Idea: The Ghouls All Collectively Deciding That Copia Is Too Stressed And Has Been Overworking Himself,

Okay, the Carhartt coat thing. Here we go @autumnblooms , some soft squishy thoughts for you ft. Water Dew and Mountain.

Ft. some flower language.

Red roses meaning love and passion

Cyclamen meaning lasting feelings and sincere affection

Cocoa With Chili

Dew steps out of the Abbey doors and squints into the light. It's winter, and there's a crystalline quality in the way that the sun filters through the frost dancing in the air. Dew grips the mug in his hand closer to his chest, trying to absorb a bit of its warmth and hunching his shoulders forward into his coat. Ice crunches under his boots as he makes his way to the heavy wooden door across the courtyard that leads to outside the ancient stone walls.

Dew ducks under the dormant ivy and through the door, ears twitching at the sound of an axe ringing through the air. The smell of balsam reaches his nose and he smiles, tail swishing as he walks quicker towards the source of the sound and smell coming the edge of the forest.

As he draws closer to the treeline he sees Mountain with his back turned to him. The Earth giant is crouched close to the ground, clearing snow away from a great Spruce tree. Its magnificent, the ends of its branches sparkle with diamond-like drops of ice, frost coating the pinecones dangling off the tips of its boughs, sparkling with frost like a coating of glitter. It will be a beautiful Yule tree once Mountain brings it into the Great Hall of the Abbey.

Dew trills, and Mountain turns at the sudden noise, smiling broadly at the sight of the approaching Water ghoul. He pushes the hood of his Carhartt coat back from his head and straightens, approaching Dew.

"Hi, Droplet, whatcha got there?"

Dew withdraws the mug from his jacket, offering it to the taller ghoul, "I brought you some cocoa, prepared with spices and a tiny bit of chili, just the way you like it."

Mountain takes the covered mug from Dew's tiny hand, taking a sip. Warmth and comfort blooms in his stomach, and he purrs at the taste of the spiced chocolate, his favorite. He looks down at Dew, who's trying not to show that he's shivering now with the absence of the mug's warmth. Mountain sets the mug down on a nearby stump. He unzips his jacket, opening it in offering to the Water ghoul.

Dew chirps and leaps forward, wrapping his arms around Mountain's waist and burrowing his face into the Earth ghoul's solid chest. Mountain puts his hands in the pockets of his Carhartt coat and wraps the fleece and canvas around his partner. A purr kicks up in Dew's chest and Mountain chuckles as he squeezes the Water ghoul close to his body, a rumbling purr vibrating through his chest and into Dew's body.

"Your cocoa is gonna get cold," Dew mumbles from within the cocoon of canvas and fleece.

"It's okay, Water Lilly, you're the more important priority right now," Mountain laughs, squirming a bit as Dew rubs his nose into Mountain's underlayer.

After a short time, Dew emerges from Mountain's embrace. His face scrunches and he twitches his nose at the dusting of snow flitting down from the trees around them.

"Come sit and have some of that cocoa while I finish here. It shouldn't be too much longer," Mountain shucks off his coat, spreading it canvas side down on the stump for Dew to sit on, and places the steaming mug in his hand.

A few last good thwacks of the ax brings the Yule tree down to the ground. As Mountain sets the ax down and wipes his hands off on his work pants, he glances over his shoulder and his heart stops at the sight behind him. Dew had taken his Carhartt jacket off the stump and burrowed into it, the material dwarfing his tiny body and covering his legs down past his knees. His dainty hands peek from the gargantuan sleeves as he sips from the mug of spiced cocoa.

Dew watches Mountain approaching him, eyes slipping upward to the flowers that had bloomed at the base of Mountain's antlers in the the time it had taken him to cross the clearing to the Water ghoul enveloped in his massive coat.

Mountain reaches up, plucking a red rose and a Cyclamen from his antlers, offering them to Dew. He bends down and presses a soft kiss to the smaller ghoul's lips, conveying all his love and affection for his ghoul wrapped up nice and snug in his coat.

"I love you, Bug."

"I know."

swiss' big fat crush on aurora. discuss. who makes the first move. how does it go.

OOOOOH

not hcs, not a ficlet- just me talking. If this is wack, it’s cuz I wrote it in Tumblr Mobile and I’m also Intoxicated !

Swiss was there when she was summoned. He watched her crawl out of the Pit. Watched how she fought her way topside, snarling as she entered the world, and he was smitten.

He doesn’t see her for a while after that. Recovering from literally clawing your way out of the depths of hell is no easy process. In that time, Swiss develops a bit of a… fixation. Can’t stop thinking about how powerful she looked in the summoning room, how alluring. For the next little while, Swiss has a one track mind.

