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xxwhiskeyxx · 2 years ago

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Love Trope February! Unexpected Bond: Aether x Ifrit

When Aether and Ifrit happen to be summoned at the same time, Papa and Sister don’t realize that they formed a bond, one that forms between packmates that have been through a traumatic encounter together. Due to their opposing natures, their close bond shocks most of the clergy, though, after Alpha and Omega, it’s not a huge surprise no one was aware of the extent of the bond the pair share, not even themselves. So when Ifrit is left behind for the first time after he retires since they wouldn’t let him come with as he was needed at the Ministry, it startles the Clergy when he gets incredibly sick; barely eating, not sleeping even when Zephyr lets him crawl into his bed, and the most concerning thing is that Ifrit is cold. Then when news comes from Copia that Aether is in a similar conditioner. In fact, they luck had a roadie with a similar build to the large ghoul when he couldn’t perform at the Ritual the night before. Soon Copia is horrified when he puts it together that they were a bonded pair, they had separated a bonded pair, and if they don’t get them back together, they will die. What happens when they finally are brought back together?

Hello all! You might find the relationship/nature of their slightly familiar, I had gotten inspiration from a fic I read with these two where they had been summoned together and developed a trauma bond, but I changed it to fit my fic better. I am sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was exhausted from school and couldn't find the will to write. Happy Valentines day, this is you're present even tho it isn't related to Valentines day at all lmao.

I hope you guys enjoy this 5k fic, my cat sat behind me the entire time and has made my back hurt like hell, dying lmao. Anyways, I am both happy and not happy with this fic, but I hope you guys are happy.

- Love Whiskey <3

Ifrit and Aether have been incredibly close since they had been summoned together, shockingly close. Typically Fire and Quintessence ghouls aren’t very close, because in the Pit, Fire ghouls are incredibly aggressive and territorial and do not tend to let anyone who isn’t Fire close to them, while Quintessential ghouls are very reserved, only sticking to their kind, due to their rarity. So when Aether and Ifrit seemed to immediately latch to one another, it shocked the Clergy and anyone who had any knowledge about ghouls. They are always together, at mealtime, hanging out after practice, and even sometimes sleeping together simply to be near each other. Even on tour, they were always together, the pair are practically inseparable, sleeping in each other bunks more than their own, celebrating post Ritual together, and even if they go off on their own for a while, they always come back together.

“Hey, we’re gonna watch that new Batman movie, Dewdrop requested it, wanna join us?” Mountain asks the pair as they walk back from practice. “Sure, I didn’t have anything planned, how about you Aeth?” Ifrit says, looking at his friend, “Yeah, sure, I’ve wanted to see it since Dew showed me the trailer.” Aether replies, “Great, Zephyr’s making tacos for us to eat while watching so we don’t have to go upstairs.” Mountain says, “Fuck yeah! I fucking love Zeph’s tacos.” Ifrit yells, making the other two laugh as they walk into the common room of the ghoul den. “I’m glad you do Frits, they are almost done, Dew’s getting the movie set up.” Zephyr calls from the kitchen, the said hybrid ghoul was sitting on the couch, scrolling through HBO Max for the movie. “Hell yes, I can’t wait.” Ifrit says, plopping down next to Dewdrop who hisses at the Fire ghoul as he wraps his arms around him.

Aether laughs at the pair as he joins Zephyr in the kitchen to help with finishing up, Mountain flops next to the grumbling Water ghoul and ecstatic Fire ghoul. After a few more minutes, Aether carries out the big pan filled with ground beef and beans while Zephyr follows, carrying a plate filled with lettuce, pico de galileo, and tortillas; “Hope you guys are hungry, this took me so long.” The Air ghoul states as he places down his plate next to the pot, “I’m fuckin starved man, barely ate cause Terzo had me running around, delivering messages and paperwork. I missed lunch 'cause he made me take a fucking letter all the way to Imperator’s office across the Abbey!” Dew gripes, loading up his plate with 3 tacos, all filled to popping with everything on the plates. “Damn Droplet, make sure you leave enough for the rest of us.” Ifrit teases, making his own plate with 4 tacos, similar to Dews. The Water ghoul hissed at him and started the movie to shut him up, quickly everyone ate as they settled into watching Robert Patterson be Batman.

