[Previous Entry: Here.] Below the cut.
Rain is sleeping on the couch.
More accurately, he's laying on it, very much awake and contemplating his life and the decisions that have lead him to this point.
But, physically, mentally, emotionally... He's sleeping on the couch.
Swiss taunts him about it.
Asks him how he managed to get in trouble with Dew this time.
Truth is, Rain put himself out here.
He'd given Dew the bed, knowing even if he could sleep anywhere, HE was the one that deserved to be ousted from their bedroom, even if it had been Rain's to begin with.
Dew's allowed to be upset.
Just as much as Rain's allowed to... do this.
Avoid the situation.
Avoid Dew.
Swiss tries to get him to open up about what happened during their date after getting his fill of tormenting him, but Rain rolls onto his side, facing the back of the cushions instead.
"That bad, huh?" Swiss remarks, sitting down by Rain's feet, "Dew not like your surprise?"
"...I'm just..." Rain sighs, looking over his shoulder at his friend, "I don't know why Dew... Swiss, why does Dew like me?"
"What?"
Rain sits up.
"What about me-" he pokes himself in the chest, "-made Dew fall for someone like me?"
"I... You expect me to know something like that?" Swiss asks, looking terribly confused, then sits back, thinking, "You two must have had a pretty serious fight if you're wondering about stuff like that..."
"...He doesn't want to talk to me." Rain confesses, drawing his knees up to his chest, "I said something hurtful and... Honestly, I don't think I can walk it back, even though I feel like... I don't know."
His mouth wobbles a bit.
"I dunno, I don't want to lose my best friend..." he sniffs, and Swiss pulls him into a hug.
"Aw, buddy, I'm sure Dew will forgive you, but just in case, what did you say so I can know if I need to be stopping Dew from hitting you or helping him?"
Rain stiffens.
"Uh..."
Swiss slides his arm up slightly, around his neck.
"Awfully quiet there, Raincloud."
"Uhhhhh..." Rain laughs nervously, "...I plead the fifth?"
Swiss pulls him into a headlock.
"Sorry, man, I know that's code for 'I fucked up and I know it', so I have to do it."
"Do wha-HAH!" Rain squirms trying to escape Swiss' hold as he gives him a noogie, "HEY!"
After a minute or so, Swiss releases him, and Rain holds his head in his hands, groaning.
"Go talk to your husband already." he says, patting the water ghoul on the shoulder, "Exiling yourself to the couch is just gonna cause more problems. C'mon, up, up!"
Swiss pulls him to his feet, brushing him off.
"Now march off to that bedroom, get into bed, and tell your husband you're sorry for being a major ass!"
"I'm going, I'm going-" Rain grumbles, wandering off down the hallway, pausing to look back at Swiss, who salutes him, then does an inverted cross on his chest and then a prayer gesture, "-You stop that!"
"Not on your life!"
Rain rolls his eyes and continues down the hallway.
Worst case scenario, he enters the bedroom and Dew kills him on the spot, best case scenario, he's asleep... lukewarm scenario, he's awake and not so murderous that he won't let Rain climb into bed.
Reaching his bedroom door, Rain pops it open just a crack to see if he can locate Dew, but finds the room dark, save for the glow of the power cable on his laptop, which he usually nudges a book in front of at night to keep it from shining in his face when he sleeps.
In the dull glow, he can make out the vaguest silhouette of something people shaped on the bed; Dew is tucked into the farthest corner of the mattress, his body curled around something, either fast asleep or close to it.
Stepping inside, Rain shuts the door behind him and makes his way over to the bed.
He lingers there, watching Dew shift in his sleep, he's wrapped around Rain's pillow, holding it close.
Rain feels guilty.
Without turning on the lights, Rain rummages through his dresser for his pajamas, and slides into the on suite to get changed, before climbing into the bed beside him.
He starts off on the very edge, not wanting to disturb his sleep, but at some point, after laying there for what feels like an eternity, Rain rolls over closer to where Dew is, and reaches out, tugging at his midsection and pulling him into the curve of his body.
