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1. Comfort
The boy was radiant the first time Utowin laid eyes on him. The steady flame of the masterfully drawn fire spell casted a warm, golden-red hue all over his deep black hair and porcelain pale skin, making it seem like he was glowing from within. A small, self-satisfied smile played on his pink lips while the cackling of the burning wood and the murmurs of admiring appreciation played softly around the village center while to Utowin everyone but that boy faded into the background. 'The star of Ghodrey' they called him and Utowin couldn't agree more, seeing how bright the boy shined in the night.
A heavy hand on his shoulder ripped Utowin out of his reverie, his father stepping up next to him.
"He's special," his father said, stern eyes fixed on the boy. "Important. A far cry from a certain trifling boy who can barely manage to draw a single worthwhile spell."
Utowin was used to harsh words by now, used by his father and everyone else in the village to casually dismiss him. He should be used to that.
The words still hurt.
***
It didn't take him long to find out that boy's name. Everyone seemed to know of him after all - Ghodrey's very own magical prodigy.
Not even studying under a master yet, not a single test taken, and already Olruggio was allowed to tag along on work field trips.
Utowin's friends made no secret about their jealousy, talking shit about Olruggio as if he hadn't worked just as hard as anyone else to hone his magic like that. As if they didn't knew how hard it was, they themselves struggling to focus on repeatedly drawing magic circles again and again. And yet, they obviously placed the same expectations on Olruggio as everyone else, even while they joked about wanting to see the boy prodigy fail - to see him taken down a notch, brought down to their level.
It annoyed Utowin, hearing them drag their mouths like that and putting words into Utowin's mouth in the same breath, just assuming he had the same thoughts as them. Completely unaware that he actually kind of pitied the boy for having all those suffocating expectations placed on him.
As annoying as it was that everyone and their dog looked down on him - not even expecting anything worthwhile from him anymore - at least Utowin was free from those watchful gazes, constantly expecting the boy to either excel or fail miserably.
In a sense, Utowin felt some sort of comradeship between them - two different ends of the same spectrum.
'Well,' he thought, mulling over the strangely restless feeling whenever he thought of that boy lately. 'If I ever find him broken down after a failure, maybe I can be the one to comfort him?' His lips curled at the thought as it settled deeply in his gut, spreading tendrils of liquid warmth through his veins.
He tried to imagine it, how it'd look like if the boy prodigy would ever fail in something. Something like a messed up spell - something that would disappoint all those high expectations in utter perfection and proved the other kids right in their pettiness.
Would Olruggio cry if that happened? Would big, glistening tears well up in those clear, blue eyes, making them all shiny until they spilled over and trailed down his cheeks? Would he be an ugly crier like some of the younger kids, when they tripped while running around and scraped their knees all bloody? He was so pale, he'd probably blush bright red all over, at least.
And how would Utowin comfort him then?
Maybe he'd imitate his mom; take the other boy in his arms and embrace him tightly. Murmur some sweet words into his ears and press little light kisses on his soft hair and cheeks and...
Utowin's mind ground to a hard halt at that thought and he sunk down into a deep squat, burying his face between his knees.
He just hoped no one was around to see his skin burning against the icy air of Ghodrey's winter.
***
It wasn't even a few weeks later - when what was left of the expedition to Noz returned in a frenzy - that Utowin got to see how the boy looked like when he broke down. Got to understand just how much pressure all those expectations had put on those frail shoulders. Saw the pure desperation and grief crunching up the boy's whole body as Olruggio blamed himself for not having been able to save everyone.
And Utowin realized what a self-centered asshole he had been to entertain such thoughts.
2. Friends
The next time Utowin saw Olruggio was at the Assembly, a few years later.
Utowin hadn't even known that he'd be there. Olruggio had been quietly spirited away after the Noz-disaster, to study under some great master or something. Utowin had never bothered to ask, too caught up in his shame over his immature fantasies.
By now, he had exchanged the pen for a shiny, silvery spear - a tool he could finally actually use well instead of continuing to just be a failure. He'd even found someone who he might call a friend, someone who might not look down on Utowin for being unable to cast magic properly.
He and Easthies were out doing chores under Captain Vinanna's orders, making their way through bustling streets, when a familiar mop of pitch black hair caught Utowin's attention. It was only idle curiosity that led to Utowin to focus on the person it belonged to, just in time to see the boy he had felt guilty about every time he thought of him laughing brightly at another, white-haired boy walking next to him.
