Work Text:
Sodo woke up with a groan as he surveyed the area around him, sighing comfortably when he was met with his bunk bed inside of the tour bus. After a moment, the fire-ghoul gently rubbed the sleep from his eyes and crawled out his bunk.
When he glanced around the room, Sodo was shocked to see full sunlight boring through the windows. He hadn’t woken up late in years. Then again, Sodo couldn’t remember the last time he had slept in. Being a ghoul improved his mental scheduling better than any humans, so waking up late was practically unheard of for the ghoul.
As he walked out of the room that held their bunks, Sodo was surprised to see all of his bandmates jerk their heads to face him with wide eyes, Aether’s expression filling with relief at the sight of the ghoul. The distant chatter that he could hear before was now muted as he awkwardly shuffled to an empty spot on the couch beside Aether, who quickly brought a hand up to scratch the fire-ghoul’s head.
“Morning.” The quintessence-ghoul purred close to Sodo’s ear as he relaxed into Aether’s touch. “You slept in pretty late.” He commented next, causing Sodo’s brows to furrow with confusion. So he was being weird this morning.
Sodo would have started panicking about his health if his friend wasn’t soothingly combing a hand through his hair. Aether was the best stress allever out of anyone Sodo had ever met.
“Yeah.” He brushed the anxieties off as having a late night last night and needing extra sleep. They were out drinking past midnight, so it would make sense as to why he felt disgusting and groggy after waking up.
“We’ve got about an hour to spare before Papa barges his ass in here and gets us to help with sound checks n’ shit.” Swiss offhandedly commented from his spot next to Aether on the sofa. Soso huffed a breath at the thought of having to leave Aether’s warm side. Performing live was always exciting and fun, but lounging on the heavenly-squishy tour-bus couch with the other ghouls seemed much more pleasant at the moment.
Sodo unconsciously tuned the conversation out and hummed contently as he leaned further into the quintessence-ghoul’s side. He could feel Aether chuckle from beside him as strong arms wrapped around his torso. Sodo purred with relaxation, his body becoming more limp the longer he leaned on Aether. Closing his eyes, the fire-ghoul’s conscience slowly dissolved into sleep.
***
Sodo woke up to the sensation of strong, gentle hands running up and down his shoulders. As he slowly came into focus, the ghoul realised that the hands belonged to Swiss, who had a gentle smile on his face as he realised the other was waking up.
“Hey.” Swiss’ voice sounded rough yet gentle as he spoke. “We’ve got about an hour before we have to be on stage. You seemed really tired earlier, so we let you sleep.” He explained as Sodo lethargically sat up straight and surveyed the room hazily, surprised when no other ghouls came into view. Swiss seemed to know what the fire-ghoul was wondering because he quickly answered; “the others are already in the venue.”
Sodo groggily nodded instead of replying and pushed himself off of the couch. Swiss seemed to stand up from his crouched position to help steady the dazed ghoul as he wobbled over to the fridge to grab a water bottle for himself.
Unscrewing the cap, Sodo swallowed a few mouthfuls of the cool drink before setting it on the counter and sighing with relief. Having something cold in his system calmed his body temperature down, making it easier to move and act as his regular self even though he felt stuffy and tired.
Swiss gave a weary smile to the ghoul before carefully leading him out of the bus and towards the venue. When they got inside, Sodo shooed the other off and entered his dressing room to get changed for the show.
His clothing stuck to his body slightly as he took off his pyjamas and replaced them with his costume and mask, though Sodo brushed the red flag away in favour of staying focused for the show.
Stepping out of the room, Sodo sauntered down the backstage hallway until he found the ghouls sitting across a span three fancy couches. Copia was standing further away, speaking to a stage manager of sorts with Cirrus at his side. Sodo decided to sit next to Rain, who was slightly off to the side but listening to Swiss who was telling the group a story of sorts from what he could tell. The couches in the backstage weren’t half as comfortable as the one inside of their tour bus, though Sodo could only huff as he half leaned onto the short couch arm. His noise of displeasure seemed to catch the Rain’s attention, as the water-ghoul turned to the other questioningly.
“You alright, Sodo?” He asked in a soft voice that Sodo found rather irritating at the moment.
