Once More

Chapter Two

Dannyl watched as Tayend opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times, trying to get used to his surroundings.

"Morning." The Kyralian whispered smiling. The smile soon disappeared as the man beside him climbed out of bed with the sheet wrapped around his torso tightly.

"This can never happen again Dannyl." Tayend said quietly. The magician looked up at the man's back, shocked. I thought that this would be it. That we would be back together.

"W-why?"

"It was a mistake. You like Aschati and I done it for comfort." Tayend didn't turn to look at Dannyl. "When was the last time we had sex?" He asked seriously.

"I don't like Aschati like I like you." The older man replied earnestly. "And about ten years ago." He continued, looking anywhere but at Tayend.

"You liked him enough for you to want to sleep with him." The magician opened his mouth to protest but the Elyne continued before he could be interrupted. "And exactly. We both wanted comfort and to remember what it was like."

"I love you." Dannyl's voice shook slightly. I didn't care when we broke up before. I no longer loved him then. But I love him now.

"You didn't love me before." The younger man pointed out.

"You've changed."

"How?"

"You don't go out with your friends, you take part in my research. You've changed back into the man that I fell in love with twenty years ago." Tayend turned at this point, the sheet still firmly wrapped around his middle.

"But you've changed. So how can you still love the person I was?"

"How have I changed?" Dannyl asked sharply.

"From twenty years ago. Let's see. You're so wrapped up in your research that no one else matters, you come to bed late and you're willing to sleep with someone that could be politically disastrous. That isn't the Dannyl that I knew and loved."

"What about recently?"

"Yeah you've changed. You're research doesn't dominate your life like it used to, you pay attention to me and for the last few weeks your crush on Aschati seems to have died down a bit." The Elyne took a step towards the bed. "We had sex last night because my guard was down. I felt like it was twenty years ago and I got lost in it."

"I said that I loved you!" Dannyl yelled. He fucking used me. He should have said no. He should have told me that to him it was only sex, that it didn't mean anything.

"Let's face it, last night we were both living in the past. Neither of us have had sex for ten years and we both wanted to know what it felt like again."

"So you used me!" Dannyl demanded. The Elyne looked at the floor guiltily.

"I didn't mean to. I just didn't realize what I was doing."
"Bullshit!" The magician said vehemently. Dannyl jumped out of bed, holding the spare sheet around his waist firmly. "Get out of my bedroom!"

"I'm sorry." Tayend murmured. The look on his face assured Dannyl that he meant it but he needed space and he needed Tayend to get out of his room.

"It's not good enough. Now take you clothes and get out." The magician said forcefully. This time the Elyne didn't argue and he picked his clothes up from the floor and left the room.

"Tayend?" Dannyl heard Lorkin's confused voice coming from outside his door. Great! Now Lorkin's going to know that Tayend spent the night in my bedroom.

"Ambassador Dannyl?" He heard Lorkin call from outside the door.

"One second Lord Lorkin." He responded. I suppose I had best get this over and done with.

…...

Dannyl and Lorkin sat in the study both looking at separate documents. He hasn't yet brought up the fact that he bumped into Tayend coming out of my bedroom. Maybe he knows that something went wrong.

"What did you do last night?" Lorkin asked from across the table. Dannyl sighed inwardly. I should have known that he was only thinking of a way to breach the subject.

"I had the longest night of my life." The older man answered cryptically.

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"What do you think?" The Ambassador asked with a humourless smile.

"Bad way. You had sex with him though, didn't you?" The young man asked bluntly. Dannyl glanced up, his mouth wide open. "Seriously Dannyl, just because other people are so prejudiced doesn't mean that I am. So what went wrong?" He asked again. He isn't the first person that I would choose to talk about this to but I have no one else.

"It was a mistake. We both got caught up in what we used to have and we hadn't done it in so long so it just... happened." The older man tried his best to keep emotion out of his voice but didn't manage it.

"Liar." Lorkin remarked without malice. "It meant more for you. You like Tayend again and you wanted something to come of it but Tayend didn't. He still thinks that you like Aschati." He continued. How many people knew that I liked Aschati and how many people think that I still like him? Dannyl wondered.

"I don't like Aschati any more. He isn't jealous of the fact that I had once considered Aschati, he's angry that I wanted to sleep with the enemy. He didn't care that I liked another man."

"He cares a little bit. He does still like you. It was just you both seemed to grow more interested in other things and you both forgot to fight for your relationship. When was the last time you two actually slept together, excluding last night?"

"About ten years ago." The Ambassador answered sheepishly.

"Exactly! But recently you've both paid more attention to each other and your feelings for each other are becoming more prominent."

"What should I do?"

"Assure Tayend that you love him, show him that you don't like Aschati any more. Suggest that you want a relationship with him and that you want to take it slowly to see if it will work." Lorkin replied. Since he spent time with the Traitors, he's grown up. If only Sonea could see him right now. He reminds me of Akkarin at times now. A man that I greatly respected, even if I did fear him slightly.

"That should work. We're both meant to be going to the market tomorrow with Aschati."

"Good. Also try and see if you can get another few hours of sex with Tayend tonight. Slowly his defences might lower and you might be able to convince him getting back together is the right thing to do." He's grown up but he's still way to blunt about sex and too accepting of mine and Tayend's...relationship?

"Do you think he'll want to... sleep with me again?" The Ambassador asked tentatively.

"With the noises you two were both making last night, I can hardly see him saying no." The younger magician answered frankly. Again, Dannyl's jaw dropped to the floor. He heard. Oh god! Then again his bedroom is practically right next to mine.

"Sorry." He said apologetically. The younger magician shook his head.

"Don't apologize. We all need a bit of comfort and I only heard a little bit I quickly used magic to block out the sound." Lorkin put in hastily. Dannyl nodded but still felt guilty. I should have used magic to sound-proof the the room.

"Thank you for being so understanding." The older magician said sincerely. Lorkin shrugged.

"Don't mention it."