Titus and Kyo meet again! WHO: Titus and Kyo WHEN: The past WHERE: Training Arena SUMMARY: Titus and Kyo trade insults CW: None
Kyo had to work extra hard to keep up his taciturn aura. People would notice and talk if he suddenly appeared happy. He had to conceal the slight bounce in his step and make sure he smirked and not smiled. If people knew what he and Gaius did… no doubt it would be a scandal. And Gaius would get the biggest blowback. Kyo was the Chosen of Fire, heir to the Guren Empire. He would be fine… ish. Gaius had to remain chaste.
But still. What is tradition? Would the system collapse if Gaius and Kyo had a relationship?
Those were heavy questions that threatened to ruin Kyo’s good mood. And on top of just his usual daily katas and other training exercises, he wanted to work out those concerns. Why couldn’t he just be happy and throw caution to the wind? Even just once?
He practiced swordplay with a practice dummy. Sweat ran down his face as he focused on the task in front of him. But despite overthinking – nothing could ruin his good mood.
Titus frowned as soon as he entered the training hall and spotted the fireling–he had more reasons to be upset at him, but the most important one was that he was unable to keep Gaius safe, and lately, he’s been looking even smugger, and Titus didn’t like that.
“Wow your swordplay is even more lacking today,” he said, out of spite as he moved his body to reach back and grasp his training sword and shield.
Kyo had been in a good mood until Titus appeared. At first, he inwardly panicked. Did he know? Would that be the end? But no, Gaius and he had been so careful unless Gaius told his twin which Kyo doubted.
But his panic quickly got replaced with annoyance, “Does it? Do you want me to beat you again?” He spun partially around. “If not, you can go to those practice dummies over there.”
“Are you still pretending you won when we just tied?” Titus rolled his eyes, standing in front of a dummy before smacking it with his shield hard just to test its hardiness.
“These are my training halls, so stop acting like you own the place.”
Kyo scoffed, barely concealing his disgust. He didn’t want to turn back to his training dummy because he didn’t trust Titus to not hit him when his back was turned.
“These training halls are a public place,” Kyo emphasized. “I will train here as I please. If you have an issue with it, you’ll have to remove me.”
“Yeah, well, they are mine, so I’m being generous and letting you use them.” Titus rolled his shoulders before swinging his sword against the dummy to ease his tension. “Just remember that when you’re feeling all superior–which is always, so I know it’s hard.”
Kyo glared at Titus. He would totally get a talking to if he spoke to guests in Guren like this. And feeling superior?
“Well, thank you,” He graciously bowed in a slightly exaggerated way. “For allowing me to use your equipment. To better train myself.”
He hoped this would rub Titus the wrong way, but even if he didn’t, Kyo could privately make fun of the Prince not picking up sarcasm.
Man, why did Titus have to look like Gaius? Titus wore Gaius’s looks in a terrible way.
Titus rolled his eyes. “You bowed, anyway, so I’ll take it as win.” Why couldn’t the fireling stop being annoying? He really acted like he believed what people said about him.
How can people take him seriously when he was so short?
Still, he decided to focus on his task at hand, deciding to pretend the other prince wasn’t even there, trying a different angle to slash with his sword.
What? Kyo spun around to Titus, “You /win/? You win what? What competition is this? I was polite to you and showing gratitude. At least you could be polite and gracious and give it back to me. Take a lesson from your brother on that.”
He had no idea what Titus’s problem was. Why did everything have to be a competition?
“I won again,” Titus declared proudly, tilting his head just enough to smirk at the other man. There was no explanation, but if anyone witnessed their exchange they would realize Titus meant breaking Kyo out of his clearly well practiced character.
Without saying anything else, Titus resumed hitting the dummy.
Actually, no, he had something to say. “If you hold my brother in such a high esteem, you better protect him next time. That is if you aren’t all talk and no substance to your fighting style.”
Kyo’s eyebrow twitched at Titus’ further declaration of winning, “You are saying words without understanding their meaning.” He tossed back the words coldly.
“You just can’t keep up with my lightning speed thinking, fireling,” Titus said with a half mocking laugh.
While he had brought up Gaius, Kyo didn’t like that Titus threw it back at him. It especially wounded him because he had never been so scared about another person in his entire life.
“You weren’t there, Prince Titus. I fought and rescued him. And I would do it a thousand times,” Kyo stated coldly.
“Do it right next time,” Titus insisted, letting out a soft sigh and staring at his feet. “I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to him.” He bashed his shield against the dummy in leu of punching it because his hands were occupied. “So do it right, if you care about him. He deserves the world.”
Kyo squared his jaw, feeling offended that Titus would even suggest he couldn’t take care of Gaius. He wanted nothing more to protect and love him. And he wanted to yell this at Titus, but he held back because it had to be secret. Gaius could get in trouble. And maybe Kyo’s father would yell at him for endangering alliances or something like that.
He did not doubt Titus would protect Gaius but he knew Titus would probably toss Kyo under the chariot given the opportunity.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure he is never hurt,” Kyo said, sincerely, but also a twinge of annoyance that he has to repeat this. “I mean it.”
“I will take your word. This is an oath between men.” Titus cast a glance over at Kyo before pushing himself away from the dummy. “Anyway, I’m going. I got bored of you already.”
“Yes, I promise on my good name nothing will come to hurt Prince Gaius under me,” Kyo said more clearly, regally, and sincerely.
He twitched at Titus’s childish insistence he got boring, “Really? It seems like by the rustiness you swung your shield, you were just getting started.”
Not that he wanted Titus to stay but he did not want Titus to get the last word.
“Still better than your sword play,¨ Titus called back from further away, walking off into the distance.