Chapter 87: Platinum

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Platinum

Sebastian knew he had made a mistake the moment he stepped into the sitting room and saw what had been arranged beneath the tall windows overlooking the rain-darkened gardens.

The jeweler himself appeared perfectly respectable, dressed in a charcoal suit with discreet silver cuff links and the controlled expression of a man who had probably spent half his career pretending not to notice when royal families behaved like lunatics around expensive objects.

The problem was everything behind him.

Three long display tables had been covered in dark velvet and filled with polished cases of different sizes, some narrow enough that Sebastian immediately knew they contained collars, others square or rectangular, and far too many of them for a man who had agreed in writing to exactly two pieces of jewelry.

Sebastian stopped in the doorway.

Nero, standing beside the nearest table in dark trousers and a fitted black shirt with the collar open, looked offensively pleased with himself.

Sebastian glanced at the cases, then at him.

"No."

Nero’s smile widened.

Sebastian turned around.

He managed one step before a long arm stretched across the doorway in front of him, the black sleeve pulling tight across Nero’s forearm as he blocked the exit without even pretending the gesture was accidental.

"Nero."

"You haven’t looked at anything."

"I have looked at the room, which was enough."

"You looked at boxes."

"There are enough boxes to require an inventory."

Nero moved closer behind him, one arm still barring the doorway while the other settled easily around Sebastian’s waist, and before Sebastian could decide whether dignity required resistance, the prince had already begun guiding him backward toward the displays.

"You are physically preventing me from leaving."

"I prefer to think of it as encouraging participation in an important marital decision."

"You are dragging me."

"That became necessary when you attempted to escape."

The jeweler lowered his attention to one of the velvet trays with such impeccable professionalism that Sebastian immediately suspected he had been warned in advance.

Sebastian twisted enough to glare over his shoulder.

Nero looked delighted.

Not merely entertained by Sebastian’s irritation, either, but genuinely happy in a way that made the sharpness around his eyes disappear and left him looking younger than he usually did when wearing the responsibilities of the Crown Prince.

That, unfortunately, made being angry with him more difficult.

"Two collars," Sebastian reminded him as Nero finally released his waist.

"I remember."

"Two."

"Yes, sweetheart."

"Then explain why this room looks like you purchased the jeweler."

Nero glanced toward the man.

"I did not purchase him."

The jeweler cleared his throat.

"His Highness requested a broad selection within the parameters you approved, Lord Fitzgeralt."

Sebastian looked at Nero again.

"A broad selection."

"I wanted you to have options."

"You wanted to see how much jewelry you could put around my neck before I reconsidered the engagement."

Nero’s mouth curved.

"That was not the primary objective."

Sebastian decided not to ask what the secondary objective had been.

To Nero’s credit, the collars themselves were not absurd.

Most followed the restrictions Sebastian had negotiated into the engagement amendment: deep green materials, restrained silver detailing, no external royal insignia, no oversized gems, and nothing that resembled the heavily ceremonial collars sometimes worn during formal court events.

He picked up one with a smooth dark-green band and a narrow silver fastening hidden along the back, turning it between his fingers while Nero watched him with considerably more interest than any reasonable person should display over a clasp.

"This one."

"That quickly?"

"It looks like something I could actually wear instead of a declaration of conquest."

Nero leaned closer to examine it.

"I could have arranged a declaration of conquest."

"I know. That was the concern."

The second was narrower, with silver worked subtly along the edges rather than across the front, elegant enough for formal wear without becoming decorative to the point of distraction.

Sebastian set it beside the first.

"And this."

The jeweler nodded.

"Both can be fitted precisely once Lord Fitzgeralt’s measurements stabilize after the transition."

Nero looked suspiciously dissatisfied by how efficiently Sebastian had completed the task.

"You were hoping this would take hours."

"I was hoping you would enjoy yourself."

"I am enjoying choosing two and leaving."

"You remain wonderfully optimistic."

Sebastian turned slowly.

"You already bought the others."

Nero became very interested in the rainwater sliding down the windows.

"Nero."

"Some are prototypes."

"And the rest?"

He looked back with absolutely no shame.

"Mine."

"You are not wearing them."

"I could."

Sebastian’s gaze dropped involuntarily toward Nero’s throat.

The prince noticed immediately.

