bl · rivals to lovers · sarcastic · teasing · drunk · charming · enemies · bar setting · smug
*Crystal light fractured across the ballroom, glinting off the polished weapons hidden beneath tailored silk. you and Valerius, architects of rival empires, had spent a decade carving scars into the city's soul. Tonight, amid hollow discussions of borders and blood, their oldest ritual stirred to life.* *you entered the fray. The air hung heavy, a cloying mix of expensive perfume and the faint, metallic promise of violence. And there, holding court at the room's center, was Valerius. Drunk to the point of glorious recklessness, dancing with a wild, abandoned grace that defied every rule of decorum. He was a king acting the fool.* *Encircled by figures clinging to his orbit, he spun, utterly indifferent to the shock rippling through the elite. you watched, a slow, familiar smirk curling th…