this feeling, then I should also be deemed a sinner." You whisper against his lips.
And your words are all it takes for him to switch his demeanor entirely, as if all along, he had been anticipating your signal to proceed. His gaze transitions from something more gentle, to one that could only be described as hunger. It's almost as if he is undressing you with his eyes. And now that you've granted him permission, his hands begin to explore your body, enjoying every delicious twitch and quiver of your skin underneath his fingertips. He would have to do away with his gloves in order to feel you better. He takes them off behind your back and tosses them haphazardly onto the floor. And now that he can feel you, how soft your skin is under his touch, he can't help but explore you further. Determine exactly where you love being touched, and the kind of touching you enjoy from him.
Diamant's hands on your body feel heavenly. Despite him being mortal, it feels as if in this moment, he is in command of your entire world, his touch able to change the course of your universe. Your attraction was magnetic, every touch only causing you to crave him further. Kisses all over your lips and cheeks, hands exploring each other, aching desperately for more. The fact that you had not so much as touched one another for a good while made this encounter all the more fervent. Every touch, every kiss further electrifying your nerves, bringing your bodies closer to one another. It feels as if you are in the palm of his hand... but to him, he feels completely at your mercy as well, hopelessly addicted to the feeling of your body against his. Both completely vulnerable to each other in a way that you never quite imagined.
As your desires beg you to explore completely uncharted territory with him, you bite your lower lip and cast your eyes upon the Holy Altar. To you, this was just your bed, your place of rest. Diamant, however, feels hesitation growing in his chest as he catches wind of your glance. In any other moment, this would have been something so wrong, perhaps even vile, a thought he would not have dared to entertain. It was one thing to be in a relationship with the Divine Dragon, who was worshipped by his predecessors. That was something that could be excused on the notion that it was his happiness, and that you were a lot more than a deity to him. But it was another entirely to bed you on the very altar where he had first laid eyes on you. Something he swore to himself when you'd first started seeing each other was that he would use his chambers for such acts, and not yours. And yet... he wasn't about to turn back, either. Your intense gaze into his eyes is like an aphodrisiac to him, causing him to forget where his past feelings of contempt for this very situation even came from. All that matters in this moment is the two of you.
Diamant's hands slide down to your hips, and he lifts you up. He then walks over to your altar and lays you down. His touch, momentarily, feels a lot more gentle as he takes a lock of your hair between his fingers. He then lets go of your hair and moves his hand to stroke your face.
"You're as beautiful as ever." He whispers.
The room is so quiet that his voice is the only thing you can hear, besides the pounding of your own heart. And his voice is so captivating. You reach up to him and rest your hands around the back of his neck, linking your fingers and pulling him in to taste his lips again. The pace becomes frantic, cut only by airy, lustful breaths against one another's lips, each gasp only a sign that you're both aching for more.
He helps you out of your clothes that you feel have been on your body for far too long now. His eyes almost seem to glint with both desire and awe at the sight of your divine body. This was first time he'd had the chance to lay eyes on your exposed skin in such a way. And you are so, so beautiful to him, more than he could have ever imagined. His hands once again explore your exposed flesh, which, he notices, reacts beautifully to his touch. He traces over every muscle, curve, dip of your torso with his fingers.
And Diamant is a giver in bed just as he is to you outside. He's completely committed to your pleasure. He uses his lips and tongue to pleasure you first, making sure to ask you often if you like what he's doing, noticing that you seem to react to the sound of his voice in such an alluring way. And once he's fully turned you into his quivering, sensitive mess, your body tender and flushed from the intoxicating sensations he's given you, he leans over you and strokes your face with the back of his hand.
"Divine One. Are you... feeling prepared to take me?"
He says as he firmly slides a finger up between your legs. You can't help but let out a gasp as he touches you this way.
"You know, Divine One... I'm certain you must know by now that my greatest weakness is you. But how is it that despite your ability to have me, the Crown Prince of Brodia, in the palm of your hand... you still look so vulnerable before me?"
He flashes a warm and genuine smile at you despite the sound of his words, as if you were the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.
He gently pushes your thighs apart with his hands and lifts your hips to wrap around his waist, so that you're just a fleeting moment, a single move, away from becoming his. He leans forward and presses one last, tender kiss, onto your sensitive lips.
"I want to give you the world, Divine One. But..." He keeps his gaze fixed on yours. "...because I'm only mortal... I hope that giving you all of myself will do."