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The furbos are used to hearing Ashveil's screams from inside the freezer from time to time.
Caelus isn't.
They're visibly uncomfortable but still assure their new boss that this happens and not to worry. That he should just sit down and ignore it as much a possible.
Ashveil will stop banging and thrashing around eventually. It's something that happens even if they don't know why or how. This is normal for him.
Until it isn't.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU'RE NOT EVEN REAL!" Ashveil's voice screams at someone- or something -from behind the door separating him from the Furbocom Weekly office.
There's soft murmuring from whoever or whatever is making Ashveil panic and the furbos holding Caelus back from breaking down the door let him go.
They cheer Caelus on as he rams a shoulder into the barrier with as much force as he possibly can and as Asvheil screams "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" At the top of his lungs over and over and over again.
When the door is finally broken- splintered apart with the force of a single swing from Caelus' bat -Ashveil could be seen huddled in a corner of the room. His eyes are wide and wild and full of tears that also streamed down his face as he squeezed his ears to his head.
As he continued to curse and shout at the young man in front of him to "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT REAL! YOU'RE NOT REAL!"
Even though his back is turned to face Ashveil, with the pale blue hair in a ponytail alone it's obvious to Caelus who the young man is supposed to be. He also doesn't believe this is who it looks like, knows for so many reasons why it literally can't be. But he chokes out the name anyways, too stunned at the sight of someone who should very well be dead and gone.
"Misha?"
Just that name alone causes Ashveil to let out another wail of agony. "YOU'RE NOT HIM! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The older man's eyes are bloodshot and his entire body is visibly shaking now even as Ashveil lowers his head to his bended knees in an attempt to make himself as small as possible.
The Misha lookalike reaches out to him, attempts to say something in a soothing voice that just makes everything worse. Caelus isn't sure how it's possible for Ashveil to somehow look even more distraught without his face still being visible but that's the least of his concerns.
He doesn't know who or what is this thing with Misha's body but they- or it - is causing the detective to melt down and Caelus knows that he needs to act. Not think.
So he steps forward, attempts to grab the thing so he can haul it out off the room. Out of the building. Maybe even out of existence.
But Caelus' hand stops just as it's about to make contact. He's stuck. Frozen.
The furbos are calling his name but are too afraid to actually move.
Ashveil is still screaming and sobbing and shaking.
The thing wearing Misha's face turns to look at Caelus with a gentle smile and gives a wink before he walks up to Ashveil, places a hand on his shoulder, and says with a voice that's distinctly more Mikhail Char Legwork than Little Misha, "it's okay now, kid. Everything will be all right."
Caelus can't move- he's lucky he can even breathe or think -but he's still panicking internally. He's willing his body to do something- anything! -so he can save the man currently clinging to the waist of some monster with the face once belonging to the man he loved.
At some point Ashveil had told Caelus that Mikhail had been his first love, even if the affection had never been returned.
"You're just a kid clinging to a father figure. You should form those Galaxy Rangers you talk so much about instead of pining after an old man like me… I know how you feel but I'm too old now, kid. Just move on…" Ashveil had paused then, flushed cheeks and dazed, drunken expression suddenly melting into a scarily sharp lucidity, "but I never did. Not from him. And then Misha only ever knew Gallagher and it wasn't…"
"It wasn't the same."
Just like this wasn't the same Mikhail or Misha or Watchmaker or whatever other identity. Caelus didn't even think it was anything more than some monster trying to kidnap or kill Ashveil.
For what end? It didn't matter and he didn't care. The why wasn't relevant.
What was relevant was that it was like Caelus was frozen in time. Forced to watch as Ashveil, with his bloodshot eyes and face wet with tears, gazed up reverently at the thing with Misha's face.
"Everything will be all right." It repeated, cupping Ashveil's cheek and rubbing a thumb over his quivering lips.
Ashveil whimpered. Closed his eyes. Buried his face into the thing's chest.
And said, "Everything will be all right" in a voice so soft Caelus nearly missed it.
***
Caelus awoke with a jolt, suddenly upright in his room on the Astral Express surrounded by all of the members of the crew plus his furbo employees.
"Ashveil-?!" Was all he managed to get out before Himeko answered with a, "we don't know."
It was explained to Caelus that they'd all tried and failed to look for Ashveil at the behest of the furbos. Even Pearl had used her vast resources to try and find him. But there had been nothing but the memory of his existence and the eyewitness accounts of some young man with pale blue hair and an eerie smile whisking him away to who knew where.
And in that somewhere, hidden away from prying eyes and ears, Ashveil, body naked and littered with love bites and bruise marks, lay sleeping with a small, contented smile on his face.
Said face was caressed by the gentle, soft hand of the one who'd taken him. "You did good, Ashveil."
"Mn… Mikhail~" Ashveil sighed without waking up.
END