peoplepleaser | open post/au information

"Oh-- you don't have to do that." Kabru gives a token protest, but Laios is an unstoppable force when he wants to be.

He's stalling. Kabru takes the papers over to his desk while Laios handles the clothes, keeping an eye on the king. Waiting him out. It's a good thing, that Laios is thinking through his words, if this is really so important.

And then the careless fool blurts out a sentence that nearly takes Kabru's feet out from under him. What? What is he saying? Is he planning on fleeing the country or something?

Kabru takes a slow breath. Laios having doubts is not a shock. He knows he's given up a lot for this position-- a position Kabru and Yaad had pushed him into, that he struggles with and feels unsuited for. But he is making progress, and Kabru knows Laios always has the well-being of his citizens in mind when it really counts. That's the most important thing. He just has to talk him down from-- whatever this is.

He keeps his tone purposefully light, non-judgemental. "What happened while I was gone to have you questioning yourself like this? I'm back now, so let me help lighten the burden."

Laios kind of thought Kabru would be mad — not that that tone actually means he isn't. He smooths out a crumpled shirt and carefully folds it down to a neat square. "I'm not questioning myself," he says, tone taking on a slight edge. That's never been how this works for him, Laios knows who he is. It's the rest of the world who doesn't really get it. Sometimes he resents that, and sometimes he perseveres, but either way it's tiring.

"I'm questioning what we're doing here," he continues. "The whole time you were away I kept thinking, I have to make the decision Kabru would want me to make. But how does that make any sense? Shouldn't it just be you?" Making the decisions, he means.

Oh, he's definitely mad. Especially so for Laios springing this on him the moment he's back in the kingdom. Literally has not even unpacked. But Kabru has far too much practice stifling his anger. Even Laios getting testy with him doesn't provoke more than an irritated twitch of his eyebrow before Kabru's expression settles again.

"It can't just be me, because I am not the king." Kabru explains with more patience than he thought he could have in this moment. "I'm flattered that I'm your baseline for decision-making, but Laios..." Kabru meets his eyes head-on, his smile falling into a more serious expression. "You are smarter than you give yourself credit for. Even when you're taking my advice, it's still you making the call, judging that advice against everything else you've heard-- and you haven't always agreed with me." Kabru had initially been very uncomfortable with welcoming the orc population to settle in Melini, but-- they've surprised him. He's been doing a lot of re-evaluating on demihumans, thanks to Laios' decisions. It's easier to see now that his fear of monsters was driving those feelings. "The outcomes speak for themselves. Melini is growing, the people are able to eat... everything's coming together, it just takes time."

Edited 2025-10-27 09:23 (UTC)

Laios smooths his hands over the neat squares of clothing after he folds each one, nodding along with what Kabru is saying with every appearance of listening. He's aware that he isn't expressing himself well. Words get harder after he's had to talk to a lot of people, and he's still working through what he means himself.

Kabru is right, that things are coming together. The Golden Kingdom taking back its place in the world, bringing the traditions of the way things were into a new age. The people who had once lived in the dungeon living within the walls of the city here instead. And his curse, like a gift to the people, keeping everyone safe from monsters so long as he lives.

"If it was just that..." he trails off, smooths a wrinkle, tries again. "I know what kind of kingdom I want to rule. But I don't think it's possible to build it." Everyone expects things to be a certain way. It's not all that different to how he grew up. Laios' brow is furrowed, and he looks up at Kabru again. "What I'm trying to say is, maybe you should be king."

Kabru had set out to the island with the express purpose of conquering the dungeon and becoming the ruler of the land-- and now, he has to continue to insist that he cannot take the job to the man who currently has it. Funny how things change. But he'd only ever wanted it as a means to the end of closing the dungeon, and giving a political foothold to short-lived races. So long as that is happening, he's happy to lend his assistance wherever it's best suited.

