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"Look who's here." Abolish stared across the clearing at the individual who had asked him to come here. With a start, he realized that they weren't wearing a helmet like usual, a stupid decision considering this was clearly meant to be a fight - but he didn't have much time to dwell on why they were doing this or why they looked so striking before they continued to speak. "I was starting to think you wouldn't show up, Abolish."
He rolled his eyes behind his helmet, which he'd decided to wear because he wasn't an idiot, of course. "Uh huh. I'm… not one to turn away a challenge, I think you know that, Shep."
"Eh, I more thought someone had caught you sneaking out to meet up with some Thornhelm knight." There was a glint in his silvery blue eyes as he took a few steps forward, shield lowered as if this was a friendly little hangout and he didn't need to protect himself at all. His armor looked strange on him, especially with his helmet off, deep reds, blacks, and emerald highlights a stark contrast next to his soft light brown hair and pale complexion.
"I mean, I'm good at… not being noticed," he said slowly, grip tightening just barely on his sword, but Shep stopped too far away to swing at them - not that he'd be the first to strike or anything. He'd rather not cut off whatever this is so quickly; a fight without some light passive aggressive conversation was hardly a fight at all.
"You are," Shep agreed, an oddly warm smile on their face despite the sword they were somewhat pointing at him. "Not to me, but to most, I'll give you that."
Not to me. Whatever that could mean. He knew he was good at not being noticed because it was probably the only reason no one knew who he was when he'd first become a knight - a lot easier to blend in as a regular totally normal man when no one could remember what you looked like with your helmet off.
Abolish lifted his sword, resting the flat of the blade on his shoulder. "So, why exactly did you… invite me out here?"
His phrasing made it sound like this was a date of some kind, but he knew the other understood what he meant. Shep hummed a bit, twirling his sword around in his hand; he'd always been more showy rather than actually skilled. Pretty to watch, not that difficult to fight. "Well, I had a proposition for you. Because you have something I want, and I'm very sure you'd love to bring me back to your royals and turn me in, so I figured… best out of three?"
Abolish's eyebrows arched. That hadn't quite been what he'd expected, although Shep definitely wasn't wrong about him wanting to turn them in. He'd probably get a pretty hefty payout from that, given how much damage Shep alone had done to the kingdom, not to mention the very idea of dragging a Thornhelm knight back to the castle after a sort of willing surrender. Whether or not he believed Shep about this was an entirely different question, but was he willing to humor them?
"Sure," he replied after a couple more moments of deliberation, head tilting to the side. "And… the rules, exactly?"
"Whoever gets pinned down first loses," Shep hummed, finally holding his sword in his hand properly. "No murder, no cutting off limbs, if someone passes out or surrenders we stop. Everything else is on the table."
Abolish readied his own sword, commenting, "Seems fair enough, yeah."
The other sprang at him with no warning, but thankfully, he'd been entirely expecting them to. He lifted his shield and smacked it against them to knock them aside, although they were of course as nimble as they always were even in their armor, half stumbling out of the way as they raised their own shield. Their eyes seemed to glow in the near-sunset warm evening light as his sword clashed against theirs, his own eyes narrowing in concentration.
They were slippery, for lack of a better word. Whirling around in an instant, they swung at his back, and he managed to turn just in time to catch their blade again. The impact jolted up his arm but he shifted and kicked out at them regardless, seeming to catch them off guard for a split second - just long enough to surge forward and tackle them to the ground.
In a whirl of limbs and weapons, Abolish wasn't entirely sure what happened, but his back hit the dirt with an mmph and his helmet was knocked askew, a sword pressed to his throat with Shep straddling his waist. His eyes glittered beautifully just inches from Abolish's - still thankfully covered because God was he probably blushing horribly - face, his chest heaving as he whispered, "Got you."
The blade left his neck and he drew in a deep breath, watching the other stand up and bounce back several steps, clutching his sword like he'd just done the impossible. He sort of had, in a way. Abolish did not lose, ever, at least not in a real fight - was this a real fight? Sort of, in some way, but he decided it wasn't real enough that it counted as a defeat.
"Best out of three," he muttered, stumbling to his feet and picking up the shield that'd been knocked aside, carefully readjusting his helmet. Even as he told himself he could still very easily win this, embarrassment tightened in his chest and he couldn't bring himself to look at the other knight's stupid pretty grin. Maybe if he stopped thinking about how gorgeous they were he could get his head together and really win.
This time, it was over much quicker than last time, his sword catching Shep's arm and nearly slicing open his arm completely, cutting through the thick fabric and leaving a thin, barely visible line of blood. The injury didn't distract him much, but the way Abolish's shield slammed right into his chest did, knocking him down and earning a groan as he planted a foot on his stomach.
