Chapter 1: Driven by a holy force
Summary:
YOU KNOW IT'S COOOMIN'!
🥰😁
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Mine (chapter name)
Sleep Token - Fall for me
Sleep Token - Granite
Sleep Token - Euclid
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
I
You felt the warmth of the morning sun on your heavy lids and slowly opened your eyes as you woke up. HE was lying beside you on his back. One arm under you, face relaxed and mouth slightly open. Pure bliss. You asked yourself, if he was seeing dreams at this moment. You smiled at this sight of him, feeling surprised every morning since you’ve met him. You still could not believe it, because it is something that shouldn't ever happen neither in this reality nor in a different one.
It shouldn't, but still… he was sleeping beside you.
You chuckled looking at him. This is ridiculous. How can this man even know you? You are just a fan, only one worshiper of his huge fanbase all over the world. There are hundreds of thousands of fans like you. But you find yourself in his bed for some reason. How big were the chances? Actually, there were no chances for you at all, but yet fate brought you here in this moment of time and in this place.
You were mesmerized by his presence beside you, you wanted to touch him so much that your heart squeezed, but you didn't want him to wake up so soon. Your eyes became wet from seeing him peaceful like that. Usually his brows were furrowed, his look concerned, lips pursed, eyes looking like they belonged to the old man. Right now, his skin was smoothed out and he was looking like a teenager again. His hair was messy, strands poking into different directions. You couldn't hold yourself back and kissed his temple tenderly. He didn’t move, which made you smile happy with your sweet little action to be unnoticed.
Memories started to flood your mind.
____________________________________
The moment you met him there at Budapest Ferenc Liszt airport, your first ever gazes, your first words. That was crazy and surreal. That was impossible, but still it all happened. At that point time has stopped. Nothing mattered. You didn't know what will happen in the future and for the moment you've forgotten about your past. You came to Budapest to visit their ritual (this is how they called their live shows), and actually it was your first one. By the time of that ritual, you were a fan of them far beyond normal. It was an obsession. And you were there to dive deep into it.
You were sitting in the airport's huge lobby on a bench, your suitcase beside your knee, your huge black headphones on your head. You could not spend any free minute without their music. There was an area, where in the centre of the lobby stands the grand piano, and some random musicians usually play there in front of many people passing by, waiting for their flights, chatting and minding their own business. There was a guy playing and recording himself probably for Tik Tok. You didn’t mind him, because your headphones were blasting different music.
____________________________________
He moved slightly in his sleep, trying to outstretch his arm, which was pressed down by your body for a long time giving him cramps. You lifted yourself trying to let him take his arm away. He turned around with his back meeting your face and mumbled something, but you understood him. You hugged him from behind, burrowing your face between his shoulder blades. You felt his smell, his natural skin smell and his shower gel, and then another memory pierced you.
____________________________________
You were people watching, thinking about what to do next. From now on, you had three whole days in Budapest, and you had plans. You were thinking of how bad it was going to the ritual all alone. But you were happy at the same time, because you were going to fulfil your new, fresh, big dream to see them live. You smiled imagining the ritual, and suddenly wanted to google the setlist, as the ritual was going to be the next day, and some fans already probably published the setlist from the other cities of their tour. You were so focused on your phone at that moment and so immersed in music, so you didn't notice that you started headbanging slowly, being distracted from the noisy airport lobby.
Suddenly you felt a gaze piercing you. You were always curious how it was all created in nature, that we can physically feel someone’s gaze on us. Was that coming from animals? Was that because we used to hunt back then, chasing our prey gazing at it so intensely? And the prey was naturally designed to feel the gaze of the predator to be aware of danger and to be able to run away. The gaze was so touchable as the knife hanging in the air.
You raised your head and froze. Right in front of you, you saw HIM passing by in a quick ragged tempo, not planning to stop and gazing into your direction eventually, but not stopping his pace, taking huge steps conditioned by his impressive height. His hair was a mess, all dented and tossed, his neck pillow still on him, while he walked with a huge suitcase, he was rolling beside him. You immediately realized who that was, but your mind didn’t dare to claim it.
“It’s impossible”, you thought. But yet, it was real. He was walking by fast… and your eyes eventually travelled to follow him, mouth opened in shock and posture frozen. He was not looking away from you, while he continued walking.
Vessel. His real name popped out in your head, but you refused to pronounce it even in your mind.
VESSEL.
Your brain was on fire from realization, doubting its sanity. Suddenly you saw a smaller man right behind him. He was the smallest in this company, short-haired and blonde with a tattoo visible under his shirt collar. He noticed Vessel’s gaze and looked into your direction with curious soft eyes. His face was serene, almost childlike.
II.
“IMPOSSIBLE”, your mind kept fighting the new reality. But at that same moment, you saw another man following II. A little taller, with a hair colour of sand and piercing blue eyes. He was walking fast, smiling, talking to the drummer. His movements were smooth, the smoothest of the whole company, he was nearly floating. He noticed two men gazing at you and also turned his head into your direction, his head did a little curious tilt, and lips parted in a gentle smile.
IVy.
“NO WAY!” Your mind protested. And you realized that during all these seconds, which were stretched out in your head for minutes, you were sitting frozen in shock with your mouth open and your headphones still on your head, blasting “Granite”.
Finally, you saw the last man following his band mates. It was the tallest of four, skinny, lanky man with weird walk, with his dyed hair covering almost his whole face, looking like he hasn't brushed it for three days. He was walking with his nose in his phone close to stumbling and falling down, because he did not manage to keep an eye “on his road”. He didn't notice his mates looking at you, immersed in his phone holding his suitcase in his one hand.
III.
“CAN’T FUCKING BE!” Your mind screamed. But the company of four men was moving fast and soon the eye contact was broken as they passed by.
Time has stopped for you once again. You stayed glued to your spot still holding a face of terror, amaze and disbelief all at once.
“...and you were more than just somebody I was destined to meet” ... Vessel sang in your headphones.
The moment of realization hit you. They were real, they were here. All four, unmasked. You felt like a criminal. In “this world” it was illegal even to know what they really look like. It was illegal to know their names. It was so wrong, but yet felt so right. You knew. Like many other fans you knew but respected their privacy. Never posting or mentioning their real names in public.
Their plane just landed. They just came to Budapest to perform another amazing ritual here, being themselves, without masks, body paint, instruments, sleepy after their short flight. They were simple. Not like on stage. Not Godlike. Not making their fans drool from the thought of seeing them. Wearing their ordinary worn off sweatpants and dented T-shirts, with mess on their heads, with their old, but spacy suitcases. Ordinary people. Ordinary but yet those, who were different from everyone you ever knew.
____________________________________
Your thoughts jumped back to the present. To the familiar smell of HIS skin against your face. To the familiar one, but yet always new. You were still not believing you were here. Actually, starting relationships with HIM was a mind-blowing decision for both of you. For all. At first you thought it would be something casual. Not planning anything more than saying “hello”.
Then it was more like “ok, there is something between us, something in the way we talk", later it was like “it will be just a casual one-night stand, he will continue his tour and forget about you” and then it turned into him saying “Sorry, I eventually made you mine”.
These words hit you on your head with a wrecking heaviness. That was actually too much. It was not like “Let’s date”, “Will you be my girlfriend” or “I guess, we are together now”. It was so dark in his own way, it was possessive and actually, it was true.
Needless to say, your life changed since meeting him and the band. When you bought tickets to your first ritual you have not even fantasized of meeting them. You were sure you would see them in the distance from the stage in their full get up each immersed in their alter egos. You were not even imagining talking to them. More to it… You kind of forgot who you were before them. You were trying to remember yourself a few months ago.
You were an ordinary woman, an ordinary metal fan, planning to live your ordinary life, doing your job and chasing your little dreams. Single and ready to mingle? Yes, it was about you. But you have never imagined that this encounter would happen.
The truth that was revealed to you after you started actually dating HIM changed you. You were sure it changed you completely on the deepest level. He changed your beliefs, your lifestyle, your priorities, ideas, principles, your view on relationships and even your body chemistry. He took the earth away from your feet immersing you into vacuum, to the state of weightlessness. To the world, where everything doesn't matter, but you… and THEM.
When you started, there was a huge boundary, existing in your head, formed throughout your life and the way you have been raised and educated. He broke that boundary, and with some truth that he poured inside your open pathetic heart, he started to cook something powerful, tasty, but still poisonous.
Your thoughts were jumping from the past to the present, from the past to the present again. Pictures changing… airport, ritual, pub, airport, hotel, pub…present moment and this warm bed. And HIM. Vessel.
You closed your eyes, trying to relax and make your anxious breathing calm. You were trying to make your mind drift away, as you were drowning in his skin warmth, his smell and his deep firm breathing.
"How huge his lungs are”, you thought and smiled to yourself. “So huge and powerful, able to subjugate the whole stadium”. He took a deep breath again, his rib cage and back widening against your face.
Another memory pierced you.
____________________________________
You were still in the airport frozen and shocked by what just happened. Four band members of your favourite band just passed by you in the direction of the airport restaurant. Probably wanting to share a drink for the next ritual. There were huge glass walls between the lobby and the restaurant, so you could see them from a distance sitting at the table in comfortable chairs waiting for some drinks. The Tik Tok guy beside the grand piano, God knows why, started to play “Euclid”.
You put down your headphones listening to the melody and still processing what just happened. The craziest idea came to your mind at that moment, and you were anxious about it, but it burned inside your brain. This was your chance. Your only chance actually! But who the hell even does something like that? How could you even dare to be so shameless? But you took your suitcase and came to the guy sitting beside the piano finishing playing “Euclid”.
"Hey", you said, when he finished and looked up at you. "I see you are a fan, right? Hmmm, maybe you can play “Fall for me”? Or at least try to improvise. I mean, just to give me the rhythm and frame."
"Hey, yep. I am not sure, but I could try. Hm, are you going to sing along?"
"Yeah, well, I am not much of a singer, but I could try. I am shy, but… I guess I am ready to challenge myself. Let me start and if this will be cringe, you tell me, okay?"
"Okay. You’ve got this! Will we record it?"
"As you wish".
You put down your suitcase beside you. Took a microphone from the piano and switched it on. Your hand started to shake. The guy nodded to you and smiled, making you a sign to relax, waiting anxiously.
He started to play the vocal line and nodded at you again.
You began.
“In a city of ice there are burning cathedrals
Turning the skies into glass…”
It was awful at first. You have to admit, your voice was so shaky, so insecure, but the guy continued smiling at you to give you some courage.
“And though echoing futures are the buckling sutures
That hold shut the wounds of the past…”
You were facing the airport restaurant. As you sang the second two lines of the song, Vessel raised his head and looked at you through all that distance, through glass walls, over the head of IVy, who put it onto his hands lying on the table.
You took your breath and started already more and more confident.
“So won't you fall for me,
Won't you fall for me…”
All the three men sitting around the table with Vessel turned their heads to the lobby, the grand piano and you. You shivered and started sweating, your hands were trembling like an autumn leaf trying to fall down from a tree.
“Through a fractured existence
Won't you fall for me?
Won't you fall for me
From reality?
To the rhythm of eternity
Won't you fall for me?”
They were still looking at you with curious faces. At that moment the waitress brought them their drinks, distracting them from your “performance”.
“My insecurities surround me like lions in the den
And I feel like I'm losing touch with what I am again
And slowly I remember why I cannot pretend
That I never think of you and all this screaming silence” ...
The piano guy screamed along with you:
“Oh God, I wish you were here!!!”
Four men in front of you raised their glasses of champagne, smiling at each other making cheers. They drank and turned their heads to see and listen to you sing to the end of the song.
Meanwhile, some people gathered around you and the piano guy. They were listening, someone standing, someone sitting, someone even recording a video. Someone petting their kids on the shoulders looking peacefully at you singing. You flushed, because it was so awkward for you, as you are not used to being so exposed in public. SINGING! It was so unusual and out of this world for you.
The embarrassment took over, and when you finished the last chorus you stopped, shyly smiling at people around you. You thanked the piano guy, and he said that you were very brave.
____________________________________
You were still breathing him … You were still trying to sleep again to enlengthen the moment. You wanted to be able to stop the time. And if you were completely honest with yourself, you didn’t want him to wake up so soon and leave, being busy with his everyday chores. You wanted him whole to yourself, so selfishly, not really being comfortable even sharing him with his work. Since you’ve met, you were processing the hard and still painful SHARING, which you were initially not ready for.
Someone silently knocked at the door of Vessel’s bedroom, and the hand appeared on the door at your side of the room first and then the other hand showed covering the eyes and face of the man, who was approaching you and Vessel. He whispered:
"I am sorry, are you awake? No one is nude, I hope!"
It was Ivy, of course.
And again, that painful thought of HAVING to SHARE Vessel with others made your heart squeeze with jealousy. No, you loved Ivy and the guys, and you loved spending time with them and hanging out, but sometimes it was hard to share your sleeping boyfriend even with them. You whispered back:
"No, he’s asleep. It's ok, Ivy."
"Ah, good. There is breakfast ready for all of us, we will be waiting for you two. Okay?"
"Okay, thanks, sunshine." You answered.
He kindly smiled; his blue eyes travelled from you to Vessel with affection. Door slowly closed behind Ivy.
Your head fell down on the pillow again and you closed your eyes with a sigh. They were impossible… And yet, you felt how much love they shared between them.
You started slowly pressing tender kisses between Vessel’s shoulder blades, putting your love into each of them, giving as many of them as you could trying to wake him up. Your hands were slowly walking along his body in all possible directions. You were doing it for long, trying to reach his neck with your lips and his lower hips with your hand. “Oh, God, he is so tall”. Soon you realized that he was not sleeping. He was just acting like asleep, and his breathing revealed his little secret.
"Ah, you actor", you whispered. "Come on, Vess, I know you woke up".
He sighed being caught and turned himself, lying now on his side facing you. He smiled, his eyes still closed and traced slow pets with his long fingers on your cheek.
"Turn around, please", he whispered back, his voice sleepy. You obeyed now being a little spoon beside him and he hugged you from behind and pressed himself to your back. You immediately felt that he was hard. You smiled at that and felt that he was already lifting your silky black nightgown to your belly level, revealing your ass and slowly tracing his fingertips around it, making you shiver, as he momentarily peppered kisses all over your neck and upper back, and even your hair, burying his nose in it and smelling you deliberately.
"You know, what I love about women the most?" He asked, whispering, almost hissing in your ear.
"What?" You asked back, shivering.
"You always know exactly what stuff to use to make your hair smell like Eden. Not that I do not enjoy boys and … you know. But women… C’me on, who teaches you to choose that hair stuff?"
Unpleasant thought creeped into your chest, and you just swallowed the nervous lump in your throat trying to push that thought deep and hide it deeper inside of you:
"Thanks, love. And that's not Eden, that’s just a mixture of almonds, whipped cream and apricot kernels".
"See?" He said, continuing his approach.
As he was sleeping naked, and you also had no panties on you, you felt his burning hardness against your ass cheeks and pleasurably closed your eyes, trying to drive the intrusive thoughts away. You heard him licking his fingers and moving behind you, while he was probably wetting his gorgeous cock. And then he slowly pressed its tip to your entrance, shoving it slowly and tenderly inside. You were already wet, because of giving him so many kisses beforehand, trying to wake him up, so he entered you easily. You gasped at the pleasant intrusion and feeling of fullness. He moaned in your hair, grabbing your breast, squeezing it way too hard, but you were already in a way to subspace, so you were prepared for any of his roughness or tenderness no matter what he was going to give you.
Vessel was all about performance. This also applies to sex. For him it was always a ritual. Even your first time with him, when he was not really prepared, was still all about the show and theatre. But this morning was different. This morning felt like… you were really a girlfriend and boyfriend. So simple, just an ordinary lazy morning sex. For you it was something new about him. He was just… so real. Unmasked. He was rhythmically diving into you at a slow pace with slight slapping of skin on skin.
Another bad thought creeped into your mind at such a wrong time that you hated yourself for that. You imagined him entering another body the same way. Bodies. You felt a little prick of pain in your heart, as it squeezed from this image. And to make it go away you started to think about your first ever sex with him. That night before you knew his secret. When there were only you and him.
He pulled out and changed position to press your back to bed and took you in missionary position, lifting your legs on his shoulders and looking at you with affection. Your eyes met and you felt warmth and kindness radiating from him. You closed your eyes diving back into your memory of the first night with him again just to enrich this feeling of being ONLY with him. You haven’t even noticed that he bowed down, his face close to yours.
"Darling, are you okay?" He asked. Your whole body jerked, coming back to reality. "Seems like you are not really with me now…"
"Oh… Where else I can be, Vess. I’m with you".
"Lie." He said immediately. He was extremely good at figuring out who was lying to him, when and how. "Where are your thoughts?'
"I’m sorry, love. You are right. I don't know why, but I remembered our first night and… I'm sorry".
"Our first night? So, you were thinking about me, but back then? While we are literally making love?"
"I am sorry! Oh… I… I am just…" You were lost at the sudden change of his tone. He seemed to be mad.
He pulled his softened cock out of you and started to get off the bed.
"Vess! Please… Did I say something wrong?" You were shocked at the hasty change in his behaviour. And a wave of cold fear showered your chest from the inside.
He was standing naked beside the bed, his face slightly reddened and his eyes oozing pain.
"What if I tell you", he started, "that you were right now cheating on me with myself, but from the past?"
His face was getting more and more hard to look at, because it was so deeply touched by raw emotion. It was unbearable. You lifted yourself and sat on the bed now not knowing what to say.
"Vess, love, come on! It was still you… Only you!"
"I know what is going on. Now that you know me, you are not really interested in me. That first time was so good for you just because you’ve met a fucking singer from your favourite band".
"What?!" You tried to stay calm, but you nearly squealed. "It's not so! You don't know what I feel for you! How can you even…say that?"
"As long as the performance was over you started thinking about back then, when it was still fresh and interesting. When it was so special for you. Now I am just another ordinary man offering you an ordinary sex". He nearly spitted, so mad he was saying that. His face was scary now, a mixture of fury and heartbreak. You wanted to hug him, to press him to your chest as hard as you only could manage… as hard as your arms could allow, but you froze in place, not being able to move.
"Vess… You are so wrong now. Wrong! Please, hear me out…" You started, but he interrupted you.
"You know what? It was you, who once said that you wanted to try something simple with me. It was you, who wanted us to be just an ordinary couple. It was you, who wanted us to be just boyfriend and girlfriend. “At least sometimes, can we be like everyone else?”, he quoted. "That were YOUR words". He pointed his finger at you. "And this one time I peeled my shell from me, one time I really unmasked myself in front of you, returning back to who I was before… before all that shit that I’ve been through and before all that has made me the way I am now... At this time, when I was just a boyfriend you asked me to be for you, without any games, alter egos, roles, performances and masks you think about that past version of me, who was desperately trying to IMPRESS YOU? Congratulations!" He screamed and spread his hands showing his impressively huge wingspan. "You were dreaming about NOT EVEN REAL ME!!"
You felt hot tears pouring out of your eyes while he was speaking, they were leaving burns on your face.
"You… you are saying that on that first night you were not real… with me?"
"Grow up! No one is real, when you’ve just met!"
"Please, hear me out!"
"I am not in a mood to hear any of your excuses right now". He answered harshly.
"… Is this… the end?" You raised your eyes full of tears at him.
"I need to be alone and think about it". He answered and started to dress himself quickly. Then he came out of the room slamming the door behind him leaving you crying your soul out.
____________________________________
When you stepped onto the staircase leading to the kitchen, you heard four men silently talking to each other.
"Vess, I told you that it will not end well". II said. You knew that he was against you right from the start. He was also the last to approve you moving in with them. "Not that we do not have “cry-babies” in this house but crying women! That’s too much".
You made your steps so loud as you could going down the staircase, and the voices died down.
When you appeared in the kitchen there were all of them sitting around the table on four chairs and there was no 5-th chair for you. You’ve just realized that.
"Good morning, everyone", you said, "am I interrupting?"
"Nah-ah, honey", III said, quickly took his plate and his drink, freeing you a chair and positioned himself on the couch in a dinner room, which was combined with a kitchen making the room so spacious. "You're welcome, sit down, please!"
"Thank you, III, you are such a gentleman!" You gave him a bittersweet and grateful smile.
You immediately noticed attentive gazes of all four men. All eyes were on you making you try to be as small as possible. Ivy gave the most concerned look at your red swollen eyes and squeezed your hand. II started to put food on a plate for you announcing that it was an English breakfast. Vessel was totally zoned out, pretending that he was not there or really just deep in his thoughts. He hasn't spoken a word during the whole meal.
If someone would ask you, what was the most awkward moment in your whole life, you would definitely remember this breakfast. Sticky and unpleasant silence hung in the room, while all five of you were eating, exchanging confused looks and uncomfortable smiles. You all nearly jumped, when you heard the doorbell ringing.
"It’s a delivereh guy!" III happily exclaimed and ran to the front door as an excited Golden Retriever. "MY lingerie and toys have arrived!"
Your eyes widened and you nearly spat out your Earl Grey.
All the men laughed warm heartedly.
"How much of that he obtains?" Vessel asked finally and shook his head.
"As much as it helps to keep our interest fresh". II answered, giving Vessel a knowing look.
At that moment you felt like you wanted to disappear just not be the intruder of their idyllic morning. It was truly theirs and not yours. You were not meant to be here. You were feeling not being a game changer, but just a side quest, they’ve seemed to have passed. Your eyes started to fill with tears again and met Ivy’s. His brows furrowed at your look and lips parted as he was trying to silently comfort you. But that didn’t help. You stood up, thanked everyone for the breakfast and headed to the bathroom just to hide your tears.
Notes:
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 🌹 and want to know your opinion in comments. That shows me if I am moving this story into right direction and see the progress!
*POTATO HEARTS*
Chapter 2: Watch me ascend
Summary:
In this chapter IVy is doing magnificent job as a therapist, and Vess is being a total... Vess! 🥹
Drama is here.
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Ascencionism (chapter name)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
II
While you were crying desperately hiding in the bathroom, II and IVy were silently chatting in the kitchen, III was happily unboxing his package in his room, where was Vessel? You wondered what he was planning to do. He said he wanted to be alone and think… Think of what happened in the morning? Or think if it’s worth it to let you stay in this house and in his life…?
When you washed your face several times and gathered all your strength to come out, you silently pushed the door and heard something familiar: a faint knocking on the floor. That was the sound of Butterscotch’s claws as he was slowly moving to the front door of the house wiggling his butt and tail. You smiled at that, probably for the first time after breakfast. Ivy’s dog was living with all four band members, and you also got used to him during recent months and developed tender feelings for the orange creature, as he was so kind, warm and smiling, always too lazy to run fast. He almost never had zoomies, so calm of a dog he was. You chuckled thinking that III’s always got more zoomies than Butterscotch.
