[C][M] The Summoning

"Yeah surprised me too, I've been staying with him all this time, he found me after..."

Maks just gave a shrug as he let that sentence fade, best not to dwell on that, he knew Lyo felt bad enough as it was without making it worse.

"Italy?"

He perked up, getting up and rushing to the window and looking out of it, it was early morning and he could see the sun over the woods lighting up the garden.

"Wow..."

It was definitely a sight to behold and the gardens they were surrounded by were immense, this looked like fancy ass hotel.

"Living the dream, huh?"

He was glad that Lyo kept his promise, this place was beautiful.

Lyo gave a curt nod. Right, after...

This was a topic the both of them seemed to be avoiding saying like it was the plague.

Alyosha didn't mind not speaking of it.

"Yeah, Italy."

The Rus pushed himself out of the bed and looked around with confusion and exasperation. The place was a mess. He didn't even realise he had that many books, let alone have them all over the floor like that. He'd have to clean up the floor soon.

He stepped up behind Maks, looking at the view over the ghost's head.

"Not exactly." He was living far from their dream.

"You realise your books were floating in the air when I got here."

He muttered as Lyo sighed, he knew how careful he was with old books.

"Creepy Necromancer voodoo."

He added with a short laugh before turning back to the window, it really was a nice view, this place was beyond what he had hoped for.

"What do you mean not exactly? Lyo this place is amazing!"

Maks looked up at Lyo as the man stood behind him.

"It hasn't been horrible this entire time has it?"

He wanted to take solace in knowing that Lyo had at least had some happiness.

"I'd gathered that with the new interior decorating," he replied dryly. He hadn't thrown around all those books himself, that was for sure. A lot had changed about him in the past decade, but that definitely hadn't. Books were still sacred to the man.

He hummed in agreement. "Creepy Necromancer voodoo."

Creepy Necromancer voodoo that he'd have to talk to his mentor about in a few hours. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

"Beautiful, but not our dream." They had had their dream set out perfectly. A little beach-side apartment in Italy or Spain, and their own little independent cinema to run.

That was their dream.

"Life has been good to me at times. I have had pets. Have a pup now. Tuzik." He smiled. "Had a girlfriend for a short time." That had sort of petered out, though. It was a shame that had happened. He had quite liked the French girl.

A sad smile spread across Maks' lips as he looked out the window, he didn't want Lyo to see the pain in his eyes.

His chances at their dream was long gone now, he had come to accept that, but he had always had hope for Lyo.

"It might not be our dream but that doesn't mean you can't have a new dream, Lyo."

Their dream had never been a realistic one but he had clung to it even when times had been at their hardest.

He didn't cling to it any more, he had long reached the state of acceptance.

"Hope he gets treated better than poor old flea bag."

At least there wasn't any snow here.

Lyo shook his head.

He had never been able to drop their dream. He just didn't have it in himself to ever drop it.

And he was okay with not being able to drop it.

"He is spoiled rotten." Tuzik really was spoiled. "He is with another pup tonight, out in town."

Lyo's lips pressed together. "Fleabag died last year. He lived a long, good life."

"He cute?"

Maks asked, Flea Bag was never really a cute dog, but he was a good companion, he could see Lyo with some handsome larger dog, probably a German Shepherd or something.

"Yeah, I know."

He replied, he still went to Lyo's house sometimes, when ever Dani got close enough to it that he could venture out on his own to take a look.

He would spend a while hanging out in Lyo's old room or sitting in the yard with Flea Bag. He figured the dog was dead when he went around there and he wasn't in his kennel.

"He's something to look at," was Lyo's answer.

Tuzik had the looks. Probably not what Maks wanted to know, but Lyo couldn't really give a straight answer.

Maks would likely see soon. He could make his own decision.

Lyo crossed his arms over his broad, bare chest.

His yes flickered down to the back of Maks' blurry head.

He almost couldn't believe that Maks was here.

How long would it last before he left?

Maks was wondering the same thing, he didn't know if he would be sucked back to the apartment in Russia any moment.

This chance encounter was highly bitter sweet, he was so grateful that he got to see Lyo again but at the same time it was painful to know that the one thing he would give anything to do, was the one thing that was impossible.

He couldn't touch Lyo.

Even being right next to him he felt so far away, he couldn't feel the warmth he knew the man was giving off, couldn't hug him, kiss him...

He wondered if this was what was tethering him to the world, now that he was getting a chance to see the man again, would he pass on?

Lyo gave a long shaky breath, his short nails biting into his muscular scarred arms.

He didn't want Maks to leave now that he was here.

The man leant against the windowsill, still staring out at the sunrise.

"You haven't even mentioned my new ink. Not impressed by it?"

Maks turned around once he calmed a little and looked up at Lyo, a small smile on his lips.

