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Exhausted. Tired. So bloody fucking tired…
He was exhausted. His chest and hips screamed in pain as he hunched over a microwave he was determined to reassemble into a weapon. Anything to keep his mind awake. His right eye twitched, his nerves were shot. He was on his fourth day of sleeplessness, his eyes burned, his head throbbed, his hands shook, his scales were dull.
Nightmares. Of exterminators descending on them without warning, their spears and swords gleaming, their masks grinning with sadistic glee. Flashbacks of Adam’s blast striking his ship, of the bright light that enveloped him as the whole thing exploded, the fire that shredded him to pieces before his entire world went black-
His trembling hands fumbled with the wiring on the little machine’s power supply, his frustration mounting into an angry hiss at the useless scrap. Growls and hisses punctuated each failed attempt at getting the wires properly fitted the way he wanted. His tail thumped on the ground next to him with his agitation.
The room was loud around him, he could hear Angel and Husk flirting openly at the bar. Nifty was darting around the foyer scrubbing the carpets clean. Even his darling Cherri’s boisterous conversation with Vaggatha was grating on his nerves. How could they be so carefree? Don’t they know an attack is coming? We need to prepare!
His fingers slipped and he bent one of the tiny pins on the circuit board he had been fiddling with. “Blasssssted thing!” He snarled, venom all but dripped from his mouth, his venom glands tingled with the temptation to spit. “No bloody workshop. No bloody tools. NOTHING!” He hissed and threw the power supply across the room, barely aware when the little metal box hit the wall and shattered into pieces. He rose up onto his tail abruptly, his hood flared wide. “And forbidding me to build an airship?? Fools” He was vaguely aware of a few sets of his friend’s eyes turning to watch him as he began to pace.
Everything hurt, his scars were bone cold, he was cold. He had to plan, and had to keep himself safe this time. He had to keep them all safe-
“Pen?” Charlie approached him cautiously with a tray of tea, her smile soft, but uncharacteristically hesitant. Good, she should be cautious. Angels could descend on them at any moment-
“I brought you some chamomile tea. Maybe having some could help you-”
“Chamomile?!” Pentious snapped, a loud hiss undertone with the indignant bark. “You think tea will sssstop the exterminators from ssswooping down?” His tail lashed out, toppling a lamp with a crash that silenced the room, “You think tea will sssstop them from tearing me apart again? Your foolish redemption project isss what caused this crisisss, Charlie.”
Charlie froze, tea spilling over the tray when she jerked back in astonishment at his outburst. Her eyes were wide with hurt and her mouth opened and closed a few times as she searched for something to say to him. Vaggie stepped forward from the bar, her gray wings flared wide to make herself look bigger “Hey! Back off-”
Cherri, sighed and placed a hand on Vaggie's shoulder, stopping the fallen angel from continuing forward. “I got ‘im” She muttered before she pushed off the bar and approached her sleep-deprived boyfriend.
“Alright Old Man,” She said, her voice calm, but unyielding. She crossed the room in quick strides to step between him and Charlie, pulling the tall man’s attention down to her. She took his arm and gently tugged him behind her “Time for bed.”
Cherri nodded up at Charlie, the taller woman sighed softly in relief, her concern melting away at the sight of Cherri’s steady grip on Pentious’ arm.
Pentious’ coils stiffened, and he tried to dig his scales into the carpet to stop her from dragging him. “Cherri! I can’t sleep! The- Heaven’s army! They’ll sssstrike at any moment! We are not ready!” His voice cracked as she tugged at him again, the muscles in his tail gave in and she steered him toward the stairs. His scars throbbed with every sideways push his body did to propel him forward.
“Mmmhm, keep yellin’, babe.” Cherri said, unfazed, guiding him up the staircase to their shared hotel room. “Yer not gettin’ outta this.”
He hissed at her, before he launched into further paranoid rants about an ambush and how their friends were betraying him because they wouldn’t let him rebuild his airship.
A sharp creak from the stairs made him freeze, nearly making Cherri pitch backward from his sudden stop. His hood flared wide open, his eyes wild with panic “They’re here!” He yelped his voice low and frantic, his hands gripping at her, claws digging into her skin “Th-the exterminators! Did you hear that? They’re coming!”
Cherri squeezed his forearm. Her grip was firm, but her eye held his gaze steady. “Just the stairs Old Man, Ain’t no Holy Rollers here. Keep movin’” Her calm matter of fact cut through his delusion, and though the tip of his tail buzzed nervously, he let her continue to guide him onward. Low mutters of how an attack was imminent, she let him rant. He flinched at the sharp shadows that lined the dim hallway that led to their room.