Dew makes a little noise of discontent, but settles shortly thereafter.
Pressed against him like this, Rain feels... strangely soothed.
He breathes out and allows his eyes to drift shut, chin resting on top of Dew's head.
"'m sorry..." he mumbles.
"...I'm sorry, too."
Rain blinks.
"...You're awake?"
"Couldn't sleep... felt lonely."
Rain frowns.
"I'm... Dew, I'm sorry I said what I said earlier." he admits, "This is all just... a lot. Not you, but, going from friends to this... It all feels like it's going a bit too fast, like I don't have time to process what's happened, or how I feel about it all... and I know it's my fault."
"Kind of, yeah." Dew replies with a yawn.
"Yeah? Aren't you supposed to comfort me and say it's not my fault and that you forgive me?" Rain jokes, but when Dew begins to move in his hold, he thinks he's messed up again, "I-"
Dew rotates so that he's facing Rain, coming practically nose to nose with him due to how close they are.
"I can forgive you for getting us into this mess, but I'm not gonna say it's not your fault. Both of us tested the rumor, and you may have heard about it first, but I went along with it. Fuckin'... it takes two to tango." Dew says, "And, yeah, I'm upset about what you said, but, I dunno... laying here, thinking about things on my own, I'd rather have my heartbroken then lose my friend... even if it's my friend who's breaking my heart."
"You... really like me that much?" Rain asks, and Dew headbutts him slightly, "Ow..."
"I do, have for a long time now... Sorry if that's weird."
"It's not weird... I have..." Rain pinches his eyes shut, "I have feelings for you, but I know they're not the same. It's... Fuck, this is awkward."
"You don't have to force yourself to tell me..."
"No, it's... Dew, you make me feel..." he clears his throat, "...Physically speaking..."
"You don't feel attracted to me?" Dew offers, and Rain panics.
"No! No, I think you're fucking hot as Hell!" he shouts, and they can both hear the chorus of annoyed hisses through their door.
"Quiet down!" someone groans, "We don't wanna hear it!"
"Satanas, you two need to get a room in your fucking room..." someone else mutters, muffled by the walls around them.
"...So, you ARE attracted to me, just not... emotionally then?" Dew concludes, "...Okay."
"Okay?"
"I mean... I like you, and I'm pretty sure if we fucked right now it'd really mess me up, because feelings and shit, but... uh... good to know." he says, clicking his tongue, "...You would fuck me though, right?"
"In a heartbeat."
"...That's too slow."
.
.
.
Rain lies awake, a surprisingly chill Dewdrop snuggled into his chest, tail lazily slapping against the blankets now and then.
As long as it's stuff like this, being with Dew... it's manageable.
He can do this.
They already did this before they wound up in this situation, so it's not a big deal.
Except is absolutely is.
If Dew didn't have feelings for him, would they have gone further than this by now?
Was it a mercy that Dew loved him enough to keep them from ruining their friendship?
That Rain has the common sense and decency to realize faking it just to get into Dew's would be wrong, and that even the idea of trying something like that -no matter how much he wants to explore their bodies together- disgusts him beyond all belief?
Rain huffs.
He'd never do that to Dew.
Especially if Rain knows he needs it to mean something.
That if it's HIM, Dew wouldn't be able to get over the hurt of being used like that.
He's more worried about losing his friend than getting his dick wet quite frankly.
But...
Rain bites his lip.
...Someone really needs to tell his junk this is not happening.
Lying here pressed against Dew's body is making it hard to keep his body from reacting, the stimulation is... it's not a lot, but, come to think of it, Rain hadn't gotten laid in a while now, and that dry spell is really making asses of pillows, if that makes any sense at all.
He could seek out someone to sleep with, but, he's also not sure what their -the versions of themselves in this world or whatever it is- boundaries are in terms of cavorting outside of their relationship.
He's not sure if it would raise any red flags to his packmates if he approached one of them for sex, or if their bond was more like that of Cirrus and Cumulus, who explicitly stated the openness of their relationship -save for being emotionally exclusive- before beginning to date.
