CW: Explicit language, mentions of drug addiction/withdrawal, ableist language, mentions of sexual assault/non-con.
In the weeks following the Marquis’ disappearance, the Slums settle into a healing lull. Bliss addicts are forced to withdraw and Iris rallies the support of the Healers from the Clinic to see them through the worst of their illness. The little lord manages to convince Healer Wu to visit the district once a day for consultation, much to Hwan Sun’s chagrin. Over time, Bliss becomes a bad memory, and the Slums return to the drink and the vibrant chaos. The district is alive once more.
Outside of their vigorous training led by Mira and Jun, Vermin are sent to assist the Slummers with their various needs. Whether it’s fixing a leaking roof, chasing out other gangs trying to muscle their way in, or acting as protection, the Mischief are come to be seen in a favourable light. Of course, the main instigator of this new direction is the little lord himself, but Rin can see value in garnering the Slummers’ support. Better to have a positive influence in the Slums, than be reviled and ousted.
On a crisp sunny day, Rin brings his little lord to meet Nuwa and Bo. He doesn’t point out the neighbouring structure built over the ashes of Dasom’s house. As far as Jun knows, it’s just an empty house with dark windows and a simple facade that’s as unassuming as its history. Not even a home for a stranger.
Nuwa and Bo are both in the front yard, enjoying the rare weather. Nuwa is, as always, in her rocking chair, feeding her chickens, and Bo is knelt before the fence, patching up the holes and rotting boards.
Seeing the women brings a sense of comfort to Rin. They are, in a way, inextricably tied to the Rat, long before Dasom’s death. Long before Kahin. It seems several lifetimes ago now and he can hardly recognise the person he’s become. Stifled. Strange. And cold.
Rin leans on the fence and gives a jaunty wave. “Did ya miss me?” He laughs when he sees their contrasting reactions – Nuwa’s face dropping into a scowl, and Bo brightening into a reticent smile.
“Why do you keep bringing your ugly face around here?” Nuwa complains, tossing a handful of seeds in his direction. She has a surprisingly good arm and several seeds stick to his cheeks. “There’s no food for you here! Scram!”
“Rin,” Bo rises to her feet and towers over the two men. Jun stares up at her, unable to stop himself from gaping. “It is good to see you. Who is your friend?”
“This is the guy I saved – Jun.”
Bo peers down at Jun with keen interest, her smile widening. She bows her head in greeting. “Rin has told us much about you. I am Bo, and the bad-tempered one over there is Nuwa.”
The little lord returns her bow, albeit deeper. “I am very pleased to meet you both. And I must thank you for helping me. I may never be able to return the favour in kind, however I will endeavour to, in whatever way possible.”
“They didn’t do shit,” Rin snorts, hopping the fence. The chickens scatter in alarm, recognising the volatile creature intruding their peaceful domain. “I’m the one who saved you, remember?”
“If not for me, you and your noble boy would be dead,” Nuwa snaps.
“I would have found another way.”
“You would have not.”
“A wrinkled old prune like you ain’t the end all.”
“Nuwa,” Bo steps up to the rocking chair and rests her hand upon the ornery witch’s shoulder. “Why don’t you entertain our guests while I prepare some tea?”
The old woman huffs and grumbles and waves Bo away. “The schisandra that the girl brought us last week would do fine.”
Bo gives her a fond pat on the shoulder before disappearing inside.
“You, boy,” Nuwa barks at the little lord. “How do you fare? I heard it was your mother who had taken possession of you.”
Jun stiffens, recognising that this old witch deserved much of his respect. “Yes, that is correct. I am well but…” He pauses, brows knitting together. “She is still of this realm, watching over me. While I appreciate her intent, I am concerned for the state of her soul.”
Nuwa shoots a glare at Rin. “You did not exorcise her?”
“I did. Partially.” Rin shrugs, sitting down on a wooden crate presumably full of fruit.
“My mother left on her own volition,” Jun says, quickly. “But she would not have done so if not for Rin.”
“There is risk of re-possession. Did you discover her intent?” Nuwa starts rocking, holding the grain bag in her lap like a babe.
“She is reluctant to leave, lest danger befalls me.”
“She needs to guarantee your safety.”
“I believe so, yes.”
“It’s not so clear-cut.” The old witch hums in thought, rubbing her chin. “Safety looks different for everyone. And for a mother, it must be absolute. She must have true confidence that you would not come to harm in her absence.” A tired sigh. “Your mother may never leave your side.”
