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Sethos was no stranger to the desert. He’s been born and raised in it, after all. Still, it felt a little odd to be forced into the area rather than freely living in it. With what’s going on, there’s no way of going into the rainforest without going crazy and becoming murderous. That’s why it’s so weird to be in the desert now; it’s the only available place at the moment. On top of that, everyone he’s gotten to know ever since he became the leader of the Temple of Silence is here, huddled together in the Mausoleum of King Deshret and plotting on how to save their homeland together with two guests that offered their aid to Sumeru.
Sitting on the sandy ground, Sethos just took in everything around him. It was quiet, but people were murmuring, making the noise sound louder than it actually was. From the corners of his eyes, he could see a figure he’d recognise within a second any time approach him. Wanderer’s expression was unreadable. It was his resting face, but Sethos could tell that Wanderer was approaching him with a purpose. Of course, why else would he approach him? Aside from their first meeting, it’s always Sethos that does the approaching.
“You,” Wanderer said once he was close enough. “Outside.”
“What do you have in mind?” Sethos asked, staying seated, staying patient, prioritising answers before actions.
Wanderer sighed. “Your best friend wants us outside to see how reliable we are in combat.” he explained, crossing his arms as he looked down at the other.
Sethos snorted. “Have I not proven that enough to you both since we first met?”
The other’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
Sethos stared into those deep blue orbs for a little longer than is normal. It wasn’t something new for him. He knows how he feels about this guy. He knows that he’ll follow him, no matter what he’s planning. He’ll bend to his will, not because that’s how he is, but because he wants to do whatever makes them stick together. He knows what he feels, and even though he’s keeping it all to himself, he doesn’t do anything about it.
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” He huffed as he stood up, watching as Wanderer turned around and walked ahead of him.
Once they were outside, the sun blazed on their bodies, sand shifting slightly around them due to the gentle breeze of the aftermath of the sandstorms. Cyno was a short distance away from them, his head turning to look at the two before he approached them.
“You’re here. Good,” he said, his tone flat. Ah, he’s in General Mahamatra mode.
When he was in front of the two, he glanced at each of them properly before speaking again. “I’m going to need to see how you fare in combat.” He got right to the point. He looked at Wanderer. “I know we’ve fought before, but that was during an event. You clearly did not give it your all.” then at Sethos. “Last time we did, you still had a Ba fragment. We have to work together this time, so it’s best for me to see each of your current potential. You're going to spar. Try to go all out without harming each other.”
After that explanation, there were little objections, and everyone got in their positions. Sethos looked behind him, watching as Wanderer summoned his weapon from his vision as he walked further away, and oh, what a sight that was. Once they were facing towards each other, did Sethos summon his own weapon and ready himself for combat.
Cool cool cool, you’re going to spar against the one person you kinda just devote most of your attention to. You’re going to spar with him because whatever’s happening, it might be the end of Sumeru. You need to help avoid that end.
Suddenly, the situation dawned on him.
“Go!” Cyno shouted from the sidelines.
Wanderer was up in an instant, using his Anemo to manipulate the wind to make him fly, just like how he likes to battle. He sent a slash of Anemo Sethos’ way, and the man nearly gasped as he blocked it with his polearm. He hadn’t been prepared for the immediate attack. Even from this distance, Sethos could see Wanderer’s eyes narrow. Another slash was sent his way, but this time, it was really easy to dodge it. While Sethos focused on that attack, Wanderer flew closer. Sure, he could do ranged attacks from quite a distance, but getting closer to the opponent means that they become easier to hit, and the slashes will be more powerful, since they’re closer to both the opponent and the source.
Wanderer made Sethos dance.
He kept his attacks coming; left, right, sometimes a little further up. Sethos couldn’t attack, only defend and dodge. His movements looked kind of ethereal, actually. The way he swung his polearm around, the way he balanced himself whenever he lost it slightly, and the way he spun around. It actually looked like he was dancing a routine, perhaps one that Nilou would perform in the Grand Bazaar.
“Did you lose your head on the way outside?” Wanderer taunted. “Surely this isn’t everything you can do.”
Sethos grunted as he blocked yet another slash of Anemo. This was frustrating. Not because he couldn’t attack, but because he couldn’t focus. The danger of the situation they were currently in had finally truly settled in, and his mind couldn’t stop thinking. He shouldn’t be thinking. He should be focusing on what he’s doing. He should be fighting, not weaving.
