#At a place where the voices of our lads are trapped in a computer...

[avocadoearthworm]

Oh my lordy me

[marvel-and-mischief]

Daffodils

Part of my Floriography Series

Pairing: Max Phillips x GN!Reader Words: 1900 Warnings: unrequited love, angst, character death (sort of, it’s vampires!), descriptions of blood and gore, descriptions of dying, descriptions of violence Synopsis: Max is selfish, thoughtless, egotistical, and it might just lead to your downfall

Daffodils: Latin name is ‘narcissus'; based on the tragic myth of the beautiful Greek hero who fell in love with his own reflection 

💐

You could see him now, standing in his office, pulling a blue steel pout in the mirror and fixing his hair with a comb. It was eight-thirty in the morning and Max was readying himself for the day as he usually did, putting a smile on his face and looking good despite the fact he never dealt with customers in person. You supposed it was a state of mind; if he looked good, he felt good and could charm whoever was on the other end of the phone. 

You’re not sure if he knew you watched. Where your desk was situated on the other side of the room, you were the only person in the office that could see what he was doing. You’d never caught him looking at you, or even noticing you for that matter, but that’s how you liked it. Blending into the shadows, head down, getting your work done, and then you could go home on time. 

Giving himself a wink, Max turns around in one smooth pirouette and strides out of his office to greet everybody with wide arms and a toothy grin.

“It’s Monday morning, I know, it sucks,” Max rolls his eyes playfully and puts his hands on his hips in an exaggerated manner, “but if we drive our sales up today then the rest of the week will be a breeze. Come Friday we’ll be sipping on cocktails and laughing at Josh over there, hey Josh,” Max waves sarcastically at a man in the corner who is trying to shrink into his chair and hide his face behind his hand. Everybody except you and Josh titter at Max’s jab. 

Max claps his hands loudly to silence the room and waves in a ‘shoo’ motion to get everyone back to work before returning to his office. It reminded you of a theatre play, how rehearsed it all was, how perfectly he moved from one action to the other. 

That was why you’d started to watch him in the first place. Your train always got you into work an hour before you needed to be there and you’d noticed how he rehearsed things in the mirror in his office before anyone arrived. Motivational speeches to himself, happy smiles and sad smiles, even different types of winks (you knew he preferred his left eye). It was fascinating to see your boss, who was usually brazen and over-confident, practicing his personality for the day. 

Being unnoticed gave you the opportunity to observe him when he thought no one was looking. Like how you never saw him eat anything, only drink from a large flask which he never poured out into the cup that screwed into the top, which was odd but then he was an odd man. He had a subconscious quirk where he’d run a finger along his side parting and sometimes he’d catch himself doing it and look mournfully around his office, as though he was remembering something he’d rather forget. 

But you tried to get noticed sometimes, tried to bring attention to yourself in small ways, just to remind him you existed, that you were there. 

You brought lemon candies back from your beach vacation last Summer, had said you’d brought too many gifts for your family and thought he’d like them. It wasn’t true of course. You’d specifically looked for something to buy him but realised you didn’t know what he liked so had grabbed them in a last minute panic from a little gift shop next to the gas station. He mumbled a thank you without looking, not expecting anything more than that. But it had stung when you found them on top of the trashcan outside the office building. By the front door. He must have known you’d see them as you left the office that day and he didn’t care. Still, it hadn’t dissuaded you.

Sometimes Max would need someone to look over numbers on a Friday night and he’d asked you (via an email). You didn’t mind, there were always regular trains to catch and it’s not like you had anyone waiting for you at home. You tried to use those nights to pry open the enigma that is Max Phillips. You never got far.

The first time you stayed behind had mostly been a silent one. Max hunched over his computer whilst you sat opposite him. You had asked him about his weekend, only to receive a shrug and a muttered ‘out with the lads’. 

The second time you helped him with the numbers you’d managed to peak his interest when you placed your phone down on his desk, your screen lighting up to reveal your favorite movie as your background wallpaper. He’d looked impressed, a conversation starter on the tip of his tongue but instead of saying something, he’d taken a deep breath and pursed his lips before turning back to his computer. 

Had you offended him without realising it? Did he not like the way you worked? You couldn’t put your finger on why he treated you the way he did. 

-

Tonight was another Friday night that Max had asked you to stay behind, but it was far from ordinary. For starters there was a mug of freshly brewed coffee sat on your side of the desk when you entered. You looked questioningly at Max.

“Don’t you like coffee?”

You hurried to nod and sat down. That was possibly the most Max had ever spoken to you. It was what you’d always wanted; for him to acknowledge you as a member of his team, as a hard worker, as a human being. Perhaps you should have responded but you were in shock. You tried the coffee once it had cooled down, it was exactly how you liked it, how did he know?

The rest of the hour went by without either of you talking. You stood from your seat and handed him the closed file.

“Everything’s in order,” you said, putting your coat on and picking up your purse, “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Max grunted something unintelligible as you walked to the door. He spoke a sentence to you today, maybe it’ll be two sentences next week? You internally kicked yourself for letting him walk all over you. He didn’t care for you the way you cared about him, he didn’t think of you as much as you thought of him, when would you learn?

Before you passed the glass windows of his office you looked back to see Max looking in the mirror, fixing up his hair and smoothing down the front of his three piece suit. He looked in the mirror more than he ever looked at you. That should be enough to shake some sense into you. He’d never like you more than he liked himself, but the heart didn’t work on logic. Unfortunately. 

