He had never really got his head around the idea of ‘off-limits being more fun’. Rules existed for a reason, and so should be observed. There were the right ways to do things, and the wrong ways and Achilleas didn’t care much for the wrong nor that muddy area in between. At Theodora’s tease, he felt the slightest twinge of concern - not a new one, when it came to her. She might joke about him getting tired of her, but Achilleas’ fear lay in the opposite direction. On more than one occasion, the Leventi girl had expressed a temperament more inclined to push at boundaries than his. He’d worried that night here all those years ago that she’d fall for his cousin’s easy charms and had been quietly relieved when they appeared to needle each other before the end of the night. But she was certainly more..free-spirited than he could claim to be.

They said that opposites attract though, and perhaps this was just once such difference. He chose to ignore the worry and enjoy the moment instead. They were married now; after all, he had no further cause to dwell upon it.

Focusing on her as she spoke, he was reminded how lucky he was, making a study of her as she went on; the freckles that scattered across the tilt of her nose, the plush petal lips that were kiss-bruised and more than a little distracting. He glanced up at her when she recounted how she’d felt that night in Maliania, and Achilleas frowned a little. His intentions might have been well-meant, but the delivery had been lacking. He could appreciate that now.

Revealing his true feelings on the subject was no small thing, and he was glad when she kissed him so he might stop saying things that revealed too much. And it felt like a line drawn under it somehow. It was what he had wanted, to lay the ghosts of such encounters to rest and it was hard not to think that they had as they lay there, warmed by one another beneath the stars.

The dance of her fingers down his chest was verging on ticklish, and he looked down to where they moved over his skin, giving a huff of a laugh at her assertion. “I did tell you.” There was the slightest intake of breath at the scrape of a nail against sensitive flesh, and then he was trying to look affronted but failing the smile broke through at her words.

“Sheepy?! I’m sure you mean kingly” He ran a hand through the dark curls as if they might fall back into place, but that was a fruitless endeavour after being well mussed by Theodora’s hands. It wasn’t as if there was anyone around to see anyway, so he supposed it didn’t matter if he did look like a sheep or not. Capturing her hand within his own, he pressed a kiss against her knuckles before saying “Don’t get too used to it. I’d rather face a horde of Egyptians that go through that process with any regularity.” And then he frowned and said in a manner that almost suggested petulance “ I like my old armour...new armour always feels off the first few times you wear it.”

It struck him as he said it that perhaps it wasn’t a conversation topic they should linger on, not if they wanted to preserve this fragile little bubble of contentment they were in. Achilleas gave a tight smile as if to acknowledge the fact, and steered the conversation back to safer ground. “You know, I didn’t know what to tell them to pack” He gestured toward the hamper of food. “I don’t know what your favourites are. It feels like a thing a husband should know about his wife.”

Whilst not an overly demonstrative man, Achilleas was far from unaffected by Theodora. He was not immune to those teasing little touches that set his nerves alight, nor could he deny how easy it was for him to become wrapped up in her. Holding her attention was a little like basking in the warmth of a fire. Too easy to become comfortable and drowsy with it, and then to miss it when it was gone. He had yet to been burned, but there was a certain degree of caution in the Mikaelidas man as if a small part of him knew the risk of getting too close. That sensible, self-preserving voice was that much quieter than in most everything else though when he was with her. He wanted to be warm.

“So you keep saying” was the murmured response to her comments about his hair, and just as he indulged her teasing there, he thought that he would probably endure the painful removal of his chest hair if she truly did prefer it. "It would have to be very, very nicely. Perhaps that will start a new trend also.”

When Theodora went on to list off her favourite foods, Achilleas paid careful note and tucked the knowledge away with other pertinent things he was coming to learn about the woman beside him. As with most things he turned his hand to, there was a determination to be what he considered a good husband, and studying Theodora was part of that process. He found if he applied some structure to the idea, it became less daunting a concept. Likes and dislikes were simple steps toward pleasing her.

He was coming to see that his own questions were almost guaranteed to be met by a matching request, and so Achilleas was not unprepared when Theodora turned her own curiosity back in his direction. “...some of those too” he replied “Kleftikos. Kataifi. There is a farm in Euttica who makes the best cheese I’ve ever had. I should get some brought in…” His own hunger, fickle of late, made itself known, and so Theodora’s encouragement toward him retrieving some of the food that had been packed up so diligently was met with a momentary stare.