When will I see Aurora again?

After a couple weeks, she moves into the ghoul den, and Swiss can’t help but follow her around like a lovesick puppy. The others tease him for it, but he doesn’t care. Can’t find it in himself to stay away.

For once in his life, Swiss’s signature charm fails him. He’s dead terrified to talk to her. She’s just so pretty. He tries to approach her and just comes off as super creepy, gawking at her and tripping over his words.

She secretly thinks it’s adorable. Loves to watch him flounder. She plays hard to get just to watch him squirm, acting like she isn’t just as flustered.

He FINALLY decides to make an actual move, after much encouragement from Dew and Mountain. They even offer to help. Mountain pretties up the greenhouse, Dew cooks a fancy dinner for two, and Swiss approaches Aurora.

He barely gets the words out, shaking in his damn boots where he stands. He’s real awkward about it, blushing and stuttering, but he manages to invite her for dinner in the abbey’s greenhouse just before sunset.

She LOVES that he’s nervous. Gives her a sense of superiority in a way, knowing she’s got Swiss wrapped around her finger. He’d be so easy for her, and she’s worked up by that- more than she’d admit until later.

So that night, she walks into the greenhouse and Swiss FREEZES. Everything he wants to say absolutely gone from his mind.

She looks hell-sent in the best way possible, her hair sleek and shimmering, her horns polished to a near-reflective gleam.

She flashes him a coy smile as she approaches him. “Swiss- you look lovely. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Hwahh?”

He’s never been so damn dumbstruck in his LIFE. Can’t even greet her. It takes all of his effort to even close his mouth.

She giggles, strides right past him, and sits at the cute little table that Mountain decorated.

Swiss realizes something in that moment.

He’s fucked. In way over his head with this one. He’d let her ruin his life, no hesitation. There’s no hope for him.

And he’s going to love every second of it.

MUSHY MAY 2024

Prompts from the awesome @forlorn-crows

I'm really late to the party for day 13 (see my name for reasons 🤷‍♀️), but I've repurposed a oneshot I wrote for the 'Just Wanted to Hear Your Voice' prompt.

Dew and Aether

Phone sex

NSFW 18+

Around 2k words

Dew is away on business helping Terzo and has been teasing his mate Aether with selfies all day.

Thanks again for the divider @ghuleh-recs

Read below and check out my other Mushy May chapters on AO3 here

Reblogs are very much appreciated, please and thank you 🖤

Aether's phone vibrated in the pocket of his uniform jacket and he studiously ignored it. He knew who it would be.

Swiss glanced over at him and smirked. The two of them were out in the city on business with Papa who was currently in an important meeting. Aether and Swiss were acting as his bodyguard bookends.

Throughout the day, Dew had been sending Aether pictures. They’d started off innocently enough. Dew and Mountain were accompanying Terzo on a trip to conduct some Clergy business in Greenland. The messages had kicked off with scenic selfies or interesting things that they’d seen on their travels. As the day had gone on though, the selfies had become a little bit more... intimate.

Swiss had figured out something was up and he’d been studying Aether's reactions every time the phone vibrated. He could tell that the multi ghoul was itching to say something about it. Papa was too engrossed in his meeting to notice, thankfully.

It was almost dinnertime and the meeting finally began to wrap up. Aether was glad they would be heading home soon because his head was starting to throb with the energy he’d used being in the human world. Humans in larger numbers were extremely draining to his quintessential self.

They got settled in the car and Swiss began the drive back to the Abbey. Aether was in the back with Papa.

“Are you going to check your messages, Aether?” Swiss said with a shit eating grin. Aether glanced up and met his eyes in the rear-view mirror. He scowled and just about managed to stop the growl that rose up. “It might be something important,” the multi ghoul said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

“It can wait,” Aether snarled.

He felt Papa’s eyes on him.

“He is right. It could be important,” Papa said, oblivious to the situation.

"It's fine, Papa," he said, feeling his annoyance rising.

Aether sank down into his seat, muttering under his breath. He turned towards the window and tried to think of something other than the bathroom mirror selfie that Dew had sent him just after lunch. He’d had his shirt pulled up, holding it between his fangs to show off his lean stomach. The hand not holding his phone had been inside his pants. The caption had read:

Prepping for later...

Viewing that picture was the moment that Aether had realised he was going to have to ignore his mate’s messages for the rest of his shift because he would have been next to useless to Papa otherwise.

He and Dew had scheduled a video call for later once Terzo and the ghouls had settled at the small abbey they were staying at.

