#ghost band comfort

[serene-sun]

'You can always reach me

You will never ever walk alone' 🦇

Using this to honestly just comfort myself because I’m having the worst month possible. Nevermind today, todays health is falling miserably :(

Copia gently knocked on the bathroom door, “everything ok little one?” He asked softly

You whined, overstimulation taking over as you started to cry.

The ear ache, stomach cramps, the bleeding from your angry uterus, the shakiness of your hands, the weakness to stand and move, the sunburn, the allergic reaction hives across your arms and thighs.

It was all far too much.

“Darling? Ok I’m coming in.” Copia said before pushing open the bathroom door to find you curled up shivering in the corner of the bathtub.

“Is everything ok?” He urgently went to your side as he kneeled down.

“No.” You say honestly, legs quivering twice as much as your voice.

“What’s the issue?” He says, hand on your knee to try and comfort you while still waiting an answer.

“Everything…” you say, head falling to rest against the white tile, “it’s hard to speak.” You say shakily.

“Ok just give me one second,” he looks around the bathroom before grabbing a notepad and pen from your bag you dropped down after getting back to your room. “Eh can you write?” He asks awkwardly

You give him an annoyed look but do your best to take the pen, it takes you three tries to pick it up, just writing two words makes you almost pass out.

“Ok…I think I know what the issue is” he rubs your knees as he realizes the recent behavior changes, it adds up for him.

“This shaking and fatigue, it’s your blood sugar too right? Let me see, I think we have some of your favorite tres leches in the fridge.” He says, getting off his knees as he gently wipes a tear from your face.

After a few minutes, he comes back with a Benadryl, four pads, your iPad, a blanket, a cup of tres leches and strawberries, a bottled water and one of his track suits.

“Ok, can you try to change for me? I know it’s hard but I promise you will feel so much better my little bat.” He smiles softly as he sets the stuff down.

After an attempt of changing, taking a Benadryl and getting comfy with copia in the bathtub; you both watch YouTube on your iPad and eat tres leches as you try to get your blood sugar back up.

[nekronyancer]

To loathe oneself is the harshest prison one can inhabit

Get on the angst train everyone, choo choo motherfuckers 🚂 /aff

[kabukiaku]

megs with a gargoyle teddy bear plush, inspired by the build-a-bear one! 🥺💜🖤

[ghoulymadge]

[ghouliebabies-art]

“Not just another bloody Mary…” 🖤✨🦇

Gouache value study of Mary!!! Once I turn this in for my grade I’m going to add black glitter to his blood cuz nothing screams metal like glittery blood 🖤✨🦇 also… 53 MORE DAYS TILL HALLOWEEN! STAY SPOOKY EVERYGHOULIE!!! ✨🦇🎃���

[ghulehunknown]

Waking up with Papa Headcanons 💤

The below contains Safe For Work headcanons! Gender neutral reader

This morning I woke up daydreaming about having a Papa in my bed and all the cute cuddling and pillow talk we’d do 🥹

Primo

He’s already awake and brushing his teeth by the time you wake up

He’s made you a cup of tea, waiting for you on the bedside table

Kisses you sweetly on the forehead and hugs you before he leaves for the day

Says you are welcome to stay in his bed as long as you want

Secondo

You wake up to his arms protectively wrapped around your body

He already woke up long before you did, but wants to spend as much time with you as possible and didn’t want to leave yet

Has time for a quick cup of coffee and light conversation while he gets ready

Kisses you before leaving

Terzo

You wake up to him planting kisses on your neck and face

Your limbs are all tangled together because he’s wrapped himself tight around you in the night

He can’t get close enough to you and agonizes about leaving because all he wants to do is lay in bed with you all day and do nothing but watch TV and talk

You’re the first one to leave bed; he keeps pulling you back for more kisses, no matter how much you protest that you’re running late (and so is he)

Copia

He’s still snoring but is sleeping on his side, cuddling you with his hand on your waist, drool coming out of his mouth

Smiles when he wakes up and sees you next to him

Spends most of the free time staring into your eyes and talking with you before getting ready

Pulls you in tighter when you get up, and lets out an exasperated groan. “So soon, tesoro?”

