Smoldering Arrangements to Fiery Passion

[LovelyBones]

After what felt like a lifetime of war between the Elves of the Forest and those of the Mountains, peace was finally at hand, and almost everyone was overjoyed.

Almost everyone.

Katsuki Bakugo, heir to the Forest Throne, was to be married off to the heir of the Mountain Throne. Omega to Alpha. The blonde loathed the situation, despised how he was being forced to marry some alpha he had never met, especially a former enemy to his kingdom. The Elves of the Mountain were ruled by instinct, he was told, time and time again, how they cared not for proper processes for courting, cared not for laws pertaining the protections Omegas had. Until recently, Katsuki never thought he'd need a Collar, something to protect his Claim glands, but he'd be damned if he was bitten against his will, husband or not.

Naturally, he was against meeting his 'fiancee' beforehand, but he had no say in the matter, according to his mother. His father didn't bother taking his side, being quiet, as he almost always has been whenever Katsuki didn't agree to something annoying or unnecessary. A few days time was no where near enough to have a proper courting bond before the wedding, so why bother meeting before the wedding? Besides, wasn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony, when it was so close? Regardless of his feelings, he was dragged to the main courtyard after an unnecessary amount of time dolling him up. He didn't need the extra blush, smokey eye shadow, or rouge on his lips. He was flawless, only needing mascara to cover his blonde lashes. But, again, he didn't have a damn say. 'He has to be presentable for his fiancee if this peace treaty to go off without a hitch.'

His mother was finding more excuses to piss him off, force him to seem more like 'a proper Omegan Heir.'

Naturally, he and his parents, as well as some palace guards were present in the courtyard garden under a marble gazebo, waiting patiently for the Mountain Heir and his entourage to come join them, and meet the young, angry blonde. Katsuki was impatient, wanted this to be done and over with.

[cryptidchalupa]

Things were unsurprisingly tense, considering how recently things had come to a political end. Or rather, they would be completely with this arranged marriage. The last few incidents had been the catalyst to this arrangement.

No one needed to die anymore.

At least that's what he had been told when he had been brought into the war room (of all places..) and told point blank. This was what was going to happen, and he was the only one in their tribe that was of age for this. It was his duty now, for the sake of everyone. It felt like a lot, but in all honesty coming from his mother it was just dramatic. She wasn't able to convey things in a more sane degree. He understood well enough.

This was a job.

And he kept that in mind the entire trip down to the neighboring kingdom, through all the tense stares and disapproving whispering that he definitely picked up on here and there. They were here peacefully, and once inside the walls of the forest castle, they had even been generous enough to hand over personal weaponry. Just to help ease the minds of the staff and court.

Not long after arriving he was pried off of his own to be redressed, with one more good once over by his mother to make sure all of the decorative filigree was in place properly, all the things his kind did for something like this. The dark, warm colors he was dressed in, the pattern to the stitching. All of it just for the obvious effort to court him as best he could in such little time. He wasn't sure it would work, their customs were vastly different, but he still held onto a traditional gift to offer his betrothed when they met.

Taken back outside to the courtyard with his sire first, mother following just behind them and flanked by their guards, ushered along like it was a bit more of an inconvenience.

The whole time quietly repeating to himself that this was a task, a job, and his sire had told him they didn't need to bond. Just get married and seal the treaty. It was such a waste honestly, to force it. But he could make an effort to at least make it worth the heir's time.

Eijiro damn well nearly missed the actual greeting as the two groups met, parents doing most of the brief (tense) chit chat. He had rooted himself to his spot and just stared. And it was inappropriate, yes, but he couldn't even formulate words for how he felt seeing the other heir in person. He didn't know what he had been expecting but it was nothing... so beautiful. And he had been caught in his staring when he felt his sire nudge him, whispering something to them in their dialect to jumpstart him. It took a lot not to fly off immediately into an apology, recovering his manners and what he had been taught so he could greet his soon to be parents in law, showing them as much respect as he could without it coming off the wrong way.

Their people may not be the best of friends, but he didn't share the sentiment that anything was wrong with either side. He had never understood why they were all at each other's throats to begin with. He had wanted peace from when he was a child, so this really, really meant something to him. The fact that he actually seemed to at least superficially like his betrothed was a plus. Not that he was shallow but... the forest heir was very pretty and he genuinely wanted to make this better for him. He didn't want anyone to be miserable.

