Work Text:
Kiran was shivering badly as he entered the castle. He must look like a wet dog right now, he thought sourly.
It wasn’t his fault, though. There weren’t meteorologists in Zenith, as far as he knew, and none of the heroes he was leading had expected it to start downpouring all of a sudden.
They had to turn back around in the storm, which was made all the more difficult by the fact that two of them were on horses and the ground was getting muddier by the second. Really slowed them down, too, and kept them out in the rain for longer than any of them would’ve liked.
Still, they all managed to get back with no physical damage done to any of them.
However… Kiran’s mouth twisted as he thought about how he would likely end up bedridden in the next couple of days. He’d already been sniffling and sneezing as he made his way back to his quarters, which he was pretty sure was a bad sign.
He stripped out of his cold, wet clothes and into something drier. It wasn’t any warmer, but that was hardly an issue. Kiran’s plans had already been to curl up under the thick, heavy blankets on his bed and see if he could sleep off this cold.
Well, those had been his plans, but then there was a knocking at his door. Polite, but insistent. There were really only two possibilities. It was either Alfonse, or…
Ah. Yep. Bruno. Alfonse wouldn’t dare to open the door even a little to check if the Summoner was there, but the creaking noise made it clear it wasn’t Alfonse.
Kiran hadn’t taken Bruno with his team today, though usually he did, seeing as Bruno was his best healer. He should’ve guessed something like that would mean that Bruno would want to speak with him once he got back, even if just to check up on him.
Well. Tough for him, Kiran thought, pulling the blankets up his body further.
“Are you alright?” Bruno asked, his voice so gentle. Sometimes, Kiran remembered when Veronica, the brave one, had compared the two of them. At the time, Kiran hadn’t really believed her when she said that Kiran’s gentle nature reminded her of her brother. Most of what Kiran had seen of Bruno back then had been from the other side of a battlefield, after all, and Veronica had to be biased.
It was only when Kiran got to really know Bruno that he found that, yeah, Veronica was actually right on the mark about that.
“I‘m fine,” Kiran replied, and then he sniffled again, as if his body wanted to immediately let Bruno know he was lying.
He heard Bruno approach more than he saw it happen, because he wasn’t exactly laying in the best position to see what was going on, facing away from the door as he was. He did feel when the bed dipped behind him, though, and he felt the warmth of Bruno’s hand rubbing up and down his side through the blankets.
Gentle, again.
“Not gonna hold your staff over me?” Kiran joked, finally glancing up at Bruno. He wasn’t even wearing his mask for once, and Kiran was momentarily stunned by his eyes.
Bruno should not wear his mask more often, Kiran thought, and then thanked the gods he didn’t voice that thought out loud.
He looked away as he felt his face heating up. Luckily he was already sniffling, so Bruno would probably just think it was because he was sick.
“No, I’m afraid I can’t do this kind of healing,” Bruno replied, amusement evident in his voice. He was still stroking Kiran’s side. It was… comforting. Kiran thought he could fall asleep like that, easy. “Do you need anything?”
Kiran shook his head. “No, I think I’ll be fine if I just sleep it off.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Bruno replied, moving to get up. Kiran’s body must have had other plans for him, though, because without any conscious input from his brain, he reached out, his hand suddenly around Bruno’s wrist.
Bruno paused, staring down at Kiran.
“Do you think you could stay?” Kiran asked, staring up at Bruno. Bruno was taller than him anyway, but right now, with Kiran laying back on his bed, Bruno practically towered over him.
He could tell Bruno was scrutinizing him, and he felt like he was being laid bare. It wasn’t making him nervous, though, because… well. At this point, there was very little Bruno could do that would make Kiran nervous. He wondered when he grew to trust Bruno this much, but he guessed that didn’t matter much, anyway.
The covers were pulled back, and Kiran shivered at the rush of cool air until Bruno laid down beside him and replaced them.
God, Bruno was always so warm. Kiran snuggled up to him practically right away, and he felt no shame in that. Bruno didn’t stop him from doing so, or try to push him away or anything, not that Kiran really expected him to. He pulled Kiran closer, even. “Is this acceptable?” Bruno asked, voice low, with his hand now rubbing up and down Kiran’s back. It made Kiran feel even more tired than he already was.
Kiran laughed a little, resting his face against Bruno’s shoulder. “Yeah. Yeah, I think this is fine.”
He closed his eyes, taking in the comfort and warmth Bruno offered. He joked earlier, but Bruno didn’t need to use his staff for this. Kiran thought he was already feeling a little better.