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[STORY]While  stars flickered and spent their light on illuminating and casting their  radiation upon the cosmos, Ezrael and her crew were aboard the  Behemoth, the very ship that sailed those same stars.
 

Truthfully, the young drake had been under immense stress as of late,  and it was taking a physical toll on her. She hardly ate, and rarely  slept, much of her time being diverted to repairs, crew problems,  medical issues, finances, political nonsense with who they worked for or  where they were flying, the mercenary contracts she took, the people  she was paid to kill, all of it was weighing her down.
 

She ran a paw through unruly hair and stripped down, standing in the  shower room on the Behemoth, half undressed, staring out the viewport.  She was naturally accustomed to nudity, and actually enjoyed being able  to walk about the ship naked and see out the windows, besides it wasn't  like someone would just be floating about out there to see her.
 

It was the soft sound of hot water on the cool concrete floors of the  bathing area that allowed her to slowly relax, tensions dripping off of  her as the waters temperature rose around her, slowly filling the room  with steam. She wasn't quite ready for the bath yet, but as captain, and  as herself, she didn't give a damn what the crew said about her water  rationing.
 

As if by commanded by some unseen and unheard force, her shoulders  rolled forward and she clutched at her own sides in a hug, suddenly  bending over in an arc and with a shudder, letting out the first sobs.  The stress, the heartache, the yearning, so much was overwhelming the  young captain, and atop it all she was expected to perform and protect  her crew, her family.
 

It was unknown to her that her ship had visitors, and even less known to  her that one of them was a familiar face. She'd been well into sobbing  in the bath, her facial fur drenched in tears, when the click of the  doors re-sealing was heard from across the bathing area.  While there  were stalls indeed and she was tucked in one of the larger ones, she  lifted her ears and stuck her head out to see whom was interrupting her  private time, her eyes floating up to the familiar body and markings and  her tear filled eyes suddenly welling up to the point of overflowing in  silence.
 

Ezrael's chest hitched in a dry sob as she pawed at him, almost as if he  was a ghost, and Deimos, the much taller, much wider male walked over,  as nude as the day he was born and pulled her in close to his body,  letting Ezrael get a deep breath of his scent. The scent she loved, the  scent she was bonded to. And as his little drake sobbed he pressed a  massive paw into the back of her head, holding her tight against him and  shhing at her from time to time.
 

"Dii--you-" her voice was weak, her throat dry; she heard her volume  crack and she started spilling tears again. Ezrael's small hands gripped  at his sides after shaking in midair for half a minute, eventually  clinging to Deimos's wider frame, her own shaking with a flurry of  emotions she couldn't fathom.
 

"I'm here," he muttered, so low only she could have heard. And in that  moment it was as if the Gods themselves had answered her prayers, for  more than anything in the universe, she wanted those arms around her.  She wanted to feel like she could relax, and not be in charge for once,  let someone else pilot, let someone else control. She wanted him to, she  longed for it, as she longed for him.  Deimos gently cupped one of her  cheeks, staring into eyes that matched his very own and pulling her into  him again. He did not kiss her, nor make any moves, he simply held her,  and gently ran his thumb along her hollows, reassuring her, showing the  smallest affection as she clung to him.
 

It was clear to the both of them, though neither said a word, that he  was exactly what she wanted and needed in that moment, and neither had  to mention or point out how she felt. It was something that just was,  and his presence being there was all she wanted, and all she cared for.  Not the jobs or errands or contracts or missing liaisons. Just this.  Only this. All she could think, all she could feel was his body heat,  his warmth, the warmth he'd absorbed from somewhere else and was  emanating into her now. The scent of home on him, the feel of his fur  pressing against her own, and his heavy head on her shoulder.
 

Ezrael's shoulders shuddered again as she bit back a silent sob, her  nails pressing slightly past Deimos's fur to cling to the flesh beneath,  as if she let go he'd vanish before her eyes.
 

No, she couldn't let that happen. She needed this. In this moment, the  only thing she wanted in the universe was for him to hold her, and to  fall asleep against his chest just one more time. The thudding of her  own heartbeat reminded her of what she'd never forgotten. How she felt,  how she'd always feel. "Please," she whispered against his cheek as he  pressed muzzle against hers, "don't let go." And Deimos tightened his  hold on her, as if to tell her he wouldn't.