You shook your head and left him there to gaze into his own reflection.

It was dark and cold in the early evenings so pausing to pull on gloves and a woollen hat in the foyer before stepping outside was a must. Just as you were adjusting your hat over your ears you heard movement from a supply closet to your left. You froze, listening out for anymore noise, hoping it was just your imagination. It was deathly silent.

If it came to it you’d run back to the elevator and go and ask Max to check it out for you, damned if it made you look pathetic. If it was someone messing about Max could deal with it, if it was a trapped animal then you’d be doing the cleaning lady a favor in the morning by letting it loose tonight. 

You startled at the noise, turning just in time to see the door knob of the supply closet being rattled from the inside. You weren’t a naturally brave person but you were curious, some would say nosey. You found your feet creeping towards the closet.

“Is someone trapped in there?” You received no reply as you placed your hand on the door knob and slowly turned.

The door flew open suddenly and you were faced with a monstrous contortion of skin and bones, sharp fangs flashed in front of your eyes and then you were hitting the ground. You felt a hot sting of excruciating pain at your neck, like your flesh was being torn apart and warm liquid dribbling down your skin and soaking your shirt.

Your vision became blurry and unfocussed but you think you saw Max, or heard him shouting your name and in a haze of motion the man at your neck had been thrown across the room and then it was his face you were seeing hovering above yours. 

“You stay with me, you understand?” He was panicked you realised, his voice becoming shrill as he held you in his arms, a hand pressed to your throat to stop any more blood pooling out. 

“I’m sorry, I tried to prevent this, I didn’t want this for you.”

You frowned up at him, wandering what he meant. What was happening to you? Why did he care when he didn’t even look at you on any given day?

His brow was furrowed, his lips turned downward, a look of pity in his eyes and it made you mad. Furious. You should be pitying him. This man who loved nobody but himself, who cared for nobody but himself. He was selfish and prideful and didn’t deserve your kindness. 

The adrenaline coursed through your veins and you felt the overwhelming urge to grab him and tear him limb from limb, like you saw predators in documentaries rip apart the flesh of their prey. Max saw the change in your eyes before you attempted to reach for his neck and swiftly held you to his chest in a strong grip.

“I promise I’ll help you through those urges,” he whispered into your ear but it sounded like being underwater when someone was shouting at you from above, you couldn’t make sense of it.

“I thought, if I could keep you away from me then perhaps no one would notice you,” Max carried on but all you wanted to do was shut him up, press your fist into his mouth and stop him talking.

“Perhaps if I’d done the opposite, protected you by keeping you near me, this wouldn’t have happened,” Max carefully pressed your head to his chest, away from his skin so you couldn’t do him any harm. He knew exactly what you were going through and he wasn’t going to let you be alone like he was.

“Because of course I noticed you, how could I not?” 

You were crying now, and your head was pounding too loudly in your ears but his words were getting through to you at last. He’s noticed you? Then how could he treat you so terribly?

“Keep breathing, remember how it feels, it won’t be long before that stops.” 

You heaved in a sobbing breath and gripped onto his forearm that lay across your chest.

“What’s happening to me?” You managed to croak out. But did you really want to know that you were dying? 

“You’re being reborn.”

Permanent tag list: @autumnleaves1991-blog​ @phoenixhalliwell​ + @max--phillips​ 

[creepychippy]

Twisted Truth - Luigi’s Mansion 3 Fanfic

The whirring of Machinery, static Noises of Light and the occasional Chit-Chatting between some Ghosts echoed throughout the Laboratory that belonged to a certain little Ghost Researcher, who was currently researching something on his Computer.

17 Spectras were given the Duty of protecting valuable as well as important Elevator Buttons that were handed out to them away from a green clothed Plumber.  “He’s a malicious Ghosthunter who wants to stuff you into Paintings.”, as they were told. Most of them have put up a Fight against said Menace but were captured by him in the End regardless, including another Ghoul that was being deployed into one of the dome-shaped Capsules at the Moment, prominent by the all to familiar humming Sound that the trapped Souls got used to after a While.

“Gloria!”, the muscular Swimmer beside her called out, knocking a few Times on the Glass to get her Attention. He in Return got a sheepish Wave from her, her other Hand readjusting the Wig she was wearing on her Head as it got a little bit messed up during the Exchange Process.

“Yeah, I... sadly got captured. The Plumber’s got some groovy Moves however, I tell ya that.”

For a few Minutes, the ghostly Residents exchanged many Words between them, which however died down after a While, as there was seemingly nothing to discuss about anymore. That is however until the quiet Pianist took Note of something.

“Kruller, you seem to be pondering about something. What is on your Mind, if I may ask?”

Upon hearing his named being mentioned, the ghostly Cop snapped out of his deep Thoughts, resulting him glancing around in a confused Manner for a few Seconds before he turned towards Amadeus.

“Ah, I- it’s just-... n-nothing, really...”, he stammered out, his Hand shakingly fixing his Sunglasses. Even though he was one of the few Ghosts who got caught early on, he seemed still shaken up about it.

“Are you sure it is nothing? It appeared as if something is troubling your Mind, at least so it did to me.”, the ghostly Pianist calmly explained while having one Arm behind his back and gesturing with the other.

“Uhm, well...”

For a Moment, Kruller hesitated, but he quickly collected himself.

“Isn’t... it weird? All of this?”

“What do you mean, Dearie?”, a sweet Voice beside him suddenly chimed in. Apparently, the Conversation between the Cop and the Pianist has gotten the Attention of the ghostly Maid.

