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The air around the two buzzed, life filling the room. The chatter and ambience couldn't be escaped, even as Firebrand goes to guide his most trusted advisor out of the hall, it still echoed loud as the two slipped out the venues doors, hand in hand.
Their face was flushed, their eyes slightly unfocused and half-lidded as they lean into his already warm hand whilst it cups their face, thumb brushing over their cheekbone with the clicking of his tongue. "You've had to much to drink.." He murmurs, quiet a low, as if he didn't want to be seen this vulnerable with an Inphernal, or at least just a mortal one.
Umbrella leans into his hand after a short moment, saying nothing. If Firebrand focused hard enough, he'd feel their veins pulsing, blood rushing through them to make their cheeks a deep reddish-purple. It really brought out their freckles.
The deity shook his head, a soft sigh escaping his nose as his hand left their face, reaching up behind their head to undo the bun they'd done up so neatly before the event, he left the braids in, though, they looked nice with braids in their curls.
He combs through their locks a few times, making sure there weren't any knots that'd become a problem later, when he felt satisfied he pulled his hand back. "You should get home, Umbre." He speaks, voice still quiet, barely above a whisper.
He avoids looking in their eyes when they look up to meet his gaze, standing up straighter to avoid their face.
His wings flitted nervously behind him, the tip of his tail patting against the tile floor with a soft tapping noise, barely audible over their heavy breathing.
They nod after another beat, a quiet hum rumbling up from their throat. "I know." They mumble back, voice uneven and a little shaky. It'd be hardly noticeable if you didn't spend a majority of your day with them like Firebrand had for the last four years.
"I'll walk you" He offers, the words escaping his mouth before he can stop them, his brain just a bit too slow to catch himself. He can feel his face heat up, before he shakes his head. "If you.. want me to, I mean." The deity corrects himself rather hastily, his words sounding uncertain like some teenager.
They blink at him, looking up through their eyelashes before letting a yawn escape them, they cover their mouth with their hand, and stretch into the action just a bit, shoulders popping satisfyingly against a buzzing body that's already half asleep before they're even home.
Firebrand lets a soft noise rumble gently from his throat, moving to shed the deep red coat they'd picked out for him earlier in the evening, moving to tuck it around their shoulders so the cold wouldn't bother them too much, though hes not sure it'd matter much with how much they had to drink, hes sure they must be warm already, even if they only had three or four glasses of fancy wine.
Once hes done wrapping them in the fabric, he pauses for a moment to snort at how big the coat is on them, it swallows them whole, reaching down to their mid-thigh. He can feel a gentle smile form on his lips as he looks at them, such admiration in his eyes that they're his advisor. He truly doesn't deserve somebody like them.
Umbrella, oblivious to his inner thoughts, runs their gloved fingers along the gold edges of the coat, slowly tracing over it until the deity extends his arm out to them, hand patiently waiting for them to take it.
They place their own hand in his not long after, allowing themself to be practically pulled along by Firebrand as he leads them through the venue hall, the corridor stretching endlessly long with its marble floors and grand ceiling. Their heeled boots making a click with each stumbling step they take, trailing after him with their hand loose in his own much tighter grip, just like a lost puppy.
The walk to the venue doors takes a total of four minutes, Umbrella pausing every now and then, a touch dizzy from the alcohol, the walls blending into the paintings hung and curtains draped over them to give the place just that extra touch of elegance. It gets to a point where Firebrand eventually turns around and kneels in front of them after they take just a moment too long to respond.
"Are you okay, Umbre?" He murmurs, the nickname fond on his tongue, its hard to hear him over their heart beating so violently in their chest, but they nod after a silent moment. "I am, apologies." They blink at him slowly, hand tugging at the coat over their shoulders. "I'm just a touch tired, that's all.." Firebrand knows that well, they've always gotten so sleepy after drinking, even just one glass is enough for them to be tired.
Honestly its better than the party animal he becomes after a few shots.
But he shakes it off and hums, pushing himself up, Umbrella, bless their heart, instinctively steps forward to brush him off, they're unwilling to let their lord be seen even slightly dirty. It's a compliment, really, but he wishes they'd focus on themself. Even when they're drunk they still worry so much about him.
Perhaps that's what attracts him to them, their selflessness. He could list hundreds of reasons why he loves them so, but he's sure they'd call him silly for it.
