Lothar was ushered into the Chamber of the Guardian, with assurances that the Archmage would be with him shortly. The man who'd escorted him said it would just be a few moments while he was announced, and then vanished in a burst of arcane energy.
/Mages, always so flashy,/ Lothar mused, willing himself not to pace. He settled for clasping his hands in front of himself and gazing around the room. It was ostentatious, like most of the buildings in the floating city, and he wondered briefly why Khadgar had been given ownership of this place even though he still adamantly refused the position of Guardian. But before he could think too much on it, the representative of the Kirin Tor reappeared.
"The Archmage will see you now," he said, and gestured towards a set of glowing blue glyphs that had appeared on the floor.
Lothar frowned. Another damn portal. They were much more common these days than they'd been in the past; still, he'd hoped to get away with not needing to use any of the blasted things. But if this one would bring him to Khadgar, he would just have to close his eyes and take it. Squeezing his eyes shut, he stepped into the glowing circle; there was a moment of disorientation, and when he opened his eyes again he was in another ostentatious room.
He heard a sharp intake of breath then, and turned towards its source. And there he was, staring at him with wide eyes. Khadgar.
A shock ran through Lothar. He'd known what to expect, he'd seen pictures from some of those newfangled camera things, but it hadn't fully prepared him to see his lover in the flesh. His mage looked older, so much older than when they'd met.
Lothar didn't care one bit. Was Khadgar still his mage, though?
"Anduin," he whispered, seemingly frozen in place. The man looked as though he'd seen a ghost, and in a way, he had. "Anduin, is it really you?"
"Khadgar," he said hopefully. "Khadgar, it's me. I'm here."
"He said it was you…" the mage's voice trailed off, overwhelmed at the sight before him. "I didn't believe him. I didn't think it was possible. But now…" He shook his head, eyes glistening, and in that moment he looked and sounded like the boy he'd been when they'd met. There was anguish in his voice when he spoke again. "You died."
"It's me, I'm really here," said Lothar again, taking a step forward. And somehow, even though he had no memory of the intervening years between his death and resurrection, he could still feel the ache of all those years of longing for his lover deep in his bones. In his heart. "I came back. For you."
"You did?" There was a cautious look of hope on the other man's features, easily recognizable even on the older face. "For me?"
Lothar nodded, his arms extending of their own volition towards the mage. A moment later there was a flash of blue, and Lothar was pulled into a fierce embrace.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you, Anduin," Khadgar breathed, burying his face against Lothar's chest, just like he used to do. Lothar rubbed his hands up and down Khadgar's back, and took the opportunity to press kisses to the top of the other man's head. "Anduin…" He pulled back slightly, resting his hand against the other man's cheek, overjoyed. "Light, look at you. You look exactly like you did the day we met, except…" His joyful smile faded, his brow creasing as he gazed into the other man's luminous blue eyes.
/Except for my eyes. My skin./
This was going to hurt.
Lothar reached out to him, settling his other hand over Khadgar's. "I love you, Khadgar. I always have, and I always will," he declared solemnly. He couldn't help himself; now that he was back in his lover's presence, all of his innermost secrets were spilling out. "I know how hard it must be to see me like this…raised by dark magic, not really alive, but not really dead either. And a killer…I have to kill to survive now, just like any other death knight. But I still want to help you, and help all of Azeroth – I want to drive out the Burning Legion, defeat them once and for all." He swallowed hard. "And I want you to know that even if you've moved on, even if you're revolted by what I am now, I will keep on loving you, no matter what. Nothing can change that."
Khadgar was staring at him now, a look of disbelief on his face. "Light, Anduin, how could you think I would ever move on? I loved you before, and I've loved you every single day since your death. I don't care that you're a death knight now, all I've ever wanted was you." He blinked away the moisture in his eyes, gazing at Lothar sadly. "But how could you still want me, after all this time? I mean, look at me…" He shook his head. "I look old enough to be your father."
In response, Lothar just pulled him closer and kissed him deeply. "So what?" Lothar countered, running his fingers through the other man's hair. "We didn't care about that sort of thing when I looked old enough to be *your* father."
This earned him a faint smile. "You never looked *that* much older than me, Anduin," Khadgar protested, but he was silenced by another kiss. And now that his fears had been allayed, Khadgar was becoming more responsive, relaxing into the kiss before returning it eagerly.
Lothar's eyes closed, blinking away his own tears now. If Khadgar had rejected him, it would have been like dying. Again.
"Khadgar," he choked out. "I love you. I need to know you're here with me," he ran his hands down the other man's back to his waist, then his hips, "I need to touch you."
The mage pulled back slightly, his breathing rapid. "Anduin," he began hesitantly. "As much as I would love to feel you inside me again, it's been so long – so many, many years for me – I don't think I can, at least not yet…"
"That won't be a problem," Lothar assured him, pulling his mage closer. He wouldn't push Khadgar into something he wasn't ready for...he never had, and he never would. "Because what I want most right now is to feel you inside *me*." This earned him an expectant, almost hungry look, and he winked. "Even though it may have been years ago for you, for me – and my body – it feels like it was last week." He smiled slyly. "Can you teleport us to your bedroom?"
"I thought you hated teleporting," Khadgar said, smiling back at him.
Lothar kissed him again. "For this, my love, I will make an exception."
