"I'm fine," Shafir answered dismissively as he looked over his papers. Mostly reports about smaller things that were less likely to need Eliqinor's approval were sent to him. Things like requests for short leaves of absence by one knight or even ones that asked for approval to put on demonstrations for certain towns. The knights loved to see the faces of kids when they saw the demonstrators. When he was a kid, he also loved them. It helped that they had a group of knights who were most skilled in the performance arts. 

Paperwork was not fun, but Shafir hadn't intended to slack off and not do anything earlier, but he hadn't been sleeping well lately. The office seemed to be the only place he had for respite because here was where he was less likely to be plagued by his nightmares. Though he didn't know why, if he closed his eyes for a few seconds to relax, he would soon fall asleep. He didn't mean for it to end up that way, but more times than not, that was how it ended up. Thankfully, he could wake up quickly and leave Eliqinor none of the wiser. 

"You fell asleep again." Eliqinor knew how to ruin a perfect silence and how to ruffle Shafir's feathers. Of course, he knew he fell asleep and there was no need for the captain to tell him this. The incident from before was proof enough of Shafir's guilt, so this was probably how Eliqinor planned to get back at him for hitting him. Shafir felt awkward as he had once said before when he fell asleep that Eliqinor should've woken him. That was before he knew it would devolve into a fistfight. Shafir had his pride and Eliqinor said that it was his fault for surprising Shafir. So it most definitely was Eliqinor's fault for getting so close to him!

Why did he think it was proper to even get that close? What if Eliqinor had done that to someone who liked him? They could have stolen that opportunity to do something immoral, like stealing a kiss from the captain. Not that Shafir could see himself doing such a thing because he only felt hatred towards Eliqinor. The thought almost made him gag. 

"Ah, mind your own business." Shafir felt his mind slipping and thinking about Katar. If Eliqinor had done that to Katar, would he have shamelessly devoured Eliqinor? No. That should be the last thing I'm thinking about at work. Shafir gripped the paper in his hand tightly, having to reread it twice as it plagued his mind with the images of that redhead kissing Eliqinor. 

"Are you not sleeping well?" Eliqinor's voice pulled Shafir out of his thoughts and he felt his face heat in shame. They had been carrying out a conversation and all he could think of was how he was putting his nose in his captain's business. Which he remembered saying he would never do. Shafir regained his composure before clearing his throat and going back to work. 

"I'm sleeping just fine. It is just a pain that this office is so far from my home. Giving the old one to the academy was a mistake." Shafir had to make up some kind of reason he was dozing off all the time. To let Eliqinor know it was from nightmares would make Shafir look ridiculous, like an elfling who wet his bed. Perhaps that statement was dramatic, but it was close enough to what he imagined would run through the captain's head. 

"Are you saying the office's location is making things harder for you?" Eliqinor peered over the paperwork at Shafir. Who was delicately picking up his stack of papers to reorganize them without making a colossal mess. Of course, that was what he was trying to imply, and it seemed Eliqinor fell for it. While he wasn't the best at lying, he appeared to have enough skill to pull the wool over Eliqinor's eyes. 

"Missions in the morning, paperwork all day, and then more paperwork in the evening. By the time I'm done with all my reports, it's already dark out. Now imagine how long it takes to walk home." Shafir didn't have the luxury of staying wherever he wanted. Eliqinor, being the captain, had his fancy room that wasn't far from the office while Shafir had to either stay in the barracks or stay in the vice-captain's quarters, which were uncomfortably close to Eliqinor's room. Shafir took the option of neither and rented a place on the other side of town and got as far away from his captain as possible. 

"There is no need to overwork yourself and stay late." Eliqinor stamped a paper loudly, and that drew Shafir's attention to his face. He longer looked dazed but seemed more intrigued by what the dark elf had to say, no doubt reveling in Shafir's torture of possibly being worked to death. "I can always finish your reports." 

"I'm not giving you a reason to say I'm slacking off! Honestly, if the office had a nice place to sleep, then I would be fine!" Shafir threw his arms in the air in exasperation to show how ridiculous this place was. It wasn't so small that they couldn't move around, but being in such a small place with that buffoon he called a captain would wear thin on anyone's sanity! Plus, Eliqinor was always watching him like a hawk, and the only reason he knew was he could feel it. It made his skin burn up with rage until his face was red and his breath heavy. 

"You could always stay with m-" Eliqinor was quickly interrupted when Shafir slammed his hands down on the table, causing the vice-captain's papers to sway precariously. 

"I'm not taking advice from you! Rich nobles like you throw coins around until things go your way!" Shafir grumbled and went back to work, ignoring anything that came from Eliqinor's mouth. Fuck him and his privileged ass. "If I had half the money you did, I would've built a room onto this dump. This way ONE of us could get a good night's sleep while the other was a workaholic," Eliqinor nodded as Shafir spoke as if he was listening. Fat chance. If Shafir wanted a good night's sleep, he would just have to wait until he could get his nightmares to stop.