Chapter Text
“Your efforts are futile, Koski!” Gepard Landau, captain of the Silvermane Guards yelled loudly as he ran after the blur of blue through the frost-whipped districts of Belobog. A faint trail of white mist followed his lips. “I suggest you surrender whatever you stole from the store!”
“Nooo, thank you!” Sampo Koski gave the blonde captain a small sly smile befitting of his fox-like demeanor. “I might reconsider if you ask me nicely, though~”
Hah…
After turning a few more corners, they were no longer within anyone’s sight. Gepard stopped in his tracks, panting heavily as Sampo sprinted through the alleyway, using the narrow walls to climb his way to the roof.
“Time’s up, captain!” A smug look greeted him from above.
“Get back here.” Gepard grit his teeth at the taunt, and sent one final agitated glare towards Sampo, aiming to break the haughty smirk from the latter’s face.
“Hehe, such a passionate stare you’re giving me. I’m truly flattered-”
Sampo’s words were cut off when an uncalculated shift in his footing didn’t account for the slippery ice that shielded a particular part of the roof.
“!!!” Gepard reached out involuntarily towards the man albeit with the knowledge he was out of reach.
Crash!
“Argh-” A harsh short scream followed the loud noise after the fall. Just then, a long train of silence departed. Noticing the fading colors of paint on the wall made Gepard realize that he was unmoving longer than necessary.
“…Koski?” The furious tension from their chase vanished; the shock was enough to quell Gepard’s anger. His question was answered with the hush of the cold breeze instead.
His alarm slowly transitioned into concern. Gepard followed Sampo’s tracks, using the small crevices of the bricks to climb his way to the top. Once there, he scanned the other side, and there the man was, sitting on the ground with his knees clutched to his chest.
The moment his eyes landed on the dark red that stained the white snow, Gepard knew he had to move.
“Koski!”
Sampo’s eyes were closed shut, eyebrows twitching every now and then as he winced in pain. After seeing the man’s distressing state of discomfort, Gepard urged himself to hurry down and help with whatever was wrong. A quick second of observation waned.
A huge gash revealed Sampo’s leg, skin discolored in fresh red blood, it dyed the snow and created a trail. Blue eyes followed and found a discarded metal fence behind them, its sharp points drenched in the same color.
Ah.
Had the situation been far from dire, Gepard would have found the time to annoy Sampo for his errancy. However, this sight worried him just enough to focus more on eliminating the uncomforting look that didn’t suit Sampo’s face. Besides, he could always pester the man next time.
“Hey, can you hear me?” Gepard softened his tone lest he worsens Sampo’s condition. The captain kneeled to the ground and inspected the man closer. He was getting paler and paler by the minute, beads of cold sweat accelerated falling due to his rapid, short breaths. It seemed that getting a proper response was out of the question.
“Koski, you better hang in there.”
With a frown, Gepard swiftly took out a few rolls of bandage that were hidden in different parts of his armor. He always carried a few ones around in the common case of obtaining an injury on duty. Gepard was no longer a stranger to bleeding at least once a week, so the least he could do was prepare for uninvited wounds.
It was a bad place for proper treatment so the captain only did what he could do at the moment—clean the wound with a handkerchief, and wrap it with the bandage. It took almost all of his rolls to keep Sampo’s blood from seeping through.
Sampo’s breaths slowed down after getting his leg wrapped, now unable to move his lower body more because of the tight bandage, and less because of the injury.
“Heh…” Sampo managed to wheeze out after the pain subsided with time. “…what an honor, to have the captain of all people…treat me this well…”
“…” Gepard only gave him an unamused look.
“This memory shall forever occupy the VIP seat of my mind…” Sampo feigned a gasp, “And oh my, your bandaging skills are worthy of a degree…”
Sigh…
“From how well you’re hiding your discomfort, I say your acting is more deserving of that.” Gepard sighed heavily and sat beside Sampo, facing him with a serious expression. “Does…your leg feel better now?”
“Aww, are you worried about good ol’ me?”
“Sampo Koski.” Gepard cut him off with a stern voice, including the same look he wore when commanding an army. “Just this once, be honest with me. I need to know if there are other wounds I left unattended.”
“…”
“I just want to make sure you’re alright.”
A hint of surprise washed over Sampo’s face for a moment before he regained his usual composure. “N-now, now, such a harmless and trivial mishap is no problem to a fine gentleman such as myself! But, it wouldn’t hurt to take your offer, captain. How could I refuse when you ask like that~?”
“Good.” Gepard shrugged. “Since that’s settled, I’ll be taking you to jail now.”
The phrase triggered Sampo’s flight response, considering how many times that threat loomed him over their every chase. Sampo stood up quickly but sat back down just as fast when a sharp sensation that ran from his foot up to his shoulders warned him to remain immobile.
“Ugh…” A groan slipped out of his lips.
