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"sylus?" you call out to your boyfriend, finding him seated on the couch reading, a record softly playing in the background. he looks up at you through his reading glasses and smirks.
"what is it, sweetie?" he smoothly adjusts himself as you approach, allowing you to curl up beside him with your head resting on his thigh, taking the opportunity to begin gently scratching your scalp. he loves watching how it makes you melt into him and zone out, which consequently allows him to tease you for repeatedly losing your train of thought.
you decide this isn't enough physical contact for you. so you whine, sitting up and worming your way into his arms, your chest facing his, and your head against his shoulder. you inhaled the familiar scent of his body wash, nosing closer to the crook of his neck to try to lose yourself in him. sylus chuckles, threading his hand beneath your shirt and rubbing your back. "you're fussy today, kitten. something on your mind?"
you let out another little mewl, holding him tighter and gripping onto his soft sweater. he huffs, amused, but doesn't complain. he pressed a gentle kiss to the side of your head, pressing you closer to his body and indulging your need for touch. "so soft for me, hm?" he purred, pressing a few more kisses to your forehead. his large hand continued languidly stroking up and down your back, his calloused palm warm against your cool skin. "tell me. what's the matter, sweetheart?" your heart ached from the tenderness in his voice.
"i don't feel well," you confess, your voice weaker than usual, with more than just a hint of exhaustion.
sylus hummed thoughtfully, concern fading into his expression. you hoped he'd hum like that again, as it was comforting to feel his chest vibrate against yours. "are you sick?" you shake your head in response.
"ah," he gazed down at you, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "did you take your medication today?"
you pause for a moment, furrow your brow, then guiltily shake your head no, slumping into him a little. "m'sorry, i've been forgetting..."
"that's alright." he gently pulled you away from him, cupping your cheek. you're always in wonder of how big his hands are, of how safe they make you feel merely by touching you. you nuzzled into his palm, looking up at him with doe eyes that further softened him for you, if that was even possible. "i'll go get them for you."
already sensing the protest building up in the back of your throat, sylus ran a thumb along your cheekbone. "i know, darling. i'll just be a moment. and," he looks behind him, and mephisto flies through the room to land on your shoulder. "mephisto seems to want to keep you company while i'm gone."
mephisto rattles quietly before hopping down to your lap and nudging himself beneath your hand, asking to be pet. you smile and scratch beneath his chin the way he always enjoys. his feathers are soft, despite his mechanical nature. sylus's expression lightened upon seeing your posture relax.
he leaned down to run a hand through your hair to clear it from your forehead, then kissed you there. "i'll return with your medication, and then i won't leave your side until you're comfortable." you nodded. He gently and easily lifted you from his lap and set you back down on the couch, ruffling your hair one more time before walking out of the room.
it was far too quiet after he left. too much. you tried to hold yourself together, but your ears were ringing. "mephisto," you sniffled, your vision growing blurry. your hands began to tremble as you pet him, the crow purring and leaning into your touch in an attempt to calm you. "i-i can't," a tear dripped down your nose and landed on your sleeve. it was too much, and it all hit you at once. it hurts.
that's how sylus found you when he returned, your shoulders trembling and head bowed. he paused before walking over to you, mephisto noticing him before you did. the crow flew to the back of the couch, keeping an eye on you while still giving your lover room to help you. sylus knelt down beside you, placing what he had brought on the floor in favor of attending to your distress.
he held your face in his hands as if it were made of porcelain, tenderly tilting your jaw upward until you met his eyes. his brow furrowed with worry from what he saw there. "hey, sweetheart," he murmured, stroking your cheek with his thumb. "darling, can you look at me?"
your eyes gradually focused again. another tear slipped down your cheek, which sylus gently wiped away. you whimpered as more tears welled up in your eyes, obscuring your vision.
"oh, sweetie... shh, come here." he pulled you to his chest, and you let him, securely wrapped in his arms as he adjusted you to sit on his lap. "i know, i know, i know it hurts, my love. you're safe. i'm here. i'll stay with you for as long as you need." he soothed, and you felt his warm breath against your forehead. he ran his fingers through your hair with one hand and tightened his hold on you with the other, knowing what works best to calm you. you felt the movement of his chest as he breathed, a reassuring pattern that you tried to match with your own. he felt like home.
"would you like me to help you take your pills?" his voice was quiet against your ear. you wished you could listen to him talk forever. you nod, and he uses his evol to take your pill manager and a bottle of water from the floor. you felt safest while letting him take care of you, knowing he always handled everything perfectly.
he tapped twice on your bottom lip. "open," you obeyed without even thinking, instinctually giving him your full trust. he placed a few pills on your tongue, then held the bottle of water to your lips. he tilted it back for you, and you swallowed them easily. he did this again with the rest, before putting your pill container down. "drink a bit for me," he murmured, holding the bottle for you again and tilting until he felt you had been sufficiently hydrated. "good," he praised. you felt a part of yourself preen at his approval. "always so good for me."
he played with the soft hair at the nape of your neck as he watched your facial expression, his fingers slow and calm. "where does it hurt most?" he asked, separating the two of you just enough for you to point. "show me."
you placed both hands in the center of your chest, right over your sternum. the one spot that has been aching for years. "here,"
sylus hummed, reaching for the bottom of your shirt with one hand. despite knowing he had you in the palm of his hand, he still asked for consent. "may i?" you nodded your assent, removing your hands from your chest.
he reached beneath your shirt with one hand, treating your body with incredible care. he gently placed his hand on the spot yours just occupied, before looking up to meet your eyes. "here?"
you nod again, tears welling in your eyes. you rest your head against his shoulder, squeezing them shut as you let out a weak sob. his hand is so warm. no one had ever touched there, the spot where it hurt most, with such tenderness before. you had tried to plug the hole with your own hands before, but they were inefficient.
sylus gently massaged the area over your sternum, lessening the ache more than anything else ever had. you weren't sure if it was the physical reassurance or just the seemingly infinite amount of care he had for you, but everything slowly stopped feeling so wrong. you went boneless against him as he began to softly hum a comforting song, which you recognized as one of your favorites from a record he played often. your anxiety had faded, the hurt was just a dull, barely there throb, and you were intertwined with your favorite person in the world.
"thank you sylus," you whispered. you wrapped your arms around Sylus again, and he took the cue to do the same for you, though making sure the center of your chest was still touching him. he opened his mouth to reply, but you kept speaking, your voice wobbly. "i love you so much, thank you for taking care of me, thank you,"
sylus pressed a chaste kiss to your lips in order to interrupt you, then gazed into your eyes for a moment before he spoke. "there's no need to thank me." he brushed your hair to the side to see your face better, his expression conveying so much longing that he could never put into words. "it's an honor to care for my beloved. i should be thanking you for giving me the privilege."
"lay with me." he murmured simply, coaxing you to bury your face in the crook of his neck as he began to rub your back. you obliged, feeling hazy and warm and safe. and there you stayed for the rest of the afternoon, mephisto faithfully standing guard.