"You want me to what?" Alex cried out in shock as Thomas began rifling through the large wall of exotic spices. "I refuse to do such a dirty thing!"

"Then your food will never be good!" Thomas replied, ignoring the red dust that had started to coat his fingers as he lifted up a small white jar and examined it. "If you want your food to taste good, you need to put some salt in it!" He frowned at the jar then quickly put it down as his towel began to slip. Readjusting it carefully as to keep the stone from falling from his side, he looked over at Alex. "I don't care if you use salt for your alchemy. Salt goes in food too!"

"The hell it does!" Alex retorted with a huff as he began to pace around the spacious kitchen. Thomas paused, growling as his search for the white mineral was paused again by his slipping towel.

"Can I please get back into my suit? This stupid towel keeps slipping, and I have no intention of being naked in your presence again!" Thomas growled as he readjusted the towel again. Looking around the kitchen, Thomas was annoyed with how massive it was. It all seemed so luxurious, the hand-carved rock stove with massive shelves stocked full of exotic looking foods. Alex stopped next to the massive larder and looked Thomas over slowly, looking down at his towel with a glint in his eyes.

"Maybe later, but not right now. I like that towel exactly where it is." Alex explained as he let out a little chuckle and resumed his pacing. "The sexy, yet stupid stranger in only a bath towel wandering around in my home is much more alluring than a hard-shelled man with no personality!"

"Alluring?" Thomas questioned as his cheeks began to burn. "You can't possibly be thinking of trying to seduce me at your age-" He paused as he noticed Alex had paused again and was ogling him once more. "Are you really checking me out, you're checking me out, that's gross, please stop."

"You should take it as a compliment. Not many people know I exist, and those that do don't know a thing about me! But don't get your panties in a bunch. It's not like I can really do anything about my primal desire. As you so politely pointed out, I'm a bit out of the age group for sex. Just because I can't get it up though doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view!"

"You perverted old man!" Thomas growled as he turned around and continued his search for salt, his cheeks began to burn hotter. "Now where the hell do you keep your salt? If you ever want your food to taste good, you need to have salt!" A deep feeling of unease began to form in the pit of his stomach as silence answered him. Discomfort broke his focus as he continued to feel Alex's eyes on his body. "Take a picture, it will last longer!" He exclaimed, standing up straight and turning around to glare at him. As he turned, his towel slid from it's loosely held position and dropped to the ground. The rock slid away, and the room became solid rock. All he could see was stone around him as he dropped to his knees.

"Looking good," Alex whistled out as Thomas frantically reached for the towel and covered himself once more. "I mean I already saw what I'll be getting one of these days when I pulled you from your armor, but if that wasn't a nice reminder I don't know what is!"

"Shut up!" Thomas commanded as he began to look for the disk that was now invisible to him. "You're just creepy, you know that?" He stated as his cheeks burned hotter than they ever had before. "You say I have to stay here, but refuse to let me have my clothing back. Giving me only a towel to try and cover myself, while you wear a whole robe, talk about creepy! If I find you have cameras around here somewhere, I'll kill you! I don't care if there are landmines out there!"

"Would it be better if I took my robe off?" Alex questioned from inside the rock as he watched Thomas frantically search for the stone. "I mean it would only be fair for me to be mostly naked too right? I mean my balls may swing around, but-"

"Shut up!" Thomas screamed out as his frustration and grief finally pushed him over the limit. Finding the stone with the edge of his finger, he was able to see the room for what it was. Quickly taking the disk in his hand, he grabbed the towel and stood up. "Just shut up okay, I don't wanna know about your balls! I just want to go home and complete my mission! I want to go back to my squad, get a few drinks to celebrate another perfect mission, but I can't! They're all dead, and now I'm considered AWOL! To top it off, I'm stuck with a dirty old man who's keeping me practically naked for his own sick fantasy! I can't even leave because if I do, I'll be killed by a psychopath with a bone to pick because I found an ancient diary!" Adjusting his towel angrily, he quickly started for the furthest door to get away from Alex.

"Where are you going?" Alex asked softly, his concern and pain leaking into his voice as Thomas stormed off.

Thomas made sure to adjust the towel once again before turning around to look at the old man. "I'm going to look in every room until I find my fucking armor! I don't like being ogled by a perverted old man!"

"Would it be different if I was a young man?" Alex asked weakly, trying to keep his own composure. "If I was the same age as you, would you mind if I was ogling you then?"

