Gren looked at Viren then back to Aaravos. His mouth opened to speak, but no words were uttered between his lips. He merely continued to stare at them, flabbergasted.
"Um, if we aren't going to say anything, can I go back to my desk?" Crow Master asked and all six eyes turned to him. Crow sank into his seat and let out a nervous laugh. "Or, I can keep sitting here in silence. That's fine, too."
Finally, Gren let out a deep sigh and looked at Aaravos. "I suspect there is no point in filing paperwork since it would end up on your desk in the morning?"
The elf smirked. "Precisely. I have no plans to fire myself or Viren so why don't we all go back to work and stop wasting company time on trivial matters?"
Gren narrowed his eyes. "With all due respect, this is far from a trivial matter, Aaravos." He turned his attention to Viren. "Surely, you can understand how incredibly inappropriate this is, Viren?"
"I do," he replied, sending Aaravos a sideways glance. "It won't happen again. I promise you."
Gren covered his face with his hands, letting out an exasperated breath. With a shake of his head, he let his hands fall onto his lap, and faced Crow. "Is there anything you would like to say to Viren or Aaravos, Crow?"
The young man straightened and his face turned red as he looked at his two superiors, who were both watching him with expectant expressions on their faces. "Um," he started, quickly looking back at Gren. "I, uh. You make a lovely couple?"
Aaravos chuckled and Viren covered his mouth with a hand, hiding his grin. "Okay! You can go, Crow," Gren groaned. The young man rose from his seat, giving them all an awkward bow then hurried out of the annex before anyone could change their mind about dismissing him. Gren pinched the bridge of his nose, still clearly bothered by situation. He pulled out two pieces of paper and two pens. "I want you both to write an apology letter to the employees who weren't fortunate enough to be on their lunch break during the incident. And give Crow a verbal apology. The boy should never have been exposed to such indecent behaviour at work."
Viren took the pens and paper from Gren's hands without argument. The HR representative stood and glanced at the clock. "I will give you thirty minutes. Fail to get the letters completed and I will have no choice but to file a report and send it to the board of directors."
Aaravos rolled his eyes, but took the pen and paper from Viren, placing it on the desk before him. Gren walked out of the annex, leaving them alone.
"This is exciting," Aaravos said, leaning closer to Viren. "It feels like I am back in school, being punished by my teacher."
Viren frowned, moving away from the elf. "Stop it, Aaravos. This isn't a joke. You might be safe from the board, but I could lose my job."
"I would fire the entire board if that was the case," the elf replied, matter of factly. They sat in silence for a moment then Viren started tapping the pen against Gren's desk. His eyes drifted over to Aaravos, who was watching him with consideration. "There's something on your mind," he said.
Viren nodded and asked, "Why did you do that? And don't give me that I couldn't help it bullshit." He gritted his teeth together. "I'm so embarrassed."
Aaravos' annoyingly charming smirk reappeared on his face. "You can't tell me you didn't enjoy it. Your body suggested that you loved every second of it."
Viren's face turned red and he cleared his throat, "Yes, well, that's besides the point. You can't just do stuff like that, Aaravos. And why did you put Harrow on speaker phone?"
The elf's eyes narrowed and the pen in his hand cracked under the pressure of his hold.
"You lied to me, Viren. Then you tell me that you still have feelings for him after I told you I loved you. Do you realize how alarming it was for me for you not to say it back? I kept hoping that you would speak those words to me at some point in the night. But you never did. Then I come to your work, only to find you chatting with him. It infuriated me. I wanted him to know that you belong to me."
Viren blinked. That was a lot of information for him to process all at once. He had no idea how to respond, or even which point to address first. While he felt a sense of warmth that Aaravos was jealous over Harrow, Viren was angry that the elf had let those emotions control him like that. If Aaravos had found out that Runaan had made advances on Viren, would the startouched elf bend him over Runaan's desk and take him there, too?
The thought excited Viren, but he shook his head, forcing the image of Aaravos fucking him while Runaan sat, watching, out of his head. "I don't belong to you, Aaravos," Viren replied calmly. "Harrow is my friend and I am going to talk to him. Especially since he's moving back to Katolis."
Aaravos stood, a pained expression on his face. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something, but he simply turned and started to walk away.
"Aaravos, wait!" Viren cried, rising from his seat. The elf hesitated, looking over his shoulder.
Viren knew he should be telling Aaravos the truth about his feelings, but the problem was, he had no idea how he felt. His mind was a confused mess. He had wanted to be with Harrow for so long. Viren dreamed about it so often. But the moment Aaravos had barged into his life, those thoughts had become infrequent then disappeared entirely after the first time they had had sex. Every time they were together, Aaravos was the only person on Viren's mind. Even with Harrow on the phone, Viren was only thinking about how desperate his body was for Aaravos' touch.
But… Did he love Aaravos?
"Your letter," he whispered.
Aaravos' expression hardened and the elf stormed up to the desk. He scribbled, I'm sorry, and signed his name on the paper then slammed the pen down.
He stared at the pen under his fingers for a moment then looked at Viren with a vulnerable grimace. "Am I wasting my time?" he asked.
"What?"
"Do you love me, Viren? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you love me?"
Viren swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes widening. He looked away and clutched the fabric of his sleeve cuffs tightly. The silence between them stretched on for too long and Aaravos moved away.
"I see," he sighed.
Aaravos started to walk away.
Viren took a step forward, reaching out for him, but he hesitated. He desperately wanted to be able to tell Aaravos that he loved him, but Viren had promised not to lie again, and, as it stood, he knew that he had yet to fall in love with the elf. There was something he needed to do before he could give his heart to Aaravos.
