What Makes You Think I Like Hobie? That's Crazy I Would Ne-

What makes you think i like Hobie? That's crazy i would ne-

I'm proud of this one ngl-

Shut Up

for my love, @phantombluue

Summary: Ares decides to swoop you up in the middle of the night to deliver you to Silvanus in hopes you can comfort the old earth ghoul

Word count: 1,300

You fell asleep for all of maybe twenty minutes before your door clicked open. It wasn't unusual for the older siblings to go around and do headcounts every now and then, but it still made you groan softly. That's fine. Any second now, your door would click shut and you could go back to bed.

But you heard it: soft footsteps that grew closer. You finally turn, ready to tell the sibling that you're okay and you just want to sleep. That's when you recognize him.

The broken horns. Those glowing violet-blue eyes. That familiar scowl on his face.

“Shut up.” It's the first thing out of Ares' mouth as he reaches out. A squeak escapes your lips as he unceremoniously scoops you up into his arms. He sounds tired as he turns and walks out of your room, the sound of his boots echoing in the silent halls.

“I need you for tonight,” he grumbles softly, not even bothering to look at you. “Or rather, Sil needs you.”

Silvanus? You knew the ghoul. He was Papa Nihil's drummer and, at most times, a sarcastic loud-mouth. Still, he had retained some charm and was nice to most of the siblings, especially you. He never shooed you out of the kitchen when he was cooking and he had offered for you to spend time in their dens if ministry life got to be too much.

“Why does he need me?” you ask. Those eyes flicker down to you, the violent glint in them making your blood run cold.

“Shut up.” Fair enough. You watch as he carries you past the guest houses and towards their dens. The building wasn't as big as the others; it was only big enough to house the four of them. You heard talk of there once being a fifth, but no one had ever expanded on it. You supposed tonight wasn't the night to ask the old fire ghoul about the rumors.

Ares isn't gentle as he opens the door, kicking it shut with his heel. It's warmer inside, though it's dark. He trudges up the stairs and you cling a little tighter to him, worried he'll trip. You hear him let out a huff, but he doesn't say anything else as he takes a sharp right at the top of the stairs. In the dim light that seeps through the giant windows, you can barely make out the earth symbol on an oak door. It didn't take a genius to know who it belonged to, and you felt your heart speed up at the thought of being inside Silvanus' room for the first time.

“Stop that.” You look back at Ares, his scowl still cemented on his face. “Calm down or you'll freak him out.”

“I'm not exactly used to being carried into a ghoul's room,” you fire back, though you keep your voice low like he's doing. He stands outside of the door motionless, and you take a couple deep breaths to try and steady yourself.

“Don't ask him too many questions,” he instructs you. “He'll talk if he wants. Other than that, just... be there for him.”

“You're still not making any sense.” But he doesn't respond. Instead, he twists the golden knob and pushes the door open with his shoulder. The smell hits you but it's not the musk you're familiar with. The smell of forest is there, sure, but there's something heavier on top of it; sickly and heavy with iron. You see the way Ares' face contorts from a scowl to discomfort.

“Fratello,” he calls out softly. You see Silvanus laying in a plush bed, a light green canopy drawn around it. A brass lantern is lit, placed on the table next to his bed. Ares moves forward, shouldering the canopy open as he drops you on the bed. You see how Silvanus' ears twitch but he doesn't move. He doesn't even make a sound. “I've brought you company, mia luce. You know this Sibling, don't you?”

He finally moves, looking over his shoulder at you and letting out a small chuff. The sight of him makes your heart break. Any light from his eyes have gone and the dark circles have gotten worse. On top of that, his cheeks glisten in the dim light. Had he been crying?

“I didn't want you to be alone tonight,” Ares continues softly. “but Notus needs me. I figure your favorite Sibling would be better company than a fire ghoul.”

This time, he lets out a soft grunt. The somber look on Ares' face is so foreign as he stares at the earth ghoul. For once, he finally looks lost; helpless and defeated. His eyes go back to you. A silent nod is all you get, like he's reminding you of what he had said before he leaves, shutting the door behind him. You turn your attention back to Silvanus. The ghoul isn't looking at you anymore. Instead, he's looking at the wall, the seafoam green paint seeming to hold his interest. The comforter is drawn up to his hip, exposing his bare torso to you.

“Silvanus?” you try softly. His ears twitch but, again, he doesn't move. “Hey, what's wrong?”

“'m fine.” But you know it's a lie. His voice is strained, raspy, and even in that short sentence, you can hear how he's reverted back to the overlapping voice. You'd only heard it once when he was yelling at Sister Imperator. You didn't think you'd hear it again, especially in this state.

You feel awkward reaching out but you finally do. You rest your hand on his shoulder, your thumb stroking his skin. He feels cold underneath your touch.

“I'm here if you need me.” It's something he had told you when you started to hang around him more. Just a soft affirmation. But it seems to work.

At first, you assumed he was just going to ignore you again. But slowly, like it almost pains him to move, he finally rolls over to face you. This isn't the Silvanus you're used to and your eyes trail down to his neck. A nasty scar is embedded across his throat, but he tucks his head down when he notices you staring for too long. Ares' voice rings in your head. Don't ask him too many question. You settle on letting the silence linger as your hand moves towards his face, thumb swiping away the drying tears. You can't get over how broken and empty he looks.

But he finally moves again, burying his face in your neck and wrapping his arms around you to pull you close. His breathing is heavy and you can't tell if he's crying again or not. So you just hold him back, rubbing soothing circles into his back. You see how some of the plants hanging around his room has wilted. You wonder if this is what Ares has to deal with. You wonder if this is what Ares would do. Was this the right thing to do? Is this what he needed?

“It's okay,” you tell him, your voice just above a whisper. “I'm right here.”

“Thank you.” It's still the overlapping voice but it's getting better, steadier. He nuzzles further into your neck. You let your hand move, trailing through his hair and combing through it with your fingers. His heavy breathing slowly evens out, his body finally relaxed.

“Sil?” He doesn't answer. Probably finally fell asleep. So you press your lips against his head before settling further into the bed. You rest your head on top of his. Well, at least you could spend the night with your favorite ghoul. Even if you wished the conditions were different.

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