[EU] Breathing

The blanket was pulled closer around his shoulders.

Acholeplasma lifted his head, blinking, as Histoplasma awkwardly tried to wrap the comforter more around him. It took a few more seconds of blinking to realize he'd fallen asleep at his desk. Thank goodness the holo-docs were waterproof... there was a bit of smeared drool on the screen. He exhaustedly wiped it off before realizing Histo still had hands on him. The unicorn was also leaning awkwardly close, muzzle an inch or so from Achole's neck.

He half-turned, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah, boss, I'm cool!" Histo gave Achole a nervous smile. He blinked. "You just - um, seemed, uh... you know. Um. Sleepy."

"Are you worried about something? You're stammering quite a bit," Achole replied, brow furrowing.

Histo's eyes darted from Achole's face to the floor, "Oh, no, I'm fine! I'm cool! Nothing's bad, haha, you know?"

The cogs were already turning in Achole's head. He tilted it, slightly, drinking in the way Histo's teeth dug into his lower lip, the way his fingers clenched Achole's shoulders a bit too tightly, the slightly uneven breathing. If there was one thing Achole wasn't, it was oblivious. And if there also was another thing that he wasn't, it was someone who let his best fri- boyfriends stay uncomfortable. Damnit, that sounded so much better in his head.

"Histo," Achole began evenly, "why are you flustered?"

Now the pink visibly rose to Histo's cheeks. "Boss!" was all he managed to squeak out.

Achole reached forward, patting his cheek, "It's okay, I'm not upset or anything of that sort."

"I know that!"

"Why are you so anxious, then?"

Histo paused, looking back to the floor. Achole watched the other's cheeks burn harder and a little spark of magic flicker on his horn. The spark made Histo bury his face in his hands, clearly embarrassed. Achole couldn't keep the honest grin from his face, even though Histo whimpered into his palms. He never saw Histoplasma embarrassed, of all things - he was always gung-ho, ready to punch whoever needed their teeth knocked out, and eager to please.

It was actually quite cute to see him turn pink at the idea of wrapping a blanket around his partner. 

"Thank you for the blanket." Achole dragged the comforter closer around himself, still smiling at Histo. "It's really cozy."

"Y-you're welcome, boss, you just - looked chilly," came the muffled response.

"You look chilly too. Do you want to sit on the couch and cuddle?"

Histo squeaked again, horn sparkling up. "O-okay!"

Achole stood from his desk, at the right wall of his office. It was poised in front of a large window, giving him ample distraction when filing and politics failed to hold his attention. On the far side of the room sat a luxurious, expensive couch (he'd had it custom-made) across from a massive flatscreen TV... also for distractions. He spent a good degree of time in his office, and it helped to have a comfortable place to relax and destress while not having to leave his obligations too far behind.

Histo lingered close to him the entire time, trying to will away the nervousness in the way his hands ghosted just above Achole's shoulders and his cheeks still flushed. It was, very much so, endearing. It was a level of affection that had only been given to Achole by mortals who didn't know him and churchgoers who worshipped him, neither of which he was particularly fond of. But it felt different to have someone he loved back give him such attentions. It warmed his insides.

They sat down on the couch, Achole pausing to stretch his legs and arm and yawn slightly. Histo watched with mesmerized eyes, visibly endeared by the other. Achole ended the stretch by slipping his arm around Histo's shoulders and pulling him in close.

"What sort of television do you like to watch?" Achole politely asked, casually ignoring the way Histo was nuzzling himself into Achole's side.

"Oh, um," Histo made grabby hands for the remote. Achole passed it over, and watched Histo boot up the touchscreen and flip through a plethora of on-demand streams and ongoing channels. "Just a show or is a movie okay?"

"Either works for me," Achole said, gently.

Histo nodded quietly and returned to scrolling through the shows. He paused over the movie section before scrolling back to the streams and selecting a live action serialized parody. Achole internally frowned, but kept his expression from melting into negativity. This was a nice date night, he could avoid pouting because of show choice.

The remote was placed back on the coffee table and Histo cuddled back into Achole's side, watching the show's theme play with clear adoration in his expression. He'd always worn his heart on his sleeve (face, rather?) and while at one point Achole had been frustrated by how easily Histo could be manipulated by reading his reactions... right now it was just endearing. Especially seeing his face light with such simple joy. Achole rested his head on top of Histo's and let his eyes glide to the TV.

