A secret worthy
of keeping
Xaden Riorson x Ridoc Gamlyn
There was once a boy with cat-like eyes, sharper than a dagger, and cooler than steel. His mind was bitter, seeing the world for it truly was, and not what everyone had made it out to be. The boy with cat-like eyes knew the truth before anyone could tell him. He remembers a boy with those eyes, remembers as the boy saw through him, saw through the secrets that he kept close to his chest. The boy saw him for who he was and not what everyone wanted him to be.
He remembers how beautiful the boy was, but how cruel the world was to him. Those amber-brown eyes that were far more intelligent than any fourteen year old should be, how his dark brown hair was curly, how it flopped in the wind and when he walked, the tanned skin that would soon be marked. He remembers everything about him.
How could he not remember the boy he fell in love with? How could he not remember how those eyes softened when they looked at him? Or how his hands would trace through his eyebrow, where that scar lay? Or how they kissed each otherās scars? Or how he played in his hair, scratching at the scalp, making him purr like a cat? Or how he would hold his face in his hands, kissing his lips, mouthing at his throat? Or how he would write him letters daily, always a new one coming in? Or when times that he was hurt, he (the boy) would treat him better, kissing the pain away? How could he ever forgot those moments?
These moments have stayed with him, day and night, every hour of every day they are inside of his mind. They can never leave him because he could never not love the boy with cat-like eyes.
But time changes everything.
After his fatherās execution, he became responsible for 107 orphaned children of the rebellion that were left behind. He didnāt ever see him again, even his letters stopped entirely. He never saw him again until he was forced to enter the Riderās Quadrant, in his third year when he saw those cat-like amber-brown eyes, that mop of curly wind-swept hair, and that scarred tan skin. There was no changing those looks or mistaking those eyes, they had never changed, even it have been six years since he last saw them. Those eyes still looked at bitter, sharper than a blade, and still as intelligent as the day that Xaden last saw them.
Six years had passed since they last saw each other, six years of silence, of wondering what had happened to him, of Xaden worrying if he had died in these six years. Yet, there he was, dancing in the rain across the parapet; looking just as beautiful as the day that he first saw him, if not even more beautiful now than he had been then. Xaden breath caught in his throat, something that never happened to him, something that only Ridoc could pull out of him.
The rainwater was sticking to his curls, making them more defined in the storm. Despite the parapet being slick with rainwater, Ridoc was dancing across the stone, his feet not slipping as he came closer and closer to Xaden. His curls stick to his face, the lighting and dark clouds illuminating his amber-brown eyes as though they are gems reflecting the sunlight. He couldnāt tear his eyes away from him, it was as though Ridoc was his god, the one he wanted to worship on his knees, praying to his God. He looked like a god dancing so elegantly across the parapet, looking as though he is controlling the storm around him. He looked so ethereal.
In no time, Ridoc stood before him, those intelligent eyes looking into Xadenās own golden flecked onyx eyes. He didnāt know what to say or how to say it, it was as though everything inside of his mind flew out the window. They stared at each other for a long time as others crossed the parapet, soaking from the rainwater, passing the two of them by as they got their names taken down. Ridoc and Xaden are in their own worlds, their eyes never leaving each other as they consumed each other with their eyes.
It was Ridoc that spoke first, every word measured and calculated to precision. āYou look the same as you did six years ago, Xaden.ā He said, a cunning smile pulling at the corner of his lips before he added on. āMaybe, a little hotter than your sixteen year old self.ā Xaden physically choked at that, coughing as he could only stare at the twenty year old before him. Something was off, but the relief of seeing Ridoc again after six years clouded that feeling. (He knew better than to ignore it, knew better than to leave it alone, to let it fester as though it were an open wound.)
āYou look the same, if only a little taller, Ridoc.ā Xaden said, a small chuckle forming at the back of his throat as though he found this amusing, which he did only a little. Ridoc laughed, throwing his head back, exposing his tanned throat to the rainwater, Xaden watched as droplets of water raced down his throat, over his Adamās apple. He felt the urge to trail his tongue darling his throat, flexing it over the muscles and moles, biting onto his Adamās apple. He felt it fester inside of him as Ridoc brought his head back, staring at Xaden with that same cunning smile from earlier. āOf course, you would say that.ā
In that moment, Xaden hoped that cunning smile never vanished from Ridocās face. But they knew that time bent to no oneās will and served no oneās purpose, they knew that Ridoc would have to go on, either dancing or walking across the parapet. They knew he would finished the parapet and became a dragon rider. Xaden knew it, if anything, Ridoc will be spiteful and do it just to do it.
Ridoc paused for a moment, looking back at the boy he once knew. About the boy with perfect skin and pretty eyes, with a scar through his left eyebrow. He knew that he would see him again. āIāll see you again, itās a promise.ā The boy said that and took off across the parapet, and Xaden smiled. Something that he was not know to do, but Ridoc was the only person that could make him smile like that.
He may not end up in his section of the Riderās Quadrant, but he guaranteed that they would see each other again. He knew that they would.