Maybe it's rightfully so that they would, these feelings are silly, hes sure Windforce would no doubt hound on him for falling in love with a mortal, they were rather like her when he first got them, too. Slightly snarkier, more witty comments being made here and there in conversation. They've calmed down since, but he supposes it might be only due to them aging, they've been his advisor now just under five years, yet it feels like he's known them an eternity.
He moves to take Umbrellas shoulder to guide them back on track after a minute, saying that the two should keep moving, the sun should be long set by now meaning it'll be cold outside, best to keep moving. Umbrella doesn't protest, they only nod silently and let him lead the way.
Firebrand pushes the venues main doors open, the cold air hitting Umbrella like a slap to the face, it makes their nose scrunch up and they let a quiet hiss out as they turn their head away like it'd change much. They knew it'd be cold tonight, that's really the only reason they had allowed themself to drink.
Of course, they over indulged, and now they're causing such a fuss. They could get themself home just fine, but they know their lord, he's far too kind for his own good, he could never let them walk home alone, not in the state their in currently.
"Are you alright?" He asks them, and Umbrella isn't sure when he got so close to them, but they nod their head slowly after a moment. It's a rather lazy movement, some strands of hair fall into their face with it from where Firebrand had undone their bun. They hoped he still had the pin, they only have one of those left nowadays, the other off in somebodies pocket.
"I am.. sorry to concern you." With a slight delay Umbrella forces the apology out, sounding a bit more gruff than they had meant to, going to move down the steps of the venue before stumbling over their own foot.
How embarrassing.
But before the freckled Inphernal can break their nose on the steps, the deities arms stretch out to catch them, preventing the fall. They're pulled against his chest slightly, honestly the entire interaction takes they a moment to even process properly, when they do, however, they're quick to apologize once more.
Instead of a scolding out here in the cold, or him being upset, Firebrand laughs. And how sweet of a sound it is, how lovely his laugh is. It sound like ten or twelve bells ringing in unison, like wind chimes blowing gently among a warm breeze on the porch of a cottage in the middle of nowhere. They blink at him, the heat on their face deepening just slightly at the sound.
Umbrellas head spins.
They find a smile coming to rest on their own face, not quite their usual smile, the one they use for work and to appear professional, no, one of their fangs catch on their upper lip, and their smile appears just ever so slightly crooked as a result. But Firebrand doesn't seem to mind the somewhat dopey grin, he only wipes at his eyes before speaking, admiring the smile that's come to rest on their lips.
"Try that again, with less almost breaking your nose this time?" He jokes, and they find the cold doesn't bother them as much as it first had when they stepped outside.
They make it to the pavement without further issue, and begin to walk along the upper section of Crossroads, the city is still alive, of course, but there's still a quiet that comes out at night that cant be found during the day. You'd have to focus to find that quiet.
The buildings break away not long after they take a few turns, instead, hip-height railing is all that blocks the drop off between the ground and a good 20ft drop to the level below, Umbrella slows their pace before stopping entirely, looking down at the sector below, apartment lights flickered to life while others fizzled out for the night, a few stray Inphernals wandering about in groups.
"Umbre?" Firebrand calls out as he turns around to find them stopped a ways back up the hill, but they mustn't hear him, as they go to lean on the railing, one of their hands hanging down below, stretched out and open as if they were trying to grab the scene to stick it inside a little snow globe, one that they could shake and stare at and admire all day long.
Firebrand blinks, waiting for a moment, hearing some group of Inphernals yelling and laughing distantly, perhaps they too were drunk. He looks over the railing on the incline himself, down below to where his advisors eyes are drawn. It wasn't any special view, in fact, Firebrand could name at least twelve other places just like this one with a similar view.
He walks back up the half of the hill he'd descended, coming to a rest at his advisors side, he says nothing, but he doesn't miss the way Umbrella briefly turns their head, eyes wandering up to look at his.
They pull their hand up.
The breeze blows past them softly, the cold still nipping at Umbrella's nose, though they've long since grown used to the feeling of that cold numbness, so they figure there would be no point in complaining about it now. "What's wrong?" The deity asks after five minutes, wings flitting behind him.
Hes quiet, and gentle with his wording, it makes Umbrella wonder if they're being silly.
"All of those people have lives.. they'll go to sleep and wake up tomorrow and live their life without ever knowing I exist." They answer back, the response having been rolled around their tongue for a minute like a sour candy they didn't want to swallow. "There's a whole sea of people I will never get to meet down there." They blink, turning their head to look up at him with glassy eyes, like he held all the answers to their questions.
They suppose he does, in a way.