The sight caught Utowin off-guard. He'd never seen Olruggio smile like that back in Ghodrey - only small self-satisfied smirks after a particularly well-done spell or polite smiles aimed at adults like a mask. This one was blinding, and for a moment Utowin could swear he saw sparkles.
Probably some magic spell.
Witches and their unnecessary showy gimmickry.
"Utowin?" Easthies called out to him, dragging back his attention. Utowin forced his gaze back at his friend, only for his eyes to wander back to Olruggio the very next moment. He heard Easthies tsk-ing in annoyance, but it didn't really bother him. His probably maybe-friend knew him well enough by now to be used to his wandering attention, after all.
Easthies' next words instantly shook him out of his distraction, though.
"They really should have erased his memories," he said, voice dripping with cold disapproval.
Utowin's face snapped towards Easthies, eyes wide.
"What? Who? Why?"
Easthies nodded towards Olruggio and the other guy. "Qifrey, of course," he said, as if that should have been common knowledge. His brows furrowed and his lips turned down in a clear frown as he looked at them. "Because it's the law," he added, as if that explained everything. To Easthies, it probably did.
Curious, Utowin looked back at the other guys, watching them making their way down the street, clearly joking with each other, judging by their bright smiles and laughter, until they disappeared behind a white-washed corner.
A light nudge brought his attention back to Easthies and they continued with their own path down the street, though Utowin couldn't help his thoughts from straying back to that unexpected sight again and again all day.
***
Utowin caught sight of Olruggio and his friend, Qifrey, a few times again over the next few days during Easthis' and his stay at the Assembly. Always together, always up in each other's space.
Utowin couldn't help but think about it, their bright smiles and shining eyes, always directed at the other and no one else, as if the rest of the world didn't even exist.
He was... happy for Olruggio. To finally have found a person who obviously didn't judge him solely based on his skills.
But he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it. If sometimes, out of everyone else's sight, Qifrey would lean even further into Olruggio's space, tracing the curve of Olruggio's lips with his own and tasting his laughter.
Olruggio's lips still had the same shade of pretty pink as he had back as a kid. And from what Utowin had seen in the last few days, when he couldn't tear his eyes away from the other boy, they seemed very, very soft. They'd probably feel very nice pressed against his own lips.
And he'd blush very prettily, too. Utowin had seen him blush quite often by now. Qifrey seemed to find great joy in startling Olruggio with some absurd comments, from what Utowin had noticed whenever he couldn't help himself but follow the pair with his eyes every time he saw them.
The blush would spread all over Olruggio's cheeks, sometimes reaching even the tips of his ears. A bright red, that made his skin glow even more than the shine of the fire had back when Utowin had seen Olruggio for the first time.
Sometimes Utowin wondered if that blush stretched even further, hidden underneath Olruggio's clothes...
The sharp sting of fingers flicking against his forehead startled Utowin out of his musings. Captain Vinanna stood before him, an amused twinkle in her eyes.
"Welcome back," she said, ruffling his hair while Utowin felt a deep blush of his own creep over his face. "How about you stop daydreaming and join us in our training?"
Utowin could only nod, gripping his spear tightly as a not-quite uncomfortable warmth coiled deep in his guts.
3. Introduction
'Some things don't quite add up,' Utowin tought to himself as he watched Olruggio shuffle out of the room in which they had interrogated him and Kukrow about the Brimhat's attack during the test. It wasn't exactly that he thought Olruggio was lying to them. It felt more like... something was missing. Some vital information needed in order for the pieces of this puzzle fall into place.
Before the door could fall close completely, he slipped out after Olruggio, quietly following him up the stairs. Steadily catching up.
It didn't take him long to - well, he wouldn't call it 'sneak up' behind Olruggio, except that Utowin was very much aware that that was exactly what he was doing. But it wasn't exactly Utowin's fault that this great magic prodigy completely failed to take notice of his surroundings and thus of Utowin walking just about two steps behind him, right? Who could even be that inattentive after just having been attacked?
Then again, Olruggio did claim that he had only arrived after the attack had already taken place.
Utowin could be gracious enough to give him some moments to notice him by himself.
Meanwhile, he took those moments to follow the short tips of Olruggio's hair tapering over his nape with his eyes, tracing the line of his exposed thin neck down to the bony knob just above his collar. It was a very nice view, especially since most witches usually went out of their way to collar up.
"Thank god Easthies wasn't there," Olruggio muttered under his breath, quietly enough that no one would hear him. Unless they were currently walking two steps behind him.
'Gotcha.' Utowin didn't even try to keep the broad smirk from his face.
