Benedikt leaned against the railing of the Silver Vixen and wondered at how quickly life could change. So recently he had thought that his life, if he managed to keep it that is, would consist of strange people in a stranger land far from friends and any memory of home. As he had told Bannon, a life made of compromises. And now he was on a ship to Shkoder.
He turned his head a little and looked at the still chuckling ex-assassin out of the corner of his good eye. He'd never expected to see home again, much less to see the man who had occupied so much of his thoughts over the past weeks.
And yet I still don't know what to make of him, Benedikt thought. Then again, I don't think I ever will… but I'd like to try. At this thought he felt his ears warm a little and turned his head before Bannon noticed his scrutiny.
Bannon, meanwhile, had been doing some scrutinizing of his own. And being a former assassin he noted Benedikt's eyes on him but didn't think too much about it. Then again he had a lot more to notice; the shaved head covered with black paint, the lost weight, the lost eye, the new subtly confident stance which, minor as it seemed, showed the biggest change Benedikt had undergone since arriving on the shores of Petayn.
He is not afraid anymore, Bannon mused as he studied the Bard without seeming to. More confidence, more stability than the precarious young man who set off across unknown oceans just to think he was worth something. He's… Bardic, now.
A turn of Benedikt's head brought the scar of his left eye into the sunlight. Bannon stared at it and his hands fisted as he felt a surge of anger and protectiveness remembering the pain that the kigh had brought to Shkoder the day Benedikt lost his eye; the pain that had convinced the grieving queen and kingdom that someone was alive. Never again, Bannon thought fiercely. He will never feel pain like that again.
Benedikt was sneaking another look at the ex-assassin's face when he saw Bannon's mouth tighten and his eyes flash.
I wonder why he's so angry? he mused. Then he remembered the last time he had thought those words, and blushed.
Bannon saw the blush. Assassins weren't supposed to fall in love. But he had. And it looked like he wasn't the only one.
Good, he thought. And kissed him.
Out in the water, two shapes that were not quite dolphins leaped and spun in the sun.
A/N: Yay! First finished fanfiction piece. I hope you enjoyed it and if you could possibly leave me a review I would be much obliged.
