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The clashing of swords and heavy breathing were the only sounds that could be heard in the palace courtyard. As the sun reached its zenith the mid-October air was starting to warm up a bit and one by one the training knights were leaving the dusty space to have their lunch in the big mess hall. Well, all but two of them.
Mike wasn’t really registering the empty space around him and his sparring partner, he wasn’t registering much at all to be correct and that’s how he found himself disarmed and on the verge of falling on the harsh training ground.
It was actually the hand of his partner that caught him. Mike’s always been a bit envious of Lucas reflexes.
“Are you even trying at all today?” Lucas asked apparently annoyed, but with no real bite behind his words.
“Yeah I’m sorry,” Mike murmured while looking at the ground.”it’s just…you know I just feel like I can’t focus on anything today.”
“I wonder why.” Lucas replied sarcastically, a smirk slowly appearing on his lips.
“What’s so funny, uh?” The brunette paladin asked.
“Nothing really,” Lucas kept going. “Just observing how utterly pathetic you look after what? Two weeks without seeing him? Seriously Mike it’s amusing and at the same time a bit concerning.”
“Oh so what? Now I can’t even worry about him? It’s already so ridiculous and unfair that they didn’t let me escort him! Instead they sent that buffoon of Chance!” Mike replied offended while flailing his long arms around in annoyance.
“Will’s a wizard Mike! He just went to collect some of those books and other complicated stuff that I don’t understand from one of the villages, he’s not away at war, you really have no reason to be this concerned.”
“He’s a cleric! God, you should know by now. And how do you know he’s not in danger? He could be wounded and scared somewhere in the forest, all alone, because Chance is useless, and we wouldn’t even know! He could be shivering from the cold, lost somewhere! You know he hates the cold.”
“Now you’re being dramatic on purpose.” Said Lucas, while retrieving his friend’s sword and giving it back to him. “I’m going to the mess hall, feel free to join me and the others when you’ve calmed down.” And with that, he left.
When Mike reached the mess hall the place was half empty and his already sour mood only worsened at the thought of the stale food that was probably all that his mates left behind.
He was already pondering whether going back to his room and sleeping until late evening would have been a better option when a familiar voice called for him.
“Mike! Right here!” Dustin shouted across the room.
The paladin turned his head and, sure enough, his friends were all seated at one of the wooden tables with what looked like to be a steaming bowl of soup- he really should tell his friends that he appreciates them more often- and a piece of bread.
“We saved some of the stew for you, Lucas told us that you would have been late.”Jane said with her signature sweet smile. Mike looked at Lucas and found an hesitant and almost guilty look in his friend eyes.
“Look. I’m sorry about earlier, I know that after that happened you don’t like the idea of Will traveling without us, but for what’s worth it, I was being serious when I told you that you have no reason to worry. Will’s strong and I know that you don’t like him at all, but Chance is an extremely good fighter, he wouldn’t let anything happen to your precious cleric.” Lucas said with sincerity.
“I know. I’m sorry I’ve always been on edge these days guys, It’s just that after that night… I don’t know, it’s been a long time, but I still cannot forgive myself. It’s my job to protect, it’s what I swore I would do when I decided to be a paladin. And yet I couldn’t even protect the person that I love the most.” Mike said while looking into his bowl as if the rich colored broth could give him the absolution he so deeply craved.
“Don’t even start with that.” Max said harshly. “Whenever you take this route you always get all mopey and annoying, what happened that night was terrible and someone as kind and sweet as Will should never go through that, but it wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t know. So now can you stop whining and start eating your food? We’ve been here for almost two hours now, some of us actually have mansions to attend to you know?”.
Max always had a peculiar way of caring about her friends; her and Will had actually bonded over tormenting Mike and, somehow, despite their polar opposite personalities, they turned out to be a great team. A menacing and unforgiving one at that.
“And besides, Will’s coming back tonight, isn’t he?” Added Dustin. “I bet he’s got plenty of cool stuff to show us, he told me he was searching for a very rare and specific kind of book and you-“
“Yeah he’s not showing you shit tonight, you know right?” Lucas cut him off abruptly.
“Uh?”
“C’mon man you know how it goes. Mike’s stealing our cleric the moment he sets foot in the palace, I wouldn’t wanna be in your neighbor roommate place.”
At that Max started obnoxiously laughing while slamming her hand on the hard surface of the table. Even Jane was trying to mask her own laugh behind her hand.
Mike was seriously starting to doubt he could arrive at the end of the day without spontaneously busting on fire. Screw appreciating his friends, they’re all backstabbers pieces of shit. “I’m gonna beat your ass next time we spar.”
The laughter only grew.
He really intended to sleep. He wanted to be well rested and ready for Will’s return, in case he needed help with his stuff or was in any sort of need of assistance. He also just really wanted to spend time with his lover. The problem was that, despite the fatigue caused by the intense training, his mind couldn’t stop wandering. There just was no way he was gonna sleep and he decide to accept the defeat.