“Never thought a dude who played a moody, sparkly vampire could be Batman, but then again, Batman is just a rich crybaby orphan who beats up mentally ill people for fun.” Mountain says as the movie finishes. “Shut up Dirt Boy, we don’t talk about Twilight, that shit was awful.” Dew hisses, “I can’t believe Mist forced me to sit through all of them.” he cringes at the memories of shirtless werewolves and vampires simping for a girl who looks constipated every time she smiles and grimaces every 5 seconds. “She made all of us sit through them, remember? Said we needed to, ‘learn some women culture’, even though Mount and Aeth conked out after 20 minutes, lucky bastards.” Ifrit says from where he was layed across Aether’s lap, the other ghoul was currently petting through his hair. “Not our fault you sat through 4 movies about a human falling in love with a vampire while her childhood werewolf friend tries to woo her.” Aether teases, nudging his friend, “Shush you, you missed said werewolf childhood friend falls in love with her fucking daughter! Who was already a cursed aspect in of itself, that fucking doll was terrifying, then the wold bitch tried to call Edward Dad? Anyways I’m bored, was thinking about heading to my room; wanna come?” the Fire Ghoul asks as he stands up and stretches. The Quintessence ghoul's eyes are locked at the little bit of tummy that peeks out as Ifrit's arms are above his head making his shirt ride up, “Ye..yeah sure, lemme help Zeph clean up and I’ll meet you there.” Aether says, grabbing the pot that had held the meat and some of the plates, “Awesome, don’t take too long.” Ifrit chirps as hands his plate to the other ghoul before heading out of the common room, and down the hallway toward his room.

Aether carries the dishes in his hands to the kitchen, tossing them in the sink and pouring soap and water in to allow them to soak. “You two need to tell each other your feelings, it’s getting painful to watch you two dance around each other.” Zephyr says, tossing the rest of the dishes in the sink, the larger ghoul whirls around, violet flooding his cheeks, “What are you talking about Zeph.” Aether asks quickly. The Air ghoul rolls his eyes as he scrubs the pan, “Aether, it is so obvious, you two are always together, and I see the way you look at each other, it’s as if you think he hung the moon or something. Not to mention, whenever one of us tries to cuddle with you guys, the other is always glaring at us.” Zephyr explains nonchalantly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Aether tries to deny but the pointed look the small ghoul gives him makes his shoulders and tail slump, “Is it really that obvious…?” he asks, the other ghoul nods, setting the pot in the dish drain he turns to his friend. “I mean, you two were bonded from the summoning, so it’s not surprising. But yeah, even Dew has caught on and you know how oblivious the little bugger is.” Zephyr laughs, patting the Quintessence ghoul’s arm softly to try to make him feel better, “I’m not gonna make you, but I think you’d both be a lot happier if you actually bit the bullet and got together, you two would be adorable together if the way you act now says anyway.” the Air ghoul advises with a playful wink before turning back to the dishes.

Aether just stands there for a minute, listening to the water run as Zephyr scrubs, before leaving the kitchen and heading towards Ifrit's room, debating on if he should tell his friend his feelings or not as he reaches the door that has the Fire symbol on it. Knocking to inform Ifrit he’s here as he enters, the Fire ghoul is sat on his bed, playing some song on his guitar, eyes closed and tail swaying contently. The large ghoul takes a moment to admire the handsome ghoul in his element, entranced in the music as he nods along to the imaginary beat. It makes Aether’s stomach flutter as he watches Ifrit finish the song, who then looks up, jumping when he notices his friend has entered the room. “Hey! Never thought you’d come, figured ChAir had snagged you into washing the dishes for him.” Ifrit grins, setting his guitar to the side, and gesturing for Aether to sit down. The Quintessence ghoul sprawls out on the soft sheets next to the other male, arms folded behind his head as he looks at him, “Yeah, sorry, I was helping him put everything in the sink, and then we were talking for a little bit.” Aether explains as Ifrit swivels around to face him, pulling the guitar back in his lap.

