I Scored Myself A Mate

He had run away. Just like that guy had said. Alex had found himself running into the forest, his feet messily landing on the dirt until he found himself lost deep into the endless trees. He stopped at a small lake, seeing its crystal clear waters and approaching it. 

His reflection was not happy, he thought as he sat down, seeing an image of himself. 

"Who are you?" He asked the lake but unfortunately he got no answer. "Did you really create all that mess?" He asked again. From what Ares had said it was obvious his disappearance had made a lot of people unhappy. He was loved, even by him who had been shouting at him, pressuring him to face himself. A sled he couldn't see. 

How many people had cried while he was gone. How many people wished for him to return while he lived happily, deciding to give up on his life? He was really a coward.

"Who are you?" He asked again but his reflection simply stared at him blankly, leaving him empty and angry. 

He punched the water, for a second ruining the perfect image but the pieces soon assembled again, showing his depressed face, as if nothing had changed. 

He liked swimming. That thought popped into his head and he saw himself swimming at another lake, away from here, outside from the Veil. He liked swimming and he liked soccer. He liked reading books underneath the apple tree in his garden and he liked looking at the ceiling of his bedroom that looked like a starry sky. 

He stood up, taking off his worn out shoes and his shirt. He felt the cold wind caress his back, he felt the pain of his injury and he remembered the view of his scarred body. He used to be ashamed of it. The scars, the slashes, the cuts. His back was a work of art, showing the wounds of war, the pain of hatred. He took in a deep breath and stepped into the cold lake, feeling his body freeze as he walked deeper. 

Alex found himself swimming to a point where his feet couldn't touch the ground anymore. He found himself surrounded by cold water and his body numbing. He dived under, seeing the blue of the lake surrounding him as he shut off the rest of the world. 

He didn't want to disappoint anyone else. He didn't want people to be sad because of him. He wanted to know who he was. He didn't want to give up. He kept thinking about that, his breath imprisoned in his lungs as he closed his eyes. His ears began to ring, he felt as if he would faint but he didn't attempt to reach the surface. Behind his closed eyes, something flashed.

"I don't want you to leave" he heard himself say. "Can't you stay?" He asked him. 

Theseus stood before him, younger but still incredibly handsome. Both of them were panting, unconscious bodies surrounding them and a slash of blood was on the elf's pale skin, like war paint.

Theseus grinned turning around for a second, his eyes having caught the last enemy. He started running while the opponent braced himself. He jumped up, making Allias gasped with how he moved and landed right on his chest, pinning him down. 

Allias felt someone grab him from behind. This enemy was the last one, he thought as he felt him threaten his life with a sharp knife.

"If you move, I will kill him." He said, his voice shaking as he stared at Theseus.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" the Disee elf said. Allias moved his head back, hitting him and making him stumble before he grabbed him by the neck, his palms illuminated by the magic in his veins.

Their last opponent was dead. Allias dropped him to the ground, turning his attention to the man.

"Back to what I was saying...can't you please stay?" Allias asked him, watching how Theseus approached him. He placed his sword back into its case, his hand landing gently on the prince's chest and he smiled. His purple eyes searched for a reaction before he leaned in and kissed him, taking him in his embrace, feeling his fluttering heartbeat on his chest.

"We did good today. Thank you for helping me on my mission." He said and Allias frowned. Theseus attempted to leave but the prince stopped him, grabbing his arm, his hands sore from fighting.

"Why are you not answering me? Is this how we're going to be? Meeting for a few days, a week at best and then you disappearing? How long has this lasted? I am being pressured, they're asking me if I will be accepting marriage candidates."

"Oh the little prince has grown up." Theseus joked, agitating Allias.

"You think this is funny? All the times you told me you loved me were funny to you?" He asked him. 

"I can't come to the palace with you". Theseus said, once more not answering his question.

"Why not?" The young elf shouted. He was in pain. Every day he would wonder when he would see him, every time he appeared he would worry that he would leave into the night, without a clue and once he left he was scared that he would never come back. No matter how many times Theseus had told him he loved him Allias could never truly believe him, he never stayed. He never chose him.

"Because I am not made to live this life. I don't want to be locked in a palace with you" he said, breaking Allias' heart.

"Is that what you think? That you would be locked in a palace? What about me? Me being there...does it matter?" He asked him.

"You're here now."

"You think I'll be going after you all of my life?" The prince asked him. Theseus grinned, provoking him.

He was lying, hiding his fear behind his cruel words. He had had this conversation with Allias many times before, his answer always remaining the same. No, he wouldn't stay with him. Because if he did everyone would know, everyone would see he wasn't good enough for him. They were going to be disappointed, Allias would hate him, he would get bored of him.

"You love me." Theseus stated.

"But you love me not. That's why you don't want a life with me." Allias told him. 

"You're overthinking things again." The Disee prince said as he looked up at the sky. The sun was setting and night was approaching soon. It was his time to leave. "It's getting late, I have to leave." He told him and attempted to kiss him but Allias turned his head. 

"You're running away." Allias told him and Theseus laughed. He started walking away backwards so he could see the prince.

"I am not."

"Yes you are you coward. You are running away from something and I will figure it out!" He shouted. "I won't be always here. Then you will regret, you will feel like I do about all the list time" he warned him.

"We have eternity to meet again and again" he had said

Theseus waved at him, carefree before he teleported away, a second early just he could avoid seeing his tears. 

Theseus back then didn't know that one he would come to regret it. All the times he had said no, all the tears Allias had shed, feeling alone and dumped. Only when he had held him in his arms, lifeless, begging for him to come back would he realize that even eternity could be fragile.

That the days, the seconds, everything counted.

Alex found himself struggling for air, getting over the water, panting, his hair getting into his face. He opened his eyes, wide.

"Once more" he told himself and breathed in before diving again.