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Cale-nim is upset with him.
Choi Han will be the first to admit that it is deserved. It’s well-known that the ex-Commander values his rest greatly, even if he has the propensity to sacrifice it (and himself) for others. Slamming open the door and abruptly waking Cale-nim from his nap without an actual emergency is just asking to be glared at.
In his defense, he forgot that Cale-nim would be resting. He had just had a realization and he was panicking and when that happens he automatically seeks Cale-nim out.
So, he awoke him a bit too loudly and his reasoning did not stand up to the deadpan look that the redhead sent his way.
“I’m too tired for this.” Cale-nim had said, not bothering to hide how annoyed he was. “Talk to me later.”
He had then immediately fallen back asleep, and Choi Han quietly shut the (now slightly dented) door when he left.
Choi Han’s glad the kids weren’t napping with him. He had not thought about their nosiness and did not want them to be involved in this matter. They’re out, though. He’s not sure exactly where, but he did hear them gently bullying Eruhaben, so he knows that wherever they are they’re likely safe. Cale-nim wouldn’t be resting so solidly otherwise.
It’s even better that Ron seems to have missed this commotion. There’s a nonzero chance that he’s lurking around a corner to throw a snide remark Choi Han’s way, of course. There are only so many things Choi Han can worry about at once, though.
So now Cale-nim is upset with him and Choi Han is still in crisis and there’s nobody around to help.
Well, that’s not true. There are people around. But the last thing he wants to do is go to Ron or Beacrox with this matter. He’s also not close with Jack at all.
He ends up seeking out Hannah.
Not because she can help him resolve his crisis, but because she’ll likely be down to spar with him so he can effectively distract himself. He has so much energy underneath his skin that he feels like he’s about to burst and she’s never turned down a fight before.
“She’s out.” Jack told him apologetically when Choi Han went to find the swordsmaster. “Her and Mary were going on a walk or something. Is it an emergency?”
“No.” Choi Han tells the Saint. “Just looking to spar.”
Jack seems contemplative for a moment and Choi Han inwardly curses. He forgot that the man is the type of person to immediately look for solutions to a problem rather than just take it at face value and look away.
“Actually, if you want a sparring partner, I think--”
“Bye.” Choi Han says and totally does not run down the hallway.
He ends up going into the Dark Forest proper to hopefully kill some things and settle down. He’s glad he always has his sword with him, or else he probably would have forgotten it in his haste to escape and he does not want to risk running into anyone.
It still takes his breath away when he comes here and thinks about how much has changed. How much he has changed. He’s standing there, alone in the Dark Forest, but he is nothing like the person he was several years ago.
He has clean, warm clothes that fit. He has neatly trimmed hair and no bags under his eyes. He has a voice that sees more use than just desperately repeating his own name over and over.
He has a home now. A family.
He has a---
He punches a tree down. No, no thinking. Working out.
He’s not aware of the passing of time after that—or even where exactly in the Dark Forest he is. There’s no worry that he’ll get lost, so he doesn’t focus on anything besides his own movements. He’s just aware of the sweat on his skin and the sound of his own breathing and his heart beating in his ears.
He’s not tired, he’s barely done anything, why is he already like this?
(He knows the answer. He refuses to think of it.)
He stops his destruction when he comes across the apple orchard Cale set up. It looks silly, with mostly saplings but then one odd fully grown apple tree sticking in the middle randomly. The kids had been far too impatient to wait and Choi Han had ended up having to relocate an entire tree.
He’s pretty sure that he technically stole the tree, but Rosalyn had said that the royal gardener at the Breck Kingdom never tended to it properly and that it was fine. Despite having abdicated her place for the throne, Rosalyn still holds power in the Kingdom. Between her and him dropping the gold coins Cale-nim had given him to procure the tree at the spot where it once was, he’s pretty sure no one’s going to come after him.
Although if they do, then—
Stop.
He carefully picks his way over to the tree. There are many apples, but few that look ripe enough to harvest yet. None of them look quite ready.
Choi Han’s not quite ready—
He sighs loudly and sits down under the tree, resting his back against the bark. He scrubs at his face with his hands like he can get rid of the unwelcome thoughts that way.
Why can’t he just stop thinking? Especially about—
“Why, dear Instructor, it looks like you’re thinking of a rather unpleasant matter.”
He flinches, head whipping around to see Alberu standing there with a smirk on his face. He looks unarmed, but Choi Han knows that the Crown Prince is smarter than that. Taerang is probably on his person somewhere.
Then again, Alberu is pretty strong without a weapon. His power is easy to sense right now, since the man is standing there without any disguise.
He looks more handsome in this form, Choi Han thinks. He’s handsome in either form, but there’s a fluidity and freedom that blond-haired and blue-eyed Alberu doesn’t have that this quarter-Dark Elf holds.
With his swordsmaster eyes, he can see Alberu’s eyes clearly. They’re a solid brown, without any gold flecks or red tint. Just brown.