“You’re fine man.” Ifrit assures him, plucking random strings. The pair settle into a comfortable silence, Aether listening to him play as he scrolls through social media on his phone. After about half an hour, Ifrit suddenly sighs, letting the guitar lay flat in his lap, “I need to tell you something, Aeth.” he says, a look of shame on his face. Aether sits up worried, phone forgotten in his lap, “What’s up?” he asks, wondering in the back of his mind if Ifrit is going to confess, “I..I don’t know how to say this. Just please don’t be mad.” Ifrit asks, fiddling with his tail nervously, this makes the larger ghoul even more nervous, “I can never be mad at you, you know this.” he reassures, grabbing his friend's hand, and squeezing gently. Ifrit sighs again at the reassurance, “I’m gonna retire from the band…”

Aether is shocked into silence, mouth open as he stares at the nervous Fire ghoul, “I just..I love performing the Rituals, but being in front of all of those people..it makes me feel sick. I already talked to Terzo and he agreed. There’s talk of him being forced to retire as well, apparently, Sister isn’t satisfied with his performance, and of some Cardinal, that’s going to take over.” Ifrit explains, face guilt-riddled as he awaits his friend's response. Aether stares at him for a few moments as he tries to process the information, he’s gonna have to leave Ifrit behind whenever they go on tour, Terzo is gonna be replaced, and Ifrit was going to leave him. “I..I didn’t realize you felt like that on the stage, Fritter. I understand why you would want to retire, I wish you had told me how you felt before because maybe I could’ve helped.” he says slowly. Ifrit squeezes his hand, “I’m not mad, just surprised..what do you plan on doing instead?” he asks. The Fire ghoul smiles at him, happy his best friend wasn’t upset over the news, “I was gonna apply to be a part of the crew, I may not like being on the stage, but I still love touring and being around you guys. You didn’t think I’d let you leave me behind?” he says with a grin on his face.

This makes the Quintessence ghoul feel so much better, just the thought of being away from Ifrit for a week makes his stomach hurt, let alone for months on end while on a tour cycle. “That’s great, I’m happy for you Fritter. And here I was thinking you were gonna leave us behind to become a desk jockey like Terzo.” Aether jokes, tugging the Fire ghoul into a hug who tightly reciprocates. “Oh fuck no, I hate sitting still when we’re at fucking Mass, you think I can sit at a desk and do boring ass paperwork all day?! I could never do what Papa does, he can’t even do it either.” he laughs, “Also, the agreement we settled on was that I will be performing on this last acoustic tour before our big break, then Papa will look into moving me onto the crew. It’s too close to us leaving to for them to summon another ghoul, let alone get a Fire ghoul first try. As well as trying to train someone on all the lead parts, plus I have to learn about being a crew member. I wanna hopefully be whoever is the new lead guitar tech, so I can still play sometimes.” Ifrit says, pulling back for a moment to place the guitar next to the bed, before shuffling closer so he’s cuddled into the larger ghoul.

“Yeah, I was wondering about that. Maybe you could be mine if anything, my tech always seems to mess up my strings, they snap every time I take it out of the case! If it makes you feel better, I can stay closer to you when we’re on stage?” Aether offers, nuzzling his nose into the soft dark hair of the Fire ghoul, inhaling the spicy scent of cardamom and cedar smoke, “That’d be nice, this last tour is short at least.” Ifrit replies, snuggling his head against the large chest of the other male. The pair stay curled up together even after they fall asleep.

Soon they were on the small acoustic tour Terzo had set up, it was only two weeks, but it felt like it lasted three days, just Aether, Terzo, Ifrit, and Dew since their just doing simple acoustic covers of some of the songs. Eventually, it came to a close, and they headed home, Aether felt sad knowing this was the last time he would perform with Ifrit on stage, but it was not like he’d be leaving him behind right?

It was approaching time for them to leave on the new tour, but Terzo hadn’t managed to get Ifrit onto the crew in time. Something about, “I’m sorry, my ghouls, Sister didn’t approve the request whenever I asked her.” and about how he had been moved down from Papa when the Cardnial, some guy named Copia, had taken over on Sister Imperators' orders, which has led to Ifrit having to stay behind, working in the kitchen for the time being. Aether had been devastated, same with the Fire ghoul, his worst fear was coming true; he has to leave the person he loves behind for the next 6 months, the pair have never been separated for longer than a week before. Aether had been summoned to another church with Omega to help a newly summoned Quintessence ghoul adjust to the topside, they of course called every day but it wasn’t the same. The second he had gotten back, Ifrit had damn near dragged him into his nest and didn’t let him leave for longer than going to the bathroom for 5 days, not that the Quintessence ghoul was complaining.

