Chapter Text
Four years, eight months, and twenty-six days.
That was how long Prince Nico was supposed to have before his coronation.
Then the King died, unexpectedly, in his sleep. Nico, who was supposed to have upwards of four years before his coronation, was crowned a week after his father’s untimely death. He became King against his will, without feeling as the crown was placed on his head or the dread that he knew was buried deep inside himself.
His father had been a good King. He hadn’t been the best father, but he had respected Nico and his choices. He had agreed to not arrange a marriage between Nico and one of the princesses of a nearby kingdom. He had allowed Nico to practice his swordsmanship alongside the knights. He was supposed to serve as King until old age, until Nico was well into adulthood himself - not months before his twenty-first birthday.
Nico was King. But as he sat on his father’s throne with his father’s crown on his head, he wished he was dead.
Nico met with his father’s council of advisors the day after his coronation. He still had to learn how to be King, and according to his advisors, he couldn’t do that alone.
“I have to get married?” Nico shrieked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Lord Thanatos said, and Nico flinched at his form of address. “History has shown that a kingdom is less trustworthy of a king who is unwed. It is also considered a sign of weakness to other kingdoms, who may consider this weakness an opportunity to lay siege to this place. With your permission, Your Majesty, this council will begin the search for a suitable bride immediately. We have agreed that you must be wed by the end of the month.”
Nico felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. “And what if I don’t give my permission?”
Another advisor cleared his throat. “That really is only a formality, Your Majesty. We will begin the search once this meeting is adjourned, with or without your blessing.”
Panic began to set in, so Nico spoke his next words without thinking, “But I’ve already been courting someone.”
There was a pause as Nico’s words hung in the air. Lord Thanatos said, “We were not aware of this, Your Majesty.”
“My father wanted it kept a secret. He didn’t want rumors to spread throughout the kingdom and risk getting any hopes up at the thought of a wedding,” Nico lied, gripping the armrests of the throne tightly to hide the shaking of his hands. “I wasn’t ready to agree to a marriage, but...if I must, then… I will discuss it with my suitor.”
“Your Majesty, we will need your suitor’s credentials in order to--”
“My father approved of us, is that not enough for you?” Nico snapped. He stood, and every member of the council followed suit. “If that’s everything, then I’ll be off to discuss my engagement.”
Nico tried his best not to appear as though he was fleeing the scene.
He ran to the palace infirmary, across the grounds and through the knights’ quarters. He felt sick to his stomach and thought his ribs might break from the furious pounding of his heart, but that wasn’t why he sought out the doctor.
He went in search of his best friend, who just so happened to be stitching up a nasty wound across a knight’s stomach. At the sight of it, Nico felt sick for an entirely different reason. He turned to face the wall and said, “I need to speak with you when you’re done here. You know where to find me.”
He could hear the smile in Will’s voice as he replied, “Sure thing, Your Highness.”
The knight under Will’s needle grunted, “It’s Your Majesty when speaking to the King.”
Nico barely made it outside before emptying his stomach contents into a shrub.
There was only one moment on the day of Nico’s coronation that he hadn’t felt numb to the world. It was when Will bowed before him, offering his hand for a dance. Nico had refused to dance with anyone for the entire celebratory ball, but he’d always had a difficult time saying no to Will.
Will hadn’t even had the opportunity to ask before Nico took his hand and pulled him toward the dance floor. With one hand holding Nico’s and the other wrapped firmly around his waist, Will said, “So desperate to dance with me that you won’t even let me have the honor of asking you, Your Highness? Or I suppose I should call you Your Majesty from now on?”
Nico’s hand tightened into a fist around the sleeve of Will’s jacket, and he buried his face in Will’s shoulder. He didn’t care if their position was inappropriate, he didn’t want to be there in the first place. He didn’t even want to be King.
“Never call me that,” Nico whispered so that only Will could hear. “Please, Will, never from you.”
Nico was pacing in the private library attached to his bedroom when Will found him. He knocked on the doorframe before entering to announce his presence, immediately approaching Nico and pulling him against his chest. His arms wrapped around Nico’s shoulders as Nico’s hands tugged on the front of Will’s shirt, and Nico began to sob.
The scene brought forth the memory of the last time Will had been in Nico’s chambers, nearly a week beforehand. Shortly after the King’s death had been announced, Will sneaked up through the servant’s corridors to Nico’s bedroom, where he’d found Nico still in bed, crying into his pillow. He’d crawled into bed beside his friend and held him for half the day, offering Nico whatever comfort he could.
He was brought back to the present as Nico began to speak through his tears.
“The council is demanding that I marry immediately,” Nico cried. “They insisted on finding me a wife, and I… I made a horrible mistake, Will.”
Will started to pull away, but Nico only held tighter. “Come with me,” Will said soothingly. “Come sit.” He led Nico toward a large armchair and sat, pulling Nico down onto his lap. He fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and used it to wipe the tears from his eyes. “Tell me what happened.”
“I told them I was courting someone. I lied to the council, Will, and when they find out, they’re going to make me marry a woman!” Nico exclaimed.
Will stroked a hand up and down Nico’s back and said, “I won’t let that happen, Your Highness. We’ll think of something. There must be someone of royal blood somewhere in the nearby kingdoms that would marry you. We can send out letters tonight to each of the kingdoms and ask for only their most handsome bachelors to be sent here. It’s a start, at least, right?”
Nico shook his head. “The council will know that I haven’t been courting someone from outside this kingdom. Besides, who would send off their son to be married to a man in need of an heir? I couldn’t pay someone to marry me.”
“Hey,” Will said, taking Nico’s cheek in his hand and turning him to face Will. “Your Highness, plenty of nobles would happily marry their sons off to you, because you were a kind and polite prince, and you will be an even better king than your father ever was. And I think you overestimate the price tags some would put on their children - if I had chosen to stay with my father, I’m sure he would pay to have someone take me off his hands.”
Will smiled at him, hoping his joke would help to lift Nico’s spirits, but Nico simply stared up at him with his big, dark eyes. “Your father… He’s a duke, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is. Why?”
“You have royal blood.”
Will’s head tilted in confusion - what did that have to do with anything? “Technically, yes, but really, being the third son of a duke hardly means anything. I basically gave it all up to study medicine, anyway.”
Nico grabbed Will’s face in both hands, forcing him to look Nico in the eyes as he said, “Marry me.”
Will felt like he’d been punched in the throat. “What?”
“Just for appearances!” Nico continued, dropping Will’s face and raising his hands in surrender. “Just so I won’t be forced to marry a woman, please! I can make sure this is a mutually beneficial arrangement. You’ll have your own bedroom here in the main palace rather than in the knights’ quarters, and I’ll even hire a new cook who specializes in Southern foods, so you’ll feel more at home here. And I promise you, as soon as you find someone you’d rather marry, I’ll arrange for our divorce. And...and I’ll do whatever else you want, Will, please.”
Will blinked in surprise. It took him a moment to process all of Nico’s words, but finally, he said, “I was ready to agree as soon as you said ‘please,’ but I’ll still let you hire a new cook.” He grinned and took one of Nico’s hands in his own. “You’re my best friend, Your Highness. I won’t let you suffer for your kingdom.”
Nico brought Will’s hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “When we’re married, will you finally use my given name, like I’ve been asking you to for the last decade?”
Will’s grin grew brighter. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”
Nico huffed and dropped his gaze to their intertwined hands. “We’ll need your father’s approval for the wedding. Will he give it?”
Will snorted rather unattractively. “Weren’t you listening? He’ll cry tears of joy.”