The bass thrummed through Cassian’s fingers, a quiet defiance against the crown waiting 3000 miles away. Behind him, Chase’s drums stayed steady—his best friend holding the beat while the rest of the band unraveled. Jayce paced around in the suite like a caged animal, and Calix’s absence hung like a missing note—subtle, but throwing everything off.

"I still can't believe that bastard ditched us for a fucking destination wedding," Chase muttered, twirling his drumsticks with the kind of aggression usually reserved for paparazzi. "One week before the engagement ceremony announcement, and he's off playing plus-one to our manager."

"So much for 'I hate her' and 'she's ruining our creative vision,'" Jayce snorted, collapsing onto the leather couch with his guitar. "Remember when he said she had the artistic sensibility of a TikTok algorithm? Now he's probably slow-dancing to some old school Taylor Swift song at her sister's wedding."

Cassian couldn't help but grin. Calix's sudden personality transplant regarding their manager had been entertaining as hell to watch—like witnessing someone fall face-first into feelings while insisting they just tripped. "Ten bucks says he comes back wearing her jacket and acting like it was her idea."

"Nah, dude's gonna come back with some profound revelation about 'human connection transcending professional boundaries' or some other pretentious shit," Jayce said, picking out a riff that sounded suspiciously like early Arctic Monkeys. "But yeah, he's definitely stealing her hoodies."

The casual banter felt wrong somehow, like they were all performing normalcy while ignoring the elephant in the room. Which was, of course, Cassian's impending engagement ceremony and the fact that in forty-eight hours he'd be stepping foot in a kingdom he'd never visited — to marry a princess he'd been promised to since before he could properly hold a crayon.

"Guys," he said suddenly, his fingers stumbling over the bass line. "I'm fucked."

Both his bandmates looked at him like he'd just announced his intention to go solo. Cassian admitting vulnerability was about as common as Jayce showing up to interviews sober.

"Oh shit," Chase breathed, setting down his sticks entirely. "Princess stuff?"

Cassian rolled his eyes. "Her name is important. You've met her, like, a dozen times."

"Right, sorry. This is about her," Chase corrected with exaggerated solemnity. "What's the crisis? Second thoughts about the whole medieval arranged marriage thing?"

Before Cassian could answer, Jayce suddenly sat up straighter. "Speaking of relationship crises—I'm seeing someone."

Both Cassian and Chase stared at him. Jayce talking about relationships beyond his usual 'fuck and ghost' routine was like spotting a unicorn doing cocaine—outlandish, concerning, and probably not going to end well.

"Define seeing," Chase said carefully. "Are we talking about that thing where you obsess over someone for three weeks, write songs about them, then disappear when they start expecting basic human communication?"

"It's different this time," Jayce insisted, and there was something raw in his voice that made them both pay attention. "Like, genuinely different. I want to tell them I love them, but every time I try, I just... freeze up. What if they think I'm just playing games? What if this whole thing is just me projecting because I'm sober for the first time in years?"

The vulnerability in Jayce's admission hit Cassian right in the chest. Here was a guy who could charm his way into anyone's bed with three guitar chords and a smirk, getting tongue-tied over three fucking words.

"Okay, real talk?" Chase leaned forward, suddenly serious. "Love is absolutely terrifying. Like, genuinely nightmare-inducing shit. You're basically handing someone a loaded gun and asking them not to pull the trigger."

"Christ, Chase, way to sell it." Cassian muttered.

"I'm not done," Chase continued, running a hand through his hair. "But not saying it? That's worse... at least you get an answer rather than spending your life wondering about what-ifs." He trailed off, looking genuinely pained. "It doesn't always end well of course, I told someone I loved them in high school. They completely ghosted me. Just vanished. I thought they hated me."

Cassian's fingers stopped moving entirely. This was new information.

"Turns out that wasn't the case thankfully," Chase continued. "We hooked up after a concert, and I was so fucked up on adrenaline and feelings that I forgot to make them sign an NDA first. Rookie mistake of epic proportions."

"You didn't get an NDA?" Cassian was genuinely shocked. "Dude, that's like rule numero uno of being famous."

