Chapter Text
Tetia didn't usually have nightmares. Or at least thats what she told herself. After all a real brave witch who dreams of making people happy cannot allow herself to be scared. But sometimes, especially after everything that happened to master Qifrey and Tartah and his friend, nightmares took the best of her and she found herself sniffing in front of her master's bedroom door.
She was about to knock when a strangely serious voice stopped her.
"What are you doing here too, Tetia?" Richeh asked, stepping slightly closer to her friend.
She slowly turned around, her face still strained with tears.
"Richeh, you're here too. Why?" She asked back, trying to clean her face with her nightgown sleeve which made obvious to the blue haired girl why she was there.
"I had a nightmare, I have to tell master Qifrey. He said I have to tell him when something is bothering me and right now this nightmare is making me really sad." She explained with her usual calm tone but a note of longing could be hard in her voice.
In her hands was snuggled up Brushbuddy whom she was caressing, trying to calm herself down from tearing up.
"What are you two doing still up?" A voice echoed form behind them.
"Agott!" They exclaimed in unison, jumping in surprise.
"Shh. Be quiet! Or do you wish to wake up our master?" She whispered setting the volume.
"Well technical Agott we—" Tetia was cut of by Richeh.
"We do wish to wake up master Qifrey. We had a nightmare and we would like to be comforted."
Agott was about to retor something about how it was improper to wake their master in the middle of the night but then a fourth voice interrupted them.
"…Buddy? Brush buddy! Where are you?" A loud whisper was calling out as fast steps made their appearance in front of Agott, almost falling into her as she mistepped the last stair step.
"What are you doing up too!" Agott jerked back, trying to take the other girl off of her as a blush crept on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry Agott I didn't see you here." She chuckled as she got all flustered too. "I was just looking for brushbuddy. I woke up and he wasn't in my bed with me anymore…"
"He's here." Richeh slightly brought her harms forward to show that the cute creature was soundly sleeping between them.
"Oh thanks Richeh— Tetia why are you crying!" Coco finally noticed her pink pigtails friend's tears.
"Nightmare." Agott responded in Tetia's place. "So we can just go back to bed and—"
"What, no! Agott, she just had a nightmare we can't let her deal with it alone!" Coco almost shouted, cutting off her crush friend.
"Fine…" The dark haired apprenticemsighed. "We'll wake master Qifrey up. But just this once and just because I want to go back to bed right now!"
"Of course Agott— wait you didn't tell us why you where here!" Tetia asked, definitely forgetting about her nightmare thanks to her friends there with her.
"We'll I didn't tell you because—"
"Admit it. You had a nightmare and wanted to wake up master Qifrey too!"
"No that is such nonsense! I don't need our master comfort when I have a nightmare."
"Are you sure, Agott? Because you kinda looked a bit scared before. You know you can always wake me up if a nightmare makes you upset." Coco chimed in, genuelly concerned for her friend.
"Well, it's not like I wanted to wake you up but… let's just stop talking about it okay? Just open that door Tetia." Agott didn't really know what to say too occupied with keeping her cheeks' temperature in check.
Tetia did as she was told and she slowly turned the doorknob but, as soon as the door opened, her jaw fell to the ground with a loud "What!"
In front of her a scandalous view had caught her eye.
Soundly asleep in his bed, master Qifrey was not alone. His hair was sprawled accross another man's chest where his head rested. But that man was not any man. It was Olruggio, the atelier whatchfull eye, Qifrey's best friend.
Tetia could have thought they where just good friends sleeping together because of a nightmare but Olruggio harms where tightly gripping Qifrey by his waits as one of their master's hands was tenderly cupping the watchful eye cheek, just like those romance novel she sometimes found Agott secretly reading. "We'll, maybe their just realle, really , really, really good friends" she thought.
But the final proff came right before Tetia's scream because Qifrey had deepened his nose into Olruggio chest wishepring in his sleep an "I love you Olly."
Qifrey awoke with start, just like a mother when you wake her in the middle of the night to tell her you're about to throw up, while Olruggio just slowly opened his eyes before groaning into his pillow when he saw the silhouette of the girls, not yet fully conscious.
"Tetia, dear, thank goodness it's you…" Qifrey sighed in relief . "What are you- Riche! You're here too? Oh, and there's even Agott and Coco. What are you four doing here instead of sleeping?"
"Nightmares." They all responded in unison.
"Why is mater Olly in your bed?" Tetia innocently asked.
"Tetia…" Agott shook her head in disbelief. That was most definetly not something proper to ask in that situation.
"Riche thinks you two should get married already."
"What, Matser Qifrey and Master Olly are togheter?" Coco chimed in last.