No one really knew the dog's real name, probably only IVy. He always said that his name is a big secret, and his “pet name” is Butterscotch, so everyone just got accustomed to this name and stopped asking for a real one. Maybe it was a real one, but IVy wanted to keep a mystery around it.
Your eyes followed the dog and as he was close to the front door, you saw Vessel looming there, waiting patiently for the typically slow dog to arrive. He reached the clothes hooks on the wall beside the door and took the collar and leash. The dog immediately sat in front of him waiting for Vessel to put a collar on him and take him for a walk.
"IVy, I’ll take Butter for a walk! Will come back later."
"Okay, thanks, darling!" Ivy shouted from the kitchen.
Vessel gave you the final coldest look through the corridor, his face was a mixture of unspoken anger and frustration. Then you watched him turn his back and together with Butterscotch they disappeared behind the door.
You gasped at the prick of pain inside of your heart.
“This man will be the death of me”, you thought. You wondered how soon you will have a heart attack after living in this house.
You crossed the kitchen again passing by II and IV with your head down and closing your distance with the back door leading to the small backyard, all drowning in greenery and flowers.
This “garden” was not really neat and well-kept, they definitely had no gardener here to groom all these bushes, but still you loved it so much, because it was quiet, cozy and secluded. II had suggested hiring a gardener many times, but Vessel rejected the idea each time II started to talk about it.
You sat on the quite spacious garden swing with a roof over it and started slowly swinging, kicking yourself with your feet from the ground, barely touching it. You tried to calm your nerves. It was a sunny day in London, and you wondered if it would still end up with rain or just stay this pleasant and warm. Sun was tenderly touching your cheeks as you lifted your head to make your face exposed for its warm rays. You were enjoying the warmth, the smell of wet grass and flowers, sounds of little birds twirling and suddenly a cold wave of fear pierced you again, making you sweat and shiver on a warm day. You remembered that cold gaze Vessel gave you, when he was leaving.
"… Is this… the end?" You raised your eyes full of tears at him.
"I need to be alone and think about it."
You started to play those last words in your head making your anxiety kick in more and more. But as you tried to calm yourself down, you started to bring nicer memories back to you. In your headspace you were back at the Ferenc Liszt airport in Budapest again. Back when things were less painful. Back to serenity.
____________________________________
After your “performance” with the piano guy, you sat back at the benches around the huge instrument and put your headphones back on your head with your back turned to the airport restaurant. You were so embarrassed because of your own bold move that you were not ready to face the consequences of this act and the eyes of the four musicians again. Despite the fact that it was not actually that bad, the creepy feeling really overwhelmed you and you tried to distract yourself with your phone, but it barely helped. Your palms were sweating, hands were still shaky, the screen of your phone blurry in your vision. You started to tap with your right foot on the floor nervously. All your muscles were tense, and your heartbeat was close to the state of the panic attack.
After a while of trying to cope with your emotions, you raised your head and saw three female figures moving through the lobby, all with their suitcases rolling beside them. One taller and red haired with a round cute face was Matilda, one with black and curvy hair was Paige and one girl with pale skin and dark hair was Lynsey. You immediately recognized them, as they were open, and their names and faces were officially known in public. The ESPERA.
Your eyes glued to the three figures, while they were moving right to the airport restaurant behind your back. Girls were looking like they were a little bit tired, but they smiled talking to each other carelessly as they continued walking in a smooth goddess-like manner. Soon they were just behind your back, probably meeting with four of your favourite musicians. You felt a little prick of envy, when you imagined how close they are, and what girls are supposed to see during the tour every day… Their jokes and shenanigans, their team work at the sound checks and the thrill to live through after the shows. You chuckled from the random silly thought of pretending to be a journalist (as if you weren't one) and asking Espera about their everyday experiences on tour. You thought it would be incredibly captivating to know.
After some time, which felt like five minutes, you saw Espera again, but they were followed by three men. As they were passing by you, men gave you looks, making you understand that they clearly saw you singing here, and then they turned their heads looking directly where they were going. Your cheeks flushed with hot waves of embarrassment and your gaze followed their backs.
You’ve noticed that Espera girls were followed by III rolling two suitcases beside him, IV and II. Where was Vessel? That thought made you really curious and you thought that maybe he was still in the restaurant or the restroom. Or possibly he would follow them right after. But time flew by, and he didn't appear.
Not that you were desperate, but after your “music show”, it felt like you had nothing more to lose and nothing more to fear, so you stood up and headed to the airport restaurant. You’ve ordered your cappuccino and sat at the table with your back turned to the lonely singer, who was still sitting at his spot. A few moments later you felt his gaze on your back even not facing him. Your back shivered from it, but you pretended to be busy with your phone.
____________________________________
"Having a hard time?" The voice made you shudder, and you opened your eyes, coming back to the present moment. The voice belonged to Ivy.
"Oh, man! Ivy, you can’t scare me like that," you said breathing heavily trying to regain your composure.
"I am sorry, love. Huh-mm, I’ve got something for you," he said, and you saw him holding a tray with two cups of something warm, which was visible due to smoke dissipating from them. Besides, he was wearing a big blanket over his shoulders, looking cuddly like a little fluffy teddy bear.
"Ivy, do you know that you are adorable?" You asked and your heart melted.
"I'm a fucking Prince Charming," he smiled back, put a tray onto the little garden table standing beside the swing bench, and sat beside you. "Get off your shoes."
You haven’t understood this weird assignment from him, but you still put your feet out of your shoes leaving them on the grass beneath the swing bench.
"Now put your feet here," he pointed his finger at his lap. Your eyes widened a little bit, but you didn’t object and did what he told you to do. His thighs were warm and welcoming. After you both placed yourselves comfortably on the bench, he took the blanket from his shoulders and covered you both with it. Then he handed you a cup, which appeared to be hot cocoa. You rapidly felt so loved and so cared for, that you were just watching into Ivy’s sky-blue eyes with gratitude. After today’s rejection and cold treatment from Vessel, it was exactly what you needed, and Ivy knew it very well.
"I fucked up, Ivy. How do you think," you finally asked, "will he break up with me?"
"W-what? Oh, bullshit! 'course, not!"
"He said he needed to think about it and left. I guess he will probably throw me out on the street."
"That’s nonsense, darling. Vessel would never do that. Not with you."
"What is so special about me? I'm just a fan."
"You're the first fan he actually dated in his entire life, and this is a big exception for a band like ours… and also you are the first person to date with him after we all formed… emmhh… you know..."
"A 'Polycule', you mean?"
"Basically, yeah… But I don’t like this word. It's too 'googlish' sounding. It's not a right word to describe… love? Right?"
"I don't know, Ivy. I'm not sure if I am monogamous or polyamorous. I thought I was the first one all my life. So, Love for me has a slightly different meaning."
"You'll figure this out, as we all did. I didn't know I was polyamorous as well. More to it, I thought I was straight."
You gave him a surprised look. He put his heavy hand on your feet over the blanket comforting you and continued looking right into your eyes:
"You know… I always wanted a family. I mean, a super ordinary one. With a wife, kids and dog."
"I’m so sorry, Vessel took Butter away from you, sunshine," you joked. He laughed, throwing his head back.
"Actually, Vessel gave me this family and accepted me with my dog and my baggage. Yes, it's not the family I expected, but it's full of love and acceptance."
On the word “baggage” you felt like he was speaking not about material things. You thought about it deeply and drifted away a little, sipping the hot cocoa from the cup.
"Look," he said after a while, "Vessel won't give up on you so easily."
"Ha-ha-ha! You're literally quoting one of his songs right now, Ivy!"
"I know, but this is true. Vessel is … really, REALLY possessive person." He accentuated the word “really” with a harsh sounding “a”, which you always found adorable in his accent.
"I still don't understand, why even me?" You asked.
"Don’t try to understand Vessel. If you still want to be with him, you have to give him love, acceptance and sometimes also punishment. His world is quite simple."
"P-punishment?" Your eyes widened in shock. "Is that all about your weird Sub/Dom stuff you all practice together?"
"Partly… He has a very strong sense of justice. He thinks that for every act he and everyone else deserves punishment or praise."
"So hard to imagine that. He's usually so bossy."
"He is, but you’ve probably haven't met his submissive side yet." He smirked. "I'm not here to give you any advice, ok? I'm just… widening your knowledge, because I think you deserve it. I don't like to see you as a blind kitten, as it was today during breakfast. I want you to start taking control first, and second - I want you to finally get accustomed to living with us." He gently squeezed your foot and added: "I'm on your side."
"Ivy," you gasped, lost for words at his tirade.
"I'm not a therapist. I'm just learning. But I will help you as much as I can. I want you to be bold and brave, just the way you were there in the airport."
You facepalmed yourself at mentioning your “performance”. Actually, no one before mentioned it just like that.
"It was cringe, and I was kinda desperate."
"No, you were brave. I'm not much of a singer just like you. Screaming doesn't really count here. But I would be too shy to sing in front of my idols, you know? I would never dare to do that. But you did." He smiled, raising up his lip corner. "You know, I was a very obsessive teen... My room walls were all glued with posters of my favourite bands, but I don't really know what I would do if I met someone from them."
"Thank you," you smiled at him and touched his cheek with the backside of your hand feeling his three-day sand-coloured bristle.
"Welcome. By the way, I wonder, why Vessel didn’t introduce you to our… lifestyle? That selfish ass keeps you away from us and us away from you. Does he want you all to himself? We miss him too. Since he is dating you, he was never… with us, if you know what I mean…"
"Oh… That is the problem. He owes me an apology that I've still not received." You said it with a deep frustration in your voice and he furrowed his brows looking concerned.
"An Apology?"
"When we met, I didn’t know his secret. I was not ready for that, IVy. And who would be? He confessed that he is in a relationship with you all only after our first… encounter."
"Sexual encounter?" He clarified.
"Exactly."
"What an asshole!" He exclaimed.
You silently nodded.
"You are right, he owes you an apology. But also, he owes it to us all. He broke the rules. If only II knew that Vessel would be punished immediately. He was SUPPOSED to tell you right away! It's not fair!"
"Look, I'm not exactly sure I understand all that concept with punishments. But today I felt jealous again, thinking about the fact that I'll have to share him with you all. I was not prepared for that... I tried to accept that, but I had no idea it would be so difficult for me. I also felt like I was… unwanted in this house, not because you were bad to me, but because I felt like the intruder in your idyllic world. Feels like I've stolen a huge amount of love from this house..."
"Don't you ever say that again! We were… surprised by Vessel’s choice to start a relationship, being already with us. We were jealous too. Actually, he was the first from us to have a side relationship. We have rules here, and the person who cheats on his lovers has to leave the poly. But it was different with you. We knew that it was serious for Vessel. It was not just casual hook up. Plus, he confessed to us right from the start. We accepted his choice, because we love him. And…" he stopped for a while and sighed. "I really think you are my friend now."
"Oh, Ivy…" You put your cup onto the table and leaned towards him wrapping him in a hug. He pressed you even tighter to his chesr and you both sat like this for a while.
"We have to stop, if you don't want me to start becoming more than just your friend," he murmured and looked down at where his crotch was supposed to be under the blanket.
"Gross!" You pulled back from his embrace and laughed. He laughed too, so warm, so light-hearted and so comforting.
After a while you asked:
"Ivy, have you watched the TV show 'How I met your mother'?"
"Yes, ma’am. Why?"
"There was a scene, where friends were testing how strong and fitting their friendship can be and also how much of a long-lasting. They just started to imagine them being old, sitting on the porch, playing boring card games and sipping tea. If the atmosphere was good, they understood that this was friendship for life. If it was disturbing and annoying, they would probably skip."
"Oh, I remember that episode!" Ivy chuckled.
"I think I can see you on my porch when we're old. No matter what we're gonna play there."
"Oh, Ma’am. I'm into it."
Suddenly the back door of the house opened, and you both saw II letting Butterscotch out in the garden. The dog was already without a leash, and he happily ran right to Ivy to get his pets.
"Vessel is back?" You asked II immediately.
"He is… But he locked himself in the studio."
"Oh, man!" You and Ivy said in unison. II rolled up his eyes.
"At least, we'll have new songs, I guess!" II said and disappeared in the house again.
"You know what?" IVy said. "I’ve got the idea, but I let you do all the dirty work."
"What's the idea?"
"Today you have to make an impression that Vessel may lose you. It is HIM who has to be afraid of a breakup, not you."
You looked at IVy speechless.
"Yes, I mean it, girl. Three rules for you. First, be bold and brave, as you can be. Second, demand an apology from him, because it is fair. Third, don’t forget about punishment. Voilà!"
"Thank you, darling. You're the best therapist I ever had in my entire life. Didn't know you had this in your arsenal..."
"Don't forget about your paycheck. Ha!" He exclaimed. "I'm sorry, ma’am, but I need to go to III. I have to look at what is in his package. It’s just too tempting. Can't hold myself back!"
"Go," you kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, Ivy! What's the real name of Butterscotch?"
"Come on, girl, appreciate the mystery at least for once." He winked at you and went inside wiggling his peach shaped butt.
When you were left alone with the dog, who was lying on the grass and breathing with his mouth open, squinting in the sun, you waved at him and he slowly stood up and went into your direction with small steps, landing his head over your outstretched legs and looked at you from beneath.
"You're just like your owner, right, Butter?" You asked, rhetorically.
____________________________________
You haven't noticed how it got dark outside, and the evening was slowly settling down. You were in Vessel’s room, all windows draped with the dark blue blackout curtains. You liked how his room looked like in the dark. This room even had a bookshelf with all his books, a big wardrobe built in the wall, and several little night tables with candles and custom made lamps for a different mood. There was also a huge bed, covered with the silky black sheets.
You searched for the song “Ascensionism” in your phone, put it on repeat and connected via Bluetooth to the amplifier. The room was filled with the saddest piano music right away. You took your suitcase out of the wardrobe and placed it split open on a soft rug beside the bed. Then you took some of your clothes and put them into the suitcase. After that you had another brilliant idea. You found Vessel’s handwritten old letter covered with the reddish stains and sat beside the suitcase. You opened a paper and saw his familiar calligraphy.
“If you ever wondered, what was my biggest regret…” You started to reread it. But was interrupted by Vessel himself intruding the room.
"Oh, please, change the playlist, I cannot listen to myself, unless it's not recording or rehearsal." He said, clearly irritated, but was stunned at the image that he saw in front of him. You were sitting on the floor with a half-packed suitcase and his letter in your hand. You silently shook your head.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He shouted suddenly.
"I… Uhm-m, nothing." You answered looking at him with your head raised up.
"I ASKED WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Screaming this, he shortened the distance between you both with a few huge hastily steps and pushed your suitcase with his bare foot away, making it slide on the rug far from your reach. This sudden rude move made you so scared, that you started to push your ass and legs back away from him, almost crawling till you felt a bed edge behind your back. You hugged your knees and curled up into a ball.
"Gods… Sorry, dah-ling!" He exclaimed and fell down on his knees in front of you. "I'm so sorry!" He outstretched his arm to touch your knee, but you screamed:
"Don't touch me!"
His face skewed with pain from realization that he has just made another mistake.
"Are you… afraid of me?" He managed to ask with a shaky voice.
"I think I have to start being afraid…" You answered with an insecure tone, still curled up and looking like a hedgehog being approached.
"Love, please, let me touch you. For once, please. It’s me, it’s just me!" He started pleadingly. "You know that I wouldn't hurt you, right? D'you know that? Please, dah-ling, relax… Let me touch, please!"
"I'm not sure I know you at least a little still," you dared to say gathering back your boldness and bravery looking right into his eyes.
He dared to touch your knee with his fingertips, but not with a whole hand.
"I haven’t allowed you to touch me." You said menacingly. He looked up in your eyes again with curiosity and desire to obey, but didn’t take the fingers away.
“Was that what Ivy was talking about?” You thought.
"I said… DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME." You said again, and he took his hand away looking absolutely lost. "I'm gonna teach you to listen to me, when I ask for it. I asked you to hear me out in the morning, but you didn’t."
"Sorry, Ma’am." He said very silently and sat down with his ass pressed to his bare heels.
“He has never called me like that”, you thought and took notes for yourself.
"I was thinking about you in the past, while literally having sex with you, because I STILL feel jealous of you having relationships with the boys. I remembered the moment before you told me about this. The moment, when I thought that you are only mine, at least for one night. I wanted to relive the moment, where I was still thinking that there were only me and you. And you still haven't APOLOGIZED for that."
"Apologized for what?" He asked you, still lost with his cracking voice.
"For spending the night with me and confessing being in a polycule only after that. You could tell me beforehand. You could tell me and see if I would accept that or not. You did not give me a choice…"
"You still have that choice…"
"No, because I already fell for you long ago. And you clearly made me understand that I have only two variants. First: to accept you the way you are. Second: to part our ways. I have chosen the first one, because I wanted to be with you, obviously, not realizing that it will be so difficult for me. And I'm still being a blind kitten not even knowing a bit about this… lifestyle of yours."
"Oh fuck…" He finally seemed to realize, and his blue lamb eyes widened, as he looked at you, with his mouth slightly open. "What have I done…"
"I still haven’t heard you apologize."
"I'm so, SO sorry, love, I'm just an asshole."
"Sorry for what?"
"For not giving you a choice."
"For what else?"
"For not letting you know before… making love to you."
"And?"
"For not listening to you. Today and … always."
"Something more to add?"
"I'm sorry for not introducing you to all this… properly."
"And? You forgot about the boys…"
He went silent and thought for a while. Then his eyes lit up with understanding and he said:
"I have to apologize to them too."
"Good boy." You finally smiled and unclenched your arms from around your knees. "You can now touch me. But don’t hug yet."
He put his hand on your knee gently squeezing it.
"I fucked up…" He said. "I thought that everything was under my control. And I was so selfish, but there is nothing new to you, right?"
"Oh, by the way, arguing with me, leaving without explanation, pretending that I do not exist during breakfast was kinda abusive. It was you, who brought me into this house, so why don't you make me feel like a part of it? Your mates were better at making me feel at home, to be honest."
"I'm so sorry. I can repeat it a hundred times, but … I feel like it will stay bitter for eternity. Dah-ling, this is why I love them all so much. They fit me like a puzzle. They balance all my insecurities and downsides. When I am bad for you, they can be good for you instead."
"Vess, they're not part of you, they're your mates, not your alter egos. I felt so … broken, Vess. Especially during breakfast. I felt like I was a stray cat."
"W-what?" He gasped at this confession and tears started to fill his precious deep water blue eyes. At this moment, the song “Ascensionism”, which was played on repeat, reached to the point where Vessel was singing “You make me wish I could disappear”. And you lip sang that phrase without a little bit of a voice looking right into his eyes.
“You make me wish I could disappear”.
Tears broke through his eyelids and fell down his cheeks.
"Please, hug me." You said starting to cry too.
____________________________________
After the apologies and hugs were given, tears were generously spilled, kisses were passionately shared, you both sat on the rug leaning your backs onto the edge of the bed. You were pressed tight to Vessel; he tenderly petted your hair with one hand giving you random kisses on your forehead. His face was salty from tears. After a long while, he said:
"I don’t deserve any of you."
"Universe is wise, Vess. If you weren't deserving, it won’t give you us all. As well as thousands of your fans."
He went silent and slowly stood up. He tenderly took your suitcase and started to take your clothes away from it carefully folding them back on your shelf in the wardrobe. You were watching him curiously. He put his old letter in the box with your jewellery, - chains and rings, - just where it always was. He knew it. He knew all the smallest details. Then he put an empty suitcase back to the lower shelf of the wardrobe and closed it.
After completing this little ritual, he came to you, giving you his hand to let you stand up from the floor. You followed his silent instructions. He slowly traced long lines all over the length of your arms from both sides towering over you. His fingertips were cold, but soothingly tender, sending shivers down your spine. He started to undress you, not saying a single word. He slowly took off your top, your bra, making them fall down on the rug beneath you. Then he reached for your waistband and pulled down your silky pyjama pants and panties low to your feet making you step out of them.
As you were completely naked, he undressed himself not breaking eye contact with you and took you in a cradling way as if he was holding a child, into his embrace and carried you to bed, carefully placing your head on the pillow. He pressed his body to you and covered you with the blanket. After that he took a small remote control from the night table and directed it to the ceiling making the lights in the room go dim. After that you heard that he was trying to calm his breath to sleep.
"Seriously?" You whispered. "No sex?"
"No. I was too bad today. Haven’t deserved it. Now sleep, please."
You chuckled but tried to do as he said. You really needed sleep after this emotionally exhausting day. After a few moments melting in his warm embrace but feeling his cold feet on your right ankle for a temperature balance, you let Sleep consume you.
____________________________________
You woke up in the deep night because you felt him leaving the bed moving smooth like a ghost or a shadow barely touching the ground. He has a talent to move almost without making any sounds, which often scares you and all the band members, when he surprisingly appears behind your back.
“Probably went to his bathroom”, you thought and just turned to your other side trying to regain sleep. The bathroom was a little room neighbouring his bedroom. As the time flew by and sleep did not come back to you, you noticed that he was absent longer than you expected. You waited a little more and stood up worried. You found your nightgown and, wrapping yourself in it on the way to the bathroom, you felt your heart beating as fast as if you were a hare chased by a wolf. You knew that he could possibly escape to someone’s bedroom to sleep with one of his lovers, but you knew he didn’t do that since he started dating you.
You entered his bathroom and choked on your own scream. He was still absolutely naked standing in front of the bathroom mirror holding a small Swiss knife in his one hand directing it to his other arm.
With a low guttural scream you commanded:
"PUT DOWN YOUR KNIFE, NOW!"
Notes:
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 🌹 and want to know your opinion in comments. That shows me if I am moving this story into right direction and see the progress!
*POTATO HEARTS*
Chapter 3: Manifest pain in a core of pleasure
Summary:
You thought that Vess will stop being a total Vess? 😁
If so, - wrong...
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Nazareth (chapter name)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
III
"PUT DOWN YOUR KNIFE, NOW!"
He stood frozen.
"Put your knife down," you repeated, but he didn’t move. "Vess!"
He was still standing holding his Swiss knife looking through the mirror with dumb stare. His hand was trembling, but he didn’t even seem fully conscious and aware of what he was doing. That image was so disturbing that you started to panic. You have never been in such situations and, of course, you didn’t know what to do. You've never seen Vessel act like that.
“Is that a shock? Some kind of catatonia?” You thought to yourself.
"VESS!!!" You shouted again, but he continued staring at himself in the mirror and his stare seemed not even fully present. His eyes were like two empty holes, - his pupils were dilated, - making this image bizarre and unsettling. He wasn’t even looking exactly like a human. Something unearthly was in his facial expression and this made you think that probably you won't be able to forget it anytime soon.