“I can’t fucking believe that wrinkly, old, decrepit bitch, I knew she fucking hated me, and she decided to put fucking Dew on lead?! I know he’s half Fire, but I can’t believe she moved him instead of summoning a new Fire ghoul, I know we’re hard to summon but fuck! They summoned that goddamn fucking Multi, who is an absolute dickhead to everyone, and they are just as hard to summon as it is for Fire and Quintessence!” Ifrit rants, “I swear to Satan, I will pack myself in a fucking suitcase and put myself on the fucking bus so I can make sure he doesn’t fuck it up. He is pacing around the room as Aether watches from his bed, book in his hand. He had been reading when Ifrit had busted in and went on his tangent about how he learned about Dew now being on lead along with the new ghouls that had been summoned to join the band, “Ifrit.” Aether says, placing his book on the side table next to his bed, “What?!” the Fire ghoul whirls around and snarls. The larger ghoul simply raises an eyebrow, “Come here, you’re about to set yourself on fire, Smokey.” he says, patting beside him. Ifrit huffs out a plume of smoke but complies, but instead of sitting next to the other ghoul, he flops into his lap and shoves his face into Aether’s bare stomach. He was dressed only in sweatpants since he was in his room, still grumbling about the situation.

Aether sighs, smoothing his hand through soft dark hair, “I’m not happy about it either, I hate the thought of leaving you behind, but it’s what happened. We can’t change what Sister did, but hey, I’ll call you every chance I get, yeah?” he says, now petting the still grouchy ghoul who leans into, lifting his face to pout up at Aether who grins at the cute sight. “Fine..still not happy.” he’s silent for a moment, but then he speaks again, “I keep getting this weird feeling in my stomach when I imagine you being gone for that long like I’m gonna puke or something. Ifrit mumbles, pressing his face back into Aether’s warm, plush belly, a quiet purr rumbling from his chest as the ghoul scratches behind his horns. “Yeah, I do too, Fritter. I think it’s just cause of our bond is all, plus it might be because we haven’t really been away from each other.” Aether says, leaning back into his pillow, enjoying the warmth being emitted from the Fire ghoul pressed against his stomach as it, along with the soft purrs, slowly lulls him to sleep.

It finally came to the time when Ghost had to leave on tour. The day before, Aether and Ifrit spent the entire day together and then slept in Aether’s nest, the smaller curled around the Quintessential as if afraid he’s going to leave without saying goodbye, which of course Aether never would. Then that morning, Aether stayed with him until it was time for him to get into the SUV to head to the airport. Ifrit clung to him the entire time while they walked to the front of the Church, tail wrapped around Aether’s while he held his hand in a death grip, and before the Quintessence ghoul climbed into the car, he wrapped the now trembling Fire ghoul in his arms, fighting back his own tears, and crushed him in a tight hug.

They stood there until Dew poked his head out of the window and yelled at Aether, “To wrap up the love fest and get his ass in the car before they leave him,” earning Ifrit flipping him off and Aether glaring at him, but he lets go and gets in, fighting against the urge of wanting to drag the Fire ghoul in as well. Ifrit had stood outside of the Church, watching the car drive off even when it was out of sight, a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that is growing every second as he watched Aether being carried away from him, not knowing that Aether had the same feeling, curling up in his seat with his arms wrapped around his stomach.

But it quickly turned out, it wasn’t simply them being nervous about being separated. Both of the ghouls became sick about 3 weeks; Ifrit was barely eating, barely sleeping, and even when Zephyr and Omega offered to sleep with him, he kept waking up, and the scariest thing that developed that scared even Imperator, Ifrit was cold to the touch. Fire ghouls never are cold unless they are incredibly sick or are left in frigid temperatures for extended periods of time, so the fact the normal, larger-than-life walking furnace is now shivering and wrapped up in a blanket on the couch worries all of the ghouls. “Sister there has to be something we can do, Ifrit’s condition is getting worse every day, and even Omega can’t figure out what is wrong!” Terzo cries, pacing in her office, “Papa, I don’t have an answer for you, I don’t know any more than the ghoul does. All we can do is possibly send him ba-” Sister is cut off by Terzo slamming his hand on the desk, “Absolutely fucking not! We are not giving up on him like this. If we send him back, he would not be able to fend for himself in the Pit, those ghouls will tear him apart!” he seethes, angry and terrified of something happening to one of his ghouls.