“I mean, what I’m- uhm... what I’m going to say next may sound strange, but... I don’t believe that the Plumber that Miss Gravely t-told us about is as evil as she makes him out to be...”

Upon noticing that some confused Stares were aimed towards him, his Voice went quieter at the last few Words, as some Sweatdrops were building on his Forehead again.

“Elaborate, please.”, the ghoulish Pianist told the ghostly Cop, his Eyebrows furrowing a little bit.

“I just mean- I mean, look at him. Miss Hellen told us that we potentionally have to face off against an evil Baddie who along a malicious Scientist wants to lock us into P-Paintings and keep us trapped in them forever. However, when I-I watched him through the Cameras from Time to Time, even encountered him-... all I saw was a scared and frightened Human, p-perhaps... lost even...” 

At this Point, every Spectra’s Attention was turned towards the nervous Mall Cop, quietly listening to him explain.

“Lad, Ah fought against Enemies that wanted me dead when Ah was alive, regardless if they were wetting their Pants or not. Just 'cause he was frightened doesn’t mean that he's innocent or that he doesn’t have any ill Intentions.”, a booming Voice that had an scottish Accent to it suddenly broke the Silence that had built itself around the Room just mere Seconds ago.

“Actually... I-I think I have to agree with Kruller in this Case. For someone who is supposed to be ‘a scary and vicious Ghosthunter who wants us locked away forever’, he appeared quite hesitant with attacking me, at least for the first few Moments. Not only that, but we have been trapped inside of these Capsules for Hours now instead of these terrifying Paintings that were mentioned.”, the thin Bellhop chimed in out of the blue as he folded his Arms, him seemingly pondering about something as well.

“Erm, t-that’s not the only Thing, though... P-please take a Look at that Capsule that stands besides Dr. Potter and Ug.”

As everybody turned towards the transparent Device, it turned out that said Capsule was empty.

“N-now look at all of us. Which one of us is missing?”

Thinking about it, everybody eventually came to the same Conclusion.

Morty.

“That is indeed weird. Where is he?”, the green Gardener scratched the Back of his Head, as he was puzzled as to what could have happened to the Movie Director.

Raising his Cap slightly with his gloved Hand, the ghostly Hillbilly decided to throw his own Argument into the Round.

“Well, maybe dat good ol’ Pipsqueak of a Plumber jus’ snatch'd dat shiny Button right out of our dear and beloved Director’s Hands when he wasn’t lookin. After dat, he jus’ left him ’lone to do his own lil’ Thing.”

“B-but don’t you realize something?”

Kruller was now staring at Clem, hoping that he would understand what he was trying to get across.

“It means that the supposed ‘malicious’ Ghosthunter and his little Scientist Friend wasn’t out to capture all of us like we were told and previously had assumed, else Morty would be here with us at this very Moment.”, Serpci exclaimed as the Revelation suddenly came to her Mind.

“Exactly! A-and besides that-”, once again, the intruiged Glances were being directed at the ghostly Cop, “- I-I think there’s something else I noticed...”

Timidly adjusting his Sunglasses as they slipped off a little bit before, he voiced the other Realization he made out aloud to everyone.

“E-every Ghost, i-inside this Hotel, us included, behaved much more... how should I say this... ‘agitated’ or ‘aggressive’ than usual...”

The ghostly Residents quietly looked at each other. Now that Kruller mentioned it, the ghoulish Inhabitants of this Place did indeed act out much more strangely as of lately.

“T-take Steward for Example. Remember when we talked about the Encounter we had with the Ghosthunter?” 

“Yes, I did.”, the red clothed Bellhop answered while staring at the purple Cop.

“Y-you said that you threw the Luggage inside the Garage at him when he fought against you, right?”

“You did what now?”, the sweet Voice that the undead Maid carried turned into a much more shocked Tone upon hearing this sort of Information.

“I know that you work a lot and are probably under a lot of Stress, but it isn’t like you to suddenly act out like this, Dearie!”

“Well, I... I don’t know what came over me. I just saw the Luggage and my Mind instinctively went ‘throw it at the Plumber’.”

This Time, some concerned as well as worried Glances were shared around the Group.

“A-and you, Chambrea. Please tell us how your Encounter went again.”

“I was peacefully cleaning the Room and saw a pretty Suitcase, but the green Ghosthunter appeared out of nowhere all of the sudden. Out of Panic, I... swallowed the Suitcase and fled the Scene...”

A slight Blush crept across the Maid’s Face as some murmuring from others could be heard. Meanwhile, Kruller decided to explain his Part of the Story, and at the End he finally turned towards the ghostly Chef beside him.

“Well, I was cooking in ze Kitchen as usual, until ze Plumber and his weird Doppelganger suddenly broke into it, which caused me to drop my Dish and.... suddenly lash out... at zem...”

At first, the orange Cook was confidently telling his Part of the Story, but his Voice dropped as soon as Realization dawned on him and he uncomfortably rubbed his Neck.

“Mister Wolfgeist, do you may want to continue?”, Chambrea calmly asked him, however Worry was now stretched over her Face.

“I was playing on my Piano, until that green Plumber walked into the Auditorium. I thought I could ignore him and simply just throw some Chairs at him to scare him off, but he turned out to be much more persistent than what I had previously assumed him to be. After that, he captured some Goobs, causing my Concentration to be thrown off and ulimately leading me to become really mad at him. In a Fit of Rage and Attempt to finally get rid of him, I... possessed my Piano and tried to slam it into him... destroying it in the Process...”