Nihil

Laying flat on his back snoring with his mouth wide open

It takes a while to wake him up

Complains about what terrible sleep he got while you lay on his chest as he rubs your back soothingly before getting up for the day

He’s very slow to move or get ready at all, unless he has an important meeting

[sodoshame]

Are You Warm Enough?

Nameless Ghouls x Fem!Reader

Warnings: None! Just fluff.

Summary: You fall asleep in the library, waking up in a ghouls arms. You then end up in a ghoul pile.

A/N: This is quite short, I’m sorry! Hope you enjoy though!

Trying to keep my eyes open, I groan as I sit up in my chair, stretching my arms out. I’m so, so incredibly tired; but Sister Imperator is insisting that I get this task done before the end of the day. Looking around the library, I realise there’s no-one else here. Surely a little nap won’t hurt? I set an alarm on my phone for twenty minutes, and I rest my head on the desk, allowing my eyes to close.

~20 minutes later~

I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. Confused, my eyes flicker open. Suddenly I realise I’m being carried. Looking up, I see a familiar, friendly face.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Aether smiles at me, still walking whilst carrying me.

“Aeth? I- What?” I mumble, still sleepy and confused.

“You’re gonna come back to the ghoul den, okay? You’ve been working too much, and we miss you.” He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“But- Sister Imperator-” I start, looking around in slight confusion.

“Don’t worry about her. We’ll take care of it.” He smiles at me again, entering the common room. Putting me back on my feet, Aether shouts out to the others, alerting them of my presence.

Before I can do anything about it, I feel a strong pair of arms lift me up again, carrying me to the couch. I look up, being met with a toothy grin.

“Hi there, baby girl.” Swiss grins, sitting on the sofa and positioning me so my head is on his lap. Still sleepy, I look around, not really knowing what’s going on. I feel Swiss start to scratch my head gently with his claws, making me relax a bit.

“Mhm, that’s nice…” I mumble sleepily, letting my eyes close again.

I feel my legs be lifted up, then put back down. Opening my eyes again, I glance over to see Aether, who’s gently massaging my calves. Before I know it, Dew jumps on top of me, promptly snuggling his head into my neck, wrapping his arms around my waist, immediately purring.

“Oh, hey Dewy.” I chuckle sleepily. He responds by giving me a little squeeze and nuzzling into my neck.

Mountain walks in, ruffling my hair, as he sits down by Swiss’ legs, leaning against him. I smile at him, just accepting what I now knew was happening. A ghoul cuddle pile.

I hear excited chattering, I look up to see Cirrus and Cumulus walk in. They both grin at me and Cumulus settles down next to Swiss, leaning against him, and Cirrus plants herself on top of her. Then comes Rain and Phantom; they sit either side of Mountain, snuggling into him. Rain holds his hand up, clutching mine and giving it a little squeeze. I feel Dew raise his head slightly.

“Are you warm enough?” He asks, sounding tired himself.

“Yeah, but guys-” I start talking but am immediately interrupted by Dew snuggling his face back into my neck.

“Then sleep.” He mumbles simply.

I chuckle, finally giving into my tiredness. There’s no place I’d rather be than surrounded by my ghouls.

[ashthewaterghoul]

Syrens can’t speak on land.

Rain gets summoned and isn’t used to not being able to talk. He’s a deep-sea Ghoul, rarely breaking the surface of the water so he’s only ever gone short periods of times not being able to speak.

Water Ghouls have their own type of sign language so they can commune above water and even under the water if they’re hunting.

When Rain is summoned he is not only silenced due to the amount of time he has to spend above water, but because none of the other Ghouls know sign, and the sign the humans have is different and makes no sense to Rain.

