Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Vouwp! Poof! Rythian popped into existence in the Newest World.
A slight shiver passed through his body as the fresh cold air surrounded him. His shape vibrated slightly and then formed into a tall black creature with violent purple eyes. He wore a backpack and a sword belt that held a vibrant black and violet rapier.

He had appeared in a small clearing next to a pond named Paul and a large red cottage. The gentle rattle and meow of a train of cats sounded out in the night air, accompanied by the bubble and pop of kettle, cauldron and crucible. All was peaceful; that is, it was until someone ran a sword through his stomach.

He looked down in surprise at seeing a deep gray steel sword protruding through his middle. He gurgled slightly and then wobbled around to face his attacker before falling down onto his back and screaming as the sword was pushed deeper into him. He blacked out.

Lomadia was woken by the sound of something teleporting outside her base.

“Bloody Endermen, when will they learn that any one of them who comes near here is going to die!” she snarled, grabbing her sword and pulling on her armour. Nilsey rolled over in his sleep on the other side of the room, briefly muttering something about cats, fish and apples before continuing to snore gently.

The witch opened the door and stealthily crept up behind the tall black creature that was stood right on top of her carrots! Of all places why there!

She quickly plunged her sword through the apparent enderman’s body with a sickening shick but before she could pull it out again it turned around towards her and it was wrenched from her grip. Unarmed she watched as the great creature gurgled slightly before falling backwards into the ground, driving the sword further into its body. As it screamed a black mist rose up around it’s body and started pulling at its flesh. When the mist cleared Lomadia saw the true form of the creature she had attempted to kill.

Rythian lay on his back with a sword sticking out of his stomach, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his skin pale and a large blood stain was growing around the wound.

“Nilsey!” Came the shout that roused the cat lover from his sleep. Stumbling around his bed he tripped over Mr. Cat and Fishbone before pulling on his own armour and racing out to see what was going on.

As he exited the cottage he noticed the figure lying on the carrot and potato patch, sword sticking out of his chest, blood pooling out around him and dripping into Paul.

“Lom! What the Hell did you do! Don’t you know that stabbing someone through the stomach is never good?” He reached Lomadia and the unconscious Rythian and cursed. “Aww hell. He’s going to hunt you down when we get him conscious. Remember the grudge he held against Lalana?"

“Yeah well it’s Lalna that’s gonna help him. Go rouse him from whatever deep sleep he’s in. He’s the only one with the medical knowledge to fix this guy up.

“Well if you hadn’t run him through with a sword in the first place we wouldn’t need to ask Rythian’s arch enemy for help fixing him up!” Grumbled Nilsey as he flew off towards Panda Labs.

Lalna was sitting in the Thaumcraft basement when there came a knock at the main entrance. He shot up the elevators and opened the door to see Nilsey standing there. The man was pale as a sheet and breathing heavily as if he had just run the Minecraftia Marathon.

“LomranRythianthroughwithaswordneedhelpnow!”The Scottish man half shouted at Lalna before awkwardly hopping back on his broom and flying off back towards the Evicted cottage.

Lalna gathered together a bunch of medical supplies and left a note on the fridge to tell Kim where he went before popping a portal on the wall and flying off after Nilsey with the use of his hang glider and jetpack.

Back at the Evicted base, Lomadia had managed to roll Rythian on to his front and pull the sword out of him. Even though he looked really tall and thin, the man was very heavy and it had taken a lot of effort to roll him over. Fortunately he was unconscious, otherwise he would have been screaming in pain. It took very little to slide the sword out of him though which was good.

When Nilsey and Lalna got there, they heaved him through a portal to Panda Labs and set him down on Lalna’s bed. His wounds were stitched up and he was given some painkillers. Kim and Lomadia went downstairs and brewed up five cups of tea, one in preparation for when Rythian woke up.

Once that was done the four conscious people sat down around the kitchen table and listened as Lomadia recounted just how she had managed to run Rythian through with a sword. Eventually, after two more cups of tea and a slice of cake, the Evicted team departed, promising to come and visit when the Endermage awoke.

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When he finally awoke, the first thing Rythian became aware of was a stinging pain in his stomach, the feeling of soft cushions under his head and the scent of lemons and machine oil.
He opened his eyes a crack and flinched as the bright sunlight permeated his eyes, shutting them tightly again. As he got accustomed to the light he cautiously opened his eyes and looked around the room he was in. To his right was another bed with a ruby tool rack above it and, across from that, a pair of statues standing on top of each other. As he turned his head to the left his eyes widened in surprise and he couldn’t help but giggle to see a blonde haired scientist sitting in a chair, trademark black and green goggles pushed up on his forehead, hair sticking up all over the place and sleeping peacefully, looking terribly cute. Wait, cute? Definitely not cute!

