Magical Hogwarts

Klyk Vampira Dorms | October 31, 2005

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Kanat was reeling, still, even minutes after the fact. Mihkkal and his conversation had not gone well, and there was likely no saving things. He knew there was no chance for the conversation to go well per say, but he had not expected Mihkkal to strike him. His face was aching, a purple bruise forming on his cheek. He quickly went back to his dorm, gathering a few days of clothing and a few personal things. He left the vial of water necklace on Mihkkal’s nightstand, intentionally, and sighed deeply as he looked at their momentarily empty room. This would not work for long. He would have to eventually come back, right?

For now, though, he walked to the other fifth year male dorm and knocked on the door. He hoped Kostas was there, hoped he was alone. He cupped his cheek a little as he waited for the door to open. Despite everything, he was nervous to talk to him, nervous and excited both. He had missed him, already, and felt silly for it. Kostas was not his boyfriend, they had not even tried talking about that, but he hoped the other would be kind.

“Kostas?” He asked, at the door. “Can you… open up, please?”

A few moments later, he heard the lock click and the door opened. He looked up at Kostas, brown eyes a little watery. “Can I come in?” He was still cradling his cheek. “I don’t have anywhere else that I can go right now.”

@Konstantinos Krizanić

Konstantinos had not expected Kanat's conversation with his boyfriend to go well, of course. Those types of conversation were rarely pleasant, if ever. He understood it was something necessary though (Kanat wasn't a liar) and he hoped that it wouldn't be too hard on the boy. His mind was still reeling a little, now that he had some time to think alone. Why? Because now everything that Caliban told him made sense and he couldn't believe that he wouldn't have told him more beforehand. He had to have known more when he told him to not back off even if it seemed like things were not going too well yesterday. Somehow, he felt like the boy meant precisely what ended up going down with Kanat, well, before things went down. He wasn't angry, no, he was fucking glad it happened, he was just a little in disbelief still.

Konstantinos had planned on doing homework after Kanat left, but instead he found himself thinking about the Klyk Vampira who had spent the night in his bed. His head was full of it. The kisses. Their conversation. The sex. It had all been so wonderful and Konstantinos dearly hoped this would not be the last time they got this close. They haven't talked about what it meant yet, and Konstantinos hadn't tried, considering Kanat had a whole fucking boyfriend when everything between them happened. He did want to discuss it with Kanat though, he wasn't the type of a guy to leave things of this sort so undefined.

He busied himself with some more thoughts as time passed by, and it was for this reason he didn't hear the knock immediately. Once he heard a voice, he recognised his friend-lover. He made his way to the door, opening them, mind flashing back to Caliban's words from today—he's going to come back real quick—well, he had been right (when was he not), but Kostas had expected a different sight to greet him. It wasn't that there were any particular daydreams, it was more the fact he had not expected to see Kanat cupping his cheek, the skin around it red and beneath his fingers purpling.

Konstantinos grinded his teeth together, fury rushing through his veins. "What the fuck, he hit you?!" He exclaimed, a little distracted by his anger and the surge of protectiveness he felt at the sight. Blinking, he exhaled swiftly, "sorry," he cleared his throat, "yeah, come in," he told him, voice morphing into a much gentler tone as he stepped aside to let the boy in. He closed and locked behind him and stepped towards the water elemental.

He eyed the things in Kanat's other hand. Right, he wouldn't want to stay with the person who hit him either. "You can stay here," he offered, going straight to matter at hand. "I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't want to stay in your dorm anymore. Mikhail's bed is empty," obviously, he was dead, "and mine's open too." He offered too, a little more tentative on saying that, considering the situation, but it was true.

"Um, can I touch you?" He asked for permission, eyeing the bruise. "I want to take a look at your cheek. I'm not very good at healing magic, but I have some salves," he told him, wondering what Kanat was feeling right now. He could probably set a trap for Mihhkal somewhere, break that boy's leg. That was a thought for later pondering. "How are you feeling? I'm guessing the conversation didn't go well at all."

Kanat didn’t expect Kostas to realize the turn of events so quickly, but he supposed it was pretty obvious. He bit his lip. “It was a little bit my fault. I touched his shoulder and he just turned around and….” He admitted, voice trailing off a little. He swallowed, carefully. He came in with the other boy. He let Kostas lock the door behind him. “I didn’t think he’d do something like that.” He sighed. “He was… really upset. I think he was more upset about me having sex than he was about the cheating!” He exclaimed, biting his lip.

“You can, thank you for asking.” He offered, letting Kostas touch him and putting his hand by his side so the other can get a better look. “Do you think I need to go to the hospital wing?” He wondered, not really wanting to go there but knowing if he needed to, he could.

“It was bad. He didn’t even ask who.” He laughed a little. “He just… told me to get out, then, when I didn’t, he left. So I followed, then he punched me.”