The paladin still needed something to occupy his mind while waiting so he decided to take a warm bath to ease the tension in his muscles and in his mind.
After he finished pouring the water in the copper tub he threw some bath salt in it and entered the warm space. The nice aroma that was coming up with the steam reminded Mike of his lover; the cleric had actually created and enchanted the bath salt specially for him, knowing how sore he got after a long day of training. There was so much of Will in Mikes space, Will was everywhere. His magic touch was in the bath salt, his care for Mike strong enough to have him studying the properties of countless herbs and ingredients, he was in the massive amount of sketches and drawings scattered around Mikes room- the most impressive so far pinned on the wall, a beautiful painting of the whole party, Mike in the center with his armor and signature heart shield, decorated in the fanciest frame Mike could find in the shops of the town- he was in all of the charms, talismans and trinkets taking all of the space on the shelves and tables. Will was everywhere, and that thought alone was able to give Mike enough comfort.
Mike only got out of the tub when his fingers were starting to prune. He was starting to regret asking to be excused from his duties for two days, he should only have asked for one so he could have occupied his mind with work instead. He sighed.
With nothing better to do, he decided to take a walk in the fields surrounding the palace.
The weather was nice enough for the season, but it was clear that winter was knocking on the doors; soon the rug of dead leaves adorning the ground with pretty colors would be substituted by a thick layer of snow. Will really liked the color palette and aesthetic of the season, as an artist he took inspiration by the ever-changing landscape around them, but he could do without the cold. Mike hated seeing his lover shivering from the freezing temperature, teeth chattering rhythmically and beautiful elegant hands trembling despite the many layers of clothing warming him up. The only positive in those situations was that Mike could enjoy the sweet view of the cleric being engulfed in his much longer cape, only to be later scolded by the latter about how he was a fool and would catch a cold just for his stupidity. If you asked Mike he would say that it was still worth it.
Suddenly absorbed in his nostalgia and yearning induced trip, Mike decided to take a seat under a big tree, a probably hundreds of years old thing, with a sturdy trunk and some leaves still clinging to the branches. He did not expect the sudden wave of sleepiness that hit him just after a few minutes. “What did Will put in this batch of bath salt”, he murmured to himself, already halfway to some unknown land.
When Mike opened his eyes again the sun was just starting to set. Beautiful colors painted the sky while the sun was completing its descend into the horizon. At least he had succeeded in his original plan of passing time sleeping. Now he just hoped he didn’t miss his lover return.
As if summoned, a figure appeared at the edge of Mikes vision, well there were two figures to be honest but Mike just decided to ignore Chance’s presence, he was much more preoccupied with other matters anyway.
As the figure of his lover was getting nearer and nearer, Mike was slowly familiarizing again with his features, everything that made Will Will. The cleric was sporting his usual attire, consisting of his golden decorated purple cape, with the hood lowered on his face, his brown satchel, way fuller than when he left, and his wooden dark cane, decorated with colorful stones and crystals that always casted pretty patterns of color when the light caught them.
As always, the cleric was followed by his loyal guard dog (not Chance, another dog), a beautiful gigantic creature with a soft silvery fur and long limbs. It was Mike who gifted it to him years back, when, one night, after hearing something whining in the woods behind the castle, he came across a small puppy, all alone under the rain, it was then that he decided that his lover would have appreciated a loyal friend, to keep him company during his everyday mansions.
Will had loved the creature from the first moment he laid eyes on it, he named him Quinn-apparently the dog looked “wise”, Mike doesn’t really know how he could tell- and they never left each other side from then.
Now Quinn stood as tall as Will's waist, and looked like the fierce protector Mike knew he was. The paladin rested a little more assured at night knowing that if he couldn’t be there to look out for Will, at least Quinn could.
Mike observed as his lover squinted his eyes from afar, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the light, and as realization hit him, a smile appeared on his face.
“Mike!” The cleric shouted from his position. In a matter of seconds he pretty much shoved his satchel in Chance's hands and started running towards the paladin.
Mike didn’t need to be told twice: he started running himself to meet Will halfway. As the cleric was practically at arms length he swept him right off his feet while hearing the bright laugh of the other.
“My cleric.”Mike murmured in the others hair while coming down from the high of the reunion.”I missed you so much, I thought I would go crazy.”
“So nothing would have changed much uh?” Will joked while finally making contact with the ground.
“You wound me, my love, you know I’m not good at handling rejection.” Mike replied, playfully putting a hand on his heart.
“You are a fool, that’s what you are.”
They both laughed and drunk in the sight of one another, as if everything had fallen back into place naturally the second that they touched.
The sun was only slightly peeking out of the horizon line at that point, not that any of them spared it any attention.
“Let me look at you properly.” Mike said with the softest look in his eyes while putting his hand on the cleric cheek.
