Work Text:
Something had been going on with copia for months. It was hard not to notice, the once bubbly man had slowly become paranoid and scared. The ghouls had watched so many times as he practically had a heart attack whenever someone surprised him, how he seemed to shake whenever Psalutarian spoke to him. It was more obvious on tour. Rats had been his favourite song since he wrote it, reminding him of his strange little pets that Sodo often believed were snacks, now it seemed to scare him so much he would run off stage with a panicked yell after singing “never to return.” That should have given them all the clues they needed to connect the dots but somehow they didn’t and thought it was just the stress of the tour causing the panic attacks, the nightmares he would wake up screaming from, the moments of anxiety where they couldn’t reach him. Even when he woke them up with the volume of his screams they didn’t give it enough thought, they were still used to hell after all where there was screaming at all hours, humans were a different species after all so they didn’t understand that waking up in that much fear every night was something to worry about. Even Copia wanting one of them with him at all times wasn’t unusual as they were good friends, sometimes more, and they enjoyed his company as well, they had gotten used to spending a lot of time together in the tour bus. None of the warning signs registered so it wasn’t a surprise when it reached a breaking point.
The ghouls were relaxing in the den one night, it was freezing cold and the sound of rain hitting the stained glass windows echoed through the room. Sodo as a fire ghoul was still very warm and tiny puffs of steam were coming from him as the cold air hit his body. All the others had been fighting to try and sit next to him so now he sat in one corner of the large sofa with Rain, Cumulus and Mountain cuddled up to him trying to stay warm, considering there wasn’t much of him it wasn’t the easiest. Swiss and Sunshine clung to each other while Cirrus snuggled into Aethers warm chest, there were hot water bottles peppered around and they were covered in what seemed like every blanket in the ministry. “The Pit was much warmer than this.” Cirrus said as she hugged her novelty hot water bottle closer, it looked like a little dog with floppy ears and she thought it was very sweet, “We’re much better off here,” rumbled mountain ever the sensible one, “we get treated well, there are gardens and cake.” He had a point there, gardens and cake were in short supply down in hell and ghouls weren’t always treated the best. “And snow.” Added Cumulus, she had been enchanted by snow when she first saw it and stayed outside with Cirrus for hours. “We wouldn’t have Copia in the pit.” Aether said as he blushed, earning a groan from the others. “You just wanna kiss him.” Yelled Sodo sitting up slightly although he was pulled back down by the ghouls trying to leach his warmth. “Copia does treat us well,” reasoned Rain “compared to the others at least.”
“He got mad at a sister for being mean to me.” Sodo agreed although he had a wicked smile on his face, “I did bite her but she called me evil.” They knew that their papa cared for them, he didn’t just see them as demons he summoned to do his will but as friends, some of them were more that just that.
Meanwhile, in an older part of the ministry Copia was asleep. His lamp cast a rosey glow over the room, he had been too scared to sleep in the dark for months now especially when there were no ghouls around. He lay asleep in bed, makeupless for once although he had such dark circles under his eyes it looked like he still had it on. He hadn’t been sleeping well. Copia’s rest was anything but peaceful, he tossed and turned or thrashed against the blanket as he mumbled in Italian. His dreams were disturbing pictures of horror, flashes of his body displayed in a clear coffin next to his brothers. He suddenly shot up with a gasp, eyes flying open although he wasn’t really seeing anything as he took large panicked breaths. He gasped for air as he shifted, almost falling multiple times, he didn’t know where he was going except he needed to be safe.
