logs | catchall ✧ this is our story.

[ They're at their building, maybe out on the yard to enjoy whatever dim light is available as they polish their swords. It's very stay off my lawn today.

Except Felix stops to type on his phone, which prompts Joonghyuk raising his eyebrows in both curiosity and confusion. The polishing comes to a slow before he asks: ]

What's so important that you need to post now?

[ Joonghyuk never accuse him of posting anon. ]

[hold on he's having a flame war?

he looks up for a minute, sword still in his lap, and shakes his head in irritation.]

I told people to stop posting those stupid anonymous questions. That's all.

[then he goes back to polishing, until the next time it goes ding.]

[ Oh. He HAS to see this, so he pauses to check the network and sees the comments. ]

The first anonymous comment must be the same person who posted before you.

[ While he doesn't know, he's extremely bent on this hunch. ]

Probably. And embarrassed to be called out.

[he's typing another reply out as he talks. the messages are really coming in now. he frowns, and turns the phone over, and starts polishing the sword extra vigorously. even without looking, it's pretty clear his efforts have backfired on him completely.]

[ Joonghyuk is still reading, watching the responses come in hot for Felix's ass. It's kind of funny, but he also doesn't care for internet trolls. ]

There are a lot of opinions, many of them anonymous.

[ Anons going to anons. ]

The post earlier was stupid, anyway. There are many afterlives and there's a possibility they don't end up here. There's a chance they already passed on by the time we arrived here, too.

Then they can defend themselves in their circle of idiocy.

[but the second part doesn't get an immediate response. instead, the silence stretches out between them, only the soft sound of felix's cleaning interrupting it.

it's another long moment before felix, looking pointedly at his sword and not the other man, speaks.]

What do you mean, there's many afterlives.

[ The silence is fine. They can continue polishing, but then Felix speaks again.

Hm. ]

There are many religions that believe in an afterlife, so there are many realms for the soul. Possibly countless. [ Lifting up his blade, he appraises its edge. ] The last time I went to one of them, I didn't find anyone.

[this time, he does look up, the shadow of surprise written on his face.]

So the people not here are... elsewhere? A different hell?

They could be.

[ His frown presses into a finer line, eyes narrowing as he parses why Felix might be asking this. What happened to not caring?

Usually, he wouldn't care to pry. Everyone is allowed their privacy, the luxury of being alone with their wounds, but... It would be a lie to say he wasn't curious. They're similar people, after all. ]

Is someone on your mind?

[his eyes flick to the left for a second, then back, his expression carefully rearranging itself into something more neutral.]

No. Nobody.

[it's just a blatant lie.]

[ Joonghyuk is quiet, deciding if it's worth prying. His time here in the Netherworld, while unwelcome, has given him a luxury that wasn't afforded to him at home–privacy. That should be extended to others, too. ]

I have an ability that can detect lies.

[ Just so Felix understands. Despite that, he doesn't press him to share and doesn't trigger the skill. Instead, he shares something himself. ]

... I once went looking for my younger sister when I descended to the underworld. [ Comedically cliche and retelling even a piece has his expression turn somber, yet disapproving. ] It was foolish of me.

[lie-detecting? felix stares at him, then frowns, trying his hand at divining whether or not joonghyuk was telling the truth. but was there any profit to lying to him, here, now?

and there certainly was no benefit to telling him about his sister. and so felix finds his mouth opening rather of its own accord to respond in kind, the lines on his face easing ever so slightly, his surly curtain pushed an inch back.]

I had a brother. My father, too. I thought--[but it's almost as if his brain has caught up to his heart, because his mouth snaps shut, and any small softness that was evident in his expression evaporates.]

--Something foolish. You're right.

[ There is no profit and it would be a stupid move over all. Felix is sharp enough to obscure the truth if he wished and Joonghyuk could be be none the wiser.

Despite Felix showing some vulnerability, his eyes don't lift from his sword. No one wants to be seen with their wounds, as healed or faded as they are. They're here, talking about those they've lost, which is a complicated matter. Still, he'd never recede his statement—it is foolish. ]

What were they like?

[ This is an actual normal conversation, which is rare considering how Joonghyuk normally talks to Felix. It is softness hours with their swords. ]

Stupid.

[he spits the word out immediately, angrily, like he can't stand to hold it in. but in the silence that follows, his jaw works, jaw clenching and unclenching, and he offers a little more.]

Too idiotically noble for their own good. Both of them.

