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Banryu sat on the bank, collapsed into a heap on the floor. His cheek and head pounded and a rivulet of blood continued to drop from his lip to his chin. His vision was grainy, blurred. He brought a shaking hand to his cheek and felt dampness. Tears. He was crying.
The acknowledgment of the tears ripped a strangled sob from his throat, hoarse and choking. He was pathetic.
-
Sooho walked along the riverbank, whistling slightly. The effects of the capture after the incident with Banryu had almost dissipated after the thrill of knowing he could join the ranks of the Hwarang.
He hadn’t even felt the need to antagonise Banryu all day, although the man seemed to be suspiciously absent. Momentarily, Sooho wondered if he really had refused to join the Hwarang, and any moment would receive the Queen’s punishment...but of course that was ridiculous.
Why was he worrying for Banryu? It wasn’t the first time, either. The irritating noble had been on his mind far too often. Every fight, every sneer left Sooho with what felt like a sinking heart, his mood dropping lower than the ground itself.
A sob drew his attention from his thoughts. The broken sounds of male crying drifted to him, and Sooho searched for the source.
A figure was hunched over by the bank. His shoulders shook violently and his hair was down, drifting with the wind. Sooho approached carefully.
“Excuse me?” He called gently.
The figure froze. It was then that Sooho’s brain caught up to his eyes and he realised who it was. Banryu.
“Banryu?” He asked, voice almost a whisper.
Banryu turned to look at him. Sooho’s heart ached.
Banryu looked devastated. His usually perfectly combed sleek hair was in disarray, falling over his face in a way that Sooho would silently admire any other time. Tears were falling down his face at an alarming pace. But that wasn’t the worst if it.
Banryu’s face...his lip was bleeding, his forehead was scraped and a purple bruise was blossoming on his cheekbone.
Sooho fell to his knees beside Banryu, eyes wide. “What happened?”
Banryu clenched his eyes shut and brought a hand to his mouth. “Why do you care?”
Sooho sank down the the ground properly, a hand reaching out to Banryu’s face before he even realised he was doing it. His hand met the smooth, marred skin of Banryu and they stopped still for a few moments.
“I - I just...are you okay?” Sooho stuttered. He dropped his hand.
Banryu laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Look at me, Sooho. Do I look alright?”
Sooho sighed. “No.” The wind began to blow a little stronger as the sky darkened and Banryu’s hair flew in his face and stuck to the drying blood.
“Allow me to at least get your hair out of your face?” Sooho asked before he thought about it.
Banryu didn’t respond but he didn’t shirk away from Sooho as he carefully moved to sit behind him. Sooho ran his fingers through Banryu’s hair and carefully pulled away the tangles. Banryu sighed and relaxed, his back coming to rest against Sooho’s chest. Sooho manoeuvred his legs to be either side of Banryu and began to section and braid his hair.
They sat in silence as Sooho pulled strips of hair over each other and away from Ban-ryu’s face. Sooho was halfway through the braid when Banryu spoke.
“It was my fathers.”
Sooho faltered slightly but made a hum of acknowledgement.
“After everything with the guards, and me refusing to become Hwarang...they weren’t pleased.”
“So they beat you?” Sooho asked quietly. He felt his eyes begin to tear up and stubbornly blinked them away. He heard Banryu choke up a little and made sure to scoot imperceptibly closer, to braid his hair a little gentler.
“When I returned, my father slapped me. Later, Young-shil beat him because of me.” He cut himself off with a sob but slapped a hand over his mouth. Sooho pretended not to notice.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he said as he tied the end of the braid with some twine.
Banryu shook his head. “I should have know that letter wasn’t from you. I should’ve know the handwriting wasn’t yours.” He turned around in Sooho’s loose embrace, a barely masked fearful expression present. “Did - did I cause you to get punished?” His eyes scanned Sooho’s face for any injuries.
“No,” Sooho said. “What your fathers do...that’s not normal. They shouldn’t hurt you!”
Banryu smiled and Sooho felt his breath catch. His smile transformed his entire face until even the injuries seemed to melt away. “I don’t hate you, you know.”
Sooho blinked.
“I’m just scared to let you close in case - in case they hurt you too.” Banryu turned around so that his body was entirely facing Sooho. “I couldn’t live with myself,” he whispered.