Carefully the mage uncovered his chest to see the bandages that were wrapped around him. He groaned and fell back gently to the pillows, resting his head upon them. It seemed like he was going to be stuck there for a while. He put his hand up to his face and felt for the scarf that had covered the lower part of his face. Finding it there comforted him.
Taking his time he studied the face of his once rival turned doctor. “Who would have thought,” he mused to himself. “That my arch nemesis would one day be caring for my wounds and have the decency to not peek.”

“He has more common decency than the rest of us, that’s for sure. We all wanted to see but he wouldn’t let us.”

Rythian jumped at the voice, turning his head to see a young woman standing just behind the brown couch directly opposite him. She had shoulder length black and purple hair, one seemingly glass eye and wore a red kimono patterned with gold embroidery and butterfly shaped buttons.

“He really was obsessed with you, you know? He would spend days and nights up in his tower, just trying to figure out what was under that scarf of yours, but when the day came that he could actually have looked, he simply stroked your hair and told us you would show us when you were ready.”

“Nano?” the woman smiled and nodded. “You’ve grown into a fine young lady! But what’s with the, err....” he indicated the purple splotches on her hair and the glassy crystalline eye.

“An accident in the old world. Fell into the flux sphere back at the castle. Remember that thing? We blew it to kingdom come earlier this week. Ha ha, you should have seen it. Me and Lalna were killed several times.” She winced at the memory. Death, while not permanent there in the Mincraftian society, could be highly uncomfortable and sometimes very painful. “But enough about me, what about you? What have you been doing these past few years? I know you’re not confined by the borders of reality but you must have done something!

Rythian chuckled and raised his hand, moving to stroke Lalna’s sleeping form. “All in good time my dear, all in good time.” Nano pouted but accepted his answer, for she knew she had very little choice in the matter. Rythian ran his fingers through the scientist’s hair and watched the man who had once been his enemy slumber on. He heard Nano sigh. “I’m going to get a cup of tea. Do you want one?”
“I seem to remember you being quite the disaster in the kitchen.” He paused. “But if you think you’re up to making my overly complicated tea recipe then go ahead.

“Don’t bother Nano.” A third voice came from the man who had previously been sleeping in the chair. Lalna had spent a few minutes listening to the conversation with his eyes closed when he had felt the gentle touch of the endermage’s hand running through his hair. He had almost purred with pleasure when he felt it. “Rythian’s overtly complicated tea recipe is one that only I and he managed to get right. It requires a quick hand and three different kettles and four teabags. Fortunately I managed to simplify it down to one teabag and an electric kettle.” Rythian smiled at this. “Of course you would. You needed to make sure you had a contingency plan in case I popped by unannounced.”

“Unfortunately I ran out of those special teabags years ago.” continued Lalna. “Mind you, we should have all the ingredients in the garden. What was it now, mandrake root, ender pearl dust, pollen from a water lily and miner’s dream. Am I right Rythian?”

“It was snowbell root actually, not mandrake root.” Nano sighed in relief, remembering the first time she had tried to harvest a mandrake. Suffice it to say it had been a disaster. “But I think I will settle with a simple Earl Gray for now my dear. I’m quite parched.” Nano nodded and walked downstairs to the kitchen.
“How long?” Rythian addressed Lalna fearing his response would number in years.

“Two days and several healing potions and you should be back on your feet.” Now it was Lalna’s turn to pause. “Rythian, about what happened in the last world, do you think we could still be friends?
Rythian tensed. He remembered the smoke and the fire, the explosion that tore his stronghold to shreds, Zoeya, who had foolhardily tried to disarm the device and how it, in turn had dis-armed her on one side. How he had gone to Lalna himself, not for revenge but because he was the only man with the medical knowledge to help his apprentice. How both of them had made a new arm for her, created by science but infused with magic. He remembered how, when she had finally come too, she had told him that she couldn’t do it anymore. He remembered how she had packed her bags, said one final farewell to him and set off to the stars from whence she had come. And during that time Lalna had been there, watching. Not directly but from a distance.

Lalna looked at him now, waiting for an answer. Finally Rythian sighed. “Yes, I think we can be friends. But just to be clear, as soon as I’m able to walk, I’m getting out of this bed.” Lalna cracked a grin. “Sure. I would like to sleep somewhere other than this chair soon.

Rythian lent back on his pillows as Lalna walked over to the stairs and smiled when he heard him shreik something about getting water everywhere, followed swiftly by Nano's apologetic cursing. Lalna popped his head up the stairs ten minutes later but by then Rythian had started dozing again.

