Nepeta/Equius. Angst. When Nepeta and Equius meet after dying;

He's holding you too tight, but he's trying to be soft. His hands are wrapped around your shoulders and his nails are digging into your skin. Nail marks mark your shoulders. His lips are crushed against yours; wet, warm and needy. His hair is in his face and his tears are covering both of you in dark blue.

But it's okay, because this is Equius. And he really needs you right now. He needs you more than you need to breathe.

You relax into his grip and keep him pressed against you. Your hand rests on his chest, against his heart. You can feel it hammering away under your fingers. You wonder how something like that keeps someone like this so alive.

When his tears slow and his heartbeat is no longer so rushed, he relaxes his grip on you and pulls back. His face is streaked with blue tears that are still falling. His grey skin is flushed with a blue blush across the cheeks. He's handsome, with his dark hair falling over his cracked shades.

"I- I am so sorry." He mutters, looking at his feet. He's still holding your shoulders, he doesn't want to let go. You take his right hand with your left and gently lace your own right fingers between his. He squeezes your hand gently, and you do it back.

You reach the other hand up to cup his cheek, standing on your tiptoes. His tears collect on your finger tips. You rip your gloves off with your teeth and dump them on the floor. Using both hands, you wipe his face clean.

You pull him to his knees and let him sit there like he was in the middle of a prayer. You're taller than him now and this is the only time you're going to get to do this properly.

Reaching out carefully, you touch his broken horn. You caress it with a gentle touch and he makes a small choking sound. He wraps his thick arms around your waist and presses his face against your stomach.

You run your fingers through his hair, shushing him whenever he started to sob. You have no idea how long you stood there with him, but it was long enough for you to calm him.

"It's okay." You whisper. "It's all okay."

"It's okay." He repeats, letting his arms go lose around you. "It's okay."

You nod and smile at him; your hair's a mess, your hat got knocked off earlier, your clothes are a bit ragged and worn. Your smile does nothing, he still looks as heartbroken and as needy as he did when you first found him here.

"Equius," you say quietly, dropping all pretence of a game. You take his face in your hands and force him to look you in the eyes. "I'm okay, look at me. I'm fine."

Equius takes your hand in his. Your fingers look so small nestled in his palm. He kisses your hand and says with a broken whisper, "I'm sorry. I should have protected you."

"You did, silly." You smile again. This time he almost smiles back. "You did your best!"

He nods, "I did my best."