He was upset, I knew that. I was too. My gaze was soft as it searched his face for any hint of how he would react to the news but they found nothing. It was, is, one of the things that made me love him so much. I couldn't predict what he would do, what he would say, like I could with most others. It made everything so much better when he did finally react.
"Ahkmenrah?"
He shook his head, though it hung low. Low enough so I couldn't see his eyes but I could see enough to know how he felt.
"Don't."
"Ahk-"
He shook his head again, defiant, before raising it to meet my gaze. His eyes were watering, tears were about to spill over.
"Don't, please. Don't go."
I took in a shaky breath as I stepped closer to him and wiped away the tears that spilled down his cheeks, my hands resting still on his face.
"I don't have a choice."
He lowered his head again, down onto my shoulder, as a sob left his throat. His arms wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling me flush against him, as his head lifted from my shoulder and settled itself against my head. Side by side.
"There has to be-"
"There's no where else for me to go. No one for me to stay with."
He was taking in shaky breaths of his own, no doubt trying to keep himself from breaking down right then and there.
"Larry could-"
"He's not family, he can't be labeled a legal guardian. I know you don't like this-"
"That is an understatement."
I sighed, moving my head back to pepper kisses from his cheek and down to his throat.
"I don't like it either."
"Then stay."
I closed my eyes, trying to keep myself from crying. Though I'm sure I was already all cried out from the night before.
"There's nothing I can do. I-"
"I will beg if I have to."
He pulled away so that our gazes met.
"I would go down on my knees here and now and beg you to stay with me."
My lip trembled as his eyes searched my face. He looked helpless and so close to breaking. His eyes softened upon seeing my trembling lip and barely a second after I felt his thumb rubbing against the soft flesh.
"I would throw away my crown if it meant you would stay here with me."
That broke me. A sob left my throat and he pulled my head to his chest before running his fingers through my hair, just the way I liked.
"I don't want to go!"
He sighed but I could feel tears splatter atop my head.
"I know."
My hands needed to hold something, anything. My fingers twitched, needing some sort of anchor to keep me grounded. To keep me from slipping too far into my own mind. Eventually they found his upper arms before curling around his flesh, holding on tight. I don't know how long we stood there, both of us equally upset that I had to go away with my family as tears never stopped dropping into my hair. I had calmed down a little, but he still held me tight as sobs continued to wrack through his body. He tried to hide them but the rumbles of his chest and the hard breaths coming from his lips made it obvious to me as his arms kept their tight hold around me.
"You can't leave me."
I lifted my head to fit into the crook of his neck as he buried his face into mine. His hot breath was equally comforting and heartbreaking as it came out shallow and hard.
"I don't want to. I'd stay here forever if I could."
He sighed. I could feel the cold wetness of his tears as they settled against my neck. The words that came out of his lips were heartbreaking. Not because of what they were, no, but because he could barely even whisper them.
"I know."
