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The air was musty with the smell of dirt and the embers of a fire. Chilchuck couldn’t help but feel as though he was losing his mind, because he swore he still smelled blood despite there being none in sight. For anyone else, this might be normal, considering the day they’d had - but he was supposed to have special senses, dammit. He shouldn’t be smelling things that aren’t there.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, the stone ceiling swimming into view above him. On his left, Senshi lay on his back, the helmet safely placed by his side, his chest rising and falling evenly with each breath as he slept. On his right, Marcille lay on her side with her back to him, thin blanket pulled up to her shoulders, her gold hair splayed out behind her.
And just past Marcille sat Laios, staring into space.
After all this time of knowing him, Chilchuck wouldn’t normally have thought much about this. Laios did have a tendency to get lost in thought, but something felt different tonight. The remaining firelight illuminated the tall-man’s face, showcasing shadows beneath his eyes. Just hours before, he sported a swollen cheek and busted lip, healed up rather quickly by Marcille. He had initially refused her treatment, which was out of character in the first place - but when he saw how upset she’d been, he’d silently given his face to her and let her work.
Slowly, Chilchuck propped himself up on one elbow, then sat up fully. Much to his surprise, Laios didn’t notice. Upon closer inspection, his gold eyes, glinting in the firelight, seemed rather glassy. Chilchuck cursed himself for allowing Laios to take first watch in the first place, despite how much he had seemed to want to. He wasn’t in any condition to do so, and he’d known that. They were lucky nothing had attacked them while they were sleeping.
Chilchuck stood up, taking careful steps around Marcille. The stone floor beneath his bare feet sent a shiver down his back, but he didn’t stop until he was standing a mere foot away from Laios, who still had not moved. Letting out a sigh, Chilchuck’s voice was more fond than annoyed as he placed a hand on his hip. “You know,” he said, which startled Laios enough to make him jump, “if you’re taking watch, that usually means you’re actually watching.”
“Chilchuck,” Laios murmured, blinking up at him dumbly, as if trying to deduce how long he’d been standing there. A soft blush rose to his face in the firelight, and he cleared his throat, breaking eye contact. “...Sorry.”
Despite the fact that no one would see it, Chilchuck resisted the urge to grimace at the sorry sight in front of him. This, whatever it was, truly didn’t suit Laios. Sort of wistfully, he glanced toward the other two, both of whom were blissfully unaware of the situation. They were better at this sort of thing, but it was just Chilchuck here.
He lowered himself down to sit beside Laios, with one knee up and his elbow atop it. For a while, the only sound in the air was the quiet crackle of the dying fire. They were safe from monsters for now, but not from the revelations they had today.
“You, um, you don’t have to sit here with me,” Laios mumbled, quiet and uncharacteristic, like he was ashamed. “It’s not your turn to watch yet.”
“I know.” Chilchuck lifted his gaze from the fire, watching Laios out of the corner of his eye.
He almost looked upset - which would make sense, considering he’d just seen what had become of his sister - but that still wasn’t like Laios at all. If he knew Laios, he knew that, despite everything, he’d fight for Falin with his last breath. Nothing would stop him. That always worried Chilchuck, obviously. This time he couldn’t fight the unpleasant shiver that traveled down his spine as he remembered that orc woman who had seemingly just read his thoughts.
These guys were idiots, but dammit, they were his idiots.
He thought back to crouching in the half-destroyed building with that other half-foot. He was much younger than him, carrying on about the kobold that had gotten knocked out a few feet away from them. He remembered grabbing the kid’s arm to keep him from running off, his other hand holding up Senshi’s pot to shield them from the thing that Falin had become.
And even after it had retreated, they stayed put, waiting, listening to the argument. Chilchuck hadn’t been able to watch.
“For the longest time, I haven’t been able to stand being anywhere near you.”
After what felt like hours lost in his thoughts, Chilchuck looked at Laios properly, who was staring uncomfortably at the fire. “What Shuro said was uncalled for.”
Laios nearly jumped again, recoiling from Chilchuck as if the words had burned him. “What?” he squeaked, his voice about two octaves higher than normal, the way it often did when he was caught in a lie. What would normally happen next was a torrent of words, trying to change the subject in the worst way possible, making him sound more and more suspicious. This time, however, he just blinked at Chilchuck with wide eyes, like he had no idea how he’d guessed that that was what he was thinking about.
With a quiet sigh, Chilchuck’s eyes met Laios’ eyes - brown irises, hardened by his years of adventuring, and gold irises, innocent yet so strong, unwavering and always searching for answers. “All that back there. It wasn’t…nice.” He inwardly cringed at that - he supposed having children had changed the way he spoke sometimes, and occasionally it would slip out. He continued on before Laios could make any comment about that. “I always knew he was a stick in the mud, but I didn’t realize he was such an asshole.”
Laios lowered his gaze, pulling his knees to his chest as if to make himself smaller. “He’s not an asshole,” he replied in that quiet voice again, which made Chilchuck’s chest tighten.
“Look, you don’t have to always see the good in people,” Chilchuck huffed, leaning his head back against the wall to stare up at the ceiling. “He shouldn’t have said those things to you.”
“...At least now I know.”