He wasn’t a baby that needed to be doddled over simply because he was tired after late night. Sodo could look after himself. He didn’t need Aether, Swiss, Rain, or any of the ghouls worrying about him for no reason.
“Just fucking fantastic! Thanks for asking.” Sodo growled as he crossed his arms into a pout and leaned further into the couch arm. This caught the attention of the other ghouls, especially Aether and Swss who both quickly snapped their heads in Sodo’s direction with alarm.
“Sodo?” Swiss called with confusion, causing said ghoul to groan. He hadn’t meant to get everyone’s attention, but of course, they all had to worry about him for being in a bad mood now.
By this point, all the fire-ghoul wanted to do was finish the show and crawl into his bunk to sleep, but that wouldn’t be for another 3 hours.
Before anyone else could question Sodo, he quickly stood up and stormed to the other side of backstage where the instruments were held. He already knew that no one would follow him, because they would most likely be burned to a crisp by the fiery ghoul.
Eventually, the band was called on to the stage to play, and Sodo did his best to avoid his bandmates at all cost throughout the performance. He could see the worried glances Aether gave him every once in a while, pissing him off even more. If the fans noticed anything off about him, there would be rumours and speculation for weeks over the internet whether something was wrong or not.
Sodo however ignored those thoughts and played his best throughout the show.
Once the final bow was finished and he threw his pics out to the audience, Sodo quickly made his way off stage to his dressing room and threw his costume and mask on the floor to replace them with his pyjamas again. He’d shower later.
Before any other ghouls could get the chance to stop him, Sodo quickly left the venue and crawled into his bunk. He wrapped the sheets around him and curled into the corner to be as warm and comfortable as possible.
Eventually, Sodo could hear the distant sound of people entering the tour bus and quickly closed his eyes to fake sleeping, knowing that someone was bound to check on him. He heard his bunk curtain open, then it closed after a few moments and a set footsteps retreated back into the other room. Sodo sighed with relief at his success before curling into the sheets more and closing his eyes again. Sleep slowly took over the fire-ghoul as his breathing evened out and mind slowed to a stop.
***
Sodo woke up with a gasp, his body shooting up as he desperately crawled out of his bunk and ran to the toilet with a hand covering his mouth. He fell to the floor in front of the toilet and heaved a burst of flizzing, black stomach acid into the bowl. His body was internally screaming at him as he heaved more and more substances into the bowl, tears starting to pour from his eyes. The fire-ghoul’s stomach muscles were contracting so hard that he felt like he was going to pass out from the burning pain as another forceful heave of the inky liquid fell from his lips.
The soothing sensation of somebody rubbing his back suddenly made itself apparent to Sodo, their gentle hands calming his nerves slightly as he continued to puke into the toilet until nothing was coming out anymore.
Once he was sure that his stomach was completely empty, Sodo fell to the cold, tiled floor and let the tears continue falling from his eyes. His body felt like it was on fire at the moment, but he was shivering for dear life at the same time. Sodo could hear somebody gently whispering to him but didn’t bother listening and instead leaned into their warm, solid body. The ghoul could distantly hear someone say something, though he couldn’t register their words over the ringing in his ears and the chattering of his teeth. He felt like he was disintegrating from the inside out.
Sodo then felt strong arms slide under his legs and around his back before he was hoisted up into a bridal position, still not sure which ghoul was actually carrying him. He didn’t care at this point, though. The body that he was pressed up against felt warm and secure, and that's all that mattered through Sodo’s panic.
After a minute of being held in the person's arms, Sodo felt his body be laid into soft sheets and groaned from the loss of contact as the person stopped holding him. His throat made a desperate gurgling noise as his arms desperately flailed around to find any form of contact, the loss of warmth making his body violently shiver.
Just as soon as the touch left, it came right back, but this time Sodo felt two pairs of arms snake around his body and sighed with relief as his body slowed. The fire-ghoul stayed motionless for a few minutes as he basked in the warmth of the others’ arms, until his shivering ceased and the black fog in his mind cleared.
Eventually, though, Sodo did lazily blink his eyes open to meet Aether’s red ones gazing back at him. The ghoul’s face was creased with worry as he held the fire-ghoul tightly in his arms. “Not feeling well?” Aether asked in a hushed tone, the deep vibration of his voice against Sodo’s chest aiding in his relaxation.
