𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐰

He's The Shining and the Light

Safe. That was the only thing Sodo could feel as he slowly drifted asleep next to Phantom.

It was strange, how all of the animosity between them had dissipated almost immediately after the events of a few hours ago.

Before he knew it, Sodo was sleeping. Not only sleeping, but he was dreaming.

"Hello, my little firefly," Aether's voice was soft, calming, everything that Sodo needed right now. "Are you alright?"

"Now I am," Sodo burrowed farther into Aether's chest, clutching onto the blanket as a means of grounding himself against the nightmare.

"It's okay, Dewdrop, I'm here now. And I'm not planning on leaving."

Suddenly the dream changed, a very different memory now.

"So fucking sensitive," gentle fingers in all the right places, tender touches full of affection whispering against Dew's skin, teeth grazing his neck. "Beautiful."

"I love you, Aeth."

"I love you too, Firefly."

The memory dissolved, slipping through Sodo's fingers like sand, no matter how much he tried to hold on. He sobbed, trying to bring the memories back, push them away, anything to stop remembering the pain.

"Aeth?" Sodo wandered around the halls aimlessly, looking for his mate. "Aether, where are you?"

He pushed open the door to their shared hotel room, hoping to find Aether on the bed reading a book or taking a nap. Instead he was met with Copia, pacing around and repeatedly running his hands through his hair.

"Copia? What are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes, fire sparking underneath his skin. "Where's Aether?"

"Dew! I- I mean Sodo, fuck, um. . ." Copia took a deep breath, steeling himself for Sodo's imminent anger.

"Where. Is. Aether?"

"He's. . . Uh, gone."

"Gone? What the fuck do you mean gone?" The embers growing in his heart roared into a wildfire threatening to devour everything that he had left.

"Sister had. . . A different assignment at a different ministry for him." Lies. All fucking lies.

"No!" The little ghoul was now fully awake, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. He'd been biting his lip and clenching his fists so hard that he'd started bleeding.

He threw his arm out next to him, searching for the comforting body heat of Phantom.

The bed was cold and empty, not even an indent in the mattress to show that he had been there. How long had he been gone? Did he really only care about what the other ghouls thought?

Did Phantom only save him because he was scared of the consequences of his actions?

Worthless, the voice in Sodo's head had returned with a vengeance. Did you really think he would care about you? That anyone would care? Idiot.

***

Phantom anxiously stepped into the hallway, looking around for the other ghouls. It had been a few hours since Sodo had fallen asleep, and he didn't want to be there when he woke up in case he'd start a fight.

He doubted Sodo would want to see him right now, and so he'd left, hoping not to run into Swiss or Rain.

It was his unlucky day, however, because right as he rounded the corner, he quite literally bumped into Rain.

"Rain! I'm- I'm sorry, I'll just be—"

Rain growled and shoved Phantom against the wall, ignoring his yelp and subsequent whimper as he hit his head against the cold stone. He didn't make any other noises of protest, though. You deserve this, you deserve this pain and more, and you better hope that Rain doesn't pull his punches.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Rain snarled, bunching up the front of Phantom's shirt in his clawed hand. "And why in Satan's name do you smell like Dew?"

Phantom gulped, wondering how much he could say before Rain hit him. You'd deserve it. "I- uh," he cleared his throat, attempting to dispel the shakiness. "I found him by the pit, and as soon. . . Well, when I got there he—"

"He what, Phantom? What did you do to him?"

"I'm sorry," Phantom squeaked. "He just- he stepped off and I ran forward and c- I caught him and he asked me t- Well we fell asleep together and—"

"You just caught him?" Rain was still suspicious, but his grip and the younger ghoul decreased slightly.

"Y-yeah."

"And then you left him all alone?"

Phantom looked around frantically as he felt Rain's control over his emotions slipping. "I didn't think that he'd want to see me when he woke up."

"Fuck," Rain muttered to himself, dropping Phantom in a boneless heap of nerves and running towards Dew's bedroom.

Phantom called after him weakly, lacking the strength to stand and go with him. "Rain, come back, let me help."

"You've helped enough, Phantom."

They all hate you. They won't mourn you when you're gone - so much for being a part of the pack. They'd all be better off with you gone.