The uncertainty is enough to keep him cozy in their bed, but another part of him, a small, odd little facet of himself he didn't know existed, wants nothing else but to be with Dew, even if it's cuddling just like this.
Weird.
🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Per’s first live. I could not watch the whole thing, but what I saw was pretty sweet. Got to see him cuddle his dog🤍
I currently don’t care if Per is controversial in his dating practices. He seems like a decent guy in and of himself and it’s none of our business who he dates.
I’ve recently already been heartbroken to find out ONE of my heroes turns out to be a gaslighting jackass, and life has objectively SUCKED for me on a daily basis anyway, so yeah, please miss me with any Sodo controversy, right now. Thanks.
FUCK YEAH
thanks to @cirrus-ghoulette for organizing whumpmonth!! also i'm using @wrathofrats beautiful dividers!!
so i wrote this thing a while ago and decided to write some parts of it from someone else's point of view for today :)
TW: blood, violence, scars, vomit
It was hard, harder than Dew thought.
And it might have looked so easy for him but still, it was really hard for him to hate Phantom.
Or at least, it was easy at first.
Dewdrop can see himself in the little quint, he knows that he's a runt just like him, he knows that they both never had packs in the pit, he knows the want, the yearning for a pack.
He knows that they can't give it to Phantom.
He keeps finding reasons to hate him, stupid ones really, he can't hate him for Aether's leaving for long, hasn't ever really.
And maybe it's just because he can still feel the soft skin under his claws, maybe it's because he can still smell Phantom's pain in the air, still can taste it on the tip of his tounge, still can feel his lips moving to form the words "Oh, sorry." that Dewdrop started to look for the new quint ghoul more.
He notices how Phantom doesn't heal himself, and it hurts Dew to think that maybe Phantom thinks that he deserve those scars on his face, but he gives him time.
He keeps watching from afar.
And maybe Dew ignored all those rumors about Phantom getting sent back for his own sake, because it was obvious that Phantom took them to heart, but it'll be okay, Dew knows that this too will pass.
He never got too close, but never took his eyes off of the quint.
Dewdrop was awake, he couldn't really sleep that night, something about not being able to see the stars.
He flinched when he heard Phantom vomiting, his face curling in worry when he smelled the blood.
It's okay though, Phantom will be okay.
Dewdrop never approached the other.
Maybe it's because he knew that Phantom will make it to the end of the tour, maybe it's because he secretly prayed to Satan for the quintessence ghoul.
Maybe that's why he felt that tingle in the back of his head, maybe that's why he knocked on Phantom's door relentlessly.
Maybe that's why he broke it down.
And maybe all what Dew ever saw in Phantom was the same passion to burn without dying that Ifrit saw in him when he was water.
And if Dew promises to the stars that danced on Phantom's floor before fading away to always have Phantom as a part of his pack, well.
It's not like Phantom knows that.
WC: 340
Relationship: Dewdrop/Rain
Read under the cut or on AO3.
What is now their little custom had started out very differently; with Rain idly running his cold fingertips over Dewdrop’s bare back one night—both of them as relaxed as a ghoul can be.
The water ghoul traced invisible shapes on his mate’s warm skin, pressing a claw to it now and then to watch it redden. Rain didn’t know why he loved doing that so much, but he did, and Dewdrop loved indulging him.
“What’s that?” Rain asked him once, and it evolved into a guessing game that would end with an ‘I love you’ written on Dewdrop’s back and finished off with a kiss to the nape of his neck every single time.
Years later, it’s barely the same.
Rain hums as he dips the tip of a thin brush into a little vial filled with black paint. He looks over his canvas—planning. The fire ghoul lays under him half asleep, waiting for the gentle touches of his mate’s brush on his skin to lull him into it fully.
Rain goes with his gut. He puts his brush down just under the back of Dewdrop’s ear and watches it twitch before sliding down over his neck, shoulder blades, spine, lover back—leaving a simple, but beautiful swirl in his wake. He pauses next to the base of the fire ghoul’s tail, nearly wrapping the paint around it.
