it's a long way forward

[leggie]

[It's been days since he left that village behind, and he hasn't had nearly enough time to stop and rest. Every village or town he's run across has chased him off for falling out of the sky, too poor to offer any help of their own and too afraid to attempt to question his state. Desperately, he's kept his presence disguised, hiding from those other colored entities that were part of this destiny he wanted nothing to do with. He slept in trees for a couple hours at a time, moving again before too long when it no longer felt secure enough.

He was running from something he couldn't escape, but each time he tried to find somewhere to go, it wasn't right. Maybe his predecessor was right. Maybe there wasn't anyone who would take him like he is, green leg showing in the spot that his shoes don't cover. Maybe he was too much of a monster.

No. Determined, Jae-Ha urged himself forward despite that worry. No matter where he ended up, or if he had to live alone for the rest of his life, it was better than existing and waiting in that prison of a village. He wouldn't become like his predecessor. He wouldn't wait around to take it out on the next generation.

When he spots a blonde boy crouched near something in a clearing of the woods, Jae-Ha's chest tightens. This could be a chance, couldn't it? He was his age— younger, clearly, but not an adult like all of the ones that have chased him off. And better than that, he was alone. Maybe, just maybe, he could say something to reach him, to get some food other than the occasional bits of bread or fruit he's stolen from carts or nabbed from trees along the way.

His appearance comes in a flash, a green blur dropping out of the sky and right in front of Sanji. He's a mess in his dirtied robes, his face and body still badly beaten from a few days prior, his hair dirty and sticky even tied back, and heavy bags beneath his eyes from the lack of rest. When he drops down to a knee, both to temporarily hide the green of his right foot and to humble himself, it's more of a fall of pure exhaustion.

He doesn't bow his head like you should with a gesture like this, instead staring directly at Sanji with determined eyes.]

Please, let me stay with you, at least for a night. I'll do anything.

[It's about time for a desperate offer like this, isn't it?]

Comments

[lil_eggplant]

Am not. {Sanji barely understands what that means, Jae-Ha being more important than him. That can't be right at all; they're equals, if only because Sanji says so, and he gives the other boy a squint]

We're both important and stuff.

[leggie]

If we're both important, then you need to take better care of yourself, too. Don't let anyone treat you poorly. Tell me if they are.

[lil_eggplant]

[... Damn it. Caught by his own logic. Sanji's mouth works like he's trying to think up a good counter argument, but the best he manages is his shoulders hitching]

It's not like I want them to hit me! [He just... has trouble escaping. Or doesn't even bother when he's good and angry, and his body fills with the need to prove himself]

[leggie]

Just tell me next time it happens.

[That's all he's saying so he doesn't upset Sanji, but he's already decided he's his personal guard now!]

Come on, eat this apple you messed up.

[lil_eggplant]

[That is a promise Sanji knows full well he won't keep. Telling Jae-Ha anything means he might Do Something in his honor, which is such an alien concept in the younger boy's life that Sanji wants to avoid it at all costs. His brothers might hurt Jae-Ha, or chase him off, or tell Father...

He can't lose his one friend, Sanji swears to himself, and sets his brows determinedly as he bites into the apple]

Jae-Ha, how long can you stay here?

[leggie]

Until you don't want me here anymore.

[And not before that. He says it simply, still finishing up his own food as he thinks. No matter what else comes their way, he won't be going anywhere unless Sanji doesn't want him here. Even if it gets them both in trouble, he'll fight through it, so they can stay together. They both want this, at least right now.]

[lil_eggplant]

I don't ever want you to leave.

[Simply put, and he eyes Jae-Ha in a bit of a challenge, as if daring him to try and change his mind later]

[leggie]

[That earns a surprised blink before Jae-Ha smiles, small and warm.]

I never want to leave, so I hope you don't. Come on, let's put the rest of this food somewhere and sleep. We can do more tomorrow.

