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sociallyawkwardfoxwriter · 2 years

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Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Major Character Death Category: M/M Fandoms: Critical Role (Web Series),Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse) Relationships: Orym/Dorian Storm, Leon S. Kennedy/Chris Redfield Characters: Orym (Critical Role), Dorian Storm, Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, Imogen Temult, Ashton Greymoore, Cyrus Wyvernwind, Piers Nivans, Laudna (Critical Role), Fearne Calloway Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Nightmares, Burns, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Orym’s Dead Spouse (Critical Role), Sobbing, Human Experimentation, Stitches, drugged, Hospitals, Injury Recovery, Chronic Pain, Scars, Strangulation, Panic, Mind Control, Dissociation, Depression

Day Twenty-Three. "Don't Leave!"

He knew something was going on when Orym paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and eyes suddenly unfocused. His head cocked to the side like he was trying to make sense of what he heard. A slow frown took over his blank face, then the fork in his hand slipped free of his fingers to the plate below. The unfocused look in his eyes shifted to something closer to dazed and, not necessarily confused, something closer to uncomprehending.

His lips formed words that Dorian couldn't quite make out, then he released a shuddering breath that shook his entire body. Despite wanting nothing more than to place a comforting hand on Orym shoulder, the expression on his face made him uncertain whether that would help. Instead, he waited for some sign that Orym might be coming out of his daze. When several long minutes passed of nothing happening, the urge grew too great for him to hold back any longer.

As soon as his hand touched Orym's shoulder, unseeing eyes shifted their empty stare to him. “Orym? What happened? Did someone send you a message?”

“Keyleth.”

“You mean the-What did she want?”

“My...” Those blank eyes switched in an instant to their normally expressive nature, but he wasn't prepared for the tears forming in them. “It's my mom. She's not doing well. She got sick. I-I don't know. She was fine. You saw her. She was fine.”

“Do we have a way to get back quickly?”

“We were going to take an airship.”

“Then we'll ask around to find the next one that leaves for Tal'Dorei.”

“What if we don't make it in time?”

“Don't think like that. Your mother is strong. She'll probably get better before we even get there and berate you for thinking you needed to come back at all.”

“Keyleth wouldn't have someone send me a message if it wasn't serious.”

“That doesn't mean the worst is going to happen, Orym, but we should still get you home as quickly as possible.”

After a moment of staring, Orym gave a jerky nod of agreement and took a deep breath to help calm himself. “What about your brother? We can't just leave him here when there's an enormous bounty on his head.”

“We knew that getting him out of the city might be the best option. If that's what has to happen because you need to go home, then we'll go with that route. Cyrus can deal with it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I'm sure, Orym. I'm not going to let you do this on your own. All we need to do is find an airship to Tal'Dorei. How about I go handle that while you get all of our stuff together?”

“Don't leave!” A strong hand shot out to grip Dorian's wrist in a bruising hold that he wouldn't have been able to shake if he wanted to. “I can't... Please don't leave.”

“I won't. We'll do it together. We don't have a lot of things to pack. It shouldn't take long. After that, we go check out when the next airship to Tal'Dorei is. If we're lucky, it'll depart soon.”

“What do we tell the others?”

“That's up to you. We can tell them we're getting my brother out of town and someone from your home offered to help him if you don't want to tell them what happened.”

“We shouldn't lie to them. They're our friends.”

Dorian moved his free hand to rest comfortingly on Orym's back and started to slowly rub in circles. “We can tell them something important came up, so you need to return home for a while. I'm sure they'll understand.”

“What if they need us?”

“Orym, I mean this in the kindest way possible, but it's time to be selfish. The others can handle themselves while we're gone. This is important to you. You shouldn't put it aside for the sake of everyone else.”

It took Orym a moment to process his words, then the tears that had been threatening to fall broke free. Instinctively, he pulled Orym into a tight hold that tucked him safely against his chest to protect him from the world. So often Orym seemed larger than life, especially in the heat of battle, but in this moment, he felt so small. Small enough the Dorian felt like he could cover him completely from everything that could possibly try to hurt him. But Orym was too strong to ever let him do that for him. The best he could do was help him carry the burden.

With that in mind, he pulled Orym tighter into his chest and gently started running his fingers through Orym's hair to calm him. It was one of the few forms of comfort given to him as a child, which he hoped translated the same way to Orym. The last thing he needed right now was to feel uncomfortable because Dorian did something he didn't like while he was crying his eyes out. He already had so much to deal with and all Dorian wanted to do was help. Regardless of anything else, that's exactly what he would do.

When the shaking finally died down, Orym waited a few more minutes before he pulled back from Dorian's chest. Green eyes now bright red and puffy along the eyelids looked up at him with a level of exhaustion that normally came after a hard fight. After a moment of staring, Orym straightened himself up and wiped at the tears still staining his cheeks.

“We should get going. The later in the day it gets, the less likely they'll be to have tickets to Tal'Dorei for today.”

“Pack first?”

“Yeah.” Orym slid onto his slightly shaky feet and waited until Dorian joined him to start heading for the stairs. “We should see if the others are awake. We need to tell them before we leave in case we don't have time to come back.”

“I'll follow your lead. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it.”

“Thank you, Dorian.”

“You're welcome. Lead the way.”

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