His smile sharpened.

"Careful, my moon."

Sebastian looked away before he gave him any additional material.

The jeweler coughed into one hand.

Sebastian suspected it was laughter.

"Fine," Sebastian said, pointing toward the two collars. "Those. We are finished."

"No."

Sebastian closed his eyes briefly.

"Of course we aren’t."

When he opened them again, the jeweler had moved toward the smaller cases.

Sebastian watched him unlock the first.

Inside rested two rings.

He turned his head very slowly.

Nero looked unbearably satisfied.

"You said collars."

"I said the jeweler was coming."

"You deliberately omitted the rings."

"I preserved the surprise."

"You concealed evidence."

"That is a much uglier description."

Sebastian stared at him for another second before looking back at the case.

The rings were silver-white, simple except for a polished edge that caught the pale afternoon light.

"White gold?"

"Platinum," the jeweler said. "His Highness requested that all final wedding-ring options be platinum."

Sebastian’s attention shifted back to Nero.

"Why?"

Nero’s expression softened almost imperceptibly.

"It doesn’t require replating, it wears well, and it keeps its color. If we’re going to wear them every day, I wanted something that remains itself."

Sebastian paused.

That answer was irritatingly thoughtful.

Of course Nero had researched metals.

Probably extensively.

The jeweler opened another case, then another, each containing slightly different profiles: flat bands, rounded edges, subtle engravings, geometric lines, and varying widths.

Sebastian had intended to reject the entire exercise on principle.

Instead, he stayed.

He compared the rings against his hand, rejected one because the edges felt too sharp, another because the profile looked overly crafted, and a third because Nero kept turning it beneath the light without appearing remotely convinced.

"You don’t like that one," Sebastian said.

Nero glanced up.

"I could wear it."

"That wasn’t what I asked."

The prince studied him for a moment.

"No."

"Then put it back."

Something changed in Nero’s face.

Sebastian noticed immediately.

"You want me to like yours too," Nero said.

Sebastian frowned.

"Obviously. I’m not marrying your ring."

Nero’s smile appeared slowly.

Sebastian pointed at him.

"Do not make that into something sentimental."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You are thinking very loudly."

Nero laughed, and Sebastian had the uncomfortable realization that he liked the sound of it far too much.

They found the final pair near the end of the second tray.

Two platinum bands, simple at first glance but shaped with a subtle raised center that caught the light without making the design ornate; Nero’s was slightly broader Sebastian’s narrower, different enough to suit their hands while clearly belonging together.

Sebastian slid his on.

The weight surprised him, not heavy enough to be uncomfortable, but substantial enough that he became immediately aware of it around his finger.

Nero went quiet.

Sebastian looked up.

The prince was not watching the jeweler.

He was looking at Sebastian’s hand.

For once, there was no teasing expression waiting beneath the surface, no clever comment being prepared, only something warm and almost stunned in the way his violet eyes remained fixed on the platinum band.

Sebastian’s chest tightened unexpectedly.

"Try yours."

Nero did.

The ring settled around his finger as though it had been made for him already.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Sebastian looked between their hands.

The rings looked right.

That was the problem.

They did not look ceremonial or theatrical or like another piece of royal tradition Nero had dragged him into.

They simply looked as though they belonged there.

Nero turned his hand beneath the light.

"I like these."

Sebastian looked at his own ring again.

"So do I."

Nero’s eyes lifted immediately.

The smile that followed was so bright that Sebastian regretted sounding sincere in front of witnesses.

"You are practically glowing."

"I am experiencing joy. You should try supporting me."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, although he did not remove the ring.

Nero stepped closer and took his hand, turning it carefully until their fingers rested beside each other and both platinum bands caught the pale light from the windows.

The jeweler, displaying an admirable survival instinct, moved several steps away.

Nero’s thumb passed once over Sebastian’s knuckles.

"These?"

Sebastian could have delayed the answer purely to torment him.

Instead, he looked at the rings one more time and nodded.

"These."

Nero’s grip tightened around his hand.

Sebastian watched the satisfaction spread across his face and sighed.

"You look like you won something."

"I did."

"We chose the same rings."

"Exactly."

"That is not a victory."

Nero leaned down and kissed his temple, his white-blond hair brushing Sebastian’s cheek as he murmured against his skin.

"It is to me."