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The warm smell of coffee wafted through the morning air. A golden sun draped the kitchen in a colorful robe as Zanny carefully took a sip of his drink. He had let Dog out to enjoy the morning sun and probably destroy their garden, but such was life. The cats’ bowls had been filled and Zanny was satisfied. Even if this was simply a routine, he basked in the ease and softness of it.
Three years, the incubus has followed this simple pattern of waking up, tending to the pets, and making a singular cup of coffee. And yet it was still as cozy as the first day he moved in with his absolute favorite housemate (read: brother). While they had occasionally housed other people in their home, from family to romantic partners to dear friends, only the two remained as time continued.
Shaking off the nostalgic thoughts, Zanny finally stepped out of the kitchen to continue the routine. The next step was to wake up Fulgur, who slept much deeper than the incubus, especially in the past many months.
A frown creased his brow as Zanny took note of this once more. It could easily just be extra stress from the streaming projects Fulgur was doing, or the odd hours he was awake sometimes, or perhaps it was just because he was getting old. (Zanny had a hunch it was worse than that.)
Quickly dispelling those thoughts, the demon slipped into his housemate’s bedroom, humming a quiet tune, and opened the blackout curtains slowly. Golden hues reflected through the glass onto the prone form of the cyborg. Red cynet limbs lay limp on the black bedding while long, silver, probably tangled hair sprawled across several pillows and simple white tank top.
Zanny paused his humming when his gaze drifted over to meet open silver eyes…usually Fulgur needed convincing to wake up. But here he was, awake and watching Zanny with dullness clouding his face, which caused the demon to freeze.
“Fuuchan…?” He quietly called out to his best friend.
There was no response except for a quiet blink. As silence settled again, Zanny felt his stomach drop a bit as he realized just how pallid and still the cyborg looked. Being long lived, he has never forgotten the look of someone in pain or sickness, but Fulgur looked almost used to his misery as he sat there. (Though he usually hid it incredibly well.)
Breaking from his stupor, Zanny quietly went to the bedside, unable to contain his worried frown as he set his coffee mug on a nearby table. Fulgur’s eyes had followed his movements almost lifelessly. It looked like it would be an extra bad day for his brother.
After living together for so long, both of them have had a multitude of bad days, whether that was with mental or physical health. Fulgur tended to struggle especially with the latter, whether that was his limbs sometimes acting up or, more frequently, his spine being a literal pain in the back. Zanny himself often had struggles with back pain, thanks to his wing or lack thereof. The overbearing sense of wrongness could be overwhelming, and they both knew that. So even if he has helped Fulgur with these issues before, he still disliked having someone he loved be in pain.
Careful fingers began threading through silver hair as Zanny seated himself on the bed. Quietly picking up a new tune to hum, he put away his worry in favor of helping his friend directly. At the moment, he was still unsure if the cyborg was struggling with his cynets or his mind. Perhaps it was both with how dull those silver eyes looked this morning.
“Do you want me to cancel your stream for you this afternoon?” Zanny asked his silent friend. (If the demon couldn’t hear the quiet heartbeat, he might have thought Fulgur was dead with how still he was.)
The cyborg finally gave a stronger response than a blink. The sigh was extremely muted though.
“Please.” Those silver eyes closed as if the singular word was harder than a million marathons. (Perhaps it was, Zanny has never run that far. But he has struggled to ask for help…Perhaps these thoughts would be better at another time.)
Dark eye bags spoke of a sleepless night and Zanny couldn’t stop himself from carefully massaging his friend's scalp a bit. A red and black hand latched onto the oversized white sweater the demon was wearing as he continued his ministrations. Tension slowly seeped out of Fulgur’s prone form and his pale eyes opened again.
“Anything else you need, Fuuchan?” Zanny asked as he noticed the light slightly return to the silver hues.
“Tea?” was the quiet response that brought a soft smile to the demon’s lips again.
“Of course, darling. Let me grab it for you.” He grabbed Fulgur’s phone before taking his leave so he could send out a tweet. (He canceled his own stream so he could keep his brother company since it wasn’t a collab, thankfully.)
Quick steps took Zanny to the stove after that, where he snatched a lemon balm tea bag from a cabinet where they tended to keep their bad day “fixes.” But he ignored everything else on the shelf in favor of putting the kettle on with some water. It had been the first thing the two had bought when they moved in since they both liked warm drinks.
They had been both unsure about the whole ordeal at the time. Yes, they were good friends, but this was a completely new step. Moving in together meant they would have to see pretty much the worst and best sides of each other. Dealing with finances, streaming, getting used to the other’s schedule, and, of course, how they would deal with bad days like today.
That was a learning curve for both of them. Zanny had made many strategies before moving in for dealing with his own bad habits and awful days when they came. But helping a whole other person through their own was much more difficult.
