Work Text:
"Yesterday, I saw a dragon fly right over the city. Headed northeast. Toward Shearpoint, by the looks of it,” said the other guard as he passed by Sousuke’s post, yellow shield swinging with his arm as he walked through the marketplace, gave Sousuke a nod, and then turned around and resumed his usual pacing up and down the main street. To the gates and back, again and again, every day without end. Sousuke was glad he’d been given a station by the market—no pacing required. He just leaned back against the supports for the awning. More was likely to happen in the main marketplace anyway. Walking around the Wind District didn’t get very interesting. Stationed between Arcadia’s Cauldron and Belethor’s General Goods, he had a good view of the entire market, small though it may be, and, perhaps more importantly, he had a good view of the entrance to the Bannered Mare, the town tavern. He mostly handled petty thievery and drunken brawls. It’d been too long since he’d had a good bandit raid.
It wasn’t easy, making the transition from Companion to Whiterun city guard, trading heavy, quality, steel armor and a sword made at the Skyforge itself for the leather armor with a yellow sash and a simple steel sword probably forged years ago. Dull old thing couldn’t even cut butter. And the helmet? Absolutely suffocating. He didn’t even wear it most of the time. How those other guards could stand to have their entire head covered all night and day was beyond him. At least the armor was scaled and there was some chain mail to protect him—just in case someone came at him with a butter knife.
He’d been against leaving the Companions ever since he’d been injured and he couldn’t wield his greatsword anymore. He could still use one-handed swords, and Athis was even willing to train him in one-handed weaponry so that he’d be back out there protecting the people of Skyrim as he’d vowed to do. There was honor in being a Companion and living in Jorrvaskr, defending Skyrim with shield-brothers and shield-sisters at his back. There was no honor in leaving them.
Yet, Kodlak was firm. His injury was something even the healers at the temple of Kynareth couldn’t mend and it would only get worse with his weapon of choice and considering the danger of their occupation. How would he fare if his right shoulder was wounded again in battle? Even swinging his sword had made him wince. They didn’t doubt the size of his heart or his mettle, only his strength. No shield-brother or shield-sister, no matter how much they all loved and cared for him, could be responsible for him if he got hurt, none of them could be expected to bear him as a burden, and he could not offer them his best as their shield-brother with such a severe injury.
Thus, with a heavy heart, he was sent away. At least Irileth had had some mercy on him, giving him a job as a guard. He wasn’t exactly suited for shopkeeping or smithing…
Hurrying down the steps from the Wind District, there was Makoto, looking like he was holding his forearm rather close to the chest, a bit of ash smeared across his cheek and all over the front of his apron, and Sousuke raised a brow. “Hey... What’s the hurry?” he asked as Makoto came closer.
Out of breath, Makoto paused, but managed to give him a weak smile. “Ah, nothing at all! I was just clumsy is all…” He trailed off, adjusting his grip on his hand and wincing.
“Burned yourself on the forge again, huh?” Sousuke asked, feeling bad for the guy. The two of them had been close, what with him being Eorlund’s apprentice and Sousuke having been a Companion, but he didn’t get to see him as often lately. Still, it seemed he was always getting hurt and, day or night, he’d come running to Arcadia for a healing potion. Luckily, Sousuke had one on him, so he needn’t waste the coin. “Here,” he said, offering the bottle of red liquid.
“Ah, you’re the best!” Makoto said, taking it eagerly and throwing it back. It took a moment to work, but soon the red glow from the burn along his forearm began to fade. Makoto let out a sigh of relief, saying, “It keeps happening… The skyforge isn’t as easy to work as the others!”
“Keep practicing,” Sousuke said, trying to be reassuring, offering him a soft grin. “Companions are counting on you.”
Makoto smiled back. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said with a sigh. A moment passed between them as Makoto wiped at some of the ash on his cheek, only smudging it further. Then, green eyes full of concern and care, he asked cautiously, “How’re things for you here?”
