King and Country by tabulaxrasa (Explicit)

[turlough]

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Frank/Gerard, Mikey/Alicia
Length: 51,390 words + 4,440 words in coda
Author on LJ & DW: tabula_x_rasa & tabula_x_rasa
Author on AO3: tabulaxrasa

Why this must be read: Today, they'd woken up and Gerard was King of Illyria. Frank hasn't really been a stable boy since he ended up in the archduke's bed, but now Gerard's exile is over and he's king. Frank has to survive court, politics, and scheming nobles to figure out exactly what he is now.

This is a wonderful story. It's warm and happymaking without being saccarine or cutesy in any way. It's an excellent historical AUs with just enough historical detail to anchor it in time and place, but not so much that it gets bogged down by it. The story itself is refreshingly new, starting as it does where the usual historical AU ends. And I love how Frank and Gerard are written as grownups and how right Gerard's awareness of social issues is for the period.

Excerpt from the story:

"This way, Mr. Iero." Frank followed a man closer to his own age with a shaved head. He was wearing a suit like a butler, not a footman. "Nice dog."

"Thanks." Frank felt numb, and like if he stopped being numb he might start panicking. They didn't talk until Mr. Pedicone stopped before a set of doors, at least three hallways later. Frank was hopelessly lost.

"These are usually guest apartments for very high-ranking visitors," Mr. Pedicone explained. "We'd figured they'd do until the royal apartments are redecorated."

He opened the door and let Frank walk in first. "This is the salon," Pedicone said. He walked across the room and opened more doors, Frank belatedly following to stick his head through.

"This is the office, there's a closet here, and this is the bedroom." They both went in and Mr. Pedicone pointed out the dressing room. Frank put the puppy down and let her sniff around, keeping a close eye on her to make sure she didn't do something embarrassing.

"Shall we go find you a room now?" Pedicone asked.

"What?"

"A room in the servant's wing? You are the valet, aren't you?"

Frank felt his cheeks growing warm and cursed himself. "I'm not a valet," he said quietly.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry, sir. I -" Pedicone seemed even more confused than Frank. "I thought you were the valet. Obviously. Um. What are you?"

'What are you?' Frank had never had to answer that before. He didn't know what to say. Sweet Pea rescued him by starting to crawl under the bed. He ran across and pulled her out.

"Sorry, sir," Pedicone tried again, "But are you upstairs or downstairs?"

"I'm not a servant," Frank said finally.

Now Pedicone looked extremely embarrassed. "I've very sorry for the mistake, sir. No, of course, I can see that now."

He meant the clothes, Frank realized. A valet wouldn't dress like this, that was true.

"I hope I haven't offended you, sir."

"No," Frank said. "No, that's fine. Don't worry."

Pedicone smiled at him hopefully. "So, shall we get you a room then, sir? Not with the servants, obviously, but in a nearby room?"

And now it was awkward again. "No, that's all right," Frank said.

"Well, sir -" Pedicone shifted his weight around uncertainly, then seemed resolved to press ahead - "Where do you normally sleep, sir?"

Frank couldn't stop himself glancing at the bed. "Here," he admitted.

Pedicone frowned. "Do you mean in an attached room? These apartments don't come equipped with that, but we could move to -"

"No, that's all right. Look," Frank sounded desperate even to himself, "I'll sort myself out, all right? Don't worry about it."

Pedicone frowned. "If you're quite sure, sir...?"

"I am. Let's just move on. Ah, did you have other questions?"

"If you insist, sir. Who is the king's valet, then?"

Once Frank explained Gerard didn't have one, Pedicone said he'd been told to act as valet until the king appointed his own, if necessary.

"That's fine," Frank said. He was thinking, belatedly, that he should have let Pedicone give him his own room. It would have been much less suspicious, and as long as it was nearby, he could find Gerard. But he'd been panicking, rattled by the conversation with Szerlim and still thinking of Ray's warning not to let the count separate Frank from Gerard.

Pedicone wanted to know about Gerard's habits, and at least Frank was on solid footing there. He warned Pedicone that Gerard tended to stay up very late and sleep correspondingly late in the morning; that he would very often find charcoal stains on Gerard's cuffs; he even knew how warm Gerard liked his baths, on the occasions he could be persuaded to take them. He could tell Pedicone how Gerard liked his coffee and what to bring for breakfast, and that he should wait "until w- until His Majesty rings for it in the morning."

The valises showed up at some point, so that was nice. Frank let Pedicone unpack Gerard's. Frank knew, logically, that if Pedicone was Gerard's valet, for however short a time, he would figure out what Frank was, so he wasn't sure why he was trying to hide anything. The thing was, Frank had never said it out loud. Not to someone he didn't know, someone who didn't already know.

King and Country (on AO3) or here (on DW) - don't miss the coda, The Babble Machine (on AO3) or here (on DW)