Right now, as far as he can see, that's this. Kabru sits on a cleared spot of the bed, folding his hands in his lap. "Okay... let's say you abdicated, and I took up the throne. Think of how that looks from the outside. I did not defeat the Mad Mage, much less the demon. I'm not your heir. I have no legitimate claim to the throne, other than your willingness to give it to me. Rumors of foul-play would surface-- I must have done something to usurp the throne. Perhaps blackmail, or some type of mind-control magic. How would we combat these rumors? The only reason we're recognized as a sovereign nation by our long-lived allies at all is because of that story. Your story. It's intrinsically tied to you."

Laios' fists clench, and then unclench again, fingers tingling. It's trying to think like this that's been grinding him down. He can put himself into a third party's outlook on his own actions if he tries, and he's right more than half the time. But only when it's someone he knows, a position he understands. Rumours of foul-play is harder to conceptualize, unless he's looking at things from the perspective of Kabru, who is pretty likely to worry about something like rumours. Like, after this much time, he can at least work out, probably Kabru doesn't want me to come and draw attention to him by greeting him directly in the courtyard.

His lips press together, tongue on the back of his teeth, and then he claps his hands together decisively. "If I didn't abdicate, then I would still be in a position to counter the rumours with the truth, right?" Full steam ahead on this idea: "We can just get married."

Rumors themselves don't bother Kabru near as much as what those rumors might lead to... and widespread rumors of a secret coup could spell disaster for their fledgling kingdom. There could be an uprising, they would certainly lose the support of their allies-- it would be a disaster. In his effort not to entirely catastrophize, he may have undersold the potential danger there, but he's still trying to help Laios think about these things on a broader scale. It's easier to explain it in smaller steps.

Before he can continue in that line, Laios makes him very glad he's already sitting down because he has just pulled the rug out from under him. Married. To Laios. It's rare for Kabru to be speechless, or flustered, but Laios has managed to render him both. In fact, he is probably the most singularly talented at doing exactly that. Once he's worked through his impression of a fish, Kabru brings a hand up to his face, rubbing his heated cheek, gaze shifting away from the blond. "Don't say that so casually. I-- That would--"

But now he's thinking about it. The political implications, that is, because if he thinks about anything else right now he's going to combust. His hand settles over his mouth as he thinks. "There'd be the issue of an heir... and ideally, your marriage should help strengthen the kingdom by reinforcing an alliance with one of the other nations."

"I've told Yaad before, I don't think it's a good idea to return to a system based on family inheritance. That's not me being selfish," a tiny quirk of his lips, slight self-deprecation. "If we can build a system based on merit, then it overcomes the divide between the people and the ruling family, and it reduces the emphasis on lifespan. I know we need way more political strength before we can make radical changes, but I'm not going to put aside a good option now for reasons that might not matter later."

Hey, it turns out he's thought about this. "As for the other thing..." he's thought about that, too, has gone so far as making lists of all the eligible nobility in other kingdoms. He's known since he was young that his marriage was going to be political, and that pressure has only increased since he accepted the throne. "Isn't elevating a skilled diplomat going to do more for our overall position amongst the other kingdoms than favouring one alliance?"

Laios has clearly put thought into this-- it's not something he just blurted out on a whim. A merit-based system of inheritance is actually a nice idea, too, though figuring out how to implement it will take time, let alone getting people to buy into the idea. That's all things to think about later, though.

He's making solid arguments, and Kabru is admittedly pretty impressed. He gives it due thought, fingers rubbing at his chin in a fidget. "It would also eliminate the issue of other nations vying for control of us through your marriage." He admits slowly-- there are a few potential candidates Kabru would have strongly advised against for exactly that reason.

Kabru's hand lowers, and he looks Laios in the eye again. "You've put thought into this. Did you really come here tonight to ask me to marry you?"

His eyes are so blue. Laios is suddenly embarrassed — for all the time he's spent trying to "think like Kabru", he realizes he's kind of forgotten to take his desires into account at all. A light watercolor flush heats the bridge of his nose.

"No," he says, glancing away, studying Kabru's room, the last few items from his bag. "But it's not the first time I've thought about it, either. I know it's a big ask, so take your time. If you don't want to—" His easy, polite response stutters, because he's not actually sure what other solutions they have, short of carrying on the way things are until something in him breaks. But he's solved more impossible problems. If Kabru doesn't want to marry him, that's just. He can. It'll be fine. His feelings aren't important here. He looks back now, anxious, knowing it's pointless to try and read anything off Kabru's expression but doing it anyway. "I'd understand, if you don't want to."

