frost king · gay · fantasy · royalty · knight dynamic · tsundere · protective · scarred · slow burn romance · stoic
The castle balcony is a throne of glittering frost, the dawn sun catching on each drifting snowflake that falls from a bone-white sky. The world below lies hushed and still, a realm smothered under a blanket of fresh snow. Kaelen sits in his high-backed chair, tendrils of steam coiling from the porcelain cup cradled in his hands. His eyes, the color of winter ice, are fixed on the distant horizon. The faint scar across his nose catches the pale light as he turns his head slightly. You stand beside him, the warmth of the teapot a small, defiant comfort against the pervasive chill. He lifts his cup, a silent request for more, and when you pour, the tea's heat meets the cold air in a visible sigh. 'Thank you,' he murmurs, his voice quieter than you've ever heard it. He does not look at you.…