Work Text:
Kyr wakes in a medbay. He wakes warm and covered in a soft blanket, with the steady beep of monitoring devices in the background. There’s a low level sense of distance from his body, which makes him think he’s been drugged, but it’s not unpleasant for once. He stays perfectly still as he tries to figure out what sort of trick this is.
When there’s no reaction from his waking, he carefully props himself up before freezing again, waiting for a reaction this time, a punishment for breaking rules he didn’t know existed. Still nothing. So he looks around, trying to get his remaining eye to focus on the surroundings, see what this is.
The thought that it might not be a trick, that he might actually be somewhere safe doesn’t cross his mind until the door opens and Ash steps in. And Kyr forces the thought from his mind then. It’s a trick, but not a trick of his captors for once. It’s a hallucination, and he’s not back. All it is is the infection he’d helplessly watched spread up his thigh, finally killing him. At least it has the kindness to let him hallucinate being somewhere safe.
Ash– or rather the Not-Ash– is saying something he realizes distantly. He doesn’t let himself listen to it, doesn’t need the hallucination shattered just yet. It’s nice though, hearing the familiar cadence of Ash’s voice. Even if it’s made tight with worry right now. He frowns at that, trying to see if he can’t nudge the hallucination into something happier. Nothing, except the words become clearer.
It really sounds like Ash. So he risks looking up at the Not-Ash, knowing that doing so will shatter the hallucination. It doesn’t. It’s Ash. It’s Ash and the recognition in Kyr’s eye makes Ash sag into the chair placed next to Kyr’s bed.
“Ash-?” He can barely get the word out before he’s choking up, tears burning as they run down his face.
Hands, the synthflesh cool and smooth like it always is, cup Kyr’s face as Ash leans forward to press a kiss to his forehead. “It’s okay,” Ash begins to pull back but Kyr reaches out and grabs him, clutching at him. “I’ve got you, it’s gonna be okay Kyr, it’s okay.”
And Kyr sobs, because it’s Ash. Because he’s back. Because it’s over. He’s safe. He’s finally safe.