Aether went through the motions once he was dismissed for the evening, getting changed out of his uniform and into a pair of loose blue pyjama pants. It was warm in the lair so he left his shirt off. He ate dinner with the others and then they went their separate ways.

He settled down on his bed, leaning on the pillows propped up against the wooden headboard, legs stretched out and ankles crossed.

Aether grabbed his phone and finally opened the messenger app, smirking as he scrolled through the chat. The further down he went, the more risqué the pictures became. There were a couple from the bathroom of the plane, teasing shots of bare flesh. A few more from the room he’d been allocated, the room that for some reason seemed to have an abundance of mirrors which Dew had taken full advantage of.

Another message flashed up on the screen, swiftly followed by a short video and Aether barked out a laugh.

Been too busy to play today? Pity. I see you watching me. Have had to take matters into my own hands...

The video panned over a series of polaroids that had been laid out on top of the covers of the bed in Dew's temporary room. All of them were of Aether and every single one of them was absolutely obscene.

Aether fired off his own message.

Some late night art? A little too crude for my tastes, but the subject is pretty.

The green camera icon lit up and Aether answered the call. He grinned when Dew’s face appeared, a mock frown creasing his brow.

“Well I didn’t know you were so highbrow, Aeth. I would have chosen something more classy for my travel wank bank if I’d realised. I thought you were into smut. And keep your hands off that pretty ghoul. He is mine,” he growled. "Actually, second thoughts, maybe you should use your hands on him."

Aether laughed and Dew grinned back at him.

“It’s nice to see your face, Dew. I was getting a little bored of looking at your abs.”

Dew snorted and he shifted position.

“You missed me really. How was your day?”

The screen pixelated and then froze. Aether thought the call would drop but it came back to life again.

“Bad signal?” Aether asked. Dew rolled his eyes and nodded. “It would have been okay if I hadn’t been distracted all day. But I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Poor baby,” Dew said, mischief sparking in his eyes. “Did my holiday snaps make you lose your concentration?”

Aether sighed.

“Maybe.”

Dew frowned when he heard the weariness in Aether’s voice.

“What time is it there?” he asked.

“Just after nine.”

“It’s after midnight here. The others are asleep.”

The screen froze again and the call finally dropped. Aether cursed but almost immediately got an incoming call from a foreign number. He answered.

“Relying on the old fashioned technology, huh?”

Dew laughed down the line, husky and quiet.

“Apparently so.” He sighed and Aether heard him shifting position. He must have been sitting on his bed too. “Anyway, what are you wearing?”

Aether snorted.

“Not much.”

“Send me a pic.”

“More fuel for your wank bank?” he said dryly.

“Humour me.” Aether stretched out his arm and took a selfie, sending it to Dee's phone. The other ghoul chuckled after a moment when it finally came through. "Ugh the internet is so slow here. Oh, I like those pants. Do you know what would make them better though?”

Aether heard the sounds of fabric rustling and Dew hissed. He smirked, knowing exactly what Dew was doing and the semi that he’d had since he’d opened up their chat turned to a raging hard on when he pictured it.

“No, Dew, what would make them better?”

“If you came in them like a horny little teenager.”

“And how exactly am I going to accomplish that, Dew?” Aether said, voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m sure I can guide you through it. Maybe if you do exactly as I say, the next picture I get will be messier.”

Aether huffed a breath and Dew took in a shaky one.

“What are you doing, Dewdrop? It sounds like you’re struggling a bit with something there.”

“That would be telling,” he said. “Put the phone on speaker.” Aether did as he was told and put it down on the bedside table. “Now, those hands? Put them to good use. I want you to trail them over your skin. One of them is going to touch your body the way I touch it. You’re going to imagine that’s my hand and my claws raking along your torso. You’re going to be gentle and you’re going to be slow.”

Aether put his right hand on his neck, tilting his head to the side and stroking the skin reverently, fingers trailing along his jaw and down the column of his throat.

“What about my other hand, Dew?” he asked hoarsely.

Dewdrop chuckled down the phone.

“I want that other hand inside those pants and wrapped around that fat cock of yours.”

“So demanding,” Aether said as he trailed his left hand down over his scarred pectoral.

He skimmed over his abs and his hip, sliding his fingers under the waistband of the loose pyjama pants.

He closed his eyes and sighed when his hand closed around his cock. It was throbbing in time to his heart by now and he gripped it, giving it a long, lazy stroke.

“Tell me what it feels like,” Dew said.

Aether concentrated on the feel of his calloused palm against his velvety flesh. He groaned as he twisted his fist around the head and then moved it back down again to the base a few times.

“So fucking good,” he breathed out.

