Silver Eyes

A/N: I am very sorry for the wait with this. As I have mentioned previously, I am not at all happy with this story. After much debate, I have decided that I will finish the last few chapters (there are only 2 or 3 left) and then do the rewrite - this way I can take my time and make the story hopefully much better than it is. When the re-write is done, it will probably be twice as long as it is now, and flow much better. The basic plot will remain the same, however. For now, please enjoy the long-delayed next chapter. I will try to be more timely with the next. Suggestions for the re-write are welcome.

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Kelian breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the family disappear into the caves. Another successful mission – barely – and there was also the added bonus of having those annoying girls finally away from him. Although now he didn't have any excuse to be in his lion form with Rian on his back, but he'd take the bad with the good.

"So, back home?"

The Were nodded, stretching. "Yea, we're already running a few days late. I'd like to get back before Asahi and Alaex; they'll probably be back within the week, unless Alaex is following a lead. I want to find out what's going on in the capital." And you should figure out who you want before they get back.

With all of the excitement of the first half of their trip, and the two annoyances plus being in his lion form on the second half, Kel hadn't had time to decide whether or not to say something to Rian or Asahi. Now he was left with two days to figure out what to say. The smartest thing to do would probably be to keep out of it altogether, since it wasn't really his business, but he couldn't help it. He needed Rian to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

"I do too; I hope they didn't run into trouble."

"It's doubtful; Alaex has been doing this for a couple years now, he knows what he's doing."
Rian smiled, and Kel couldn't help the answering smile. "I'm sure you're right, Kel, I'm just can't help worrying. Asahi was my first real friend, and if anything happened to him, well, I couldn't help but feel it was my fault."

Friend? "Friend?" Oops, that wasn't supposed to be out loud. He really hadn't wanted to bring this up until they were nearly back.

"Yes, friend. Why?" Rian looked honestly confused, and Kelian felt like an idiot.

"Well, you two have Naia...I just thought that, well....you two were together?" Kel could feel the heat rising on his face, and he really wished he could just sink into the ground at this point. He felt like an embarrassed teen on his first date – which was odd because he had never been that.

Rian blushed a bit, but shook his head. "No...I'll admit he's really good looking, but he's always treated me more like a little brother, and I while I did have a little crush on him, it wasn't well, real?"

Kelian's embarrassment was pushed aside for the moment as he tried to understand that last statement. "How can a crush not be real?"

The Fae sighed and shook his head. "It wasn't real because I realized it wasn't really him I liked - I realized that my feelings for him were just my wish to have someone; and more importantly, to have a family. It's kind of sad, I know, but well..." The dark haired man trailed off, ending in a self-deprecating shrug.

The Were wondered how he could have so amazingly screwed this whole thing up. "Gods, I'm sorry Rian. I thought...heh, well, I thought you were with Asahi, and then when I saw you kiss Val...."

Val, the other Fae who had only gotten a chance at Rian because Kel decided to do the 'proper' thing and back off. If he had just told Rian his feelings at the beginning, if he had just told him...

Rian's eyebrows shot up. "Is rhat why you were so mad at me?"

And the embarrassment was back. He felt like a teenager who couldn't keep their hormones in check. "Maybe?" He ran his hand through his hair, staring at the trees as they passed. Kel couldn't bring himself to look at the other man right now. "I didn't think you were the type to cheat, but the way you two are with Naia, well, I jumped to conclusions. I'm really sorry."

"You do realize she calls me 'Uncle' don't you?"

Kel shrugged. "That could just be so it's easier for her to distinguish between you?"

Rian laughed, and Kelian was happy to know that the other man hadn't stayed mad at him jumping to the wrong conclusions.

"I suppose you have a point. But no, regardless of him blushing when Alaex looks at him, he is straight, and I've gotten over it anyway. I wouldn't do something like that to Asahi or Valan."

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that." At Rian's confused look, he just shrugged. "I don't like misjudging people that badly, and I didn't like to think of either of them hurt."

They lapsed into silence and Kel was left to his thoughts. He really had royally screwed things up. Knowing Rian, the other man wouldn't be upset with him, which he was grateful for, but he had also missed his chance. It was no surprise that the sheltered man wouldn't know how to respond to his flirting, or even realized if he was flirting; and even if he did, there was no reason that he should have taken it seriously. After all, as anyone who knew him would readily say, he flirted with anything that moved.

Well, now would be the time to change that. Kelian wouldn't have seriously pursued Rian if he had been in a serious relationship with Asahi, but it was obvious that he and Valan were only starting out, so in Kel's mind that was fair game. He would stop flirting with anyone else, and focus his attentions on wooing the Fae. Kel would just need to make sure that he was obvious enough without being over the top.

If, in the end, Rian still chose to be with the other Fae, Kelian would – grudgingly – accept it and let the two be happy. But he was going to do his best to ensure that Rian was happy with him, instead.

The afternoon passed uneventfully, but Kelian was happy that they were back to the casual conversation they had enjoyed before this irritating and stressful trip.

Kelian's new plan of action went into play when they camped for the night. While Rian settled the horses, Kel set everything up as quickly as he could, using the bit of magic he had mastered over the years to do everything quicker.

He wouldn't be able to make a decent dinner with the supplies they had but he could at least do all of the work. Rian looked confused for a minute as he sat down next to the brightly burning campfire. He looked at it and then at Kel.

"Magic?"