[lil_eggplant]

[If nothing else, Sanji looks immediately cheered by Jae-Ha's answer, and he pops off the bed to fulfill the suggestion, grabbing what he can hold and telling Jae-Ha where to put the rest ("In the cupboard over there. I tell the maids they can't look inside, so it'll be okay.")

And once they're finished, he jumps back into the bed with the same eagerness, too excited at the prospect of sleeping with a friend to bother taking off his robes. Though that reminds him...]

Oh, I should've bought you something to sleep in, too.

[leggie]

Why? I've never had something different to sleep in before.

[That sounds weird, because he's pretty sure his predecessor didn't either. After putting things in the cupboards (and the taller ones too, probably), he moves over to hop into the bed with Sanji, immediately wrapping his arms around a pillow and smooshing the side of his face into it.]

[lil_eggplant]

It's so your other clothes don't get dirty.

[Or so he's been told. But seeing as Jae-Ha doesn't seem impressed with the idea, Sanji makes no move to take off his own. Instead, he mimics the older boy by pulling a pillow to his head, peering over the puffy top to look at him]

How old are you? [Yes, he knows he should probably sleep, but curiosity makes him start asking whatever questions he can think of, the ones he forgot to ask before now]

[leggie]

[There's a quiet hum of acknowledgement. So they don't get dirty... He guesses that's why they didn't bother. They were always dirty. But that question gets him to look at him more directly, even with his face on the pillow.]

12. What about you?

[lil_eggplant]

8.

[He looks mildly surprised at the age difference, despite Jae-Ha having always looking and acting like it.]

That's how old Reiju is.

[leggie]

So you're still little.

[Jae-Ha can have humor... He looks really amused at the age difference.]

[lil_eggplant]

Oi! I'm not little!

[Puffing immediately with a narrowed stare, and it's obvious this isn't the first time someone's teased Sanji about his age... or his height]

I bet I'd be taller than you if we were the same age!

[leggie]

[Cute. This is fun, Jae-Ha realizes. He hasn't ever felt this relaxed... Even with threats around every corner, he's relaxed. He's going to protect this with everything he's got.]

If you're not little, I guess I'm just big and old. [He won't push teasing Sanji, so if it gets a flustered reaction like that, he'll just turn it on himself. See? He's nice.] You might catch up to me.

[lil_eggplant]

Only grown-ups are "old". [A small correction, but Sanji thinks it's important to note all the same. And it's not an insult, either. The majority of adults in his life aren't cruel to him, but sorta... there. Uninvolved. They answer him as "young lord" and then never take the time to talk to him.]

... And I'm definitely gonna catch up. [It's hard pretending it's a threat when Jae-Ha suddenly turns around and says such a nice thing. Again, so unlike Ichiji, Niji, or Yonji, who love tormenting Sanji until he's in tears. So after a thought, Sanji amends with:]

We can be the same height when we're older.

[leggie]

Okay. [They can be the same height. In agreement and playfulness, he reaches over to knock his knuckle lightly against Sanji's forehead. And then he moves to pull the ribbon out of his own hair. It's okay to sleep with it down here, so he ties the ribbon around his wrist loosely so not to lose it.]

Is anyone going to come in here in the morning?

[lil_eggplant]

[He gives a shake of his head]

Mmnmm, I get up by myself. [There might be a knock on the door, but Sanji has already locked it as well as he can]

Don't worry, I won't let anyone see you.

[leggie]

Okay. Then let's go to sleep.

[He's making up for lost sleep... it's great. He pushes at Sanji's face a little to urge him into his pillow. Sleeeeep.]

[lil_eggplant]

[lasj;a fiiiiine, he's sleeping! And indeed, it doesn't take long for Sanji to nod off after the excitement of the day. He's a dead log next to Jae-Ha save the occasional twitches and spikes of worry, where he reaches out to check that he didn't dream up his new friend.