You had to do something, but your muscles refused to move, scared that he might do something with that knife. Your panic grew… And time flew by. Just randomly, you saw quite a big basin standing beside the bath, so you rushed to it and started to fill it with cold water. As it was done, you aimlessly spilled the water over him… his head, his back… over his naked body, over the bathroom walls. He jolted and froze again. His gaze became more aware and present, he lowered his chin down looking at his own hands and the knife.
"Oh, Vess," you said, throwing away the plastic basin, and pressing yourself to his bare wet back, hugging him from behind and wetting yourself against his body, absorbing the water drops with your skin and silky nightgown not fully covering your own body.
You wrapped your arms around him and slowly took that knife away from his hand, being thankful that he quickly relaxed his fingers and let you do this. You threw it into the sink, and it made an unpleasant noise of metal meeting ceramics.
"Come back to me, darling. Please. Come back."
You were cradling him standing behind him, forgetting about how much time has passed, trying to make him feel something again and slowly his breathing aligned with yours, he seemed more aware of what was going on.
"Why, Vess? Just tell me, why?"
"I… I… felt I was not forgiven…"
"W-what? You mean… Oh, Vess, what are you talking about? You apologized and I forgave you. What did you want to do to yourself?"
"I don’t know…" He answered, being lost.
"Oh, dear Sleep! You’ll be the death of me."
"Why am I wet?" He asked, shivering and hugging himself.
"I’ve spilled cold water on you, because you were standing here with the knife and giving me no reaction!" You exclaimed.
He looked at the floor, as if he saw it for the first time in his life. You were puzzled and wondered, what was he thinking about. While he stood there completely drown in his own thoughts, you took a big towel and started to rub him trying to make him warm and dry. You hugged him once again and caressed his stomach from behind.
"Come on, darling… Vess, come on. Let's go back to bed…"
He slowly turned around to you and got on his knees. You gently cupped his face with both hands. He raised up his tired eyes on you and said almost whispering:
"Please, punish me."
"What?! Vess… you were just holding a knife planning to do something. Something… I don't even want to think about it! And now you ask me to punish you?"
"Please, just… do that. I want to feel… right. Make it feel… right. Please."
“How can this even make you feel forgiven, love?” You thought to yourself, but didn’t ask him. You remembered what Ivy told you and somehow you started to realize that there was something about it, which WAS making things feel right for him. You were confused by his plea for punishment, but at the same time so terrified by the image of him raising a knife planning to hurt himself, so this made you think that maybe you just have to play this “game”, if this really could make him feel better.
The image of him wanting to feel physical pain instead of emotional one, was something you never again wanted to observe, so if the thing he was asking for was for the better and could actually be healing, you were ready to save him at all costs.
"How do you want me to punish you?" You asked, your voice trembling.
"Please, take a cane in the wardrobe. In my third drawer on the left side, if you start counting from below." You were staring back at him with wide open eyes hearing this unbelievably specific answer. "Yes, just take it, please."
You pursed your lips, but didn’t answer. You took his Swiss knife from the sink, folded it and left the bathroom, looking exactly for what he had asked. In his third drawer you saw several different sex toys, which were there before, but also a thin cane, which looked more like a school pointer. It had a delicate holder and was beautifully designed with Japanese motives. As far as you remembered there was no cane here before. You found your purse and hid the knife there for later, took the cane in your already shaking hand and slowly went to the bathroom trying to realign your breath.
In the bathroom you saw Vessel kneeling on the wet rug, patiently waiting for you, his hands on his thighs, his ass cheeks pressed to his heels. This image of a tall completely naked man with puppy eyes will probably be carved in your memory forever. Your heart jumped and made a graceful flip in your chest with the vulnerability of him in front of you. He was so obedient and so unknown for you yet, especially from this side. He saw your hand shaking.
"You may even like that…" He whispered. "Just don’t worry, love."
Saying that he outstretched his two arms to you and put his head down in a gentle plea. A sudden thought pierced you as you remembered his lyrics:
“Tear my arms off” …
That made your heart squeeze, as you saw those outstretched arms and your favourite beautiful, long, piano fingers looking into your direction. Your natural reaction was a wish to kiss his every finger, but you were supposed to do another thing. Arms are everything for the musician and he generously handed them to you for the lack of mercy.
"With this?" You asked again, showing him a cane.
"Yes, ma’am," he said in his most obedient tone you’ve ever heard from him. "Please."
"Where have you got it from?" Your voice started to become sterner.
"It’s II’s most gentle one, ma’am…"
"Most gentle one?" You repeated, raising your brow.
"Yes, and at least it’s not a drumstick."
“What the fuck do they do with each other in the studio?!” You thought to yourself.
The cane was light in your hand, almost weightless. You wondered, how much damage it usually causes and how much strength you have to put in a hit. With deep sigh you said:
"You're going to count."
"Yes, ma’am!" He said with his tone sounding somehow eager.
If this was what he needed instead of what he was planning to do, it seemed like a better alternative for you. You raised your hand with a cane and with a tiny whistle it landed across his two outstretched arms leaving a pink, long and thin trace. He didn’t even move, looked up at you and just said:
"One."
You hit once more trying not to beat the same spot.
"Two." He smiled saying that.
You continued hitting like that until he said “ten”, but there was still nothing: no pleading to stop, no jerks of pain in his body, almost no reaction on his face. He was suspiciously calm.
"Turn your arms like that," you said turning his one arm facing you with its soft and tender inner side. He did the same thing with his other arm, and a devilish grin appeared on his face. You petted his inner arms’ skin only with your fingertips as tender as you could, sending shivers down his spine and then hit across two arms with a cane, making your wave bigger. He slightly jerked because of rapid change from a tender touch to a quick burning rush of pain and gasped:
"One."
You continued hitting, trying to not to touch the same spots. Not like you succeeded with every hit, but you tried your best. You saw pinkish traces appearing along his inner arms starting to get slightly swollen. Only when he announced “eight”, it started to get a little bit red.
"Nine, ah!" He said with a crack in his voice. You tried to figure out, why did he let this groan out, from pain or pleasure?
You looked into the bigger mirror standing in the bathroom and saw quite a tempting picture. A tall, white-skinned man appearing even more white in a dim light, kneeking on the floor all naked, with arms obediently outstretched in front of a woman in a silk black nightgown reaching her feet bones, not fully wrapped around her and revealing the nude state of her body, holding a thin cane in her hand raised up in the air upon HIM. Your eyes glued to this image, and he noticed your gaze. He looked at the mirror too and smiled. You were mesmerized by the view, but you understood that you were wasting time… Trying to jump scare him you hit one more time across his hands unexpectedly, and he gasped looking down at himself. You saw it too: a little twitch his cock did at this move and grew bigger.
"Ten," he said.
"Don’t think I’m done with you," you dared to say even hardly recognising your own voice.
He nodded with a surprise in his eyes and... another eager twich of his cock.
"Stand up," you commanded. He immediately obeyed, his arms now a mixture of pink swollen stripes. "Follow me."
You went to the bedroom still holding a cane and sat on the edge of the bed. He followed you and stood in front of you, pressing his palms shyly over his already grown bigger erection.
He seemed totally different from what you knew about him, from what you usually saw. He was happy to obey you and follow your instructions, and you admitted that never in your life you tried to have a leading role and take control. You noticed that he was very patient with you, because he realized you had no experience at this. He stood beside you just waiting. He let you learn.
"On your knees beside my right leg," you said and cringed at how rude and unnatural from you it sounded. "Lean over my lap."
He obeyed with happy, almost puppy eyes, and you felt his skinny but warm stomach pressing to your lap, while his knees were standing right beside your right leg, his bare white scrawny ass exposed and in your reach, his big feet on the floor. You started petting his back in circles with soothing movements, he shivered in anticipation, still looking at the cane in your hand. You felt his erection pressing to the side of your hip. Your vision blurred at this hot touch, and arousal flooded you, heat waves travelled to your core, but you tried to regain your composure.
"You were a bad boy." You said, almost whispering.
"Yes, ma’am, gross." He answered and pressed his hard cock to your hip even stronger, making your eyes roll up from the hot pleasure of that skin-to-skin touch.
"Bad boys walk with beaten ass," you teased.
"Always, ma’am."
You took the cane with your right hand and touched his ass with it making tiniest playful hits just teasing him. He wiggled his ass in a funny manner making you chuckle. For the hell known reason you started to enjoy this side of him, realizing that this was not even his hardest mode, and wondering, how much of an obedient side was shown with his lovers at times they were together?
You continued teasing him with cane and he was almost ready to fuck your hip, but he tried to lie still on your lap. Still holding a cane, you reached the skin on his ass cheeks teasing it and feeling how soft it was under your tips. You adored his little ass, it was so hard and firm matching his skinny body, so white and so velvety.
You stopped yourself here, because you had a mission to accomplish, and it was the wrong time to be a “pussy” and give him kisses. Your left hand travelled to his head teasing his ear and hair tenderly, while your right hand raised up and with a whistle cutting through the air you put a cane down right onto his ass cheeks. He jumped not expecting this and moaned deeply. It was as you expected already. He was getting insane pleasure from being punished and liked to feel pain. Even though the delivered pain was so unprofessional of you, maybe even not strong enough. HE ENJOYED THAT.
"Please, more!" He said hastily, but you shut him with your left palm, pressing fingers against his lips.
"Who allowed you to beg for more, huh? Count." And you removed your fingers.
"One…" He answered with a deep sigh, and you felt a wetness of his precum against your hip. You were barely holding yourself fighting with your own arousal.
Second hit landed on Vessel’s ass cheeks a little bit lower, and he gasped, his stomach widening against your lap.
"Two," he said with a low pleasant voice spilling like honey into your ears.
You liked that he started being more vocal, delivering more gasps, moans and loud panting of all kinds. You made a few more hits, starting to feel more confident in making a wave and in putting enough power into your every hit. You even remembered taking a few drumming lessons, when you were younger. The enjoyment of a vibration in your hand along with hits reminded you that you wanted to take a few lessons from II, someday. You were still curious, what II did with Vessel and his drumsticks except from actually playing music.
You slowly made Vessel’s ass look more and more pink, hot and a little swollen, looking more like a ripe peach… You even put your whole palm on his ass cheek to feel the heat of the irritated skin and he hissed. You couldn't even explain to anyone how much you enjoyed him hissing… How much you liked all the sounds he produced!
"Twenty." He said with his voice literally becoming hot. He curled up, breathing right into your left hip and pressing his hardness to the right hip.
"Good, stand up now," you said. In that moment, you already realized that this process actually could distract not only Vessel, but yourself too. You did not want to think about anything that bothered you. You were not really sure you DID think at that moment. Your head was amazingly and comfortably empty and it was such a relaxing and serene feeling. As he obeyed, you ordered him to lie down on the back. He placed himself on a bed, hissing because of the touch of cold silk to his hot beaten ass. But it was a hiss of pure pleasure. You climbed on him not even fully putting your nightgown away. As you were straddling him, feeling his hard and still ignored cock, you said:
"I will fuck you now, Vessel."
He silently shook his head looking at you from beneath as if he did not want this. You looked back with a question in your eyes.
"I don’t…"
"Don’t you dare say it again."
"… deserve it." He finished.
Still holding a cane in one hand, you took his cock with your other hand and his eyes rolled up as you pressed it to your entrance, slowly forcing yourself down on it. His lips parted, he moaned loudly, hands lying still at his both sides on the bed, not daring to touch you. You started to ride him slowly, deliberately, adjusting yourself to his length and wideness. He was big. You always needed time to adjust to him as if each time was like your first time with him, and you loved that feeling of fullness he always gave you. He continued being fully obedient and letting you take full control, he was neither moving his hips, nor touching you. The image of him lying like that under you in full exposal, in his “helplessness” did something to you. It stirred unknown feelings inside of your heart.
"What have you said? I forgot." You asked him in a stern way, a cane still in your hand.
"I don’t… dee-serve... th..that," he said again.
And then you did what you have not been even expecting from yourself. You raised your free hand and slapped his lips with your palm with a full force. It was so unexpected for both of you but caused an immediate reaction. In milliseconds his face expression turned from a slight insult and offense to a painful bliss, his eyes rolled up, his beaten lips, red from a slap, parted and he let out a deep moan, making a huge jerk of his hips inside you.
He was unbelievable. It was supposed to be the punishment for what he’s just said, but he seemed to enjoy it too much again. You continued riding him feeling already close, but you still could not think of a proper real punishment for him. You felt like a guilty student on the exam thinking about the appropriate answer. This wasn't supposed to be fitting for someone, who takes control.
And then… a familiar pulsing feeling in your core reminded you of something, which was not finished yet… Something forgotten, something rejected, and something denied. In the morning, right during your wonderful, tender and sweetly overwhelming sex, he started to argue, abandoned you and made you burst in tears.
You closed your eyes, pressed eyelids as hard as you could to each other, took a deep breath and increased the amplitude of your hip's movements on him, till it almost hurt. Riding him insanely, crying out, moaning and cursing, you were getting you both closely to your peak with every thrust. You saw him almost losing it, still trying not to move under you, but getting closer and almost over the edge. A silent plea appeared in his eyes, but he did not dare to ask you to let him cum.
That was exactly what you needed. You threw a cane on the bed and grabbed his neck with your two free hands, choking him and pressing him to the bed as much as you could, not stopping your movements on his throbbing cock. His eyes rolled up again and you felt like you almost lost it yourself, but right at the moment, he was going to let out his load deep into you, you stopped, took your hands off his neck, pulled his cock off you letting it slap against his stomach and stood up from the bed.
His face was unhinged, a mixture of shock, misunderstanding and desire. His eyes widened, he gulped as a fish thrown over the shore, not able to say or do anything. Standing beside the bed, towering above him and dying from your own abrupt stop, you gained all your willpower and smiled at him. He was still gasping, one hand instinctively reached to his rejected cock, mouth open, eyes dizzy. You slightly slapped his hand away from his wet needy length, showing him that he wasn't allowed to touch himself.
"Don’t you dare to touch yourself today, darling," you said in the lowest voice possible and heard him almost whining. But he did not dare to disobey.
With those words pronounced, you turned your back to him and went to the bathroom on heavy shaking legs, feeling his needy gaze following you. You locked yourself in the bathroom and slowly went down the wall to the floor hugging your knees. You were dripping wet, shaking and was about to cum as well just a couple of minutes ago, but you had to torture yourself right now too, because of him. This was the only variant for now existing in your head, which was appropriate and fitting to the situation. And you were aware to make him mad, but at the same time you were sure that he understood why you did this. He asked for punishment feeling himself to be not deserving and he got what he was asking for. Total denial.
You closed your eyes trying to calm yourself down and get rid of your arousal. Not that you were not allowed to work on yourself a little to reach your own climax, but you have chosen… this. In these twenty-four hours your orgasm was neglected twice. Tears went down your face. Not because you were sad. That was totally not the burst of tears of happiness either. Those were tears that the sportsmen spilled reaching the finish, scoring the final determining goal, tears of the artists finishing their masterpiece, or the politician winning the election race. The tears of accomplishment. The tears of win for the sake of the team, despite your own loss as an offering.
You spent a few moments like that in the bathroom: washed your face, applied moisturizing cream onto it, brushed your teeth again to distract yourself and calm yourself down.
After you came back to the bedroom filled with the smell of sex, you saw Vessel lying naked on bed on his stomach, his face hidden in the silky pillows. His white skin was harshly contrasting with the black sheets, his beaten ass pink and exposed, his breathing uneven. You wanted to give a kiss to every bruise you made on his body today but could not allow this to yourself in this situation.
You gently placed yourself on the bed beside him. He raised up his head, looking incredibly adorable and boyish with his face flushed. You knew that he would surprise you. He always did. This time was not an exception. He turned on his side, pressed himself hard to you and whispered in your neck:
"THANK YOU."
That feeling was incomparable to anything. That was a pure Triumph. You silently nodded and hugged him back, holding him till Sleep consumed you both.
____________________________________
Next morning, you and Vessel got up pretty late and got down to breakfast together, holding hands. You were met by the three pairs of curious eyes. Ivy was smiling at you in a knowing manner, being totally proud of himself and his therapeutic work. II noticed your reunion with Vessel too and smirked mysteriously. III gave you both theatrical kisses on your sleepy heads. Vessel took two plates for him and you and suggested to eat on the couch in the dining room facing the other three mates sitting at the table, which had no 5-th chair around it.
"So, you, guys, are... okay?" II asked in a pretentiously careless manner.
"Yeah, why?" Vessel asked back, as if nothing had happened. He was wearing a loose T-shirt, and his bare forearms were on display. He was hastily eating, working his fork up and down his mouth with clearly visible pink marks on his arm. Ivy noticed that too and narrowed his eyes to look closely at Vessel’s arms from a distance.
"You have very pretty marks, princess," Ivy said, and you froze. You thought that it could be said to you, because you were the only girl here, but realizing he said that to Vessel made you chuckle.
"Oh, you haven’t seen princess's ass yet," you answered instead of Vessel, giggling.
Everyone in the room burst into laughter apart from Vessel, even Butterscotch came into the dining room to look, why it was so noisy here. Unexpectedly from II, who was always kind of distanced, you’ve heard him saying:
"Welcome home, girly."
Everyone was surprised by that, but he gave you a gentle smile and continued:
"I need to talk to you about something today, by the way."
"Thanks, II. Of course! And thank you for majestic breakfasts!" You answered both surprised, curious and a little anxious. Despite being the smallest in a group, he was also the most serious and controlling. There was a reason for everyone to feel his authority, and with II you always felt like a student in front of a demanding professor.
Everyone looked at him curious, choosing not to ask questions though. Whatever he wanted to speak with you about... it was already hard to wait for it.
____________________________________
After breakfast, you decided to wash the dishes, while all the men went to do some of their own errands. You were listening to music in your headphones, while being busy with dishes, but you felt the presence of someone looming in the dining room, not paying a real attention to who was there. Then with your side vision you noticed II sitting on the couch in the dining area, obviously talking to someone. Even despite quite loud music in your phones, you’ve heard III’s high pitched tone speaking.
"II, please, please, please! Let’s do it!" III exclaimed. "It is nat' even a difficult thingy!"
II’s voice was much lower and quieter, so you did not hear what he said.
"And? Can’t we do tha'? I don’ care if it's not fittin’!"
"I care, III. We ordered it especially to look fitting! You know that it was a custom-made collection. If you want other items of the same design, they have to make it as a special order, and it will take time."
"I know, I know. Oh! If you’re so fancy about it to be fittin’, I'm ready to wait. Please, II!"
Not that you specifically wanted to overhear, but you still heard that dialog and wondered: “What were they talking about? Some musical equipment? Clothes? New masks?” This made you overly curious, but you tried to distract yourself from it, continuing doing dishes.
Not long after that, Vessel appeared in the kitchen again, gave you a kiss on your temple brushing away your headphones with his cheek to make them fall down on your neck.
"He-e-ey, what are you doing?" You exclaimed. As the headphones were on your collarbones, you asked again: "What are you up to?"
"Mm, just wanted to grab more coffee and go down to the studio, while I still have motivation to finish one thing… I started it yesterday."
"Oh, that’s so nice, Vess!" You put both hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah…Why?" He asked, furrowing his brows.
"Nothing, just … Never mind."
"O-okay," he said looking back at you concerned with your questions.
Obviously, you wanted to talk with him about what happened in the night, but you didn't know how to start and what to say. That episode with the knife was still playing in your head and made you worry about him. You were not sure what made you more terrified: the attempt to self-harm in general or a state of trance he was in.
He peppered some kisses across your face, distracting you from your dark thoughts and said, gently smiling:
"Hey, I'm okay. But I need to go back to music now, or the moment will be spoiled. Sorry."
"It’s okay, love. Go," you said kissing him back.
____________________________________
As you were back to Vessel’s room, you changed your home comfy clothes to casual jeans and one of your band's T-shirts, and found your purse, where you hid the folded Swiss knife yesterday. You put the knife in your jeans pocket, took your phone and headed down to the dining room again. II was still there on the couch speaking on the phone with a very serious low tone, so you decided not to approach him. You went to the backyard, looking specifically for IVy, but found IVy and III sitting on the garden swing is an extremely intimate position, which made you stuck in the door frame, not knowing where to hide your gaze.
These two were sitting like a couple; III placed on a swing bench with widely spread legs, holding IVy in his lap and smoking his vape, and IVy was showing III something on his phone, laughing and making jokes.
"Oh, sorry, guys!" You said, and your cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Not that you never saw them doing something like that, but surprisingly it made you blush every time.
"Ah, don’ worry, darlin’! Come, join us." Said III happily.
“What did he even mean?”
"Guys, I need to talk to you. May we take Butterscotch and like… maybe go for a walk? What do you think?"
"I’m in. We haven't taken him out today, by the way," Ivy said warmly and stood up.
Three of you found Butterscotch napping in the corridor, right in front of the entrance, probably waiting to go for a walk, so he slowly stood up, waving his tail happily, waiting for a leash. As four of you walked on the quiet street with the same brown brick houses and neat trees, III asked curiously, looking down at you, as if you were walking beside the skyscraper:
"So, lady, what're you up to? Huh?"
"Hmm, uh! Where to start?" You knew that it was a rhetorical question. "Maybe you two know what it is?" You put the Swiss knife out of your pocket and showed it to two men, staring at you.
"Oh, it’s mine!" IVy said. "Where did you find it?"
"I took it away from Vessel in the middle of the night!" You said dramatically. "I'm curious, where did he find it and why?"
"Oh, shit." III said hastily, giving Ivy the knowing look.
"Did he try to hurt himself?"
"Well, I don’t know. Probably. Thank Sleep I was in time noticing that. But, guys, he scared the shit out of me. He was… in some kind of trance, not reacting to me at all… Until I… spilled cold water on him."
"YOU DID WHAT?" Both men were clearly surprised.
"I did what I could. I was terrified."
"Why didn’t we try it before?" IVy asked III specifically looking at the tall man with wide eyes.
"Lady, you are… somethin' else! We haven't come up with this idea... like e-var! That’s the best thingy to wake him up!"
"What are you both even talking about?!" You asked, still shocked at these revelations.
"Don’t tell us, you didn't know…" Ivy started. "You were sleeping with him for like…several months, and you have never seen that?"
"Seen what?"
"Vessel is a SLEEPWALKER." Ivy said quietly and III was eagerly nodding, approving IV’s words.
"W-what?"
"Yeah! As far as we know, he was like this since he was a child. But if you haven’t seen that, he was probably not doing that for some time. I have a theory that something specifically triggers him and his nervous system, and he's getting these episodes of sleepwalking. Probably, he doesn't even know when and how he took that knife from me…"
"You mean, that maybe our yesterday’s, well, argument caused his sleepwalking episode?"
"It may be, it for sure may be!" III said and added. "You know, when we just started a band togethar' and were on our first tours, he was havin' these episodes very often and he was a pain in tha’ ass! We were scared as hell too and were afraid to wake him up."
