1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

author's notes: am i the only one that ships this? maybe.will that stop me from writing sappy fics? nope. besides, i live by the motto of "write the content you want to see," and by god, i wanted some damien/odin. also, half of this was written about a year ago, but it's hopefully not too noticeable!

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it had to be at least midnight when odin woke up.

thanks to his training, it usually didn't take odin long to become aware of his surroundings; yet, the mighty yawn that escaped his mouth signaled that this night would be the one exception. normally, odin would be ashamed of shirking his duties in such a manner, but who could blame him when he was sleeping on such a comfortable mattress, and with an amazing companion beside him?

speaking of his amazing companion...

odin felt the young man in his arms shift slightly. concerned that he had accidentally jarred his lover from his much-needed rest, odin peeked down and saw that the other man was still asleep, his usually serious expression replaced with a peaceful one. as odin continued to watch, the man-or, to be exact, the dark sultan himself-nuzzled closer, pressing his face against his knight's

oad chest.

odin allowed a rare smile to grace his features. although damien helbourne had long since entered adulthood, he still possessed the ability to be utterly and adorably endearing-even in slumber, the sight of his smaller body nestled in odin's muscular arms caused the knight's heart to skip a beat. his gentle, even

eaths ghosted across odin's dark skin, the damp air making his flesh prickle. odin shuddered slightly at the feeling, thankful that he hadn't thought to throw on a nightshirt after the... vigorous activity they experienced before bedtime. damien's own flesh was nearly flawless, the only blemishes being the love bites odin had left behind during the throes of passion-and really, could those even count as imperfections if they only enhanced damien's beauty?

at that thought, odin's expression became more somber, though it wasn't as stern as it usually was. gently, he tangled his fingers into damien's violet hair, feeling its silky texture as he combed through the strands.

he'll never understand why his darkne-damien felt the same way he did. he didn't understand why damien treated him like an equal, or why he believed that a lowly knight was comparable to a hero of reveria. he especially didn't understand why damien harbored romantic feelings towards him, much less sexual feelings; after all, why would the dark sultan desire someone like him, a tin man who rarely even smiled? that type of romance only happened in fables, where the loyal knight adores the beautiful royal but is doomed to suffer from unreciprocated love.

the stories didn't end with the royal falling in love right back, and they definitely didn't end with the royal sharing their bed with the knight. but then again, none of those stories had damien in it.