Receiving help had also been something new for the incubus. He had been used to simply blocking out his close friends when his brain turned darker or when his body could remember nothing but how to feel pain. Having someone there had been both comforting and painful since he was practically exposing his whole self to his housemate.
Thankfully, they became housemates as friends instead of strangers, so even if it was hard, they both already knew the other well. It became easier to help and be helped faster than expected perhaps. They did click a little better than others, which is one of the reasons they decided to room together in the first place. (Truly his brother, that cyborg.)
Zanny snapped from his nostalgic thoughts once more when he realized he forgot his coffee. The demon trailed back to Fulgur’s room to retrieve the cup and return the stolen phone. He paused briefly at the doorway however when he saw the cyborg hunched over himself, quiet pained gasps escaping from a curtain of silvery hair.
“Hey, hey, stop.” Zanny moved swiftly when he realized Fulgur was clawing and pulling at his Throa2. “Fuuchan, stop!” He grasped the cynet hands, swiftly stopping the attempt. Sometimes he forgot how strong the cyborg was, like now as he forced those spasming metal fingers away from sensitive skin.
“It burns-” Fulgur gasped, sweat dripping from his brow as his eyes begged the demon to let go. “Please-” Zanny squeezed the cynets firmly with a frown as he listened to the pained wheezes.
“It’ll pass, Fuuchan, it’ll pass.” Though Zanny wondered if he said those words for his brother or for himself.
Pain in and around Fulgur’s Throa2 had happened more often as of late and was often accompanied by intense spinal pain. The demon wondered if perhaps his brother needed more than just friendly help, that maybe a hospital or one of his company’s doctors was required instead. Magenta eyes traced sadly over the old scars and new bruises forming on the skin near the cynets. Was what he was doing even enough?
Fulgur’s breath slowed as the seconds slipped into minutes. His limbs finally went limp and the demon released them in favor of hugging his brother close. Zanny shut his eyes tight as he felt his shoulder grow damp. (Living longer never made seeing pain any easier.)
Zanny knows the worst has passed when Fulgur finally pulls away from the comforting hold. The kettle had been making noise for several minutes now, however the demon truly wished he could hear the similar iconic laugh of his friend in its place. But he said nothing as he watched the cyborg wince in pain as he rubbed absently at the newly formed bruises around his neck.
“I’m fine.” Fulgur murmured into the quiet room. “Go get the kettle, Zanny. I’m good.” He coughed the obvious lie as he absently stared into the distance. But he jerked to look up at Zanny when the demon sighed.
“You silly cyborg,” Zanny didn’t hesitate to scoop up Fulgur into his arms, causing the latter to jump in surprise. (His brother really should be used to this by now. Maybe after some more time, then.) “I’m not going to just leave you alone.” (And maybe Zanny meant more than just leaving to get tea, but they can talk about that later.)
The demon placed his precious cargo carefully onto their sofa with a soft smile. He snatched their well-loved throw blanket and wrapped it around Fulgur’s shoulders. The cyborg let out a quiet huff in response to this special attention, but some light had returned to those silver eyes. Relief hesitantly settled in Zanny’s stomach as he stepped back into the kitchen to make the promised tea.
Now that the kettle wasn’t hissing at him anymore, Zanny could clearly hear the bird song and quiet morning breeze. He glanced out the full height windows and glass door that led to their backyard. Dog was laying in a sunny patch of grass, looking as content as a dog could. Not even the tiny butterfly perched on his nose disturbed his bliss. The tension leaked out of Zanny’s back and wing as he watched the calming scene.
A quick glance at the couch assured him that Fulgur appeared to be doing the same as he huddled in the blanket. While he couldn’t see his brother’s face, the demon knew him well enough to imagine a soft smile was now on display.
Sure enough, when the tea was done steeping and Zanny returned to the living area, Fulgur was already looking much better from simply being comfier and seeing his beloved Dog. That, and his brother had acquired two new companions. The demon’s heart absolutely melted as he recognized that both Cat and Kat were now cuddled up against their favorite cyborg.
“Let me in, you little gremlins.” He admonished the cats as he placed the tea and his coffee aside. They might not love him as much as they did Fulgur, but they were still sweet enough to allow him space on the couch. “There we go.” Zanny hummed as he wrapped Fulgur in a side hug.
With the sweet sounds of cats purring and a pleasant view to match, the two shared this wonderful peace while sipping on their warm drinks. (Well, the coffee was lukewarm now at best, but Zanny would survive. Anything to simply keep this wonderful peace.)
“Thanks, Zanny.” Fulgur finally said as he tipped his head to the side, seemingly starting to enjoy the soft morning after such a bad start.
“Anytime, Fuuchan. Whenever you need or want. Forever means forever, brother.”