The Were shrugged. "It was either that or green wood – I figured a tiny bit of magic would be less obvious than a smoky fire. At least for the people we're hiding from." He pulled their dinner off the fire and handed Rian's portion to him. He had taken a whole deer down a day out of the town, and the meat from that kill had lasted the entire journey, even with having to feed a family. They had sent some of the meat Rian had cured the previous night, as well as the remaining trail rations with them for their journey through the mountains.

"Thanks Kel. I could have helped though."

"Don't worry about it. I like feeling needed." Okay, so maybe this whole 'courting' thing was harder than it appeared. 'I like feeling needed'? He started eating, not glancing at his companion. They finished eating in silence, and Kelian snuffed out the fire manually while Rian took out the bed rolls. Well, he'd just have to try again the next day.

The following day saw them up and on the road at dawn. This would be the last full day before they returned home, and Kelian was determined to make Rian like him. Or at the least want to give him a chance over Valan.

For the whole day, he remained unerringly polite, and tried to fine reasons to touch him; nothing overt, just small little motions, brushing hands while setting up camp, touching his shoulder to get his attention. However, his plan didn't go nearly as well as he thought it would. Rian started give him weird looks, and by the end of the day he looked concerned and a little creeped out.

Dinner was another silent affair. Kel had tried to keep chatting all day, but the uncomfortable feeling between them had just grown, and he couldn't bring himself to force another stilted conversation.

They cleaned up and Rian approached him cautiously. "Kel...are you feeling okay?"

Kelian sighed. He tried to be all gentlemanly and Rian just thought he was ill. That was a great plan. He would have to ask Alaex for advice when they got back, and hope that he could be quicker than Val.

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D'rian glanced over at his companion. Ever since their talk two days ago, the Were had been acting incredibly strange. He liked Kel's cheerful, flirty nature; the man was usually a lot of fun to be around, and this 'new' behaviour was definitely not normal.

The only thing he could think of was that he was either embarrassed or mad at something he had said. After the Fae had clarified that he wasn't, and never would be, in a relationship with Asahi, the Were had turned very cool and polite towards him. It reminded him of the way the nobles acted towards each other when they were forced to be polite to someone they didn't like. At this point, he couldn't wait to get back to the base and have this whole trip over with.

It was a shame, too, because he had really been looking forward to it. While he was very glad they had been able to save that family, he had selfishly been looking forward to having Kelian nearly all to himself for the duration. The reality didn't nearly live up to the expectations. It was even worse that he still couldn't help feeling attracted to the other man.

But D'rian had learned his lesson – he wasn't going to sit around and pine over the Were, not when Valan had showed that he returned his feelings. His own feelings weren't as strong where the other Fae was concerned, but it was safe, and Val was a sweet, considerate man. He didn't think he would regret a relationship with him, even if he was disappointed about Kelian.

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The Fae was glad to see the door to the base up ahead, and the doors started to swing open when the two approached. A couple people came to take the horses back to the stables, and left the two standing awkwardly in the room.

Kelian broke the silence, finally, clearing his throat nervously. "Rian...would you..." His question was broken off when they heard someone yelling the Fae's name.

Valan strode into the room, looking slightly out of breath. "Hey, I heard that you had gotten back! How'd it go?"

D'rian couldn't help smiling at the other Fae. "Well, it didn't go exactly to plan, but it worked out in the end. It's a good thing I didn't try doing it by myself though; if Kel hadn't been there I don't know what I would have done."

The Fae waved his hand dismissively. "I'm sure you would have figured something out. Still, I'm glad everything worked out. So, do you have anything do to now or are you free? I know the girls have missed you."

He turned back to the Were, who looked annoyed at the interruption. "Is there anything we need to do now?"

Sighing, Kelian shook his head. "No, it's alright. I'll get everything written down. You can go see Naia." He didn't wait for a response, heading towards his office.

Once the two Fae were alone, Val's smile turned hesitant. "Um, about last week...I know you probably didn't have time to think about it, but I was wondering...would you want to go out with me some time? I mean, I know we can't properly go out anywhere, but..."

D'rian couldn't help laughing at the Fae's rambling. It was adorable how nervous the other man was. "Yes, I would like that, very much."

"Great! Um, well, Naia really did miss you, so we can go see her now, and then maybe dinner later?"

"Sounds perfect. Was she okay for you while I was gone?"

Val nodded, still smiling as he led the way towards his rooms. "Oh yes, she was a perfect angel. Asahi got back two days ago, but he seems really distracted by something, so she's still been spending most of the day with us anyway."

"Asahi and Alaex are back? That's good; I guess everything went okay with them as well."

"Well, they made it back okay, but I don't think everything is going okay in the capital. I asked Asahi about it when he came to get Naia, and he just muttered something about a change of plans and wouldn't speak on it any further. He didn't sound too happy though. "

D'rian frowned, not liking the sound of that. Still, if Asahi had been disappearing during the day, he'd enjoy the day with Val, and worry about it when he saw the Knight later on. If it was anything urgent, they would certainly be able to find him.

Naia was obviously thrilled to see him and jumped into his arms chanting 'Uncle Rian'. She then proceeded to talk his ear off about everything that had happened in the week he was gone. Laughing at her stories, he was glad that she was finally in a more or less stable environment where she could get over her trauma. The fact that she was talking so freely made him very happy. Even if she did insist on reciting each and every thing that she had done.

Dinner was just a trip to the community dining hall, but D'rian still enjoyed it, and the fact that Val was just as good a storyteller when the kids weren't around. They spoke for hours, until D'rian couldn't stop yawning and the older man finally sent him back to his own rooms.

tbc...