“You probably won’t be able to see anything, it’s already basically dark.” Will replied, but he was already bringing their foreheads together; for the first time in weeks able to fully relax, as if a weight had been lifted from his sternum.
The kiss came as naturally as everything else did between them, soft and not rushed at all, as neither of the two planned on leaving anytime soon.
“I missed you too, you know. I hate waking up in the middle of the night just to realize that I can’t search for you to listen to your voice and fall back asleep.” Said the cleric truthfully.
“And you won’t have to for a long time, don’t worry now my love.” With that, Miked squeezed him once more, for good measure.
It was Quinn who broke the sweet bubble that seemed to have engulfed just the two lovers. The gigantic dog never seemed to be aware of his size, and that’s how Mike found himself slammed on the ground, only to be attacked with love by the “puppy”.
“Ahh hi buddy,” Mike said while patting him on the back,”yeah I missed you too of course. Did you watch out for our beloved cleric while I couldn’t?”. The dog seemed to somehow be understanding because the expression he had in his eyes seemed to be one of great pride-maybe Will was right and the dog was wiser than Mike.
“Good boy.”Mike said finally. Looking up at his lover he could see a fond expression in the others eyes.
Chance choose that moment to insert himself in the conversation. “Hey Mike, how’s everything?”
Now, Mike could be petty and a jealous fool, but he wasn’t unjust, especially because Chance was indeed a good knight and-that thought was never gonna be voiced by Mike- a good friend. So he decided to act accordingly- also because Wills murderous stare absolutely terrified him, and he wasn’t about to be exiled in his room by the cleric for the night.
“Everything’s always the same, don’t worry… anything worth recounting from the trip?”
Chance smiled easily,”If an old hostel owner trying to steal my armor isn’t…then nothing odd to tell. Do not worry, I kept your precious cleric safe, although he doesn’t really need anyones protection. But you already know that.”
Mike relaxed immediately, “Yeah, I know, but thank you anyway.”
“Of course.”
“Now take your lovers books, these things weight a ton and I don’t get paid to be a human mule.”
That made all three of them snort.
The following morning they found themselves cuddled up in Mikes bed, the soft light entering the space giving it a cozier appearance.
“I could spend the whole day like this.” Mike sighed in the clerics hair.
“Then let’s do it,” answered the other easily“just let me grab a thing. I got you a gift.” With that, Will detached himself from Mike’s embrace-much to the other dislike.
At least he could appreciate the view of his lover wearing one of his shirts while staying sprawled on his bed.
Will was bend over his bag, heavily ringed fingers rummaging while searching for something. Once he found that, he tiptoed rapidly on the cold floor, just to launch himself right on top of Mike.
The air left the paladin’s lungs for a second.“Ooof!”.
“You haven’t been back for even a whole day and you’re already attempting to end my life sweetheart.”
“Shush, you’re okay mister paladin.”Will laughed lightly while presenting him with a small leather bag.
“You know, you didn’t need to get me anything.” Mike said, handling the bag with extra care.
“I didn’t need to, but I wanted. Now open it, come on!” He said excited.
At that Mike couldn’t protest. He undid the knot that kept the bag closed, only to reveal a beautiful colored stone, it’s multiple shades ranging from blue to green and finally purple. To keep it in place a black colored twine was artfully weaved around it, it ended in two longer strings, clearly made to be worn as a necklace.
Mike was impressed.”Will this is beautiful…you made it?”, he would recognize his lovers care for details everywhere.
Will looked very pleased with himself.”Yeah! I found the stone while bathing in a river, I enchanted it you know? Tried a new thing, if you wear it, it’ll be able to help us find each other.”
Mike didn’t waste any time and he immediately tied it around his neck.
“This is amazing,” he kissed Will’s temple, “thank you my love.”
“It’s nothing really, but I’m happy you like it.” Replied Will, taking in the sight of his creation laying on his paladin chest; Mike was always beautiful in Will’s eyes, but like this, with his long curly hair messily cascading on his shoulders and the stone-that somehow brought out his deep brown eyes- he looked handsome and pretty at the same time, and for this reason Will was gonna loose his mind soon.
“I love it, and I love you. More than anything. But I’ll let you know that if if you ever got lost I wouldn’t need anything to find you. Anything at all.”
“I know, you already did.”They both laughed at each other silliness, giggling like when they were just children, already inseparable back then.
After that, they wordlessly embraced each other again, ready to spend the day doing nothing but basking in the other presence.
At the moment it didn’t matter that the following day they would have to attend meetings, train and research. They were together, finally reunited.
Extra—————
Lucas: That’s a nice necklace you made for Mike.
Will: Thank you.
Max: He said that you enchanted so that it would help him always finding you.
Will:…
Dustin: You gave him a random rock you found and told him it was magical didn’t you.
Will: I needed to reassure him! You should have seen him! He looked so happy.
Jane: He really is an idiot who believes everything you say.
Will: Not a word to Mike.