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Chilchuck thoroughly cleaned his tools, this was the first time in a while he’d gotten the change to tend to them. It was also the first time since this whole ordeal had started that he’d gotten the chance to relax. He was always on edge, having to pay attention to what kind of monsters may have been on their tail. But now that they’d accomplished their goal – saved Falin, he could finally feel somewhat at ease. Closing his eyes, he could hear Marcille shifting around the bed she sat on, the tune Senshi hummed on the chair right next to him and more importantly, Falin and Laois’ conversation they’d all been eavesdropping on.
The three of them left the room not long after their meal to give the two siblings some time together. They were having friendly banter they had over who had been more reckless, not to reproach each other, but because they cared. Everyone did, even if Chilchuck might not admit to it, that was also how he felt. Just like the rest of his party, it showed through his actions. Although not everything said or done always had the right execution, the intent was clear.
Just like how Laois utterly refused to let Falin heal his leg. The way he bolted to his feet and practically ran around the cramped room to avoid her. If there were any monsters nearby, they’d be sure to find them with the booming noise he made.The lengths he went through did make Falin laugh. Laios was insistent that he didn’t want her to waste her mana on him. He went on about how it’d drain her, especially with how being brought back to life must have greatly weakened her. That couldn’t just be why, as far as Chilchuck guessed at least. It was most likely related to the intense headaches Laois had when learning healing magic and how he wouldn't want to burden her with them, even if she surely dealt with them far better. He still felt a need to look out for her.
No matter what his reasoning was, it was stupid. But it wasn’t unlike him, and Chilchuck could sympathise with that. The things he’d do for his daughters just to make sure they were alright, even if it was at his own expense. He always sent home more money than needed as an attempt to show how much he cared. But he knew better than to butt in the Touden’s familial disputes and even if he did, he doubts he’d ever be able to change Laois’ mind.
Before long, Falin came back with her hair ruffled, eyes heavy-lidded and a large content smile. They all shared a pleased look, glad to see her happy once more, her presence clearly having been missed. Embarrassed as she realised they’d all been staring at her, Falin threw herself in Marcille’s arms and hid her now practically red face in the elf’s shirt as she laughed.
Soon enough, the two women went to sleep and not long after, so did Senshi. Chilchuck should have followed suit knowing he’d be the third taking watch tonight, but he wasn’t tired. It’d be pointless to toss and turn for who knows how long until he finally managed to get some rest when he could do something else. He’d already gone over each one of his tools multiple times already, it was meaningless to do it once more.
He stretched his arms over his head, staying in that position for a while to dissipate the pressure he hadn’t realised had built up in his back as he subconsciously hunched over as the light dimmed out throughout the evening.
Since three of their party members had gone to sleep it’d been awfully quiet, apart from the occasional squeak that Laois’ armour made as he cleaned it. That made him curious as to what he was up to, not having heard a single sound in some time. Chilchuck tilted his head into the door frame to look into the next room, the man in question had put away most of the pieces of his armour in a corner, only his knee guards remained on the table as he polished his neck piece. From here, Chilchuck could see he’d brought up his wounded leg to his chest, the scar left from Marcille’s healing looked far worse than it had earlier. Her healing magic wasn’t perfect by any means, but it shouldn’t look this red.
Before he could even figure out why it had gotten this bad, Laois answered the question for him. Frowning, the man mumbled a curse before bringing a hand to scratch at the scar.
Chilchuck pinched the bridge of his nose at his stubbornness. If he wasn't going to accept Falin’s help, then he hoped he was going to accept his.
Rummaging through his things for a bit, Chilchuck finally found what he’d been looking for, a cloth. After Laois went back to polishing his gear, he headed out the room, quietly walking past him. Thankfully, he went unnoticed with how engrossed the man was in his task. He made his way around the building to the closest source of water. It wasn’t anywhere near as cold as he wished it was, but for now it’d do. Back when his daughters were still young, they often got hurt and when they got older, their muscles often ached as they grew. This was what he’d found the most helpful to ease their pain back then. There was something nice about the idea of taking care of someone once more.
Chilchuck made his way back, only being noticed by Laois once he sat down on the chair next to him. He’d been subconsciously clawing at his injury as he contemplated how to go about polishing his knee guards.
“Hey Chil,” he spoke softly, finally loosening his grip on his own leg. “Can’t sleep?” It was a question he often got, after all he was the one most prone to wake up during other’s watch shifts with how much of a light sleeper he was.