~~Forgetting to take his own desires into account means he's been doing a little too good of a job thinking like Kabru.~~

The blush shows easily on Laios' face; Kabru studies his expression intently, reading the worry, the uncertainty, the feeling of helplessness and overwhelm. For as much as Laios still manages to surprise him, he's very easy to read like this.

His hand covers his mouth as his lips try to twitch into a smile. Laios has been thinking about marrying him. For very logical, practical reasons, but still. "We'll have to discuss it with Yaad. And you'd have to court me officially. Since I'm not from a neighboring kingdom, we'd have to make it look like a love match."

Which, obviously it isn't. Laios is just looking for help with a responsibility he never wanted-- help that Kabru is very well-positioned to provide. And they're friends, which is more than can be said about Laios' other marriage candidates. Of course he'd prefer that over marrying a politically convenient stranger.

Now they're on the same completely incorrect page, since that's exactly what Laios has been telling himself. He needs a strategic partner to help him with the social aspects of ruling; marriage solves that problem; Kabru is always Laios' first thought for a candidate because he's the most qualified for the role. That's all. It's totally logical and practical.

"Courtship, huh," Laios nods. "I can do that." He doesn't have much experience, given his parents arranged his betrothal when he was too young to do more than go through certain motions. They'd worked out the details about gifts and arranged brief meetings under a chaperone. But even as an adult it's just a series of traditional procedures, right? Political theatre — not his favourite way to live or rule but not something he struggles with so long as there's thorough instruction.

"So that's a yes?" The bright feeling trying to burst out of his chest is relief, obviously. He might have to hug Kabru again.

"We still have to talk to Yaad about it." Kabru cautions, his face feeling hotter at the display of enthusiasm from Laios. He can try to emotionally distance himself from this, to view it objectively, but it's still getting married to Laios. "There may be issues neither of us have considered." And he needs the opinion of someone who really can look at this purely objectively.

As soon as he's alone in his room again, he'll let himself process it. Or he'll just pass out from exhaustion. Or he'll be entirely unable to sleep and just start catching up on his work until he passes out at his desk instead. Hard to say.

Maybe if it wasn't Kabru, that would be enough. Not I don't want to or We can't, just We have to talk to Yaad about it. An agreement pending uncomplications.

Laios doesn't hug him, just puts a hand on his shoulder. "We will. But — you're really okay with it?" Earnest in tone, but his gold gaze is measuring. Because if Kabru hated the idea of marrying or ruling or Laios, if he really loathed it... are they still at a point where he'd smile and go along with it anyway? Laios hopes not. But he wants to be sure.

Kabru could try and pretend it's silly for Laios to even ask, but... he has good reason to. Ever since Lycion had torn his mask from his face in the dungeon, he's been falling back on those people-pleasing urges less with Laios, but the behavior is too engrained to stop entirely. Especially when it's still useful in charming certain members of court, or incoming merchants and diplomats.

This would be a pretty massive thing to just go along with though, even for Kabru. Still, it makes some part of him happy that Laios is checking in-- that he knows Kabru well enough, and cares about him enough to do so. The warmth of his hand on his shoulder is nice, too.

"I'm okay with it." He assures, smiling. "I want to do what's best for the kingdom-- and it will be much simpler to do so that way. Can I count on you to do the same?"

"You can." He squeezes Kabru's shoulder with a brief smile, drops his hand. Re-centers himself, almost a different man from the frazzled guy who had burst so intensely into the room. "We can meet with Yaad tomorrow morning, and you can talk about your trip, too. For now, I'd better go."

He walks to the door, takes the handle and turns back for a last See ya. "Hey, I'm really glad you're back," he says with the ringing Laios sincerity that keeps landing him positions of leadership despite everything else about how his brain works.

The absolute adrenaline spike of that whole conversation carries him out of Kabru's rooms and through menial stuff like planning out his itinerary for the next day, including arranging that meeting, and then he starts to fall asleep in his armour and has to call it a day.

