Pronouns: 4

They hated each other. Sheer, dark, passionate hatred. The feeling was mutual. They were both popular, strong, aggressive. Many loved them, and many derived pleasure from the way they would always be at each other’s throats. The mere thought of them fighting it out in the open would make many shudder. Such was their impact. They were the most revered men out there.

They would be surrounded by women at all times. Neither paid much attention. They were too focused to let such things interfere.

They were friends when they were young. An incident as naïve as name calling had led to their first fight. There was blood; later tears. Never again were they seen together.
Fear motivated them. Fear of losing out. Competition brought out their best. They were addicted to each other. It would be impossible to imagine either of them working as hard as they normally would without a direct threat from the other. Their situation was tense, always on the edge. The “tipping point” was always around the corner. They were to erupt. They were to fight.

According to a Peruvian tradition, people go around punching one other on Christmas Morning in order to start the festivities on a fresh note, leaving all ill will behind.
They needed something similar. They had held their emotions within themselves for long enough. It was time to take it all out. They fixed up a meeting. The time had come.

Rumours spread like wildfire, they say. The truth spreads even quicker.
Soon, the town was buzzing with excitement. Its two most successful sons were about to sort out an issue that had exceeded its welcome.

They met at the city ground. It was crowded. The crowd had gone quiet.
Anticipation was uniform. Calmness rare.

The two men, tall and strongly built, were staring at each other. Staring hard.
They were amazed by how only a few knew the truth. They would later laugh at their ignorance. Assumptions were wrong. People doubted the truth; they trusted lies.

People expected them to fight. A few punches at least. That is how, they thought, emotions bottled up for decades emerge.

They incessantly stared at each other. One rolled up his sleeves, the other loosened his collar.
Then they moved towards each other and kissed.

They would fight this together.
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