A/N: This chapter is a beast. Probably will be the longest one. I say that now, but watch as one of the others is longer. XD I'm planning to finish this story for Nanowrimo. Or at least finish it to the best of my ability. Updates shouldn't take three months any more, at least.
Feedback: PLZ!! I'll take anything. Words of encouragement! Saying it's good. Saying it sux. I'll even take FLAMES. Reviews keep my internal energy going and the more I write, the more you guys get your slash. ;D
Disclaimer: Guild Wars and Sousuke belong to ArenaNet. The OMCs belong to their respective owners.
*At some points in this story, there will be a * where there is some extra info. The explanations are at the bottom of the chapter.
For every day during the next week, Sousuke went to meet Pankou at the same place and time. Every morning, the sunrise highlighted the dervish's bronze skin, driving Sousuke to the point of distraction. The sessions progressed into mock duels using the blades that Pankou provided. Sousuke may have been inexperienced, but he was persistent. When Pankou gave him a series of steps, he repeated them over and over on his own. Of course, when the dervish asked him to perform them the next day, the very thought that emerald eyes were watching him promptly tripped him up halfway through.
Despite these blunders, Pankou would just smile and correct him when needed, occasionally touching him to guide him back into proper position. Each contact left tingling memories on Sousuke's skin even through his clothes.
He was beginning to think Ritz was right. Pankou really was a danger. Even after parting, he couldn't stop thinking about the man. It wasn't until after a particularly hard day with the sun beating down on them both when Sousuke finally gave a name to his predicament. The heat forced Sousuke to take off his overcoat and Pankou to throw aside his hooded mantle and cape. The sun illuminated the most handsome features on his face and lined the muscles of his bare arms. His sideburns led up to a crown of short, powder blue hair.
Sousuke was hard put not to stare as his lower belly warmed. He couldn't deny it any longer; he was attracted to Pankou. While it wasn't the first time he'd wanted to be with someone, it was the first time the person was a man. His prior experiences with these intimate matters had been with the women of Shing Jea Monastery.
First there had been Lily, a beautiful Kurzick Mesmer whom he had met at the Dragon Festival during his second year of study. They danced together and drank for the fortune of the new year. Sousuke had never been so infatuated. At the time, both of them were quick to call it love. They spent the majority of the semester in each other's company until they finally felt it was time to consummate their relationship. Easier said than done seeing as since neither of them had lain with anyone before and they had little to no idea what they were doing. They managed it after much fumbling and blushing and continued meeting together many more times before karma reared its ugly head.
Lily thought she was pregnant.
It was the worst shock either of them had ever received. Sousuke was willing to care for Lily and the baby to the best of his ability, but the prospect of doing so while still being a student terrified him to no end. Out of some act of mercy from the gods, the pregnancy turned out to be a false alarm, but the damage was done. Their passion fizzled out with the fear that it could happen again and they parted ways at the end of their third term.
The next year, Sousuke felt Lily's absence like an sickness and it was only through Ritz that he was able to get his mind back together. They first encountered when Ritz had nearly bowled him over during the holidays trying to kill a wolf spider that had dared to land in the assassin's hair and ever since, their friendship had grown from Sousuke's ability to fry anything with more than six legs and Ritz's talent for pulling Sousuke (sometimes literally) out of his lonely slump.
Also at that time, the monastery had opened a hot spring for the students. Sousuke and Ritz made frequent trips with a group from their class. One night a female assassin who had often sparred with Ritz joined them. Sousuke didn't pay any particularly close attention to her during most of the visit. The group stayed longer than usual and as time went on, the heat dulled Sousuke's alertness. The female assassin (he later found out that her name was Mei Lu) found him and, after seductively guiding him to a more secluded spot, pushed him back against the slimy rocks and climbed on top of him. She took what she wanted and left him dazed and bewildered. The only one he ever told about the incident was Ritz, who informed him that for a while, Mei had been wanting to get revenge on her unfaithful ex-lover. Feeling used and slightly disdainful, he made the decision that day to take a long break from romance of any kind.
But Pankou was different from Lily or Mei; other than just being a man, of course. He was more confident in himself and stronger and for some reason Sousuke felt drawn to him. Nothing could come of it, though. They were on a month-long trip, not nearly enough time to pursue anything deep.
And besides that, it wasn't natural! Of course, Sousuke had heard of same-sex couples, but they were often discouraged, especially in the wealthier families. He did remember scandals involving a son or daughter of one of the families who loved to experiment. But was that kind of life for him? Besides that, what if Pankou didn't even feel the same way or was disgusted by his advances?
