Chapter Text
“I need to get home…” you mutter to yourself as you collect your luggage from the rack, you move as swiftly as a person can in a crowded airport on a monday morning.
28 Days… You think as you collect your motorcycle from the private storage unit your beloved reserved for you, making it easier for you to get home quickly after work missions. I hate this feeling. Your mind has not had a moment's peace for the past 72 hours, your heart has been trembling and your emotions so unbearable. Even calls to Sylus didn't help, in fact you seemed to feel even emptier after each talk. Something’s not right… You could feel it. Consumed by your own condition, you really didn't have the capacity to speculate so you've been just going through the motions. The monotony of the past few days have been a respite at least.
The breeze wafts in a familiar floral scent bringing you out of your head a bit and you think back to the day you left town. You had spent the morning wrapped in his arms, holding you a bit tighter than usual. He offered to ride to the airport with you and stopped for milk tea on the way to exchange I love you with a soft kiss before departing for so long.
Dazed and lost in the memories of his touch and taste you head home, ready for your two week break. The thought has been simmering in the back of your mind, you are tired of the long missions. The only thing that has made the relocation to the N109 zone a success is your position change at the association, you had left the city behind to work as a freelance hunter taking long missions in surrounding areas. Your reputation has earned you the grace of the association letting you do as you please so they hadn't even asked where you have been staying, your mailing address was switched to a P.O. box in Linkon City. You definitely loved the thrill of the missions and solitary work but nothing could soften the distance between you and the other half of your soul. You wonder if living together has made it more difficult to be away from him for this long. The tight sensation in your heart seems to settle as you near Onychinus’s base but is replaced by a soul deep yearning.
The silence without the roar of your motorcycle was eerie. Light tremors in the air around you made that nagging feeling that something was off creep back in as you take the elevator in the garage up to the main floor. Where is he..? Thoughts race a bit and the yearning starts to burn, you realize you are incredibly thirsty so you head to the kitchen for a bottle of water. Nothing looked out of place here, the room was tidy and the lights were dim. The butler and other housekeepers always stay out of your way for the most part so the absence of them wasn't strange.
“I have to find him.” your voice was so soft, just a whisper into the empty air. You take a few focused breaths in an attempt to steady yourself against the rising energy inside you. You really have to find him…. Any time you started feeling like this he was always by your side shortly after, it was as if he could sense your unease. He never says anything about it but you have no doubt that his presence can naturally nullify any surge of the power inside you. The instant calm you find around him is nowhere to be felt. You have been apart from your safe space too long. “I need him…” you whisper to yourself, hoping that he's here even though you can't sense him right now.
The state of the collection room made your eyes widen. A couple empty bottles of wine accompany an abandoned, half finished glass. A slew of different antique boxes spread out on the bar, gemstones and other shiny trinkets inside. The center table had an old cloth with intricate patterns on it, more stones arranged on it meticulously. A half smile breaks through your empty expression at the thought of him sitting here and polishing these and critiquing them while waiting for you to return made you miss him even more.
Prying your eyes away from the evidence of a bored husband, you venture further into the room and survey the entrances to the hidden chambers of the collection room. Narrowing your eyes as you approach the mechanism to open the room where Sylus keeps his personal stash of rare protocores, you get a strange sense of deja vu. “Something is definitely not right..” you whisper, tracing your fingers along the wall relief and feeling his energy signature. Curiosity piqued, you can’t shake the urge to open the door. The walls slide open to reveal a steel door once the hidden mechanism is activated, it opens easily which feels strange to you considering how secure everything else is around here. The train of thought crashes as you step inside.
“What the hell..?” you whisper when you're greeted with a near empty storage room. Protocores left on the table along the wall had very little glow to them with the vessels left intact. How did he dim them without breaking the crystal? You have to stop and take a breath in an attempt at tempering the anxious thoughts that come back full force in response to the strangeness of everything. A heavy sigh leaves you, you miss him so fucking much. Lost in your head and in a hurry to find him you turn around and startle as you almost run into him. You hadn't sensed him standing right behind you, leaning against the door frame with his hands in his pockets.
