He hadn’t expected the storm to roll in.
It was a poetic thought that Silvester did not, in fact, have at first. Wandering into the wine festival because hells, he’d discovered it by pure chance when passing by so why not, he’d been two cups into a rather delicious vintage when his curly-haired ex had half-sprinted into the proceedings and beelined immediately for one particular table. This was something of a shock, considering the fact that most in their area of the city had thought Thomas Obelyn dead. Silvester had stared over as his heart raced, not quite sure how he felt, not quite sure what he’d do, when the whole situation exploded.
Not quite literally, but as the shapeshifters made themselves known with a screech and a very nasty fight broke out, it came real damn close. Silvester dived back against the railings with his body shielding a frightened onlooker and tensed against them for a few seconds, fearful it was about to end for them all, but no. When death didn’t come, and his adrenalin permitted, the young man looked back over his shoulder again. The group that had ran into the situation with Tom had thrown themselves into what proved to be a short-lived but brutal and bloody event with skill and power, and as for Tom himself… well now. Lightning bolts poured in from the sky despite the blueness of it and Tom himself was their summoner, the wind whipping around him in a much more controlled manner than he’d ever managed before back when they dated. He seemed fierce. Really fierce. Really really fierce, something like the day they’d first met, except, well, more so.
Dazed, Silvester watched his once-sweetheart plunge a dagger into the last of the shapeshifters and twist, the lightning now sparking from hands through the metal and straight into the wound. A screech filled the air, followed by a short-lived silence that only lifted once it was clear the aggressors were down.
“Fuck.” Thomas wiped blood from his head, straightened up and glanced over his shoulder at one of his companions (a slender sort with a distinctive eyepatch). “Go check she’s okay, then we gotta go. Facemaker was next on the list, right?”
“We can’t waste a second, Tommy-boy, not when it’s Facemaker!”
Sheer panic apparently overwhelmed Eyepatch’s senses; he gesticulated wildly before turning off and sprinting down the street. Silvester expected Tom to get pissy in response, but no. Instead he looked at another of what had to, Silvester supposed, be Tom’s new friends and nodded in the direction of grand house. Tom himself then immediately set off after Eyepatch in a sprint, literal wind at his heels. Oh. Silvester turned to watch him until he vanished around the corner, trying to take in every new detail, trying to work out the new ‘something’ in Tom’s aura that he’d picked up on in what had to have been less than a minute’s worth of time. A handful of seconds later the two others who’d fought jogged past as well; a strong tiefling woman with an axe and a human guy with a look that absolutely screamed ‘wizard.’ Silvester hesitated a moment before bidding farewell to the chap he’d been helping and striding off after the pair. It was okay to be curious, and besides, did Tom’s sister even know her brother was alive yet? Good enough reason, that, a justified one, to follow along.
The two of them were out of sight rather quickly, but that was fine, he knew where they were going. Better to not get there too swiftly; Silvester would rather not risk his life even if it got him another look at Tom mid-fight, sweaty and bloody and fierce, the scent of the gale on him, that extra bit of mysterious allure…
He was jogging by the time he reached Facemaker’s place, just in time to see Axe and Wizard walk out of the door.
“Woah!” Axe spotted him almost immediately, striding over purposefully and slapping a hand on his shoulder once he got drew to a stop. “You were at the wine festival, yeah? Everything good? We couldn’t really linger, murderous asshole was on the loose.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Silvester said with a smile, his tone laden with warmth. “I’d offer to buy you all drinks for the act of grand heroism, but I think I might need to avoid wine for a few days.”
“An understandable position,” replied the Wizard, finally joining the two of them. “Might I assume there is some other matter you wish to inquire about?”
“You may. I wanted to check in on Tom… thought he was dead, so it was quite a surprise to see him rush in more vividly alive than ever.”
“Oh!” Wizard brightened for a moment, despite his obvious tiredness. “You are a friend of Thomas? I am sure he will be most grateful for your presence.”