“Where’s that other hand?” Dew said shortly.

Aether was circling his nipple with his claws right then and he moved his hand to stroke along the skin of his stomach.

“On my stomach, stroking. Feels nice.”

Dew hummed his approval, breath coming out heavier now, pants and groans coming through the phone.

“I can’t wait too much longer. You need to hurry up. Grip yourself tighter. Imagine it’s me, imagine my fangs on your skin as I’m stroking you.” Aether took a shuddering breath and it hitched as he pictured Dew doing just that. He bit his bottom lip and a little snarl escaped him. “Oh yeah, like that. Make yourself feel good, so fucking good.” Dew gasped and made the whining sound that he often did when he was about to lose it. Aether could feel himself getting closer to the edge by now too, sweat had broken out on his skin and his heels dug into the covers below him. He groaned again. “Put that other hand to better use.” Dew’s voice was strained now, barely above a whisper. “Use it on your balls. Squeeze them, do it the way I do.”

Aether did as Dew said and reached inside the pants, left hand working himself faster. He was almost there, but when he grabbed his balls with his right hand and squeezed, hard, the effect was instant. It tipped him right over. He gritted his teeth in a snarl and arched his back, ropes of cum pulsing out of him as he worked himself through it.

Through the pounding of blood in his ears he heard Dewdrop snarl as he finished himself off also. He heard his name on the other ghoul’s lips and he huffed out a breath as he came back down to earth.

“Fuck,” he gasped, chuckling when he glanced down at himself and saw the wet patch at the front of the flannel.

He really did feel like a horny teenager.

Aether shifted back onto his elbows, tipping his head back and looking up at the ceiling.

“I need that picture now,” Dew's voice cut through his post orgasmic haze.

He sounded wrecked.

Aether grabbed his phone and took another selfie, the same position as the one before.

He hit send and sighed.

“Happy?”

It took a moment but Dew groaned.

“Look at that. Dirty boy. I love it.”

Dew cursed under his breath and the sound of a door opening drifted out of the phone.

“Fucking hell, Dew, can you keep it down?” Mountain's gruff, sleep addled voice cut through. “Oh my fucking Satan! What the fuck, Dew? I need to bleach my fucking eyeballs!”

Dewdrop was cackling and Aether could only imagine the scene that Mountain had just walked into. Dew, naked on his bed, cock probably still in his hand and surrounded by his private collection of pictures of Aether. He snorted a laugh and heard the door slamming.

“Maybe you should fucking knock first, Mountain!” Dew yelled after him. He sighed heavily and Aether yawned. “I should let you rest. I could hear how tired you were just before. Has Papa given you the day off tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m going to sleep in. I think I feel the need to take some arty photographs during the day though,” he said with a grin.

Dewdrop laughed and the sound gave Aether peace.

“Well, I look forward to seeing your creative side. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow so I’ll be sure to sneak a peek when I can.”

“Good night, Dewdrop,” Aether said sleepily.

“Night, sweet. Love you,” Dew said. “Oh, by the way, leave those pants on to sleep in. I want you reminded of me as soon as you wake up. Make sure you mess them up again in the morning.”

Aether chuckled.

“You’re such a filthy little shit, Dew.”

“I know," he said unashamedly. "You love it.”

He hung up and Aether grinned. He couldn’t wait until Dew was back. He had some things in mind to repay the favour already.

Mushy May Day 3 & 4 - Massage & Wound Tending/First Aid (Aether/Dew)

Ended up combining days 3 and 4 into one fic. Based loosely on that time Dew (presumably) injured his arm during the Prequelle era. As always, thank you @forlorn-crows for organizing this and to @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!

Day 3 & 4 - Massage & Wound Tending/First Aid (Aether/Dew), cw for Dew's shoulder injury. Hurt/comfort, fluff, 1518 words

Aether notices it right away. The way Dew seems to be favoring one arm. The way he furrows his brow and rolls his shoulder seemingly every five minutes. How he makes soft little grunts and sighs of discontent at night when he’s trying to settle into his bunk above Aether’s on the bus. 

When he broaches the subject, Dew denies anything is wrong. His shoulder is just a little sore is all. Maybe he slept funny, he says, brushing off Aether’s concerns.

But Aether knows the truth, and is pretty sure the whole pack knows what’s up actually. It’s Dew’s new guitar. The Fantomen. For as beautiful as it looks and as powerful as it sounds, the son of a bitch is heavy. Even for Aether it can be unwieldy at times.

Of course Dew hasn’t let it affect his playing. He never would. He’s far too proud, and rightfully so. Dew’s the best player Aether has ever seen anywhere in his life. And his playing continues to be immaculate, so Aether doesn’t want to push. Instead he watches Dew power through their set each night for weeks.