"What about Easthies," he asked cheerfully, taking care to make his smirk look that tad more like a friendly, innocent smile.
Olruggio startled. Hard.
Utowin hadn't actually seen someone jump nearly a foot into the air in surprise before, but it was certainly quite the sight. The bright red blush that predictably bloomed all over Olruggio's face and ears was a very nice touch, too.
Utowin probably shouldn't think of grown up men with shaggy beards and burnt-in dark circles under their eyes as 'adorable' - but on the other hand, those men usually didn't look quite as much like startled little rabbits either, looking up at him with big, round eyes. So really, it wasn't exactly Utowin's fault for thinking like that.
His eyes were drawn down to the line of Olruggio's mouth, lips pressed together tightly enough that their usual pink bled out into a pale-ish white. Under his gaze, they relaxed a bit, the pink tip of Olruggio's tongue darting out to lick them nervously.
For a moment, Utowin was thrown back to his teenage years, where he had spent too many idle moments thinking about how it'd feel to press his lips against Olruggio's, kissing him softly and thoroughly. Now here he was, years later, after ages of neither seeing Olruggio nor thinking about him anymore, and all it took was a glimpse of that tongue for Utowin to want to trace the path it just took with his own.
"Y-you're still here." Olruggio's shaky voice tore Utowin out of the rabbit hole his thoughts just ran into. "Umm..." he hesitated, clearly unsure how to address Utowin. Like he'd never seen him before.
Which he probably hadn't.
After all, why should a prodigy ever have to notice some random, useless kid he grew up with.
And if that wasn't more effective to tear Utowin's thoughts back on track than a bucket of ice cold water. The smile, fake as it was, slipped from his lips in an instant.
"I'm Utowin," he introduced himself, after a beat. "From Ghodrey in the North." He couldn't help but put some emphasis on that.
The tips of his fingers burned with restless energy, clenching around the handle of his spear.
"Ghodrey? Same as me. Sorry, but I can't recall..." At least, he had the sense to actually look embarrassed about that.
Utowin, on the other hand, had no reason to be just as embarrassed. It wasn't like anyone knew how much ahead he had gotten in his mind, making up outlandish fantasies on his own. Again.
He kinda racked up a track record with that, didn't he?
He still had followed Olruggio with a goal in mind, though, so it wouldn't do to take heel just because of a slightly uncomfortable social interaction. Utowin was a master in steam-rolling over those, anyway. He twirled his spear around, channeling the restless energy into a soothing movement. Plastered on another bright smile, an unspoken 'It's okay'.
"Most of the people who make it into the Magic Security Council aren't the memorable sort," he told Olruggio with a shrug. "I was never one to work on a desk, cooped up all day. I chose the spear over the pen early on. Of course, a child prodigy like you wouldn't have known me."
The last sentence just slipped out, his bitterness at this one-sided fascination unable to stay contained. So much for that sense of comradeship he had imagined as a kid.
He decided to march on instead, just focusing on why he had followed Olruggio in the first place. Before Olruggio could comment on the last sentence in any way, he sent his banner forth to flatter around the other man.
"Say, Olruggio, the shining torch," he began, letting his voice drop deeper as he entered his work persona. He leaned forward towards Olruggio's ear, into his space, using the inches he had over him to tower just the slightest bit. "Is that really all you had to report?"
Olruggio shifted his weight as if he wanted to take a step back, but he ultimately stood his ground, only turning half around to stare up at Utowin, brows drawn together.
"Why, do you doubt me?" he retorted, the cadence of his voice dropping to match Utowin's.
"For some reason, your atelier continues to be at the center of all these unprecedented events. If this turned out to be a sign of things to come, of something that could shake the foundations of our world, we can't just overlook it, can we?"
He stared down at Olruggio. Olruggio stared back - a piercing, clear stare focused solely on Utowin. It sent a shiver down Utowin's spine. Not an uncomfortable one.
He felt another smirk tugging at his lips.
Well, there was no use in dragging this out any longer anyway. He might not have learned enough for the pieces to fall into place, but he was certain now that Olruggio was hiding something from them. And sooner or later Utowin would uncover what that was.
And above all, after this, Olruggio couldn't claim not to know of Utowin anymore.
He plastered another bright smile on his face, carefully hiding his petty satisfaction behind it.
"Well," he said with an exaggerated shrug, pitching his voice into an overly cheerful tone again. "I suppose a Watchful Eye wouldn't lie about such things."
