Page 32 of A Queen and Her Knight

“Honestly, I assumed everyone knew,” he whispered, which at least took Beth’s attention off Nicholas. “He’s the shiniest human in the world to me,” he told her earnestly. “But this really isn’t a big deal. It’s not as if it was a secret.”

“Excuse me,” Nicholas said—Roman at his coldest. “Did you have a question about the show? Because as Farewell-to-Spring just said, none of this was a secret.”

“Yes, well, but,” Beth sputtered, trying to recover some of her composure in the face of one shocking revelation and the icy glare of the best villain on daytime TV, “this is new to your audience, and…”

Spring snorted. “The fairies in the audience already knew. And anyone who has ever known a fairy.”

Nicholas snapped his head around, staring hard at Spring before returning his attention to the one recording everything.

Beth cleared her throat. “You have to admit, a same-sex relationship on the air isn’t that unusual anymore, but a human-fairy relationship behind the scenes… what’s that like?”

“The same as any other relationship?” Spring frowned at her in confusion. “Private? How else would it be?”

“You should have seen the betting pools around set,” Alice remarked, and Nicholas flinched in a way that was really very fascinating. “They have their own little book club, these two. Though mostly it consists of Nicholas talking about books he’s read and Spring here making him laugh.”

“It sounds romantic,” their interviewer said, as if reading was somehow more romantic with a fairy involved.

Spring opened his mouth.

“It was,” Nicholas cut Spring off in the bold, authoritative voice of Roman Grenville. “Naturally, it didn’t take me long to fall for him. And itwasa big deal.”

That seemed pointed. Spring met Nicholas’s gaze, then dropped his to the floor and his bare feet. He had forgotten to put on his shoes in his rush to get down here on time. Also pants, but no one had seemed surprised by that.

“Is this your way of coming out?” Beth gushed, ambition like lightning in the colors around her.

“If you say so.” Nicholas-as-Roman was icy. Spring could not have handled bearing the brunt of that much Grenvillian disapproval. “It was not a secret.”

Beth hardly seemed to care. “Are you worried, since you weren’t openly out before, that some will think Spring seduced you?”

Spring’s wings stopped altogether.

Alice gasped. “Now just a minute….”

“I think we’re done here.” Nicholas stood up, ending the interview without any more fuss. “Alice? Spring?”

He must be angry to use the nickname. But Spring bounced to his feet. He turned sharply, his lavender and black wings nearly hitting Beth in the face, which normally he would have apologized for. But Alice took his arm while politely thanking Beth for the interview, and Nicholas opened the door for them, so Spring didn’t waste his time.

He blindly followed them both down the hall toward the elevators. They had to go back up to the production offices now and explain what was about to happen. Spring wasn’t sure what that was, but he didn’t think it would be good.

If they fired him… if they fired him, he might never see Nicholas again.

Nicholas might prefer that. Spring must have made him very uncomfortable just now, spilling his feelings all over the place.

They reached the bank of elevators and stopped. Everything seemed quiet, unnaturally still, but Spring slowly realized Alice was speaking.

“Not kidding about the pools. You guys cost me twenty bucks, and I didn’t even know about the glitter thing. That’s what that means? We all just thought you loved your job, Spring. Wow. But really, I don’t think it’s a big deal. They might run it by a few test audiences, but if they like it? Somehow, it’s going to wind up on the show and you’re both set for years, I’m telling you. Oh look.” The doors opened for them, revealing an empty elevator car. “You two take this one,” she added, and smiled at Spring before shoving him inside. Nicholas gave her a murderous glare before she could try it with him but stepped inside anyway, on all his own.

Alice beamed at them from the safety of the hallway and then the metal doors closed.

“I’m sorry,” Spring said immediately. He could do this. “I thought you knew and were being kind about it.”

“Farewell-to-Spring.” Nicholas watched him carefully in their reflection in the doors. “If I’d known, I would have kissed you months ago.” The colors around him were… they were… the same as ever, but so, so much warmer.

Spring’s wings fluttered against his back. “Oh,” he said softly, as pink and purple sparkles fell between them and a glowing Nicholas reached for his hand. “Then what’s stopping you now?”

The End

Firecracker Sunshine

---