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Nights in the Colony usually were warm, but today it was different. The cold wind pierced to the bone. Milten was sitting close to the bonfire and waiting for his friend to show up. He asked to meet him in the evening on top of the old lighthouse.
Surprisingly, there was no one near the lighthouse and Milten felt strange relief: he didn't want to see anyone except his friend. The fire mage frowned a little and looked in the sky. Well, in the barrier, actually. Friend… that was unexpectedly odd to say and think. Not much time has passed since Nameless Hero arrived, as some of the convicts called him, but Milten already became attached to this lad. The mage shook his head.
“No, this is just friendship. Close friendship, nothing more. Calm down, Milten, calm down,” he said to himself, denying any other suspicious thought. “It's just a phase. You still need to recover from everything that happened.”
To distract himself, Milten took out a book and started reading. The fire mage didn't manage to pass one chapter, as his nameless friend finally showed up.
“There you are!” smirked Nameless, taking a seat beside Milten. “Sorry, I kept you waiting. I didn't expect that my business would get so long.”
“No offense, my friend. You wanted to tell me something. What is it?” asked mage with a little smile.
“Well, how to say it…” began his friend with doubt, “I paid a visit to Gomez.”
“You did what?!” exclaimed Milten and worry appeared on his face. “But he wants us dead! What were you thinking, going to the Old Camp?”
“Hey, relax. I knew what I’m doing,” sighed Nameless and looked away. “Gomez is dead. I took care of him.”
“…You killed him?”
“Yeah. And everyone, who has taken part in fire mages execution,” nodded Nameless. He looked into Milten’s eyes. “I wanted to get revenge on them. For you.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. That’s so sudden,” mumbled mage, trying to accept what he heard. His brothers… they're finally avenged. But why didn’t he feel any joy?
“You don’t feel happy about this?” his friend asked calmly.
“No, I– alright, I'm not happy,” Milten shook his head. “I don't feel anything, actually. It's just a relief for me, but not the reason to celebrate.”
Nameless quietly nodded, taking into consideration mage's words. They sat in silence for a while. Milten tried to read his book and his friend stargazed.
“I thought about this day a lot,” said the fire mage after a while. “What could happen if we stayed? Could we stop Gomez and save my brothers and master Corristo? What would have happened if I hadn’t run away so shamefully? What if…”
“We would be dead if we stayed,” Nameless interrupted Milten. “Like I said back then, Gomez certainly planned this long before.”
“I know. But still…”
“Milten,” his friend placed a hand on his shoulder. “This wasn’t your fault. Nor mine, nor fire mages. We could do many things on that day, but would they worth it? I don't think so. I understand that this is hard for you. I feel the same way. But we need to keep going and live on. You're not alone in this.”
Milten silently looked at Nameless for some time. Sadness was in the fire mage's blue eyes. He lowered his head and took a deep breath. His friend was right: he needs to live on. For his brothers. For his own sake. For…
“Wait,” Milten said out loud and immediately fell silent. The fire mage didn't plan to say this loudly.
“Wait for what?” inquired Nameless. “Is everything alright, Milten?”
“Yes, it is. You don't need to worry,” nodded the fire mage and then switched a topic. “What you said before: ‘I wanted to get revenge on them. For you.’ I didn't pay attention first, but why did you say that you did this for me?”
“What's bothering you in this simple phrase?” raised an eyebrow Nameless and removed his hand from Milten's shoulder. “I said what I said. I did this for you. And maybe for myself and our brothers. And, well, you know me: I always hated Gomez, so I just waited for the best opportunity to get rid of him.”
“You're not serious right now, my friend, and you know that I know it,” the fire mage said seriously, closing the book that was open all this time of their conversation. “Now it's your turn to tell me what the matter is.”
“Well, I didn't want to get to this so quickly and in this way…” muttered his friend with a little cough. “Give me a moment. You're not in a rush, are you?”
“No, I'm not.”
“Good.”
Once again silence appeared between them. Milten patiently waited for Nameless's speech. His heart oddly started to beat faster. The fire mage didn’t like this feeling. He was worried, as a young lad waiting for confession in… feelings. “Love” was too strong a word.
Finally, with a deep breath, his friend started talking:
“Before I say what I’m going to say… can you promise me something, Milten?” requested Nameless with all earnestness.
“Of course, my friend,” Milten agreed.
“First of all: stop calling me "my friend" for now. Second: please, promise me that you won't kill me, or run away, or tell anyone about what I said, okay?”
“You know, this sounds quite suspicious…” the fire mage squinted. “But I promise.”