The deity stays quiet for a few minutes, leaning onto the edge of the railing like they were, the cold metal beams icy to the touch tonight, they even make him shiver, just a bit.
He stares down into the buildings below, at the apartments where the lights are still on, glowing a warm, inviting hue somewhere between yellow and orange but not quite one or the other while the dark of night swallowed everything around the faint lights.
He supposes he could understand their words, or he could try to. He knows he certainly wont ever be meeting all of the Inphernals in those apartments or even the ones still wandering the streets, laughing in groups and stumbling over themselves. They were young, with nothing to lose just yet. Firebrand envied that.
He looks back down at his advisor, their gaze still lingering on him like he was the sunrise or a warm campfire in the dark when they'd been wandering for hours lost. He lets a soft breath escape his nostrils, a tender smile coming to rest on his lips.
"Maybe you'll meet them in the future," The sword begins, he knows this is mostly just drunk rambles from the smaller, but he'd still like to entertain the idea. Especially when its a concept that's so familiar to him, one hes had himself many times before. "maybe it'll be tomorrow, or maybe you'll meet them twenty years from now."
The blink, leaning into their own hand as they rub at the crusts starting to form at the edges of their eyes, the tiredness really setting in now.
"By then I doubt you'll even remember this conversation, Umbre." He finishes his words, looking away from them silently, eyes locking onto a tree, illuminated by a lone street lamp, the yellow-gold glow catching the crisp autumn leaves gently, like it was caressing each and every one personally.
Umbrella nods when he says that, they doubt they'll even remember much of this night. They usually don't remember drunk nights.
Firebrand pushes himself back off the railing with a groan, stretching until he feels that satisfying pop in his back and shoulders, wings flaring somewhat, flittering and shifting until they too feel less stiff. "We should keep going, your house is only ten minutes from here." He goes to walk away, still facing them as they turn their back on the metal railing themself.
First they pause, much to his confusion, and he pauses himself mid turn down the slope, hand hovering over the railing.
Until clumsily, and sluggishly, they move one gloved hand off of the railing, picking their leg up to meet it as they lean down, undoing the small zipper on the back of their calf, kicking their heeled boot off, clicking onto the pavement below as the unsupported top flops down over it rather unceremoniously.
"…Umbrella why are you taking your shoes off?" Firebrand blinks, confusion on his features, unsure on if he should step forward to help them get the other off or if he should stay where he is.
They don't even glance up at him, only kicking the other off before squatting down (and nearly falling in the process) to pick their shoes up and carry them. "My feet hurt."
The deity snorts at their response, waiting for them to come closer before he begins to walk again. "I could carry you, you weigh maybe the same as my sword." He pushes the offer to them, but they ultimately shake their head in response to it. He doesn't say anything about how their feet will be dirty or how they wont want to bathe when they get home, instead he only extends a scaled wing to cover and curl around their back and shoulder, walking slower so he doesn't trip them up.
It takes the two fifteen minutes to get to their townhouse despite it only being a ten minute walk, it isn't anything fancy, in fact, the whole unit is a little run down. Umbrella hasn't had the time to have any maintenance over to fix their leaky kitchen faucet or the weak shower pressure. Umbrella fumbles with their keys, trying to find the right one until Firebrand steps up behind them on the concrete porch.
He doesn't take the keys from them, instead he puts his hands over theirs, leaning over them as his guides their hands to test each key until one slots inside perfectly snug, turning it and clicking the lock so they can get inside. Umbrella almost misses the heat when he steps away to push the door open for them.
They don't take the normal care they typically would to make sure their shoes would be neatly tucked against each other by their shoe rack, a pointless thing to even own considering they only have one other pair of footwear.
Firebrand crouches down to straighten their boots for them, catching his deep red coat as they drop it trying to hang it up on the coat rack. "..Sorry." Firebrand shakes his head.
"It's alright." He stands back up putting it on the rack for them, flicking a light on before moving to help them further. "Arms out for me, Umbre" They do as told, of course, and he helps to undo the buttons on their own purple trench coat before slipping it over their shoulders and arms and hanging it beside his own coat.
They move deeper in the home, being stopped by Firebrand as he passes by them, feet moving into the kitchen automatically. He hopes they don't mind that he didn't take his own shoes off. "Wait there, I'll get you some water and medicine." Umbrella hums, eyes following him as he looks through their rather barren cupboards for a glass to fill.
He leaves it half empty.
