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Will sighed quietly to himself in boredom as he once again cast a fireball. It wasn’t that he didn’t like training, he did, he was just desperate to go out on a campaign and they hadn’t been on one in what felt like forever. Someone always had some mundane excuse for why they couldn’t go out on one, and he was quite frankly tired of it. What was the point in being a Cleric if you can’t help people? As much as they infuriated him, he still loved the rest of his party though and was willing to wait if necessary.
With the fireball now fully formed and hovering above his palm, he wasted no time in firing it towards the lazily painted red target on the wall of the training ground. The orb quickly found its target with perfect accuracy and exploded with a bang. The fact that he could land all his shots with near perfect precision whilst barely concentrating showed just how much training he had done lately.
He sighed again miserably. You would have thought being a cleric would be more interesting. He raised a hand to his brow to wipe away the beads of sweat that had formed there once again for what felt like the 8th time that morning. The blistering heat was certainly not helping his mood. The sun’s summer rays had been beating down on him all day like a method of slow torture, making every surface of their compound scorching to the touch. The experience of being nearly scalded when he attempted to grab some water was really not much fun.
He glanced over at his boyfriend when the sound of a particularly loud swipe of his sword echoed around the courtyard. Mike looked just as fed up as him as he mindlessly slashed at the practise dummy. His paladin instincts are obviously as frustrated as Will's cleric ones at not being able to get out of the compound and assist people. At least his boyfriend still looked as hot as usual even if he was in a tight sweat soaked tunic with equally soaked breaches. He couldn’t help but stare at the male’s overgrown damp raven curls that were gleaming with moisture.
It was at moments like these that he was thankful for his enchanted purple robes so he didn’t have to deal with the same problems as his peers. The better ventilation provided by his outfit meant that he didn’t overheat nearly as easily as his boyfriend. All the same though he still was very much tempted to strip naked right there and then. It wasn’t like Mike would mind, it was certainly nothing he hadn’t seen before. They were the only ones around anyway, the others busy doing their various tasks.
Lucas and Max had disappeared into the woods to go hunting for their dinner whilst Dustin had gone down to the local tavern. Whether it was to get drunk or to play his mandolin, Will wasn’t sure. Probably a mixture of both he imagined. He didn’t really see the appeal. Meanwhile El was the only one doing anything productive, having locked herself in their shared library for the majority of the day. Why she would want to do that he didn’t know, but he had absolutely no intention of joining her on a day like this.
He decided to save his nudity ideals for another day as he groaned to himself whilst he raised his hands once again to laboriously cast a fireball and carry on with what he was doing. But he didn’t have time to cast it before he was startled by an interruption. “Could you please stop making annoying noises so I can concentrate?” Mike snapped turning towards him for the first time that afternoon giving him an irritable look.
He stuck his lip out in a childish pout that never failed to make Mike bend to his will. Except for this time apparently. Mike’s expression faltered for only a moment before returning his facial features to a glare which prompted Will to change tack. “It's not my fault I’m bored out of my mind,” Will fired back his pout quickly morphing into a glare that matched his boyfriend’s.
“Why does that mean you have to annoy me?” Mike asked with a slight growl as he rolled his eyes.
“Is it not my boyfriend's job to entertain me?”
“Not when you're being an ass.”
“Could we at least do something different other than mindlessly using our abilities?”
“Fine. What do you suggest, short stack?” Mike asked, sounding slightly less irritable and more like his soft self. Will still frowned slightly at the nickname. He thought to himself for a second. He didn’t really have any ideas. At least not until his eyes fixed on the greatsword Mike was lugging over his shoulder. The thing Will had in mind was a rather dangerous skill that Mike had avoided practising till now, but they were both so bored that he was likely up for anything.
Will let his face twist into a devious smirk whilst he contemplated his phrasing. His facial expression obviously troubled Mike who suddenly looked a lot less confident and arrogant. “I want to practise you parrying my fireballs.” He grinned as he took great amusement in the way Mike went slightly pale.
“B-but that’s dangerous,” Mike stuttered pathetically. They all knew of Mike's irrational fear of fire. His boyfriend had had an aversion to it ever since he had a weird dream involving it. Apparently he had seen Will being tortured by someone burning vines connected to his lifeforce and ever since he hadn’t wanted much to do with it. It was incredibly ironic how fireballs were Will's offensive spell of choice.
“Mikey,” Will said soothingly, “If you don’t learn how to do it, you won't be able to save anyone by blocking spells.”
Mike gritted his teeth as he considered it before sighing and shaking his head in agreement. “Fine, but do we really have to use fireballs? Can’t you use a different spell?”
“No, because then you aren’t facing your fear,” Will replied reasonably as Mike swiftly lowered his head in defeat and made his way into the centre of the courtyard. Mike didn’t bother trying to argue, obviously knowing Will was right. So instead the ravenette pressed his lips together and leered over at Will as he raised his greatsword in a defensive stance, obviously bracing himself for Will's imminent assault.
