Wanted To Write Something Soft, So Have Some Mountain/aeon/aether

wanted to write something soft, so have some mountain/aeon/aether

Mountain wakes abruptly as the mattress shifts, blinking in confusion. His bedroom's still dark, silvery moonlight peeking through the slits between the curtains. He normally sleeps through the night without fail, and he takes a moment to come back to his body before he can realize what woke him up.

He reaches for Aether, having gone to bed with the quintessence ghoul, and recoils as he nearly punches a third body trying to worm its way in between them.

"Shit," Aeon hisses, freezing in place, their cheeks flushing as they realize they've been caught. "Sorry, Mount, didn't wanna wake you."

"Shh, Aether's still asleep," Mountain whispers, grabbing Aeon's wrist gently and pulling them to his chest. The breath leaves the little ghoul's lungs with a huff, burying their face in Mountain's chest. "What did you need, petunia?"

Aeon flushes, nuzzling into Mountain's chest hair. "Didn't wanna be alone," they whisper. "Don't wanna make you seem like the last choice, but I could hear Swiss and Aurora from my room, they're busy and I wasn't in the mood to interrupt that. The rest of the girls had their door locked, and it's the full moon, so Dew and Rain are out by the lake, so I came here."

"You're always welcome here, Aeon," Mountain hums, a low rumbling purr that buzzes through Aeon's body. Aeon chuffs in response, squirming closer and wrapping his arms around Mountain's waist, tail padding against the mattress as they wag it.

Behind them, Aether shifts, ear flicking as Aeon chuffs. He cracks a violet eye open, not surprised to find Aeon in his bed. He chuffs back sleepily, pressing his forehead to the cool skin on the back of Aeon's neck. "Morning, pup," Aether rumbles, groaning as he shifts and stretches. "Or night, still. You come to sleep with us?"

Aeon cranes their neck to look over their shoulder, mismatched eyes shining in the low light. "Yeah," they whisper, dropping eye contact. "Sorry for waking you up."

"Oh, pup," Aether says, sidling up so his broad chest is flush with Aeon's back. "Don't apologize. We've got you."

Aeon keens, shifting between the older ghouls. "Like bein' in your bed," they mumble, face buried in Mountain's warm chest. "Safe."

Aether chuckles as Mountain runs a hand up and down Aeon's spine. "Safe, huh?" Aether whispers, still nuzzling at the short hair on the back of their neck.

"Yeah." Aeon yawns, shivering as Aether noses at their hair. "You're the biggest ghouls in the pack, 'course I feel safe. S'nice."

Mountain and Aether share a look over Aeon's shoulder, hold them a little tighter. Mountain winds his tail around Aeon's, and Aether slings an arm over their hip, reaching over and holding on to the hem of Mountain's sleep pants. They both know, tentatively, what Aeon's pack situation, or lack thereof, was before they were summoned Up Top.

"We're honored, petunia," Mountain whispers, pressing a kiss right in between their two-toned horns, moving a hand to push their black and white hair off of their forehead. "I know it takes some getting used to adjusting to a new pack. I'm thankful you trust us enough that you feel safe coming into our bed."

"Seconded," Aether whispers, chuffing as he settles back down into the mattress, holding Mountain close and Aeon even closer. He winds his tail around Mountain and Aeon's, hooking a leg over theirs as he tries to get his packmates as close as he can.

Aeon yawns again, fangs glinting in the moonlight. Their ears twitch, responding to Aether's chuffs with one of their own. It's comforting, the affectionate noises that other quintessence ghouls make instead of purrs, that they haven't heard since long, long before they came Up Top. The warmth of being sandwiched between two large ghouls makes their brain fuzzy and content, and Aeon chuffs into Mountain's chest, tail trying to wag even as the others' are entwined with it.

"Go to sleep, pup," Aether whispers, pressing a kiss to the base of Aeon's skull. "We've got you."

Aeon nods, settling with a huff of breath in between them. Mountain runs a big hand through their hair as Aether rubs little circles with his thumb over the soft skin of their hip.

Once their breathing settles, eyes gently shut, Mountain looks to Aether. "I'm glad they came to us, nova," he whispers, voice not much more than a low rumble. Aeon snuffles in their sleep, pressing their face closer to him.

Aether nods in agreement, not stilling the movement of his hand. "They're gaining weight. Not all skin and bones anymore."

Mountain preens slightly, rubbing his cheek against Aeon's horn gently. "I'm just happy they're eating. Recovering. That they're not alone."

"Me too," Aether agrees. "They shouldn't have ever been alone, quintessence ghouls don't do well on their own, even if our packs are significantly smaller than most other ghouls'. Father Below, even this pack is larger than my old quintessence pack. It was a culture shock for me. I can hardly imagine how they're handling it."

"Well," Mountain breathes, staring fondly down at their newest quintessence ghoul. "They're handling it well."

"I'm so proud of them," Aether whispers, watching with a fond smile as Aeon's ear flicks, the piercings there clicking against each other like little bells. He can't help himself, trailing a finger up the shell of Aeon's pointed ear.

"Me too, nova," Mountain breathes, reaching down to the foot of the bed for the comforter they've kicked off in the middle of the night. He throws it over the three of them, cocooning them in warmth.

"Good night, sweet thing," Aether whispers, settling down and holding his ghouls close.

"Good night, nova," Mountain says, shutting his eyes, slipping back into sleep contently, like he had never woken up to begin with.