“Would she be able to reincarnate?” Rin asks, trying to kick a chicken that dared get too close.
“I assume so. Once her son dies, she would have no more reason to remain in this realm. As for her reincarnation, that is for Izayoma to decide. In any case, it is not her soul you should be concerned about.” Nuwa’s tone sharpens. “Have you developed a system yet?”
Rin pointedly ignores Jun’s questioning look. “I’ve been kinda busy. You know. Taking over the Slums and all.”
“Yes. I heard about your exploits. They were, might I add, dangerous and fool-hardy. Why would you return to that peacock of a man?”
Rin smirks, which only seems to anger Nuwa moreso. “He had the biggest gang in the Slums. And I wanted it for myself.”
“That is precisely the kind of behaviour I warned you about. How many times have you come close to dying?”
“My decisions have nothing to do with this.” Rin gestures vaguely at his chest. “It’s something I’d been considering for a long time now. I just found the right opportunity.”
“Bah! Stupid boy. Keep. Your. Self. In. Check!” For each word, she strikes the raven wherever she can land a blow. To Rin’s credit, he stays in place and takes every hit without complaint.
“What is this…system?” Jun asks them both, perplexed.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It’s just a witch thing,” Rin says, dismissively. He rubs his sore arm and side-glares Nuwa. A silent warning. “Nothing to do with you.”
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Jun smiles tightly, the strain clear in his eyes. “Rin has told you that much?”
“It is not difficult to discern your identity. There are not many nobles in Hanjuyang with your eyes. Far less who bear a striking resemblance to Lady Hwan Jina.”
“You knew my mother?” The lord blinks in surprise.
“Every bejewelled fool in the High District is known well to me, though they know not of me. You are very much like your mother. In image and in spirit.”
The lad clasps his hands together, head bowed. He seems unable to meet Nuwa’s shrewd eyes. Cowed in a way only known to himself. “In image, yes. In spirit, I doubt.”
“I dunno,” Rin interjects, kicking the crate with his heels. “I don’t reckon he’s anything like anyone but himself. If you said he was adopted I might be inclined to believe you.”
Jun raises his head to give his lover a faint smile. Amusement brightens that darkened expression.
“That is an interesting sentiment,” Nuwa grouses. “Considering that you are the very definition of inherited stupidity.”
“Dasom pickled her brain with drink.”
“And you haven’t?”
“How do you explain my genius?”
“Genius? You?!” The old witch throws back her head and cackles loudly, the chair rocking violently with the stuttering heaves of her frail body.
Rin purses his lips. “I didn’t get to where I am without my smarts. I know I look a certain kinda way, but up here, it’s an entire universe.” He taps the side of his head, trying to appear sage.
This only incites a fresh peal of laughter from Nuwa, and even Jun struggles to control his mirth bubbling to the surface.
“Where you are right now, boy, is a broken district and a group of hungry mutts at your behest.”
“You know, everyone keeps doubting me, but I’m sitting here in one piece with everything I need gotten, and everything I want within my reach.” He reaches out and grasps Jun’s hand, pulling him into his lap.
Mortified, Jun tries to stand, but a pair of slender arms coil around his waist. He suddenly finds himself trapped in a compromising position, and he has neither the strength nor heart to escape.
“Rinnie,” Jun murmurs, turning beet red. “Please. This is most unseemly.”
“It’s the most seemly,” Rin hums, squeezing the mortified noble. “The seemliest, in fact.”
“You would do well to stay far away from this one, Hwan Jun. Otherwise you may find yourself burnt to a crisp or hanging from a noose,” Nuwa warns, wiping mirthful tears from her milky eyes.
“Why don’t you cark it already, you wrinkled old prune? Ain’t it long past your expiration date?”
“Oh, it’s bound to happen the longer you ruin my view.”
“Have you seen yourself? You’d give Izayoma the runs!”
By the time Bo returns with the schisandra tea, the old witch and her protégé are deep in their argument, trading insults and scathing remarks, while Jun watches on helplessly. It ends with Nuwa throwing her tea cup at Rin’s head, and the latter throwing a squawking chicken in return, and the subsequent banishment of both men from her property.
When Rin leaps over her fence and paces the dirt road, he’s not in a foul mood however. To Jun’s surprise, the raven is laughing and bright-eyed, as if he’d just competed in a race and won.
Jun grasps the agitated lad by the hand, forcing him to stay still. “Perhaps you should apologise–”
“What for?” Rin obediently comes to his little lord’s side. He grins up at Jun, pulsing squeezes through their linked hands.
