I had to distract myself today. During dinner my dad told me I should write some real literature and not fanfiction. And you know what? I totally disagree with him. Because the reason I write fanfiction is because I enjoy writing it. If I wanted to write about my family tragedies then I would. But I don't want to.
So yeah, I took this fic I hadn't finished yet and completed it to write away my feelings.
Ja'far was never good with the heat. It usually didn't matter though. The advisor wouldn't be seen outside that often. He was always working, locking himself up in the deepest parts of the palace to work on paperwork his king neglected. He didn't mind working the whole time. Inside, the temperature wouldn't rise to an unbearable height and the sun couldn't enter. To Ja'far his office was his favorite place. As long as he could work he never had to enter the heat.
But sometimes the heat would come to find Ja'far instead. And even if the rays of sunlight couldn't enter through the thick walls and doors, they had found a person to do this for them. Sinbad.
The king burst in to the room, where his advisor was working on new street plans. Only when Sinbad slammed his hands on the desk, did the white haired man look up.
"You're coming outside with me." Sinbad said.
"I won't. There's still a lot of work to do." Ja'far replied in the hope Sinbad would leave him alone.
"I don't care. You need a break right now. You've been in here for too long." Sinbad wouldn't take no for an answer, Ja'far knew this when he put his quill down. Couldn't he be alone just one time, finishing his work one time?! No, as long as Sinbad would be around he couldn't relax. Let alone sleep decent. It surprised the advisor his king hadn't noticed the signs of pure exhaustion underneath his eyes yet. Unless it had become so casual, Sinbad no longer cared about it.
"If I might remind you, Sin, if we don't solve the problem around the new houses, hundreds will be homeless for a long time." It was true though. They both knew a new ship with refugees would arrive within a week and that the amount of vacant houses was low.
"It's just for a short amount of time, Ja'far. You have assistants that can help you with these things. They don't just exist to deliver scrolls."
"Which is something they can't do well either. Do you want me to entrust these things to them?" Ja'far snapped back.
"I do." The king said as he started to pull at Ja'far sleeve to drag him out of his chair. "Wouldn't it be better if you can actually watch your problem from up close?" Why did he have to make that point? There was no way, Ja'far could refuse now. Mentally cursing his king for the way he could manipulate him in this, he stood up from his chair. Only now he felt how tired he really was, the world swayed a little, his vision unfocused for a few seconds.
"Ja'far, are you okay?" He heard Sinbad ask. "I knew you needed some rest."
Ja'far shook his head. "I'm fine, Sin. Let's just go already!" He was in no mood to argue or to get rest. If he went to sleep, he knew his office would be a disaster by the time he came back. Not that it wouldn't happen after an hour of lunch with Sinbad, but then he could quickly reverse the situation. Sleep took multiple hours, hours he had been using for work for days now.
Sinbad decided not to bother any longer. Ja'far would hold on to his stubborn nature, and deep down Sinbad wished that side of him would never disappear. He nodded slowly and held the door open so his advisor could leave the room first. He noticed the slow steps Ja'far took, but he kept his promise. Only when Ja'far would admit his defeat would Sinbad start to show his worry again.
…
"Just try this. It's a fresh catch." Sinbad said as he held a fish out to Ja'far. They were standing in the market place, where as soon as the king had showed his face, a small crowd had formed. This and the way his king was acting so careless, irked Ja'far.
He shook his head and pushed the hand holding the fish, out of his face. "I don't have an appetite." He spoke softly and started to walk away.
"Come on Ja'far, try some at least. You haven't eaten anything when you were in your office, right?" Sinbad called after him as he followed his advisor.
"I had tea. That's more than enough." The white haired man responded.
"You can't live of tea. No wonder you look even paler than on other days." The words just escaped him. No matter how many times he had told himself not to sound concerned, he couldn't help himself.
"If I look pale then it's from all the work YOU have given me. If you would do your job just one day, it'd make the office a better place." Ja'far snapped back at him. Sinbad fell silent, the fish hang down at his side. He knew Ja'far was right and that it had always been his fault that the younger man had been working himself to this point.
Sinbad shook his head softly, looked at the fish in his hand, then back to Ja'far. "Look, I know you want to get this to be over with. Enjoy your time off even if it's just for a little." He put an arm around his advisor's shoulders and dragged him with him to the closest bar. "If you do this, I promise I will do more about my paperwork."
"As if." Ja'far sighed softly as he followed his king's movements. Perhaps he did need a break, maybe he needed one drink to forget his problems just this once.
…
That night it was silent in the palace. Ja'far was sleeping and Sinbad sat in his room and stared outside. It had been a rough day with Ja'far around, not wanting to listen at first. The king's idea to get the man drunk hadn't worked as well as he had planned. Before he was anywhere near drunk, he had already passed out. Now Sinbad knew he was a lightweight, but this had surely surprised him. The exertion from too much work and the small amount of alcohol had been enough to bring the man to a sleep he wouldn't even wake from when dinner was to be served. Not having seen the consequences of his actions immediately, Sinbad had arrived back home to an office in pure chaos.
It had been Ja'far's biggest nightmare and something Sinbad had never seen coming. But then again, he barely dragged Ja'far away for this long and especially not when the country was in such a crisis. Those refugees would still arrive the next week and with Ja'far unable to work for one day, they were getting behind on schedule. Still Sinbad was certain he had done the right thing. Well, excluding trying to get his advisor drunk. But exhausted, Ja'far was sure to make mistakes in his work, and now that he was finally asleep, the morning would bring a Ja'far in a better spirit and more capable to do paperwork. As long as the alcohol didn't leave him with a headache though.
After some time and the king decided he too should be heading to bed, he spotted the scrolls placed next to his bed. Paperwork, brought in by Ja'far that morning. Placed in his room so he would not forget to do it.
He hesitated for a moment then walked to the bed.
…
When morning came, Ja'far had been far from happy. Refreshed, yes, but happy, no, he was surely feeling angry if it not disappointed in Sinbad. His head hurt slightly from the alcohol he had consumed the day before and with loud steps he walked to his office. He had missed one day of work and what could happen?
The answer was more than he had feared. Scrolls lay all over the place and it looked as if a tornado had found its way inside and wrecked the place. Just cleaning up would take at least an hour of his time if not more.
Close to exploding with anger, he stepped inside Sinbad's office to fetch the last documents he was sure the king hadn't signed or even looked at.
When he opened the door though, he saw purple spread over the numeral documents. As he came closer, Ja'far saw they had all been signed, some even altered. A soft snoring sounded through the office when Ja'far, holding the scrolls in his arms and showing of small smile on his face, closed the door again.