Notes: I'm not very happy with this as it is, and so it's probably going to go down for revision soon. :P

Hwang Sung-kyung was restless. His quest to find Seung Mina, daughter of his beloved master and sister to his heart, had taken longer than he had anticipated. Then, when he'd finally found her, he had come to the surprising realization that she, too, had been searching for the Soul Edge. Hwang was dismayed by how easily the young woman had managed to convince him to delay taking her back home until they had found the sword.

That had been months ago. During that time, as they had followed the rumors and tracked the location of the sword, they had met others, warriors as they were, who were just as determined to find the cursed treasure. While he found that his new travel companions made the journey easier, he still found himself longing for the rugged coasts and rough beauty of his homeland.

Hwang glanced up at the fullness of the moon and knew that his village would be celebrating the Festival of the Harvest Moon that night, thanking the ancestors and the gods of their village for a plentiful harvest and luck for the next planting season. He hoped that his master was healthy, and vowed that he would bring Mina back to him, even if it meant he had to tie her up and carry her kicking and screaming the entire way. Hwang took a moment to pray for the safety of his crew and comrades, battling to keep the invaders from conquering their home.

Hwang reached their camp and went searching for Mina, exchanging a nod with the pirate Maxi, and his quiet companion, Kilik. He ignored the tightening in his chest at the thought of the young Chinese man, whose eyes held more pain than anyone that young should. Each time that he caught sight of the sadness in those eyes, he felt an almost overpowering urge to take the young man into his arms to make the hurt go away. Hwang shook his head at the fanciful thought. Kilik would not appreciate such protective behavior, especially from him.

Hwang unwrapped the small bundle he was carrying as he approached the women. Xianghua and Taki were cleaning their weapons while Mina was regaling them with apparently amusing stories, as they were all laughing. Mina looked up as he approached and gave him a sunny smile, scooting over on the log she was sitting on to give him space to sit.

"I was wondering when you'd get back. Where'd you go?"

Hwang smiled as he ruffled her hair, ignoring her protests at the action. "Do you know what tonight is, brat?"

"No, and I'm not a brat!" She noticed the small container in his hands and leaned forward, "Is that for me?"

"Tonight is the Harvest Moon, and even though you are a brat, you are also the only family with me tonight."

With that, he handed her the small container. "It's not much, but I wanted you to have some rice cakes. They've always been your favorite part of the Festival."

Mina blinked, a delighted expression spreading on her open face. With a gleeful shout, she threw her arms around Hwang, giving him a powerful hug. "Thank you, obba! But you're wrong, you know."

"In what?"

"My favorite part of the Festival isn't the rice cakes."

Hwang raised an eyebrow in question and Mina elaborated, "My favorite part of the Festival has always been being able to spend time with you. You were always so busy, otherwise."

Hwang's eyes softened as Mina pressed a kiss on his cheek and then sat down again, popping a rice cake into her mouth.

"These are good! Where did you manage to find them?"

"That's my secret." He nudged Mina with his elbow. "Shouldn't you offer some to your friends?"

He laughed as Mina paused while biting into another rice cake and blushed. Looking sheepish, she turned and offered some to the other women. Hwang listened, content to be silent as the women chatted merrily. After a few moments, he excused himself and went to his bedroll, still feeling the restlessess deep within him.

He knew that he would not be able to sleep in the state of mind that he was in, and decided that some physical exercise might help. With another nod at Maxi, he bent to retrieve his sword. When he straightened, Hwang was startled to find himself meeting the laughing gaze of the pirate.

"Going to practice?"

Hwang nodded.

"Mind if you have some company?"

"No. It's fine."

The pirate grinned, "Great. Kilik, go exercise with the captain, here. Your fidgeting is starting to drive me crazy."

Hwang turned to meet the equally surprised eyes of the young man that had been occupying more and more of his thoughts, both waking and sleeping. He quelled the surge of protectiveness, but couldn't control the way his heart decided to beat faster, or the way that his breath caught in his throat. No, the young Chinese man would most definitely not appreciate the direction in which his thoughts were turning.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Maxi watched with mounting amusement as Kilik and Hwang just stood, /looking/ at each other. He doubted that either man saw the longing in the other's gaze. He wondered how two men, who were normally very observant and sharp, could constantly keep missing each other's signals. Of course, not everyone was blessed with the great insight to matters of the heart as he was.