Sousuke was so confused. He was meant to see the dervish later on that night after their usual morning session had had to be canceled because of an oncoming storm. At dawn the sky was already beginning to darken. Because of a potion given to him by a friendly monk, the rolling waves no longer bothered him. Not if only she could do something for the butterflies in his stomach.
He adjusted his overcoat in the full-length mirror (something he had been doing for the last ten minutes) before staring at himself incredulously. Was he preening? Honestly, he was twenty-five and a full-fledged elementalist! Not some preteen schoolgirl with a crush!
The breeze coming in through the windows smelled crisp and salty. Sousuke made his way out of his room and down the hall. As he rounded a corner, he saw Ritz walking in the other direction.
"Wow, you're actually walking around while it's raining. Are you sure your stomach won't turn inside out and backwards?" The assassin said casually.
"Haha. Listen, bendan*, I have a lesson with Pankou tonight so I won't be coming to dinner," Sousuke replied.
This made Ritz stop in his tracks and it was obvious from his eyes that his suspicious mind was working furiously.
"Why so late? It's pouring outside, where are you going to practice?"
"I'm not sure actually," Sousuke said truthfully. "But he did say he had a place with plenty of space for us. I was just going to find him now."
Ritz hesitated for a moment. "So these lessons...they're about bladework, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I tagged along?" At Sousuke's surprised expression, he added, "I'm an assassin. I love bladework, or have you forgotten that? If I spar with a Sunspear, maybe he can teach me a thing or two."
It was Sousuke's turn to pause, not sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed that he wouldn't be alone with Pankou if Ritz went too.
"Yeah, you can come if you want. It will be nice to watch two people who actually know what they're doing."
"You've seen me spar before, haven't you? Back at Shing Jea..."
"Yeah, but I didn't really know what I was looking at, did I?" Sousuke said. "At least I can follow you now. Before it pretty much just looked like you were stabbing at each other."
"Well, that is the point of fighting with knives, you know," Ritz said, side-stepping out of the way when Sousuke aimed a jab at him. "Shall we go to meet this Sunspear?"
Pankou had given Sousuke them room number of his private chambers in the wing of the ship where the Sunspears were staying. These corridors were generally brighter than the student's halls with the large number of lanterns that illuminated the paintings and delicate carvings on the walls and ceiling. At one divide, a silk tapestry hung depicting a ship fighting its way through a storm with a prayer for protection to the Five Gods at the side. The characters were written in ancient Canthan and Sousuke only recognized half of them, but they still looked pretty and would probably impress their Elonian guests when they saw them.
The door to Pankou's chambers was the first one to the right of the tapestry. They knocked and the door opened a few seconds later to reveal Pankou with his typical handsome grin spread over his face. He was wearing a set of simple, white and gold garments, the same color scheme as the Paragons' armor, but considerably more comfortable-looking.
"Ahai, ahai. How are you, Sousuke," He said. He was holding a glass of wine in one hand and holding the door wide open with the other. Both Sousuke and Ritz bowed their heads in greeting.
"Very well, thank you," Sousuke said. "Do you mind if Ritz joins us tonight?"
"Not at all. The more the merrier." Pankou raised his glass as the assassin gave a little two-fingered wave. "I was just finishing a meeting with a colleague. Come and meet her. She spends more of her time in Cantha than anywhere else nowadays, it seems." He leaned towards Sousuke conspiratorially. "Sometimes I think she wishes she was born a Canthan rather than an Elonian."
"I heard that, Pankou. I still have the hearing of a Sunspear," Called out a rich female voice from inside the room.
"Heh, caught again," He muttered with a look of feigned guilt.
"You aren't going to make them stand out there all day, are you? Let them in. I want to have a look at your new acolyte." The woman sounded slightly impatient.
Pankou's chambers were much grander than the wooden ones assigned to the students. It had plush furnishings and a thick carpet in various shades of dark red. A door on the other side of the sitting room was open to allow a peek into a bedroom; and in particular, a wide bed with maroon covers. Sousuke put a lock on the unbidden images that arose from that particular sight.
One corner of the sitting room had two love seats and another cushioned chair. A woman with dark skin wearing golden paragon armor lounged on one of the love seats, holding a glass of wine like Pankou's. Her black hair was done up in small braids and pulled into a bunch at the back of her head. When she stood, she was easily a three inches taller than Sousuke.
