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"Really, we ought to keep our meetings more conspicuous," Daryl groused as he sipped on a dainty tea that was akin to the kind Ky favored. It almost made Daryl nostalgic for the tea parties Ky would throw for the three kings while they worked through endless mountains of paperwork together. It almost made Daryl wish he had accepted his invitation more, now knowing that Ky's time as High King of Illyria was up.
Maybe that was why Daryl agreed to work with Leo on paperwork; to make the most of the time he had with his fellow kings, no matter how irritating they could be. Leo especially, though Daryl did seem to be going soft on his one and only equal in terms of his job.
"Why? Don't like my costume?" The man who was being all but conspicuous cocked his head to the side, gesturing his hand toward himself in a grand sweeping motion. His 'costume' was little more than a hoodie and a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses.
Thankfully, he zipped up his hoodie, so his easily identifiable chest wasn't on constant display. That heart-shaped tattoo on his chest would get him marked in an instant. Not that Daryl was opposed to seeing the all but conspicuous man's chest on display. It was just… an unfortunate situation, dating the world's most wanted man.
Daryl and Chaos were at their favored meet-up spot, the Underside Bakehouse. It was an ironic spot, one that Chaos initially picked for their scones, seeing as Daryl knew who the owner was behind his baker's facade. He knew of Venom's past, and he was certainly wary that there was one last Robo-Ky model left to his own devices, but they meant no harm.
All in all, it was a massive coincidence that Daryl had become a regular patron of their little bakery that had already become a hit in the Illyrian capital.
Just like his dining partner and lover, Daryl was also wearing a 'costume,' or, to describe it aptly, a disguise. Daryl's disguise wasn't much better, only intended to keep away prying eyes in the streets of the capital of Illyria. It certainly wasn't the smartest idea to dine outdoors at one of the tables in the middle of the partitioned street.
Oh, well. Daryl couldn't say no to Chaos, not when it had been a hot minute since they last saw each other. For a moment, Daryl regretted all the work he had taken on with Ky's departure, but alas, it was his duty as king.
For another moment, Daryl regretted his cockiness. Why had he brought up the Underside Bakehouse in front of Leo? Perhaps it was a test to see if Leo trusted him with such information. Despite what he had said about trust, it was clear he didn't truly trust Daryl with all of his secrets.
To be fair, given Daryl's sarcastic response to Leo's sympathetic answer regarding Venom's final request for his comrades, he hadn't particularly worked hard to earn Leo's trust on the topic. Hell, if Leo knew who Daryl was sipping tea and swapping spit with, he certainly wouldn't be trusted anymore, not a single bit.
It wasn't like Daryl trusted Leo completely, either. Maybe it was because his secrets were far darker, dirtier, but he wasn't one to go around willy-nilly, blabbing his mouth to any of his coworkers. He had managed to play off his knowledge of the bakery easily enough as someone giving him a Danish originating from there. However, that was a lie.
He had been telling a lot of lies lately, even more so than usual. Yes, he had been busy with work, busier than usual, but he had also been galavanting around with Chaos. It was like he lived a double life, one where he was a king, and the other where he didn't wear the crown, free to do as he wished.
"Ah, you're thinkin' again," Chaos propped his chin up on his clasped hands. "Care to share?"
"It's… a lot," Daryl sighed, shook his head, and set down his tea. "I don't know if I should speak of such things in a public place."
"Oh?" Beneath his hood, Chaos raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He moved his hand to cup his cheek, using the other to play with the spoon in Daryl's pudding dish. "How so?"
"It's a confidential matter," Daryl explained as accurately as he could. It wasn't exactly confidential, but it was personal. Tapping his foot against Daryl's shin, Chaos wordlessly encouraged him to speak on the topic more. Be it his lowered walls to Chaos, or the amount of time they spent apart, or the fact that he didn't have anyone else to talk to, Daryl gave in without another word.
There wasn't anyone listening in on their conversation, which Daryl was sure of. He had guards stationed around the area, easily able to identify if he was bugged or not. Leo didn't have the balls to put a microphone on him, anyway. That, and he didn't have reason to, if Daryl and Chaos had been careful enough.
Now that Daryl thought about it, Chaos was powerful enough to ensure any technology wouldn't work around him. It was good that Daryl chose Chaos as his criminal, meaning any issue that could potentially arise would be solved in an instant thanks to his powerful magic.
