Another Night In (Michael/Dare)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael felt wetness on his cheeks, silent tears that were as much of a release as punching the wall had been, as the struggle with Dare had been. It helped ease the pain in his chest, though it did nothing for the hurt that was all in his emotions. He accepted Dare's hand, barely noticing the pain in his knuckles when he curled his fingers, not realizing that they were bleeding slightly, only aware of the dull ache that he was sure would remain for weeks.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare felt immeasurable relief at the small motion of Michael's hand. He stood for some minutes, just absorbing the slight release of tension, then lifted his head slightly, turning to press a light kiss to Michael's neck. When he glanced up, his gaze caught on those tears, and his heart ached for Michael all over again. Dare's other hand rose and settled lightly against Michael's jaw, then guided his face just far enough to offer another kiss. I'm here for you.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael couldn't do anything but return the kiss, even if all he wanted to do was collapse in a corner cry like a child. He brought their hands up to his stomach, bringing his other up to wrap around Dare's. Just the familiar feel of the kiss was enough to make everything seem a little less harsh, the feel of Dare around him was as much comfort as he could hope to get. He wished he hadn't left his sketchbook in the dorm, though he had been so preoccupied the day before that it was only to be expected that he would have forgotten.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare knew that the kiss wouldn't grow, wouldn't heat, but he didn't mean it to. It was meant as comfort, meant as an expression of the softer emotions that nothing could push away. That first thread of their friendship that had led to that first kiss, and every thread that had joined to strengthen what was between them. As much as Dare might get lost in a dizzying kiss or exploring Michael's body, this was the ground beneath them, the air around them. It was emotional, but not intense, just lightly rolling pleasure to draw Michael back toward the good in life.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael was taken with the emotions of the kiss, and it made his mind spin with questions. How in the world could something as amazing as what they had be seen as vile by those guys? How could they justify doing the things they had done, why did they think they had the right to judge? Michael squeezed his eyes shut against more tears that threatened to come and slowly broke the kiss. "I'm sorry," he said softly, his mind reliving how he had pulled away the first time, and he was starting to feel a thread of guilt try to work its way into his mind because of how he had acted.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Don't be sorry," Dare said, just as softly as Michael. He adjusted his arms a bit around Michael, tightening them slightly in the process, and pressed a light kiss to Michael's forehead. "There's nothing that's going to stop me from loving you, Michael. It's you and me against the world. Except Emilian and Adara. And Silver. And Dru." A short list, but still, it was a start. Dare leaned his head lightly against Michael's, taking a few more deep breaths and trying to keep himself level.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael closed his eyes tightly and gave a shaky sigh, that was a very small army to go against the world with. He couldn't think of anything to say, so he just focused on not letting anymore frustrated tears fall, or angry ones, or pained ones. He wasn't a crier, and he hated doing it because when he did it always took him much too long to be able to completely stop. "I love you," he said in place of apologizing again, tilting his head up to kiss Dare's jaw lightly.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I love you, too," Dare murmured. He nuzzled lightly against Michael, then looked at him, hoping to catch his eyes. "I'll go with you to your dorm next time," he said. "And you can come with me to mine, if you want. We'll do like, the buddy system." Dare was entirely serious, despite the casual way he'd made the offer. Michael had been harassed the first time and victimized the second, so Dare didn't want to take any chances. He was suddenly grateful that his own dorm-mates seemed to be viewing the whole thing as a spiteful game.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael met Dare's eyes momentarily then looked away, shaking his head, "No, you're not going to my dorm." He didn't want Dare going near the Slytherin common room, much less the actual dorms. He knew how the guys could be and he didn't want to even think about what they would do if they saw him and Dare there. Though usually the dorm, common room, and dungeon in general were empty, he didn't want to take the chance.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare looked at Michael, biting his tongue against an argument. He knew how cruel they could be now, and if he could just go support Michael... But no, what would he do? He could barely hold a proper shield if someone started throwing hexes. He'd be in the way more than anything. Dare dropped his gaze to the floor, then nodded. "All right," he said. "But you've got to promise me if you hex someone, it's self defense." He didn't want Michael hunting anyone down, but if he ran across them... it was Dare's subtle way of saying to do what needed done, but to be careful about it. He knew he couldn't control Michael, but he could try just this much.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael licked his lips and looked away from Dare, tensing slightly. "Isn't it all self defense?" he asked softly. He had the feeling that if he made that promise, he would break it all too easily which would leave him feeling even worse. Besides, it was a war now, wasn't it? A war about love, and isn't all fair in both war and love? And attacking the enemy before they could attack him, it was self defense, in a way.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare knew where Michael was taking this, and he wanted to say no, wanted to tell Michael that he shouldn't hex anyone, no matter what, that he should run and find Dare so they could hide together. But he couldn't do it. It wasn't what he'd meant. Those people deserved to know they couldn't make Michael's life hell without some sort of consequence. "I just don't want you... going after them," he said, drawing his gaze back to the part of Michael's profile that he could see. "Other than that..." Dare dropped his gaze again. "They've already thrown the first punch."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael nodded and looked back up at Dare. He released his hand and turned in Dare's arms, putting his own lightly around Dare's waist. "I won't go after them," he promised, the one thing he could promise. "Be proud of me," he said softly, "I didn't destroy a single thing earlier. Though they're not going to be too happy to see their red and gold beds." He met Dare's eyes for a moment before nuzzling into the crook of his neck and sighing.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare chuckled, though his heart ached for Michael at his words. "I'm very proud of you," he said. His arms smoothed around Michael again, adjusting comfortably at Michael's shoulders. One hand rose to sift through Michael's hair and he closed his eyes against all the emotion washing through him. "Maybe I should've done that to the Gryffindors with Slytherin colors," he said. "They seem to like the idea of redecorating." They'd only been able to do so much, though. His trunk had plenty of protective spells on it, courtesy of his dad.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael felt momentarily ashamed that he hadn't asked if anything had happened to Dare, though Dare had seemed fine when he had came in. He raised his head and looked at Dare, "What did they do?" he asked, his eyebrows creasing in worry. It must not have been too bad, or Michael would have picked up on it before, though maybe he wouldn't have, not with how angry he had been.