Gift Fic for akhikaru 4/4

[stormymood]

A piece of rainbow for akhikaru  Part 4


Three days in hyperspace had them going on a routine. The flagship had attendants and soldiers on all decks, some of which were members of Sho’s personal guard. When it was morning according to the day cycle, the mess hall, the gym, and the training area would be populated. Sho would either be in his study or on the bridge surveying star charts and blueprints. Jun would almost always be beside him, listening to his plans and offering input before they would communicate it with the rest of the fleet.

When the night cycle began, they’d retire and head to separate rooms, connected by a shared bathroom. Even without checking, Jun knew that Sho hardly slept; even he couldn’t find rest—his mind was a minefield of possibilities.

On the fourth day, instead of an encrypted transmission from Nino, they received one labeled urgent from the Saiphan royal palace. Jun had to rush to the bridge as Iseya patched the transmission through all channels and frequencies, letting the entire ship and the rest of their fleet know of its contents as per Sho’s instructions.

Jun had been expecting Rina, and his blood had run cold when it wasn’t her that appeared upon fullscreen. It was Rina’s mother. Despite her age, she was still beautiful. And yet her eyes looked calculating and vindictive, more so when she locked eyes with Jun.

“So you live,” she said. It took Jun a beat to remember that this was a live transmission.

“My sister won’t kill me,” Jun said. He saw Sho stand beside him, and he held his head high. “She’s nothing like you.”

“She’s such a disappointment,” Rina’s mother said. “She could’ve done so much had she listened to me. She should’ve killed you like I told her to, not send you to Hamal. But then again, who could’ve known that the Saiphan prince would roil with filth?” Her eyes landed on Sho, and Jun fumed.

“Insult me if you must,” Jun said. It made her look back at him. “You’re losing. You know it. Where’s my sister?”

“Where she’s supposed to be. What do you think I’ve done to her? She’s of my own flesh and blood.”

“Where is she?” Jun asked again, fearing the worst.

Rina’s mother smiled, and Jun fisted his hands to his sides. “Awaiting your decision.”

Jun frowned. “My decision about what?”

“Rina needs to answer to the people for leading them to war,” she said, and Jun could feel his nails digging into his palms. “You know your planet’s own laws. Your father implemented them, taught them to you after you became his heir. You know what awaits your sister if she’s found guilty by the court.”

Execution or lifetime incarceration in the high prison, unless the monarch offered full pardon. With Rina on trial, there was no monarch. The crown would have to be held by the one closest to it, which would make her mother the queen regent of the planet.

“She’s your daughter,” Jun said, unable to believe how cruel she could be. “You’d send your daughter to her death without second thought.”

“That’s not up to me,” she said, smiling once more. “You see, this is why I’m speaking with you. Right now Rina is waiting for the verdict. I offer you the chance to save her from that.”

In his periphery, he caught Sho shaking his head once.

“He’s clever, isn’t he?” Rina’s mother turned to Sho. “You’ve been such a nuisance to me, Emperor.”

“Likewise,” Sho said. “We’ll hear no more lies. Our armies are coming to your gates. If you wish to parley, do so by then.”

“You don’t have any power here, so far away from your planet,” she said, facing Jun once more. “But I suppose this offer is better heard with the Emperor by your side. Here’s my offer: you in exchange for Rina.”

Jun froze. He couldn’t think, couldn’t hear a thing. He could only look at the face on the screen, at the way her eyes narrowed upon seeing his reaction. She’d thought this through.

“She will live if you surrender yourself to the Saiphan army and stand in trial for treason and murder of the late king,” she said. “These are the crimes Rina’s been accused with. She pleads guilty to all of them. But we both know she didn’t do it, no?”

“No,” Jun said, voice hollow. “She would never harm father.”

“Exactly. You’ll be in Saiph in two, three days from now at most. If you accept, Rina will be safe. Your Hamali friends can have her, provided you take her place. Board a ship and present yourself at the gates. As soon as you reach the city, Rina can take the ship you’ve used and fly to her freedom.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “That’s what she’d do, if she were you.”

“Jun,” he heard beside him, but he couldn’t look. He stood on his spot, body rigid with tension.

“Enough of this,” Sho said. “There’ll be no deals outside the terms of parley.”

Rina’s mother paid no attention to him. She kept staring at Jun. “Rina has two days until the verdict. You have until then to decide whether you’ll fight or admit to your crimes.” The angle of her lips curved to a confident smirk. “I think we’ll see each other soon enough. Until then.”

The transmission ended, and Jun’s knees felt wobbly, his balance off-center. He had to lean against the pilot’s chair for support, and his breaths came out shallow.

When he found the strength to move, it was as if his body was no longer his own. His voice was detached when he excused himself, his ears buzzing as he made his way back to his quarters. He couldn’t remember making the trip back. He sat on the edge of his bed and buried his face in his hands. He couldn’t prevent the tears from falling.

He was lost. He didn’t know what to do, what he was fighting for anymore. Rina had pleaded guilty despite not committing any of what she’d been accused with, and she’d done it to protect Jun. Perhaps she’d intended to die without Jun knowing as a form of atonement for her role in this scheme.

He’d been blind. He could’ve seen this coming, instead he’d opted to wait it out and listen to Rina’s precaution. Of course she’d want him to stay away. Rina had never wanted him to know.

He didn’t hear any doors opening, but soon, there was a dip on the mattress and he felt fingers in his hair, pulling him close without a word. He buried his face in Sho’s neck, hiding his tears there, taking the comfort Sho was giving.

“I can’t let her die for me,” Jun said. “I can’t lose her like this.”

“I know,” Sho said.

“You know what I’m going to do.”

“Yes, and I’m here to stop you. There is another way.”

Jun pulled back to look at Sho’s face. “She asked for me. If I surrender, my sister will be safe. There’s no other way.”

“There is,” Sho said, holding his face in both hands, thumbs wiping at his cheeks. “Listen to me. We’ve received word that Ninomiya and your captain managed to enter the planet undetected.”

Jun couldn’t utter a word.

“If they disable the gates, we can proceed with the plan and since your captain knows the palace, they can find your sister. They can extract her while we serve as the distraction, and by the time they notice her disappearance, they already suffered a monumental loss. Don’t be rash. We stick to the plan; it will work.”

“Rina’s mother said we have two days,” Jun said after processing what Sho had just told him.

“And in two days, those gates will be opened. They’ll hardly notice a rescue in the ensuing commotion,” Sho said. “Don’t even think of accepting that offer. There’s nothing for you in it.”

“I didn’t know,” Jun said. “I didn’t know Nino and Shun got in.”

“Because you left the bridge,” Sho said with a small smile. He let Jun go. “I came here to tell you at once. We will win this. We’ll win, we’ll save your sister, and you’ll be king.”

“You make it sound easy,” Jun said, but inevitably, he found himself believing Sho.

“We’re so close to the end,” Sho said.

Jun shook his head. “Don’t. Don’t talk about that. We don’t know what might happen yet.”

Sho peered at him, and after a moment, said, “Keiko gave you the talk.”

Jun couldn’t lie. “On the first day.”

“Of course she did,” Sho said. “Did you plan on listening to her?”

“No,” Jun said honestly. He reached for Sho’s hand, grateful that he wasn’t alone. They’d win. They’d beat Rina’s mother to her own game. “I can’t.”

“She will disapprove,” Sho said, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. “The whole ship knows where we are.”

“Are we required for anything?” Jun asked. It was the night cycle and the ship’s morning crew had retired already.

“No, I told them we will proceed as planned when you left,” Sho said. “We have tonight and no one will come disturb us.”

“Stay with me,” Jun said, and he could remember that night in Lucida Ventris. “Just for tonight. Don’t go back to your room tonight.”

He was expecting a haughty smile or a clever retort, but instead Sho only tilted his head and kissed him briefly on the mouth. Jun couldn’t help pulling him close for another, one that he intended to be longer than the previous. His desperation took hold and he cupped the back of Sho’s head, tongue sweeping in to stake claim on Sho’s mouth.

Sho was responding, meeting his enthusiasm in equal measure, one hand flat on his chest. The kiss grew heated, and Sho pushed him back a little to climb onto his lap. Jun’s hand came up to rest on the small of Sho’s back, acting as support as he responded to every kiss, every sigh made against his lips.

Jun was aware he was seeking solace in Sho, answering the crave for comfort that he felt. He knew he should follow Keiko’s advice and stay away, but there was nowhere he’d rather be, not when Sho had initiated.

He moved to kiss Sho’s jaw, lips traveling downward and stopping on Sho’s pulse. He heard a quiet sigh and felt Sho pull him closer, fingers tangled in his hair, and Jun marked him there, where everyone could see.

“Take off your clothes,” Sho breathed, hands fisting at the collar of his tunic. “Now.”

Jun drew back and obliged, fingers fumbling with buttons and laces. Since he’d assumed his real identity, his clothes had become more elaborate. Sho’s impatience was palpable with the way he started helping Jun, undoing knots a little forcefully. The tunic was off Jun in moments, and he hissed when Sho ran down his nails over his chest, leaving scarlet lines.

Sho pushed him and he had to rest his weights on his palms as he regained his balance. There were Sho’s hands on his shoulders, and when Jun met his eyes, Sho said, “Don’t touch me.”

Jun blinked. His hands fisted at the sheets behind him in response.

“Don’t touch me unless I say so,” Sho said, and without waiting for Jun’s answer, ducked to plant kisses on Jun’s neck. Jun tried to stay still, letting out noises of satisfaction as Sho’s mouth explored. It was hard not to react—he was ticklish on the spots Sho chose to linger, and involuntarily, his body began to chase after the warmth left by Sho’s mouth.

Another push from Sho had Jun resting his weight on his elbows. He watched Sho maneuver himself, lowering his trunk so he could trail kisses down Jun’s torso. He ran a tongue over Jun’s nipple and Jun gasped; he was quite sensitive there.

The swipes of tongue were soon followed by a dash of teeth in teasing nips, eliciting pleasurable spikes of pain. Jun arched and Sho soothed his sore nipple with a flick of his tongue. He did the same with the other before proceeding further downward, fingers gliding at the waistband of Jun’s trousers.

“No,” Jun said, and he felt Sho stop, hot breath ghosting over his navel. Sho was one leg off the bed, and it was clear what he’d been planning to do. “You don’t kneel for me.”

“And if I want to?” Sho asked, hands resting on Jun’s thighs.

“No,” Jun said again. “I—want to see you. I want to remember this. Last time there were no lights and I could barely see your face. Tonight, I want to see everything, have everything, remember everything. Don’t deprive me of that.”

Sho pushed himself up to kiss him, brief but hard, his intentions clear. “Move,” he told Jun, gesturing to the center of the bed.

Jun reached down to loosen the laces of his boots, kicking them off with haste as he did what Sho had asked. He sat up just as Sho straddled him, the both of them half-clothed—Jun in his trousers and Sho in his tunic. Sho brushed against him, hard against fabric, and Jun gasped.

“Don’t touch me,” Sho said again, and Jun fisted at the sheets on their sides. He had to incline his neck as Sho kissed him, Sho’s hands cradling his face. Jun allowed it to last till he had to breathe, and he couldn’t stay away for too long; repeatedly giving Sho short kisses.

With the lights not fully dimmed, Jun could see how Sho’s hair cast shadows on his face. He was tempted to brush them away but kept his hands where they were, waiting for what Sho wanted. They had tonight. Sho was here and he was staying for tonight.

He felt Sho’s hands fumble with the catch of his trousers, and he let out a moan when Sho’s hand slipped past the waistband and took hold. He sought more, meeting Sho’s grip, and he felt Sho smile against his mouth.

“You liked this the last time,” Sho said.

“I like whatever you want to give me,” Jun said.

Sho’s hand started to move despite what little room he had, his strokes causing Jun to leave pleased sighs against Sho’s cheek. Sho’s other hand loosened the knots of Jun’s trousers, opening them just enough. Sho sat back a bit, bracing one hand behind him as he took hold of Jun and himself, the friction sending them both groaning.

Jun easily found Sho’s mouth and took all the noises Sho kept making as his hand stroked faster, heat quickly building up between them. He pressed their foreheads together, breathing hard in each other’s spaces, and whispered, “What do you want?” despite the undeniable pleasure Sho was giving him.

“More,” Sho whispered back, half-delirious. Then his eyes snapped open and his hand stopped, gripping tight. “I—”

“Anything,” Jun assured him. “Anything you want.”

Jun gasped in surprise when he felt Sho push him, his back hitting the sheets. He lay flat on the bed, eyes wide in wonder when Sho’s grip loosened on them both.

“I want you to watch me,” Sho said.

Without waiting for his response, Sho moved off him and the bed, disappearing to the shared bathroom to gather what he needed. He returned after a minute, straddling Jun once more, and Jun’s breath hitched when he heard Sho flipping the cap of the tube open.

He had to grab some pillows to rest his head on and see better as Sho reached behind him. From his vantage point Jun couldn’t really see, but he could tell when Sho started preparing himself with the way Sho’s cheeks turned a shade darker.

Sho kept his eyes down, his breathing labored.

“Look at me,” Jun coaxed softly, and Sho’s gaze snapped to his, eyes dark with lust. “Watch me watch you.”