If Kabru hadn't already fallen for him, that painful sincerity probably would have done him in. It still snipes him right in the heart, anyway. "So am I." He says, honest. Being in elven lands again is full of reminders of all the reasons why he'd left in the first place... and Melini is home now. "Have a good night, Laios."

After he leaves, Kabru realizes he didn't give Laios the gift he'd brought back for him... oh well. He hadn't planned to do it tonight, anyway. The snacks kept during the trip back, they'll keep one more night.

With his body exhausted, but his mind fully abuzz, Kabru pours himself a drink and starts to go over his papers again at his desk while waiting for the alcohol to kick in enough to lull him to sleep. It does-- a little too well, and he falls asleep right at his desk, mere feet away from the far more comfortable bed, which still has his luggage spread across it.

He wakes to a horrible crick in his neck, but ignores it, putting himself together for what is sure to be another very long day, for very different reasons. Breakfast is a cup of coffee he sips at while he quickly rewrites a page of notes he'd drooled on in his sleep. By the time he leaves his room, you'd never guess he'd spent the past week traveling by boat and carriage, and the past night sleeping at his desk. In fact, he seems downright chipper when he joins Laios and Yaad in Yaad's office for what is sure to be a very interesting meeting. "Good morning, your Majesty, Prime Minister." He greets them both with respect to their titles.

Laios is already talking to Yaad, though not about Kabru; the Prime Minister is giving him a polite scolding for ignoring the second Dwarven advisor's experienced notes on grain decay in this climate. "We should increase the tax on wheat before spring," Yaad suggests, tapping a piece of paper, "That way farmers will be discouraged to plant it and we won't have such an abundance in the silos. We shouldn't rely on a staple crop just yet — good morning, Kabru. Welcome back."

Laios is getting better at forcing himself past the disinterest in heavy reading that curtailed his career as a researcher as a much younger man, and has been skimming the crop report with a furrowed brow, nodding along apologetically at everything Yaad is saying, but he's glad to be interrupted, perking up when Kabru arrives, straightening from the slump he'd fallen into. Outside of the days he needs to be seen in armour, Laios wears what he's told to fairly thoughtlessly, so he didn't pick out the clothes he's wearing today and they're somewhat nice, quilted and cut for his broad shoulders.

"Hey, Kabru," he says, because he's not going to do formality in front of Yaad, it's just Yaad. Even in his grandfather's body and with all his knowledge of castle politicking, he'll always be that round-faced young man from the golden lands to Laios. He shuffles the papers in front of him nervously, tapping them on the table. "I'm just talking to Yaad about wheat. I don't want to end up relying on importing it from the North."

Kabru doesn't allow his gaze to linger on the lovely view Laios makes in that top-- the tailor does their job too well sometimes. "The ability to be self-sufficient in feeding ourselves is important, especially at this early stage. And of course, affordable beer keeps the populace happy. I see you two are already at it-- sorry I'm late."

"It's no trouble, we were just wrapping up on that topic." Seeing how drastically Laios perks up at Kabru's entrance, Yaad mercifully decides that Laios has gotten a thorough enough scolding for now. "How was your visit with the Western Elves?"

"Very fruitful." Kabru sets a stack of papers against the desk. "I secured a number of trade agreements, if you'd like to look them over. I expect we can leverage these to get even better terms from the dwarves." He says keenly; having the entire world's eyes on their growing kingdom comes with its benefits, not just drawbacks. "I can write the terms out if you'd like, but I don't think I'm the best option to deliver them in person-- the dwarves won't take a clean-shaven man seriously in business matters." And the elves won't respect a bearded one... there's no way to win with everyone, but that's politics.

He peers over at Laios, wondering how long it'll take for the man to charge forward with the plan they'd discussed. Their marriage. He can't think about it too hard or he'll lose the composure he very much needs to keep a grip on right now. (He also can't stop thinking about it.)

Laios is trying to get better about charging forward on a topic, so he's letting Yaad talk about grain and trade routes. Suggests that unnamed dwarven advisor number one might want to visit home. His thumb flicks along the corners of the documents.

