CHAPTER TEN

Regret and Apologies

Baylyn headed back to his cottage, tears streaking down his face. He went straight to his room, not even stopping when his parents tried to ask him how training went. They left him alone for a while, but soon grew worried when Baylyn didn't leave his room for hours. Baylyn laid on his bed, unable to do anything else but stare at the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had said to Fletcher. If anything happened to him, it would be his fault.

Later in the day, it started raining. None of the homes were prepared for this much rain, so Baylyn could start to feel a slight drip coming from the roof. He couldn't sit still any longer. This had to be Fetcher's doing.

"I'm going out!" said Baylyn, grabbing his gear and wasting no time as he headed in the direction of the woods.

His parents didn't have time to ask questions as Baylyn ran out the door.

By the time he got outside it was pouring, leaving the dirt road muddy and slippery. There was even lightning every now and then. Baylyn hoped it didn't hit anything important. He started running, urgent to get to Fletcher. In his blind rush, He slipped on the mud and fell, but got back up, immediately starting his run again.

Fletcher was exactly where Baylyn thought he would be; in the clearing with the log. He knew he couldn't have gone far. Fletcher was shaking, sitting against a tree trunk with his arms around his knees and crying hysterically. He was so hysterical, he didn't notice when Baylyn went to sit next to him, wrapping an arm around him.

"I'm so sorry, Fletch. I didn't mean it."

Fletcher jumped, startled by Baylyn's presence.

"I can't stop," says Fletcher, in between tears.

Baylyn was covered in mud and was sitting in a puddle but he didn't care.

"It's okay. You don't have to. Fuck. Letting your emotions build up like that is so unhealthy."

"I've been doing it my whole life and now I can't keep them in anymore."

Just then, lightning struck down from the sky, landing right in front of Baylyn and Fletcher.

"It's not safe for me to let go!" said Fletcher.

"So channel it! You give great advice, Fletch. Use it. Close your eyes." Fletcher does this, choosing to trust Baylyn. "Now imagine the type of weather you want and why."

Soon, the clouds parted to make way for the sky, the sun shining beams of light over the once gloomy forest.

"Okay, now take deep breaths. In... and out."

Fletcher did as he was asked, breathing in tune with Baylyn.

"I'm sorry. I'm such a mess," said Fletcher, wiping the tears from his face.

"I'm banning that word from your vocabulary. You have no right to be sorry after what I just said to you. I mean, you clearly have trauma and I dismissed that because I was jealous. I'm a horrible friend."

"Friend? I thought I barely knew you."

"No, Fletch. It's the other way around. I know we just met the other day, but I felt like I'd known you for forever. I made an assumption about you that was incredibly wrong even after you had given me context. You don't deserve that. I don't know you Fletch, but I would like to. Why else would I run out into the rain to get you? Hell, I'm more of a mess than you!" said Baylyn, gesturing to point out the fact that he was covered in mud.

Fletcher laughed.

"Does this mean that I can control where the lightning goes?" he asked.

"Yes. The weather could probably do anything you tell it to within reason."

"Can it rain food?"

"I said within reason!" said Baylyn with a chuckle.

"That's very reasonable. Do you know how useful that would be if I was in the wild? I would never have to hunt ever again!"

"Science coincides with magic. I can do a lot with fire because it can trick the eyes to make illusions. It can also be used for a lot of things. It would be different if your magic was water based instead of weather but you can't conjure food out of thin air. I can make illusions of food with my magic, but they are just that; illusions."

"Oh, cool."

"We should head back, my parents are probably super worried about me. I should also dry you off before we walk inside," said Baylyn, holding out a hand to Fletcher. Fletcher took it, pulling himself off the ground. "Are you ready?"

Fletcher nodded and Baylyn used his magic to dry Fletcher, once again engulfing him in a dome of blue flames.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. We should go before my parents send out a search party."

"Yeah."

As they walked into town, all of the townsfolk stared at Fletcher from their windows. First an outsider with an overwhelming scent of mana, and now this abundance of rain? Many of them had started to connect the dots and all of them were pointing toward Fletcher.

"Don't pay attention to them. Anything new is interesting to them... or scary. No one has seen a power like yours in a long time, let alone a human mage."

"Right. I'm fine, I'm used to the staring."

"Fletch, you're allowed to not like something that you're used to."

"It's fine, really," said Fletcher, but Baylyn could hear his heartbeat from where he was walking.

Despite his concern, Baylyn didn't press him any further. He knew that would get him nowhere. Instead he said, "You know... if you need to talk about anything, I'm here."

"Okay."

Fletcher wasn't sure he wanted to talk about everything with Baylyn. He had never just talked to someone, unfiltered. He didn't have to explain his problems to Leenith because most of the time, they had to do with his father, and Leenith was a very observant person. Although he had his doubts, it helped Fletcher to know that he had someone when he was ready to talk.

