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cosmos-coma · 10 days

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Hey, love your writing! On anon because I'm shy.

But could I maybe request a little oneshot of Eskel and a gn/nonbinary! Chronic fatigue reader whose muscles lock up sometimes if they're too tired. Would love either fluff or hurt/comfort.

For the fluff, I'll give you creative liberties, but for the hurt/comfort, I'm thinking of either eskel's s/o and travel companion being quieter than usual and withdrawing a lot. when the two finally talk about it, he finds out it's because they're getting insecure and self-conscious about travelling with him and being with him because in their mind, he deserves someone better. Orr Eskel's s/o who he comes home to whenever he can. They're self-conscious because they're having a bad fatigue day and can't do anything to welcome him more than a hug and a kiss. They so badly want to make him dinner or help take his armour off, but they can't.

Honestly, I have too many ideas for this type of reader.

BTW. Hope you have an amazing day.

One Last Thing

A/N: Thank you so much! I hope I can do this justice (as a person who does not have experience with chronic fatigue). I sort of... kind of combined your hurt/comfort prompts a little? I hope you'll like it though!!!

Pairing: Eskel x Reader

Words: 1668

Warnings: Editing while tired, Chronic Fatigue symptoms, Overworking self, Emotional/physical hurt/comfort, use of y/n.

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___________

The day had been long.

So so long.

There’s no way this could be the same 24 hours as this morning, but alas.

It had been another achingly long day of travel, and to make it worse you were beyond exhausted, having tossed and turned all of last night as you tried to get comfortable. Even riding along behind your beloved witcher had had you worn to the bone.

Your fingers ached as they clung to his tunic, not wanting to fall off on the bumpy path. With a quiet sigh, you rested your cheek against his broad back; you hadn’t even realized how quiet you’d been until the puff of breath left your lips, the first noise you’d made in hours now.

“I know it’s been a long ride, my love,” he started, his hand resting briefly on yours as they wrapped around his thick waist, “but we’ll be stopping soon, I promise,” his voice rumbled through his chest, sending pleasant vibrations through your face that still couldn’t help but make you smile as you nodded in response.

It was still another hour before you made it into town- though you suppose for a full day of travel it still counts as being “soon”. Eskel slid off with ease as he pulled into the stables, Scorpion huffing with relief as he knew his day was finally done. You only wish you could say the same. Instead, you were fighting against knitted brows and full winces as your body resisted your commands. Unsuspecting spasms wracked your legs as you tried to swing over the saddle, your muscles locking as you gripped the leather with momentary white knuckles.

“Are you okay…?” Eskel’s eyes fell to yours, worry worn clear on his face-he always did have a knack for picking up people’s expressions.

“I’m fine…” you nodded, your smile a little stiff as you used your hands to help get you started, “just a bit stiff and sore after yesterday is all.” Not a lie, technically, but it still made the pit of your stomach stir uncomfortably.

You’d been hiding the extent of your fatigue for a little while now, blaming your extra stiff joints and aching limbs on long days in the saddle or the admittedly thin bedrolls. You had been holding off his suspicions for now, but you could tell he was starting to grow doubtful.

But the last thing you wanted was to show him that you were struggling. You just had to push through the rest of the evening, crash hard tonight, and then… maybe tomorrow would be better.

“Really, Esk… I’m fine,” You assured as you took his hands, sliding off of Scorpion as you landed with a thud.

You were quiet as the two of you headed inside, the back of your mind a ceaseless whirlpool of anxious thoughts. You hated keeping it from him- the extent of your fatigue; he knew a little bit of course- that you got tired much faster than others and that your memory wasn’t all that you wanted it to be, but you had done your best to keep your worst days to yourself.

You tried not to look at the concerned amber glances thrown your way, instead watching his hand as it captured yours once more. Locking your fingers together you sent a gentle squeeze his way, a small smile tugging at your lips as you felt it return to you not moments later.

As you stepped behind closed doors relief poured from your shoulders, your bag sliding slowly to the floor as they slumped down in release. Wordlessly you waved Eskel over, a faint tired smile gracing your lips as he sat down on the stool before, just like he always did.

“It’s okay, my love I can do it tonight…” he tried to offer, but you only pressed him further into the seat.

“No,” you said, “I’ve got it, you just rest for now.” You could already feel the ache locking up your fingers, but you just needed to do this one thing. You knew you weren’t capable of fighting monsters- not like he could, and you were still learning the basics of the alchemy he relied on, so taking off his armor at the end of the day was the least you could do for him.

