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Andrew took his duties as a God the same way he dealt with everything in his tragically immortal life: apathy. He did not care for them, they were usually pretty boring, unless those days that he decided to mess with the mortals. This did not mean that he neglected them, no matter what Kevin said, he was one of the most meticulous with his realm, and swore to protect everyone that he considered his family.
Discovering that his mother, who abandoned him as a child, was actually one of the Winter Legacy’s had been unexpected, but at least he got to meet his twin and cousin. Life as a legacy didn't change much, the woman had not wanted him as a baby, why would he want him as a broken teen. Still that resentment he felt towards Aaron started to fade once he saw what his incubator was actually like. In the end, it wasn’t that hard to vanish her forever and take the duties of the family himself.
This way he met the rest of the buffoons he had to ally just so they could survive. A minor family like theirs would be trampled in seconds if they did something that the big legacies did not like. In the end it was all a game of influence, and who managed to keep their head above water.
There was only one exception to this rule, and maybe the most important one. The most desired role in the universe was not chosen by influence but by nature herself through an ancient ritual. It was completely out of the control of the powerful families, which explained Moriyama's obsession on keeping Kevin after he was made the God of Summer. And how Kevin was able to free himself through Andrew when he was made God of Winter. Andrew finally had the title to go with his strength and could protect his family.
Now he was stuck with the role and all the responsibilities that came with it. With the Moriyama’s out of the picture, things were finally going well and it would have been great if it wasn’t for them. Andrew hated them and could not understand them. They were an enigma he was going to solve. Because if there was one thing that Andrew hated were liars, and they were the biggest one he had ever met.
They are the God of Spring, supposedly their name is Nathaniel, but they don’t like to be called that. And that was the only information that Andrew had on the guy. He didn’t even know what they looked like since the Wesninki’s were supposedly “protective” of their little legacy and did not let them show their face. Everytime that he had met them for their meetings he was wearing a black veil that covered his face. In fact every inch of him was covered in black cloth. Not an inch of skin visible. And Andrew did not trust him at all. He knows that something weird is going on and he will not allow a threat to his family to roam free.
He was determined to figure it out, and after months of planning the chance to talk to Nathaniel alone arrived by pure luck.
Andrew hated those stupid banquets he was forced to attend and was looking for some kind of balcony or exit to smoke. He had never been in this particular temple before, he was just opening random doors and glaring at people.
Behind one of these mystery doors he found a lump of fabric sitting on the floor that moved when he opened the door. It had to be Nathaniel.
“Oh! Hi Andrew.”
“What are you doing here?”
Andrew could not see his face, but by the sound of his voice he imagined that he scrunched up his nose. “I don’t like social events.”
“What are you hiding underneath the veil?”
“Excuse me?”
Andrew just glared. “You have something on your hands.”
“Oh! Just a sketchbook to kill time.” He pulled it out and threw it to Andrew.
Andrew warily opened the notebook just to find a bunch of little pencil drawings, there were flowers and random plants that Andrew could not name, but most of them were cats. Little sketches of cats that looked almost cartoonish. He just stood there like an idiot, he had been ready to interrogate Nathaniel, to intimidate him with his far superior realm. Now he had a stupid little notebook filled to the brim with the stupidest thing he could imagine. He even tried to sense the magic around it to see if there was anything hidden and Nathaniel just wanted to play the fool, but there was nothing.
“Fuck, I’ve been gone for too long. Sorry to cut the meeting short but I’ve gotta go.” Neil said while standing up in a rush. “You can keep the journal and give it back at the next meeting.”
Andrew didn’t have the time to say anything else before Nathaniel was moving through corridors, leaving him with an useless notebook and more questions than before.
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Andrew glared at the journal on the coffee table. Neil had given it to him a week ago, and that voice inside his head tells him there must be a reason. He had already thought about every possible threat he could imagine, in fact that day he had not brought it home. He hid it in a magical black hole he kept in his office and then proceeded to apply every security measure he could think about. It was after days of prodding that he deemed it safe to take it home. even if it was just because it kept him awake at night.
If he were rational, he would have destroyed it days ago. In fact he had decided to do it three times already. But every time he was about to cast the spell, the thought of Nathaniel came to mind, and the big mystery he was dying to solve.
