Everything on the ranch was neat and Magina was fascinated by it. There were a lot more buildings than on his ranch and the workload it took to keep them simply functioning was high. To keep them looking like this was amazing. Though, of course, he didn't know how much magic was involved in it. Aside from what he had seen Kael and his brothers do and the knowledge of the Sunstriders being able to create fire, he knew nothing specific about their magical abilities.
The thought of magic left a fool taste in his mouth and made him slightly itchy, but he tried to tone it down. Kael would have a reason to bring him here and he didn't want to make the man angry or anything. Not after everything Magina had done.
They entered a barn and Kael searched for something or someone.
"I knew I'd find you here."
At the words, a man inside one of the lock-ups straightened and stood up. He was dirty from head to toes but his resemblance to Kael was visible through it. How had he not seen it, when he had first met Kael? The blond hair, the pale eyes, the fine features. Just a bit older. Magina knew him, it was the Sunstrider senior. Kael's father. He had met him before.
The pain he felt at seeing him was strong, mixed with hatred and fear. His breath caught and his heart skipped a beat.
Something brushed against his hand and though the contact was fleeting, it brought him back before his mind even had the chance to sink into the pit of panic. Kael stood very close and his fingers brushed against Magina's again. The backs of their hands touched and it was definitely on purpose. Magina took a controlled breath and focused on the touch for a moment.
The man frowned and when he looked at Magina, the frown worsened. "Oh boy, just what I've been looking forward to do today." He sighed and wiped his hands on his pants. Not that it was of any use, as dirty as the pants were the hands wouldn't get cleaner by wiping them there. "All right, then let's get this over with." He exited the lock-up and walked out of the barn. Kael followed and so Magina did as well.
The words and the way the man had looked at him made him uneasy. But there was no turning back now. And Magina trusted Kael, as strange as it might be.
Inside the house, Kael sat down at the kitchen table and nodded at Magina to do the same. The man washed his hands in the kitchen sink. Then he took a place from which he could look equally good at Kael and at Magina.
"I don't know what Kael told you, but he forced me into this. He pressured and blackmailed me until I didn't have a choice."
The man waited, supposedly for an answer. "Um, sir, he told me nothing at all. I don't even know why I'm here." Magina was glad that his voice was firm and didn't quaver or anything. He didn't want to come across as insecure and frightened, no matter if he was and wished to be anywhere but here at the moment. He wasn't even sure if 'sir' was the right way to address the Sunstrider.
"Awesome." He didn't sound like he really thought this was awesome. Kael remained silent.
"Okay, then I'll tell you. I didn't put fire to your ranch all these years ago and the land and the cattle I got from you..."
Kael audibly cleared his throat.
"The land and the cattle I took from you," the Sunstrider cast an annoyed glance at Kael before focusing on Magina again, "was taken unjustified. I can't give it back, not without tremendous loss. Kael tried to get me to do it nonetheless but really, that's impossible. Nothing he could offer can balance it out. What I can do, though, is give you a share in the winnings it brings. Kael and I aren't of one mind about what percentage, so we'll have to negotiate a bit there. Does that suffice?"
Magina was speechless and could only stare. The man, the owner of the ranch and the oldest Sunstrider around, told him right out that he hadn't been responsible for the fire. Of course he could as well be lying, but the way he had said it, as if it didn't really matter to him, it made Magina think that it might be the truth.
And then he was also offering back part of Magina's belongings, part of the things he had taken from him after the fire. Not completely, but this was amazing. It was something Magina would never have expected.
He stared at Kael, who had made his father do this somehow and wondered how he had achieved it. And why. Kael smiled and nodded. He was clearly pleased with himself and what he had accomplished here.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to give you everything back, but my father is right, the loss would be immense. Not only to him, that I would've ignored." This got him a glare from the older Sunstrider, which he completely ignored. "But without the land and the cattle, many of the people working for him wouldn't be needed any more. And since you don't hire anyone, it wouldn't be fair to them. Besides, I don't think that it would be good for your health, even with the help you currently have, to get more land and cattle. But I thought that this was a fair compromise. A way for you to get something out of the land and the cattle that were taken from you. Without you having to do anything. Personally, I'd go for at least fifty percent of the winnings. Won't be easy for my father to calculate it but I can guarantee he won't cheat you."
