Chapter Text
Roboute is in agony. There is no other way to put it. Every joint is screaming with inflammation, there is a pounding behind his eyes, his muscles are crying out and his head feels like his skull is about to cave in. The Armor of Fate is a crutch he has been relearning to live without, and this fresh nightmare is yet another reason why it is so necessary.
Sweat clings to his skin as his lungs struggle to not pant like a wounded dog. His teeth grind together so hard his jaw nearly creaks from the pressure, a bit of blood welling up from his inner cheek being bitten when the final piece of the armor was torn from his body.
His hands are shaking as he collapses onto his bed, the towels he had laid out to protect the sheets slightly scratching at his skin. His face is pressed into the mattress, eyes shut tight against yet another wave of nausea. His throat is tightening shut, breathing difficult as he tries not to gag.
Roboute’s thoughts keep looping to a wish for relief, for someone or something to take even a tiny bit of the pain away. A sound in the corner of the room only briefly catches his attention, the overwhelming pain and wish for an escape blocking it from his thoughts only a few seconds later.
“This is severe indeed.”
Roboute flinches, then pushes himself half upright far too quickly, his vision swimming when his eyes open. Even the fading light of the sunset outside is far too bright, the oncoming clouds not offering any reprieve. The figure in the room appears hazy, just as every piece of furniture around them is. They move to the windows, then the curtains all close in the blink of an eye. Soft lamplight is all that remains, far less painful in comparison.
As Roboute focuses, a familiar face comes into view. Eldrad is wearing plain black robes that flow freely, a sash tied loosely around his waist. His hair is pulled back with a simple band, an unusually casual style. A small box is tucked under one of his arms. He appears to have only recently woken up if his state of dress is any indication, yet he is still effortlessly elegant in his own alien way.
“Your distress carries far.” Eldrad pointedly looks to the poorly laid out armor on the floor beside the bed.
“Far enough that you elected to come here unbidden? How did you perceive it that compelled you to act?” Every word is measured, occasionally forced out with great effort as sparks of pain fluctuate in intensity.
“It is a cry of pain being screamed out into an uncaring void, desperate to be soothed. It is agony to witness it and not interfere. I have put aside the urge to alleviate it many times prior, but even I have my limits.”
“You have felt echoes of this before?”
“Just as the fates of our peoples are intertwined, so too are yours and mine. The connection is easy to form, but what I witness through it creates a challenge for me to let go.”
Eldrad approaches the edge of the bed. Roboute watches every step with distrust. The unpleasant awareness of just how weakened he is destroys any possible feeling of secure.
“Cast aside your worries. Your torment accosts me as I seek to rest, and so I have come to alleviate it. Your own wishes were clear.”
The idea that Eldrad heard the mental pleas for help is shameful, but the pain is to the point that shame has no room to take root. Roboute adjusts to lay on his stomach with his head turned towards Eldrad on his pillows. He tightly shuts his eyes once more, his jaw going rigid again as the adrenaline wears off.
“You are harming yourself. Your teeth may be damaged if you continue this.” The sound of the box being opened sparks curiosity, but the pain stamps it out just as it did the shame. There is a brief period of rustling before all is quiet again.
Roboute feels a soft and thick cloth being pressed to his lips. The scent is fresh and clean, an herbal undertone closely following. After a moment of hesitation he opens his mouth and the cloth is slipped between his teeth. As he grinds them the with the cloth as a barrier the feeling is dulled. Information pools in at the taste on the cloth, some sort of medicine that gives a slight tingling numbness.
Roboute swallows some of the medicine that drips from the cloth, the relief to his throat a true blessing. The agony on the inside of the wound is slightly relieved, an incredible feeling that has all worries cast aside. He slightly flinches as a cool and bony hand comes to rest on his forehead, a similar feeling to one in an incredibly distant childhood. It brings a comfort with it, a soft rush of hormones that makes the agony a touch less stressful.
That hand then sweeps up into sweaty hair, dull nails tracing along the scalp that sends shivers up Roboute’s spine. When that hand moves away Roboute catches himself mourning the loss. He listens closely to the footsteps, the moving of objects, the turning of faucets, and footsteps once more.
A weight is pressed into the mattress. Before Roboute can react a wet cloth is pressed onto his shoulders. It is spread wide, blessedly cool water dripping from it. Two hands then press deeply into the muscles on Roboute’s upper back, a tension quickly being forced out that has his head feeling heavy. The frequent spasms in his throat lessen, breath flowing more freely as more muscles are pressed into relaxation as those hands slowly move higher.