He heard Kevin enter the living room but didn’t turn around. He just kept glaring at the journal.
“Where the fuck did you get that?”
“Nathaniel gave it to me last week.”
“Excuse me!” Kevin was usually dramatic, but not this level.
“I found Nathaniel in a room hiding, asked what he was doing and he gave it to me.”
“He willingly gave it to you. Did you figure it out?”
“So there is something to figure out.”
Kevin rolled his eyes like he was an idiot. “What do you know about Nathaniel?”
“That he come from a family of psychos that work for the Moriyama’s”
“About Nathaniel, not his family.”
“There is nothing to know, he is kept on a leash. Hell, we don't even know what he looks like.”
“Exactly.”
“Kevin, if you are going to say something, spit it out already.”
“Nathaniel is one of the most powerful wizards ever.”
"Obviously.”
“I mean even before being chosen as the God of Spring. He has a special type of magic that is natural to him, and to him only. That’s the reason he is not allowed anywhere. He is one of Moriyama's greatest assets, that’s why he is only allowed out in spring.”
There was something that Kevin wasn’t telling him. If Nathaniel was so powerful why is he still in that house, does he willingly work for them? But why would he let them treat him that way?
“So how do I unlock the message?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“Kevin.” His tone was warning, he was not in the mood for games.
“Nathaniel’s magic has always been out of my realm of control. He gave it to you, you are the one who is supposed to figure it out.”
With that Kevin left him alone, like he had not just dropped a nuclear bomb in his hands. Apparently Nathaniel had a habit of hiding messages in journal’s.
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It took him another week to figure it out. He had to read like half of their library and almost burned the fucking thing twice out of desperation.
He had found coordinates and a password. Now he was sitting in a greenhouse waiting for Nathaniel to appear. The only reason that he believed that this was not a trap was because nobody would waste so much time just to kill him.
The door in front of him opened, and a figure that could only be Nathaniel appeared. He was wearing his usual dress pants with a turtleneck and a vest, but instead of his usual dark colors, everything was in light pastels. Even the veil had changed into a light blue with flowers embroidered into the hem.
“Finally, you are here. I didn’t know if you couldn’t figure it out or was purposely blowing me off.”
Andrew just kept his bored face. “What do you want from me?”
“Your help destroying the Moriyama’s”
“And who says I trust you.”
“We have time.”
What started as meetings to discuss strategy and exchange intel, became heated discussions on various subjects, which in turn became hang outs. Before he could process this, Andrew found himself counting the days to see Abram again. He had found out so many things about the other boy. There were quiet moments of both of them lying in one of Abram’s greenhouses, which he had discovered to be pockets in space created by Abram himself to hide from his parents, saying things he had promised to never utter out loud.
Right now they were in one of his favorite of Abram’s creations. Unlike most of them, it was open and consisted of a small waterfall and a lake. They would sit with their legs dangling over it.
“Drew, I want to see you face to face. Yes or no?”
And fuck if that wasn’t what Andrew was waiting for, before he could freak out about it he muttered a fast yes.
“It’s not going to be pretty.”
He didn’t know where Abram had gotten the idea that he was not beautiful, but Andrew was about to ask so that he could go kill them. The first thing he noticed was the blue eyes that looked like the sky in the coldest winter days. What he didn’t expect was the fiery red hair. Next he noticed what probably was the reason for Neil's insecurity and his family’s insistence on the veil. His right cheek had a burn scar while his left had several slashes, some of them were old but two of them currently had stitches. He got angry at the Wesninski, that their “protectiveness” was only a way to hide the abuse.
Neil apparently noted his rage, but interpreted it as something else.
“I can cover them up if you are uncomfortable.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“You are angry.” He said it as a statement, as if someone being angry could only mean that it was directed towards him, and not those who hurt him.
Andrew didn’t say anything right now because he knew that Neil was not in the right frame of mind or situation to comprehend.
“Stay with me.”
“You know I can’t, Drew.”
“You are hurt and tired, Abram. No one needs a martyr, just leave.”
Neil just let out a long sigh, and after little thought he started unbuttoning his vest and took off his turtleneck.