He goes back up and makes the long line branch out into more swirls until Dewdrop looks as if he’s been covered by vines. Rain picks up color, then, and makes it all look real as his mate sleeps.
The water ghoul loves seeing his art on something else he considers an artwork, loves having Dewdrop all to himself, loves having his trust and permission for marking him. Whether it’s just paint or bite and claw marks or cum or whatever else the water ghoul would want to cover him in.
He always tells Rain that he must settle on a design—he wants it tattooed, carved into his skin forever.
Poor little old man
Was Dew wearing a medical boot? Glad that you had a great show!!
Yes! On his left foot. He fractured his foot/ankle. It was hard to hear what papa said. And yes it was absolutely amazing.
swiss' big fat crush on aurora. discuss. who makes the first move. how does it go.
OOOOOH
not hcs, not a ficlet- just me talking. If this is wack, it’s cuz I wrote it in Tumblr Mobile and I’m also Intoxicated !
Swiss was there when she was summoned. He watched her crawl out of the Pit. Watched how she fought her way topside, snarling as she entered the world, and he was smitten.
He doesn’t see her for a while after that. Recovering from literally clawing your way out of the depths of hell is no easy process. In that time, Swiss develops a bit of a… fixation. Can’t stop thinking about how powerful she looked in the summoning room, how alluring. For the next little while, Swiss has a one track mind.
When will I see Aurora again?
After a couple weeks, she moves into the ghoul den, and Swiss can’t help but follow her around like a lovesick puppy. The others tease him for it, but he doesn’t care. Can’t find it in himself to stay away.
For once in his life, Swiss’s signature charm fails him. He’s dead terrified to talk to her. She’s just so pretty. He tries to approach her and just comes off as super creepy, gawking at her and tripping over his words.
She secretly thinks it’s adorable. Loves to watch him flounder. She plays hard to get just to watch him squirm, acting like she isn’t just as flustered.
He FINALLY decides to make an actual move, after much encouragement from Dew and Mountain. They even offer to help. Mountain pretties up the greenhouse, Dew cooks a fancy dinner for two, and Swiss approaches Aurora.
He barely gets the words out, shaking in his damn boots where he stands. He’s real awkward about it, blushing and stuttering, but he manages to invite her for dinner in the abbey’s greenhouse just before sunset.
She LOVES that he’s nervous. Gives her a sense of superiority in a way, knowing she’s got Swiss wrapped around her finger. He’d be so easy for her, and she’s worked up by that- more than she’d admit until later.
So that night, she walks into the greenhouse and Swiss FREEZES. Everything he wants to say absolutely gone from his mind.
She looks hell-sent in the best way possible, her hair sleek and shimmering, her horns polished to a near-reflective gleam.
She flashes him a coy smile as she approaches him. “Swiss- you look lovely. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Hwahh?”
He’s never been so damn dumbstruck in his LIFE. Can’t even greet her. It takes all of his effort to even close his mouth.
She giggles, strides right past him, and sits at the cute little table that Mountain decorated.
Swiss realizes something in that moment.
He’s fucked. In way over his head with this one. He’d let her ruin his life, no hesitation. There’s no hope for him.
And he’s going to love every second of it.
Aether and Rain are disgustingly affectionate but they don't make it anyone else's problem. Because Rain would rather die than have others know they're like this.
Under the cut: Stupid couple baby talk the morning after a heat. Rain's graphic memories but it isn't mixed with the baby talk. Not intended to be age regression. Just them being doofuses.
Rain wakes up with a deep, content peace and knows his heat is over.
