#anyone who spots the phantom of the opera reference gets a cookie

[delusionalbitchinthehouse]

In case nobody knows, I'm a whore for Pebbla x Alpha angst, them trying to manoeuvre their relationship, and metaphors. So you'll have all of those in this, inspired by the lyrics :

"Let the impulse to love/ and the instinct to kill/ entangle to one"

from Say That You Will by Sleep Token. (Which I am also a whore for btw)

Tw : a lot of said metaphors are about biting, eating, teeth, blood and gory-ish stuff, so if that makes you squimish proceed with caution.

Pebble nearly startles when a warm hand splays between his shoulderblades. It's not the suddenness of the touch that has him tensing up, but its gentleness. He wants to sink into it, he really does, but his body doesn't seem to get the memo. Because Alpha is not gentle, not like this, not with Pebble. That's just not what they are, what their relationship is. They're mad dogs snarling with all they have, taking chunks of eachother whenever they orbit close enough, holding the torn out pieces between bloodied teeth like trophies to be cherished.

Except Alpha's hand doesn't push, doesn't scratch, doesn't dig or split skin to get to the soft, vulnerable parts Pebble keeps burried, the ones the fire ghoul is usually so keen on exposing to the garish light of day, clawing them out of their hidding places and running away with them crushed between his jaws.

No, Alpha only presses warmth in Pebble's aching back, in the quiet of the deserted greenhouse. The sun is kissing the horizon, bathing everything in gold, bouncing against glass pannels in a breathtaking ballet of light Pebble was too busy to notice. Slowly, he exhales, manually forcing his body to relax, and Alpha seems to notice, wrapping his other arm around Pebble's waist to drag him closer, until the earth ghoul's back is pressed against Alpha's front.

Even as he melts into the embrace, there's a part of Pebble that wants to bare sharp teeth, to take advantage of Alpha's unusual softness to sink them in this quiet moment, tear it to shreds until the fire ghoul bleeds out his unexpected warmth with eyes growing cold again.

Instead, Pebble traces the landscape of scars and ink on Alpha's forearm with dirt stained fingers. The fire ghoul's hand finds its way to the back of Pebble's neck, and for a moment, it twitches there. Like maybe, probably, he's battling with the same contradictory feelings, maybe he's this close to bite through muscles and sinew, chew bones until he can get to the marrow and all the secret sweetness it hides. In the end, though, the hand only caresses, and the lips that land on the notches of Pebble's spine are gentle, brushing sweat damp skin like it can quench the thirst Pebble knows rendeers Alpha's throat dry as sand, for the earth ghoul shares the same predicament.

There is no blood in this interaction, and though Pebble's parched tongue begs for a few crimson drops, he is seized by the sudden impulse to gorge himself full of the sweet honey that oozes from this moment. The sugary taste will only make the thirst worse, but for once, he'd like to crave it instead of the metallic tang of harsh words and clashing teeth.

Alpha keeps kissing up Pebble's neck, rocking them both back and forth. They sway like they never needed muzzles to be let around each other, like there is no effort behind the tendernes of the action. Pebble tilts his head back so he can rest it on Alpha's shoulder, eyes closed so he doesn't have to look at his face, incapable of predicting whether he'd be able to reign in the instinct to snarl if he let himself take in the fire ghoul's features.

Alpha's mouth is at the earth ghoul's jaw now, delicately scratching against stubble. A more insistant press almost has teeth digging in, until Alpha catches himself and let up with a shaky sigh. It's this unsteady breath, so out of character for the ever-confident fire ghoul, that has Pebble reaching out, tangling a hand in silky hair, twisting in Alpha's arm until he faces him, eyes still resolutely closed, even as Pebble gently tugs him down, even as he cautiously slots their mouths together.

Despite the hunger trapped behind his mollars, Pebble doesn't let himself sink the points of sharpened fangs in Alpha's bottom lip, instead licks the saccharine taste of tentative affection straight from his mouth. The fire ghoul follows his lead, not a flash of pain coming to turn the kiss around into something more familiar, something quick and rough that comes so naturally to them. For once, it's all hushed noise and light touches, a fragile moment in time carved in glass, so prone to be shattered by the slightest misstep.

They pull away, foreheads brushing, breaths mingling. Pebble finally opens his eyes. Only to be met by the embers of a four letter word that they never quite managed to fit between their bloodstained teeth, flickering in Alpha's mellowed down gaze. It feels like getting ripped open, still beating heart weakly pulsing under scrunity.