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Susurrus was pretty sure, being an instrument of war and all that, that cuddling or any kind of physical intimacy, was simply not in his nature. His warden however, seemed to have no qualms about that.
"At least with you being a tattoo now, I might finally be able to get some good fucking quality rest, without my arm killing me in the morning," Frey spat.
"Forgive me, oh great saviour of the realm, wouldn't want to ruin your day."
Frey might be able to hide her discomfort and loneliness behind her bratty attitude, while killing break-infested beasts and doing her job as self-proclaimed break warden, but sleep allowed for no such illusions. She could never hide from this. From him. In sleep, her walls were no more than a fragile piece of glass, waiting to be shattered. And shatter he would. In a way, Frey was a lot like glass, easily broken but be wary of the shards that will cut into you deep.
Susurrus was prepared to drive Frey to madness, like he did with the rest of those wretched Tantas. What he wasn't prepared for however, were Frey's emotions of utter relief. To have him back at her side. Almost like she missed him. Frey would never admit to it, but he's been part of her long enough to know when she was putting up a front and when her emotions were genuine.
"Stupid girl. Missing the very being that killed your mother..?" he mused.
Yet part of him couldn't help, but feel a tinge of warmth at the notion. Frey's even breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep. Back then, when he was still made of shining gold, Frey used to keep him as far away from her as possible, while she slept.
"You're gonna freeze my damn arm off, Cuff. Not gonna sleep on a hunk of gold, like I'm King fucking Midas."
"I have no idea what that means."
"Nevermind, I'm going to bed and so should you."
"You know I don't sleep, right?"
"Feel free to shut the hell up now, please."
Susurrus huffed.
Hopefully Frey would be more pleasant after a good rest. Nothing like spending the rest of eternity on the arm of an arrogant brat. He was underselling her though, and he knew that too. This arrogant brat had been able to seal him away again, after all. None of that arrogance showed in her sleep though. Her features were relaxed, not a single hint of discomfort on her face. He couldn't help, but soften at that expression. Susurrus allowed to lose himself in her even breathing, Frey's relaxation bleeding into his own mind. After some time, he felt his consciousness slip away, only to be startled back to reality, as Frey lifted her arm and rested it on her chest, right above her heart. If Susurrus had a heart, it might have skipped a beat.
This was the first time, he was this close to Frey, without any of those annoying furry creatures smothering his form, or when he aided her in battle. He would never admit it, but part of him liked the touch, the steady beating of his captor's heart. They stayed like this for a long time; and soon he felt his consciousness slip into a blissful state of rest.
It was a rare occurrence, Frey being up before him.
"Were you actually sleeping? That's kinda adorable..and unusual," she teased him.
"Don't be ridiculous, vambraces don't need sleep. And I am NOT adorable."
Praying to whatever higher entity could hear him, he hoped that Frey didn't notice the tinge of panic in his voice.
"You can't expect me to drag you out of bed every morning. Or does the all powerful Tanta Frey need me to hold her hand, at all times?"
His voice dripped with venom, but he there was no real bite behind it.
"Dude, take a chill pill. Who pissed in your cereal this morning?"
"Again, I have no idea what that means."
"Whatever man, you just looked peaceful for once, you smarmy excuse of a bracelet."
"And how exactly does a vambrace look peaceful, hmm? For all you know, I was plotting your demise. Your mind will fall to me eventually, you know."
"You kinda..uh..purr when you sleep. At first, I thought it was one of the cats, but they were not here. Just you, snoring away."
"How. dare. you. I do not purr, snore or make any other weird human sounds."
"Purring is a cat thing."
"Are you calling me a cat?" he warned. The audacity of this girl.
"I'm calling you a liar."
Susurrus didn't say anything, but Frey could feel his embarrassment radiating off of him.
"No need to be modest. I think we both know, just how good you are at lying," a bit of venom in her voice.
For some reason unbeknownst to him, he softened a bit at the tone in her voice.
"Frey...I'm not a liar. I did what needed to be done. You know that."
"Oh, I don't know about that, but I do know Mr. High and Mighty likes to cuddle at night."
Susurrus paused at that.
"I'm starting to think, I'm not the only demon here."