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Language:
English
Series:
Part 2 of Along the Way
Stats:
Published:
2018-08-01
Words:
950
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
16
Kudos:
607
Bookmarks:
37
Hits:
5,476

It's All Okay

Summary:

Caleb is the smartest idiot Molly has ever met.

Notes:

Titles are hard, ok?

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

“You are the smartest idiot I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

Caleb’s eyebrows twitched, and when his eyes cracked open he found Mollymauk’s face distressingly close, hovering over his own.

“ Ja , that- that sounds about right.” Caleb coughed, a deep ache settling in his chest and oh, that did not sound good, and it felt even worse. “What happened? Where is Nott?”

“Nott is off finding you some medicine, because you my friend, as previously stated, are an idiot , and didn’t tell us you were getting sick. You’ll be lucky if she ever leaves you alone about it.”

“That is fair.” With a weary nod, Caleb gathered what little strength he had, and pushed himself up. His trembling arms didn’t quite hold him, but Molly interceded to keep him from falling back and braining himself on the ground; Molly’s hands felt solid and strangely comforting as they helped keep him upright.

It took him a moment longer than it should have for him to realize he was on the floor in their room at the at The Dizzy Oak where they’d stopped for the night. His thoughts felt slow, syrupy, and Molly had him most of the way onto the bed before Caleb’s thoughts caught up with him.

“I passed out?”

“That’s about the long and short of it, yeah. I came up to grab something and there you were, sprawled on the floor like the world’s ugliest throw rug.” Molly already had Caleb’s coat unbuttoned and most of the way off his shoulders, tossing it onto the back of a nearby chair once he had Caleb disentangled from it. His book holsters were next, and Caleb felt a flare of fondness for how carefully Molly handled his books. He helped Caleb to lay down and made quick work of getting his boots off as well.

“And just another second-” Molly got the blankets wrestled down far enough he could get Caleb tucked under before pulling them back up. Caleb shivered, even while he sluggishly thought that wasn’t right. The blankets were thick and heavy, he should be warm, but instead-

“-cold.”

Molly hummed, placing a hand on Caleb’s forehead, and it was odd; experience had taught Caleb that tieflings ran warm, or at least the two he held company with both did. Molly’s hand felt cool against his skin, and Caleb’s eyes slid shut without his say so.

“Shit, you’re burning up.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

There was a moment of silence, and Caleb opened his eyes again to see an indecipherable expression cloud Molly’s face.

Oh. He’d said that out loud, then.

Fantastic.

Molly stepped back, frowning, and Caleb gave up on trying to keep his eyes open. He felt awful, and if his body was inclined to pass out for awhile, so much the better. “Nott will be back soon, I am sure. Go back downstairs, Mollymauk.”

There was the sound of water from the pitcher on the side table hitting the porcelain bowl next to it and a wet swishing sound, followed by quiet footsteps getting closer again.

“You’re not at your best, so I’m going to ignore the part just now where you insinuated I’m the kind of person who would leave a sick friend on their own, and head straight to the part where you didn’t think it was important to tell anyone you were this sick. What if this had hit while we were on the road? What would we have done with you?” Molly didn’t sound angry or annoyed so much as dismayed, and Caleb wouldn’t know what to do with that even if he was at his best. He made an effort to get his eyes open just before Molly lowered a damp cloth to his forehead; he couldn’t help the wince as cool rivulets of water dripped down the sides of his face, making him shiver harder and stifle another cough.

“I am sorry, Molly, I did not think it through. As you said, I am not at my best.”

Molly narrowed his eyes in a considering look, then smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners. “How can I stay mad when you look so miserable?”

“Thank you, I think.” Caleb burrowed further down under the blankets. “I- Nott and I have been on our own for so long we do not usually need to say anything, and I am unused to willingly sharing my weak spots with others.”

Another beat of silence, and when Caleb glanced up, Molly looked surprised. Curse his idiot mouth; why couldn’t he just pass out again? It would be easier and would save him from making a further ass of himself.

“That...was too much. Nevermind, forget I said anything.”

“No, I-” Molly struggled a second, and refreshed the compress in the bowl of water before he continued. “I get it, Caleb. It can be hard to know who to trust, who won’t screw you over when you’re most vulnerable. I hope at some point you’ll trust us enough to know we’re not those people.”

Well that wasn’t right. Caleb tried to sit up, though he didn’t get very far before collapsing back against his pillow.“I do know. I trust you all, I just-”

“Shh. It’s ok.” Molly ran his fingers through Caleb’s hair, brushing his bangs back from where they’d stuck to the water on his forehead. “Like I said, I get it. Why don’t you close your eyes. Nott should be back soon, and she’d have my hide if she thought I made you worse before she got back.”

Caleb hummed in assent, and closed his eyes, falling asleep to the soothing feel of fingers carding through his hair.

Notes:

I'm just getting into the Critical Role fandom (but wow am I in deep already). So far I'm up to episode 10 of season 2! Come say hi to me on tumblr to flail about at our favorite characters! Find me at Analisegrey!

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