It was the perfect compromise. It didn't make the theft from this long ago insignificant, but it made it less painful. Like a step forward, away from the past.
"Don't listen to him, fifty percent is way too high. I have to do all the work and you can just sit there and let the money come. I offer you ten percent."
That was like on the market in town. But not quite. Magina took a moment to think about it all. It was happening very fast, and he couldn't decide within a few moments. It was simply too much. "I need a few days to think about it, sir. Since Kael didn't tell me anything, I've just heard this all for the first time. I'll come over again when I have decided. Is that acceptable?" He tried to be as polite as possible.
"I give you three days."
"Dad!" Kael protested and the older Sunstrider sighed.
"Okay, take as long as you wish. But the cooperation starts when you decided, not backdated." He stood up and offered Magina his hand. "I'll see you then, Mr. Turstarkuri. Have a nice day. Oh, and sorry for everything back then. I tried to extinguish the fire faster, but whoever cast the spell was extremely strong and I wasn't as skilled as I am today." Then he left.
Magina remained seated and stared at the table top in front of him. The Sunstrider had helped to erase the fire? Magina couldn't remember that.
Also the Sunstrider offered part of what he had taken back. And he had apologized. Magina was way out of his depth. The whole situation seems surreal.
"I know this doesn't erase all that has happened to you, but I thought it was the least I could do." Kael sounded concerned. "Are you all right?"
"I'm not sure." He looked at Kael. "Do you think he said the truth, about the fire?" And here he was, asking Kael if he believed his father. But then, Magina had to trust Kael. Even in this.
"I don't know. Usually he doesn't lie. At worst, he talks around something or doesn't answer some question or such, but he seldom outright lies. Which doesn't mean he's not capable of it. And the way he took your land and cattle was crass. But I suppose he just saw an opening to get the stuff he wanted and he didn't care about your personal problems. I don't think he really laid the fire. It's a little too much, even for him. He can be ruthless, but to kill people, even on accident? I don't think he'd go that far. Not for some land."
Now that he had met the man, and not right after some life-altering event of which he had thought him responsible, but with a little distance, he didn't think it had been him, either. The magic around the Sunstrider was strong, it was in the air all around him, but it didn't truly smell like the magic of the fire had.
On one hand, it was a relief, especially with Magina being involved with Kael, somehow. But on the other hand, Magina now didn't know who had done it. And for what purpose.
"I'll go home. I need to think on it all." Magina got up and went to his truck. His dog snuck out from underneath the table and followed. Kael did so, too. He leaned against the doorframe after Magina had gotten into the driver seat.
"You need anything from me?"
Magina shook his head. Then a thought struck him. "How did you get your father to give me a share?"
"It wasn't that hard. I simply promised him I'd stay on the ranch and work with his horses. Because I'm the best and he knows he'd never find someone as good who is as cheap as I am."
It didn't even sound like bragging, more like pointing out facts. The man was truly fascinating.
"I thought he doesn't like you."
"What? Why?"
"One of the men here said something, it sounded like it. Because you are gay. Or in the lines of it."
Kael smiled. "Well, he isn't very happy about me being gay, but has come to terms with it. And it isn't that bad between us. We are not best friends, but we respect each other and we get along without problems. I even missed him when I was away and I'm sure he missed me, too. And not only because I'm good with the horses."
He was so beautiful as he leaned there, looking up at Magina with a soft smile.
He couldn't resist, though Kael had said nothing about the apology and about them. Magina's hand was shaking a tiny bit as he raised it to brush his fingertips against Kael's cheek and then into his hair. He leaned down very slowly, watching Kael as he did so. The man didn't move, simply stared back, smile never leaving his lips.
Magina's hand moved until he cupped Kael's nape. They were so close now and Kael still hadn't stepped away. So Magina shut his eyes and closed the remaining gap between them. Kael met him halfway.