Konstantinos didn't spend time wondering what happened. Kanat had went to talk to his boyfriend, well, suppose an ex-boyfriend now, and came back with a purple cheek. Unless someone had decided to attack him at random in the meantime there was only one explanation and it made Kostas see red. He despised violence of this sort, especially on people who did not deserve it. He did not believe cheating made a viable excuse for hiting your supposed loved one. You don't hit the ones you love. He had went through that lesson as a kid enough times to realise that by now. He held no kind words for his father, he'd rather spit on his grave.

"No, it's not your fault, not even a little bit. It's his fault for not having enough self-control to not hit you, I don't care if he thought it's justified or was upset, that shit is inexcusable. You don't hit people you care about." He retorted, a crease between his eyebrows that spoke about how bothered he felt by this. Clearly, he had higher expectations of Mihhkal that he should've had. Maybe he could tell Atreus, he would set his lover-ghost to haunt him a little. His brother would enjoy it too.

He smiled and nodded when Kanat thanked him for asking and gave him permission to touch him. He wrapped his hand around Kanat's wrist and tugged him towards his bed, "sit down, get comfortable." He seated himself next to him, leaning close. "More upset about you having sex than the cheating?" He echoed. "Well, suppose I can't blame him for that. You're gorgeous and sweet, anyone would be lucky to get with you, I'm sure he knows that." He smirked, leaning a little closer. "Lucky me." He whispered into Kanat's ear with a mischiveous grin.

His eyes burned when he eyed the bruise again, but his hands were gentle and careful as he touched it.  "I don't think anything is broken, it's just bruised and swollen. I don't think you'll have to go if I give you something for it, but if it doesn't look a little better by tonight, maybe it would be a good idea." He mused. He pulled back for a moment, to look through his things, and came back with a small vial, sitting back down. "No screaming?" He asked, a little surprised.

"I totally expected to have an angry Mihkkal at my door acussing me of tainting your honor," he teased, not being too serious with it. He reached forward, taking Kanat's jaw between his fingers, and started to apply the paste he had gotten from his stash. He was quiet, just focusing on the task, his touch careful and like a feather.

After a moment of silence, he spoke up with a sudden direction in his thoughts. "I don't think you regret what happened between us, I know I definitely don't, but I just want to ask, to make sure. No regrets?" He wasn't sure what prompted him to ask that, he just wanted to know. He wanted to know what the boy was thinking, feeling about that.

Kanat listened when Kostas explained that it was Mihkkal’s fault, not his. Kanat appreciated hearing that, because he did blame himself a little. He still could barely believe it. Mihkkal had been his best friend for years, and now… he had punched him. They were technically still dating then, too. Technically, but still. It counted.

“He didn’t even verbally break up with me, but I am counting the fist.” He confessed, sighing, and settling in on Kostas’ bed while he let the other boy take care of him, just like he had after their sex. It was sweet, seeing him care so much. He smiled at him a little. He nodded when the other mentioned the hospital wing if it didn't improve. “I hope this works. I don’t want a purple cheek on Monday. People will know something happened, and I would rather they not know the details.” He admitted. “Everyone will assume Mihkkal hit me, and no one will know why. I don’t want him telling them.”

With that, Kostas asked about their time together. About regrets. Kanat blushed a tiny bit. “No regrets.” He agreed. “I..” He hesitated. “I’m glad about it, really. You’re being very nice to me, and I’m glad it was you and not him.” He confessed. “It was good on its own, but the… kindness makes it better.” He admitted. With a sigh, he looked up at him. “Honestly, I’m still coming to terms with things. Sorting through feelings. I didn’t expect to feel so confused by it, but they say sex changes you. I never understood how or why, but I’m assuming it’s the dopamine and oxytocin release.”

The fact that Mihkkal hadn’t even formally ended their relationship and resorted to violence made Konstantinos’ blood boil. However, he wouldn’t personally put himself between Kanat and his ex, they needed to talk this out between themselves, unless Kanat got hurt again or Kostas himself was approached by Mihkkal. Unlikely, considering the elemental didn’t know who Kanat had been with in the first place. “He would be stupid to think that a fist to your face means you two are still dating.” He agreed and dearly hoped that wasn’t the case. People could be stupid though and he grinded his teeth a little at that imagination.

He nodded solemnly at Kanat's hopes for the bruise to fade before Monday, understanding the desire to keep such personal issues private. He wanted to spare Kanat the rumors too. Konstantinos had always kept his love life very private and in the know of only a few close people of his. This resulted in students at school being all the more curious of course, because no one knew what or who he liked, if he had ever dated anyone or slept with someone. Nothing. Nada. He was a mystery in that direction and it kept the buzz of wonder around going at a steady pace. He knew he was talked about. He knew he was attractive and that a lot of students would not say no to getting with him. He didn’t care. “We’ll make sure it heals up. If this doesn’t work I could ask Stepan, he’s quite good at healing magic and a bruise like this shouldn’t be much of a work for him,” he reassured, his tone confident but gentle. He saw the smile Kanat gave him and mirrored it with his own. “Unless it’s more of a serious injury than I thought it should work though. I use it on bruises from dueling or swordsmanship practices that I sometimes get. Though admittedly those are smaller bruises than this.”