You tried to process this new information, but still was confused and lost in thoughts.
"Oh my God… That explains a lot." You finally said aloud. "I mean, the lore of the band and everything. Please, Ivy, take this knife back and hide it as well as you can! Why do you even have it at home?"
"Well, you're living with four men, we have things like that. And… Well, I like camping. Come on, he is safe now, and this is thanks to you and your idea with the water! He could go to the kitchen and grab any knife there, so…"
"Did he ever really hurt himself while sleepwalking?"
Both men went silent for a while, looking at the ground and not answering your question. Butterscotch was walking, wiggling his butt beside Ivy’s leg, having no clue that the silence, which hung in the air, was almost unbearable. After a long silence, III couldn’t hold this back anymore, and said barely moving his lips:
"Yes, a lot."
You froze.
Notes:
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 🌹 and want to know your opinion in comments. That shows me if I am moving this story into right direction and see the progress!
*POTATO HEARTS*
Chapter 4: Building you a kingdom
Summary:
Seems like someone is slowly blending into the family! 🥰😁
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
IV
As you along with IVy, III and Butterscotch came back home from a walk, filled with overwhelming revelations about Vessel, you all settled around the kitchen table, continuing to chat. You were nervous, trying to hide it as well as you could, trying not to show these men how vulnerable you were even thinking about what could have happened to your beloved man, when he was having his sleepwalking episodes. Ivy, indeed, comforted you during your walk; III gave you reassuring hugs and thanks for saving Vessel for them, but still - you couldn't fully kill your anxiety inside you.
II also joined everyone in the kitchen and now four of you sat around the table. You assumed that Vessel was still in the studio.
"So, guys, how was the walk?" He asked.
"Magnificen'tttt!" III immediately answered. "Met King Charles III-rd today!"
"I had no doubts that you’ll start the stand-up show, III," II answered abruptly. "Now seriously. Why are y'all looking like you're sitting on shit?"
Everyone chuckled, but II still got no answer.
"Guys, I know you never did walks with Butter all together. You definitely had a talk there. I'm just asking…" His tone was full of care and concern.
Finally, IVy exclaimed:
"Okay, II, we were discussing Vessel’s sleepwalking episode!"
"WHAT?" II shouted, as if he saw a monster in front of him, with his big blue eyes wide open.
"II, it was just once with me. Yesterday." You said quietly.
"When the fuck did he plan to tell me this?! O-o-h, boy, we have to talk... right now!" II got to his feet to head to the studio, but III stopped him, pressing his shoulder firmly and making him sit down again.
"Stop. He’ll come out, and we’ll ask him. Anyways, he scared tha shit out of our girly, as she saw it for tha first time e-var!"
"What did you do?" II asked you now, looking at you with eyes already full of pain and fear for Vessel. "He didn’t do that for quite a long time, and I thought he was over it. I am sorry you had to experience it alone."
"Our girl REALLY did so well," IVy-the-therapist said and winked at you. "She spilled cold water on him and this woke him up. Ah, and he stole my Swiss knife somehow."
"Fuck…" II exhaled. "I had to know about it, I had to warn you or something. I had to try to prevent it, but I was not… I was not… with him."
"C’me on, II, it is not your fault," you said and dared to put your hand on his, lying on the table. His watery blue eyes travelled from your hands to your eyes, and he sighed. "You cannot save him from everything, I guess, but I know what you feel. I feel it too. This will now be my constant concern, since I know what is going on with him."
You all sat like this in silence for a while. But even though no one said a word, you all haven’t heard soft and quiet steps approaching the kitchen. Vessel was always walking barefoot or in socks, so you never actually heard him stepping.
"Guys! You are all here!" He exclaimed.
All four of you jumped on your chairs.
"Vess, why do you always appear so… Oh, never mind." Ivy said, almost choking on his breath.
"Sorry. I didn’t want to scare you all. I have an announcement."
You all turned to face him now curiously.
"Please, come to the dining room and sit comfortably on the couch." He said and pointed to the chill zone in the dining room. You all sat down on the little couch, as he asked. You were tightly pressed between III and IVy, and II sat beside III. Vessel stood in front of four of you on the carpet in the dining room, as if he was performing for you. He was wearing only socks, his grey sweatpants and white loose T-shirt. Some marks on his arms were still visible. He was nervously stepping on the same spot.
"Come on, Vess, let’s go." II said impatiently.
"I wish I was wearing my mask right now," Vessel said. "I feel more anxious than being in front of several thousands of people."
"Darlin’, we won’t bite," III said mischievously. "Oh, well, who am I lying ta’?"
Vessel chuckled nervously and cleared his throat, as if he planned to start singing.
"Okay, hmmm. First things first. I wrote a new song."
All four people on the couch started to clap instinctively.
"Thank you." Vessel said, enjoying the applause. "You are an amazing crowd! I guess it will be in the next album if you all like it. Maybe not. I think tomorrow I'll show it to you, and you will be able to proceed with drums, II. And you, guys," he pointed to III and IV. "Come get along with your ideas for guitar parts. I mean, with this song, I'm open to everything you suggest, because it is very experimental."
"So, will this song be sad or horny?' Ivy asked curiously and made everyone chuckle.
Vessel thought for some time and said:
"Both! I think, both."
"That’s, I guess, what this band is about," Ivy said, licking his lips.
"I'm a big fan!" You exclaimed mockingly, even though it was true. "Can’t wait!"
"Proud of you, Vess," II said smiling affectionately at a singer.
"Tha’ shit will be mind-blowing! They're nat' ready for that!" III said excitedly.
"Vess, I cannot wait to hear it. Sure it will be emotional as fuck. I’m a sucker for this, you know." Ivy said, looking at him with loving fuzzy eyes.
"Thank you all. You all mean the world to me." Vessel said and continued with his voice trembling. "There is more. I wanted to apologize to everyone."
Silence hung in the room for a long moment, while Vessel was fidgeting in his place on the improvised 'stage'.
"I want to apologize for breaking the rules."
"Oh, come on, don’t start again." II exclaimed.
"NO, I NEED TO." Vessel interrupted him. "You were patient with me, all of you. You all accepted me and my decisions. I wasn’t even asking you to do this… I just did things the way I feel, without caring about your feelings,... and you were just giving me acceptance and understanding. I also had to apologize earlier. Much earlier. First, I had to ask you all, if it’s appropriate not only to start side relationships, but also to bring a new person into our house. I just did it without asking, and you all accepted this. I'm grateful for having you, mates. Without you, I am nothing."
"Vess…" All three men exclaimed at different times, but so coordinated as a choir. You sat glued to the couch tightly pressed between Ivy’s and III’s hips.
"Secondly, if we hadn't had this argument yesterday," he looked exactly in your eyes. "I would probably not apologize to you for being a total… douchebag. I had to tell you first, how much I love these guys. I was selfish. I was also selfish keeping you all to myself, at the same time not making you feel at home. From this point of time, you are an equal part of our family. Please, never have any doubts about that. I'll kill myself, if you will feel like a stray cat again!"
As he said this, you started to cry silently, sobbing in the arms of Ivy and III, as they were hugging you and pressing you even tighter to them.
"Please, darlings, I need to finish this. I'm so sorry, again. For everything I made you feel during the last months… I know you all were feeling jealous, and you didn’t deserve that. I know that it all looked like I played with your feelings. But I was just afraid. And despite that I broke the rules, you still have accepted me and keep accepting it every day… So, no more secrets and no more hiding. What I want to do is to take all future decisions with you all."
"Thank you, Vess. That’s… brave." II said in a stern manner. "We need to... talk with you after that. You know how it all works. And yes, we had to change some rules just because of you."
"I know and … Thank you. For all your patience and for love you give me."
Surprisingly II stood up and said harshly, his voice cold and sharp as a knife:
"No more secrets, Vess, right?!"
"R-right…"
II made a couple of steps towards Vessel, stood right in front of him, raised his blonde head towards Vessel’s face, and shouted:
"No more secrets! So, when the fuck you planned to share with me about your recent sleepwalking, boy?!"
"What? Who told you…" And then Vessel noticed your guilty eyes along with III’s and IV’s over his drummer’s head. "Ah… Got it."
"So?" II was looking up at Vessel with fury, demanding answers.
"I'm sorry, II. I didn’t plan to hide it. It just happened… Unexpectedly even for me. I wasn't willing to talk about that just not to make an issue out of that again. I know you are all worried, but I'm okay, really."
Funny thing is that looking at this scene from a distance, it was clear that II was an authority for everyone in this house. Despite being much smaller than Vessel and looking at him literally from beneath, Vessel seemed to be small beside II, and you all could hear excuses in Vessel’s manner of speaking.
"Stop it with your excuses, Vess. Are you done apologizing?" II asked him, irritated.
"Yes. I guess."
"Then we’ll leave you for a while, guys." He looked back at you, pressed between bassist and guitarist. "Someone needs to learn a lesson. Let’s go back to the studio, Vess."
"M-kay," Vessel said and followed II with his chin lowered down and with gaze glued to the carpet.
As they both left, III happily announced:
"I think we’re done with drama for ta’day? Huh?"
You stood up and said, wiping off your face from tears and planning to leave too:
"Yeah, I guess, we are done. I think I will need to plan a therapist appointment now, and probably sleep for three days in a row."
But two hands stopped you at the same moment, as III and IVy both pressed their palms onto your shoulders from both sides and made you sit back again.
"Guys…"
"You don’t need any Dr. Appointments, as your therapist is here," Ivy said gently, looking at you with the warmest gaze you've seen from him, raising up his brows in a playful manner. "There is an amazing new TV show on Netflix, and we planned to watch it with III, but as some plans have a tendency to change sometimes… Will you make us a company?"
"It would be fun, gir-le-ey!" III said, and you turned your head to him. As he was taller, he looked down at you with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "And I’ll bring snacks to us right up!"
"That sounds like an invitation…" You said looking at the tall bassist with a grin.
"And we don't accept a 'no'." Ivy added speaking right into your ear.
"He said you’re now part of a family. So, let’s party!" III said in your other ear.
They both seemed like an angel and devil sitting on your shoulders, but both were devils. And it was hard to resist the temptation. So, despite being emotionally exhausted, you leaned your back between them on the couch, showing that you’ll stay.
"That’s our girl," Ivy said, satisfied.
"I’ll get snacks," III's lanky figure raised up and disappeared in the kitchen, while Ivy gave you a hand and led you to the living room, and you both landed there on a bigger and wider couch, in front of a huge TV. Ivy switched it on, went to Netflix and started looking for the exact TV-show.
As III arrived with snacks and placed them on the coffee table, he took the remote control and directed it to the couch you were sitting on with Ivy, and it slowly began to move under you, widening, and making your legs rise up and turn into a horizontal state. Your eyes became round as plates.
"What kind of technology is that? I've been in here for some time, but still don't know that this couch could turn into a bed!"
III smirked, took some chips and laid down next to you, so you were in between them again.
"III likes to order such things for the house, even if they cost like a plane wing." Ivy admitted.
"One side of your ass is more expensive than several plane wings." III rolled up his eyes.
"You can’t argue with that…" Ivy confirmed, and you chuckled at this silly conversation. Meanwhile, the TV show started at the first episode. "That shit will blow your mind. You’ll like the show. It has everything in it. A little bit of drama, and some spicy things and mystery, ya know." IVy added excitedly. But III already unpacked his snack and started to chew with obvious pleasure. Ivy rolled up his eyes and put his head on your shoulder making himself comfortable. You felt his hair down at your cheek and immediately found it harder to concentrate on the show.
"So, this…Amanda is goin' to report to tha' police?" III asked, chewing loudly.
"Yes, III, this is literally what we’ve just seen."
"But why?"
"Oh, man." Ivy’s voice was vibrating through your face and neck now. "She was stalked. Are you watching?"
"Ah, ‘kay!" III’s fingers holding a pair of chips approached your mouth, offering you to have a taste, and you accepted it, not saying a word. Another snack in III’s fingers travelled to Ivy’s mouth, and he took it too.
"You, guys, are so lazy!" III exclaimed.
"And you’re inattentive! We are watching the show." Ivy answered, chewing in unison with you.
"Ya know that Amanda, I mean the actress, reminds me of ma’ school mate Samantha back then..." III started again, opening another snack.
"III!!!" You and Ivy both shouted.
"Wha’? Same hairstyle. Could do better."
You all laughed. It was still daytime, but for some unknown reason, you felt like it was late evening. Maybe it was because of a stressful and almost sleepless night with Vessel that you were so tired, or maybe because during the recent hours there was just too much drama for you that made you emotionally exhausted? Anyhow, your body was like a jelly, muscles weak, energy levels low. You tried to concentrate on the series, but felt so sleepy, when you felt how heavy your eyelids were. The TV show was really good, as Ivy said, and you wished you were less tired. You tried not to fall asleep and distracted yourself with thoughts about Vessel.
“What are they doing there for so long? And how much time would they spend there? What does II have to tell Vessel about all this? And what did II mean, when he said he wanted to talk with YOU? About what?”
Your thoughts spiralled around two of them, while III and IVy constantly spoke with each other over your head, almost whispering, and annoying each other jokingly like two old long ago married people. You smiled to yourself, because it felt so cute. And they have noticed that.
"What-t?" III asked, looking down at you, leaning on his elbow beside you. His long dishevelled hair hung down, almost touching your face.
"I don't know, you are both too cute right now. You remind me of a couple, you know, of old people married long ago."
"Hee-ey! We’re nat' old!" III exclaimed.
"It’s impossible to watch movies with him," Ivy pointed his finger at III. And you all laughed.
"Funny, that he noticed the word 'old', but ignored the word 'married'." You said, while Ivy was snuggling closer to you, chuckling.
III stood up and started to close the blackout curtains on windows, clearly irritated by daylight. After his mission was accomplished, he was back on the couch again, hugging both - you and IVy - with his long arm, behind your heads and pressing his long lanky body to your side. When you appeared to be not only just between them, but also pressed that tight, you felt even more sleepy, because it seemed that there is no way out of this sweet trap anymore.
Their bodies were hot as hell, they literally radiated heat. And when IVy put his heavy hand on your belly, fondling your T-shirt with his fingers, you thought that his heat would burn through the cloth.
You were caught up in their uneven breathing, their chests and bellies widening against you, their whispering, as they were constantly discussing the TV show, and their cradling warmth. For some reason, you thought that it was still one of the most intimate moments with them. It made you feel a blissful dizziness in your head, almost dragging you down to sleep, but you were still fighting with one anxious thought, which held you awake. Vessel and II would come back and see this scene. You thought about Vessel again.
"Will this mean something to him? Will he feel jealous? Or happy? Or will he just join you all and lay down snuggling with you? Or will he just leave the room? And what about II?"
With all these thoughts spiralling in your head, you fell asleep first. It was hard not to, because at the moment you felt like being a bear cub sleeping in the den beside his brothers and mother, so cozy it was. And you had a strange dream… In that dream, you were a priest, holding a huge book, but instead of “Holy Bible”, it was called “The Great Book of Worship”. And you were supposed to hold a ceremony for four men in bridal outfits, showing you four palms with wedding rings.
____________________________________
Two quiet voices woke you up. You felt two pairs of hands hugging you, reminding you where you were. You haven’t opened your eyes though and weren’t showing any signs of waking up. The TV was switched off, probably automatically.
"Just look at them… They're adorable," Vessel whispered.
"Indeed," II agreed and added. "But be cautious, Vess, they may steal your girlfriend."
"Like you stole me today?" Vessel said in a broken, cracked voice.
"I see nothing wrong. You’re mine forever." II answered possessively.
You’ve heard the sounds of cloth rustling and faint kisses and smiled to yourself. Not without a bit of jealousy, but still a lot easier. You were literally sleeping between two men who snuggled up to you, so you couldn’t blame Vessel for making out with II, thinking that you were asleep. Seems like you started to let go, step by step. Slowly and deliberately. Vessel and II left the room; you’ve heard their steps on the staircase.
You gave yourself a few moments to sink in the warmth of two men wrapped around you, both sleeping in blissful forgetfulness. After some helpless efforts to fall asleep again, you tried to free yourself from the clingy hands of the bassist and guitarist. You didn’t want to wake them up. It took you some time, but you managed to make them hug each other and slipped away in between them, and then covered both gently with the blanket. You stepped on the staircase heading to Vessel’s room.
You silently opened the door expecting anything, but this. You thought you could see II and Vessel together there, or maybe no one at all, because Vessel could be in II’s room. But you saw Vessel alone laying on the bed. You faced his bare back and curled lanky figure in the embryo pose. His sweatpants were down, so you could nearly see his ass crack. His bare feet were pressed together with toes curled too. But obviously he was not sleeping. After some months with him you've seen quite a lot, but this pose showed you that he was deep in thoughts. He didn’t move.
You laid down on the bed beside him spooning him from behind and pressing yourself to him with the full force you were capable of. He relaxed his muscles into you, almost melting. His bare back was warm and welcoming, and as your hand hugged him and travelled to his stomach, he caught it with his hand crossing your fingers together in his fist.
"You smell like boys," he said quietly.
"You smell like II, darling."
"Touché…"
"Are you okay, Vess? You are in your pose of deep thinking. Does something bother you?"
"No, yeah. I don’t know."
"You’ll have to choose your variant."
"I saw you with boys."
"Do you mind? We were watching a TV show and then fell asleep…"
"You may not explain. It’s okay."
"So… What’s not okay, Vess?"
"Me and II. I mean, we are good, but we… I don’t know what to say. It was not even cheating, because you know all about us. But it feels like this. It was our first time since… I’ve met you."
You sighed. Now that it is official and it happened almost in your presence, it felt different. You tried to reach your own deep feelings for some hints of familiar jealousy, but they were already weak and faint. That jealousy you felt during these months started to fade, it was still present, but not so painful. Seemed like, when you knew it all theoretically, it was harder for you to imagine and accept that, but knowing that it actually happens, knowing how much they love each other, knowing how much they’ve missed each other, changed the whole game in your eyes.
"Vess, how do you feel right now? Throw away thoughts about me and II, just tell me how YOU feel."
"I am… overwhelmed. I didn’t know how hard it hurt II. I didn’t realize how much it changed his life. You know that we…"
"You know each other for ages. I know, darling. I know what he means to you. And what you mean to him."
"You do? I think no one actually does. Don't get me wrong, I don’t want to push you away right now. I just want to be alone for some time. What happened between me and II was too much for me. Or maybe I just forgot how it was before. And he knows it too, that’s why he left me alone here."
"You want me to bring you some buckwheat tea? Can I do something for you?"
He raised your hand to his mouth with your fingers still intertwined and kissed it.
"No, thank you. I just need… some time. I’ll be fine."
As you leaned on your elbow and looked down at him more accurately, you saw that his face was exhausted, spent and totally not present. Then you noticed his neck and froze, as you have never seen something like this on him before. His neck was blue, marks and bruises all over its length. You could clearly see the signs of impressive love bites. He understood what you were looking at and said:
"I'm sorry. I still need to process it all."
"Oh, Vess." You freed your hand from his and started petting his head, his hair and pressing kisses down his always clean shaved cheek. After a very short session of caressing your beloved singer, your stomach made a specific sound, showing that it was time to eat.
"Please, don’t torture yourself and go Vore something." He said, chuckling.
You couldn’t argue more and left him to rest.
____________________________________
Passing by the living room, you saw Ivy and III still curled up against each other, Ivy’s face pressed into III’s chest. Your heart squeezed from this image, but you continued walking right into the kitchen, to follow the advice of your boyfriend and devour something. To your luck, there was II - the chef in this house.
“Yesss, that’s a win”, you thought to yourself.
You knew that he was majestic in cooking, and no one could ever beat him in this, maybe except your own grandmother.
"Hungry?" He asked, noticing you. He was wearing only sweatpants and an apron on his shirtless torso. Some of his tattoos were like bright stains under the snow-white apron. He looked marvellously careless and very neat at the same time. You came closer to him, trying to see his face in the smallest detail. When you looked down at his neck, you saw almost the same damage there, as on Vessel’s neck. Love bites and bruises were blooming with all the shades of red and blue. He noticed your gaze and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, yeah. What our chef is preparing today?" You answered after your silent inspection.
"Hm, well, Italian Pesto pasta. Could you, please, chop some vegetables for salad? For me." He asked back.
"Oh, sure. You wanted to have a convo with me, as far as I remember…" You started and opened a fridge looking for vegetables. But you saw a few canes of Red Bull on the shelf and took one, as you didn't plan to sleep today.
"Stop it and put my Red Bull back, please," you’ve heard II say immediately, as the cane appeared in your hand.
"Ouch, II. Don't like to share?"
"No, I have a better idea. You don’t need it. Better drink some wine with me today."
"Wine? Like we have a date?"
"Exactly." He smiled warmly looking at you with his cheeks flushed a little bit. "But you don’t need to deprive yourself from sleep because of Vess."
"What? It’s not because of Vess!"
"Lie, it is. I know how worried you are. If we get too drunk today, I could sleep with him instead, so you won’t deal with his episode, if it will happen at all. But no energy drinks because of that." He said, looking at you with wet and tired eyes. He was devastatingly tired after some time with Vessel in the studio, but still was doing his errands, unlike III and IVy, who slept almost all day.
"Thanks, II."
"Please, chop the veggies, and I'll go to the cellar for some wine for us. Red? White?"
"Yes, boss. Red dry!" You answered and gave him a salute. He nodded with a smile and left in a quick raged tempo, wiggling his little firm butt, and your eyes stopped at his naked back under the apron for a while.
You took a bowl and made yourself busy with vegetables, when he came back with a dusty bottle of red wine and took two fine glasses from the kitchen cabinet. He opened a bottle, poured wine for you two and handed you the glass.
"Cheers!" He announced.
"What do we drink for?" You asked curiously.
"Oh, what a question. For you being now a part of a… family."
"Thank you very much, II. For welcoming me in. For everything."
"Believe me, it’s just the beginning. Anyway, how do you feel today?" He asked casually, taking his place beside the stove again and putting his glass on the counter.
"Okay, but I still worry about Vess. I see that you both had… quite a hard encounter today. I really hope it will not trigger him again tonight."
"I knew you would start talking about it." II said thoughtfully.
"He said it was your first time since he… met me."
"That’s right. And it was too much, for both of us." He turned to you, taking his glass again and sipping. "You made me really surprised today."
You looked at him with a question in your eyes.
"I mean… Seems like it is starting to change for you."
"Yes, it is. I can see how much you all love each other. It was actually seen, even before I met you all. So, after some time I'm finally prepared to accept it all, and I'm starting to learn to share."
"So, you are not mad or jealous right now?" He raised up his brow.
That talk was so casual, as if this man in front of you wasn’t fucking your boyfriend an hour-two ago.
