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[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael didn't know what to say, it didn't really make sense, not to him, who had usually just dealt with the problem right then. When he thought about it for a minute, though, it made some, at least. But not getting angry, not doing anything, went completely against how Michael reacted to things, even small things like Markise. "I can do something about it," he said softly. If I can just figure out who did it...

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

He'd known this would happen. He'd known there wouldn't be any stopping Michael, and he'd given Michael all the dissuasion he could manage. I don't want you to get hurt. He didn't, but God, how could he not love Michael for wanting to defend his honor? Dare's brows knitted at Michael's words, then his hand at the back of Michael's neck tightened, drawing him close for a kiss. Thank you. He couldn't seem to say no to Michael, just to say his piece and step back. No, not step back, never step back. Dare would do what he could, even if it was only thanking him, supporting him and loving him.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael returned the kiss eagerly, hoping that it would somehow make Dare not hurt anymore. He didn't let the kiss become too intense, afraid of getting carried away and doing something to hurt Dare, but he didn't hold back the intensity of the emotions that came with it. Everything seemed like so much there with Dare, with the knowledge that people had done such a thing to his Dare.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't push the kiss either, just wanting the amazing connection, the comfort, the pleasure of being with Michael. He let the kiss flow as it wanted, and when it drew to an end, he just watched Michael, let his eyes trace the familiar brown, the dark red waves that framed his face. Dare brought one hand to Michael's, bringing them lightly around his waist so Michael didn't have to worry about touching him. "I love you, Michael," he said softly, sweeping back up to brush lightly at Michael's hair.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I love you, too, Dare," Michael said, fighting back the sadness that came over him when he opened his eyes to see the dark mark surrounding Dare's eye. It somehow pushed away the anger, at least for the moment, and he sighed softly. "Why did you go to work?" he asked, knowing it must have been torture. He was sure that Dru wouldn't have had any problems with Dare taking a day off because of everything.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's gaze dropped to Michael's lips, unable to look into his eyes when he knew how flimsy his reasons were. "I thought it'd get better," he said. And he'd thought about how much money he earned in a night, and decided it'd be worth the misery to step that much closer to those rings that Michael still couldn't know about. Part of Dare wanted to tell him, to ask him now and get it over with, but no. He wanted to do this on his own. He wanted to earn the rings himself, to surprise Michael with them. He wanted to know he could do that much.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael shook his head at that, "I wish you had come here, you didn't have to deal with that for so long." It couldn't have been comfortable, whatever money Dare earned from it wasn't worth sitting there miserable for hours. Michael refused to think in terms of if it happens again, and so refused to tell Dare to promise not to do it again. But still, some voice in the back of his mind asked him what the chances were that the guys would stop at one day.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nodded lightly, though it really hadn't occurred to him at the time. He'd been thinking of sitting somewhere and letting the boils fade the way he'd been under the impression they would. Apparently the fade had been longer than his Defensive Magical Theory book had implied. Dare didn't say anything about it happening again either. He had a strong feeling it would, and somehow didn't think it'd be the same hexes every time. He didn't know what to do about it, though. "I can't drag you around with me as an escort," he said, though it was a tempting idea. "You'd be late for your classes." Somehow he didn't think that would dissuade Michael. "And I don't think Dru would let me bring you every day..." Though if he made it through a day without injury, Michael wouldn't need to accompany him to work, would he.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael didn't know what to say to help Dare with people doing things behind his back, if he couldn't see them how could he put up a shield? The idea of following Dare around to classes was indeed very tempting, but he knew it wasn't a good idea, they would only wait, he couldn't be with Dare all the time, however much he wished he could be. "I'll show you some spells," he promised, wondering if there was anywhere he could get his hands on some kind of protection.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Thank you," Dare said again. He still didn't look forward to tomorrow, but he felt less dread now than he had when he'd left school today. "Let's get to sleep," Dare said, shifting closer to Michael despite the aches. He wasn't letting this interfere any more than it had to.