Rain also can’t write been as water, paper and ink don’t exactly mix so he never learned.

He just resigns to nodding and shaking his head and trying to mime as best as he can.

That’s until one day when the Fire Ghoul that has a Water’s name sneaks into his room and raises his hands, making the familiar shapes of infernal sign.

“I’ll be your voice. The voice I never had when I was summoned.”

[ghuleh-anima-mia]

"Those butterflies might be dormant, like little spirits, like little ghosts.

If you have those ghosts in there somewhere, you'll always have the key to everything." x

[delulluart]

after work hours (or: I got annoyed by people depicting him as an old man who uses his phone like a grandpa and this entire thing got completely out of hand)

[theunholybastard]

Bad Day (Papa Emeritus IV x Gender-Neutral!Reader)

Requested by @ollies-station !!! <3

Tags: Fluff, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Reader Is Hinted Trans But It's Pretty Vague, Mentions Of Body Dysmorphia/Dysphoria, 2nd Person POV

Copia hovered over you, paints smudged and halfway wiped off. He stopped in the middle of washing his face when he noticed something wasn't right with you. You lay face down in the bed, unmoving, just so done with life.

"Eh... t-tesoro, what's wrong?" Copia asks warily, head tilted like a confused puppy, eyes darting around the room awkwardly. He was never very good at comforting people. But you were the love of his life, how could he not at least try to be of help? He just can't stand to see you like this.

"Everything." You reply hoarsely, muffled by the pillow you were crying into earlier. You were hardly exaggerating, everything seemed to be going wrong and sending you further down a spiral. Not to mention, you've not been very kind to yourself today either. When you first woke up, things immediately felt off. You felt off. Looking into the mirror, you instantly felt dread, like something wasn't quite right with you. Deep rooted insecurities bubbled up to the surface, your body not feeling like your own. You just want the day to be over already, but every passing moment feels like eternity.

"Bad day, huh?" Copia sighs, sitting down on the bed with you, mindful to give you a little bit of space if you needed it. You finally lift your head up, and the sight makes Copias heart ache. Red, puffy face, tear stains down your cheeks, hair tussled and greasy. You hadn't even gotten a chance to shower that morning, notably the first sign today wasn't going to be all that great. You probably looked like a hot mess right now, but to Copia, you were the most beautifully ethereal being he'd ever laid his eyes on, no matter what state you were in.

"Is there anything I can do?" Copia asks concernedly, softly stroking your back with a gloved hand. "Do you want to talk about it? It might make you feel better."

"Maybe... But there's still so much stuff I have to do today-"

"Non importante. Whatever needs to get done today, I will do it for you. You've had enough stress put on you today, now it's time for you to relax. Now, tell your Papa what is wrong, okie dokie?"

You couldn't help yourself, airing out all your grievances to him. You spared no details, every little thing that went wrong and every little worry you had was brought to his attention, and he listened intently to every word. That was the one thing he's always been very good at. Listening. And he was right, it did make you feel a little better, especially with how earnest you could tell he was.

When it was all said and done, he said nothing at first, simply holding you close to his chest, his warmth and sweet smell of cologne quickly lulling you into a sense of security and comfort. You knew you always had a safe space with him.

"Bad days come and go, amore. You must keep in mind that this won't last forever. The good days will come back sooner than you think. And yes, maybe they will fleet sooner than you want them to as well, but the important thing is that they will come again. Look outside, tesoro..." You did as you were told, gazing out the window to see the sun slowly setting over the horizon.

"The day is almost over, you see? And tomorrow is a new day. A better day. Why don't you sit here for a moment and focus on that while I run you a nice relaxing bath, hm? I'll quickly run whatever errands you have left today, and after that I'll order some takeout for the two of us, how's that sound? I'll get you whatever you want."

"And... And can we maybe watch something after? And cuddle?" You sniffle. A comfort show would be great right now. He smiles. "Of course! Anything for my baby." He presses a chaste kiss to your forehead, pulling away to get up and do the tasks he promised. You quickly grab the lapels of his jacket, keeping him from leaving you so soon.

