Archive of Our Own

When Jeno is recruited into training as a knight, he struggles to remember a lot of things. There are a lot of things going on all at once, and it's a struggle to memorise all the names and faces and all sorts of new training techniques.

He doesn't remember most of these new things, but he remembers some — mostly things to do with swords, but there are a handful of people he quickly learns to remember, too.

Prince Mark, of course, is the easiest one. Still, Jeno gets to know him sooner than he thought he would, as it’s a surprise to see Mark dressed down and picking up a sword with a grin as he trains alongside them.

The second person he gets to know is the boy always by Prince Mark's side. Renjun, not gifted at all with a sword, but gifted with the ways of old magic. Jeno hasn't had many encounters with magic as the town he grew up had none, and he's admittedly wary of Renjun and the power he has. That is until he spots Renjun sitting down with one of the younger knights, talking in reassuring and calming tones as he heals one of the broken bones in his arm.

The next person he knows becomes Jaemin. They both come from outer towns, different places entirely, but they were both scouted and accepted into the knights' training ranks on the same day. They usually end up paired together, and most of the younger trainees tend to avoid them — Renjun tells them later that it's because they both have intimidating expressionless faces, as well as drastic talent and skills that are well above any of the new recruits, and it makes them hard to approach.

This doesn't stop the next person that Jeno gets to know, though. Another young knight in training, but he isn't new to it. Donghyuck, who grew up alongside Prince Mark, who could have followed his parents in the court's advisory roles, but instead picked up a wooden sword and challenged the Prince to a duel at the age of seven. He comes right up to Jeno and Jaemin with a bright grin on their very first day of training and challenges both of them to a duel, two-on-one. Donghyuck fights well, but he fights dirty, and the sudden derivation of their usual practice makes Jaemin and Jeno fall to their feet. Donghyuck helps them up with a smile, though, and tells them they're not half bad, and the memory of this stays bright in Jeno’s mind.

After that, he gets to know Jisung and Chenle. Chenle is a skilled fighter, but he only joins their training for fun — his role is in the court, but he tends to always be by Mark's side. Jisung is the youngest knight in training in the ranks, but his skills are well above many.

By effect, Jeno and Jaemin inevitably end up joining the group. Jeno knows their names and their faces, and he knows the names of all their movements as part of their training.

He knows that Mark is kind, though kind of awkward sometimes, and very good with his swordsmanship. Donghyuck and Mark take turns in besting each other, but their skills are higher than all other knights in training their age. Mark is a good prince and an even better friend.

Renjun is thoughtful and wears his emotions openly. His magic is something he takes quiet pride in, but he doesn't feel comfortable flaunting it unless they encourage him to do so. He's usually in the midst of a fight if they have any between each other, but he's the quickest of them all to work logically to solve problems amongst them.

Chenle is clever and quick and seems to pick up new skills like the way Jaemin picks up cute cats in the street — endlessly and effortlessly. He's an extremely hard worker, though, and is always busy. Despite being one of the youngest ever in the court, he proves himself time and time again.

Jisung is the most outwardly timid of them all, despite the way he's quickly growing above their heights and how skilled he is with swordsmanship. Jeno gets to understand, though, that Jisung is talkative and whimsical and knows well of his talents — he's just shy with people he doesn't know.

Jaemin is his closest friend, and both of them work with a mutual understanding. At first, Jaemin complains about constantly being paired with him, but now he's always grabbing Jeno's arm and pulling him to the side, demanding they fight and practice together.

Jeno gets to know a lot about Donghyuck. More than just being a skilled and confident swordsman, more than just being Mark's loud, excitable companion. He gets to see Donghyuck's quieter and serious moments, the way he only lets people close to him get a glimpse of.

And he gets to know that Donghyuck has a, quite frankly, astounding ability to make anything and everything a competition.

First one to the mess hall. First one to get praised by their strict instructor. First one to get Renjun to laugh. First one to get a point against Mark in their practices.

There aren't really such things as prizes for winning any of these competitions. Sometimes it's more about just not being the loser, otherwise you end up carrying back everyone's dinner for them, or you piggyback someone else, or you get a kiss on the cheek — that one gets them all squealing and jeering like they're young boys again. Small things like that, but just enough to give them all the motivation to participate and entertain Donghyuck's fun.

Jeno is quick to realise that Donghyuck usually shouts these kinds of competitions when he's already a step ahead, already halfway to winning. He's quick to learn that it's best to be on Donghyuck's side of things, and never become his focus when it comes to a competition being struck against one of them in particular.

It starts with small things, just little inner competitions between them all — but of course, it gets bigger. Naturally, Donghyuck makes competitions of literal competitions.

As they enter their final few months of being knights in training, not far away now from the graduation tests and ceremony as they come of age, there is a public showcase competition held over the course of a couple of days. All the knights in training fight — as the rounds progress, they go from fighting in groups to fighting individually, until there is a final standing winner.

It's a public showing, a day of festivities for the people, but it's important for the knights too. As Mark has just come of age, as a customary event, four knights in training will be selected to become part of Mark's personal guards. They'll serve the Prince before they serve anyone else, all of their duties and obligations to the kingdom tied entirely with Mark.

Despite being close to him, they all know they don't have guaranteed positions. They have to prove it, perhaps more than anyone else, in front of the council, the King and Queen, and the royal guards themselves — and the public, too. They have to be worthy of it. And there isn't a better time to show it than the tournament.

On the first morning of the tournament, Donghyuck sits in the tent where they're all getting ready, relaxed as he sprawls out on one of the chairs. It's a stark comparison to the rest of the trainees, who are all pacing the tent nervously.

Jisung's amongst the nervous crowd, muttering to himself as he walks around in circles that make Jeno dizzy to watch. Chenle's currently drilling techniques in the corner, and even Jaemin has to shake out the nerves from his hands every now and then as he tightens up his armour. Jeno finds himself surprisingly nervous too, a sinking kind of feeling that's curdled in his stomach. He knows he'll be fine the moment he's out in the tournament ring, but it's just the waiting that's getting to him.

Donghyuck, though, looks like he's participated in this kind of event plenty of times before, even though Jeno knows he hasn't. He's currently humming to himself, feet up as he sits around like the anxiety of waiting isn't a thick, heavy cloud suffocating them all.

"How're you feeling?" A familiar voice appearing beside him asks, and he turns in surprise to see Renjun. He’s snuck into the tent, cloak pulled over his head. He isn't meant to be here — it's restricted only for those training as knights and knights themselves, but Renjun has always managed to get around those kinds of rules. Jeno's kind of surprised Mark hasn't snuck in here either, but he's probably got too many eyes on him, and he's never quite been as good at sneaking around.

Jeno gives Renjun a small shrug, turning away to look out at the room so that Renjun isn't spotted by anyone else who might try and push him out. "Fine."

"Nervous?"

"A little," Jeno admits, "I think more excited, though."

"Well, you guys have been training for this day for ages now," Renjun says, "You'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know," Jeno says, eyes lingering on Chenle's movements as he walks through them. "You might want to go talk to Jisung though, he's freaking out a little."

Renjun sighs, but does as he's suggested to do, and he moves around the tent to pull Jisung somewhere off to the side. Chenle naturally navigates towards them as well, and then Jaemin, and even Donghyuck gets up from his seat just to walk over. Jeno gets up as well and joins them, and while Renjun seems a little more nervous about being caught now with all their attention, he wishes them all luck.

"Renjun," Donghyuck says, entirely serious.

Renjun already looks defeated, having a feeling of what's to come. "What."

"Who do you think is going to win?" Donghyuck asks with a bright grin, as the rest of them start in uproar. Chenle's loud voice carries, and while Jisung looks embarrassed, he's also asking Renjun, me? Right? You think it's going to be me?

Even Jaemin joins in, throwing his arm over Renjun's shoulders, proudly declaring it's going to be him. Jeno just points to himself in question of me, right? when Renjun looks over at him like he's going to find any solace in this chaos.

"Whoever wins gets a kiss from Renjun!" Donghyuck yells out, and Renjun immediately tries to leap forward to cover — or smother — Donghyuck's mouth. Donghyuck laughs, stepping back, avoiding his hands. "A kiss on the cheek, Renjun! Just on the cheek!"

Jisung and Chenle dramatically declare they're going to lose in that case, so Jeno tells them the loser will also get a kiss, while Jaemin and Donghyuck turn on each other, eager to be the ones to get the kiss.

In all the chaos, they don't quite have the time to even think about their nerves. Renjun slips out just moments before the organiser comes into the tent, telling them to all be prepared. Tension is still thick in the room, but Jeno finds that he feels looser, nowhere near as stressed as he had been.

Donghyuck knocks his elbow against Jeno's side as they finish getting the final pieces of their armour together.

"Good luck out there," Donghyuck says with a teasing grin, "Make sure you're not knocked out before I have the chance to beat you, okay?"

"Same for you," Jeno replies with a laugh, and they walk out side by side as the roar of the crowd greets them.

Jeno's nerves disappear. When their swords are given out, it's a familiar, comfortable weight that he knows exactly how to wield.

All of them make it past the rounds of the first day — there are multiple rounds, testing their perseverance and endurance in battles, with over half the knights in training being eliminated. On the second day, there are only twelve knights in training left in the final battles. Their names are drawn out in pairs by the King. Chenle and Jaemin are the only two to fight together amongst them all, and they're up first. Jaemin wins, just through the skin of his teeth. Overall, at the end of the competition, Chenle places fifth. A staggeringly high number for someone who's always intended to remain in the court and not actually be knighted.

Jeno wins his battle. Donghyuck wins his. Jisung wins his too.

They're already part of the final four now, and while that relief is staggering, Jeno thinks he always expected this to be the result. The final four would be some variation of them, no matter what. The crowd is excited for the final four, especially with Mark soon to choose his guards once this ceremony happens, but the crowd is also even more excited to have someone come first.

