Butterfly Reign | Dream SMP & Remarried Empress fusion

Ch16. But you're still looking down from your golden throne

Wilbur cocked his head, indicating agreement. Techno opened and closed his mouth; his lips moved, fiddling with words as he picked them out carefully.

"Just this once," he said. "Could you be benevolent to Father? I know you're not on the best terms with him but he tried his hardest to make this day memorable for both of us without Mother's help."

There it was, the other shoe. Wilbur couldn't say that he was surprised. Techno's reasons for approaching him always had something to do with Phil, but it still stirred an old wound, jostled a piece of debris stuck somewhere in-between his lungs. And yet...

"Alright," Wilbur shoved his hands into the pockets, throwing his head back and schooling his features into something akin to nonchalance. "I'll behave."

They proceeded to enter the throne room. As soon as Wilbur stepped a foot inside, every single person turned to him and Techno, bowing. Only Theseus stood out, grinning in the middle of the gap cleared for them to pass through - he never bowed to Wilbur, no matter how much he got scolded for it, because it never failed to make Wilbur smile. He ducked his head to hide how his lips stubbornly tugged upwards but briefly brushed a hand over the boy's back as they made their way towards the thrones.

Wilbur tried to not look at the empty seat of the Empress. Instead, he glanced at the Emperor - the throne coated with gold, at the long lazuli cloak trailing to the stairs, and wordlessly ducked to one knee, bowing lowly as a sign of respect. Beside him, Techno mirrored his movements. Wilbur caught his grateful glance from the corner of his vision and smirked, moving his lips: "Happy?"

"We greet His Majesty the Emperor," they said in unison, and Phil gestured them over to stand up. With a clap of his hands, the ballroom came alive: a bow brushed the violin strings, and the guests started moving, forming pairs for the first dance. Wilbur was stuck standing next to the Emperor in awkward silence. It was always like between them; not that Wilbur didn't have any resentment to spill, he just didn't see any point in it. In his eyes, Phil was too far gone as a father; he was just the person who would dump the crown on him one day.

"How are you enjoying the celebrations this far?"

Phil's eyes passed over Wilbur's sweater; a thought flickered in his eyes but was left unsaid. It seemed like they agreed on a temporary truce today, so Wilbur bit back a remark and decided to play along.

"It's a bit too lavish, don't you think?" Wilbur tilted his chin at the crowd that barely fit into the throne room, as massive as it may have been. Smell of food, flowery perfume and sweat all clogged his nose; Wilbur winced and tried to concentrate on the dancing pairs instead.

A hurricane of gold and diamond blue broke out in the center of the ballroom. Theseus rammed through the strict rows of two and snatched Niki's hand out of a hold of some bewildered gentleman. Theseus' energy was contagious; with snickers and giggles and swirl of silk skirts, younger nobles tugged one another into a circle dance. Wilbur was glad that, at the very least, Theseus was having some fun.

Phil hummed. "All those people came here to meet their future emperor."

They came seeking a warmer place under the sun , Wilbur corrected internally. And to see whether I can provide it . He could feel it: all those gazes sticking to him, cold hands tugging and picking him apart. It was going to be a long evening, so Wilbur shrugged indifferently and sank into his throne to the right side of the Emperor's.

He drifted in his own mind, for long enough to miss the moment when the Emperor took Techno aside to talk. Wilbur only was snapped back to reality when Theseus popped up in front of him, red cheeks blown-up and forehead coated in sweat.