The armies of Stormwind were marching north, towards the newly repaired Menethil Harbor. After leaving his city Anduin led his forces to Ironforge where the dwarven and gnomish armies were waiting for his men to join them. The situation between the members of the Council of the Three Hammers was still complicated, but they were all in agreement when it came to joining the attack against Undercity, and their decision had the full support of High Tinkerer Mekkatorque. During the meetings there, King Greymane had insisted on moving their combined forces from Dun Morogh to Menethil Harbor, where the rest of his worgen were already gathered, to be joined by the draenei troops that were being transported by sea. The night elves would be among them too, including High Priestess Tyrande. Their largest numbers had moved to Azuremyst Isle after the attack on Teldrassil, although a lot of refugees were arriving at the shores of the Eastern Kingdoms by the day. The plan was to sail across Baradin Bay and make landfall at the shores of Gilneas, there they would force the remaining Forsaken troops in the area back and then push for Undercity. The worgen king made no effort to hide his elation throughout their march. His bloodlust wasn't something Anduin really approved of, but he was a seasoned strategist and a good warrior, exactly what the current situation called for. The young man wished Velen was there too, but he was busy elsewhere taking care of the aftermath of the Legion's defeat.
The sun was almost over the horizon when the joined armies reached the vicinity of the harbor and a massive camp began to be set up. The men were going to be housed in tents while Anduin along with the rest of the leaders of the Alliance were going to be accommodated at inns in the town. Anduin wasn't feeling very comfortable with that, but Greymane insisted it would only make it easier for his guards to keep him safe and he reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
After a brief meeting with his commanders, mostly over logistics, Anduin retired for the evening. The room at the inn was quite simple, reminding him a little of his own back home, it had an old canopy bed, a nightstand, a simple writing desk and a small hearth to keep the room warm. Anduin was really tired and collapsed on the bed fully dressed as soon as the guards left, after checking everything was alright with the room. His clothes were dusty from the long ride, but he didn't care, he just wanted to fall asleep then and there but the thoughts in his head wouldn't let him. A lot of things had changed in his life and the world during these recent months, including the death of his own father, and he felt like he had not had the time to catch up to those changes yet. He prayed to the Light to find some comfort, but it only made him feel worse, he had studied the Light's teachings hoping to acquire the wisdom to avoid conflict, to walk down a path other than that of his father, but there he was, leading his people to war, probably marching a large part of them to their deaths.
Despite all those things swirling around in his head, a memory popped into his mind that had followed him throughout the past few years and surfaced especially at times like these, the last time he saw the black dragon Wrathion. He was trying to find a way to help the bronze dragon Chromie during Garrosh's escape when he had shown up to stop him. Anduin could not keep from thinking about how he could have done some things differently back then and maybe change the course of the events that followed. He should have tried harder to persuade Wrathion, to show him the error of his ways, but then again, no matter what words he had used they would have still probably fallen on deaf ears. The young dragon was a borderline fanatic when it came to his view of the world.
"Friends? Friends don't kill each other!" he had yelled at Wrathion, and those words of distrust had seemed to have hurt him, though he did his best to conceal it.
"I would never do that!" the young black dragon had answered, "Don't you know how much I care about you?". Wrathion's usual smug façade had completely vanished, a plea in his crimson eyes as he extended a hand towards Anduin. Those words had made Anduin feel a pressure in his chest and, despite the dire situation, even brought warmth to his cheeks.
"How could I know when you are like this? But what I do know is how much I care about you, even though it's difficult to believe that it is mutual." he had said and taken Wrathion's extended hand in his own despite his doubts. "Why are you making trusting you so hard for me? Protecting Azeroth doesn't justify all this Wrath, there has to be another way."