Sho’s swollen and full lips parted in a breathless moan, a tinge of pink steadily climbing from his neck to his cheeks. He looked beautiful as he gave in to pleasure, and Jun moistened his lips at the sight of him. Jun was hard, almost painfully so, but he didn’t dare touch himself. He kept his hands where they were and watched as Sho started riding his own fingers.

With each shaky breath, it was becoming more difficult for Jun to restrain himself. He felt like he’d burn if he didn’t get to touch Sho, but he wasn’t allowed. He was about to make a request when Sho’s eyes fluttered open, and Jun barely noticed Sho pulling his fingers free to grab Jun’s face with both hands.

Their kiss was more teeth, with Sho biting and tugging at his lips but Jun focused on it, trying to meet Sho halfway. He groaned when he felt Sho reaching for his cock, slicking it before guiding it, and it took all of his concentration to pull back.

“We don’t—” Jun tried, and he had to wet his lips once more, “we don’t have anything.”

Sho blinked once, twice. “I could—”

“No,” Jun said quickly, afraid that Sho would leave. He wouldn’t be able to bear a second without Sho close by. “I trust you. I just want to know if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Sho said, nipping at his chin. “Are you?”

“Yes,” Jun said, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head when he felt the tip brush against Sho’s hole. He must’ve let out some garbled version of Sho’s name when he felt heat envelop his cock, Sho sinking into him slowly, until all of Jun was inside and they both had to pause to breathe.

Sho’s arms looped around his neck, and Jun pressed his nose against Sho’s jaw to commit his scent to memory. He balled the sheets on his sides to his fists, his grip on control rapidly deteriorating.

Sho started to move using his knees, slow, rocking movements that made Jun see white. It felt so good despite the time Sho took to adjust fully, and when he sped up, Jun could no longer hold himself back.

“Please,” Jun begged, “let me touch you.”

Sho’s lips were resting on the shell of his ear, and Sho breathed, “Hold me.”

In an instant, Jun’s hands were on Sho’s back, climbing up to cup his nape and pull his face close. With the control Sho had relinquished to him, Jun took what he could. He kissed Sho as they started moving together, bodies meeting in the middle. He became attuned to the sounds Sho was making as he pushed halfway, and he felt Sho’s arms tightening around him.

He slipped his hand between them, fingers grasping Sho’s face so he could kiss him better, and he let out something close to a growl when he heard Sho utter his name.

“Jun,” Sho husked, their movements synchronized and increasing in pace. “Jun, Jun.”

Jun let his teeth catch onto the column of Sho’s throat as Sho rode him, muffling his grunts there while Sho threw his head back as Jun lifted his hips to chase after the warmth. Sho’s tunic slipped off one shoulder due to their movements, and Jun planted kisses on the curve of Sho’s exposed collarbone.

He reached for Sho’s cock between them, stroking it in the same rhythm as the one they created together, and Sho’s teeth caught on his earlobe and tugged. All he could hear were Sho’s moans, and he could feel nothing aside from the way their bodies were joined.

“You’re mine tonight,” Jun said selfishly, helplessly. He felt Sho twitch against his palm and he squeezed, his other hand clutching tight at Sho’s waist.

“Yes,” Sho hissed. He lost his tempo, knees doing most of the work as he sank into Jun’s cock again and again, nails embedded onto the meat of Jun’s shoulders.

In a surge of strength Jun had no idea what was the source of, he managed to flip their positions—Sho’s legs framing his body as Sho’s back hit the mattress with a startled gasp. Sho’s surprise didn’t last long. He pulled Jun to a messy, wet kiss, ankles locking on the small of Jun’s back as Jun pushed in him and inched back to do it again.

Sho’s hand covered his around Sho’s cock, and he didn’t take his eyes off Sho’s face as they stroked together, wanting to see everything. When Sho tried to cover his face, Jun caught his wrist and said, “Don’t hide from me. You told me to watch you.”

A breathy laugh escaped from Sho, and Jun let him go. “I’m not hiding. You’re seeing all of me.”

“And I want it all,” Jun said, claiming Sho’s mouth once more. His hand moved quicker and he felt Sho’s cock twitch. “I want you. I want you desperately.”

He kissed Sho throughout his climax, Sho’s tunic bearing most of his release. It wouldn’t take long for Jun, and he had to still his hips as he waited for Sho’s high to dissipate.

“Why did you stop?” Sho panted, eyes fluttering open. Jun trembled between Sho’s limbs, his arms shaking with effort to hold himself up.

“I—I can’t,” Jun said, hoping it was enough. “If I move, I—”

“I want you to,” Sho said, and Jun felt fire course through his veins, igniting his senses. “I want you to do it in me.”

Sho grabbed his face close and bucked back, smiling when Jun couldn’t hold back his groan. “Let me feel it,” Sho said, tongue darting out to lick a bead of sweat that clung to Jun’s jaw. “Let me have this.”

Jun didn’t need any further prompting, hips moving in a frenzy and erratic in his desperation. A tingle ran down his spine and he made one final thrust as he let go, emptying himself in Sho, Sho’s name leaving his lips in a shaky, breathless cry. His mind went blank as he rode his orgasm out, and he eventually lay draped over Sho, whose only complaint about his weight was a pained grunt.

Sho’s tunic had to be sticking to him uncomfortably, in the same manner Jun’s trousers clung to his hips. The stickiness was what made Jun roll off Sho and collapse beside him, the two of them still catching their breaths.

Before Sho could say something, Jun willed himself to gather some strength, pushing himself up so he could kneel between Sho’s legs and spread them further apart. He felt Sho resist and said, “Let me see,” and he pressed a kiss to Sho’s knee to placate him. “I want to see.”

Sho covered his face with the back of his hand and turned to the side, and Jun watched as some of his come slide back out slowly out of Sho, his hole twitching.

“This is embarrassing,” Sho said, and Jun kissed the inside of his thigh.

“No, it’s not,” Jun said, lips moving lower.

Sho jolted. “Are you—”

“Yes,” Jun said. “I want to.” His mouth was close to where he wanted it, and he took note of the look on Sho’s face. “No one’s done this to you before.”

“Are you going to brandish that information now that you have it?” Sho asked.

Jun had to shuffle forward to kiss Sho’s mouth to silence him. “That’s not what I meant. I’m glad no one’s done this to you because that means I’m the first and the only one.”

He resumed his previous position and lifted Sho’s legs to rest them on his shoulders, and with Sho’s breath stilling, he went for a lick. He heard his name and did it again, tasting himself on Sho and going for more, until there was no more trace of him and he’d turned Sho to a writhing mess on the sheets.

He lowered Sho’s legs to the mattress and crawled back up, responding to Sho’s kiss eagerly.

“You’re unbelievable,” Sho said between them, tongue flicking over Jun’s lips.

Jun kissed him, long and indulgent. “I still want you,” he admitted. “Despite everything we just did.”

“Then have me,” Sho said against his chin. “Have me however you want me.”

Sho’s hands slipped inside his trousers to cup his ass, and Jun broke the kiss so he could finally rid himself of them. He removed them hastily, clucking his tongue in annoyance when one pant leg got caught around his ankle. He heard Sho laugh, and when the material was finally on the floor, he rejoined Sho on the bed, lying on his side so he could kiss Sho without worrying about his balance.

“It’ll be a while,” Jun said. “I’m not a pleasure bot.”

Sho’s laugh was rich and amused, his eyes crinkling at the sides. Jun was utterly charmed at the sight of it. “I didn’t think you were. We can just stay like this for now.”

He looped an arm around Sho’s waist to have him closer, their hands loosely entangled between them. Sho watched him without uttering a word, and Jun didn’t dare shatter the moment. He didn’t know when he could have something like this again.

“Won’t you take off the tunic?” Jun asked eventually.

Sho’s slow smile made his stomach feel funny. He hoped it always would. “Why?”

“It’s…” Jun struggled to find words and ultimately settled with “It’s in the way.”

Sho laughed.

“And it’s filthy,” Jun added.

Sho sat up without a word and took off the tunic, discarding it to the side. Before he could lie down again, Jun pressed himself against Sho’s back and began running kisses down Sho’s nape, arms locking around Sho’s waist.

“I don’t want tomorrow to come,” he heard Sho say, an uncharacteristic but raw admission that made him cease what he was doing. “I’d be happy if we could just stay like this.”

“We could,” Jun promised, dropping a kiss to the steep angle of Sho’s shoulder, at the bony process on the tip of it. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Sho said nothing, but he gripped Jun’s hand tight over his abdomen and faced the side so Jun could kiss him. Sho’s other hand went up to grab Jun’s nape as their kiss grew more urgent, like Sho was making the most of it.

His desperation was something Jun could relate to, something he could feel in his bones the longer they stayed like this. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to hold Sho like this again. He’d never get to touch him, let alone be intimate with him, and there was nothing they could do. It was the ever present reality for them both, that what they shared wouldn’t last.

“It’s not tomorrow yet,” Jun said after a while. “We still have time.”

“Yes,” Sho agreed, body moving to face him. Soon he had Sho’s fingers tracing the line of his abs and he shivered in anticipation. “I remember how much you liked my mouth back then.”

“I more than liked it,” Jun admitted, earning him Sho’s smile.

“We should bathe,” Sho said, but his hand was already moving inward and making Jun react.

“Don’t leave me hanging,” Jun complained.

Sho grinned before kissing him, and he settled between Jun’s legs, elbowing Jun’s limbs to make enough room for himself. He lowered his face to where Jun wanted him, eyes flicking to Jun’s.

“Try to last longer than the last time,” Sho said in challenge.

Whatever retort Jun had had vanished; Sho didn’t give him a chance to utter a word and already got to work, leaving him breathless in moments.

--

They made love for hours and hours, till they both couldn’t do much except indulge in kisses done in a lazy manner. Jun was sore, his lips even more so, but they slept with their limbs tangled and bodies pressed together, sharing warmth after they’d shared everything else.

Come morning, Jun woke alone.

Sho’s side of the bed was cold to the touch, and the fact that Sho had started his day was what made Jun sit up despite his body protesting. He had to stretch his aching limbs to get them moving, and by the time he’d finished preparing himself for the day, there was a series of knocks on his door.

He said, “Enter,” and the doors swooshed open to reveal a frantic, out of breath Keiko.

“Where is he?” Keiko asked, eyes searching Jun’s room.

Jun blinked in confusion. “What?”

Keiko didn’t bother excusing herself, entering Jun’s quarters and peeking through the rooms. Jun hadn’t made his bed, and he was certain it was obvious what had happened the night before, but Keiko only made a passing glance before pivoting on her heel to face him.

“He’s gone,” Keiko said, and she fisted both hands on Jun’s coat, pushing him back with surprising strength that his body made contact with the wall.

He barely registered the pain. All he could think of was what Keiko had told him.

“No,” Jun said. “No, what do you mean he’s gone? He was right here a few hours ago.”

“He’s not in the ship,” Keiko said, and her face contorted, eyes glistening. “We tried to locate him in the database and the computer said he’s not in the ship. We’ve been looking for him in the past hour and this is my last stop. What did he tell you?”

Jun couldn’t think. Sho was gone. That was the only thing he could process at present.

Keiko slammed him against the wall once more. “What did he tell you?!”

Jun had to blink to refocus. “That Nino and Shun made it in the planet. That we’ll proceed with the plan.”

Keiko let out a bark of laughter, one that made her tears fall after. “There’s no transmission from Ninomiya. Or from Oguri, in that matter. We’re still waiting for their word.”

“No,” Jun said, and his knees felt wobbly. Keiko let him go and he sank to the floor. “No, he couldn’t.” Jun shook his head. “He wouldn’t lie to me.”

“He would if it meant keeping you safe,” Keiko said. They heard footsteps, and Sho’s personal guard barged into Jun’s room unannounced.

“Is he—?” Kiko began, but Keiko already shook her head. Jun could see the shift in Kiko’s expression, at the look she gave Jun. “No.”

“Tell Iseya-san to open a fleetwide channel, all frequencies,” Keiko said. “We have to find him. He couldn’t have gotten far.”

Kiko nodded, but she halted in her steps when she appeared to remember something. “Keiko-chan,” Kiko said, “we checked the rosters. There’s one ship that’s missing from the cargo bay.”

“No,” Jun said in disbelief. “No, he couldn’t have—”

“Can we track that ship?” Keiko asked, her voice cracking.

“We are tracking it,” Kiko said. “I’ll go up to the bridge. Iseya-san’s doing all the scans, all channels and frequencies. Everyone’s on high alert.”

Kiko and the others left, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence between Jun and Keiko.

“What did he tell you last night?” Keiko asked quietly.

Jun shut his eyes, and he felt like his heart was breaking. Perhaps it was. “I already told you.”

“There must be something else,” Keiko insisted. “I know him. He says goodbye when he has to.”

Jun felt hollow, like his body had emptied itself out and left nothing for him. He felt raw, like a nerve exposed and ready to atrophy. He remembered Sho’s kisses, the want in them, the underlying desperation. All of it had meant something.

“He didn’t want today to come,” Jun muttered, and in his periphery, he saw Keiko turn away, one hand concealing half of her face including her tears.

“Get up,” Keiko said, kicking his boot. “Get up. He’s not far. We can catch up to him. Get up, Matsumoto. I don’t care if you’re a king; you’re the reason he’s gone. So you will bring him back.”

“You know where he’s going,” Jun said, looking up at Keiko.