Jun flushes at his lover’s dazzling expression, his heart pounding something terrible against his chest. “You were very rude to Nuwa.”
“And she to me. That’s just how we say hi and I miss you in the Slums. Haven’t you noticed?”
“…I cannot say that I have.”
But Jun’s response reaches deaf ears as Rin’s attention is inevitably drawn to the small, unassuming house built over scorched earth. His grin fades into an unsettling void. His tight grip on Jun’s hand slackens.
“Rinnie?” Jun glances at the house, frowning tightly.
Like a sleepwalker, Rin slowly moves towards the house, hand slipping out of the lord’s grasp. What once felt like sacred ground to him, lacks that same gravitas. Dasom is in everything. And at the same time, she is in nothing.
This is an unfamiliar place. A place that has no ties nor history. A shell built by strangers for a stranger.
Even as he opens the door. Even as he stands before the threshold, hit with the scent of fresh wood and paint. The simple interior that’s untouched and modest. And all his. His.
It’s a vacuous headstone with no words carved into the pretty slate.
“Is this…” Jun places a hand upon Rin’s back. Steadying him. “Is this your home?”
“No,” comes the raven’s short answer. He scowls and yanks the door close–
And Jun slaps his free hand upon the wood, holding it open.
“Move your fucking hand!” Rin growls, pulling as hard as he can. Unfortunately, the noble has both weight and muscles on the smaller lad, and he can do naught but strain.
“Why do you not wish to go inside? This is far more comfortable than the Temple.”
“The Temple’s just fine!”
“It is unbearable. And come winter, it will be impossible. Half the Vermin have left to seek better lodging. The other half will surely follow suit in due time.”
“Who gives a shit? The Temple is my home. Not this-this…” Grave? Bad memory? Cube-shaped coffin?
“The Temple is not your home.”
“How do you figure?” Rin seethes, turning to glare at the calm-faced Jun. “Are you a mind-reader too now?”
“I know that you dislike the Temple and what it represents. I know it reminds you of the Marquis and what he had done to you. I know that you spend hours roaming the Slums, only to return to the Temple to train and sleep and nothing more. The Temple is not your home. But this…this could be.”
“You don’t know what this place is,” Rin says, flatly. His sudden impassivity makes Jun’s stomach lurch.
“…I think I do.” Jun gathers his lover into his arms for a comforting embrace. “You have good people watching over you.”
The raven shoves his face into his little lord’s chest, breathing him in, feeling his heat. He hadn’t given much thought to Nuwa’s system. A steadying presence to balance his chaos. But he reckons this might be the closest to an anchor he has.
He raises his head. “…Do you prefer it here?”
“I prefer to be with you. No matter where we are.”
Rin rolls his eyes and extricates himself from the embrace. “That’s not helpful.” He turns his flushed face away, focusing instead on the interior of the house. There’s a genuine sense of dread looming in the pits of his stomach. Though it does not overwhelm, it’s uncomfortable enough to make him hesitate.
Jun takes his hand and winds their fingers together. It’s all he needs to step over the threshold.
***
Night descends rapidly and the hearth is set alight for the first time. The cheery blaze does much to warm the interior of the new house and fills the air with a rich scent that eases and comforts.
Jun busies himself trying to ‘make the house a home’: setting up the futon, heating water and filling up the tin bath set by the fire, and displaying the contents of the charred lockbox upon the mantelpiece, as if they were worth something.
They’re nothing but an eyesore to Rin, but he lets Jun do as he wishes. He’s content enough watching the oddly domestic scene of his little lord bustling about, and wondering whether their married life would resemble something akin to this.
It’s alarming how easily he slips into this type of consideration. Marriage? Domesticity? Since when does the Rat willingly entrap himself in mundanity? He’s so willing to leash himself to this man, and he hardly bats an eye for it.
Jun interrupts his traitorous thoughts by enquiring about Nuwa and Bo. He’s squatted by the hearth, waiting for the pot of water to heat for the half-filled bath.
“I suppose they’ve always been there,” Rin says, idling on the couch. “Even before we moved to the Slums, they’ve meddled in my life like the nosy bats they are.”
“You must be very close.”
Rin sighs and stretches out across the couch, staring up at shadows jittering across the ceiling. “I dunno. They were close with Dasom. I was kinda part of the package.”
“I believe you mean more to them than happenstance. It was Miss Bo who had rescued you as a child, was it not?”
Rin gives a noncommittal grunt, swinging a leg over the backing of the couch.
“Family comes in all forms, Rinnie. I hope you know that.”