"Copia... You know you don't have to do this, right? I'll be fine, really." You murmur, self conscious and worried that you're asking too much of this sweet, perfect man you've somehow managed to claim as yours. He chuckled.

"I know, amore; I want to. I want to make you happy, I want to make things easier for you. Because I love you. Because you deserve that. Capisci?" He says, a gentle firmness in his soft-spoken voice. Hesitantly, you nod. Still, you don't let go of his jacket just yet.

"Could you stay with me for just a little while longer?" You ask, hopeful and bleary eyed. He grins.

"As long as you need, tesoro."

-

[nocturnal-birb]

I think the reason why I like the new song so much is because it's giving "you're getting existential crisis over the future but I will hold you right here right now"

[duckzz]

[kabukiaku]

i'm here. 🖤

[coffeeghoulie]

after midnight

late nights in Dew and Aether's nest.

Explicit, 1.9k. Contains a sleepy handjob, aftercare, and just gross domestic fluff.

this was supposed to be a quick little thing to take my mind off of things and it turned into four pages. just how it goes lmao.

divider by @wrathofrats <3

Dew takes great pride in keeping his hearth warm. Aether's vessel doesn't run anywhere near as warm as his does, nose and fingertips and toes freezing when he gets into bed.

"Long day, starshine?" Dew whispers, curling up against his mate's side. Aether groans softly, stretching as he settles into their bedding. Their scents are baked into the sheets. This is theirs. His arm curls around Dew's shoulders, pulling him flush to his side.

"Not really, but still glad it's over," he says, turning to look at Dew. His eyes glow soft and purple in the low light of their room, the worn fabric of his sleep shirt soft under Dew's cheek. "Glad I'm here."

Dew cracks a smile, hooks a thigh over Aether's hip in an attempt to get closer. "Where you're meant to be," Dew hums, smile curling a little possessively. He presses his face into the crook of his neck, rubbing his cheek over his matescar for a moment.

"Yeah, where I'm meant to be," Aether laughs softly, and Dew feels it more than he hears it. He yawns, almost cat-like with the way it bares his fangs, glinting in the low light, and settles more firmly into the crook of Aether's arm.

Dew trills contentedly when Aether's tail winds around his own, hand heavy and solid against the small of his back. He slings his own arm over Aether's chest, feels his heart beat under his palm, takes a deep, shuddering breath of ozone and the faintest bit of antiseptic.

Their bodies press together like magnets, the matebond between them like a compass needle; Dew'll always be able to find his way home by it. Not that he ever wants to be far from his mate. Not willingly. But he knows, if it ever happens again, he'll know exactly how to return to Aether's side.

"Love you," Aether yawns. It bares his fangs, thick and sharp and dangerous, inches from Dew's face. Anyone else would flinch instinctively. But Dew purrs, rubs his cheek against Aether's collarbone.

"You too," he whispers. They float in a haze between sleep and wakefulness, and Dew's entire world reduces down to the careful arrangement of bedding that makes up their hearth. He is safe, his mate is warm and content, and they can indulge in sloth and rest until they're sated.

Dew's not quite sure when his eyes open next. The room is still dark and warm. His head rises and falls where he's using Aether's chest as the most comfortable pillow. There's something half hard pressed against his shin, where his leg is hooked over Aether's hip. He isn't sure what wakes him, but the low, budding scent of Aether's arousal is a likely suspect.

"Aeth," Dew hums, soft, careful not to break the peaceful little bubble they find themselves in.

"Mm?" Aether says, voice low and rumbly in his chest. His eyes don't open, but his hips press up slightly into Dew's.

"You want some help?" Dew offers, rubbing his cheek against his collarbone, worrying at the fabric of his shirt.

