omg i found an old fic i never finished of sleip n kos ahsbdjnsd why didnt i post this 😭 (just a mini wip, minor warning for mentions of fighting n blood, a little bit of jealousy implied - they're training)
sleipnir/kosmos
"aw, fuck." they groaned, throwing their head back against the solid stone ground. above them, sleipnir chuckled, lowering the rapier he wielded and stepping back.
"your skills with a blade still leave much to be desired, kosmos." he announced, flicking the blade to his side with a flourish, and tilted his head at the sight before him.
ryder lay flat on the ground, coated in a layer of sweat and dust. they wore the same, simplistic valisthean style as always: a white tunic, a black vest and trousers and ankle boots.
"not my fault though, really? i've been doing this swords thing for like a month, man, jeez.." the young man mumbled as he pushed himself back onto his feet, grabbing the sword he'd dropped. he fell into the ready position once again, stretching his neck with a muffled moan, "hardly like we do a whole bunch of sword fighting back home, 'ey?"
the lord commander hummed, mimicking their movements with a smirk.
"surely you must have learned something." he tutted, "your stance is too wide - unless you plan to fall in the first strike."
they rolled their eyes, but adjusted accordingly.
"how come you're helping with this anyway? i mean, gav was perfectly happy to teach me."
"perhaps so." sleipnir raised his sword, "at arms."
in one swift motion, he struck forwards and supressed a grin as ryder barely parried the hit, then the next, and a third before-
the egi caught the hilt of their blade, twisting it away from their grasp and pinned them against the hard-rock walls of the fallen ruin.
ryder panted heavily against his rapier, held up to their neck, as he leaned closer to them.
"that, my beloved, is why. it is hardly fitting for one so close to our liege to fail in such a manner." sleipnir whispered out, barely an inch away from their face, "can gav teach you to avoid my blade?"
they flushed a deep red, grinning widely.
"oh, okay. it's like that." kosmos laughed, "you're jealous, of gav- ha!"
he pulled back, nicking them slightly with his sword, and tutted again. for once, sleipnir was greatful for the amount of time he had spent at his leiges' side, among diplomats, emperors and kings, and the control over his emotions that he'd learned, forcing away the twinge of embarassment at their realisation.
"and you have failed this test of strength, kosmos. were i anyone else, you would be dead."
"were you anyone else, you'd probably kill you for doing that." they joked, hissing lightly as they pressed a hand against the small cut, "hah, i'm bleeding! d'ya know how much blood i've lost since coming here? it's kinda ridiculous actually- you guys live such dangerous lives all the time, ugh."
sleipnir rolled his eyes at their ramblings, but sheathed his sword, gingerly grasping their chin and moving them to inspect the wound closer.
"hmm. this is nothing." his eyes flicked to theirs; ryder was already staring at him, some emotion swirling behind the blue, "truly, humans of your world must be as weak and wretched as here - perhaps worse."
"it's not all bad." they mumbled, subconsciously wetting their lip as they leaned into his touch, "prognosis, doc?"
he recognised the phrase, something they used frequently when recovering from the events of the reverie - some attempt to make light of their injuries, or the situation at hand, and sleipnir scoffed.
"death, of course. 'twas a mortal blow."
kosmos giggled, "tragic, huh!"
he released them at last, watching keenly as their head dropped, strands of dark hair escaping their ponytail.
without thinking, the egi pushed the strands back, running his hand over their hair to tug on the ends of their ponytail, and ignored the way they seemingly froze at the action.
"and you must tie your hair better. in battle, this will only get in the way."
"r- righto, boss." they chuckled, "how come you get to have such lucious hair out and i don't?"
"simple. because i am a better fighter than you."
"ouch! touché."
1 note
·
View note