The Man I Love

A/N:  So I've been modifying the draft I had previously written of this story! I hope you'll like it so far, reviews and ratings are appreciated and most welcome :)

 

 

Chapters are short because of my silly lack of time! *runs away* I promise next one will be longer! *goes back to work*

 

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              The sad elf sat in the bathtub pouring a bit of hot water over his head and letting it flow, closing his eyes and feeling the warmth trail off and let the cool air bite him. His hair became wet and plastered to his skull and face; he rubbed his face with palms full of water to wash away sweat and dry blood. After cleansing himself, he let his body slowly submerge in the steamy water he had poured, until only his eyes and nose were above the water. He calmly breathed in and submerged, letting the air out of his lungs slowly; little bubbles popping once they met the surface. The sound of the bubbles bursting somehow seemed relaxing, and soon the elf entered in a trance-like state of mind, where he was almost dreaming, calm and at peace in his own world.                   He didn’t hear the sounds outside the bathroom; he didn’t see the human coming and hadn’t noticed until Crikton slammed open the bathroom door with an expression of pain, sickness and tiredness. The warrior looked around disoriented and spotted the elf sitting in the bathtub; covering himself with his hands out of surprise, and blushing hardly at the awkwardness of the situation. 

"Crikton!!!" he excitedly exclaimed. The human stumbled closer and knelt beside the bathtub, facing the younger man. He hesitated for some seconds, his face was still puzzled and frowning when he finally recognized Zeyhan. His expression suddenly changed from one of anger to one of relief.

"What am i doing here?" he boldly asked the elf. That was the first question that popped into his disturbed mind.

"I found you in the middle of the fight. You didn’t look fine at all, so I dragged you out of it and took you with me here, were-

"Oh...” Crikton cut his story. He raised his arm, looking at the bandages, then he rose up and approached the sink, looking at himself in the mirror and at the bandage which he had on his head. 

"So i did the best I could. How are you feeling?" 

"Dizzy.." he answered leaning over the sink to try and drink water, his legs faltered and he fell to the floor, still holding himself off the sink.

Zeyhan jumped on his feet out of the water, quickly wrapping a small towel around him and running to help Crikton up.

The warrior stubbornly aimed an elbow at the elf, shooing him off.

‘’I’m ok.’’ He grunted, half ashamed that the elf had to finally help him on to his feet again.

"You shouldn’t walk." The paladin scolded him "You’ve lost a lot of blood and are very weak, you should get some rest..." he said as he placed his hand around Crikton's forearm and helped him straighten up, leading his way back to the bed again. 

"How are you after all these years, Zeyhan? "Crikton spoke in almost a whisper. Zeyhan helped him sit back on the bed, laying his head on the pillow and slowly resting his body. He then rose up his head to look into Zeyhan's eyes and smiled vaguely. The elf returned the smile with half a gesture of reassurance and happiness; he was content that Crikton was better.

"Stay there, I'll bring you water and food." and with that the blood elf headed for the bathroom, then suddenly turned back to look at Crikton, and answered;

‘’I’ve been…’’ he hesitated for a moment, his mind inevitably urging through unwanted memories that he kept deep inside of him, even though he had wanted to erase them from existence, denying what had happened, ‘’…fine’’ he finally said after swallowing hard, and then left to the bathroom and dressed quickly, afterwards heading out without a word to buy food from the innkeeper. 

He returned a few minutes later with bread and water, which he placed beside the sleeping warrior on top of the small furniture by the bed. 

    Zeyhan removed his boots and his heavy shoulder pads, placing them along with the clothing that he had removed from the human, and then sitting beside him on the bed. Outside, he could see through the window, that the sun had gone down to a beautiful sunset, but which was beginning to fill with clouds and moist in the air. The ever-changing climate of Stranglehorn never rested. 

            The elf's emerald eyes were slowly beginning to close because of exhaustion; after the battle and all of the stress that he had gone through with Crikton, he began to feel his body too heavy for him; his eyelids were too heavy and his breath was hard to keep up to the pace at which his mind was working. Sooner than he'd expected he was already asleep and deeply dreaming of the battle that had taken place that morning. 

            The two of them slept until past midnight, when Crikton woke up feeling thirsty. He opened slowly his eyes to find only darkness filling the room. His eyes took a while in accommodating to the absence of light, an in the meantime he heard the heavy breathing of his friend beside him on the bed. It made him feel kind of reassured and accompanied. After being able to see a little bit, he first caught a glimpse of the glass at his left on the small table; he grabbed it and drank eagerly, not stopping to wander what it was before he had finished swallowing. He then saw the bread and gave it a small bite, not being too hungry he left the other half where the rest had originally been. After that he turned his head over his shoulder to look at his right, where the window showed him the dancing droplets swiftly dripping down the glass; the storm with thunders outside. 

