Baaaack! Sorry for the long update time. And its Tetheus/Kaistern instead of the TetheusKitchel I thought I'd come up with. I'll come up with something for them...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this snippet. I don't have enough time to write responses back right now, but I might re-edit and add them in, or do them next snippet. Will answer one question though- seme and uke stand for longer words (forgot them) but basically mean giver (couldn't come up with a better word) and receiver, in terms of... sex (yes, i'm slightly squeamish about it :laughs:). So basically, top and bottom in sex. :feels vulgar: Like I said though, I see it more as dominant-submissive, and feel that it depends on the situations which is which.

Warnings: light shounen-ai

Dragon Knight Snippets

Tetheus couldn't sleep. The rain that had continued relentlessly over the past few days made him restless and uneasy. All he could think of was that the rain that beat against the window and splattered on the flowers hanging outside the windowsill was the same rain that was now washing away the blood that had been spilt on the battlefield of the war that they had just lost. A pounding rhythm that seemed to vaguely match his heart's.

He reached out to touch the window, shivering slightly as he touched the ice-cold glass. The dull window was the only source of light in the room, masking everything in fuzzy edges and malformed shapes.

One specific shape on the bed stirred, Tetheus heard the covers shift and slide with that static-like noise and heard the whispered swear about how cold it was. Reasonable, since the body was wearing nothing more than pants and had been wrapped up warmly in the covers all night.

"Tetheus? What are you doing up?" Kaistern's voice was confused, a tint of curiosity giving way to concern as the Black Officer found that he had no wish to speak.

"You're supposed to be in bed, you know. You're hurt! The doctor said to rest, you shouldn't push yourself too hard," Tetheus heard the light creaking of the bed as Kaistern stood, heard the padded footsteps across the stone floor and another swear in reference to the cold.

"Standing up is not pushing myself compared to fighting with this wound, and many of my men fought with fatal injuries," had it been daytime, and the situation not quite so somber, there would have been a wry smirk on the Black officer's face. But right now he didn't even bother glancing at Kaistern, his eyes focused on the rain that slid down the glass, rivulets joining others to form a growing pool at the bottom.

"That still doesn't mean it's good for you," Kaistern muttered quietly, stepping behind Tetheus to wrap his arms around his waist loosely, knowing that Tetheus would not want to be smothered at the moment. A small smile pulled at his lips as Tetheus' body sagged backwards on him inch by painfully slowinch—any admittance of tiredness was good. Eventually it would help Kaistern coax Tetheus back into bed.

"Kaistern…"

"Mm?" the Blue Officer held back a yawn, shifting just a bit so that more of Tetheus' weight would fall on him.

"You can't help me."

Kaistern rolled his eyes as Tetheus continued to avoid his gaze, and rested his chin on his partner's shoulder, kissing the bare skin, "Maybe I can't, but maybe you can help yourself by talking about it."

Kaistern was sure Tetheus would refuse, but it was all a process. He removed his arms from Tetheus and stepped back, sitting in a chair. Thesudden lack of bodily supportwas enough to shake Tetheus out of his lethargy and he subconsciously followed suit at Kaistern's motion and sat down as well, his body sinking with exhaustion.

There was a long moment of silence, and Kaistern knew that Tetheus knew that he'd stay sitting in that chair until something was resolved. Kaistern would let Tetheus mull over his thoughts and compose himself as long as he needed, but Tetheus knew that he'd have to talk eventually. Kaistern watched his eyes carefully, noting with increasing concern the distraught barrage of emotion that whirled inside those tortured crimson orbs.

"I failed Lykouleon," Kaistern wanted to immediately refute that, but listened for the rest, "We lost hundreds of soldiers, it was the worst defeat we've had in two thousand years almost," Tetheus leaned back tiredly and placed a hand over his bandaged chest as he gazed at the blank ceiling with similar eyes, "I led them wrong."

"Someone has to lose in a war. There is no general with a perfect record. Lykouleon may be saddened by the deaths, but he's saddened for you as well. He doesn't blame in on you. Truth be told, I think he doubted a victory from the beginning, but there was no way he could back out of it."

"I should have known they'd come from behind! It was so obvious looking back on it!" Tetheus pounded the arm of the chair with a frustrated growl, wincing as the movement jolted his wound.

Kaistern bit his lip, "Easy, don't be so hard on yourself," he hated seeing Tetheus like this. It was odd to be slapped with the reality of Tetheus' emotions when he was so good at hiding them. It was hard to see the comforter need to be comforted.

"Hard on myself?" Tetheus scoffed, and Kaistern hated the self-loathing he saw in his eyes, "Because of me, Rath, Thatz and Rune got hurt!"

"Better than dead, and they don't blame you either. Mistakes occur," he was almost pleading at this point.

"Not with such high stakes!"

Kaistern winced, and lowered his eyes to the ground, "So you're saying I should be blamed for screwing up my assignment too?"

Tetheus immediately stopped, "Of course not. That wasn't your fault."

Kaistern stood up, eyes flashing in the dim light as he tried to make Tetheus understand, "Exactly, this wasn't your fault either!"

The Black Officer, placed his head in his hands, hunched over, and it was one of the few times Kaistern had ever seen him admit weakness, "But it was."

"It was not!" Kaistern knelt in front of the other man, lifting his face from his hands, "You can't become fixated on the past. Mourn it, but you need to get over it. If you let it hamper you in the future, then your mistakes will just be repeated. Everyone messes up at one time or another… your men died an honorable death, and even if we lost the war, you managed to protect what you were supposed to."

Tetheus's gaze resembled that of a lost child's, breaking Kaistern's heart as he tried to accept his words. Kaistern placed his hands on Tetheus' squeezing them gently.

"Come to bed," he stood up and led Tetheus back to their bed, getting in and motioning for Tetheus to follow. The Black Officer seemed to stand dumbly for a moment, before closing his eyes and getting in himself. He let Kaistern wrap his arms around him, and buried his face in the crook of the albino's neck, closing his eyes.

Kaistern knew that it wasn't completely fixed, but enough so that Tetheus would be able to come to terms with it on his own now. Kaistern would make sure of it.

The inspiration struck me. I'm actually pretty satisfied with it. Anyway, next snippet at 349. Thanks a lot everyone!