Eliqinor’s head hurt. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this way. His skin felt like it was on fire and he could taste blood in his mouth. It wasn’t the first time he had woken up like this, but it was the first time he intentionally put himself in this position. Backlash and mana sickness… He had to be careful of everything, but Eliqinor didn’t care. Not when it involved Shafir.
Eliqinor’s vision was blurry when he finally had the strength to open his eyes. This always happened when he had an episode of backlash. Depending on the severity, he would lose one or all of his senses. This time, it was terrible. Hearing anything was difficult for him. He didn’t know if the infirmary’s quietness or the side effects of the backlash were to blame.
When he looked down at his hands, they were no longer charred black, but his calloused, pale fingers looked back at him. Eliqinor’s fingernails were the only thing still affected by the backlash. It dyed the normally pristine nails almost pitch black.
How long had he passed out? Time in his unconsciousness seemed to drag on forever, almost like an eternity. Eliqinor didn’t mind thoug as he could still feel the wisp-like traces of Shafir’s mana running through his every vein. He dreamed he was still holding onto the dark elf’s hands and pressed comfortably close. Eliqinor swore in his sleep he could still feel the warmth and embarrassment dripping off of Shafir’s very being. It was hard for him to find a word for these feelings. A vague idea of what they were came to his thoughts, but he decided it was better not to jump to conclusions.
“Mhmmm…”
With his hearing finally returning, he could hear the soft snore of other patients, but the sleepy groan caught his attention. Only because it was so close and his chest thumped heavily in his chest when he looked over. The one who had made the noise was none other than Shafir. He sat peacefully in a chair beside the bed. His head rested in his arms, mere inches away from Eliqinor’s blanketed thigh. It was surprising how calm the younger elf was when sleeping. When asleep, Shafir appeared nothing like his rambunctious and prickly self. Not at all like the feral badger Eliqinor was used to. He looked like a beautiful painting, one made by a lover admiring one’s virtue.
“Shafir,” Eliqinor said and jostled Shafir by his shoulder. There was little to no movement, but he could feel the muscle tense under the tunic. “Go back to your bed.”
“Mhn?” Shafir’s eyes cracked open slightly. The purple seemed to glow in the dark, but Eliqinor knew that was impossible. He was just naturally drawn to the odd color, along with the soft smile that adorned his lips.
Ba-dump
It wasn’t often Eliqinor got to see Shafir smiling so carefree. The high elf could count all the times he saw it on one hand, and he doubted it would go past that. Though here he was, smiling as if he had no cares in the world.
“Go back to your room and go to bed,” Eliqinor repeated to the sleepy elf. Shafir rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly. There is no way he can be this adorable, Eliqinor thought as he leaned closer to Shafir. He was about to say something before being interrupted.
“You are a real pain, ya know that?” Shafir said in between sleepy yawns. His mouth widened like a cat who had been sitting in the sun for too long and was growing tired. Eliqinor also couldn’t help but find the drawl in his words, making him seem cuter.
“I’m sorry,” Eliqinor said with shame. He knew what he did was stupid and reckless. More so that he could have died… But at least he was happy to have helped Shafir. The dark elf was someone who had almost everything taken away from him. Eliqinor pitied him, but he also felt an emotion stronger than pity when he looked at Shafir.
“Thank you…” With that, Shafir leaned across the small space that separated them from the bed. His hands landed on Eliqinor’s blanketed thighs to keep himself balanced. Warmth exploded on Eliqinor’s lips when they made contact, and he felt his cheeks heat.
Sh-Shafir kissed him!
Ba-dump
Ba-dump ba-dump
Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump
Eliqinor leaned into the warmth, his hand cupped Shafir’s face and-
“Captain?”
When Eliqinor heard Valneiros calling out to him, it startled him out of his sleep. He must have looked undignified, falling asleep so easily while working. It hadn’t been more than a day or two since they had returned from their mission, but he refused to leave the office. Given that he knew who was in the room across from him, he couldn’t bring himself to go.
“Captain, you need to go home and get some sleep,” Valneiros said as he checked Eliqinor’s wounded hand. It was red from when he accidentally fell asleep on it, but it didn’t hurt too much. Eliqinor barely felt any pain when he punched the tree.
“No, I’m staying,” Eliqinor said. He couldn’t leave when Shafir hadn’t woken up yet. There was no way he wanted to leave him alone, even if Valneiros was keeping a dutiful eye on the dark elf. It was his responsibility to look after his vice-captain and be there when he woke up.