On the third day, Jeno and Jisung fight first in the finals. It's exhilarating, getting to fight against Jisung like this — they fight plenty together, but it's different in front of a crowd like this, both of them seriously fighting to win. It leaves Jeno breathless and battered, but he manages to scrape through with the win.

Jaemin and Donghyuck are up next, and Jeno realises that he's going to have to fight one of them in the upcoming duel. He finds himself watching the fight with a tight coil of tension in his stomach, trying to analyse their fighting skills.

But he knows them both too well, and even though they're both fighting more intensely than he's ever seen, he knows them. He goes toe-to-toe with Jaemin, and knows every move he's going to make before he even begins it, and Jaemin knows the same of him. And Donghyuck — Donghyuck he's watched so closely, all this time, and he knows him too.

Donghyuck, though, has quite a few more wins on him when it comes to battles in their training. If Donghyuck wins here, Jeno might be in even more trouble.

Naturally, this means that Donghyuck does win. He barely even acknowledges the crowd's roaring at such a good fight, bent over on his knees as he breathes in, because Jaemin and Donghyuck both fight gritty and dirty. At the end of it, Donghyuck helps Jaemin up, though both of them are pretty unsteady on their feet. As he passes through the arena, Donghyuck gives Mark a grin and blows a kiss, and the crowd gets even more thunderous.

Donghyuck's managed to charm them in mere minutes of being out in the public eye. Jeno hardly even remembers the sounds of the crowd during his own fights — had they cheered like this for him? He doesn't know, his ears had been ringing with the sound of his pounding heartbeat. He doesn't think they cheered, probably because he hadn't interacted with the crowd. He'd only looked at Mark to give him polite acknowledgment once the fights had concluded, and then he'd been ushered from the field before he'd known it.

Donghyuck and Jaemin pass into the tent, and Jeno and Jisung follow them in. Jaemin and Donghyuck collapse down on one of the resting benches together, both of them breathing heavily, slumped against each other. They have a couple of hours until the final fight, giving Donghyuck a chance to get his breath back between fights.

"Did you have to try and strike my knee?" Donghyuck is complaining, knocking his foot against Jaemin's leg. Jaemin huffs with exhausted laughter.

"Asshole, you went for my ribs," Jaemin replies, fingers clumsily trying to tug at pieces of his armour to pull it off.

"That was crazy," Jisung says, jumping right between their retorts, making them remember there are now other people in the tent. Donghyuck meets Jeno's eyes, and a flash of understanding passes between them as they both acknowledge they're now each other's opponents.

"Talk about your own fight!" Jaemin proclaims, holding out his hand. Jisung surprisingly goes right over, and lets Jaemin pat the top of his head fondly. "You were great, my baby. So scary."

"Jaemin," Jisung whines in complaint, but Jaemin just tuts at him and refuses to let Jisung escape from his attention now.

Jeno walks over, and Donghyuck watches him, face not quite showing his usual easygoing expression.

"So," Jeno says, leaning against a post that's close to where Donghyuck is sitting. Jisung and Jaemin fall quiet, wanting to listen in on the conversation. "You and me, huh?"

Then, Donghyuck's face changes into the friendlier smile that Jeno is more used to. "Well, I'm glad you listened to me. Now I get to beat you."

Donghyuck's teasing, putting on a more confident persona, but Jeno is a little bit smug about the way he knows Donghyuck is now sizing him up, viewing him as an opponent to watch seriously.

It gives Jeno just enough confidence himself to pucker up his lips and blow a kiss to Donghyuck, just as he had done out on the field to Mark. Without a word, because he thinks he’ll ruin his own show if he opens his mouth and tries to follow with any words, he turns around and walks over to his designated spot to start stripping back some of his armour, giving him some more movement in the break.

He doesn't want his muscles to cool down completely, so he keeps himself standing and pacing, doing some light stretches. He finds himself strangely relaxed for this fight — maybe it's because he's tired, but he thinks it's more than that. It's because he knows he has a good fight waiting for him, and he's eager for it more than he is nervous. He doesn't care about the results, not really.

Maybe that's why it's easier, when they both enter the ring on opposite sides, for Jeno to engage with the audience. He looks at Mark and gives him a beaming smile, even. He knows that Donghyuck will command all of his attention the moment their fight begins, but for now, Jeno lets himself soak in this atmosphere and enjoy it.

He hears the crowd roar. He hears chanting for his name. It’s invigorating, though most of his attention still remains on Donghyuck despite it all.

When he takes his sword, he gives it an experimental swing, spinning it around in the same way that Mark once taught him how to do. The crowd cheers so loudly that it almost breaks Jeno from his concentration, flustered by the attention that the move had garnered. He'd only done it because he knows that it makes Donghyuck's lips quirk up in a smile of amusement.

Donghyuck is playing up with the crowd too, but the moment the announcer calls out for them to get ready, Jeno feels Donghyuck's gaze pin him down. Everything in the world narrows down to the sight in front of him — Donghyuck's armour, glinting in the sunlight. They don't wear helmets in the final battles, no strikes above the shoulder are allowed and the knights are good enough to adhere to it. Without the helmet, Jeno can see the way his hair is slightly curled at the back of his neck, the way his mouth is pressed in a firm line. And he can see his eyes, staring intently right back at him.

Both of them stare down at each other. Not looking at each other's hands or swords. Only looking at their eyes, waiting for an opening.

They circle, their feet mirroring each other's, in a dance so familiar but so different now. Jeno gives another experimental twirl, and Donghyuck springs forward.

The fight begins.

The cheering of the crowd fades away entirely from Jeno's senses. Now, all that matters is Donghyuck. Jeno's mind whirls, trying to keep pace with Donghyuck's fighting skill, trying to adapt and anticipate movements before they even happen.

He's sweating. Breathing hard. His muscles feel like they're trembling, and dirt feels like it's been kicked up from the ground in their tussling and is scratching right at the top layer of his eyes.

He doesn't care about any of that. All that matters is the fight — it goes on, and it feels like an eternity, but he almost doesn't want it to end despite the way his muscles ache now, despite the way they’re both getting so tired.

He doesn't even realise it when the fight actually does end. He's so engaged in it, forgetting it's a competition until the piercing sound of a horned instrument rings out. It's usually their call to attention, and Jeno's body responds on pure instinct, snapping out of it and straightening up.

Donghyuck hasn’t gotten up beside him. Donghyuck is on the ground in front of him, groaning in complaint as he lies on his back. When Jeno realises this, he blinks down at him in confusion.

And then it all comes rushing back to Jeno — the sounds of the crowd, and the announcer declaring that Jeno is the winner.

Somehow, above all the noise, he hears Donghyuck huff. Tired, as exhausted as Jeno feels, but still playful. Jeno looks to him again, and then quickly steps over and holds out his hand to help him up.

Jeno hadn’t expected to be the last one standing. He rarely ever wins against Donghyuck, and even though he’s been excited for the fight, somewhere in the back of his mind he’s always thought I won’t win this, not in front of all these people.

He almost expects Donghyuck to knock away his hand, to get himself to his feet, but he thankfully clasps Jeno's hand and lets himself get hauled to his feet. Jeno keeps hold of his hand, hesitant about what to say to him now.

Donghyuck speaks first. The smile on his face is genuine, even as he's tilting his head in a way that usually means he's trying to poke some fun.

"Congratulations," Donghyuck says, patting his back with a lot more force than Jeno expects him to have. "Looks like you're getting that kiss from Renjun after all."

"Ew,” Jeno replies naturally, face scrunching.

Donghyuck's laughter rings out around the stadium. He holds up Jeno's hand, loudly declaring Jeno Lee, the champion! to the crowd. Their friends, watching from the stands, are all on their feet and hollering. Including Mark.

Jeno knows why, though — because Jeno knows they've just put on a big, powerful display of their power and skill, and it's now clear to the rest of the kingdom that the people standing by Mark's side deserve to be there. All of Mark's personal guards, while his friends, are also clearly his best protectors. And they’ve proved it.

Jeno threads his fingers through Donghyuck's own and holds up his hand too, making him join the celebration and the victory — because as far as he cares, they're both worthy of it.

"Alright," Donghyuck says, "The first one to take Jaemin's sword without him noticing wins."

"Wins what?" Chenle asks, lifting his head from where he's been lying on the ground. He doesn't actually need to be out here with them, but from Mark's ever first scouting trip, Chenle has been with them. He doesn't need to be, but it'd be strange to not have him here with them now.

"Jaemin's sword," Donghyuck tries, but Chenle grunts, unimpressed.

The heat in the forest seems to be sapping the energy out of all of them. They've ended up travelling near a town a day's ride away, because Mark has wanted to go talk to the people ahead of the new season approaching. While Mark has a tent to rest in, which he's crashed in pretty early after all of the meetings today, the rest of them stay outside to watch their surroundings.

While they do have their own tents, which they'll use in rotations tonight, they've had a few too many people try things over the years, thinking Mark and his personal guards are all too young to be able to defend themselves. So they tend to all sit around for a while at night, talking to each other in low tones long after splitting their dinner.

Jeno looks around the forest now, eyes lingering on the spot in the trees that Jaemin had gone through to go relieve himself.

"Why would we take his sword?" Jeno asks.

"Because he never lets go of it," Donghyuck says. Which is true, but that's also because none of them let go of their own, either. Like Donghyuck knows this is what they're all thinking, he sits up, tone changing into a more hurried, eager one. "Come on. His reaction will be great. You might even get a duel out of it."

It is notoriously hard to get Jaemin to practice seriously with them, so the idea is enticing. This time, Chenle hums, a little more entertained as well.

Renjun scoffs. "None of you are going to get it."

And, well.

It's a competition from that point because none of them like being told they can't do something. They establish a couple of rules for the competition — Jaemin has to remain clueless for at least a minute, and you can't take the sword from someone else once they have it.

When Jaemin comes back, it's like he can sense the danger he's in, because he rests a hand on his sword and warily asks them, "What's going on?"

"Just talking about the first one to catch some more food tomorrow for our lunch," Donghyuck says easily, resting back on his hands.

