"Kael."
No answer. Magina tried again.
"Kael!"
He sat up and turned around. Kael'thas was sitting on the bench, a book floating in the air in front of him. One arm was draped on the back of the bench, the arm against which Magina had been leaning. The three orbs where flying around his head, all three glowing orange, and he was totally focused on his book. He didn't wear his complete mage robes, only a shirt and trousers, like he did more often now. Magina liked it because all this cloth just hid the gorgeous body of his and it took way too long to peel him out of them. And, this way he could feel him when they were sitting like they were now, side by side in the garden, reading.
"Kael'thas Sunstrider!"
That finally got a reaction from him. He looked up, his white eyes focusing on him. He didn't respond. Magina had learned over the months where he had been living here that, as unlikely as it might sound, he was the talkative of them.
Strange enough, it worked, though.
Magina touched one of Kael's pointed ears. "I'm bored." He had put his book down next to him on the bench. He had finished it and didn't feel like starting the next one. It was nice to have the time to read as much as he wanted and to have millions of books to choose from, but right now he wanted to do something.
Kael frowned. "We already had sex two times this morning."
Magina imitated his frown and his absolutely neutral tone. "We only had sex two times this morning."
"Are you teasing me?" Kael's frown deepened and he finally turned away from his book with his whole body, one knee tugged on the bench between them.
"Now that I have your whole attention," the Anti-Mage smiled, "I would like to suggest something else."
"You were teasing me."
"Of course I was. When you look like that," he imitated the frown again, "I just can't help myself. Especially when you talk about sex and look like that. As if you don't enjoy it."
"I do enjoy it."
"I know! That's why I tease you! Now come. We have been here for almost a year now. I would like to go somewhere else with you. A bar, or an inn, or maybe one of those ruins I heard about in the marches. Or to the beach or, I don't know, maybe something you like to do?"
The Invoker looked at Magina for long moments. "You want to go to a public place with me?"
"Why not?"
His arm still on the back of the bench, Kael placed his hand on Magina's neck, his thumb stroking along his jaw line. "Because I am well known in the world. Everywhere we go I will be recognized. And they will all wonder who that beautiful boy at my side is. They will talk about you and someone will realize, sooner rather than later, who you are."
"You think it will bother me?"
"I don't want them to laugh about the Anti-Mage who has fallen for the most powerful of mages. And I might be afraid of your reaction to such comments. I don't want you to leave me."
His hand was now cradling Magina's head, his fingers tracing the purple tattoos on his skin, feeling the stubbles after three days of not shaving.
"You have been staying here, alone with me for this year, on purpose."
"Yes."
Magina was quite for a while. He thought about what Kael had said and didn't simply brush it off as bullshit. He hadn't really thought about it that way and he imagined such a scenario in his mind. The hand on his neck was warm, the movement of Kael's fingers on his skin like a connection between him and the mage. They were almost always touching, as soon as they were near each other. They were still drawn to each other like the first day they had met, in the town war, where Magina had tried with everything he had to kill the Invoker. It seemed awfully long ago now.
"You would stay with me here for the rest of our lives?"
Kael shrugged. "Better than losing you because of some shitty comments."
"Do you want to stay here for the rest of our lives?"
The mage hesitated. He was a loner, had been his whole life, but even he left his island in the sky from time to time.
Before Magina had met Kael he would never have thought that he could live together with a mage and that he could be content with it. But he had changed. He wasn't that vengeful creature from before, who had only wanted to get revenge for the killing of the monks in his monastery. He had never been as happy as he had been with Kael this last year. And, with the Invoker still caressing him, he realized that he would never leave him. He belonged here, with the most powerful of mages.
He placed his hand above his and smiled. "Trust me. Some comments from some dumbass creatures won't get me to leave you." The frown on Kael's face lessened, until it was almost gone. He never smiled and he was only completely relaxed when they were in bed together. Magina didn't care. His not frowning was almost as good as a smile to him. And he knew that, after centuries and centuries of solitude, it had to be hard for Kael to get used to someone by his side in whose presence he could let his guard down and simply be. It had been hard for Magina as well but he wasn't nearly as old as the mage and had adapted astonishingly fast.
He had learned how to live and he felt carefree and unbelievably happy. And maybe, he thought, it was time to leave the safety of Kael's home. He had travelled a great part of the world in search for mages but he had never had time to enjoy it. Now, with Kael as his mate, he wanted to explore it anew, with a different view on life and with leisure.