[his line of sight is off, focused on some mote of light in the middle distance, hands still cradling his sword. he thinks about suddenly brandishing it at joonghyuk—this conversation makes him want to fight, to train, immediately—but he keeps the anger to a rolling boil, flicking his finger along the blade's edge.]

[ His lips press into a fine line, teeth gently finding once. Those words are familiar and haunting enough. ]

... Only those strong enough to destroy everything in their path can afford to be noble and kind.

[ It isn't quite an insult nor a harsh criticism, only a statement coming from experience. How can you expect to protect anything without power? Strength? How can you protect those you love if you're weaker than them? Words of comfort won't help them, even if he's sympathetic.

While Felix considers pointing his blade, Joonghyuk actually does just that. The black sword reflects the dim light, challenging the person at its point. ]

You stand to be different?

[ They can fight and train so that they won't lose any other. ]

I stand to be better.

[as soon as joonghyuk moves, so does felix, answering in kind. he should have been first to do it, and he curses himself for being slow to the draw. that kind of hesitation will get him killed. if he wants to be in a situation where he never has to choose between the lives of people and his own, he has to be stronger, stronger still—strong enough to overcome anything.]

I'll become stronger than any of them. Come at me. I'll prove it.

[he settles into a waiting stance, watching his opponent, his blade. he's already dead—it's time to reach beyond that, to what this life can afford him.]

[ Is better different? Joonghyuk quickly thinks about this... Once upon a time, he had given up on protecting others. He once chose different, instead of better. Even now, he is different. Whatever nobility he had once before had been cast aside, even if he regained his desire to cherish and protect.

Felix wishes to keep his heart, is it? He may be reading far too much into his words in the span of two seconds, but he stows it away to ponder on later. His blade comes quick, piercing the distance with a gold afterimage following it. ]

You will stand against obstacles you can't overcome. This place may be one of them.

[ Stuck in the Netherworld, indefinitely. Suffering it and its ways, which is to say a sprite... Shows up! Whether they notice or not, who knows? This is a battle of wills as much as it's a battle of blades. ]

Then I'll just keep training until I can!

[it's big talk—but he's never been one to accept an ultimatum. die saving someone, or have them die? no. he'll simply get strong enough to save them and live. the choice, as far as felix is concerned, is simple: just change fate with your own hands.

joonghyuk is as fast as ever, and he grits his teeth as he parries the first strike, knocking the black blade to the side just in time. this has become a familiar, exhilerating, and always challenging part of his day. he'd never tell the man he appreciated the invitation to live in this house and spar him on the regular, but he doesn't have to. the blades speak for themselves.

he slices back at joonghyuk, their blades clattering along each other—when the sprite jumps up on his sparring partner's shoulder, waving it hands around, and pointing up.

with concerted effort, he disengages, hopping back a step—and looks, stomach already dropping—then rising again, full of fight adrenaline and rage.]

You've got to be kidding me!

[ Their styles are becoming familiar every day... And Joonghyuk has reasons for not allowing anyone to be able to read his movements. Every battle he makes sure to change it, as if becoming a different person in every spar though there's still a piece of him in every swing, for he won't know when in the future Felix will point his blade at him with genuine murderous intent. Is it a fight if someone can see through you?

It's unlikely, but he has to consider how the universe can force people against each other. As much as he would rather prevent that, his logical mind falls onto every possibility.

The sprite means nothing here, at least to him. With Felix stepping back, Joonghyuk pursues in a smooth swoop with both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword and the little guy saddled on his shoulder. Mistletoe spider nearby, around, and threaten them with their curse. ]

Don't let yourself be distracted. [ The swords clamor to the side with ample force. With this opening, he grabs Felix by the collar and roughly yanks him close to peer into his eyes. This intense gaze is one that should never be found in an afterlife—there's so much desire to struggle, rebel, and live. ] You could die in any moment.

[ The next second, their lips meet. 😘 ]

[his blade slips and clatters down joonghyuk's as the other man darts forward. it's his foul—and he'll surely pay for it. he shouldn't have let himself be distracted in the first place—he was right.

with those thoughts in mind, the kiss doesn't register at all. the idea of joonghyuk locking lips with him is simply not something he'd ever considered as a possibility in his lifetime. he'd sparred with him, time and time again, nearly every day since arriving, and certainly every day since moving in, but "will kiss you mid-combat" was not something he'd ever considered as a potential threat.

so it's not until joonghyuk pulls away that felix blinks, and realizes it was all reality.

without another word, he throws himself back at his sparring partner, and attempts to cut his throat, expression a misty haze of confusion and anger.]

catchall ✧ this is our story.

FELIX

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