Spoilers for WoK and WoR. Please don't take the plot that sets things in motion too serious, I mostly just needed an excuse for this scenario. This won't turn into some whodunit. Probably. Same goes for the rating, I don't know yet how naked they are gonna get with each other or handsy.
Anyway,set your expectations low. This trash will appear better that way ^^
Also, if someone wants to beta this fic or finds any mistakes in the text please do tell. English isn't my first language and I always worry about mistakes. Enough said! Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Acting in accordance with his duties as a quasi-bodyguard and responsible for the safety of the person under his care, Kaladin wouldn't let is personal feelings with his task. He was as diligent and serious as ever. Even if, now, the person under his protection was a spoiled and insufferable princeling who drove Kaladin to the brink of madness daily. The storming man seemed to enjoy taking every opportunity he found to torment, annoy, or try to embarrass Kaladin.
Even if Kaladin wanted to kick the arrogant princeling's arse, he would still do his utmost to prevent others from doing so. He glanced at Adolin who was leaning against the wall, watching Kaladin search the surprisingly spartan room for any threats, face a weird mix of annoyance and amusement. Storming man. Kaladin ignored him, concentrating on finding anything out of place.
"How long is this going to take, bridgeboy?" Adolin didn't know if he should be exasperated or entertained by the spectacle he was watching. There was commendable cautiousness in a guard and then there was this…paranoid distrustfulness this storming man displayed. Admittedly, there had been a failed attempt to harm Adolin a few days ago. The main goal seemed to have been to injure and incapacitate instead of killing him and he couldn't help but think that it had something to do with his next duel. The stakes were high. The prize of Shardblade and plate was serious, hundreds and thousands of people often died over Shards. To have them change hands just like that, with a simple duel, could change the future of a house. He wouldn't be surprised if his opponent's family decided to make sure the duel wouldn't take place in the foreseeable future in fear of losing their Shards.
"However long I need to make sure you're still going to be alive come next morning, unless the building collapses on top of you, princeling." Adolin hadn't expected such a long reply. Usually the bridgeboy would try and prove that grunting was an acceptable form of answer. And to Adolin's slight horror that was beginning to work. By now Adolin could interpret quite a number of grunts, far more than he was comfortable with. When had he even spoken enough with Kaladin for that to happen?
He watched as the bridgeboy inspected and examined everything. Even the space under his bed. Storms! The space was perhaps large enough to hide a skeleton but definitely not enough for a living, breathing human being. Adolin shook his head.
Just as Adolin thought Kaladin had finally finished taking his room apart and he would be able to relax in peace the man stopped and turned towards his goblet and the jug of wine, placed on a small table next to a comfortable armchair. It had taken Adolin a long time to convince his father that yes, Adolin needed an armchair and no, a normal cloth-covered chair would not be sufficient.
"Going to take a drink on the job, bridgeboy?" Adolin mocked, though he knew perfectly well that Kaladin would never do something like that. Being insubordinate on a daily basis, yes. Slacking off while doing his duties? It was about as likely as his father suddenly deciding to get drunk in broad daylight after following the codes so closely these last few years.
"Something does not smell right."
"Probably smelling yourself. When was the last time you washed? Last week's Highstorm?" Adolin scoffed but started to move away from the wall because if Kaladin said something wasn't right he usually had a reason for it.
"Storm off, princeling. I think someone poisoned your wine," he lifted the jug containing the wine and sniffed at the content before setting it down again, frown deepening. Then he picked up the empty goblet but let it drop immediately, cursing loudly and face paling visibly. The goblet clattered to the ground, the noise of metal hitting the floor dampened by a thin carpet covering the stone.
"What's wrong?!", alarmed, Adolin rushed forward, stretching his hand out automatically, ready to summon his Shardblade. Though what good it would do, Adolin didn't know. Seeing Kaladin staggering, Adolin put his hand to better use, steadying the bridgeboy instead. His heart was thumping loudly, a fast rhythm that reminded him of the battle field. Except that on the battle field he knew what to do. Helplessly and starting to panic slightly, Adolin helped Kaladin lay down on the floor. Were you supposed to do that with someone who had probably been poisoned? Would it allow the poison to circulate faster through the bloodstream? Adolin didn't know. He took Kaladin's hand in his, the hand that had picked up the goblet, turning it around and inspecting the palm. It was not difficult to see. There was a slightly swollen red dot in the space between thumb and index finger, like a small insect bite.
Adolin took a glance at Kaladin's face. His scarred forehead glistened with cold sweat, breathing ragged. Adolin was about to get up and get help when Kaladin suddenly inhaled sharply. Adolin froze in an awkward position, halfway between crouching and standing.
