Chapter Text
Danitz hurried as he made his way back from the apothecary near the Red Theatre. Gehrman was barely lucid when he had left him. The Ailment Maiden's powers had done a number on the adventurer. It would be more surprising if he had been unaffected after tussling with a pirate Vice Admiral, but it was still uncanny to see the normally unflappable bounty hunter in such a state.
Gehrman had been able to hold a conversation with Elland —probably out of sheer willpower — but he had not gotten up to see the ship captain to the door as he he would have usually done out of "basic courtesy", and had slumped in his armchair soon after. Danitz had had the fright of his life, thinking he had fainted, but Gehrman's eyes were open, if a bit glazed. He had succinctly described his symptoms and instructed the pirate to go to the apothecary to get him medicine.
Dogshit, even sickness doesn't make him any less infuriating, ordering me around with that same fake polite expression on his face. He grumbled to himself as he jogged.
Danitz was — somewhat agitated. He knew it wasn't anything too serious, just a bad fever and cold going by the symptoms, but it didn't stop him from worrying. Gehrman might seem like a cold and ruthless madman only concerned with bounties, but underneath that tough exterior was someone kind who did not hesitate to protect strangers' lives at the risk of his own, with nothing in return. He might have a fondness for bullying Danitz (the pirate will never forgive Gehrman for hanging him outside a ship), but he always shared a fair portion of the bounties with him, let him talk his head off while listening attentively, didn't demand more than he could give, and in general gave Danitz a sense of — safety? No, not safety, every day spent with Gehrman Sparrow was a day spent doing dangerous tasks, not to mention that Danitz had initially been scared of the man himself — scared that he'd be turned into pounds.
But nevertheless, despite his thorns, there was something about Gehrman that drew Danitz to him, that made him want to stay close.
And that was without mentioning the other thing — the soul mark under his left collarbone.
At first, it had been a normal black cat with the only accessory being a dark half top hat. Then it had changed, signalling that this particular soulmate was a beyonder as well, one that had reached sequence 7. Danitz had been delighted. He hadn't met either of his soulmates yet, but this meant that it would be easier to keep an eye out for at least one of them. He didn't think much of it other than hoping to find who it was soon, until he had spent some days with Gehrman.
See, the change was the addition of gold rimmed glasses. Combine that with the half top hat and the nature of most cats… and it closely resembled a certain reserved adventurer.
(Sometimes, when Gehrman stared at him for a tad bit too long before blinking and replying, he could almost see cat ears on the man's head. It fit too perfectly.)
Danitz shook off these thoughts as he entered the Wind of Azure Inn. It didn't matter how he felt about Gehrman or what he suspected him of, right now, the adventurer was sick and needed help —help that he'd asked Danitz to provide.
He stepped into the suite and shut the door behind him carefully, afraid to disturb Gehrman in case he had fallen asleep. He found the adventurer right where he had left him, in the comfortable armchair near the low burning fireplace, and confirmed that he was indeed sleeping. His face was flushed and his mouth had fallen open — probably to breathe better since his nose was blocked — but he did not look any worse than before.
Danitz nodded to himself and let him be. Gehrman most probably needed the rest. He would brew the medicine and wake him up when it was time to eat it. He poured water and the things he had gotten from the apothecary (it had too many weird ingredients to call them just "herbs") and let it simmer for half an hour as instructed, keeping a close eye on the flame with his Pyromaniac abilities.
It gave him time to think, much to his frustration.
Why frustration? Because all his thoughts came back to one point: Gehrman Sparrow. Just because he felt some affinity towards the guy didn't mean he wanted to be thinking of him so often. And at this moment, he wasn't even thinking, he was fretting, which was very uncharacteristic of Danitz.
Ugh its just like that madman to not let me have a single moment of quiet. Even when he isn't awake, he is tormenting me!
His uncooperative brain kept throwing unlikely scenarios at him — what if the medicine didn't work well enough and Gehrman stayed sick, what if the apothecary was a quack and his medicine made Gehrman's condition worse, what if this was a long ploy by the bounty hunter's many enemies and the medicine was actually poison and Gehrman actually died, and so on and so forth.
