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“Haplo, I’m sorry!” Alfred exclaimed, flinging himself into Haplo’s arms the moment he entered their house. The Patryn rocked back on his heels, both from the sudden weight and his surprise. He had never encouraged Alfred to hug him and he couldn’t think of any reason the Sartan would want to.
“What did you do?” he asked, not as harshly as he could have, but still confused. He gently pushed Alfred away, hands lingering on his elbows.
Get a grip, he scolded himself and let go.
Alfred hunched over, eyes on his oversized feet. “I never intended to cause you so much distress,” he said contritely. That was nice, but Haplo still had no idea what the problem was. He sighed and pushed past Alfred to find a place to sit. The Labyrinth hadn’t been happy when he succeeded in rescuing more of his people from it and he’d taken a nasty tumble on the way home. Marit had made sure he wasn’t in any danger, but he still hurt.
Alfred trailed after him, absently patting the dog when it nosed his hand. Haplo sat in his chair by the fire and fixed the Sartan with a stern look.
“What’s this about, Alfred?”
“You gave me permission to examine your journals concerning your travels so that I could organize our notes collectively,” Alfred said, brightening a little. “I reached the beginning of your account concerning your return to Arianus. I’m terribly sorry you were so worried about my being cast into the Labyrinth. Especially considering that there was nothing to fear and I didn’t enter it until you came and found me.”
The spark of enthusiasm vanished, replaced by guilt. Haplo rolled his eyes.
“That isn’t your fault,” he said. “My early surmises were nothing more than that and, in the end, it worked out for the best. You have nothing to apologize for. It would have been a disaster for you to enter the Labyrinth without me, as we discovered.”
Alfred sat in the other chair and fidgeted. “Yes, I know, but you worried so much for me. It wasn’t kind to make you worry.”
Haplo laughed at that. He couldn’t help it. Only Alfred would focus on the unkindness his banishment and intended execution had done to someone else. It made his back ache from the fall but laughing actually made him feel better after battling the Labyrinth.
Besides, it distracted him from thinking too much about how Alfred’s words made him feel. Yes, he could admit that he had worried for Alfred, more than he had worried about anyone in his life, but that was best left in the back of his mind. If Marit caught wind of it, she would only use it to further her argument that Haplo was in love with Alfred.
Haplo reflected that it was getting hard to pretend he wasn’t. He’d been happily ignoring his feelings until Alfred literally threw himself into his arms. Now he’d have to actively conceal it, or Alfred would eventually find out. The Sartan was a loyal friend, but Haplo had no idea how he would react. He wasn’t ready to have his heart broken again.
“It’s in the past, Sartan. Leave it there,” he said finally, getting over his laughing fit.
Alfred shook his head, but a small smile had come back to his features. “Very well, Haplo. I’ll just avoid doing something similar in the future.”
“There’s a chance you could find a worse place to go than the one we’re already in? That would be impressive,” Haplo said dryly.
Alfred flushed and finally laughed. “No, I suppose not. But you know me, if there was such a place, I would be the most likely to find it.”
That was true, Haplo supposed and it gave him a cold feeling. Maybe he wasn’t planning to close the circle with Alfred, but he still considered it his responsibility to protect him. If Alfred did wander into trouble, Haplo would have to get him out of it. The Patryn knew his own strength, but there were threats that it would be very difficult to save Alfred from.
Best not to let him get close to them, then.
“You’ll just have to content yourself with your notes and books, then,” he said. “I’m not going to give you the chance to find a place worse than the Labyrinth. Not when I’m working so hard to tame it.”
Alfred brightened considerably and launched into a spirited explanation of his plans for his notes, which Haplo listened to with half an ear. He wouldn’t surrender what he currently had for anything in any world, but changing it was far too risky. Contentment was the best course.