I Scored Myself A Mate

"So what have you been thinking about?" Ea asked his husband. The both of them had been scooped up in the palace's archives, checking every file about the soldiers, the guards and the overall staff. Seeking where they came from, what their jobs were before they started working at the palace and most importantly if they were recommended into the palace by a very big noble house. Those were the most suspicious and possible traitors. 

The Archives were actually more like a storage closet than a room. The files of many years had been placed here, messily if Ea could describe it in a very polite manner, in endless piles that caught too much space. Some of the envelopes were from the time Queen Atalanti was alive and that made their work even harder. At the same time they couldn't trust anyone to help them with this job because all of the staff could be holding a knife at their back without them knowing.

It was horrible, Ea had thought, living in an endless masquerade. Surrounded by people without faces. Shiny porcelain with such detailed design all that so you could see it crack one day and behind it, a horrible face to appear, sinister with only evil intentions. 

There was still no news about Allias, a few days later of Theseus' breakdown. The general was slowly getting back to work. Everyone could hear through his cries deep into the night. The small elf had stayed awake many times, concerned as he had lived this whole story before and the outcome scared him. 

As they sat on the dusty floor, reading through old and new files, Ea couldn't help but notice that Ares hadn't spoken a word during all these days they had been stuck in there. The prince had created a huge pile of possible suspects on his side and it got bigger and bigger as time went by. It was the first time that Ea had seen him so infused with his work. 

"I am not thinking about anything. Just doing my job." Ares mumbled as he closed another one of the files and threw it to the side, that one didn't seem to be that important since it was tossed to a pile they had created that they would burn later on. 

"All this time you have not made one inappropriate comment, you haven't said one joke and haven't complained about the work not even once. This is as if you have been kidnapped and someone swapped you with a look alike." Ea told him and Ares sighed, letting go of the file he was holding. He raised his head and looked at him, expressionless for a bit before his eyes turned sad. 

"I wasn't here the last time, Ea." Ares said and the small elf raised his eyebrow, not really understanding what the prince was saying at first. "I wasn't here. I hadn't seen my brother like...this. I am sure that it was even harder back then. Horrible even, and you had to go through all that alone, I hadn't been here not for my brother and not for you. I always mess up and then...then I get hit by the aftereffect just to feel disgusted by myself." he said. 

"Ares…"

"No, I don't want you to comfort me. It was supposed to be something funny. Something I always do, silly carefree me without a zip on his mouth. Allias shouldn't have been left there in that river. I am always unable to understand the seriousness of a situation and things always end up ruined." he told his husband. 

Ea moved closer, sitting next to him. Their knees touched and the elf placed his palm gently on his thigh, meeting his eyes with a faint smile. Well, he wasn't wrong, that's why Ares didn't want his comfort. It would be as if Ea was lying in his face. That would hurt him even more. 

"I won't comfort you but please remember, none of us really did anything to get him out of the river. I think that after everything we've all come to overestimate our abilities. We've tricked death, escaped so many times that we don't actually believe that any of us could die. Maybe that's why we view Theseus as dramatic. He is the only one of us who had to feel the pain of seeing death, having him take the person you loved the most and living so long without them. Ares, you are you. Unique in your own way. Do I think you should have a bit more tact? Yes, but that doesn't mean that this whole thing is solely your fault. If you ask me it's no one's fault. Do I feel bad about it? Yes, it's the kind of guilt we can't avoid but believe me. You are wonderful and kind and a lot of other nice things. There is no reason to feel bad about what happened in the past or wonder what would happen if you were a completely different person. All that matters is that you see the mistakes and fix them. Then you move on. You have come really far, you know that?" his husband asked him and caressed his cheek, feeling Ares relax under his touch. 

"Do you think my brother will hate me?" Ares asked him and Ea laughed. 

"Theseus? Hate you? He loves you a lot more than you know. I mean, he let you off with lots of things." 

"Yeah." Ares agreed with a grin on his face. "I know."

"But maybe it would be good to have a talk with him."

"I know that too."

"Do you know now that it is not your fault what happened?" Ea asked him and the prince scoffed. 

"I am trying to." 

"Then that's enough. Now take this and start reading them, we've wasted too much precious time with your insecurities." Ea told him and tossed a pile of files right in front of him. 

"That was....tactless" the elf said and both of them laughed.