Sousuke rubbed the side of his neck and looked away, unable to hold Makoto’s gaze for too long. He wasn’t good. He was bored. He was itching for a chance to prove himself. He sometimes wished someone would attack the city just to see some action. He was living in guard barracks, sleeping on a cot that was none-too comfortable and far less cozy than the beds in Jorrvaskr. He was still experiencing pain in his right shoulder whenever he reached for the sword on his hip. He hadn’t heard from Rin in weeks, and the last time he saw him was when he’d been headed up to High Hrothgar to see if those Dragonborn legends were true—and if he was one. His feet hurt from the fur boots he had to wear. He couldn’t breathe with his helmet on. He kept finding Momo harassing Gou at her stand in the marketplace. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a day off or a good drink, though he was still dizzy all last night from some potion Ai said would bolster his strength and turned out to be poisonous (though, that was partially Sousuke’s fault for accepting unknown liquids from an apprentice potions maker).
"Rin's out fighting dragons, and what do I get?... Guard duty," he finally said with a sigh, letting his hand fall to his side.
“Uh… Speaking of guard duty…,” Makoto said, his attention stolen away by something happening to his right. He pointed over toward where Ysolda was standing, having a chat with Gou… and where a man in a dark leather, hooded outfit was creeping around awfully close to the coin purse on Ysolda’s belt. He knew that armor from his travels as a Companion. That was Thieves Guild armor, without a doubt.
“Head back to your forge,” Sousuke said, drawing his sword the moment he saw the thief’s fingers wrap around the purse.
Makoto nodded and scurried away as the guards rushed forward, but another guard beat Sousuke to the punch. Damn.
"By order of the Jarl, stop right there!" the guard demanded while he stood facing the unnamed thief who’d been caught red-handed with Ysolda’s coin purse. “You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people. What say you in your defense?"
Sousuke reluctantly sheathed his sword and returned to his post, but he kept his eyes on the scene. Not everyone came quietly…
The thief slumped, clearly not a fan of being caught doing what he was supposed to be good at. Then, in a move that was more confusing than anything, he leaned closer to the guard who’d caught him, fingers walking up the front of his armor and playing with the leather strap across his chest. “How about…,” he said in a smooth voice, almost seductive with the way his words seemed to drift in the air like smoke, curling its way around the guard’s head and seeping into his skin to cloud his mind, “I pay you some gold... and you look the other way?” He held up the purse of coins he’d just lifted and gave it a playful shake so that all of the coins inside could be heard clinking against each other.
No way.
Sousuke raised both brows and scoffed in disbelief. He was trying to bribe the guard! Was he a complete idiot? They were Whiterun guards, sworn to uphold the law in this city and held to that oath by their honor. That’d never wor—
"Since you put it that way, I think we can overlook your crime for now,” the guard replied, raising a hand to snatch the leather coin purse from the thief’s hand. "Everything here appears to be in order,” he said, pocketing the money. “You can move along now.”
Sousuke couldn’t see the thief’s face for the dark hood over it, but he was certain he saw him blow a kiss at the guard before he turned away and practically skipped up the stone steps to the Wind District.
He was disgusted. Appalled. Absolutely infuriated. He wouldn’t have been surprised if there was actual steam coming out of his ears with how angry he was.
A guard accepted a bribe from that scum and just let him walk! What happened to honor and upholding the law? He had no idea the city guards could be so corrupt!
“Oi,” he growled dangerously as he chased after the guard, catching him just in front of Warmaiden’s, grabbing him by the yellow sash he wasn’t fit to wear and holding him against Adrianne’s workbench. “The hell was that? We don’t accept bribes.”
The guard tried to tug Sousuke’s hands away, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Like hell you don’t. Hand it over,” Sousuke demanded and, when the guard hesitated, he reached for the coin purse himself. “You don’t deserve to wear this armor,” he said with a dangerous tone, brows deeply furrowed in disappointment and anger. He shoved the man away and stalked back to the marketplace.