Until Dew’s shoulder gives out completely in the middle of a ritual.

A missed note, glaringly obvious. Rare to be due to Dew’s mistake and not because of some equipment malfunction (or Aether’s own mistake throwing Dew off, something he can admit has happened more than once). Aether whips his head towards the fire ghoul, knowing immediately that something is seriously wrong. Copia and the other ghouls are watching him now too.

Dew curls in on himself for just a split second before catching himself and resuming his perfect playing. But Aether knows the damage has been done when Dew purposefully ignores the rest of his stage cues and instead shuffles unsteadily towards the back of the stage as he finishes out the song.

Thank Satan they’re at an intermission. Time for Copia to change out of his white suit and into the red cassock. Instead of taking his usual water break, Aether books it towards Dew, who he finds leaning against the wall just past the curtain.

Aether knows it's bad because Dew has his mask off. His face is pale and he’s sweating bullets, cradling his arm against his body as he struggles to even out his breathing. But before he can do anything there’s chaos. Copia and the crew are scrambling to do what they can to keep the show going. Aether is being ushered back to stage before he can get a word in. 

In the end Dew insists he can finish out the show from backstage, perched on a stool where he can rest the weight of the Fantomen on his lap. He even comes back onstage for final bows, cradling his bad arm gingerly, and Aether finds himself trailing behind him protectively instead of his usual routine of throwing out guitar picks and interacting with the audience. 

Finally, the curtain goes down and they’re free to go. Thankfully it’s a hotel night and then they’re off for two days before they travel to the next city. A small victory.

As soon as they’re in the room, Aether is looking Dew over while Copia watches on worriedly. Dew keeps grumbling that ghouls heal fast, so he’ll be fine, but Aether can see otherwise. The shoulder is swollen, angry red and inflamed. Dew’s definitely pulled something, maybe even a tear, and then he continued to irritate it night after night until it gave out. Aether feels guilty that he didn’t notice it was this bad before, that he wasn’t more insistent. He could have used some of his quintessence to keep it from going this far… He shakes the thought away for the time being.

“Alright,” Aether sighs and turns to Copia. “The bad news is, as of right now his shoulder’s fucked,” he says point blank. No point in sugar-coating any of this now. Copia pales and he hears Dew swallow nervously and shift from where he’s sitting on the bed behind him. 

“Good news is, I can fix him up in the next two days.” He turns to Dew to see a wave of relief wash across his otherwise stoic face. “But he’s gonna have to take it easy for a while after that. And that much healing takes a lot of quintessence, a ton of energy. If we push it any farther than that, you’re gonna end up out two guitarists.”

Copia agrees and they make arrangements for Aether and Dew to stay in his suite while Copia takes one of the regular rooms. The cardinal bids them goodnight and lets them know he’ll get them anything they need to be comfortable for the next few days while Aether works on Dew’s arm.

As soon as he leaves, Aether turns to Dew. He wants more than anything to scoop the little ghoul up in his arms and shower him in kisses, but he knows better than to jostle his bad arm. At any rate, Dew hates to be fussed over.

“How do you feel?” Aether chances, popping the cap of his water bottle and handing it to Dew along with a couple painkillers. 

Dew snorts, avoiding Aether’s eyes. “Like absolute dogshit,” he answers, blunt as always, before swallowing the pills and chugging half of Aether’s water.

“Alright then,” he motions to the compression shirt Dew still has on. “Let’s get this thing off of you so I can work on getting some of the swelling down.”

It isn’t easy, but they work together to hold Dew’s tender shoulder steady while Aether slowly peels the fabric from Dew’s body. Dew winces as he finally pulls his arm out of the sleeve, and Aether presses an apologetic little kiss to Dew’s temple.

The kiss seems to break some of the tension, and Dew’s body sags. He looks up at Aether with a sad little frown on his face. He looks guilty. “Sorry, Aeth…” he starts. “I know I should have said something before it got this bad…” he trails off.”

Aether shakes his head, tells Dew not to worry, that he’ll have him fixed up in no time. Jokes that thanks to his bum shoulder, they get to lounge around in Copia’s suite for two days in a king sized bed and in the jacuzzi tub. Says that if they play their cards right, Copia will probably even let them call for room service to their hearts’ content. The mention of room service seems to lighten Dew’s mood even further.

