Hold me

"Oh, who else could it be?" rolled Cal's eyes.

Not wanting to get off the bed, he shouted:

"Come in!"

There was no answer.

"Legion..."

"..."

"Legion..."

A body on the floor moved, claws sliding across the floorboards, making an unpleasant sound.

"Don't lie in the aisle, someone's come..."

I had to get out of bed and check the door. When he opened it Cal saw no one, but a paper bag, exuding a seductive aroma, lying on the threshold.

He picked it up, already knowing what it smelled like: scones and cream.

Liam was hiding behind a tree, worried about whether Cal would accept his offering. But the apprentice, hungry as a wolf, thought nothing of such things, and simply ate the scones right on the doorstep.

"Come out," Cal shouted suddenly, and Liam flinched.

But then, pulling himself together, he detached himself from the tree and walked over, stopping a few feet away. Cal stared at him silently, torturing his composure.

"Is there something you want to tell me," he asked the Head.

"..."

"Well then I'll go, my whole body hurts terribly..."

Liam grabbed his arm and was instantly beside him:

"I'm sorry..."

Cal raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm sorry I punished you with Grady... are you really mad at me?"

"Did you know I almost died in there?"

"What do you mean?" queried Liam incredulously, "from working on the farm..."

"No one's ever died yet," Cal finished in his place, "but drowning by an overgrown marsh viper is a very real possibility..."

Liam's eyes widened in horror.

"Why, why didn't anybody report me?!" Liam looked very frightened.

"Grady saved me, but he was bitten by a viper... Okay, come in," Cal led the Head inside.

Sitting at the table, Cal said everything but Grady's secret. By all accounts, it appeared that their relationship was one of friendship, but Liam continued to tense. He fidgeted restlessly in his chair and wanted to suggest something.

He'd been thinking about it for the past month, but because of the provocative LeGrays game, (ah, he said it himself), his idea was a bust.

Liam decided that Cal should move in with him.

In the pause, the head looked around the room aimlessly and glanced at Cal.

After eating, he started yawning and almost fell asleep. Suddenly Liam found a solution, and Legion helped him do it.

"The way I see it, your dragon is growing fast," began the Head.

"Uh-huh," the apprentice seemed to spend the last of his energy answering.

"Wouldn't it be better to move it to a larger place, don't you have trouble with it here?" suggested the Head.

Cal opened his eyes and nodded happily.

"He's really big, I was thinking of moving him into some... barn too, I guess," he said, eyeing the dragon appraisingly.

Legion was asleep after his training. He had been doing only three things lately: eating, sleeping, and training. Even his previously outgoing personality was now more silent. Apparently, all his energy went to growing up.

"In that case, I'll arrange for you to be moved to the factory. I'll remove the machines, and the Legion will have a huge room to play and sleep in. What do you say?" Liam played this game brilliantly and counted on winning.

"Great idea!" Cal slammed his palm on the table, which caused Legion to open one eye and a golden pupil gleamed inside. Then, just as slowly, he closed both eyelids and continued to sleep. "Come on! When?"

"I'll get everything ready first, so a week from now, okay?"

"Deal," Cal shook Liam's hand and the Head was embarrassed.

The apprentice was very sleepy and had to break up with him. Liam returned home and spent part of the night using his creative gift to change the main hall of the factory. Having exhausted his energy reserves, he, too, fell asleep without energy.

The game continued.

In the morning Cal could not leave the room because someone had blocked it from the outside. After tugging on the door, he didn't break it down, but climbed out the window and walked around the house. It turned out that the door had been blocked with a large log.

That would have been all right, but Legion couldn't go out the window, so he had to free the door. Cal spent a decent amount of time clearing the door and so he was late for breakfast.

The first thing he saw was Michal saying something to Grady away from everyone else. The girl held aloof and didn't even look at the young man.

After watching them, Cal decided to act: he walked up to Grady, threw his arm around her shoulder, and with the words, "Thanks for waiting," he led his friend away from Michal. The latter clenched his fists until they crunched, and darted off in the opposite direction.

"How are you?" asked Cal to the girl as they made their way to the tables.

"I'm fine," she replied subduedly, taking his hand off her shoulder.

Cal hummed.

"Michal isn't, though," the apprentice confirmed. "Let's sit here."

Cal looked around and noticed that Liam had sat down to breakfast with Nod and Rashid. A slight pang of jealousy made him squint and remember their last meal together.

"Ahem," brought Cal's thoughts to order.

"Do you have a cold?" asked Grady worriedly.

"No, not at all, just a tickle in my throat."

"Here, have some tea with honey," the girl poured the sweet drink into him, and this intimate gesture did not escape the eyes of those watching.

-----

Following his schedule, Cal spent some time studying the Twelfth Elder's treatise on nurturing the dragon spirit. Then Grady called him to practice archery.

They were often followed by curious students. So now, a few classmates were dragging three meters behind them.