The pair stare at each other for a moment when suddenly Sister’s computer pops up a notification for a Skype call incoming from Copia. She sighs and quickly answers it, smoothing back her hair. “Yes, Cardinal, what is it?” she asks. The said Cardinal seems to be frantically walking around, “Hello Sister, we have a problem.” he says nervously, the camera shaking, revealing his anxiety. Imperator raises an eyebrow, “Well, spit it out, we have our own problems going on here too.” she says.

Copia takes a breath, “Aether, my Quintessential ghoul is terribly sick, he couldn’t even perform tonight, we thankfully had a crew member who looks similar to him that can play guitar to stand in, but I am worried. He’s been sick since we left, but this is the worst he has been.” he rambles, Terzo can see Mountain in the background, seemingly hovering over Aether who is sitting on the couch of the tour bus. Terzo and Sister look at each other, “Describe his symptoms.” she states, “Well, he has barely eaten unless one of the ghouls forced him to, or sleeping, and he keeps complaining of his stomach. Along with his magic seeming to be going crazy, he couldn’t even heal Dew when he had scraped his knee, and emotions are almost bipolar.” he explains, Terzo sucks in a breath. “Ifrit has also been feeling similar, except he’s cold.” he says, and Copia’s eyes widen, “That is Aether’s friend, right, the one he shares a bond link with because they were summoned together?” he asks suddenly, Terzo nods. “Fuck..fuck fuck fuck! We should have never separated them! If my theory is correct, then their bond extends further than just them being friends, that bond is equal to that of mates. We need to fly Ifrit out here now, or they will both die.” he states seriously.

Terzo’s eyes widen, “Oh my Satan, I did not realize it was that serious. I knew they were close, but I didn’t realize those types of bonds could evolve.” he says, looking at Sister, “We need to get Ifrit to them now, Copia where are you?” he asks, “We’re currently in Amsterdam, thankfully it is close.” Copia says. “Sister we need to book a flight, Omega can go with him.” Terzo states, looking at the older woman. She sighs but immediately goes to the page where she always books the flights, managing to book one that leaves tomorrow morning, all the while muttering about how much this is going to cost since it is so last minute, “There, go inform Omega and Ifrit of what is happening, they are leaving at 6 am tomorrow and should be there by 10 tomorrow.” she says.

Terzo and Copia sigh, it’s not as soon as they would like, but it is better than nothing, “Thank you Sister, I will drive them to the airport myself.” Terzo says, nodding at Copia as he turns to inform the ghouls of the update of what is happening, “Yes, thank you, Sister, I may not have known these ghouls as long as Terzo has, but Aether is a very kind ghoul, and from what I’ve seen, Ifrit is very lovely as well.” he says, “Yes, yes your welcome.” she mutters, “Goodbye Copia.” “Goodbye, Sister”

Terzo had nearly busted his ass falling down the stairs as he raced to the ghoul den, bursting through the door, “We have figured out what is wrong with Ifrit!” he cried, Zephyr and Mist were sitting in the living room, “Really?!” Mist asks, standing up to greet the Papa, tail swaying behind her, “Yes, Copia has theorized that Aether and Ifrit are bonded, which we do know, but their bond has evolved into one equivalent to mates, we separated them, and now they are sick because of it. We have booked a flight to get Ifrit to them tomorrow morning, where is Omega?” he explains quickly, “He’s in Fritter’s room, trying to keep him comfortable along with Alpha.” Zephyr says. Terzo nods in thanks before racing down the hall and bursting into the room again.