Over the next few weeks, the nightly twitches finally disappear, but that's only replaced by Sanji waking up and checking with his eyes. Even at his age, his subconscious knows a good thing like this probably won't last the test of time. Especially as they've gotten so lucky so far - dodging being seen by his brothers, always one step ahead of the mansion maids and servants, no one in town willing to risk their necks tattling on their lord's son.

Reiju, too, stays out of their way (though according to Jae-Ha, she will poke her head through the door just to check if he's still around), and really, if that's all his sister plans to do, Sanji can't find it in himself to be too grumpy.

But he's still just -- nervous. If Jae-Ha is out of his sight for too long, Sanji hunts him down with an excuse to feed him, or make sure he has enough clothes, or to invite him to play with him (or more likely, wanting to go flying again). It probably looks clingy, and he can't help it. He's never had a friend, after all.

And it's on one particular day that their good luck finally dips. The two of them are out in the gardens, the far corner of it, with an apple dangling off the lowest branch. Sanji is in the middle of trying to jump up and knock it down, with strict orders at Jae-Ha not to help, because that's cheating, and Sanji plans to demonstrate that if he's not as tall as his friend, he can jump higher (y'know, if Jae-Ha had not-as-cool legs). He swears he's near victory, except that's when he hears voices in the distance -- four of them, in fact, and he recognizes them all.]

Ooooi! Sanji!

[Shit shit shit] Jae-Ha, you gotta hide!

[leggie]

[Just that quickly, Jae-Ha's smile vanishes away. He recognizes the voices from what he's seen around corners and through windows, but it's been a month of managing to avoid them. Now, he stands up immediately and looks over his shoulder towards the sound, stiffening but listening to Sanji and jumping off immediately.

In a flash, he's up in one tree, and then to another one, burying himself in thick branches so that he can hide away and still peer down to see what's happening.]

[lil_eggplant]

[His little heart is beating so fast it might give out on itself, but at least Jae-Ha listens and disappears into the trees. His friend won't be discovered. That's the most important part.

He recites it over and over in his head, a spell to ward off anything his brothers might say to him, and with his fingers already clenched into fists, Sanji turns to stare down the three boys (and Reiju) who come marching up the hill, all of them laughing in delight at something Niji must've said.

-- And they keep right on laughing after they spot Sanji, too, except now the blond is pretty sure they're laughing at him for some reason. Not that it's very different for every other day]

Idiot, Father says we all need to come back to the-- ... what are you doing? [Yonji, the youngest, speaks first, and in typical fashion squishes his face into what he thinks is a sneer. Really, though, he just looks ugly.] Were you trying to get that apple?

Probably couldn't reach it. [Niji snickers and folds his arms, while Reiju giggles into her hand] Look at him, he's too scrawny.

Oi! I can get it! Just watch!

[leggie]

[It's rude, and it's infuriating to see Reiju giggling along, of course. Jae-Ha doesn't agree with how she works at all, and even if he can understand her position, he doesn't like the kind of person she's let herself become out of fear.

Still, even if he doesn't like any of this, none of them have raised their hands against Sanji, and so Jae-Ha stays silent and hidden. He won't interrupt or even make any noises.]

1/2

[lil_eggplant]

[Is Jae-Ha staying put? A quick glance at the tree shows no sign of him, and he nods to himself. Good. Please stay there. Besides, if jumping up and capturing an apple will make his brothers shut up, this won't be hard! Sanji was gonna get it anyway.

So focused on his mission, he doesn't notice the silent approach of his brothers, that they're now standing in a loose half-circle around him while grinning between the three of them. Reiju, for her part, remains in the back, and it's why no one (except the boy she knows must be hiding nearby), will see how her smile drops and she looks at Sanji with quiet attention. Not because he's about to jump for one measly apple, but because...

Sanji jumps. He puts his back into it, floods his muscles with determination, and leaps like he might touch the stars instead of that apple. His expression floods with delight when his fingers brush against the red skin and promptly bat it off its stem--]