Meanwhile, Aether works Dew’s shoulder, pressing feather light touches to sensitive flesh while he focuses his energy on delivering enough quintessence to calm the inflammation. Once he’s satisfied with their progress, Aether pulls away to go draw a hot bath. Before he can go Dew reaches out, grabs his hand and pulls Aether back to him.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” Dew says softly, looking up at Aether. He holds Dew’s gaze, contemplating, before leaning in and kissing him on the lips, carding his fingers through Dew’s hair until they’re both humming contentedly against each other. 

Later, Aether sits beside the tub while Dew soaks, periodically working another round of quintessence into Dew’s shoulder as the little ghoul dozes off, finally beginning to relax as the pain goes down thanks to Aether’s ministrations.

Aether helps Dew out of the tub and wraps him in a fluffy bathrobe from the closet. Between the quintessence, the painkillers, and the hot bath, Dew is ready to crash. Aether guides him on wobbly legs to the bed, helping him lay face down into the pillows. From his prone position, Dew wriggles his shoulder.

“Feels better now,” Dew slurs, eyelids fluttering closed. “Can move it now n’everything.” He moves his shoulder in another little circle to demonstrate.

Aether chuckles. He loves to see Dew like this, blissed out and sleepy, he just wishes it were under different circumstances. Aether feels exhaustion pulling on him as well, between the crash of adrenaline after Dew’s injury and the copious amounts of quintessence he pumped into the little fire ghoul, his body is feeling beat. He’ll need rest soon, too.

But first, he climbs onto the bed and straddles Dew’s hips, careful not to press down too hard or to knock into his arm.

“Backrub?” Dew asks, eyes still closed and face pressed into the pillows.

“Backrub,” Aether confirms, leaning in to run his palms up Dew’s back, letting another dose of quintessence bleed from his fingertips into the fire ghoul’s soft skin, paying special attention to his injured shoulder. He massages Dew’s back until the little ghoul is half asleep and purring into the sheets.

Two days later, and they’re back on the road, en route to the next venue, Dew feeling better and set to shred once again, under the caveat that he doesn’t overdo it just yet. Aether has appointed himself Dew’s own personal masseuse. Now, after every ritual, Dew gets a nice, long, quintessence-infused shoulder rub.

Dew is happy to let Aether fuss over him, just this once.

For the make 'em swoon prompts: a hug that gets deeper or "hi" *raspy voice* with Dewther maybe?

i saw this ask and went "both. both is good." I don't think I've had a fic jump out at me this quickly in a while. Hope you enjoy!

prompts from this list

divider by @ghuleh-recs

He thinks about coming home more than he'd like to admit. Even as he devotes himself to his work, the music, his unholy purpose, Dew imagines the moment he steps foot back into the Abbey more times than he can count.

He's fallen asleep to the fantasy countless times, the bus swaying like a cradle as the rest of his packmates sleep. It's hard. It's really fucking hard being halfway across the world without Aether. Dew's never had to be away from his side for more than a few days. It feels insurmountable, even with human technology that lets them call and text and talk.

It's hard to sleep in a bunk that feels too big. Too quiet. Too empty. He imagines stepping off of the bus, Aether there waiting in the double doors, Sunny peering over his shoulder while she waits for her girls, her multi.

Dew's the first one off of the bus, and because this is in his mind, there's no shame in the way he imagines dropping his bags, guitar be fucking damned, and sprinting up the gravel driveway. He barrels into Aether with enough force to make him take a few steps back, all of the breath leaving his lungs.

He'd be quick to wrap him up in his big arms, rearing back so just the tips of his boots touch the ground. "Oh, my darling," he would laugh, spinning them around like they're on the cover of some human pulp novel. Dew knows he would grumble at it, protest for Aether to put him back on the ground, he's not an air ghoul.

And Aether would squeeze him tighter before setting him down, that stupid fond look in his eye. Dew'd grab his collar and pull him down into a deep kiss to hide the way he'd be tearing up-

He takes a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling of his bunk, listening to the steady sound of Swiss's snoring. Dew silently wipes his face with the corner of his blanket, rolling onto his side and putting his back to the privacy curtain. He reaches up and pets at the crook of his neck, feeling the texture of scar tissue in the shape of his mate's teeth. His phone's in the cubby, and it's so fucking tempting. Taunting him. Aether's only a call away.

But it's mid morning back at the Abbey, and Aether's working. He'd stayed behind to help with an influx of infirmary work, taking time to rest after his entire time Up Top spent touring. And as much as Dew knows Aether would drop just about anything to talk to him, he'd rather not do that to his mate.

So, instead, he curls up around his pillow, burying his face in it in an attempt to breathe in Aether's scent, the pillowcase replaced with one of several shirts Dew had smuggled into his luggage. Thankfully for him and his packmates and techs, it's enough to lull him to sleep, his cheeks still damp with tears.

