Yuri had never intended to become a criminal but as of late, he'd been leaning in that direction. For as long as he could remember, he'd wanted nothing more than to make a difference in their terribly corrupt country. He'd wanted to stand up for the little guys, because no one had stood up for him. Except perhaps Flynn, though as of late he knew how to hold his tongue far too well. It certainly wasn't a fault in Flynn's line of work.
The paper thin standard prison cot had become very familiar to Yuri's back, as did the quiet banter of guards and fellow prisoners to his ears. Oftentimes the silence of his room in the lower quarter was deafening because of how accustomed to a jail cell he'd become.
The guards spoke to him on first-name basis and many had long since lost their disappointed, hostile glares for a more sheepish smile. They'd ask with a light-hearted laugh, "Back again, Yuri?" Not Flynn, however, who shook his head from just outside the cell as he approached. Yuri could recognize those swift footsteps anywhere.
"What am I going to do with you?" Flynn asked, though more to himself than to Yuri. Yuri was not a stranger to his reprimanding words. Though they were the same age, Flynn had always chided him much like a younger brother.
"Well, from where you're standing, I'd say next to nothing." Yuri answered with wry smile, sitting up on his cot. The blonde soldier looked a little worse for wear, as if he'd been wrestling in dirt; something neither of them were a stranger to. Perhaps he'd just gotten back from an assault on the neighboring monsters just outside the barrier, a task common among lowly soldiers such as Flynn. "What are you doing here, anyway?" Yuri said a bit more solemnly. It was hard not to see Flynn as a child when he looked at him but he was indeed a man. Their childish carefree days had ended a long time ago, though Flynn still enjoyed playing the gallant Knight. Yuri related with his friend as a child far more than he did as a man.
Flynn straightened up importantly, a proud smile breaking his face. He'd been waiting for Yuri to ask, evidently. "I'm beginning my pilgrimage as a Knight first thing tomorrow."
He should've been smiling, he should've been happy for Flynn but the only emotion he felt in the pit of his stomach was anxiety. While Yuri was behind bars for another petty crime, Flynn was off to see the world and change things. Well, he hoped to change things, but with Flynn's determination and charisma, Yuri foresaw his ideals coming to life. Whereas Yuri was only falling further and further behind his best friend, whose rivalry had driven him for years.
"Don't forget to write." Yuri said dismissively, laying back down on the cot and decidedly ending his part in their conversation.
"Yuri!" Flynn said in exasperation, his eyebrows knitting together in frustration. Yuri tried his best to ignore the hint of hurt he heard in his friend's voice. "The least you could do is be happy for your best friend."
The silence between them was uncomfortable and stifling.
After what felt like an eternity, feeling Flynn's bright blue eyes burning into his back, Yuri finally murmured an admission, "I am happy for you. I'm not happy that I can't go with you, but I'm happy for you."
"Yuri…" Flynn chided softly, though there wasn't much else to say. He knew perfectly well what the situation was and knew perfectly well there was nothing to be done about it. Rather than try to dance around the truth, Flynn merely said, "Come here."
The ex-knight climbed to his feet obediently and rested his hands on the smooth bars that separated them. Before Flynn had arrived, the room had felt familiar and cozy but with the blonde standing on the other side and free, it felt more like a cage.
In one swift motion, Flynn reached through the bars and pulled the dark-haired man's face toward him until his forehead was pressed against one of the horizontal bars. His thin line of a mouth opened and greeted Yuri's like an old friend, sending chills racing up Yuri's spine. The shock of pleasure left Yuri reaching out, but his hands only met harsh metal armor. Far too soon, Flynn pulled away, his cheeks pink and his lips beginning to look rosy from the heated contact on Yuri's mouth.
Flynn smiled sheepishly, though there was a sadness in his eyes. He said simply, "Follow after me, when you get the chance." The blonde turned on his heel and started down the hallway, wiping his mouth softly as he went.
"That's not fair, Flynn!" Yuri called after him, though he was smiling privately to himself long after the knight's footsteps faded up the stairs.