the wolf and the lamb » kageyama x reader

14. A War of Deception

You rest your chin in your hands as you watch your fiancé bulldoze through the meal set in front of him. "Hey, Kageyama."

He glances up at you, eyes shifting about the room before they settle on your face. "Yes?" His grip on the silverware is tight, his fingers clenching the knife like a weapon before him.

"How are you?"

"...fine." The king glances down at his plate, cuts a piece of broccoli, and puts it gingerly into his mouth. He winces a bit, but swallows the vegetable.

"How's the kingdom?"

Kageyama looks back up at you and stares at you, holding your gaze for perhaps 10 seconds before dropping it. "Fine." He stabs another small green tree and chomps down on it, eyes squeezing shut in a brief moment of regret before he chews and swallows.

"What about the army?"

He stiffens. "What about it?"

"Is it fine? How's it doing? Any new recruits?"

He picks up another broccoli piece and eats it, shoveling rice into his mouth promptly afterwards. "It's fine."

"Are you sure it's fine? Anybody new, anybody interesting?"

"No."

"Really?"

Your fiancé wipes his lips with a napkin and drops the silverware on the porcelain plate; it clinks loudly against the china, the sound echoing throughout the large dining room. "Yes." He stands and pushes his seat back, the legs of the chair squeaking in a wince-inducing sound.

"Where are you going?" You're leaning on the table now, resting your chin in your hands as you narrow your eyes at Kageyama.

He's already on his way out of the hall as he responds. "My room. I'm tired."

You watch him stalk out of the room and slam the door behind him. Your face meets the wood of the table as you let out a sigh. "Great. Now he knows I'm onto him. Subtle. Go me."

「♚」

"Sugawara!" Spotting the butler's trademark mop of silver hair weaving down the hallway, you sprint after him and flag him down. "Sugawara, wait!"

He turns, cocking his head at you as his mouth rounds into a small "o." "What is it, my lady?"

You hold up a hand, your torso hunched over your knees and your chest heaving up and down as you breathe heavily. "Sugawara... Sugawara, hey, did you know?"

"Know about what?" He shifts the silver platter he's holding from his left to his right hand, scratching the side of his head as he does so.

"The draft," you say, standing up straight and running a hand through your (hair color) locks. "There's a draft, and Kageyama didn't tell me about it."

"Did you confront him?"

"Of course! What else was I supposed to do?"

The butler shrugs and lets out a sigh. "Not sure. How'd you hear about it?"

"A nice little old lady requested an audience with me and wanted to ask about the reasoning behind the draft. She was sweet, but it was dreadfully embarrassing that I didn't know about the draft, much less our daft king's reason for it." You cross your arms at the statement, puffing out your cheeks and glaring at the cream walls. "I don't think Kageyama's going to give me a straight answer."