"So you like this one?" he inquired. He was familiar with it, himself. 

Histo nodded eagerly. "Yeah! My favorite character is the knight. He's really cool and strong and doesn't let anyone stand in his way!"

Achole briefly closed his eyes. He'd wanted to hope that Histo wasn't that dense, but maybe his hope had been for naught. The show he'd chosen - Three of a Kind - was a comedic storyline centered around a trio of malcontents who believed they were hot shots and ruled the world, but in reality lived in their own fantasy and lived in a cave, having been shunned from the rest of society. Hijinks ensued when they attempted to raid "neighboring kingdoms", i.e. nearby settlements, at which point the trio would believe they were wrapped up in an epic battle... whilst the townspeople awkwardly pushed them away with a large broom. 

It was rather funny. That was the most insulting part - it was insanely popular. Achole had harbored his suspicions about the show and the three main characters, but when the show was pitched to Golden Spectrum Productions, ridiculously famous talk show host Oligo Obligation had publicly supported it. And then Achole had to tell the Department of Culture to greenlight the thing, even though he was fairly certain it was meant to be a cruel parody of himself, Histo, and Urea. He'd figured it was just paranoia... at least, until the central character lost a leg recently. That had tipped him off.

Of course Histo would like the brash, reckless knight character who laid down his life for the king and drew sword first, and asked questions later. That was, very clearly, meant to be a parody of Histo's brutal attitude. And while Achole had once scoffed at it, he had... grown to appreciate Histoplasma, in a comforting sort of way. Histo offered him a sort of stability and pure adoration, like a small puppy following its master. It was completely unlike his relationship with Coxiella. It was almost, in fact, polar opposites.

He sort of preferred Histo, in the end. Maybe Histo was a bit slow, and didn't understand that the TV show he adored was actually meant to be a mockery of himself. There was something endearing about that. It just - seemed so innocent and wholehearted, two things Achole noticed he'd been lacking for the last thousand years or so. Or, well, maybe Histo knew about the parody and just didn't care anyways, finding enjoyment in something that was meant to hurt him. Achole could learn from that, too. 

He let his fingers brush through Histo's hair, closing his eyes. The other leaned up into the touch, letting out a soft, deep purr. Achole could feel the warm, comforting vibrations in his shoulder, where Histo had nestled himself into. 

"Do you like the show?" Histo asked, not ceasing the purring.

Achole paused, then shrugged his shoulder. "It's alright. I sort of prefer nature documentaries myself, but you can't turn down some good old-fashioned action sometimes."

Histo giggled into his neck. "Yeah!"

Achole let his hand drift lower, massaging one of Histo's shoulderblades. The other groaned, wriggling even closer and nuzzling hard into Achole's neck at the firm, relaxing touch. Achole kneaded expertly, rubbing out the knots of tension that had accumulated on the other's back. 

"You're so tense," he murmured, "I wish I had both of my hands just so I could just work away all of that pent-up stress."

Histo smiled into Achole's neck. "I have two hands. I could do it to you."

"There a lot of things you could do to me," Achole murmured. 

Histo grinned, mouth full of sharp teeth, reaching up to curl a hand in Achole's hair and pull him into an intense, aggressive kiss. Achole sunk into the kiss, humming softly even as Histo's saliva dripped down his face. The other was always fond of messy, loving kisses. It was so different from Cox, who had always been restrained and quiet and had never, ever kissed first.

Sometimes Achole felt guilty about comparing Histo and Urea to his previous relationship so much... but that was normal, wasn't it? To look at what he knew, and compare it to what he was learning? Everything made Cox seem a tad worse in his mind, but he knew that wasn't... making him hate Cox. Achole didn't hate Coxiella in any definition of the word. He just....

He knew that they were bad for each other. They had always been. Achole absently stroked Histo's cheek as the unicorn deepened the kiss. Cox had always needed something that Achole couldn't give, and vice versa. And, well, he had loved Cox, it wasn't like it was a completely loveless relationship. They just had different expectations, different desires in a partner, and had fallen apart. Cox had gotten twisted up in his own perceptions and lost sight of everything else. Achole had chosen to ignore that and pretend like Cox wasn't sinking, just because he needed his own pillar to lean on, and was too shy to ask anyone else for help.