The tour drags on, as they always seem to do, and it's over in an instant, as they always do.

The next thing Dew knows he's on a plane back to Sweden, and he grumbles to himself that they always end the tours so far away from home. Eventually they make it back to solid ground. But it's not over yet.

There's a several hour long bus ride left, because the Abbey's in the middle of nowhere. Dew tries to sleep, exhausted and miserable and sore and so fucking close. Mountain sits next to him, guides his head down against his shoulder and hums, petting through his hair as he dozes.

It's late in the afternoon when the bus pulls into the long driveway, and Dew jolts awake as they cross the threshold into the Abbey proper. He's still a little disoriented, but he can feel the way the mate bond sparks back to life now that they're close enough that the magick can actually work the way it's meant to..

He can almost feel the way Aether rushes through the last of his paperwork, scrambling out of the infirmary to find Sunshine and run out to meet them. Dew's excited, he swears he is, but the exhaustion is bone deep and so fucking heavy. He gets to his feet slowly, swaying as he grabs his go-bag from the overhead. Some of the Abbey ghouls and Siblings will take care of unloading the bus itself.

Normally, when it comes to his luggage and his guitars, Dew's incredibly picky, preferring that he's the one who takes care of it. But he's just so tired, and so ready to be home, and so ready to be back with his mate that he can't bring himself to give a shit.

Dew stumbles off the bus, boots scuffing on the gravel. He looks up and he's there. Still in his scrubs, eyes shining even from across the courtyard. Aether smiles and the world is right again.

He's too tired to run, but Aether walks out and meets him halfway. The fountain in the center of the circle drive rushes, and Dew doesn't have the energy to barrel into him the way he imagined.

Aether steps in front of him, and Dew blinks blearily up at him. "Hi," he says, voice raspy from sleep. Aether just grins, big and wide enough to rival Swiss's. His gold tooth glints in the afternoon light.

"Hi, my darling," Aether says, his hands curling gently around Dew's biceps. "I missed you." He pulls him into a gentle hug. Dew's head spins as, after months of the fading scent on fabric, Aether's ozone-fresh air scent slams into him full force.

"Missed you too," Dew chokes out, not caring that the rest of the pack is watching as they file off of the bus. He grabs the front of Aether's scrubs, fingers curling into the fabric as he clings as tight as he can to his mate.

Aether nuzzles into Dew's hair, chuffing happily as he pulls Dew in tighter and tighter until he can barely breathe with it. He curls his tail around his mate's calf, and feels Aether's wrap around his waist. "I really fucking missed you, starshine," Dew whispers again, feeling the beat of his heart against his cheek.

Aether chuckles, hand solid and warm where it rests between Dew's shoulderblades. "Welcome home, my darling." He leans in, whispers so quietly Dew almost thinks he imagines it. "Your scent's just about gone from the hearth, Dew. Makes it so hard to sleep. Come home with me so we can make it right?"

Dew laughs so hard he cries. "Yeah, Aeth. Take me home."

Mountain and Swiss have a sweet moment

Cw: very brief mention of yelling, Mountain feels a little unsure at first but he's very brave

Mountain's nose scrunches when he looks outside to see a light snow falling. He wraps his blanket around his shoulders while holding his bunny and reindeer. He's glad his heads not hurting yet but he's sure it'll come if the snow gets worse.

He'd heard Rain yelling earlier so he knew Dew would be with him and he certainly didn't want to disturb them if Rain was having a hard time.

He wonders if anyone is free, if they'd be willing to make time for him. He remembers his meetings with Omega and shakes his head, remembering he's allowed to ask for help and that he isn't a burden for needing it. He takes a few calming breaths like he was taught and heads for the door to find someone.

The hall is quiet and he assumes most everyone is off doing chores or maybe even napping but there is usually someone available. When he's halfway down the stairs he hears the tv and smiles to himself, squeezing his stuffies closer as he carefully makes it the rest of the way down.

He can smell a fire going and all he wants to do is curl up with someone and quietly watch the snow out of the big window in the den.

Mountain peeks around the corner and sees Swiss sprawled across the couch watching a movie. He's by himself and mountain almost convinces himself to walk away because he doesn't want to be a bother. But he once again reminds himself that everyone has told him he's never a bother, they are always more than happy to spend time with him.

He tiptoes into the den and climbs up onto the couch but Swiss’ feet. The multi ghoul smiles and moves to sit up, making room for the little ghoul.

“Hey conejito! What are you up to? Doing ok?”

He nods, situating his stuffies beside him. “Yeah…j’us kinda…can I sit with you for a bit?”