Aether turns to face him. Slow and still heavy with sleep, it takes effort. But those violet eyes crack open, peering down at him and glowing in the darkness. "Never gonna say no to you, darling."

Dew smiles, lazy and fond, and shifts until his face is pressed into the crook of Aether's neck. His hand, still resting over Aether's chest, trails down until it reaches the hem of his shirt. He cards his fingers through the coarse hair covering Aether's belly.

Aether groans as his hand teases downward, head rolling back into the pillows of their hearth with a soft groan. Dew just smiles, rucks up the hem of his shirt. "'m not gonna be mean, Aeth," he whispers into the column of his throat.

He wills his magick to his palm, raising the temperature slightly as he plucks at the waistband of Aether's boxers. His head presses further back into the pillows with a rumbling moan, baring his throat as he lifts his hips just enough for Dew to pull them down to his thighs.

The groan Dew pulls from Aether's lips when he wraps his warm hand around his half hard length is music to his ears. He presses his mouth to the column of his throat as he starts to stroke him, pressing soft kisses to his pulse. In any other situation, the pace Dew sets would easily be considered teasing. But here it's perfect, warm and slow and just enough to let the pleasure build like the tide coming in.

"Mm, fuck," Aether rumbles, low and quiet. Dew nuzzles at his jaw, thumb teasing at his slit to smear the pre beading there down his shaft. It's enough to smooth his strokes, and Aether groans again at the slide.

"That's it, starshine," Dew mumbles, breathing in Aether's scent, thick on the roof of his mouth. "Just want you to feel good, lemme take care of you like you take care of me."

Aether twitches in Dew's hand at his words, fingertip tracing the prominent vein along the side. Dew bites his lip, feeling himself start to perk up in interest, but he ignores it to listen to the way Aether's moans are broken up by soft chuffs. He pulls Dew a little closer to his side, hand fisted at the small of his back and holding onto his tank top. "Dewey," he breathes, eyes struggling to stay open as he looks at him.

"I've gotcha, big guy," Dew hums, feeling the purr start to kick up at the base of his throat. His other hand worms under Aether's head, just holding, blunt claws scratching lightly at the nape of his neck.

Aether chuffs louder, going completely boneless and relaxed. Just how Dew wants him. He relaxes so quickly that if it weren't for Aether's groans, Dew would have thought he'd fallen asleep on him.

Not that he'd blame him. It's been a long day, and it's late. Dew scratches at the nape of his neck just to hear him chuff louder.

"Just feel good f'me," Dew purrs, soft and low. Aether nods a little, violet eyes squeezed shut.

Dew startles a little when something touches his tail, but he almost whines when he realizes it's Aether's own wrapping around his. He strokes him a little faster, gives him a little more pressure.

The hand on the small of Dew's back moves up his spine until Aether has his fingers tangled in Dew's hair. He doesn't pull or tug, hand big enough to cup the entire back of his head. Dew purrs loudly, leg still hitched over Aether's.

"Fuck, darling," Aether groans when Dew twists his wrist just right at the tip of his cock. Dew smiles, leans up to press his forehead to Aether's. So close they breathe the same air.

"Yeah, that's it," Dew whispers. "Just feel good, baby."

Aether nods, their horns clicking together with the motion. "M'close," he admits, and Dew snakes his hand down even further to cup his balls for a moment, feels them start to draw up to his body.

"Like this?" Dew asks, lips brushing over his as he resumes his slow, lazy strokes. "Or do you want more? Anything you want."

Aether shakes his head, fingers tightening slightly in Dew's cornsilk fine hair. "Just want you, love," he whispers, the faintest furrow appearing in his brow, fangs sinking into his swollen bottom lip.

"You have me," Dew promises, eyes not leaving Aether's face. Drinks in every detail. Watches his nose scrunch up just a little before the pleasure makes his face go lax. His cock pulses in Dew's hands, cum splattering over his knuckles and the thick hair coating his belly.