Danitz was annoyed at his brain for coming up with such nonsensical scenarios but he was also annoyed at himself for caring enough about Gehrman for his brain to come up with these scenarios. He knew Gehrman was a good person and might even be his soulmate but he really didn't think he needed to fret over Gehrman Sparrow of all people. The adventurer was clearly an experienced beyonder, he had to be good at taking care of his physical and mental health in order to reduce chances of losing control. He didn't need someone like Danitz to take care of himself. This was just an exceptional case and the illness was the result of a beyonder battle.
That was what he told himself as he took the pot off the heat and poured it contents into a bowl. He also found a clean handkerchief and wet it with cold water in order to cool down Gehrman's fever with it. He brought both to the low table near the armchair before hesitating.
Gehrman looked strangely vulnerable like this, sleep softening the harsh angles of his face, and skin flushed with a fever. Danitz didn't like it, didn't like seeing Gehrman like this, especially knowing the reason behind it. But no one can be invincible all the time, not even saints and angels, and certainly not Gehrman who was just a man, albeit an insanely strong one.
Danitz sighed and went to place a hand on Gehrman's shoulder to shake him awake, before thinking better. I don't want to be accidentally devoured just because I startled a trigger-happy maniac.
"Gehrman."
The man furrowed his eyebrows. Inexplicably, Danitz wanted to smoothen the crease formed between them.
"Gehrman, wake up. The medicine is ready."
Contrary to Danitz's assumptions, Gehrman didn't snap to awareness immediately. Instead, his eyelids fluttered for a moment before they slid open. He looked up at Danitz with bleary eyes, blinking a couple of times before his gaze sharpened to its usual degree.
Danitz had felt a pang of something when Gehrman's sleep-soft gaze had fallen on him.
Experienced adventurers and pirates are usually light sleepers. A man like him shouldn't have taken even this much to rouse to alertness. Has the illness taken a toll on him, or does he trust me enough to take a few seconds to wake up?
Ignoring the mix of frustration and worry he felt, the pirate handed Gehrman the medicine. He did not remove his hands until he felt that the adventurer had a good grip on the bowl, and stepped back.
Gehrman silently looked at the bowl before turning that inscrutable gaze on him. Danitz sweated, wondering if he had done something wrong — perhaps Gehrman would have preferred a mug instead of a soup bowl?— before silently admonishing himself. He had done more than enough for Gehrman, if the man still wasn't satisfied, then it can't be helped.
He was about to put his thoughts into words but Gehrman looked away and drank the medicine in one go, foregoing the spoon. And then coughed violently.
Danitz jerked forward, about to pat his back, as he shook his head in amusement— really, how bad could it be for someone who has drank beyonder potions? — but then decided not to. He instead picked the cold handkerchief and, when his coughs subsided, motioned for Gehrman to lean back in the armchair.
The adventurer, flushed from the fever and his coughing fit, stared at the piece of cloth. "No need. I feel the medicine working."
"You still look feverish, though. It won't hurt." Danitz raised the cloth near Gehrman's head but didn't place it on his forehead until he got a small nod.
As he smoothed the damp handkerchief on Gehrman's forehead, his fingers brushed against hot skin and he felt something unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life.
Emotions not his own — shock-joy-confusion-panic-exhaustion.
A metaphorical whisper in his head saying this is someone your soul calls its own, someone you'll know inside out.
A tender, undeniable sense of you will hold and cherish each other's hearts.
And overlaying and encompassing it all, a comfortable warmth, like basking in the sun on a winter day.
Danitz had never felt it before but he knew what it was. A knowing.
Soul bond. Romantic.
He looked at Gehrman —not that he had looked away — and found his surprise mirrored there, his cold face for once showing some expression, lips slightly parted as he looked up at Danitz with wide brown eyes.
There was a moment of utter quiet, the only sounds in the room being the cackling of fire and Gehrman's clogged breathing.
Danitz wasn't surprised, per se. He had had his suspicions for a couple of weeks now. At this point, most people would have found an excuse to make physical contact and confirm the bond — if it was their soulmate or not — but most people did not have Gehrman Sparrow as a suspected soulmate. There was no way for Danitz to make casual physical contact with him, considering how the only exposed skin he had was of his face and right hand. He couldn't have just grabbed the adventurer's hand or smacked his face now could he?