Olruggio very nearly didn't flinch at this overt reminder of his role. Really, for someone who had nearly everything handled to him on a silver platter, he was way too adept at lying with his whole body. But then again, if he wanted to fool the Knights Moralis, he had to get a lot better at lying than this.
Somehow, Utowin was looking forward to playing this game with him, though.
With one last wink, Utowin turned around, spear hooked casually over his shoulders.
"Now if you remember anything, then please let us know," he told him in parting, repeating the typical platitude the Knights always gave at the end of inconclusive interrogations. Careful not to let it show just how much he was going to have a closer eye on him from now on. "For the stability of our world and of magic."
4. Distractions
You'd think getting told by someone you have watched and thought about for years (however sporadic) that they haven't even realized you existed until now would put an end to said thoughts about that person rather effectively. Unfortunately, the short talk Olruggio and Utowin had a few days ago only lead to Utowin once again thinking about the other man way too regularly.
It kind of made Utowin feel like he was a teenager again and he wasn't exactly happy with that. He'd rather have put those days behind him.
But then again, who cared what happened quietly inside Utowin's head, right?
At least, having those thoughts as an adult had the advantage that Utowin had a lot more references for how exactly he would like to kiss those pretty lips. It did make him wonder, though. Were Olruggio's lips as soft as they still looked? Would he be the type to melt into a kiss or would he try to take the lead? Would he prefer soft pecks or long, deep kisses with tongue? Would it be okay to bite his lips? What would they look like, kiss-swollen and bitten red?
Also, Olruggio still blushed very prettily. That definitely hadn't changed since their teenage years. And somehow - even though that shouldn't be the case - it still looked just as charming on his sleep-deprived adult face as it did back when they were younger. Maybe because it brought some much needed colour on his face?
Actually, now that Utowin thought about it, Olruggio did seem pretty haggard. Maybe it had been because of the stress of the attack? Or maybe it was simply because Utowin was surrounded by knights, people doing mostly physical work, all day, but Olruggio did seem quite thin, even for a witch. Utowin could probably encircle that waist just with his hands, tiny as it looked.
And honestly, he was pretty sure he could lift Olruggio up with no problems at all, too. Which begged the question - how would it feel if Olruggio responded to getting picked up by wrapping his legs around Utowin? That way, they could keep kissing even while Utowin carried Olruggio towards -
"Utowin!"
Easthies calm voice, just slightly tinged with annoyance, pulled Utowin out of his thoughts and for a moment he was afraid that his friend somehow knew in which direction his thoughts had drifted off to. Or even worse, if he had talked out loud.
Eyes wide, he swiveled towards Easthies, nearly forgetting to keep his heels together in order to keep the glyph connected.
"Yeah?" he asked, forcing a casual grin on his lips. He acutely felt a single drop of nervous sweat gliding down the back of his neck.
Easthies, thankfully, didn't sense anything amiss. Or he didn't feel the need to mention it. Could be either way. Which meant he wasn't too annoyed by Utowin's clear distraction.
"We arrived," he just said, nodding slighty downwards to where a group of people already was gathered. "Get yourself together, we don't know what expects us here."
5. Excitement
Things were finally starting to look better when both the witches and the knights seemed to get a hang of fighting that damned giant leech. Well, by that time Utowin's arms had kind of started to feel numb from having to swing his spear around again and again, hacking and slicing parts of the leech one after another. But it wasn't any worse than a long training session yet.
Besides, thanks to Easthies unexpectedly encouraging words moments ago, Utowin still felt freshly energized, giddy excitement coursing through his veins.
Of course, that had to be the moment Olruggio got distracted; letting himself get wrapped up by those slimy black tentacles and - even worse - dropping his pen.
From about 40 meters up in the air.
Utowin's body was moving before he even knew it, Easthies right beside him.
"'C'mon, wake up," Utowin shouted, slicing at the leech with jerky swings, trying to get it away from Olruggio before its sharp teeth could burrow in too deep. "Where's your head, witch?!"
It was only thanks to his long years of training that his movements were coordinated enough to effectively slice through black flesh, despite the cold dread pooling in his guts. It was Easthies who had the sense to actually stay in a position close enough to Olruggio to catch him once Utowin had slashed the tendrils away, Utowin himself way too focused on pushing back the leech.
"Why'd your pen waver?!" he asked, too loudly, voice wavering. He kept slashing at tendrils creeping in too close for comfort without even really looking at them. Nearly all his attention was focused on Olruggio, held up securely by Easthies as they sank down to the paved street.
