“Do you… want to add fireballs right now?” Perian asked, a little more leadingly.
Brannal glanced at him, grinning. “I take it that means you’d like a demonstration?”
“If you were willing to give one, I would definitely enjoy watching it,” Perian admitted.
“Would you mind if we waited a bit?” Brannal asked.
“Of course not,” Perian said promptly.
Brannal hesitated for a moment. “It’s something Cormal and I usually do together.”
“Then of course you should do it together again,” Perian said, squeezing the man’s hand. “Just because we seem to annoy one another doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a good relationship with your Secundus.”
Brannal squeezed his hand back.
Perian still didn’t know what to make of the other man, but despite what Cormal seemed to think, Perian never went out of his way to antagonize him. Sometimes, it just seemed to happen regardless.
That made a thought occur to him.
“Do you usually come to the festival with Cormal?” he asked.
Brannal appeared surprised by the question. “We’re always on patrol.”
Perian eyed him. “But you and he used to both come and celebrate the fire together?” he tried again.
“Yes,” Brannal answered.
Brannal had never seemed to give any credence to the idea that Cormal cared for him in a way that could be jealousy-forming.
“Have you done that since you were kids?” Perian tried again.
Brannal nodded. “Yes, I suppose so.”
Oh, Brannal. Perian loved him to pieces, but maybe there was a small bit of him that felt sorry for Cormal.
The clueless man continued, “Some years one or the other or both of us are away, patrolling or dealing with an attack.”
As if that didn’t still make it a tradition when they were both here and available.
“Oh, look,” Perian said, pointing with his free hand. “Molun and Arvus. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I really would love to see you with those fireballs. If I stayed with Molun and Arvus, do you think you could find Cormal?”
Brannal looked bemused.
Perian wrapped his arms around him and leaned up to whisper in his ear. “You know how much I enjoy watching you with fireballs.”
A shiver ran through Brannal, and when Perian pulled back, his eyes were gratifyingly dark with desire. Perian winked at him.
“I’ll show you how much I like it afterwards, if you want.”
Yeah, there were no more questions about why Perian would want Brannal to find Cormal. The tall, imposing figure of his lover strode determinedly away, and Perian made his way over to Molun and Arvus. They each looped an arm through his, tucking him between them.
“Where’s Brannal gone?” Molun wanted to know.
“To find Cormal for me.”
“To find Cormal for you,” Molun repeated with exaggerated slowness. “I don’t think I understand.”
Perian laughed. “So they can do their fire thing together. Brannal said they do it every year.”