Cherri pushed open their door with a soft creak, and nudged him inside. She gently shut the door behind them, muffling the distant hum of the lounge to silence. She skipped turning their lights on as she stepped further into the room.
She left him to pace and vent about securing the perimeter while she got them both ready for sleep. She went to the bed and pulled back the covers and flicked the little switch on his heated blanket to a cozy low setting that they would both be comfortable with. She brushed her teeth, changed into one of Pentious’ large ‘music band’ tees, and set a glass of water on the nightstand.
The soft clink of the glass was enough to make him whip around to face her, his tattered hood flared wide again, “Weapons! They’re approaching!”
Cherri quickly held the glass up for him to see, “Just water, babe, chill?” She took a quick sip of the water. “No exterminators here… Now come here, love.”
She didn’t give him a choice when she tugged his loose button-up down his arms and helped him into one of his sleep shirts. He smelled a bit musty, but she would worry about getting him into the bath after he got some fuckin’ sleep. “Sit yer scaly ass down, Old Man.” She gave him a gentle push toward their bed.
Pentious paused mid-rant “I can’t just Ssssssit, Cherri! They’ll come for u-”
“Sit.” She ordered, her tone soft, but firm. “Now.”
Grumbling Pentious slithered over and slumped down onto the bed. His coils shifted restlessly on the sheets and his scars pulled and ached as he settled. Cherri slowly sat down on the bed next to him and rubbed some lavender oil into her hands.
She took his trembling hands in hers and began massaging between his knuckles, easing the tension in between the delicate joints in his fingers. “Yer safe penny.” She finally murmured at him. “We're safe, you kept us safe that night. You kept your family safe -Me, Charlie, Angie… all of us. I’m so fuckin’ proud of you.”
Pentious’ hood fell limp around his shoulders, a long shaky breath escaping. “I… I can sssstill feel the shrapnel.” He whispered to her, his voice breaking. “All I ssssee when I close my eyesss is a bright light and my own blood.”
“I know it hurts.” Cherri said softly, squeezing one of his large hands in between both of her much tinier ones. “But yer here with me. No exterminators, no shrapnel, no light -Just us.”
“Cherri….”
Cherri smiled, then shifted, coaxing him to lie down, helping him drag his thick tail fully up with the rest of his body. She leaned back against their headboard “C’mon, Old Man. Head here.” She patted her chest.
Pentious hesitated, muttering something about staying vigilant, but one gentle tug on his wrist brought him closer. He leaned his weight against her, resting his head across her chest. He hissed softly in pain as he settled his tail into a comfortable position.
Cherri grabbed one of her nearby tee-shirts and draped it over his eyes, blocking out the rest of the room and engulfing his sense of smell with her scent.
“Cherri, this is abssssurd.” He squirmed, voice low in protest, but he didn't struggle or move to pull the shirt off his face.
“Quiet, babe. Stay put.” Her voice was a soft command in his ear, her voice amplified by the loss of his vision. She brought his head to settle on her tits again, resting one hand on his shoulder to keep him still.
A low rumbling sound vibrated from Cherri’s chest, the sound not unlike when you stroked a particularly good spot behind Keekee’s ears. She was purring.
Pentious was tense at first, his coils shifted once more before the rhythmic purr settled him. He sank even further into her. Her body heat and the heat of his electric blanket, the lavender scent she had rubbed into her hands, it all caused him to slowly loosen. The purr hummed through him, drowning out the phantom scream of shrapnel. His tail slowly wrapped around her ankle in a gentle, instinctive hold as he started to go limp. His tongue flicked out in long, slow movements, tasting the air around him. Tasting her.
“This issssss cheating…” Pentious muttered softly. “How did I resssisst this before?” he almost whined, voice slurring as his exhaustion finally caught up with him. She must have tried to do this at least a dozen times before now, and he was foolish enough to deny her…
Cherri snorted, her purring broken by the shift in the use of her vocal cords, “‘Cause yer a stubborn old man, that’s how.”
He whined softly, his tail coiling further up her calf and squeezing tight “Keep purring… Please? My good kitten…”
She chuckled softly “Sleep, you fuckin’ sap. I’m right here.” She whispered before letting the low and warm sound rumble through her chest again.
The steady vibration of her purr drowned out the echoes of his paranoia and the shrapnel from his mind. His eyes shut behind the tee-shirt and he went completely limp. For the first time in days, the nightmares didn’t come.