"Where do you keep your medicine, Umbre?" The question barely registers to them until hes so close they feel almost like they're suffocating on the cologne hes wearing. It's much too strong, they swear they can feel the bile hit the back of their throat as he leans down, setting the sobering cold cup down on a nearby side table.
Its quiet, terribly so. Firebrand stares into their eyes, hoping for just a moment maybe they'll say something. Maybe they'll lean in.
Instead he finds himself leaning in, but instead of their lips, he meets the cold, shaking palm of their hand, and he opens his eyes to look at them, breath tickling over their fingers when he pulls back a little as he watches in confusion. "We.." They look away, unsure of what to even say. "We shouldn't, my lord." And their tone sounds so clear for how fuzzy they feel right now, heart hammering against their chest like they've just committed a sin, denying the deity their lips.
They think they might throw up.
The sword pulls back with a nod. "Of course, I'm sorry." His apology is quiet, and he sounds awful, like hes trying to cover up his heartbreak, but Umbrella shakes their head, refusing to look at him, to meet his eye. Maybe out of fear, or maybe something else closer to guilt. "Don't be." They look over to the class of water sitting on the side table, the silence in the room thick while they reach for the cup with the hand they'd just used to cover their lips. The glass is covered in sweat as the cold water tries its best to warm up in their home, the heating cranked rather high.
They cough, swallowing an awkward amount all at once before remembering his question and quietly (shamefully) pointing him up the narrow stairs around the corner. "The bathroom mirror is a.. hm. It's a medicine cabinet." They manage to force out. Though as soon as the stairs start creaking under his weight, they allow themself to stumble back against the wall wishing they could sink into it, their head spinning, mouth opening and closing like they wanted to yell out to the deity, to tell him to come back, to pull him down by the collar and into a kiss.
Truthfully they wanted nothing more than that, they've always tried to push away the ideas, but its always come back to haunt them. They wanted to scream, to yell, to throw themself at their lord, the deity they've served the last four years and kiss him, never letting his lips go until they suffocate together.
But Firebrand comes back downstairs soon enough, the air thick, Umbrella not quite able to identify with what in that moment.
The alcohol must be messing with them..
They hope they wont remember this tomorrow.
"I'm not sure how many you take, so I shook three out." He says, extending his hand out to them as he speaks, they take three, not because they'll need all three, but because maybe it'll help them get to sleep faster if they do, their cheeks burning with deep embarrassment.
Umbrella swallows the tablets without any water, leaning back further against the wall quietly after they've taken them, only once do they dare to look up at him, into his eyes, but their eyes dart away back to the floor just as fast when they realize hes staring right back at them.
"Let's get you to bed, Umbrella." No nickname, but some fondness still remains, fondness they don't deserve. They can practically hear the heartbreak in his voice as it cracks a little on their name.
They allow themself to be guided upstairs, and soon enough they find themself laying in bed with feet covered in dirt and without a change of clothes, just the ones they arrived to the venue in three hours ago with the deity. Firebrand pulled their quilt over their shoulder, hands hesitating as it moves above their head, pausing while he debates wether he ought to undo their braids so their scalp isn't so sore tomorrow.
He shakes his head ultimately, not sure they'd want him so close. He reaches into his pocket for the pin they'd used to hold their bun in place earlier that night, laying it on their night stand with a soft clink of metal against wood.
"Goodnight, Umbrella." He calls out as he moves back over to the door quietly, feet dragging over the floorboards somewhat like his body didn't want him to leave just yet, like it was betraying his mind, begging for him to stay with them just a moment longer.
They don't respond, their eyes are already closed, their breathing already evening out.
He doesn't listen to his brain, though. He flicks the overhead light off in the silence before pulling the door to a close behind him and moving downstairs, the steps creaking under him as he walks, heavy steps against the old wood.
He moves to grab the glass before he leaves, dumping whatever they never drank out into their kitchen sink, rinsing it and placing it on the drying rack beside the sink. Hes quiet as he moves back out of the kitchen, pausing at the bottom of their rather steep stairs, looking up at the top, like maybe he was waiting for them to come out of their bedroom.
They never do.
Of course not.
He slips his coat off the rack, slipping it over, his wings and shoulders silently.
He opens the door as quietly as he can, shutting it just as quietly before looking under their front mat for the spare key to lock the door for them.
Perhaps in another life this works out, perhaps in another life they'll be married and happy, perhaps in that life he can spoil them rotten and never let them another work a day in their life. In that life he hopes that version of himself knows how lucky he is to have them all to himself, to kiss and love and hold so close.
But that isn't this life.
And it never will be.