[Gift] A Box of Chocolates is the Best Medicine

Azrael had been having a long day. Somehow almost every single one of the central Shadow Syndicate members had been in and out of his office for one thing or another: 

Varrik Rurikovich had gotten into a scrap with someone who had gotten a bit too direct with one of his partners and made them uncomfortable. So he’d had to wrangle the much larger GluttonyDoll into sitting down and staying still for the hour it took to stitch up his wounds and get them properly bandaged. He’d written him strict instructions not to do ‘whatever that was’ again. He wouldn’t be patching him up as thoroughly next time if it did. “It’s matentines season Varrik, he’d sighed while shooing him out the door, “you can literally fuck it out instead of starting a fist fight. Just get consent.” Then he had slammed the door in Varrik’s face. 

Vadim Romanovick, per usual for the season - or well if Azrael was honest with itself any season, had drank way too much the night before and had come into the medic room with a raging hangover. Azrael had almost sent the GreedDoll away knowing it was all his own fault. But he’d nearly fallen directly onto the medic’s floor… And Az wasn’t going to be dealing with a concussion over this. So he helped catch him and dragged him over to one of the beds. Trying to get him to move with any amount of coordination through the near migraine was always a mess; but today it just seemed like somehow every single moveable object was in their way. Azrael briefly surveyed the scene and sighed before getting a drip IV into Vadim and going through his cabinet for a few medications that would help take the edge off the rest of the hangover symptoms once the saline worked its ‘magic’. It took a few hours of slowly feeding the cranky bodyguard water in addition to the IV and two rounds of light medication before Vadim was ready to move from the comfortable spot the medic had put him in. “Now you’re cleaning up your mess.” Azrael told him with his arms crossed. Vadim had groaned, immediately trying to protest. “No. You caused it, you’re cleaning it, Vadim Romanovich. Get to it. And lay off the booze.” And with that, despite the sharp glare sent his way, Az ignored the GreedDoll for the rest of his stay in the medic unit. The SlothDoll did nearly jump out of his skin multiple times when Vadim set things down too loudly and later when the door slammed on the GreedDoll’s way out; but Az easily settled back into his peace, he was used to it even if it still sent a jolt of tension through him. 

Then there was the worst of the bunch: Viscili Avraamovich. The GreedDoll had come in without a word and started rifling through the medication cabinets. “Boss?” No reply. “Boss?” Still no reply, just a slamming of the first cabinet as he started in on the second one. He could feel his hidden eye twitching and the headache building. This man was going to be the death of him. “BOSS!” Now that got a reaction. 

The king of the Shadow Syndicate jumped and spun around snapping at his medic, “What‽”

Deadpanning at the way his boss was acting, he waited for the ‘royal’ - yeah royal pain in my ass, he thought - GreedDoll to calm down. When Viscili finally grit his teeth and looked away, Azrael spoke once more. “What are you doing?”

“Finding where you hide the suppressants…” Viscili was barely audible when he grumbled it out. 

Azrael sighed once again that day. “Viscili Avraamovich, you can’t already be out of heat suppressants..”

“Well I am. You know I have a high medication threshold.” 

Now Azrael’s eye really was twitching. And after having this same argument year after year, he finally snapped. “If you would just go through a single heat in your damn life, maybe your threshold would. Go. Down.”

It started a stare off. Then eventually Az shut his eye and took a deep breath. “Fine. Fine.” He went over to his safe and punched in the code after making sure Viscili couldn’t see what it was, pulling out the last small bottle of suppressants left. “Here. Just take th-” Before he could even finish the taller doll snatched them out of Az’s hand. That did it. 

“But.” His tone was sharp. “If you come back in here before that week’s worth of dosage is up, I swear to the demons themselves we ARE going with Plan B. Do you understand me, Viscili Avraamovich?” 

Those pale blue eyes narrowed at Az. “What is Plan B?” 

“None of your business. Just make them last, Viscili Avraamovich, and you’ll never have to find out.” 

That was the last time that they interacted that day; and Az would bet he wouldn’t see the GreedDoll boss again until that prescription ran out - whenever that happened to be. 