Roboute is almost nervous as the wound is nearly reached, but that fades away as those hands jump over it, instead moving to cup under his jaw. As his jaw slackens Eldrad moves back slightly, adjusting for some unknown purpose.
Without warning Eldrad moves to sit on Roboute’s back, legs on either side of his waist. The cloth on Roboute’s shoulders is then removed, dunked in water, and placed back on slightly lower. Eldrad moves it in slow circles with pressure applied on every new muscle group reached as he moves downward.
After a few minutes of this Roboute is finally able to think clearly enough to realize he is being cleaned and massaged all at once. He can’t think of what to say, but he knows he is grateful. Rain begins to hit the covered windows, the droplets falling provide peaceful sounds to fill in the quiet as the storm finally arrives.
Sweat is wiped away and the almost feverish heat of pain pushed back by the cool water. The cloth slips free from Roboute’s mouth and he mindlessly sets it aside. As Eldrad moves lower Roboute feels more and more present in his own body.
A particularly cramped spot on Roboute’s lower back is found, a tension radiating up through his obliques. Eldrad presses his fingers in more firmly than before, targeting the tension until it loosens, a pleasant heat following it that quickly fizzles out.
Roboute feels even more gratitude as Eldrad skips down to his thighs, only staying there briefly as he shuffles in discomfort. The focus quickly shifts to his horribly swollen knees. At the initial pressure Roboute has to resist the urge to clench his teeth once more, but after the wet cloth has been moved an oil of some kind is rubbed in that significantly reduces the pain. A familiar tingling follows and when the same is quickly done to the other knee Roboute can’t help but sigh.
Each knee is traced and massaged, gentle upward movements at first, then circular ones with a bit more weight. Roboute can practically feel the bloodflow righting itself, his legs going limp as the process is repeated for his ankles and feet. He can only manage to lift his legs just as much as Eldrad guides them to, allowing him room to work as needed until eventually they have both been set down. A trail of the oil is applied to his spine, light pressure applied in two lines along each side of it before Eldrad’s hands are removed.
“You must turn to the other side now.”
Eldrad moves back to the far end of the bed as Roboute complies. When he settles down he doesn’t react as Eldrad sits where he had the first time, now on Roboute’s stomach instead of his lower back.
Roboute listens as the cloth is dipped into water at his left side, relaxing as the cloth is run across his chest. Both of his hearts have begun to settle into a calmer rhythm, one he is sure Eldrad can feel as those wonderful hands relieve every point of tension they come across.
When that lovely oil is applied to his shoulders everything feels significantly lighter. Roboute is a puppet with cut strings, moving his arms however Eldrad positions them. His elbows and wrists are treated, his hands relaxing as each finger is relieved from their rigid positions.
Eldrad is incredibly cautious as he positions himself to massage Roboute’s abs, but when he settles and begins to work it is even easier to breathe. Every rise and fall of the primarch’s stomach and chest is far less strained.
When Eldrad moves back up and finally begins working on Roboute’s neck, he isn’t worried for how it may feel. The skin is cleaned very gently, water dripping onto the pillows beneath Roboute’s head. The oil is then thickly slathered on until it makes the agony go quiet.
The sigh that is released is loud, the last of the pain escaping with the air. Soft touches trail up to Roboute’s jaw, then to his cheekbones. The wet cloth is very briefly moved across his entire face in a soft caress. It is then fully set aside, its purpose fulfilled.
Eldrad’s hands return and Roboute welcomes the gentle touch, pressing into it when soothing circles are rubbed into his brows. From his brows those hands keep moving. Forehead, temples, scalp.
Those hands come back down, rubbing the deeply set frown from Roboute’s lips. A fragile emotion is bubbling up, one stronger than mere gratitude. He hesitantly rests a hand on one of Eldrad’s knees as a bit of the oil is placed onto his forehead, jaw and temples. The farseer takes a deep breath that makes Roboute nervous, but that feeling is shoved deep down.
“The connection is still strong enough that you need not speak on what emotions you are experiencing. What you must speak on is your desire to act upon them.”
“I wish to.”
Not needing to express that this isn’t some form of thanks, that the beginnings of it were sparked some time ago, that there is a want for it to be mutual, is truly a gift. When those lips softly press against Roboute’s own every struggle escapes his mind.