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Aether doesn’t respond, just slings an arm around their waist and hauls them down into the blankets. “Don’t be sorry,” he rumbles, low and quiet. “Always welcome here with us.” They chuff happily, tail batting behind them sheepishly.

“Couldn’t sleep,” they whisper, nuzzling into the crook of Aether’s neck, the opposite side of where Dew’s bitemark sits. “Swiss’s with Mountain and Rain, and the girls are out tonight. Just couldn’t get comfy. Came here instead of just laying there awake.”

Aether smiles slowly, cards his thick fingers through their hair. “Let’s get you comfy, then,” he whispers into their hairline. He chuffs, and Aeon goes completely lax in his arms, baring their throat.

“Yes, please,” they mumble, tail still batting happily against the mattress.

Careful not to disturb Dew too much, Aether reaches down to the foot of the bed to where he and Dew keep their spare blankets. His hand finds one that’s all too familiar, soft and fleecy and worn under his touch.

“Did you bring your summoning blanket, pup?” he asks softly, pulling it up and over their narrow shoulders.

“Yeah,” they murmur, eyelids heavy already. Aether takes a deep breath, smells Omega’s and Aeon’s and his own quintessence all baked into the fabric. It’s the one he’d given them when they’d first come Up Top, shaking and terrified and injured.

He kisses their forehead, hand cupping the back of their head. They smile sleepily, chuffing happily as Aether reaches down for more bedding.

Being under the blankets with Aether and Dew’s body heat trapped under layers and layers of softness is bliss, and they cuddle into Aether’s chest as Dew’s rattling purr buzzes through both of them.

“Oh, that’s all you needed, huh?” Aether coos, tucking a spare pillow behind them as Aeon slips a calf between Aether’s. “Just needed to be warm and close, pup?”

“Mmhm,” they nod the best they can, muffled as they shove their face into the center of Aether’s chest. The tip of their nose is freezing and Aether barely bites back a hiss of mild discomfort.

He hums, something that almost sounds like Respite, or Imperium, something soft and warm, a big hand sliding up and down Aeon’s spine. Like magnets, the quintessence in each ghoul settles and entwines together. He doesn’t stop humming until Aeon’s quintessence fades in the way that signifies they’ve fallen asleep. Their breath comes in soft little puffs against Aether’s skin.

Aether takes a deep breath, curling them into his nest. He doesn’t stop rubbing their back until something bony and sharp presses into the meat of his shoulder.

“See we’ve got a guest,” Dew rumbles lowly into Aether’s ear, his chin hooked over his mate’s shoulder. Aether’s ear flicks against the side of his head when his hot breath hits it.

Aether lets his head loll back to press his cheek against Dew’s, the stubble scraping against his skin. “I have been on hours of video calls with the two of you, Dewdrop. You love them.”

“You caught me,” Dew yawns. He reaches over his mate’s body to gently pet Aeon’s side, and they snuggle into the touch. “They’re a good kid. Drives me up a fucking wall, but a good kid.”

Aether chuckles under his breath, craning his neck to meet his mate’s eye. “They are.”

Dew gives him a quick kiss, his purr never stopping even as he settles back down behind him. “Back to sleep with us. No little voidling’s going to take that from us.”

“Dew,” Aether chastises, but he’s smiling too as he settles back into the nest. “Good night, darling.”