The fire-ghoul shook his head with a pout. He couldn’t lie now. Sodo genuinely felt like shit. His organs were aching, his head was bounding, and his body felt as if it were trapped in an iceberg.
Sodo felt the person behind him shift slightly before they brought a hand up to feel his forehead. The person immediately pulled away with a light curse, the voice revealing itself to be Swiss. The fire-ghoul sighed with contentment from the knowledge. Having both ghouls to comfort him felt nice.
“Yeah. Your temper earlier should have been a hint to us.” Swiss’ voice hummed softly with a chuckle that made Sodo pout even more. “That’s our Stompy, though.” He whispered with a fond tone while rubbing a hand up and down the fire-ghoul’s clothed sides soothingly. Swiss could only touch the ghoul’s thick sleep shirt (which was already fairly warm as it is) at this point to avoid his scorching skin. He wasn’t sure how Aether was still alive with the smaller ghoul’s arms around him, but he assumed it came with his element or their closer bond in general.
Swiss felt a pang of jealousy rip through his heart as he watched Sodo curl further into Aether’s embrace. Though he knew that the ghoul was simply looking for available touch, he couldn’t help the desire for the smaller to be in his arms hugging him. Brushing the thoughts away, Swiss decided to focus more on relaxing Sodo by rubbing his hips and middle gently.
Whether it was Aether’s warm embrace or Swiss’ comforting touch, Sodo’s eyes fell shut within minutes as he drifted back to sleep.
Once the fire-ghoul’s breathing had fully fallen into an even, soft rhythm, Aether finally looked up to Swiss. The quintessence-ghoul simply stared into the others’ bright eyes for a moment as each guitarist simply basked in each others’ presence. “I wish I’d seen the signs earlier; sleeping-in, the drowsiness, his extra temper- hell, he even felt a little warm on the couch this morning.” Aether whispered with a heavy frown on his face. Swiss couldn’t help but feel a little guilty over the matter as well, though he knew that the fire-ghoul was more of a crash-and-burn type than reasoning.
“You know how stubborn he is, Aeth.” Swiss replied as he moved one of his hands from Sodo’s middle to grab the quintessence-ghoul’s hand. He rubbed his thumb across the other’s knuckles as the bunk fell into silence, the only sound being the fire-ghoul’s calm breath.
Aether sighed as he squeezed the other’s hand briefly. “Yeah. I just hope he feels better before the next show. You know how he is about cancelling performances.”
Swiss hummed in agreement to the other’s comment. The last time that they almost had to cancel a performance was because Sodo had accidentally sprained his left wrist by falling the wrong way, though the fire-ghoul was persistent on playing the show, injured or not. Sodo’s stubborn attitude only had him whining throughout the next 5 days about how his wrist was aching non-stop. Ghouls’ bones heal fairly quickly, though it took almost 2 weeks for Sodo to be able to shred the guitar as well as he used to. After that, the band knew better than to cancel a performance on Sodo’s part.
The multi-ghoul adjusted himself to be under the covers, and Aether quickly joined him knowing that they wouldn’t be leaving the bunk any time soon. “He better not get us sick.” Swiss grumbled as he adjusted himself to be spooning Sodo while his arms were lazily draped over Aether’s body as well. He eventually felt Aether’s hands brush up against his sides as the quintessence-ghoul gently pushed his hands up the other’s shirt to rub against his bare sides soothingly. Swiss shivered at the touch before relaxing and leaning into the warm touch of Aether’s hands against his skin. He loved these intimate moments where he could simply enjoy the soft, electrifying touch of another ghoul. It never ceased to feel incredibly refreshing to have these soft moments with Aether and Sodo.
“G’night, Swiss.” Aether yawned as he shuffled around tad more before stilling in place.
“Night.”
***
Sodo gradually woke up, a content feeling shooting through his brain as he became aware of the comforting warmth surrounding him. The fire-ghoul unconsciously curled further into Aether and pulled Swiss’ arms tighter around himself, sighing with relief at the snug contact.
Aether groaned softly as he blinked his eyes open, surprised when he found bright orange eyes looking back at him intently. “G’morning.” He whispered before moving closer to the other and planting a kiss on his forehead. Sodo only purred as a response to the action, making the quintessence-ghoul grin. Sleepy Sodo was always the easiest to give affection to without getting a guitar pick thrown at him. “How are you feeling now?” Aether whispered as he moved a hand to comb through the fire-ghoul’s hair, knowing that he always appreciated the contact.