"I had more urgent things on my mind, like the fact that you can finally see me."

That was still blowing him away.

"Never would have expected you to get your face tattooed, that's a freaking huge block of colour though. Would have hurt like a bitch."

Lyo arched a brow.

"I suppose that might be good enough reason to not notice."

The man chuckled softly. "I was pissed as a fart. Once I get a bottle or two of vodka down me, I could probably get my whole body tattooed and hardly feel it."

It also meant that he made some bad choices.

Like, for example, getting most of his chest, neck, back and shoulders tattooed. At least he hadn't gotten too much of his face tattooed.

"Of course you were."

He replied, rolling his eyes as he shook his head, trust Lyo to go get all of his body tattoo when he was absolutely smashed.

"Better not have covered up any of the ones we designed."

He warned, eyeing the man off there were a few tattoos on both of them that meant quite a bit.

"Only one that's covered at the moment is the tiger."

And that was only because he had grown out his hair. Shave that off again and the tattoo would be there for all to see.

He'd made sure that he hadn't had any of his tattoos covered over when he had gotten this one done.

It was the one thing he remembered clearly from the night he had gone and got himself tattooed.

"Hey Lyo..."

He muttered, a little worried about discussing the subject too soon.

"Do you have any idea how long your Necromancer Voodoo will work?"

He wanted to be prepared if he was going to be sucked back.

"I mean like, if it's going to wear off and I'm going to be sent back, if you still want me around we could get Dani to you know, ship my shirt over and I could stay..."

He was rambling at this point.

Lyo swallowed thickly and hesitated before shaking his head.

"I don't know. I plan to talk to my mentor when he wakes up and figure shit out."

Hopefully Belial would know something. He seemed to be just about all knowing when it came to most shit with his Necromancy. Hopefully he be all knowing about this too.

He arched a brown when Maks began reeling off at an extraordinary pace.

He didn't even know Maks could speak that fast.

"Let me talk to my mentor first."

He wouldn't express it to Lyo but he was worried.

What if the man didn't want the ghost of his dead ex-boyfriend hanging around him day in and day out.

Dani put up with him because he helped the man but there wasn't anything that he could do for Alyosha except be a painful memory.

"Alright."

He replied with a small nod.

Lyo gave a great yawn and stretched his arms above his head.

The tight muscles of his stomach rolled over tanned skin. He was no longer the pale-skinned man that he used to be. He had a golden tan to his skin. The product of almost three years in Italy.

"I need coffee."

Lyo needed a good hot mug of coffee.

"Lets head down to the kitchen."

"You need a good sleep."

He replied, coffee wasn't going to hold him over for long, by the looks of him Lyo was exhausted.

"I dunno my way around you lead on."

He would happily just follow Lyo around, he'd rather avoid floating through the walls until everything kind of settled in Lyo's mind.

"Not today."

He wouldn't get to sleep even if he wanted to right now. Coffee was his only hope.

But that was all right. He could deal with a coffee buzz for the day.

Lyo took a moment to find a pair of sweatpants to pull on. He wasn't quite at the point where he could walk out into the hallways completely naked.

When he was dressed to his satisfaction and had shoved a pair of slippers on, he made his way down the hall, combing his fingers through his long hair.

"Mouth tastes like I've been sucking off a cock made of shit."

"Wasn't mine so I'm in the clear."

He replied with a laugh as he forced himself to walk beside Lyo instead of floating about.

The thought of Lyo sucking off a cock would have normally had him eager to go back to that bedroom with the man but he didn't even feel a stirring of arousal anymore, he was kind of forgetting what that felt like.

"Haven't sucked off a cock in eight years. Wasn't anyones."

Lyo pulled a band off his wrist and tied back his hair into a high ponytail. He yanked on the long tail once he was done.

"Need to get this chopped off."

He needed shorter hair desperately.

The kitchen came into view quickly and Lyo made short work of setting up the coffee machine.

"Wait what?"

He was surprised and looked up at Alyosha suspiciously.

"Lyo exactly how many partners have you had in the last eight years?"

If the answer was what he thought it was going to be he was going to be royally pissed off.

"Uhh..."

Well, there was that girl in the town his cousin lived in when he was staying there a few days...

One.

That couple in Rome...

Three.

Uh...

He'd never gotten that far with Tayce.

"You expect me to keep count of them all?" he asked with a careless shrug.

Three people. Maks could think he was a little slut. He could imagine Maks' comments if he found out that Ly had been with less than a handful of people.

If he knew it was only three people in eight years he would be screaming at Lyo.

He didn't die so that Lyo would lose any desire to move on and try to have a life.

He wanted the man to be happy, more than anything.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, trying to pick up any hints of lying.

A smirk spread across his face.

"Randy dog, I'm proud of you."