Work Text:
There it was, that sound again.
Fjord stood from where he had been trying to meditate in the garden, frowning as an unseasonably warm breeze brushed past his ankles towards the stairs. Towards the sound. He had noticed it the day before, he knew it was a heartbeat, but it was... off somehow. Too fast, too slow, too... uneven. He had checked in with the others and found no obvious disturbance. They were taking time off after all, spending a week or so in Xhorhas to re-coup and relax a bit. There was no reason for any of them to be as stressed as this heart sounded. He had been certain it was Caleb, initially, because he knew Caleb’s heartbeat. Something deep in his being knew what that sound was, knew how to follow it to the wizard no matter what. He had panicked, thinking Caleb was hurt, or sick... only to find him sitting comfortably in the library, reading through one of the massive tomes Essek had lent him.
But it hadn’t gone away. He had tried to ignore it, tried to sleep through it, and tried to meditate it out of his mind... but there it was.
And now the Wildmother was clearly pushing him towards it, with s breeze so uncannily cat-like that he couldn’t ignore the implication.
He followed the sound to the library again, pushing the door open slowly and fighting down a whine. Caleb was sitting exactly where Fjord had left him nearly 48 hours earlier, with another huge book in front of him on the desk. He closed the door gently and crossed the room, pausing to look Caleb over before making himself known. He looked... well, awful. There had always been circles around his eyes, but they had turned a bruise-like purple in the few days they had been in town. His skin was pale, but not in its usual northern way, rather it looked... waxy, sickly almost. And that sound, the irregular, jarring thump of his heart.
“Cay?”
He jumped, and Fjord winced, before turning to look at him, blinking slowly as if he had forgotten how.
“Fjord?” his voice was rough with disuse “what is it?”
“Darlin’ when... how long have you been sitting here?”
“Ah...” he paused, thinking “three days, why, are we going somewhere?”
“No... no Cay that’s...” he stuttered, amazed once again by just how low Caleb’s self-preservation could go “you need to sleep”
“Sleep is for the weak” Caleb stretched, and Fjord glared at the audible cracks the movement produced along his spine “I have work to do”
“You look like you need to sleep for a week, Cay”
Caleb turned and glared at him, though there was no real heat behind the expression, and Fjord sighed.
“Please? Just... go to bed for a few hours, for me?”
His own heart fluttered as Caleb’s expression softened, exhausted blue eyes searching his face before he nodded, resigned.
“ Ja...ja okay Schatz , if it will stop your worrying”
“I don’t think much could stop me worrying about you darlin’” he teased, holding out a hand to help Caleb from the chair “but you getting some sleep is a definite start”
Caleb sighed again, but it shifted into a deep yawn halfway through and Fjord tried (unsuccessfully) to hide his smirk. He tugged Caleb along to the door of his room, pushing it open without thinking and steering him to the bed. He pulled out sleep clothes, holding out a hand automatically for Caleb’s book holsters and turning away while he changed. Once Caleb was in bed, Fjord lowered himself down to perch on the edge, scanning his face for any sign of trouble.
“You really need to take better care of yourself” he said softly, as Calebs eyes drooped “not eating properly, not sleeping... it’s not good for you”
“Well,” Caleb yawned again, his accent already thicker as he started to drift “I know I will never get away with it for long while I have you around Süsser”
“No,” Fjord agreed, feeling himself smile as the blue eyes drifted closed and Caleb’s heartrate returned to normal “no sweetheart, you definitely won’t, not while I’m around”
Caleb hummed softly, snuggling down into the bed and letting out a quiet, contented sound when Fjord dared to reach out and brush his hair back from his face.
“Stay?” Caleb sighed, leaning into the touch “ bitte?”
Fjord toed off his boots, laying down on top of the blankets and feeling the familiar warmth in his chest as Caleb shifted close.
“Course Cay, always”