š¬š¼š š®šæš² ššµš¶š½š½š²š±, šÆš¼š. Xadenās dragon hissed into his head, not needing to watch to see the stupid smile across her riderās face.
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Xaden did see him later, after he had gotten out of the storm that had fallen onto them. He had changed out of his soaked leathers, setting them aside to deal with later before changing into a new, dry set of them. He had gotten back just in time to stand with the other Wingleaders and Section Leaders to hear the names of the cadets that will be under them for the next three years, though it would only be a year or two for Third and Second years.
He heard as Ridocās name was called out, hearing that excited laughter from the man, who was already making friends. He wanted to go over to them, but he knew that would be weird, a third year walking over to a first year; even if everything in his body screamed at him to go over there, to see the boy that he had missed for six years. He denied his mind and body that, as though he were denying a child a piece of candy. He would watch from afar, just for now.
But if Xaden knew anything about himself or the effect that Ridoc has on him, he knew that he would be back later for him. Especially with the meetings later in the upcoming weeks; he knew that something would happen, even if he didnāt want it to. Maybe Ridoc would continue his morning ritual, when the sky is still dark, and everyone is asleep. Maybe, he can talk to Ridoc then, when they are alone with no one to snoop on them, a chance where they can really talk for once. Six years was a long time, neither one of them contacting each other in that time; Xaden dealing with the 107 orphans from the rebellion and Ridoc dealing with his father, who wishes for Ridoc to follow in his footsteps.
If only anything was that easy, if only their world had been that easy, or their childhoods normal and fair. He wished they could have stayed together for these six years.
As if right on que, there he was, his steps slow and measured, his eyes always locked onto Xadenās. His stopped in front of the Wingleader, staring up at him, his eyes glinting with something in them. Ridoc gave a small smile, that smile said everything that needed to be said; that everything would be okay, even if it wasnāt.
It had been six years, and they needed to talk, even if neither one of them wanted to talk at all. They stood there, looking at each other as though waiting for the other to talk first. āItās been a long time, Ridoc.ā He said, as though that was not obvious already. āAlmost seven years, Xaden, that how long weāve been away from each other.ā Xaden looked away from him, his hand clenching tightly against his thigh as though he wanted to reach out and hold the younger oneās face. Wanted to feel that he was real, and not a trick of the mind or a hallucination.
āWhere did you go?ā Xaden asked him, going straight to the point, not missing anything as he needed to know the truth. āSix years ago, you disappeared after my fatherās execution, so where did you go?ā Ridoc looked at Xaden, actually looked at him for the first time in the last six years. He saw something in him, something that he had not seen before today. Perhaps, worry or anger for leaving, or even wondering why he left him all those years ago. Ridoc paused for a second, debating on what answer would please Xaden the most, but deciding on truth was the best. āMy father found me, forced me back into that lonely house, forced me to learn everything that would turn me into him.ā Ridoc chuckled coldly at that, he looked at the ground before he looked at Xaden, his eyes tired. āA weapon, my father wanted to turn me into a weapon, his own son. He did turn me into a weapon, just not one he could use in politics or royalty. No, I became my own weapon, and passed the parapet.ā Ridoc continued on, it seemed as though once his mouth opened, it never closed. āIt was what my mother feared would happen if I was left alone with my father. But she was burned by Codagh, like your father was. She left me a mark, just like you, just like the rest of us.ā Ridoc pushed the left side of his pants down, brandishing the same mark that Xaden has going up and down his right arm, on his hip, watching as it swirled its way up his back. āA little parting gift from the afterlife, I guess.ā
Xadenās face went blank as he stared at Ridoc, those words trying to process inside of his brain. He stared at the swirling mark that seemed to move on his skin, almost like shadows. Without knowing what he was doing, Xaden reached forward, touching the mark that was etched into his skin, feeling the heat radiating off of his body as he stared at it. Ridoc lost his breath as he stared at the exposed expression on the older oneās face. It said everything that neither of them wanted to say, desire etched itself into Xadenās expression, it pulled at something inside of Ridoc, something dark and possessive. He wanted to be the only one to see that desire, to want that desire directed towards him.
āYouāre like me. Youāre a marked one.ā Xaden said, breathless as he spoke, seeing the mark on Ridoc changes everything. It made everything that Xaden wanted to change, become more possible by the moment. āDoes anyone else know about you being marked?ā He asked him, still staring at the mark, still touching it as though it was his to touch. Ridoc shook his head, then realized that Xaden wasnāt looking at him. āOnly my father has ever saw it, he told me to always hide it, never to let it be seen by anyone.ā Xaden scoffed at that, but he seemed to understand, nobody wanted to be a marked one, it just happened like everything does. Xaden finally looked up at him, pulling his hands away from Ridocās hips, pulling himself back into reality. āHe shouldnāt have told you that, itās not a curse that it dealt by a witch, but..ā He trailed off, looking into the shadows as though they would hold the answer to everything. āBut?ā He knew it was ridiculous, yet he had to ask, had to ask what else Xaden was going to say, what else it meant.
Xaden took a breathed a deep, dark smile spreading across his face as he spoke. āYouāve just changed everything, Ridoc.ā