Keiko’s expression was serious despite her eyes still teary. “Yes. You know it too. Get up and order him to come back. He listens to you.”

It was what gave Jun the strength to stand up and run to the bridge, Keiko right on his heels. Jun punched the button of the turbo lift in combined frustration and anger, and when they reached the bridge, only Iseya looked up from his station.

“He’s on his way to Saiph,” Iseya said. “He’s not answering all our hails.”

Jun stepped towards the communications console, flipping switches and patching up a channel to connect with Sho’s ship. He was answered with one rejection after another, and he decided to send a transmission.

“What are you doing?” he asked, not caring if everyone in the bridge could hear him. “Why are you doing this?”

There was no response, but he knew Sho was receiving it. Sho could hear him; he just wasn’t replying.

“You don’t have to,” Jun said. “Come back and we’ll think of another way. You told me there’s nothing for me in that offer. There’s nothing for you, too. Come back.” He uttered the next bit softly, begging Sho with all he had. “Come back to me.”

He punched the console in the height of anger when Sho closed the channel. He turned to Iseya and said, “Tell me we’re following him.”

“We are,” Iseya said. “But he’s faster; he’s using a ship of the same model as the one Ninomiya used when he left the outskirts to go back to Alnitak.” He looked like he didn’t want to say the rest.

“What?” Jun demanded.

“We’ll never catch up,” Iseya said regretfully. “At least not on time.”

Jun opened up the channel again, and when he saw it connect, called out Sho’s name. “Listen to me,” he said. “There’s nothing for you there. Come back and we’ll wait for Nino, for Shun. There’s still time. We can—”

“Do you remember what was your answer when I asked what would you give if it meant keeping your sister safe?” Sho suddenly asked, his voice a little choppy because of the connection.

Jun did, and he shook his head despite Sho not seeing it. “No. No, I didn’t mean it that way.” His grip tightened around the console. “I didn’t mean you.”

“Was I ever yours to be given away?” Sho asked in a voice Jun almost didn’t recognize. It made Jun stop, words turning to ash in his mouth. “Did you honestly believe that any of what we shared is true?”

His chest felt too tight; it was difficult to breathe. “No,” Jun said. “No, what are you saying? Stop lying. Why are you lying to me?”

“You’ve always been blind,” Sho said. “Always trusted too much. It’s what got you into my service in the first place, and look where it took you now. Did you actually think I would spend time with you willingly? That I enjoyed what we had together and never found you repulsive? You killed my people.”

Jun had to lean against the console to maintain his balance. “You don’t mean that,” he said weakly. Sho was lying. He couldn’t be serious. After Denebia, things had changed between them. Everything that had followed after that couldn’t be a lie. It felt true.

“Oh but I do,” Sho said. “I entertained you because there was no one else; I was fighting a war. I entertained you in Hamal because you’re a king. But that’s all there is to it.”

“Stop lying,” Jun said. He felt like there were a thousand blades in his heart. “You told me you’d choose me if you could.”

“And you believed it like the fool you’ve always been,” Sho said. “I told you once that you’re a sad, pathetic man. Nothing much has changed; you’re still a sad, pathetic man, except now you’re hung up on the first person who showed you a semblance of affection after spending months without it. A pampered prince who was so accustomed to having reciprocation that he jumped at the first sign of it despite the source being someone who had no reason to love him.” Sho laughed, mocking and spiteful. “None of it was real.”

Sho had to be doing this on purpose. He had to be deliberately hurting Jun for a reason. And yet, it hurt. It hurt so much that Jun thought he’d choke on it. He was being shattered to pieces at each cruel word he heard Sho say.

He had to take a shuddering breath to get the words out. “Regardless,” he said, hoping he sounded stable despite his state being far from it, “please come back. You don’t have to do this.”

“Do you think I’m doing it for you?” Sho asked, and Jun couldn’t hide the sting he felt. “Don’t be absurd.”

“Then you should come back,” Jun said. “If you’re not doing it for me, turn back that ship and return. There’s no reason for you to do this. Hamal will lose its emperor.”

“And they will gain another empress,” Sho said. When Jun didn’t speak, he hummed. “Didn’t you know? My sister will be thirty in less than a month. If I do this, her reign is secured.”

“That’s a gamble,” Jun said. “She will betray you. You know it.”

“Are you trying to tell me what to do?” Sho asked.

“You listened to me once,” Jun said.

“How deluded,” Sho said. “You think you can persuade me now? Give up. Stop making a fool of yourself. Whatever influence you had on me never existed in the first place. I did what I had done out of necessity.”

“It was all real to me,” Jun heard himself mutter quietly.

For a moment, Sho’s side was full of silence with the occasional bouts of static.

Then: “Like I said: a sad, pathetic man.”

A few beats had passed before Jun regained his voice. “Come back,” he pleaded still. “If none of what you promised me was real, remember your words when you left your planet. You promised your sister you’ll be home for her birthday.”

“Do you think they don’t know?” Sho asked. “They’re my family. They know what I’m doing. I told them. Just because I never told you doesn’t mean I never told anyone. Besides, why should you have to know? You’re not important.”

It would be more than a moment before Jun could speak. Breathing felt like a task; his chest felt too heavy. Sho’s words had gutted him in the same way they had before, right after he’d saved Sho’s life.

He’d been a fool, still as naïve as he’d been when he’d been betrayed. He’d believed all of Sho’s words, all his promises, even offered himself up and everything he had. It was all some cruel trick.

“But they are,” Jun heard himself say. “Your family is important to you. You have to go back to them. You promised them that you will.”

“Did you not hear a word I said?” Sho asked. “Are you really that thick?”

“You may have lied to me,” Jun acknowledged, “but you’ll never lie to them.”

“A few fucks and you think you know everything about me,” Sho said. “We’re getting nowhere. I know you’re following me because that’s all you’re good at, but don’t waste your fuel. I can win this war without your help. In my own way. I don’t need you. I never did. I simply pretended to.”

Jun closed his eyes, and he wished to whoever was listening that this was all a dream and he’d wake up soon enough, to the sight of Sho sleeping by his side in peace. Despite everything Sho had said to him, Jun couldn’t find it in him to hate Sho. “Please. There’s another way. Turn the ship back and we’ll find it. Don’t do this.”

“How many times must I tell you that none of it mattered to me as much as it did to you for you to listen?” Sho asked. “I never wanted to be with you. I’ve found a way to stop this war from happening without your help and the least you can do is be useful for once, Jun. Don’t get in my way.”

“Show me your face,” Jun said, and silence followed it from Sho’s side. “Look me in the eye and tell me all of this.”

A few beats passed and there was nothing, just the intermittent static. He had to see Sho’s face to know if Sho’s words held truth. It didn’t matter if he’d be hurt in the process—he had to know.

“Your desperation is pitiful,” Sho said after a moment. “There’s nothing more to say; you don’t understand a thing, anyway.”

“You’re bluffing,” Jun said. “You can’t risk showing me how you look like because you know I’ll see through you.” Then, in a softer voice: “Come back. Please. There’s still time.”

“Enough,” Sho said. “You can’t tell me what to do. You have no right.”

“I’m not telling you what to do,” Jun clarified. “I’m asking you to come back. Not for me.” He looked behind him, at Keiko’s face and Iseya’s downcast one. He and Sho were speaking in a shipwide broadcast; everyone could hear them from the beginning. “Come back for all those who believe in you. There’s no one else they’d follow.”

“I made my decision,” Sho said, stubborn as ever. “I have a headstart and you won’t make it on time. This is goodbye, I think.”

“No,” Jun said, just as he heard Keiko utter the same behind him.

“Is Keiko there?” Sho asked. Then without waiting for the response, he continued, “You’re sworn to the empress now. Take care of my sister as you did me.”

The channel was shut, and no matter how many times Jun tried to patch it through, Sho never responded again. He turned to Keiko and knew he had the same expression of distraught on his face.

“If I take one of the ships,” Jun began, earning him a hard look from Iseya, “the same one he took, will I catch up to him?”

“I know you’re a good pilot,” Iseya said, “but he’s gone way ahead. He’s doing jumps every now and then—he’ll be in Saiph an hour from now.”

“There has to be a way we can stop him,” Jun insisted. He looked around, at all of the bridge crew present. “He’s going to die for you. For all of you. Surely you want to stop him?”

“We can’t,” Keiko said, sounding frustrated. “I was counting on you.”

“He never did any of this for me,” Jun said. “You heard him.”

“He was trying to hurt you,” Keiko told him with a frown.

“And he succeeded,” Jun admitted. “And yet, he’s doing something he’s not supposed to do. We have to stop him. You have more than a thousand ships in your fleet.”

“Even if they pursue at maximum speed, by the time they reach Saiph, he’s already in the planet,” Iseya said. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But he’s thought this through.”

“No,” Jun said, shaking his head. “I can’t accept that. You’re telling me I should just stand here and accept that he’s going to die? I can’t. I tried so hard to prevent that in the past.” He looked at Keiko. “You did too, more than once, even before I knew him. You’re not going to give up, are you?”

“I don’t want to,” Keiko said, voice hard. “But he’s given me no choice. He’s decided.”

“No,” Jun said again. He gave them his back, not wanting them to see how he truly felt. “How can all of you just stand here when you’re going to lose the man who took you this far?”

They had no answer for him, and Jun gave in, tears falling from his eyes.

It should have been me, he thought, slamming his fist down the console. It should have been him on that ship, flying to Saiph at top speed to take Rina’s place.

The communications console beeped, and Iseya rushed to open an incoming transmission. Jun, despite knowing better, still hoped to see Sho, but instead of his face on the viewscreen of the bridge, it was Nino.

“Jun-kun?” Nino asked, and without pausing, continued with “We’re in. They bought the slaver charade. They believed I was a slave trader; we’re in the planet. We’re heading to the gates’ towers as we speak, but Oguri-kun here is already trying to get past the buffers. If we manage to enter the tower, we’re in. Those gates will be down at your command.”

You fool, Jun thought, hoping Sho could hear him. They had a chance. Why didn’t Sho wait?

“Jun-kun?” Nino asked when Jun didn’t say a thing. “What are your orders once the gates are opened?” He looked around quickly and added, “Where’s the princeling?”

“When the gates are down, I don’t want you and Shun to join the fight,” Jun said. “He’s heading there to Saiph. He thinks he can negotiate with Rina’s mother.”

“I have no idea what’s going on but he’s doing something stupid, isn’t he?” Nino asked, shaking his head. “Don’t answer that. What do we do?”

“Find him,” Jun said. “When we’re at the gates, open it for us. The commotion should serve as an adequate distraction. Find him and get him in your ship.”

“All right,” Nino said. “We’re almost at the tower. You’ll know when we’ve got it.” He looked over his shoulder and said quickly, “Someone’s tailing us. I have to lose them. Until then.”

The transmission ended with a wave of Nino’s hand, and Jun faced the rest of the bridge crew.

“We will proceed as planned.” To Iseya: “Once we arrive at the gates, send word to Nino. They’ll know what to do. Tell Ohno and Aiba to transport themselves to this ship.”

Iseya moved to obey, and Keiko said to Jun, “Are you in charge of us Hamali now that he’s gone?”

“I’m not,” Jun said. “You are. You know what’s the best course of action. Advise me so I can tell the same to my men.”

“There’s a conference room two decks below,” Keiko said, already heading out. “Iseya-san, please direct Ohno-san and Aiba-san there. And follow when you can.”

“Got it,” Iseya said, and Keiko and Jun boarded the turbo lift.

“We’ll get him back,” Keiko said, and she sounded convinced of it. “He’ll buy himself time. Whatever he’s planning, he’s going to execute it at the opportune moment. What do you think will happen to him when he gets there?”

Jun went with the closest reality he could imagine. “He’ll take the blame for whatever my sister’s been accused of. My sister will be acquitted and the court will find him guilty. Rina’s mother won’t send him to the high prison; she loves a spectacle.”

“She’ll have him executed,” Keiko said.

Jun nodded grimly. “Yes. But not yet. She’ll wait it out. She’ll do it with the entire planet watching, including Hamal. She’ll lord it over the Hamali, that she found a way to murder their emperor. It will be a public execution.”

“In the event that we manage to infiltrate the planet, she might use that to stop us,” Keiko said. They reached the conference room and stopped by its doors.

“Don’t let it stop you,” Jun said. “I know you want him safe. But only you can lead those men—his men. They will follow you, and you have to make sure we will win the fight.”

“And what about him?” Keiko asked. “I can’t abandon him. I’m sworn to protect him.”

“Do you trust me?” Jun asked.

Keiko studied him, her eyes narrowing fractionally. “Yes. Yes, I do, despite your propensity for not listening to a word I say.”

“Then trust me,” Jun said. “I won’t let him die. Not for me, for you, for your people, or for anyone.” If anything happened to Sho, Jun wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. Even if Sho had said harsh, scathing words to him, he’d rather die than let something like that happen.

Keiko’s face hardened with determination, her eyes on Jun’s. “I will bring you victory,” she said, extending a hand to him in offering, “and you will save my emperor.”

“Done,” Jun said, accepting her hand and giving it a firm shake. He tilted his head towards the conference room, its doors sliding open for them. “Let’s go win the war.”

--

Their talks had gone for hours. Keiko had gathered all troop leaders and high-ranking officers of Sho’s fleet, and Jun had had his sergeants assembled. It was already common knowledge that Sho was heading to Saiph to offer himself up to the queen regent, and that the most they could do at present was to buy him more time.

