He’s beautiful now too, towering above Junhui with his lips pursed. He hasn’t finished Junhui off yet, even though he’s had plenty of time to. It gives Junhui longer to look at him, at his practised grip of the sword, at his lean arm stretched out ready for the kill.
“Junhui. You haven’t answered me. Why does it matter who started it?”
Junhui looks him square in the eye, trying to seem braver than he is. “It doesn’t, not particularly. What matters is now. This meant something to you, right? I meant something to you, didn’t I?”
Minghao’s grip on the sword is steady, but he looks away from Junhui for the briefest of seconds.
That’s the only answer Junhui needs. Because the truth is, he feels the same. He had Minghao totally defenceless a few minutes ago, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Somehow he knew that Minghao was different, that he was worth more than that.
“Well,” Junhui continues, voice steady, “let me offer a compromise.”
“Compromise? You nearly killed me, and now I could kill you any second. What makes you think you can bargain with me?”
“You haven’t killed me yet, have you? You could have. If you think my offer too poor, you could just, well, finish the job.”
“Oh, Junhui. You think I need your permission to kill you?”
“You don’t seem able to do it otherwise. Hear my offer. You know that Renjun wants you gone, so I could help you. I’m the closest you have to a double agent. I could help you, I could keep you out of harm’s way.”
“And what do you get return?”
“Refuge. Protection from Renjun’s agents. And-”
Junhui breaks off. He can’t finish with what he really wants from Minghao.
“And?”
“That’s all. We can look out for each other, hunt for one another. Doesn’t that sound fair?”
Minghao bites his lip.
“And,” Junhui carries on, “if you want, I can prove myself to you, just to show that I am sincere in my offer. Give me a few days and I will do it.”
“You’re that willing to switch allegiances? Why?”
“I have my reasons for my offer, just like you have your reasons for accepting it.”
Minghao raises his eyebrow. “Who says I accept?”
“Well,” Junhui replies, “you haven’t killed me yet.”
***
It has been two days since Junhui and Minghao made their compromise. Now, Minghao is staring at the dripping body Junhui has dragged into the courtyard, and the trail of blood behind them.
“This,” Junhui pants, “is me proving myself to you.”
Minghao blinks. “Who is this?”
“Look at the letter in his robe pocket.”
Minghao fishes out the letter. Mercifully, it isn’t stained with blood, so he can read what it says. Junhui watches as Minghao’s eyes travel across the page.
“A contact from Renjun’s kingdom… and you’ve killed him.”
Junhui nods. “Hopefully nobody will miss him for a few days. If anyone asks me, I can write back saying I haven’t seen him, and that he must have been caught out by one of your guards.”
“Junhui… you did this for me? Now you’re in even more danger-”
“Which is where your part of the deal comes in. You need to protect me, the way I have protected you.”
Minghao nods, not taking his eyes off the body. Junhui can feel some of the blood drying on his hands. It’s worth it, though. Any amount of blood is worth it. If it keeps Minghao looking like this, safe and handsome and his, Junhui will do it a thousand times over.
“So, you accept? You acknowledge that I have proven myself to you?”
“When you stated your conditions, you said you wanted refuge, protection, and something else. What was the third thing? What else did you want?”
Minghao is still looking at the body. Junhui can’t have that. He walks over to Minghao, tipping his chin up. Minghao’s eyes are soft, sunlight on a river, and that’s all Junhui needs. He cups Minghao’s cheek and kisses him, tender and short.
“I think you know what I want.”
Minghao says nothing. He just smiles, not caring about the bloodstain on his cheek.
[FILL] a bleeding, loyal heart
He’s beautiful now too, towering above Junhui with his lips pursed. He hasn’t finished Junhui off yet, even though he’s had plenty of time to. It gives Junhui longer to look at him, at his practised grip of the sword, at his lean arm stretched out ready for the kill.
“Junhui. You haven’t answered me. Why does it matter who started it?”
Junhui looks him square in the eye, trying to seem braver than he is. “It doesn’t, not particularly. What matters is now. This meant something to you, right? I meant something to you, didn’t I?”
Minghao’s grip on the sword is steady, but he looks away from Junhui for the briefest of seconds.
That’s the only answer Junhui needs. Because the truth is, he feels the same. He had Minghao totally defenceless a few minutes ago, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Somehow he knew that Minghao was different, that he was worth more than that.
“Well,” Junhui continues, voice steady, “let me offer a compromise.”
“Compromise? You nearly killed me, and now I could kill you any second. What makes you think you can bargain with me?”
“You haven’t killed me yet, have you? You could have. If you think my offer too poor, you could just, well, finish the job.”
“Oh, Junhui. You think I need your permission to kill you?”
“You don’t seem able to do it otherwise. Hear my offer. You know that Renjun wants you gone, so I could help you. I’m the closest you have to a double agent. I could help you, I could keep you out of harm’s way.”
“And what do you get return?”
“Refuge. Protection from Renjun’s agents. And-”
Junhui breaks off. He can’t finish with what he really wants from Minghao.
“And?”
“That’s all. We can look out for each other, hunt for one another. Doesn’t that sound fair?”
Minghao bites his lip.
“And,” Junhui carries on, “if you want, I can prove myself to you, just to show that I am sincere in my offer. Give me a few days and I will do it.”
“You’re that willing to switch allegiances? Why?”
“I have my reasons for my offer, just like you have your reasons for accepting it.”
Minghao raises his eyebrow. “Who says I accept?”
“Well,” Junhui replies, “you haven’t killed me yet.”
***
It has been two days since Junhui and Minghao made their compromise. Now, Minghao is staring at the dripping body Junhui has dragged into the courtyard, and the trail of blood behind them.
“This,” Junhui pants, “is me proving myself to you.”
Minghao blinks. “Who is this?”
“Look at the letter in his robe pocket.”
Minghao fishes out the letter. Mercifully, it isn’t stained with blood, so he can read what it says. Junhui watches as Minghao’s eyes travel across the page.
“A contact from Renjun’s kingdom… and you’ve killed him.”
Junhui nods. “Hopefully nobody will miss him for a few days. If anyone asks me, I can write back saying I haven’t seen him, and that he must have been caught out by one of your guards.”
“Junhui… you did this for me? Now you’re in even more danger-”
“Which is where your part of the deal comes in. You need to protect me, the way I have protected you.”
Minghao nods, not taking his eyes off the body. Junhui can feel some of the blood drying on his hands. It’s worth it, though. Any amount of blood is worth it. If it keeps Minghao looking like this, safe and handsome and his, Junhui will do it a thousand times over.
“So, you accept? You acknowledge that I have proven myself to you?”
“When you stated your conditions, you said you wanted refuge, protection, and something else. What was the third thing? What else did you want?”
Minghao is still looking at the body. Junhui can’t have that. He walks over to Minghao, tipping his chin up. Minghao’s eyes are soft, sunlight on a river, and that’s all Junhui needs. He cups Minghao’s cheek and kisses him, tender and short.
“I think you know what I want.”
Minghao says nothing. He just smiles, not caring about the bloodstain on his cheek.