"He's an assassin so you must be Sousuke," she said, clasping his hand in a firm grip.
"Sousuke Huang.* And just call my friend here, Ritz," he said, nodding to the assassin beside him. He bowed his head to her.
"This is Shamaiya," Pankou said. "Before you arrived, we were discussing the route that the ship will be taking for the rest of this voyage."
Shamaiya looked troubled as she sat back down. "I've been to see the captain and his advisors earlier today. This storm is a lot bigger than they previous thought."
Pankou gestured for Ritz and Sousuke to sit down. Sousuke took a place beside Shamaiya and Ritz took the single armchair.
"So what are they planning to do?" Ritz said.
"They've plotted out a route that sends us northeast. Once we are passed the range of the storm, we will circle around and approach the Battle Isles from the west." Shamaiya sighed after saying this and took a sip from her wine.
"Is there a problem with going northeast?" Sousuke asked, hearing her note of disapproval.
Pankou set two more glasses in front of Ritz and Sousuke before settling down himself. "Northeast sends us towards Elona and the middle of the Clashing Seas. It's Corsair territory," he said.
"Especially at this time of year when Jade Sea merchants from the south are sailing through to Istan, they're all over hoping for a good catch," Shamaiya continued. "Whether or not they will be a threat depends on the size of their ships and whether or not they are traveling in armadas. Though it isn't in the nature of a corsair captain to work with another corsair captain," She finished off her wine and gave it to Pankou to refill.
"But we'd be able to deal with corsairs. We've got a lot of firepower on our side," Ritz said.
"You're of the same opinion as the captain on that," she said with a slight sneer. "However, you can never trust a corsair to play fair. As a sailor himself, I expected him to use better judgement."
"How long will this detour take? Perhaps if the delay isn't long they won't have time to attack," Sousuke said.
Pankou settled in a chair across from him and smiled, "That's an optimistic view and one that I should pray will happen. With luck, the rest of this trip will be uneventful. In the meantime, let's try not to let paranoia get the best of us." The latter was directed towards Shamaiya.
"Being cautious isn't paranoia. It's common sense," she retorted. "These students may be trained, but that doesn't change what they are; students."
"I think I could hold my own against a corsair," Sousuke said, feeling slightly resentful. He and Ritz had survived wave upon wave of the Afflicted on Shing Jea. How much worse could some unwashed, uncouth pirates be?
Shamaiya's expression softened when she looked at him. "You two may be able to handle it. At least you have some experience under your belt from what I hear. It's the newly turned out from the monastery that worry me."
"And if it does come down to a fight on the high seas than we just have to give them a chance to prove that they were paying attention to their professors," Pankou said. "Put some trust in their schooling. In the meantime, I believe I have a lesson to teach. These two didn't come here for a briefing."
"Don't let me stop you," Shamaiya said, waving them on. "But I hope you won't mind having an audience tonight."
A bystander was nothing Sousuke wasn't used to, but having this strong woman see his struggles made him hesitate. As luck would have it, at times like these, he had Ritz to come to his rescue.
"Before you start with Sousuke, can I ask a favor? I would like to spar with you for a bit, just to test myself, you know?" Ritz said.
"Of course, it would be an honor," Pankou replied, slightly surprised. "I assume you would like to use your own knives?"
Ritz nodded and the pair migrated to the wide area beside the couches. It looked like just enough space for them both to move comfortably. Pankou chose two standard daggers lying on top of a redwood travel chest in the corner while Ritz retrieved his own black-handled ones from somewhere beneath his black chest armor. They approached each other and bowed before maneuvering into their stances and circling each other cautiously for several moments.
They finally fell to exchanging light jabs and slashes, all of which were masterfully parried by the other. Occasionally their was an awkward movement and a stall caused by the clash of unfamiliar styles. It looked more like a dance the more Sousuke watched. The intense concentration on Pankou's face was something that he had never seen before. Ritz was a challenge for him. The elementalist suddenly felt inadequate. He wished he could have shown Pankou a display of his own elemental power earlier. He must seem very bland compared to Ritz's coiled strength in battle.
