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Ze had been gone for a week, and Regect could not stand it. He had left to visit Msak for some relaxing time away. And of course, Regect couldn't come because Ptolemy would be there, and he hated that dumb galaxy centipede thing. Without the human, he was utterly bored and lonely. He tries to fill the time by pulling Moe into shenanigans, but there was this Ze-shaped hole in his heart she couldn't quite fill. So he instead was relegated to sitting in Ze's room, lying on his bed, and inhaling the lingering scent around him.
Eventually, he was so bummed that it was hard to sleep. And so he decided to grab a dirty hoodie, one of Ze's many blankets, and a few other items, and move them to his own room. The hoodie he wore and the other items were put on the bed. It helped a bit to be surrounded by the scent of vanilla and gunpowder, and luckily, Moe didn't question it when he started walking around the house in Ze's clothing.
He never realized just how deeply the absence of the human would affect him until he was forced to face it, and damn it, he was a wreck. Why did he feel this way? His chest was tight, and every little thing seemed to be making it worse. The door would open, and his tail would wag in hopes he'd hear that voice, only for Wakafonte or Maturin to walk through. Every creaking footstep, subtle movement, or vague hint that Ze had returned sent him spiralling. Maybe he needed to just distract himself! But as the thought crossed his mind, the sky darkened, and lightning scored across the horizon, rain pounding into the ground.
Oh.
It was starting to make sense. The last time a human had left him for an extended period. He couldn't even bring himself to think of his name, knowing it would surely kill him, to miss them both so intensely at the same time. It felt like a crushing weight on his soul, watching out the window and listening to the rolling thunder. Without thinking, he brought the hoodie up to his face, burying himself in the comforting scent, letting it drown out everything else. He needed to calm down, and soon, before this became one big mess he couldn't fix.
Regect went up to Ze's room, gathered up every item that carried the man's essence, and moved it to his own bed. Discarded shirts, hoodies, and bandanas littered his sheets, gripping them close in his claws. But his heart rate continued to rise as the rain pelted the roof, letting out a frustrated roar as he lay face down in the sort of nest he constructed. His stomach twisted, limbs felt numb, eyes watered. Why did he let it get to this point? Seemed getting close to humans only caused pain. But he couldn't see a world without Ze in it now. He really would go off the deep end if anything happened to the other.
He buried his head under the sheets and shut his eyes tight, willing himself into a dreamless, restless sleep. When he next awoke, it was to the front door softly shutting, and gentle footsteps, as if someone was trying to sneak inside. Regect's fur stood on end, hidden quills rising from his spine as he slinked out of bed and into the hallway to peer down the stairs at the intruder.
His pupil went from a deadly slit to nearly taking over his eye at the sight. Ze, bags in hand, trying his best not to wake the sleeping house. Regect couldn't help himself, and was practically tumbling down the stairs to pounce on Ze, knocking the man to the ground in a loud clatter, earning several swears and a fist against his side. But Regect didn't let go; he held Ze tighter, legs now tangled as he pressed his invisible face to the human's hoodie.
"What the fuck, Regect?? How did you even hear me? Why are you awake?? Let me go-" he paused as the entity above him began to shake, soft sobs reverberating from him. Ze's anger softened, and his hand landed on the back of Regect's head,
"Did you miss me that much…?"
The entity nodded, holding the man tighter, before suddenly teleporting them to his bed, now on top of all the articles Regect had collected. Ze looked down in confusion,
"Are these the dirty clothes I left behind?? Kinda gross, man."
"I don't care."
Ze raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. Regect was truly an anomaly to him. He never talked about his past, had all sorts of strange tendencies and aversions, and had been all the more clingy since that day on Thanksgiving. The day he saw Regect bleed. Something had shifted that day, and he was seeing the effects of that now. Ze ran his fingers through Regect's soft fur, feeling the entity relax into him, his claw's hold loosening as if less afraid he might vanish.
"You know you can like, talk to me about stuff, right?" His tone was soft, his hand shifting to rest against Regect's back.
The entity sniffled, then shifted so the top of his head was tucked under Ze's chin.
"Yeah…"
"Then why don't you?"
"Scared of what you might think, I guess."
Ze let out a short laugh, patting the other's back as he did,
"Since when do you care what I think…I'm not gonna judge you for whatever makes you sad."
Regect shifted again to look up at him for a moment, before pressing his face back into the man's hoodie. The human sighed.
"Would you at least like to explain the nest?"
The entity seemed to shy away at that, but Ze held him firm, palm spread across his back.
"…I kinda gathered anything that smelled like you. It made it less lonely."
The man raised an eyebrow. The hell did he even smell like to Regect? Was that a weird question to ask? Whatever, didn't matter. That was when he finally noticed the fact that Regect was wearing one of the hoodies. Despite its oversized build, it fit the entity quite nicely, though something about seeing it on Regect of all people(?) felt strange. It made his face burn a little, and luckily, the entity still had his head down.
"Regect…"
"Mhm…what"
Ze shifted, a bit nervous now,
"Do you want me to sleep in here tonight?" he felt Regect's hold tighten for a moment,
"I'd like that."