At the very edge of his Vision, Sethos saw a mostly green figure approach Cyno, and Collei’s voice was heard faintly. Wanderer’s attacks stopped and he lowered himself to ground level, Sethos stopped blocking. Cyno turned his full attention to the young girl, listening and responding to whatever she said.
Is this a break? No. If it was, Cyno would’ve told them to stop. This is an opportunity.
Twisting his polearm in his hold, Sethos steadied himself and went for the attack. It went in slow motion, the way Wanderer was caught off guard and how he slowly but surely took notice of Sethos speeding towards him.
This might be our last day here, seeing how fast the weird corruption-like thing spread in the rainforest. We’re already working hard to stop it before the end of the day, but what if we can’t? And if we get far enough to confront the source, what if we don’t win? What if we can’t save ourselves and Sumeru?
His heart thumped in his chest. Wanderer didn’t notice him in time. He shifted his polearm, aiming for a sideway attack-
He stopped right in front of the other. His movements were still too fast for Wanderer to keep up with. His polearm lowered, and a hand was brought up to the white kimono, curling the fabric into his fist, and he tugged. Sethos leaned in, bringing Wanderer into a near desperate kiss. It wasn’t desperation for intimacy, no, it was to be seen. For his emotions and feelings and everything to gush out of his head, out of his mouth and spilling right onto Wanderer’s lips. Emotions and feelings that said I like- no, love you. I can’t keep it to myself anymore. It’s never been about the hat. It’s always been you. Just you. I don’t want to go out with a missed opportunity that’d plague me even in and after death.
Wanderer is a puppet. He doesn’t breathe, he doesn’t have organs, he has little to nothing in his body that requires him to do something a human would. Despite that, when they separated, and Sethos’ hand loosened the grip on his kimono, Wanderer let out the quietest gasp, and he swore that he felt a thump somewhere in his chest. Did his core fall from its place? No, it’s in a small, secure cage built in his body. It can’t have fallen.
“I wanted to…” Sethos sounded so… shy. Nervous. Anxious. That’s the first time he’s ever sounded like that. He wasn’t looking at Wanderer. He was looking at the blue marking on Wanderer’s body that shone through his turtleneck. “I wanted to at least.. do that, in case… in case we don’t…”
Wanderer’s eyes drifted to the redness on Sethos’ face. It was a nice contrast to his tan skin, spread across his cheeks and painting the tips of his ears.
Wanderer isn’t a person that loves easily. He tries to be distant, tries to not make any connections. Still, people worm their way into his existence, into his day to day life, whether he likes it or not. With that comes feelings he doesn’t ask for. He doesn’t ask for Nahida to treat him so nicely, he doesn’t ask for anyone to treat him the way they do. He doesn’t ask for Layla needing his help with assignments from time to time, he doesn’t ask for Faruzan’s wise yapping, he doesn’t ask for the traveler’s companionship, he doesn’t ask for Cyno’s requests to play TCG, and he especially doesn’t ask for Sethos’ fondness- love. He doesn’t ask, and he doesn’t want. But not wanting something doesn’t mean that you won’t actually get it, and not wanting something doesn’t mean that you won’t gain your own emotions towards it. He’s learnt that in the time that he’s known Sethos. Every time the man bothered him, offered to have lunch with him, had conversations with him that implied that he knew that Wanderer wasn’t just a regular student, and every time that Sethos unknowingly had been showing his feelings towards the puppet, the latter felt an unwanted fondness. A fondness he wanted to ignore, wanted to bury deep inside of himself until it dissipated, wanted to bury in the desert’s sands and let it be wiped away by a sandstorm, far away from him. Just like how you can still get something when you don’t want it, you can also not get something that you do want. Wanderer doesn’t want love. He still gets it. Wanderer wants these feelings for the man that had just kissed him to just go away. They stay.
“...Do you mean it?” Wanderer murmured after a moment of silence between them.
Sethos looked up at the other, the anxious, wobbly smile on his face faltering slightly. His eyes. They’re so obvious. Yes.
Before Sethos can say anything, though…
“Sethos, Hat Guy, we have to go,” Cyno’s voice cut between them. “We’ll have to continue the analysis later.”