Ysolda was still at Gou’s stand, chatting politely, saying, “Those green apples you sold me the other day were delicious."
“‘scuse me,” Sousuke said, cutting into their conversation politely. He held out the coin purse, saying, “This belongs to you.”
“Oh… Thank you,” Ysolda said, though she seemed confused as she opened her hands to receive the purse. “I must’ve dropped it without realizing.”
No. A thief came and took it and then the guard that was supposed to detain said thief was bribed to look the other way and let him walk. “Yeah…,” Sousuke said. “Just be more careful next time.”
After a nod to Ysolda, he turned and headed back to his post, still irritated from before. When he made his vow to serve the city of Whiterun, he’d vowed to stop crime, not to let it pass and take bribes. If he had to clean up the city all on his own because the other guards were too corrupt, though, he certainly would. Somebody had to keep order around here.
The rest of the day, thankfully, went by without incident. People traded their wares coming and going, adventurers wandered through the town on their way to the Cloud District to see the Jarl, guards (which Sousuke no longer entirely trusted) did their rounds, and Sousuke kept a look out for that thief. He could still be around somewhere and Sousuke intended to make sure he paid for his crimes next time—and there would be a next time. Thieves didn’t often strike once or give up when they were caught.
Around sunset, though, he was, unfortunately, off duty and he had to entrust Whiterun at night to the care of some guards he hoped were more honorable than their daytime counterparts.
He grabbed a Black-Briar mead (because that Honningbrew mead was nothing more than swill) from the Bannered Mare and then headed toward the barracks. He’d just taken the first swig of his mead when he finally spotted him: the thief.
“Hands to yourself, sneak thief,” he warned with no small hint of disdain in his tone, his eyes narrowed at the thief he’d spied sneaking around in the shadows just outside the tavern.
The hooded thief turned toward him and stood up straight to face him, pulling the hood from his face and, for just a moment, Sousuke allowed himself to think that he was pretty. Just a moment. Then, he remembered he was a thief and that he’d bribed a guard earlier and suddenly his looks didn’t matter so much.
Pouting with lips that glistened with moisture under the light of the moon, the thief whined, “I wasn’t even doing anything… I don’t have a bounty on me, so you can’t pick on me just for walking around.”
Hmph . "Only burglars and vampires creep around after dark. So which are you?"
The thief tsk-tsked, brushing past him with a small wink as he chimed in his velvety tenor, “Not telling.”
Sousuke turned to watch him walk away, those slim hips swaying to and fro like some mesmerizing pendulum. Snap out of it, he told himself firmly. He called after the swaying hips, "Try to hide it all you want. I know you're in the Thieves Guild… Don't think you can barter with me like I'm one of those damned shopkeepers."
Whirling around on the balls of his feet like a swift-footed khajiit, moonlight glinting off of the buckles along his armor, the thief flashed him a smile. “Guess you’ll have to keep an eye on me then.”
Glaring back at him, he warned one last time, “Cause trouble in Whiterun, and I'll haul you into the Dragonsreach dungeon myself."
“Sounds like a date,” the thief replied, blowing him a kiss and sauntering away.
Tch. Sousuke wiped away the imaginary kiss with a look of disgust and turned back toward the barracks, shaking his head to cast away images of how the moonlight had played in that bouncing, soft pink hair. He knew about him and his honeyed words… He wouldn’t be falling for it.
He threw his shield and his sword down on the cot that was his and then took up a chair in the corner of the room, running a hand through the dark hair on top of his head as he slouched down.
“Rough day, Companion?” one of the other guards asked as they all filed in from work, sitting at tables or on their cots to empty the dirt and rocks from their fur boots and finally take off their helmets. "Be glad you're here in the city, and not out in Riverwood. Those poor sods don't even have a wall."
Sou frowned, shooting him a very clear I’m-not-in-the-mood-for-small-talk look. Besides, he wasn’t a Companion anymore. He wished they’d stop calling him that.
