Safe to say, those weren’t exactly the words anyone wanted to hear. After all, who wouldn’t panic when the person who was undoubtedly the love of all their lifetimes combined suddenly uttered something so terrifying?
Luca’s heart immediately lurched and, if he were being honest, it had probably dragged all his other organs along with it.
What was that supposed to mean?
Did Xavier regret marrying him?
Or worse...
Did he regret ever meeting him?
Fortunately, the Imperial Prince crushed those thoughts before they could take root.
"I think," Xavier said gently, "that right now, and for a very long time to come, you’d be the center of my greatest regret."
Luca’s breath caught.
"Not as you are now, though," Xavier continued with a fond smile. "It’d be a much smaller version of you, probably with the same bright eyes and that fluffy tuft of hair."
The already frazzled Kyros froze, stiffening as if he’d just heard something his brain refused to process.
"I regret not growing up with you when we probably could’ve."
His arms tightened ever so slightly around the little Guide.
"Instead, it took all this time, a handful of near-death experiences, and even one actual death before we finally ended up together."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"When, realistically, I probably could’ve just attended those earlier parties, found you there, and taken you home with me the same way I ended up bringing those blockheads into my life."
"...!"
Luca’s entire body stiffened.
"Do you even know how easy it would’ve been for me to get to the Kyros’ Capital Manor? If I’d simply snuck out to visit, wouldn’t we have gotten closer earlier? Maybe then... you would’ve been somewhere else when that phenomenon dragged you all the way to Tesseris."
Xavier pulled the stunned Luca closer, shifting him in his arms until their foreheads rested against one another.
"But as much as you’d probably see that as my greatest regret," he continued softly, "because we really were that close to meeting so much sooner... you’d also discover that you’re my greatest desire."
That wasn’t even a guess but a certainty, and a distinctly wolfish smile crept into his voice.
"And honestly..."
He chuckled, finding it ironic that they were truly talking about this of all things.
"I am a little curious what kind of conclusion you’d come to after seeing everything, including the more twisted thoughts I’m sure are buried in there somewhere."
Luca blinked.
"Huh?"
"Because I’m not exactly the kindest person in the universe." Xavier admitted without the slightest shame.
The golden-eyed cadet could only stare blankly beneath the sleeping mask, his heartbeat already beginning to race.
"What do you mean?" he asked quietly. "How could that possibly be...?"
"Simple."
Xavier answered so matter-of-factly that it somehow made the next words even more dangerous.
"Exhibit A. You just brought up getting spanked."
"!"
"And I told you we should forget about it."
What should he even reply to this?!
And would his tongue even work?!
Luca—the living, breathing mush—could no longer find a single coherent thought.
His heart pounded so violently that he was convinced Xavier could probably feel it through his chest.
And somehow, the fact that he couldn’t actually see Xavier’s expression made everything so much worse... and so much more exciting.
All he had was that low, teasing voice lingering beside his ear, leaving the rest to his imagination.
What expression had that wolf been wearing that entire time those words were leaving his lips?
He could only imagine.
And Xavier, he hoped, couldn’t tell that he was on the verge of fainting from the heat. It didn’t matter that he could quite literally command fire or spend the entire day wreathed in flames without batting an eye, but in that moment as they walked back to his cabin, he could swear even his soul was overheating.
By the time they made it back, Luca had already started wondering how he was supposed to fall asleep.
At this rate...
Wouldn’t he end up lying awake for an entire week?
__
But contrary to the imagination of one overheated fox, he was knocked out the moment his head touched the familiar bed, leaving his poor Prince to fend for himself.
Xavier, however, didn’t mind. If anything, it was probably for the best that his beloved had already fallen asleep. Who knew what kind of demons would’ve taken over his remaining senses and sensibilities otherwise?
At least this way, he could comfortably steal a goodnight kiss.
"Sweet dreams, my love."
__
Now if only everyone else had such a positively heart-racing night...

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