“As long as I got you, I don’t wanna bother with anyone else.”
“What about the Mischief? The Hunters? Your friends? I know you care for them.” Rin can hear the smile in Jun’s voice. It’s infuriating.
“What’s your point, little lord?”
Jun pulls the pot out of the fire and empties it into the tub. Clouds of steam obscures his expression. “You may refuse to see past your isolation, but you have people waiting for you.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” The raven props himself up onto his elbow, squinting at the austere lord. “What’s gotten into you?”
Jun angles his face away to hide his grimace. He doesn’t tell his lover that he’s afraid of abandoning him. Not intentionally, of course. But Reshun is fast approaching and there’s not a night where he’s not plagued by fatalistic thoughts. There’s a chance that he may not return, however small it may be, and he fears what would happen to Rin if this should come to pass.
“Of course not,” he says, softly. He sets down the pot and rests his hands on the rim of the tub. In the steamy haze, he can see a faint impression of his visage, rippling on the surface of the water. The lord flinches and turns around, choosing to face Rin instead. “I simply wish to remind you that you are beloved.”
The raven stares at him, expression unreadable. Something dark shifts in his gaze. An inexplicable emotion stirs. He tears himself away from those austere goldens.
Jun sits down at his head and looms over him, smiling. He plants a kiss upon his forehead, his nose, and lips from above. Rin’s black lashes quiver in response. A pretty flush dusts his cheeks.
No matter how caustic and prickly he becomes, it only takes a single touch from his lord to score away the edges. With just one touch, Jun fills his entire being. That enduring emptiness forgotten.
The Rat is utterly helpless.
“You idiot,” he says, hoarsely. “I know that. How can you not love me?” He huffs a wry laugh and reaches up to pull Jun down by his nape for another kiss. This one’s deeper. Hotter. It leaves their lips tingling and their hearts racing in tandem. When they separate, Rin’s head pleasantly spins.
They both strip and enter the bath. It’s a tight squeeze, but neither seem to mind the intimacy of the space, Rin happily plopping himself in Jun’s lap and leaning against his chest. He idly plays with his ring as his little lord soaps and rinses his hair for him, every bit like a smug, pampered cat.
“That is a peculiar ring,” Jun comments, working his fingers through the knotted hair. His every motion is careful, so there’s no pain. “Thermochromic crystals?” A scrutinising pause. “No, it must be magic. It doesn’t appear to be affected by the heat of the water.”
“Yeah, these white lines? They only show up when I touch them.”
“May I?” Jun holds out his hand and, after a hesitation, Rin plops the black ring into his palm.
The little lord rubs the black band, but nothing appears. “Fascinating. What is the purpose of this ring?”
“I dunno. But I reckon it has something to do with that grave we saw. At the lake.” Rin takes the ring back and slips it onto his thumb. He closes his hand into a tight fist and sure enough, the ghostly white lines shimmer into view.
“Luna?”
“Maybe. He says it’s got nothing to do with him.”
“And you believe him?”
“I’d say it has more to do with Iris. And the guy who gave this ring to me.” Rin recounts his impromptu trip into the cave and his meeting with the mysterious Beggarman. Needless to say, this only leaves the noble increasingly perplexed.
“And the Guildmaster advised you to keep the ring close.” Jun rings his arms around his lover’s shoulders, pulling him flush against his chest. “She knows what it means and the identity of this Beggarman, but she refuses to tell you. I wonder why this is?”
“I don’t like it. It feels like I’m getting played.” Rin sighs and drops his hand into the water. He relaxes in his lord’s arms, head lolling back onto his shoulder as he dazes.
“It must be frustrating, not being told the truth. Perhaps, we could speak to Bucky or Small. They may be able to share something with us.”
“Iris Junior and Mama’s Boy? Are you kidding me? They’d rather sit on a sword than betray Iris.”
“A gathering of information is hardly betrayal.”
The raven glances up at Jun, brow raised. “Since when were you such a rebel?”
“Since I met you,” the little lord responds, evenly. “Is it so surprising? I even spoke of joining the Otsukis, did I not?”
“Hm. I suppose you did.” Rin chuckles and pecks Jun’s jawline. “Sometimes, I think you’re more of a crook than I am.”
“Thank you.”
“Only you would take that as a compliment.”
Jun’s laughter rumbles through his chest and vibrates into Rin’s spine. The latter flushes and splashes his face with water, trying to clear his mind of lecherous thoughts.