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Lalna walked back downstairs and sat at the table, waiting patiently for the shock to set in. He'd seen and done his fair share of deeds, both good and evil, but he had never expected his old arch enemy (and slight obsession), turn up on his doorstep to be stitched and bandaged. Back in the old world he might have given anything just to cut through Rythian's smooth tanned flesh and open him up to see what made him tick, he would have threatened kings and queens just to take a peek under that silk purple scarf and he would have assassinated lords for the chance to observe the endermage, however now that he had the chance he found himself keeping those secrets that he had wanted for so long hidden away.

Lalna didn't know why but every time he looked at Rythian he got a light, happy, bubbly feeling in his stomach, although when he had seen the endermage's tanned chest muscles that feeling had gone from light and bubbly to hot and arousing and he had no idea why.

He sat in his chair and pondered on these thoughts before he heard the loud screeching followed by a quiet swish and a thump, then silence. He peeked his head out of the front door in time to see Nano stuffing the remains of a mandrake into a large carrying case with legs. Rincewind, the luggage seemed to be having the time of his life dancing around on the fences while The Bursar got stuffed full of plants and seeds. The absurdity and comicality of the situation finally got to Lalna as he watched Nano jumping up and down on the Bursar's lid, trying to fit everything in. He collapsed in the doorway shaking with suppressed laughter.

Nano finally noticed Lalna in the doorway and climbed of The Bursar, quickly digitizing him and his companion, storing them in her inventory for safe keeping.

Over the next two days Nano worked in the gardens, Lalna tinkered with his Thaumcraft altar and Rythian lay in bed reading through Lalna's extensive library. On the Third day, when Rythian was finally able to walk again, he and Lalna discovered, much to both their embarrassment, that Rythian had no clean clothing of his own, which meant that he had to borrow some of Lalna's clothing. Since Lalna had a broader frame but was shorter, his T-shirts were slightly short on Rythian so every time he stood up straight, Lalna would blush like a robin's chest in mating season at the sight of the thin sliver of tanned skin that would show as the T-shirt lifted up. Eventually, and much to their relief, Lalna managed to recover Rythian's knapsack, which contained his spare clothing.

On the fourth day Nilesy and Lomadia came by to see him. Lomadia apologized profusely for running him through with a sword, casually explaining why she hated endermen. Rythian, on his part, listened intently and then, much to everyone’s surprise, accepted her apology with a hug.

In the evening both Rythian and Lalna were sitting on the front porch, each with a cup of tea in hand, watching Nano, Lomadia and Nilsey bicker away about which plants should go where in the garden. Lalna felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and looked down to see Rythian leaning against him sleepily. Gently he took Rythian’s cup from his hand before it tipped over and allowed the endermage to rest his head on his shoulder. After he had fallen asleep, Lalna picked Rythian up and carried him upstairs, laying him down on the bed before walking out of the room. Before he could leave though, he heard a whisper. “Don’t go?”

Lalna chuckled lightly and returned to the bed, snuggling up to Rythian. “I thought you didn’t like me” Rythian stared at him sleepily and then stated “You’re warm and cuddly.”

Both men chuckled and cuddled together under the covers until they both fell asleep. Lalna stayed awake a bit longer though, simply staring at his former arch enemy turned friend. He wondered as he drifted off to sleep. Was he in love?

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Rythian woke to find the scent of lemons and machine oil close to him once again. He snuggled into whatever soft and warm thing was in front of him and promptly fell asleep again.
Lalna heard the endermage rustle the covers behind him, then felt Rythian’s face against the back of his neck. He smiled contentedly as his friend’s arms wrapped around his waist. He pondered the term as he lay there, wondering if it even applied to them anymore. Were they friends? Frienemies? Friends-with-benefits? Lovers?

Lalna blushed at that last thought, his mind straying to when Rythian had knelt down in the garden the day before, and somehow the trousers he wore just made his ass look even… Lalna got his train of thought interrupted by the painful erection that was imprisoned within his jeans. Pulling the covers off and gently removing Rythian’s arms from around him, he sneaked down to his Thaumcraft basement. Off to one side there was a hidden door that lead to a small sleeping chamber. Nano hadn’t known that he had it there, which was why she hardly ever saw him sleep. Pushing the door closed behind him but not locking it, he sat down on the wide bed. Palming himself through his trousers, he moaned as he felt the warmth of his hand flood to his clothed cock.

***
5 Minutes Earlier
***

Rythian felt his scientist shift in the bed. Half opening his eyes, he watched as Lalna stumbled across the room and down the stairs. Just before he disappeared from view Rythian noticed the straining bulge in the front of the scientist’s jeans. He was suddenly brought to an already foregone conclusion. Lalna had a boner!

Rythian sat bolt upright and quickly got out of bed, not bothering to grab a pair of trousers. Following Lalna down to the basement in his underwear may not have been the best idea, but Rythian really wanted to see what he was going to do. Seeing the scientist go through the hidden door, Rythian stuck his hand in it and kept it from closing completely. Peeking in through the crack, he saw Lalna palming himself. That sight alone was enough to give the mage an erection, but that didn’t mean he was going to stop watching, oh no.

