Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the middle of the night and Porridge was suddenly awake. Annoyed, he rubbed his face in his nest of blankets and tried to go back to sleep. Something nagged at him, though. Lifting his head up, he looked around the room. Finally it dawned on him, the fire had gone out in the fireplace.

This problem happened every once in a while. Usually someone came along and stoked the fire, added new wood or coals or whatever the fire needed. Usually it was no big deal. This time, though, it was colder than normal. Maybe he'd scold whoever came late to reset the fire.

He heard a low noise, and once more lifted his head. He quickly determined the sound came from his brother's bed, nearby. The cold must have woken up Fitzroy as well. Sighing, Porridge croaked a response to reassure his older brother. Instead of going back to sleep, Fitzroy got up and padded over to Porridge's bed, nosing at him and licking what little of him he could reach around the blankets.

With a huff, Porridge lifted his head and blew hot air at Fitzroy. He'd intended to make Fitzroy go back to bed, but the warmth drew the cold dog into Porridge's bed instead. Snapping his jaws a few times, Porridge grew more frustrated as Fitzroy curled up against him. If there was one thing Porridge didn't like it was sharing his bed with the fur-shedding monster next to him.

Standing up, Porridge ignored the small sound of protest from Fitzroy. Helping himself to the pile of wood near the fireplace, Porridge did his best to set the wood up like he'd seen the servants do. Fitzroy fetched a few pieces for Porridge as well, his tail wagging eagerly in anticipation of being warm again. Porridge opened his mouth to blow fire, hesitating as he remembered all the times he'd gotten into trouble for doing this inside.

Fitzroy whined, and Porridge glanced around the room. Casting his ears in all directions, he realized the castle was the quietest he'd ever heard it. When Fitzroy whined again and poked his cold, wet nose into Porridge's side, the dragon sighed and blew a tongue of flame into the fireplace. The fire crackled merrily, and Fitzroy gave Porridge another lick on his face. Batting the affectionate dog playfully with a wing, Porridge encouraged Fitzroy back into his own bed before returning to his.

The next morning, two cold princes woke up.

"Ugh, should've remembered to have someone go around and make sure the fireplaces were lit. Who's bright idea was it to give all of the servants the night and morning off?" Rupert asked as he shivered, getting into his robe.

Amir's teeth chattered as he shot Rupert a dirty look. "Uh, yours?"

"Oh right. OH NO! Wenceslaus and the boys!" Rupert cried out, running to their door. Amir threw his robe on, shoved his feet into slippers and followed.

Wence and Spike were warm under their covers. Amir winced at the sight of all the goat hair in the blankets as he re-started Wence's fireplace. Rupert rushed down to the room Porridge and Fitzroy shared and was hit by a wave of warmth. The boys were still in their beds, curled up and snoring. Amir sighed as he caught up.

"Of course the dragon's fine. I'm a little surprised they went through all the trouble of setting their own fire," Amir remarked.

"Oh Porridge really doesn't like dog hair in his bed. Well, since our boys are all warm, let's go set our own fireplace and warm up too."

Chapter Text

Rupert and Amir leaned against each other as they walked down the hall. It was a long day of dog-barking, dragon-snapping, goat/unicorn-bleating, child-complaining noise, on top of being one of the biggest holidays in the Heartland. And although they loved their boys, human and otherwise, getting time to themselves was a luxury that even princes couldn't often afford. Rupert grabbed one side of their double door as Amir grabbed the other and they entered their suite, leaning against the now-closed doors.

"Thank the great wizard who made the universe for Percy Jr and our mothers!" Rupert said with a sigh. "And I literally never thought I'd ever say that."

Amir chuckled and folded himself in around Rupert's front. As they embraced, Amir pressed a few kisses along Rupert's 'regal' jawline. "They'll spoil our boys rotten, but after all the little fights and barking matches, I'm glad our moms even want to spend time with Wence and Spike. Let alone have Percy Jr volunteer to take Fitzroy and Porridge off our hands for the night!"

"Yeah, what does he want in return?" Rupert asked, suddenly slightly suspicious of the knight-in-training's generosity.

"Don't know. Tonight I don't care and as a matter of fact, I'd probably give him anything up to half the kingdom right now for some peace and quiet," Amir said emphatically.

Rupert leaned in and kissed Amir's nose. "You look so cute in that sweater your mommy made you!"