The familiar use of the nickname only Anduin was allowed to call him by had made the black dragon's eyes momentarily glow, although the rest of the blond prince's words hadn't appeared to be what he wanted to hear. He had moved closer to the human while pulling on his hand bringing their bodies within a few inches from each other and Anduin had felt like his friend's face was a magnet drawing him in. Wrathion had lingered a moment before leaning in and capturing his lips, Anduin felt his tongue slip inside his mouth, but their kiss was cut short as he was pushed away by the Black Prince, he had abruptly broken their connection like that as if he had regretted his action.
"I'm sorry for this." Wrathion had said lifting an arm and the next thing Anduin knew was waking up with a terrible headache.
When he returned to the present the fire in the hearth was dying, but the king didn't feel like getting up from where he was lying to feed it with more wood. The only source of light that remained in the room was a candleholder on the old nightstand by his bed, its low light made the shadows cast by the few objects deeper. Anduin was lying on his chest staring numbly into the growing darkness until he belatedly noticed that there was something wrong with it. A deep shadow in the far corner of the room by the hearth was moving as if alive. He jumped from the bed, a bolt of light already forming in his hand, but he hesitated to call the guards standing right outside his door thinking that his stress had made him paranoid.
"King Wrynn, long time no see." said a familiar voice from the direction of the abnormal shadow before Wrathion stepped out of it. Anduin felt as if his previous recollections had suddenly materialized and for a moment he doubted his own sanity. The black dragon stood across the room from him with the usual smirk on his face, eyeing him as if appraising him. Anduin was momentarily stunned by the young dragon's sudden appearance and remained there looking at him from top to bottom.
Wrathion wore his usual oriental baggy clothes with a turban on top of his head, but other than that he had greatly changed. His frame was still slight but wider at the shoulders and he had grown quite tall, certainly taller than Anduin. His red eyes glowed in the darkness, just like how he remembered them from when they were back in Pandaria playing Jihui deep into the night, but apart from that the rest of his face had transformed, it had become more masculine, with a strong jaw and defined cheekbones although the black tuft of hair remained on his chin.
"Why are you here?" was the first thing that came out of Anduin's mouth without wanting to once he overcame his surprise. Almost immediately after that the thought of calling the guards returned to his mind. He didn't really like the idea of relying on others for protection, he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but if the head of the Alliance was assassinated in the dead of the night under everyone's noses it would be a major blow to his people's morale and he couldn't risk that, kings don't have the luxury of personal preferences in such situations. One word would have been enough, but he couldn't do it. Had he really shown up after such a long time to harm him?
All those thoughts must have shown on his face since Wrathion told him "I thought you would be happier to see an old friend after so long, I guess I was wrong." with a tone of concealed bitterness.
"Happy? How can you think that I'd be happy to see you after all that you did? After you took off in the way that you did leaving such a mess behind?". The former prince felt like punching him in the face, his fist was still clenched, shining brightly with the power of the Light, although Wrathion didn't seem intimidated by that at all. Anduin took a step forward.
"What is it that you want then? You haven't decided which side to pick in this war yet? Have you come here to estimate the chances the Alliance has of winning this war? Or have you come to kill me and make the odds better for the Horde?". He moved even closer to the dark-skinned young man despite the possible danger of being within his reach.
A tangled mess of painful memories and unanswered questions formed in his mind. Wrathion had promised him that they would fight as brothers when the time came, and that had made him hope that maybe he would show up to be by his side when the war against the Legion was at its peak. He had hoped that maybe he wouldn't have to go through all that alone, the loss of his father, the untimely burden of the crown, the deaths of hundreds of his people, brave men and women that fell fighting for the future of their world. He had hoped, but Wrathion never showed up. Somewhere inside of him Anduin thought, or rather wished, that there was a really important reason for what Wrathion had done to him that day, that he would come to his side during the darkest of times and make it all clear, show him that he really meant it when he said he cared. But where was he?
He felt anger rising up inside him and against his better judgement dismissed the Light in his fist and covered the remaining distance between them to attack him with his bare hands. He pushed Wrathion back forcing him to touch his back against the wall and pinned him there by grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, still that didn't seem to faze the dragon at all.