Lalna uttered another moan and took it upon himself to relive some of the tension in his body. Pulling down the zipper on his jeans, he popped the button and let them fall to the ground. Leaning back on the bed, he palmed himself through his purple boxers, before grabbing a bottle of lube from the nightstand.

Rythian stared as his love interest pulled off his boxers to reveal eight inches of pure lust and sexual desire. He grabbed his own member without even realizing it. Lalna coated his shaft in lube before gently stroking himself, groaning in pleasure. It had been so long, and the constant, unintentional teasing by Rythian hadn’t made it any easier to cope with.

Rythian started pumping his own cock as Lalna relived himself of the tension. Watching Lalna brought unbidden and dangerous thoughts to his mind. He wanted to go in there, to touch the scientist, to feel his hot, pulsing erection in his hand, to take him in his mouth and suck him.

Lalna felt himself tense, finally climaxing. As he did so he moaned out the mage’s name in short, heated breaths. Rythian came just hearing that. Quickly he tiptoed back up to the main bedroom, sliding under the covers, his mind reeling from the events that had just taken place. He felt through his boxers to find the wet patch that had been left by his cum and quickly used some tissues to wipe himself clean.

Hearing the scientist clattering around in the kitchen below, he smiled and fell asleep, his former exertions having tired him out, having not healed completely from his wounds.

Chapter Text

Nano was, for want of a better word, confused. Here was a man who, in the past few days had gone from being the life and soul of the party, to the quietest, most unresponsive piece of rock in the universe, and then some. It had been days since Lalna had spoken a full sentence. He'd locked himself in his Thaumcraft basement to tinker, rarely came out for food and when he did, limited his phrases to hellos and good nights He also seemed to be wearing his goggles a lot more. But she knew that he wasn't avoiding her. At least, she thought she did.

On the other hand, Rythian had become frustrated. Just when he thought they were getting along, the bastard scientist had decided to lock himself away in his basement, avoiding him at all costs. The other day, the mage had entered the kitchen just in time to see the tails of Lalna's lab coat vanish into the elevator. It was as if the man had the ability to foresee when Rythian was about to enter a room he was in, and quickly make an exit. It was infuriating. After that night a few days ago, it was like everything had gone back to the way it was, only reversed. Now Lalna was the moody, broody one and Rythian was the curious one. 

Admittedly, Rythian's thoughts on foresight weren't too far off the truth. In his attempts at avoiding the ender mage, Lalna had rigged his goggles with a special screen in one lens, that was linked up to all the cameras in the building, so he could be aware of where Rythian was at all times. He had also locked the elevator controls so that only he could get into the Thaumcraft basement, and had started work on an extensive magitech project to keep his mind off the mage. That being said, it wasn't really working. His every waking moment was filled with thoughts of Rythian. His obsession had returned, and it was stronger than ever. But underlying it was another thing, something more dangerous, more primal. Lust, love, hatred. Call it what you will, but it was driving him mad! 

He could barely concentrate on anything any more. His mind was filled with fantasies, each more vivid than the last. Some of them were tame, gentle. Others were passionate and furious. Lalna's hands shook, and he banished the thoughts from his mind, attempting once again to turn his attention to the project at hand. Small brass gears and thaumic coils spread out in front of him. Little pistons and tiny glass globes were held in spindly mechanisms that spun gently in place. The scientist sighed, and the breath created pushed on small silken sails that were attached to tiny frames, each moving in sequence. He went to work. 

In the kitchen of Panda Labs, Nano set about putting together an afternoon snack. She had successfully harvested some mandrakes without too much fuss that afternoon, and decided to take a break from the farming. Besides, she hadn't had a good meal since that morning, and Rincewind had run out of the random assortments of meat that it always seemed to pick up. Behind her the two luggages bumped into one another, fighting over a scrap of wool that had been left on the floor. The Bursar finally pushed Rincewind over and sucked up the wool, adding to the ever growing pile of junk inside it. Nano patted her thigh, and obediently enough for a luggage (which is to say, in mild chaos) The Bursar trotted over to her side. Reaching in to the cavernous depths of what could be considered the rather endless interior that is the inside of a luggage, she pulled out some onions and a couple of tomatoes, and began to slice them up.

In the bedroom above, lying on the deep brown sofa, Rythian contemplated. He had to find a way to corner the scientist. Waiting in the doorway of a room didn't work, and he was still too weak to teleport down to the basement, and the one time he had tried, it felt like he had hit a box in the middle of the aether and bounced right off. He'd ended up unconscious, on his back in the middle of the cabbages, and had woken to the feeling of Nano prodding him with a stick. Suffice to say, he wasn't going to be trying that again any time soon.