The well known nonchalant Expression that the Pianist carried on his Face was suddenly replaced with that of Dread, as he slowly looked down upon his Hands.

“Um Himmels Willen... what in Lord’s Name just came over me...”

On and on the Explanations went, with most Ghosts expressing the Feelings of Regret and Guilt as well as that of Unease and Concern along the Way and everybody making Revelation after Revelation.

“Just what the Hell is going on?”, Johnny blurted out while holding his Hands against his Head, as the current Situation admittedly made him more and more anxious as well as puzzled.

The DJ next to him tried to talk to the ghostly Swimmer in order to calm him down: “Johnny, Sweetie, please chill out. I’m sure we can find out what exactly is going on!”

“I be sure that Hellen be behind all o' this! I swear on me other Eye!”

“Miss Gravely? Why would you think that she would do something like this?”, Dr. Potter questioned the aquatic Pirate while adjusting his Glasses.

As every Soul was beginning to get into a heated Argument, including Ug who only was able to speak Gibberish, the ghostly Maid noticed that the Bellhop beside her was starting to act more nervously.

“Steward, Dearie, is everything alright?”

“...’s all my Fault...”, he mumbled in a tense Manner, his Sentence being barely audible, and he anxiously rubbed his Arms.

“Steward?-”

“It’s all my Fault!”, he blurted out all of the sudden, causing the Discussions between the Spectras to come to a Halt and look at him.

“How is this your Fault? You can’t be behind all of this, now can you?”

Crossing his Arms, Amadeus proceeded to stare at Steward questioningly, like he was trying to knock some Sense into the Bellhop for even bringin up such Claim.

“A-apologies, Stress got over me again. It’s just... I could have maybe prevented this and I’m blaming myself for it.”

The ghostly Cop gave him a sympathetic Glance and spoke up: “How so?”

“All of you perhaps heard about how a special Guest came to the Last Resort to visit us, correct? King Boo, as I recall. Before he arrived here, everything was running pretty smoothly and-”

“So ya think it was him?-”

Promptly, the ghoulish Pianist held up a Hand towards the pink Electrician.

“Clem, let Steward finish, it is rude to interrupt him when he wasn’t finished talking.”

“M’sorry.”

Clearing his Throat, the blue Spectra continued: “As I said, everything was pretty normal. That is until I went onto Miss Gravely’s Floor to retrieve the Elevator Buttons as well as Instructions and hand them out to you...”

He stopped for a Moment and grabbed at his Bowtie slightly, but collected himself and proceeded with his Story.

“No matter where I looked, there were Sculpures as well as Painting of this particular Guest everywhere. I... I think I even caught some Glimpses of Merchandise of him... Gee, I-I should have warned all of you and talked about it after all of what I have seen instead of keeping it to myself. In Hindsight, it was definitely a red Flag and certainly not normal...”

Some disturbed Expressions where exchanged in the Round, until MacFrights finally spoke up.

“So ya think a small wittle Boo who calls himself a ‘King’ could’ve done all of tis?”

“It wasn’t a small Boo, far from it! He was far bigger than Miss Gravely, his Appereance was much more different as well as menacing than that of a regular Boo and he wore a Crown with a Gem on it!”

“A Gem?”

The intruiged Queen chimed in as her yellow Eyes stared into those of Steward’s.

“Yes, a giant purple one.”

“Hmm, you’re definitely onto something then.”

In a Matter of Seconds, the entire Attention was now focused solely on Serpci.

“When I was alive, I was told Stories about how Kings and Queens amongst the Lands would use Gems that contained great Powers within them to rule over their respected Kingdoms. Even in todays Era, Tales of Folks using these particular Gems to harvest their powerful Abilities and utilizing them to their Advantages still make the Rounds.”, she recalled to the Group, one Hand resting against her Cheek while the other supported her Elbow.

“Of course!”

Ths Time, everybody turned their Heads towards the Capsule that contained the Triplets, since one of them, Ginny to be precise, seemingly remembered something.

“It has to be Mind-Controlling Magic that he’s using against us! Me and my Sisters know about a Tale that took present inside of the Evershade Valley a long Time ago. A Being with powerful Abilities apparently was able to use Mind-Controlling Magic against the Ghosts that reside there in said Area. We were so impressed an fascinated by that Story that we even have a small Replica of the Gloomy Manor inside an Aquarium in one of our Rooms!”

“So-”, Soulfflé kneaded his Temples, “if I’m understanding zis correctly, all of zis Trouble is happening because our dear Hotelowner has an Obsession over a big oversized Marshmallow who decided to trick and manipulate the entire Hotel? Just great...”

Even though it was pretty apparent what was going on, there were still some unanswered Questions that lingered in the Air.

“But what Reason would they have to bring a Ghosthunter here out of all Places, let alone send him after all of us? It just doesn’t make any Sense in my Head!”

Seeing Gloria getting so frustrated, Clem let out a tiny Snicker followed by a sarcastic Comment while he casually leaned back in his Rubber Duckie Floatie that he was lying on.

“Before ya totally break yer Head over such complicated Question, why don’‘t cha ask the Lady who’s behind all of this hersel-”

A familiar humming Noise once again echoed throughout the Room, interrupting the undead Electrician in his Speech, and every trapped Soul turned their Head towards the Source of the Commotion.

A certain ghostly Hotelowner with her beloved Pet was deployed into one of the Capsules this Time.

This was going to be one long an interesting Discussion.