They look like the dirt that every piece of light lives on. They look like nuts Choi Han had managed to find when he was starving alone that let him persist just a little longer. They look like the dead leaves when the sky turns cold that you can find a simple joy in from playing with. They look-
“You’re staring, Instructor.”
They look like they’re watching him carefully.
Shit. He had been staring.
For lack of a better response, Choi Han says “How did you know I was here?”
Alberu raises one eyebrow at him and gestures to the side. Choi Han follows his hand and sees the clear trail of destruction he left behind.
Oh.
“Oh.”
Alberu lets out a chuckle at his surprise. It’s low and soft and for some reason Choi Han’s heart that had calmed earlier is speeding right back up.
“What are you doing here? Other than clearing a path, of course.” Alberu asks, walking closer to him. His posture is still incredible, even when relaxed. He somehow looks like he’s walking to receive an award in front of the entire continent rather than just making his way across a new orchard that has yet to produce any usable fruit.
“Just. Exercising.” Choi Han stutters out, forcing himself to focus away from Alberu’s lean and fit form to his face. He then has to force himself to look slightly to the side of the other man’s face, lest he get distracted by those mesmerizing brown eyes.
(Just brown. They’re just brown. Not like the blues and greens he’s heard compared to skies and emeralds. Just. Brown.)
(Brown like something warm and obtainable and not steeped in fantasy or shrouded in mystery but something right here. Brown like something he can reach out and touch instead of dreaming of distant skies or cold gemstones.)
He has never had so much difficulty talking to the Crown Prince before. Just yesterday they had participated in a bit of back-and-forth banter and he had been fine. Sure, he had felt strangely feverish when he went to sleep that night and couldn’t stop thinking about it this morning and then he looked at the sunrise and thought that’s not as beautiful as he is and realized—
“Choi Han?”
Why did he have to say his name like that?
“Yes, Your Highness?” He asks, then mentally asks himself when the last time he called Alberu ‘Your Highness’. It was long ago enough that it’s noticeable, that’s for sure. He wishes he was as good at lying as Cale-nim is.
“I asked why you stopped here if you were exercising.” Alberu says, the ends of his lips curled up into a slight smile. Choi Han is still sitting which means Alberu is standing over him and Choi Han can’t think.
“Uh.” Choi Han says dumbly. “Apples.”
“Apples?”
“Yeah.” He forces himself to stand up because he is not going to be able to say another word with Alberu looking down at him like that. Plus, this way he can flee faster. He just needs to think of an excuse.
It is not easier to speak standing. They are around the same height, which means Alberu’s eyes are right there—
They’re right there, looking at him expectantly.
“I. Was.” He forces himself to swallow. Right, he needs something that’s not a lie. He’d been endlessly teased about his inability to lie. Alberu’s smart (resourceful, perceptive, clever—) and will be able to see through any lies in a heartbeat.
A truth, then. “It seems the apples aren't ready yet.” He says.
He’s pretty sure fighting an army would be easier than whatever the hell it is he’s doing now. More relaxing too, probably.
“Oh?” Alberu mercifully moves his piercing gaze off of him and slightly up and to the right of Choi Han’s head.
He then looks back at Choi Han and starts to lean in.
There is not a single thought going through Choi Han’s mind right now. He can only stand there helplessly and flick his gaze between Alberu’s eyes and his lips and back again because neither are great options for him to focus on.
Alberu’s breath his warm on his face, smelling faintly of that herbal tea he tends to drink whenever he comes over. He’s pretty sure Alberu has somehow gotten taller in the last several seconds, because once again he is looking up at the man.
There’s the sound of something breaking behind Choi Han’s right ear. He flinches at the sound but cannot look away from the face mere centimeters away from his.
Alberu (fortunately? unfortunately?) starts to lean back away, increasing the distance once more. He falls back down to Choi Han’s level and the swordsmaster belatedly realizes that the other man had moved onto his toe tips to gain a few more centimeters of height.
An arm that had snaked its way around Choi Han while he was distracted comes back into view.
Alberu is holding a beautiful red apple in his hand.
“This one seems ready.” Alberu murmurs, inspecting the apple carefully. “It might have been ready for a while. You just missed it.”
Choi Han stares at the apple for a moment, before looking back at Alberu. Now that some of the panic is gone, he can see that the crown prince’s face is more vulnerable than he’s used to. There’s a soft fondness in his gaze that Choi Han has never seen before.
He clears his throat, hopes that he’s not seeing things where there is nothing, and says “I wasn’t looking before. I didn’t realize I wanted it before today.”
Alberu hums, eyes searching Choi Han’s face, before he holds out the apple. “And now?”
Choi Han finds himself smiling softer than he thought he was capable of. He reaches up and gently takes the apple.
“And now I’m ready.” He says. “Want to share?”
Alberu smiles back. “Of course. I was waiting for you to ask.”