Jaemin glares at him, not believing it. Donghyuck's tone would catch most other people completely unaware, but Jaemin is too used to him and his antics. "That's not what's going on here."

Jeno, now used to the ways of Jaemin and Donghyuck speaking to each other, and amused by the new competition, speaks up. "Donghyuck said you're going to be the one to cook it."

Jeno only lies to Jaemin very rarely. It's only ever for small things like this, things that Jaemin doesn't hold a serious grudge over him for. It means that when he does lie, it's effective because Jaemin usually believes him over anyone.

Jaemin settles back, though he's still glaring at Donghyuck. Donghyuck sends him a bright grin in return.

"You have to help cook it too," Jaemin says decisively.

Donghyuck shrugs. "Not if I catch it."

Jaemin sits back down amongst the circle of them, and Jeno catches a couple of them subtly glancing over at Jaemin's sword that he's got balanced on his knees.

No one gets an opportunity to try and get it. The night passes, and they start delegating their shifts — only for that to cause calamity, because everyone tries to line up their shifts to get an opportunity to take the sword. They all think it'll be best to get it while he sleeps, and the chosen shifts become a mini-war. They end up playing rock-paper-scissors to organise it all.

In the end, Jeno gets two shifts after Jaemin, which isn't ideal for his chances. He thinks that he, out of anyone, has the best shot of getting the sword without Jaemin actually being suspicious, but he's just lost the best advantage.

Donghyuck has the shift before him, the final two of the night, and they end up sharing a tent. They're all used to pressing close in the nights, and as the night gets later it gets colder, and it's not a surprise when Donghyuck immediately puts his sleeping roll pretty much on top of Jeno's own. Donghyuck's known to splay himself out and cuddle people no matter the temperature. He’s doing so now, his leg splayed over Jeno’s thighs.

"What's your plan to get the sword?" Jeno whispers to him, feeling more than he sees Donghyuck look up at him at his words.

"My plan is to win," Donghyuck mutters back, then buries his head right back in Jeno's shoulder. Jeno's hand curls over and rests on top of Donghyuck's skin, fingers absentmindedly trailing patterns.

"What's your plan?" Donghyuck asks, a few minutes later, voice thick and full of tire.

"Mine? To sleep," Jeno replies.

Donghyuck grunts. "Boring. You're really not going to go for it?"

"Too tired," Jeno breathes out, feeling himself on the cusp of sleep. Donghyuck hums, and Jeno isn't entirely convinced he has a plan either, because he seems perfectly content to just lie here until it's the start of his watch.

Jeno doesn't even realise he's drifted off until he senses something outside the tent. He startles awake, fingers already reaching for his sword, even though he knows it's a high probability of being Chenle.

Donghyuck stirs against him, and Jeno has to prod him a few times to get him moving. Chenle retreats and goes back to his tent, and Donghyuck grumbles but makes his way out. Jeno drifts back to sleep, only stirring too soon when Donghyuck comes to get him.

"It's not there," Donghyuck says as he flops down on the bed roll.

"What?" Jeno mumbles, not quite awake.

"Jaemin's sword. Someone's grabbed it," Donghyuck says, sounding both impressed and annoyed about it. Jeno is surprised himself — Jaemin hasn't raised much of a fuss in the camp, so he must know one of them has it, or he's surprisingly sleeping so deeply he truly hasn't realised.

Jeno goes out to take watch and ends up peeking into Jaemin's tent just to make sure. But Donghyuck's right — the sword is gone from Jaemin's side. Chenle, who's sleeping next to him, hasn't got it either.

Or maybe he has, and he's hidden it. But Jeno spends most of the watch walking around looking for it, just in case, but he comes up short.

He starts waking everyone up once the sun begins to rise, but no one greets Jeno with a smug grin. No one he wakes seems to have the sword.

When he does wake up Jaemin, it takes him a couple of minutes to stir properly. He grasps automatically at the ground beside him, searching for his sword, his hand tapping down more insistently as he searches. That wakes him quickly then, and he rolls over, eyes searching the tent in panic. Chenle is watching in bemusement, having caught onto what's happening, but Jeno is still pretty sure it wasn't him who’s taken the sword.

"Someone's got my sword," Jaemin realises, and then he gasps, looking at Jeno and Chenle in betrayal, catching on quickly. "This is a competition, isn't it?"

Jeno sheepishly nods. Jaemin gasps again just for good measure, hand clutching his chest, but the betrayal is quickly out of his mind as he springs out of bed and dashes past them. Jeno turns on his heels, watching Jaemin walk around the camp and peeking into tents with an ah-ha! ready to catch someone.

No one has it, though. Not even Donghyuck, who wakes up grumpily and rubs his eyes as he stumbles his way out of the tent alone.

"Looking for something?" Mark's voice calls out from his tent. For Jaemin's sake, Jeno's blood goes cold. Mark is pretty lenient with most things, but a knight losing their sword is a terrible, terrible offence. It's a disgrace, really, enough to pull Jaemin into questioning. Sure, it's different if one of them took it, but if Mark thinks Jaemin has actually lost it...

"Mark?" Jisung suddenly cries out, shocked. The rest of the camp turns to look at Mark, and Jeno watches all of their faces fill with surprise and disbelief.

Jeno looks over, and he sees what has caused the surprise. Because Mark is casually holding Jaemin's sword in his own hands, eyebrows raised, a smug, self-satisfied grin on his lips.

Jeno can't help but laugh. It's certainly the winner absolutely none of them expected — they didn't even realise Mark was participating.

"Mark! Why do you have my sword?" Jaemin says, sounding both surprised and delighted.

Mark uses his other hand to jerk his thumb to their general area. "Because these guys all talk too loudly. The winner had to steal your sword without you noticing. And looks like I won, huh?"

Mark's declaration is met with a mixture of groans and laughter. Mark tosses Jaemin's sword back to him, and the competition is over.

Jeno looks over at Donghyuck, trying to gauge if he's annoyed that he's lost, but Donghyuck is just looking at Jaemin and Mark with amusement, and a look that gives away that he's plotting something. Later, Donghyuck convinces both of them to give them a display of a duel — which remains serious for only a few moments, as Mark and Jaemin quickly turn up the theatrics and playfight instead, but it's still a nice moment for them all to watch and cheer for.

After that, at least, they all learn to never think someone is not part of the competition.

"Do you think that Mark and Donghyuck have something going on?" Chenle asks one afternoon.

Jeno sits up, suddenly at attention. "What?"

Jaemin and Renjun, also in the room, swivel their heads to participate in the conversation.

"I'm asking if you think Mark and Donghyuck are like, together," Chenle states, like he's tired of having to repeat himself again.

"No," Renjun says quickly, "Chenle, what the hell?"

But Jeno hesitates to reply. He's been wondering the same thing lately, watching Mark and Donghyuck talk to each other. They've always been close, Donghyuck always by his side, and though it never once bothered Jeno, he's starting to find something is bothering him lately. He's not quite sure what it is — something like jealousy, perhaps, but this is the way Mark and Donghyuck have always been. Jeno isn't quite willing to try and understand why it's changed, why it's suddenly different for him.

"I think it's a reasonable conclusion," Jaemin says with a shrug. "I mean, Mark lets him get away with a lot more things than most people."

"But if Mark was dating someone, he'd let them get away with a lot less. He wouldn't want someone being favoured just because he's dating them," Renjun points out in retaliation, "Donghyuck just gets away with it because Mark has given up trying to tell him off. Unless he wants Donghyuck literally thrown in the stocks, there isn't much he can do."

"I vote for Donghyuck being thrown in the stocks," Jaemin says quickly, raising his hand, and Renjun laughs and knocks into his side.

"Good luck with that," Jeno mutters. Mark isn't going to do it, and Donghyuck isn't going to listen — he never does whenever Mark threatens it, because he knows it's an empty threat anyway.

"That's kind of my point, though," Chenle says, getting them back on topic, "Whether they're dating or not, Donghyuck wouldn't listen to any punishments anyway."

"They aren't dating," Renjun sighs, shaking his head. "They're just... like that."

"How are you so certain?" Chenle questions.

Renjun rubs his head in frustration. "Because that's just how they've always been. Donghyuck acts like he's a little bit in love with everyone."

"Mhm, I don't know," Chenle says, unconvinced, "I bet they are."

"Alright, well I bet they're not," Renjun retorts.

Jaemin claps his hands together. "Is this a bet?"

"Oh, god," Jeno realises, "It's a competition."

"And I'll win it because I'm right," Chenle declares.

"You aren't," Renjun groans, "Jaemin, please back me up here."

"Can't," Jaemin replies with a shrug.

"Please. Please tell me you have some sanity," Renjun begs Jeno, but Jeno grimaces. Renjun throws up his hands. "No, no way. Come on. Not you. You seriously think they're together?"

"I... I'm not sure," Jeno hedges.

"Oh my god, I'll kill them both." Then, he turns to Chenle and Jaemin. "No, I'll start with both of you. Seriously? You think Donghyuck likes Mark? When-"

Renjun cuts himself off, sending a sharp look over at Jeno, studying him for a moment, before he shakes his head.

"When what?" Chenle prods, not one to let something slip.

"When do you think that even would have happened?" Renjun asks, though the words fall strangely from his tongue.

"I don't know, maybe a few months?" Chenle replies.

Renjun groans again. "That's how I know you're just making this up without thinking. Nothing has changed between them."

"Well, I think it has," Chenle retorts.

"We can just ask them," Jeno hesitantly suggests. Jaemin and Chenle both scoff at that. Even Renjun doesn't seem too convinced by the idea himself. "Or not, I guess."

"We could," Jaemin reassures, "But they'll also lie either way."

"Mark will never ever confirm it," Chenle says.

"Because he has nothing to confirm," Renjun huffs, "But Donghyuck will say they are seeing each other, just to rile Mark up."

"Also because they are, but okay," Chenle mutters. It's probably a good thing that Renjun decides to ignore him.