Greeting done, he did offer the courting gift to the forest rulers, not wanting to over step boundaries by offering it directly to the blond without the approval of his parents. Even if it was happening either way he wanted... well it didn't matter too much what he wanted. But he needed their approval before this felt okay in any capacity.

[LovelyBones]

When the other Heir, his parents and the guards entered the courtyard, he felt his parents bristle slightly, and, instinct dictated he do the same. He wasn't a fan of being stared at for so long, and surely, it showed in how he glared back, his rubies dulled with restrained displeasure. Oh how he wished to growl, tell the other off for ogling him, of all things, but he knew he'd be beat on the spot if he was vocal about his contempt for this arrangement. He wasn't allowed to protest, wasn't allowed to fuck this up if their kingdom wanted peace. It wasn't fair. At least his betrothed's parents had the fucking sense to stop their child's damned staring.

He watched as the other heir make a sad attempt at saving face by greeting his parents, and he looked away when he saw that his parents didn't reprimand the mountain elf like he thought they would.... well, he expected his mother to, at least. However, he noticed his mother looking something over, before giving the redhead an approving but stern nod. The hell? What the hell is that little pouch for? The blonde huffed faintly, wholly unaware that was meant for him. Was it some stupid dowry or something? This isn't about wealth, so why bother? And if it's supposed to be sentimental, why bother still? It's only a few days before their wedding-- it's a little too late to try courting the angry blonde. He can't be bought-- this is only a marriage for peace, after all.

It hurt, knowing that's all he was good for, to either side of this deal. Sure, it was never guaranteed he would get to choose a mate of his own to marry, but.... it felt like he was being robbed. He didn't even get a chance to have his heart broken, feel the torment of falling head over heels for someone else. And so, he only ever met the other's gaze with a baleful, and secretly wounded glare whenever their eyes met. It didn't matter that the other was an alpha, larger, his soon-to-be husband.... he refused to be used, refused to give up his will. He wasn't some omega that anyone can control and manipulate, make a trophy out of.

[cryptidchalupa]

The acceptance of his courting gift, or passable sort-of dowry really, he did feel some level of accomplishment. It was entirely possible that they only accepted it because this was already a done deal. Even if they didn't like it, it wouldn't stop the union. It was purely political, but he would take the small win where he got it. A guard stepped up to take it from him, and had this been a proper courting he would have insisted he hand it over to the heir himself. But they weren't allowed to be that close together just yet.

This wasn't his comfort level, he wasn't experienced in this kind of interaction like his parents seemed to be, probably just something else for him to learn about. But it did seem to go over well, even with tension in the air, significantly lesser than when they had first approached considering. He was much more subtle this time, in taking in the details he could see of the blond heir from his spot. He really, truly, was beautiful. Eijiro was positive it would take ages for him to be able to look at him and not stare. So he definitely didn't miss the sour look. Meeting him with a soft, apologetic smile. This wasn't easy for either of them, surely. He was solely focused on him, even with the elders talking and using large, sprawling words and sentences that lasted longer than his attention span.

He didn't agree with the arrangement, but the fact that he was quite instantly taken with the Forest heir on sight. If imprinting was an actual thing and not just a fairy tale, he was positive this was what it would feel like. He wanted to get closer to him, he was damn well nearly drawn in. But he had to wait until their wedding ceremony, or it would be rude, considering they hadn't been previously courting. Damn did he want to, just based on surface attraction alone. The red head had known the forest elves were ethereally beautiful, but his soon to be (by force) mate was the topper of the list of the most beautiful he had ever met.

The only thing to break him aware from slowly drinking him in with his eyes was the way his brain seemed to tune into the elders' conversation and his head snapped to the side to look at his parents when it sank in about what he had just heard. What...

"Our clan doesn't practice the witness ceremony any longer." His sire put their foot down verbally. His mother seemed to go tense, looking between him and the Forest royalty for a moment with the faintest flicker of regret he had ever seen pass through her eyes. There was a heavy weight in the air before he could feel a sense of... defeat? rolling from his sire, their shoulder's drooping ever so imperceptively. "But if it's a requirement to the treaty, then I'll agree."