“Why did you save me?” “That’s what family does.” And “The whole group just wrecking havoc in order to rescue their kidnapped teammate.” With everyone and an outside threat.
Content Warnings: Fantasy violence, being tied up/gagged, mentions of villain!Remus, let me know if I need to add anything else!
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Roman wasn’t scared. He was tired, thirsty, sore, and…maybe a bit concerned, but not scared!
Why would he be? He was only tied up against the trunk of a tree with so much rope he could barely move, and the gag tied in his mouth was only cutting in so deep that his cheeks had gone numb, and it’d only been three days since he’d been captured by the clan of bandits who still hadn’t given him food…all things considered, he was fine!
“What’s the holdup, man, we’ve been waiting in this stupid clearing for hours!”
Roman glanced over at the bandit who had spoken, a burly fellow whose sense of patience seemed to be as impeccable as his sense of hygiene. Which was to say, nonexistent.
“Are you sure this guy is worth it?” the thug continued, and his companion, a much lankier man, nodded.
“The boss said if we got this dude without a scratch on ‘im and waited here, we’d be well paid. At least twice as much as the typical haul.”
“Damn. This guy’s brother must really want him back.”
The blood drained immediately from Roman’s face. He’d figured that the bandits were on some slave driver’s payroll; it was a common enough occurrence in this remote part of the kingdom for kidnappings to take place. But if his brother was behind this…
Roman swallowed. Okay…maybe he was a little scared.
A twig snapped behind Roman and his heart jumped into his throat. Oh god, he was here. After everything he’d done to try and get away, everything he’d sacrificed to escape, it was all meaningless. Remus would take great pleasure in reminding him exactly how fruitless his efforts were, and Roman had learned years ago that anything his twin took pleasure in wasn’t something he would enjoy. When faced with a choice between the two, Roman honestly thought he’d prefer being sold to a slaver.
The underbrush rustled and Roman closed his eyes. His face burned with the shame of it, but he wasn’t ready to see Remus’s face just yet. He braced himself, waiting for his brother’s voice taunting in his ear.
Instead, there was a *whoosh* and a guttural cry from one of the bandits. Roman’s eyes flew open in time to see the smaller of the two who had spoken fall to the ground, a purple hilted throwing knife sticking out of his chest.
Virgil?
As if conjured by the thought, another knife flew out from the trees, striking the larger bandit in the shoulder, then three figures burst into the clearing. Roman’s mind was reeling so much he barely could comprehend what was happening, but before he knew it, the bandits all lay dead or unconscious around him and there was a familiar mess of curls filling his field of vision.
“Patton?” he asked in bewilderment as the bright eyed wood elf reached up and slid the gag out of Roman’s mouth.
“Roman, oh my god, you’re okay,” he said, cupping Roman’s face in both hands. “We were so worried…you’re not hurt, are you? Don’t worry, we’ll get you right out of these.”
He dropped to his knees and began working at the knots holding Roman in place.
“Patton, what…”
“Apologies for how long it took us to reach you,” Logan said, coming up on Roman’s other side and working on his own set of knots. “We had to wait until we had enough of an advantage that we could ensure our victory without risking your safety.”
The last of the ropes fell away and Roman slumped, his legs so numb he was unable to hold himself up on his own. Patton caught him before he fell and eased him to the ground.
“Take it easy, kiddo, you’re okay,” he murmured.
“Yes, do not put too much stress on yourself right away, your limbs will need time to regain their circulation. Virgil!”
“What?” Virgil asked, pulling the last of his knives out of a fallen bandit.
“Can you bring out our supplies? I believe they have not given him food or water, it is imperative that he is rehydrated.”
“You got it, Lo,” Virgil said, before holding his hand out in front of him. A dark, shadowy portal opened up in the air in front of him, and after sticking his arm inside and rummaging around for a moment, he withdrew a large knapsack and closed the portal again with a snap of his fingers.
He knelt in front of Roman and handed him a canteen, which Roman took a deep draught from gratefully.
“Easy now, not too fast,” Logan instructed. “Small sips.”
“I…” Roman swallowed, and looked around at his rescuers, who he honestly hadn’t expected to see again after he’d been taken. “I…I don’t understand.”
“If you drink too fast you may cause yourself to be sick and as retaining fluid is a priority right now you must–”
“No, I mean,” Roman swallowed again. “Why…why did you save me?”
Virgil hissed in sympathy, sitting back on his heels.
“That brother of yours really did a number on you, didn’t he?” he muttered, and Roman frowned, confused.
“Huh?”
“Kiddo.” Patton reached out and tilted Roman’s head towards him. “We rescued you because you’re our family. And that’s what family does. It looks out for each other, no matter what. Got it?”
Roman looked each of his friends in the eye, expecting to find…he wasn’t sure what, if he was honest with himself. But all he saw was concern, care, and love.
“Yeah,” he said, a lump forming in his throat as he smiled for the first time in three days. “I got it.”
