“Fine,” he huffed out.
Earth smirked.
“Do you know what I’ve learned about you over the last few years, Quinn?”
“What Earth? What have you learned?”
“That you suck at looking after yourself.”
Quinn raised a brow at him.
“Are you going to look after me, Earth? Is that what you’re saying?”
Earth grinned.
“Another time, maybe.”
Quinn heard a whimper from Air’s room, and he got up from the table.
“Duty calls.”
Earth gave him a knowing smile.
“There’s no duty there, Quinn. Don’t kid yourself.”
Quinn downed the rest of his tea and crossed the hall back into Air’s room. He was still sleeping, but he was twitching and fidgeting. Quinn climbed into bed behind him and pulled him close, but the air ghoul jumped and scooted away from him.
“It’s me, Air. It’s Quinn,” he said as he lay still.
Air turned around and woke up fully.
“Sorry, Quinn. I didn’t realise it was you,” he whispered.
Quinn bit back the growl that almost escaped him at the memory of Ose’s ghouls. He didn’t want to upset Air, though.
“It’s okay, I startled you. Do you need anything?”
“I really want a burger, but I guess it’s too late for a burger, huh?”
Quinn smiled at him.
“If Air wants a burger, he can have one.”
“It’s fine. I can wait. I just want to stay here in the dark for a while longer.”
He rolled back towards Quinn and curled into him, pressing his face into his chest.
“How does your back feel now?”
“Like a bear played with me,” he huffed. “Is it bad?”
“Secondo doesn’t think it will scar, but they messed you up pretty good.”
Air laughed a humourless laugh.
“Yeah. They did.”
Quinn used his quintessence to soothe him because Air was not doing well despite his trying to act like his usual self. He knew Quinn could tell exactly how he was doing underneath the act, though. He didn’t have to put a brave face on for any of their pack, but he was doing it, anyway.
They lay there in comfortable silence for a while and eventually Air relaxed. Quinn could feel his eyelids growing heavy, but Air suddenly started again.
“Did you lock the door?” he asked.
“No. There’s no need.”
“Oh.”
Air was silent for a minute.
“Do you want me to lock the door, Air?”
“Yes. Please,” he said in a small voice.
Quinn’s anger spiked as he realised that the usually fearless ghoul suddenly needed to know if the door was locked. He mumbled a spell and the lock clicked into place before he realised what he’d done.
“Shit.”
“Did you just do what I think you did?” Air said.
Quinn could hear the amusement in his voice. The Infernal spell had just slipped out without him realising. He was tired, and it had been easier than actually getting up to lock the door.
“Yes.”
He ran a hand down his face.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”
He smiled as he heard a bit of genuine Air shining through. The air ghoul snuggled back into him again and eventually his breathing evened out as he drifted back to sleep.
Quinn tried not to think about that night because every time he did, he felt rage bubbling up, so he tried to concentrate on giving Air comfort instead. In his mind though, he remembered making the ghouls pay for what they did to Air. 
He finally let himself rest with the thought of those fucking ghouls’ pained grunts and screams echoing through his mind. The delicious feel of their anguish comforted him, and he let the memory of their misery lull him off to sleep.