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Getting separated in the dungeon wasn’t uncommon. In fact, it was anticipated. If you have a group as big as Laios’s, a couple of members are bound to get stranded here and there. There were protocols for this type of thing anyway. It’s not like you would be forgotten, especially not with the bond this party has.
The group had run out of game to eat, something that Senshi had insisted on having with each meal. So, at Laios’s command, everyone set out to look for a new monster to eat.
You knew you should’ve been paying better attention to the path ahead. Common sense just didn’t seem to be your friend today, as you noticed a rune carved into the stone wall of the tunnel the group was traversing. Being the curious person you were, you stopped to look at the strange symbol in the limestone. You tugged on Chilchuck’s sleeve and pointed it out to him, hoping his expertise in trap-disarming and language translation would help figure out what it may have meant.
The two of you stopped in your tracks to examine the rune, but, unbeknownst to you, the rest of the group seemed to keep moving. Chilchuck’s face contorted as he inspected the carved lines in the wall, tracing them with his fingers. After he had determined that the rune was old Dwarvish and deemed it unimportant, you looked up, only to find your party members missing.
The two of you didn’t worry too much. Well, Chilchuck didn’t worry at all, but you, of course, always had your worries and doubts. Being as deep as the seventh floor was dangerous, after all. If Marcille wasn’t around to revive the two of you, there was an absolute below-zero chance that you’d make it out of the dungeon alive. The corpse retrievers didn’t come down this far, and you definitely didn’t have the coin for a revival fee.
Chilchuck had the courtesy to reassure you once, which helped to calm your nerves, but as time went on wandering the tunnels with no sight of the others, your hope started to falter. Though… getting stuck with Chilchuck of all people wasn’t necessarily torture.
“Let’s stop here. Wandering around isn’t going to do us any good if we don’t know where we’re going.” Chilchuck sat down on a jagged rock on the ground. The surrounding area was surprisingly open compared to the higher floors in the dungeon. The open room you had stopped in had a wide expanse of grass, dotted with flowers of various colors. It gave you a slight sense of relief, but also fear. Nice places like this were few and far between in the dungeon. A monster could approach the two of you from any angle here. You stood on guard, only loosening up after seeing the experienced rouge’s body relaxing against the wall, starting to rummage through his bag.
Half of you knew he was right about stopping, but the other half knew it was because his feet started to hurt and he didn’t want to admit it. You huffed amusedly at the idea, then sat in the grass across from him. You opened your mouth to make a quip but closed it upon seeing what he had pulled out of his bag.
He returned your gaze, glancing up at you between his lashes, “I tripped.” In his grip were a handful of tattered, off-white bandages. He rolled up a pant leg, revealing a scrape on his knee about the size of his palm. It bled only slightly, just enough to have stained the inside of his pants, but not enough to worry over. You furrowed your brows, wincing upon seeing the cut.
He was about to start wrapping his leg when you held your hand up, “Stop.”
He froze almost instantly and looked up at you again with a mildly perplexed look on his face.
You shrugged your bag off your shoulders and set it on the grass. It slumped from the pure weight of items inside. You then reached in and grabbed a strip of cloth, something you had previously used to preserve the extra bits of food that Senshi had given you. It was almost pristine, in much better condition than the bandages that Chilchuck was holding. Using it would be a million times more sanitary than the ratty, blood-stained rags he held. You dusted off the lingering breadcrumbs from the fabric then reached over to him, grabbing the frayed fabric from his hands.
“Let me help.”
And for once, he didn’t argue with you on the matter. There were no, “It’s fine”s or “It’s just a cut”s. He simply pulled back and put his hands to his sides, using them to prop himself up on the rock. You blinked. At the very least you expected some pushback, some kind of “no”, but he said nothing, relenting to you. He was probably thinking the same thing as you, that the dirty bandages he was using would probably only worsen the state of his wound. However, the thought that Chilchuck was going soft on you brought a light tinge of pink to your cheeks.
With his go-ahead, you reached into your bag and pulled out a flask of liquor, uncorked it, and then held it below his nose. “Here, take a sip. You’ll need it.”
Chilchuck snickered, gladly taking the flask from you, then tilted his head back to take a long swig of the fiery liquid. He shook his head, blinking his eyes to try and tamp down the burning in his throat, before handing the flask back to you. “Alright, do your worst.”
You took the flask from him and inched closer to his knee. Counting aloud from three down to one, you gave him a warning before pouring the alcohol onto his open wound. Chilchuck winced, his eyes squeezing shut as he gritted his teeth together. You could hear a slight hiss emanating from his mouth, but he didn’t yelp or flinch. He tried to grip the stone beneath him, his knuckles turning white. Hopefully, his lack of a huge response was a sign that the cut truly wasn’t too much to worry about.
You wiped off the skin around his knee with the cloth from your shirt, cleaning the pungent liquid from his knee. You tried to be gentle with your touch, not wanting to hurt him any more than the cut already did. The skin on his thigh felt soft beneath your fingertips as you bandaged him up. You weren’t trying to take note of such things, it was just something that stuck out to you. You expected his skin to be dirty like anyone else’s in the dungeon. Despite the action and treacherous walks the group had been through, he still managed to keep himself clean. At least, cleaner than you. You shook the thoughts from your head. Then, tying the knot around the back of his leg, you nodded, content with your work.
Chilchuck sighed as he looked down at you, something he didn’t get to do often. His eyes seemed softer than usual, perhaps because the others weren’t around. “You worry too much, you know.”
“Someone has to.” You pulled away from him, sitting back in the soft grass and capping the liquor bottle. “You worry enough about the rest of us. It should also be someone’s responsibility to care for you.” You chuckled softly and smiled up at him to try lightening the tone of your words, even if you knew deep down they meant something more. You tried to hide your feelings behind the facade of a light joke; something that Chilchuck seemed to quietly pick up on as a light flush ran up his cheeks and ears.
The air laid silent for a moment, almost making you think you had said something wrong. However, the way that Chilchuck returned your gaze changed your mind in an instant. You had never seen him look at anyone so kindly. You weren’t expecting your words to impact him so much. Seeming to notice the tension as well, Chilchuck cleared his throat.
“Thanks, by the way.” He turned his head, leaving you searching for his gaze, trying your hardest to see that look in his eyes again. “Remind me about this the next time you ask me for a favor.” He shook his head, presumably to straighten out his mind, and rolled his pant leg back down, trying his damnedest to avoid your gaze.
How badly you wanted to confess to him right then and there; to ignore every issue it would bring to the group, to put your feelings over the safety of both of you. You knew Chilchuck’s personal rules for himself, how he never let his work life seep into his personal life. A part of you just didn’t give a shit, but another part had you hold your tongue. This was obviously affecting Chilchuck as much as it was affecting you. The blush on his cheeks and the awkward silence between both of you said everything you needed to know.
And yet… you decided it was best if you just kept your mouth shut. In the end, you knew that Chilchuck wouldn’t be able to hold his tongue as long as you could. If things kept going forward the way they were now; at the very least, Marcille would pick up on it, which would spell an end to Chilchuck’s secrecy.
You both definitely knew of each other’s feelings, and that was enough for you.
For now.