Pankou's spoken very well about you," said a voice beside him. He had almost forgotten Shamaiya was sitting on the same couch he was. "Oh really?" he said. "He's very impressed with your progress." Was it just him or was she watching him a little too closely? "Heh, Define progress," he said. "You haven't managed to kill yourself or him yet and you actually remember half of what he teaches you," she said. "That's more than I can say for some of the new recruits we get in Istan these days." Well, that was something at least. But Sousuke still couldn't keep from inwardly cringing when he saw Ritz's fluid movements. Pankou was able to release his restraint and suddenly Sousuke could appreciate the man's full strength. Beads of sweat had started forming on his face and his arms. The confined space didn't hinder their duel.
"Does something about our Pankou interest you? You've been staring at him for some time now," Shamaiya said in a much lower tone that made Sousuke start.
"Not really," he lied. "They are both very good fighters."
"Has Pankou taught you anything more than bladework?"
"No, not much more than that. We've talked a lot though," he said. What was she trying to get at with all this, anyway?
"What do you think of him?"
"Think of who? Pankou or Ritz?"
"Either."
"Well, I've been good friends with Ritz for a long time," Sousuke said. "He's quiet and a bit loony when he gets paranoid, but he's a good guy deep down."
"And Pankou?" Shamaiya urged.
"Pankou is..." He hoped he wasn't blushing as he said this, "Pankou is very kind. He's been very patient with me."
"He is a very good man." She nodded in agreement. "Sometimes I think it's a shame he doesn't have a wife."
"He doesn't?" Sousuke said, surprised just as a yelp of pain came from the fighters on the other side of the room. They looked over to see Pankou drop the knife in his left hand and clasp a spot on his forearm. Ritz dropped his stance in concern. Pankou shook his head when the assassin stepped closer. A tiny rivulet of blood seeped out between his large fingers.
"'Tis but a scratch. No need to worry," he said. "You strike fast like a snake."
"I didn't mean to actually hit you, I apologize," Ritz said.
"Should we get something for him?" Sousuke asked Shamaiya.
"No, no, just watch," she said with a rather crooked smile. It puzzled Sousuke, who did as she said and saw that the area of skin underneath Pankou's hand was glowing with a soft blue light. Sousuke recognized it immediately. A Healing Signet. As soon as the glow faded, a flicker of a smirk flashed across his face. He grabbed Ritz with his guard down, spun him until he could put the assassin in a headlock with his remaining knife poised over his belly. Ritz cursed but stilled.
"You strike as a snake but I watch my enemy as an owl," Pankou chuckled.
"I see your point," Ritz said, ruefully, as the dervish released him. They went about putting their weapons and Sousuke knew he only had a few moments to ask Shamaiya what he wanted to before they came back. Apprehension knotted tightly in his chest.
"Before, did you mean to say that he isn't...committed to anyone? Is he single then?"
He didn't expect the sly smile that crept over her lips. "I've known Pankou ever since we entered into the service of Istan at the same time and I can assure you from what I've seen that he's never been interested in conventional relationships. He is twenty-eight now and never been close to engagement with anyone."
Twenty-eight? He wasn't that much older than Sousuke. The knot relaxed as relief flooded through him, leaving him light-headed. If Shamaiya was right and Pankou wasn't bound to anyone (Sousuke would have been really worried if she was the one to have captured the dervish's romantic interest), then perhaps there was a chance...he would be accepted. Something in his chest fluttered at the thought.
"What are you two whispering about over here?" Pankou's voice sounded from directly behind him.
"A little of this and a little of that," Shamaiya said. "You seem to be more rusty with knives than I remember, Pankou. You've been depending on your scythe for too long."
"I haven't noticed a problem," Sousuke interjected. It earned him a grateful smile from Pankou.
"See? He doesn't seem to think so. Are you sure it isn't all in your head, Shamaiya?"
"I'm sure I could still best you in a duel," she retorted. "I would show your acolyte here what I mean but I've already spent more of your time than I anticipated. I have a few more words for the captain's ear before I check in for the night." She stood and set her fist over her heart in farewell. "It was a pleasure to meet both of you."
Before turning to leave, she added a wink to Sousuke and said, "And it was a pleasure speaking with you, Master Huang. I hope you will remember what I told you."
"Thank you, ma'am. I will," Sousuke said.
After she left, Ritz said, "Sparring wore me out. I'm going to get some food before dinner is over."
"Are you sure?" Sousuke asked, suddenly nervous to be alone with the handsome dervish beside him. Watching his skill earlier had disquieted him. If only he could be as good with a sword as he was with fire magic, maybe he wouldn't feel so bashful after watching Pankou and Ritz's fighting session!
