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Copia had had a rough week. Really, a rough month. He had just returned from tour, and the pile of paperwork he’d been met with upon his return had seemed endless. He was still paying for Terzo’s carelessness, it seemed. He was stressed, and between not eating or sleeping well, and he had no energy to do much of anything besides work and lay in bed. In times like these, however, there always seemed to be something that took his mind off of it for a while, that made him stop thinking long enough to relax…
Aether. His ghoul.
As much as the Cardinal hated asking for help, as much as he felt like a burden, put it aside until the absolute last moment, Aether never held it against him. No matter how late into the night Copia called him, how slurred his words were because of his fried brain, the ghoul always made time to reassure him, and he’d set aside everything else to find his way back into the Cardinal’s quarters.
He seemed to be there more often than his own room .
On this particular night, Copia had been working himself into a frenzy, having to plan for several meetings in the coming days, on top of all his usual work. Second-most employee of the month status didn’t come for free. The Cardinal had begged Aether to stay the night with him, pleading for solace, and respite from… all of this.
Now, the Cardinal laid under the ghoul’s weight, his face buried in his neck and his mustache twitching as he fought to keep from smothering his lover in kisses. He sighed, long and drawn out, and then wiggled his hips under Aether’s body, mostly trying to get comfortable, but also trying to ease some of the ghoul’s weight off of him. It was comforting, but, admittedly, he might’ve been getting a bit too old to be crushed in such a manner.
Aether hummed above him, squeezing the Cardinal’s hip and carding his clawed fingers through his tousled hair. A soft noise tumbled from Copia’s lips unbidden, and he felt the ghoul tense slightly above him. Before he could rush out an apology, the hand on his hip squeezed him again, and the Cardinal nuzzled his face into Aether’s neck, his face growing warmer as he spread his legs apart. An invitation.
“Everything okay, C?” the ghoul asked, his hand rubbing up and down his lover’s side. “Ah, ehm, sì… I just want to stop thinking for a while,” Copia murmured in reply, his body twitching restlessly every few seconds.
“Rough day?” Aether asked, concern and his love for the man beneath him mixing in the way his face moved, pulling back so that he could look his cardinal in the eyes. Copia chuckled in response, bitter and breathless, “The worst.”
The quintessence ghoul hummed at that, leaned down to kiss his lover, and then rolled off of him, much to Copia’s displeasure. “Come here, doll,” came his voice, and that was enough to get his cardinal back to him, although not without some grumbling. Copia tucked himself into the crook of Aether’s arm, nosing into his neck as his fingers fidgeted with the collar of the ghoul’s shirt. A gentle squeeze of his body earned another noise from the man, and he flushed a bright red despite himself, attempting to shield his face from Aether’s view. “Still thinking, eh?” the ghoul teased, letting one of his clawed hands come up to stroke his lover’s hair. Copia huffed in reply. “I’m here if you want to talk,” Aether murmured, and Copia shook his head, tightening his grip on his lover as he spoke, “No. I just need… I just need you to hold me.”
“Hold me, and…” Copia’s voice was trembling slightly, as if he was struggling to get the words out, but instead of pushing further he just laid himself back onto his lover’s shoulder.
“Got it,” the other replied, nodding softly, and dragged Copia to rest fully on top of him. One of Aether’s hands stayed in Copia’s hair, now lightly scratching at his scalp, while the other smoothed over his back, dragging all the way down to rest on one of his partner’s thighs.
The pair stayed like that for at least half an hour, saying nothing as they melted into one another, until Aether piped up again. “I love you, Copia. Do you know that? Do you know how important you are?” the cardinal nuzzled his ghoul in response, lazily pressing his lips to the side of his throat and likely smearing his lipstick all over it. With this, Aether started to purr, something that evoked great joy from his human counterpart, and he wrapped both of his arms around Copia’s waist, burying his nose in his hair as he gently rocked him back and forth.
They stayed like that until the cardinal’s exhaustion overtook him, leaving Aether stuck beneath him because he refused to risk waking him. He needed the rest, he told himself, it wasn’t a bother anyway. Well… Not for the most part. Admittedly, he would’ve liked to gotten out of this without Copia drooling all over his shirt, but Aether couldn’t bring himself to hold it against him. Not in this state.
For a while, Aether just stared up at the ceiling, still stroking Copia’s back lamely, until his eyes wandered downward, letting him fully admire everything that was the man atop him. The make-up around Copia’s eyes and lips were smudged, bits of his flushed skin peeking out from underneath it, his hair was a mess, nothing like the normal, meticulously groomed style he usually sported, and, Aether noted, he was beautiful. The ghoul had never seen one, but he reckoned Copia could rival an angel in how perfect he looked. Even in this state he looked ethereal. The creature’s heart clenched as he continued staring at him, and, almost silently, he began thanking Lucifer under his breath for allowing this wonderful man into his life.
He hoped they could continue these moments until the end of time.