archiveofourown.org/works/91218026

archiveofourown.org/works/90644026

ah thank you for reading!!! 🥹 glad you enjoyed it hehe... thank you so much!!!

flins senses that on him the first time he sees varka after that, and he tries easing the burden by hanging around varka in his true form. if you ask varka, he's definitely happier to be nightmare-free and with flins in his bed cuddling him to sleep.

end! thank u for reading! the idea's been stuck in my mind where varka has a lot of nightmares after he comes back from the leylines. a lot of the dead's resentment stuck to him because of his scarred soul. and he jus grins and bears it. +

when flins spoke next, varka could feel the words on his lips.

“then perhaps it is fortunate i have gotten into the habit of keeping reckless knights out of trouble,” flins said, and kissed him.

grabbing varka by the chin, flins leaned down until they were a hairbreadth’s apart.

varka flushed, eyes a little wide. his hands squeezed where they wrapped around flins’ shoulders and his eyes darted between flins’ amused ones and flins’ lips.

varka relaxed his grip, allowing flins to pull back and look at him.

“i think this humble ratnik can take anything i can dish if he’s been chasing away my nightmares.”

“you’re reckless,” flins repeated.

“yeah,” varka smiled. “i am.”

“you’ll find that i did.”

flins’ voice sounded awfully fond to varka’s ears. he bit down on a grin, squeezing flins tighter.

“careful with your strength grandmaster. this humble ratnik can only take so much.”

pulled him forward into a bone-crushing hug before he could.

“you could have come as yourself, you know,” varka mumbled into flins’ collar, feeling the fae’s arms wrap around him a few seconds later. one of flins’ hands ended up in varka’s hair, petting gently.

“barbatos help you if you’re about to lie to me, flins.”

with a resigned sigh, flins closed his eyes. “i suppose… one could describe it that way, yes.”

varka couldn’t help it. he laughed. long and loud and sounding slightly sleep-deprived. flins started leaning away and varka grabbed him and

when he was trying not to answer a question but was somehow too destabilized to make a smart quip.

“you’ve been watching over me,” varka realized, mouth falling open. his heart was definitely playing drums against flins’ palm, damn it.

“i would not go as far as to call it—”

“wait. i have nightmares and all, that’s true,” varka said. “but what does it have to do with you? i thought you, you know, guided the dead and all.”

flins simply looked at varka, now giving him the distinct impression flins did as a flame

“yeah, yeah,” varka said. then the dots connected in his sluggish brain and he whipped his head back to look at flins, who was a lot closer than he was a moment ago.

“uh,” varka said intelligently.

“yes, dear varka?” flins raised an eyebrow, thoroughly amused.

and at a point over flins’ shoulder before he did something not even barbatos could keep a straight face at hearing.

“well, i dunno about that,”varka mumbled. “i’m just a guy keeping people safe, yeah?”

flins’ laugh could be heard in his voice. “if you say so, grandmaster, then it must be true.”

“if anyone would be capable of that feat, it would undoubtedly be you, dear varka,” flins said.

varka’s entire face flushed, and flins’ smile grew as pleased as could be.

varka looked away from that tempting smile

the air, but it only smelled of warm stale air, frostlamps and lamp oil.

flins let out a small amused huff. “i doubt you would be able to smell, keen as your senses are.”

varka thought about it for a moment then shrugged. “the wolf title isn’t just for show, you know? i could have.”

varka’s heart tripped over itself in response, almost eager to put itself into flins’ hands.

flins looked at him knowingly, and varka pretended his ears weren’t heating up.

“it was not a hard thing to do,” flins said drily. “like i said, they are foul-smelling things.”

varka subtly sniffed

“you have been dreaming of death every night, haven’t you?”

varka inhaled sharply.

“haha.” varka’s laugh was a rough thing. “you caught me, huh.”

flins sighed. bracing himself on one arm, he brought his hand to lay over varka's chest, right over his heart.