[ylla]

Friday Night Gurus - Chapter 4

Series: JJBA Ships: josuyasu, koichi/yukako (others will eventually happen too, but im tagging as i go) Tags: celebrity au, modern au, pining, recreational drug use (smoking that wacky tabaccy), lots of talking and cuddles in this one, lads Rating: E

AO3 link

HAHA, SO MY COMPUTER ATE THIS CHAPTER AND WHAT I HAD FOR TMBTP, SO, I HAD TO RESTART FROM SCRATCH. i rewrote this garbage dump from memory, and here we are. TMBTP is forthcoming once i stop weeping. may the powers that be take pity on this elderly woman (ed. note – author is only 24).

shoutout to TheSmuttiestPrincess and their fic Talk To Me That Way I Like for introducing me to praise kink!okuyasu, which is something i never knew i needed until i read it.

as always, comment the fic, kudos the fic, and bookmark the fic to see more of the same fic content.

Josuke woke up the next morning feeling like someone had cracked him across the face with a baseball bat. Fucking storms causing pressure headaches; he’d meet Mother Nature in the pit if she was a real person. He would have gotten up to get medicine if he hadn’t been trapped in the arms of a particularly buff octopus. Okuyasu was spooning him, legs and arms firmly wrapped around Josuke to prevent him from escaping (not that Okuyasu had to worry about that to begin with). Josuke could feel Oku’s slow, even breathing on his neck and it was giving him goosebumps. It felt like it was too early to exist. “What fuckin’ time is it,” he muttered to himself. Blindly, Josuke groped for his phone, but couldn’t seem to find it.  “S'about 8:30.” Josuke didn’t hear Okuyasu speak so much as he felt him. “You awake?” Josuke whispered. “Mmh.” Josuke made to turn over, but Okuyasu held him in place. “Lemme roll over.” “I got morning breath,” Oku’s voice was slurred with sleep, voice rougher than usual. “I don’t care, dude. I do too.” Josuke tried rolling over again, but Okuyasu steadfastly held him in place. A power struggle ensued; Josuke valiantly did his best to break free, but Okuyasu had both the upper hand and strength to keep him in place. He felt Oku’s chest shaking with laughter, quiet chuckles in his ear. “I swear to God,” he huffed after a few fruitless minutes of wrestling, resigning himself to Little Spoon status, “I’m firing Polnareff.” That just made Okuyasu chuckle even harder, “No you won’t, that’d break his croissant-lovin’ heart.” He shifted closer to Josuke, and put his face into the junction where his neck met his shoulder. “Hey, uh, is it okay if I…?” Okuyasu faltered, nervous.

“You can kiss me, goofball. We’re dating, remember?”

Josuke could feel Okuyasu face flush before he zealously trailed kisses from Josuke’s shoulder, up his neck, to his corner of his jaw, settling on his earlobe which he nibbled on slightly. It sent shockwaves through his body, and Josuke couldn’t help but hiss.

Okuyasu backed off, “Oh shit, sorry—“

“No no don’t be,” Josuke rubbed the arm that held onto him, “It’s just been like, a long time since I’ve done anything like this. And, uh,” Josuke cleared his throat, “that felt really good, s-so, you know.” It was his turn to flush, and his face was scarlet.

“I just don’t wanna fuck this up. I really like you,” Okuyasu’s voice was small.

“You ain’t gonna fuck this up, I promise. Unless you wanna like, put something fucked up in my ass, like a centipede—“

“EW!” Okuyasu sounded horrified, “That’s disgusting. You just killed my boner, Higashikata.”

He had killed his own one man salute too, but that had been the plan. “Is that why you didn’t want me to roll over?” Josuke asked slyly.

“Uhm. Maybe?” Josuke went to turn towards him, but Okuyasu was obstinate. “I also don’t wanna smell ya mornin’ breath! It’s hot like thunder.”

“Oh my god, you stubborn mule,” Josuke tried to kick him, but Oku just wrapped his legs around Josuke’s tighter. “If we get up and brush our teeth, can we like, face each other?”

“Hm. Hm. I guess.” Okuyasu finally relinquished his iron-clad grip. Josuke sprang up, free to piss and scrub his nasty breath away.

Josuke was rinsing his mouth out when Okuyasu trudged in after him. “About time, lazy ass—“ He raised his head to get a good look at his boyfriend and would have spewed water everywhere if he hadn’t spit it out moments before, “God almighty, Oku, you look terrible.”

Okuyasu looked like he had been rode hard and put up wet. Cheek still bruised from Keicho’s left hook, eyes bloodshot, saddled with bags underneath them, skin looking a little colorless, “I feel terrible. This always happens if I’m out in the rain for too long.”

Josuke moved to let him brush his teeth before questioning him further. When Okuyasu finished, Josuke passed him a towel to wipe his mouth off, “How long were you out there?”

“Dunno. An hour? Two hours?”

“What the fuck, why didn’t you just call me??”

Okuyasu threw his hands up, “I did! I called like, at least 30 times! Your phone was dead or somethin’.”

“Oh shit,” Josuke completely forgot, “I turned it off before passing out on the couch.” He cringed, “Sorry.”

“S’fine,” Okuyasu rubbed one of his eyes, “I was close to just bustin’ a window and comin’ in that way.”

Josuke snorted, “Yeah that would’ve been great. Pissing myself when I wake up to a big ass, sopping wet burglar looming over me. Real romantic.”

“Fuck you dude, I was worried.”

“Worried?” Josuke arched an eyebrow, “Why were you worried?”