Aether had played his role as stud well. He’d wrestled Rain into submission without any of his damn quintessence powers, forcing him to submit with sheer strength alone. Didn't even let up so Rain could strip naked, only pierced the fabric of his shorts with a claw and tore a neat line down the seam, exposing his hole, already dripping for Aether's cock. He’d pinned Rain's knees between his own, had Rain’s hands trapped in one of his own while the other scraped his claws across Rain's scalp. Palm tight to his skull before his fingers curled and Aether dragged Rain into a severe arch with his grip on his hair as he bullied his way inside, giving Rain the whole slide of his cock at once. Rain had sobbed, genuinely sobbed when the blunt head pushed up against the entrance to his brood chamber, sensitive and desperate to take in all the cum Aether had waiting for Rain in the heavy balls that slapped his thighs with every brutal thrust.
The rest of his memories were static, only flashes surfacing if Rain concentrates; he’d begged until his voice was hoarse, Aether grinding his face into the pillow to get him to shut up so he could focus. A firm grip on his hips that surely left bruises. Orgasm after orgasm until he was jelly underneath the cruel beast still driving his hips mercilessly into Rain. Finally being let go so he could wiggle away, gasping and panting only for Aether to drag him back on his cock so he could cum inside with a deep, possessive snarl.
All that seems so distant now, with Aether next to him deep in slumber. Still large, still a force to be reckoned with but his expression is peaceful and he's drooling on Rain's silk pillowcase. He studies the other ghoul, counting the faint freckles on his nose and forehead. The wrinkles at the corner of his eyes, eyes that had seemed to paralyze Rain with their intensity as he struggled. Out of curiosity, he reaches back and thumbs an eyelid up to expose the white and a half-moon of iris where it's rolled up in Aether's skull. He lets the delicate skin slide back into place, satisfied and deeply amused.
It's the kiss that wakes him, like Sleeping Beauty, when Rain presses his cool lips to Aether's forehead. He snuffles and closes his mouth, blinking open his bleary and unfocused eyes as Rain watches him.
“Want to get breakfast?” Rain asks. He has no idea what time it is but he doesn't want to be alone yet, this last phase of his heat still stubbornly clinging to him.
“Wanna stay here…” Aether slurs, words blending together in his exhaustion. “Wi’ m’Rainy baby…"
“Big guy still shweepy?” Rain can't help himself. Something about Aether being so cheesy like this does things that kill all his braincells and turns him into some cooing idiot.
“So shweepy…” Aether sighs, burrowing into the pillow. “...shweepiest big guy ever.”
“Aww…” Rain murmurs and throws an arm over Aether's shoulder, scratching the back of his neck as he plants a kiss on the tip of his nose. “My poor big guy.”
Aether starts to rumble in pleasure as Rain scratches him, leg shaking under the blanket like a dog’s. Rain moves to kiss him on the mouth and Aether pants into it, groaning in delight and pulling Rain in close.
“My big guy like that?” Rain asks, when Aether turns away from the kiss to breath. He pets softly over the nape of his neck, brushes his lips over Aether's cheek. “Huh? My big guys like his scratches?”
“Yeah,” Aether says with a chuckle as he stretches. “Yeah, your big guy likes his scratches.”
“Oh, big stretch.” Rain says in the same dopey tone as Aether groans and moves, popping several joints as he does. “Big stretch.”
“Big stretch.” Aether echoes, and flops back down. “Fuck, babe. ‘m starving. You want snackies?”
“Always down for snackies.” Rain replies. “Little snackies? Big snackies?”
“Big snackies for your big guy.”
“Biiig snackies for my biiig guy.”
If any of the others overheard the both of them talking like this, Rain thinks he would kill them. And then himself. He’d never stop though. Not when it makes Aether smile like that, at their own ridiculousness. Aether squeezes him in one last bear hug before reluctantly sitting up, sheets falling away from his body. Rain bites back the next bit of idiocy to come out of his mouth but doesn't resist grabbing at Aether's now exposed belly and tickling him. Aether yelps and slaps his hand away, tries to roll off the bed but only tangles himself in the sheets and goes down just about as hard as Rain did last night.
“Oh fuck!” Rain pushes himself up, trying to catch a glimpse of Aether on the floor. “You good?”
Aether groans.
“Owie…” he says quietly. “Rainy, baby… need kissies to make my head feel better.”