“We have a day,” Jun said, “before the verdict is passed. It’s my belief that we’ll come to know when it happens; there might be a live transmission for us by then.”

“It will be fleetwide broadcast,” Iseya said.

“And so I ask everyone not to get riled up by what it says,” Keiko told them. “It will bait us, goad us, taunt us. We must stick to the plan and infiltrate that planet.” She looked at every Hamali present. “That’s the only way we can do our duty and protect our emperor.”

There was a collective noise of affirmation from around them.

“I swore to safeguard the future and the best interests of the Hamali when we formed the alliance,” Jun said. “I will not break that vow. Your emperor might have cut ties with us, but I have no plans of abandoning him. We leave no one behind.”

“No one behind,” Jun’s men echoed. It had been Shun’s father who’d started that mindset, and it had been ingrained in every Saiphan soldier since.

“Formations will be as you say,” Ohno said to Keiko. “But I think it’s best if we move the long-range fighter crafts to the flanks. The defensive maneuvers will still be activated even when the gates are opened. With the long-range ships, we can minimize the damage we’ll take at the center of each squadron.”

“Then have them there,” Keiko said. “Will the Saiphan army be amenable to flying ahead of us? It’s your planet; you’re used to its gravitational pull and environment.”

“We’ll buy you time so you can adjust accordingly,” one of Jun’s sergeants said in reassurance. “After the gates, it’ll be the airborne army that’ll be waiting for us.”

“We’ll be ready for them,” Jun said. “We know their formations; Shun’s father’s tactics are still being implemented. We can break those lines.”

“It’s as you say, Your Majesty,” his sergeant agreed. “We’ve already divided amongst ourselves on who takes which fort.” He looked at Ohno. “But we’re short on hands.”

“Give me the roster and I’ll assign my men to their respective places,” Ohno said, and the sergeant bowed in understanding.

Jun turned to Aiba. “Who’s in charge of the escape ship?”

It was Aiba who had suggested that they should reserve one ship for escape, in the event that the ship Nino had would be destroyed in the fight. They still needed to extract Sho (and perhaps Rina) from the site, and Jun required the best ship the fleet had to offer.

“It’s being refurbished according to Saiphan specs,” Aiba explained. “Kazama and the others are trying to make it look like an ordinary Saiphan ship. It’ll take a few hours, but it should be done by then.”

“Let Nino know,” Jun said, and Aiba nodded. “He’s the only one I’m trusting to fly that, in case it’ll end up carrying the two people I’m trying to save.”

He felt eyes on him, and he looked up to Ohno watching him.

“Where will you be?” Ohno asked.

The wise decision would be to stay in the flagship and demand for Saiph’s surrender. But Jun was never known to be wise, and he knew he could never sit still in the flagship while the others were fighting.

“I need a ship,” Jun said.

The protests came at once from all sides: Iseya shook his head, Aiba frowned, Keiko gave him a look that would make most men cower, his sergeants exclaimed their disapproval, and the Hamali stared at him as if he was mad.

Perhaps he was.

“I’m not staying here when all of you are out there, fighting,” Jun said.

“If you get killed, even if we win the war, it’ll be for naught,” one of his sergeants said. “We’re fighting for you. You can’t endanger yourself like that.”

“While the Emperor of Hamal has already endangered himself?” Jun asked. He was met with silence. “I will not hide. He’s on his way to my planet to broker a deal that won’t be beneficial to him. He’s risking his life already, and I swore I’ll put the interests of his people and mine first. This is a war, and what kind of king will I be if I cower in my ally’s flagship? I will fight with you.”

The silence lasted for a moment, and it was Ohno’s hum that broke it.

“Very well,” Ohno said. “We’ll give you a ship. But on one condition.”

Jun’s eyebrow quirked. “You’d make your demands to a king?”

“I’m not sworn to you,” Ohno said simply, “only to your cause. Yes, I will make my demands. Since you decided to fight, you’re going to do it beside me.”

“So you can watch over me?” Jun asked.

“It’s what he’d want me to do,” Ohno said, and Jun felt a sting in his chest. “If he were here, he’d be angry I’m letting you fight, but he’d also know there’s no way of stopping you.”

“Your emperor doesn’t hold me in regard as high as that,” Jun said quietly. Everybody had heard what Sho had said. Whatever had happened in the past months, none of it had meant a thing to Sho.

You’re not important, Sho had told him.

“I’m fighting for my people,” Jun said after a moment. For too long he’d listened to what his heart had been telling him. It had led him here, to this moment, and Jun thought he finally had enough. He’d fight, but not for one person. “For my planet. For the oath I swore that day in Hamal.” He looked at everyone present and asked, “Are you with me? For one last time?”

There were verbal responses, but most just nodded. Some had their fists over their hearts, and Jun took a deep breath.

“Then we fight for my crown and for the future,” he said. “May the stars shine upon you all.”

“And you,” they replied in unison, and Jun nodded to Keiko to dismiss everyone.

It took a few minutes before the room emptied; even Keiko had chosen to give Jun the space he’d wordlessly asked for. In his solitude, it all came rushing back: where he was, how he’d gotten here. He’d been through something no prince should have experienced. And yet, his time in Hamal had made him who he was—someone who was fighting for what he believed in.

They were so close to the end. Either he was going to get his throne or he’d be killed in combat, but the outcome didn’t truly matter to Jun. He’d neglected his people long enough, had been selfish for too long. In the end, it was Sho who’d made the decision for him.

He was on his own now. He had to lead. Jun didn’t know half of what he was doing, but he knew where he should be. He’d been fighting for months for this moment.

He was going home.

--

Before they’d make their final jump to hyperspace to reach Saiph, they made a stop at an uninhabited remnant of an Old World colony. In Saiph, it was known as Mintaka. The Hamali, apparently, had referred to it as a wasteland.

Unlike Denebia’s settlements rising from above the dunes, Mintaka had dried, caked earth for its terrain. If a colony had settled here as per the historians’ recount of an old tale, there was no sign of them left. Mintaka looked close to an asteroid with terraforming towers that had been responsible for the existence of its atmosphere.

There was hardly any disturbance in the earth as they made their landing. Their men moved fast and with purpose: boarding ships, doing test runs on each. They’d make the final jump in an hour or two, and they already had more than half of their men in their respective ships and airborne.

It was Ohno who led Jun to the ship he’d be using. It was Hamali in design, a fighter class that was also capable of evasive maneuvers. Ohno’s explanation for it was “They’d hardly expect the Saiphan king to board a Hamali ship again.”

Jun thought better not to comment. Rina’s mother would likely target all Hamali ships; she’d undoubtedly deduce that Jun would try to camouflage himself. But they had thousands of Hamali ships, and Jun suspected that he was wanted alive rather than dead.

“You know how to pilot her,” Ohno said.

“Of course,” Jun said. It was his marksmanship that he lacked confidence in, not his flying.

But there was no time for training. He was out of time. They’d have the verdict a few hours from now. His, Rina’s, and Sho’s fates were all tied together, and Jun knew that the closer he got to his home planet, the sooner he’d find out the outcome of the war.

If Ohno was about to say something, it was interrupted by the sudden blaring of alarms. All soldiers on land ran to form lines, and Ohno slipped his goggles on and looked up. Jun followed his line of sight, and there, from the thinning skies that showed the glittering, foreign constellations, a ship was approaching.

“It’s one of ours,” Ohno said, and he raised his cybernetic arm to signal his men to hold fire. Above, the airborne ships had already moved to flank the approaching one.

Jun shared a look with Ohno, and he knew that he had the same hope in his eyes.

“It’s the one Sho-kun took,” Ohno said.

The ship had a rough landing, sending debris everywhere as it took twice as long for its thrusters to completely shut off. Ohno had his men aim their weapons at the hatch and Jun remained behind Ohno, hearing nothing else but the drumming beat of his heart.

The steam that erupted when the hatch opened was simultaneous with the switching on of phasers. Jun took one sweeping glance at the men around him—a mixture of Hamalis and Saiphans. There was the unmistakable hope in the eyes of the former; perhaps their emperor had chosen to come back, after all.

“Don’t shoot,” a voice said, and Jun thought his heart must have stopped. “I need to speak with—”

Their eyes met, and Jun said her name disbelievingly.

“Rina.”

--

It took all of what Jun had to order their men to stand down. Some had hesitated; the usurper was right in front of them. But Rina was unarmed, her hands raised in the air. She knelt when Keiko asked her to, her eyes never leaving Jun’s. She allowed the search, and Keiko came up with nothing, stepping back after declaring Rina was clear.

The last time Jun had seen her in person, she had stroked his face and had him sent to Hamal. She appeared to have aged since then: gone was the regal, sophisticated beauty she had. She was still beautiful, but there were undeniable signs of weariness on her face. She wore a simple dress and had no jewelry on her person.

Jun had no idea where he found the strength to move, but he was able to meet her halfway, the crowd giving them space. He stood very still when her hand reached out for him; he was, involuntarily, afraid that there’d be a repeat of the last time.

Rina noticed his reaction and lowered her hand. She looked conflicted, as if she didn’t know what to say.

“How did you get here?” Jun asked, but he had an inkling already. It filled him with dread.

Rina looked behind him, at everyone who was listening. “The Emperor of Hamal arranged for my release.”

It sent the soldiers around them to a state of unease. If that was what had happened, then the verdict had been passed. Jun didn’t have a few hours anymore.

He had none.

“What was your sentence?” Jun asked. “What did he do?”

“We should talk somewhere private,” Rina said.

“No,” Jun refused, shaking his head. He gestured behind him, around them. “These are his people. They deserve to know.”

Rina looked regretful, but after a breath, said, “You know what I was charged with: treason against the Saiphan crown, murder of the late king, and for orchestrating the escape of the Crown Prince. My mother put all the blame on you, that you ran away with my help after killing father.”

“Lies,” Jun couldn’t help saying, his temper rising.

“I stood for those crimes. Ten days of grueling trial before the council, but on the ninth day, I knew what the verdict would be. They would have me executed. Doing so would appease father’s loyalists and turn them over to my mother and her council’s side. They were hoping that with my death, you’d be compromised enough that you can no longer stage a counterattack.”

“But you’re here,” Jun said, and he was beginning to piece things together. “No. Tell me he didn’t.”

Rina exhaled slowly. “The Emperor of Hamal came to the palace, having surrendered to my mother’s army. He took responsibility for what I was charged with, claiming it was his plan all along.”

“He’d never,” Jun said, and he could hear the protests from every Hamali already. “He couldn’t have.”

Rina gave a grim nod. “But none of the council knew that. He claimed he had orchestrated father’s murder, taken you hostage, and that I was acting according to his orders. That he was admitting to his crimes because he’s losing, and he’s come to save himself. When I learned of it, I was being released, and their reason was a credible evidence just surfaced. By the time I knew what was happening, I was being led to the ship the emperor had used.”

Jun had to look away. What was Sho thinking? He knew he’d get a death sentence given the gravity of what he’d admitted.

“The sentence,” Jun said in a hollow voice.

“It’s a public execution,” Rina said. “In the palace square, the dawn after tomorrow.”

“We don’t have time,” Jun heard Ohno say. “We’ll make it there barely before dawn.”

“And the gates will never open for you,” Rina said. She looked at Jun sadly. “Jun, I’m sorry—”

“No,” Jun said. “He will not die. I won’t let him die. Not for something he never did. How did you know we’ll be in Mintaka? Who told you where to go?”

Rina’s voice was lowered in pitch when she said, “We should speak in private. You and I.”

Jun took one look at her expression. “What else do you want us to know? His people to know?”

“He’s being kept in the prison tower,” Rina said. “I know because that’s where they kept me. If Shun is with you, he’d know where to go, how to get there undetected. The execution will last for a few hours—they’ll want to drag it out since he pleaded guilty. You have time, but it might not be enough.”

“It will be enough,” Jun declared, facing Ohno. “Let the fleet know.” To Aiba, who stood nearby, he said: “Tell me Nino knows about the escape ship.”

“He does, and he’s awaiting orders,” Aiba said.

“Tell him he’s to extract the emperor as soon as the gates are opened,” Jun said. He could sense the confused look Rina had for him and hastily explained, “Shun’s on his way to open those gates. Tomorrow, we will infiltrate the planet.”

“Then you will provoke her,” Rina said. “She’ll move the execution early if you do that.”

“Then what would you have me do?!” Jun demanded. “The war is happening.”

“You can wait it out,” Rina said. “It would be the sensible thing to do.”

“And let him die?” Jun shook his head. “No. That’s what he wants to do, but I’m not going to let him. He’s not dying for anyone or for any cause. If you have nothing helpful to say, stay out of the way.”

He was angry. Sho had done something incredibly stupid, taking the offer in Jun’s stead. Protecting him and saving Rina as well. At the expense of his own empire, his crown, everything he fought for all his life.

And for what reason?

“Mobilize the army,” Jun said, and Ohno started giving out orders. “We jump to hyperspace an hour from now. All preparations must be completed until then.”

“And you?” Ohno asked.

“I will fight beside you,” Jun said. “As it is planned. Go.”

Ohno nodded, and Jun heard Keiko dismissing the crowd. There was a rush of movement from everywhere: soldiers were running to their respective assignments and ships were assuming battle formations as they exited the atmosphere.

