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“I don’t understand,” Kevin said. “Are we being punished?”
Neil did his best to resist rolling his eyes. Wymack, who sat behind his desk wearing an expression of waning patience, glanced at Neil empathetically.
“I’m sending you on a vacation, Kevin, not to prison,” he grouched. “Learn to take a break.”
“I don’t see why it’s necessary.” Kevin gestured to Neil and Andrew, “We’re in peak form right now. Did you forget that we succeeded in breaking that ancient elven curse last week, which consequently saved an entire village from being swallowed by rouge magic?”
“You three critically exhausted your mana on that mission,” Wymack deadpanned. Kevin didn’t seem to find this fact particularly troubling, and he continued to argue with Wymack stubbornly.
Neil wasn’t opposed to the idea of taking the weekend off to recover. The curse-breaking mission had drained them, and though their trio was resilient, Neil wasn’t eager to accept any high-level missions anytime soon. Still, Kevin was sort of the leader of their party, which meant Neil would go along with whatever Kevin decided.
As Kevin argued with Wymack, Neil’s gaze flitted around the cluttered office. Wymack was the Master of the Foxhole Guild, and his office housed some of the rarest magical items in the country. Some days Neil would fiddle with the items while meeting with Wymack, just to get a rise out of him. Right now Kevin was doing a fine job of pissing him off though, so Neil turned his attention to Andrew.
Andrew looked bored with the situation. He was leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Floating beside him was his lighter, which kept flicking open and closed at Andrew’s whim. Neil kept his face impassive, but the next time the lighter opened, he subtly waved his hand to spark the flame. Interest caught, Andrew’s eyes found Neil’s. With a little more magic, Neil coaxed the flame to grow, and he carefully spelled out a question in small, dancing flames.
Vacation, yes or no?
Andrew only took a moment to decide before he blew out the words with a put upon sigh.
“Kevin,” he said. The one word halted the ongoing argument as both Kevin and Wymack looked at Andrew. “We’re going.”
“You don’t get to decide that on your own—”
“I’m cashing in on one of the many favours you owe me.”
Neil disguised his laugh as a cough because Kevin knew there was no way for him to back out of a debt owed. Childishly, Kevin threw himself into one of the wingback chairs and sulked at Andrew’s underhanded victory. Wymack was used to their dynamics and took the whole exchange in stride.
“Glad that’s settled. Now let me tell you about the cabin we own up north.”
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A few hours later, Neil, Kevin and Andrew gathered in the guild’s portal chamber, bags packed and ready to go.
“I still think this is a waste of time,” Kevin said for the thirteenth time.
Neil and Andrew ignored him. They learned early on not to engage with Kevin when he threw childish tantrums. Neil walked to one of the arches centered in the room. They were simple stone structures, not as fancy as most portal gateways, but they were functional and that was enough for the foxes. Neil reached out a hand to create the portal, but Kevin quickly grabbed his wrist and yanked his arm down again.
“I’ll do it,” he snapped.
“You wound me, Kev,” Neil teased, “It’s like you don’t trust my portals or something.”
“Last time I let you make the portal we ended up in the middle of a basilisk nest!”
“To be fair, we were hunting the basilisk. I just sped up the process.”
“Are you idiots finished?” Andrew cut in.
Neil and Kevin turned to find the stone gateway was no longer empty. The arch was now filled with the image of a snowy mountain path, and even from this side of the portal Neil could feel the cold air. Andrew stood beyond the portal, boots buried in the snow, and his back half turned to them.
Neil grinned and leapt through the gateway, his feet breaking through the snow with a satisfying crunch. Kevin glared at them, but he followed without hesitation. As soon as he was through the gateway, Andrew raised his hand to the portal and crushed his fingers into a fist. The portal crackled and vanished, no trace of magic left in the air. Andrew started walking up the path, Neil and Kevin falling into step beside him. As they walked, Neil took in the landscape, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t spot the cabin anywhere.
“Are we going the right way? I don’t see anything,” he said. “Did you drop us in the right spot, Andrew?”
“I’m not you. Wymack said the cabin was warded for security. We’ll cross the threshold soon.”
“Must have missed that part,” Neil shrugged.
“You weren’t listening, were you?” Kevin said.
“Nope.”
