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“Hey Sweetheart,” Milo’s voice met their ears as they closed the door to the apartment and rested their back against it. They willed away the stress, the exhaustion, the tears threatening at the corners of their eyes. Work was over. They were home. Nothing beyond the door could hurt them now. But that didn’t save them from their own head.
A heavy sigh heaved from their lips as they took off their shoes and placed everything else down in the entryway. They tried to walk normally into the living room, but it ended up with more dragging of their feet than intended. They were just so tired.
“Come sit down with me,” Milo’s smile was waiting for them as they entered and it made their own lips twitch upward into the smallest ghost of a smile.
“Mmhmm…” They hummed, not feeling at all up to speaking. They shuffled over to the couch and ungracefully let themself fall back onto its cushions.
“Hard day?” Milo asked. He undoubtedly knew by their body language but was looking for confirmation. He was probably also testing for their usual hints of what they needed.
They just nodded back. It was more than that, but they didn’t want to get into it really. How would they even explain? They just had too many thoughts circling around in their head and most of them weren’t good. They felt the tears again. Blinking hard, they willed them away.
“Sweetheart,” His voice was tinged with worry, “What’s wrong? Really bad day?”
They realized that where they’d dropped themself onto the couch they weren’t even touching him. They wished they had the energy to move themself but they didn’t. They let out a sad, defeated huff. They wanted his warmth, his strong arms around them, the even beat of his heart. They needed to be closer to him.
They rose to their feet again, their exhaustion fighting them the whole way. They wavered when they finally stood. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw him reach out, ready to catch them should they fall. He was always looking out for them.
"Where you goin' Sweetheart?" He asked, his voice soft but laced with concern.
"To you," The mumbled, moving closer to where he was lounging.
"You didn't have ta get up," He let out a soft chuckle and his arms reached out for their body, "You could have shimmied over a little."
"It wouldn't be enough," They mumbled. Exhaustion had settled deeply into them. It was hard to speak. They hated how they felt but they knew it'd be better once they were in his arms.
“What’s wrong Sweetheart?” He asked, his hands reaching out to pull them closer to him, to soothe them in any small way, “This feels like more than a bad day.”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” They mumbled, shaking their head lightly as they felt tears start to well up in their eyes again, “I don’t know how to talk about it.”
“Hey, that’s okay. It’s okay,” He cooed, “Do ya want me to hold you? Would that help?”
“Yeah,” They breathed, “Please.”
“Come ‘ere,” He gently pulled them closer, “Sit down.”
They tottered as they tried to sit and he had to guide them down to the couch directly next to him and pressed into his side. His arms wrapped around them, warm and comforting and safe. He pressed kisses to their forehead and they wrapped their arms around him. They sank into the feeling of his warmth. The feeling of his strong body pressed against theirs made them feel safe. It helped to quiet those racing thoughts. After a few minutes, he shifted them a little causing them to stir from their comfortable position.
“Wait a sec, okay?” He shimmied a little bit as they looked up at him with mild confusion, “I’m gonna shift us a little bit.”
They squeaked slightly when he pulled them onto his lap and he let out a soft chuckle. He turned to the side and laid back against the couch, pulling a pillow under his head. His arm wrapped around them pulled them down with him, flush against his chest. They realized that he’d basically pulled them on top of him and laid down across the couch. The ghost of a laugh escaped them at the realization. They found themself relaxing further into him. This position allowing them to fully melt into him. Their arms came up to wrap around his neck as they nuzzled into his shirt, taking in the scent that was all him. A deep and spicy but soothing smell.
After a while, he shifted the two slightly, bringing them upward so they were closer to his face instead of resting against his chest. He placed a soft kiss on the top of their head and they sighed once again, a heavy labored sound. Their mind had slowed but not completely stopped. All they wanted to do was make it silent so they could feel normal again. But, they were eternally grateful for Milo’s embrace and loving warmth that soothed them better than anything they could imagine.
“How are you feelin’ Sweetheart?” He murmured against their hair.
“It’s getting better,” They told him, “You’re helping slow my head down.”
“Good, I’m glad,” He sighed before placing another soft kiss to their face and drawing a soft laugh from them, “Is there anythin’ else I can do?”
“Just keep holding me, please,” They pleaded into his neck, “If your arms are around me none of it can hurt me.”
“I’ve got you, Sweetheart. I got you. I won’t let you go, I promise,” He murmured, his arms wrapping a little tighter around them. They let out another deep sigh as they tried to fill their mind with him. How it felt to be pressed into him, to have his arms holding them steady, to feel his steady even heartbeat against their ear, the lilting sound of his accented words, and to feel the wisps of his breath against their hair.
Their eyes fluttered closed as they did their best to stay in the moment and forget about their raging sea of thoughts and the struggle of their day, the things pulling them into the depths and threatening to drown them. He was land. He was safe. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t immediate. They got frustrated as little nagging thoughts came back when they thought they’d finally pushed them off, trying to drag them back to that raging tide. But, they kept trying. Milo did what he could to silently soothe them. He always said he was no good with that kind of thing, but his tender and caring actions always helped. His soft kisses to their cheek or their lips or even their forehead. Something about a kiss to the forehead was like a blanket of warmth through them.
"Do you wanna order takeout for dinner?" He broke the silence after a long moment.
"Don't we have leftovers to get through?" They answered as they thought of the rest of the previous night’s dinner sitting in the fridge.
"Yeah, but if takeout will make you a bit happier than I say it's fine if we're a little bad for one night,” He shrugged from under them, a smile tugging at his lips.
They thought for a moment about what the leftovers were. It took a bit for them to contemplate whether they wanted that food and how long it would last in the fridge before they were wasting it.
“What do ya say Sweetheart?” He asked, “We can order your favorite.”
“My favorite?” They repeated, a bit in awe that he would bring up their favorite dish, “But, I usually save that for special occasions.”
“If it’ll help make this bad day into a better one, I don’t see why we shouldn’t order it,” He told them in an unbothered tone. He was always willing to do so much for them.
“No, it’s alright. I think I want the leftovers,” They murmured after a moment.
“Are ya sure?” He shifted a bit to look at them, “This is your night. I wanna do whatever will make it a good night for you.”
“Could we order dessert?” They asked, “I don’t mind the leftovers but I kind of want to get dessert.”
“Of course we can, Sweetheart,” He grinned at them, a genuine and happy smile and they couldn’t help a smaller imitation from forming on their own lips.
“You’re so good to me,” They muttered as they leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips.
“I’m just taking care of my mate when they need it,” He told them with that smile still on his lips, “I can’t stop a bad day from happening but I can be here to make it better. To make your night good even if the day was shit.”
“And I appreciate you so much for that, Milo,” They breathed, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too Sweetheart,” His voice was so soft and sincere as he said those words and sealed them with a kiss. As if they could ever forget.
“Now, let’s order that dessert, huh?” He asked with a smirk, “Or do you just wanna lay here for a bit longer?”
“Just lay with me for a while,” They sighed, a content smile finding the corners of their lips.
“Anything you want, Sweetheart,” He returned the expression with a similar look of relaxed contentment. His lips found theirs for a soft kiss before they tucked their head into the crook of his neck to relax for a bit longer before their stomach forced them to move.