Multifandom Oneshots Collection

the owl house ~ shutdown (hurt/comfort) ~ darius/alador

A/N : In which Autistic!Alador has a shutdown and Darius is there for him. Sort of an AU in the sense that these two are just. Living in domestic bliss together in Blight Manor

It wasn't uncommon for Alador to be a bit distracted and quiet, but it was uncommon for those things to be going on quite to this extent. That wasn't even mentioning that Darius saw him fidgeting about with his hands on multiple occasions, something which he'd usually try to suppress (years of berating from Odalia will do that to you).

"Are you feeling alright, love?" the coven head asked as he pulled Alador into a gentle hug from the back. Alador didn't give a verbal response. In fact, he didn't give any sort of reply for a moment, and Darius was getting ready to repeat himself, but then he just gave a small shake of his head.

He was tense, and his breathing was restricted. Darius, even through gloves, could feel the man's heart going a mile a minute. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, nor would it probably be the last. He knew what to do, or at least how to make it more tolerable for the Blight.

"Come on, darling" he said gently as he guided Alador into their bedroom. The kids were at school, so they had a few hours. "You're gonna be alright"

Alador sat on the bed, rocking back and forth, not saying anything. Darius could hear a repetitive whine radiating from the man's throat- A vocal stim that often came out when he got stressed like this. He frowned. It was always worrying, seeing his husband like this.

The coven head grabbed the weighted blanket out of their closet- Raine had stitched it together as a gift upon learning of Alador's disorder. Eda got me one of those when we were little they had explained. It always helped me to calm down if I got too overwhelmed. Hopefully this helps. Look, I even made it abomination colored!

Darius draped the blanket over Alador's back and held out one of his hands. Alador looked down and shakily held onto his hand, rubbing his thumb repetitively over the fabric of the glove. Darius couldn't suppress the small smile that came to his face at this, glad that Alador felt comfortable enough to do these motions in his presence (even if the circumstances weren't ideal).

They sat like that in the dark for a long time before Alador eventually came back to his senses, calm once again. He avoided his husband's gaze, feeling embarrassed for it. Odalia was always more annoyed at him than anything when he got like that, making him grow a deep sense of shame.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, dearest" Darius said softly, as though reading the inventor's mind. "You just needed some help getting back to yourself, that's all"

Alador tried to respond, but his voice still hadn't found it's way back to him. So, he shakily summoned his scroll and opened Penstagram to send the other man a message.

Alabomdor_1 : It's embarrassing

thepurplecovenhead : There's nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?

Alador looked up at him with a small, weak smile.

"I mean it" Darius insisted. "Nothing about how you are is embarrassing, and anyone who told you otherwise is a hack"

Alabomdor_1 : I thought you said I was the hack

"...They're even more of a hack"