Once she had chosen a target, Grady assumed a confident posture and began to send arrow after arrow at the target. The audience perked up and started clapping. Cal entered the game. Not inferior to Grady, he too sent all his arrows to the exact target.

The young men decided to make the task more difficult and sent the fans out for a basket of apples. While waiting, they got their arrows out of the target. When the apples arrived, they tossed them to each other and tried to hit the target on the move.

Fans kept a tally: Grady was in the lead, but even that fact was interpreted as Cal trying to please his loved one. No matter what they did, it was all explained by their close bond and mutual feelings. It was beginning to get tiresome.

After archery, the young men parted ways for a while. Cal went to the factory to see how things were going with the move. The great hall was empty: Liam wasted no time.

He estimated the size of the place and conceded that even a full-grown dragon would be able to live there, but then he wouldn't need shelter. Mature dragons took up residence in their own space, summoned by their master as needed.

Liam caught Cal wandering around the factory and invited him to lunch. They didn't go to the dining room but instead had a picnic on the beach. In the shade of a large tree, Liam laid a blanket and arranged for them to have a decent snack. Enjoying the warm, windless weather and the beautiful scenery, they had a quiet lunch.

"How's your business with Grady going?" inquired Liam, as they reclined on the blanket and rested.

"Hmm, not bad, but I'm starting to get tired of it all."

"You owe Grady, is that why you're helping him?"

"And for that reason, too..."

Cal rolled over onto his stomach, wondering how he could speed up the process.

His gaze slid over the blanket and came upon Liam.

The man was lying on his back with his eyes closed, his shirt collar unbuttoned by a couple of buttons, and from his seat, Cal could see his dainty collarbone. His delicate pale skin was slightly sweaty and silvery in the light.

Fascinated by the sight, Cal forgot about everything in the world.

Liam lay relaxed on the blanket and, with his arm thrown back, lounged in his usual manner. He finally had Cal's attention, and he wanted to drink the cup to the bottom, so he didn't start any dangerous conversations.

He sensed that Cal had been staring at his body for some time, and he felt an incomparable pleasure.

But why was Cal inactive? Liam opened his eyes slightly and saw his profile: he was sitting with his head tilted and staring at his toes.

"Hmm, just now he wasn't taking his eyes off me, and now he's afraid to look? What the...?"

Scraps of their conversation surfaced in time in the Head's memory:

"If you want a kiss or a foot massage or me... just say the word and I'll do it..."

Did he really mean what he said? Liam was a little annoyed.

So if I don't take the initiative, he will too?

Liam rolled over onto his other side, his back to his student.

"Why do I get the impression that I need more than anyone else?" - he thought grudgingly.

"Then how do I know if he wants me willingly or if he's fulfilling my wishes!" the Head continued to sulk.

All the charm of the moment crumbled to ashes as Liam got to his feet and began to gather the remains of the food into the basket. Cal stared at him in bewilderment, unable to understand what had caused the rush.

Leaving Cal alone, the Head bowed out.

As the apprentice looked after Liam, he felt as if he had a heavy boulder on his chest, preventing him from breathing. After sitting for a while, he reluctantly got up and returned to his room: the hour of training with the Legion was approaching.

Cal was absent-minded, and toward the end of the session, he became quite depressed. Grady, who had been watching his mood, couldn't help but ask him what was wrong.

"It's just one person bothering me," Cal confessed.

"What? You like someone?" wondered Grady.

"What's so strange about it?"

"Well... it's just that you spend all your time with me or the Legion, is there room in your life for anyone else?"

"Exactly! Room!" Cal suddenly lit up with some idea of his own, and as he said goodbye to Grady, he ran away faster than the wind.

Legion flew after him. Back in his room, he hastily gathered up his necessities and, taking Legion with him, made his way to the factory. Liam was gone, and Cal took that as a good sign. He left his things behind, let Legion explore the grounds, and went up to the balcony and got some things ready.

The head was not very fond of moving around with the crystal, preferring to stroll around his cozy town. So when he stepped onto the bridge, the night was approaching.

As he entered the factory, he thought he should work on the interior as well tonight. He still wanted to move Cal in, despite the misunderstandings.

As he entered the hall, however, he saw Legion. The dragon was fidgeting on a pile of hay, looking for a comfortable sleeping position. "What? Why is Legion here?" wondered Liam.

"Surprise!" popped Cal from behind him, "and we've already here!"

Liam looked confused.

"But... but nothing's ready yet, you wouldn't be comfortable..." apologized and excused the Head.

"Who said so?" laughed Cal, "we're not royalty, we don't need much."

Seeing Liam's indecision, he encouraged him:

"How about we finish our preparation together? I've been thinking, we don't spend much time together..."

Liam hesitated, and then suddenly asked:

"Hold me," he held out his arms like a child.

Cal's heart clenched and he threw himself forward to squeeze him tightly in his arms.

For a brief moment, all misunderstandings disappeared between them.

"You want to live here from now on?"

"Yeah."

Cal looked at Liam from his height, and the latter had to tilt his head back, his beautiful eyes gleaming as well as his seductive lips.