It only took them five minutes to reach the ward. The Foxhole Guild insignia inked into the skin of his neck grew warm as the ward’s magic washed over them. Recognising them, the ward allowed them to pass through without issue. Neil felt the tingling under his skin as the ward’s magic resettled once they had gone through.
“Over there,” Kevin said, gesturing to a break in the trees. As they drew near, the trees thinned to reveal a large structure built up against the stone mountainside. Neil gaped, because when Wymack said ‘cottage’, Neil had imagined a small, cozy cabin, not a massive three-story lodge.
It didn’t look out of place though. The lodge was made of dark wood and stone. Lanterns burning witchlight hung near the entrance, and smoke that carried the scent of maple and cider was slowly escaping the large chimney. The massive windows that lined all three floors were bordered with runes and gemstones that invoked and retained warmth. It looked welcoming and comfy, despite its size.
Neil found himself excited to get inside and explore. He grabbed Kevin’s hand, ignoring his startled yelp, and pulled him along until they were jogging the remaining distance. Neil immediately tested the door, and finding it unlocked, he pushed it open without pause.
“Dammit, Neil, don’t just waltz in like you own the place,” Kevin complained, but he let Neil guide him around the entryway without resistance. Neil dropped his packs to the wooden floor and motioned for Kevin to do the same. They already had their boots off by the time Andrew caught up to them.
“This place looks amazing,” Neil said. “Hurry up, I want to look around.”
“Why are you so hyper all of a sudden?” Kevin asked.
“I don’t know Kev, maybe it has something to do with the fact that we’re here together, alone, and not on the job, for three whole days?” Neil said. “When was the last time we spent down time together outside of the guild?”
Kevin opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out.
“Exactly,” Neil said. He took Kevin’s hand again. “Now stop being grumpy and come explore with me.”
Kevin sighed, but he let Neil pull him forward. When Kevin looked over his shoulder to Andrew, not wanting to leave him behind, Andrew just waved his hand dismissively. Kevin guessed he’d find them when he was ready.
Neil squeezed Kevin’s hand and led him through every room in the lodge. The interior was all dark wood and red stone, accented with fur rugs and comfy-looking furniture. There was a massive fireplace in the main room, where a fire was already burning steadily. Upstairs there were five bedrooms and two bathrooms. After poking their heads in each, Neil and Kevin had a quick argument over which one to use. They decided on the second-largest room, which had a massive bed which would easily fit all three of them. The room also boasted a wall of floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the forest.
“Do you think we’ll need all of these quilts?” Neil asked, as he pressed a hand onto the bed covers. “Won’t we be too hot?”
Kevin made a thoughtful sound. “One way to find out.”
In the next moment they were both scrambling to bury themselves underneath the layers of heavy fabric. It was indeed too hot, and Neil felt himself start to sweat; but the mattress felt like he was resting on a literal cloud, and he really didn't want to move. Kevin must have felt the same, because he pulled Neil to his chest and wrapped him in his arms.
“This bed is so comfortable it’s actually dangerous,” Kevin groaned. Neil smirked and nuzzled Kevin’s neck, placing soft kisses to his throat.
“Nap?” Neil suggested.
“Nap,” Kevin agreed.
“You’re both idiots,” Andrew said from the doorway. Neil lifted his head to see over the covers, and he watched as Andrew dropped his bags onto the floor and made his way over to them. Neil freed one hand from Kevin’s embrace and held it out to Andrew as an invitation. Andrew stared at it for a long moment before he blinked and walked over to the bed. He lifted the corner of the blankets next to Neil, and frowned at the temperature.
“Why didn’t you two just take off the quilts? Since when are you this lazy?”
“Shhh, stop complaining and just get in here already,” Neil said.
Andrew rolled his eyes as he pulled two of the heavy quilts off of the bed and threw them onto the floor. Only then did he slide his body behind Neil, leaving just a few inches of space between them. Neil craned his neck and whispered their question, which Andrew replied to with a soft kiss to Neil’s lips. Neil smiled and turned back to hide his face in Kevin’s neck again. He felt Kevin’s arm shift at his back, and guessed that he’d offered it for Andrew to hold.
Neil felt himself fill with happiness. He felt safe and warm and relaxed, and he was grateful to Wymack for giving them the chance to just be with each other. He’d have to do something nice for the guild master when they returned.