"Actually," he finally says, "I called you here to meet about something else." Once that has Yaad's attention: "I've been thinking about my marriage. I know it needs to benefit the kingdom, so at first I was looking at eligible nobility."

Yaad nods approvingly, which Laios immediately shakes his head. "And I don't think it's a good idea to strengthen our ties with one continent over another. You assembled foreign advisors so we'd have a balanced perspective. And there's something more important that his kingdom needs." He falters from his reasoned argument, a little embarrassed because this sounded okay in his head last night but is a little embarrassing to actually say aloud in front of Kabru. "And that's someone like Kabru in power, who understands how to smooth things over, can shape decisions so they keep everyone happy. Someone who understands how other people are going to react to something without needing to be told twice."

Yaad seems to agree with this much, at least. "It's true that the advantage of taking a noble wife is that she will understand the machinations of court—"

"Sorry," Laios interrupts, "That's not what I'm saying." Immediately skips the rest of his persuasive introduction to the idea and just slams it home with a smile. "I'm going to marry Kabru."

Edited 2025-11-02 03:36 (UTC)

Well, that was both quicker than Kabru would prefer and less blunt than he expected. He's kind of proud of Laios for giving at least part of his explanation first, and then going for the finishing blow, rather than the other way around. The compliments to him inherent in Laios' explanation do make his face feel warm, even though he knows that they are objectively true.

Yaad's eyes shift over to Kabru's, and he smiles serenely at his teacher. "You don't seem surprised about this."

Kabru gives a sheepish laugh; there's something not quite accusatory in Yaad's voice, but close. "Laios approached me with the idea last night... and I have to admit, he made some very good points to me. While we may receive some short-term benefits aligning more strongly with one kingdom over another with the king's marriage, we've already done so much work to foster and defend Melini's independence-- a marriage to a noble from another kingdom will result in that kingdom's outsized influence over us; they'll angle for that as hard as they can, however they can." This is the crux of the argument in their favor for Yaad-- he doesn't want the elves or dwarves taking over their kingdom any more than Kabru does.

He continues. "I'm sure you have concerns about heirs-- I did too. Laios told me he's already discussed implementing a different system of inheritance with you. While it was important to lean on older methods to gain a foothold, we don't want Melini to be stuck in those old ways-- we want to move forward, to show everyone what we can accomplish with new ideas. A marriage which cannot produce children would give us more time to get people accustomed to the concept, long before it must be fully implemented."

He can see Yaad wavering, see this going from a crazy scheme to something actually plausible. Kabru charges forward with the most earnest expression he can make. "I've already learned so much from you; you know better than anyone here what my potential is. If you don't think I would be the best fit for the role, then I ask that you continue to teach me so that I will be by the time I accept it."

What persuades Yaad just as much as the reason behind what they're saying, is looking from Laios to Kabru, then back again, and seeing the clear synergy in this conversation. Imagining the strength this would project at a negotiating table. He knows Laios isn't the type of man to accept someone else's words in his mouth, Kabru's skill is as much in his ability to take over smoothly when Laios missteps as his political acumen.

"Let me be the first to congratulate you, then," Yaad says with a smile. He likes both these young men very much. Of course, the threat of the dungeon's magic running out is still a possibility, so he'll have to make sure a succession to the Prime Ministership is in place, but that's a much easier position to fill given all the obligations and tradition of marriage.

Laios brightens out of his determined expression, puts a hand flat on the table. "Thanks. Thank you." He thought he was going to have to argue for way longer — knowing that Kabru wouldn't agree unless Yaad was on board.

Yaad smiles at his enthusiasm. "There's still a lot to discuss." Almost immediately he's going to get some fresh paper and start jotting down what they've been speaking about. Laios is going to spend the rest of the meeting focused and involved — this was his idea, he's willing to put in the work for it. Even if that means scripting out a complete public courtship.

Kabru was also expecting to have to do more convincing-- it's almost a little embarrassing to be congratulated instead. "Thank you." He says, idly rubbing at his cheek with the back of one finger as Yaad fetches some paper and gets to writing-- his face feels a little hot for some reason. (The blush is faint, but visible.)

