It was cold, and the water lapped at his knees. Shafir felt a chill run up his spine as he looked around. Water surrounded him in the dark space and he knew something was off. Usually, that wretched man would have shown up by now, trying to taunt him and send him over the edge of his anger. It was too quiet. He waded through the blackened water looking for something out of place, but when he looked down, he couldn’t even see his own reflection. When he finally came to a stop, the sound of the water sloshed behind him. 

Someone was following him. 

About time that asshole showed up. If he thought he could pull a fast one on Shafir and make him panic, then he was sorely mistaken. The heated gaze on his back burned into what felt like an inferno, which was only made worse by powerful arms wrapping around his waist. Much like a snake constricting its prey, the arms squeezed tight. 

"Shafir," The voice spoke in his ear and their lips ghosted against the pointed tip. Sultry and smooth, the voice left Shafir trembling. He did not know if it was from fear or something, but he knew it felt familiar. When he looked down, the arms had a familiar gold and black motif. He knew these arm guards as he saw them almost every day of his office life. The lips pressed closer, and he spoke lower. "Is something wrong?" 

"Nothing." Shafir felt a strong flush climb up his cheeks and he cleared his throat. He grabbed the muscular arms and tugged. They would not budge. In this dream, he wasn't strong enough to pry Eliqinor from his body. "Let me go." 

"Fine." Eliqinor's arms loosened and Shafir felt himself sinking into the black liquid. Panic didn't overwhelm him at first, that was until it was up over his mid-thigh. His hands reached up, trying to grab at whatever he could of Eliqinor, desperate to pull himself back up. He felt pulled down harder by the liquid-like hands grabbing him. 

"H-Help me." His voice was fraught with desperation, and Eliqinor looked down at him with an indifferent expression. The fear Shafir felt from such a familiar expression was startling. When had he acquainted that with fear? Never. Not once had he been afraid of Eliqinor. The black liquid consumed him further until it was just under his arms. 

"I got what I wanted. I don't need you anymore," Eliqinor said. Shafir felt all his fight leave his body. If Eliqinor didn't need him anymore, why was he even trying? What was the use? His arms slinked into the black liquid and he could feel his lungs fill with the burning substance. He couldn't breathe and-

Shafir launched into an upright position, large tanned hands resting on his torso where his wound was. The man was one he was sure he had seen before, though vaguely. He wore knight's armor with a pin displaying his division. The distinct flower denoted he was from the first division, thus a direct subordinate of Shafir and Eliqinor. The man smiled at Shafir before going back to work on Shafir’s wound. Ungloved hands pulled Shafir’s shirt down over the freshly bandaged wound. 

“Vice-Captain, how are you feeling?” The rather tall, even taller than Eliqinor, elf asked as he wiped his hands with a cleaning rag. Shafir patted his stomach and winced slightly. It didn’t hurt, but he could feel the tight pulling of professional stitches. He was most definitely attractive and being able to do such perfect stitches was a plus- The man dipped his head slightly to hear Shafir’s answer. He cleared his throat twice before rubbing his wound slightly. 

“I am fine. Thank you for your hard work.” When Shafir finally looked around at his surroundings, he was met with a room he was not familiar with. After a stressful mission, he would often find himself in the knight’s infirmary, but this was not it. It was not as cozy as this room looked, and the bed was nowhere as hard. 

"You should be more careful next time. Getting injured like this could've been fatal and Eliqinor's hand injury-" Shafir listened to the lecture until he realized something was off. When Shafir had been drinking, there had been no problem with Eliqinor's hand except the few scratches on the captain's hand from the gooseberries. Though those were nothing to be concerned about. 

"Where is he?" Shafir tried to wrestle the blankets off his legs. He had to go see what happened to Eliqinor. Had that wicked man, whoever he was, came back after he had passed out? Did Eliqinor fight him off and get injured in the process? The tall elf watched as Shafir struggled to get out of bed and Shafir felt anger boil under his skin. 