Probably not, actually, but these two didn’t need to know that yet. Silvester wanted to get a chance at an actual conversation with Tom and he had no idea how much they knew about the tumultuous love affair he and Tom had experienced, so, best not go into it until it was necessary. His fierce boy was rather guarded about much in his life, after all, but he also had a huge heart and only so much capability for holding it in until it burst. Silvester crossed his arms and made a thoughtful sound.
“It doesn’t look like any one of you could be truly grateful for anything right now,” he quipped, winking. “Been a rough one for you, huh.”
“Fucking right it has!” Axe huffed, though her smile did not slip away for a moment. “The moment we bloody stepped into Lower City we got thrown into a ‘race against time.’ Didn’t realise how ‘not fun’ those are.”
“I fear it will not be the last of those, Karlach,” said Wizard, his expression curious as he looked Silvester over. “Baldur’s Gate is a very… hectic city, is it not? Even without the current dangers casting shadow over its streets.”
“You’re right about that.” Silvester hummed thoughtfully, making a show of it. “And my beloved Tom is quite frequently in the thick of things, though I admit not usually in such a dramatic fashion as today. It’s… wonderful to see him breathing, so I won’t ask if you’re looking after him. You must be!”
“Beloved,” echoed Wizard, curiosity only deepening. “I assume you were quite close?”
“Oh yes.”
Silvester found himself smiling a little wider as certain memories sprang to mind; they’d been close to marriage when it went down. If only that overprotective friend of Tom’s hadn’t poked her nose in they probably would be wed, in fact, and Tom could have continued to be happy and unaware of things that didn’t matter if he didn’t know about them. A perfect arrangement, that, a perfect romance. If his fiery-haired and fiery-natured potential husband had gotten mad sometimes, if they’d had the occasional argument, it wouldn’t have mattered because Silvester loved the way Tom acted when he was angry and fierce. Fucking hell, just thinking about it made his heart quicken and loins grow hot! He looked from the now-frowning Wizard and confused Axe towards the entrance to Facemaker’s and pondered if maybe he should just skip the wait and go make a scene. Stir a storm. Get his sweetheart’s blood running hot and thick and wild, like Silvester had always been so good at doing…
And then he met Tom’s actual fury, their eyes connecting as the door swung open.
“Why the fuck did you follow us?” A storm did not, in fact, need to be stirred up; Tom was already filled with obvious anger as he sauntered over, though the air did not yet crackle with lightning. “Today’s already been bad enough without you trying to insert yourself into this shit.”
“Ah, so I didn’t escape your notice,” Silvester said, happy. “It’s good to see you too, sweetheart.”
“I am not your sweetheart.”
Tom’s voice dropped lower and lower as he talked, gaining that rare quiet sharpness to it that Silvester hadn’t got to hear anywhere as much as he’d like. The day they’d met, the day they’d officially split, a good handful of times directed at others along the way. Only when he’d been angered at those others had Silvester managed to get Tom into bed after and draw it out so he could hear it in his ear as they fucked; he wondered, briefly, as he stared into those beautiful flashing blues, if he might finally be able to get an exception to that today. To feel the full force of that anger directed at him, around him, best of all within him… he’d wanted it since day once. But Tom had never agreed to it.
Wizard, whose frown had grown much, much deeper, interjected himself.
“Thomas?” The guy didn’t touch Tom, but as he stepped in a touch closer his hand hovered barely an inch from Tom’s arm and his fingers flexed. “Is this the objectionable fellow you told me of?”
“Yeah, Gale,” said Tom, brows fully knitted by now and the first hint of a breeze stirring up his pretty hair. “Unfortunately for us all. Meet Silvester, my cheating asshole of an ex.”
“Cheating ex?” Axe, Karlach, whirled immediately, her voice now dangerous. “So when this dickhead said you were close…”
“Three years of letting me think he loved me, until I found out I was ‘too romantic’ and he ‘just needed a bit of rough on the side’ to keep the magic going for us.“
“I don’t think you’re being entirely accurate there, Tommy,” replied Silvester, keeping his smile pleasant and gaze focused entirely on Thomas as, taking a chance, he stepped in and pressed a hand against the dirtied armour. “When did I ever stop loving you? And all I said was I missed seeing your impassioned side quite so often….”