"How's that?" he asked through his panting, trying not to think too hard about the redness on the other's face. "Now we're even."
Despite being pinned, they just grinned up at him. "We sure are, pretty boy."
His heart lodged itself in his throat as he slowly stepped back, hands shaking a bit as he watched them push themself to their feet. Pretty boy. They hadn't even seen his face before and they were calling him pretty, stupid, so stupid, why in the world was he getting flustered over this?
He needed to get it together or he was going to lose. This would be the final round, and whoever won this would get whatever they wanted - although he did feel a little curious about what Shep could be planning if they somehow managed to win, he could ask while dragging them back to the castle.
When Shep launched at him again, he was quicker this time despite his injury, brow furrowed and eyes fiery, moving with energy Abolish hadn't ever seen from him before. Maybe he was just now realizing how doomed he was. Whatever the reason, Abolish fought back just as fiercely, swords hitting shields and attempting to knock the other off balance over and over until his arms were beginning to get tired.
"Come on, Abs," Shep muttered under their breath, seeming to be directed at mostly no one. Still, the nickname made him falter, something so oddly friendly for a fight like this. They hardly even looked like they realized that they'd said anything, swinging their sword and at last managing a hit on his arm just below his shoulder, sword slicing into skin and sending pain shooting through him.
He was very used to pain. What he was not used to was having another person's face inches from his own, close enough that he knew he could swing and knock them right off balance if he wanted to - except he couldn't move his own limbs and in that instant he knew he'd lost. He couldn't help the quiet whisper of shit that slipped out of him as Shep shoved him to the ground and was sitting on top of him once again, a bright grin on their face.
"Would you look at that," they laughed, tossing their sword and shield aside to grab either side of his helmet. For a split second, he feared they were going to try pulling it off of him, but they simply ran their thumbs along the metal and panted half an inch from his face. The last thing he wanted was them taking his helmet off and seeing just how red his face was or how soft his features looked for a guy or anything else. "The incredible moon knight Abolish, best in all of Soluna, defeated by Shep from Thornhelm."
"No need to rub it in," he couldn't help but mutter, earning a bit more laughter as they rested their forehead against where his was beneath his helmet. Their eyelashes fluttered a bit as they glanced over the expressionless metal, and Abolish noted that they seemed relieved.
Would he have turned them in if he'd won? The thought hit him like a truck, making his hands tremble where he still held his sword and shield close to himself, but he wasn't given much time to dwell on any of that as Shep continued.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." A soft giggle left him, blue eyes shining as he pushed himself up a bit. "Now, for what I want you to do- And you are keeping your promise."
"I'm a man of my word," Abolish sighed, even though he really wished he wasn't. He could already feel dread pooling in his stomach - was Shep going to turn him in? Would he be executed in Thornhelm, or worse, thrown into a dungeon to rot, or even forced to fight his former friends?
"You are going on a date with me." Shep patted his shoulder and then pushed himself up, grabbing his discarded weapons with a grin. Abolish laid there and tried to figure out if he'd heard that correctly. "Tomorrow night, same place as this, if that works for you?"
He swallowed hard. Surely he didn't mean a date, as in… no, no, he had to be referring to a rematch of some kind, or just a fight for fun. Abolish slowly asked, "A… date?"
"Yeah, y'know, like… a romantic one." Shep turned to him as he pushed himself up, seeming to pause for a moment. "If it makes you more comfortable, you can uh- keep on the armor and all. Just like… no killing each other, I promise I'm not planning anything like that."
Abolish stared at them for several very long seconds, chewing on his lip. Maybe he hadn't heard wrong, but… "A- A date. You want to go on… a date? With me? You're-"
You're gay, in love with me, something else he couldn't find the words for. He had about a million questions but there was blood dripping down his arm and his head felt like it'd been shoved into a blender. Shep giggled a bit again, more nervous this time, replying, "Yeah. Just like… two hours before sunset? I don't expect it to take too long, and- and I doubt there will be a second one, considering… this."
They gestured vaguely to their own injury. They'd gotten lucky, they knew that, and Abolish knew it too. This wouldn't be happening again. Standing up, he drew in a deep breath, keeping his eyes far away from them as he responded, "I… wouldn't be so sure about that. I'll be here."
Shep tried to say maybe twenty different words at once as he turned away, before eventually settling on, "Uh, yeah, that- Have a good night, Abolish."
His lips quirked into a smile despite his heart pounding in his chest. A date. It really didn't feel real, not in the slightest, but maybe he'd also gotten incredibly lucky. "You as well, Shep."