The Mirror of Erised (Dare/Michael)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Yes," Michael answered, nodding and letting the subject die as he reached for the drinks. He hadn't even intended on bringing Anna up, he would have been perfectly happy pretending it didn't matter at all that she was there, it was so much easier to convince himself she was just another student. Well, at least Dare hadn't brought up the whole issue of how he had felt about Anna. "You can tell her to just act normal." Since apparently Dare and Anna were talking.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I'm not telling her anything for you," Dare said. "She didn't want to talk about you either, she just mentioned it." And he knew it was more of a mess than either of them would admit to, but there wasn't anything he could do. He'd tried playing fix-it between Michael and Markise, and that had been a massive failure. He wasn't doing it again. He'd said his piece, and he was bowing out of it, if he was allowed to. Dare offered Michael one of the sandwiches he'd brought and set down a container of carrot sticks between them, then declared himself finished talking with a large bite.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael took the sandwich and accepted the silence. He didn't want to keep talking about it, but he wasn't sure what else to say. Asking about Dare's day had only led to that wreck of a conversation. He focused his eyes on the sandwich, though his mind was elsewhere. Maybe this class thing was going to be harder than he thought it was going to be.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare ate silently. The morning's attempt to bring something humorous for them to eat had been a failure, but he said nothing. He'd said enough already, and though he didn't regret it, he didn't feel like attempting any kind of joke to ease the tension. It bothered him, though. This was their first day back together, their first lunch together at school in over a year, and they were already stressing out.

When he'd finished, he stood up and watched the water a moment before pulling his shirt off over his head. "I'm going for a swim," he announced. The air was still warm enough he figured he'd survive. He tossed his shirt aside and kicked off his shoes.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael almost didn't reply, until he remembered a key part of Dare's wardrobe. "I hope you plan on keeping your pants on, unless you want to chance giving a student an eyeful of their professor," he said, raising an eyebrow up at Dare. He liked going out into the water with Dare as much as Dare did, but he wasn't quite willing to go and chance a student finding them.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had certainly been thinking about it, and he continued doing so as he unbuckled his belt, then took off his watch and wristwarmer. It was probably a bad idea, but wet jeans were miserable, and though he could dry them off with his wand when he got out, they'd make it hard to swim. He approached the water and stopped, then took a long, critical look around. There was no one coming down the path, no one in sight anywhere but Michael. He glanced back and grinned, then shimmied free of his jeans, tossing them onto a rock near the water. He ran in and ducked under, then came up and started a lazy breaststroke.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael couldn't help smiling at Dare, though he shook his head all the same. The chances of someone coming up weren't really huge, but it wasn't guaranteed that no one would, either. Besides, he had to grin at the thought of Dare finishing out the day with curls, unless Dare really intended to take the time to straighten his hair before going back. "Am I supposed to come in after?" he called, not entirely certain he wanted to follow Dare into the water.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare stopped at the sound of Michael's voice, then turned and treaded water to look at him. "Only if you want to live a little," he called back. He reached up to push his now-soaked fringe back and grinned, then taunted, "Old man!" He ducked back underwater again, determined to have fun, and to make the most of what he had left of his youth.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

The tease brought another smile, however much Michael hated thinking about his next birthday. He debated for another moment before he shook his head and decided to head out after Dare, though there was no way he would even consider being as brave, or was it reckless? as Dare was being. It only took a couple of minutes before there was a splash and he joined Dare in the water.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare heard the disturbance in the water and surfaced, then grinned to find he wasn't alone in the water anymore. He headed toward Michael to meet him halfway, debating the wisdom in pulling him under or splashing him, or a hundred different things that could end up making enough noise to draw attention. He didn't particularly care. Maybe he was reckless, but it felt like his time to be reckless was drawing toward a close. "Now all we need is for some 6th years to come and evanesco our clothes," he teased.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael groaned softly at the thought as he came up to Dare. "I hope not." He turned in the water to look back at the shore, though it was unlikely that anything would actually happen. What would they do if it did happen? He really needed to stop thinking like that. But it was hard not to. "They'll be okay," he said, more to assure himself than anything else, then turned back to Dare.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had drawn closer while Michael was distracted and, while he had the chance, stole a kiss. For now, he was in heaven, away from the stress of reality and the future. He just wanted to enjoy himself. He didn't take it any further, but pulled back again, smiling crookedly. "I'm glad you came," he said.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael shrugged. "Well, I could stay on the shore and think about my gorgeous husband, or I could come out and be with him. I figured it was an obvious choice." His lips spread into a grin and he let himself float off in the water. The previous conversation was behind them, what little conversation it had been.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare watched Michael, only glancing to shore before he followed. He might dare to get in the water without his clothes, but floating was an entirely different deal. He didn't have the cover Michael had. "I love you," he said, his smile hovering and refusing to fade.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's smile softened, "I love you, too." It was nice to be outside and in the water, with the sun bright and the clouds clean white against the blue sky, when it would be impossible so soon. "We should bring Elouai again," he said, in place of any thoughts he might have had about the possibility of coming to the lake with kids, though it did bring his mind back to talking with Eros. What was Dare waiting for?