"I don't know what you're so smug about, your 'mommy' made you one too! That blue really compliments you though. I think I could get used to seeing you in blue," the usually blue-clad Amir teased.

"Well, that warm pink really highlights your beautiful lips, my dear Amir." Rupert leaned in again, going for those lips, only to find them stopped by a finger. Opening his eyes, Rupert hummed in protest.

"Traditions, my prince. We are not under the mistletoe!" Amir said, playfully backing up, one hand beckoning Rupert to follow.

"Okay, but the tradition isn't 'you can ONLY kiss under the mistletoe,' it's 'if you're both under the mistletoe you MUST,' or at least it's that way in the West. What Eastern treachery is this?" Rupert asked accusatorily, turning his back to his husband.

Amir reached out and grabbed Rupert from behind, drawing the prince in despite his noises of mock-protest. He wrapped his arms around Rupert's chest and smelled his cinnamon-scented hair. Struggling a bit for show, Rupert heaved a sigh as he realized there was no breaking free from Amir's grip. Instead, he ran his hands over Amir's arms, relishing in the feeling of their fingers entwining.

Opening the curtains on their four-poster bed, Amir showed Rupert the dangling bit of mistletoe hanging just above them now. Rupert snorted and lifted his chin in the air. "I suppose now you want a kiss?" Rupert asked, turning his head sideways to give Amir a look.

"Well, it's a Western tradition that we MUST, if we're both beneath it, right?" Amir asked before reaching up to hold his husband's chin. He stared into the eyes of the love of his life and smiled.

Neck stretched a bit awkwardly, Rupert felt exposed despite the many layers of clothing he wore. The look Amir gave him made his knees weak and his heart surge. As their lips met, Rupert wanted to cry and yell at the same time. Instead, he let out a weird little noise that made him immediately self-conscious. If Amir noticed, he didn't mind, as he parted their lips and went in for a deeper kiss.

When they finally separated, a little breathless and with flushed cheeks, Rupert smiled like an idiot. "I've just decided I hate that sweater. Take it off, now!"

"This was a gift from my...oh. Oh! Well, okay then."

Chapter Text

It was the night before the winter solstice celebrations, and seemingly not a creature stirred in the Castle of the Heartland. No dragon roamed the halls. Neither was there a dog hunting for treats. There wasn’t even a unicorn that looked suspiciously like a goat with a carrot tied to its head to be found. It was a silent night. Perhaps too silent.

Given the holidays, Sir Joan graciously gave most of the knights a night off. While things around the Heartland didn’t seem to stay quiet for long, there had been a return to normalcy in the time since the two princes became kings. A gentle snowfall dusted the rooftops and battlements around the castle and the small city around it. Walking along the top of the wall around the castle, Joan met up with the Knight who actually volunteered to take this night duty with her. Percy Jr still had a ways to go as a knight and as a person, but he kept that streak of decency inside himself alive.

He saluted her promptly. “Sir Joan, all is well in the castle, ma’am!”

“Very good Sir Percy,” Joan said, saluting him in return.

Lowering his hand, Percy Jr smiled. “Well, technically, I’m not a knight yet, ma’am. Far be it from me to correct you, though.”

“Well, technically I shouldn’t be telling you this except it’s after midnight so the new year has officially started, but you’re getting your accolade today,” she announced with a smile.

Percy Jr was stunned. “Are...you serious? No really because I know you don’t typically have a sense of humor but every now and then you have this really dry wit that makes it hard to tell when you’re joking and—“

Waving a hand, Joan cut him off. “Happy New Year, Percy.”

“Permission to hug you?” Percy asked, eyes brimming.

Joan sighed and glanced around. “Only because I know how much this means to yo-ooh!”

After a moment, Joan tapped Percy on his helmet. “Let me go or I bust you back to page-boy.”

“Yes ma’am. Sorry ma’am. Oh! Also, I just checked on our...tree-wrecking troublemakers, as you called them. They’re sleeping soundly in the Royal Suite living room. Curled up by the fireplace, even. I think Prince Wenceslaus managed to convince them to behave.”

Joan nodded. “Well, see to it that they don’t wake up Their Majesties or His Highness any earlier than necessary. King Amir promised to sleep in with King Rupert.”

Soon-to-be-Sir Percy Jr saluted. “I shall handle their usual morning habits, Sir Joan. No worries!”

“Good. Continue then, Sir Percy Jr.” Joan replied, returning his salute and walking away.

“Sir Percy Jr! I’m so ready to hear more of that.”