AN: I'm open to any kind of prompts, excluding those involving explicit sex or bodily fluids. I also ship just about anything in the DK universe, including a few things that probably don't exist anywhere outside of my head. Sorry for the late post, I intended to update before this, but some things happened. It's fixed now and requests are in the queue to be written.

Prompt: Afeegi & Ruwalk. "You're my best friend, I don't know what I would do without you."

"You know," Ruwalk said quietly, eying the huge stacks of papers on Alfeegi's desk. "The Lord has given his permission to change the system. You shouldn't have to do this much work." As soon as the words left his mouth, he heard a hiss that sounded like it had come out of his nightmares. He started looking around for the (potentially) demon snake.

Alfeegi rose from underneath the papers like a kraken from the ocean, eyes wild and mouth set in a way that meant he would be screaming for hours. Ruwalk reflexively flinched away, hands held up and open in the universal gesture of peace. Alfeegi let out another very convincing hiss, gaze locked with Ruwalk's.

"The system," Alfeegi began, voice low and dangerous, "is in place for a reason." With that, he dived again, disappearing beneath the stacks of paperwork without another word. Ruwalk collapsed against the desk, one hand clutching his chest. He knew he would be seeing this scene again in another nightmare, only next time he would be naked and Alfeegi would have green skin.

"Even if it causes more work for you when everything has to be filled out in triplicate?" Ruwalk asked after a second of quiet scribbling came from beneath the papers. His only answer was a dark growl and more furious scribbling. "Even when we don't have enough people to justify such a complex system?" He said, voicing the thought that had been on his, and the Lord's mind.

The systems had been put in place when they were running at full capacity, when they ruled the entire continent. It, like many things around Dusis, was a relic of those halcyon days. So much knowledge had been lost, so many silly things (like the archaic filing system) had been preserved.

Alfeegi resurfaced from beneath his paperwork, lips drawn back in a rather convincing demonic snarl. Ruwalk assumed the 'I am unarmed and not dangerous' pose again, tempted to remind Alfeegi that there would be even more paperwork if he killed him. There were many things that were forbidden to be mentioned in Alfeegi's presence, this was one of them. But it needed to be addressed sometime.

"You," Alfeegi began, sounding exactly like what Rath's previous form sounded like when it spoke in Ruwalk's nightmares. He pushed himself up farther, using the stacks of paper to tower over Ruwalk (he might have even been standing on his desk). Ruwalk grinned nervously, waiting for it.

As if on cue, an explosion rocked through the entire palace, followed by confused screaming and shouting. Alfeegi's head whipped around, eyes narrowing as he glares out the window. He dove back under the papers and then resurfaced next to Ruwalk. For half a second, Ruwalk considered the possibility that Alfeegi had learned some kind of paperwork magic from the previous officer, but was immediately distracted by the screaming right outside the door.

"Alfeegi," he said as the other officer snarled and stalked to the door, to yell at the offending parties and fix the mess. Alfeegi turned on his heel in one smooth motion that Ruwalk envied, glaring at him. "You're my best friend," he confessed, with the intention of declawing the beast before he took apart the knights and fighters wailing in the hallway. "I don't know what I, or any of us, would do without you."

It is the truth. But watching Alfeegi's face turn from an angry red to a delighted red (there was a subtle difference) made it all worthwhile. Alfeegi drew himself up and hissed, stalking out of the door while Ruwalk laughed. It wasn't something Alfeegi would ever admit to anyone, but Ruwalk made it a point to say that once a day. To remind Alfeegi that he was appreciated and loved, even when he was being a terror to live and work with.

Sometimes it was the little things that made life worthwhile.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed and will consider leaving a comment before you navigate away. Much like my previous two fics, I am taking requests, so if there's something you'd like to see kindly send it to me, this fic is written for you after all.