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Theo had checked his laboratory first, poking his head in with a happy grin but when he didn’t see the tiny man he frowned and quietly closed the door. Not to be deterred he hopped down to the library, ready to crowd the other up against the bookshelves but again he couldn’t find him. There was a small trickle of concern going down his spine the longer he searched for Ghost. It wasn’t like the other to not be in one of the two places in the morning.
Next stop, Ghost’s room. Which was surprisingly unlocked but was also empty. Theo stood in there for a few moments, searching for any sign the other might just be hiding in there but when he didn’t see any sort of sign, he left.
Ghost wasn’t usually found often in the common area in the guild or really anywhere else in the guild other than his three spots but Theo had to at least check. He stopped a few researchers and asked if they had seen the other but they all gave him a negative. He ended up back in the laboratory, shutting the door behind him quietly as he leaned back against it. He was concerned a great deal now. It wasn’t like Ghost to up and disappear like THIS. Sure the other had a habit of hiding-
Hiding
Theo perked up a bit and looked towards the back of the room, staying as quiet as he could to listen.
There. A slight scuffing sound.
He went to the back of the room, surprised to see that the room was larger than he originally thought as two bookshelves hid a smaller back area. There wasn’t much space to fit back there. Just enough for a small person to sit down between the wall and a bookshelf.
Which was exactly what Ghost had done.
Theo felt relief flood his system as he found the other, looking at him for a few moments before quietly speaking. “Hey there, Sunshine.” He watched the small jolt go through the other, his head lifting up to look at who was speaking. A pang of sadness hit deep in his chest as he took in Ghost’s disheveled appearance; eyes blank, hair messy with his usual ponytail limp and almost falling out, dark bags under his eyes. It looked like Ghost hadn’t slept in days. Crouching down in front of him, Theo reached a hand out gently and tucked some of the long hair behind a pointed ear. “You been hiding here all this time?”
Ghost shrugged slightly, leaning into the touch a bit as his eyes fluttered shut. Honestly, he didn’t know what day it was at this point. He’d been cooped up in his lab for a while. His eyes flew open when he felt Theo shifting closer and trying to wedge his legs around him. “Oi.” He rasped, giving him a glare.
“Shhhh.” Theo grinned, wiggling his legs a bit until he managed to get them around Ghost comfortably and then he tugged on Ghost’s legs until they were around his waist so the other was effectively in his lap. “There.” He beamed down at him, sliding his arms around the lithe waist to tug the other into his chest.
With not enough energy to really argue or fight against the other’s embrace, Ghost just sighed and rested his cheek against the other’s shoulder, closing his eyes again. Mindful of his horns to make sure they didn’t hit Theo’s cheek, he let himself relax further into his arms. “What made you come back here?” He murmured after a while, one hand clutching Theo’s shirt loosely as he felt the other thread a hand in his hair. “It’s tangled, Theo.” He sighed, trying to stop the other before his hair got snagged and ripped out.
There was only a hum in return before Theo continued moving his fingers through the long hair slowly, carefully picking apart the snarls he encountered. “I came back because I realized I didn’t look in here hard enough. Couldn’t find you in the library or your room. You had to be in here somewhere.” He murmured, eyes trained on his task as he continued to work on Ghost’s hair. “You have too much hair.”
“You like it.” Ghost huffed, smiling slightly.
“Damn right.” Theo grinned, glancing down at the other for a second. He couldn’t help but smile at the other curled up in his arms and even though he didn’t want to ruin the moment, he wanted to know what was going on with the other. “Sooooo...what happened?”
Sighing, Ghost frowned a bit before shaking his head. “Honestly, I don’t know. Things just got to me and I got overwhelmed. I panicked, freaked out, broke down, whatever you want to call it.” He sighed again, letting his face relax from the frown. He was going to get a permanent headache at this rate.
Theo would take it. It was an honest answer from Ghost and he wasn’t going to push it any further. So he let the silence envelope them, humming softly every time he encountered a new tangle in Ghost’s hair with a fake annoyed huff. It was worth it to see Ghost smile every time. Well, feel it more than anything with the other hiding his face in his neck.
They sat like that for a long time, the light in the room dimming as it got further in the day. Eventually, Theo ran out of snarls to disentangle and settled on just brushing his fingers through the long locks, content with just holding onto Ghost for as long as he was allowed to.Which turned out to be not much longer as Ghost started fidgeting and pulled away with a soft sigh.
“Thank you.” Ghost murmured, leaning further back to stretch his arms a bit with a quiet groan. When Theo didn’t remove his arms from around his waist, he raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. “You can let go now.” There was a barely there hint of a smile as he looked at Theo. “Please?’
“Fine fine.” Theo sighed dramatically, pulling his arms back slowly to make sure Ghost stayed upright. “Better?” He asked, looking into Ghost’s eyes.
Pausing for a moment, Ghost let a small smile appear on his lips. “Better.” He said softly, looking at Theo. “Thank you.” He said again, reaching a hand up to rest it against Theo’s cheek before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek lightly. He pulled back after a few seconds and started laughing at Theo’s shocked expression. “Can we move now? My legs are asleep?”
Theo shook himself back into reality and grinned. “Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah, let’s move!” He said happily, scooting back a bit and stood up, keeping Ghost in his arms before he set him down carefully once they were up. He quickly dipped down and kissed Ghost’s cheek quickly. “Let’s go get something to eat.” He murmured, pulling back and tugged Ghost with him towards the entrance of the lab.
“We’re not going to that pub this time though.” Ghost hummed, chuckling when Theo turned to give him a pout. “That small bakery down the road is better and you know it.”
“They do have a really good cake.” Theo said wistfully, nodding in agreement. He put his hand on the doorknob before stopping and giving Ghost one last look. “Ready?”
Ghost paused before nodding firmly. “Ready.” He replied as he reached for the knob, resting his hand over Theo’s as he turned the knob before stepping out of the room in front of Theo.
They let the door shut behind them with a quiet click as the lock slid into place.