Shades (Part 6 of the Ignaius-Saga)

Invitation

As expected, the bashful young man blushed and turned his face away, when Visorro-Kior complimented him. "U-um... th-thank you... sir..." he said.

Vis laughed. "Hey, what did I tell you: Call me Vis. All those formalities start to make me feel all tense and too far removed to be comfortable."

Tanier's fingers gently and lovingly caressed Variel's neck. "The nightmarish harbinger of fiery death" Visorro-Kior had called him, and Tanier had rarely been as acutely aware that this description was true, despite everything that met the eye. He found it difficult to go back to his lunch and act as carefree as Visorro-Kior did, yet he wanted to try, as poor Variel could need a break from being worried. He leaned forward and spoke into Variel's ear, but although he inflected his voice like he was sharing a most exquisit secret he still spoke loud enough that the man on the other side of the table could hear him: "Now I think he is really trying to get into your pants."

If he was not completely wrong, Variel loved the attention and the flattery, he clearly did not have enough of this in his life so far, so he had any intention to fuel it, no matter if Variel had conflicting emotions over liking it. He would surely say he didn't deserve any of it. In Tanier's opinion this was completely wrong. He deserved a lot more than that. Also the boy blushed most adorably.

Variel's blush did indeed intensify and he lowered his chin. Most of his face was hidden, but a smile he was trying to subdue was visible to the man across the table.

Vis laughed good-naturedly. "Sorry, lad, didn't mean to torture you... although that pretty little smile is telling me you're enjoying it."

This time, Variel covered his face, so embarrassed that this flirtatious attention was getting him all worked up. He felt wrong for it, even though Tanier seemed to be encouraging it. "I-I... um... W-well, I just..." He stopped stammering when he realized he had no idea what he was trying to say.

Tanier's smile had ever been growing. He put his arms around Variel's chest now to hold him, while he kept speaking to him: "You are exceptionally beautiful. Incredibly sweet and adorable. You are intelligent and charming."

He placed a light kiss right under Variel's ear, then looked over to Visorro-Kior and now he told him a secret, while he did not let go of Variel: "And he likes torture. Why don't you give him more of what he deserves?"

Vis's playful smile now spread into a full-fledged grin. Clearly, this news pleased him to no end. "Why, Your Majesty, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were tempting me. Is this some sort of loyalty test?"

Variel felt hot. Perhaps it was all the blood filling his face, or perhaps being bombarded with compliments and praises from these two older men - attractive older men, one of which he dearly loved - was starting to feel more like sex than a relaxing early lunch. Part of him wanted to bolt and hide like a spooked cat, but the other part wanted Tanier to keep a tight hold on him, and wanted to keep seeing that hungry leer just below the surface of Visorro-Kior's expression.

"You know," Vis continued, now looking at Variel with something of a thoughtful expression mixing with his mischievous grin, "taking all of these wonderful facts about you into consideration, you do seem quite perfect, don't you? Perhaps you were blessed by the gods... or... perhaps..." He leaned forward, as if it was his turn to tell a secret. "...the incarnation of some... God of Beauty we don't yet know about."

Now Variel wanted to die, or for that man to kiss him. Hard. Or for them both to--

Variel flinched. This really was torture, especially since he still wasn't sure if it was okay for him to like it!