He nods, expression shifting to something more serious. No time to think about how this is definitely real, he's going to be married to Laios. They have to plan out all the courtship steps of getting there first. "Of course. My thought was to present it as a love match... that would help to mitigate any rumors of political maneuvering. I think there are two paths to truly selling that narrative-- either a very extensive courtship period that goes above and beyond, or a very rushed one." He can feel his face heating up again at the implications of his own words. "Like we can't stand to wait. It's not like either of us can be pregnant, so no one's going to think it's because of that."

Edited (gurl that was not the icon i picked) 2025-11-16 06:48 (UTC)

Laios cannot look at Kabru right now, focusing on reading Yaad's handwriting upside-down. When he'd thought about courtship he'd imagined stately, orchestrated, public displays with minimal feeling behind them. Presenting gifts, walks with a chaperone, dancing together. A "rushed" "love match" gives him some totally different ideas, and now Kabru isn't the only one blushing.

He keeps his voice steady, his smile neutral: "There are a lot of other kinds of scandals that aren't pregnancy," he muses, since he's been basically memorizing all the possible ways to slip up at court. "I'm willing to do whatever you two think will help this go smoothly." The back of his neck is prickled with sweat.

"A scandal..." Yaad has political acumen and plenty of training in the same, but he has also been frozen in the stasis of being a young man for a very long time, so it's hard to say if he even recognizes their uh, mutual enthusiasm for this idea for what it is just yet. "That will be up to you. But I can certainly write out what would be expected of a royal courtship, and we can decide where it is acceptable to take shortcuts."

"Let's try to avoid scandal if at all possible. There will be enough inherent to this move, we don't need to add more." Kabru replies, leaning over the desk to look at what Yaad is writing down as more in-depth plans start to form in his mind.

They hash out the full plan over the next few hours-- the general timeline, all the big events they'll need to hit, and a few smaller moments in-between each to help sell the romance. "Secret" romantic rendezvous for them to be caught together by particularly gossipy members of castle staff, gifts of flowers and poetry-- and of course, there will have to be a ball, and they'll have to dance. Since Laios is already king, he'll be taking the male role in their courtship, leaving Kabru to be the one being pursued.

Meaning, anyone who actually knows Laios will likely be able to tell he hasn't come up with all this on his own. They agree upon being able to tell the people they're closest to their plan, so long as those who are told can be trusted to keep it secret. Kabru would prefer that as few people know as possible, but... Laios is a terrible liar. As is the rest of his former party, so it's probably a good thing the only other one that lives in the castle full-time is Marcille.

For his part, Kabru only tells Rin and Mithrun. While he still keeps in contact with the rest of his former party, none of them have close enough business with the castle for it to really matter if they know the truth or not. It's been a while since he's seen Rin give him such a painfully judgemental look. The former Canary captain just gives him a deadpan congratulations and assures him he won't pass the truth on to the Western elves. Kabru's almost certain he's not bothered to pass any sort of intelligence onto them that isn't monster-related, which is just fine.

The early stages of their plan go off without a hitch-- it's little things at first. Rather than eat a light lunch at his desk, Kabru joins Laios in the gardens every afternoon if the weather permits. When they go out for a drink at one of the taverns in town, they sit closer together than they had before.

It's after one of those tavern outings that they make one of their more risqué moves-- both of them, appearing to be drunk, "sneaking" off together to Laios' room. Kabru is barely tipsy-- he's better able to moderate his intake, and it's not hard for him to act drunker than he actually is. He places a hand on Laios' arm to draw his attention, then leans in close with a flirtatious smile. "We should head back now-- Jehane should still be guarding your wing, but we might miss her if we wait much longer." Guardswoman Jehane is not a huge gossip, but her wife is... and she tells her wife everything.

open post/au information

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arranged marriage meets fake dating au smfh (i love it tho)

✨ they're so 💖 emotionally ✨ 💖 stupid✨ 💖 ✨

kabru is like 5 levels of denial deep atp

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doesn't deserve the 'good job' but his tail is still wagging about it... okay laios