They stood on the training ground, facing each other even though both could only see darkness. There wasn't anyone to see them at this hour, and that was exactly why Camus had chosen to duel so late. This was a dangerous game, and neither of them really wanted an audience.

The hall was dark, but it didn't matter. The two ex-Matilda knights were unable to see anyway as each had a white silk scarf tied over his eyes. This fight was about skill and trust.

"...Are you absolutely sure about this? I..." Miklotov sighed, wishing he could have seen his lover. "What if..."

Camus smiled, slowly raising his sword. He closed his eyes, calculating the distance to the younger knight. "I am. This was my idea, remember? But if you don't trust me..."

"I trust you, Camus," the blue knight answered, sounding almost angry. "There's no one else I trust as much as you and you know it! But..."

"You know me better than anyone else," the other man continued. "I know you better than anyone else. I don't doubt your trust, Miklotov. I just wish to prove something to myself. We've fought in a dark place before. The only difference here is that we can't see at all. Calm down. You know you don't have to see me to know what I'll do next. Isn't that correct?"

Miklotov didn't answer. He took a slow step backwards, knowing Camus was right. He couldn't see, but he still knew when the other knight raised his sword and swung it at him, slowly and more careful than usual. He countered by blocking the attack with his own blade and continued from there, pushing the sword away. He took a step to the side, stopping for a moment. He almost hated to admit that Camus was right. Seeing wasn't required when knowledge and trust was all one needed.

"See now?" Camus asked, sounding a little victorious. "You saw it coming. How about this..."

The blue knight frowned under the scarf, raising his sword to block the next hit. "I didn't 'see' it coming. If you've forgotten, I can't see a damn thing..."

Camus laughed while he jumped one step backwards, dodging as the other knight decided to take his chances and swung his blade at his companion. "All right, you didn't see. You felt it - sensed it. Isn't that what this is about?"

His next attack was blocked just as skillfully. Miklotov smiled slightly, listening to their blades hit against each other a couple of times. "Fine, you win. I... know you. This feels... easy."

"I knew it. All it takes is a little trust and some faith," Camus answered, smiling as well. "Nice hit, that last one. You almost got me there. Almost."

Miklotov laughed a little. "I'll show you better than your 'almost', then..."

They exchanged several blows in silence. The clanking of their weapons echoed in the silent practice hall, and a single guard peeked into the room, wondering what the sounds were about but just shrugged and left, not much caring about two knights practicing late at night. After all, it wasn't the first time some of the more fanatic knights used the place this late.

The guard failed to notice the lack of light in the room and the fact that the two knights practicing had their vision obscured. This didn't bother the two, anyway; they didn't even notice the guard and kept swinging their blades at each other as well as blocking the attacks with great skill.

"What were you so scared of anyway?" Camus asked, delivering another strike at his companion. Miklotov didn't have enough time to block the attack with his sword but raised his left hand and stopped Camus' blade with the hand guard of his practice armor.

"I'm not afraid. I wasn't... Just a little worried. I don't want to hurt you..."

"You're always like that, Mik," Camus answered with a little mischief in his voice. "In bed as well..."

Miklotov blushed furiously, barely managing to step to the side and stop his lover's next attack. He silently thanked the fact that Camus couldn't see his face right now. "I... I could never hurt you, Camus. It would hurt me to hurt you in any way..."

"I know," the other knight answered, raising his sword to a defensive position as Miklotov brought his blade down with enough power to make him almost lose balance. He gritted his teeth then grinned, managing to push his opponent's weapon away. He didn't let the other man rest, swinging his sword again and hearing how the blade scratched against the younger knight's armor.

"Nicely dodged."

The blue knight took a deep breath, taking a few silent steps to the side. "Thank you. But you have to admit that that one was easy to predict..."

"Maybe it was," Camus admitted, smirking. "How about this, then...?"

He calculated Miklotov's position then stabbed at the younger man. Miklotov cursed silently but managed to dodge the hit. He countered with a not-too-well-placed swing that missed the red knight by a couple of feet. Camus smiled as he hit at his companion again, his blade meeting the other's this time. They stood still for a moment, swords locked against each other.

"...You're good." Miklotov mumbled, trying to press his friend's sword away. "But I knew that already... Still, how could you guess where I was? Are you cheating?"

"Thank you, Mik... And no, I'm not cheating. Are you?"

"I would never do that! It wouldn't be honorable... It's still amazing how well we can do this, even without being able to see."

Camus moved to the side, letting his sword fall for a moment. "We know each other well enough. And you are predictable. That's one thing that I love about you..."