With the opposing sides settled, the competition begins. Chenle and Jaemin walk away first, leaving Jeno and Renjun alone together.

Jeno thinks it's probably going to be best to drop the conversation, to try and not participate in this whole thing, but he finds that curiosity makes his throat burn.

"What makes you so certain?" Jeno asks.

Renjun, lost in thought, snaps to attention. "What?"

"About Mark and Donghyuck," Jeno elaborates, "Why do you have no doubts about them?"

Renjun pinches the bridge of his nose. "I just... I just do."

"Chenle would say the same," Jeno points out.

Renjun groans. "Chenle is looking at the wrong times, and conflating it with the wrong people."

"I don't know..." Jeno hums. Chenle is usually quite astute and good at reading people, though he tends to not care for their reactions when making his own decisions.

Renjun huffs, rolling his head back, staring at Jeno for a few moments before breaking their quiet. "Well, okay, what about you and Jaemin?"

"Me and Jaemin?" Jeno repeats, confused at the change of topic.

"Yeah. Both of you. You know, together. Is that a thing?"

Jeno frowns. "No."

Renjun raises his finger, gesturing like he's right. "Exactly. You and Jaemin are the same as Donghyuck and Mark."

"I don't think we are," Jeno says.

Renjun hums. "Okay, maybe not the exact same. You and Jaemin are like... eerily always on the same page. Mark and Donghyuck are not. But you all are so close that it comes into question."

"People think I'm with Jaemin?" Jeno asks, surprised.

Renjun laughs with a surprised breath of laughter.

"I mean, they do," Renjun admits. His expression changes for a moment, like he's trying to work something out, but then it settles. Jeno should have braced himself more for it, because Renjun assuredly tells him, "That is until they see you mooning over Donghyuck."

Jeno freezes. Renjun reaches over and pats his shoulder.

"I— what?" Jeno stutters.

Renjun pats his shoulder again, a little harder with his sympathy.

"It's... a little obvious," Renjun says slowly with a wince, "Sorry. But maybe not obvious enough if Chenle hasn't even realised it. He thinks your little lovesick expressions are for Jaemin, though. Like I told you, wrong timing and wrong people."

"Am I truly that bad?" Jeno asks, demoralised.

Renjun shuffles a little closer to him, laughing with something like sympathy as he throws his arms over Jeno's shoulder and hugs him.

"You're not bad at all," Renjun says, "It's not a bad thing to feel the way you do."

"It's bad if it's obvious," Jeno huffs.

Renjun coos, dropping his head down to rest over Jeno's as he hunches over.

"It's only because I know you," Renjun assures. "And I was looking at who you were looking at. I wasn't just making assumptions."

Jeno huffs with a breath of laughter, feeling a little more reassured now. If Chenle is wrong about Jeno's feelings, then maybe...

"Do Mark and Donghyuck look at other people?" Jeno quietly asks. He can understand exactly why Chenle and Jaemin assume — because most of the time, unspoken words cross between Mark and Donghyuck like they've got a whole secret language between them that no one else is privy to.

Renjun runs a hand up and down his back. "Mhm, maybe."

"Renjun," Jeno complains, because he knows that by Renjun's tone of voice he isn't going to disclose what he knows.

Renjun sighs. "Sorry, it's honestly not my place to say. But maybe... maybe start paying attention too, okay? Watch who they're watching."

Renjun finishes the conversation with a fond pinch to Jeno's cheek, laughing when he stands up and steps away from Jeno's swatting hands.

Over the next few days, the competition properly comes into effect. Jisung is dragged into it too, even though he's reluctant to try and vouch for a particular side.

Donghyuck can tell they're all watching him closely within the first day for something, but it takes him a day more to realise they're watching him with Mark.

"Is it a jealousy thing?" He asks them around the table of the tavern, currently clinging to Mark's arm as he says so. "Are you all jealous because I'm hugging our Prince here?"

Most of the table roll their eyes — including Mark, who's always exasperated by Donghyuck's improper use of his titles. Chenle and Jisung both gag for good measure, too, even though they'd just been fighting for a seat next to Donghyuck.

The moment Donghyuck comes to realise they're all intently watching his interactions with Mark, he really begins to play it up. Chenle looks over at the rest of the table occasionally like see? I have to be right.

Jeno swallows thickly every time he's levelled with that gaze. Because every time he looks over at Donghyuck, he's looking up at Mark with eyes that pretty much sparkle, a smile on the corner of his lips.

Renjun had told him to watch who Donghyuck looks at, but it only ever seems to be Mark.

Jeno doesn't like betting against Renjun if he can help it, but he's starting to think that maybe, just this time, Renjun might be wrong. Like he can hear these thoughts, though, he catches Renjun giving him looks across the table, trying to goad him into looking at the situation differently.

But whenever Jeno looks over, Donghyuck's gaze is always quick to turn to Mark. Who else is there?

He feels more despondent as the day goes by, and despite Renjun's silent pleading, Jeno finds that he can't quite watch it. He loves Donghyuck and Mark both, and it's exactly why he doesn't like the stirring pit of jealousy that seems to come to life whenever he looks at them. They're both happy, and Jeno is sworn to protect Mark, and any of the soldiers he's made a pact with in this same bond. Jeno is determined for nothing to come between that.

Naturally, it's as he's coming to accept this, that Chenle decides to throw a mountain in the middle of the road he's walking. A couple of days later, with neither side of the competition getting a guaranteed victory, Chenle decides to move things along.

"So, it used to be a rule that royal guards wouldn't get involved with each other, right?" Chenle asks the room, feet propped up in an entirely improper way but one they're all used to.

Mark coughs. "What?"

Chenle shrugs. "Just asking because it used to be a thing in these lands, right?"

Chenle and Renjun grew up in further borders, only moving into the kingdom in their early teen years. A lot of their customs are different, the gods they pray to are similar but not the same, and Chenle is more unfamiliar with some of the standard practices that they've always been aware of since children. He asks questions like these sometimes, interested in the origins of certain tales and rules.

"Right," Mark drags the word out, looking around the room in confusion, trying to work out why this topic has suddenly come up. All of them shrug their shoulders in reply.

"What changed?" Chenle asks.

Mark can't seem to find anything too suspicious even though he's wary, so he eventually settles back with a sigh. "I don't know, it was ages ago. It's kinda depressing, to be honest."

This piques Chenle's interest — more interested in the story, for the moment, than in the reason he's asking about it. It is strange for a tale about the knights, as most of them tend to be acts of courage and victory.

Mark looks over at Donghyuck, and he easily steps in to recount the history. It's one of Donghyuck's personal favourites, keeping scripts of it around, but not one they talk about much aloud.

"Many, many years ago, there was a Princess. She was beautiful, charming, and beloved by all. The competition to become part of her royal guard was the most fierce, as everyone loved the Princess so. But in the end, her closest friends, let's call them Yuna and..."

"Luna," Jaemin chimes in.

Donghyuck sighs but rolls with it. "Right, the two of them had fought valiantly to stand by the Princess' side. The kingdom loved all three of them dearly. Now, at the time, the royals and their guards were considered to be... well, gods, in a way. And so the royal guards were to abstain from things that would make them appear more mortal — hunger, greed, spite, and even love. They were only ever meant to have love for the royal member of the family they were assigned to, there should be no room in their heart for another."

Chenle looks over at Mark and pulls a face. Mark raises his hand in surrender, indicating that the whole law had nothing to do with him.

"Of course, the guards were mortals. And the Princess' two closest friends had fallen for each other."

"So they ran away together?" Chenle guesses.

Donghyuck clicks his fingers. "No. They were loyal to their Princess, though their hearts were torn with love and duty. They didn't tell anyone, not even the Princess, out of fear they'd be demoted and unable to protect their friend. And then in battle one day, Yuna had been struck and killed. After that, Luna fell into such a state of despair and depression that she, too, died not long after. The Princess couldn't understand why, not until Luna requested to be buried with Yuna when her time shortly came."

Chenle coughs, surprised by the turn of events in the tale. "Oh."

"After that, to try and give their spirits a chance together in the afterlife, the Princess declared that their love was not a sin, and denounced the law. The people had seen how much they loved each other, and the suffering it caused not being able to revel in it."

Not even Donghyuck’s usual cheery voice can do much to lighten the tale into something grand. It's just a piece of history for most of them — a tragic circumstance that led to the change.

It's silent for a few moments. Mark is still regarding Chenle warily, also sensing he's not quite done with his questioning just yet.

"Okay, well, what about... royal guards and royalty?" Chenle finally asks.

"Sure, it's happened before," Donghyuck replies casually, though he's cocked his eyebrow up, now also regarding Chenle with suspicion.

"Ah," Jaemin says, nodding his head. "Romantic."

Everyone around the room blanches, including Mark.

"God help me," Jeno hears Mark mutter.

Donghyuck, sensing his despair, changes his expression and throws his arms over Mark's shoulders, making kissing noises right near his ear.

Mark shoves him off, completely unprince-like. "Fuck off."

"But we could be so romantic!" Donghyuck declares wistfully, still making the kissing noises. Mark responds by wrapping an arm around Donghyuck's back and then forcing his head down on the table. Donghyuck is just delighted by the fact he's wound Mark up and is laughing even as Mark keeps his head down.

Jaemin knocks his shoulder against Renjun, now trying to rile him up, siding with Chenle. "Don't you think so, Renjunnie? Isn't it so romantic?"

"I think a royal guard that loves another royal guard is just, if not more, romantic," Renjun argues. It's very clear to everyone except Mark and Donghyuck that they're the topic of conversation.

"Um," Mark cuts in, because despite not knowing who they're talking about, it's not hard to piece together it involves someone in the room. "Do any of you-"

Jaemin cuts in, looking over at Jisung now. "How about you, Jisungie? Isn't it romantic for a royal guard to love a prince?"

Jisung looks in wide-eyed panic between Chenle and Jaemin. Eventually, he just raises his hands and shrugs. "I mean, I guess, it's all kind of..."