Before Daryl began speaking of his woes, he grabbed the spoon from Chaos's hand and took a bite of the pudding Chaos graciously bought for him with his likely counterfeit and illegal cash, or the money he stole from a printing facility, or…
Daryl was trying to distract himself. Savoring the pudding in his mouth, Daryl took a moment before he finally started to air out his troubles to Chaos. The pudding was strawberry flavored, perfectly smooth and silky, yet slightly fluffy, filled with graham cracker crumbs to give it a subtle crunch.
Enough was enough, and Chaos was clearly getting impatient as he stepped on Daryl's foot. Chaos only wore flip flops despite the chill in the air, so it wasn't like it hurt to have his foot stepped on. "Alright," Daryl gave in, setting his spoon down in the dish.
Really, it was a waste to not eat it immediately. The graham cracker crumbs would get soggy.
Chaos huffed.
"It's Leo," Daryl paused, then added, "and Ky, I guess."
"You guess?" Chaos cocked his head to the side. He began distractedly rubbing his foot along Daryl's shin, almost to comfort him. If they weren't in public, Chaos would likely be holding Daryl in bed, listening to anything he needed to get off his chest. He was clingy like that, and Daryl didn't entirely mind it.
(No, he didn't mind it. In fact, he loved how clingy Chaos was. Daryl didn't realize he was so touch-starved until Chaos forced his way into his life.)
"I know," Daryl corrected himself, internally laughing to himself at Chaos's attempt to further the conversation. He was going to let this out one way or another, given how stubborn Chaos was. "Leo and I did paperwork together the other day."
"Oh, shit," Chaos whistled as if that was the big problem Daryl was having. Daryl rolled his eyes, biting back a grin at Chaos's stupidly amusing expression, his eyes wide and his mouth in an exaggerated frown.
"I wasn't done," Daryl refused to laugh, not when this matter was weighing on him. In response, Chaos put his hands up in defeat, chuckling to himself at his own actions. "I brought up this bakery."
"Well, shit," Chaos's amusement fell in an instant. Crossing his arms on the table and resting his head on top of his arms, Chaos asked, "Why'dya do that, puddin'?"
Daryl still wasn't used to that pet name, not when a warm flush rose on his cheeks because of the casual way Chaos threw his words around. Clearing his throat, Daryl explained, "I wanted to test him. To see if he trusted me."
"And?" Chaos tapped his fingers against the table, dangerously close to where Daryl's hand sat on the porcelain surface. "Don't tell me it's not a good answer."
"I'm afraid it's not," Daryl dampened Chaos's mood and shook his head. "He doesn't fully trust me."
"Why not?" Chaos asked. In his own attempt to comfort Daryl, Chaos rapped his fingers against Daryl's knuckles for a moment before moving to sit back in his chair.
"I know the truth about this bakery," Daryl hushed his voice, just in case anyone was listening in. There wasn't a soul in earshot, so no one should. It didn't hurt to be careful, though. "Leo does, too. I'm sure of it. He lied to me, anyway."
"So? Why's a little lie got you so down?" Chaos questioned, knowing that wasn't it. Daryl's eyes fell from Chaos's sunglasses to the table, almost in shame.
"It's how he sees me," Daryl clarified. It was easy to read Leo's mistrust and distaste for him from his face alone. Whenever they saw each other, there was always a flash of a grimace before Leo steeled himself into a neutral expression. "I don't think he believes me to have a soul."
Chaos snorted at his wording, "That's stupid. Everyone has a soul."
"You know what I mean," Daryl huffed, pausing to take a bite from his pudding. If Chaos was going to be a little shit, he could wait for Daryl's response. Closing his eyes, Daryl savored the taste once more. This time, it was a little soggier, with less of a crunch. He rephrased his words once he swallowed, "I think he assumes I'm… not sympathetic."
"Oh," Chaos nodded in understanding. "I get it."
"I don't try to be," Daryl carefully phrased his words. "Not with my work. Not when it could cost others' lives. But…"
"But that isn't the real you," Chaos smiled at Daryl. "Only I get to see the real you."
Daryl blinked for a moment, surprised at Chaos's forwardness and his ability to accurately read his emotions to a tee. Once again, he found his face flushing at Chaos's seemingly prideful statement. He was happy to be the only person Daryl trusted, something that flustered him to no end. Scrambling for his words, Daryl responded, "I… Yes, I suppose."
"Can't say I'm upset about that, but you are," Chaos successfully got down to the root of what was bothering Daryl. "How does this relate to Ky?"
