Eviternal [manxman]

Caleb x Erebus I

Caleb x Erebus I

I sighed heavily, putting the now dried plate back where I took it from. Devon, the other nymph working for Erebus had been on sick leave for a week, Erebus had left three days ago on another mission and this time, he didn't let me come with him which left me behind upset and lonely. I understood why I couldn't come this time, I didn't hold it against him but I wished he hadn't left me. I wasn't good at coping on my own.

Dreading the thought of having to sleep on my own again, curled up into a ball and pressed tightly against the headboard, hiding underneath a mountain of blankets. With nothing left to do, I poured myself another cup of tea. Every time he left me, my sleep was plagued with nightmares of my past haunting me and sleeping was everything but restful. Being awake wasn't much different. I saw monsters hiding in every corner, waiting for me to turn my back so they could snatch me, abduct me and hurt me. I knew it wasn't rational but I couldn't help it.

With Erebus around I felt like I could conquer the world. I knew he'd always have my back and protect me, so I snapped at people, I glared at them and pretended to be alright even though these gods and goddesses I had to deal with scared the crap out of me, especially Eris. But if he left me alone with them, I was reduced to a frightened, shivering mess that couldn't cope. I hadn't been able to protect myself against one human, how was I supposed to deal with godly beings?

I watched the steam waft of my elderberry tea and I sighed again, knowing I was following these habits both of us created to reassure myself and to have some normalcy but it wasn't doing anything to make me feel better. I didn't like drinking tea and reading books, I liked doing these things with Erebus. Without him it didn't feel like the real deal and it just painfully reminded me of his absence and how I could do nothing about it. No one cared about what I wanted.

The little hairs on the back of my neck were standing up as I felt something move behind me in the supposedly empty room and I almost screamed, thinking I was going to be murdered. It turned out to be just Erebus, burying his hand inside of my hair without a warning. I forced myself to relax, wondering when he had come back since I hadn't heard him walk in and enjoyed him prioritizing petting my hair over anything else.

"I didn't know you were coming back today." I murmured, leaning into his touch.

He hummed in response, planting a kiss onto my exposed shoulder before following the curve of my neck and up to my jaw. I smiled as he took a nip at my cheek bone before he pressed his lips against my temple, pulling me against him. I sighed and leaned against his chest, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders now that he was finally by my side again and seemingly unharmed.

"I missed you." He whispered into my ear. 

"I missed you, too." I replied, turning around.

Erebus smiled at me before he let his head hang, running his nose against the side of my face, nuzzling me while my chest pulled taunt. I was trying to deal with all the feelings flooding my mind and my breath hitched as he brushed his lips against mine. Much to my dismay, he didn't kiss me even though that was what I desperately wished for and instead he pulled back and just took my small hands into his giant ones, caressing the inside of my palm. I felt a pleasant shiver run down my spine and I smiled up at him, him winking back at me.

"When do you have to leave again?" I asked to have something to talk about.

"I got tonight and the next two days off." He grinned widely.

I beamed back up at him. There was no way he knew about this but tomorrow was my birthday and even though I had never told him or celebrated while I had stayed with him, this was the best gift I could have received. Just him and me, having some quality alone time together and if we managed to finish the book we had been reading together, that was going to be everything I could ever ask for.