He wasn’t accustomed to conceding so easily, but it was difficult not to want to just say yes to liquid dark eyes and that coaxing tone to her voice. Eyebrows raised, his lips quirked at the corners as she nestled even further into the silks and with a long-suffering sigh, Achilleas made a move to reach for the basket that sat a little way off. “As I offered”

Only he wasn’t so keen on leaving the comfort of their self made nest either, and so rather than standing, he threw himself bodily across Theodora without much effort at keeping his weight off her. He was smiling to himself as he stretched one long arm out to reach the woven handle and drag the thing closer. When he sat back up with the hard-won prize, the grin had not quite disappeared.

“Oh sorry...did I squash you?” he asked offhandedly as he began inspecting the contents of the basket before manners prevailed over teasing, and he moved enough to set it between them so Theodora could help herself. The muscles in his abdomen tightened as he twisted to retrieve the wine that had been so carelessly set aside, and he offered hers back to her. “Here”

Even if he had not known her favourites, the cooks at the palati had clearly been paying attention to what their new queen did and did not enjoy at mealtimes, for the basket was well-packed with things to tempt her. Achilleas waited until Theodora had picked over the contents for her favourites before he reached for a fig wrapped in a thin strip of salted pork. They ate in companionable silence for a little while before he stretched back, curled an arm beneath his head and sighed in something close to contentment. It was not a feeling he’d known much of recently.

“I was thinking of bringing everyone together for a dinner before I leave,” he said, gaze shifting from the silhouetted branches overhead to Theodora. “ Just...the family. What do you think?” There was an obvious uncertainty in the question, and perhaps it was well-placed. The sudden change in situation that placed Achilleas and Theodora as King and Queen had not only impacted them after all, and it had been...awkward manoeuvring around the princesses and the dowager queen. He kept meaning to speak with them properly, but there had been so much else. Arranging a dinner seemed a simple way to ensure he did.

Achilleas had almost forgotten he was ticklish. It had been so long since anyone had tried that it took him quite by surprise when Theodora sought to exact her revenge for the oafish way he was crushing her. Instinctively, he tried to escape the sensation. Jerking away from her fingers, he lurched sideways with an involuntary little grunt. Achilleas tried to disguise it even as his fingers closed around the basket and he hastily pulled back.

It rather spoiled the delivery of his too innocent apology, but there was merriment dancing in his eyes when they settled upon her, and he was smiling again, relaxing little by little around her. It was no small feat: if he were at all uncertain, then the tendency was for him to lean into formality, but that was not easily done in such setting, and the night was going easier than others they had shared.

Watching her as she rummaged through the basket, he only realised he was staring when she glanced up at him and caught him, but even then it was hard to drag his gaze away, and he only did so with a sheepish smile to retrieve some food for himself. In amongst all of the chaos the fates had turned upon him in the weeks past, he could only be grateful that they’d blessed him with Theodora; some recompense that he would ever be glad for.

When he put the question to her about the dinner, he found himself genuinely wanting her opinion. He’d had so little time in recent days that he had, admittedly, been less attentive to his family than perhaps he ought. His Queen’s answer had him pause though, twisting his head to the side to look at her even as her fingers threaded through his.

“Uncomfortable? I thought it would be a comfort of sorts.” he said, frowning a little. Of all times, they needed to pull together and present a strong and united front. He blinked at Theodora because he wasn’t sure what to make of her comments about his Aunt. “ I’m not sure how else she thinks it could have turned out. Stephanos isn’t here, is he? And half the senate think he’s a traitor.”

He shifted slightly to push up on one elbow. “I’m doing the only thing I can do, aren’t I?" he said, eyeing her with some concern. He’d spoken to Xene and Gianna, and there had been nothing said, and now he wondered what Theodora had been party to that he had not.

But she seemed to agree with his plan at least, so he resolved that he would invite Emilios over, and they could come together as a family properly before he sailed. It was soon to be wrenched away, but war was a beast that would not wait, and Achilleas wouldn’t see Taengea made vulnerable due to his lack of action.

“I daresay you shall be able to have any number of dinners when I am gone,” he said, and then grimaced a little for he hadn’t intended it to sound as bitter as it did. He did not begrudge, leading the men to Egypt. It was an honour and a duty, he knew. Leaving someone at home was a little different, though. Another adjustment. He changed the subject. “Xene and Gianna will be good to have around. Perhaps you might invite one of your sisters to stay in the palati with you?”

Achilleas’ gaze had fallen away as he considered her words: much as he did not wish to think he had wronged his cousin or the rest of his extended family, he supposed it would be naive to think that everything would be fine. What with everything else demanding his time, perhaps he had been remiss in not addressing any such concerns already. It troubled him to think that there was ill-will between any of his kin and himself.

Glancing at were Theodora’s fingers squeezed his own, he smiled, but it was not as free or easy as the one he had worn before. It was a picture smile, designed to reassure those looking upon it rather than conveying any emotion from the one who wore it.