Alpha and Omega were spooning the still shivering Fire ghoul between them, who had finally passed out. The sudden entrance caused Alpha to snarl and quickly hover over the weak ghoul protectively, “The fuck do you want.” he growled. Red eyes glowing, “Alpha, calm down. Terzo would never do anything to hurt Ifrit, and you know that. What’s up?” Omega says, the larger Fire ghoul chuffs but lays back down but slightly more on top of the smaller than he was before, eyes trained on Terzo. ��We figured out what is wrong!” Terzo exclaims and explains what they had figured out and the plan, “Will you please go with him, Omega, he isn’t strong enough to be alone.” Terzo asks a begging plead in his voice.

Omega’s violet eyes glance down at the shivering, whimpering ghoul clinging to him, “Of course, what time do we leave?” he agrees, Terzo sighs in relief, “6 am tomorrow. I’m driving you. Sister printed out the tickets and will give them to me to hold onto for tomorrow.” he says excitedly. Chuckling at the enthusiasm, “Thank you, Papa, we are really worried about him, and I hate to hear that Aether is suffering as well. Please do not beat yourself up about letting them be separated, that type of bond is rare. Especially between their ghoul types, but then again, look at Alpha and me.” he laughs, said Fire ghoul scowls playfully and nudges his horns against the other ghoul, “Would you like to stay with us, Papa? I’m sure Ifrit would appreciate it.” Omega suggests he can feel the worry Terzo has towards the ghoul, and he has been down here every day to check on him. “Are you sure it’d be alright?” he ask warily, eyes trained on the ill ghoul, “Yes, he’d love the extra warmth, Alpha can only get so warm before he starts to roast me.” Omega chuckles again. Terzo kicks off his shoes and clambers onto the bed, laying down against the trembling ghoul, whose shivers slowly seem to slow as he pulls a blanket up, a soft purr starts from Omega as he wraps an arm around the human, followed by Alpha.

Terzo had fallen asleep in the small pile, awoken by the alarm that Omega had seemed to set before he had also fallen asleep. The Papa springs up, quickly waking the ghouls, “We must get ready, boys, come along.” he says, Alpha grumbles before curling back into Ifrit; Omega groans but gets up, quickly throwing some clothes into some bag for him and Ifrit, knowing that Ifrit will have to end up staying. It doesn’t take long for him to gather everything he needs, the Fire ghoul is surprisingly tidy, and he gently wakes him, “Fritter, love, you gotta wake up for me. Lemme see those pretty eyes, huh.” Omega whispers, stroking the smaller ghoul’s face. Ifrit whines and leans into the touch, orange-red eyes slowly blinking open sleepily, “What’s up Mega, what’s wrong?” he asks, yawning, “Nothing is wrong. We figured out how to make you feel better; we gotta get you to Aether honey.” Omega explains briefly, stroking his cheek. Ifrit chitters softly and nods, “Okay..” he nods off.

Sighing, Omega tosses the bags over his shoulders as he gathers the smaller ghoul into his arms and begins to carry him to the front where Terzo is waiting, carefully putting Ifrit in the backseat and clipping him, Omega jumps into the front. It was about a 2-hour drive to the airport, thankfully Terzo drives like a feral beast, so they made it with 30 minutes to spare; quickly thanking Papa and grabbing the tickets, the Quintessence ghoul carefully gets Ifrit out of the car, “Okay, buddy, you have to wake up for a little bit, I know you’re tired Smokey, but I can’t carry you here. It’s only for a little bit; we’re near our gate already.” Omega says, gently patting the ghoul's face. Ifrit whines but begrudgingly uses his legs and follows the larger ghoul, not unlike a kit, clinging to his coat as they walk through the airport, quickly checking in their bags and getting to their gate. They make it right when it’s time for them to board.

The flight doesn’t feel like it was very long, Ifrit of course sleeps through all of it, and soon they land in Amsterdam. Omega turns on his phone and checks his texts, Mountain had messaged saying that he and Copia were already there and waiting. How they managed to figure out what gate they were at is a mystery, but Omega doesn’t care, it just means they’ll get the sickly Fire ghoul back with his mate sooner, gently waking up said ghoul as they are allowed to leave, “C’mon Fritter, let’s go, we’re almost to Aeth, aren’t you excited?” he asks, trying to wake up the Fire ghoul, Ifrit had sat up at the mention of the Quintessence ghoul, “We’re going to see Aether?!” he asks, tiredness has suddenly gone, Omega smiles and nods, ‘I guess he wasn’t aware earlier’ he thinks, “Yeah, it’ll make you feel better, I’ll explain when we get in the car. Mount and Copia are here to pick us up, but we have to get off the plane and get our bags first okay.” he says, offering his hand to the smaller, who eagerly grabs it and follows Omega off the plane.