"Not that I stopped feeling jealousy at all. I knew it would happen sooner or later between you, even though Vess was intimate only with me during these months. I knew how much you love each other. I knew that it's just a matter of time. And II, you probably had all kinds of thoughts about me, maybe even hated me… Probably, you thought that Vess brought some random bitch into your house? I guess it was painful. Just admit it."
"Do you really need this confession from me?" He chuckled from your boldness.
"Yes, right now I want us to be totally transparent and honest. All masks are thrown off now."
You saw that he looked even a bit shy, stirring water in the pot, giving you a side eye, while listening to your tirade. You see that his face slowly turned a bit red… Sometimes you wondered how much authority this man had in this house, but at the same time, how fragile he was. His flushed face and blonde hair, his deep blue watery eyes and warm smile. Even having a little bristle on his face, he still looked almost boyish, but strong big hands and a stern tone of voice always made everyone docile and attentive beside him.
"Are the veggies ready?" He asked, avoiding the topic you started.
"Oh, of course." You said and handed him the bowl.
"I think that you are ready to read our manifest."
"W-what?" You asked shocked.
"Don't tell me you didn't think we have one?" He chuckled. "Yes, girl, we have rules here and… Since you started to learn 'sharing', I hope it will be useful for you to read it."
"I'm ready for everything you… show me. But really? You have the official written … thing?"
"Exactly. We created this with Vess together to make our relationship kind of legit and coordinated. There are some domestic rules and little things you would find useful too."
"Will you show it to me today?" You asked curiously, holding the glass of wine in your slightly shaking fingers.
"Yes, after supper. It’s in my room."
"II, you haven’t answered the question… Have you hated me for taking Vess away from you?"
"No… First of all, no one and nothing really able to take Vess away from me. Second, and why do you only blame yourself? It was him, who invited you here. I just thought…" He went silent, raised his head, to look into the ceiling instead of meeting your face. He was deep in thoughts, searching for an appropriate answer. Finally, he sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
"I thought you were a STALKER…" He finally exclaimed.
You froze in place.
Notes:
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 🌹 and want to know your opinion in comments. That shows me if I am moving this story into right direction and see the progress!
*POTATO HEARTS*
Chapter 5: When the bough breaks
Summary:
Is it a date? 🌹
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
V
"I thought you were a STALKER…" II finally exclaimed.
That was obvious. Everyone thought about it. Anonymous band – always in danger of their identities being leaked, or even more… dirty secrets, – starts to live with an unknown person (allegedly a fan) under one roof. It was obvious that they all were concerned, even Vessel himself, - but why did the word “stalker” sound and feel so unbelievably dirty, unhealthy and illegal? But as bad as it was, you still were not going to explain yourself, because it would not help to build trust either way.
"Considering your… previous job," II cleared his throat and continued. "It was even more concerning. I hope you understand what I mean."
"Yes, II. I totally understand…" You answered. Of course, they all knew that you were a journalist in the past.
"II, that was long ago. I’m not from England. I’m not even from Hungary, where I’ve met you all. It was in my country a really long time ago, so I guess you understand that nothing is binding me with this job anymore. I have no contacts with my previous colleagues or resources. And… since I am here, I don’t work."
"Living a dream, right?" He asked, smiling.
"A dream? Of course, yeah. But I haven't even dared to dream about this life. And please, don't think Iʼm ungrateful, but I wish I still could work, — please, don't look at me like that, — I wish I could work somewhere. And, to be fair, I don’t mean to come back to journalism. I want to try something else, but I'm not yet sure what." You finished the phrase by sipping wine from your glass, holding it with heavily shaking hand, while II was eyeing you curiously.
"I hope you understand why we were all concerned and not take offence," he finally said.
"Of course, II, no offence. Never. I totally get it. But I’m not a stalker as you can see…"
"Well, you still can leak everything about us. This ‘danger’ will always be here on the plate, you know? In case something will go really wrong for you." He said, shrugging, as if it didn’t mean anything, while it meant the world for them.
"Please, II, don’t… say that. Vessel is the most special person I have ever met or will ever meet. He is too important to me. And even if he’ll break my heart or leave me, or something will happen between me and you and the guys… I am not going to reveal anything I saw or lived through here."
"Please, girl, never give such big promises. Okay? I get it. But feelings come and go. Sometimes emotions and acts are very hard to explain. You never know what will happen in the future and how it can make you feel. Especially now, when you… as I can see, when you start to explore, hm-m-m, our lifestyle." His cheeks flushed at saying this, as if he was 18-year-old boy again and not this powerful and over responsible man, who was basically ruling here over everyone.
"I know that I’ll never be able to give you enough thanks for your trust, knowing that you are always in danger with me…" You whispered looking deep into his blue eyes, almost drowning.
"Let’s sit and enjoy our meal now." He said finally trying to break eye contact between you, which started getting too intense.
You were having your quiet moment sitting at the table in front of each other, with two plates of delicious pasta, two glasses of wine, which were already filled with wine several times, making you both drunker with every sip. Candle lights flickered all over the kitchen space, which made this setting look like a real date. The house was very quiet.
"II, this is a cooking masterpiece! It’s much better than in restaurants. Thank you very much!" You ate with eagerness and gratefulness, giving the drummer satisfied looks.
"I’m glad you like it. Well, I have a question."
"P-w-ease!" You answered with your mouth full and nodded.
"You were jealous of Vessel… Yes, I know about the whole situation…" He paused seeing your embarrassed facepalm gesture. "I mean you were jealous of him being with us. But… haven’t you developed interest in someone else in this house?"
"What do you mean? II, I’m a fan of your band. Of course, I feel sympathy for all of you… You are all so talented and great people!"
"Bla-bla-bla… Get real. I mean something else. I’ve noticed that you got pretty close with Ivy."
You tried to hide what was on your face, but felt like hot waves of embarrassment flooded your cheeks. You tried to answer in the most careless manner you could broadcast:
"With Ivy? Oh, I… I fell asleep with IVy and III, but we were watching the show, so…"
"Oh, come on! You blush like a schoolgirl." He started to laugh wholeheartedly, throwing his head back and showing you pretty white rows of his teeth, looking somewhere behind your back.
You turned your back to see what or who was behind you, and saw Ivy himself, slowly approaching, rubbing his eyes and yawning, as he just woke up.
“Fuck”, you whispered quietly to yourself, but II heard that and chuckled.
“Good morning, sunshine!” II exclaimed. "Someone slept the whole day, so I guess this someone will need to go to the studio with III and practice now."
While he spoke, III appeared behind Ivy’s back, his hair dishevelled and messed up.
"Whazzz, ouch?! Is it a date here and we interrupt?" He asked yawning too.
"Yes, we have our little moment here, but you can both take some food and go practice," II answered in his usual bossy tone.
"Meh…" Ivy and III answered at the same time as a choir and smiled at each other affectionately.
"Be good boys!" II commanded. "I will come later to check on you both, and I swear if you two would be caught NOT doing music… I swear, I…"
"We got it, II!" Both exclaimed, slowly and still sleepy, took two plates for them, smelling II’s delicious pasta; Ivy made some coffee for both of them, and they went away, holding their food on two trays and both giving II’s head a kiss and giving you curious looks and winks.
"Bastards." II shook his head, smiling. “They gonna play games for sure…”
"You love them so much, II. And actually, you were today in the studio probably NOT doing music either..."
"And you, please, stop changing the topic, I’ve heard you cursing and blushing like a beetroot, when Ivy approached." II made his move.
"You’ve seen something. Okay? I don’t know what to tell you, because I haven’t thought about that. And please, for now, let’s stop it, I’m Vessel’s girlfriend."
"But who was your therapist, when you needed him so much?"
"What? Do you know about this too?!"
"Darling, I know about everything going on in this house. If I would lose control for once…"
II stopped and smiled at you, shaking his head. During your stay with them under one roof you’ve shared plenty of moments with them all, mostly with Vessel, of course, but you had different conversations and interactions with all of them that sometimes might seem like flirting.
But from all the moments you’ve had with II, this was the most special one so far. Maybe it was only a feeling, but it seemed that he somehow changed his perspective on you: he smiled kinder, he sometimes could casually touch you, and as you both were talking like that for quite a long time getting drunk, he asked and answered quite bold and personal questions. Despite his small height, II had big muscular and strong arms and hands, all covered with bright colourful tattoos.
“How much ink he had implied in himself and how much pain it took?” You wondered to yourself, looking attentively at the patterns on his arms. “He is so talented and skilled, he is a magnificent drummer, great cook… what other skills did those hands possess?”
Sometimes he casually tapped his fingers on the tabletop, when he thought about something. His big blue eyes seemed like springs with crystal clear water, and his gaze was intense and thick, so you could even feel it in the air. He looked at you so intensely, his gaze traced around your face, your watery sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks all because of alcohol, as he finally asked:
"What is so special about you that Vessel… got to know you?"
"Am I so bad for your own taste?" You raised your brows in a mock surprise. "Ouch, that hurt!"
"For MY taste? No, no, no. Don’t ask about my taste," he blushed. "I’m asking about Vessel’s taste. In my opinion, Vessel has much better taste in men than in women. On the contrary, I was surprised that he chose you, you are much more… delicate than some of his Exes. And also, you are not a musician."
"Had he dated only musicians?" You asked, quite knowing the response.
"Well, most of the time… So, what made you so special?"
You looked down at your own hands on the table and suddenly your thoughts drifted away.
____________________________________
In your headspace you replayed your memories of being in the restaurant of the Budapest Ferenc Liszt airport, where you first met Vessel and his band. But as the boys and Espera left, leaving Vessel alone in the restaurant for a yet unknown reason, he was sitting there alone, finishing his glass of champagne and scrolling on his phone. III took his suitcase with him, probably to bring it to their hotel, so Vessel had only a backpack with him.
Not that you were desperate, but after your ‘music show’, it felt like you had nothing more to lose and nothing more to fear, so you stood up and headed to the airport restaurant. You’ve ordered your cappuccino and sat at the table with your back turned to the lonely singer, who was still sitting at his spot. A few moments later you felt his gaze on your back even not facing him. Your back shivered from it, but you pretended to be busy with your phone.
"Hey, yo! I liked your performance." You’ve heard a voice with an unbelievable British accent. For some reason, you immediately understood who that was.
You turned your back to face him:
"Hey, yo?!" You asked, mocking him. At this point of time, you wanted to go down the drain.
Just imagine that your idol comes to talk to you and everything you do is mocking him, repeating his phrase as a parrot. What a shame…
"Yes, I wanted to sound more casual, you know?" He smiled shyly and for a small awkward moment he seemed even skinnier than he usually is. He was so tall towering you; his long arms were just hanging at his sides like ropes.
"Thank you very much, though." You answered his first statement and to your own shame you clarified: "For your compliment."
"You’re welcome. May I join?" He asked and his long finger pointed at the second chair in front of you.
"Of course!" You said with a broken voice, realizing that your face now burned red. You were afraid not to choke with your own saliva, while spelling those two words. The panic started to kick in.
He sat in front of you and put his backpack on the next chair to him.
"So… I guess, you know, who I am, so there is no need to say my name?" He asked, lifting his brows a little bit.
His face was in front of you, and all your thoughts magically vanished away. Your head was as empty as the night club in the early morning. After all those months of endless watching of their ritual recordings, Vessel was sitting right in front of you, without mask, without anything, which actually made him Vessel.
"No, I have no idea who you are." You said with a dead serious tone. It seemed that your voice didn't even belong to you.
“What have I just fucking said?” Your thoughts nervously spiralled, but probably that stupid answer spilled out of you because of the turbulence of this moment.
His face was both surprised and puzzled at the same time, he looked at your ‘poker’ face examining it, and after a short while he started to laugh. And he laughed for quite a long time, one hand landed on his own stomach. It was clear that he understood that you were lying, he understood that immediately, but he was laughing because of the stubbornness of your acting. You kept playing your role and continued staring at him as if nothing happened.
Finally, he wiped tears off his eyes and said:
"You’re good. Ha-ha. Okay. You know, I just… I don’t want to disturb you; I wanted to tell you that I like your song choice. I mean, it’s not a common song… of this band."
"What are the common songs of this band?" You asked immediately as he finished his phrase.
"Well, maybe, the 'Summoning' …"
"Really? The 'Summoning' on piano alone? In the airport? Oh, and… I can’t scream. So, it’s a no-no for me."
"Ha-ha-ha! Uhhh, you are right. Okay, I won’t disturb you anymore." He said and stood up, reaching for his backpack. You silently prayed that he wouldn't leave, trembling inside. "By the way, you have a good voice. If you’d practice more…"
The waitress came to your table interrupting his phrase in the middle and put a cup of cappuccino in front of you.
"Oh no, you’ve ordered coffee." Vessel stopped. The waitress stopped at your table too.
"Yeah, why? Don't you like coffee?" You asked him, raising your head to look into his eyes.
"I love it, but … can I… treat you to champagne or wine?"
Your cheeks flushed and you put your head down.
“Don’t say bullshit, don’t say bullshit” ....
"Yes, if you are not… in a hurry. Thank you."
He immediately placed his backpack on the chair once again and ordered two glasses of white wine. Waitress nodded and went away.
"Don't you mind white wine? It’s daytime still, so… I thought…"
"It’s okay, thank you very much…"
"If you’re not comfortable sitting here with a stranger, you just… tell me." He added trying to see something in your face, his gaze piercing you intensely.
"Not that you are a total stranger already". You answered, smiling.
"You said you don’t know me." He reminded you with a huge grin on his face. "What’s your name, lady?"
"I guess, I know you a little now. My name is…"
____________________________________
"Hey, are you okay?" You felt a touch of a warm hand on your forearm. II reached for you, breaking you away from your thoughts."
"Oops, sorry!" You shook your head, smiling. "I just… zoned out."
"Memories?" II asked, and your gaze traced his face and his lips, curved into a sweet smile.
"Yes… About how I first met Vessel. I don’t know what was so special about it, but it was just… real. Natural. I was acting ridiculous, and I felt so nervous, trying to hide it. But I was just myself. He saw my insecurities and he was not really taken aback showing his…"
"I’m sure there is something very special about you," II admitted. "In another case, Vessel would not choose you among… thousands of 'thirsties', who are obsessed with his stage persona."
"Oh, II, do you realize that I was among those 'thirsties'? And now… I’m here. I still can’t believe it. And don’t forget that all the 'thirsties' have souls too. And a lot of them see and love in Vessel much more than just his stage persona. I just was lucky enough to be able to show that to him."
"That’s quite a revelation." II answered in a broken quiet voice. "I’m sorry. I really sounded arrogant. I think I need to show you the “manifest” now. If you want…"
"Is this your way of giving me ‘thanks’ for honesty?"
He stood up and gave you his hand.
"This is my way of learning to trust you."
____________________________________
Sitting in II’s dark, wrapped in blackout curtains room, with a glass of wine, you tried to look around the interior. You were never before in his room, and now your presence here felt like a big revelation itself. You were comfortably leaning deep into II’s big dark-blue velvet armchair, while your feet rested against the edge of his bed.
Drummer’s compact figure was right there on the bed, beside your feet; in one hand he held a thin book, wrapped in a deep purple leather cover with golden embossed letters that spelled out the word “Manifest”, looking all expensive and – to no wonder – made with love and attention to details as everything they do. From II’s words, the manifest was a custom-made tome, which was a special anonymous order from a typography.
He purposefully opened the book on the specific page he wanted to introduce you and ceremoniously asked:
"Are you a voyeur or exhibitionist?"
"What-t? I’ve never… thought of t-that!" You exclaimed louder than expected and felt like wine started to make your tongue twisted. But in reality, you could not recall looking at someone's sex or showing off yourself either.
"Rule number One – it will be important for you to know at the start. 'The Doors': If any of the rooms in the house is closed, you have no right to access it, while the ‘Scene’ is taking place. If the door is open, you can enter, while the ‘Scene’ is taking place and choose from four options: to “voyeur”, “to voyeur and play”, to “join” or to “skip”." II read this rule for you aloud.
"Oh… my… God! Seriously?"
"I’m very serious now. This rule secures our privacy and will secure yours."
"Why has no one ever told me this?!" Your voice shook from thick and new emotion.
"You were not a part of the Poly Pack. You were only Vessel’s girlfriend, so you could access only his room anytime, because one, – you are living there with Vessel, and this was your room as well as his, – two, – no one was allowed to enter your room as well, because all your “scenes” were private and “no access”, and three, – Vessel was temporarily not having “scenes” with any of us, because all our rooms and “scenes” were temporarily closed for him too.”
You were not able to formulate words, as you nearly dropped your glass of wine from shock. After a few moments, you’ve managed to ask him:
"So, this means that if you start to introduce me to this, some doors will be opened for me now? I mean… Not only into Vessel's room?"
"Exactly. And you’ll still have your four options to choose from. You can always skip a ‘scene’, but if you want to dive deeper into this with us and if you haven’t tried any yet, you could just start from voyeurism to adjust yourself mentally and see what usually happens. And…" He shyly looked down the floor blushing. "Make me a company in voyeurism."
"Oh, you… you don’t take part in the ‘scenes’?"
"I do, but… I’m a voyeur most of the time in common ‘scenes’. But I sometimes do private sessions, or just… have sex."
You felt dizziness in your head, and it was already not from the wine only, but also from the amount of new information. For some moments you were just staring at II, not able to move.
"Come on, I know, it’s all new to you, and you’ll need time to process it. Now, we are both drunk. And, honestly, I’m exhausted. But as I promised you, I’ll take care of Vessel today and also go check on those two dorks. I’ll leave you the “Manifest” for as much time as you need to study it. Okay?" He smiled kindly and stood up, holding a book.
II slowly approached the armchair you were sitting in and sat on its handhold, his hip pressed to your shoulder. You felt the warmth and movement of his big heavy hand, when he gently put a book into your lap. You raised your head to look up at him and asked:
"Will you sleep with Vessel in our room today?"
"Yes, I will. And you can stay here in my room and have it all to yourself. You also have a bathroom here, so don’t be shy. And don’t forget to close the door, if you don’t plan to have any guests." He winked, looking down at you, and for some unknown reason you felt his power and protectiveness. "One exception to all these rules is that the Sleepwalking Vessel doesn't care about doors at all.”
You both laughed at this, and you melted into his arm wrapped around your shoulders.
"II…" You started, your voice low and crackly, clearly drunken.
"Shushh! Just relax… I’ll bring you water here." With these words he cupped your face with both hands and leaned for a kiss, but gave it tenderly on your forehead, barely touching you with his lips, his short chin beard ticklishly brushing against you.
Then he left you in the room but returned very soon with a decanter and the glass of water on the tray and, surprisingly, with your long silky black nightgown over his forearm.
You were already immersed into the “Manifest” and looked up at him with questions in your eyes.
"Vessel sent you some kisses and your nightgown and said that he’ll miss you."
"How sweet…" You said a little bitterly, but with acceptance in your voice. You already accepted that your boyfriend made love with another guy earlier, but… you were not yet used to sharing Vessel as your sleeping partner.
II bowed down to you and whispered right into your ear:
"It’s just between us… But you’ll feel differently about sharing, when you’ll spend some time… you know, with … for example, Ivy…"
____________________________________
After taking a shower in II’s room, you wrapped yourself into your nightgown and dove into blankets on his bed, still finishing your wine and immersing yourself further into the “Manifest”. You admitted to yourself that II had an exquisite taste in wine (in what he had not?), because the effect of it had already started to show up, you were not brutally heated, but gently warmed up, you felt dizzy, but not hungover, you were relaxed, but not wasted.
You nestled yourself cozily in blankets closer to drifting into sleep than actually reading. In the dim light of wall lamps over II’s bed, the text of a book started to blur before your eyes, but you’ve absorbed the following.
The “Date” (usually between two members, rarely appears, as ‘scene’.) —Almost never attended/joined.
The “Sex” (mostly between two members, sometimes between three) — stays private almost all the time.
The “Scene” (can be planned by two, three, four or more members, depending on the situation) — mostly open for everyone to attend/join.
The “Private session” (usually done by dominant top, also can be fetish scene of any kind done by anyone and by special request) — can be private or opened with consent of all members to attend/join.
The “Affectionate time,” — usually opened for everyone to attend/join.
Reading this you started to remember everything you had lived through since you’ve settled in this house. As far as you could understand the terminology, you’ve had dates, affectionate time and sex with Vessel. Sometimes also “private sessions”no one attended (to your relief). And earlier today you had “affectionate time”with III and Ivy. Does it count? No one saw II and Vessel, so you supposed that they just had “sex”.
“He had sex with MY boyfriend!” Your thoughts were louder than screams; a wave of jealousy flooded you again. But then you remembered II’s words…
“But you’ll feel differently about sharing, when you’ll spend some time… you know, with … for example, Ivy…”
Your thoughts started to spiral around this and even now, being alone, and not in front of someone’s examining gaze, you still felt like blushing. What if II was right? Did you feel something for Ivy? Or started to feel?
“you’ll spend some time… you know, with … for example, Ivy…”
What if Ivy himself wasn’t interested in spending more time with you? And what was it this evening with II? Was it really a “date” or just a conversation between two neighbours at home? So many questions and almost no answers…
Why did III immediately ask you, if you were having a “date” with II, when he approached the kitchen? They all knew “their rules”, they all lived by “these rules”. So, he probably thought that it was not supposed to be attended or interrupted.
A “Date”, – usually between two members, rarely appears, as “scene”. You reread. And immediately your thoughts spiralled around II. Did he really believe that you could still be dangerous for them? Did he really think that you could leak their secrets? What could happen between you and everyone that would make you so heartbroken that you could take revenge this way?
You shook your drunken head driving away the disturbing thoughts and closed the book placing it over the bedside table. It was enough for one day! You needed some well-deserved rest. Your lids were heavy and head tired after another emotional day. You switched off the lights and tried to fall asleep.
____________________________________
A loud slam of the bedroom door woke you up at night. Your whole body shuddered from the loud, unexpected intrusion in the room. You opened your eyes, trying to focus at least on something to be able to understand what was happening. In the dim lights of the corridor lit up slightly from beneath stood the tall black figure obviously with no clothes on. By the shapes of it, you recognized Vessel. He was the one who always slept naked.
He slept.
Notes:
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 🌹 and want to know your opinion in comments. That shows me if I am moving this story into right direction and see the progress!
*POTATO HEARTS*
Chapter 6: You've got me in a chokehold
Summary:
Hi, EEPIES! 😴😴😴
Thank you for being patient with me! 🫶 *POTATO HEART*
I'm sorry for taking so much time to post the new chapter, but I had serious reason. Had to travel to Hungary, Budapest to see our Sleepy boys for the first time 🥰🥰🥰 It was unbelievable experience, I AM STILL IN AWE! BUT NOTHING LASTS FOREVER.
So, now it's time to get back to the story ✏️✏️✏️P.S. I hope you'll leave Kudos (and comments if possible), because I really need to know your opinion on this story. It will help me to see, if I'm moving this story into right direction. I still have plenty of ideas for future, as well as - have many doubts. So, kudos will be SUCH A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT.