Okuyasu shifted from one foot to the other, “You weren’t answerin’, and I knew you were probably upset. I just—You know—“ he gestured vaguely, “jus’ wanted to make sure you were okay.”

That made Josuke’s heart turn over, “Aww, you big sweetie.”

Being called a sweetie made Okuyasu roll his eyes, unable to belie the blush on his face, “Shut up.” He threw the towel back down on the sink and rubbed the back of his neck, “So uh, can I kiss you?”

“You don’t gotta keep asking me that.”

Okuyasu fidgeted, “Sorry. I’m nervous that I’m gonna accidentally make ya uncomfortable, so I feel better when I ask.”

Josuke stepped close to him, placing a hand on his cheek, “You won’t make me uncomfortable. If ya ever did, I’d tell ya.” He stroked his thumb over Oku’s poor, bruised face, “But if it’ll make you feel better, then ask away.”

“Okay.” With that, Okuyasu gave him a kiss on the lips. It was sweet and soft, and it made Josuke’s chest soar. Oku hesitantly wrapped his arms around Josuke’s neck, hands in his hair; Josuke took that as a sign to pull his hips flush against his own and slide his tongue into Okuyasu’s mouth. His actions elicited a deep groan from his boyfriend, who awarded him by gently backing Josuke against the wall. It went from chaste and slow to messy and urgent in almost an instant.

“Fuck,” Josuke breathed as Oku pulled away to put teeth against his neck. When Okuyasu stopped momentarily, Josuke wove his fingers through his hair, “Leave marks.” Oku did as instructed; Josuke couldn’t help but grind his rising erection against Oku. “You’re too good at this,” he moaned, arching his back. That seemed to trigger something in his boyfriend. Okuyasu growled, tugging Josuke’s shirt off of him so he could get better access to his chest. There was a twitching cock pressed up against Josuke where there wasn’t a moment before. He was doing something right.

“God, keep talking,” Okuyasu rasped against Josuke’s collarbone, raking his teeth against it.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he panted. Okuyasu broke off momentarily to rip his own shirt off, before going back to leaving bruises on Josuke’s chest. Josuke ghosted fingers up Okuyasu’s sides; he really was sexy.

This was quickly turning into something a lot more than just a hot and heavy makeout session. Not that Josuke minded, considering how the only thing he had on his mind were how badly he wanted Okuyasu’s mouth on his dick at that very moment. Okuyasu seemed to read his mind, and looked Josuke in the eye with a single-minded ferocity that sent chills down his spine.

Which was ruined when both of their stomachs rumbled audibly.

They stared at each other for a moment before they busted out laughing; Josuke had to hold Okuyasu up to keep him from tumbling into the floor. It took a few minutes, but once their hooting died down, Josuke still held onto him, resting his cheek against the side of his head. “We should probably get food,” he said.

“Yeah…raincheck on this?”

“Raincheck.”

Okuyasu straightened up, pecking Josuke on the cheek, “You got pancake mix?”

There was no pankcake mix, but Okuyasu did a bang up job on eggs and bacon, so breakfast wasn’t a lost cause. Really though, anyone who remotely knows their way around the kitchen is a great cook in Josuke’s eyes. It was still pouring the rain, so no weed smoking for them, which was fine since they needed to be sober for the conversation that needed to take place.

“So,” Josuke started, “Does anyone know you’re gay?” They were back in his room, laying on the bed under one of his cotton blankets. Okuyasu laid on his stomach with a pillow propping his head up; Josuke laid on his side facing him.

“Yeah,” Oku shifted to look at him better, “Everyone in the band knows, plus Tonio and Hazamada. Akira too.”

“Really?”

“Unfortunately. I didn’t, uh, come out in the best way…”

Josuke frowned, “You don’t gotta tell me—“

Okuyasu waved a hand, “Nah, s’fine.” He rolled over onto his back, “See, like, I dated this girl when I was 19. Which, she was the only person I ever dated before you, so you’re my first real relationship. You should feel special,“ Oku looked at Josuke through his lashes, grin on his face. Josuke blushed furiously and punched his arm, because he did. Chuckling, Okuyasu continued, “She ended up cheating on me after like a year of being together, which was a relief because I finally had a good excuse to break up with her—“

“Damn. That’s awful,” Josuke scrunched his face up, “How’d you survive pretending to be straight for that long?”

“We were actually good friends before we dated, and she told Keicho that she was madly in love with me. So he, being my big bro who didn’t know I was gay, but did know I’d never had sex, hooked us up,” Okuyasu gave a wry smile, “Didn’t even fuck her. Ended up losing my v-card to some guy in a dirty bathroom after a show.” He rubbed his face at the memory, “Anyways, so like, I was relieved, but kinda upset because you know, she was still someone I cared about and the breakup was really messy. She was cryin’ and apologizin’, all that bullshit. So they, Keicho, Yuuya, and Akira, all decided to get me shitfaced at this huge party some guy Akira knew was throwin’,”

His eyes grew distant as he recounted the story. “So I get pretty hammered. I dunno if ya noticed, but I tend to uh, get nervous when flirting or kissing—“

“Really? Didn’t have a clue,” Josuke said dryly.