Not wanting to wait for an answer any longer, he kissed Kael, still with a smile on his face, and when he stood up, he tugged him with him. Hand in hand they went back to the palace to get ready, Kael to get dressed and Magina to retrieve his weapons and put some of his armour on. He had crafted something to strap his blades onto his back and had practiced to draw them. He had wanted to have his hands free because he liked the feeling of holding hands with Kael but he didn't want to be unarmed. The blades on his back were a good solution though it hadn't been easy to find a way to carry them so they didn't annoy him but were still easy and fast enough to draw in case of a fight.
They met in the main hall. Kael had put his most imposing robe on, the collar high, the shoulders wide and a long cape falling from his shoulders. He looked absolutely dangerous, his frown in place as always. He was gorgeous and Magina was suddenly hit by the realization that this stunning man belonged to him, as he belonged to the mage.
The Invoker still seemed to be unsure if it was a good idea to leave his home but Magina believed it was time. "Trust me," he repeated. "We can't stay here till the end of time and I promise I won't leave you. I chose to live with you and to quit my quest for vengeance and for all the time I'm with you now I won't regret this choice."
"I trust you." He handed Magina a stone with runes caved into the surface. "It is a Hearth Stone with my house as home. It is yours."
It was like giving someone the key to your house. It hadn't been important until now, because they had never left the platform in the sky, but it was a huge display of trust. Not that Magina wouldn't have been able to get here again, but not many would be and by giving him access to a Hearth Stone like that, Kael was vulnerable. Anyone could use the stone.
"Thank you." He packed the stone away. He didn't think he would need it because he didn't intend to leave Kael but one never knew what might happen. It was the fastest and safest way to return here.
Walking down the way to the aerie of Kael's manticore, they didn't talk but were holding hands again. It was strange to do so with them both fully equipped.
"Where do you want to go?" Kael asked as he petted the manticore's head. The beast began to purr, a deep, rumbling sound, and pushed against the hand between his ears. Magina had thought about it before. There were a few places he had liked very much throughout his travels but didn't have time to spent time at. Some were very secluded but others were visited on a regular basis. At first he had wanted to choose one of the places where they would definitely be alone but after Kael had voiced his fear he was sure that that wouldn't do. It would be nice but on some primitive level Magina wanted to world to know that he and Kael were mates. And he wanted Kael to know that, no matter what was whispered behind his back, he wouldn't leave.
On one side he was a little unsure about how he would feel when everyone was talking about him, the Anti-Mage, side by side with the Invoker. But on the other side, it would be a claim, too. Because it would not only mean he was with Kael but Kael was also with him. And though he might not like the talk, it would never be enough to make him abandon the best that had ever happened to him. The past year had been the best of his life and he sure as hell wanted more of it.
The manticore waited patiently, as did the Invoker. And Magina choose. "Let's go to the Darkmoon Island."
Kael blinked. "To the Darkmoon Island?"
"Yes." Magina smiled, because it was the best idea of all. It would be fun.
"You want to go to a fair with me?"
Now he was grinning, because Kael sounded so unbelieving. And just picturing him on a fair was funny. He didn't belong there and his expression indicated that he would never go to one of his own accord. But first, it was a neutral zone, like the starting platforms for the town wars, and second, it was an extremely informal surrounding. They wouldn't stick out so much because all species in the world went to the Darkmoon Faire so it would be a mix of creatures from all fractions. And there would probably be unusual mates as well. He didn't think that no one would notice them but in every other place they would be like an angel in hell. Or a tree in the desert. An anomaly, which would be stared at by everyone. The fair wasn't as bad as that.
And when Magina had been there he had been searching for someone and had only shortly looked at everything. This time he intended to actually try everything and play every game that was offered there.
"Yes, to the Darkmoon Faire."
Kael put his hand on Magina's cheek and leaned his forehead against his. "You are wonderful," he breathed. "It is a wonderful idea." They stood like that for a minute, forehead against forehead, Kael's hand warm on Magina's face, their breaths mingling.
Then the mage stepped back and he wasn't frowning when he mounted the manticore. He looked at Magina.
"You sure the manticore can carry us both?" the Anti-Mage asked. "With all this equipment we are quite heavy, even alone."
"I'm sure. Now come."
As soon as they were both sitting comfortably, Magina pressed against Kael's back, the beast spread its wings and took off.