“Comfortable but like shit.” Sodo’s voice came out scratchy as he spoke, so Aether only nodded and made a mental note to ask yes and no questions from now on to let the other’s voice rest.
A sudden groan came from the other side of the bed before a slurred voice spoke. “Fuck it’s so hot in here. I feel like I’m being cooked alive.” Swiss groaned sleepily as he let go of Sodo to roll onto his back for a break from the immediate heat. Aether chuckled softly at the other’s weakness to Sodo’s heat.
Out of anyone in the band, Aether was the most immune to the intense heat of the fire-ghoul’s power. He wasn’t completely fireproof to the ghoul’s powers, though. They found that out one particular evening when Sodo had overheated from partying and Aether was tasked with carrying him to bed. The ghoul hadn’t realised just how drunk Sodo was until the fire-ghoul accidentally burned his lips when he pulled Aether into a drunken kiss. Aether’s lips healed within a day, though they throbbed the entire time and Sodo had refused to kiss him again for weeks. Both parties were a little more cautious with the fire-ghoul’s powers after that.
Sodo’s muscles clenched at the loss of contact as he desperately attempted to curl further into Aether.
Swiss’ head shot over in alarm at the sudden motion, his eyes widening at the scene. He looked to Aether with panic, only to see the ghoul looking just as confused as himself when they met eyes.
“Shhh, Sodo. What’s going on?” The quintessence-ghoul hushed as he pulled the other into a tight hug that seemed to calm him. No matter what he said, Aether always knew that Sodo thrived with secure contact.
“Satanas.. It feels fucking freezing in here.” Sodo hissed as he pulled the sheets further up his shivering body, as he pushed his head into the other’s chest. Aether moved the smaller’s head back and raised a hand to touch his forehead before quickly retracting his hand with wide eyes.
“Hell, you’re really warm, So.” He cursed with alarm before wrapping both of his arms back around the fire-ghoul and pulling him back into his chest. “It’s healthy for you to be practically boiling while your immune system is healing, but you didn’t shiver like this last time you were sick.” Aether thought aloud in a hushed whisper as he ran a hand up and down Sodo’s back comfortingly. He sent Swiss an apologetic look, assuming that the multi-ghoul was already feeling guilty for pulling away earlier. It wasn’t his fault that Sodo’s skin was scorching to the touch, though.
“Do you wanna have a hot bubble bath? That would probably help raise your temperature.” Aether spoke as the suggestion suddenly popped into head. He knew that Sodo often preferred baths rather than showers, and especially baths with extra bubbles.
Sodo weakly nodded his head but didn’t make any move to leave the quintessence-ghoul’s hold, causing Swiss to chuckle. “I can go start the bath if you want to carry him in a few.” He suggested with an assuring smile.
Aether returned the expression and nodded his head thankfully. “Yeah, thanks. Scolding hot with a fuck ton of bubbles.” He directed with a grin as Swiss cautiously crawled out of the other’s bunk and walked the short distance to the tour bus bathroom. The bathtub was fairly small, though Swiss had no doubts that Sodo would fit perfectly in the small space.
Putting the plug in and turning the water on almost as hot as it could go, Swiss then poured in a hefty amount of bubble bath soap under the water stream and watched as the tub began to fill with bubbles. After watching the water rise for another few moments, Swiss then opened the door and quickly walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as well as a box of crackers from the cupboard. He noticed Rain sitting at the dining table and greeted a quick ‘good morning’ before going back to the bathroom and setting his acquired items on the ledge for Sodo to have. He didn’t remember seeing the fire-ghoul eat anything the previous day when he thought about it, so grabbing some food seemed like a good idea to keep up his strength.
After another minute of waiting, the bathroom door eventually opened to reveal Aether carrying a clingy Sodo in his arms. He sat the smaller down on the toilet and stretched his back out with a groan. Sleeping with your arms around two people wasn’t the most comfortable inside of his small bunk bed.
