Leander was going to be out of commission for at least two more weeks. But both Morris and Dorian were discharged after the first week. That meant that, as soon as Leander got discharged, they would need to go on another mission.

Morris felt like Leander was being unfair to himself, again. He had tried to do his exercises during the first day, only to fall on the floor. The nurses had restrained him, after that. And now, Leander was all but chained to his bed.

So, Morris decided to brighten his day a bit. He wondered what he could buy the healer, but came up blank. It had to be something practical. If Morris turned up with a balloon or a get well card, he was sure that Leander wouldn't be impressed.

That led him to the guildhall's item shop. He was looking at the things in the fitness section. Leander was too beat up for a jumping rope. An elastic band also wouldn't work. But the balls that were meant to built up reflexes looked promising. They were even scented.

He was wondering between the orange scented one and the rose scented one. Then, he decided that treating Leander like a girl would earn him a glare, and he picked up the orange scented one.

After buying it, he had the cashier wrap it up in a simple brown box with a nice, red, ribbon, and he was off. On the way, he saw a lemonade stand, and he made a beeline for it. The little elf child behind it was adorable, and he wanted to make it happy.

"Hello, how much for a bottle?" The little girl pointed at a sign, and Morris chuckled at the uneven words. It read:

10 copper coins for a glass.

1 silver coin for a bottle.

Special offer: 3 bottles for the price of 2!

"Well, then, fair lady, I will be taking three bottles," Morris figured that Dorian would welcome a cool drink, too. And he could use the extra bottle as an excuse to sit by Leander for a while.

The elf girl placed three bottles, already filled, in a knitted bag and handed it to Morris.

"That would be two silver coins and fifty coppers. If you return the bag, I will give you back the fifty coppers," Morris noted that the speech sounded rehearsed, and he smiled.

"Do people not return the bags, usually?" He took out the money without a protest and handed them over.

"No. And it takes me a long time to make them. So, I don't have that many of them," Morris looked at the bag. It was expertly made and he got an idea.

"Say, can you make me something? I'll pay you," the girl pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it over to Morris.

Scarves: 10 silver coins.

Mittens: 5 silver coins.

Gloves: 20 silver coins.

Hats: 1 gold coin.

Renia the elf does not take responsibility if your order was not specific enough, and you got something you did not want. This is a licensed crochet artist.

"Well, Renia, make a set of a scarf, gloves and a hat. All in a very nice bright yellow color. Imagine the sun through a cloud, and you will get the color. Also, can you stitch the adventurer's guild insignia on them? And make them a bit bigger?" Renia nodded and she wrote all the details down.

"One adventurer's set coming right up. The waiting period is two days. Thank you for your patronage," Morris nodded and went on his way.

Once he made it to the hospital, he saw Dorian with a bouquet of flowers heading towards Leander's room. Huh? Why was Dorian bringing Leander flowers?

"Hey Dorian, here to see Leander?" Dorian nodded, a small smile on his lips.

"I figured that I could come and bring something. These are forget-me-nots. To remind Leander that he has people waiting for him to recover," Morris finally understood why the blue flowers looked familiar. But, it still irked him.

"That is nice of you," he said in a clipped tone. It truly was, but Morris had the sinking feeling like he had competition all of a sudden.

"Say, do you think Leander would get insulted if I ask him out on a date once he gets better?" Dorian's question was like a slap to Morris.

"Oh, I don't know about him, but you and I will be having troubles if you do," Dorian raised an eyebrow at that.

"You knew him for longer. You should have acted sooner. Now, you missed your chance," Dorian noted the box in Morris's hand and the bag and gritted his teeth. It seems that he hadn't been the only one to want to be with Leander.

"Why can't he decide?" Morris was smirking down on Dorian, and the tank felt like he wanted to tackle the berserker on the ground. But, that would just get them thrown out of the hospital.

"He should. It is only fair," agreed Dorian, and the two reached out for the door handle to Leander's room at the same time.

"I know him for longer, as you yourself said. He would be expecting me to come in first," Dorian huffed at that.

"I am the one with the flowers," he argued back.

"I brought fresh drinks," Morris snapped, and Dorian's expression became stormy.

"I picked and wrapped the forget-me-nots myself. It took me the entire morning," Morris looked at the flowers and had to admit that they were well wrapped. He had thought that they were store bought.

"Morris? Dorian? Are you guys outside? Why aren't you coming in?" Came Leander's voice from inside, and Morris smirked at Dorian.

"He said my name first," Morris pushed his way past Dorian and opened the door with a bright smile. Dorian waited for him to get inside and walked in, too.

Sure, Morris had won this round, but the fight was not over. For, surely, Leander liked Dorian better. If for no other reason than because he was more supportive.