“Shit- Sylus!” A wave of frustration washes over you for some reason. “I almost ran into you!” You couldn't hide the relief in your voice when it hits you that you don’t have to search anymore. You go to playfully punch him for scaring you but then your gaze meets his and you freeze for a second, overcome with concern when you see the state he's in.
“Sy…?” Your voice a soft whisper as you reach up to touch his face, your brows furrow.
“Kitten…” he whispers, wrapping his arms around you and resting his forehead on yours. It almost sounds like a soft whine when he exhales.
“You're burning up..” the observation was an understatement. You cup his cheeks with both hands to run your thumbs under his eyes.
The look in his eyes was so distant, ruby red irises brighter than usual. You look into his aether core eye and feel a tug at your heart. “You're exhausted…” the dark circles under his eyes were worrisome, you realize your problems with your heart may have been showing you the state of your dragon… I've sensed his aether core in mine before, he must have been like this for days… You swallow the feeling of anger that wells up inside you due to the fact that Sylus hid this from you.
“I missed you…” Sylus mumbles, his words were a little slurred. The anger evaporates instantly, his reason for hiding this could be discussed tomorrow. Right now you just wanted to focus on caring for him and being close to him.
Your face heats up a little as you realize he might be drunk. You kiss his cheek and take his hand. “Let's go take a nap.. I'm worn out from traveling.” You take a deep breath and pack away all the lustful thoughts you were having on the way here. That will have to wait.
Sylus nods, his expression unreadable and honestly you were feeling a little unnerved but this was something you had dealt with before. He needs to rest and you need to behave.
After all, you promised him if you ever thought his aether core was driving his decisions to a volatile degree you would stay strong and level headed in relation to him. He had explicitly made you promise to not let him feed on you or give in to him sexually if he slipped into this state.
But that was before he married you… before you lived with him… and before you realized just how hard he is to resist, you can't remember a single time that you had to keep your hands off of him. The discussion about this rule changing would have to wait until he was back to normal, you would have to be strong and keep your promise.
Hand in hand you walk to the bedroom, his palms were so hot and you could feel it heating up your body too. God, he turns me on so much when he's like this… burning hot for me… that dazed look in his expression…. Your thoughts cut off when you run into him again.
He chuckles as he opens the door. “Spaced out..?” A weak attempt at teasing you for bumping into him again. The bedroom is dimly lit from the baseboard lights, the scent of his body wash still in the air from when he showered earlier.
“Not as badly as you are.” you cross your arms and stare into his eyes. Fuck he's so handsome, and all mine.
Sylus smirks and leans closer “Your thoughts are loud, Kitten…” his voice drops to a fiendish whisper that sends shivers down your spine.
“You're drunk, and even your bags have bags!” You point to his eyes. “Why didn't you tell me you haven't been sleeping…” you don't sound as accusatory as you feel, the way his right eye was a smoldering glow tells you he could be under intense stress right now. Right now, gentle love was the best medicine for both of you.
You gently push him back, looking up at him as you make him walk backwards until he hits the bed and sits down.
“I missed you, I couldn't sleep.” Sylus states, his hands find your waist and pull you closer.
“Well I'm here now. Let me shower and then we can sleep as much as we want.” A soft smile spreads on your face, leaning in to kiss his forehead you somehow manage to resist reacting when he squeezes your hips. He nuzzles you and mumbles “Okay… don't take too long..”
He is definitely acting strange… the worry hasn't lessened, you wonder what Sylus's aether core was focused on but decide to leave that conversation for later.
I wonder how long this will last… if he’s been like this for days, why did he hide it from me….
The thoughts circle in your mind as you finish drying your hair and slip into your nightgown. Exhaustion pressing down on you as you make your way to the bed to find Sylus already asleep. A wave of gentle calm washes over you as you snuggle up next to him, wrapping your arms around him, burying your face against him and letting his scent encompass you. My presence seems to have calmed him. You hold onto this thought and slowly your body gets heavier and your breathing syncs as you drift off to sleep