"... I'm sorry," Olruggio said in lieu of an actual answer. He pressed his hand against his neck, ineffectively trying to quell the blood gushing out of a bite where Utowin hadn't been quick enough to slash the leech away.
"I'm not the type of witch to just drop my pen, trust me," Olruggio continued in a small voice, slowly dropping to the ground, only held upright by Easthies' assistance. "It's just... my hand...
He closed his eyes, hesitated for a breath, gritting his teeth. "It stopped. I couldn't bring myself to draw anything."
He opened his eyes to shoot a glance up at Utowin before looking away with chagrin. "Well, go on," he said, voice dropping even lower. "Let me have it. What good is a witch that doesn't draw, right?"
In that moment, several things flashed through Utowin's mind:
Petty joy at hearing the great prodigy, Olruggio the shining torch himself, admit that he made a mistake. That he couldn't do something.
Worry about losing a skilled fighter desperately needed in this leech's unending assault.
Even more worry about the blood running over Olruggio's fingers down his neck and arm, seeping into his clothes and staining it a deep red.
A short shiver of pride running down his spine that this was something he was trained to deal with - something where he could excel for once, and not Olruggio.
The heart-wrenching face of a small boy crying in desperation because he couldn't save everyone.
The face of the man before him now, slumped on the ground in self-deprecating defeat.
The cold realization just why Olruggio had frozen up and dropped his pen like that.
And above all, his childish thoughts from ages ago, repeating over and over again.
'Maybe I can be the one to comfort him.'
Utowin tried really hard not to let any of those thoughts show on his face. He was probably failing hard - he could feel himself shaking in excitement at being able to experience this situation.
"... Got it," he mumbled under his breath, clenching both his hands hard around his spear, fighting himself not to twirl it with all the excited energy tingling in his fingers.
"Huh?" Olruggio looked up, dumbfounded, as if he hadn't just asked Utowin for exactly this.
Utowin couldn't contain it anymore. His mouth opened in a wide smile nearly on its own accord.
"I said, you want it, you got it!!" He didn't exactly shout, but it was a close thing. "You civilian witches can be real dopes sometimes!"
He switched his hold on his spear to one hand, walking over to where Olruggio had dropped his pen. Still grinning stupidly to himself, he picked it up before stepping back towards Olruggio. Shooting him a wink in response to Olruggio's befuddled face, he leaned down into his space, wrapping his now free arm around Olruggio's waist,
"If you're not gonna draw," he began, lifting the other man up with ease. "Then you best stay out of the way! Do us a favour and get your butt to safety quick!"
With quick steps, he carried Olruggio towards the closest house he could barricade himself in. And yep, just as Utowin had suspected the whole time, the other man barely weighed anything at all. He filed that information away for later. With probably unnecessary flourish, he dropped Olruggio down inside the hallway.
"What," Olruggio stammered out. He pointed towards the leech still expanding in the sky. "But there's -"
He stared up at Utowin, all befuddled wide eyes. Once again, Utowin asked himself if it really was appropriate to think of a grown ass man as 'adorable'. But then again, it still really wasn't Utowin's fault for thinking that way.
His gaze flickered down to Olruggio's lips as the other man pulled himself up. They stayed slightly open in his dumbfounded puzzlement at the way the situation had unfolded (as if he hadn't literally asked for that). For a moment, Utowin's whole world tunneled down, leaving his sole focus on Olruggio's stupidly cute face, his stupidly pink lips, and Utowin stepped closer to them as if pulled in by some magic draw.
He had already confirmed how it felt to hold Olruggio's waist (perfectly tiny enough to easily wrap his arm around) and that he could carry him without breaking a sweat. Surely he could go on to confirm more of the things his idle mind had wondered about all those years. Right?
And yep, that was most definitely not an appropriate train of thought.
Much less considering that there literally was some apocalyptic demonic beast attacking the city, by now nearly blocking the entire sky above them.
To gloss over his weird movement just now, he grabbed Olruggio's arm instead, hand sliding down towards his wrist as he lifted it up to place the pen Olruggio had dropped down in his palm.
"It's alright," he said, softly, more serious now, decidedly not allowing his hands to linger on Olruggio's. "Drawing to kill just isn't your style. Why start now?"
He stepped back, leaning against the door. "The knights help in our way, and you lot help in your own." He lifted his hand to rest against the door, turning to follow Easthies who clearly itched to return to the fight. Olruggio's words from way back were ringing in his ears, so he mustered up an encouraging smile in order to tell Olruggio this one last thing.
"Better start thinking about how you can use magic to save everyone!"
'Because if there's anyone who can do it, it's you.'