"Of course I would!" Thomas spat as his anger at the Cantorian, and Alex burned brighter. "In case you didn't notice, I'm a guy! Oh, and then there's what, three thousand years between us in age? You were still an old pervert before I was even born, hell before my great grandparents were even born!" Alex looked at him with a pained look in his eyes but remained silent. "You don't even know what to say to that, do you pervert! You're just a creepy old man, you're lonely, and you want somebody to stay with you for what little time you have left! That way you don't feel like you're whole life was a waste!" Thomas exclaimed as he started down the hallway, stomping his feet against the packed earth as his grief began to overwhelm him.

"Your armor is one hall to the left..." Alex called out loud enough to freeze Thomas mid-step. "I'm sorry you feel that way about me. I wasn't trying to..." He paused as Thomas continued forward towards the hallway, ignoring Alex's apology.

The sound of footsteps followed behind Thomas as he stormed down the hallway flaming the fire that burned inside him. What the hell is his problem! Can't he see how strange this all is? He keeps me here, warning me of death should I leave. Then tries to get into my pants? That is too creepy!

"You need to turn left here," Alex mumbled out sadly from behind Thomas.

"Look, leave me alone! I can find it myself, I don't need your old ass eyes following me around!" Thomas growled as he turned left, trying to keep his voice even.

"No, you can't." Alex replied with another sigh as his footsteps continued softly behind him. "This place has traps in it too. If you happen to stumble down the wrong hall, you could die. Spikes, trap doors, trip wires..."

"Great!" Thomas exclaimed as he threw up his hands. "You rigged this place to kill me too! What else is there to know about this place? Tar pits near the bedroom? Cerberus at the entrance? Maybe a damn cyclops waiting in the bathroom?" A large hand on Thomas's shoulder stopped him in place before being shoved against the smooth cave wall,

"You know what, I've had it up to here with you!" Alex growled, raising his hand to his eyes. "I saved your ass from one of the legendary Cantorian! One of the most dangerous mind you! Putting both my life and my home at risk, so you didn't have to die! I have fed you food from my pantry! All you've done since you got here is complain about not being able to be in your armor that was broken by Sarthon's howl! Sure I'm a bit of a horndog, but you know what? This my damn house! I welcomed you into it, no questions asked, so how about a little respect! You know what, maybe you should just leave! Face Sarthon alone with nothing but a scowl on your face hmm? How about you try that? Maybe he'll be nice and not snap your neck the second you leave the field of landmines that you don't know anything about!" He exclaimed as he stared straight into Thomas's eyes, their will's fighting for dominance as their argument echoed down the hall.

Letting out a defiant sigh, Thomas looked away and yanked his shoulder away from Alex's arm. "Fine, whatever. Just take me to my armor, and I'll get out of your hair. You only wanted me alive so you could get that dumb journal back. You have it, so just give my armor back, then point me towards the exit. I won't take any more of what little time you have left!"

"That's not what I..." Alex began as he stood there, looking at him. "That's not what I meant Thomas, I just-"

A bitter chuckle escaped Thomas's throat as he looked at the hall in front of him. "Well that's what you said, so own up it! It's not like you owe me anything, your right. Don't worry about me, I'll leave like you said. I'll get out of your hair."

"No..." Alex whispered out softly as he took a step forward. "I don't want you to leave! You're the first genuinely honest person I have met in almost a thousand years!" He took another step forward and put his hand on Thomas's shoulder, but it didn't stay. Thomas shook off his shoulder, removing Alex's hand as he looked at the ground. "Please stay Thomas, you're right. I'm a lonely old man, and I've gone savage in my old age.  I don't want to be alone anymore though." He paused, hoping that Thomas would say something, but he didn't. "More importantly, I don't want you to die. My objective from the Order still stands, even if they don't. I am to save the lives that the Flara want extinguished. More than that though, you didn't sign up for all this, so I shouldn't have tried to push you into it."

Thomas took a deep breath and slowly let it out as his frustration began to subside, leaving only the grief of his comrades still lingering bitterly on his heart. Turning around, he looked over at Alex and tried to speak calmly. "Look old man, I know you're are trying to do what you think is best, but you can't just force people to do what you want! It's not how the world works. I have thoughts and feelings, same as you. And right now they're screaming at me to get out of this awkward towel, and get the hell out of this hole in the ground. You've been doing your damnedest to keep me from doing both of these things." Alex opens his mouth to speak, but Thomas continued. "I don't know why you saved me, other than to get the journal. But what I do know, is I'm really uncomfortable with how you're acting, and I want to get back into my suit of armor that I use as clothing."

"But it's not ready yet!" Alex blurted out, then grimaced in annoyance with himself.

"What do you mean it's not ready? What are you doing to my armor?" Thomas questioned as Alex looked down at the ground unwilling to say. "I said, what the hell are you doing to my armor old man!" He repeated as Alex continued to look away. Grabbing Alex's robe, he pulled Alex's face inches from his own, his anger swelling at the thought of his armor being ruined. "What did you do to it?"