"You..." Miklotov felt himself flushing again. "You're doing that on purpose, to distract me, aren't you?"

The red knight laughed, bringing his blade between them as the younger man tried to hit. "Are you accusing me of something?"

Miklotov didn't answer. He felt a little embarrassed about Camus' comments, but there was nothing he could do. He was unable to think of such compliments while his companion was quite good in the sweet talk department. He swung his sword at the other man with a little more power than he really wanted to use, and at that moment, their concentration failed.

"Hey! What... What on earth are you two doing there? Isn't that kinda dangerous?!"

Camus blinked, dropping his guard as he snatched the scarf off and turned to look at the person who was talking to them. It was Nanami, Lord Riou's sister - and that was all he had time to see as Miklotov failed to stop his blow. The sword Dunceney hit against Camus' upper arm where the practice armor wasn't protecting him and cut through the red knight's shirt. Camus grabbed his arm, managing to not cry out of pain. He couldn't keep himself from dropping to his knees though.

"Camus!"

Miklotov ripped the scarf off of his face. He dropped his sword and knelt by his companion, shocked. He didn't have to see to know that his hit had found its target and wounded the other knight, even though he never intended for it to happen.

"Gods, Camus... I'm sorry..."

The person interrupting their fight looked rather horrified at first as well. Nanami stared at the scene for a moment before deciding to act. "...Was saying that's dangerous... Are you all right, sir Camus? I... I'll go get Doctor Huan!" With that, she turned and was out of the door before the two knights had a chance to reply.

"I... I'm fine, Miklotov," the red knight mumbled, taking a couple of deep breaths. "It's just a minor scratch... Nothing I haven't experienced before. It was only... rather sudden. It's not your fault. My concentration just failed... If that was to happen on a battlefield, I'd probably..."

"The hell you're fine," Miklotov answered, feeling guilty, worried, and stupid at the same time. "Come on."

Camus sighed, smiling. He didn't feel like resisting much as Miklotov picked him up and carried him to Dr. Huan's office where the poor doctor was already waiting thanks to Nanami.

It was early morning when the red knight woke up. He vaguely remembered being carried to his room much earlier after a long lecture from Huan and after apologizing to Lady Nanami several times for upsetting her. Nanami didn't seem to mind and apparently felt partially guilty about the events, but Camus couldn't blame her. It had been his idea, after all.

Camus glanced around the room, smiling as he saw Miklotov sleeping in the chair next to the bed. "...Miklotov?" he asked silently. "Have you been sitting here all night?"

The blue knight blinked, sitting up straight abruptly. "I... Yes. I couldn't go to sleep. I was just..."

"Worried? I'm sorry... This is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten such a silly idea..."

Miklotov shook his head, leaning closer to touch the other knight's face softly. "No. It's not your fault... I... I really felt I trusted you there, Camus. It felt right, but Lady Nanami was right about the fact that it was dangerous. Still..."

"I know," Camus answered, nuzzling his cheek against the younger knight's palm. "Being able to trust someone so perfectly feels great. Don't worry about me. Doctor Huan said my arm will be just fine, didn't he? I'll be able to use my sword again in a few days." He looked at Miklotov's eyes then laughed. "Just better come up with a better ways to practice that trust thing. I don't think I've ever seen Huan look so scary..."

The blue knight stared at his companion for a moment before leaning over to the nightstand and picking up a white silk scarf. "Camus... I..." He moved to sit on the rim of the bed, carefully tying the scarf over Camus' eyes.

"Hmmm?"

"I think I... know a way. If you trust me to be able to do this."

Camus blinked under the scarf then smiled. He managed to keep himself from blushing as his lover's words had more effect on him that he wanted to admit. "Miklotov...? I didn't think you could get such... romantic ideas. This is... I'd be honored."

"Then... Trust me." The younger man took Camus' hand, raising the other man's palm to his face to prove that he had tied the other scarf over his eyes as well. The red knight drew his fingers down his lover's face, caressing softly. Miklotov took his hand and kissed his fingertips. "Will you trust me again, Camus?"

"I will. Now and forever."

Miklotov nodded in the darkness that neither of them could see and moved closer to kiss the red knight's lips. His hands found the other's body, so familiar even though he couldn't see. He moved to remove Camus' shirt, silently caressing the man's face with his lips.

"So will I."

Author's notes:

Yes, I know I said I would never write fight scenes again after writing "Balance". After writing this I'm very convinced I will never write them again.

Written for Jurhael's Matilda Knights Challenge. Yeah, I had three months to write it and in the end I started working on this two days before the original deadline. Go me.

- Lady Harken (January, 2004)