Swiss offers a gentle smile. “Of course you can.”

Mountain snuggles a bit closer as Swiss drapes the blanket across his little legs to keep him nice and warm. He adjusts it so that mountain's stuffies are under it but able to see out too.

“Comfy?”

Mountain smiles wide and nods.

“Do you want to watch anything in particular?”

“No. Just kinda wanted to not be all by myself…”

Swiss nods and wraps an arm around mountain's shoulders while he flips through the channels to find something more interesting for the little ghoul. He settles on the nature channel and Mountain leans his head against his shoulder, finally fully relaxing.

They sit in comfortable silence for a long while until Mountain's tummy grumbles.

Swiss laughs and takes his hand. “Let's go find some lunch. What sounds good?”

He thinks for a moment. “Veggie soup!”

“With the star pasta?”

“Yeah!” He pushes a chair up to the stove and climbs up so he can watch Swiss make it.

“Maybe some hot chocolate after? Nothing better than soup and cocoa on a snowy day.

Mountain's eyes light up and he nods, excited about the idea of Swiss' hot chocolate, he always makes the best.

Swiss let's gin help stir the soup, making sure he's careful to not accidentally burn himself. The little ghoul is all smiles once it's done and he's sat at the table waiting for it to cool down. Swiss starts on the hot chocolate so it's cool by the time mountain is done eating.

Swiss sits beside him when he's done with the hot chocolate, smiling as mountain chats about whatever pops into his head.

“I'm really proud of you, you know?”

Mountain peeks up at him. “How come?”

“For seeking out someone instead of just staying alone in your room.”

“Well…I thought about it…but then I remembered that you all always tell me I can come be with you anytime. So I did that.”

“And I'm so glad you did! Now I have a buddy to share hot chocolate with!” He bumps their arms together and smiles.

Mountain giggles and continues eating his soup until his belly is full.

“Can we have the hot chocolate now?”

Swiss grabs the mugs and adds extra whipped cream on top of Mountain's drink. The little ghoul squeals with delight and takes a sip, the cream sticking to the tip of his nose.

Swiss laughs and copies him and they both laugh about how silly they must look.

“Want to finish it up on the couch while we watch a movie?”

“What if I spill it?”

“I'll help you hold onto it.” Swiss promises with his pinkie extended.

Mountain smiles and nods, running off into the den with Swiss right behind him. They pick a movie and cuddle back up on the couch with mountain's stuffies. Swiss makes sure to get them all tucked in and comfy as the movie starts.

They talk about the movie as it plays and mountain takes little sips of his drink occasionally…until eventually he stops and when Swiss peeks down at him, he's sound asleep against his chest.

The multi ghoul smiles and kisses the top of his head and turns his attention back to the movie as Mountain naps peacefully against him.

Mountain the type of mf to split you in half, make you come so hard you black out, then politely thank you for a nice evening

their combined powers were too great. he never stood a chance. rip king.

[x]

Let's not forget how they scream that everyone is a pedophile.

We need to talk about christians playing the victim and crying wolf when they see marginalized people who portray themselves as satan, satanic, or demonic.

I see videos on tiktok of christians going on paranoid rants about satan infiltrating society and the entertainment industry "being evil" when its clearly a reaction of marginalized queer people and poc who are using their spotlight to make christians uncomfortable for their bigotry.

"They're letting the evil one take over their lives! Satan has taken them over!"

No, actually, you did this. It's your fault as a christian. No, seriously. You made them feel evil for just existing. In the idea of your ignorant beliefs, your "god" made them perfect - as we all are - and you saw someone different from yourself and went "thats satan." You ruined their self-image as a community of poisonous bigots. You made them suicidal and depressed and institutionalized them for being different until it literally became illegal to do so.

And if you participate in christianity, you're part of the problem, and yes, you deserve to feel bad about the way these people get treated. If you don't want to feel bad anymore, reform your beliefs and take a good hard look at what your religion does to people it doesn't approve of. If you don't want to do that, just be mad and scared - we don't care.

God forbid you accept the fact that, yes, it was you who did this to them and not "satan." God forbid they accept the way you treat them instead of killing themselves like millions of others have. God forbid you have to share the earth with those you tred on.

God is not real and neither is satan and if you demonize your fellow man it takes away from every human being's personal responsibility to treat every other living creature on this planet as an equal and instead it lets you slap a label on whoever and whatever you dont like so you can decide who deserves to die without feeling bad about it.

People you dislike aren't satanic. They just shrugged and put on the costume YOU forced onto them from birth.

Is it scary? Yes. Is that the point? Also yes. Be afraid.

Boo, bitch.