Wrathion leaned into the young king's face and said "Oh, if I didn't know better I would say you look more hurt than you sound angry." in provocation. "And if we are to point fingers here, then tell me oh KING what would YOU do for your people? If letting one criminal escape, even one like Garrosh, meant that countless lives would be saved in the long term wouldn't you do the same? And know that if never seeing you again meant that I would be able keep Azeroth safe, and YOU along with her, then we would never meet again." The cold look in Wrathion's unnatural eyes as he said those words made Anduin's chest sink.
"Answer me then, wouldn't you do the same?", the young dragon repeated, thrusting his body forward with unnatural strength and forcing Anduin to release his hold and back away. "Because from what I see here you appear to have understood the merits of my logic. Isn't this war YOU are leading an instrument to ensure the greater good? Aren't all these lives you are going to sacrifice, the lives of your people, a means to such an end? Or are you still so soft for your crown that you are in denial about all that?"
Those words made Anduin's blood boil, those words and the fact that he had no immediate answer to them. The dragon kept moving closer to him, forcing him to take even more steps back and trapping him between the bed and himself. He had a cruel look in his eyes, as if he enjoyed seeing him hesitate, and that pushed Anduin over the edge. He shot his hand out to hit Wrathion in the face, but he caught it midair. The young king tried to pull away, but the dragon's grip was like a vice keeping him in place.
The Black Prince moved even closer still tightly griping his arm. "Is this what you think of me? That I am a cold blood murderer? You don't know how hard it was for me to do what I did that day, but the burden of the black dragonflight rests on me alone.". His face softened, and a hint of sadness showed in his crimson eyes. Anduin gave up on trying to release his hand from the other man and just stood there silently staring into those eyes, in the end he gave into them.
"No, I don't believe you are here to harm me. It's true I was hurt Wrathion, I still am, it felt like you lied to me, like you abandoned me, you left just like that without ever sending a word, I didn't even know whether you were alive or not. I… I missed you so much all this time." He couldn't believe that after all that had happened to him a few words from Wrathion would be enough to throw into such an emotional state. His anger was completely gone, it probably wasn't even anger in the first place. He now understood that during the time they had spent together at the Tavern in the Mists Wrathion had figured him out, he was hurt just as he said, he was lashing out at him, but he wasn't really mad at him. Anduin wished he could understand what the Black Prince was thinking that easily too, he felt transparent in front of him.
Wrathion closed the remaining gap between them and said, "I missed you too." in a low voice, his expression a complete contrast to the one he wore moments before. He brought his face really close, making Anduin feel the same magnetism he had felt years before. The black dragon leaned in and found his lips, Anduin responded and they locked in a passionate kiss. The soft and wet sensation of Wrathion's mouth made Anduin almost go limp, he felt the other man's tongue enter his mouth, drawing him deeper into the kiss. They remained connected like that, tasting one another, for a long time before they broke apart to breath and then found each other's mouth again almost immediately. Wrathion placed his hands on Anduin's hips and pulled him close, pressing their bodies flat against each other. The blond felt something hard against his abdomen, he was surprised but he tried to hide it. He was certain Wrathion could feel that he was already hard too, but he suppressed his embarrassment and cupped Wrathion's face with his hands as they kissed.
The back side of Anduin's legs was pressing hard against the wooden frame of the bed now and Wrathion placed a hand on his waist and lightly pushed him back with his torso to slowly lower him onto it. He positioned himself between the human's legs and started kissing his neck, pulling at his clothes to expose more pale skin as he moved his hips, grinding his erection against Anduin's crotch. His hot breath and tongue against his skin made Anduin shiver, quiet moans escaping his lips.
In the end Wrathion was not satisfied with the exposed amount of skin pulling tabard, tunic and undershirt off all at once for better access. He buried himself in the crook of Anduin's neck again and moved downwards to his chest. The dark-skinned man brought his tongue out and licked Anduin's nipple, then he looked up to see his reaction. Anduin never thought that something like that would feel so good, the sensation made him quiver and arch his back and Wrathion must have taken that as a good sign because he started sucking and lightly biting the nub.