"Well," Daryl stopped himself before he could say anything else. Chaos knew the answer already, but he was forcing Daryl to say it out loud. Perhaps it was for the better, verbalizing everything that had been stirring in his mind since that paperwork session with Leo. "I'm afraid he's leaving with an untrue representation of me."
"Hmm," Chaos tapped his chin. "Why's one guy's image of you so important? What does he bring to the table that makes you want to show him the real you?"
"I… I don't know," Daryl hung his head, bit down on his lip, and murmured, "I don't know."
"It's 'cause you care about him, don'tcha?" Chaos answered for him. "You care for Leo, too."
"But why don't I feel this way toward my other coworkers? The people who work below me?" Daryl asked, almost desperate to hear Chaos's answer.
"I dunno," Chaos shrugged, circling both his feet around Daryl's shin as if he was trying to give him a hug. "That's just how it works."
That made Daryl genuinely chuckle. Of course, Chaos had the knowledge of the entire universe stored in his brain, but he didn't know why feelings worked the way they did. Once his laughter subsided, Daryl sighed, "I do care for Ky and Leo, but I'm certain they don't feel the same."
"Hey, now," Chaos sat forward in his chair, leaning as close to Daryl as he could across the table. This truly was a conversation they should be having in private, just so Chaos could kiss Daryl's sorrows away. "Don't be so upset. I'm sure they feel the same."
"How can you be so certain?" Daryl scoffed.
"Well, didn't Ky invite you to his 'going-away' party?" Chaos asked, holding up his hand to start listing off various instances of Ky being friendly on his fingers. "And he's trusted your judgement time and time again. And he invites you to his dinner parties all the time. And-"
"Okay, okay!" Daryl interrupted. Otherwise, Chaos would have gone on forever. "But what about Leo? Why should he care about me?"
"Well, you both lie to each other, for one," Chaos pointed out, pointing his finger at Daryl. "No shame, but you lie to him a lot," he finished that statement with a large grin crossing his face as he wordlessly pointed to himself and waggled his eyebrows. "So, don't take it personally."
"I guess," Daryl sighed, swirling the spoon around in his pudding as he thought the situation through. "He did say he trusted me at the end of our conversation, so…"
"Maybe that's him extending you an olive branch," Chaos offered. Thinking it over, Daryl did suppose they were having a… pleasant conversation for once. What direction it would have gone before Dr. Paradigm had entered the room with the force of a thousand tsunamis, Daryl didn't know. Gently smiling at him, Chaos said, "You're thinkin' again. Is it good this time?"
Daryl stared at his pudding, now thoroughly soggy, and took a bite out of it. Despite the graham cracker crumbs being soggy, the pudding wasn't half bad. He smiled back at Chaos, who happily chuckled and hummed, "I think I know the answer."
"I think you do," Daryl grinned.
Maybe, just maybe, he'd like to think that his conversation with Leo would have remained pleasant had Dr. Paradigm not entered the scene. Maybe, just maybe, being the two remaining kings of Illyria who were scrambling for a third, Daryl could attempt to show his true self to Leo.
"You're not too jealous?" Daryl asked, teasing Chaos now that he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.
"What, jealous of other people seeing the real you?" Chaos rhetorically asked for clarification. Then, before Daryl could assure him that, yes, that's what he was asking, Chaos answered, "Nah. Not when I don't mind the people you care for."
"I thought you hated Ky and Leo," Daryl faltered.
"I thought you hated Ky and Leo," Chaos shot back, his smile widening. "I think they're cool. I mean, former knights of the Holy Order? That's cool."
"So, what about all the shit you've talked about them?" Daryl couldn't stop himself from smirking. He certainly didn't have Chaos trapped, but he was curious to see what his answer would be.
"I was going along with you!" Chaos defended himself, though his smile didn't waver once. He was enjoying himself, despite the topic they had just moved on from. "You talk about them like they're your brothers, and you're annoyed with them."
"That's one way to put it," Daryl mused.
"Anyway," Chaos brought the topic back to Daryl's teasing question. "It's not like you're goin' around trying to get the approval of some rich fucks. These people are your equal."
"I see," Daryl nodded, satisfied with Chaos's response. If he was trying to win over the people who attended royal banquets, Chaos would surely have a greater problem with that.
"Anyway," Chaos repeated himself. "You wanna go for a drive?"
With his soul thoroughly cleansed and his worries lifted, Daryl smiled softly at Chaos, "I thought you'd never ask."