With Mike now ready, Will turned to face him fully and prepared to cast his spell. He inwardly smirked. He had been wanting to do this for a while, but not for the reason he told Mike. He very much hoped he could fulfil his ulterior motive. He wasted no time in conjuring a fireball and as the orb floated above his hand he returned his attention to Mike. “You ready?” he questioned as he raised his eyebrows in concern. As much as he wanted to do this, he wasn’t going to force Mike to do something he didn’t want to do.
His boyfriend took an obviously large breath in before nodding affirmative to the question. With that, Will took aim. Not wanting to hold the literal flaming ball of heat longer than strictly necessary especially in the warmth of the summer’s day, Will quickly released the orb in Mike's direction. He held his breath as his attack soared through the air getting gradually closer to Mike.
He could put Mike out with his magic of course, but he would rather not reach that point. Which is why he was incredibly relieved when Mike perfectly parried his assault like it was second nature. The flames quickly disintegrated into the cool steel of Mike's enchanted blade in one swift stroke. Mike hooted in triumph as a grin quickly sprung to his handsome face. Too quickly for Will's liking. So he briskly conjures another fireball whilst the ravenette was busy celebrating and shoots it at him.
A shriek rings out as Mike scrambles to block the threat, which he does very narrowly. As Mike pants heavily to recover from the surprise attack, Will starts giggling uncontrollably completely unashamed. “What the hell was that for?” Mike yells angrily, eyes practically red with fury.
“A paladin always needs to be aware of his surroundings,” Will answers cheekily. “They shouldn’t be able to be surprised so easily.”
“Well, I’m fucking aware now. Come at me then,” Mike growls as he raises his sword in readiness. Will simply grins in response as he prepares another fireball.
They carry on like that for the next few minutes, with Will launching fireballs at his boyfriend and Mike seemingly blocking them. The taller male was frustratingly good at the activity. At least Will got to further practise his aim whilst they did this, even if his aim was already perfect. Over time they tested different distances and angles to continue improving their skills.
Eventually though Mike seemed to get bored and instead of blocking the shots, he starts dodging them instead. The taunts that Mike hurled at him every time he jumped or rolled out of the way were increasingly infuriating. But there was nothing he could do but keep trying. Apparently he needed to work on his prediction skills; there was little point in good aim if he didn’t know how to hit a moving target.
He didn’t get his chance to get his revenge until after a while of suffering Mike being increasingly maddening. They were both abruptly distracted by the sound of voices getting closer to them. After listening for a while, he recognised them as those of Lucas and Max. They were presumably finished hunting and would likely be making dinner now. The thought of eating the freshly caught meat almost made his stomach rumble and his mouth water. He may despise the process of hunting, but that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy the spoils.
Fortunately for him though, Mike was even more distracted by the voices than he was. Will wasn’t sure whether it was because Mike was starving or because he was terrible at recognising voices. Either way this was his chance, so without delay he swiftly cast another fireball as quietly as possible and sent it flying at Mike's head.
Mike shrieked even louder than he had earlier when he noticed the incoming fireball in his peripheral vision. Much to Will's disgust though his boyfriend was still able to block his assault with relative ease. “What the fuck was that for? Are you trying to burn my eyebrows off or something?” Mike asked sharply, waving one hand in the air wildly.
“I was aiming for your hair actually,” Will grumbled folding his arms crossly.
“What the hell for?”
“Because I wanted to give you a haircut,” Will replied, trying not to laugh from the ridiculousness of the statement. His ulterior motive had been a bit silly after all.
“You wanted to do what?” Mike answered, his look of fury changing to one of intense confusion as he just stood there for a few seconds looking completely perplexed before continuing. “If you wanted me to get a haircut you could have just asked.”
“This was more fun.” Will shrugged, unable to contain the smile that had been threatening to creep onto his face. “And besides, it's still a skill you needed to learn.”
“Whatever,” Mike grumbled in response. “Do I at least get some compensation for you trying to set my head on fire?”
“What did you have in mind?” Will responded, trying his best to sound seductive.
“You haven’t kissed me in like…3 hours,” Mike answered as he walked over to the weapons rack and deposited his greatsword.
“Well, I guess we have to change that then. Come here, my knight in shining armour,” Will smirked beckoning Mike closer with his finger. Mike didn’t hesitate. He crossed the gap between them with a few long strides and smashed their lips together.
Mike quickly pushed him against the nearby wall as they made out desperately like they hadn’t been doing this at every opportunity since they got together. Mike's lips tasted of the strawberries they had eaten a few hours prior. They had obviously been feeding them to each other, but that was a different story. It was always an amazing feeling to have the man you love’s lips pressed against your own and it's an even better feeling to do it when you know that man loves you back. It’s just a shame they were interrupted.
“Guys? Max wants you t-,” Lucas started before stopping when he catches sight of them. They pause in their movements briefly when they hear Lucas’s voice, but they quickly resume with doubled enthusiasm. “Can’t you two ever keep your hands off of each other?” Lucas sighed. They didn’t bother gracing that question with an answer, instead opting to simultaneously flip off their friend as they continued kissing furiously. They could sense Lucas rolling his eyes in response but they didn’t care, all they cared about was each other.
The land they inhabited may have been filled with monsters to be slain but no one could slay the love they felt for each other that inhabited their hearts.