The elf licked his finger as he turned another page of the large book in his hand. It was a classic tale of romance between a prince and a princess. The prince was mysterious, discovered a beautiful woman and it was love at first sight. He continues watching her from afar and falls more in love with her every single day. One day she catches them and the two begin talking. She is unamused with being watched but soon warms up to him. His heart is broken when he discovers she is betrothed to someone else but they make a plan to escape together and live happily ever after. Even though it was a common story, it still never failed to grab Mari's interest. Romance was his weakness and he'd read just about any romantic story even if he only ended up frustrated by it.
Suddenly, a knock on the door caused Elmarius to drop the book on the floor. "Is that Hakeem? How long have I been laying here?! The bed...! We have to..!" He thought to himself in a panic. The dreaded hour had finally arrived. Elves had a funny inability to keep track of time. They lived for so long that days could go by and it would only feel like hours to them. This flaw made it difficult to maintain relationships with humans and others with short lifespans. Outliving so many other races was just another reason why they often kept to themselves. The elf began frantically feeling the bottom of the tub until he found the stopper. He yanked the plug out to drain the water and splashed himself in the face causing his bangs to stick to his eyes. He brushed them back quickly, inadvertently slapping himself in the face. "J-Just a second! I'll be right there!" He squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of the crack in his voice but took a step out of the tub and reached for the towel. Just as he was about to grab it he slipped and nearly fell onto the floor but, he managed to catch himself on the sink this time and quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. He grabbed a second one for his hair before going to the door. Why was he even so worried? They were both men after all. There was nothing physically different about them. Hakeem probably didn't even care about this type of thing, like most men, and it would seem strange if the elf did. Maybe he could get away with saying it was a cultural difference...but Mari didn't really want to risk that. This would be the first time Hakeem had ever seen this much of him in contrast, the shifter often walked around in only his pants. He knew the only reason he cared was because–well–that was something he was not ready to admit to himself. The elf went to the door with the key in his hand and his other gripping the towel. He opened the door and was shocked to see a drenched shifter on the other side. A puddle had even formed at Hakeem's feet while he was waiting.
"Hakeem?! What in the bloody hell happened to you?! You're soaked and it was freezing outside!" The shifter only gave a bashful smile and tilted his head,
"Uh..." The elf's eyelid's lowered and he put his hand on his hip. He began tapping his foot as he waited for an answer. He really had no patience. The cat was just staring at him as he tried to come up with an excuse. He had an unexpected look of sheepishness and it caused the elf to relax. Hakeem was always so carefree and confident he had never seen him so...bashful? He was becoming too angry and that wasn't what he wanted Hakeem to think. He wasn't angry with him. It was quite the opposite. "I had to pee." The elf pinched the bridge of his nose and he could feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance at those crude words which were obviously a lie. Hakeem was too honest to be a good liar. He didn't want to be angry but it was hard to control.
"I know you're lying but nevermind... Whatever it was, it better have been important. You could catch your death out there...You aren't like me." Hakeem's ears immediately perked up and his tail was swishing from side to side.
"Are you worried about me?" The elf's eyes widened and his face flushed before he turned and walked back into the room to let the shifter enter. He was nearly stomping on the floor as he kept a firm grip on his towel.
"Not worried! I just can't stand how stupid you can be sometimes." Hakeem's ears flattened and he just sighed. Of course he wasn't worried. Elmarius wasn't nearly as empathetic as Hakeem. He had already known that from the start.
"Oh..." He couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice even though he wanted to. It felt like his heart had been crushed by a boulder. Elmarius bit down on his bottom lip. Every ounce of dejection in Hakeem's voice stabbed him right in his chest like a cloud of daggers. Did he really just call him "stupid?" He was the one that was stupid. He tore his pajamas from the bag and walked with heavy footsteps to the bathroom. Why was he like this? Always hiding behind a facade? Why couldn't he just be honest like Hakeem? He closed the bathroom door behind him silently and pressed his back against it. He clutched his chest and he could feel his heart slamming against it once again. It was becoming so difficult to be around the shifter, so painful.
Hakeem placed the bowl and cup of water on the nightstand before looking over at the bag. There was a pair of clothes for him inside as well, Elmarius didn't trust the shifter to carry such important supplies on account of his impulsiveness. He pulled out a pair of dry clothes and stared at the door as he waited for Elmarius. The elf must have just finished his bath if he was still in the towel when the shifter had just walked in. He had never seen Mari with so little clothes on. He felt his heart bounce at the realization it also made him snicker at how hairless elves truly were. His skin looked smooth and soft to the touch. Before that thought could go any further Elmarius stepped out of the bathroom in a long, plain, white nightgown. He was fidgeting with his fingers as he approached the shifter.
"Look... I... I.. What I said before... Well..." There was a long silence as Elmarius carefully chose his words. Not only were they hard to pick but being honest–no–being vulnerable was something he was not used to. It was something he had long forgotten how to do yet, to Hakeem it was second nature. Elmarius admired that about him, he loved that about him. "You aren't stupid. You're just reckless...You act as though you've got the immunity of an elf when really, you're just as fragile as any other humanesque creature...Elves cannot catch disease but something that is so miniscule it cannot even be seen with our eyes can completely destroy a body like yours..." Hakeem was surprised as he raised his head to meet the elf's red face. Elmarius was apologizing to him? That meant that he was right, the elf was worried about him. He just had one hell of a way of showing it. A large grin formed on the cat's face and he shoved the bowl into Elmarius's hands,
"I knew you were worried about me! Don't worry it will definitely be worth it even if I get sick!"
"Hakeem! I can't cure something I can't even see! What could be that important? If it's another mouse we are not keeping it. They carry diseases." Elmarius crossed his arms as he watched the shifter go over to the fireplace with the cup of water. Hakeem placed the cup over the small pot that hung over the fireplace and reached into his pocket and dropped the mint leaves into the water. Elmarius walked over and sat on the floor still confused as to why any of this had any importance. At least it had nothing to do with mice.
"What are you doing exactly?" The shifter snickered as he closed the lid and began rubbing his hands together quickly. He placed them on the wood in the fireplace until a stream of smoke was released into the air. Elmarius had seen the shifter do this before. He was a skilled enough monk to use the spell, Burning Hands. He removed his hands and allowed the fire to grow until a strong flame had grown from the embers. A fire was useful but it didn't explain anything. The blond haired man, being as impatient as he was, went to reach for the lid only for Hakeem to grab his hand. He could feel his heart skip a bear as he looked down at the hand holding his wrist. They were in such a close proximity that one of Hakeem's dreadlocks brushed against his cheek when he thrusted his arm forward to stop the elf.
"Not yet! It isn't ready! I am going to take my bath and when I get back, then it will be ready. Don't touch it until then!" The elf only nodded as he couldn't manage to move much more than that. His eyes were locked with Hakeem's until the cat pulled away and stood from the floor. Even his neck was red now which made Hakeem snicker. Giddily, he went into the bathroom and shut the door. Elves were so funny because they became frazzled so easily but even that interaction left butterflies in the cat's stomach. He couldn't stop smiling to himself even while he was in the tub. He couldn't wait to see the look on Mari's face. He hoped that the other would smile even if it was a small one. He wanted to make Mari happy even if only for tonight, even if only for a moment. The elf had such a miserable life he wanted nothing more than for him to experience joy, freedom, and maybe even love. Even if it wasn't with him. He just wanted Mari to be happy. He deserved that much after all he had been through.
Comments (0)
See all