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Golden rays filtered through the crack of the black out curtains, shining down on Kayn’s sleeping face. The light behind lit up and filled his vision as he was greeted by its warmth caress. He yawned, moving to stretch his lithe arms over his head only to find they were bound by strong muscular arms and a warm chest pressed up against his back. He couldn’t help but wonder what today’s plans entailed, what mission he'd have to go on, even when laying in the comfort of their bed. Rhaast was quiet too, bound in tarp and rope shoved deep in the closet, perhaps he was still resting. Not like the darkin ever ‘slept’.
Zed stirred behind him, pressing his face into the crook of his neck with a sigh, inhaling his scent. Kayn chuckled, resting his hand gently on top of Zed's larger one. A low voice rumbled behind him with a groan, “Mm, good morning Shieda.” His breath tickled Kayn’s neck as he spoke, the older man’s arms wrapping his waist tighter in a proper hug before letting him go and shuffling to face him. His strong arms formed a little cage that rapped Kayn beneath the man in a cozy comfortable way.
Kayn rolled onto his back with a smile as Zed hovered inches from his face, face dusted with a red flush, “Hey.” His hand went to cup his master’s cheek, gently running his thumb across the small battle wounds and studying the small wrinkles across the surface. Zed sighed and closed his ruby red eyes, crow’s feet crinkling. He leaned into Kayn’s cool palm, kissing the heel of it briefly and letting out a satisfying hum, “You’re awfully affectionate today…” Kayn noted quietly, not needing to speak so loud for Zed to hear in the quiet of their bedroom.
The man above him opened his eyes again and chuckled, “Have you forgotten what today was? Or shall I remind you?” He whispered, leaning down to kiss Kayn’s forehead, right under where his hair parted. Kayn’s gold eyes grew wide with realization to which Zed suppressed a small laugh, and with a wobbly grin, “Do you remember?”
Kayn could blame it on his negligence or how busy the two of them had been lately with defending their homelands from the Noxian invaders to fending off the local vastaya. Although there was a more than reasonable explanation for him forgetting he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
How could he ever forget the day his master had rescued him though?
He had saved him from his fate, choosing mercy over violence and choosing to shelter the Noxian youth rather than kill. Kayn could almost laugh at the memory, how pathetic he was to stand up to Zed with a mere farming sickle, the cruel irony now being he wielded a scythe that could potentially end the world. Though some parts are now hazy, he could never forget the fear that had wormed its way into his core as he stood on the banks of the Epool river, surrounded by corpses and covered in mud.
Staring at the masked man cloaked in shadow and steel had triggered the instinctual fear that resided deep within mortals, but Kayn did not run. He grit his teeth and dug his heel into the ground. Whether it was Noxian ideologies or his desire to live that influenced his actions that fateful day, it had resulted in the trajectory of his life turning around entirely. No longer was he the orphan boy from the slums of Noxus, sold to be a child soldier and sent to a foreign land. Shieda Kayn was the wielder of the darkin scythe, a lethal practitioner of shadow magic and acolyte to Zed.
Zed who had become his lover, his light and his only family.
Since most child soldiers had no record in Noxus, Kayn had not known his birthday. He could only estimate how many moon cycles he had gone through when he started ‘working’ in the Noxian camps. With Zed it was different, he had declared the day they had met as Kayn’s birthday and went from there, using it as a marker. Every year, Zed would bring Kayn a gift, a small trinket to keep in the monastery. His favorite would always be the first gift, a delicately
“I’m… I’m sorry master Zed, I… I forgot,” Shame washed over his features as he turned his head to the side to avoid his gaze. Annoyance of his own forgetfulness began to brew before it was put to a pause with a slow kiss.
When Zed pulled away, he loomed over him, “You don’t need to be sorry Shieda, you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s your day to celebrate,” His eyebrows furrowed as he examined his student, using one arm to hold himself up, he used the other to pull on Kayn’s chin and look him in the eyes. Kayn’s golden eyes were glassy with unshed tears, his lip wobbling ever so slightly as he looked up at Zed, “What’s wrong…?”
“I… I should’ve remembered.”
“We’ve been busy lately Shieda it’s alright-”
“But it isn’t!” His voice wobbled with uncertainty, “It isn’t! I… It’s not just about me. How could I ever forget the day you saved me? The day I was standing at the banks waiting to die when you saved me. How could I forget that-”
“Only for a second, and even if you completely forgot the whole day today and realized tomorrow morning, I would never be annoyed. As much as you tell yourself that I was the one saving you, you were saving me too…” Zed watched as small thin streaks ran down the side of Kayn’s eyes and into his hair, “You were there at my closest and there at my highs, you had every opportunity to leave me and find someone better to teach you. Someone who could do more than thrust you into combat, I wish I could’ve done more for you.” He sighed, reaching a hand up to swipe away the tears on his cheeks. Zed gave Kayn a fond and reassuring smile, warmth radiating from Kayn’s chest like a fire being lit.
Kayn swallowed, "I wouldn’t have had it any other way… I grew up strong, didn’t I?” he muttered, raising his arms to wrap around Zed and pull him down onto his chest and share their body heat. Zed leaned into his touch allowing his tense muscles to relax and let Kayn maneuver him so that he lay completely on top of the younger man, straddling his lap. Kayn nuzzled into Zed’s white locks breathing in the scents of sandalwood and citrus undertones. He held onto the older man like a lifeline, just as he had in his youth, “I love you… I love you so much and you don’t know how grateful I am for you...” His tearful confession brought a pink hue to his ears and tip of his nose, hidden from Zed’s sight.
He could feel Zed’s lips curl up against his skin before he placed a kiss there too and mumbled back, “I love you too,” Kayn gripped Zed’s back harder, in an almost fearful way. Where if he so much as loosened his grip, Zed may melt away, “More than you’ll ever know.”
The two basked in the almost darkness of the room for what seemed like hours, simply existing in each other’s presence. Though logically he knew he had to get up soon, the warmth and comfort he found in Zed’s arms and the reassurance that he was loved so deeply, appreciated like no other, kept him entangled. It would be another day, another mission and another step closer to freeing Ionia.
It was another day by Zed’s side and Kayn was eternally grateful for that.