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With a thunk of wood against stone he closed the doors of his cell. He purposely chose one of the first cells in the corridor because those were larger, and they actually had windows, so at least he would be able to see the sun. Outside, the guards were still trying to talk him out of his decision, but he turned around, ignoring them, so they eventually gave up. They couldn't force him to get out. This was his decision. Still, Adolin looked at the walls of his cell with dismay. It seemed ridiculous that he'd risk so much for a man that he barely knew, but it was right. Back at the duel, for a moment, he thought he was done for, but Kaladin was the only man brave enough to jump into the arena and save him, even if he hated Adolin. It pained him to think that he was alone now locked up in a small dark cell, alone.
He sat on the cold stone bench taking a look at his surroundings. Even with the small barred window, his enclosure was bleak, gray stone cold, and bare too, because he wasn't supposed to be there. The guards didn't have the time to prepare a comfortable room for him. Adolin was grateful for it, though, the cold stone felt good against his hot red skin, and he needed the silence to calm down. He still hasn't shaken up the adrenaline from the duel, and seeing Kaladin being imprisoned made him go frantic like a man on a suicide mission.
“Storms…”
“Soldier”
His father's voice startled him and he jumped to his feet.
“Dad?” Dalinar stood on the other side of the bars, his back straight as a column. “If you are here to discourage me from my decision…”
“Peace, Adolin, I'm just here to ask you a question”
Adolin's shoulders relaxed. He watched his father's brow furrow as he thought of the correct way to word his query.
“Is your admiration of Captain Kaladin so great that you would accompany him here? To this awful place?”
“Of course!” Adolin grew agitated again. He walked up to his father and grabbed the bars of the cell. “Is the honorable choice, the least I should do, for him.”
Dalinar nodded thoughtfully.
“That's fine son I just hope your good intentions aren't misguided”
“Is not, I know it in my heart”
It was a heavy burden, to care for someone that despises you so much, but he would do it, especially for him.
It was always like this. When will he learn? Did he really believe that messing around with lighteyes's problems will turn out fine this time?
Kaladin was pacing back and forth, feeling like a caged white spine while Syl looked at him. She was sitting on his bed and tilted her head slightly at him.
“Kaladin, what is this really about?”
“This is about Adolin. Who else would it be?”
“But he didn't put you in prison though.”
“I know it's just…” He felt himself losing energy little by little so he sat down next to her, his body feeling heavy. “I shouldn't have intervened, at the duel, I should have let things go their course”
“No, Kaladin, you know that's not right,” she hugged herself, her voice sounding small.
“My duty is to protect Bridge four. How am I gonna do that from here?”
“But you already saved them…”
“So now I have to kill myself to save every lighteyes that stupidly gets in harm's way?”
Syl seemed to shrink at that. “No… Not like that…”
Kaladin felt a pang of guilt. “I'm sorry, Syl.” His eyes started pricking with tears. “I just didn't want to end up in a cage again”
“We will get through this Kaladin” he felt a faint touch on his cheek and saw her from the corner of his eye caressing him “I promise it”
Kaladin's head hung loosely on his shoulders. He wanted to speak, but a weakness washed over him, and he had to lay down. Syl watched him with sadness as he drifted off to sleep.
“He's free. Can we be done with this false, your Highness?” The jailer said as he opened the door of his cell.
Adolin grinned wickedly. He gladly went out of the cell and turned to take a good look at Kaladin.
He was as handsome as the last time he saw him. A beard of a few weeks had formed on his chin and his mouth was open in surprise. Adolin savored his surprise for a few more seconds before asking the guards about his orders to prepare the shards for him. The jailer informed him that they were in the next room waiting for them and he went to get them while Kaldin inquired the poor man about Adolin’s imprisonment.
Adolin heard someone running up to him from behind. He didn't turn.
“Why?” he heard Kaldin say. The hairs on the back of his neck stood tall.
“I just couldn't bear the thought of you alone in there after you saved me…”
“I ruined your chance to duel Sadeas.”
“Without you, I wouldn't be able to fight anyway,” Adolin said, shaking his head. The prince stopped in the hallway and looked at Kaladin. “Besides. You saved Renarin.”
“It’s my job,” Kaladin said.
An idea occurred to him.
“You should go out with me…”
Kaladin started opening his mouth to protest so he clarified quickly.
“After you celebrate with your men. I would like to go have a moment with you, just you and I,” he exhaled. “You don't have to, but…”
Blush colored Kaladin’s face. “A date? You want to go on a date?” He raised his voice, clearly upset.
Adolin raised his hands in front of him in defeat.
“Fine. Just. Forget about it.” He turned away.
“Wait!” Kaladin said from behind him and Adolin held his breath, not wanting to celebrate beforehand. “What exactly would entail this date?”
Adolin smiled “I was thinking we should go to an armory. I've been wanting to buy a new sword lately, besides you could use one too after that maybe have lunch”
Kaladin frowned.