“Thank you,” smiled Nameless. “So, Milten… I don’t know how to put it, cause it’s complicated. I have never said something like this before to someone. I’m not sure if I ever felt this way. I know this sounds odd, but just listen to me. When I was thrown here in, I didn’t expect to find friends here, to find… someone I would care about.”
Milten saw that his friend was nervous, but he spoke with all his honesty. The fire mage's heart was beaten fast. Faster than it was before. Deep inside he understood what Nameless wanted and what he tried to say. But with his mind? With his mind Milten rejected all possibilities of that feeling. He was afraid of it, but he stayed still and listened to his friend.
“First it was indeed just friendly feelings. But when we spent more time together... the more I understood that grow a soft spot for you in my heart,” for a brief moment Nameless closed his eyes.
Milten felt that he's friend afraid too. They both didn't want to name that feeling. The only differences between them were that Milten denied any thought of it, while Nameless accepted it.
The fire mage didn't notice the moment when his friend moved closer to him. He looked into those hazel eyes. Those eyes, that at some point became so dear to him. Milten felt butterflies in his stomach. He suddenly blushed; he wanted to look away, but he couldn't. Everything froze in time.
“Milten, I… I think, I'm…”
“Oh no, no, no, please, don't say that. This can't be, you're mock—!”
Nameless didn't get Milten a chance to complete this sentence. The fire mage froze, his hands stopped halfway to his friend's shoulders. His eyes were wide open, heart beat like crazy.
Nameless lips were soft and his stubble tingled unexpectedly pleasantly. The kiss was very gentle, as if Nameless was afraid to scared Milten. He definitely was.
Only a few seconds passed before the fire mage came to his senses and pushed his friend away, breaking the kiss and keeping his hands on his friend’s shoulders.
“What the hell are you doing?!” fumed Milten, looking into Nameless eyes. “You...! Idiot! What if someone would be down there and could've seen us?!”
Oh, how angry he was! But he was mad at himself, not at his friend. Milten hated himself for wanting another kiss; he hated himself for longing for touch. The fire mage was mad at himself for pushing Nameless away. Nevertheless, he couldn’t let that gentle and pure feeling live. Not in this place. Not with… his so-called friend.
“I’m sorry, I thought… I should’ve asked you first,” whispered his friend. Slight guilt was in his eyes. “I’m serious, Milten. I won’t say what we both probably thought about, but I’ve definitely fallen for you.”
Milten didn't respond. He could only look at Nameless with shock and remember how soft his lips were, how actually good — no, great, the kiss was. The fire mage's grip on his friend's shoulders became tighter. He looked as red as a beet.
“You… you do?” stuttered Milten and frowned.
“Do you still have a doubt?” gently smirked Nameless.
“Oh, Innos, I must go mad. Or it's just an odd dream.”
“Well, I'm afraid it's a reality,” Nameless's hands carefully wrapped around the fire mage's waist.
“Do you know that we both will regret this tomorrow?” asked Milten, allowing himself to be pulled closer by the waist. He shouldn't have, but... it was desirable.
“It'll be tomorrow,” chuckled Nameless with a smile. He looked at the fire mage carefully, as if he was waiting for something.
“What? Do you want to ask something?”
“May I kiss you again?” asked Nameless leaning closer.
“Let me think about this…” answered Milten with a gentle smile. At least once he could afford to slack off, to let the moment happen. “Yes, you may.”
This time the kiss was more intimate, more sensual. They didn't want to break away from each other, giving in to the impulse. The emotions overwhelmed them, turning their short, light kisses into deep, passionate ones…
***
“…Thank you,” said Milten, as they sat close together cuddling. He leaned his head on Nameless’s shoulder.
“For what exactly?” asked Nameless leaning his head against Milten’s.
“For what you did for our brothers. For me,” whispered the fire mage closing his eyes. It was nice to sit like this with someone you… love.
“Pleasure to serve,” smiled Nameless, watching fading stars.
“Can we stay like this till the sunrise? It’s… nice. And warm,” suggested Milten with a little sigh.
“Maybe I should sing you a lullaby as well?” giggled his “friend”.
“Hey, I’m serious. Don’t mock me, it’s… it’s all new to me. I don’t know if it’s really what I want. What I need,” frowned the fire mage and squeezed Nameless’s arm. “However, I want this moment to last longer. Then I need to think for some time about your… confession to me.”
“Alrighty, Milten. As you wish.” Nameless soft gazed Milten. “You’ll have plenty of time to think.”
The fire mage only smiled in response.
Nights in the Colony usually were warm. Nevertheless, today’s night wasn’t just warm — it was peaceful, mellow, and full of something they both fell for.