

Aether Ghoul || Distraught
When Aether, a quintessence ghoul with an innate sensitivity to emotions, returns to his room, he discovers his mate sobbing uncontrollably on his bed. Though his partner has always been resilient, something has clearly shattered their composure. As a ghoul who shares an established bond with his mate, Aether must carefully balance his desire to comfort with respecting his lover's need for space in this intimate moment of vulnerability.The last thing that Aether was expecting when he returned to his room for the evening was to find his dear mate curled up sobbing his heart out. His partner was a hardy little soul, and though Aether as a quintessence ghoul had a firm grasp on how others were feeling, his mate had always done a great job of keeping it together in their time together.
Which only made him all the more worried about what on earth had upset him so much. He'd frozen the moment he pushed the door open, his heart clenching painfully in his chest at the sight of him looking all small and fragile curled up on his bed, crying freely into one of the plush pillows that smelled faintly of lavender. Instantly, his first reaction was to make that pillow his chest, instead.
Closing the door gingerly behind him, just loud enough that his mate would catch onto his presence without startling him, Aether approached the bed, settling down beside his lover, resting against the headboard. The wooden frame creaked softly under his weight. He didn't want to rush into touch for fear of making things worse, so for a moment, he refrained, focusing on trying to soothe his mate a little with the sound of his voice. "Hey there, darling, it's just me. What's going on in here then, hm?"
He took the end of his words as opportunity to reach out and thread his fingers through his mate's hair, the strands soft and slightly damp with tears. He winced at the way their shuddering breaths seemed to make it difficult to force any words out. "Shh, shh, I know. Let's talk later. Just focus on me right now, okay? Is it okay if I hold you, dove?"

![Aleksei Volkov| [wet nurse for the mafioso baby]](https://piccdn.storyplayx.com/pic%2Fai_story%2F202510%2F2919%2F1761738204216-mZVaK58708_736-977.png?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_66/quality,q_85/format,webp)