“A sword? But I'm dark eyes”
Adolin chuckled “Not for long”
In the end, Kaladin didn't accept the Shards. This surprised him but at least he hadn't backed down on his date.
He leaned against the wall of the alley beside the armory, scanning the crowd, looking for a grumpy Bridgeman with shoulder-length hair. Eventually, Adolin saw him, a good head taller than everyone else Kaladin stood out from the crowd. Adolin scrambled to get up from his relaxed position to a more dignified one.
"Ah, um, Adolin, I... came," He said, running his hand through his hair.
Adolin smiled, it was endearing to see the usually stoic Kaladin so flustered. He wondered how much he could get away with. Well, time to find out.
"Let's go inside," Adolin said, lips dangerously close to Kaladin's ear and interlocked their arms together.
“Umm, alright" Kaladin let him guide him through the front door.
Immediately a clerk approached them.
"Good morning, gentlemen; what can I help you with today?"
Adolin put on his princely voice.
"I have been told a new wagon full of new merchandise came from Alethkar. I would like to see it"
"Of course Your Highness, follow me."
They followed down a corridor to a dimly lit room full of display cabinets.
"I will leave you to it" The man bowed and left them alone.
Kaladin looked around the room.
"Impressive," he whistled
There were rows after rows of display cabinets filled with swords of all kinds of sizes and shapes. Some were clearly decorative with intricately carved blades and handles encrusted with precious stones highlighted by the spheres inside the cabinets. It was breathtaking.
Kaladin's wide-eyed expression made Adolin smile.
“See something you like?” He felt like an eager puppy waiting for the approval of his master but he didn't care.
“I don't even know where to start…” His gaze wandered for a few seconds more before landing in a corner of the room.
Half hidden in the shadows there was a wooden spear. On itself, it didn't seem that special compared with the other wonders around. The wood was good quality, and the carving was certainly done well, but it wasn't as eye-catching as the other stuff in the room.
Kaladin grabbed it, feeling the carvings with his fingers.
“You know how I first realized I wanted to be a soldier?” He said without looking at Adolin, his gaze still fixed on the spear.
Adolin didn’t know what to say. The conversation took a serious tone; he wondered if he had said something wrong. Kaladin didn't wait for him to answer.
“I was rude to one of the kids I used to play with back in my hometown. He challenged me to a duel with a quarterstaff and I accepted because I wanted to impress a girl that I liked at the time,” he chuckled somberly. “I lost, hard; I didn't have any training, so there wasn't any way for me to win but for a moment…” Kaladin looked at him, smiling. “For a moment, my movements sang like the wind. It was intoxicating”
He put the spear back in his place and turned around to see Adolin looking at him with his mouth open.
“Ah, sorry, I kinda took over the conversation with sad memories of my life.” Kaladin scratched the back of his neck.
“No! You should tell me about your life” Adolin grabbed Kaladin's shoulders, a childlike eagerness on his face. “I like it”
A laugh escaped him despite himself. “All right then, let's pick up that sword”
Kaladin scanned around the room again, this time looking for something specific. His eyes land on a short saber on one of the shelves.
The sword was beautifully made. The handle and scabbard were studded with turquoise and decorated with soft red velvet. The blade itself had leaves motives inlaid in gold in it and was slightly curved at the end. He opened the case and felt the smoothness of the steel with his fingers.
“That's a good one, probably doesn't have a very good balance but gorgeous nonetheless”
“I wouldn’t want to wield it around anyway”
Adolin cocked his head, he wanted to ask but he didn't feel like pressuring Kaladin was the right thing. Maybe if he gave him space he would tell him eventually. Tentatively, he laid a hand on Kaladin's shoulder.
“I'll have to get over this weakness soon…” Kaladin's brow was furrowed as if he was in deep thought. “I need to be prepared in case the Assassin in White returns.”
“You did fine last time,” Adolin spoke softly, emphasizing his words with gentle rubs on Kaladin's back who grunted but continued to glare at the shelves. “Hey, look at me”
Reluctantly Kaladin obeyed him. Their eyes met, and suddenly, Adolin was hyper-aware of every single detail on Kaladin's face. The way his throat bobbed, the shape of his nose, his eyes, and his slightly parted lips. His heart pounded and he felt the urge to get closer and close the gap between their lips. He took a step but stopped, this wasn't the right place.
“We should go to the front to pay for the sword.” He said abruptly, pulling back his hand and putting some distance between them. “Yeah, let's get you a treat, you deserve it”
Confusion was clear on Kaladin's face, but Adolin ignored it; he grabbed the sword, closed the display cabinet, and walked to the front desk of the shop without looking back at Kaladin but praying for him to follow him without questions.
Adolin paid for the sword and made an effort to avoid Kaladin's gaze as much as he could. The clerk didn't seem to notice the awkwardness between them and attended them as eagerly as ever. The sword would be delivered to Kaladin's room, so they were free to keep strolling around as they pleased.
They said their goodbyes to the clerk and stepped outside.
“Well, what do we do now?” Kaladin said.
