The kiss sends my mind to another point in time. It sends me to a memory I had blocked for years.
I’m sixteen, and I’m afraid. Behind me, I can feel the flames coming off the wing of the Scarlet Monastery and there are shouts from the people inside. These were my jailers, the people who told me I was not pure enough in my faith in the light. They were right. I hated them. My body burned thinking what they did to others. What they did to the Forsaken. What they did to Deeb..
I tried to move, but there was something wrong with me, with my back. I can feel the oil slick blood coating my sides, my legs didn’t want to move properly. I didn’t know how badly I was flogged, I just knew something was wrong, very wrong.
The world stopped, time froze as I noticed a pair of feet approaching me and a man knelt down to look at me. He looked older, too much older than me. His hands are covered in golden light, no, that was sand he had slipping around his fingers. As he touched my hand I feel my body slow down.
‘It’s going to be okay Malura. Keep breathing, the San’layn is going to be here soon. He’s going to sense the raw magic on you and send you to a place where you’ll get help. You’re a survivor.’
His voice holds a mourning pain I didn’t understand. I can’t remember his face. No. I couldn’t remember his face until now.
I’m back in the moment, the man who had slowed my wounds has his arms around me, like this is natural. His lips have a hot scorching heat that rolled off of him. It’s that heat and spice I’ve only smelled once before, weeks ago in Stormwind.
My lips are traitors as they kiss him back, it’s a gut reaction in the face of feeling something so powerful rush over you. I could easily fall into this moment. Give me passion, give me someone who gives a fuck and I’m pudding.
I don’t want to be like that anymore.
Pulling away I have to crane my neck up to look at him. Okay, sure, the kiss was nice. Like, I’d rank it... top three I’ve ever had. But I don’t know this guy. I suspect this is Khazradormu, fuck, I just kissed a dragon. Fuck, fuck.
He lowered his forehead to rest on mine but I pull away a bit more. “Um... so... this is awkward. I think we’re on two different timelines.” I don’t want to pull away, he feels good. All warmth and security. The kind of shit I would fall for if I let myself
His arms go stiff around me until they fall off and limp to his sides. His eyes carry a calculated look, but his smile doesn’t leave his lips. “I’m sorry about that.”
“I mean it was one Fel of a kiss.” I held my hand up. “And you’re a nice-looking guy, dragon... dragon guy. But I’m really not in the market for a boyfriend right now.”
Khazradormu rose and eyebrow and his hands moved up to roost on his hips. “Mal-”
“And I think we should probably stick to our mission. I could be reading too much into all of this. Like. Dragons don’t date mortals. You’ve been stuck for who knows how long in this loop... This is a loop right. Like, I get it, you’re probably really happy to be seeing another living being an-”
I’m rambling, trying to find a logical way for him to have kissed me without there being anything big to take from it.
“Malura!” He shouted this time stopping me from my rant. “For fuck’s sake.” But he’s not angry, he’s laughing. “This is when I meet you for the first time. Take a deep breath and stop putting your panties in a twist.”
My cheeks and ears blush. “I saw you years ago. You were there after I tried to escape from the Scarlet Crusade.” I then pointed at him, things clicking into place. “You were doing random shit around me during ‘Love Is In The Air’!”
A small smile crept on his lips. He really has nice facial hair, when did I start liking men with facial hair? “You hate that holiday. Everyone is all paired up, and you were lonely. But, right now, this is when I get to see you and you see me. It’s time.”
“We have.” He says it in such a deadpan that I am struck silent by him. “Look, I get it, it’s weird for you. I’m sorry I kissed you... I thought you were the future you.”
But his kiss had been beautiful. There was a peek into the future that I normally deny myself. I don’t want to know the future so I can feel surprised. Well, I’m surprised. I’m surprised there is a dragon who is smirking at me like I was some hot shit.
“Yeah well.” I’m still at a loss for words as I watch him. His clothing is like mine, it’s filled with stories that I might or might not be apart of. He’s also got this angular educated smart guy look. I’ve dated a lot of guys, most of them ranging between idiots with swords, smart guys with zero social skills, or monsters. I’m not sure what side of all of that this dragon is on. What I do know is he’s cute, and not int the ‘powerful badass’ way. He’s just, cute. “Nice introduction, Khazradormu right?”
“I go by Khaz Mal.” He smiled a bit. “Khazradormu really is a mouth full.”
“Khaz.” I said the shortened name, flicking it over with my tongue to figure out if I like it or not. I might. “I’m, really going to date you one day?”
His smile, it make his eyebrows hike up and his eyes brighten to this teasing impish look. “Yeah, you could say date. We consider it more a partnership. Mates.”
This is why I don’t look into my future, I don’t want to know who I’m going to be in love with. I want to wake up one day and go ‘oh... I love this person’.
But, I’ve done that before. I’ve fallen in love the normal way. Where did it get me? It got me to right here. To meeting this dragon and him tell me we’re going to be a thing. I’ve dated my share of guys who said they could see the future. It lead me to right here. Only all of them were mortal, none of them came from the Dragonflight. None of them were a Bronze. I know the Bronze Dragons are born with the full memory of their future. Unlike everyone else, Khaz might not be shitting me.
I crush easily, fall in love, I don’t know. He keeps looking at me and my ears are burning.
“It’s, nice to meet you. But I don’t think I can do this right now. We, we should get to work.” I said gesturing around us. There was a frozen infinite dragon who looked to be in the middle of a fight with Khaz.
“I mean, sure if you want to ignore the fact we’re meeting for the- oh” He held out the ‘oh’ for a long moment. “Right, you’re a workaholic at this time.”