"Been a murder, over in Riften. Some old lady who runs an orphanage. Those poor children must be heartbroken,” said another guard, taking a bottle of Honningbrew mead from the folds of his yellow sash and lifting it to his lips.
Ugh . That stuff had to taste horrible. Sousuke understood that the meadery was right outside of Whiterun and that Black-Briar mead was more expensive, but it was worth the cost if the taste—
Wait.
Where was his mead?
He’d had it just before…
Sousuke’s hands flew to his pockets. Empty. That little thief!
He rose from his chair immediately in a fury and took up his sword from his cot, the vein in his neck clearly visible with how his pulse was racing, hot and angry, turning his face nearly red. That thief was going to face justice if it was the last thing Sousuke did!
“Trouble?” another guard asked, nervously eyeing Sou’s sword, despite how well they all knew that the swords were hardly sharpened.
Another asked, “Everything alright?”
He ignored them, abruptly taking his leave and stomping out into the night. He had a feeling he knew exactly where to find that thief.
He headed directly for the marketplace. Unmanned stalls and lockboxes with coin and wares left out overnight were the exact sort of thing that thief would want. It only made sense to wait for him there. Sousuke was no stealthy assassin or skinny mage, but he crept in the shadows nonetheless, eyes peeled, watching the stands in the marketplace for any sign of that leather-clad bastard.
At first, he thought it was just a trick of the light, but he could’ve sworn that, not minutes after he’d taken up his post, something moved near Fralia’s stall. Fralia sold jewelry, so he wouldn’t be surprised if that was a target. Some of the jewelry was in a locked case, but other bits and pieces were left out on display. It was normally such a safe city and the people completely trusted the city guard to protect their things, but… perhaps he ought to suggest to the Jarl that he have people lock up their goods at night. They’d avoid a lot more thievery that way.
He watched closely, eyes trained on the items on display. A silver necklace. A silver goblet. A floating ring. A silver pitcher.
Wait … A floating ring?
Son of a…
Sousuke glanced from the floating bit of silver to the guard on duty, confirming quickly that he had, indeed, no idea that there were items disappearing right from under his nose. He didn’t blame him, though. Damn thief must have one of those potions of invisibility. Must come in handy in that line of work..
Unlucky for this particular thief, Sousuke happened to know that those potions were limited to a certain amount of time. By Sousuke’s count, it had been just twenty or so seconds since he saw the first trick of the light, so it was unlikely there was much time left on his little potion. Any moment now, it would wear off and then Sousuke would have him.
The silver ring disappeared, of course. Pocketed. So, Sousuke had to watch for more tricks of the light to try to get an idea of where he would reappear, but, once the invisible figure slipped into the shadows, it was useless. Dammit …
Something poked him in the back, right at the base of his spine and he froze. “Looking for something?” came that same velvety tenor from before, the upward inflection of his tone giving away how very much fun he was having toying with Sousuke. “If you're trying to sneak, you could use practice.”
“Guard might get nervous… A man approaches with his weapon drawn,” Sousuke replied, straightening up and peeking over his shoulder to see the face of that same damned thief from before.
“Thief might get nervous… Stalkers waiting for him in the shadows,” the thief said with a suggestive smirk, standing up with him.
A stalker? “Don't flatter yourself,” he said coldly, facing front once more.
The dagger dug into his back just a bit more and the thief blew a bit of air through his nose. “You’re a rude guard.”
“You're a shitty thief,” Sou rebutted.
“Skeever brain.”
“Dragon breath.”
“Mountain troll!”
“Now who’s the rude one?” Sousuke asked with a smirk, peeking back again.
The thief pouted at him. “So mean…”
Sousuke almost found it cute. Almost. “So what's your plan?” he asked with a brow raised. “I thought thieves didn't kill.”
“We don't,” replied the thief, “but I'm still going to walk out of the city without a bounty.” There was a distinct note of playful challenge in his voice.