His chest and arms were a mess of scars, both magical and from a great assortment of weapons. Most of them could not be from battles, they were probably the result of torture. Still, it didn’t explain why Neil could not leave. Until he noticed his necks and forearms. There he had branded a black chain that Andrew knew to be magical shackles, a very illegal form of antique magic that basically binded the warlock to the people who cast it. Neil was literally property of those assholes, Andrew was three seconds away from storming the Moriyama temple and burning it down.
“How did they get away with that?” The ritual to cast them was very dangerous and inhumane, the reason why they were illegal.
“Money and corruption. Also my magic used to lash out quite violently as a kid, so they were able to label me as dangerous.”
“Because you were being tortured.”
Neil had no way to deny that after showing Andrew.
“Will you still help me?”
“Yes.”
Now Andrew had a new objective, he spent weeks in the library researching magical bindings and how to free someone from them. The time he didn’t spend in council meetings or with Neil, was spent in the reading or scrounging for long forgotten books.
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No matter how much you plan something it is impossible to predict the future. The moment that Andrew found Neil he was going to murder him. Well, he supposed that Neil knew about it, because how come he is always so conveniently placed so that he is the only one that gets hurt.
Kevin, Renee and him were trying to enter the Moriyama Temple dealing with Riko and his lackeys, trying to get where Neil was supposed to be, dealing with Ichiuru.
His quite violent stabbing of useless assholes got interrupted by the biggest burst of energy. He suddenly felt very warm and protected, he knew to whom that display belonged to. Kevin and Renee seemed to be experiencing a similar sensation, the same could not be said for Riko and his friends. They all started convulsing and dropping to the floor like marionettes.
Before anyone could stop him, Andrew ran. Ran towards the place he knew to be the origin of the blast, ran towards where he knew that Neil was. No matter what his stupid Junkie believed, he was worth it, and he will help him.
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“Andrew, this is getting ridiculous! You cannot keep this up.” For the last three months their weekly reunions have been a repetition of this same argument over and over again. “You cannot create a new ice age.”
Kevin would complain about Andrew extending winter, Renee would try to mediate, seeing as both their arguments were valid.
“Winter is followed by spring, Kevin. I’m getting tired of repeating myself.” With that Andrew left.
Turns out that destroying the Moriyama's had not killed Neil, but it had taken a great deal of power to be able to pull off such a move. He was proud of Neil, he was able to free himself of that damned binding spell, and destroy everyone that ever participated in strengthening it. Since that last surge of magic Neil had been in a sleeping state according to Abby. It was a convoluted way of saying a coma in Andrew’s opinion.
Still he had taken Neil to his temple, and has been taking care of him ever since. He would address his injuries, keep him clean and healthy. Having the keys to Neil’s realms he would also make sure that all of his beloved little worlds were fine.
No matter what Kevin said, he knew that Neil would pull through. He was going to wake up sooner or later, and those puny humans could deal with a little cold until the only one he would allow to melt it came back.
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Contrary to popular belief, Andrew actually enjoyed the hike up his temple. He had chosen the place mainly for that reason, being so far from everyone else was just a bonus. Lately, he has been doing it more than usual, not only because he was selfishly increasing his workload, but because he was trying to avoid the desperation of waiting.
In the middle of the open field he found a little spark of color.
“I’m definitely starting to go crazy.”
In a small place where the snow had melted there was the smallest dot of blue. Getting closer he could see the little blue flower trying to bloom. Before he could stop himself he was running to the house.
The closer he got to the house, the more little points of color started appearing in the melting snow. When he finally reached the room he had placed Neil in he could feel the warmth radiating from it. It was a room he had designed for Neil, after he had asked his family to come with him. He had taken those little details and made it feel like Neil’s, even if he had never been there. It was the only room in the house with bright lights, colored walls, and that was kept at a warm temperature. He had also put most of the flowers that Neil had gifted him in there to keep him company and protected while he was at meetings.
Andrew could see movement from the bed, and rushed there. Kneeling beside it he kept his hands just hovering.
“Drew.” He whispered.
“Yes or no, Junkie?”
“Always yes.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
He helped Neil sit up and ran a hand through his hair to flatten it.
“I’m free now.”
Andrew just hummed and placed his hand on Neil’s neck, where he could feel his pulse.
“Does that mean that I can kiss you now?”
Andrew just huffed and started leaning closer, the start of spring could probably wait for another hour or two.