“Probably yes,” he said. “Time will ease things” Only, as he was all too aware, he did not have an abundance of that either, and he wished he’d not brought it up at all, especially when Theodora seemed to catch on to the mood, and it dimmed the brightness that had been their evening thus far. An apology sat on the edge of his tongue, and he frowned a little, tangled their fingers again. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. I’ll see it arranged anyway.”

Again he wondered at the unfair timing of this all, how at every point this marriage had been buffeted and battered by events out of their control. Achilleas sighed almost imperceptibly before switching the subject to one more practical, less introspective. When Theodora mentioned bringing Imma to the palati, he nodded his approval. Her youngest sister was a sweet girl who he had a lot of time for.

“I might have agreed that she could paint our portraits,” he said, pulling a bit of a face because sitting for portraiture sounded like a thing he would hate almost as much as armour fittings. “She sold the idea to me by saying it would be less formal than some lauded artist. That will be something to look forward to”

Of course, he’d also volunteered Theodora as the subject for another painting given that Imma had resolved to gift one to him, but he decided that he’d let the younger sister broach that. Surely Theo would be well used to it by now anyway. Stretching back out again, pleasantly full and trying to recapture their former ease, he folded his hands beneath his head and gazed up at the glimpses of the night sky only to glance askance at his wife when she mentioned something important to discuss. The grin she wore suggested otherwise though, and Achilleas should have been prepared for the secondary attack. Ramming his arm down by his side to protect that vulnerable expanse of his ribs, the “I’m not ticklish” was not terribly convincing. Nor was how his hand then proceeded to encircle her wrist, just in case she tried to test his assertion once more.

“Doesn’t that rather negate the point of them being secrets” he replied, stroking his thumb across the velvety skin of her wrist, where he could feel her heart beat. “If you uncover them I mean?” But he furrowed his brow a moment as if considering before reeling off a list. “ I..am supposedly not a very good loser.” He’d been told that several times. “ I’ve not got a very good aim.” And then Achilleas swallowed, an almost shyness creeping into his voice as he went on, catching Theodora’s gaze and holding it he went on. “And I...have held a young lady in high regard for quite some time. Years, even.”

Theodora was not wrong to think her husband unlikely to be overjoyed at the notion of sitting for a portrait; he was not. But Imma had mentioned official portraits in a manner that suggested it was a given, and if Achilleas could temper the misery of it by having it at least be someone they knew then he would. He did flash a smile at Theodora’s words though he thought her fears unfounded. “I do not believe Imma would so such a thing. Dafni perhaps…”

When she threatened to tickle again, he rolled away, shooting her a warning look though she did not follow through with the promise. How had she discovered a weakness he didn’t even remember he’d had? It hardly seemed fair.

After naming a few he did know about, Achilleas paused at her words. Talking about things he wasn’t good at, admitting those flaws that were so intolerable to one who strived for perfection...well he thought they counted as secrets. And the final one..well that had to, didn’t it?

When Theodora entwined their fingers once more and snuggled into his chest, he rolled his eyes at the idea it would be anyone else, but paused when she pressed him on that revelation. He was glad she couldn’t see his face as he wondered how honest to be, and supposed it was a relief that it was only the darkness that witnesses the heat he could feel rising in his cheeks as he swallowed and answered quietly. “....Macendia? A little, you know. You aren’t an easy woman to forget”

It cost him a lot to confess, and he was a little tense in her arms, nervous perhaps that she wouldn’t understand. It was not as if he had spent ten years building a shrine to her in his home or anything strange like that, but he could admit to himself now that she’d caught and held his attention all that while, even if he’d not allowed himself to act upon it. And when she asked why, he pulled back to look at her, a disbelieving look upon his face.

“ Why? How can you ask such a thing? There are a thousand men in Greece who would kill to be in my place right now, surely you know that?”

Vexing? Yes she was also that, but much as it troubled him upon occasion that he could not understand her, it certainly meant he was never bored of her company. He frowned at the idea that she wasn’t already aware of the fact.
“ You’re…different” As he said it, Achilleas realised quickly it wasn’t quite the sentiment he’d intended and he tried again. “You’ve never done what I’ve expected. So I don’t know, I suppose I have always wanted to find out more.”

And of course she was beautiful. So much so that there were those who spoke of the God’s work and Achilleas couldn’t argue against them. Not as he gazed down at the fine face tilted up toward him, painted gold and shadow by the lanterns around them. He drew a long breath , releasing her hand so he could brush the backs of his fingers over the slant of her cheek. “ That the fates aligned and you said yes to me has been the biggest comfort through all of this, Theodora”