Jaemin whirls on Jeno, knowing Jisung isn't going to be able to finish his sentence. "And you?"

"Uh," Jeno says, blinking at the dazzling grin Jaemin is levelling him with. It's not Jaemin's fault that he doesn't know about Jeno's feelings, but it's still hard to stomach that Jaemin seems so insistent on Mark and Donghyuck being together. But Jeno's lack of reply has got the room's attention, and now they're all looking at him, waiting for an answer to this strange questioning. "I mean... the knights, I guess?"

Mark breathes a sigh of relief, just visible out of the corner of his eye. Before Jeno can gather his wits again, Jaemin has turned on his final two victims.

"How about you, then, Donghyuck? Surely you agree that it's more romantic for a guard and royalty?" Jaemin asks, propping his chin up on his fist, looking excited.

Donghyuck, despite all of his bravado about draping over Mark, seems to hesitate. Before his mouth opens, his eyes move — and his gaze lands on Jeno.

"Ah," Jaemin says, sitting up straighter. Chenle, on the other side of the table, has also gone stiff, the mirth in his smile completely wiped in surprise. He looks at Jeno too, then back to Donghyuck.

The room has just had a realisation, Jeno figures. And he's in the middle of it.

They realise I like him, Jeno thinks, panicked. He is desperately trying not to look over at Donghyuck, because he isn't quite sure he wants to face the reaction of Donghyuck realising it either.

But then — then there's a voice in the back of his head, replaying the moment of Jaemin looking at Donghyuck. The room had been looking at Donghyuck.

And Donghyuck had looked at Jeno, and that's when the room had reacted.

"Well, I did tell you all," he hears Renjun mutter, but it's still loud enough for the rest of them to hear.

Chenle and Jaemin groan in defeat. Jeno stares at them, bewildered.

And then it clicks.

Renjun had been so sure of his stance because he'd known who Donghyuck looks at.

It’s not Mark.

It’s Jeno.

Someone pokes him in the side, and though he shoos the hand away, Jisung still mutters "Oh dear, I think we've broken him."

"It's not like that," Donghyuck's voice says, too belated and a little too high-pitched to be believable. And when Jeno catches himself looking over at Donghyuck, he catches the way that Donghyuck suddenly bites down on his lips and turns away, the tips of his ears red, no longer trying to defend himself.

Oh, Jeno thinks. Oh.

"I think we should, um, leave these two alone for a moment," Mark says to the rest of them — he has all the power in the world to command it, but even now, his voice comes up uncertain, also taken by surprise by everything.

Donghyuck, seemingly before he can even think about it, reaches a hand out and desperately snags the bottom of Mark's sleeve, a silent plea for him to stay. Jeno catches the small smile Mark gives him, and then Mark's gaze lifts, and he meets Jeno's eyes for a moment. His smile is calm. Reassuring.

Mark pulls his sleeve out of Donghyuck's hold, and the rest of them begin to leave the room. Jeno and Donghyuck both watch them go in silence, neither of them turning to look at each other.

Eventually, a few moments after the door shuts, Donghyuck clears his throat.

"I don't, um, know what they were talking about," Donghyuck says, with a small cough at the end like he's trying to clear away the awkward air.

That's a lie, Jeno thinks sharply, the first proper thought he's been able to manage in the past few minutes. From there, his thoughts come into sharper clarity. That's a lie, and so was the way he tried to defend himself. There's a truth here, but it isn’t spoken yet.

He thinks of the way Donghyuck's eyes had flickered over to him after Jaemin had asked the question. He thinks of the way Renjun told him to pay attention to the person that Donghyuck looks at — and it isn't Mark.

It's him.

"You don't?" Jeno asks, confidence and hope making his tongue loose. He looks over at Donghyuck with a raised eyebrow and catches the way Donghyuck's glance quickly skitters away from the way he'd been looking out of the corner of his eye.

"No," Donghyuck mutters.

Jeno hums. He's not sure where this kind of confidence is coming from, but the words spill from his tongue almost easily now. It's not common that any of them are ever able to best Donghyuck in words, and Jeno has learned to take any opportunity if it's given to him. "That's not like you."

Donghyuck mumbles something, feet kicking down at the floor. He glances back at Jeno, and perhaps he's more thrown by this reveal than either of them expected, because Donghyuck looks incredibly uncomfortable at the ease Jeno is displaying, face twisting as he tries to sort through his emotions.

"I need to go," Donghyuck says suddenly.

"Where?" Jeno asks, but Donghyuck is already standing up, clearly not intent on giving an actual answer. Jeno reaches forward, loosely wrapping his fingers around Donghyuck's arm. "Hey. Okay. Just stay for a moment, let's talk."

"I don't want to," Donghyuck says petulantly. His ears are still burning red.

"I mean... I know that's probably not how you wanted to, uh..." Jeno trails off, the word confess dying on the end of his tongue. It seems like a big assumption to make — trying to imagine Donghyuck coming up with some kind of plan, an ideal kind of way to do this. Jeno hasn't been able to imagine himself doing it, but he knows that this whole situation is certainly not the way he ever could have imagined.

"I wasn't going to," Donghyuck says quietly.

"What?"

"I wasn't going to tell you," Donghyuck replies, voice a little steadier now, but he's still not looking at Jeno. Jeno's stomach clenches, and for a moment his fingers squeeze tighter around Donghyuck's wrist.

"Why?" Jeno asks.

Donghyuck huffs with something like impatience. "Because— why would I? I wasn't going to make it awkward for everyone just because I like you. I didn't want my feelings to mess up anything between us, especially not when we have the same duty to Mark and all, and-"

At first, Jeno's heart leaps as he takes in Donghyuck saying I like you.

And then it drops as he realises something.

"Wait," he cuts in, "Wait. You know I like you too, right?"

Donghyuck freezes. Jeno can feel the way he goes tense against his fingertips. Then, Donghyuck turns, very very slowly to look at Jeno. Jeno gives him a small smile, even as his heart is thundering in his chest.

"You..." Donghyuck says, but his voice trails off, sounding small.

Jeno has a few moments to look back on the past few minutes, trying to envision it from Donghyuck's perspective — trying to envision it with the belief that this all happened without his feelings being requited.

"I don't think Renjun would have let this go as far as it did if both of us didn't like each other," Jeno says, trying to keep it matter-of-fact. Although Renjun wouldn't have guessed that Donghyuck would have slipped in the way he did, he would have stepped in for damage control if he felt the need to. Now, he's trusting Jeno and Donghyuck to talk about it together uninterrupted.

Donghyuck swallows thickly, then clears his throat. Slowly, he nods. "Right..."

"So... would you tell me now?" Jeno asks, tentative.

Donghyuck stares at him for a couple of long, drawn-out seconds. "I mean, I've pretty much already spilled it. To everyone, in fact."

Jeno shakes his head. "Not... Well, you did, but that's not what I meant. You said you weren't going to. But now, knowing I like you too, would you?"

"I have already," Donghyuck mutters, resistant.

Jeno huffs. "Okay, pretending you didn't give it away. You said you wouldn't tell me because it would change things, that it'd somehow get in the way of our duty to Mark. Do you really believe that?"

Donghyuck looks away, staring at a corner in the room, blinking slowly as he tries to process. Jeno waits patiently, noticing his fingers are still wrapped around Donghyuck's arm, but he's made no move to try and pull away.

"I don't," Donghyuck whispers, "Not with us."

Jeno squeezes his fingers gently. Donghyuck turns then, meeting Jeno's gaze. His cheeks have a dusting of red on them, but there's a small lift to the corner of his lips that's making them rise.

"I don't think so either," Jeno says. He believes in this — Donghyuck and Jeno put all that they are into their loyalty and devotion to Mark, and he knows both of them will be careful enough that their duties won't be changed so drastically even with their newly resolved feelings.

He perhaps expects Donghyuck to put up more of an argument, or put forth some more logical points they will definitely need to discuss, but he's surprised when Donghyuck speaks without bringing forth any of these things.

"So... so you like me," Donghyuck says — close to a question, but not quite.

"I do," Jeno says with a smile. He feels Donghyuck start to relax in his grip, taking a step closer and letting Jeno's hold loosen slightly.

"Okay," Donghyuck breathes out.

"And you like me," Jeno says — though his is closer to a question than Donghyuck's had been. Donghyuck nods, his shyness surprising, but Jeno doesn't want him to be nervous about this. He knows they'll be able to work through this together. "You never said it, you know."

Donghyuck's face twists with his confusion, eyebrows pulling down and his lips pressing into thin lines. "I... I mean, I pretty much did confess in front of anyone."

Jeno laughs softly. "But you didn't say it."

Donghyuck lets out a long breath. His cheeks have gone more red. Jeno waits, expectantly, raising his eyebrows with a grin. Thankfully, it gets Donghyuck to loosen up, as he laughs as well and goes to swat at Jeno's side, though he ducks away from the gentle hit.

"Fine, fine," Donghyuck eventually says. His arm twists in Jeno's hold, freeing it, but he doesn't go far. He tangles his fingers with Jeno's own, staring down at their connected hands before he speaks again. "I like you."

Jeno, heart thudding and his blood racing, finds himself smiling even wider. He tugs at Donghyuck's hand, making him come even closer until he's close enough for Jeno to stand up properly and wrap his arms around Donghyuck. He sways them side to side, both of them laughing softly.

When Jeno had first joined the knights in training, Donghyuck had a couple of centimetres of height on him. Now, Jeno's a little taller, and his lips press gently against the side of Donghyuck's head. Not a kiss, but a ghost of one. He can feel the way Donghyuck's smile grows more, the way he holds Jeno a little tighter in turn.

He could kiss Donghyuck right now, if he wanted to, if Donghyuck wants to, and the thought of it makes him almost giddy.

He's pulled from his thoughts from doing that when he feels Donghyuck's hand land solidly against his back, like his mind is distracted with things — but not quite the same things as Jeno.