“I never thanked you,” he says suddenly in the silence that follows. He licks his lips, heart ticking with nerves. “For saving me, back at the inn. It was a…stupid decision to leave with Korain. I thought I could handle it by myself, like I always do, but I didn’t expect there to be Slowane.”
A large hand strokes his brow, pushes sodden locks from his face. A quiet acknowledgement.
He clenches his hands underwater, eye cast down to the rainbow soap suds skimming the surface. “…I haven’t been that scared since the Rose Palace. When he was on top of me. Touching me. I was really scared. In the end, it was you that brought me out of it. He touched my back, Jun. The one place he shouldn’t have. And I wasn’t scared anymore. I was just…pissed.”
Jun locks his jaw, grits his teeth. A dark, simmering ire envelops. “I should have come sooner. I should have stopped him before he could lay a hand on you.”
“You had the Hounds to deal with. And anyway, I asked you to trust me and you did. That’s all I wanted.” Rin twists around and wraps his arms around his little lord’s neck, pecking and nuzzling to comfort. “Korain’s gone. He won’t bother us again.”
“He should be made to face the consequences for his crimes.” Jun’s inconsolable. There’s a steeliness to his demeanour that even Rin can’t seem to soften. In the rotten pits of himself, he enjoys seeing such a strong reaction from the lord. That possessive rage that he suspects is but a sliver of the great body that lurks beyond.
Jun’s darkness is enticing. But he only ever gets a glimpse of it anytime it poisons his little lord.
“How would you have done that?” Rin challenges, a teasing touch to his words. “You know that the Silverswords don’t give a shit about Slummers. They probably would have arrested us all.”
“It is within the Governor’s purview to make such judgements,” Jun says, darkly. “It would have been an illuminating exercise for me.”
The raven’s heart flutters like a frenzied bird. He pushes his face into the crook of Jun’s neck, hiding his heated expression. “You’re an idiot,” he mutters, half-heartedly. But there’s a warmth building in his chest like a dam’s burst somewhere, and he can’t say anything more lest he betray his unstable emotions.
Jun gazes down at him with hooded eyes, that blackened demeanour entrapping the helpless Rat like a triggered trap. The lord strokes the marred side of his lover’s face, tracing the burns and the edges of the eyepatch. Every stroke leaves a numbing tingle in its wake.
“Why are you doing this, Rinnie?” he rumbles. “Why are you putting yourself through this hardship? Is it for your mother?”
The raven averts his gaze. “She’s one of the reasons, sure.”
A mournful expression softens the hard lines of his little lord’s darkness. “I apologise, Rinnie. I should have done more. I should be doing more. I so believed in the legal routes of justice but I am ignorant of the corruption at their roots. My father, I always thought him to be a good man – difficult, yes, but I never wavered in trusting his moral judgement. Now, I find myself unable to recognise him as the man I thought he was. I have lost faith in him. In the Mother. In my Empire. I have lost faith in myself.” Jun’s voice lowers into a mere croak, his head dipping lower and lower until his oaken locks obscure his hollow visage. “I feel sick whenever I think about my second name. About where I come from.”
Rin turns around to straddle the lord’s lap. He pecks his pulsing jaw and hums, soothingly. “You grew up in your rose-tinted bubble, sure, and now you’re seeing the world for how ugly it is. I know it’s scary. But just because the world is ugly, doesn’t make you ugly too.”
“But I am, Rinnie. My name is bloodied–”
“And you’re willing to make it better, aren’t you? You’re trying so damn hard to change things. And that makes you better than all the bluebloods put together. In fact, that makes you better than every other asshole out there.” He gives Jun a dazzling smile, eye turned crescent by the flushed swell of his cheek. “You’re my hero, little lord.”
Those three words. So simple yet each one as consequential and meaningful as the assurance of life itself. Jun’s next breath. His second name. The way he feels when Rin writhes under his teasing touch. The flesh they have rend together, for reasons both justified and perplexing. That smile that Rin gives him, and only him, and no-one else.
You’re my hero.
Perhaps, that’s all he’s ever needed to be, wanted to be. And everything else is just an extension. A happy afterthought.
Fluff….? I hope we could get a little more but i’m not expecting anything from you 😔 it’s just the calm before the storm 🥲🥲
Actually(!!) there is a bit more fluff in this arc (which is totally unintentional). also storm? what storm? VuV <3
I probably said this several times already but i love my bois here TvT must protect
Thank you for the chapter!! <3
Awww well it’s a good thing that they have a life full of happiness and peace and fluff ahead of them VuV Thank you for reading Donburi! <33