The next morning, Jonghyun woke up in an empty tent, with no sign of Jinki. In fact, there was nothing to say that Jinki had even spent the night there. Wondering if everything that has happened was a dream, Jonghyun sat up to the sound of metal clashing together. Clambering to his feet, he quickly put on his tunic before searching for his armour, as a man possessed. With the war happening right outside, he cursed himself for thinking for a moment that Jinki had simply left in order to clear his head. What he wasn’t prepared for, was the scene that hit his eyes the second he stepped outside. Even the grass had flecks of red, and there seemed to be a river of blood on the battlefield. With his heart beating in his throat, Jonghyun rushed towards his army only to find that they had won. During the time he’d spent in solitude due to his injury, Jinki had led the army to victory. Now that the enemy’s commander in chief had been slain, his army had surrendered, and it was due to the tireless effort of their strongest warriors, the gladiators. This time, he was fairly sure that their Emperor would listen to him, and give the warriors what they wanted and undoubtedly deserved.

As they marched back triumphantly, all the warriors were given a warm welcome by the civilians until they reached their respective quarters. Jinki couldn’t help but smile as he thought of what had happened between Jonghyun and himself. Though it was unexpected, it brought out all their emotions. He felt like a broken tap with the way all of his feelings were just spurting right out. He had never felt so light before and began to wonder if staying in the same country would be so bad. It would give him an opportunity to be with Jonghyun. Although his mind was filled with questions, he knew that his loyalty was to his team. It was quite obvious that he couldn’t publicly declare his feelings for the great army commander, as the difference between them was like a prince and a stable boy. The very idea of them going public seemed preposterous, and honestly, one night of passion wasn’t the same as a relationship. All he could do was to wait for a signal from Jonghyun, to see if he wanted to take things further.

Not wanting to let Jinki down yet again, Jonghyun had already requested an audience with the Emperor. Feeling his heart beat faster with nerves as he walked into the court, Jonghyun felt their eyes solely on him, especially after their recent victory. All of the courtiers seemed to be proud of the army, and hoping the emperor was feeling magnanimous, Jonghyun cleared his throat to ask for what he wanted.

“Jonghyun, you have outdone yourself. Ask for any reward, and it shall be granted”

This was the moment he’d been waiting for. The moment of truth, as one would say, but why was his heart beating so quickly?

“Come on, my warrior. Do you want a bigger house? More servants? Tell me”

“Sire, I want to be given permission to leave”

“Leave?”

He could see the veins starting to pop out of the Emperor’s neck, and knew that he had made a terrible mistake.

“Sire, I wish for the gladiators to be freed, and I wish to go with them”

“Blasphemy! Get out of my sight before I throw you in the dungeon for even thinking of it”

Though he’d taken a risk, this helped Jonghyun figure out his next move. If he continued to stay where he was, he’d never be able to truly live life the way he wanted. He’d never be free to do anything he wanted. There was only one way out of all this, something he’d never wanted to risk, ever. While it was easy to put his own life at risk, how could he even think of dragging Jinki into it? The fact that the thought had even entered his head, would cause them both a lot of repercussions, but would they be able to handle them all? As he continued to wander around the courtyard, deep in thought, Jonghyun suddenly felt someone’s hand on his shoulder.

“Jonghyun? I’ve been calling you all this while”

“Forgive me, Jinki. I wasn’t concentrating”

Looking into Jinki’s kind eyes, Jonghyun couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret, at what he was about to say.

“Jinki, we won’t be able to stay together at all. I tried to speak to the Emperor about all of us leaving, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I’m sorry I failed you”

Jinki touched Jonghyun’s soft hair as he listened to what he said. Now that all of the confusion and conflicting feelings had been cleared, he was able to openly spend some time with him. The other gladiators had somehow predicted the outcome of the endless arguments, and now always spent their time teasing him. Though it had taken some time, Jonghyun had slowly been accepted as one of their family. It was comforting to note that Jonghyun had cared enough to try and speak on their behalf, even though nothing had worked, just as always. What he could never allow his men to do, was revolt against the monarchy that controlled them all, as this would impact innocent citizens. Until they were all able to retire, he and Jonghyun would have to play the cat and mouse game in front of the soldiers and Emperor. It was stupid of him to ever assume otherwise, but one of the first thoughts in his mind was if the two of them would be able to hide whatever their relationship was. He did know that one night of unbridled passion didn’t equate to love, but all the tension between them had been explained to him in a way that he could understand. Holding Jonghyun close to him, so close that he could feel his heart racing against his chest, Jinki signed, losing himself to his emotions, once again.

“You did your best, and it’s good enough. Don’t beat yourself up over something like this”

“There’s something I need to speak to you about, Jinki. We can’t even think of being together if we continue to live here”

“It’s alright, my Jonghyun. I know how important your life here is to you. I won’t interfere with your duties”

Stopping in his tracks, Jonghyun realized what Jinki had just called him. My Jonghyun. Feeling a sense of warmth flow through his body like melted chocolate, he forced himself to concentrate on the other things the man in front of him had said. Was he really offering to let go of what they could possibly have, just so that his own life wouldn’t get impacted negatively. He must have done a lot of good in his childhood to even get the chance to meet someone as selfless and caring as Jinki.