Finishing with the application of the paste, Konstantinos capped the vial and set it aside, but he stayed seated close to the boy, wanting and liking the physical closeness between them. "How does it feel now? Any better?" he asked, genuinely concerned about Kanat’s physical comfort along with his emotional state.

As Kanat confirmed he had no regrets about their encounter, a subtle relief washed over Konstantinos. It was one thing to enjoy the moment themselves, but entirely another to know that Kanat felt positively about it too, especially considering the circumstances. It wasn’t that he had doubts Kanat had enjoyed it when they had been going at it, no, none at all. However, sometimes the aftermath of their actions could mess things up, and Kanat’s were having to tell Mihkkal that he cheated on him—and also getting hit, which had been a shock to them both. He just wanted to be sure. Plus, there was no denying Konstantinos loved hearing that Kanat was glad it had been him who had taken the boy through his first sexual experience and not his then-boyfriend.

He felt an amusement spark within him when Kanat brought up feeling confused and started to talk about the chemicals—typical Kanat. "Or maybe it's because it's such an intimate, vulnerable and intense experience with another person that it alters a lot inside you, whatever chemical reactions that breaks down to. You are way too cute, it's insane," he chuckled and shifted forward to press a soft kiss to his cheek (the one with no bruise), unable to resist.

“It’s natural to feel confused though.” He shrugged. “For your mind it is the first experience of this sort and it was with me out of everyone too. I can be rather intense,” he admitted. He liked it that way, but it could give one a harder time to sort through everything because of it, perhaps. “You don’t have to rush through what you’re feeling, you know, or feel pressured to resolve it quickly. Take your time. I'm here for you, not just for the physical aspects of what we shared but for the emotional too. I’m responsible for giving you this experience, I’m not going to leave you hanging and trying to come to grips with it alone just because the physical act is now done. I’ll take responsibility for all of its aftermath," he offered. Kanat wasn’t the only one who had some thinking to do either. He asked himself what he wanted with Kanat, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for such answers yet. Konstantinos knew that he appeared put together, confident, perhaps a little arrogant at times—but he was just another soul in a human body that came here for a life with an expiration date to their meat suit. He had been given an identity, he had his fears, he had his worries and he had a lot of wounds he carried from his childhood. While he wouldn’t change what he had done for nothing, he knew that putting himself in front of his father for his younger brother scarred him. He knew that acting both a sibling and a parent to Atreus changed him in ways that sometimes made it harder to deal with his own emotions. He was working on all of this, of course, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t raw and sometimes painful. Sometimes his wounds kept him from acknowledging things and he was hesitant to poke against them.

“I don’t sleep with just anyone, you know. I haven’t been with many people before you, despite what other things might suggest,” he explained. Caliban often joked he was the school’s heartthrob, and well, Kostas didn’t believe that but there was probably also a seed of truth to it. “Definitely not just because I want sex. I like sex to be about the person I am with, engage in it because I want it with them, with you Kanat, not just because my hormones might be going a little crazy. I have my hands for that.”

Kanat let the other apply the potion substance to his under eye, appreciating the care and way he did it. When he brought up Stepan, Kanat considered this. He knew Stepan, they were friends, but he didn’t realize Stepan and Kostas were friends. He might trust Stepan with this knowledge, more than anyone else. He would keep that in the back of his mind.

The little cheek kiss made him swoon internally, and Kanat knew he had a major problem on his hands now. He liked Kostas, after the kind way the other had been treating him. He didn’t know how to handle that, but he knew enough to know it was true. Like Kostas said, it wasn’t really about the sex. It was about the intimacy and closeness and kindness… of course the sex was great, too, but it was more about the other aspects. He laughed at Kostas laughing about the chemicals, though. Maybe he was breaking things down too far for a regular human.

“I understand, and I agree.” He admitted. “The confusion is definitely in the aftermath of the intimacy and rawness and..” He paused. “Just taking awhile to see if the affection for you is genuine or if I’m just confused by what happened.” He admitted, with a tiny blush. “Too many chemicals, now, telling me to ride away into the sunset.” He blushed a little more, knowing that part was an exaggeration of his true feelings.

He put his hand over Kostas’ hand as the other expressed not really being with all that many people, and wanting it for the person and not the sex. “It’s comforting to hear that.” He admitted. “WHat about you?” He asked. “No regrets?”