The kiss was sweeter than any they had shared before. It was so soft and slow and he was sure nothing had ever felt this good.
Magina's heart beat heavy in his chest and his stomach did flip-flops. To finally feel Kael again, under his hands, against his lips, it was amazing. It was perfect.
As they parted, before the kiss deepened, before either of them could get lost in the sensations, as had happened every time before, they both smiled.
"Since..." Kael cleared his throat, the word having been a raspy sound. "Since you now have help on your farm, will you go on a date with me?"
"You'd still go on a date with me? After all I've done." Magina was incredulous. Of course he had apologized, but he had never expected that Kael would forgive him. He had hoped, yes, but he hadn't thought it would actually happen.
"You told me why you did what you did and though it doesn't make it okay, it makes it understandable. But you saw your errors, you apologized. Which couldn't have been easy at all. And I don't think you'll do something like that again. You even came to the ranch today, without questioning me and you talked with my father. I know it must hurt you to even look at him, from what you told me. So yes, I liked you before you found out I was a Sunstrider and I liked you after you took all the pain onto you to apologize to me. Yes, I'd still go on a date with you. I'll invite you to a date."
Magina kissed Kael again. Not so soft this time, but shorter. And still sweet. "I'd love to."
His grin made Kael look so beautiful, it took Magina's breath away. "What about your boyfriend?"
"Oh." Kael looked sheepish all of a sudden. "I lied. I don't have a boyfriend. I didn't know why you called and I didn't want to talk to you. I thought it was the easiest way to get rid of you. I'm sorry."
It made Magina uncomfortable, that Kael had been able to lie to him that easily. But he seemed to be genuinely sorry about it, and it had been when he still had believed Magina to be an arsehole (which he had had every right to think).
Still, or maybe because of it, he couldn't wrap his head around all that had happened today. "Why do you do this? I mean help me and all? I don't deserve it, not after the way I treated you."
"The fact that you think that makes you deserve it. But there are several reasons. Some might be a little selfish. I'm not sure I want to tell you all. I guess the most important is that I felt sorry for you, yesterday, and then I confronted my father. I was a little mad and told him he was an arsehole and that he stole from you. He yelled and then I yelled and then I put this deal out there." Kael shrugged. "I guess he's still mad at me but I am at him, too. Sometimes he is too focused on himself and on his ranch. He can't put himself in the position of others and so he tends to does stuff that feels very selfish." A grin spread over his face now. "And I really want to explore this …" he gestured from himself to Magina and back, "thing, whatever it is, that is between us."
At these words, the thing flared again. It was desire, no use in denying that. But it was more, Magina thought. Attraction and the need to be close, not only physically. Curiosity about this amazing man, the want to learn everything about him.
"So, tomorrow? I can pick you up if you want." Kael had taken a step back, maybe so they wouldn't get distracted by each other and this…. thing.
"Gladly." He hesitated for a moment. "Do I have to expect a visit from your brothers again? When we see each other?"
"Oh. No. they didn't try to beat you up because we were seen together." A grin flashed. "You'll have to tell me one day what exactly happened there. They don't want to talk about it. I guess they think it's too humiliating." He shook his head and took another step back. "They came for you because they thought you dumped me or something. They are very protective. It should be a talk on the lines of 'don't hurt our brother ever again'. So don't worry, first, they are a little afraid of you now and second, as long as you don't make me sad, or angry or something like that you are safe."
Magina was incredulous. They had wanted to tell him not to hurt Kael? They had really done a more than shitty job at getting that across. And he thought he had a problem with communication and stuff, because of him having been alone on the ranch for such a long time. But they hadn't been alone and were still not able to communicate. He guessed he was doing rather fine considering that.
Kael laughed, probably at his expression. "Yeah, I know. Are we fine, then? I'll text you about the time. Is that okay?"
He nodded and nodded again. His heart fluttered a little. He had a date. A date with the most beautiful man he had ever seen. He.
Smiling, he closed the door of his truck. He could've kissed Kael again, but it was probably good that he had brought some distance between them. Magina wanted to kiss him and kiss, and never stop kissing him. Instead he waved as he drove from the ranch.