So bitterly, he spent the rest of the day making new batches of suppressants and grumbling under his breath between patching other members up and hydrating them from their Matentines escapades. 

“Next time that door opens it better be something good, or I am going to absolutely lose my shit.” Az muttered to himself as he wound down his night in his ‘office’. He heard the door swing open and his wings tensed at the noise. He meant what he’d just said, especially if it was Viscili coming in to bother him. The door clicked shut and he was a hair's breadth from spinning around and snapping at whatever unsuspecting Succubun had entered his space at the wrong moment when he felt a familiar hand on the back of his neck.

The way the strong hand lightly squeezed the back of his neck in a way that made him melt from comfort. It immediately told him that Kuchinashi was there for him, that they loved him. “You’re tense, Az. What happened?” 

So much of him screamed to just bury it, tell them it was nothing, because they didn’t need to worry about it or have it bother them. But he breathed and reminded himself that they had promised to be honest about even the bad days. They could deal with those days together better than if either of them was on the verge of explosion and not communicating. “Oh just… A rough day. Everyone needed me for one thing or another and Viscili Avraamovich-” He sighed knowing their feelings for the GreedDoll. “He was the roughest is all. Really pushed my buttons today, so I’ve been scratching at the walls of my cage so to speak.” He barked the smallest laugh to let them know that he was letting it go - it was always easier to let it go when they were here. 

“Well. Sounds like it was a good thing I dropped by to repay your surprise, huh?”

“You what?” He made sure not to raise his voice, but he could feel the way the anxiety tried to claw at his chest from the inside.

“Relax, it’s not anything big.” 

Kuchinashi set down a box of chocolates in the shape of a flower. “It’s just some chocolates, my dear. I know how much you like sweets; and after a rough day it seems like just the right medicine.” The anxiety left his chest and he leaned back into their chest staring at the box as he let his mask fall. His blank expression would seem like a lack of interest to anyone else; but Azrael knew that Kuchinashi knew it was just exhaustion from having to emote all day when he didn’t naturally do so. 

“Thank you…” 

“You don’t need to thank you, darling. I love you.” They pressed a kiss to the top of his head between his horns. “Oh, I made sure that the orange cream ones you liked were in there; but if there are any you don’t like you can use them as treats for the office. We both know how all these big babies get.” It made him laugh and he hid his face in their hoodie almost purring - in fact he would have if his vocal boxes were made for it. Kuchi began scratching the back of his head and running their fingers through his hair to comfort them. “I also brought you coffee, the white chocolate raspberry stuff you’ve been obsessed with lately.” Then grinned down at him and he groaned happily. They’d just made his night impossible to ruin. “You.. You’re the best sinner in the world.” He joked craning his neck up to give them a kiss while his hand reached out to take the coffee at the same time. 

With the first sip of coffee, he hummed happily. “I needed that.” He slumped into his chair contentedly with both hands curled around the to-go mug. 

“Definitely looks like it.” Kuchinashi chuckled at the tiny SlothDoll’s behavior, it was just so sweet to see him actually be at ease with them there to help. “But I think I know something else you need.” He hummed questioningly but didn’t look up to see them approaching. Kuchinashi quickly tucked the box of chocolates back into their hoodie pocket and scooped Azrael up bridal-style. He sputtered out protests and lightly pushed on the PrideDoll’s chest for a moment before Kuchi shushed him. “Hey relax. We’re just gonna go back to my place and get you some space from your burrowmates okay?” They smiled and kissed his cheek. “We can watch murder mystery shows and debate if it’s believable or not while we snuggle and get that sweet sweet dopamine huh?” 

Azrael could just about cry. Chocolates, coffee, and a place to hide away from everyone who wanted something from him and didn’t want just him? He couldn’t hold it in, “You’re perfect.” He was crying underneath his bangs. 

“No, baby, I’m not. But I’m glad you think so.” The PrideDoll smiled and tucked Azrael closer up under their chin and continued to carry him back to their shared garden burrow. Az would sip his coffee the whole way there, half dozing off in the warmth of their arms. How perfect could they get?