"Duck, idiot!"

Almost on instinct, Sungjong obeys, and immediately, a spear flies over his head. The weapon finds its target - the hulking orc fighting against Sungjong - with a sickening squelch, and Sungjong runs. He dashes away from the orc as fast as he can, hearing the familiar agonized roars of the beast behind him.

"Thanks, sweetheart!" he yells over the din of weapons clashing. An elf, snarling, swings her sword at Sungjong's head, and he quickly brings his attention back to the problem at hand. Right, we're in a battle, I'm trying not to die.

The elf proves to be a highly-seasoned warrior, intelligent and experienced. It takes all of Sungjong's focus in order to keep up, which - admittedly - he hadn't had to do in a long, long time.

"I admire you," he tells the elf, deftly parrying what would have been a deadly blow. "I haven't met such a worthy opponent since five years ago."

The elf grits her teeth - her strength is declining - and lunges. "I will flay you," she growls, voice low with cold rage. "I will impale you, hang you, quarter you--"

She never finishes her sentence. Sungjong watches, coldly, as the light fades out of her eyes, as the realization of the sword through her chest strikes her, as she falls limp, angry tears b in her eyes.

C'est la vie, c'est la mort.

***

"Heard you got into a situation."

He shakes his head quickly, dismissing the statement, and swallows his last bite of biscuit. "Just an elf, nothing big."

Jineul crinkles his nose and throws himself down on the ground beside him. "Jjongie, I worry about you sometimes." He chomps down on his own biscuit and immediately spews it out, a ridiculous expression contorting his face. "What the ?" he fairly screams, leaping to his feet. The rest of the biscuit rolls to the ground, soaking up mud, and Sungjong rolls his eyes.

"Yes, Jineul." He hands the raging boy a skin of water. "It's a biscuit, that's why it's dry."

But the boy will not be consoled. Sungjong watches him shriek about the biscuit, and then about the muddy ground, and then about the battle, about the chaos, and then about how he didn't have anyone to watch his back. In the midst of all this, Sungjong realizes that all the boy really wants - really, what he needs - is love.

It's the small things, for Jineul, Sungjong realizes. The way he sidles up to him, sliding his hand into his. The way he throws his legs over him, when they're sitting anywhere. The way he runs his hand along his thigh, absentmindedly as they listen to the general. The way he looks at him when he talks, eyes all wide and bright.

For Jineul, Sungjong realizes, as he pulls the boy into a hug, it's the details.

huhuhu min i'm sorry this was ty but i owe you this and it's been like months and i'm lowkey sad today so you get this :"33