Dew works him through it, savors every shiver and huff of breath until Aether's fingers tighten almost to the point of pain in his hair. His cock gives one last twitch, sticky and wet with release, and slowly begins to soften.

Aether just breathes, chest heaving, holding Dew close as he comes down. Dew makes no move to pull away, just ducks his head down to press his lips to Aether's pulse once again. He feels it hammering, blood and quintessence moving throughout his body, before slowly start to come back to its baseline.

They stay there, wrapped in each other's embrace, until Aether's cum starts to cool and dry, sticky and unpleasant. Dew lets go of Aether's dick, letting it rest against his hip, and starts to pull back from his embrace.

Aether makes a wounded noise, eyes flying open. "Nope, stay," he tries to persuade, a little quintessence seeping from where his fingers still touch Dew.

Dew shakes it off, laughing softly. "I'll be right back, you big softy. Don't wanna leave you all messy."

"Oh, come on," Aether grins mischievously. "Just the other day you said you wanted to-"

"Ah!" Dew cuts him off, laughing as he climbs out of their hearth. "None of that. Be right back."

He ducks into the bathroom to wet a washcloth, calling on his magick again to make it a comfortable temperature. Just as quick as he left, he's back, standing over Aether sprawled out in their hearth.

Aether's eyes open sluggishly, twin points of violet in the dark. When he sees Dew, his fingers twitch like he's trying to make grabby hands, too exhausted to put in the whole effort. "See?" Dew says as he starts to clean up the mess he made. "Said I'd be right back."

Aether chuffs softly, fingers still twitching as Dew cleans him up, pulling his boxers up and the hem of his shirt back down. "Thank you, darling," he mumbles, well on his way back to sleep. Dew just smiles, staring at him. It's nice to see him relaxed and sated like this.

He throws the washcloth in the general direction of their hamper and crawls back into their hearth. Dew presses a kiss to Aether's cheek before curling up against his side once again.

Aether pulls him close with one strong arm, the other reaching down to where Dew sits half hard against his own hip. Dew swats him away lightly. "'m alright, starshine," he murmurs, watching Aether struggle to stay awake. "Return the favor some other time."

Aether chuckles, fights to keep his eyes open as he stares down at Dew. "You sure, baby?"

Dew gives him another kiss on the cheek. He reaches up to trail a fingertip down the bridge of Aether's nose. Huffs a soft little laugh as Aether's eyes cross when he follows it. "I'm sure, Aeth," he says, settling happily into the crook of his arm and purring up a storm.

It's not long before sleep takes Aether in its hold once again, chest rising and falling deep and even. Dew, selfishly, stays awake a little while longer, just to watch. Aether's peaceful like this. Relaxed and warm and safe in the hearth that Dew made for him.

Dew shifts until his head is tucked under Aether's chin, mindful of his horns. Like this, he can hear Aether's heartbeat, steady just like him. Dew smiles, purring as he gets comfortable, and lets himself follow Aether to sleep.

[lilypadlys]

Haircuts make Dew uncomfortable.

A product of his element transition was that his hair got badly singed and most of the length had to be cut off. Dew loved his platinum blonde, practically white hair. Took immaculate care of it. Adored its body and how it rippled like water. And suddenly it was burnt and matted and gone. Then to add insult to injury, even after it grew back it became a harvest gold.

Dew hates it at first. No matter how much Aether and Mountain insist that his hair is prettier than ever, that it suits him so well, he hates it. At first, he wears it back and under hats and beanies, refusing to deal with it. Eventually it gets so bad though that he tries to bleach it. Unfortunately the bleach further trashes his already damaged hair and he has to get it cut short all over again.

His packmates know he needs help but they aren’t sure what to do. Compliments and affirmations are all well and good but they don't really help. Doesn’t fix it. He knows his packmates mean well but he can’t really take their words to heart.

Then one day, Cumulus asks Dew for his help with doing her hair. Says she’s trimming it to avoid split ends and could he help her with the back sections? He agrees and helps her out. He helps her straighten her hair so she can trim it, then helps her work in product afterwards to help it regain its curl. Then she asks if he would like her to do his.