Being called out I scoffed. “You have been stuck in this loop for how long and you want to shoot the shit with me?”
“It’s different, you’re here. I mean, I know Pandaria is kinda a boring country to you, but, it’s pretty.” He gestured to the grounds around us before grinning. “I know you’re curious about stuff, it’s you. You’re wanting to know ‘why him?’ Right?”
“Yeah, no. I want to get this done. Look, you’re a nice, dragon, man. But...” I try searching for words to say. I know I’ve met people out of sync with me, that I had to cover first meetings, but that was future friends. Not, not something like this.
His shoulder’s drop, just slightly. “You’re right. Let’s treat this like any first meeting.” But he moves closer again and I can feel how warm he is. He offers a scared hand out. “I’m Khaz, and I want to say, thanks for saving my hide.”
“I haven’t saved it yet.” But I reach out and take his hand. The slight chill in my hands is instantly gone and there is a whispering thought in my mind. He knows the future, in a way he is my right now and my future. If he kisses me when we’ve been apart for a short while, what is it like to be beside him all the time? I don’t know anything about him, and I think this job is going to give me a crash course in getting to know him.
But Khaz smirks, he has this glinting look that makes me wonder if he’s going to be a trouble maker. Squeezing my hand once he lets it go. “Trust me Sandstorm, you’re the only Timewalker I know who can backtalk demons, stare down overly powered Temporal Anomolys, and,” he pointed a finger at me with a grin. “dodge questions for days. These Infinite Dragons will know you one day, and they’ll know to flee the field when you get there.”
I’ve been a timewalker for years now, no one has ever retreated when I approached. Everything Khaz has said has already happened. It sounds impressive, even if I think it’s just my normal life, I know it’s impressive. “You really think I’m all that.”
Furrowing his brows he nodded. “Babe, you’re all that. Wanna get your work done so you can do twenty questions with me?”
“If I want to be around your scally ass after this.” But my laugh escapes me, like this is easy. I’ve done this before, with friends. Normally we would take time to get to know each other, ask questions, figure out where our friendship took off. Now I’m here, and I feel like I want to know everything. I want to know why I chose to fall in love again. After all the pain, after having to lose and lose again, why this dragon is going to be the one who stays.
“I have one question. Since you’re a Bronze.” He is watching me, he probably knows what it is. “How are we going to break up? Are you going to die on me? Get corrupted? Some other temporal bullshit? Find another woman?”
That’s when I see the hurt. I might have said the wrong thing, but it’s something I need to know. “I’ve never left you. And I’m never going to leave you.”
“Right.” But I don’t believe it. It’s a little difficult to once you know a lot of powerful people.
“Yeah, I know.” He offered a small saddened look. “You’ve had enough guys tell you the same stuff. But they were mortal. Even that Anomaly was mortal. When I was born, my first memories that came to me was of my end. And you got no reason to trust me, but it’s a good end. For both of us.”
For both of us. When I die, he’ll die too. That seed of knowledge makes me shiver. What would it be like if after who knows how long someone I love holds me and says, ‘It’s time’. It’s going to happen and part of me is sad, but also filled with something new. Hope.
“When I had spare time, I’ve been here. When you needed someone, I was there.” He said and wet his lips as he continued. “I’ve been with you the whole time. I was there when you were framed for murder, when the Scarlet Crusade tried to brainwash you, as Anthion trained you, when your troop betrayed you, as you went through therapy.” He was moving closer to me, my heart starting to speed up as he closed the distance. “I was there when you found out Arrel died, when you took your trials.” His hand reached up and touched the notch in my ear. “I was there when you were lonely, when no one would listen to your side of the story. I was there when you finally left that place... I was rooting for you. I always have rooted for you.”
My breath is gone. I don’t think I know how to breathe in this moment. There were nights when I was curled up in my bed, head tucked under my arms that I wished someone was there. I needed someone there who wasn’t going to treat me like an idiot, or like I couldn’t care for myself. Someone who was on my level and treated me for all the damage I’ve suffered. Someone who loves my scars. Not someone who would erase them if I told them to.
I can see it, I can see why I fell in love with this dragon.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, forgetting about work for the time being.
Khaz shrugged his smile still there, but it’s tired like he has seen as much as I’ve seen. “Cause you deserved someone looking out for you. Even if I couldn’t be with you.”
There was this story I heard, when I was trying to come to terms with not having a soulmate and watching others around me proclaim their love for their soulmates, I found a story about how if your soulmate dies before you do they look after you. I’m not calling Khaz a soulmate, but a guardian. Someone just wishing the best for me, but not being able to save me.
I can feel the tears, they’re hot, like how he’s hot. They scorch down my cheeks and I am again at a loss for words. For all my life I thought I was alone. That no one was looking in on me, that one day I would die by myself. But I’ve never been alone. I’ve had a dragon watching me, hoping I’d make it through.
He’s close and a hand reaches out, as if he wants to touch me. “Let it out.” But I complete the small advance he’s been making now pulling him into a hug. I’m not kissing him, but I do cry. It’s one of those good clearing cries. So many of my mental wounds are infected, and it’s only crying that helps me clear it out. He doesn’t move, and I’m grateful he’s basically acting as my support as I break for a bit.
“Thank you.” And I can’t mean it enough. Looking up tears are still coming down, but I feel better. For the first time in years, I’m whole and it’s not because I’m going to fall in love with him. It’s because I’m not alone. Finally someone has stayed and I didn’t know until now. “I want to take this slow, but, thank you.”
Khaz reached over touching my arm with a secure touch. “Always.” His eyes dashed over to the frozen Infinite Dragon. “I need your help... more your knowlage. Get me a lead on this guy.”