"I know, I know. I was drunk and stupid and years of built-up feelings just exploded everywhere," Chase admitted, but he was smiling now. "But we talked it out, and now we're... we're actually together. Like, properly together. And I told them I loved them, this time... they said it back, and the world didn't implode."

"Look at you, living your 2000s rom-com life," Jayce said with a grin that was only slightly envious. "Next you'll be making them burned CDs with badly drawn cover art."

"It's called a collaborative Spotify playlist now, grandpa, and maybe we have one," Chase shot back, but his expression had gone soft in a way that made Cassian feel both happy for his friend and uncomfortable about his own situation. "Point is, sometimes the scary shit is worth it, you know?"

The video call connected with pristine clarity, revealing Queen Isabella’s composed visage and Celestia’s barely restrained excitement in the morning room of the palace. Cassian instinctively straightened, his posture slipping into the regal bearing instilled in him since childhood.

“Mother. Celestia,” he said, his voice adopting the crisp, aristocratic cadence of court. “I hope you are both in good health.”

“Darling,” the Queen said, her smile warm yet laced with concern. “You appear fatigued. Have you been resting as instructed?”

“Of course, Mother. The tour has been... illuminating.”

Celestia let out a scandalous snort. “Illuminating? Your latest interview compelled Father to double his blood pressure medication. Something about monarchy being ‘an antiquated institution sustained by those who fear democratic progress’?”

Cassian had the decency to look chastened. “In hindsight, my phrasing may have been unnecessarily... incendiary.”

“Indeed,” Queen Isabella replied dryly. “Now—regarding your departure to her kingdom. The final arrangements have been made. You shall depart tomorrow evening. I have appointed cultural advisors to accompany you, along with ceremonial offerings deemed appropriate for the occasion—”

"Mother," he interrupted gently, then caught himself. "Apologies. Please go on."

“You are apprehensive,” Celestia observed, leaning into the frame. “Is it because of the ceremony, or the prospect of seeing her again?”

Both, he thought. But saying so would mean acknowledging how the idea of her in her element—poised, sovereign—made him feel like the awkward sixteen-year-old who'd floundered through every diplomatic lesson their father enforced.

“I am unfamiliar with their customs,” he said carefully. “I would rather not cause offense through ignorance.”

“This is not a diplomatic assignment,” the Queen said, her voice softening. "It’s your engagement. She knows you. She won’t expect anything but who you are."

That was the problem. He wasn’t sure who that was anymore.

Twenty-four hours later, Cassian found himself stepping off a private jet onto foreign tarmac, immediately struck by how different everything felt.

By the time he was escorted to the private chambers where she waited, Cassian's carefully maintained composure had begun to crack. She stood by the window, silhouetted against the foreign skyline, and when she turned to face him, he was struck by how perfect she looked.

"So," he said, settling into the familiar rhythm of their conversations, the formal diplomatic mask sliding away to reveal something more genuine underneath. "Here we are. Finally doing what everyone's expected us to do since we were kids."

He moved to the window, standing close enough to catch the scent of her perfume. "You know, the fucked up thing is that I've spent so many years hating this whole arrangement—hating that my father decided my future before I could even walk, hating that every choice in my life has been made for me—that I automatically rebel against anything he wants. That's why I joined The Brats, you know? I thought I'd be absolute shit at music, cause some Hollywood scandals, prove once and for all that I'm completely unsuitable for royal responsibilities. Then maybe he'd finally give up on me and let Celestia take the crown."

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Except I turned out to be good at it. Really fucking good. And now I can't even properly self-destruct because Chase needs me to keep the band from imploding, and Jayce and Calix already provide enough chaos for three lifetimes. So I'm stuck being responsible, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid."

Cassian turned to face her fully, running a hand through his hair.

"And the same thing's happening with you. I've been told my entire life that I'd marry you someday, and I've hated that for so long that it became automatic. Hating the arrangement, hating what it represents, hating that someone else chose my future..." He paused, meeting her eyes with an expression that was equal parts frustrated and vulnerable. "But I've never been able to hate you. And that pisses me off more than anything else, because it would be so much easier if I could."