“Shut the hell up. Anyways,” he absentmindedly rubbed the hickies on his neck that Josuke gave him as a thank you for breakfast, “when I’m drunk, I ain’t like that. So there was this cute dude, and I thought everyone else had fucked off to do their own thing. I decided, in my dumbass drunken haze, that kissing him was a good idea—“

Josuke gasped, “Oh no—“

Okuyasu held up his hands, “That’s not the bad part. He was into it. We ended up making out and then he like, dragged me off to some room. What I didn’t notice was that Yuuya witnessed all of this, and went off to get Keicho to come save me, I guess. Long story short, the dude sucked me off, and then after I started goin’ down on him, Keicho and Yuuya busted into the room and pulled me off of him—“

“No!” Josuke covered his mouth with his hand, “They didn’t hurt ya, did they?”

“It wasn’t me they hurt,” Okuyasu chuckled without a trace of humor, “Both of them started whooping this dude’s ass. Me, a damn moron, starts bawlin’ like a stupid baby. I was buggin’ the fuck out.”

“So they thought—“

“That he forced me to? Yeah. It was bad.”

Josuke sucked air through his teeth, “So, what happened next?”

“I actually don’t really remember anything after that. Good ol’ Yuuya filled me in the next mornin’ when I had the worst hangover of my life, the bastard,” Okuyasu scowled. “I ended up crying so hard, I upchucked all over my clothes, so they stripped me down to my pants and hauled my drunk ass out of there. The next mornin’, they had a lot of questions, and I had to answer ‘em.”

“What did you say?”

“That I liked dudes, and everything that had happened last night was because I wanted it to,” Okuyasu sighed, “It wasn’t a… fun conversation. I was cryin’ again, like a fuckin’ idiot, and that made my head hurt worse. Keicho was pissed, and Yuuya wasn’t happy either.”

“Not over you likin’ guys, right?” Josuke clarified.

“No, not over me likin’ dudes. It was over me putting myself in that situation in the first place, like a fool. ‘Bad things coulda happened to you, what if we hadn’t had been there, blah blah blah’. Keicho really reamed my ass over it.”

“They had a point,” Josuke said, “so what happened after that?”

“Nothing really. Keicho said he didn’t hate me for being gay, he just hated me for being stupid. Yuuya said that he didn’t care, as long as I’m happy, it’s whatever to him. Akira was a dick, but Akira is always a dick.”

“Your brother is such an asshole.”

Okuyasu shrugged, “Yeah, but he’s always been like that.”

“What about everyone else?”

“As for Hazamada, Yukako, and Tonio knowin’, Hazamada was home when it all went down, so he heard. Tonio knows because I told him, same with Yukako.”

Josuke nodded, then scooted close to Okuyasu and planted a smooch on his cheek, “Thanks for tellin’ me that.”

“You’re welcome,” Oku turned onto his side to look Josuke in the face, “now your turn. Who knows you’re gay?”

“Basically everyone in my personal life. Like, friends and family.” Josuke brushed a stray hair out of his face, “It’s kind of an open secret, I guess? Most people in the industry assume I am.” Josuke grimaced, “It doesn’t stop me getting hit on by women, or rubbed up on, unfortunately.”

Okuyasu chortled, “Yikes. I’m lucky I’m ugly.”

Josuke jabbed him in the ribs with his fingers, “You’re not ugly, stop talking about yourself like that. Anyways,” Josuke huffed, “I came out to my mom and grandpa when I was like 14. They were trying to set me up with the daughter of one of my mom’s friends. I panicked and blurted it out in car on the way to dinner one night.”

Oku cringed, “Ouch. What happened?”

“They were like, oh okay. And then mom started plotting to get me set up with the son of one of her friend’s,” Josuke shook his head, “They were both cool about it, told me they loved me and supported me. The Joestar side of my family was also chill about it. That didn’t surprise me, since Jotaro, my nephew, has a husband, Polnareff has a boyfriend, and my cousin Johnny is seeing some Italian guy.”

“That’s good though. I’m happy for ya,” Okuyasu propped his head up with his arm, “So, you’ve dated guys before right?”

“Yep. I’ve had a few boyfriends, last one was about…” Josuke looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember, “It’s been two years…? Yeah,” he nodded, “Two years ago. That didn’t end well, so I kinda swore off relationships until I met you.”

“Really?? Why me?”

Josuke shrugged, “Dunno, you’re just special.” He wasn’t too surprised to see tears flood Okuyasu’s eyes, given how emotional he could get.

“Jooosukeeeeee,” he whined, tears rolling down his face.

“Don’t cry, you marshmallow fuck,” Josuke wiped the tears away.

It took a minute, as it always did, to get Okuyasu to calm down. Oku pulled Josuke into his arms, big giddy smile on his face, “That last guy must’ve been awful if you think I’m better than he is.”

“First of all, you’re amazing so never say never say that about yourself again, asshole. Second, yeah, he was massive penis.”

“What happened? You don’t gotta tell me if it’s bad,” Okuyasu quickly amended.

“I was just partying waaay too hard when we were together and he was like, an enabler? I think that’s what Koichi called him. We were together a little over 10 months, and during that time I stayed super high or really drunk. It wasn’t good. And he was a huge asshole, and treated me like shit, so,” Josuke shrugged again.

“I’ll kick his ass if I ever see him.”

Josuke snorted at Okuyasu’s threat, “You don’t even know who he is.”

“Do I care? I’ll drop that motherfucker in a heartbeat.”

“You fuckin’ dork,” Josuke kissed Oku on the jaw, “It’s fine, I moved onto bigger and better things. I got you now.”

He felt tears; Okuyasu was crying again. “Damn right you do,” he sniffed.

“Don’t cry again. Come on, let’s watch something.”

“Josuke, wake up.”