"Who?" The man just smiled smugly as the shorter elf got increasingly angry. These medics had pesky ways of keeping the more troublesome patients in place. The only times Shafir had to deal with restraint magic was when he was so severely wounded he needed to stay in bed for days. He still gave the medic in charge a tongue-lashing the entire time he was there. Which shortened his stay because the medic in charge was crying profusely on the third day of dealing with the dark elf. 

"The captain." The elf pretended to think for a couple of minutes before nodding. It irritated Shafir to no end that the other was purposely dragging out their conversation. Shafir didn't want to be stuck here all day, and he doubted the medic wanted to be either. 

"He's at the office. As he always is." Shafir nodded and tried to yank himself out of the bed once more before being reminded of the magical restraint placed on him. 

"Let me go." Shafir watched as the taller elf contemplated letting him go. If he didn't remove the restraint, then Shafir would probably start going crazy. "Release me or I'll make your life a living nightmare." That seemed to get the male's attention, though instead of scared he seemed to be exasperated, sighing loudly as if he had to deal with an annoying teenager who had just become a squire. The feeling of a heavy weight being lifted off Shafir came at the sound of the elf snapping his fingers. 

Shafir didn't waste time throwing his legs out of the bed. Though a bit wobbly, he stood upright. His body carried him to the door that was his escape and flung it open. It took him a minute to register what happened when he walked through the door. 

Sitting there with a focused look on his face sat Eliqinor at his desk. He was in the office. Lastly, Shafir knew the office didn't have a bedroom, and he wasn't sure if he was still asleep. That was, until he noticed the high elf's hand wrapped in a bandage. 

"You… You fucking idiot!" Shafir charged at Eliqinor with all the fury of a stampeding horse. The captain seemed more taken aback by Shafir’s outburst than the dark elf expected. It wasn’t uncommon for him to come at Eliqinor aggressively, so to see the other so surprised, Shafir stopped short of Eliqinor’s desk. His eyes skimmed over the desk and his eyes landed on the bandaged hand. 

"It's good to see you are doing well, Shafir." Eliqinor's expression changed so quickly that it almost gave Shafir whiplash. An extremely bright smile had erased the surprised look on Eliqinor's face. If Shafir had to compare it to anything, it would be as bright as the sun. This man was blindingly gorgeous when he smiled so earnestly! Shafir couldn't remember the last time Eliqinor seemed so happy. 

"Good to see me? GOOD TO SEE ME? When I passed out after drinking your hand was just fine! Now, look at you! How can you be bright-eyed when your good hand has been damaged!?" Shafir’s head felt like a tornado as thoughts rushed around. If he could, he would reach across the table and smack some sense into the man! Though that could aggravate his wound worse than it already was so he resorted to yelling instead. “Did that idiot come back and-”

“The horse bit me.” 

“Do you know how worr- YOU LET A HORSE BITE YOU???” Shafir looked back at the door where the tanned elf was leaning against the frame. If this was true, the elf who had treated his hand would know. The other male looked away, not giving Shafir confirmation of the wound, and it pissed him off to no end. The fuckers were hiding something, and he knew it. Whatever it was he would find out later, there would be no need to pry. “I WAS going to apologize for last night, but I wonder if you even deserve it?!” 

“Apologize?” Eliqinor’s expression was pained at the word to apologize and didn’t escape Shafir’s gaze. He was sure he had done something wrong while he was drunk, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The odd dream Shafir had didn’t help either with the way Eliqinor seemed to be so handsy in it. 

“I’m sure I was a nuisance. Probably throwing up and making it hard on you to care for me! Well, I’m not apologizing, as I don’t think you deserve it!” Shafir crossed his arms angrily and huffed loudly. The telltale sign of Eliqinor’s anger had disappeared as of late now resurfaced and the twitch returned.

BANG

Shafir flinched at the sudden movement of Eliqinor, standing abruptly and knocking his chair down. His hands slammed down on his desk, making the piles of paper rock precariously. Shafir took the time to look at the other and he saw how angry the other was. Never in all the years had Shafir seen Eliqinor so mad. His face was red and his veins bulge as he stared at the dark elf. There was something in those blue eyes stirring like a tempest on the sea and Shafir thought it felt more sad than angry. 