When they walked in the door of Baylyn's cottage, his parents rushed over to him immediately, each hugging him so tight he could barely breathe.

"We were so worried about you. When it started lightning outside I was so scared for you! Thank god you're okay!" said his mom.

"Sorry. I just couldn't leave Fletcher out in the rain."

"Just don't do that again. We thought you were leaving for ten minutes at most."

"No promises," said Baylyn, looking over at Fletcher. "I would do it again."

"You guys should change out of your muddy clothes," said his father.

"Right," said Baylyn.

Baylyn walked into his room with Fletcher, closing the door behind him.

"I have extra clothes if you need some."

"I have some in my pack," said Fletcher, digging through his backpack to find his extras.

Baylyn opened his dresser to look for a clean tunic and a pair of pants. "Turn around," he said.

Fletcher changed while looking at the wall, avoiding any awkward accidental glances.

"I'm done," said Baylyn, still staring at the other side of the room.

"Okay. Me too," said Fletcher, laying down on the bed while staring up at the ceiling.

"Is the ceiling interesting?" said Baylyn, laying next to him.

"No, it's just a good thinking spot."

"What's that?"

"A place where my eyes go so I can think."

"What's on your mind right now?"

"I'm grateful that you went to look for me. If I went missing in my village, even before I was supposed to leave, I don't think anyone would."

"I thought you said your brother and your mom were chill?"

"It's complicated. If my father didn't want to look for me, they would probably do the same."

"Your father sounds shitty."

"My father was shitty! God, that feels so good to say out loud! I couldn't even tell anyone because news would get back to him about how his son had badmouthed him. People were actually scared of him."

"Were you?"

Fletcher hesitated for a moment. At first, he didn't think he was, but the more he thought about it he realized he would have never even tried to act 'normal' if he wasn't at least a little bit scared of his father.

"I guess. I acted like a totally different person just to please him. He dug my armor into my shoulder and I pretended like it didn't hurt. Worst of all, he hurt my..." Fletcher trailed off. What was Leenith to him? "Someone I loved."

He had never admitted any of this to anyone. It was Freeing. He felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulder. Baylyn remained silent.

"I've never told anyone that before."

"I'm sorry," said Baylyn, quietly. "I feel like such a dick."

"I thought that word was banned. Look, I forgive you so you should forgive yourself."

Baylyn then turned to face Fletcher.

"Okay."

When Fletcher turned to face him, he grabbed his hand. Baylyn was hesitant, having never been with a guy before. He hadn't even thought about it until Fletcher was in his life, but he had never been so sure of a feeling. Fletcher could hear Baylyn's heartbeat from where he laid, waiting for him to say something. A comfortable feeling fell over them as they continued to lay in silence, staring into each other's eyes. Fletcher got lost in them, sucked in by the seemingly endless ocean that was Baylyn's.

"This is so random and I don't want it to seem like I'm taking advantage of the situation but... can I kiss you?" whispered Baylyn.

"Yes."

Fletcher could have sworn literal sparks went off as Baylyn kissed him. His lips were warm, but not burning like his hands had been. But to his surprise, Fletcher could still sense a semblance of hesitation in Baylyn's kiss. He pulled away, keeping a hand on the side of Baylyn's cheek which was beginning to feel wet. He sat up on the bed with a concerned look.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure," said Baylyn, sitting up with Fletcher.

"Then why..."

Baylyn knew what he was asking. Why are you holding back?

"I'm still scared from earlier. I'm so distracted right now. What if I hurt you?"

"Stop thinking about that." Fletcher blushed. "Kissing me already has intention in it. You don't need to focus on anything else."

Fletcher touched his forehead to Baylyn's before whispering his next words.

"You won't hurt me."

Baylyn kissed him again, softer this time, afraid of his own magic. But when Fletcher kissed him back, he forgot what he was worried about, drowning under the weight of his own desire. He put a hand behind Fletcher's neck, pulling him closer. Fletcher entwined his fingers in Baylyn's hair as Baylyn rolled over top of Fletcher, kissing him harder. They fell into a rhythm, their heartbeats beating as one. For a moment it had felt as if they were the only two people in the universe and that this was the only thing that mattered. 

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A/n: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! We've all been waiting for this, including me. It feels like my characters aren't even written sometimes. When I think of how they would handle situations I curse myself for their actions, but that just means I'm attached, lol. As always, if you enjoyed it consider voting and commenting to let me know your thoughts. Again, not required but definitely appreciated. 

Thanks for making it this far!

I'm updating again on Sunday at 10:00 and I plan to do so for a while!