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Tick. Tick. Tick.
Lovino glanced over to the clock he had ‘borrowed’ from Antonio, and the two tufts of feathers on the top of his head drooped as he was reminded yet again of the passage of time while he was by himself. Originally, he had taken the clock and added it to his nest for a little background noise while he slept- the house had been unsettlingly silent since Antonio had left for another rescue mission five days ago. There was no happy chatter of Antonio talking on the phone (or simply to himself), no singing in the shower, no telenovelas on the TV at night, nothing. Thanks to the current frigid temperatures, there wasn’t even the faint hum of insects outside. Lovino hated it. Why wasn’t Antonio home already? Although he knew he had gone off with the purpose of saving more M’av-iian folk from humans with cruel intentions, Lovino still wasn’t happy to be stuck in the house by himself.
If it were any other season than winter, he likely would have stayed back in his village while Antonio was gone, but he hadn’t anticipated how lonely- er, boring, it would be in the house, and he certainly couldn’t leave now. Not only was Antonio due back any time now, but flying outside for an extended period of time with temperatures as low as they were would be a death sentence. Despite the fluffy feathers coating their bodies, M’av-iians got cold easily- part of the reason they lined their nests with warm things and rarely slept without at least three other members of their village at a time. Even inside the house, Lovino had made a secondary nest in Antonio’s bed while he was away, complete with all the pillows and blankets he could find, a few of his favorite shirts that Antonio wore, and even some towels for added measure.
The nest was where he was currently curled up, his wings tucked around himself as he tried to fall asleep. When he’d first built the nest on day two of Antonio’s absence, the human’s scent had been all over the place. It helped comfort Lovino and in combination with the steady ticking of the clock, it had been fairly easy for him to fall asleep. Now, however, his own scent was starting to overpower Antonio’s, and although the clock was better than silence, he was starting to find it irritating rather than soothing. His sensitive ears were scanning for any other noise to distract him from the ticking when the sound of a motor began to approach from outside. The feather tufts on this head instantly perked back up, and he moved to a sitting position as he listened. Soon enough the motor stopped and was replaced with footsteps, and then the faint jingle of keys. Antonio.
Lovino bolted from his nest as the front door opened, and the only warning Antonio got was an excited trill before his arms were full of feathers. Lovino’s unexpected weight nearly caused him to fall backwards, but he laughed softly as he returned the embrace. “I missed you too,” he cooed, only getting another trill in response as he pet the feathers on top of Lovino’s head. Lovino was too caught up in the moment to notice it at first, but after a moment the scent of an unfamiliar M’av-iian hit him like a falling tree. He tensed and looked around to find the intruder, but there was no other creature in sight. The scent seemed to be coming from Antonio himself, he realized. He watched Antonio step inside and lock the door with an accusatory glare.
“You smell,” he huffed, which to his annoyance only made Antonio laugh again.
“I know, I’m sorry, but I haven’t exactly had an opportunity to bathe in a couple of days,” he explained, “but don’t worry, I was planning on taking a shower once I put my bag in my room.” Antonio started to walk, but Lovino caught the hem of his shirt and tugged to get him to pause.
“No, I mean you smell like someone else.”
Antonio blinked a few times, but then his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh! Yeah, the Mavien we saved was really nervous, so I tried cuddling with her the way you always like to get her to calm down! It helped a lot, so I’m glad you taught me how to properly interact with your people~,” he answered. And, well, Lovino couldn’t exactly stay mad with an answer like that. His feathers smoothed slightly as he relaxed and let go of Antonio’s shirt to allow him to start walking again. When they reached the bedroom, though, Antonio suddenly stopped again, causing Lovino to bump into him with a startled noise. “Lovi…” he began. “What on earth did you do to my bed?” Ah, so he had seen the new nest.
“I improved it,” Lovino answered, lifting his chin defiantly as he moved past Antonio to settle back into his nest. He decided that after Antonio bathed, maybe he’d let him join. Not only would everything start smelling normal that way, but Antonio honestly looked like he needed to rest as well. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the man looked like he would fall over if even a slight breeze caught him the wrong way. If Lovino had it his way, he’d simply groom Antonio for him- both due to the human’s obvious fatigue and the fact that Lovino clearly knew better than him about how to properly eliminate someone else’s scent from his body. Unfortunately, as Lovino had come to learn over the several months he’d been living there, humans were oddly protective of their skin underneath their cloth coverings.
Antonio looked back and forth between Lovino and the new nest, then heaved a small sigh. He was too tired to deal with this right now. “It can stay for the night as long as I can still actually sleep in here, but tomorrow we’re cleaning it up,” he answered. After a moment of consideration, Lovino consented, so he grabbed a towel and some pajamas that hadn’t been incorporated into the nest before shuffling off toward the bathroom. Once there, he undressed and started up his shower, letting out a more relaxed sigh as the warm water came in contact with his tired frame.
It only took about fifteen minutes before the sound of running water stopped, and a short while later when Lovino heard Antonio walking back to the bedroom, he scooted over to make room for him in the nes. After he had settled in and made himself comfortable comfortable, Lovino moved closer to inspect him. There were thankfully no signs of injury from the days he’d spent on the mission, and the scent of the other M’av-iian was mostly gone by now. Without a second thought, Lovino began nuzzling and grooming the parts of Antonio not covered by clothing in an attempt to get rid of the last stubborn bit of scent on him. Antonio was his Human, after all, and while he appreciated all the work he did to help ensure the safety of M’av-iians everywhere, he certainly did not appreciate Antonio smelling like some other person he didn’t even know.
Antonio, however, hadn’t been expecting the sudden display of affection, and his face turned an interesting shade of red in response. “L-Lovi?” he stammered, sounding just as surprised as he looked. Lovino had to admit that was an appropriate reaction, seeing as it normally took lots of persuading on Antonio’s part for Lovino to even consider curling up with him, usually done by promises of various baked goods.
“Don’t get used to it,” Lovino warned, although he had to admit, it might be something that could be worth getting used to in time. Antonio simply chuckled and murmured a ‘Yes, Lovi’ in response, and Lovino was pleased to note that it wasn’t long until his human began to relax. Soon, he felt himself relaxing as well, and shifted to tuck one wing around Antonio like a blanket. Antonio nestled down into the warmth and comfort of the feathers surrounding him and closed his eyes, letting out a contented sigh. Just as he was on the verge of sleep, Lovino spoke up.
“Antonio, do you know any M’av-iian calls?” he asked. His voice was a lot closer to his ear than Antonio had expected, and it took far too much effort not to press himself closer when he felt the slightest brush of lips against his skin.
“No,” he breathed, “but I can learn.” That drew a soft noise of amusement from Lovino, and Antonio’s heart fluttered at the sound. After a brief moment, Lovino crooned a series of notes, which Antonio did his best to copy. “What does it mean?” he asked afterwards.
“…I’ll tell you when you can say it without such a horrible accent,” Lovino answered, though he sounded more endeared than annoyed at his apparent mistakes. “Now, go to sleep.”
“Fine…” Antonio gave in easily and closed his eyes once more. “Good night, Lovi.”
“Good night, Antonio.”