At the slight movements of his mate, Zeyhan woke up. 

‘’Hmm… You are awake" he said as he could see the silhouette of Crikton sitting on the bed at his left. 

Crikton slowly nodded as if his friend could see him. 

"How are you feeling now?" Zeyhan spoke solemnly and with a pitch of concern in his voice; he remembered Crikton’s injuries from that afternoon and the blood dripping down his skull brought shivers down his spine.

"Much better..." The warrior answered, flexing his arms softly and fisting his hands. The wounds were practically gone, and the pain of deep cuts and slashes was now just a small pinch behind his rough skin. 

A long silence haunted them; Crikton hardly swallowed before asking the next question; it seemed almost unfair to ask, but he had to do it anyways, he had to know… No. He needed to know.

"Why did you risk it for me?" the question was meant with no harm, just out of plain curiosity.

Zeyhan was caught off guard; he thought the question and its answer over and over, until after a moment of utter silence he managed to babble an answer.

"Because... well, you are my dearest friend and... Well, my only friend " he sighed and turned his head to look the other way, though the action seemed almost meaningless because of the darkness engulfing them. 

"Pssftch , "Crikton snorted and slowly hit Zeyhan in his shoulder with a friendly fisted hand. "Don’t be such a cry baby! “He laughed again 

Zeyhan chuckled at that, but with his eyes half filled in tears. Silent tears which rolled down his cheeks when he blinked; despite being in almost utter darkness, Crikton was aware of the man weeping beside him.

"I just couldn’t simply let you die, you know?" he said in between soft, silent sobs which stole the air out of his lungs.

"I’m fine now, thanks to you of course.“ The human found it even more amazing when he pronounced the words "Whoa..." he exclaimed, stretching out his left hand and gently swiping out the falling tears from the paladin's soft cheeks. At the motion Zeyhan first jumped slightly on the spot, but then raised his own left hand and placed it above the other's hand. ‘’I’ve been saved by someone… I never really thought I’d be worth saving, you know?’’ he joked; laughing nervously as he finally realized the gravity and emotional meaning under the actions of the man sitting beside him. 

 He desperately tried to derive the course of what the conversation was arriving at, and decided to change it by  reproaching at Zeyhan’s kind hearted actions by asking of him;

‘’But what have I taught you some years ago, little elf?’’

 The Paladin took his time to answer; he knew exactly what was being asked of him, he knew the exact words for the answer, but he had no intentions on admitting that he had done wrong on his choice of saving his dearest friend. Instead, he sobbed.

"Don’t cry" the warrior begged him, finally acknowledging the feelings and emotions which stirred his stomach "…it makes me feel so soft for you." he whispered at him, trying to cheer Zeyhan up after noticing his question had done only more harm upon the younger man.

          The heart of the elf began pounding faster and faster, even harder at the touch of this man in a way that he hadn't felt before. He could feel his heart inside of him galloping to get out, almost breaking his chest bare open. It was not a feeling of rush, not a feeling of fear, and certainly not the emotions that had made his state of mind so weak for the past year and a half, after his unfortunate encounter with three Alliance members which were not as kind hearted and trusting as Crikton was.

          Out of pure impulsiveness, the warrior caught Zeyhan’s chin and softly leant forward, brushing his lips against the velvety lips of the elf. Suddenly and for a split of a second, Zeyhan found himself paralyzed and unable to move away; his mouth slightly opened. Crikton inhaled heavily, smiling in content at the scent of the Paladin. <<Sweat, blood, dirt, but yet so sweet and joyful; spicy all in all, mind-blowing, sense-numbing.>> He thought.

"What are you doing-?!

 Zeyhan had finally recovered his senses and pushed Crikton roughly back to his place, backing away from him, almost falling off the bed.

‘’I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!’’ The warrior blunted. ‘’I didn’t mean… I thought… I’m sorry, Zeyhan.’’ He rose up from the bed, steadying his balance before taking his first steps towards the bathroom.

  Silence finally embraced them again; a heavy mantle of awkwardness and mixed feelings oppressing their chests and making them like there was no way out.

       Zeyhan’s mind drifted back to the days when he was out in Ashenvale; working hard to train himself and become a stronger man, when out of nothingness came three Alliance members much stronger than him and confronted him…