And in the end, he'd lost his arm and Coxiella for it.

Ugh, was it bad of him to be thinking about his ex while he was kissing his current partner? Histo, if he realized, didn't seem to care, both hands in Achole's hair as he passionately kissed the other. Whatever, he could just kiss Histo back. Just let his tongue... yeah.

Histo moaned softly into the kiss, dragging Achole even closer. He moved with Histo, feeling his hands trail down Achole's body, down his back, pausing at his pants, as if Histo wasn't sure he was allowed to touch. Achole, underneath Histo, was nearly lying completely flat on his back, head braced against the arm of the couch.

"Am I interrupting?"

They pulled apart, Histo panting slightly, to stare at the newcomer in the room. Ureaplasma was peeking in the room, the door slightly cracked open. Achole didn't invest in the sliding doors that were all the range now. Normal doors were so much more comforting and familiar.

"You are," Histo muttered, burying his face back in Achole's neck.

Urea let himself in, closing the door behind himself and sitting next to their heads. He picked up the remote, raising an eyebrow at the TV. "You like this garbage?"

"It's fine," Achole cut in. "Not the worst show out there."

"I wouldn't plug you as the type to enjoy something like this," Urea said, waving the remote.

Achole casually shrugged, to the best of his ability. Histo was still cuddling him, arms around his chest. Urea eyed them before sliding down to lie next to Achole, wrapping arms around him as well. With a pleased sigh, Achole closed his eyes, letting the other two cuddle him. 

"Move over a little," Urea grumbled at Histo, leaning over to plant a kiss on Achole's cheek. Histo scooted accordingly, although without a short grumble first.

"Wish I had two arms to hug you both with," Achole whispered.

Histo made a muffled little happy noise. Urea snorted, "We have enough arms for hugging you back."

"I don't - I don't know what I did to deserve you two," Acholeplasma admitted, staring up at the tiled ceiling. "Like, romantically. If that makes sense?"

"You're just yourself," Urea offered.

Achole closed his eyes briefly, letting the pause settle between them. "What do you like about me?"

"Everything!" Histoplasma instantly bolted up, grinning like a madman. "Everything about you! I love how much you try to do good things for people, boss! I love how much you care! You inspire me every day to be the best person I can be!"

"H-Histo," Achole barely managed, reaching to cover his mouth.

"Stole my words," Urea muttered, playfully elbowing Histo. 

"B-but I," Achole whispered.

Urea gave him a gentle smile. "I - we know you always think that you're so alone and that nobody cares about you. But you know we've been here the entire time, trying your best to just - change things. We always see when you skip meals and sacrifice your own wellbeing for other people. And  I- we're not going to let that happen anymore."

"Yeah!" Histo gave him a sharp-toothed grin, "we're gonna help you out with everything so you don't have to do it all alone anymore!"

Achole put his face in his hand briefly, silent for a few seconds before squeaking out, "I don't know - what to say! Or how to repay you guys-"

"Kisses are an accepted form of currency," Urea purred.

Histo prodded him, "Wait, I want kissing too!"

"You already kissed him earlier, this is my turn!" 

"I'll kiss you both," Achole cut in, reaching to wrap his arm around the duo and pull them in. "You're both so amazing and wonderful and - and- please hug me."

The two dived to do so, Urea scrambling with his two sets and Histo managing to get his around Achole's neck. Achole settled in. The TV was still playing, but it had faded into pure background noise. The only sound he could focus on was the breathing of his partners, soft and on top of him. Maybe Cox had been a mistake, maybe not. Maybe things could have gone differently. But everything had led up to this moment... didn't that make it worth it? The sensation of being loved and of loving? 

Everything else could wait. The work, the papers, the meetings, the speeches. It could all fucking wait for him to curl up in Ureaplasma and Histoplasma's arms and let all of his stress melt away. They all earned it, all of them working together to make Eucaritia the best Universe it could be. And no matter what, they'd stick together, with each other, and never, ever let go. Achole was tired of letting go. Maybe it was terrible to say, but he knew he deserved something positive in life... and maybe this was it.

He closed his eyes, and listened to their breathing.