“Get out… GET THE FUCK OUT.” Eliqinor followed the words, sweeping everything off his desk. A flurry of white papers flew around the room and Shafir felt his own anger stewing. Who was he to tell him to get out!? He worked here too! Shafir would leave when he was ready to and not because that buffoon told him to leave! 

“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG! WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO LEAVE?! ALL BECAUSE YOU DECIDE TO THROW A TANTRUM?! WHAT KIND OF UPRIGHT MAN DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!” Shafir picked up one paperweight that fell on the ground and chucked it at the wall. All he wanted was to talk normally and he couldn’t even do that because he always seemed to fuck it up. 

“THAT’S WHY I WANT YOU TO FUCKING LEAVE,” Eliqinor yelled as he kicked his chair and Shafir felt the elf’s hand, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold until recently. When he turned, the male smiled and pushed Shafir toward the door, obviously trying to defuse the situation. 

“Well, alright captain! We will take our leave! Make sure you calm down. We will be back later!” Shafir watched as Eliqinor waved his injured hand before slamming his way out the back door of the office toward the back archery range. Once they were out the front door and onto the crowded street, the male sighed heavily. 

“I-” 

“Please say nothing. That gave me quite the headache.” He rubbed his fingers against his temples and soon enough had a bright smile plastered on his face again. There was definitely something Eliqinor hadn’t told him and whatever it was, Shafir stepped on that landmine and set it off. He couldn’t even recall a time when Eliqinor had been so aggressive. The one who usually started their disputes had always been Shafir, but it was nice to see that Eliqinor had a side that he could relate to. “The captain has been through a lot the past few days…” 

“What do you mean? I haven't been passed out that long, have I?” Shafir watched the smile on the other’s face become a frustrated one. It looks like he had to physically restrain himself from shaking sense into the dark elf. “I mean, it could have been a day or two-”

“Where are my manners? I’m Valneiros. Let’s walk and talk, shall we?” Shafir nodded, and the two began walking through the crowded streets. Shafir wasn’t really shaken up by the entire ordeal with Eliqinor, as he had been angry like that himself. It probably also didn’t help they both just got out of a stressful mission. “The vice-captain, you, had been passed out for four days. It’s been a rough time for all of us. When we saw the flare go off, you do not know what a shitfest it became here.” The wood elf, no, Valneiros, spoke as if he was giving a report to a close friend and not to his superior. 

“And how does that relate to the way Eliqinor just reacted?” Shafir asked, and fidgeted with his gloves. His arms felt naked without the metal arm guards. Valneiros hummed lightly as he seemed to search for a sufficient answer to his vice-captain’s question. More than likely trying to word it without pissing the other off too much. 

“Eliqinor was not in good condition when we got to you two. While you were well taken care of, Eliqinor seemed like a wild creature. He was huddled far away from you and mumbling to himself. I do not think he got hurt by the horse, but I would not call him out on it.” Valneiros sighed and crossed his arms. “Whatever happened that night, he truly believes it is his fault. No amount of prying, I tried. He was still tight-lipped. The only thing I got out of him was saying he was sorry…” Valneiros put a hand on Shafir’s shoulder and smiled. “Try not to be too tough on him right now. He’s probably just as confused by all of this as you are.” 

“I guess I can’t hold a grudge against him. We did both just get out of a life or death situation.” Shafir felt his shoulders sink in defeat. If he could remember what happened, then he wouldn’t have run off his mouth like that. 

“Thank you. All I can ask is to take a week off. You need the rest because of your wound and he needs to come to terms with what has transpired. I don’t know if you can trust me, but he really seemed to be worried.” Shafir nodded and swiped Valneiros’ hand off his shoulder before walking off toward his place. He would love to sort this out as soon as possible, but with how Eliqinor was being, it wouldn’t be easy.