“You’re wrong, what we have is more important to me”

“I can’t risk all that you’ve worked for, Jonghyun”

“I can’t stay here any longer. Everything I’ve ever done has been in vain, and I just found out. As long as I behave the way certain people want, I’m heralded as a hero. If not, I’m treated worse than a criminal”

The same thought came right back into his mind, with more fervour than the last time, but could he really ask Jinki to make this choice?

“You’re off to space again, Jonghyun. What are you thinking of?”

“I want to leave, I can’t stay here any longer, but I’m afraid, Jinki. I’m afraid to lose you”

“Let’s leave together, and go somewhere where we’d be safe. I know for a fact that we’d have a lot of people to join us so we would have to think of a way that would get everyone out, safely”

“I’m so glad you think the same as me because this is what has been in my mind for days. How to leave without getting caught”

Now that they had something to think about, it was time to put their intellect and ideas to the test. Being the strongest, they had to be the last ones to leave. After spending hours just perfecting their plan, the two heroes were finally hit by a brainwave. The children were never noticed or minded whilst they played, so this would be the easiest way to get them to safety. Their mothers could follow them, and the men could leave at the dead of night, followed by Jonghyun and himself. It was the simplest way, but was still risky, since they could afford for anyone to get caught. Jonghyun made sure that the army was kept busy in training, while his plan was set in motion. By the end of the day, only he and Jinki were still there. All the gladiators had taken their weapons with them, just in case, and so Jonghyun carried his two swords as well. Although they had expected some clashes, nothing happened and Jonghyun and Jinki set off to join the others, guided by the light of the silvery moon.

Come daybreak, it was noticed that Jonghyun and the gladiators were all missing, which promoted a frenzied searching within the grounds. The Emperor was furious and immediately ordered his troops to go in search of them all, and most importantly, bring back Jonghyun and Jinki who were worth the most. There was no way to know where they had gone, and so he had his troops search in every direction, with a reward of a thousand gold pieces each, for his army commander and the best gladiator they had ever had. It was absolutely impossible to even dream of managing to run a kingdom without his best men. If only he hadn’t been so hasty as to not even bother considering the very reasonable request of Jonghyun’s. As usual, he only got his sense when it was too late.

Jonghyun had arranged for accommodation for the gladiators and families through people he knew, as most of them hailed from the nearby countries. They would be safe once they returned to their respective hometowns, and that was when they would all finally attain the freedom they needed. As expected, he received the news of a reward being placed on him and Jinki, which meant that they had to work a lot faster. Unused to running from conflicts, neither of the lovers was against standing and fighting for their rights. Trailing behind the others deliberately, Jonghyun and Jinki stood by the pass that the Emperor’s army would have to cross. By sundown, the sounds of approaching horses intensified.

“Are you ready for this, Jonghyun?”

“More than ever”

Clad in civilian clothes, with two swords each, the army was met with a rather terrifying sight. Expecting the ‘wanted’ men to be hiding or cowering, none of them had ever imagined that their targets would be in fact, waiting for them with their swords outstretched. Clearing his throat nervously, the high ranking soldier stepped forward bravely,

“Ares, Jonghyun, we have been asked to you back to the palace”

“What if we don’t want to come?”

“Then you will die at our hands”

“Thirty against two. Jinki, what do you think?”

“I like the odds”

Nodding at each other with a smile, Jonghyun and Jinki rushed towards the army, creating havoc with ease. Their confidence itself was enough to create confusion and panic within the soldiers who had been personally trained by Jonghyun. Although he had taught them well, he hadn’t taught them everything he knew. With a few tricks up his own sleeve, Jonghyun sneakily disarmed the men near him, while Jinki fought with great aggression. Many of the soldiers were already intimidated by Jinki, and turned tail and fled before they could be struck down.

Jinki fought with anger, for all the times the soldiers had treated him badly, and managed to injure them all. Both of his swords had tasted blood, but he hadn’t made a single kill. The soldiers kneeled before them with difficulty, struggling to speak.

“Please...spare us”

“Tell your Emperor not to try and find us, or he will seriously regret it”

Watching the retreating backs of the soldiers they had easily defeated, Jinki and Jonghyun made their way to the others.

“You are all free now”

*Five years later*

“Isn’t it surprising the way life has changed?”

“Whatever it is Jonghyun, we are together and that’s what matters”

They’d managed to make their way to Jinki’s hometown, and surprisingly enough, Jonghyun had been accepted by everyone there. He and Jinki had got married and spent every moment together. They even worked side by side, training the men to become warriors. The Emperor had learned his lesson and had stopped bothering them. Somehow, he’d had a change of heart and had declared all the gladiators free, including Jinki and Jonghyun. As the couple sat together and watched the sunset, creating beautiful shades of orange, pink and purple in the sky, they shared a soft kiss.

“I love you Jinki”

“I love you, too”

Not stirring even once as the night befell them, the husbands simply watched the sky, as a star shot through the dark abyss above them. Closing their eyes and making a wish, unbeknownst to them both, they made the same wish.

“I wish we always stay together and in love”