Aether then got to work, removing Sodo’s sticky clothes from his sweat-covered body and gently lifting him up and setting him in the bath. The fire-ghoul hissed as the cool air attacked his skin, but quickly relaxed as the scalding water surrounded him. He stretched his body out and laid his head on the back of the tub with a relieved sigh, his nerves calming with ease from the warmth.
Swiss and Aether shared a similar look of relief at the action, both hellishly thankful that the bath helped the fire-ghoul. If not, Aether didn’t know what to do for him. He wouldn’t let his ghoul suffer like last night ever again!, though. Seeing Sodo curled up on the floor puking his guts out into the toilet while desperately crying was a sight no ghoul wanted to see. Thankfully he had calmed down after being carried to Aether’s bed.
A quiet knock suddenly sounded from the bathroom door, breaking Aether’s thoughts and causing all three ghouls’ heads to snap in that direction. Swiss glanced at the bath to make sure Sodo’s lower body was completely covered by the mass of bubbles before opening the door and revealing Copia, who was lazily dressed in jeans and an old band t-shirt.
“Ah, good morning ghouls. I was just checking in because there was some tension last night on stage. Are you all good now?” The man asked with an awkward smile on his face as he seemed to notice Sodo in the bath and proceeded to look anywhere but at Sodo. The ghoul was 80% covered by bubbles, and he knew that the ghouls were very open with each other, though Copia did not expect this scene before him at ten in the morning.
Swiss’ eyebrows raised as the memories from last night on stage played through his head briefly. How Sodo kind of blew up at everyone before going on stage and how he wasn’t as playful as usual. “Oh, yeah. No, we’re good, Papa. Sodo is actually sick, so he was being a little bitch yesterday.” He explained with a chuckle that made Swiss roll his eyes with amusement. Of course Aether had to explain it in such a nonchalant way in front of their superior. Friend or not, Copia was still technically their boss.
“Shit. Should I cancel our show for Thursday, then?” The man’s question made both Swiss and Aether immediately shake their heads.
Swiss considered Copia’s question. Their lives would be a lot less stressful if the fire-ghoul didn’t have any pressure to get better. Then again, the ghoul was too stubborn for his own good and would have his head for cancelling on his behalf. “Sodo should be better by then. If not, he’s still gonna end up on stage.” Swiss quickly answered with a chuckle that caused Copia to let out an amused breath.
“Okay, okay. Just let me know.”
With their brief conversation finished, Copia bid goodbye to the ghouls, saying he had a few forms to fill out to finalise their last show. They both nodded and gratefully thanked the man for taking care of a lot of the papers and whatnot.
After he left, Swiss closed the door again and turned to see Aether sit down on the floor while leaning against the bathtub. He looked a little crammed in his spot from the overall tightness of the bathroom, but he didn’t complain. Swiss soon joined him on the floor and gently rested but head on the wall behind him. His legs were squished against Aether’s a little, but he didn’t mind at all. He was assuming that the quintessence-ghoul didn’t want to leave Sodo alone, though it would most likely take a while before he wanted to leave his bubble haven.
Aether looked at Swiss with a small grin on his face as he rhythmically tapped his hand against the other’s shin out of habit. He glanced at Sodo after a minute to see the fire-ghoul looking at him with a blank expression, causing his eyebrows to raise with confusion. He furrowed his brows and tilted his head to que Sodo to speak, but didn’t get any response besides two blinks. The quintessence-ghoul glanced over to Swiss for any help in what the sick ghoul was trying to express, but only got a shrug in reply. “You have to use your words, Stompy.” Aether sighed after getting no verbal explanation from the other.
Sodo’s expression fell to a pout at Aether’s words. “Fuck, asshole. You usually…” The fire-ghoul’s volume lowered as he grumbled an inaudible response. Aether huffed and asked the smaller to speak up. He could see Swiss grinning out of his peripheral vision and felt his face fall into an expectant expression as he waited for Sodo to repeat what he had said. The fire-ghoul sighed audibly and mumbled more audibly “you usually come in with me, asshole.”
Aether’s eyes widened as his face deepened a shade from the comment. He jerked his head to face Swiss, who was only laughing silently with a hand covering his mouth. “First of all, the water would burn the hell out of my skin right now, and secondly, the bath is hardly large enough for one person, let alone two.” His response only caused Sodo’s frown to deepen as the fire-ghoul sunk further into the bath so his chin was under the water now. Aether shook his head at the action as slight guilt pooled through his mind. He hadn’t meant to turn the ghoul down so harshly, but trying to bathe together would only end up as a squishy mess with water all over the floor.