In the noise, Jun had his private moment with Rina. No one would pay attention to them now; time was of the essence.

“Tell me,” Jun said. “No one’s around to hear you now.”

“I don’t know what history you shared with the Hamali emperor,” Rina said.

“There’s nothing to speak of,” Jun said in dismissal. “What was it that you didn’t want everyone to hear?”

“Before I was released and he took my place, the emperor asked to speak with me in private for a minute. That was all the time my mother allowed him.”

Hope bloomed in Jun’s heart. “Did he have any particular order?”

“We were being watched and he appeared as if he didn’t trust me,” Rina explained. “Understandable. But for most of that minute, he was only looking at me. Perhaps observing how close we resembled one another in looks.”

Jun averted his eyes, watching the ships flying overhead instead. “Did he say anything?”

“Yes,” Rina said after a moment. “Though I didn’t understand his meaning. I think you would.”

That made Jun look at Rina, and his sister told him, “He said that before he arrived in the palace, he saw the sky.” Jun shut his eyes, suddenly overcome with emotion. “That it was indeed blue. And it looked beautiful.”

Heat prickled at the corner of Jun’s eyes. Sho had been lying. Everything he’d said to Jun on the bridge of the flagship, within earshot of everybody else—all of that had been lies. He’d hurt Jun on purpose, perhaps to send Jun away or prevent Jun from following him.

You love too much, he’d told Sho once.

For a moment, Jun didn’t speak. He knew his face was showing how he truly felt. Then: “I’m not letting him die for me.” He met Rina’s eyes. “He saved you. Even if he was the one who kept telling me your transmission might be a trap.”

A shift in Rina’s expression, and Jun continued, “And now he’s trying to save me. Help me. I can’t lose him. Not when he brought you back to me.”

Rina was silent for a few beats. “You asked who told me to go to Mintaka. When I boarded his ship, my course was set already. The ship was headed here after Saiph. I believe the emperor knew where I should go.” She paused, taking in Jun’s expression. “What do you need me to do?”

“Shun along with a skilled pilot is in Saiph right now, awaiting orders. When I give the word, they will open the gates. I suspect their ship will be detected once they do that, and so we’ve prepared an escape ship for them,” Jun explained.

“You want me to pilot that ship,” Rina concluded. “This isn’t wise. Your men don’t trust me. They think I’d run away the first chance I get.”

“And you might,” Jun told her. “I know you might.”

“Then why are you trusting me?” Rina asked. “After everything I put you through?”

You love too much, Sho had said.

“Because you said he spent most of that minute with you just looking at you,” Jun said. “He told me once he wasn’t kind, but he was fair. He wouldn’t have saved you just for me. He wouldn’t have traded places with you if he saw you weren’t worth it.”

Jun didn’t trust his own judgment. But he trusted Sho’s.

Rina looked up and observed the ships overhead for a moment. “You are planning to fight.”

“Yes,” Jun said.

She faced him once more. “Board that ship with me,” she said, using an authoritative voice Jun could recall well from his youth. “Help me help you.”

“I should be fighting,” Jun said. “These people are fighting for him, for me. I should stand with them.”

“And if you die and if I arrive too late, these people will have no one to fight for,” Rina said. “I can’t fly a ship on my own. You saw how awful my landing was earlier. Do you think that despite the chaos that will ensue once your forces have entered Saiph, I’d still be able to escape detection on my own?”

Jun didn’t respond, and Rina simply nodded.

“Do you trust these men? All of those who are sworn to you.”

Jun didn’t think twice. “Yes.”

“Then trust them to hold off my mother’s army,” Rina said. “We take that escape ship and get the Hamali emperor ourselves. I can’t do it alone, but I can do it if you’re there. You know the prison tower as well as I do.”

“Do you think we can slip inside the planet?” Jun asked. “The two of us in a ship?”

“I think we can,” Rina said. “We’ve done so many things together. This is just another thing that we have to do together.”

“I’ve heard rumors that you reinforced the security system of the palace,” Jun said. “How will we get in?”

“My mother isn’t queen yet. As long as you exist as a claimant, as the rightful heir, she’ll never be queen,” Rina said. “And I’m still a Saiphan princess. We can get in. I’ve lived in those walls for the past months, have seen the reinforcements take place. I know my way around them.”

“But you can’t fly a ship,” Jun said. “At least not as well as you have to.”

“That’s why I need you,” Rina said. “All of this started between us.”

Jun met her determined gaze, knowing it was a mirror of his own. He and Rina had facial resemblance, save for the softer contour of her face. At one look, no one would think they had different mothers.

“And so it shall end with us,” Jun said. “You will really fight your mother?”

“She took my freedom from me. I abdicated because it was the right thing to do, because I knew I could never rule in the way I was expected to.” Rina shut her eyes. “Then she killed my father and told me to kill you.” She looked at Jun now. “That’s why I returned. I knew she’d find a way to kill you and I had to stop that no matter what. I was too late to prevent father’s death, but I still had time to prevent yours.”

“So you sent me to Hamal?” Jun asked, unable to hide the bitterness in his tone.

The regret was palpable in Rina’s expression. “It was the one place in the galaxy where she wouldn’t think to look for you.”

“You knew they could’ve killed me, had they found out who I really was,” Jun said.

“But he didn’t kill you,” Rina said. “I thought he would. For months, I lived in fear that one day I’d receive word that the Hamali had executed the Crown Prince of Saiph after discovering his identity. But nothing came.”

“He knew who I was,” Jun said, remembering Sho’s words. “He figured it out sooner than everybody else.”

“Why didn’t he kill you?”

Jun couldn’t help a sad smile from crossing his features. “Because he’s not a killer. He does things that seem inexplicable, but there’s always a motive behind it.”

Rina merely looked at him, until Jun grew slightly self-conscious of the scrutiny. Then, she said, “He cares for you.”

Jun had no response for that.

Rina faced the other way, and after a moment, told him, “I kept your garden.”

Jun turned to her in surprise. He thought all that he had in Saiph had been destroyed.

“My mother wanted me to throw away all your possessions after I made my oath as queen. I let her do as she pleased, but I didn’t allow her to touch your garden,” Rina said. “I know how much you loved tending to your plants. Your tree is blooming. You should see it.”

“I plan to,” Jun said. With him, he didn’t add, but he supposed Rina already knew. She had that glint in her eye that spoke volumes. She always saw through him.

Eventually Rina smiled, a soft one that accentuated her beauty. “Then we shouldn’t keep them waiting.” She walked onward, and Jun matched his pace with hers.

“Come, brother,” she said. “Let’s find our ship.”

--

It took a lengthy argument for them to convince Keiko and Iseya. Ohno and Aiba were mostly silent, but they shared knowing looks every now and then, as if they’d known Jun would eventually choose to handle the extraction himself.

Iseya’s stand was that Jun going was too much of a risk. If he failed, they’d lose both him and Sho. Keiko’s protest was centered on her distrust for Rina, that she could still be acting according to her mother’s wishes despite everything.

Jun told them he’d risk it. Sho had already risked everything to ensure that Jun had a chance. But Jun would never leave Sho, and he expressed that sentiment to the best of his ability.

Keiko threw him one disapproving look and said, “If you die, he’s going to murder me.”

“Then let’s hope I won’t,” Jun said simply.

“I can’t stop you,” Keiko said with a barely suppressed sigh. “I already tried.”

Iseya shook his head. “I want to say I’m surprised but I’m really not.” He gave Jun a long, suffering look. “This is just a repeat of Lucida Ventris, on how you were always by his side.”

Jun could feel the tips of his ears heating up, and he hoped Rina wouldn’t notice. “I think a part of him knows what I’m about to do. He’s just hoping I won’t actually do it.”

“But here you are,” Iseya said, spreading his palms for effect. He turned to Keiko. “We have to make sure their ship enters the planet unscathed.”

“Leave that to me and the captain,” Aiba said, stepping forward. “The divisions are ready, and Oh-chan volunteered to be the decoy so they’ll think the Saiphan king is right in the middle of the fight.”

“Then we will assist you as best as we can,” Keiko said. “I still don’t trust Her Highness—” she glanced at Rina who only met her stare evenly, “—but I trust you, Majesty.” She pulled out a phaser from its holster on her belt and handed it to Jun. “It should go without saying, but just in case she betrays you in the end.”

“Would you stop worrying if I take that?” Jun asked, looking at the weapon in her hand.

“Yes,” Keiko said. “After all, I already taught you what to do with it.”

Jun shared a look with Rina, and at her accepting nod, took the phaser and slipped it in his belt. “Protect our ship and we’ll find him. I’m not leaving until I’ve found him.”

“None of us thought you would,” Iseya said. “We were just wondering how long it’d take you to change your mind about fighting with us when you could sneak into your planet and save him. It’s what you want to do, right?”

Jun wondered how obvious he was in front of these people that they seemed to share this uniform assessment of his future actions. “Once he’s safe, I plan to go out there and fight—”

“We know,” Ohno said, cutting him off. “But you don’t have to. All of us here are worried about him. But you’re also the only person we can trust to not let anything happen to him, so we do our job and you do yours.” Ohno paused and added belatedly, “Majesty.”

Jun couldn’t suppress a smile. “Nino’s rubbing off you, Ohno-san.” The lack of care towards titles was inherently an attitude of Nino’s.

“One day you’re just going to swindle people,” Aiba joked, which earned him an elbow from Ohno and a snort from Iseya. Aiba looked at Jun and said, “You just have to get to the palace, right?”

“That’s right,” Jun said.

“Then as soon as the gates are open, focus on flying. Leave the shooting to us,” Aiba said. “All of us.” He gestured to everyone present, and the other three nodded. “Keiko-chan and the others will flank you, but only as far as the entrance to the planet’s atmosphere. Gravity should do the rest, so we’re relying on your piloting skills to evade every patrolling ship around the citadel.”

“Got it,” Jun said. He shared a look with Rina, who only nodded. “Thank you.”

“Thank us when this is over,” Ohno said. He inclined his head and considered himself dismissed despite Jun not uttering a word, and the rest followed him.

When he heard the doors slide shut, Rina said, “You used to be mindful of the way people addressed you.”

“I had to kill the prince in order to survive as a soldier,” Jun said. He meant himself, and he could see that Rina understood.

She looked guilty. “I’m sorry. I can’t begin to think of what you had to endure, what you’ve been hurt with. I know most of those were because of me.”

“It made me who I am,” Jun said. He didn’t know yet if he’d already forgiven Rina. But there was no time to address his anger if Sho was still in danger. “I’m not the Jun you remember.”

Rina was looking at him knowingly. “I saw. The Jun I grew up with would have opted for diplomacy rather than engage in combat. You loved your freedom. All those trips to colonies under Saiph’s protection, all those vacations to leisure planetoids—you did that to escape.”

“Not everyone escapes in the literal sense like you did,” Jun said. “I couldn’t abdicate after you.”

Rina stared at him. “Do you not want to be king?”

Jun considered it and said, “With everything that’s happening, I know I have to.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Rina said.

“I do,” Jun affirmed.

“Because he’s the Emperor of Hamal?”

Jun thought about it. “Partly, yes.”

“Partly?”

“I want to make things right as well,” Jun clarified. “Father took Mesartim from the Hamali and made us believe he was liberating slaves from their handlers. Your mother declared the Hamali hostile when they’re the only ones in the galaxy willing to help me take back what’s mine. We’ve wronged them enough, and if I become king, I want to make amends.”

“Because you care for them,” Rina said. Jun didn’t miss that she hadn’t phrased that as a question.

“I learned how,” Jun said. “I’ve lived with them, trained with them, fought with them. I saw that they’re not the savages our historians accused them to be. You might not see it now, but they’re just like us. People who’ve been cultured to hate the other.”

Rina looked out, at the traces left by the officers who had recently departed the room. “You’ve united the kingdoms. Not fully, but the framework is already there. You’ve done something father and his father before him thought to be impossible.”

“I didn’t do it alone,” Jun said. He’d never been alone in a long time, he thought. He and Sho were separated, but not apart.

They’d never be.

He felt Rina’s hand on his forearm, a reassuring gesture she’d often done when they’d been young. “We’ll get him back.”

“Will we?”

“Will you accept otherwise?”

She knew him too well. “No,” Jun said.

“I thought so.” Rina strode out, stopping right in between the now opened doors. “Come. Your emperor waits for you.”

“He doesn’t like waiting,” Jun remembered, following Rina out.

“Then we must make haste,” Rina said. “I already committed many offenses against his crown since he wore it. I intend not to commit anything more by delaying his rescue.”

--

All ships in their fleet did the jump on Iseya’s command, and when they broke out of hyperspace, Jun saw towering gates he hadn’t laid eyes on for almost a year.

Beyond them was Saiph, spherical and blue. Their history had said the planet looked too similar to that of the Old World. The only difference according to the books was that Saiph still had one supercontinent that comprised its landmass.

“Welcome home,” Rina said beside him. She was on the navigations, constantly checking equations and ship performance.

“I don’t feel like I’ve returned home,” Jun admitted in a small voice. He could sense Rina throwing a glance at him.

Saiph was the home of Crown Prince Jun, who hadn’t existed for months. Jun had expected to feel something upon seeing his home planet, but there was only the resonating emptiness in him. Past the gates was the planet, and in the planet was Sho, who was fighting on his own.