The Black Prince trailed his hand down Anduin's exposed chest lingering on the scars he had suffered back in Pandaria, his turban was barely holding on as he was lying on top of him like that and the young king pulled it off, releasing rich black shoulder-length hair and then ran his fingers through them. The dragon sat up and took off the layers of clothing that covered his upper half too revealing a toned torso and Anduin reached up almost unconsciously to feel his skin. Wrathion brought himself down again and kissed Anduin hard, almost as if he meant to swallow him whole. Anduin traced Wrathion's dark smooth skin with his fingertips starting from his shoulders, going over his shoulder blades and all the way down to his tailbone, feeling every firm muscle under it and making the man above him shiver. They remained embraced like that for a long time, studying one another with their hands and grinding their bodies against each other. Anduin felt hot despite the lack of a source of heat in the room and his breath had gone foggy, he had began to feel really confined by his trousers, but he hesitated to do anything about it. He wasn't even sure where he wanted the situation to go from there, he had never done anything of that nature before, not even with a girl.
He looked up at Wrathion who seemed to be in a similar condition, but the dragon was always more daring than him, he pressed his dusky forehead against his and supported his weight on one elbow he had placed by Anduin's head, then he ran his free hand down Anduin's stomach and slid his fingers over his clothed erection, tracing the hard flesh beneath the fabric. Wrathion's touch sent shivers up his spine and a breathy moan escaped his lips, he looked down to see that the man above him was now busy undoing his belt and the laces holding his undergarments together. Once he managed to do that, he slid his hand in Anduin's trousers and pulled out his almost painfully hard cock.
Wrathion closed his fingers around it and started moving his hand up and down, the blonde shuddered and pushed his head against the bed. The intensifying pleasure was making his mind go blank and every reservation he had up to that point evaporate. Through half closed eyes he saw Wrathion watching him squirm and pant beneath him, as his body responded to every stroke of his hand.
Trying hard to focus through that newly found sensation Anduin reached down with both hands and undid Wrathion's trousers too. His fingers found the other man's cock beneath the fabric of his underwear, it felt hard and hot to the touch. He pulled it out and wrapped his fingers around it, then imitating Wrathion he started moving his hand up and down. The Black Prince lifted his face up, eyes closed, and sucked in a breath in response to his touch. Anduin tangled one hand in dark hair and brought Wrathion down for a kiss muffling their soft moans and heavy breathing.
Wrathion kneeled on the bed pulling Anduin's pants completely off and kicking his own off in the process. He laid on his side facing Anduin and the blonde did the same, they were so close their chests were almost touching, a hint of moisture forming on their skins despite the cold. Wrathion wrapped him in his fingers again and Anduin mirrored him while biting his tongue in an effort to remain quiet. The low sound of their panting filled the room, interrupted only by their kisses, and their hands moved faster as they neared release. The human brought one leg over Wrathion's thigh and buried his face under his chin, his cock was throbbing in the other man's fingers and their every movement made it harder and harder to maintain any sense of control. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer and judging by the involuntary rocking of Wrathon's hips he wasn't going to last much longer either. The dark fingers around his cock griped tighter and Anduin smothered a whimper against Wrathion's neck, his body twitching in pleasure, as he came covering them both in his fluids. He tried to keep his hand moving, albeit clumsily, through the experience and soon Wrathion's body tensed and he went completely silent as he came covering them both in his cum too. After he finished he started breathing again and kissed the pale man at his side lightly. He grabbed Anduin's undershirt from the tangle that was his clothes now and wiped the both them off, then placed an arm under Anduin's head. They looked into each other's eyes without saying anything and kissed once more, the young king made himself comfortable on Wrathion's shoulder, he felt a little embarrassed but also blissful and completely exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in years, and as he slowly gave into oblivion he thought he heard Wrathion whisper "I really missed you Anduin Wrynn.".