"You will be fine. Looks to me like you are in good hands. This guy is good," Ritz said, clapping the elementalist on the shoulder. He looked as though he had barely broken a sweat after resting for a few minutes. Some part of Sousuke was wondering at Ritz's sudden change of heart, especially after he had tensed when Sousuke had even mentioned meeting Pankou earlier that evening. Now he was going to walk away and leave them alone?
"You are excellent yourself. I haven't been challenged like that in a long time." Pankou said. He had taken up his glass of wine from earlier and was in the process of finishing it off. "Then again, most of the Sunspear trainees I get are warriors. Good with swords, but a bit slow in execution. I wouldn't trust them to know what to do with knives."
"Thanks. At any rate, I'll see you later, Sousuke," Ritz said. A moment later, he had followed Shamaiya out the door.
"Well, it looks as though we have the evening to ourselves," Pankou said, setting his empty glass on a side table next to one of the couches. "Are you hungry? I know I invited you here during dinner. If you want, I could order for some food to be brought here."
Sousuke was about to say there was no need (being alone with Pankou was enough to chase away his appetite), but the more he thought about it, the more he felt he should take him up on the offer. Who was to say he wouldn't like to eat after the lesson?
"That would be really nice, actually. You read my mind," he said.
Pankou caught a servant who was just passing the door to the hallway and exchanged a few words with her. When he came back, he was smiling as per usual. Was there a time when he wasn't and what did it take to upset him, Sousuke wondered, idly.
"Come here for a moment," he said from where he was standing on the wide open area next to the couches. "I'm glad your friend and I were able to test out this space earlier. There's more than enough room for you and I and the carpet absorbs the sound wonderfully."
He handed over a couple of training knives when Sousuke joined him. He watched the dervish retrieve two more from a trunk in the corner of the room where he kept most of his weapons.
"Lady Shamaiya seemed surprised that you were battling with these. All I've ever heard of dervishes using are scythes," he said, mostly looking for a way to distract himself when Pankou stripped off his over shirt to reveal a thin layer of cloth stretched over the muscles of his abdomen.
"Knives and swords weren't a part of the curriculum when I was in training as a new dervish, but I wanted to study with the Warrior Expert in Churrhir Fields during my downtime. It felt right to give myself an edge. Shamaiya followed my example and found she likes blades as much as a spear. But now tell me of yourself. Your teachers must have taught you other elemental magic. Why did you choose fire?"
Sousuke shrugged, "I guess I was built for it. Water and air is good for supporting people around you in battle but if you ask me, nothing feels better than watching something blow up."
"Perhaps we could try a little experiment later. I've always wanted to try and make a magicked blade of sorts, even putting fire on my scythe just to see if it would work. Just so long as it doesn't burn it up completely," Pankou said.
Sousuke laughed and was surprised at how good it felt. Talking with the man like this was like a breath of fresh air. So easy it was relaxing. He could barely remember why it was he felt intimidated watching him fight with Ritz earlier.
"Shall we begin while we wait for the servants?" Pankou drew closer.
"Yes, good idea." Sousuke took a breath to calm himself down. There was no need to be nervus. It was just the two of them. But then again, perhaps /that/ was the problem.
Some time later, when the sky outside the windows of Pankou's chambers were beginning to darken and the pattering of the rain against the glass had relented somewhat and they had opened one to let in a soft breeze to cool the room, the servants from before came back with trays of a delicious looking stew and dried meat and fruit. A tall bottle of rice wine was included. They were set aside for now as Pankou was trying to finish teaching his acolyte about parries. Some were easier than others, as Sousuke painfully found out. They required him to move his wrists in ways he hadn't conceived of before, and he felt a flicker of annoyance whenever he watched Pankou execute them with ease.
After stepping back and watching Sousuke perform one set with a bit of difficulty, Pankou muttered, "Hold on, I wish to try something." He came up behind the elementalist and before Sousuke knew what was happening, had lifted his arms around Sousuke until his hands covered his as far as they could go. He was so close, their bodies pressed together so that Sousuke's back was spooned with Pankou's front. His face heated.
"Let me show you this way..." the dervish continued.
"Okay." He suddenly couldn't breathe.
He certainly hoped the man wasn't expecting him to do anything too complicated, right then he couldn't even command his body to move, feeling the other man's strong arms envelop him.
"I want to feel you."
"W-what?!" Sousuke stuttered.
"I want to feel you do that last technique again," Pankou said. "Your wrists looked too stiff."
Any more of this and his wrists wouldn't be the only things that were stiff.