The bridgeboy was glowing. Stormfather! The man was emitting stormlight, it leaked from his skin like some sort of mist. Wisps of it curled in the air before disappearing. Even Kaladin's eyes glowed with it. He was like a cracked Shard, leaking stormlight that couldn't be contained.
Dumbfounded, Adolin stared at Kaladin's mouth that also leaked stormlight as it moved. It seemed like Kaladin was saying something but Adolin's brain couldn't grasp the words.
Kaladin was just like the assassin when he came to kill his father. That thought was enough to spur Adolin into action. He jumped up, hand outstretching once more to summon his Shardblade.
Before he could take a few steps back to widen the distance between himself and Kaladin his arm was grabbed and he was dragged onto the ground with a surprising strength. He stumbled, trying to steady himself before crashing half across the bridgeboy with a dull uff-sound, smacking his face on Kaladin's shoulder. His nose hurt something fierce and a yellow pain-spren came out of the ground next to his head, wriggling its tiny tendrils in his direction.
"Storms, Adolin, wait!" Kaladin shout sounded frustrated as Adolin struggled, trying to remove his hand from the floor. It seemed to be stuck to the ground next to Adolin's head. His other hand was still free though so Adolin formed a fist and drove it in Kaladin's face, feeling rather satisfied when he felt it connect with a nose. A pained grunt escaped the glowing bastard's mouth.
"I said wait, dammit!" Adolin's other hand was grabbed and stuck to the ground as well, rendering him mostly incapacitated and limiting his actions even further. Adolin unbend his arms, which caged Kaladin's body at a slightly awkward angle and seemed to mockingly remind Adolin that he never managed to court a girl long enough to get into a position like that.
Great, not only was he incapacitated but also forced to stay in this embarrassing pose. At least he wasn't forced to straddle to man's legs. Adolin grimaced at the thought. Not the problem he should be focusing on at the moment.
Adolin glowered, baring his teeth in anger at the bridgeboy and his own inability to do anything about the situation he was in. "Why are you glowing like the Assassin in White? I swear I'm going to kill you, if you have anything to do with the people that threaten my family!" Adolin wondered if he should try shouting for help but quickly dismissed the thought. The first people to arrive would be from Bridge Four and he had no doubt that they would be absolutely loyal to Kaladin.
Kaladin widened his eyes in surprise, at the accusation or being found, Adolin didn't know. "Does it even matter if I swear that I have nothing to do with the people that tried to kill your father and the king? Or that I have nothing to do with the Assassin in White and am doing what I can to protect Dalinar and your family from any danger? Because I am." Kaladin stared up at Adolin, his hard features softened slightly by the faint glow his skin was emitting, though he was still frowning. The bridgeboy probably even frowned while sleeping. Adolin was almost certain of it.
It was true that thee bridgeboy was always overly careful in that paranoid way of his. The thorough search off Adolin's room not moments ago being prove of that. Without Kaladin, he and his father would have long since died on the Shattered Plains, naïve victims of Sadeas' betrayal. If Kaladin had any connections with the people that command the Assassin in White it would've been too easy to simply let them perish at the hands of the Parshendi. Or not come to their aid when the assassin attacked them after the Highstorm. If Kaladin hadn't pushed the assassin along with himself out of the hole in the stonewall Adolin had no doubt they would've died that day. He had been so utterly useless confronted with the assassin he might as well have been an untrained kid going against a champion. It made him angry and frustrated to think about that awful truth. But there was no point lying to himself about it. Perhaps if he had known and believed the talk about the abilities of the Assassin in White instead of thinking of them only as rumors. Even then, believing rumors about the powers of an opponent and knowing how to fight someone were two very different things.
"I believe that you had nothing to do with the attempt on my father's or the king's life." Adolin frowned, "However, you did not do your best to protect my father's life. You could have used the same powers as the assassin, maybe we could have beaten him."
Kaladin glanced away as if feeling guilty. Well, he should feel bad about withholding important information like that, Adolin thought grimly.
"I can't use my powers like the Assassin in White. Until I saw what he could do I had no idea things like that were possible myself. I'm getting better at controlling them though, I won't be as helpless again." Kaladin locked eye with him again, looking determined and Adolin suddenly remembered how close they were.
"So, you did use your full powers that day?" Adolin inquired.
Kaladin bit his lip, closing his eyes for a second before answering. "No." He breathed the word out, looking guilty again. It sounded too soft for that kind of revelation and yet, at the same time too loud in the quiet of the room. Fury erupted in Adolin, hitting him like a bolt of lightning. He tried to ball his hands into fists, growling when he found he could not do that because his hands were infuriatingly still stuck to the ground.