"Did they... did they make it a competition over our feelings?" Donghyuck asks suddenly, the accusation clear in his voice. He leans back a little, making eye contact with Jeno.

Jeno's smile tugs into an apologetic grimace for a moment. "Chenle was convinced you and Mark were together-"

"Mark? Mark? Ugh, no." Donghyuck cuts in with a cough, head shaking like he's trying to clear his entire mind of any thoughts. Jeno must have some kind of expression on his face, because Donghyuck stares a little more intently, and then his eyes widen as his mouth opens. "Did you think I liked Mark?"

"Well..." Jeno tentatively says.

Donghyuck lightly slaps at his back. "No! Mark and I are just... I mean, okay, I get why, but-"

"Did you think I liked Jaemin?" Jeno asks, thinking over the conversation originally had when the competition first sparked to life.

Donghyuck pauses in his rant. "Um."

"You did," Jeno points out, eyebrows raising. Donghyuck tries to go boneless in his hold, like he's trying to slip out, but Jeno holds tighter.

"Maybe I did," Donghyuck admits, leaning his head back and letting Jeno hold his weight up.

"Well, Chenle thought the same thing. Renjun didn't, I think knowing we liked each other, so that's how the competition started," Jeno says.

"Can't believe we helped Renjun win a competition," Donghyuck sighs dramatically.

Jeno blinks down at him — having to do so now that Donghyuck has dropped his weight down.

"You don't like him winning?" Jeno asks.

Donghyuck's eyes shift back to look at him, cheeks puffed slightly in indignance. "Why would I? He's so cute when he loses."

Jeno laughs, the movement almost making Donghyuck slip through his hold. He quickly readjusts, pulling Donghyuck up properly, who thankfully takes his own weight again. He slides his arms around Jeno's waist, pressing his forehead to Jeno's shoulder.

"So... if you like me, and I like you, then..." Donghyuck mutters, voice almost so quiet Jeno has to duck his head slightly to hear him.

"Well, generally people who like each other, you know, court each other," Jeno laughs, still bubbling with the fact he can get Donghyuck flustered like this. For once, Jeno has the lead in the conversation with him.

"Right," Donghyuck says, still muttering.

Jeno traces his fingers up Donghyuck's back. "Right. We can take it slowly."

He curves his fingers slightly, until it's more of the gentle press of his nail ghosting over Donghyuck's clothing. He traces patterns up Donghyuck's back until he feels him shudder, and then moves his fingers up, sliding lightly through the back of his hair. Then he reaches for the front pieces, tucking them back until Donghyuck finally lifts his face from Jeno's shoulder.

Jeno smiles at him, and then kisses his forehead. Donghyuck narrows his eyes, immediately catching on to the fact that Jeno is having a bit of fun on the front foot in this conversation.

"Slowly," he says again, not quite able to keep the teasing from his voice. He cups Donghyuck's jaw, thumbs smoothing over his cheeks, determined to remember the image of Donghyuck's wide eyes blinking at him, the warmth of his cheeks felt on Jeno's fingers.

Jeno, purposely, lets his gaze flicker down to Donghyuck's lips. For just a split-second, enough to make Donghyuck question if it happened at all. He pushes back a strand of Donghyuck's hair again.

"Slowly," he repeats, and then drops his hands and goes to step away.

Come on, Donghyuck, you know this game, he thinks. He likes seeing Donghyuck flustered, but more than anything, he wants Donghyuck to feel like he does — confident, assured in their feelings.

Like he hopes, Donghyuck resists. He makes a noise of complaint in his throat, and then tightens his hold around Jeno's middle, not letting him go.

Donghyuck only gives him a moment before he's cupping the back of Jeno's neck and bringing him in for a kiss.

And this is where Donghyuck's confidence returns to him. He kisses Jeno — sweet, at first, both of them all too mindful of the fact this is their first kiss. Though Donghyuck is quickly made to be bold, his kiss gets deeper, more demanding.

They kiss until Jeno almost trips on himself as he's pushed backwards. Donghyuck is grinning — tips of his ears red, but there's a confident smile on his face now, looking like the usual reassured, determined man Jeno knows he is.

Jeno doesn't mind losing the more shy, nervous qualities if it means Donghyuck is comfortable with him. Comfortable with this — them. In the back of his mind, he's sure that he'll be able to find ways to make Donghyuck flustered in future anyway.

"Fuck slowly," Donghyuck declares, finger poking into Jeno's chest.

"Mhm," Jeno agrees, perhaps a little tipsy on the fact that Donghyuck has just kissed him. For a moment, he captures the moment of fond endearment on Donghyuck's expression, but it only lasts a moment before he surges up and kisses Jeno. Again and again and again.

In the back of his mind, he thinks, thank god for Renjun winning this one.

It's not like they keep a running total of who wins their competitions, but some of them certainly win more than others.

Donghyuck, when he rigs it a particular way, wins the smaller things. First one to get to the stables. First one to get to that tree in the distance, when he's already leading them all and none of them can actually move further than Mark in their formation.

Jaemin is right up there too, with a surprising amount of wins — which annoys Donghyuck and amuses the rest of them to no end. Jaemin wins some of the bigger and stranger things; first one to make the King laugh in the court, first one to fluster Donghyuck, the one who eats the most of the questionable soup that Jisung makes when they're out in the forest.

Mark, sometimes, will slip in with an unexpected victory when they least expect it. Chenle seems to just enjoy competitions for the sake of arguing — while he likes winning, he likes seeing the reactions of everyone else losing more.

And some of them aren't so lucky with these competitions. Despite Renjun's attempts to try and team up with Donghyuck so that he has some more victories under his belt, Donghyuck enjoys watching him sulk more when he loses. Jeno, despite being official with Donghyuck now, doesn't get any kind of advantage either — in fact, he gets even less.

Most of their competitions remain as small, friendly things. Nothing too serious. Not for a long time, at least. But as they get older, and Mark's role begins to transition as he gets ready to go from Prince to King, things start to change.

"There's a mole in the court," Mark tells them one day, voice heavy with annoyance and despair as he sinks down on the end of his bed, putting his head in his hands.

Everyone else in the room, having been waiting for him to finish up talking with his parents, shares a look. They're sitting around in a very wonky circle, lazily playing a game that involves rules that go right over Jeno's head.

The silence makes Mark look up. He narrows his eyes at all of them, while they all try and look inconspicuously around the room and refuse to meet his gaze.

"You all knew," Mark grumbles, not surprised. Jeno's sure that Mark's been thinking it as long as they've been suspecting it, probably even longer, it's just that he's only declaring it now because it is undeniably the truth.

"Yeah," Jeno admits, putting down his cards and no longer pretending like he's been keeping up with all of Donghyuck and Chenle's ridiculous rules in the game.

"Who's your bet on?" Donghyuck asks, also putting his cards down but being careful to make sure none of them can see them.

Mark only has a moment longer to act like he's disgruntled about the fact the rest of them have been talking about it — and have even made a betting competition out of it — before he just shakes his head and sighs, letting it go.

"I have a couple," Mark says, voice quiet. His eyes flicker up to the door, but they all know there won't be anyone daring to linger near the corridor, not with all of them in the room.

"And?" Chenle prompts, putting down a card in the middle of their game, continuing to play despite the fact most of them now have their attention on Mark.

Mark presses a hand to his temple, rubbing it tiredly. "It's... I don't want to start looking at everyone with suspicion and paranoia."

"But you're not going to find your leak without some pressure," Renjun replies. All of them aren't too concerned — they know Mark tries to see the best in people, and it's unlikely that's going to change, even with this betrayal in the court.

"So, again, who do you think?" Donghyuck questions.

Mark huffs. "There are a couple on council that don't like the plans I've suggested. Hyungjae has a consort he's trying to hide, and he bribed her by promising some of the jewels in the castle I'm trying to use in a trade. Minwon is being blackmailed by the local bandits that I'm trying to make life difficult for. And Taeha is probably working with those bandits. Not to mention Jiwon..."

Mark trails off, not willing to go further into his thoughts.

"We have had some difficulty with our usual patrol routes," Jaemin mutters, half of his attention on the conversation and the rest of it on trying to figure out how to cause chaos in their game.

"Routes have been leaked, trades disrupted, deals suddenly broken," Mark lists off with a heavy breath. "Someone's getting in the middle and sabotaging it, but it's just... who."

"My bet's on Jiwon," Jaemin says, stretching his arms up above his head.

"Have you guys seriously got a bet on this?" Mark grumbles, pressing his fingers to his eyes, but Jeno can tell he's fighting to suppress a smile.

"A bet on who it is, and a bet on who you think it is," Donghyuck corrects.

"Oh my god," Mark mutters, shaking his head, the smile getting harder to fight.

"You listed off pretty much everyone we've got a bet on," Renjun tells him.

"Who'd I miss?" Mark asks, standing up from the edge of his bed and coming to join them in their circle.

"The stablehand boy, Jiho. Never underestimate a stablehand," Donghyuck says.

"He's also sleeping with Taeha," Chenle points out. That causes a riot around the circle, as it's the first any of them have heard of that piece of information. In the end, Mark adds him to the list of people to watch closely.

Donghyuck has his own bet on Jiho, and Jeno has put his own down on the same person. Renjun has his bet down on Hyungjae. Jaemin on Jiwon, Jisung on Minwon, Chenle on Taeha. Jeno's not entirely convinced of his own answer, and Donghyuck has admitted that he isn't either, but it's better for all of them to split up their focus to watch all of their suspects.

It's a lighthearted angle to something that feels rather scary for them all. It's something that's meant to help make this situation easier to deal with — to remind themselves that there's good even when they're looking for all the worst parts of someone.

It takes months of careful planning and weedling until finally, finally, they have their suspect. And their winner of perhaps the most serious competition yet.

Taeha is their mole, and Chenle is their winner. It's not really a surprise to any of them — most of them have come to learn that Chenle is usually right when it comes to council affairs, considering he's so heavily involved in most of the meetings, and he seems to have eyes and ears in every conversation had within these walls.