So, Viren simply watched the elf walk away without trying to stop him.
"Forgive me, Aaravos."
"Um, if we aren't going to say anything, can I go back to my desk?" Crow Master asked and all six eyes turned to him. Crow sank into his seat and let out a nervous laugh. "Or, I can keep sitting here in silence. That's fine, too."
Finally, Gren let out a deep sigh and looked at Aaravos. "I suspect there is no point in filing paperwork since it would end up on your desk in the morning?"
The elf smirked. "Precisely. I have no plans to fire myself or Viren so why don't we all go back to work and stop wasting company time on trivial matters?"
Gren narrowed his eyes. "With all due respect, this is far from a trivial matter, Aaravos." He turned his attention to Viren. "Surely, you can understand how incredibly inappropriate this is, Viren?"
"I do," he replied, sending Aaravos a sideways glance. "It won't happen again. I promise you."
Gren covered his face with his hands, letting out an exasperated breath. With a shake of his head, he let his hands fall onto his lap, and faced Crow. "Is there anything you would like to say to Viren or Aaravos, Crow?"
The young man straightened and his face turned red as he looked at his two superiors, who were both watching him with expectant expressions on their faces. "Um," he started, quickly looking back at Gren. "I, uh. You make a lovely couple?"
Aaravos chuckled and Viren covered his mouth with a hand, hiding his grin. "Okay! You can go, Crow," Gren groaned. The young man rose from his seat, giving them all an awkward bow then hurried out of the annex before anyone could change their mind about dismissing him. Gren pinched the bridge of his nose, still clearly bothered by situation. He pulled out two pieces of paper and two pens. "I want you both to write an apology letter to the employees who weren't fortunate enough to be on their lunch break during the incident. And give Crow a verbal apology. The boy should never have been exposed to such indecent behaviour at work."
Viren took the pens and paper from Gren's hands without argument. The HR representative stood and glanced at the clock. "I will give you thirty minutes. Fail to get the letters completed and I will have no choice but to file a report and send it to the board of directors."
Aaravos rolled his eyes, but took the pen and paper from Viren, placing it on the desk before him. Gren walked out of the annex, leaving them alone.
"This is exciting," Aaravos said, leaning closer to Viren. "It feels like I am back in school, being punished by my teacher."
Viren frowned, moving away from the elf. "Stop it, Aaravos. This isn't a joke. You might be safe from the board, but I could lose my job."
"I would fire the entire board if that was the case," the elf replied, matter of factly. They sat in silence for a moment then Viren started tapping the pen against Gren's desk. His eyes drifted over to Aaravos, who was watching him with consideration. "There's something on your mind," he said.
Viren nodded and asked, "Why did you do that? And don't give me that I couldn't help it bullshit." He gritted his teeth together. "I'm so embarrassed."
Aaravos' annoyingly charming smirk reappeared on his face. "You can't tell me you didn't enjoy it. Your body suggested that you loved every second of it."
Viren's face turned red and he cleared his throat, "Yes, well, that's besides the point. You can't just do stuff like that, Aaravos. And why did you put Harrow on speaker phone?"
The elf's eyes narrowed and the pen in his hand cracked under the pressure of his hold.
"You lied to me, Viren. Then you tell me that you still have feelings for him after I told you I loved you. Do you realize how alarming it was for me for you not to say it back? I kept hoping that you would speak those words to me at some point in the night. But you never did. Then I come to your work, only to find you chatting with him. It infuriated me. I wanted him to know that you belong to me."
Viren blinked. That was a lot of information for him to process all at once. He had no idea how to respond, or even which point to address first. While he felt a sense of warmth that Aaravos was jealous over Harrow, Viren was angry that the elf had let those emotions control him like that. If Aaravos had found out that Runaan had made advances on Viren, would the startouched elf bend him over Runaan's desk and take him there, too?
The thought excited Viren, but he shook his head, forcing the image of Aaravos fucking him while Runaan sat, watching, out of his head. "I don't belong to you, Aaravos," Viren replied calmly. "Harrow is my friend and I am going to talk to him. Especially since he's moving back to Katolis."
Aaravos stood, a pained expression on his face. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something, but he simply turned and started to walk away.
"Aaravos, wait!" Viren cried, rising from his seat. The elf hesitated, looking over his shoulder.
Viren knew he should be telling Aaravos the truth about his feelings, but the problem was, he had no idea how he felt. His mind was a confused mess. He had wanted to be with Harrow for so long. Viren dreamed about it so often. But the moment Aaravos had barged into his life, those thoughts had become infrequent then disappeared entirely after the first time they had had sex. Every time they were together, Aaravos was the only person on Viren's mind. Even with Harrow on the phone, Viren was only thinking about how desperate his body was for Aaravos' touch.
But… Did he love Aaravos?
"Your letter," he whispered.
Aaravos' expression hardened and the elf stormed up to the desk. He scribbled, I'm sorry, and signed his name on the paper then slammed the pen down.
He stared at the pen under his fingers for a moment then looked at Viren with a vulnerable grimace. "Am I wasting my time?" he asked.
"What?"
"Do you love me, Viren? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you love me?"
Viren swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes widening. He looked away and clutched the fabric of his sleeve cuffs tightly. The silence between them stretched on for too long and Aaravos moved away.
"I see," he sighed.
Aaravos started to walk away.
Viren took a step forward, reaching out for him, but he hesitated. He desperately wanted to be able to tell Aaravos that he loved him, but Viren had promised not to lie again, and, as it stood, he knew that he had yet to fall in love with the elf. There was something he needed to do before he could give his heart to Aaravos.
So, Viren simply watched the elf walk away without trying to stop him.
"Forgive me, Aaravos."