The sun was setting over the horizon and Salas slowly started to show her purple face. Adolin thought for a minute about what he wanted. They could go to a restaurant or a bar, but it wouldn't be better to go somewhere special if the writings in the wall that showed up after highstorms were any indication the world was close to unraveling. He should make his confessions while he can.
“I want to show you something”
The trees moved back as Kaladin took another step up the hill. Months of bridge runs gave him enough physical resistance that he didn't hyperventilate as much while doing heavy physical work, sweat still trickled down his forehead as he followed Adolin up the hill.
“Is this your idea of fun? Taking me for a hike?”
“Come on, we're almost there,” Adolin said from ahead, laughing in his voice.
Kaladin sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Are you gonna kiss him now? You should kiss him now.” Syl zipped around him as a ribbon of light.
“Syl!” he muttered between his teeth.
“What? You were gonna kiss him before, just do it now.”
It wasn't that simple. Even if he didn't imagine the spark between him and Adolin back at the armory, he clearly regretted it at the last minute. Probably for the best anyway; there were simply too many things against them; he couldn’t blame Adolin for not wanting to have a relationship with someone like him, even if it made his heart hurt and his eyes prickle with tears.
Finally, they reach the top of the hill.
“Ah, we're here,” Adolin said, grass retreating as he lay on the ground.
Kaladin sat next to him.
“All right, what did you want to show me?”
Adolin's hand shot up pointing to the sky.
“You took me here just to show me the sky?” Kaladin gave him a puzzled look but then he lifted his eyes and actually looked.
They were high enough that they could see the sun almost setting on the horizon. The sunset tinted the sky with a purple color which mixed with Salas violet light making the sky a canvas of shades ranging from pink to violet, adorned by thousands of diamond like stars.
Kaladin marveled at this sight, finally understanding why they came here. He sighed, feeling peaceful. This reminded him of days spent on the rooftops of his house with Tien and Mom.
Adolin spoke first.
"I sometimes wander off here to cool off," he said "Not often though, I prefer to hang out with my horse"
Kaladin discovered himself smiling at the man.
"Of course you do..."
"I need to say something," Adolin interrupted him, sitting upright abruptly. "I have- I'm." He paused, breathing in as if steeling himself for something. "I have feelings for you."
Kaladin released a breath that he didn't know he was holding and, almost against his will, started chuckling.
"Don't laugh..." Adolin deflated.
"I'm not laughing at you, sorry!" Kaladin put his hands in front of himself as if creating a barrier between him and Adolin. " You just took me by surprise. I thought you didn't like me, I mean. Why didn't you kiss me before?"
"I wanted to do things right because my feelings are special, and I wanted to prove that to you. I'm going to tell my dad and talk with Shallan to break up our betrothal. I'm sure she'll understand..."
"Now you're just rambling princeling"
"I'm being honest"
"I know..." Kaladin glanced away from Adolin to the wilderness below. His hopeful puppy face was too much to bear.
"So?..." Adolin finally broke the silence.
"This is a bad idea. This horrible idea"
“I'm not exactly known for my good judgment in my family." He joked.
"No, you don't understand, I was a slave like weeks ago. I don't even know if this relationship is allowed..."
"The highprinces don't like us much anyway, so I might as well live my life while I'm at it, and you should too. You're already living outside of traditional Vorin costumes by being a dark-eyed captain. This is the same, more or less." He waved a hand dismissively.
A realization dawned upon Kaladin.
"Wait, is this why you gave me those shards?" His voice raised in alarm.
"No, no! You earned those shards. I wouldn't do a thing like that, Kaladin." Adolin said defeated. "You can just say you don't feel the same, it's fine"
Kaladin, realizing his mistake, scrambled to clarify his stance.
"No that's not..." Adolin shrinks. "I also feel the same! I love you. I... I'm just worried."
Adolin grinned, beaming like a ray of sunshine. He took Kaladin's hands and interlocked their fingers together.
"I can handle it, do you trust me on that?"
"I trust you."
"Perfect."
Adolin's lips were suddenly on his and Kaladin went still from surprise.
"Was it too soon?" Adolin separated himself from the kiss.
"No, it's just... took me by surprise." He blushed.
"Well, I'm gonna kiss you now." He said with a smile. "I'm going to kiss you here," he kissed him on the cheek. “And here." he kissed him on the tip of his nose.
Kaladin laughed. "You're ridiculous"
"...And here." He kissed him on the lips, and this time, Kaladin reciprocated hungrily, using his tongue to explore Adolin's mouth and soft lips.
"We should go back home," Kaladin said after a while, his lips red from kissing.
They look around and find that it has gotten quite dark around them.
"Ugh, Yeah." Disappointment was clear on Adolin's face.
"Tomorrow is the march to the center of the plains, we can talk there."
"I guess you're right." He pulled a sphere from his pocket. "Here, now we can see what's in front of us." He offered his hand to Kaladin.
Kaladin took it, and hand in hand, they descended through the dark. Together.