General Zargon: I. Cannot. Believe. I. Wrote. This

Ryuuketsu:-pats author on the back with a sympathetic look on his face- this is pure fluff if I ever saw it

General Zargon:-sighs in resignation- enjoy the chapter and grab a box of Kleenex!

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Amanda Hunter fidgeted as she walked through the halls of her and her husband's, Kyrian Hunter, house and she stopped at the foot of the stair case and looked at the double doors with a thoughtful look on her face. Acheron Parthenopaeus had started staying with them whenever he was in New Orleans a little over a month ago and she still had trouble adjusting to him, take the incident last week when she'd been in the kitchen and turned around to see Ash, she flushed when she recalled how she'd screamed and tossed the mashed potatoes into the air and how the bowl had landed on Ash's head, completely covering him with mashed potatoes. It'd taken hours of reassurances before she finally believed Ash when he said that there were no hard feelings and that the mashed potatoes had tasted great. She giggled as she remembered that comment but then she sighed and turned around, about to go back to bed, when a strange urging to enter Ash's wing came over her and she groaned, and hoped that Ash wouldn't be mad at her, as she opened the door and went straight to Ash's bedroom.

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand when she saw Ash. He was covered in sweat and he was thrashing about, making hurt noises, she noticed in shock as she moved further into the room to stand beside his bed, unsure of what to do, when it came to her and she gingerly sat down beside Ash on the bed and began to sign a Greek lullaby in soft tones. After a few minutes of her singing he calmed down and as she got up his hand shot out and grabbed her hand in a crushing grip but she didn't do anything but wince as she settled against the headboard and she barely contained her shock when Ash cuddled up against her with a pain-filled whimper. She settled down in resignation of a long night and idly stroked Ash's hair as she fell into an uneasy sleep and that was how Kyrian found her 30 minutes later when he entered the room. He blinked in shock at the sight of his wife laying against the headboard with Acheron cuddled up against her and holding on for dear life, at least that's what it looked like to Kyrian as he stepped into the room and leaned against the side of bed that his wife was on.

He restrained his impulse to break away when he felt a hand in his hair. When he looked up he blinked in shock at seeing Ash's hand in his hair but the whimpers the man was emitting caused Kyrian to hold his silence as he leaned back against the side of the bed, it also caused him to resign himself to a sore back in the morning. Just when Kyrian was nodding off he heard his wife's voice above his head and he could tell she was trying not to wake Ash "Kyrian?" she asked and he whispered back "yeah, let's let Ash sleep 'cause he seems calmer now" he sensed her nod and they both settled back to sleep, though Kyrian just knew that he was going to have a sore back in the morning. It was early morning when Acheron woke up and the first thing he became aware of was the fact that he was cuddling his upper body against something warm and the second thing he became aware of was the fact that he had his hand in someone's hair and the third thing that he became aware of was the fact that he felt very well rested, which was different than how he normally felt after a night of nightmares but surprisingly the nightmares hadn't come that night.

Finally he gave into the inevitable and looked down to see his hand in Kyrian's hair and his heart felt like lead when he looked up and saw Amanda leaning against the head board with his upper body pillowed on her lap. He swallowed and unfortunately for him that action woke Amanda. She yawned and stretched her arms before looking down and seeing that Ash was awake she blushed and fidgeted until Kyrian stirred, and unknowingly saved her from the embarrassment of having to explain what'd happened on her own. Kyrian blinked the sleep from his eyes and stretched before he realized that Ash no longer had his hand in his hair. He sighed before he stood up and looked down at Amanda and Acheron "hey Ash!" he said cheerfully before he ruined it by groaning as he massaged his back "I KNEW I would have a sore back in the morning" he muttered and Ash finally rolled off of Amanda and onto the other side of the bed, giving Amanda the chance to stand up and stretch out her muscles. Amanda looked at Ash and gave a small smile as she said "we'll talk once you get dressed" her and Kyrian beat a hasty retreat, leaving Ash to wonder exactly what had gone on that night.

Kyrian and Amanda looked up when Ash walked into the living room and Acheron had sat down on the recliner before Kyrian spoke "I'm guessing that you want to know what caused us to wind up in your bed huh?" he thought for a moment before he made a face "that sounded really wrong" Amanda and Acheron couldn't help but laugh at that but the tension had been broken which gave Amanda the courage to speak up "well, I was up walking around when all of a sudden a strange feeling went through me, that feeling seemed to tell me to go into your room, Ash, so I did and I saw you on the bed thrashing around and sweating so I started singing a Greek lullaby and sat next to you on the bed to calm you down. Eventually you calmed down but when I tried to get up your hand grabbed mine and wouldn't let me so I just rested against the headboard when you cuddled up to me and I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I know, Kyrian is leaning against the side of the bed with your hand in his hair" the room was quiet as Acheron digested this information and then Kyrian spoke up "we thought it best to jus let you sleep Ash" Acheron was touched and he took a moment to conceal his emotions and then he put on a genuine smile "thank you for staying with me" the couple nodded and Amanda spoke up "of course we'll stay with you, Ash, your our friend" Kyrian nodded to confirm what his wife said and he added "yeah, your our friend and we take care of our friends" Acheron struggled to keep his emotions hidden but he couldn't contain his smile.

After a few moments Acheron spoke again "thank you again for staying by my side last night" Kyrian and Amanda just smiled and Acheron secretly vowed to himself that he would walk through the fires of hell to keep them safe and that he would kill whoever or whatever tried to hurt them because ,for once in eleven thousand years, he felt safe and the Hunters had shown him more kindness than he had ever felt before in the simple act of staying with him through his nightmares.

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General Zargon:-sniffles- I vow that I will try to never again write such a sad story-blows nose-

Ryuuketsu:-sighs and hands author a tissue- R&R

General Zargon:-wipes eyes- R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!