From- Drafted book "Freaks"

Characters- Acid (Nex's mate & master) x Nex (a demon)

⚠TW- Cussing, talk of scars⚠

If you haven't already, I suggest reading the one-shot "Performance Cuddles" for background info on these two! Or you can read "Shower Sex", "Tantrum", or "Icy Punishment" for a smutty take with them <3

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It was late at night, the performances for the day were over and the arena had been cleaned and closed for the next two days.

All the 'Freaks' had gone down to their cages in the basement/lower house, well all of them but Nex.

It had been a long day of performing and Nex was extremely tired. He was the main act today in both performances they had. He showed off his shape-shifting ability and sang in different voices with each new look.

He matched the appearance of a few of the crowd members and they went wild. It was all extremely fun and he loved the energy of it all but it was also extremely tiring.

Shapeshifting takes a lot out of a being and so even though Nex is a rather powerful demon, he was now very tired from having been shapeshifting for about two hours total today.

Because of all that, Nex was carried home in Acid's arms and he was struggling to stay awake.

"Do you want to go downstairs or stay up here with me tonight?" Acid asked Nex softly as Nex leaned his head against Acid's chest.

"I'll stay with you," Nex answered getting a nod back before Acid carried him into his bedroom.

"Do you want to wear my clothes to sleep in or do you want me to go downstairs and get you a pair of your pajamas to sleep in?" Acid asked as he sat Nex down on his bed before grabbing a pair of sweatpants and clean boxers for himself to change into.

"Your clothes," Nex answered as he did his best to sit up on the bed.

"Okay, let's go take a shower and then we can sleep." Acid said before grabbing another pair of sweatpants, boxers, and now a hoodie for Nex.

After that, he put the pile of clothes under one arm before picking Nex up and holding him like a mother koala holds their baby.

He carried him into the bathroom, set Nex down on the shut toilet, set the clothes down on the sink counter, and then turned the water on to start warming up.

"Do you want me to strip you or are you going to strip yourself?" Acid asked as he began to strip himself.

He and Nex have been dating for a little over a month now. He was always so used to Nex being bubbly and bouncing off the walls with energy so it always threw him off whenever he was tired like this.

He always made sure to ask Nex about everything he did before he did it no matter what the thing was. It could be something sexual or something as simple as asking about whose pajamas he prefers. He always did this to make sure Nex knew he had a choice in everything now and that he will always have a say in anything that involves him in it.

"Can you strip me? I'm about to fall on my face asleep over here." Nex said with a smile though he was only half joking.

"Of course Love." Acid chuckled before quickly changing the shower to a bath instead before moving over to Nex.

He took off his pants and boxers first so he could sit down sooner and not have to worry about standing up again. Then he took off all of Nex's jewelry before finally taking off his shirt.

"Where did these come from?" Acid asked sounding and looking both confused and concerned.

Nex was confused as well until he looked down at his chest and saw three massive scars running from the top of his right rib to the left side of his hip.

"Fuck, fucking magic not working, fuck, shit, fuck." Nex cursed as he tried to hide the scars from Acid.

Acid gently grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his chest.

"I don't know what these are from or why you're hiding them and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to but I want you to know that I think that you're still just as beautiful as you were when you hid them." Acid stated before kissing the top of Nex's head.

He was curious about how Nex got the scars but he wasn't going to press the topic because it wasn't his place to. So, instead, he did his best to comfort his lover because he could see how much they upset him.

Nex's eyes watered at the sight of them but he smiled softly when he heard what Acid said.

"Now how about we get into the bath before the water gets cold?" Acid asked making sure to keep his tone calm and gentle.

Nex didn't reply verbally, instead, he nodded his head and lifted his arms, knowing that Acid could pick him up and carry him to the bath.

So, Acid did exactly that. He picked him up bridal style before sitting in the bathtub himself, sitting Nex down on his lap.

They sat in comfortable silence as Acid washed them both, washing Nex first and then himself. He left gentle kisses along Nex's shoulders and neck any time he saw him look down at his chest as a silent reasurement.

Once they were done, Acid got out of the tub first and then helped Nex out. He quickly dried himself before drying Nex off as well.

They changed into their pajamas, Nex doing this on his own now because he wanted to get to bed quicker.

After they were both dressed, Acid threw their dirty clothes in the laundry hamper before picking Nex up and carrying him to the bed.

"Do you want to watch something or listen to music? Or do you want to just go to sleep?" Acid asked as he laid them both down.

As soon as he laid down Nex cuddled up to his chest, wrapping his arms around Acid tightly before burying his head into the crook of Acid's neck.

"Sleep," Nex mumbled, his voice sounding muffled.

"Okay Love, sleep well." Acid hummed back before kissing the top of his head again.

Nex mumbled something else back but Acid couldn't understand what it was before Nex fell asleep.

Acid on the other hand stayed awake, pondering about what could have caused the scars on Nex's chest and why he had kept them hidden with magic from him for so long.

Eventually, he too grew tired and succumbed to slumber, having decided that if Nex wanted to tell him then he would but if not then he wasn't going to pry and it wasn't his business.

So they both fell asleep, content with each other in their arms, safe from the past, loving the present, and not too worried about the future.

1,200 Words!