Rain pauses, then smiles despite himself.
“Kissies are on their way, big guy.” He says, and can't hide the chuckle when he hears a tired and subdued sounding yay in response.
________
“Waffles?” Rain guesses as he guides his poor, bruised quintessence ghoul down the hallway to the kitchen. Aether’s got a cooling gel eyemask clamped to his head in lieu of an actual icepack. Rain’s going to make it up to him. “Bacon? Pop tarts?”
“All of it.” Aether mutters, cracking an eye open to peek at Rain. “Please, Rainy?”
“Alright, alright.” he says fondly. “Whatever my big guy wants.”
He guides Aether (now limping for some reason, like he can't bear to do anything without Rain helping him, like Rain doesn't have a twang in his hips from Aether's dick) to the breakfast nook and gets him settled. Aether slumps over exaggeratedly, bemoaning his fate.
“You want some juice?” Rain asks. “Coffee?”
“Orange juice.” Aether whimpers, sounding truly pathetic. You’d think he was on his death bed. Rain kisses his temple and fetches the cup of juice without any complaints, even giving Aether an extra long straw to sip from in case he was simply too weary to lift up his thick skull.
“Belgian waffles, all the fixings?”
“Yes please.”
Contrary to popular belief, Rain can do things for himself. It's just that it's so much easier to get someone else to do it for him. But still, he's selfish. He doesn't want to share Aether with anyone yet, still feeling possessive in the lingering haze of his heat. He gets the box of pre-made out, adds the liquids and the eggs and finagles the waffle iron out of its cupboard cave, where it lives underneath Mountain’s favorite wok. He knows Aether's watching him, so he puts an extra sway in his hips and hums a little tune while he gets everything going.
“You're so pretty.” Aether says, propping his head on his elbow. Watching Rain pour the batter in and close the lid. “Why’re you so pretty, Rainy baby?”
“Sweet talker.” Rain says. “My big guy want sprinkles and frosting?”
“Big guy would love sprinkles and frosting, baby.”
The timer dings and Rain goes through the motions again until he's got a healthy stack of waffles for both of them. He sets the plate in front of Aether, nabs the frosting and sprinkles from their spots and sits down just as Swiss comes sidling in.
“Hey man.” Aether says in his normal voice and Rain bites his lower lip to hide his laugh. “Sup?”
“S’good, s’good,” Swiss says, opening the fridge to rummage through it. “Princess want waffles?”
Aether shoots Rain a glance. Rain’s too busy laughing, tears stinging his eyes as he hides his face in his hands.
“Yeah dude.” Aether said. “What Princess wants, Princess gets. You know how he is.”
“My man.” Swiss says, coming up with a monster energy drink. He passes by their table to give Aether a fistbump. “Rain, go easy on this guy, yeah? He's a softie, y’know. Needs someone to take care of him too.”
“I had no idea.” Rain says, struggling to keep his voice steady. He clears his throat. “Thanks Swiss.”
“No problem! Practice at noon, kay?” he gives them a salute and cracks the tab of his drink, licking up the foam as it spills out.
“Yup.”
“Uh-huh."
They wait until he leaves. Aether looks at Rain. Rain looks at Aether.
“Does my big guy like his waffles?” He whispers.
“Fuck yeah.” Aether says, picking up a fork and a knife to tear into his breakfast. “Your big guy likes his waffles, Rainy baby.”
They don't even make it five seconds before bursting into laughter.
He literally said it out loud.
There will be no more elections in the US going forward if Trump wins. It will be a Christian theocracy. Y'all really think you can organize anything to the left of Mussolini under a Trump Presidency? Get the fuck out of here.
I don't fucking care if Kamala Harris is imperfect, at least we don't risk literally losing democracy.
minding my own business…
*opening a word doc*
They have been groomed. They are unserious.
They would rather be told how to feel than taught how to learn.
That feeling you get when you are clearing notifications on your phone and you accidentally clear Tumblr notifications. Like, what did I just miss?