Alone in the commons area of the Boys’ Dorm, Ashe sat in one of the several couches scattered there. The silver haired demon had his knees bent, feet bare on the cushion, and a book balanced on top of his knees. His tail moved side-to-side in a slow, contented way on the cushion next to him. The fake ears typically perched atop his head were absent.
As excitable as the small demon usually was, it was peaceful moments such as these that brought out his calm, more subdued side. Blue-gray eyes focused on the page in front of him, he failed to notice the presence behind him.
“So the little fox is capable of being calm, hm?”
The sudden sound of an amused voice and the warm brush of breath near his neck elicited a surprised squeak and jump from Ashe, who nearly dropped his book. Whipping his head around to stare at the source, he found Cormac behind him, green eyes shining with amusement.
“Aw, did I scare the little fox?” The red-head bent at his waist so that he was eye-to-eye with the smaller demon.
Ashe’s face flushed quickly with red at the other demon’s proximity, and a small frown curled his lips. “N-no…” He turned his head away from the other.
“Oh, I think I did.”
Defiantly turning completely around, Ashe returned his focus to the, almost forgotten, book. “Did not…” He mumbled, no real strength behind the words..
Though he didn’t particularly enjoy being teased, he did enjoy getting some kind of attention from the redhead. The happier movement of his fluffy tail, and the brighter light in his eyes easily gave it away, to anyone who was looking for it anyway.
He felt the cushion on the other end of the couch sink in as Cormac sat down, an amused chuckle cutting into the silence. “If you say so.” The redhead sung lightly, though it was obvious he wasn’t actually conceding to the silverette.
Ashe simply kept his eyes on the pages in front of him without really reading the words printed on them, but a small smile lifted his lips. The blush on his face faded into a soft pink.
That is until he felt fingers lightly running down the length of his tail. His blush returned full force, another squeak escaping his throat. Scooting farther away from the redhead, he quietly muttered, “Would you please stop doing that?”
“Nope,” Cormac sung happily. “Your reactions are too adorable, for that.”
The silverette looked at the other demon, brow furrowed slightly. He couldn’t really say he’d been called adorable before. Pretty, maybe, but not adorable. Looking at the other’s eyes, he could see the sincerity of the comment there, along with something else. Something he quickly identified as concern and worry as those green eyes flicked to the entryway back to the dorm rooms. Concern and worry for Zakeri, who hadn’t been seen since the incident that led to the double zeros on Ashe’s wrist.
He slowly returned his eyes to his book, his tail curling around in himself in an almost protecting way, the happy light in his eyes dimming slightly. Though he knew that it shouldn’t- the redhead was just concerned for his friend- the worry Cormac showed for the other silverette stung a bit. If anything, he should be feeling guilty. While he may not have been the one to actually deal the damage, he’d been part of the group that had tried.
“Go ahead, Cormac…” He urged quietly.
The redhead looked back at him. “Huh?”
Ashe didn’t look up. “You’re clearly worried about Zak… Go ahead and go see him.” Lowering his voice further, barely audible and obviously not meant to be heard, he added, “I’m sure you’d rather be with him than me…”
Cormac blinked at him, a slow bat of his eyelashes. “He…” Cormac lowered his eyes, and his hands twisted together in his lap, “I don’t think he’d want to see me.”
It was Ashe’s turn to be confused, his tail slowly flicking across the cushion, brushing Cormac’s leg. “Why wouldn’t he? You tried to protect him. You’re his… his friend.”
“Friend?” Cormac scoffed bitterly, his eyes still stuck on his hands, which never stopped moving, twisting and turning together. “I doubt I’m a friend. A convenient person to talk to, maybe.”
Cormac laughed, a harsh sound that didn’t come out right. When he finally raised his eyes, Ashe finally understood why Cormac hadn’t been looking at him; tears shone in the redhead’s eyes. Though they didn’t fall, they glistened like diamonds against the backdrop of spring green. The way he thought, the way he imagined Zakeri saw him, was breaking him into little pieces inside. And though he could usually hide it, something about Ashe let him stop hiding behind his mask.
Ashe’s mouth was open with his surprise; he didn’t see how anybody could think of Cormac as just a convenient person. As anything less than the wonderful, flirtatious, sometimes aggravating but always friendly demon. In a flash Ashe was on his knees, his hands close to Cormac’s legs, putting his face as close to Cormac’s as he could comfortably get. “Don’t say that,” he commanded, narrowing his eyes, “Don’t even think like that. That’s not true.”
“It’s always true,” Cormac replied with a sad shake of his head.
“It’s not!” Ashe reached out, capturing Cormac’s face with his hands, forcing the older demon to look at him. Cormac stared at him, wide eyed- and the tears finally began to fall, because he was forced to face someone whose eyes were full of concern, of care for him. He began to really cry, almost shaking with it, catching his lip between his teeth so he wouldn’t make any of those pathetic noises that came with crying.
Ashe’s hands dropped from Cormac’s face, settling between them; he hadn’t meant to make the redhead cry, and he didn’t know what to do. He was the enthusiastic bouncy one that made people laugh, not the serious and compassionate one who hugged people while they cried. He wasn’t prepared to be confronted with a crying Cormac- especially when Cormac leaned close, resting his forehead against Ashe’s shoulder, taking comfort simply in having someone close to him.
Cormac’s tears took a long time to dry but, eventually, they did. He was left sniffling, sitting upright and swabbing at his eyes with the cuffs of his sweatshirt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that,” he mumbled, refusing to look at the silverette.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t mind. You can cry on me whenever you want.” Ashe said it lightly, but he meant it with all his heart, and his certainty filled his blue-grey eyes.
Cormac found himself trapped in them, unable to figure out why; the eyes he’d been dreaming of were dark, not pretty and pale. But maybe it was that light they contained, the same inner light that spoke of strength and the will to be happy, to move on and keep trying even if everything looked bleak. It was the same light, but somehow, it was stronger in Ashe’s eyes. He leaned closer, drawn in by that light- until he saw the silverette was shivering, his tail tucked under him, and his arms wrapped around himself.
“I’m sorry,” Cormac said immediately, honestly apologetic, leaning back and unfolding his legs so he could get up.
Ashe’s hand flashed out, catching in the front of his sweater. “Stop,” he said, eyebrows scrunched together, showing his irritation, “I’m not afraid of you, I’m just cold, idiot.”
“Oh.” Cormac’s voice was weak, and his cheeks flushed a pale red. With his eyes on the floor again, he stripped off his sweater, and held it out to Ashe. “Here, put this on. I never get cold anyways. They need to fix the damn cooling system,” he muttered under his breath.
Ashe did his best to not look too starstruck as he took the sweater from Cormac and pulled it over his own head. It was still warm, almost hot, and the scent of whatever soap Cormac used floated up from it. The red and white striped sweater was too large, hanging off his shoulders and covering his hands- but Ashe didn’t care, because it was more than just a sweater.
Despite having made a peace offering, Cormac hesitated, unsure whether he was still welcome. Ashe looked up at him, only the tip of his tail still twitching, and summoned up a smile. “Do you want to sit out here with me? Maybe we’ll be lucky and Zakeri will come out while we wait,” he offered.
Cormac beamed back at him and folded his legs up on the couch. His fingers brushed against Ashe’s tail, and the silverette bit his lip against a shiver. Looking sideways, Cormac hid a smile; that little fox could steal his breath sometimes. The thought startled him, because he was sure his mind hadn’t taken him down that path before. But seeing the younger demon sitting there in his sweater, looking shy and sweet enough to eat, Cormac began to replace thoughts of one silverette with another, one who already cared for him. And for that moment, that was enough for both of them.
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