THANK YOU IN BEFOREHAND.
WORSHIP.
Notes:
This chapter will be the longest so far. And it's kind of a bridge between the plot and smut... 😁
I hope for your patience. Real smut will come in the next chapters, I promise.
The chapter's number VI is very symbolic to what you'll read in it.
HAVE FUN 💋
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
VI
A loud slam of the bedroom door woke you up at night. Your whole body shuddered from the loud, unexpected intrusion in the room. You opened your eyes, trying to focus at least on something to be able to understand what was happening. In the dim lights of the corridor lit up slightly from beneath stood the tall black figure obviously with no clothes on. By the shapes of it, you recognized Vessel. He was the one who always slept naked.
He slept.
“Vess?” You asked carefully, quite knowing that he will not answer.
He slowly approached the bed. His steps were almost not audible, he seemed to be floating. You nervously searched for a remote lost in the blankets to switch off at least the backlights of the room. His dark tall figure was towering you menacingly, arms hanging down like ropes. You quietly thanked Sleep that he was without a knife or any other weapons. It was a terrifying moment, simply because you couldn’t see his face in the dark, but as you managed to find the remote and switch on the backlights, you’ve got a clearer image…
He snorted in disgust, when he saw the lights, as if he was conscious. His head did a curious jerky tilt, as if he was a robot, and the image of this sent shivers down your spine. The view was haunting. The pupils of his eyes were dilated making his eyes dark as the night.
“Where was II? Was he sleeping and didn't notice him standing up?” You thought to yourself.
If the previous Vessel’s sleepwalking episode was quite dangerous for himself, this one seemed to be dangerous for you.
“Vess…” Only a quiet whisper escaped your lips.
As he finally was as close to being able to sink onto bed, he slowly straddled you, his muscular but skinny legs now at both of your sides. He was not breaking eye contact, and you were stunned by those black holes staring at you. He was hypnotizing and terrifying at the same time making you freeze in awe and fear.
His weight was familiar and pleasant, but this time it was also scary. Your heart raced in your chest, close to escape from your rib cage. When he settled down on you, grinding his crotch down where he sat, his hands slowly moved to your face as he was entranced. He seemed to be doing it like a puppet, without his actual free will. You quickly glanced at your bedside table (technically II’s bed table) and saw that a decanter with water was still there, but unfortunately quite far away from your reach. You slowly moved under Vessel’s body trying to get closer to the bedside table, but his weight almost totally blocked you.
“Kiss me, Vess”. You asked, knowing that he won’t give you any reaction, just trying to calm your nerves and convincing yourself that it was still your boyfriend. His hands approached your neck instead. In the back of your mind, you knew what he was about to do. And you screamed just before his long fingers gripped your neck. Your scream was loud, but it was lost in this huge house with many rooms and shut doors. You hoped someone would hear.
“II, please, II. I need you to hear!” You thought. “You knew him for many years, you know him better than anyone, please! I need you to hear”.
He squeezed his every finger tight around your throat pinning you to the bed.
“No, Vess, p-please…” You managed to wheeze, your voice becoming husky. At one particular crazy second, you thought to call him “Sleep” instead. You outstretched your arm as far as you could in the direction of the bedside table. But there was still not enough distance to grab the decanter. He pressed your neck with a new force, and the choked sound escaped your mouth. You became not just scared, you started to lose it at the terrific image above you and less and less air in your lungs. His face was right above you, eyes huge black and insane.
You reached your hand with force now, but the more you fought the tighter his grip became. You felt your eyes brimming with tears and vision getting blurry. You managed to scream again but succeeded only to squeal. And you reached for the bedside table again under Vessel’s body and felt your fingertips touch the decanter. Still not enough…
“He will be the death of me” . You were almost ready to give up. But gathering all your strength you’ve made final reach and grabbed the heavy decanter almost full of water by the holder. Your hand shook heavily, when you tried to lift it up. You almost couldn’t breathe. Your face was now all wet from tears. Finally, you raised the decanter in your shaking hand and, – with all the power left in your body, – spilled water right into the face of Vessel.
A second ago the door opened and II was running to both of you. Immediately as water drops covered Vessel’s naked body, he froze and untightened his grip on your neck. II was terrified standing right beside the bed, his hair still messy after sleep. You coughed and gasped, trying to invite air back into your lungs, feeling more like a fish thrown away on the shore.
Your face was all red and wet from tears and water spilled; water drops slowly fell from Vessel’s hair down on you, covering his naked chest and stomach, glistening in the dim light of the room. It was all silence, except your gasps and heavy sharp breathing as you tried to regain it. Vessel’s pupils started slowly to get back to normal, they were still wide, but now you could see the blue of his eyes return. II’s ocean eyes were huge and round like plates.
“Are you… are you alive?” He asked you in his shaking voice.
“You won’t believe…” You breathed out.
“I’m so sorry… so sorry…” Saying this II sank down on his knees beside the bed. “I fell asleep and didn’t realize he escaped.”
“At least you heard me screaming… At least, I hope I won’t get killed in this house…” Your voice shook and sounded like the car driving on a gravel road.
Suddenly you all saw two figures appear at the open doorframe. One tall and lanky, and another one shorter and bulky. III and IVy. They both were wearing their pyjamas, standing barefoot on the floor, still half asleep and shocked from the scream they heard. They were just staring at the scene, not realizing what actually happened.
“What the hell…” Ivy exclaimed with a sleepy cranky voice. His eyes were glued to naked wet Vessel sitting on you and II standing on his knees beside the bed. III still could not process what he was witnessing: a sex or a battle scene, and if that was actually a scene or an accident.
“What…have…I…done?” Vessel finally came back to his conscious mind, looking shocked at his own hands and your wet flushed face. You were still gasping.
“What have I done?!” He repeated and momentarily II’s hands were on his shoulders comforting.
“Nothing, Vess! Nothing…It was not you. It was not you. It’s alright!” II started to rub his cheek.
“WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” Vessel screamed, pushed II’s hand away and slapped his own face with full force. You felt even III and Ivy shudder from this loud slap. You immediately grabbed his two hands by wrists and screamed.
“Don’t! Don’t! Vess, I… I’m okay. You choked me a little. I’m alive. It’s okay… Hey, listen to me. I’m okay!”
“He choked you?!” Ivy exclaimed and, in a second, was beside the bed checking on everyone. You turned your gaze to II with a plea he immediately understood.
“Guys, it’s okay. Nothing to see here. Everyone is alright.” II said, trying to make everyone leave the room. “Let’s just leave them alone now”.
“II, I’m sorry for the mess and water… we’ll make it all clean in the morning”. You’ve said being grateful to II.
“No, I’m sorry to let this happen. Try to sleep now, both of you. We’ll figure this out later.” After that all three of them left and closed the door.
“Dah-ling…” Vessel made a noise, which seemed like he was choked and not you. “I didn’t want to hurt you… I didn’t ever want to choke you this way. Never…”
“I know, Vess… Now, please, get off me.”
“I never wanted this. Please, forgive me. I only love doing it in a sexual way. Nothing too bad. Please, I don’t know what’s wrong with me recently… I really don’t know.”
“It’s not your fault. Please, bring the towels and lay beside me…” You answered in a cracking voice, a prick of fear still lurking in your chest. The desire to hug him and feel his skin fighting with terror of him waking up again and killing you.
After everything was settled and you dried yourself with towels and changed to lie on another dry side of the bed, in a warm Vessel’s embrace. You tried to calm yourself down and gain some sleep. He was silent, but nervousness and guilt gave him away.
Before Sleep consumed you both again, he said:
“I’m not sure, but I think, for some time maybe it’s safer for you to sleep without me…” Regret and sadness in his voice.
“Ah… Not sure it’ll help, we slept apart today, but you still found me…” You answered and he snorted, half smiling, half sobbing.
____________________________________
The next morning, you both were the last to go down to the kitchen to see all three other neighbours there around the table. Only one free chair was there, so III immediately stood up to let you both sit and relocated to the couch with a cup of coffee in his hand. He ate faster than everyone and was already done, by the time you and Vessel came for breakfast. Vessel nodded thankfully and you both sat in uncomfortable silence. After some time, you exchanged some casual talk about the weather and their routines.
III decided to break the awkwardness and common concern and announced that he has something to show to everyone. A mischievous smile played on his face, hiding mysteriously under his little moustache. After a short while he came back to the kitchen with a shoe box. By the sight of it you all understood that it was a pair of new Adidas shoes. He ceremoniously opened it and presented the new snickers to the audience. The shoes were amazing and special. It was from a collection of Adidas and Korn collaboration. Everyone, including you, exclaimed “wow”.
“Now, lady and gentlemen, imagine these in the accompaniment of ma’ best checkered socks and stage outfit, huh?” III said, lifting his chin proudly.
At this moment, two things happened. You didn’t realize that Vessel and Ivy had hands in their pockets, but right in the second they both took something small from there and with a loud slam threw it on the dinner table. Vessel threw a coin from his necklace he usually wore on stage, and Ivy – his guitar pick. You noticed that Vess was the first one to do this, and after he realized that he hissed “Yes-s-s-s” proudly of himself. Ivy’s face turned into a whining grimace with a pitiful pout in his lips. “Fuck.” He cursed.
III smiled at Vess, playfully lifting his eyebrows.
“What the fuck just happened?” You asked with a surprise in your voice.
II sighed at them being goofy kids and answered:
“They played, who will be the first to fuck him in these shoes. Vessel won!”
“Ha-ha… WHAT?”
“Sorry, dah-ling! I couldn’t resist! Look at him. He’ll be so hot wearing these…” Vess tried to make an excuse, shrugging and looking at you slightly embarrassed.
“I always have picks everywhere and why the fuck I can’t be the first?!” Ivy screamed with frustration.
“You know, love, that my coins are always here with me too?” Vessel answered and gave Ivy’s temple a kiss. “Sorry, but I won fair.”
The atmosphere in the room became easier and everyone turned back to their demeanour. Although you noticed that II was in a bad mood. After he finished his breakfast, he told everyone that, if anything, he would be in the studio practicing and left. Vessel’s eyes followed him, but he said nothing, still admiring III.
Ivy finished eating too and started to do dishes immediately. Then he announced that he will go jogging with Butterscotch, because he kinda forgot about his workout routines for a while. Vessel went to his room, surprisingly, to do yoga and meditation, because it usually helped him to put his sleepwalking episodes to ease. Everyone approved. Left alone with III you first stared at him with question in your eyes, and he did a curious tilt looking at you. After asking you how you feel after the dangerous episode with Sleepwalking Vessel, he also left.
The house became uncomfortably silent around you, except the faint drumming coming from the basement, where they had their studio with a good amount of soundproofing. Your anxiety and guilt started to kick in. You made yourself one more cup of coffee, trying to read the ‘Manifest’ further, but eventually it didn’t help.
“The four members of the pack came to an agreement that the pack is exclusive, no side relationships or casual hookups are allowed. The cheating partner leaves the pack and the house, still saving the band and business relationships.”
“Vessel broke one of the main rules. 2 times… because of YOU.”
An hour passed, but your thoughts still spiralled around everything that happened in the house once you’ve appeared here, then once you had your argument with Vessel, and once he announced you to be a part of it all. For some reason you felt guilt seeing II in such a mood. You desperately wanted to ask him how he felt. With these thoughts you went down to the studio.
II was sitting behind the drums and furiously destroying cymbals with his eyes closed and mouth open fully immersed into music. His hands were even hard to notice as fast they moved, while he was playing. The sound was crushingly loud there, and you winced at it, coming in. At first, he didn't even notice you. You approached a little couch standing there and sank in, looking at him. At some point he stopped, and a faint sound of recently hit cymbals slowly faded away. He looked at you.
“What?” He asked, somehow impatient and harsh.
“Nothing… Wanted to see you”. You answered. “You are amazing with your drums…”
“Yesterday haven’t seen me enough?” He grinned sarcastically.
“Yeah, kinda. II, what’s wrong? Is it because of me?” You asked very quietly, fearing the response.
“Nothing is wrong. I’m okay”.
“Definitely not!” You trimmed.
“Oh well. Okay. I’m jealous, but it shall pass with time.” He said.
Your eyes widened.
“Yeah, I can be jealous too. WHAT-A-SURPRISE!”
“But II…”
“He didn’t sleep with me for months. And the only night I’ve got a chance to be with him, he went to you, even unconsciously…" These last words came out bitterly from him.
“II, he nearly killed me. I was frightened, and I’m not sure I’ll be over it soon…” You started.
“I know, but…I’m not in control of my feelings. I know it’s not your fault; it’s not Vessel’s fault too. And that shall pass. There is actually nothing to be jealous about anymore. These are just feelings that come and go.”
“II, you wrote the ‘Manifest’, you managed your personal life so well, you are always in control of everything in this house. What can I do to ease these feelings?” You asked, seeing pain in his face.
“I started writing it, when we’ve got III… We were already together with Vess and…I had these feelings too. Same happened to IV. As we got more and more people into our pack, I felt it every time. Yes, it was always painful for me to share Vess, until… I didn't fall in love with those two dorks. I needed to regulate my emotions and writing all those rules helped me to cope with that. It will pass this time too. What can I say… I’m a jealous type.”
“I never…I never thought you were…” You exhaled, shocked at this tirade. “II, I know that’s because of me now… It’s all because of me…”
You stood up, planning to leave the room, because sudden emotions overwhelmed you, and you didn't want II to see this.
“No, come on! Stop…” II started, but you already left.
Passing by the front door of the house, you stopped and covered your face with both hands… Tears flood your eyes at the thoughts of being the intruder here, again. Everything that happened here was because of YOU.
Breaking their pack, leaving them hungry with love for each other for months, Vessel’s sleepwalking episodes starting to kick in again after a long while, your adjustment to their lifestyle… Your own jealousy. Your presence as a constant reminder of their privacy being in danger. You felt guilty even for having far too big of an interest in Ivy. For some reason, you felt guilty even because you feared Vessel after the night accident.
“I should not be here… I’m still an intruder. And will always be…”
“There are always 4 of them, the sacred number.”
You were sobbing uncontrollably standing there in the corridor, embarrassed and at the same time not able to stop and contain yourself. You felt a strong urge to hug someone and be hugged and taken care of, you desperately wanted to feel a warm cocoon of love. You felt unbelievably empty and lonely. And at that moment your ‘victim’ opened the front door and came in. IVy came back from his jogging session, and Butterscotch followed him inside the house, standing behind his leg and waving his tail.
He was a little worked up, his sandy hair became darker, because of sweat, cheeks a little flushed. His chest rhythmically went up and down under his loose T-shirt. Airpods still in his ears blasting something wild.
It took seconds till you ran towards him and threw yourself with open arms on him. He stumbled and froze, barely realizing what happened, why you were hysterical and why you suddenly wanted to hug him. After a few seconds he slowly freed himself from your embrace, took your both hands by the wrists returning them to yourself and said:
“Sorry, bun, please, not right now. I’m sweaty, need a shower…”
“Ivy, I…” You said bitterly, swallowing the prick of rejection.
“Later, please…” He smiled at you shyly, raising up both hands in “surrender sign”, took off his shoes, and the collar off the Butterscotch’s neck, and quickly ran to the bathroom on the first floor. The orange dog was standing looking at you with an open mouth, as if he was smiling.
You sobbed again and sank onto the floor. The only living soul beside you now was him, and you hugged him holding the back of his ginger head and continuing crying. Butterscotch sat just breathing and drooling on your shoulder.
Suddenly, you felt warmth all around your back, as you both with Butterscotch were now in another bigger, wider embrace of very long arms looking like branches. By the fingers and nails you recognized these arms belonged to III. He pressed his face against the back of your head, holding you and the dog together in a big pile of hugs.
“Can’t stand sobbin’ in tha’ house, ga’l…” III said right into your ear. “If ya don't stop it now, I’ll sob too. That’s a promise!”
“III…” You tried to answer but choked with a sob and a smile at the same time. Snorted. Inhaled and exhaled, calming your breath. “Thank you so much…”
“Gal, he… He’s always like that. He hates huggin’ after his workouts, thinkin’ that he stinks. He doesn’t… In ma’ modest opinion. But he doesn’t like to be touched in that state.”
“Oh… That’s not… because of him, III. It was kinda a rejection, but I understand. I just needed to hug someone, so much.”
“Wha’ happened?” You still couldn’t see his face, but his voice was careless and comforting.
“I just… This night was hard for me. Vess scared me so bad. He nearly choked me to death. II is… I guess he would be happier if I wasn’t here. I feel like… I’m in the wrong place. I only cause trouble.” And you sobbed again, and his embrace only tightened, threatening he could start crying too.
“And honeybee didn’t let ya hug him… What a day, gal! So sorry for ya. Look…” He started. “I wanted to surprise you and… with II’s help ordered one thingy for ya to feel more like home. But I won’t tell you what it is, don’ wanna spoil tha surprise! Feel betta’?”
You tried to free yourself from his arms to be able to look at him with wide, plate-like eyes. He finally untightened his embrace around you and Butterscotch and you all stood up. Now he was towering you as always, being a skyscraper and looking down at you with a warm smile and kind eyes.
“III, you are impossible. Thank you so-o-o much!” You smiled now mixed with happy tears, and gave him one more hug, your head much lower than it was supposed to be, because of the huge height difference.
“Thank me, when it’ll be he-a’. He rolled his eyes, pretending to look around the corridor, and gave you a random shy schoolboy kiss on your cheek. To accomplish this he strongly bowed down. His tiny mustache brushed your skin for a slight second, and soon he was looking down at you kindly again. His dyed blonde hair all messed up was in a tight bun, and you have noticed his own greyish hair had grown a lot since he last coloured it in blonde.
“May I help you to dye your hair again?” You asked.
“Oi, that’s to be fair… an amazing idea! Let’s give II some rest, right?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll need to take a part of his errands here, because you’ll need two ‘mothers’…” You both laughed, continuing hugging.
III has an amazing talent in making everyone feel happy, making everyone laugh and making everyone forget about troubles.
“You know, III, forgive my random thoughts… But you are such a cheerleader, ha-ha!”
“Uh! You just gave me idea for Halla’ween costume this year!”
The corridor finally filled with laughter and cheer. Butterscotch looked at you both, waving his tail, not getting what’s funny, but vibing as much as he could.
____________________________________
A week later
All five of you were in the kitchen having breakfast, when the doorbell rang.
“FINALLY!” III exclaimed and ran to the front door to welcome the delivery man.
After some time III came back to the kitchen with a huge box. It looked like it contained a piece of furniture. Everyone was curiously eyeing him.
“Oh, they were faster than I thought!” II said smiling.
“BEHOLD!!!” III shouted and immediately attacked the box, unwrapping and destroying the packing and security foam plastic. After a few moments he revealed… a CHAIR.
Your eyes widened, and the rest of the men started to clap their hands. It was the chair of absolutely the same design as their 4 kitchen chairs, same wood, same decor, same sitting pillow and same back lean pillow cloth with Eden patterns, with leaves and exotic birds and rivers all made in pastel relaxing colours.
“WOW…” You exclaimed.
III turned the chair with its back to you and you saw the number “VI” written in Latin letters embossed on the wooden part of it.
“Six?” You asked not realizing what it meant.
“We all have numbers on our chairs. Haven’t you noticed?” II asked in a soft voice, smiling at you. “This chair is yours, so… We decided to give it a number too”.
You looked at their chairs and saw ‘V’ behind Vessel’s back. He looked at you smiling too. And then you noticed ‘II’ on II’s chair.
“Why… Why have I never noticed that?!” You exhaled with awe and gratitude.
“I hope ya don’t mind the numba’? ‘V’ kinda’ has Fifth and he is the ’I’ as well. We decided that you’ll be after ‘V’.” III explained.
“I always thought of giving you a pet name…” Ivy added. “I think that ‘Six’ is not bad, right?”
“Guys…” You felt like you were close to bursting into tears, but III immediately stopped you, waving with his finger at you, as a warning. “Thank you so much! I… I… I have NO WORDS!”
“It was III’s idea. He asked me to order it specially for you, because it was a custom-made collection. So, I hoped they would make an exception. And they did. Just like I planned. I like it when my plan is working out well.” II said, looking proud.
You turned to III smiling and, after all, having tears in your eyes. He spread his hands widely and you jumped at him, as if he was a tree. When you sat at him, clinging like a koala, you’ve whispered:
“Thank you, big boy! You made me feel so at home…”
The room was filled with laughter, love and care radiated through all the five bodies. You felt like your cheeks hurt from smiling.
____________________________________
As the darkness fell the house was quiet. Everyone was busy with something he liked. III spent his leisure time gaming in his room. You knew that Vessel was reading and II was in his room, doing whatever His Majesty wanted. You went downstairs to make yourself some tea. You stopped in the middle of the staircase, your hands gripped the handrail, as you looked down.
In the living room, in front of the TV, half-lying half-sitting lounged IVy, all alone. By faint sounds of the commentator, you’ve guessed that he watched football. He held a remote in one hand and a glass of beer in the other. His eyes lazily moved across the TV screen. Butterscotch was napping beside his feet.
He immediately noticed you, raising his head at the staircase. He threw away the remote, put the glass of beer on his stomach and with a free hand slapped the place on the couch beside him, inviting you wordlessly. You smiled at him, showed him your index finger, “silently saying you need a few minutes” and went back upstairs. He shrugged and turned his head to the screen again.
“FUCK Y’All! Morons…” Ivy screamed, and, by the sound of the TV, someone missed a goal.
You went through the corridor to Vessel’s room.
“Vess?” You asked quietly, knocking on the door with your knuckles.
“Mhm, yes, darlin’?” Vessel raised his brow and lifted his head taking his nose out of the book he was reading. He sat in his favourite old armchair with legs stretched out. The chair stood beside his bookshelf.
“Nerd…” You thought, but your chest actually flooded with affection for him.
You crossed a room with big quick steps and landed in his lap. He was surprised at this move, still holding a book in one hand, and putting another hand on your thigh.
“Vess… May I?” You couldn’t really form the question; your gaze travelled to his dark blue awaiting eyes.
“Vess, there's Ivy…”
“Yeah, he is.” He interrupted with a chuckle.
“I mean he’s in the living room on the couch.” You said looking deep into his eyes.
“What is he doing there?” Vessel asked calmly, hiding his smile in his pressed together lips.
“Just chilling, watching football. I wanted…” You started.
“I see, I see”, he said smiling. “You want to go snuggle with Ivy, right?”
You blushed and nodded. He smiled affectionately and petted your cheek with the side of his hand.
“Go, go,” he pressed a kiss to the corner of your lips, which immediately sent shivers through your whole body. “Go enjoy Ivy’s hugs… but don’t forget…” His affectionate gaze now mixed with menace.
“Don’t forget what?” You asked pathetically looking back at him with puppy eyes.