“Easy.” Gepard’s calmness remained. As if he had anticipated that to happen, a small smile sat on his mouth.
At that, Sampo froze for a few seconds before he quickly shook his head, refusing to break his common countenance. “No can do. A fine businessman such as myself couldn’t possibly survive in the slammer! Won’t you reconsider for me?”
“What did you steal this time, anyway?” Gepard answered his question with another as he reached for Sampo’s pockets, ignoring the latter’s weak protests at preventing him from discovering a tiny red box. “This is…?”
“None of your business. Give it!” Sampo reached out, and Gepard only needed to lean back a few inches to keep it out of the other man’s reach, taking advantage of his limited movements.
Clack. Inside the box were…
“Golden marbles?” Gepard took one out and inspected it. “They glow, too.”
Sampo clicked his tongue and snatched the box, as well as the marble that Gepard had been holding. “I didn’t steal that, just so you know.”
“…huh?”
“It’s for Hook. Ah, some kid’s birthday. You wouldn’t know them. They’re from the underworld.” Sampo refused to look him in the eye as he chattered. “I bought this. Yes, with legal currency obtained from legal means. Don’t you worry your pretty head about it.”
Gepard crossed his arms. “If that’s the case, then why did you run away, and not deny my accusations?”
“The chase is always fun, hehe~ It’s not every day the finest of captains would go after me. And besides…” A soft sigh escaped Sampo’s lips. “It’s not like you’d believe me if I did.”
“With the amount of lies you have served me; how could I believe you?”
A tinge of melancholy escaped Sampo’s poor attempt at a smile after hearing his words. Gepard has interacted with enough people to fail to notice the genuineness of such sorrow. It reminded him of the time a soldier under his command spoke to another about being fine with dying on the battlefield as he had no one to go home to. It reminded him of the time he assisted a civilian who passed out on the street from overworking themselves and it turned out to be a desperate attempt of distraction.
It all reflected loneliness.
In Sampo’s case, perhaps no one has truly believed in him before.
“How could I, unless you show me that the case is otherwise?” The captain mirrored Sampo’s hollow smile, quite touched at the part of himself he showed Gepard.
Given the opportunity to contemplate, Gepard realized he never really had a proper conversation with the man. Huh.
“…” Sampo gave him a strange look then. Surprise, relief, doubt…Gepard couldn’t tell what dish these mixtures of different expressions were trying to create. The chaotic disturbance in those emerald eyes stirred something within Gepard.
He already had his fair share of storms, but Gepard was not confident if this was something he could take.
“Koski, for what it’s worth, I…” Gepard turned away. Given their history, Sampo was not someone he could tell this to and look him squarely in the eye at the same time. At least, not yet. “I apologize. It was not my intention to corner you to take the roof and slip like that. My unjust pursuit cost you the inability to walk for a few days at most. For that, I am sorry. That is why I will personally escort you to the Underworld clinic, assuming that you’d be more comfortable there.”
“…mn.” Sampo nodded slowly, still staring at him with an unreadable expression.
“Of course, this incident doesn’t mean that any of your past crimes have been pardoned. Got that?”
“…mm-hmm.” A softer hum.
“I’ll let you go. Just this once.”
“…yes.”
Gepard found his responses uncharacteristically too quiet. He slowly turned around and found the other staring at him.
Sampo had a face void of hints which made it quite hard to tell what he was thinking. What he could ascertain, though, was the faint opacity of red that flushed Sampo’s ears. It seems they have stayed far too long in the snow.
When suddenly, Sampo’s gaze softened, a barely noticeable smile sat on his mouth. What was wrong with this man today, Gepard could never surely tell.
Just then, Gepard remembered the reason why he went out to town in the first place —Serval had sent him to fetch some gears. Ah, right.
The captain took out his phone and sent a quick message to his sister that he’d be a bit late. After hurriedly cleaning up the fence with the extra bandages that he had, Gepard returned to Sampo’s side just in time to catch him struggling to stand up on his own.
“Koski-”
“Hush.” Sampo placed a soft tap on Gepard’s lips to cut him off. The action earned a faint flush of red to cover Gepard’s cheeks.
“…what.”
“You’ve helped me enough, Gep.” Sampo whispered, refusing to let anything else know that he was capable of such words. The con man leaned in closer to Gepard’s ears while giving him a small smile. “Thanks, my cute captain.”
Gep? C-cute?! Gepard stiffened from the shivers he felt. Seeing that he was unable to reply, Sampo continued.
“I’ll be sure to return the favor next time, hmm?” With an almost inaudible grunt, Sampo started sprinting away. “See ya!”
Gepard made no move to follow. After all, he declared to let him go, but just this once.
Mini play for chapter 1:
Serval: I wish we could just block people in real life.
Gepard: Restraining order.
Sampo: Murder.