What's a Good Romance Without a Little Bloodshed?

(Part 2)

Written by Thyme and Wolsal

Solomon lay in bed, eyes closed and blanket pulled up to his waist. He couldn’t sleep. It had only been 2 weeks since he’d taken over the small village he resided in. 

2 weeks since he was taken down by Keith and by and large, things had gone back to normal. Everyone was back, and for the most part the damage had been repaired. 

He’d been released from the hospital a little over a week ago, though he didn’t exactly get let free as he’d hoped. Instead, Ratil had decided to assign him to once more live under the supervision of Keith- it had admittedly been a mistake allowing him to live on his own in the first place. 

His wandering mind drew him to the sound of a second set of breathing next to him in the bed. He gripped tighter onto the sheets- the thought sending a spike of annoyance down his spine.  

It was late- the moon waned in the sky and shone a cold light down on the village. It was quiet save for the cicadas humming outside. The moonlight crept through the partially obscured window directly above Solomon, casting him in a cool blue light. 

Keith lay on the other side of the bed, turned to face Solomon as he lay on his side with the goat facing the wall. He stared at his back, eyes tracing over the scars that covered his back and shoulders as his mind remained elsewhere. He couldn’t sleep- too much on his mind. That happened often, sleep seemed to evade him as of late.

He let his thoughts drift to 2 weeks ago, the confrontation with Solomon and how lucky he was to have survived when so many others wouldn't have. That thought made him frown. 

It… didn’t make sense. He could have killed him- in fact he’d had hundreds of chances to do so over the years. He knew he could- he’d killed far stronger for far less. But here he was, only 2 weeks after he and Keith got in a fight that ended with both of them badly injured, sleeping next to him in his bed. 

Why… why…

Beside him, Solomon grumbled, attempts to sleep interrupted for the thousandth time by the same annoying chittering under his hair that there always was. He squinted his eyes open, finding himself staring at the wall he faced.

“Shut up…” He grumbled half awake. Though in reality Keith had been perfectly silent, he just simply needed someone to blame for the annoyance. Keith sat up partially, bedframe creaking under his shifting weight. He stared directly down at Solomon from where he sat, he was refusing to look at him.

“Why didn’t you kill me?” Keith blurted out.

Solomon rolled over to look up at him through squinted eyes, still glossy from his half-awake rest. “...What?” He grumbled groggily, reaching a hand up to rub his eyes. Keith shuffled closer, “When you tried to take over, why didn’t you kill me?” He inquired once more, now staring directly into the piercing green eyes below him.

Solomon narrowed his eyes, scrunching his face up. “Yes I did.” He growled, perhaps a note too defensive sounding. Keith shuffled down so his arm propped him up while partially laying on his side. He squinted his eyes. “I’m fairly certain you didn’t kill me, since I’m here and talking to you.” 

The goat growled under his breath, pushing himself into a sitting position. “Wha’dyu want.” He sneered- his voice was still hoarse from rest. He moved his hair out of his eyes so he could more easily glare at the seal. Keith sat up full and scooted a few inches closer to Solomon. “I want to know why you didn’t kill me, you could have, easily, but you didn’t.”

“I did try.” Solomon snapped back, crossing his arms petulantly, puffing his chest out in an attempt to look substantial. “Why do you care?” 

He stared at Solomon for a few moments, trying to read the expression on his face. All he could gather was anger with a hint of annoyance and exhaustion. “I don’t think you did, that’s why I care.”

“I did.” Sol sneered, scrunching his nose. “And- even if I didn’t- why’s it matter?” He practically spat out the words, patience fraying thinner than it already was.

Keith scooted closer once more. “I think it matters quite a lot since you could have killed me if you wanted to.” 

Sol scoffed, narrowing his eyes. His gaze flitted around as he fought to dredge up words. “I just- I did want to- I do want to.” He paused for a fraught moment, not breaking his glare for even a second. “I had other things to do then. I was gonna do it later.” He said, almost seeming to get less confident in his lie throughout the sentence. Keith stared, picking up on his change in demeanor. 

Keith scrunched his nose, looking at him scrupulously. “Later… you were going to kill me later?” 

He turned completely towards Solomon and scooted even closer. 