The ghouls chatter had died down by then, the old black and white film playing on the tv had captured their attention. Sodo was less enthusiastic but stayed to keep his pack mates warm, the bowls of popcorn and crisps also helped. They watched in awe as the black and white film suddenly shifted to technicolour as Dorothy stepped out of her house into almost surreal looking meadows. Even Sodo let out a little gasp as Oz was revealed in all its bright colours but their focus was snapped from the screen as the door to the den burst open with an almost inhuman strength. They looked as a figure emerged from the shadows into the warm toned lights of the den. It was Copia. He was stood there shaking with tears running down his cheek’s smudging the paint had obviously forgotten to take off before bed although closer inspection showed it’s was just massive circles under his eyes. He was wearing a black shirt and fuzzy pyjama bottoms patterned with rats that matched the slippers on his feet, in his arms was a plushia that was being squeezed so tightly that it’s oversized potato head was bulging. He looked at them with pure fear in his mismatched eyes as his breath came in uneven panicked bursts. He looked so pathetic staring at them with these big scared eyes that even Sodo was worried now. “Copia, sweetie. What’s wrong?” Cumulus asked quietly as she slowly left her place against Sodos warmth, she approached him slowly like he was a terrified animal in danger of bolting. She reached out an arm and he flinched away but upon realising she meant no harm he allowed her to wrap it around his shoulders as he curled into her embrace. “You’re freezing C, come over here with us. Cirrus pass me a hot water bottle.” She gently led him over to the sofa as the others wiggled around to make room, Aether opened up the blankets for him to cuddle in as Cumulus sat him down. Aether pulled him closer with a kiss to the top of his head although he could feel how icy he was, Copia cuddled in close to Aether letting out a sigh of relief as the bigger ghoul wrapped an arm securely around him. “What’s the matter Amore?” The tears Copia had been trying so hard to contain sprang back into his eyes and trailed down his face. “I had a nightmare.” To him it sounded lame and they would surely laugh like they used to when he was a child but he was only met with sympathetic faces, even Sodo was concerned. Several arms reached out to embrace him and he let himself relax slightly in the security of his ghouls arms where he felt safe especially when Aether pressed another kiss to his temple. “Tell us about it darling.” Cumulus urged, “it will help.” He nodded and took a deep breath although he wasn’t sure what he could say without having another panic attack.
“I keep having dreams about my brothers,” he began uncertainly but Aether squeezed his hand and lifted it to his lips which boosted his confidence. “Every night it’s the same, what happened to them it happens again. Nothing can stop it, it is what must be done but I’m scared.” There was a silence as it sunk in and all them pressed closer. They exchanged looks and nods. Rain who was normally the quite one spoke up, “We won’t let that happen Copia.” Mountains deep rumble came next, “We promise to protect you, no matter what.” Copia couldn’t stop the tears pouring down his face now, no one had ever show this much concern for him before, he burrowed his face into Aethers chest letting the ghouls muscular arms wrap around him and hold him safely. “What can we do to help you?” Cirrus asked, “I can’t sleep alone, I just want to feel safe.” A fresh wave of tears fell as Cumulus joined the hug. “Don’t worry Copia, your safe now, we’ll make sure of it.”
He stayed with them until the end of the film, he was half asleep at that point as the weeks of nightmares caught up to him. He felt different now, safer and warmer, wrapped in the embrace of his Aether and the other ghouls. Aether whispered something into his ear but he didn’t catch it and only let out a small hum. He felt Aethers laugh In his chest as well as feeling another kissed pressed to his head.
The ghouls had stoped paying attention to the land of Oz a long time ago instead they were looking at their papa who was curled up on Aethers chest. He was fast asleep, only letting out a little hum as Aether checked if he was awake, “I think we should go to bed.” Aether pressed a kiss to Copia’s head and cradled him against his chest as he stood up. Copia’s room wasn’t a good option as it didn’t have a door but the ghouls shared room would work a treat. Copia was in the middle of the large mattress with his plushia still in his arms, the rest of the ghouls cuddled around him, Aether hugging him while Cirrus and Cumulus who were tangled up together were also pressed up close to their leader. The rest found a good space to curl up, sodo once again proved to be very popular with the colder ghouls. Swiss broke away from the rest of them, sitting by the door like a solitary guard. No one would hurt their papa, not while they had anything to say about it.