There was one brief moment of pure quiet, almost shock, before the outburst happened. Silvester had thought there’d be a bit more anger, yes, he’d expected that and anticipated it. But he’d also thought that the bit of Tom that had still looked at him with yearning after their break-up would flare as well. Thomas had still loved him, for all the hurt he’d nursed over his friend’s discoveries, and that level of devotion couldn’t simply go up in smoke. Not when it was Thomas. Not with that passionate, feeling and, yes, romantic heart of his. One day Silvester’s precious, pretty storm would drift back his way. He’d known it was true and only put the thought aside when the widespread assumption that the man had died reached his ear.
The living, breathing Thomas, though, reacted to the ‘loving touch’ with something akin to an explosion.
“Do NOT fucking TOUCH me!” There was nothing there but pure rage; even his earlier sharpness vanished in the inferno, Tom’s entire face turning crimson with it as he half-jumped backwards and screamed his words. “Don’t you ever even fucking THINK of touching me again!”
Silvester just stared with wide, shocked eyes at the revulsion as the wizard immediately shoved himself between them, grabbing one of Tom’s hands and replicating Silvester’s gesture against Tom’s chest as he gently walked the sorcerer backwards step by step. There were sparks running through Thomas’s skin by now but it didn’t seem to bother this ‘Gale;’ maybe it was only enough to be somewhat pleasurable. Maybe.
“He isn’t worth it, my love,” Gale murmured. “I think it time you and I returned to camp, yes? Fear not, I am sure Karlach will wait for our wayward bard.”
“Hell yeah I will.” Karlach was fixing a hard, unnerving stare on Silvester. “Go get yourself a good meal, alright?”
“Why can’t he just fuck off, though?" Tom snarled. "Why do we—”
“We don’t have to, Thomas.” Gale’s tone was quiet and gentle as he tugged Thomas away, rubbing a thumb over their joined hands. “But you deserve far better than a debate with this… reprobate. Come unburden yourself with me where he can derive no pleasure from it.”
“Gale, I…” Thomas swallowed, glaring at Silvester over Gale’s shoulder for one more long moment before closing his eyes and huffing. “Fuck, fuck, you’re right, you are…”
Still in shock, Silvester didn’t immediately raise his voice as the pair of lovers set off down the road. That didn’t mean he missed the look that Gale shot him in the process, though; it wasn’t like Thomas’s hot explosive rage. This was something quiet but extremely dangerous, oddly powerful, a warning in a glance that Silvester actually felt fearful of for a moment. It certainly shocked him out of his surprise. Turning his head, he watched them go and thought very, very hard about his sweet Tommy, his sweet, angry, dangerous Tommy, walking off hand-in-hand with someone else. Had he really moved on?
…no, surely not. Couldn’t have. It made no sense, after everything Silvester and Thomas had gone through together. Shaking off the moment of weakness, Silvester raised a smile again and went to step forward.
“Tommy, wait--”
“Listen, dickhead.” Karlach stepped into view again, blocking the way and staring down at Silvester, and he could swear, he could swear that fire was burning across her shoulders. “You just got off lightly. Don’t fucking push it.”
The instinct to try and charm her out of the way flared, but, as he stared up at Karlach’s narrowed eyes, Silvester had to fully admit his temporary defeat. Lured in by Tommy’s ferocity, he’d let his desires for his once-partner push him perhaps a little too far into bad tempers. Raising his hands, still smiling, he stepped back and started to walk off, pointedly ignoring the confused but cheerful inquiries behind him that was probably Eyepatch exiting Facemakers. Well. At least he knew Thomas was alive now, his storm more powerful than ever and a new but mysterious allure alive in those lovely eyes. This Gale, dangerous as he’d so briefly seemed, would be no competition to what had been such a powerfully passionate relationship.
There’d be another opportunity soon enough for Silvester to reclaim his beloved prize.