In the end it did end up being the face… Danitz lampooned.
He wasn't shocked at being soulmates with Gehrman, he was shocked at being romantic soulmates with Gehrman. Despite everything, this wasn't a possibility he had considered seriously, and he didn't know what to do with the fact now that he was faced with it.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Gehrman, who exhaled loudly, almost laughing-ly, and spoke just one word.
"Rooster."
????? What??????? Has the fever addled his brain????
Confused, Danitz echoed, "Rooster?"
Gehrman nodded, a small smile gracing his lips. His hand made an aborted movement towards his chest. "You. Rooster. The colours match."
Danitz eyes lit up in understanding. Ah, he means the soul mark. His soul mark was also on his chest after all, below his collarbones. But why am I a rooster? Just because the colours match?!
Having nothing else to say, Danitz offered, "Yours is a cat. A black one with a top hat and golden glasses."
"I know." He does? Meaning he has another beyonder soulmate…
Silence.
This is so awkward. I never imagined meeting a soulmate would be like this. But strangely, this suits Gehrman. Sometimes, it seems like he defaults to his curt, cold self because he struggles to communicate. But he most definitely enjoys tormenting me too, the jerk, so its not just that.
(A/N: Danitz thinks Gehrman is a tsundere)
Suddenly, Gehrman stood up, the handkerchief falling from his forehead. He took a step forward but started swaying.
"Wait!" Danitz immediately reached out to steady him. He only realised their position when the adventurer stared down his nose at him. In his hurry, he had wrapped his arm around Gehrman's waist and pulled him close, close enough to feel the heat of the fever through the many layers of his clothes.
Steadfastly ignoring both his growing blush and Gehrman's sharp gaze, he spluttered, "Where are you going? Medicines can't work immediately, you know. You don't have to run away if you don't want to talk about it now, but you should rest a while before heading out — not that I'm telling you what to do, but uh, I'm just — concerned about you…" He trailed off, not meeting the adventurer's eyes.
"I was going to my room. To rest."
"Oh." Danitz felt a little embarrassed at his reaction. Gehrman wasn't the type to run away, and certainly not from something like a conversation, albeit one about soul bonds. And he could obviously take of himself, he knew his own limits. But… just then, he had looked like a stiff breeze could blow him away.
Danitz didn't let go.
He turned them around to face the master bedroom.
"I can walk." The words contrasted how the adventurer had started leaning his weight against Danitz.
"I know. But let me support you." In this, and as your soulmate. He glanced at Gehrman and saw him looking back at him in that intense way of his.
"Okay." The words was barely a murmur, only picked up by Danitz thanks to his proximity to Gehrman and his sharper than normal hearing.
Somehow, he had a feeling that his unsaid words had been heard nevertheless.
(Perhaps they had, for at this moment Danitz wanted nothing more than to be able to be Gehrman's support, to be trusted and depended on.
Perhaps, that intention, that desire, was strong enough to resonate through the newly discovered bond.)
The hunter let his soulmate lean against him as they walked to the master bedroom. He let go when they reached the bed and watched as Gehrman sat on the bed heavily and took off his boots and coat. Danitz took them from him and put them aside neatly, while the sick adventurer lay down and slipped under the covers.
Knowing that he was probably overstepping, Danitz drew the covers up till Gehrman's chin, tucking him in so he was warm and cosy. The adventurer eyes were fever-bright and he had taken off his glasses previously, making his stare clearer as he looked at Danitz.
He didn't say anything.
Danitz lingered.
"So… we will talk about this, right?" He hated how hesitant he sounded. But Gehrman was an unpredictable man. He didn't know how he would react to a romantic bond with someone, with Danitz, when he was not sick and vulnerable.
Gehrman hummed, shutting his eyes. "Tomorrow."
The pirate let out a relieved breath. "Okay."
He finally moved his feet, heading towards the door. "Okay," he sighed to himself.
Danitz paused just before closing the door, and glanced back with his hand on the doorknob. Gehrman had pulled the sheets more, so that his mouth was also covered. He was watching Danitz with eyes that were barely open.
"Sleep well, Gehrman." A nod. The adventurer closed his eyes and snuggled in.
He really is like a cat. How cute.
Danitz pulled the door shut.