His knees were almost touching his legs now. 

“I was attacking you and you were going to kill me later?” 

He inhaled sharply, composing himself as he felt the bitter glare burning through him. He placed a hand closer to Solomon, planting it down next to him. A challenge.

“Right now is later, why don’t you just kill me now?” He spoke calmly, watching as Solomon’s expression changed to one of uncertainty, confusion, and ever present annoyance. 

The goat further furrowed his brows, fur raising slightly. “What if I don’t feel like doing it right now? You just woke me up.” He punctuated his point with a prod to Keith’s chest. Not enough to hurt, just enough to be annoying and to make a point.

Keith moved closer, close enough to feel Solomon's breath on his face.

 “Oh, please, it’s not like you like me or anything, you could be done with me in a heartbeat- quick enough to get back to bed on time.” 

Solomon gritted his teeth so hard he thought they might crack, face contorting in anger, “I don’t like you. I hate you.” He said, perhaps too indignant and defensive. “Why don’t you kill me, huh? You’ve had your chances- why haven’t you?” He said quickly, desperate to flip the topic.

Keith could feel the blood rushing to his face- when did he get so close to him... “I just… don’t want to. Besides, it would take a lot for me to kill you.” He leaned back, attempting to be nonchalant. “Y’know, if you hate me, wouldn’t you want me gone sooner than later?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I told you, I’ll get to it soon! What, do you want to die? Is that why you’re being so annoying?” He clenched his fists, gripping onto the bedsheets in an attempt to contain himself. 

Keith frowned, knitting his brows. “I’m being annoying because you haven’t answered the question yet.”

Keith leaned in again. He could once more feel the heavy, angered breath on his face. He fought to ignore the heat once more rising to his face.

“You have had so many chances to kill me since you tried to take over, we are sleeping in the same bed for fuck's sake, you can’t just say you’ll get to it later.” He leaned closer- he wasn’t sure if it was in an attempt to perhaps intimidate him, or maybe just to emphasize his point. He ignored the thought of a third option. His nose was almost touching Sol’s.

“I- you-“ Solomon stammered, seemingly at a loss for what to even say. Keith narrowed his eyes further.  “Nuh uh-“ He finally blurted out, about as much of a noncommittal answer as you could get. 

Keith gently placed his hands on Solomon's shoulders- feeling him tense up. 

“Nuh uh? The fuck do you mean nuh uh, that's not an answer.” The goat once more crossed his arms, tensing up. “I mean nuh uh! That’s your answer, now shut up!”

“No, I will not shut up.” Keith's grip on Solomon's shoulders tightened a little as he fought the urge to shake him. “Why haven’t you killed me yet?”

 Solomon uncrossed his arms and gave him a shove, growling at him in the process. “I told you! I’m going to later! Now shut UP!” He yelled, voice getting notably louder and more agitated.

The seal let go of Solomon's shoulders and leaned back again. “I’m not shutting up until I get an answer, why?” “Told you, was busy.” He also leaned back, palms planted on the bed to hold himself up. “If you keep this up I will kill you now. So shut up.” 

A trickle of blood ran down the goat’s forehead- not a large amount, but enough to be seen. Noticing the blood, Keith absent-mindedly grabbed a corner of the blanket and wiped it off Solomon's face. “Then kill me.” 

Solomon sat for a few moments perfectly still, eyes narrowed and glaring at him. 

Without warning, he shoved Keith as hard as he could- attempting to push him off the bed. Keith let out a startled yelp, thudding against the floor and pausing for a second to catch his breath. Solomon glared down at him from the bed. “I know you can do better than that.” He goaded, grinning up at him.

Solomon’s eye twitched in rage, muscles tensing before he too sprung off the bed- landing on top of Keith with a thump. “SHUT UP.” He snarled. His chest heaved as his gaze sat fixed on the seal below him

He looked up at Solomon and smirked “No.”

Solomon stared, eyes wide and breath heavy as he thought for a moment. He lifted his hand up to cover his mouth. “Shut. Up.” He snarled, fur raising. 

It was silent for a moment before Keith licked Solomon's hand.

“HEY-“ He yelled, practically falling off of him in a mix of surprise and disgust. 

