AHahahahah whoops. This is the second go at this because the first go is, uh, going to be longer. But this is SHORT! (for me XD) and... pointless...
Also without a title, I'll fix that later...
(apparently LaFarga and Caldina now have to appear in everything I write. XD)
1240 words or so
oOo
It was closing in on midnight, and Clef paused in his work to stand up and stretch. His back clicked loudly enough that Lantis would have looked at him sternly, if he?d still been here. But Lantis had stepped out to check on the patrols now a third of the way through their shift. The two of them had battled through most of the quarterly defence review; Clef had only the final conclusions and a check over what he?d done left. From the look of the papers Lantis had left on the other side of Clef?s desk, he was just about there as well.
(LaFarga, being in charge of the Guards, had delegated compiling the reports to Lantis. Clef wished he?d been able to let himself do the same, but he was awful at delegation.)
That deserved a few moments to rest. Not more, though ? the report was due in front of the council tomorrow afternoon. Clef couldn?t afford too much of a break, or he was going to fall asleep and have nightmares about shield resilience tests and emergency portals for evacuation drills.
For a moment, though, he could look up from the statistics he was compiling. Plus, he had the end of a bottle of puragu wine wedged onto his bookshelves taking up space. That would do for a celebration.
Clef poured a generous measure of the clear liquid into his tea cup. (There was no sense in making more washing up for the kitchens, and he rather liked the slight mingling of flavours; this hadn?t been the best bottle of wine.) He sipped at it absently while moving about, gathering up the pages of test results he no longer needed. The wine was strong enough to send a pleasant warmth through him, but nothing more; his tolerance could hardly be compared to that of Zazu, but it was still out of proportion to his form. Years of official functions had their (occasional) uses? If he finished the bottle, though, it would be another matter. He set it down on the desk for the moment, in one of the gaps freed as he shifted notes about.
(Of course, various people were beginning to suggest he might like to change his form, now that they were without a Pillar ? that whatever his reasons for keeping her company in the child?s form they were gone now. Which entirely missed that he?d been keeping to the smaller figure before he even became Guru. The worst thing about it was, Clef was beginning to feel it was time for a change. Only as soon as anyone else declared he should make one, he wanted to do the exact opposite. Curse his temper, anyway.)
There was a half inch left in the cup when he ran out of papers to tidy. ?I?ll finish it when this is over with.? He decided, setting it down on the desk and returning to his work with a sigh.
oOo
By the time Lantis returned, bearing a fresh pot of tea to refill their cups, it was nearly one in the morning and Clef was absorbed in a fight with his grammar. He didn?t notice Lantis filling the identical cups and setting one back by him; Lantis was moving steadily but a fraction slowly, worn by the hour and the reports just as thoroughly as Clef.
Clef muttered an absent thank you when a cup was set beside him, but took little more notice until half an hour later, when he finally set his pen down and turned to see how far Lantis had got ? only to find himself abruptly smothered in warm folds of cloth as he was hugged, sideways.
?Wha- Lantis?? He shoved one hand up and pushed the folds of cloak away, utterly bemused. ?You can?t be that grateful that this cursed report is done ? how little sleep did you get last night??
Lantis just leaned further on him in response, and Clef yelped as his coronet was knocked down over his eyes, and Lantis hugged him tighter, pinning one arm firmly. Clef shoved the coronet completely off with the other, letting it drop to the desk with a muffled clang as it hit the pile of paper. ?Okay, that?s it, who spiked your drink-?
He remembered the wine, and groaned as it hit him. However unintentionally, this was his fault. Lantis couldn?t have seen the liquid in the cup, and switched them without meaning to. They were running on hardly any sleep, trying to finish this ? it wasn?t that surprising that Lantis was using his focus on the reports and not on the tea he poured. And Lantis was definitely weak enough against alcohol that the dregs of the wine, hidden in the tea, could have done this?
He was also so large that there was no way Clef would manage to shift him without either help, magic ? unadvisable, with as little sleep and as much of the wine as he?d had ? or some drastic change.
??If this is you agreeing that I should change form and grow up, you could just have told me.? Clef muttered, trying to get free, and failing. He slumped back down, and sighed. Lantis seemed perfectly willing to rest against the chair and Clef?s head all night, meanwhile, Clef couldn?t escape, but he could reach his desk ? which meant Lantis?s unfinished half of the report was within grasp.
So was the still-not-empty bottle.
Clef glared, and reached for both.
oOo
Close on two in the morning, there was a thump on the door to LaFarga and Caldina?s rooms; LaFarga rolled out of bed and awake in one motion, but the thumping sounded more? resolute, than urgent.
He opened the door, and stared.
The Guru was glaring up at him ? but not nearly as far as he should have had to look. He was also flushed, without his coronet (which might have been because it no longer fit him) and apparently wearing LaFarga?s second in command as a cloak.
?G-Guru Clef??
?You can have him back. He?s an awful drinking partner, I don?t want him anymore.? Clef declared, too loudly. Lantis stirred somewhat at that, looking up ? and then he let go of Clef.
The next thing LaFarga knew, he was being hugged, and Clef looked far too pleased with himself, before waving and wandering ? slightly unsteadily ? down the corridor.
Caldina yawned behind him ? LaFarga could tell the moment her eyes opened enough for her to spot Lantis, because her breath caught on a startled laugh. ?Hey, what?s up??
?The Guru just dropped him off. Someone got him drunk.? LaFarga shifted to prop Lantis up more easily ? Lantis seemed mostly asleep.
??How?d he manage that? Magic?? Caldina wandered over and draped herself over LaFarga?s back, trapping him between the two of them. ?Why didn?t he just take him straight to Lantis?s room??
??No.? LaFarga said, looking back down the corridor. ??I wonder if he?ll regret that in the morning??
?What??
?Never mind ? you may see tomorrow. For now, would you help me get this one back to bed??
Caldina grumbled, quietly, but between them they got Lantis back to his own room, and got back to their bed. And if Caldina was irritated with his silence, she was willing enough to be distracted from it with a kiss or two before she fell asleep again.
LaFarga smiled, as he fell asleep again. The morning promised to be interesting?
oOo
end
oOo
(Puragu is a... giant juicy strawberry, essentially. And the thing about Lantis being a lightweight who hugs everyone is a CLAMP joke from one of the short manga in the scenario collections which Mils is going to scan at some point because I will stare at her until she does. XDDDDD)