“Love has truly made you a fool, Captain,” Valneiros said as he finished wrapping Eliqinor’s hand once more. There was a sigh before the wood elf made his way across the room to the newly constructed door in the office. It had gotten done faster than Eliqinor had expected, but leaving it to Valneiros was a good idea. The wood elf was more than capable of finding good constructors to work in the office.
“If love has made me a fool, then I was a fool the moment I laid eyes on him,” Eliqinor stated plainly. He couldn’t have explained his attraction to the dark elf as a teenager, but he now understood it. He had known for a while but his love was foolish as it was unrequited, or so he thought. The kiss they shared in the infirmary as squires could have meant nothing… But the heated kisses they shared in the woods? That couldn’t lack meaning. Shafir had come undone by his lips and touch like a sailor’s hands untangling a boling knot. With little to no prodding.
Eliqinor didn’t know if the alcohol affected it or if the near-death experience had flung Shafir into his arms. Not that he was complaining too much. Eliqinor was aware that he had initiated contact thanks to the liquid courage. Though he didn’t expect Shafir to return the kisses with such a delirious hunger.
“You are a hopeless case. I expect you to know that.” Valneiros rolled his eyes and slipped into the side room, escaping the rest of the office. Eliqinor went back to his papers, willing himself not to fall asleep again. For if he did… Who knows if he would wake up in time to see Shafir’s recovery?
~ ☽ ✧ ☾ ~
“Look at you two! I can’t even stand you!” She quickly covered up the expression of rage and shame she had painted on her face as she frustratedly ran her fingers down her face. After everything that had transpired recently, the way she was acting did not surprise Shafir. What they had done was by all means stupid. “You don’t look like knights of Slentis right now! All bruised and broken… I swear my mother hired a couple of idiots.”
Aila huffed in annoyance, her face finally uncovered so that she could stare at them. She probably wouldn’t succeed in intimidating them, at least not on Shafir, if she tried. He had seen her angry enough to know she wouldn’t do anything to them.
Not long after Shafir had woken up, they were called to the castle. Between Eliqinor’s report and Valeniros’ report of injuries, they mostly considered the mission a failure. While they had dealt with the orc, the mastermind who raised the orc from the dead wasn’t. Due to the expensive injuries and the fact that the necromancer’s trail was running cold, they believed that this was an insufficient way to wrap up the job. So the only way they could address it was by Aila leveling some kind of punishment on them for doing a shoddy job.
“Your Highness- “ Eliqinor started before being cut off by Aila. She turned her gaze to be fixed on the high more deeply than before.
“Oh, don’t get me started on you,” The angry tone in her voice was one Shafir noticed she didn’t use often. It reminded him of her mother. While Aila was more soft-spoken, she still ruled as sternly as her mother. However, she didn’t raise her voice like this unless it was necessary. So seeing her like this was as if they were being scolded by the last Empress.
“You are his superior! How could you let him act so recklessly?! You also know the mission etiquette. If we have no info, you pull a full squad with you. When I said for you to go together, I didn’t mean alone. I’m going to get gray hairs from the likes of you two!” Aila threw her hands up in the air before slumping into her throne. Shafir could only imagine the headache their disaster of a mission caused.
“You Highness, we-“ Shafir struggled to restrain a chuckle as Eliqinor was once more cut off. To see his captain so efficiently shut down after the outburst he had earlier at the office was hilarious. While what they did was indeed careless and dangerous, it was still funny to watch Eliqinor turn into a bumbling buffoon.
“And you! Did you expect me to send you home in a body bag? How could I explain your behavior to your house and family!?” Aila said, now targeting Shafir. “Hasn’t your mother already lost enough in her life?”
The entire court went silent and not even the royal knights dared to make a noise. There was a waver in her voice that cued everyone in on how upset she was. She indicated to Shafir that she was afraid of losing them by the tiny shaking of her lips and the misty tears in her eyes. He had heard her complaints about becoming empress and consigning people to death. The weight of the crown weighed heavily on her head and her heart.
“But we are alive, your Highness.” Shafir thought that by assuring Aila that they were alive, the stressful atmosphere would subside. This only made the Empress more upset as tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away.
“You will both return home. After that, I will tell you when you go back to work. Shafir will report back to me for work while Eliqinor will resume his job as usual,” Aila announced before storming out of the room. Some issues needed to be addressed, but Shafir was sure those could wait. He had already made her more upset, and he didn’t want to make it worse. While he couldn’t bring himself to call her his friend, he still wanted to console her like one. Shafir decided against it and bowed as she left. If he knew her well enough, she would run off to her little getaway cottage and receive all the consoling she could ever need from her bedridden lover.