Still, for a long time, Chenle has the biggest win yet over their heads. He's able to hold onto it for over a year, as there isn't quite a scandal with as big of stakes. For years, their competitions are back to friendly challenges; who's able to make Mark smile on the most scary day of his life as he's crowned the King, who's able to sneak into council meetings without being noticed, who's able to steal one of the councilman's pins — just smaller, more usual things like that.

The competitions can be embarrassing, or even at times humiliating, but Jeno is glad that they have a more lighthearted tradition. He'd rather be challenged to pull someone's pants down in a council meeting than have to try and weed out a traitor or do anything serious like that again.

For a long time, his wish holds. But Jeno’s luck has never been that good.

"If I win this, you have to propose to me," Donghyuck declares, leaning against a tree with a grin.

"Oh my god," Jeno says, because Donghyuck's taken to saying these kinds of things to him lately. Mostly just to fluster him, really. And mostly to make the rest of their group laugh and cheer.

Donghyuck's currently in second place of their little improvised archery competition. Jeno is currently in first place. Donghyuck's certainly said this to him just to try and make him lose, as he tends to get a little flustered whenever Donghyuck brings up the idea of marriage.

It flusters him now, but he's not Mark's highest-ranked soldier for nothing. He lets out a deep breath and lets the arrow sail, and it hits the mark true.

Donghyuck, a few trees away from their target tree, folds over dramatically and puts his head in his hands.

"So you don't want to get married to me?" Donghyuck asks in mock despair, fake crying. Chenle comes over with a laugh, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck's shoulder and jokingly trying to calm down his upset while doing his best to glare at Jeno. Jaemin comes over and pats Jeno on the back in sympathy.

Even if Jeno wins, he's bound to lose, and that's just the way Donghyuck likes it. He certainly likes playing it up right now, gaining all the empathy of his friends and trying to rally them to his side.

It's not too bad, really. They all know Jeno has a ring in his pocket that he's been carrying around for a while now. Donghyuck knows it too — just as he knows Jeno isn't going to propose to him over just some silly little archery competition like this.

Besides, their friends naturally have a betting pool going when it comes to how Jeno is going to propose, and neither Jeno nor Donghyuck are going to make victory easy for any of their guesses. If Jeno were to fold now and propose after a silly competition like this, then that means Chenle wins the bet. And Renjun and Jisung have given them much sweeter deals if they try and abide by their bets.

Eventually, Donghyuck straightens up, though he makes no offer to help Jeno as he pulls the arrows out of the tree they've been shooting into. He even sticks out his tongue when Jeno makes eye contact with him, and Jeno playfully acts like he will shoot one of the arrows straight at him. Playing along, Donghyuck catches it, holding the imaginary arrow right over his chest, before he pulls it out and then gives Jeno the sign of a heart with his fingers. Jeno laughs, shaking his head, and puts the arrows back in the quiver they've been shooting from.

"We should get moving again before it's dark," Mark says, sheathing his sword away after he's been cleaning it. They've had a small break, just to eat and refresh — or, in Donghyuck's case, to torment Jeno — but they don’t have much of a window to linger in.

They pack themselves up quickly and get back on track, the sun still high in the sky for the moment. It beams down on them, bright and hot, and Jeno grumbles about it from his place at the front of the line.

Donghyuck is walking next to him, grinning in amusement at his suffering.

"Oh, darling," Donghyuck says, sweet and dangerous in his teasing, "Maybe you should take that shirt off."

"I'm wearing armour," Jeno points out blankly.

"Yes yes," Donghyuck dismisses, "And it's very important that you keep it on. But underneath that, your shirt must be stifling..."

"I'd get the worst chaffing of my life if I took off my shirt and kept the armour on," Jeno says, voice flat.

"But I'd get the most delightful view," Donghyuck counters. Jeno just rolls his eyes at him as he shoves him gently, making Donghyuyck overbalance and almost go tumbling into a ditch — of his own doing as he's overacting, arms windmilling as he acts like he's about to fall from a cliff. Although Jeno is sure he can save himself, he still pulls on his arm and saves him at the last second, which makes Donghyuck swoon and pretend to fall right into his arms. Jeno opens his arms up, hoping to drop him, but Donghyuck naturally rights himself and remains standing.

Jeno’s about to speak, but he’s cut off.

It happens suddenly.

There is a cry from the east. They all naturally turn to it, only to see the figures of many men charging towards them, their weapons raised as they charge down the edge of the small incline of the land.

"Ambush!" Donghyuck yells out, his playful demeanour shedding immediately, and all of them prepare to meet the charge. They keep Mark in the middle of their formation, their weapons raised.

"Our route's been compromised!" Renjun grits out, hand raising, and a man that's close to the front of the charge goes flying back, crashing into multiple other men.

"Who even knows about this route?" Jisung asks, stepping up beside Jeno, cutting down a man who reaches them first. Jisung is quickly moving, ready to stand in front of Renjun and Mark to protect them.

"Bet's on another mole!" Chenle yells.

"Dibs on Jiho this time!" Jaemin shouts. Donghyuck curses loudly as he's a beat too late to make the claim, which makes Jeno crack a grin even as he blocks the swing of a weapon.

"Of course it's the bloody stableboy!" Donghyuck shouts, "These idiots are even wearing the same insignia as Taeha's old crew of bandits!"

There are seven of them including Mark, but there are plenty more men charging over the edge of the hill above them. It's undoubtedly a targeted attack, one big enough to overwhelm them in this narrower path. They're at a disadvantage on the lower ground — there isn't anywhere they can move. They have to stand and fight.

They've been doing their best to clear out the bandits from the lands, but it seems like they've missed a whole lot of them. Taeha's and, very likely, Jiho's men have been waiting for this very opportunity, waiting for one of Mark's rare trips out into the forest, meant to just be a secluded hunt that no one is truly meant to know about.

Wave after wave of men come at them. Their formation holds strong, and when it falters, Renjun is there to help give them a moment, using his magic to give them enough time to raise their sword again to meet the next attack.

But the waves keep coming. Sweat pours down Jeno's head. His arms ache. He's starting to think that maybe there's just too many of them. Maybe not even the seven best soldiers can defeat the seemingly hundred of them that rush over the hills, trying to cut them down.

"Hey, Jeno?" Donghyuck says from beside him, his easy and casual tone lost the moment his sword meets another, the tension in his frame seeping into his voice. Jeno can't even spare a glance to look over, but he knows the sound well.

"Yeah?" Jeno asks, a few moments later, between stabbing into one man and slicing another.

"If we all get through this," Donghyuck says, pausing for a moment to deal with a man, "Then you'll think about proposing to me then, right?"

"Idiot," Jeno breathes out, but makes sure his voice is loud enough to carry, "I'm always thinking about it."

"Oh," Donghyuck says, and Jeno glances over just to make sure the shock doesn't disrupt his defence, but thankfully Donghyuck holds strong. His eyes meet Jeno's for a split second in the chaos. And then a man swings, and Jeno raises his sword to defend himself. Donghyuck focuses back on his own attacks, speaking again, his voice strangely breathless even as he interjects cheer into it. "Well, let's not waste any time, okay? Let's get married after this."

Jeno grunts as his sword meets resistance, but he's able to push through. "Engagement should still come first."

Donghyuck laughs. "Yeah, you're right. So you'll propose, right?"

"Sure," Jeno says, just because he kind of needs this conversation to go on pause so that he can focus entirely on the fight. He always gets a little too distracted when it comes to Donghyuck.

"Hey, everyone!" Donghyuck calls out, "Jeno said he'll propose if we make it through this!"

"I bet he doesn't!" Chenle yells out in return.

"What? You bet he doesn't make it?" Jaemin shouts back, incredulous, and clearly meant to joke.

"What! No! That he won't propose!" Chenle yells, voice carrying likely for fields across the lands. "Of course he's going to make it through this! We're all going to make it through this!"

"I bet he does propose!" Renjun's voice joins the shouting.

"Guys!" Jisung shouts desperately, trying to get them to stop arguing, which would typically make all of them laugh, but they don't quite have the breath or energy for it. Still, it's like they've been invigorated with a new burst of energy, all of them putting more of their reserves into their attacks.

And finally, there is relief. The waves of bandits stop coming over the hill.

"Come on guys!" Mark shouts, "Not many left now! Just a bit more!"

"We got this!" Chenle yells, voice as loud as ever despite all the energy they've been using. Renjun shouts out, and now a few of the men go tumbling back — not quite flying back, as the men struck by Renjun's earlier magic had done, but enough to give them just enough ground to push forward with the advantage.

Jeno and Jaemin move forward together, finishing off those remaining in the fight. That’s the last of the men in front of them.

But the sound of swords meeting rings out behind them, and Jeno whirls around, catching the sight of Donghyuck's tense figure as he raises his sword to block a blow. They're locked in a stalemate, and while Jeno knows it's probably dishonourable to step in behind like this, he doesn't care for such things when it's any of their safety at risk. He'll take Donghyuck's anger about him stepping into his fight over the risk of him being injured.

But Donghyuck doesn't turn his fiery gaze to Jeno when the last enemy goes down, struck by Jeno’s attack from behind. Donghyuck’s gaze is wide-eyed, surprised, but not angry.

"Is that all of them?" Donghyuck asks, voice thin and exhausted.

The question takes Jeno by surprise, immediately making him cautious. He takes a step, intending to look closer into Donghyuck's gaze, worried that he's going to catch the sight of him being dazed, eyes unfocused. Maybe he was hit on the head. Maybe Jeno was too late.

Jaemin sucks in a sharp breath. Jeno sees it, then.

Donghyuck's hand is pressed against his side. There is red seeping between his fingers. It has been seeping out from his side for a while, it seems. His armour looks rusted with the amount of red that's spilled onto it.

"Oh, god," Jeno says, quickly stepping next to him as he realises with panic, "You're bleeding."

Donghyuck’s fingers no longer have the strength to hold his sword. It drops to the ground, and Donghyuck takes an unsteady step forward. "I..."