“I am not gonna shut up.” Keith had a shit eating grin plastered across his face now. 

Solomon yelled in frustration, hitting the wood floor with his fist before sitting up straight. “UGHHH! WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY? WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SHUT UP!” He hissed, stomping his hoof on the ground.

Keith sat up slightly. “Just tell me why you didn’t kill me, and don’t bother with that ‘too busy’ stuff, you have had plenty of chances.” He met Solomon’s gaze, holding it.

“I-“ The goat stared blankly at him, seemingly trying to both stall and think of an answer. He set his jaw, taking in a deep inhale from his nose. “I don’t know.” He murmured in a tone somewhere between anger and confusion, looking away from him in favor of staring at a wall. Keith lay back on the ground, a smirk still plastered across his face. “What, do you like me or something?”

“NO!” He yelled, stumbling to his feet quickly. “I hate you. I want you DEAD.” He snapped at him, fur bristled straight up, jaw clenched. Keith watched Solomon's reaction for a second, it seemed… a bit excessive for a silly question like… that… oh. 

Keith sat up and began to pull himself off the floor. “Wait, do you actually like me, like, like like me?”

“I do NOT!” He yelled, stomping his hoof as he turned to look at him once more. It was somewhat hard to see in the night and under his thick dark fur, but his face was flushed a bright red. You could practically see the anger fueled fumes rising from his head.

Keith stood up fully, facing Solomon. “You like me! Admit it, if you didn’t, you would have killed me by now!”

“I. DO. NOT.” He yelled, stepping closer and puffing his chest out. “SHUT UP.” He grabbed his own hair, pulling at it in anger.

He stepped toward Solomon. “You like me!” Keith started to laugh. “You like me-!”

He laughed harder. “I have liked you, like… Like liked you, for, oh man how long has it been?” He began trying to do the math on his hands.

Solomon stared- seemingly at a total loss of what to say or even do. The same amount of anger was absolutely still present, but so many other emotions mixed in that it became hard to focus on any single one. Sol watched as Keith started mumbling to himself- seemingly attempting to count the years before he shook his head in defeat. 

“Fuck it.” Keith cursed under his breath, looking up at Solomon again. He stepped closer- barely noticing how little space there was between them. “I have loved you since before you left.” 

Solomon stared, blinking a few times. His expression was completely unreadable for once. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, steeling his nerves.

 He took a final step towards him- reaching up to grab onto his face- pulling him closer. Without offering himself the time or chance to second guess, he closed the gap between them, face pressing against his.

Keith was startled for a moment, taking a fraught second to process before leaning into it and wrapping his arms around Solomon. 

Solomon moved one arm to wrap around his shoulder, keeping the other hand on Keith’s face. In a distant back corner of his mind he heard a yell asking what he was doing- but he ignored it. It didn’t matter right now, and he’d have time to regret it later. 

Keith pulled him closer, the feeling of his arms around the goat sent a shiver of familiarity down his back. He stepped back, still holding onto Solomon. He sat on the edge of the bed, Solomon wrapping his tail around Keith’s back as he did so. He tightened his grip and lifted Solomon up onto the bed with him.

Solomon felt his back press against the bed, holding tighter onto Keith as if letting go would spell his death. For a moment he closed his eyes allowing himself to be lost in the embrace- wanting to drown in the feeling he’d been silently missing for 500 years. 

Keith pressed in closer for a second before pulling away- looking down to see Solomon staring up at him, his arms still wrapped around him. They stared- breaths heavy and blood rushed to their faces. The pair remained like that for a moment, seeming to be at a loss for what to do next. 

Solomon unfurled his arms from him, Keith in turn sitting up and looking away in flustered embarrassment.

Sol shuffled back over to his side of the bed, turning back to face the wall. 

Keith watched as he went right back to bed, sitting and staring for a little longer before he also climbed back into his place in bed. He tentatively moved closer to Solomon, carefully resting his arm across him.

Solomon tensed up for a moment before relaxing, deciding that at least for tonight he’d allow it. He shuffled closer, back now pressed against Keith’s chest. He closed his eyes.

“I love you” Keith murmured, barely above a whisper before drifting off to sleep