Slowly, you worked at undoing the leather straps and buckles that adorned your beloved, something you had done dozens of times. But today the usually familiar and precise movements felt unbearably bulky and rigid.

Simply put- Your fingers hurt, their joints exhausted and worn. You knew that you were pushing yourself right now, but it was the last thing- the last thing you needed to do, and then you could be done for the night.

“Love, I can-“

“No,” you rasped out, not even realizing how tight your throat was until you tried to force the words out, “No, I’ve got it… I’ve got it,” you continued, blinking away the frustrated tears that threatened to well, but still your fingers would not cooperate.

“Y/N…” he said as he finally turned around, “Oh, Y/N…” his warm voice rumbled as tears spilled over the dam of your eyelids. A single gentle yet roughened thumb smoothed across your cheek, wiping away the stains of tears left behind, “Talk to me… please, what’s going on…?”

A moment of silence as you swallowed the lump in your throat, “I-I’m sorry…” you whispered, wiping the last of your tears away before you finally unleashed the brunt of your bad fatigue day.

Eskel was quiet as he listened, his eyes and touch soft as you let your vulnerabilities show- the extent of your never-ending fatigue, the occasionally locking muscles, and the feelings that you’ll just… never be able to do enough for him.

“I’m sorry…” you sniffled, your tears since dried, but Eskel’s hand still cradled your cheek all the same, “you should have someone better to travel with, someone who can take your armor off every day and help you properly…” you said with another small sniffle, unable to meet his eyes again, “I wish I could be better for you, but…”

“No-” Eskel interjected, his tender touch pulling you closer as you stood between his legs, “Is that what you really think…? That I’d be better off traveling without you…?”

Your eyes lingered on your hands as he took them slowly, as if not to scare you, and gave them a gentle squeeze as you whispered, “I’ll just slow you down….”

Soft notched lips pressed into your knuckles, each one a firm declaration of unspoken love. “You do not slow me down, Y/n… and I don’t know what I would do without you,” He spoke, his voice earnest and even as he continued, “I don’t care if you can’t take off my armor every night and I don’t care if you can’t always help with alchemy… I don’t need you to always be of service for me to find you as important as I do….”

New tears welled in your eyes and were furiously blinked away as you listened to every love-laced word.

“Being able to just sit down next to you at the end of each day is what’s important to me…” He said, his hand moving to tilt your gaze so ever slightly up, “to be able to rest and hear you tell me that you love me- it’s everything to me.”

You bit back a modest smile, your eyes still threatening their flood of emotion over his loving words, “I do love you… always…”

Eskel grinned, brighter and warmer than the sun ever could as your words seemed to light him up from the inside, “I know… and I love you too, with everything that I have- so why would I want to travel with anyone else…?” He said simply, “Yes, it is nice to have someone to remove my armor at night, and it’s nice to get help with dinner or alchemy, but it means so much more to me to just have you on the path beside me. To hear your genuine laughter and my poorly told stories, to feel your easy breath fan over me in the night… it makes everything about being a witcher worth it. everything….”

Wiping the few remaining tears away, you nodded, your shoulders much lighter than they were mere hours ago. “I… I love you so much…” you didn’t know what else to say- what else could you say but to repeat the notion again and again until it became a fraction of what you truly felt.

Eskel only shook his head, a breath of laughter spilling from his lips, “I love you too… and now, I know it’s been a long day, so why don’t you sit back and let me take care of you this time, okay…? ”

You nodded, an easy smile on your lips, “Okay…”

____

Fragrant heat enveloped you from all sides. The melting heat of the bath water topped off with your favorite scented oils, stirred around your tight muscles and offered a small breath of relief. The soft sweet floral scent mixed well with Eskel’s woodsy-scented skin, his bare chest acting as a solid heated wall behind you.

He started by holding your hand in his, roughened thumbs kneading soothing circles along each of your fingers as he tried to work the stiffness out. His touch moved slowly, taking his time with each piece of you as he rolled out your muscles beneath his touch.

It hurt like nothing else, but by Melitele it was probably the best pain you’d ever felt. It didn’t fix everything, you knew there was no way it could, but it did find an almost magical way of unwinding your muscles to the point of being bearable again.

Between the dedicated kneading of your every limb and the well of hot water around you, you knew this was going to be the best damn sleep of your life.

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