There were too many things to focus on. Above them was the flagship and their orders for Nino had long been sent. Jun was camouflaged amongst all fighter ships, but anything could go wrong. Their ship, after all, had a Saiphan design.

Iseya had a fleetwide channel open to serve as a private communication for all ships within range, and Jun held his breath when the flagship received a transmission request from within the planet itself.

“It’s her,” was all Rina said, just as Iseya accepted, revealing the face of Rina’s mother on their screens.

They saw her blink, presumably at Iseya, before her mouth quirked. “I was expecting to see the claimant.”

“You mean the rightful king of Saiph,” Iseya said.

“He’s not on the throne,” Rina’s mother said. “And he’s also not there. I can only begin to wonder where he is.” She made a show of looking around despite not seeing anything past the bridge of the flagship. “I presume he’s listening somewhere.”

“Perhaps he left,” Iseya said calmly. “I speak for the rest of the Hamali. We’re here for our emperor.”

“I thought something like this would happen,” she said. “Very well.”

Jun heard Rina inhale sharply before he felt her hand wrapping firmly around his forearm. But Jun couldn’t give her a glance. All he could look at was their viewscreen and how Sho’s battered and severely bruised face was now on it. The face Jun had touched with care and kissed with affection. Sho wasn’t in the throne hall; he was in one of the cells of the prison tower just as Rina had told Jun, connected via a live feed.

“You said he wouldn’t come,” Rina’s mother said, and Jun realized she was speaking to Sho. “But that’s his army of traitors I see along with yours.”

“You’re losing,” Sho said, and despite the heavy bruising, he attempted to smile.

“They have no way to enter the planet,” Rina’s mother told him, and she turned to Iseya once more. “I assure you, I ordered him not to be harmed. But you’d have to forgive my men for seeking justice. You know what your emperor pleaded guilty to, how he’s about to serve his sentence.”

“Liar,” Jun said, and he caught Rina shaking her head at him. They weren’t connected to the transmission, just watching it real-time, but if he got too riled up, he’d lose focus. Still, he couldn’t bear to see Sho trapped alone in a cell, hurting and awaiting execution.

If Jun could, he’d run to him, take him away from everything that was hurting him. He’d been hurt enough.

“We thought you’d like to parley,” Iseya said, but Jun could see he was exerting effort to keep his composure.

“Yes, but not with you,” Rina’s mother said. “The claimant. Where is he?”

Jun moved to access the communication buffers, but Rina stopped him, her hands gripping his wrists tight. “This is what she wants. She wants to draw you out. Don’t fall for it.”

“She hurt him,” Jun said. “Do you expect me to just sit here and be quiet?”

“Yes,” Rina said. “I know that’s hard to do right now, but listen to me. I know how she thinks. She’ll use him to get to you, and you mustn’t let that happen. Not when the gates will open any minute.”

“The King of Saiph relayed no wishes to speak with you, unless you want to discuss your surrender,” Iseya said.

They all heard a snort, and Jun realized that Sho was laughing. Despite his state, he had clearly found Iseya’s cheek to be amusing.

Rina’s mother looked thoughtful for a moment. “Then I’ll make him a deal,” she said, and Jun braced himself. “Him for the Emperor of Hamal.”

“No,” Rina said beside him. “Jun, don’t fall for it. She just wants you there so she can kill you both. She will never let him walk out of this alive, not with what he’s done to her plans.”

“To the claimant,” Rina’s mother said, “I know you’re listening. I know you can see him. You still have time. Reveal yourself and he can go free.”

“He won’t come,” Sho said, ending in a cough. “You’re looking desperate now, queen regent. Surrender.”

“He will come,” Rina’s mother said. The easy confidence sent Jun’s skin to gooseflesh. She looked at the screen as if she could see Jun right through it. “Won’t you, Jun?”

It was the first time Jun had heard her say his name. He felt Rina’s hand on his arm, squeezing once.

“You have two hours left before his execution happens,” she told him. Despite Iseya’s rebuffs and protests, she continued, “In two hours, you will have nothing left. No father, no mother. And soon, he’ll follow suit.”

Rage coursed through him. This was the woman who had taken everything away from him. Whenever he thought he’d found a glimmer of happiness, she’d made sure to shatter it. He had no doubt she’d kill Sho if that was what would make him suffer.

“Unless you come here and speak with me like the king you’re claiming to be,” Rina’s mother said. “If you push through with this hopeless plan of yours, he’ll die. In the past months, I’ve heard rumors that the Emperor of Hamal has become infatuated with a Saiphan. I can only think of one.”

“He won’t come,” Sho said, but there was an edge to his voice now, as if he was addressing Jun.

One of her eyebrows arched. “Is that what you hope for?”

“He won’t,” Sho said firmly. He could barely open one eye because of the bruises on his face, but he still attempted to speak. “He’s nothing to me.”

Rina’s mother hummed. “I’ve heard from my husband that you’re an unpleasant man. Is that why you’re so confident? Because you think you managed to push away the only person who’s ever loved you?”

Sho said nothing, but Jun noticed that he held himself very still.

“Looking a little desperate, aren’t we, emperor?” Rina’s mother smiled. “You think you can outsmart everyone. But I know Jun. He won’t abandon you.” She turned back to the screens and said, “Because you can’t afford to lose another one, can you? You were unable to help your mother. Then your father. And now him.”

“You can’t reach him,” Sho said. “You know you’re losing that’s why you’re resorting to these tactics. They won’t work. Once my army enters your planet, you’ve already lost the war.”

“I think not,” Rina’s mother said. She waved her hand and Sho’s feed was cut off. She remained silent, a smile still plastered on her face.

Then the screams came.

Rina’s grip on him tightened but he was already out of his chair and gripping the edges of the console tight. They were Sho’s screams, and it was evident that she’d ordered for him to be hurt so Jun could hear it happening, would know that he was, once again, powerless to prevent harm from coming to someone who was important to him.

“He’s endured quite a lot, you see,” Rina’s mother said conversationally amidst Sho’s cries of pain. Whatever she had her men do to him, they weren’t holding back. “I asked him so many questions about you, Jun. He never gave me an honest answer, always seeking to impress. I think he came here fully prepared to die for you. It’s the only reason I can think of on why he’d willingly give himself up so you’ll be king.” She was examining her cuticles now. “I want to see how long he’ll last this time before he passes out. It won’t be the first time it’s happened; he’s been in and out of it for the past few days.”

Jun pulled away from Rina’s grip and before she could stop him and in a moment of heightened fury, punched the console. He could do nothing from where he was. His heart broke for Sho, who was still fighting despite his cries ringing in the background.

“You won’t let him die, of course,” Rina’s mother said. “This is on you now, Jun.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Rina pleaded beside him. “Don’t do as I once did.”

“Should I do nothing, then?” Jun asked through gritted teeth. Whatever was happening to Sho was yet to cease. “They’re hurting him and you’re saying I shouldn’t listen to her? How do I make her stop?”

“She’s trying to get to you,” Rina said.

“She already has!” Jun cried. Even if Sho stopped, Jun thought he’d still hear his screams. Sho was alone and hurting, suffering because of Jun. “She has him. And right now she’s hurting him for sport.” He met Rina’s eyes with conviction. “I don’t care if she’s your mother. I’ll kill her for everything she’s done to my family.”

“You can’t kill her from here,” Rina said. “Sit down. Focus. She doesn’t know where you are so she’s trying to draw you out. Don’t give away your advantage.”

Jun had to attempt to regulate his breathing. In his mind, he kept repeating the words he hoped Sho would hear: I’m here. Wait for me. I’m coming for you.

“That’s enough,” they heard Rina’s mother say, and the screams abruptly ceased. They would undoubtedly play in Jun’s head for days. “We don’t want him to die. Yet.” She turned to the screen and said, “Matsumoto Jun. I should have done away with you when I had the chance, instead of entrusting it to my daughter who’s grown fond of you. But no matter. You can still save him if you wish. Surrender to the gates, and he shall go free.”

Rina gave him a look and shook her head once.

“The offer expires in less than an hour from now,” Rina’s mother said. “I don’t think the emperor can wait longer than that, anyway. We both know what you plan to do—”

Sirens rang and past her transmission, beyond the glass windows, was a sight Jun had been waiting for since the drop from hyperspace. Nino and Shun had succeeded: the gates were opening without the knowledge of the Saiphan military, and the sirens were calling for defensive maneuvers.

Jun grabbed the joystick and barked at their ship’s AI to revert all power to thrusters. The live transmission they had with Rina’s mother was breaking up, but Jun was able to flip a switch to open communications with her.

“You’re losing,” he said, and he saw Rina’s mother had set her jaw and kept her head high. “Iseya-san offered to accept your surrender and you refused. As the rightful king of Saiph, I’ve come to take what’s mine.”

The last thing Jun saw was a look of utter hatred from Rina’s mother before the transmission completely broke off and disappeared.

He focused on flying past the defensive buffers and the shields. Aiba and Keiko’s divisions had him flanked on the sides, but when he felt gravity kick in, they pulled back as planned. He had no doubt Saiph’s military had already spotted their ship, but when Jun expected a shootout to happen, there was none.

Their ship had already breached the atmosphere of the planet, causing minor turbulence that Jun made up for by pulling the brakes. As soon as the ship had stabilized itself, Rina began readjusting the ship’s evasive maneuvers, their missiles and cannons ready to fire. She stopped at the same time as Jun did, lifting her head from the console to look out.

“They’re not firing,” Jun said. He chanced a glance at her, at the look of confusion on her face. “Why aren’t they firing? We’re in the planet.”

“They’re surrounding us,” Rina said, and Jun saw her hand hover over the switch of the torpedoes. It was the strongest weapon of the ship but of limited count, and if they fire them, they could buy themselves a bit of time. “They’re—no. Look.”

Jun did, and he saw a path made by the Saiphan military for them. Nobody was firing, and Jun could almost hear Sho’s voice warning him that this was a trap.

The communications console beside him beeped, and Jun flicked his finger over it to accept. Above, past the planet’s atmosphere, Iseya and the others were fighting. He and Rina were the only ones in a ship that actually made it into the planet, and if they didn’t tread carefully, they’d lose their chance at getting Sho back.

“My king,” Jun heard as soon as he accepted the transmission, “the Saiphan army wishes to escort you back to the palace. Your palace. Welcome home.”

Rina seemed as bewildered as he was when they shared a look.

Figuring he had nothing to lose, Jun asked, “Where is the Emperor of Hamal?”

“In the tower,” was the answer. “The queen regent has disappeared.”

“Coward,” Jun said. To Rina: “Don’t lower our shields. We don’t know what this might be.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Rina said. “But if she fled, then there’s no one ruling.”

“Are you saying they reverted to me?” Jun asked. To whoever he was speaking with: “Who’s your monarch?”

“You, my king. We’ve come to escort you.”

“And the queen?” Jun asked.

“She’s not our queen.”

“I do not wish to go to the palace,” Jun said. If the offer was true, he would find out. “Escort me to the prison tower, to where the Emperor of Hamal is.”

“As you wish.”

The communications channel went silent, and the ships surrounding them assumed a formation that gave Jun an easy way to the palace. The prison tower was just beyond, standing tall behind the citadel itself. Its tip looked like it was piercing the sky, imposing and threatening. Jun wanted it torn down as soon as Sho was out of it.

The tower kept its most-important prisoners at the floors beneath the ground. The lower the level, the tougher the security. Its entrance was situated at the top, and Jun was able to land their ship safely. The military still surrounded them, but their weapons weren’t aimed at them. They were pointed towards the sky, in case of any other intruders.

“I don’t like this,” Rina said as soon as Jun had given up manual control of the ship. Their shields were still up, and Jun was yet to open the hatch. “This is a trap.”

“We managed to get here without anyone firing at us,” Jun said. “I don’t trust them either, but what choice do we have?” They looked outside and saw a small group of soldiers waiting by the ship’s hatch.

“Send me instead,” Rina said.

“No,” Jun said immediately. “Your mother might still be here. Somewhere here.”

“Of course she’s here,” Rina said. “The Emperor of Hamal is the only bargaining chip that she has left. She’s in this tower as we speak, perhaps intending to use him. Send me as your herald. Don’t leave the ship.”

“And if something happens to you?” Jun reached for Rina’s hand. “I just got you back. You’re the only family I have left.”

Rina squeezed his fingers in her palm, keeping her grip firm. “You’re too much of a risk. You understand, don’t you? You’re the king. Should anything happen to me, get the ship out of here. Fly out. Your army is on its way.”

She pried her hand away from Jun’s and stood, but Jun caught up with her and was able to grab her elbow. “I won’t leave you. Both of you.”

“In case you have to, you must,” Rina said. “If the Emperor of Hamal is as clever as he made me believe, we will find a way.” She shook off Jun’s hold on her and strode out. “After all, I’m still the princess of this planet. I still know something these guards don’t.”

“Wait,” Jun said, and when Rina turned, he handed her the phaser. The same one Keiko had given to him. “You can’t go there unarmed.”

Rina eyed it for a moment and accepted, tucking it inside her robes. “I don’t think I’ll have any use for it. If their offer is true, they won’t harm their princess. I’ve been declared innocent.”

“That’s a big risk,” Jun said. He knew he couldn’t stop her. She looked the same as she did on the day she had abdicated—determined, fearless.