From the moment that he and Kilik had met the golden-eyed Korean, the sparks had been flying between the two. If it hadn't been for the obvious, to him, attraction, he would've been tempted to try and seduce the captain himself. With wild, raven black hair, fierce golden eyes, and a trim, compact body, Hwang cut quite a figure; even in the loose, thread-bare attire that he seemed to prefer. If that man had half the sense of fashion that Maxi did, he would draw even more eyes than he already did. Add the fact that the Korean had a surprising sense of, well, compassion about him, and he could understand why Kilik found him so fascinating.

Maxi cleared his throat to break the growing silence that had developed between the two and almost laughed out loud as they both blushed and looked away. They were so hopeless that it was endearing. He just wished that they'd get on with it and stop with the looks. Cute as it was, if they continued with it for much longer, he'd be the one wanting to scream in frustration.

With a warning about the unpredictable weather, he waved them off to work out some of their energy. Maxi went to go join the beautiful laughing women. Just because two members of their party were unavailable, didn't mean he had no prospects.

* * * * * * * * *

The meadow that they had been using to practice in was peaceful, with moonlight filtering through the leaves of the forest. Kilik hoped that the peacefulness of the night would be enough to settle the turmoil his insides were currently in. He glanced at the man beside him and felt the odd fluttering in his stomach again. Kilik sighed as he admitted to himself that no amount of outer peacefulness would be able to calm his emotions when it came to the Korean man.

Since the time that they had met, Kilik had found himself watching the older man more and more. Hwang was a fascinating man to observe. For all his hard demeanor, Hwang hid an immensely compassionate nature. He was always the first to offer help or to tend someone if they were wounded or sick. Kilik had yet to see him lose his temper or be deliberately cruel. Not for the first time, he wondered what type of man Hwang would have been if not for his country's need.

Another sideward glance had him catching the golden gaze of the Korean. Hwang quickly diverted his eyes and looked down, but not before Kilik caught the wistful longing in them that matched his own. He wondered if he'd imagined it, and turned to watch the older man more carefully. To his surprise, Hwang seemed to blush, a slight reddish tinge gracing his tanned skin and spreading down his neck. Well, that was interesting. Kilik wondered idly if the older man realized how endearing that blush made him look. It also made him wonder just how far down the blush went.

Kilik sternly told his insides to settle down and turned his thoughts to a much safer topic. Hwang was stretching his limbs, limbering up for his workout. Silently, Kilik joined him, loosening his own muscles. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes and entered into that almost meditative state of mind necessary to meld both mind and body into one.

All of his carefully constructed calm cheerfully scattered with the wind when he opened his eyes. Hwang was bent at the waist, his elbows touching the ground as he stretched his back. What caught Kilik's attention was the way that the Korean's pants gaped slightly at the waist, allowing his eyes to follow the curve of the older man's spine further than they usually could. His fevered imagination easily conjured up what lay beyond the tantalizing expanse of skin.

Kilik had to swallow a gasp as Hwang straightened and then leaned back as far as he could. Kilik now found himself staring at Hwang's bared stomach, his eyes riveted to the small mole next to his navel. He had to close his eyes again as he fiercely quashed the sudden urge to go taste the mole with his tongue.

Gathering his wits with teeth and nails, Kilik managed to not look flustered when the Korean asked if he was ready. He nodded, picked up his bo from the ground, and stood, facing off against the Korean. Hwang still had his sword sheathed, so that he would not inflict permanent damage on Kilik. Yet another sign of the man's thoughtfulness.

Kilik and Hwang bowed to each other and dropped into their fighting stances. From experience, Kilik knew that although the Korean looked entirely relaxed, he could move lightning fast, attacking or defending at the blink of an eye. It was no use watching either his chest or his eyes to see in which direction he would move.

The familiar moves and steps of their sparring helped to settle his nerves better than anything else had so far. With the clearer mind came the realization that now that he knew that the older man returned at least /some/ of his feelings, the first move would have to be his. The Korean was just too reserved to break the boundaries of their relationship himself.

Kilik also acknowledged that his desire for Hwang ran deeper than just lust for the lean, compact body, though there was a healthy dose of that. He wanted to be the recipient of the rare, unguarded smiles he had seen on the Korean's face that managed to transform him from a hardened warrior, to a man who would welcome the love and affections of another. Silently, Kilik resolved that he /would/ find out just how far Hwang's blush went, and just how the tiny mole next to his navel would taste. It was all just a matter of timing.