He refuses immediately. His hair has just gotten back to a couple inches below shoulder length, still too short for his liking, and even an end trim seems like too much. She doesn’t take offense though, just nods and changes the subject; has him pick what scent of hair mask she should use next.

And then next time she does her hair, she has him help her decide how to style it; braids or in space buns. And the time after that if she should cut it all short for summer. He immediately gasps at the thought, and waxes poetic about how pretty her hair is until they’re both giggling. And then he regards his own tangled mane in the mirror.

He asks in a quiet voice if he can borrow her hair scissors. She agrees, handing them over and watching him carefully. He brings the scissors up to the ends of his hair, but he stops. Freezes. He can’t do it.

“Would you like me to help?” She asks gently.

He hesitates and then nods, passing the scissors back over. She gestures for him to sit on the edge of the tub and stands behind him.

“I’m just going to get the ends, alright? Just to help your hair be a bit less tangled. Is that okay?”

He nods, not trusting his voice.

She brushes through his hair gently, mindful of the tangles. Asks one more time if he’s okay with this. When he nods again she wraps a towel around him. She works as quickly as she can while still being careful to make sure everything is even. When she’s done, she sets the scissors aside and uses her air magic to sweep the cut ends of his hair away into the trashcan and out of sight. Then she brushes through his hair again and grabs the curling iron.

“Okay if I style it a little?”

“Sure.” Dew shrugs noncommittally.

An ironic perk of Dew’s hair now is that it’s a lot more fire resistant. Still Cumulus is careful not to turn the iron on too hot and risk burning herself. She uses it to add a slight wave to Dew’s hair before finally letting him look.

Dew gets up and shyly glances at himself in the mirror, eyes going wide once he does. Even though it’s not perfect, there’s still damaged ends left from lack of regular care, Dew has to admit that it looks a lot better. Cumulus had to take about three inches off but as he runs a hand through it and doesn’t get caught on a rats nest of tangled ends he sighs in relief. The slight wave has the corner of his mouth quirking up even as he begins to blink rapidly.

“Feel a little bit better?” Cumulus asks.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

They both ignore how Dew’s voice cracks a little. Cumulus definitely doesn’t notice that dampness around Dew’s eyes. She busies herself cleaning up while Dew turns away and rubs his eyes.

“If you’re up for it, I know what might really help. A nice deep shampooing and conditioning will go a long way towards helping maintain your hair. You can use my stuff and I’ll even help you wash if you want.”

Dew knows how protective over her hair products Cumulus is. The fact that she’s offering makes him smile. He nods.

“Thank you.”

Cumulus gets the both of them ensconced in the tub, Dew using his magic to keep the water steamy while Cumulus massages shampoo through his hair. The way her claws gently card over his scalp has him purring in no time despite the stress he’d been feeling. By the time she’s rinsing the conditioner, she practically has to hold him up so he doesn’t fall asleep right there in the bath. After, she helps him stand and wraps him in her fluffiest towel before wrapping a smaller towel around his head to dry his hair.

“Why don’t you get some comfy clothes and I’ll get a nest ready. Sounds good?”

“Uh huh.” Dew’s too worn out and sleepy to fuss about being taken care of.

He dutifully pads off to his room to change and Cumulus makes good on her promise and sets up a blanket and pillow nest. She’s just fluffing the last pillow when Dew returns in an oversized tee and sleep shorts, and mostly dry hair. Without complaint, he hops up on the bed and sinks into the blankets with a happy chirp. Cumulus finishes drying her own hair, changes into pajamas and joins him.

“Okay if I braid your hair? It’ll help with tangles and it’ll be wavy in the morning.”

“Kay.” He murmurs, already drifting off. She giggles and retrieves her brush from her nightstand. Dew is fast asleep before she even ties the braid off with a silk scrunchie.