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It had been a long day, and Skizz finally was (almost) home for the night. After a dangerous trek through the forest, with a few more close calls than he would have liked, he arrived at his house. Opening the door, he called out, “Etho? I’m home!”
No response. Skizz put his things away and went upstairs to his room, knocking on the door. “Etho? You in there?”
Again, no answer. Skizz sighed and opened the door.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
Etho, hunched over a project of some kind, at his desk, eyes wide and bloodshot, body shaking. Faint red cuts scattered his hands, presumably from his shaking hands holding scissors or another sharp object. His off-white ears twitched, the fur on them matted and dirty.
Skizz gasped and ran over to Etho, grabbing his shuddering shoulders. Looking closer, Skizz now saw that part of Etho’s trembling figure was from silent tears streaming down his face. His eyes were red and puffy, glistening from the liquid.
“Etho, what in Void’s name happened?” Skizz demanded, his voice taking on a concerned edge. He reached to Etho’s hands, prying a pair of sharp pliers from his grasp and holding the cut hands up to survey them closer. They were covered in dirt and other junk, they reeked of metal, and took on a red tinge from the blood getting wiped and smudged around.
Etho let out a pained whimper as he suddenly collapsed into Skizz’s arms. Skizz caught him with a yelp, his wings jolting. He carefully picked him up and brought Etho to the washroom as he whispered words of reassurance into his ear. Etho must have been conscious, because he replied to Skizz by groaning and whining.
Skizz laid Etho down onto the cold tile of the washroom, stroking the snow-white hair as he waited for the bath water to turn warm. Etho’s tail idly swished back and forth as he breathed, making a soft sweeping sound as it brushed against the floor. Skizz instinctively outstretched his wings, shielding Etho slightly.
“It’s okay, Etho, I got you…everything will be okay, alright? You’ll be okay…” Skizz murmured as he took the soft strands of hair in his fingers. He was a bit more than surprised when a soft rumbling came from Etho’s throat. Was he…purring? Skizz didn’t pay much mind to it, since it just meant Etho was doing better, which was all that mattered currently to Skizz.
“Alright, ah, do you want to…do you want to take off your clothes, or…do you…do you need help…?” Skizz asked, his face flushing as he spoke. He had no sexual intentions at the moment, but the act of witnessing Etho naked still felt…strange.
Etho buried his face in Skizz’s chest, mumbling, “Can…can you?” His voice sounded hoarse from crying, and it cracked as he talked. Skizz nodded, being gentle as one would while handling a butterfly as he carefully removed Etho’s garments, trying his best to not stare. This was a wholesome moment, he didn’t want to make it weird. It took a bit of tugging to get his pants off, since they kept getting caught on the bushy tail, but Skizz managed. Once Etho was undressed, Skizz held his hand as the white-haired man shakily stepped into the tub, shivering at the warmth before settling down in the water, hugging his knees tight to his chest. His ears sat low, tilted back on his head. Skizz waited for a moment before moving to sit pressed against the side of the tub, reaching out to rub Etho’s back gingerly. Etho let out a soft gasp, but eased into the angel’s touch.
“Do you…wanna talk about it?” Skizz asked softly, looking to Etho’s tired face.
Etho hesitated before nodding. He spoke quietly, and Skizz had to nearly hold his breath to hear the man next to him.
“I…I’ve always wanted to win a series—of course, we all do—but…it’s just that I’m always so close, but it seems that at the last moment…” he made a popping sound with his mouth, resting his head in his knees.
“…So I thought, if I tried really hard, maybe I could do it this time…Void, I don’t know the last time I slept…” he chuckled joylessly and ran and hand though his hair, water showering his head from his hand. He looked to Skizz, his eyes tired and sad and pained.
“…I’m so tired, Skizz,” he said, his voice breaking at the end. Another bout of tears fell from his face, and Skizz continued to trace shapes onto Etho’s back, whispering, “It’s okay, It’s alright, you’re okay, I’m here, shh…”
Just the sight of Etho in this state washed a wave of sadness over Skizz. He wanted to hug Etho, kiss him, tell him he’ll be okay, do anything to make the most beautiful man on earth feel better again.
Skizz began to gently wash Etho, softly rubbing soap onto his back, then arms, then legs, and then running the shower head over his body, carefully washing away the suds with warm water. He gently massaged shampoo into Etho’s gorgeous white hair, gently stroking the soft ears on his head, savoring the way Etho purred under Skizz’s touch. It made Skizz feel happy, to know that what he was doing made Etho feel loved, cherished, valued. He felt somewhat honored, being allowed to see Etho in such a vulnerable moment.
“I must look so pathetic,” Etho chuckled, looking at the wall in front of him, tail flicking every now and then, “Getting washed like a child who can’t do it himself…you could be doing something useful with your time right now, but you’re helping me…” he trailed off, almost as if he was just now realizing the situation.
“You’re…helping me?” He looked at Skizz with a puzzled expression.
Skizz nodded, smiling. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I? I…I care about you Etho,” Skizz said, looking at Etho with a look of reassurance, “I care about you a lot.”
Etho pondered this for a moment, his eyes lazily darting around the room.
“…Alright. Well…thanks. I…I really appreciate it, Skizz. I do,” he whispered, his face taking on a dusting of pink.
Skizz hesitated before leaning forward to press a soft kiss to Etho’s forehead, ignoring the bitter taste of soap that lingered, and focusing on the warmth of Etho.
Etho gasped at the kiss, reaching up to touch the spot Skizz had just placed his lips on, looking slightly shocked.
“I…” he muttered. Then he smiled, his ears perked up and his tail wagged softly. It wasn’t much, but to Skizz, it was an indication.
Things were gonna get better.
The two of them fell asleep that night snuggled softly against each other’s warmth, safe and loved beneath the blankets.