Looking back at Sodo’s saddened expression, Aether’s guilt only grew. “Once we get to a hotel, we can all have a bath together, okay?” He caved with a groan, but didn’t fail to notice the way Swiss choked slightly at the mention of him joining as well.
Sodo only nodded in response as the room fell back into a comfortable silence besides the slight swish of water every once in a while. Swiss was trying to avoid the mental picture of him and Aether sitting in a large hotel bathtub with Sodo in the middle. As a distraction, the multi-ghoul reached over Aether and grabbed the box of crackers from the ledge and opened the box with a pressed smile. He popped one of the squares into his mouth and smiled at the salty taste before extending his arm and shaking the box slightly to offer Aether one. The quintessence-ghoul rolled his eyes before grabbing a handful and eating one at the time. Swiss then looked over to Sodo to see his eyes closed as he laid in the water, though it was clear that he wasn’t sleeping due to the way his fingers were gently tapping against the side of the bathtub.
Swiss contemplated whether he should offer the sick ghoul food now or later, but decided that it couldn’t hurt to offer now. “Want a couple crackers, Sodo?” He held the box out towards the fire-ghoul and watched as he lethargically blinked his eyes open and scanned the box for a moment before ultimately shaking his head. Swiss sighed at the response and looked to Aether for assistance.
The quintessence-ghoul had a frown on his face as he turned his body to face Sodo better. “I don’t think you ate anything yesterday, though. If you don’t want to eat the crackers, we can get you something else.” His reasoning made Swiss sigh with relief. Aether was always the one who could convince Sodo to do anything with enough pressure, thankfully.
Sodo sank further into the water until his lips were covered instead of responding, implying that he wasn’t going to be eating at the moment. Aether sighed again. “We can get you something after.”
Swiss could tell that the ghoul’s stubbornness was starting to frustrate Aether by the way his lip was curled slightly and his demeanour appeared to be more agitated. It usually took a lot to waver his patience in general, so Swiss was surprised at how easily the fire-ghoul could frustrated the other.
The multi-ghoul unconsciously moved his hand to softly grip the other’s shin as a grounding touch in a way. He could see Aether’s shoulders visibly sag as he sent him a thankful, close-mouth smile.
The bathroom fell into silence once again as Swiss let himself close his eyes and bask in the comfortable atmosphere. He could smell Sodo’s cinnamon bubble bath more clearly and grinned knowing that Aether had probably brought it on the tour just for the fire-ghoul. Their bond made Swiss feel warm and fluttery inside. He enjoyed the company of all the ghouls-don’t get him wrong-, but he couldn’t help but love being close to these two in particular. Their pure aura made his skin feel electric whenever they were close. It drew Swiss in and made him want to be close to both as often as possible. He simply loved his ghouls.
After 15 minutes of silence, Sodo quietly mumbled that he was ready to get out, causing Aether’s eyes to widen with surprise. “Already?” He asked and got a silent nod in reply from the ghoul. Without hesitation, the quintessence-ghoul stood up and grabbed a towel from a shelf on the far wall of the bathroom.
Sodo then pulled the bath plug and took the towel from Aether’s outstretched hand and slowly lifted himself out of the bath. He could feel Swiss’ hand holding his arm to steady his body slightly while Aether helped him step out from the tub. Wrapping the fluffy towel around his waist, Sodo then sat back down on the toilet lid while wordlessly waiting for Aether to fetch his spare pyjamas. Not to act like a brat, but Sodo knew Aether would grab his clothes whether he asked or not. The ghoul just happened to be that helpful to him, especially when he wasn’t feeling good.
Just as Sodo suspected, Aether excused himself, telling Swiss that he would grab the multi-ghoul some space pyjamas as well, assuming that they wouldn’t be going out for the day. Sodo shivered as Aether left the warm bathroom and a gust of cool air entered the bathroom, the draft feeling like ice against his bare skin. Swiss’ hand was still resting on his shoulder comfortingly, and Sodo sighed as he leaned into the ghoul’s warmth. The other only chuckled at the action as he wrapped his other arm around the smaller’s chest and pulled him into a soft hug. Sodo purred at the warm touch and held Swiss close until Aether came in with a pile of clothes in his arms. He could see Aether smile when his eyes landed on him and Swiss as he clumsily handed the multi-ghoul a t-shirt and pyjama pants to change into.