Defeat resonating in Alex's eyes, he spoke softly as he tried to pull away. "I was repairing and enchanting your armor..." He replied as confusion began to emanate from Thomas. "After Sarthon broke your helmet, I noticed how sad you were, and I noticed it on my pillow when I came back yesterday, so I thought maybe I could fix it. As well as keep the individual pieces from breaking so easily in a future Cantorian attack. So I fixed the helmet, then started the process of enchanting it..."

"You were trying to help me?" Thomas questioned as he let go of Alex's robe, his rage melting away. "All this time you've been refusing to give me my armor, because you were fixing it?"

"Yeah." Admitted Alex in a low tone. "But you just kept insisting on getting back into it, so I tried to play the dirty old man, you would think I was just being a pervert and not worry about the armor as much."

"So, all the while, you were pretending to be the bad guy?" Thomas mumbled to himself, guilt beginning to gnaw at him. "So you could fix my armor for me?" Alex nodded his head yes before they both looked down at the ground. "You've been trying to help me since I got here, and all this time I've been insulting you..."

"It's not a big deal," Alex mumbled before coughing weakly. "I can fix glass easy enough, but enchantments take time to meld with weapons and armor."

Thomas's mouth dropped, "So you dosed me with the sleeping bread, to give the enchantments more time to..." Pain emanating from him as he sighed at his stupidity. "How could I have been so blind!"

"It's not a big deal!" Alex repeated, looking back towards the hallway they came from. "I was just trying to help another victim of the Flara." He paused for a second looking over to Thomas but looked away before making eye contact. "Though the bread was two-fold. I wasn't kidding about what I said before though, you really are an attractive man. If I was in a younger body, I would have tried to flirt with you much more aggressively!"

"You really think I'm attractive?" Thomas mumbled out as the feeling of butterfly's fluttering in his stomach mixed with curiosity at the thought of him in a younger body.

Rolling his eyes, Alex looked back up to Thomas. "Of course I do, I don't lie. I may hide my motives for things, but I never lie. Everything I've said up to now has been the truth. You are just my type, and seeing you show up with the journal was like my friends had risen from their graves and led you to me with dirty grins on their faces. I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable, that was never my intention."

"It's okay," Thomas replied in a weak voice, the guilt beginning to gnaw on him with renewed vigor. "You've been trying to help me from the start, and I've been nothing but rude. You opened your home to me, I should have just asked you like an adult instead of panicking like a small child... Though in my own defense it really is strange to strip a person naked, and not give them clothing..."

An awkward silence fell over the two as Thomas began to look around the hallway with no particular interest. When the silence began to deafen the both of them, Alex spoke up with a weak smile. "It wouldn't have been believable if I didn't go all-in right. If you had clothing, you wouldn't have stopped asking about your armor. I had to be the pervy old man to keep you distracted."

"Well you really fooled me," Thomas replied with a forced chuckle as he looked back down to his feet. "So uh, how long will it be until I can wear my armor again?"

"It will be a few more days at least," Alex said with a hint happiness in his voice.

"Then can I wear regular clothing while I wait?" Thomas asked with anxiously, "Or do I still have to stay mostly naked in this poor excuse for a loincloth?"

"You'll have to stick with the loincloth kid." Answered Alex with a small smirk that made Thomas's mouth drop. "I only have the one robe. And unless you want me to wear the towel you're wearing, you're just going to have to get used to not wearing your metal chastity belt!" Alex began to chuckle as Thomas turned bright red. "Hey if you want to wear the robe, I can always wear the towel! Maybe I can show you just how much my balls sag!"

"Gross!" Thomas replied, gagging loudly as the awkward tension slowly began to fade between the two. "You really are a dirty old man aren't you!"

"Are you really turned off by the sagging skin you see? Just because I don't have your youthful vigor doesn't mean I couldn't still rock your world!" Alex replied, laughing as Thomas began to blush furiously. "Well maybe one day you won't mind it so much. I really would like to see you naked in a more intimate way."

"Never gonna happen man!" Thomas answered quickly as he tried to avoid Alex's gaze, his heart beginning to pound slightly harder in his chest.

"Maybe," was all Alex said before turning around and heading for another hallway. "Come with me Tarzan, I'll show you where I keep the salt."

Who the hell is Tarzan? Thomas thought to himself as he tightened his towel again. And what the hell did he mean by a younger body?

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I got another one done, I hope you are enjoying the story! If you want to make my day, don't forget to vote for the story and leave a few comments! I really do enjoy hearing what y'all have to say! I hope you have a fantastic day friends, and don't forget to drink lots of water! :) 

-Asted!