the wind around the willow

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

“Why not, darling?” The butcher hums – fully aware of what he’s admitting and what Danta might get up to without any worries he might be uncomfortable with it. After the last few times he’d crawled home like this, the stress he’s put him through, it’s the least that Asta thinks he can do.

His smile mirrors Danta’s own as he makes a beeline for the bed, carefully and stiffly shedding clothes in the process until it’s just his bruised and battered body on display. “I did, yes.” He hums as he swallows down the wince as he slips under the covers that Danta pulls back, sliding in after him to the warmth and softness of their bed. “And if you think that I am going to fall back asleep without you using me as a pillow then you would be wrong.” He boasts a little – pain be damned.

Besides, if he falls asleep, he won’t even notice. And he knows Danta well enough to know it’ll take all of three seconds for him to pass out after the emotional whiplash of the morning. So he settles on his back gingerly, sinking into the bed and the pillows, using his good arm to tug Danta to rest on him.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

all you have is your fire, and the place you need to reach

Danta's expression softens all over again at the map of bruises that cover Asta's body, bearing witness to the brutality of the fight with whatever abomination he'd encountered out in the Greatwood. Waiting until the butcher is as comfortable as he's able to be before joining him, the Maverick scoffs out a laugh and almost immediately concedes - as they both knew he would.

"It was worth a try to do some good for you healing," he says with a weary smile, carefully settling himself against Asta's side and letting himself relax, head resting against his chest and a careful arm thrown across his waist, fingers feather-soft as they ghost against his skin. "I love you," he mumbles almost under his breath, the words nearly muffled in the blankets he's drawn up around them.

Dantalion

don't you ever tame your demons, but always keep 'em on a leash

i'm the escape to something that's worse
i am the shadow driving the hearse

“It was worth a try.” The butcher confirms – even if the try hadn’t worked. The butcher is still more than ready to endure any amount of pain that Danta could (and likely would) cause by laying on him because he knows that it’ll help him fall asleep which is yet another thing that the butcher really needs as part of his recovery.

He’s careful to settle in beside him at least, even if Asta’s holding his breath until he’s settled – the tension relaxing in the smooth passes of the Maverick’s clever, gentle fingers. “I love you too, darling.” He hums on a soft exhale, his arm wrapping around Danta and unable to do much else other than that with the lingering stiffness of portions still healing. He settles in the blankets, feeling them drawn tight around him and mentally draws the fires down slightly so that they don’t have to worry about it anymore.

And between he pain killers and Danta being in the exact place he wants him to be, it doesn’t take the butcher long to succumb to his sleep.

Astaroth

what was it like to feel in love?

all you have is your fire, and the place you need to reach

Mumbling something soft and content into the butcher's chest as his arm comes curling around him, Danta is already losing the fight to keep his eyes open. Much as he wants to lay and map out every bruise and how bad it looks in comparison to the rest, he really has been awake all night, and to say he's emotionally wrung out is an understatement. And so with the soft beat of Asta's heart against his ear and the fires being drawn down low, he's out like a light before he realises as much.

And the butcher will feel it, undoubtedly, before he also succumbs to sleep; the way Danta's body relaxes against his own, the rise and fall of his chest growing deep and slow, the way his tail curls unconsciously to wind around one of Asta's legs. There will be no nightmares to startle him awake this morning, the Maverick too exhausted and too comfortable to do anything but get some much needed rest.

Anything else will have to wait.

~FIN

Dantalion

don't you ever tame your demons, but always keep 'em on a leash