"Okay, okay, calm down girls." Qifrey chuckled as he sat against his bed headboard. "One question at a time."
"Why is master Olly sleeping with you?" Agott asked first, finally joining the "discover the secrets behing the masters relatioship" party.
"Well…" Qifrey started, putting a hand behing his head to scratch it in embarrassment while he let his cheeks get tinted of a light pink. "Master Olly overworked himself like he always does and I insisted on him coming to bed with me to finally making him take a breack."
"Then why were you saying "I love you Olly" in your sleep?" Tetia added.
Those words where what Olruggio needed to finally completely wake up. He sat up with a start as he esamined the scene in front of him. His face became hotter and hotter as he was starting to understad the situation.
"Why are you girls here! And why are you putting words in you Master's mouth!"
"Nighmares" The girls reapeated in unison once again but this time like it was obvius.
"We would never put words in master's Qifrey mouth that he didn't tell himself. We simly heard him talking in his sleep when Tetia opened the door. We're so sorry to have woken you up." Coco tried to justify them.
"Don't worry Coco. It's not you girl's fault. It was me who told you to come and wake me if you ever had nighmares. Just try not to wake mastre Olly too next time." Qifrey reassured the girls with a heart felt laugh, but Coco still had that mortified expression of hers on her face.
Just then Qifrey rotated his head towards Olruggio to find his dumbfounded expression right in front of his nose.
"Qifrey you dream and talk about me in your sleep?!?"
"Well… what can a witch say… you do are a daily part of my routine since we were kids. Also after the recent twist in our relationship it's only normal that-"
"So you two ARE dating!" Tetia concluded, all happy with herself, just thanks to the words "recent twist in our relatioship". "Don't worry you are Tetiapproved. Tetua thinks your the cutest couple in all of the world!" She reasured them with a big smile and harms wide open ready to hug Qifrey. "After Coco and Agott boviusly, but don't tell them I said I think they look cute togheter." She then wispered once her master had cought her in his harms.
"Master Qifrey and Master Oly are a couple? Aw, that's so cute!" Coco squeaked.
"Riches still thinks you should get married." Richeh insisted.
"I think it's none of our business if they're dating or not…" Agott scolded.
The other three girls all started to talk at the same time and so Qifrey had to stop them once again. He ended his hug with Tetia by gently moving her to his side and then clapped his hands two times.
"Now girls, what did I say about talking all at the same time?" He asked when he finally got their attention.
They all immediatly shut up.
"Good." He smiled fondly. "Now, It's really late and we all should be getting to sleep to be strong enough to be able to study and have fun tomorrow. So what about we all get back to sleep and talk about this matter tomorrow with our noses stuffed in a good breakfast? I bet you all, Master Olly included, need a really good night of sleep to be prepared for the news we have to share with you tommorrow morning, don't you think?"
"Master Qifrey is right. We should not put our noses in matters that don't concern us." Agott agreed.
"I appreciate your maturity, Agott. But ths matter does concern us all as witches that share an Atelier. But we will talk about this tommorrow when we're all well rested."
"But Tetia had a nightmare! I don't want to go back to my scary room!" Tetia cried, hugging Qifrey side.
"Richeh too thinks it't too scary to go back to her bed." The blue haired child added.
"Brush buddy fell aslepp on master olly's legs." Coco observed.
Oh, no. Agott understood where the other girls were trying to get. And unfortunately she was still a child too so…
"I… I had a nighmare too. I would like to be conforted before going back to bed." She admitted, red from the embarrassment.
Qifrey sighed and so did Olruggio. They looked at eachother for some infinite seconds untill the bearded man shook his head in appoval. Then Qifrey trunded back to the girls.
"Fine… scoot over, Olly. Make some room for the girls."
"Yay!" They exlaimed before climbing into bed.
Now tetia was resting in between Qifrey harms using his chest as a mattress. She was already deep into dreamland as smile adorned her face. Next to her Richeh had brushbuddy all around her neck as she let her long hair sprawl all over the pillows, quick into slumber. Some of the strands ended up on Agott's face but who certainlydidn't notice as she was fast asleep too, curled into Coco's side for ulterior confort. The green haired girl, on the other hand, already emmitted quiet snores as she was hugging master Olly's harm, who had subconsliusly started to stroke her back in a shooting manner. He was already dead asleep too.
Qifrey smiled to himslef as he found a more confortable position, Tetia still soundly sleeping against his chest, so to put his harm over all of them like a big goup hug.
Some time ago something like this would have killed him. Literally. But now, free from the curse and the burden silverwood caused him, he was finally able to indulge into fluffly moments like this. Content with the life and the family he managed to make for himslef, he let himself too be taken by orpheus, as a tearfelt smile stayed on his face the whole night.