Sooho’s arms twitched to pull Banryu closer but he resisted. He looked a way that Sooho had never been him in all the years they’d know each other. He’d never known...he’d never realised...
“I don’t hate you, either,” Sooho whispered. “If you don’t join Hwarang...I’ll miss you.” He sighed at the admission.
“I don’t want to be a puppy dog to the Queen,” Banryu snarled. “But...it might be a chance to get away for a little while.”
Sooho tucked a stray hair of Banryu’s behind his ear and Banryu tucked his head bashfully. It was at that moment that Sooho realised just how deeply he cared for the man in front of him.
The night was almost pitch black and Sooho shivered in the frozen breeze. “Do you want to come home with me?” He asked Banryu.
“Are you sure?” Banryu asked, finally attempting to scrape his dignity back together. He didn’t want to go back. After the gentle and tender care of Sooho he couldn’t cope with immediate violence.
“Yes,” Sooho replied. He hauled himself up and offered out a hand to Banryu, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled up.
-
Banryu let out a breath as he and Sooho made it to his room with no interruptions. He leaned his head against the door, wincing in pain as the headache began to pound behind his eyes again. He felt an ache at side side and brought a hand up, realising too late that he would alert Sooho to his pain.
“Banryu?” Sooho asked. He came to sand beside him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I have clothes you can borrow.”
Banryu nodded and began to untie his robes, staying turned to maintain his modesty and grabbing the offered night robes with a gentle thank you.
When he turned, Sooho was climbing into bed, the other side vacant.
“It’s not ideal,” Sooho had said on their way there. “But I can’t put you in a guest room without someone seeing us.”
Banryu climbed beside him and attempted to face away, into the room, but his side screamed in denial. He must have let out a hiss of pain because Sooho rose slightly.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
Banryu nodded and turned to face Suho, sending him a small smile before closing his eyes and attempting to sleep.
-
Banryu awoke naturally. He blinked against the harsh light and attempted to sit up, only to find his way blocked by an arm. He was sleeping on Sooho’s chest, Sooho’s arm flung over him protectively. He was still sleeping and Banryu took a moment to study his face.
He was pretty. Objectively, he knew that already, and yet as he studied him in the glow of the morning sun, he suddenly understood what made girls throw themselves at Sooho’s feet.
Banryu sighed deeply. Sooho’s scent - something sweet and musky - surrounded him and the clothes he wore. His headache had gone and it was just his cheek and side that ached. He ran his tongue over his lip and hissed slightly, but he could taste no blood.
Sooho shifted beneath him and his eyes blinked open. Banryu made no effort to move from his embrace and waited to see what Sooho would say.
“God morning,” he said.
Banryu blinked. “Good morning.”
Sooho pushed himself up so that he was sitting and pulled Banryu with him so that he was still flush against his chest. “How are your injuries?”
“They’re fine.”
Sooho pursed his lips for a second. “May I see?”
Banryu clicked his tongue but nodded. “You wish to see my side?”
Sooho nodded.
Banryu sat up and carefully pulled the top half of his sleep robes down, avoiding eye contact with Sooho.
At any other moment Sooho would take the change to state at a shirtless Banryu, maybe compare himself to him, but his eyes were drawn to a mass of purple and blue. Banryu’s side looked like someone had beaten him rather thoroughly. He reached out and trailed his fingers over it, careful not to apply any pressure.
“You deserve better than this,” Sooho barely whispered.
Banryu’s face was blank but he didn’t flinch away, and instead allowed Sooho to trail his fingers across his skin.
“I’m going to join Hwarang.”
The statement seemingly came out of nowhere and Sooho looked up at Banryu.
“You are?”
Banryu nodded. “Perhaps we will be roommates.”
“Perhaps we will.”
Sooho and Banryu sat together until Sooho eventually nudged himself into Banryu and attempted to look innocent. Banryu tolled his eyes but slipped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him in.
He’d always had murky feelings for Sooho: always wanting to be around him, constantly challenging him. The way he sneered at the girls who threw themselves to his feet just for a chance to sleep with him. But now...he’d realised what it was. And he was absolutely done for.
Banryu has been in love with Sooho for some time, and he’d only just noticed it.
Fortunately for him, Sooho had come to a similar realisation.