king of (broken) hearts | lavashipping

IV | you're on your own, kid

And there it was. He was once again waking up. This time the sunlight wasn't at fault. It was Nya's face right in front of his own. An unpleasant thing to see literally right when you open your eyes for the first time in the day. Kai shrieked and flipped so fast, he almost fell out of the bed. Kai groaned, Nya laughed, each feeling very differently in the situation.

"What the hell?"

"Good morning sunshine!" she singsonged. Kai groaned again, covering his head with a pillow. How could she be so active? They both went to sleep so late and it was her doing too! And she plopped down on the bed, disrupting his peace again. "C'mon, get up, it's breakfast time."

He waved her off, "Just tell Acronix and Crux I'm not going, they can't do much about it."

"Forget about them. It's family breakfast. Me and you. Just like old times, brother."

Understanding, that she won't leave him alone, he finally let go of the pillow and looked at her. Then again, he also can't say no to such... offer? Demand is probably a better word for it. He can't just say no to her, it's actually great. If only she woke him up a bit later, though.

"Ugh, fine, give me fifteen minutes."

"Five." She jumped up and headed for the door. "Don't waste time! I've seen you in your pyjamas, I don't care if you style your hair or not." Kai threw a pillow at her but she was faster, and it only managed to hit the door and fall to the ground along with Kai's face, which hit the, now pillow-less, mattress.

He could hear her before he even opened the door. And when he did walk in, she gave him a grin that was easy to understand without words. Obviously, pride filled her over the accomplishment of getting him out of bed so early. The sun hasn't even come up fully yet!

How did she manage to live like this? Youth...

Kai shook his head. "Hope you're happy with yourself," he muttered instead of an affectionate "good morning." But Nya didn't have a problem with that at all. It all used to be a part of the precious routine she managed to reincarnate in less that a day.

"Oh yeah, I'm very pleased," she replied sweetly and waited for him to get seated so they can start eating. "Haven't seen you with the hair down in a while, why do you insist on keeping it up? We could match, you know?"

"First, it's my thing. Second, no we could not, because my hair is brown."

"Then dye it, duh, as if that's a problem. We don't live long before time had a name if you haven't not–"

"–And third," Kai jumped into what was about to become another hour-long rant, "the more you talk, the more food I'm gonna steal from your plate. Starting with this sweet, sweet crispy bacon."

"Fine," replied Nya. "Have it your way. Maybe then I could remind you how hard I can bite."

The siblings glared at each other, challenge twinkling in both pairs of eyes. And for a second Kai could swear they were little kids again, not an adult soon-to-be-king and an already married queen.

One thing Nya was good at, was making Kai forget about his problems. And also at bossing people around. And a whole lot of other things. The time Kai found out about the phrase "renaissance man," he called her that and only received a sceptical look in return. He thought of it as a great compliment. She could always surprise him with her skills. She participated in so many activities, Kai was amazed by how she managed to do them all or just keep track.

And then one night she finally cried in front of him and confessed her fears. That led to one of the longest nights Kai's ever experienced. A night full of tears and sad chuckles and confessions and reassurance. After all, they were both just two lost kids, trying to prove their best and protect each other. He felt closer to her than ever but the traditional teasing didn't flatter one bit.

Saying "you're an idiot," is simply way easier than saying "I love you and I'm here for you," when you're taught to tip-toe around your feelings.

But of course, even in the company of the master of distractions, you have to face the problems you keep running away from. So it didn't take long after breakfast for the Smith siblings to appear in one room with the wedding gang to discuss... Kai and Skylor's sealing of souls or whatever. Thankfully Nya did the talking for him and all he could do was sit there in boredom and wish to be gone. Far far away in Cole's chambers. Or just anywhere else, really. It wasn't like Kai would rather ditch a wedding with a girl for a boy, obviously.

Or he could share more food and memories with Nya. And they could bring Cole along. Of course, because Nya hadn't seen him in a long time as well. Of course.

There were some points he managed to hear. Like the fact that he will have to try on that stupid suit once more so they can do the finishing touches. Or when and where exactly will the ceremony take place, how many people will be there and what food will be served. All of the words were floating in Kai's mind like a flock of annoying flies. If only he could swat them away...

"Maybe we should leave the lovebirds alone for a little while, so they can get to know each other better."

Kai suddenly sat up straight. Nya glanced at him.

"Are you kidding? They'll have their whole lives to do that!" There were a bunch of odd looks shared and suddenly the twins and Chen stood up, ready to leave. Kai was staring at them in disbelief. What now?

He shared a worried look with Nya. Well, at least he has her.

"Princess Nya, why don't you come with us? I'm sure you have plenty of your own work to attend to. Perhaps letting your husband know about your whereabouts?" For a while it seemed Nya would fry Krux with her gaze on the spot, but then she got up, making her chair almost fall.

"My husband is very well aware of where I am right now, you don't have to worry about him!" she said instead. Then she patted Kai's shoulder, probably as a way of saying sorry, and stormed out of the room. She was closely followed by the cursed trio, leaving Kai alone in the room with Skylor. Eventually, he had to turn away from the door and face her, but he so didn't want to.