“No as big as the one you will make if you go,” Rina pointed out. She lifted a communications device, and Jun wondered when she’d found the time to sync it with the ship. “I’ll get the emperor. You stay here and don’t let anyone in.”

“I’m not very good with waiting,” Jun said at her back. She was almost gone, almost past the threshold.

“You’re winning the war, Jun,” Rina said. Her voice carried away as she left the bridge. “All that’s left for you to do is to wait and watch as it happens.”

--

The wait was killing him.

He had opened his communications device to all channels at all frequencies, and he was getting regular updates from the planetary gates. There wasn’t much of a fight—the Saiphan army began its surrender the moment they’d heard of the arrival of their rightful king. Iseya had clarified with Jun, and Jun had issued the order once the channel had been established. One by one, the ships of the Saiphan fleet had ceased firing and assumed their battle formations without engaging, and Ohno had notified Jun that the gates were secure.

Which only left Rina and Sho, who were both somewhere down this tower. Rina had no messages for him, and Jun was beginning to become suspicious of her motives. She had volunteered to rescue Sho, but what if her true intentions were to help her mother?

Jun knew he shouldn’t, but he was already grabbing whatever weapons they had in the cargo hold and arming himself. He had a saber strapped to his belt and a phaser that could use a few charges, but it was better than nothing. He looked out to check if the coast was clear, and seeing that most of the guards were preoccupied at keeping the tower’s prisoners accounted for while a war was ongoing, it was easy to slip past them unnoticed. Jun had learned a lot from Sheratan, that time he had to come to Ohno’s aid.

There was no Ohno to aid now, but his cause remained the same: Sho needed him, and he had to be where Sho was.

The slightly difficult part was finding a soldier to point the phaser at and order around. Jun picked a man who looked a few years younger than him, a fresh recruit, perhaps. He was all too willing to obey his king after swearing fealty to him, and Jun was able to get past floor after floor with the young man’s help. He had no reason to avoid detection since the tower was on full alert and nobody was using the passageways made for the guards and high-profile prisoners.

He reached the lowest floor of the tower and couldn’t help feeling it had been too easy. Rina had said her mother was somewhere in the tower. Rina was also in the tower, along with Sho. Time was running out, and Jun had to find them fast.

“Here, Majesty,” the soldier said, and Jun followed. He was taken to the same corridors of unpolished ore, and he couldn’t help remembering.

This was where it had all began.

They turned a corner, and it was when Jun heard voices. He quickly dismissed the soldier with a shake of his head, but the man refused to leave.

It was Sho’s voice he was hearing when he listened intently, and Jun was overcome with emotion when he took note of how hoarse and raw Sho sounded like.

“He’ll never come,” Sho was saying to someone Jun couldn’t see. Sho attempted to laugh, but all he managed to do was choke out a cough. “I ensured it. You’re losing and you can’t reach him.”

“He’ll come for you,” a voice said—Rina’s mother. “As long as I have you, I can make him do what I want.” A pause. “You say he’s here?”

“Yes,” Rina said, and Jun’s breath stilled. No. It couldn’t be. “I took him to the tower myself. He should be here any moment; I made sure that he’ll wait too long that he’ll be impatient.”

Rina’s mother laughed. “You see now, emperor? He will come. He was a fool for trusting my daughter, and he’s an even bigger fool for you.”

“He won’t,” Sho said, ending in a grunt. “He’s out there, flying already. Away from here. He’s winning and he’ll be king, and you’ll pay for everything you’ve done.”

“That’s what you hope for,” Rina’s mother said. “I made it easy for him to find his way here. Soon, you’ll hear him come.”

Jun felt the tip of a photon rifle press against his back, and he knew it was the soldier from before. “Walk,” the soldier ordered, reaching inside Jun’s coat to free him of his weapons. Jun heard them hitting the floor and being kicked far away.

They appeared from the corner, and amidst the triumphant laughter Rina’s mother made, he heard Sho’s quiet, almost imperceptible “No.”

“I told you he’d come,” Rina’s mother said, and she delivered a swift kick to Sho’s stomach. Jun took a step, but the soldier’s weapon dug into his spine threateningly.

“Ah, ah.” Rina’s mother smiled. “Don’t get any ideas now, Jun.” She said his name with such distaste. “Or he dies.”

“Your men have surrendered,” Jun said, and he turned on the communications device so everyone could hear Iseya’s declarations. “They just made it to the palace. I’ve won. The planet is mine.”

“I suppose you came here to ask for my surrender?” Rina’s mother delivered another kick, this time making contact with Sho’s shoulder. Sho groaned in pain, and Jun’s hand itched for a phaser. He’d kill her. “How exciting. But first, watch. This one wanted to die for you. Who am I to deprive him of that?” She delivered a series of blows on Sho’s person, only ceasing when Sho curled in on himself and twitched away. “He never fought back, not even once. He thinks he’s saving you by being here.”

Jun looked past her shoulder and at Rina, who appeared conflicted. She had betrayed Jun again and it hurt more than the first one had. “Was this the plan all along?”

“She’s my mother,” was all Rina said.

On the floor, Sho was able to lift his gaze to Jun’s. Then he turned to Rina’s mother and said, “You promised me—queen regent to emperor—that you wouldn’t hurt him.”

“You’ve found yourself a whipping boy from Hamal,” Rina’s mother said to Jun. “See how he volunteers himself for you? Pathetic. I almost feel sorry for him; he risked his life for someone who would willingly walk into a trap despite his utmost efforts to prevent any of it from happening.”

Jun mouthed his apologies in Sho’s direction, and he saw tears from Sho’s eyes. Sho had done so much, sacrificed so much—his life, his empire, his crown.

“And now we will discuss your surrender,” Rina’s mother said.

“No,” Jun said calmly, and when he was rewarded with a look of confusion, he moved. He had learned so much from Ohno, Keiko, and Kiko. He was nowhere as fast as them, but he knew no one in the Saiphan military had expected their king to be agile. Crown Prince Jun could fight in duels and tournaments, all for sport.

The Jun now could immobilize and disarm a soldier in less than a minute. In moments, he had the soldier on the ground, disarmed and knocked out. Jun picked up the rifle for himself and pointed it at Rina’s mother.

“Surrender,” he said. “For your crimes against the crown, I am amenable to giving you a fair trial if you say the words. Surrender now.”

Rina’s mother only quirked an eyebrow, and Jun heard the click of a phaser as Rina pulled it out from her robes and pointed it at Sho. It was set to kill.

“She’ll kill him if you shoot,” Rina’s mother said.

“Shoot her,” Sho said from the ground. “Jun.”

Jun could either shoot Rina or her mother, but despite everything Rina had done, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wasn’t a killer, and Rina had been—was still family. His finger trembled on the trigger, and Rina’s mother smiled.

“You will give us a ship and allow us to escape,” Rina’s mother said. “Drop the rifle and kick it here. Or the Emperor of Hamal dies, and that’s another total on your body count.”

“Shoot her,” Sho repeated.

“Let us go and he can go,” Rina’s mother promised.

“She’s never going to keep her word,” Sho said, and Jun could see that he was struggling to get up. His face was mottled with bruises and cuts, and there had to be broken bones and internal hemorrhaging somewhere. The longer this went on, the more danger Sho was in. “Shoot her, Jun.”

Jun took a deep breath, and shot Sho a look of apology.

“No,” Sho said, just as Jun put the rifle on the ground and kicked it away from him.

“You should really listen to him,” Rina’s mother said, bending down to pick up the discarded rifle and arming it to point it at Jun. “He’s smarter than you. But I suppose you both can die now. With your death, I can finally have justice after your father carelessly tossed me aside. He never cared once he had you. He only had eyes for you and your mother. I gave him a daughter to make him happy, and he was all too ready to toss it aside for a son.”

“Your daughter was the heir,” Jun said. “I only became the heir when your daughter decided not to.”

“Which is rather dull of her,” Rina’s mother said, as if Rina wasn’t in the same room. “But now she listens to what I tell her, and I suppose that means she can still be useful despite her inability to kill you when I trusted her to. You’re the only one left.” She smiled. “And now I’m going to kill you, but not before making you watch your lover die.”

All hope left Jun’s body, and when his feet moved on their own accord, he heard the warning click of the rifle and saw it pointed at Sho.

“If you move, he’ll die sooner,” Rina’s mother said. “But I suppose I should tell you how it went the last two times.”

Jun was overcome with anger, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

“Your mother didn’t make it difficult, you know,” Rina’s mother said. “A few slips into her drink and she deteriorated faster than expected. If it were up to me, I’d have killed you in the same manner I did to her—discreet. But your father found out, you see.”

“What?” Jun asked, his voice hollow. He caught a glimpse of Rina’s expression and saw her eyes wide.

“That’s why I killed him,” Rina’s mother said. “Apart from all the wrongs he’s done to me, of course. He knew you were next. But you know what he said before he died?” She grinned. “Of course not. He actually asked if I would kill his children next.”

Jun exchanged a look with Rina as his heart broke. His father had thought of them in his dying breath. He’d loved them truly.

“And as I looked at his dying face, I said I would,” Rina’s mother told them. “He should see this, he—”

A phaser shot pierced through the air like an arrow, and the body of Rina’s mother fell to ground in a heap of regal, fine clothing. She lay unmoving, and Jun saw Rina’s hands trembling around the phaser.

It was set to kill. It had been set to kill.

“You—” was all Jun could utter in disbelief.

“She killed my father,” Rina said, eyes still wide, “who loved me as much as he did you.” The phaser was dropped to the floor as Rina tried to catch her breath. “And she was going to kill you.”

Jun didn’t know what to say. For a moment, he watched Rina, and in the next, he was down on his knees by Sho’s side, gently turning him over so he could examine his injuries.

Sho made a noise of complaint and Jun maneuvered his body carefully so he could rest Sho’s head on his lap. He ran his fingers lightly over the cuts but Sho still grunted in pain, a hand coming up to push Jun’s away.

Jun heard a shuffle of movement and saw Rina backing away slowly.

“Where will you go?” he asked.

“I betrayed you,” Rina said. “Twice.” She looked regretful, sorrowful. “She was still my mother. I killed my mother.”

“Leave,” Jun said before he could think on it. Despite her change of heart, she was still an accomplice to her mother’s treason. “Take my ship and get away from here. Don’t show yourself ever again. This—” he choked on the words and had to barrel through his emotions to get the rest out, “—is the only thing I can do for you.”

Rina gave him one last look, and Jun knew she’d do as he’d asked. Then her eyes moved to Sho’s prone form. “I’ll get the physician.”

“Please,” Jun said.

Rina nodded and started walking away. “Goodbye brother,” Rina said over her shoulder, and Jun saw her eyes glistening. “May your reign last long.”

She didn’t wait for a reply, her footsteps fading in the corridor.

Jun turned back to Sho, who had his eyes closed. The rise and fall of his chest was labored.

“Okada will be here any moment,” Jun said. He knew Rina would keep her word this time and call for aid before disappearing into who knew where.

Sho coughed, and Jun interpreted it as his attempt to laugh. “We really need to do something about your attachment tendencies.” The cut on his lip made him wince, but to Jun, it appeared as if Sho had been attempting to smile.

“Did you think I’d leave you?” Jun asked, remembering Sho’s words to Rina’s mother. “Truly?”

“I wanted you to,” Sho said. “You should have. I thought I already pushed you away.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Jun said. “You told Rina the sky was blue.” He couldn’t hide how touched he’d been when he’d heard those words. “Did you honestly think that after hearing that, I’d abandon you?”

“No,” Sho said. He could barely keep his eyes open because of the bruising, and Jun wished for Okada to arrive sooner. “I knew you’d come.”

Jun stilled and looked at Sho, just as Sho added, “I knew you’d find me. You always do.”

Whatever reply Jun had for that was halted when they heard the speakers in the corridors buzz with static, followed by the chants going, “Long live the king of Saiph! Long live King Jun!”

They heard a rush of footsteps after, and Jun saw Okada with Ohno and Aiba.

As they got closer, Jun knew he and Sho only had mere seconds to themselves before Sho would be taken away from him to be treated in the infirmary.

There was no other time. He had to know.

“How about a king for your consort?” Jun asked.

Sho managed a weak, unattractive snort that only endeared him more to Jun. “I don’t look like much at present,” Sho said, gesturing to himself with the briefest of head tilts, “but would you take an emperor?”

For the first time in days, Jun found himself letting out a small laugh, and without caring at the Hamali and Saiphans that surrounded them, bent down to plant a quick kiss to Sho’s mouth.

“Yes,” Jun whispered, and when he saw Sho smile, he nodded to Okada and the rest. “Yes, I would.”

--

The celebrations lasted for a week, with the final day designated as the day of Jun’s ascension. It had taken a month to settle things and another month to plan for everything, and with Jun’s ascension happening in the royal palace of Saiph, there was security to consider.

Aside from Hamal, Denebia had been invited. The queen Ryoko had made her comments regarding Jun’s time in Denebia, but had otherwise given her most sincere congratulations. Her agreement to visit Saiph had been Sho’s doing, who had stood by Jun’s side during all the planning. They’d discussed back and forth, including the time they’d spent in each other’s planets now that their empire was more or less secured.

With Jun’s ascension, he was bound to spend the next few months in his own planet. He and Sho were yet to discuss where Sho would be in that time, but right now, Sho was nowhere in the banquet hall. He’d apparently left Jun with all the nobility and royalty, and it took a considerable amount of time before Jun was able to excuse himself from the festivities.