“Yeah.” He couldn't help but eye the almost open wound on Laois’ leg, which he also seemed to notice. Laios slowly retracted his hand from his leg back to his gear. He knew he was going to get reprimanded, the apologetic look on his face – the one he’d seen so many times – that appeared whenever he messed up around someone without realising.
“Give me your leg,” Chilchuck said tentatively, hoping it didn’t come off too stern “please?” It came out closer to a plea than he’d have liked, showing a bit more vulnerability than he’d hoped. He was weak when it came to seeing people around him hurt.
The man complied, with a small nod. Chilchuck shifted around his chair so that he could face Laios, who fully extended his leg to rest on Chilchuck’s thigh, allowing him to move it as he pleased. Carefully, he enveloped as best as he could the wet cloth around the injury before rearranging the tallman’s foot in his lap. From the corner of his eye, as he mostly focused his attention on keeping the tissue in place, he could see Laios’ face wince at the unexpected sensation.
“Thank you.” Chilchuck kept his gaze down as he started to trace circles over his shin. “Thank you for trusting me to do this.” He appreciated that Laios could expose himself in a far more delicate state.
Laios huffed and he could tell by the creak of his chair that his shoulders went slack against the back of the chair as he eased into his touch. “Why do you say that?”
“I overheard you refuse Falin’s healing,” Chilchuck finally looked up to meet his eyes “But when I saw how irritated your leg had gotten, I knew I had to try something even if I wasn't sure you’d accept my help either.”
Laios put his elbow on the table and leaned on the backside of his hand flashing him an apologetic look once more.
“But I’m glad you did.” Chilchuck moved his hands from his shin to his calf and massaged it.
“I’m glad I did.” Laios hummed, closing his eyes. Almost melting under his medication.
“I know you want to repay Falin for saving you— all of us back there, but showing that you care about her like this isn't the way to go about it. In the long run, you'll only hurt yourself.” Chilchuck moved to kneading around his leg, confident that all of it must have been sore. He opened his mouth to speak again but stopped, second guessing himself on whether he might say too much. “Trust me, speaking from first hand experience.” He spoke softly.
Laios straightened back up at the words, giving him a wide-eyed look at the confession. “You— sorry.” Chilchuck could tell he was aching to ask about it, but couldn’t – there wouldn’t be an answer, not for now at least. Laios brought up his free leg to his chest to rest his chin on his knee before speaking again. “I’ll make sure to rely on you guys as much as I want you to rely on me.” Laios’ face looked far more confident in his answer than he previously did.
Chilchuck crooned at his response. He moved his hands to palm at a particularly tense part of the man’s calf. After a few seconds and a particularly harsh press of the thumb into the skin, he managed to alleviate the muscle’s strain which in turn, made Laios groan.
“You're really good at this, where'd you learn to do this?” Laios asked, fascinated.
“You need to be skilled with your hands to be a locksmith.” He joked, it was a bit crude compared to his usual sarcastic humour.
Laios’ mouth thinned into a line as he gave Chilchuck a funny look, unsure whether to laugh or cringe at what he’d said.
“I’m just messing with you,” Chilchuck shook his head smiling. “Can't say exactly how I picked it up, guess it just came to me naturally.”
“Then I hope you won’t mind helping me with my back someday.” Laios replied, rolling one of his shoulders. Chilchuck couldn't tell whether he was dead serious or simply returning his joke, Laios seriously sucked at this. Well, the intent didn’t matter, he’d take on that offer either way.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Laios” he yawned. Laios removed his leg from the other’s lap and put the now mostly damp cloth on the table.
“Guess you’re sending me off to sleep.” Chilchuck laughed, before getting up. He walked up to Laios before stopping, an idea sparking in his mind. Like this, while he was standing up, they would be about the same height if Laios wasn't leaning forward in his seat. From this angle, the man would have to look up to meet his eyes.
“By the way.” Laios only had the time to turn his head to face Chilchuck in confusion before having his face seized. Chilchuck secured his head in place with a hand under his chin as he roughly tousled his hair with the other. “How does that feel?” He couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face.
Laios tried burying his head in his shoulders, a miserable attempt to avoid Chilchuck’s harsh treatment while undeniably giggling.
After a little while, Chilchuck finally let go of his grip on him. “Someone seriously needed to put you in your place,” he huffed, "Learned your lesson?”
Laios brought Chilchuck’s hand that had been resting on his chin and brought it to his lips, gently kissing it. “Yeah.” He smiled so earnestly.
Chilchuck snorted at that, playfully pushing Laios’ head back by planting his palm to his forehead, earning himself a pout.
“You're awful Laios, you know that?” he sighed walking away.