Quickly spotting Mountain the second they stepped off, Ifrit had practically flown to greet the Earth ghoul, grabbing him and whimpering about how he missed him. The giant simply smiled and held his friend before picking him up when he feels Ifrit slump against him, exhaustion hitting like a mack truck after his brief burst of energy, “Thank you, Copia, if it wasn’t for you, we probably would’ve lost them.” Omega says, shaking the man's hand, said human blushes at the compliment, “It..it was no problem, I may not have been around my ghouls for long, but I studied a lot about ghoul culture and anatomy, so I know quite a bit.” he says bashfully. The large Quintessence ghoul smiles at him as they follow the lumbering giant to the baggage claim, grabbing their bags and heading to the SUV that was parked outside.

The drive to the hotel felt like it was the longest part of the trip, the hotel was about 30 minutes from the airport, so Omega and Mountain had curled up in the back with the yet again shivering Fire ghoul, who was whimpering and begging for Aether in his unconscious state, the sound breaks all the other passenger’s hearts. Copia quickly pulls into the parking lot, and Mountain yet again scoops up the smaller ghoul, and Omega follows them to the room that the large ghoul was sharing with Aether. “I was wrong, this elevator ride is the longest part of this fucking trip.” Omega mutters, making Mountain chuckle as they ride up to the 5th floor, as soon as the door opens, the pair zoom out and make their way down the hall, Mountain adjusting Ifrit so he can grab the keycard from his pocket before opening the door.

The room is dark, the only noise coming from the AC in the corner and from a huddled shape on one of the beds, soft whimpers, and whines come from the swaddled-up ball. Mountain glances at Omega, “Aether, my Starlight, can you look at me please.” Omega asks, approaching the bundled ghoul, the whimper is cut off mid-way, “Me..mega?” Aether calls weakly, royal purple eyes peeking out from under the blankets, “Yeah, it’s me, Starlight, I have a surprise for you.” Omega says, moving out of the way so Aether can see Mountain. Who basically yeets the poor Fire ghoul onto the bed, startling Ifrit from his sleep, earning a surprised yelp from both.

It takes a moment for the pair to blink at each other and process sleepily. “Ifrit!”, “Aether!” both cry. The Fire ghoul nearly tackles the larger ghoul in a hug, tears immediately begging to flow, “I..I missed you so fucking much.” Ifrit whimpers, clinging to Aether, who has his face buried in the smaller’s throat, “I missed you too, Fritter, so fucking much. I can’t do that again, I can’t be away from you. I love you too fucking much, I felt like I was dying.” Aether cries into his neck, soaking the neck of Ifrit’s shirt. “Me too; I felt so awful. I thought I was gonna die. I love you, Aether. Please don’t ever leave me again.” Ifrit whimpers out. The Quintessence ghoul seems to be now placing kisses all over his mate, brushing away the other’s tears with his lips before placing them against Ifrit’s. The kiss was one of pure longing, love, and desperation; they clung to each other as if they were convinced the other would disappear if they loosened their grip.

Mountain and Omega watch with tears of their own in their eyes, the sight was one that no romance author could ever write, it both broke their hearts to hear their begs but healed them at the same time as they professed their love. After a few minutes, they seemed to calm down and realized the two other ghouls were still in the room, “Mounty, Mega, you can join. We both missed you guys too.” Aether offers; Ifrit makes grabby hands at the large Earth ghoul, a small pout on his lips. The pair looked at each other before pouncing on the two mates, as soon as they touched, they had both begun to feel better, each on either side, Mountain behind Ifrit while Omega was behind Aether, spooning the mates in the middle. The room was quickly filled with the loud rumble of purrs, happy chitters and trills, and soon, whimpers as things turned steamy.

#aether x ifrit #nameless ghouls #ghost band #aether ghoul #ifrit ghoul #love trope febraury #unexpected bond

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