He avoided the corridors and slipped through a passageway unbeknownst to his guests, reaching his chambers in a short time unseen.

His quarters were empty when he entered them, and Sho must’ve had dismissed the servants earlier. Jun strode inside, hearing the secret door slide shut behind him, and he headed out to where the garden was. His chambers had an accompanying garden to it, and entire balcony that had all of Jun’s trees. Sho had already seen them, but not in full bloom. Jun couldn’t wait to show him once they reached the season.

“Someday you should show me those passageways,” Sho said without turning. He was leaning on the railing, the cool night wind making a mess of his hair. He looked handsome in his tailored coat and matching suit.

“How did you know it was me?” Jun asked, allowing himself a few moments more of staring.

He could see Sho’s smile from where he stood. “I didn’t hear an attendant announce your presence. Leaving your own party—you make a rude host.”

“I learned it from someone who took me to a library instead of mingle with people,” Jun said. “You disappeared. I thought to look for you.”

“I like it out here,” Sho said. Jun saw him looking at the stars, at the sky colored in various hues as fireworks exploded intermittently. Jun’s people were still celebrating. “It’s not home, but I think I can learn to treat it as one.”

After the war, Jun had hardly left Sho’s side. He’d done work while remaining at Sho’s bedside, watching over his recovery personally. Now that Sho was back on his feet, Jun could still look nowhere else.

“It would mean the world to me,” Jun said honestly, stepping forward so he could press himself against Sho’s back and slip his arms around Sho. Sho didn’t protest, instead rested his weight a little against Jun. “How long are you planning to stay here?”

“I was thinking we can do a month in each other’s planets,” Sho said. “A month here, the next one in Hamal. If we’re needed for longer, one of us has to go back and forth.”

“I don’t like the distance,” Jun admitted. Despite the technology, they were still fifty-seven light years away from one another if they were in their own planets.

“At full speed, the hyperspace jump doesn’t even take a day,” Sho said with a laugh.

“I don’t want to talk about us spending time separately,” Jun said. “It will happen in the future, I know, but let’s talk about something else for now. You weren’t here for the past two weeks.”

Sho had arranged for a tentative route his people could use should they wish to visit Saiph. With Sho’s arrival for Jun’s ascension, he’d also taken some of his people with him, from a few selected members of the nobility to the vast majority of common folk. Sho had brought ships upon ships, carrying his people and his plans for the future, and Jun had welcomed them graciously.

Outside, past the borders of the royal palace, Saiphans and Hamalis were still engaged in festivities. Somewhere in the palace grounds, Jun knew that Nino, Aiba, and Ohno were heading the celebrations. The three of them had gotten along fairly well after the war, hardly inseparable. Nino had postponed going home just to see Jun crowned, and Jun had finally honored him with one last card game.

He’d lost to Nino, and Nino had said he could finally brag about winning against a king when he returned to Alnitak.

“All right,” Sho agreed. “Shall we talk about how you turned down all of your suitors? Wherever did you learn that from?”

The mock curiosity in Sho’s voice made Jun laugh. When his ascension had been made public, suitors had come flocking to Saiph. But Jun had politely refused each and every one of them, citing that marriage was the furthest thing from his mind.

It wasn’t exactly true, but Jun didn’t want them. It was easy to disregard the prospect they’d offered despite the appeal to Jun’s newly acquired throne. After all, they weren’t Sho.

“I heard the Hamali emperor had done the same,” Jun said, playing along. “He was a snob.”

“A snob,” Sho repeated with amusement. “I wonder if there’s anyone who likes his company if that’s how he is.”

Jun understood the implication and tightened his arms around Sho’s form. “Don’t you dare go anywhere.”

“I’m not your prisoner, am I?” Sho asked curiously.

“No,” Jun said, hiding his smile against Sho’s nape. He’d had the prison tower torn down as soon as he’d won the war. There would be no prisons in Saiph. They’d send the criminals to the high prison instead, far from the planet.

He inhaled and caught a whiff of something familiar and wanted. “You’re my most esteemed guest.”

Sho hummed. “Is that what you tell your council when they ask?”

“They don’t ask,” Jun said, which was the truth. “They talk about other matters. In case you’re having ideas, I’d prefer not to discuss them at present.”

“Ah,” Sho said knowingly, and Jun sighed. “I saw the way the monarch of Cygni was looking at you.”

Was it anything different? Jun had hardly noticed. He could remember faces and titles and brief exchanges of words from tonight, but his focus had been on someone else. Sho had worn Jun’s colors of dark magenta with linings of gold, despite his clothes tailored to the traditional Hamali garb. In a way, Jun’s ascension had served as a means to slowly unite their kingdoms. Cultural exchange was happening, and by the time Jun had left the celebration made in his name, he’d caught a glimpse of his court mingling with those they’d once considered as their enemies.

It was starting.

“Oh,” was all Jun could say. “I didn’t.”

“Of course not,” Sho said with a small laugh.

“I’m not dense,” Jun said in defense of himself. “I was preoccupied.”

“Do you like my coat?” Sho asked, like he’d been waiting to do so for a long time, like he’d known all along that he’d been the recipient of Jun’s attention all night. “Mai designed it. She was surprisingly very particular with what I should wear to your court, as if I’d be the one presented to the Saiphans and not you. Does she know something that I don’t?”

When Jun had received a congratulatory transmission from Sho's mother, he may have also had expressed the extent of his affection for Sho and had told Sho’s mother about his intentions. Sho’s mother had smiled knowingly, and had only said that her son was on his way to Saiph.

“I like it,” Jun said, ignoring the second question entirely. “It’s my color.”

“Yes, that would make someone like you absurdly happy,” Sho said, but it lacked bite. “You’re quite predictable.”

“If I’m predictable,” Jun began, “you should know what I’m about to say.”

“You’re going to ask that we head inside because you have plans for me,” Sho said.

“That comes after,” Jun said, cupping Sho’s face and turning it to the side. “I wanted to do this since your arrival today.”

They moved forward simultaneously, with one of Sho’s hands reaching up to hold on to Jun’s nape. The kiss felt like a reunion, a source of comfort and relief. That they had the time to waste like this wasn’t something Jun had imagined. He’d never thought it’d be possible for them to be in this balcony and revel in the feeling of being together, of their planets at peace.

It was Sho who pulled back, resting his hand on Jun’s cheek. “Enough,” Sho said, licking his lips. “We’d be copulating here for everyone to see.”

“Let’s head inside,” Jun said, which earned him Sho’s soft laugh. Jun liked to believe he’d hear more of that from now on.

He let Sho go and went ahead, and as soon as Sho crossed the threshold, Jun was in his space. He ran his fingers over Sho’s cheeks, at the faded scar he’d earned from Lucida Ventris. Okada had worked tirelessly to make sure there’d be no permanent scarring on Sho after his imprisonment, but Sho had insisted he’d like to keep the one he’d gotten from war.

It only made him more handsome, and Jun was kissing him before Sho could even get the chance to speak. Much as Jun loved Sho’s clever retorts, he’d rather have Sho use his mouth for something else.

Jun was able to guide them both to the bed and discard his coat and Sho’s when they were standing beside it. The laces were meddlesome to fumble with, and Jun broke away from Sho’s tempting mouth when he couldn’t untie the knots that held Sho’s tunic together.

“You’re tightening them,” Sho said with a smile. “Here, let me.”

Jun waited impatiently, scowling at Sho snickering every now and then. Once Sho had the tunic loosened, Jun pushed the material off Sho’s shoulders. It hit the ground, and Jun resumed their kiss, burying his fingers in Sho’s hair as Sho sighed in content against his lips. Sho did quick work, seemingly capable of divesting Jun of his clothes while responding to Jun’s heated kisses.

It was Sho who pushed Jun on the bed, climbing onto Jun’s lap once Jun was comfortably seated on the edge of it. Jun’s hands ended up cupping Sho’s rear to help support him, and he moved from kissing Sho’s mouth to leaving marks on Sho’s neck.

Sho extended his neck, gasping in appreciation when Jun started licking at his pulse. Jun felt the skin under his tongue flicker wildly, and when he shifted, there was the undeniable press of Sho’s erection against his.

“Are you in a hurry?” Sho asked breathlessly, despite being in a similar state. “We have all the time.”

Sho’s smile when he had said that inevitably left a matching grin on Jun’s face. They had the time now. It wasn’t something Jun thought he’d ever have, but here they were, enjoying the fact that their hard-earned tomorrow was just beginning.

“We do,” Jun agreed, nipping at Sho’s collarbone. “But I missed you.” Sho had to return to Hamal after Jun had won the war, and while they’d kept seeing one another, Sho had spent most of the last month traveling back and forth, entrusting some of his council members to handle certain affairs in his stead. “Your council keeps talking and talking when you’re not here.”

“Do they?” Sho asked lightly. “What do they say?”

“They’re inquiring about us holding a ceremony,” Jun said, dropping another kiss to the column of Sho’s throat.

“Really? This isn’t something you just overheard?”

Jun relented with a “I did overhear it,” which caused Sho to laugh, his shoulders shaking.

“Less intentional,” Jun added, by way of defending himself.

Sho tilted his chin up and kissed him softly. “I don’t think I can handle the planning process for an official ceremony. Besides, what more do they want? I already named you as High Consort. It should be obvious.”

Sho had done so the moment he’d returned to Hamal after the war was won. It had been Sho’s way of expressing the depth of regard he had for Jun, and Jun had never forgotten how he’d felt. He’d been so happy.

“You Hamali are the ones adamant over tradition,” Jun said.

“I’m trying to do away with that,” Sho said. “It never really did our people any good.”

Jun opened his mouth to speak, but a knock from the doors stopped him. He shared a look with Sho and shook his head, knowing it was an attendant who’d been sent to ask for his final orders for the night.

“Enter,” Sho said, despite Jun telling him no. Sho smiled, and Jun hid his face against the junction of Sho’s shoulder and neck, suppressing his chuckles there. They were in a compromising position, the both of them half-naked with Sho straddling him, and Jun could feel heat climbing up his cheeks.

Instinctively, Jun held Sho closer to him, giving their intruder a view of Sho’s side and not the scars he had in front. These, Jun thought with a selfishness that he’d always saved for Sho, are only for me to see.

“What is it?” Sho asked calmly, even when the attendant stammered.

“The majordomo of the king’s household sent me to inquire about His Majesty’s final orders,” the attendant said. Jun wormed his arms around Sho’s waist and started scattering soft kisses on Sho’s shoulder. “I was also sent to inform His Majesty that all his guests have retired to their chambers and are accounted for.”

“Excellent work,” Sho said. “We are in need of nothing except the doors never opening until the following morning.” Jun nipped at Sho’s earlobe to hide his pleased smile there. “Let the majordomo know.”

“As you wish,” the attendant said, bowing hastily and excusing herself quickly.

The doors slid shut once more, and Jun could no longer reel in his chuckles.

“What?” Sho asked when Jun still hadn’t lifted his face from Sho’s shoulder despite the attendant had long disappeared. “Oh please, there’s really no room for your modesty. When we’re in Hamal, you sleep in my chambers. When we’re here, we retire to your quarters. Everyone in the galaxy knows we’re fucking.”

Jun could feel himself redden further. “That didn’t mean they have to see,” he said. “I told you not to open the door; we could have simply told her we didn’t need anything instead of letting her witness this.”

The confusion was rich in Sho’s voice. “Why not?”

Jun looked up to search Sho’s eyes. “I don’t like to share.”

“Ah,” Sho said knowingly, smiling before planting another kiss to the corner of Jun’s mouth. “Is that why you brought up the council pestering you about a ceremony? If you wanted one, you should have just said so.”

“In Hamal, before I am the King of Saiph, I’m first High Consort to the Emperor,” Jun said.

“And in Saiph, before I am Consort to the King, I’m first the Emperor of Hamal,” Sho finished for him. “You want to make things official.”

“Yes,” Jun said. He wanted it desperately. He’d turned down all his suitors for this, because he knew he’d never want to be with anyone else. “Will you deny me?”

“Never,” Sho said immediately. “But on top of alternative trade routes, employment opportunities for both our people, and new tax reforms to be implemented, I can’t be planning a royal wedding.”

“I’ll handle the planning,” Jun said.

Sho frowned at him. “You just don’t want to spend hours arguing with your council over the new borders now that our alliance is secured.” Jun looked away and Sho grinned, running his forefinger on Jun’s jaw. “You have to hold court eventually, you know.”

“I just got my crown,” Jun pointed out. “They can back off for a while.”

Sho let out a laugh, one that Jun was glad to hear to be so close to him.

“The Hamali believe you’ll make a great king now that our kingdoms are joined. What they don’t know is that I will still do most of the work.” Sho shook his head, but he was smiling. “I can’t run two planets on my own.”

“Leave the planning of the ceremony to me,” Jun said in reassurance. “We can do it in the Saiphan or the Hamali way or both. Of course, I’ll still consult you over a few things, but I’ll handle all the preparations.” He heard Sho hum, and he knew that was as good as a yes. “Then we’ll rule together because you’re right: you can’t run the empire that we created together.” He kissed Sho once, twice. “And you don’t have to. That’s why you have me.”

When Sho smiled, Jun knew it was mirrored on his own face.

“Yes,” Sho agreed. “I’ve always had you.”