Swiss didn’t hesitate to pull off his clothes and replace them with the fresh, non-sweat-covered ones. He then set his dirty clothes aside and helped Sodo stand to put on his own hoodie, pyjama pants, and fluffy socks thanks to Aether packing them. The fire-ghoul’s movement’s were highly sluggish as he finished changing and plopped back onto the toilet lid while he waited for Aether to change as well. The quintessence ghoul did so in record time before opening the door and tossing their old sleep clothes into the shared hamper.
Swiss extended a hand for Sodo to take and helped the ghoul walk to the couch while Aether set up fluffy blankets and a movie. The multi-ghoul directed the other into the middle cushion, worry creasing his features when he noticed the way Sodo’s legs were shaking slightly as he lowered himself onto the cushion. The ghoul already looked drained from walking the few metres from the bathroom to the couch.
The fire-ghoul quickly covered himself with blankets and leaned into Swiss as he sat down on the cushion next to him. Aether soon joined them on Sodo’s right side with a plate that had a handful of crisps and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it. The smaller quickly curled into Aether’s side as the quintessence-ghoul placed the plate on Sodo’s lap and clicked play on the remote to start the movie.
About half way through the movie, Sodo dozed off to sleep on Aether’s shoulder with a half-eaten sandwich on his lap. Swiss carefully moved the plate onto the couch side table before looking at Aether with a content smile on his face. “He’s so sleepy when he’s sick.” He commented quietly to the other with a chuckle.
The quintessence-ghoul smiled fondly at the comment as he glanced at Sodo then back to Swiss. “Yeah. It's been decades since he was last sick, but I remember that he slept almost the entire week last time.” Aether mumbled thoughtfully. He hated seeing Sodo unwell and in pain, but the times when he just wanted to sleep and cuddle were like gold to the fire-ghoul.
Swiss hummed in reply as he picked up the remote and turned the volume of the tv down slightly so it wouldn’t wake the sleeping ghoul beside him.
The multi-ghoul shuffled a little so he was laying down in a more comfortable position and sighed as the soothing warmth that was radiating from the fire-ghoul surrounded his body. He felt relieved that Sodo’s fever was breaking. It was a lot easier to look after the ghoul when he wasn’t scalding to the touch. Now he was just a personal heater for Swiss and Aether.
***
Aether hummed with squinted eyes from the dining table as he studied Sodo’s sleeping body on the couch. He made eye contact with Swiss, who was acting as a pillow for the fire-ghoul. It had been three days since Sodo got originally ill, and his body had significantly improved visually. His skin was almost back to its usual temperature and the dark bags under his eyes had completely disappeared by now. He still was sleeping most of the time, though, and was still equally as clingy as before, but Aether couldn’t help but wonder if he actually felt sick. The quintessence-ghoul then peered over to the ghoul’s set aside plate of lunch, which was almost completely eaten.
Looking over to Cirrus who was sitting across from him, Aether noticed that she too was looking at Sodo with pursed lips. “Do you think he will be better for our show tomorrow night?” She asked absentmindedly while picking her fork up and shoving a spoonful of pasta into her mouth.
Aether’s eyebrows only raised with amusement at the question. Had she not caught on to what was really going on? “Oh. He’ll be fine. We’re just waiting for him to stop pretending at this point.” He laughed before catching Swiss’ eyes again and noticing the multi-ghoul nodding along and silently-laughing at his comment.
“Pretending?” The air-ghoul asked with raised eyebrows that only caused Aether to laugh even harder.
The quintessence-ghoul only nodded as his wheezes subsided. “Yeah. He can take as long as he needs, though.” He said with a smile as he glanced at Sodo again with a loving smile.
“As long as he needs.” Swiss echoed back as he squeezed the fire-ghoul’s sleeping frame fondly.
They didn’t mind Sodo pretending to be sick if they got to spend more time with the clingy ghoul. If anything, it was a treat for both Aether and Swiss to get to have these intimate moments with him. Swiss especially enjoyed cuddling the fire-ghoul to sleep with Aether as well.