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"Can't sleep either, Jin?"
Jin shifts from his position on the cliff, casting a glance over his shoulder at Yuna. He offers a gentle, tired smile, turning his attention back to the sun peeking over the horizon. His chin lifts eastward, toward a small copse of trees that sway in the rising breeze. "My mother used to take me to the pond there. Catch frogs if we could, and let them loose after a while." A beat, an inhale, a sigh. "There haven't been frogs there in years."
"Maybe they got tired of you two always catching them." There's a light tone to her voice Jin appreciates as she takes up a place next to him, legs dangling over the edge. "Thought to themselves that elsewhere would be better than here."
Jin chuckles, nodding. "I'm sure they did."
The both of them sit in silence, letting the breeze wash over them, the sun rising further with each beat of their heart. This war is over, but there's always battles to be fought, always people to serve and save. But quiet moments like these are something he will always cherish. Especially in the company of those he cares for.
"You okay? You look a little tired, Jin."
"Ha! A little? I am exhausted, Yuna. The fight is still not over, not until every last Mongol dog is driven from our homes." There's a fire in his words that never really went away - it's part of that exhaustion, bone deep and otherworldly. He's unaware of Yuna having moved closer until he finishes, at which point, he sighs, shaking his head. "Sorry. I haven't slept in what feels like days, and I am still on edge."
"You never have to apologize for being angry, or tired, Jin. We all understand - I understand."
"Better than most, it would seem."
"Mm." She nods, her hand resting on his shoulder - a brief pullback at the coldness of the cloth, the familiarity of the armor her brother had crafted. "I do. There are others on this island, Jin, others who can fight while you take one moment to breathe."
"Are any as good with words like you, though?" A gentle smile, wider than he intends, toothier, too. He wasn't aware until very recently that he realized how being around her makes him feel. Better, weightless. Like the world isn't going to come crashing down any time soon.
"I somehow doubt that. Who else can claim they knew the Ghost before anyone else?" There's a very brief moment where she sees the flicker of regret in his eyes, a slight upturn of his lip that belies his true feelings about the moniker, but to his credit, and her relief, he says nothing. "And who else can claim to know the man behind the name?"
"Very few, I'll grant you that." He looks at her now, finally, and sees the weight of both of their worlds in her eyes the same way he imagines she sees it in his. Instinctively, he moves closer, turning to face her completely. This, a conscious gesture. "Speaking of rest, I owe you a proper drink. None of the swill Kenji passes as sake."
"Ha! You call it swill, he calls it the drink of the Gods!" Her impression of their stalwart (only sometimes, and then in the interest of saving his own hide) companion earns her a laugh from Jin, a rare thing indeed, but a sound she cherishes. "I'll hold you to that. When this war is over." she pauses, leans in, and offers a grin. "And every last Mongol dog is driven from our home."
"Your Kenji is spot on, Yuna, me? . . . not so much." but he grins too, closing the distance, feeling the weight of his heart against his chest. "But perhaps you should keep going. Try and try again."
"Maybe . . ." Yuna places her hand against Jin's chest, feeling his heart, the warmth he embodies -- even through that armor, both literal and otherwise. "You should shut up, and kiss me already, Lord Sakai."
"Careful, I just might." And so he does, the wind picking up as their lips meet, then dying down as they both lean into the moment. It seems like a long time coming, and though Jin believes in such things, he wonders if it was fate that brought them together, to here, above a calm pond and away from the world as they know it.
"That kiss doesn't count as a drink, Jin."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, Yuna."
"Good. Then do it again, samurai."