“How's that?” Sou asked, eyes narrowed. “You can't pay me off.”
The thief gave a little, tinkling laugh that floated through the air like a melody. “Mr. Guard… clearly you've never heard of me.”
Heard of him? “Am I supposed to know who you are?”
“I'd have thought it was obvious,” the thief replied, feigning disappointment that he recovered from only a moment later, eyes gleaming with mischief once more. “Want me to give you a clue?”
“You'll tell me your name?” Sousuke asked in disbelief. If this thief was that stupid, he was welcome to share. If he walked out of those city gates, he'd have his name and his face plastered across every hold in Skyrim before he reached Riften.
The thief nodded. “Toss your sword over there and turn around. I'll tell you who I am and then… I'll be taking my leave.”
Ha. Not very likely.
Sousuke held his arm out to the side and let the dull blade fall. Then, he slowly turned around. “Well?”
Still holding out the dagger aimed at Sousuke’s belly, the thief simply said, “Kiss me.”
Brows furrowing again, Sousuke frowned. “Like hell I'd do that.” He'd rather kiss a cow.
The dagger touched the front of his abdomen. “I said I'd tell you who I am. Kiss me.” He leaned up on the balls of his feet, lips puckered.
Ugh. The frown on Sousuke’s lips only deepened, carved deeply into his features, but the possibility of learning his name (purely for the purposes of keeping law and order, of course, and not because this thief was charming or attractive in any way) was too tempting to pass up.
So he did it. He kissed him. Jaw clenched almost as tightly as his fists, he pressed his lips to the lips of the thief. The kiss lasted only a brief moment, but even Sousuke could admit that the thief's moist lips weren't terrible.
When he pulled away a moment later and opened his eyes, the thief was grinning back at him, holding up… a bottle.
Shit.
Sousuke felt a freezing cold chill spread over his face and run down his spine, locking every muscle in his body exactly where it was, and he fell over, completely paralyzed from head to toe. He wanted to curse and strangle that damned thief, but all he could do was blame himself for being so pathetically gullible.
“Sorry I had to do that,” the thief said with no true remorse in his tone as he knelt down beside Sousuke's paralyzed body. “You gave me no choice.” He pulled the hood back up over his head and said, “The poison will wear off soon, so don't worry. You won't die.” With a little grin, he kissed Sousuke's frozen cheek and added with a wink, “I hope we see each other again, Mr. Guard… This was fun.”
Standing up, the thief turned and started to walk away, looking as if he was walking on the walls from Sousuke's sideways perspective. “A shame I didn't get to know your name... but I'll tell you who I am,” he said as he melted easily into the darkness and disappeared. “I'm the thief who slipped through your fingers.”
By the time Sousuke had regained the feeling in his limbs, the thief was long gone.
The next morning, Sousuke was back at his post as the sun rose over the walls of the city. With his arms crossed and a sour look, he tried to block out the frustration and the embarrassment, focus on work, and not think about the thief and his soft pink hair and his gentle lips or his smooth voice or his swinging hips. He had work to do.
A courier hurried up the path with a note in hand, stopping in front of him. “I've been looking for you. Got something I'm supposed to deliver—your hands only,” the courier spoke. “Let’s see here… Yeah. Got this note.”
Reaching out, Sousuke took the letter eagerly. “From who?” he asked. Maybe Rin finally written back to him.
“Don’t know,” the courier replied with a shrug. “Weird fellow. Dark hood. Couldn’t see his face. Paid me a pretty sum to get that into your hands, though.”
Sou raised a brow. “Huh?”
The courier simply replied, “Looks like that’s it. Got to go.”
Sousuke watched the courier walk off for a moment before opening the letter in curiosity. He didn’t recognize the handwriting and he didn’t recognize the name, but it was obvious enough to him who the letter was from.
Next time we meet, I hope it’ll be under more favorable circumstances.
Until then, dream of me.
~ Love, Kisumi. xoxo.