The Wandering Samurai and his Beloved General (BL)

About ten minutes into the battle, the Silver Dragons turned and hastily fled the swamp.

Behind them, the eerie, unsettling laughter of multiple voices echoed. After confirming the creature didn't pursue them, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. However, their vigorous escape soon slowed as exhaustion, both physical and mental, began to catch up.

Lanling had no choice but to set up a temporary camp.

An hour's walk away from the nearest dirt road, the army set up simple tents in the middle of the night, collapsing into their bedrolls. Those with more stamina took the night watch, but the fatigue was palpable.

It was an understatement to say their experiences over the past five days had been grueling. They could probably claim with pride that they had gone to hell and back.

Inside another simple tent, Haruki and Lanling were removing their armor. The silver and blue surfaces were marred with slashes, and blood from various sources had long dried over it.

Haruki hissed as his skin peeled when he removed a piece of armor. He winced, remembering the fireball that had blasted that area—he had forgotten just how badly his skin had scorched.

Lanling jerked his gaze toward Haruki and saw the ghastly sight. Wordlessly, he took out a bottle from his ring filled with a red liquid and moved toward Haruki from behind.

"Sit," he said softly, gesturing toward their makeshift bed. Their two bedrolls were hastily stitched together, the stitching clearly done by someone with little to no skill.

But despite the shabby workmanship, Lanling smiled indulgently when Haruki worked on it.

Haruki crouched and sat on the edge, glancing over his left shoulder at the large patch of burnt skin.

"It doesn't hurt?" Lanling asked, uncorking the bottle and gently pouring the liquid over the wound.

"Nah. But seeing your skin peel off is so weird!" Haruki watched with a curious gaze. Where the liquid touched, the wound visibly healed before his eyes.

It was oddly mesmerizing.

Lanling chuckled softly. "Battling mages always brings strange wounds. I sometimes find them annoying."

Haruki looked up with raised brows. "Really? You don't seem like someone who would get annoyed by anything."

Lanling's actions briefly paused before he continued. Though he tried to hide it quickly, Haruki caught the flash of bitterness in his eyes.

But Haruki didn't know how to respond.

Once his wounds were fully healed, he found the words. "Do you want a hug?"

Lanling's eyes widened slightly as they met Haruki's gaze. Against his will, they burned, threatening to spill over with tears. He bit his cheek, trying to stop them, and slowly nodded.

Strong, rough hands gently guided him to sit on Haruki's lap. His head was brought to Haruki's neck, and the soothing caresses along his back brought a warmth that spread through him, especially since he only wore his inner robes.

A soft kiss landed on his head.

"I'm sorry."

Haruki murmured softly, his throat feeling tight. His gut churned with an unfamiliar sensation, and the weight of his own ignorance made him want to split his head open and recover whatever memories he had lost.

It took a while for Lanling to find his voice.

"...You don't even know why."

"Yeah..." Haruki's voice was barely a whisper.

Another kiss landed, this time behind Lanling's ear.

"I'm still sorry."

Haruki's hands moved instinctively to Lanling's head, gently combing through his slightly tangled hair and easily fixing the mess. He let his actions take over, shutting off his thoughts, trusting that his body knew what to do.

"I don't know why you won't let me remember." He placed another kiss on Lanling's ear. "But I trust you."

Lanling seemed to tremble at his words.

"I'll do anything for you." Haruki tried to catch a glimpse of Lanling's face, but the other man shook his head. "I don't understand why I feel this strongly. I just know that I love you."

In the silence that followed, Haruki could hear Lanling open his mouth as if to say something, but after a moment, he clicked his tongue in frustration, unable to find the right words.

Lanling lifted his head, his eyes meeting Haruki's soft gaze. His heart ached with a quiet, unspoken pain. Not knowing how to express just how deeply he loved this man was eating him up inside. So, instead of speaking, he simply, delicately, started tracing Haruki's features.

He touched Haruki's brows, feeling the tickle of his eyelashes against his fingers, then trailed over the bridge of his nose and gently caressing his cheeks with the back of his finger.

Haruki's breath turned hot from it, and his throat bobbed.

Lanling's gaze caught sight of it, and amusement flickered in his eyes. His hand slowly trailed down, stopping over the protrusion and gently pressing against it. It bobbed again.

"Lanling..."

Haruki warned, his voice deep and husky. His arms tightened around Lanling as his desires fought to overtake his reasoning.

Lanling looked up into his hungry gaze, and a thought flashed through his mind.

If he couldn't say the words, it seemed he would have to use his actions.

The tightness in his heart loosened, even as the bitterness lingered.

Lanling wrapped his legs around Haruki's waist, his arms coiling around his neck, brushing his nose against his.

As their breaths merged and their gazes burned into each other's lips, Lanling licked to break their nearly thinning resolves.

Haruki quickly captured Lanling's tongue, his teeth grazing over it.

Lanling slapped his chest in pain, but soon after, he deepened the kiss, his saliva escaping the corners of his lips as he surrendered his tongue.

"Mn, ge-gently," Lanling gasped.

Haruki subconsciously obeyed.

He sucked gentler, then explored further. His eyes opened briefly to see the saliva spill, and he reflexively licked it clean.

Lanling's head tilted back as Haruki's mouth moved to his throat, sucking gently at the soft curve of his neck.

Lanling's body was fully supported by his arms, his back arching as a groan escaped him.

His hand slid into Haruki's hair, then suddenly yanked his head back, pushing him onto the bed as he swiftly loosened the belt of his own robe.

"Can you satisfy me?" Lanling asked, a bottle of pink liquid appearing from his ring. Before Haruki could respond, Lanling drank the potion in one motion.

Haruki swallowed hard.

"Whenever you want it," he said, his voice low.