“Don’t forget that you are MINE anyways”, he said with a low sharp voice, which made you nervously swallow. You just nodded. He continued:
“And Ivy is MINE too. And other boys”.
“Of c-course, Vess”, your voice trembled.
“Now, kiss me”, he said. And as you leaned to him, he kissed you himself with the force only he was enabled to. His fingers grabbed you firm and tight. Your breath was choked deep inside you as you answered his kiss, admitting that it was both passionate and powerful, especially when his tongue slid deep into your mouth pinning you to him. Waves of arousal started drifting through your body.
You were instantly turned on, not even by the kiss itself, but by the way Vessel’s voice sounded, by the way how selfish, greedy he was with all his lovers, and how deeply possessive he actually was. That was the type of arousal that made your knees weak, made you immediately want to surrender to him, but at that moment he broke the kiss, his lips wet, his gaze cloudy and half-blind.
“Go”, he said as you stood up and gave you a little slap on your ass.
“Uhh, Daddy Vess…” You tried to hide your crazy horniness with a joke. He only chuckled, his eyes following you.
When you escaped the bedroom, you felt the wetness down below you, which signalled you that your arousal was far beyond usual. You felt dizzy, going down the staircase, and wondered why you were so careless going to Vessel first. How were you going to face IVy now? You were quite sure that Vessel did this on purpose.
“This bastard…”
Your legs shook and you trembled inside, when you finally approached the couch in the living room. IVy raised his already watery blue eyes on you and smiled, lifting his lip corner. He licked his lips and handed you the freshly poured glass of beer. You took it, still standing over him. He smirked, feeling that you were looking at him as if you were starving and he was a delicious warm meal.
He outstretched his hand, palm up, inviting, and asked lazily:
“Come down for some fun…?”
Notes:
Let me know what you think about this chapter so far 📌 I will highly appreciate your reactions 💋
Chapter 7: Your name is a SIN
Summary:
It's TI-I-I-I-I-IME!
We finally approached the spicy parts, and now the night belongs to Ivy! 🌹🤵
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 💋 I put my IVy obsession into words and want to know if I did well, because I’ve got so many spicy scenes in my pocket, which are about to follow 😉
Notes:
The chapter is inspired by the Sleep Token song "Fields of elation"... because come on
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
VII
Ivy smirked, feeling that you were looking at him as if you were starving and he was a delicious warm meal.
He outstretched his hand, palm up, inviting, and asked lazily:
“Come down for some fun…?”
Shivers travelled through your whole body, as you took his hand, and he gently forced you to sink into the couch beside him. The football commentator screamed for some reason, explaining that the team was not in their best shape, but Ivy’s soft blue eyes were now on you. He turned his head to you with question and anticipation in his eyes.
“Six…” He finally said half-whispering. “I like your new name.”
You sipped beer from your glass and smirked, trying to hide your enormous level of arousal.
“You came here just to watch something and drink. Calm down and maybe you’ll get a hug”, you thought to yourself. But it didn’t help.
“Whatcha gonna watch?” Ivy asked with his craziest accent and your ears melted. You could not formulate words into sentences anymore.
“I don’t mind football, IVy. I see that it’s Leicester against Manchester United and for now it’s a draw”. You answered, gently smiling back to him.
“Oh… Okay. Didn’t know you… You like football?”
“Not that I'm a big fan, but my father always was. He likes the English Premier League the most and I used to watch games with him sometimes.”
You both sipped the beer, looking at the screen. Butterscotch made a very loud sigh, trying to fall asleep even deeper, fussing against your and IVy's legs. IVy raised his arm and hooked it around your shoulders. You felt his warm fingers fondling your T-shirt (technically Vessel’s T-shirt, which you stole). You were burning inside from the feeling of guilt and horniness at the same time. Despite having an 'official' Vessel’s permission to snuggle with Ivy, there were things much dirtier than that in your mind.
IVy leaned his head to make your temples touch and then lowered it; his nose sank into the crook of your neck. He felt how dramatically massive you shivered and smirked again.
“You smell like Vess…” He whispered. “I miss him. And… I want you.”
Your eyes widened in surprise. Not that you both didn’t realize what was going on between you. You both knew. But hell, it was fast.
“Ivy…” You quickly turned to be breathy. Your arm hooked around his head and your fingers sank into his sandy hair, fondling it, feeling it finally, after days of just dreaming about this. “I’ve waited for a long time to touch you like that…”
You felt his lips on your neck. They were hot as coals and soft as clouds. After a little session of a tender torture of your neck, forcing sweet, choked moans from you, he took your glass of beer away from your hand and placed both of your glasses on the coffee-table. In a second you felt wrapped and trapped in his embrace, drowning in his warm skin and comforting smell. He smelled as shower gel, Gucci Guilty perfume and something specifically Ivy. Tears gathered in your eyes. He looked attentively in your face, trying to figure out your state of mind. His precious blue eyes lit up by the TV screen and light sandy lashes were travelling through your every feature, his lips slightly parted.
“Why?” That’s all he asked. You understood that he asked about your half-wet eyes.
“I need to kiss you biblically, Ivy. This is just unholy, so much as I want that. I want to devour your lips so badly.”
He immediately leaned closer, as if proposing his lips, bringing them on display. Your eyes got even more sad. You put your index finger on his lower lip, caressing it, while he tried to catch your fingertip. You leaned to him too, and kissed his nose instead, barely touching, then his nose wing, his cheek, his lip corner, his chin. Your fingers gripped his jaw and lifted it up higher, when you reached his jawline, and your hungry lips fell down his cute mole on his upper neck, brushing against his little soft bristle. A quiet groan escaped Ivy’s parted lips. You felt like you would kill for one real kiss on his lips.
“Why?” He asked again. His heart was beating wild under your palm on his chest.
“I guess, we can’t kiss yet… But I wanna kill for that kiss, Ivy. Is this cheating?” You exhaled. “Because… It feels like it.”
“Have you talked to Vess about it?” He asked, giving you a kiss on your face and neck after each word.
“Not really. When I went upstairs, I told him that I’ll hang out with you.”
“And he what?” Ivy asked, giving you a lick right beneath your ear. Fresh waves of arousal travelled down your guts.
“Ya know, usual possessive Vess. He said, ‘you are MINE, IVy is MINE, all are MINE’ and then he made me horny and let go.”
“Ha-ha! Typical Vess”, Ivy laughed, showing rows of his beautiful teeth, smiling charmingly. “Sounds like this was a permission, no?”
“Maybe for something intimate, yes. But… I’m not sure about kissing. Have you talked to III?” You asked, between gasps, as his warm hands slowly travelled under Vessel’s T-shirt.
“Not really. He knows, but… I think that he would do the same in my place”.
“So, you didn’t talk.”
“NO.” He confessed and you both chuckled. In a few seconds you heard the steps on the staircase and by the careless and loud sound of them, you understood that it was III, — the earlier man in question.
Yours and Ivy’s hands mechanically escaped each other’s bodies. You were still snuggled and close, but your hands were politely kept to yourselves. You noticed that Ivy casually covered his crotch with the arm and chuckled nervously. You both pretended that you have been watching football.
III appeared on the stairs and approached you both moving as if the skyscraper was skateboarding.
“Ya think I didn’t see ya both blushing like two school gals? I know you did something here.” III stood business likely akimbo. “I’m jealous!”
You both knew that he was only half-serious, but the situation made you both sweat. You exchanged gaze with Ivy as if you really watched football and looked back at III.
“I know you’ll join, if anything, right?” You dared to ask him, putting his real name after “right”. III’s eyes widened. Of course, as you knew their real names, sometimes you called them like this, but it was so rare that they were always surprised. Dating Vessel, you usually called him by his name in quiet intimate moments in bed, but during this whole time spent in their house, you called out III only twice. For some reason everyone found it comfortable to use 'Vessel and numbers' at home.
III cleared his throat and said:
“Well, yeah. But not today.” He looked at Ivy. “I’ll go join guys to play together, okay? I’ll stay there overnight. Will c’me back tomorrow.”
“Who’s the guy who’ll be sleeping with me today then?” Ivy raised his brows in mocking jealousy.
“Why exactly the guy?” III answered with a wink. You blushed as a beetroot instantly and put your head down. III bowed down, his hair touched Ivy’s face and in seconds his lips were on Ivy’s making you envious as hell. He could feel Ivy’s lips on his, without feeling that it's illegal! Right in front of you…
Their faces were centimetres away from you, and for a moment you’ve become deaf as fish. You didn’t hear the TV, anything. It felt like you were immersed in the deep water. All you could hear is the obscene sounds of two men kissing with lustful moans, which looked and sounded like they just passionately devoured each other. If you thought that you were horny before, you could easily forget your own statement. The level of feral that this demonstrative, insanely exhibitionistic kiss caused in you was immense!
The desperate sound escaped your mouth and drew their attention back to you. You cleared your throat to hide it, but they’ve heard.
“Guys, I’m like… here. And uhhhm, you don’t want puddles on your couch, right?” You breathed out.
They parted with hard panting and heavy half-blinded eyes and laughed.
“This is how ya kiss your love.” III said proudly and gave Ivy another, this time innocent, peck on the forehead.
“Oi, III, thank you for your master class! I’ll use it later, don’t worry.” You said, nervously chuckling and winking.
“Don’t forget to sign me in… Okay, guys, I need ta’ go. See ya tomorrow!”
As III left, Ivy’s hands immediately glued back to you and crawled under Vessel’s T-Shirt again. They seemed even more hot, as if he left burns on your skin.
“Oh…” You gasped.
“Where did we stop?” Ivy murmured.
“Ivy, if we continue… we won’t stop, you understand it, right?”
“I have III’s permission. Nothing to worry about.” He said, knowing that it was selfish.
“Someone will see us…” Your voice shook; you whispered it in Ivy’s hair. Unbothered, he pushed his hand further, reaching your bra under the T-shirt.
“Two options… You’ll tell Vessel right now or… we can go to my room, and they still may see us.”
You hesitated. He forgot about the third option. Your fussing on the couch made Butterscotch uncomfortable, so he slowly stood up with a sigh, and went away, waving his tail.
“Such a good boy”, Ivy growled.
“Unlike you…”
“You didn’t choose from the options I gave you…” A little menace in his voice.
“I don’t wanna… choose.” You gasped, as his one hand unbuttoned your bra under your back, and another hand slowly cupped your breast of his choice. His hands felt different. If Vessel’s fingers were gentle with soft fingertips, IVy, as a true guitarist, had almost all fingers calloused.
“For the sake of … How many years have you teased those strings so that your fingers feel so crispy…”
“When I do blood tests, they barely can reach my blood there.” Ivy chuckled. “Confess…” He continued, going back to the previous topic, whispering in your ear: “You enjoy your helpless state… You know it’s wrong, you know they may see us, but you don’t want to make it easier. You can’t stop it either, you don’t want to stop…”
“Please…” You were desperate under his hot touches, barely understanding him through the fog of your frenzy. His fingers gripped your nipple.
“Please, what?” He was merciless.
“I know… that it’s wrong, but… I like that…” You stopped fighting and confessed.
Your hand travelled to his crotch, and he moaned, closing his eyes and smiling. His soft grey sweatpants showed an obvious tent. You palmed his fully erected cock under the soft fabric and another little moan escaped his parted lips.
“Wow, Ivy, you’re so hard.”
“Let me at least grab the blanket… if you’re so stubborn.” He growled and you noticed that his cock parted ways with your hand with big regret. In a few moments he returned and covered you both.
“Ha-ha, you blanket lord.”
“You cheating brat!” He teased. It worked. Prick of guilt in your heart mixed with a new portion of arousal. In that moment you wanted him to bonk you senselessly. You thanked Sleep that your back was turned to the staircase and no one, if anything, would see your face.
You grabbed Ivy’s T-Shirt and pulled him to yourself with such unexpected force that he involuntarily leaned into you, his lips accidentally pressing into your forehead, while your lips landed on his neck, but not for a kiss. You bit him, sucking and teasing, leaving a hickey doubtlessly.
“Ah… Ya know at least anything about conspiracy? Tomorrow Vessel will be the first to notice…” He exclaimed breathy, his own hands tracing your body under the T-Shirt.
“Shut up, Ivy!” You commanded, only later understanding what you’ve said. But he didn’t plan to object. Your hands slid under his sweatpants’ waistband and under his tight boxers just to grab that delicious ass. Finally, after many months of just secretly staring at it, wondering, studying, you felt like a kid on Christmas. You groaned at the feeling of his velvety skin under your palms and clawed your nails in his butt cheeks making him pant and bite into your own neck.
“I’ll worship this fucking gorgeous ass till the rest of my days…” You growled with greeted teeth, and as he pulled his face away from you for a moment, you saw his widened eyes. “Oh, lucky III that he can have this ass every single day. I would compete to make it MINE”.
Needless to say, that you didn’t even recognise your own voice.
“What the hell? Vess really possessed you?” He said with chuckle, and at the same time arched his lower back, as if trying to make more contact between his buttocks and your palms. His own hands under Vessel’s T-Shirt cupped both of your breasts and you leaned closer meeting his touch.
Kissing Ivy’s neck, you tried to tug his pants and boxers down, and he lifted his hips a little to help you to put them just a little bit down and reveal his cock. Once it was revealed, your eyes observed it lustfully and your fingertips traced its length, lovingly following popped up veins from its base to the pink tip. He was not really long, but thick and so easy to break someone. He panted, his hips bucked meeting your palm. The tip of his cock was glistening with pre cum, and you brushed it spreading it over the length, receiving grateful kisses from Ivy.
He lifted the T-shirt, putting your uselessly hanging untied bra away and holding your breast firm. His warm mouth landed on your nipple, and he murmured like a fat sated kitten sucking on it with obvious pleasure, while his cock kept twitching in your hand.
“Actually… I’ve missed a woman in my hands. Missed so much…” He said breathy between teasing your nipples. “Not counting guitars…”
“Oh…my… Are your guitars female?” You exhaled.
“Most of them…” He roared gently with affection, trying meanwhile to cover the scene happening between your hand and his cock with the blanket again. Then he pulled your leg and hooked it over his one hip and pressed yourself closer to him, caressing your thighs under the blanket. Kissing you all over your decollete area, he tugged your joggers down too, lifting your butt just a little to get himself more access and, his hand traced a long hot line along your belly.
“You have… magic hands, Ivy…” You panted, saying this in your most husky voice.
“For the next magic trick, I’ll need a little help from my cute assistant…” He said quietly and, two of his fingers travelled right to your mouth. “Open up for me.” He asked, calling your real name right after. You couldn’t hold the moan, because the sound of your own name spelled by him was one of the most seducing sounds you’ve heard him produce.
You obediently opened your mouth to let his fingers in. Wrapping them with your lips, you sucked on them, making his eyes roll up with pleasure, and he held them in until his fingers became leaking wet. After pulling them gently away, he gave you a kiss on your lips corner and his hand slid right in between your legs. In seconds you felt his wet fingers right there, spreading your lower lips as a gate for his visit.
“Ahh, yes, no, yes, Ivy…” You immediately became a panting squealing mess.
He pressed his forehead against your lips, shutting you down, which was funny and smart at the same time, as he couldn't shut you up with his lips. Your own hand kept dancing on his cock, fingers travelling to his balls and to his shaft, and back again. You wanted to cherish and worship every centimetre of it, drawing every little moan from him. He was teasing your clit and entrance with such a lazy ease, as if he was playing, and after some moments he finally slid one finger inside, and right after the second finger followed the first. You felt pleasantly stuffed. His fingers were thick in analogy with his cock and so unbelievably skilful. Stuffing you, he again reached for your nipple, sucking and biting, not letting you even breathe in, not letting you rest.
“My God, stuff me well, Ivy, put me on like I’m your glove…” You begged desperately wanting him to be as much inside as it’s even possible, your legs opened willingly wider, trying to get as much of his fingers as you could.
“What a little needy brat…” He exhaled, sounding confident and calm, but his cock gave him out, twitching hard in your hand.
“You’re not different…”
He teased you hard, being two fingers deep, while his thumb pressed to your clit doing all kinds of vibrating movements, making you nearly cry from pleasure. You dreamed that his hand could stay forever inside, but he withdrew and moved his fingers back to your mouth. Tasting yourself on his hand, you wondered what he was about to do. As his fingers were dripping wet again, he shared this wetness with his cock, his wet fingers meeting yours, to lube it more. Now gliding his length became easier, despite your hand being a little tired, you stroked him holding at his cock as if it was the last wooden thing to hold on after a shipwreck.
Ivy inserted his magical fingers again and you desperately cried out, wincing, being scared to be heard and noticed immediately.
“Once I’ll make you scream for everyone to hear.” He said confidently as ever.
Your eyes met his, traced his untouched lips with gaze, coming back to eyes and drowning in them. You were so close. He mercilessly shredded you inside, bending fingers just a little to hit your ‘sweet spot’, making you tremble, making tears gather in your eyes. You opened your mouth and threw your head back, trying not to scream and started to shake, your one leg over his hip vibrated as your whole body and he smirked, being proud of himself.
“Eyes back on me,” he commanded. You obeyed. “Don’t you dare to look away”. He added, making you squeal with gritted teeth.
“I… I’m gonna…” That’s all you’ve managed to say, choking on your breath.
“Say my name… My real name…” He said and it was the gentlest and sweetest command you’ve heard.
Cumming hard, looking right into his beautiful blue eyes, being totally in his mercy and stuffed by him, going slowly blind, as the waves of pleasure make your whole-body shake, you’ve spelled his real name in unison with panting and “just right there, baby” ... “Right there…” His eyes rolled up with his upcoming glorious finish and hearing his name.
“You're such a gentleman, you’ve… you’ve made lady cum first…” You moaned and praised, mixing all your phrases with his name again. “Cum for me, baby, cum right in my hand, please… You did so well.”
He went blind too, but never broke eye contact with you. He started to shake, his cock pulsing in your hand and finally you felt his hot release in your hand, and as quiet “ahs, ahs” escaped his mouth, it immediately landed on your face, peppering sweet grateful kisses. Your head fell down on his shoulder and you both sat there like that living through the aftershocks and both trembling and panting.
Your and Ivy’s hands were both just a sticky mess, but with other clean hands you both tried to get your joggers back into place under a useless blanket.
“You’re lucky, no one saw us. I guess we need to go to the bathroom.” He said breathlessly, smiling idiotically, which made you want to kiss him even more. You thanked Sleep that they had another bathroom on the first floor. And just in a matter of seconds you both bumped into II, who was going down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen.
“Oi, what have you two just done?” He asked, mysteriously smiling.
“We spilled the beer!” You and Ivy said in unison, even without rehearsing it beforehand and looked at each other shocked.
“Oh… I bet.” II said, laughing and slapped Ivy’s shoulder brotherly.
In the bathroom as the door was closed securely, you hugged Ivy from behind, helping him wash his cock in the sink and washing your own hands at the same time. He did the same and then let you dry himself with paper towels. He smiled sweetly, enjoying you handling him like that.
When you both were back to the living-room, II was sitting on the big cozy armchair beside the couch, his tiny figure drowning in it, looking all cozy and giving you a curious look. You landed beside Ivy and, in a matter of seconds you both were under a blanket again. He handed you your glass of beer, which was already quite warm, and took his beer as well.
“So… I don’t really notice the spilled beer here…” II said, chuckling.
“It’s all cleaned up.” Ivy said nonchalantly, looking very attentively at the TV screen. You were still deep in your thoughts reliving the remnants of the aftershocks. You thought about Vessel and about everything that just happened.
“So, mate, wanna have a movie night?” Ivy asked II.
“I wanna…” Vessel appeared on the staircase too, answering instead of II. You and Ivy mechanically tensed. Vessel smelled the air as he always did entering any room, made a dull face and with a little jump and outstretched legs fell down on the couch just beside you. He took your hand and pulled it to his face, giving it a kiss.
You blushed remembering what exactly this hand was doing a few moments ago. You knew that he understood that something happened between you and Ivy. You physically felt his interest and something unspoken, but he decided not to ask questions to embarrass his both lovers in front of his other lover.
Vessel asked instead:
“What y'all want to watch?”
“Horror”. Said II.
“Comedy.” Said Ivy.
“Drama.” You’ve said.
“Psychological thriller?” Vessel suggested.
“Oh! Yes!” Everyone agreed, remembering the genre.
When the movie was chosen, Ivy took a couch remote to transform it into bed again. Vessel went to get everyone snacks and drinks. And II sat beside Ivy. When everything was settled, Vessel announced that he wanted to cuddle. No one seemed to object. Everyone lied on the couch, you were facing Ivy, nosing his chest, Vessel was spooning you from behind, and II spooning Ivy in analogy. Everyone agreed that the group missed III.
You felt like being inside a warm nest again, cuddled up and snuggled between your boyfriend, your new gained lover and mysterious and still quite distant II. Despite him being behind Ivy and almost not contacting you, his presence felt very close as if you were feeling his soul. It always seemed that compact II’s body had a huge aura spreading all over the tight snuggling band on the couch.
For some unknown reason, Vessel said:
“I just remembered that in August last year we played in Budapest Park… So… in four days it’ll be a year…”
You tensed against Ivy’s chest noticing his heart starting to beat faster too. You all understood that Vess was talking not really about the ritual in Budapest but about meeting YOU there.
You cleared your throat, kindly asking:
“Do we count our anniversary since the day we met? Like 1st of August? Or when we started dating? Or when I moved in with you?” You were really curious because you never discussed this with him.
“We always count from the day we all met…” II answered instead of Vessel.
“Aww. That’s sweet! You guys celebrate the days you all met each other, right?”
Ivy snorted. “Yeah, usually with a good fuck. Uh, excuse me!”
Vessel and II just chuckled. Vessel kissed the back of your head and said:
“I guess, our first anniversary is in three days, on the 1st of August…” He added your real name after saying this and you shivered.
“Yes, darling…” You answered, kissing his arm hooked around you.
“I guess it’s a date then…” Vessel whispered.
Ivy and II immediately gave you congratulations and you all continued watching the movie. It seemed like no one was really bothered with this casual conversation, but you.
Suddenly you called out II’s real name asking:
“When it’s yours and Vess’s anniversary?”
Surprised he raised his head and lifted his brows, giving you a curious look over Ivy’s ear.
“Well, actually it was on my birthday. I played a gig, and Vessel came to see the band. After the gig he was looming beside my drums, then suggested we share a pint. I don’t even know why I said ‘yes’. I saw him for the first time in my life. He said…”
“I said that I’m in awe. When I saw him playing drums, time stopped for me.” Vessel said with affection. “Later I showed him my demo recordings of the ONE without drums. Was the first song… fields of elation?”
“Exactly.” II answered smiling. “When I first heard the vocal line, I almost immediately knew how I could imply the drum part as if I already heard that song somewhere. Fun fact. I saw Vessel in my dream before. But he was faceless.”