"Hey, hey, hey, okay," Jeno hurriedly says, quickly wrapping his arms around Donghyuck. Donghyuck's knees tremble, and Jeno helps him down to the ground. He's never been good with the sight of his own blood, and Jeno holds onto that — praying that what has sent Donghyuck to his knees is just his own queasiness.

Terror pounds inside Jeno's chest, demanding to be let out. He forces it down and forces himself to be rational. Gently, he peels Donghyuck's fingers from his side for a moment to get a better look at the wound.

Jaemin's crouched down beside them. At the sight of the injury, Jeno goes pale, and Jaemin immediately whirls around and yells, "Renjun! Renjun!"

Renjun's been looking over a nasty cut on Jisung's arm, and all of them got a little spread out in the final moments of the fight. No one else has seen Donghyuck go down — they don't realise it until they hear Jaemin's frantic yells.

"Hey, hey, no, just press against it," Jeno tells Donghyuck, when he feels that Donghyuck is trying to pull his own hand away again to get a look at it. "Just keep pressure there. That's it."

Donghyuck lets in a shaky breath. "I... Sorry. Talking about the proposal was mean of me, right?"

The blood has been spilling from the wound for a while. Jeno realises, terribly, in that moment, that Donghyuck had likely been struck, and had then talked about the proposal. Talked about getting married, knowing he’d been struck. He's been fighting with this injury for so long in the fight.

"You idiot," Jeno rasps out, shaking his head in despair. He hears Renjun running over, and the rest of them too, but all of his focus remains on Donghyuck. "You idiot. Why didn't you tell me?"

"There wasn't a choice," Donghyuck's whisper is a terrible, grating sound. A raspy rattle, just trying to breathe through the pain that's coursing through him now that the adrenaline of the fight is fading away. "And... and I wanted to think about marrying you. I wanted to think nice things, before-"

"No, no," Jeno cuts in, knowing what he's about to say by the rueful smile on his face.

Donghyuck's hand, the one that was holding his sword and had been lying limply on his lap, not covering his wound, comes up to cup his cheek. "Sorry. It was selfish of me."

Renjun moves his hand away to get his own look at the wound, though Jeno doesn't spare a glance for anything but Donghyuck's face. With his other hand, he presses it against the hand on his cheek, keeping Donghyuck's hold there, trying to help him save his strength.

"It wasn't selfish of you," Jeno refutes gently, intertwining their fingers lightly. "You were right. After this, I planned to propose to you."

"You did?" Donghyuck asks, eyes wide, a small smile on his lips that fights to be there.

"Shit," Jeno hears Renjun whisper harshly. Donghyuck suddenly tenses up in pain, back arching, and when Jeno goes to look down, the sight is gory. Renjun quickly hisses at him to keep Donghyuck distracted, so he swallows thickly and looks back into Donghyuck's eyes, making sure he doesn't get a glimpse of the mess that has become his side.

"You were right, you win, you win," Jeno says hurriedly, squeezing his hands. "I was going to propose. But you're right, you're right, why should we wait? When you feel well again, let's get married right away, okay?"

Donghyuck's face is so pale. Jeno leans over and presses a kiss to his forehead, hoping to see a rush of warmth flood his cheeks and tint the top of his ears red as it tends to do. But the only red on his skin remains the blood pressed against his side.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Donghyuck breathes out, raspy. He shudders in Jeno's hold. He feels cold, and the terror that's locked around Jeno's heart is making him feel the same. Donghyuck coughs weakly, and then continues to speak, "If you're going to let me win like this."

Jeno shakes his head, adamant in his denial. "You'll be fine. Renjunnie's looking after you. You'll be fine, and we'll get married, okay? You win, you win, you're right, but I want you to. So you'll be just fine, and you'll get to your feet, and we'll get married."

Donghyuck smiles. "That... is that your proposal, Lee Jeno?"

Jeno's eyes are wet, and he squeezes them shut for a moment, trying to stop the tears from forming. If he gets upset, he'll undoubtedly just make Donghyuck upset too.

Renjun must do something else, as Donghyuck cries out sharply in pain and curls up again. Mark's by Donghyuck's head, smoothing his hair back. Jeno knows the others are all crouched around too, listening to Renjun's words and getting him whatever help he needs. Jeno's job is still just to keep Donghyuck distracted, so he focuses on that.

"It's only a proposal if you promise that you'll get to your feet to marry me," Jeno tells him. Donghyuck, he knows, is trying very hard to focus on his words. His eyes slip shut for a moment, but the sight sends terror racing through Jeno. He squeezes Donghyuck's hands again, and leans back down again. "Hey, Donghyuck, what did I just say? I'll marry you, I promise, I promise, but you have to stay awake."

Donghyuck grunts, both in pain and annoyance. Jeno breathes against his skin, trying to give him some more warmth to hold onto.

His eyes flutter open, and Jeno presses a kiss to his cheek in thankfulness and gratitude that he's listening, that he's fighting.

"You know," Jeno whispers, "In a fight, you've only lost to me."

"Right," Donghyuck agrees, voice strained.

"So you're not losing now," Jeno tells him firmly.

Donghyuck swallows. "I don't... I don't think I can get to my feet."

"You don't have to right now," Jeno breathes out, heart in his throat, "But soon, okay? When you feel better."

"I don't have much left," he hears Renjun tell the others quietly. Donghyuck hears it too. He shudders in Jeno's hold — and his eyes are still wide.

Scared. He's scared.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere," Jeno tells him, "Not when I'm going to propose to you, right? I lose this time, okay? I lose, I lose."

Donghyuck does his best to nod. Jeno holds him tightly.

One last try. One last try, Renjun says. This will be everything he has.

If this doesn't work, then that's it. There's nothing more to be done except for Jeno holding him in his arms, trying to breathe some warmth into his cold body, trying to keep him here with nothing but a promise and the win of a silly little competition.

That's all they have.

"It'll be enough," Jeno tells them all. He kisses Donghyuck quickly, and feels the way Donghyuck has just enough energy to lift the corners of his lips into a smile, even as he's so terrified. And Jeno knows, then, that Donghyuck will be victorious. That this — in the greatest fight for his life, in the competition against death, Donghyuck will win.

Renjun gives it all he has.

"I bet Donghyuck is going to cry first," Jisung's voice carries through the room.

"My bet's on you," Chenle replies, jerking his thumb in Jisung's direction.

Jisung gasps, slapping a hand to his chest, but Jeno gives a nod to show that he silently agrees. Jisung gapes at him in disbelief.

"You think I'm going to cry? Over your soon-to-be husband? On your wedding day?" Jisung asks.

"Yep," Jeno replies, fixing up his outfit. He's getting nervous, tugging at threads that shouldn't be tugged at, and Chenle has to throw a pillow at him to get him to stop for the second time in the same minute.

Chenle and Jisung probably shouldn't be in the room with him, but they've all kind of thrown tradition out the window. Jeno and Donghyuck already met up in the morning, although the tradition is meant to keep them away from each other until they're together in the wedding hall.

Jeno thinks he'd be a whole lot less nervous if Donghyuck was in the room with him during this whole process, but maybe that's why Jisung and Chenle are here. Donghyuck probably sent them over.

He gets confirmation of his suspicion a few minutes later when Jaemin comes in with a small platter of food that he passes over and makes sure Jeno eats, telling him that Donghyuck's been on his ass to make sure he eats and isn't freaking out.

"Donghyuck is definitely freaking out," Jaemin tells them, forcing a berry into Jeno's mouth. "Mark got a little emotional on him, and now he's all worked up again."

Chenle and Jisung immediately stand up and walk out of the room. Not even two minutes later, Renjun and Mark walk into the room. They're on some kind of rotation, then.

Mark looks a little frazzled, like he's just been on the end of one of Donghyuck's tirades. He very likely has been — as he admits to the room, he kind of maybe accidentally brought up the day that they'd been ambushed.

It's not a pleasant memory. By the time they'd gotten Donghyuck back to the castle, he'd been hanging on by a fraying thread. The first couple of days after were extremely touch and go, and Jeno didn't stray from his side as he waited for him to wake.

When he had, Jeno had proposed, right there and then. It's a bittersweet memory.

Mark meekly apologises to the room, but Jeno waves him off. Donghyuck's likely just worked up about the wedding, he'll forget about that within moments — neither of them let it linger much. They have better memories together, like the ones they'll make today, and Jeno knows that's what they'll focus on.

Mark, Renjun and Jaemin remain by his side as he finishes getting ready. Only Jaemin stays by his side once he finishes, though, as Mark and Renjun head to the wedding hall. Renjun escorts him down the halls, where Donghyuck is likely being led from another entrance by Chenle.

The doors to their venue are open. Jeno can see a glimpse of people waiting.

But, more importantly, down the other end of the long hallway, he sees Donghyuck. Jaemin has to tighten his grip around his arm to make sure that Jeno doesn't get too excited and just hurriedly make his way over to him, damning the usual tradition even more than they already have.

Donghyuck's smile is wide enough to be seen even down the other end of the hall. Slowly, like they're meant to, they walk to the doors together, standing side by side. With every step, Jeno thinks about all the things that have brought them to this point. Their first day of meeting. Donghyuck's first competition. The first-ever competition he lost to Donghyuck, and the first one Donghyuck lost to him.

As they meet in the middle, Jeno thinks about Donghyuck lying on the ground, blood on his side, fighting for his life. Fighting to win.

"Hello, soon-to-be husband," Jeno whispers to him, extending his arm.

Donghyuck's eyes are watery — but he doesn't let them fall. He has a competition to win, after all. Donghyuck slips his arm through Jeno's own with a smile.

"Hello," Donghyuck whispers back softly.

And Jeno thinks, just for the smallest touch of happiness as he feels now, just for the promise of having Donghyuck by his side like this, he'd lose — over and over and over again.

Right now, though, there aren’t winners or losers. There is just Jeno and Donghyuck, arm in arm, walking into their wedding hall. Together.