“Mmh.”

“Josuke!”

“Mmmmmmh.”

“Wake up, you’re drooling on me again!”

Josuke’s eyes snapped open, “Goddamnit, sorry. I’m so gross when I sleep,” he sat up to wipe drool off of his face and Okuyasu. His headache had eventually gotten the best of him, and he’d fallen asleep with his head resting on Okuyasu’s chest. It wasn’t completely his fault, Oku start playing with his hair while they watched some bad show about vampires, and it relaxed Josuke so much, he passed out. And when he’s that relaxed, Josuke can’t control the flow of spit coming out of his mouth.

“It’s fine dude, I still think you’re cute. How’s your head?”

“Better,” he settled back down into Oku’s arms, “How’s your everything?”

“Eh, I’ll live.”

“Do you wanna switch places? You can sleep on me.”

“Nah, my glasses dig into my face if I try to cuddle like that while watchin’ somethin’. I’m good like this,” he resumed running his fingers through Josuke’s hair.

“You’re gonna put my ass back to sleep doing that. Turn it on something I’ll pay attention to.”

Okuyasu grabbed the PS4 controller, “Whaddya in the mood for?”

“A tacky reality show,” Josuke yawned, “Let’s binge Rock of Love.”

Josuke picked up his phone off of his nightstand as Okuyasu loaded the show, having rescued it from the corner he threw it into earlier. After listening to Okuyasu’s panicked voicemails and reading the avalanche of worried texts he got from him, Josuke made sure to give his boyfriend extra kisses. He felt guilty for causing that much distress.

“Hey, Oku.”

“Yeah?”

“How open do you wanna be about…us?”

“I dunno man, I ain’t got much experience in this,” Okuyasu scratched his chin with his free hand, “What do you wanna do?”

Josuke thought for a moment, “Well, I’m not ready to be out in like, the public eye. But I wanna tell our friends and family.”

“Sounds good,” Okuyasu kissed the top of his head, “I uh, already may have told people?”

Josuke froze up, “Who?”

“Everyone who already knows about me….Y-you ain’t mad about that, right??” Okuyasu’s fingers stopped moving.

He relaxed, “No, it’s okay. I figured you’d want them to know anyways”

Josuke heard a sigh of relief, “Okay, cool. Also I took a video of you sleepin’ on me earlier, that’s what I sent to them.”

“Oh god,” Josuke groaned, “Don’t tell me you could see the drool in it.”

Okuyasu grabbed his phone and pulled up Snapchat, “I’m an asshole, not cruel.” He had posted the video to his story; it was just of him playing with Josuke’s hair as he slept, with a little heart sticker in the corner. It was adorable.

“Shit, that’s cute. What was everyone’s reaction?”

“Uhh, got congratulations from Tonio, Hazamada sent me a snap of him miming throwing up, Yuuya asked if we banged yet, Yukako told me to not tonguefuck you in front of her, and Keicho only sent me that straight-faced emoji, which is better than I expected. Since you know, after last night—“

“That fistfight was over me, wasn’t it?”

“Ehhh, kinda?” Oku sounded like he didn’t want to talk about it, “Mostly about how I was with you all the time and he didn’t trust you, it was fuckin’ stupid. I don’t think it was really about you? I think it was about like, me not wanting to be up his ass all the time anymore. I dunno, it was typical Keicho bullshit.”

Josuke grumbled under his breath about kicking Keicho’s ass, but Okuyasu flicked his forehead, “I got it handled, don’t worry ya pretty head over it.”

Too late, Josuke groused to himself. Instead of bitching about it, Josuke opened up Snapchat on his phone. He started recording, “Hey Oku, kiss me.”

The video of them kissing was worth the shitstorm of replies, texts, and phone calls Josuke had to deal with for the rest of the day.

It was late, and the rain still hadn’t petered out. “You’re staying tonight, right?” Josuke asked, speaking softly into Oku’s ear. This time, he had won out on being Big Spoon.

“Do you want me to?” came the sleepy reply.

“Uh, duh. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want ya to.”

“Don’t be a dick, Higashikata. I’ll roll my fatass out of here too quick to talk about.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“Me too. ‘Sides, we all know you got the fat ass in this relationship.” Okuyasu cackled despite Josuke jabbing him in the ribs, “What?? It’s a compliment.”

Josuke pouted, “You’re lucky I like you, Nijimura, or I’d push your ass out of bed.”

“Don’t do that, I don’t got the cushion like you do, it’d hurt—“

He launched Okuyasu off the bed as hard as he could. Oku landed in a heap on the floor, snorting and rolling around like a pig in a sty. He peered down at his porcine boyfriend, “You’re a mess, you farm animal.”

Josuke miscalculated; Okuyasu grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him down on top of him, knocking their heads together. Another power struggle took place, with Okuyasu winning yet again by tangling himself firmly around Josuke. With some effort, Oku pulled down a pillow and blanket, and wrapped it around them snuggly. “Bedtime, Jojo,” he kissed the top of Josuke’s head.

The floor wasn’t very comfortable, but when Okuyasu started snoring, Josuke followed him to dreamland.

The next morning, Tamami accidentally nailed Josuke in the dick when he stepped on what he assumed was a pile of blankets on the floor. Tamami was kicked in the cock and balls by an enraged Josuke, then booted downstairs. Okuyasu bypassed laughing and went straight to crying, tears of mirth leaked from his eyes. He promptly shut up when Josuke told him to kiss it and make it feel better.

Maybe next time.