The words almost felt like individual punches to Chilchuck’s gut. He returned his gaze to Laios, who was staring sadly into the fire, perhaps not bothering to hide his sorrow anymore.
“I thought we were friends, but I guess we’re not,” he continued, almost matter-of-fact. “I’m glad to finally know the truth, even if it hurts.”
For a brief moment, all Chilchuck saw was red, compounded by the smell of fire. He was going to kill that man the next he saw him, or so help him -
“Chilchuck.” He blinked, noticing Laios was looking at him now. “How can I…get better at reading the room?
All the times he’d yelled at Laios about this exact thing came back to him now, and Chilchuck, try as he might, couldn’t quite push down the tidal wave of guilt. He drew himself up, sitting on his knees right in front of Laios so that, for once, he was taller, and placed both hands on his shoulders.
“You don’t have to do anything,” he breathed, much to the tall-man’s surprise, “You’re fine the way you are.”
Laios’ brow furrowed as he looked up at Chilchuck. “But everyone seems to want me to get better.”
Biting back a groan, Chilchuck tightened his grip on Laios’ shoulders. “We don’t. I don’t.” He blinked, then slowly moved back on his heels, surprised that that had come out so easily. “I know I’m…I’m not very nice to you sometimes.” He winced, this time not bothering to hide it. “Shuro may not be your real friend, but we are. I -” His breath hitched as he noticed Laios’ eyes shining, wondering if it was a trick of the firelight. “Laios, you’re weird and intense and frustrating and sometimes make stupid decisions. You’re also the bravest and kindest and most interesting person I’ve ever met. I like you because you’re different, not in spite of it.”
He was normally good at carefully choosing his words, but this poured out of him as if someone had made him drink truth serum. The last sentence hung in the air as they stared at each other, and much to his surprise, Laios’ eyes welled up.
Letting out a shocked yelp, Chilchuck let go of the other’s shoulders and scrambled backward a little, wondering if he’d said something wrong. If he had, it was really wrong, because Laios never cried like this. He was about to start stuttering out an apology, or go back to insulting him, when Laios reached forward and took him by the shoulders, bringing him into a light embrace, light enough that Chilchuck could pull away if he wanted. He didn’t.
“Thank you, Chilchuck,” Laios’ voice was barely a whisper, his shoulders shaking with the tears that were stuck in his eyes. “The reassurance is really nice.”
Remembering he had to breathe, Chilchuck drew in a deep breath. Despite himself, he returned the embrace, tucking his chin in the crook of his friend’s shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. Let it out.” His voice didn’t have the same sarcasm it usually did. He was okay with that.
They hugged for a moment longer before he pulled away, leaning back on his heels to inspect Laios again. Despite the one or two tears that had rolled down his cheeks, he looked more alive than before. He looked more like himself. Just as Chilchuck was about to ask what he was smiling at, a voice behind him spoke.
“Guess we missed the party.”
Chilchuck jumped, whirling around to find Senshi sitting up on his bedroll with a smile that was not quite so hidden beneath his beard, and Marcille, sitting beside him with her cheeks flushed and a soft look in her eyes.
“H-How long have you guys been awake?” he gasped, scrambling to put his walls back up - though he’d been realizing it was getting harder and harder to keep them up around these three.
Ignoring him, Marcille carefully got to her feet, walking over to crouch beside Laios, who was looking at her curiously. She lifted an arm to embrace him as well, leaning her head on his shoulder. “We’re glad you’re here with us, Laios.”
“Chilchuck’s right.” Senshi was up next, crouching on the other side of Laios to embrace him, too. “To hell with all that before. You got us, and we’re not goin’ anywhere.”
Laios smiled, this time rather genuinely. “Guys…”
“C’mon. Get in here!” Marcille gazed up at Chilchuck with a smile, and he scoffed, looking away.
Perhaps he would have continued to be stubborn if he hadn’t already made a fool of himself. They already knew he’d been hugging him a moment earlier. He supposed one more couldn’t hurt.
“Fine.”
He nestled himself in the middle, against Laios’ chest again, and they all sat there, holding each other up for a moment.
Chilchuck got to his feet, brushing himself off, and turned to Laios’ unoccupied bedroll. “Get some sleep.”
“You sure?” Laios asked, his brow furrowing. Chilchuck simply lifted an arm to point, and Laios chuckled quietly as he looked down, noticing Marcille’s eyes closed from where she leaned her head on his shoulder. Gently, he lay her down with him, and Senshi simply shrugged and lay down there too.
Chilchuck lowered himself back down to sit against the wall, turning his attention to the fire. Laios really was an idiot, but he’d be damned if he didn’t let him know how wonderful he was, anyway.
“Chilchuck.”
He looked up, surprised, having not expected anyone to still be awake. When he glanced over, everyone’s eyes were closed - including Laios, who had been the one to speak. “Yeah…?”
His lips moved slowly, as if he were struggling to speak as he held onto consciousness for dear life. “Thank you.”
His face relaxed, and Chilchuck blinked in disbelief at his friends below him. He glanced around, knowing they’d only be sleeping for an hour or two at most, and sighed in defeat. “Okay. Fine.”
Carefully, he crawled over to them, nestling himself in between Senshi and Laios, and, comforted by the sound of Laios’ quiet breath and Senshi’s snores, he fell asleep with his closest friends.