"Okay," he said. When had his vocabulary suddenly been reduced? While spending these days spent in the dervish's presence, he had found that he couldn't manage words more complicated than two syllables. Grenth, he was sounding more and more like a shy virgin.
Pankou's hands adjusted until his fingers covered Sousuke's, ghosting his grip over the blade. They were as warm and calloused as they had been before on thedeck of he shp and for a moment he wished they would just slip inside his overcoat and run over the soft skin of his chest and stomach. He began the movements for the last parry that Pankou had demonstrated to him, all the while acutely aware of the other man's toned arms conforming to his every movement.
"Try holding your arms a little closer to your body," Pankou said, pulling on Sousuke's hands until he was satisfied. "It will give you better leverage."
He was right about that. When he tried the technique again, he found that the angle was much easier to obtain. Pankou had him repeat it a second and a third time. At least it felt as though it was getting better, his wrists adopted the parry much more fluidly. But part of him didn't want that. Perfecting the parry would mean the Pankou would have to pull away and that was one thing Sousuke didn't want. So when the dervish had him mimic the parry a fourth time to be assured of its solidity, Sousuke purposefully jerked his wrists to the side, pulling the rest of the thrust into an awkward angle. There was a light chuckle from somewhere near his ear.
"You were doing very well for a while there," he said. "Are you sure you didn't do that on purpose?"
"Why would I do that?" Sousuke said innocently.
Pankou hummed a little reply, saying, "Once more, if you will."
This time after he finished -properly this time- and Pankou was about to release him, he felt the lightest brush of lips across his neck, beard tickling the sensitive skin, before he was left alone. He gasped and spun to face the dervish, Could it have been...? Was that a...?
The warm smile faded into a look of concern tinged with disappointment. "My apologies. Was that unwelcome?" He splayed his hands in front of him, palms upward, in a harmless gesture. "I will not do it again if it makes you uncomfortable."
Uncomfortable? The only uncomfortable thing was the cold feeling left behind in Pankou's absence.
"No, not unwelcome at all," Sousuke said quickly. He felt more heat rise to his face. He had blushed more in the last hour than he had in the past five years. "I'm glad you did it actually."
The dervish looked surprised, "Glad?"
Now that it had come to this, Sousuke found his confidence returning. It was a lot like facing an enemy in battle with no room for hesitation. Except he didn't feel threatened now and this man was far from being an enemy. After all, he really wasn't new to this. If he told Pankou his feelings now, the absolute worst thing that could happen was that he would be sent away. It would hurt, hurt terribly at that, but after the graduation ceremony on the Battle Isles, they would likely depart from each other and never have to worry about any awkwardness again. Then again, Pankou had been to one to just initiate a kiss, so he would likely have more reason to be nervous than Sousuke.
Sousuke cleared his throat, "I must confess that I have been thinking a lot about you lately. You've been very kind to me."
Pankou's expression hadn't changed to one of disgust and he was indeed looking at Sousuke with great interest. The elementalist plowed on.
"Thank you for teaching me how to use a blade. You were more patient than I would have been. I think very highly of you for it."
"Is that all? You think highly of me?" The note of disappointment deepened.
"Well, I feel...more than that. It feels good to have you close to me," Sousuke met Pankou's gaze and felt his heart leap at what he saw.
"Would you have me do it again?" The dervish came closer until they were standing inches apart. He put his hand lightly on Sousuke's bicep.
"I wouldn't forgive you if you didn't." Sousuke gave a mischievous smile which Pankou returned. He was so close Sousuke could almost see the emerald jewels in his eyes. Leaning down, the dervish kissed his cheek. His lips were soft, a far cry from his rough hands.
"I also wished to tell you how I felt," he whispered, his breath warming his skin. "But I wasn't sure you would feel the same. We don't have much time, though. I have to go back to Istan after the ceremony."
"That's all right. We can at least enjoy each other's company now." He didn't want to let this opportunity pass him by. Not when he had the chance to be with someone he actually liked after all these years. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his experience with Lily still stung.
But I won't have to worry about the same things with him, he thought, wryly.
"You are right about that. Let's not waste any more time, then." And with those words, Pankou shifted and pressed their mouths together.
*bendan - "stupid egg; idiot." Common mild insult. Characters (for those interested): 笨蛋
*Huang. Well, and the Guild Wars website don't actually give Sousuke a full name except for "Acolyte Sousuke." I've taken writer's liberties (:D) to give him a last name.