A Clearing in the Preserve, Wednesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

The different calendars made it hard to track exact dates, but Anders reckoned it was right about a year since the last time he got dragged back to the Circle -- and almost a year since what he hoped was his final escape had taken him to Fandom.

It was a victory. As far as he knew, no runaway his age had ever lasted anything like that long.

The thought of all that kept him cheerful as he set up for a picnic in the preserve with Nathan. He spread out a blanket, laid out the pasta salad, cheese, and fruit -- and then, out of restless energy, started picking violets. He wasn't sure what he'd do with them, but they were pretty.

[OOC: For the boy, please.]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"I think I could get used to the heat," Anders said, angling to feel more sun on his skin. "It'd be fun to try, anyhow."

He added idly, "If we were in Thedas I'd go to Rivain. It's warm there, too. And there are pirates."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Wouldn't you get sunburned?" Nathan teased. "Your skin would turn all red and painful."

[not_every_mage]

"I'd make you rub lotion on me," Anders grinned. "Besides, it'd be worth it."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Make me rub lotion on you?" Nathan repeated, snickering. "You'd have to ask nicely, of course."

[not_every_mage]

"Of course," Anders agreed, resting his less sticky hand right above Nathan's knee. "But I'm prepared to be persuasive."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"All for a little lotion?" he asked, amused. He glanced down at Anders' hand and smiled. "You must really want to avoid a sunburn."

[not_every_mage]

"Have you ever seen sun poisoning? You can get blisters as big as your hand," Anders offered, and then gave a slyer smile as his fingers began to trace spirals on Nathan's thigh. "Besides, coming up with excuses for you to touch me is one of my favorite hobbies right now."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Whiplash," he laughed, shaking his head. "Going from gross blisters to making me touch you all in one breath. That's impressive."

[not_every_mage]

"I'm a complicated man," Anders told him. "I can hit on you and talk about disgusting skin conditions at the same time. It's a gift, really."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You're lucky I have a strong stomach," Nathan said, laughing again. "Lesser people might have gagged and made gross faces."

[not_every_mage]

"So what we're saying is, people don't want to hear about things that might make them throw up when I'm trying to be cute?" Anders asked, also laughing. "Thanks for the tip."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I'm fine with it," Nathan said, tapping a few fingers on Anders' hand and shrugging. "But, I might be a special case too. Weird and different."

[not_every_mage]

"I don't mind weird and different," Anders told him, smiling at the touch of Nathan's hand. " I even like it when it's cute."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"When it's cute?" he asked, snickering. "I don't know if I'd describe myself like that but thanks. You're cute too even if you like to talk about blisters and touching."

[not_every_mage]

"Excuse me while I swoon," Anders laughed, and pretended to do exactly that to lay on the blanket.

"... the clouds are nice."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Did you hit your head on the way down?" Nathan asked, peering at him from above and laughing. "What's up in the clouds today? A dog?"

[not_every_mage]

"It looks more like a ram, actually," Anders informed him, undaunted. He pointed up to show Nathan what he was talking about. "Look. Head, legs, tail, and I think it's wearing a hat."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"What rams do you know that wear hats?" he asked, sliding onto his back to look up. "It just looks like a blob of white to me."

[not_every_mage]

"The hatted rams of Ferelden," Anders told him, rolling slightly to the side to nuzzle against Nathan's shoulder. "Use your imagination."

He squinted some more, pointed up again. "See? That one's a duck playing guitar."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't have much of an imagination," he stated, squinting at the clouds. "Not often, anyway. It looks like...I don't know, maybe a shoe to me?"

He glanced down at Anders.

"Are there clouds on my shoulder?"

[not_every_mage]

"There's me on your shoulder."

Anders had gotten bored with chatting and was trying to be halfway smooth about kissing Nathan. He suspected he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

... But at least he'd stopped talking about skin conditions, so that was something.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You're probably a little more interesting to me than clouds," he said, smiling quietly. "Or maybe a lot more interesting."

[not_every_mage]

"I'd be sad if I wasn't ," Anders said, more softly, and finally tilted his head up to claim a kiss.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Clouds are pretty cool," he mumbled, giving Anders that kiss he was trying to claim. "All white and...fluffy."

[not_every_mage]

"Mmm," Anders agreed, mumbling between kisses. "Fascinating. Tell me more."