The office was empty when Viren stumbled into it early the next morning. He had considered calling in sick, but the longer he delayed the necessary conversation with Runaan, the harder it would be to initiate. His memory was a little fuzzy after the elven ale, which he discovered acted as an aphrodisiac to humans when he had looked it up at the breakfast table. Viren needed to know if Runaan had been aware of the side-effects of the drink or if it had been an unfortunate mistake. Either way, Viren would have to apologize his actions.
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat in his chair, fighting down the memories of the way he had straddled the elf's thighs and gyrated against Runaan's groin. "Ugh," he groaned, stretching his arms out over the surface of his desk. The worst part about the evening had been the confusion reaction from Runaan. Viren sat back up and brushed his lips with his fingers. He was certain that Runaan had kissed him, but the memory was faint— distorted. For all Viren knew, it might have been part of a dream that he had during the night. He pulled out his phone and brought up the photo of the two of them at the pub. After their encounter in the cab, he doubted that they would ever look that happy around each other again. A vague recollection of an important notification floated to the front of his mind. Viren went to his activity thread and saw the new follower message, eyes lingering on the username. After a moment's consideration, Viren pressed the follow back option and went to Aaravos' account. A low whistle passed through his lips when he saw the incredibly high follower count. Though, as soon as Viren started scrolling through the photos, he could understand why the elf had over half a million followers. High fashion photographs aside, there were gorgeous photos of places all across Katolis and even some in Xadia. Aaravos must constantly be traveling. And alone.
Nearly every photo— save for a few professional photoshoots— were selfies the elf had posted of himself at these gorgeous sites. Though he had smiles in the pictures, Viren found himself wondering if Aaravos felt lonely with no one to share those moments with.
There was a soft knock on Viren's door and he glanced up.
"Aaravos?" he exhaled, powering off his phone before he was caught browsing the elf's feed. A sense of dread bubbled up in his stomach. Though there was no one at the office yet, someone could walk in on them, which would be horrible enough, but that someone could also be Runaan, which might make mending their professional relationship impossible. "I wasn't sure if you would be here yet, but I am glad you are," his CEO answered. To Viren's surprise, Aaravos stayed by the door. There was an apologetic expression on his face as he said, "I took care of the complaint that went in to HR so you don't need to worry about any follow-ups with that." He paused, waiting to see if Viren would offer him a word of thanks. Considering it was Aaravos' fault to begin with, it was only right of him to fix things so Viren merely offered him a stern nod in reply. Aaravos bit his lip, casting his eyes down to the floor. "I apologize, Viren. It was wrong of me to put you in such a situation." He walked over to the desk and leaned against it. Viren's eyes drifted up Aaravos' body, noticing every fold in the fabric of the elf's navy suit and the way his tie drifted slightly to the left against his lilac dress shirt. Viren's hands tightened against his chair's armrest. He wanted to rip that dress shirt open and touch that beautiful black void on the elf's chest. "I just wanted to let you know that I am going to be away for a week," he said, nonchalantly. Viren met his gaze. He felt both relief and regret at the thought of not being able to see Aaravos for at least a week. Though he craved the elf before him, their odd relationship— if you could even call what they had a relationship— was only causing trouble for him. A week apart could help Viren clear his head and forget about how good Aaravos could make him feel.
He cleared his throat. "I see," Viren replied. "Well, then. Have a lovely trip."
Aaravos frowned and leaned back even further, getting a better look at Viren's face, which was stoic— betraying no sort of emotion. He let out a sigh then pushed himself off the desk. After a moment of silence, Aaravos said, "It looks like you had fun last night. Your daughter, Claudia? She tagged the company account in that group photo of your team at the bar."
Viren merely stared at him, not sure why Aaravos was bringing this up. Part of him was scared that Runaan had filed a formal complaint via e-mail last night.
"I was surprised," Aaravos admitted, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't think you were the sort to go out for drinks with your subordinates."
"I'm not," Viren replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not normally, anyways."
Aaravos' eyes searched his face. His stare was so intense that Viren wondered if the elf could read his mind or see into his very soul. "You and Runaan," he began quietly. "You posted a photo of the two of you together, looking quite close. Are the two of you…"
Viren blinked. The way Aaravos' feet kept shifting and the way his fingers were strumming against his arms, combined with the hesitance in his voice almost made it seem like the elf was jealous.
Before he could stop it, a laugh burst from his mouth, making Aaravos jump. The idea was ludicrous. Aaravos could have any lover he wanted, and probably had plenty. There was no way he would be jealous over the idea that Viren and Runaan might be seeing one another. His amusement faded. Unless… Did Aaravos really like him?
"Uh, no," Viren answered. "I'm not interested in Runaan that way."
Aaravos smiled, pleased by that answer. "I see." He walked over to Viren, placing a hand on his shoulder. Then he leaned in, whispering, "As soon as I get back, I am going to fuck you so good that no one else will be able to satisfy you." He pulled away, smirking down at Viren, whose face was completely red. The elf straightened his tie and walked to the door. "You might want to deal with that," His eyes went down to the bulge in Viren's pants. "before your team arrives." He gave him a wink. "See you in a week."
Then he was gone.