“Oh my…'Sleep'! Guys…” Your voice shook and tears gathered in your eyes.
“I saw II in my dream too, but not like that. I was looking for a drummer in that period of time. And I saw my old friend in a dream who said that I should check out II’s previous band. I knew about this band, but this dream was like a reminder to visit the gig for me. This dream ended with a faint figure behind the drum set, and I felt like this person will change my whole life.” Vessel was talking with such deep affection looking at II over your head, and this feeling warmed up everyone on the couch. Love was filling the air.
“Your name is a sin…” II quoted the song. “These words immediately made me understand the idea with anonymity which Vess wanted to try to create around the band. After I understood the whole concept, I said ‘yes’ to him for a second time.”
“We had a few pints, and he told me it was his birthday… We got drunk that day, talking through the whole night.” Vessel added. “I’m not really a strong drinker, so poor II was basically carrying me home later. I admit, it was embarrassing. I’m sorry for spoiling your birthday, darling.” He also called II with his real name and you felt that this made II melt.
“He apologised for that million times. Stop it, Vess. That day was one of the happiest in my life. It changed everything.”
“I love hearing this story. Each time sounds like the first time.” Ivy’s voice broke through their dialog.
You sobbed, snuggling closer to Ivy. Vessel and II both pressed you closer together from both sides and their hands met over you and the guitarist, fingers intertwined. Everyone seemed to forget about the movie for a while.
Thoughts started to spiral around this whole story, and this felt surreal. A year… A year passed! It was still so hard to believe. You were living a dream for the whole YEAR. 12 months since you saw them in the airport lobby till the present moment. From seeing them in person for the first time till dating your idol and eventually having something with his mate.
The mixture of disbelief and guilt was boiling in your heart. You had to talk to Vessel normally today. You had to set up boundaries and figure out what was appropriate and what not. You felt bad.
“Have you ever met a man who not only remembers about your anniversary, but also reminds you about it? Never!” You thought to yourself. “And you… You were playing with his mate, desperately trying to hide it from this perfect man…”
The guilt made you want to stand up and tell him that you need to talk, walk away with him and tell him everything about what happened between you and Ivy, about how you felt. But something stopped you. II’s and Vessel’s story of how they met made you glued to them, you felt the love they shared as if it was accessible for everyone, and you relaxed feeling the warmth of their bodies around you.
Was the movie just a reason to snuggle with mates and lovers? Probably yes, because four of you almost immediately fell asleep in front of the TV, pressing tight against each other. You saw a dream about Vessel and II sitting together in a pub, sharing a pint. They were at the secluded table and noisy surroundings seemed not to even exist for them. You saw Vessel giving II his headphones, showing his first songs written for the future band he created just in his head. You saw II smiling, while listening and giving Vess attentive curious looks; you saw his big blue eyes and tilted blonde head as he was looking at Vessel with surprise and admiration of his talent. With the newborn feeling.
____________________________________
Vessel woke everyone in the deep of the night. You felt him slowly stand up, as if in trance, and you heard his bare feet touching the floor. You were hoping that he was conscious and just going to the bathroom, but deep inside you knew what made him active in the night. You squeezed Ivy’s arm so strongly that he snorted with annoyance, but his eyes opened, and he saw Vessel’s dark figure as well. Ivy elbowed II, who immediately woke up looking at the same image, shocked, with wide open eyes. You were all silent, knowing what was going on. Vessel was always ‘creative’ with his sleepwalking episodes. No one ever knew what he was about to do being in this state. You were all frozen, waiting.
He stood with his back turned to the three of you on the couch, as if he thought where to go. He was looking scary and something primal was in the way he smelled the air again. He took a few steps towards the kitchen but stopped. II, Ivy and you were holding back your breaths. Vessel slowly turned around and went back to you all. As he came closer, the light of the TV screen lit up his dilated black pupils.
“Fuck, Vess… I haven’t seen him like this for quite a long time…” II whispered.
“You… you better tell what we are going to do?” Ivy whispered back.
“Guys… There is no water in here.” And you started to get up slowly at least to try to get the saving liquid. Vessel’s head made a tilt, but he was not going to stop you. He turned his gaze away from you and stared at Ivy. You felt danger. Vessel was quicker this time. Much quicker than it was the previous time. He jumped on Ivy, straddling him, and his hands immediately grabbed his neck.
II tried to rip off his arms away from Ivy, but Vessel’s arms’ stranglehold was nearly deadly. Ivy choked but managed to grab Vessel’s wrists with his hands. You knew that Vessel in this state was much stronger than usual, so, even if Ivy or II were Sumo fighting champions, they still would not have many chances to win.
Improvisation was your strong point. So, for some reason, instead of running and grabbing water, you gathered all your power in your voice and shouted out three words. Vessel’s real First, Middle and Last name. Your voice sounded as if it belonged to the older woman.
Three cherished words fell down onto Vessel’s being. Maybe because he heard his real name, which he did not really often, or maybe because the manner of calling him out with a full name reminded him of his mother, naming him like that, when he did something wrong, so he understood that he was in trouble, but it worked.
Vessel immediately unclasped his hands and fingers on Ivy’s neck, making him gasp with tears in his eyes finally breathing again. II was holding Ivy's head and whipping off his tears, mumbling that it's alright. He is alright.
Everyone was panting and struggling with the moment, as if coming back to reality. When Vessel was back to himself, he fell down on Ivy, peppering apologizing kisses all over his face.
“This has to end.” II said menacingly. “Tomorrow we will all have a very serious talk, when III will come back home”.
“I thought it’s gone again…” Vessel said almost sobbing. “I’m so sorry”.
“Thanks to your girlfriend, we are all safe. Again. Six saved us all for the third time.”
All gazes turned at you, making you shyly blush.
Notes:
*POTATO HEARTS*
Chapter 8: In your waking moments I will be there
Summary:
I'm really sorry it took so long. But you know, life happened. Do you still remember this story? If yes, I hope sooo much that you'll love this chapter. Kudos will be highly appreciated and motivating! ❤️😋
Chapter Text
VIII
Next morning, when you woke up, you didn't find Vessel on the couch with other mates. You silently gave Ivy’s nose a peck, leaving him in II’s tight embrace, and left for the kitchen.
Vessel was sitting on his ‘V’ chair at the table, you saw only his back turned to you and the nape of his head. He was definitely immersed into something in his hands. You noticed that his hair grew longer than usual. You came to him from behind and gave his head a kiss.
“Darlin’, you need a haircut. Good morning!” You said, taking a seat beside him on your own, from now on, – “VI” chair.
He didn’t react, because there was the Nintendo Switch in his hands.
“Vessi…”
“Good morning!” He said, not even turning his gaze away from the game. “Yeah, I need an appointment.”
“When do you plan to get it?”
“Don’t know. Don’t wanna…”
You rolled your eyes at him, standing up and starting to make yourself a cup of coffee. When you reached a milk bottle in the fridge, you opened it, smelled it and understood that it’s spoiled.
“Fuck…” You cursed, hissing. The urge of morning coffee was hard. Vessel always drank black coffee with sugar, so he was okay with it. You needed milk biblically! “This house really needs two mean drummers to manage y’all irresponsible kids.”
Vessel raised his head to look at you but said nothing and got back to the game.
“Maybe you talk to me, Vess?”
He stood up, gave your temple a kiss, then looking at your face with absent gaze, kissed your cheek and said:
“Sorry, dah-ling, I need to go to the bathroom suddenly.” And he went away not letting go of his console.
“Ridiculous…”
“Someone was talking about mean drummers?” II appeared in the kitchen, walking fast with his distinctive hips' movements. II was always walking the way he was on the catwalk, despite his not really modelling height, and this always impressed you. There was so much energy in his walk, as if he didn’t sleep just a few minutes ago.
“II, how do you manage them all being mean, ignorant and childish…? And oh, we have no fresh milk for today.”
“Oh sorry, I really forgot about that… Where is the long menace?”
“One of them refused to talk and went to the bathroom with his ‘Nintendo’. He needs to get a hair appointment…”
“He needs his ass kicked… And, believe me, he doesn’t talk, because he knows that talking about sleepwalking will take place no matter if he wants it or not.”
“Someone said ‘long menace’? III asked, appearing in the kitchen with the brightest and widest grin. His messed-up hair and circles under his eyes clearly showed that he didn’t sleep a second during this night gaming with his mates.
“We’ve mentioned another long menace, but c’me here.” II called him pulling his finger back and forth as if summoning the bassist. The longest and the shortest merged together in a kiss, which was a rare thing for you to see. These two were not really affectionate on stage, as well as in real life the dynamics of their relationship were slightly rough. But for now, their kiss was soft and needy, which surprised you and made you stare at them, as if you were at an art exhibition.
When they parted, II said:
“Today won’t be an easy day. Prepare. And I need your help with groceries.”
“Oh no, no, no. Not again. I won’t leave tha house for a second time taday. No chance. Buh’ I can help you with somethin’ else. Whateva ya need.”
“Godmother!!! IVy, IVy! Help me!” II yelled. “They’ll be the death of me! Why can't we just be normal grownups?” He whined.
“Hi, VI!” III turned his head to you. You noticed that he pronounced your name not as ‘Six’, but as ‘Vi’. “Why does our Napoleon whine so much? Somethin’ happened?”
“Uhm… a lot of things happened, III. Vessel had a new sleepwalking episode, and choked Ivy…”
“WHER’S HE?!” III screamed as if he was a dog, and someone stepped on his tail. There was so much fear, concern and pain in his voice and in his facial expression, that you thought he would explode and burst into tears. Your heart squeezed painfully from this image.
“Oh, sweety, he’s okay. He’s alive.” You said, immediately trying to hug him, to calm him down. As your arms wrapped around III’s skinny bony figure, and head pressed to his chest, you immediately felt his heart pounding at the craziest pace. “Don’t worry, big guy, don’t worry. He’s alright. Oh, my Sleep, you love him so much, right? Right, honey?”
You stood with III like that waiting for him to calm down, but finally Ivy himself arrived, wincing and scratching the sides of his torso under the T-shirt. From all the band members he was the hardest and the slowest one to wake up. By his looks, it was quite easy to understand that despite him standing up, he was not really awake yet.
“Someone called my name?” Ivy said with a groggy voice, wincing more and now rubbing his eyes with two pig palms. He noticed you and III, and immediately came to you and hugged you both, creating a hugging pile. He kissed III on the cheek, – a tall man had tears in his eyes seeing his lover, – and also placed his head next to yours on III’s chest giving your forehead a peck.
“Nice. Now that y'all here…” II cleared his throat before saying this. “Are we going to finally do what we’re supposed to, huh?”
“Vessi really choked my Honeybee?” III asked, almost crying.
“Yes, we need to have a talk with him, and he’s hiding. But not only this. We have errands to do. Me and Six will go to the closest store for groceries. Ivy, you can go with us and take Butter out. III, you’ll stay at home and try to lure our Songbird out of the bathroom. I don’t know… maybe promise him something for this. You know how to do it, and this way you won’t leave the house again today. Also, who will volunteer to call to the barbershop to get Vessel a haircut appointment? Huh? No one. Someone still needs to do it. We all know he won’t do it himself ever. I will also call cleaning and you, Ivy, have to finally show signs of life on socials. And better to do it today!”
“Ppphhh, yeah. Maybe. Soon”. IVy said with the sourest face possible and went away getting himself some water. II rolled up his eyes clearly irritated.
“Sounds like a plan, II!” You said and went upstairs to change your clothes.
After everyone was prepared, teeth brushed, clothes changed, living room cleaned up a little, Butterscotch fed with his collar and leash on his neck ready for a walk, your small group left the house; III staying at home for his special mission. All the way to the store you were mostly keeping silent, exchanging awkward gazes with Ivy and making II even more uncomfortable. You clearly had to talk about what happened the night before, but this morning seemed to be the worst compilation of “need to talk but won’t”. II wanted to end this unbearable silence:
“Ivy, I’m not joking, it’s time for you to post at least something. Label representative also hinted at this. We all post something from time to time at least. Look, everyone understands that we are on vacation after the last tour, but ‘signs of life’ are important. Our fan base really needs it.”
“Don’t really see the point in it right now.” Ivy’s dry answer followed.
“Hey, he’s right, Ivy, you need to post.”
“Please, stop it, both of you… I haven’t posted for a little less than two months. It’s alright.”
II gave Ivy an angry look, took his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number. By his conversation over the phone, you understood that II was ordering the cleaning service.
“Why II is the one adult person in this group?” You thought and smiled. II was looking confident and bossy, and you were eyeing him proudly. After his call ended, he said to Ivy:
“And buddy, you have to remove your tour leather jacket from your room wardrobe and put it also into the strongbox.”
“What? Why?” Ivy said, furrowing his brows.
“It's the same distinctive feature of your costume as your mask. It has to be there. And please do it BEFORE the cleaning will arrive. They have changed the lady doing the service for us, so the safer the better.”
“II, you’re such a party pooper! C’me on, stop being so serious all the time.”
“Do I have to remind you who was in the centre of a scandal with leaking photos, huh? Better safe than sorry!”
Ivy blushed and visibly shivered. It was definitely uncomfortable for him to be reminded about that period of time. He rubbed his own hands as if wanting to clean them, and seemed to be wanting to take a shower, as if he felt dirty. Silence hung between the drummer and guitarist, and you were walking between them with Butterscotch, as if being a child between constantly arguing parents. You were looking at II and then at Ivy and back at II.
You already knew some rules in their house, and how everything worked there. All the four men had some of their personal stuff in their rooms, but downstairs, in their improvised music-studio they also had a big safe box with the secure code. Only four of them knew the code. You were just aware that they had their passports, other important papers, masks (new and old), costumes and everything, which could show or hint on the band they belong to, in the safe box. They called the cleaning service for the house once a week, and did minor cleaning in their own rooms themselves, as well as cooked and did dishes themselves too.
You knew that calling for cleaning or any other services to be done around the house could be a danger of their address leaking, if someone would know who they are, someone could oversee or overhear something personal or take pictures of them secretly or just basically being robbed.
“I… I don’t want to move to another place, Ivy.” II’s voice shook, when he spoke again. You felt the vulnerability in his manner of speaking and even fear, which was emotional for all of you. “I really like this place and you do too. We all love it. C’me on! We are finally home.”
“Okay, dad! I’ve got you!” Ivy agreed, but brattiness was still heard in his voice.
After some moment of silent walking, you added your part:
“II, please, give me the number of Vessel’s barber. I’ll call to get him an appointment…”
“Oh, never mind. I can do that myself. After all, I've done this for years. I mean he never changed the barber and never changed the hairstyle after he once removed his longer hair. I’m scared to imagine what will happen to him, if one day he’ll need to change the barber. It would be a tragedy…”
“II, I want to do this. That’s my little contribution to today's errands. And also… we’ll have an anniversary in a few days...”
“Oh, ya wanna groom him before your special date?” II asked, hiding the faint jealousy.
“Kind of… I’m… after all, I’m his girlfriend and I’ve never done this for him myself.”
Ivy cleared his throat far louder than he planned, and continued walking, looking down to the ground. You gave him a glare, which II surely noticed.
“You guys have to talk after we finish with groceries.” He pointed at you and Ivy, which you both left unanswered.
____________________________________
When you all came back home, Vessel and III were nowhere to be found. Using the exclusion method, you understood that they were in III’s room. II and Ivy went to the kitchen to prepare the long-awaited breakfast and coffee.
You were in front of III’s room door. It was slightly opened, and that meant that you were allowed to come in. By faint sounds coming from the room, you understood that they were playing games, and you were kind of relieved that they were not playing with each other and without clothes. You secretly admitted to yourself that you would like to see that (who wouldn't), but at the same time, you felt not yet ready for that.
You knocked and came in. Two tall guys turned their heads immediately into your direction, smiling. Someone put the game on pause.
“Feeling very good and very nice, boys?”
III gave you a knowing look, winked at you, showing that he successfully completed his mission of luring Vessel out of the bathroom and making him speak, and looked so proud of himself, but Vessel didn’t notice that.
They both sat on the bed, each of them holding a joystick in their hands in front of a TV-screen. You approached them and sat beside Vessel, leaning head on his bony shoulder.
“Vessi, I’ve got you a haircut appointment. It’s tomorrow 11:00 AM. I can go with you.” You announced kissing his cheek.
He gently smiled and nodded, giving you a kiss back, without asking any questions.
“Whoa! Wait, II used’a… ta do that for him so far as I can remembah.” III said surprised.
“Yeah, I know. I just decided to… make my move. And we have an anniversary date in four days, right Vessi?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Vessel confirmed.
“No way! A year has passed. Wha’? Uhhm, congratulations, guys!” III said with a confusion in his voice. “Whatabout my hair?” He asked you.
“I promised you, I’ll do that, III. Choose a colour!” You confirmed and suggested.
“Wow, really?” Vessel interrupted. “I didn’t know about your plans… I was not informed about that.” Vessel said with mocking jealousy.
“As far as I remember, Vess, you won something personal with III throwing your coins around, when we were having breakfast recently, and you also haven’t informed me of participating.” You cut him off.
“Touché…” Vessel quickly gave up, while III was staring at you both with a widening grin.
“Vessi?” III asked, looking at Vess wide-eyed and longing. “And when? Ta-day? Hm? I’ll probably prepare myself.”
“You better do.” Vessel gave him too lustful gaze this time, and you felt uncomfortably awkward. Silently cursing to yourself you immediately stood up and went away.
“C’mon, dah-ling! Are you jealous again, where’re you going?” Vessel said pleading, his sad gaze followed you instantly.
“Absolutely not! You better hurry up downstairs. Both of you. Boys are preparing breakfast for all.” And with these words you left a room, hearing the last faint phrase Vessel threw to III in a whisper:
“Could you maybe mention that… later, I don’t know?”
____________________________________
When the whole band was situated around the kitchen table, each on his name-number chair and you — on your VI one, it felt much more like a real family. Despite everything, despite controversial feelings of intruding their private life, it felt different now. You started to feel yourself as a part of a group sitting equally in a circle with them and discussing important topics for all of you.
Most of the time four men were eagerly chatting about their upcoming tour. They planned a big European tour this autumn, which was very significant for all of them. When Vessel mentioned that they will perform in the big arenas this time, everyone around the table gasped, even already knowing this. The whole tour was planned for huge venues all around Europe and the UK, and II proudly announced that tickets were selling very well. In some cities they already had everything sold out. Hearing this, shivers went down your spine. You suddenly realised how much they have grown during this year.
You remembered how you met Vessel first. The day before their ritual in Budapest Park. Their most popular album had already come out, they were getting more and more known. After that was an epic Wembley show, Australian and American tour… All this time you’ve already known Vessel, known all of them, but you’ve settled with them only in May this year, when after their Australian tour Vessel said: “Enough of this. You’re settling down with us”. Did that day change everything? Definitely not. The day that changed everything was when you first met. The day of your anniversary, 1st of August.
And somehow your thoughts travelled back in time and the faint chatter around the table lulled you into your memories. You and Vessel were sitting in the airport restaurant of the Ferenc Liszt Airport in Budapest at the table in front of each other with two glasses of champagne in your hands.
____________________________________
At some point he said:
“So, my name is…”
“Stop! Don’t say that!”
“And when I’m supposed to say that?” Vessel’s brows crawled higher, and you were afraid that they actually would stay on his forehead.
“Later…” You said shyly blushing as if you were a 15-year-old again. You were talking to your idol, you were sitting in front of him, sharing a drink. You could use your chance and ask anything, and he probably wouldn’t hide or avoid questions, but you continued playing your little game of pretending to not know who he was, just out of respect for his anonymity.
“Ohh-kkaay!” He threw up his hands. “You’re weird. I like weird.”
“Really? We’ll get along then. So, what are your plans for… tomorrow?”
“Uhhm, not the name. But plans for tomorrow…” He chuckled. His narrow face and lantern jaws widened in smile and bony cheeks flushed, which made you look at him even more intensely as if you weren't already staring at his face, trying to burn a hole there probably. “Well, I have a band. And… tomorrow we’ll play a gig at the festival. Uhhm… it’s called Budapest Park.”
“Oh? That means I’ll see you there tomorrow! I have a ticket to this festival, so… and basically, I came to Budapest with his exact… goal. I mean, to attend this festival.” You exhaled nervously. He eyed you curiously, with a sparkle in his eyes, and a mocking surprise on his face, as if he didn’t guess this right from the start.
“That’s nice! I hope you’ll tell me after the gig if I was good enough, yeah?”
“W-what? Oh… errrmm, of course”. Your voice shuddered heavily at this.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Maybe you didn’t plan to see anyone after the festival. It wasn’t okay to ask you about this in the first place…”
“No, no! That was definitely not my concern. I thought YOU didn’t plan to see anyone after the exhausting ri—” You stumbled. He gently smiled, encouraging your words with a light nod. “After an exhausting… concert!” You finished, blushing even more.
“A little party never hurts nobody?” He quoted more like asking. Then he scratched his chin, looking around the restaurant like he was considering something, and his gaze travelled back to you.
“Where are your band mates then?” Another question formed in your head.
“Oh, they went to our hotel and I… I just love Budapest, you know? And as for sightseeing, I usually like to do it alone, when no one spoils my plans. I just go and see whatever I want. Just me, my headphones and backpack.” He nodded in the direction of his small luggage on the chair.
“I understand. Budapest is a huge city with lots of things to see.”
“I’ve seen a lot here through the years. But I find something new each time I’m here.”
“I thought bands travel more like in the tour bus. But anyway, I’m so glad to meet you in the airport though”.
“Usually, yes. But as it's not the tour, but the festival, it was nice to fly here. I love it once in a while. But… our poor drummer fears airplanes, to be honest. He’s so stressed all the time while flying.”
“Oh. Poor little guy!” You exclaimed and stumbled again, looking wide-eyed at Vessel. Your palm covered your own mouth right when you gave yourself away. Vessel started to laugh pretty loud and nearly choked on his champagne. His pale greyish face filled up with colours again, and his cheeks became suddenly a light shade of pink.
“You’re cute,” he called you by your name. “And you're blushing just like II.” After a short pause, he added: “II — the drummer!”
“Oh, got it!” You turned back to your demeanour. “So, you call all your band mates with numbers?” You asked as if it was not obvious.
“Yeah, especially at home… We also have III and IV…”
“Wait… at home? You live with your band mates?” Your eyes widened and memories of their behaviour on stage started to flood your mind in pictures and short clips. Their touches, kisses through their masks, quite sexual and affectionate interactions with each other in front of fans. This all started to replay in your head, and you noticed that Vessel understood what you were thinking about by the look of his narrowed eyes. The fact that they were feeling so open and comfortable on stage with each other created millions of fan theories about them. Most of the theories were about them being really close friends just playing silly in front of people, seducing the crowd, but this statement about actually ‘living together’, made your guts curiously twitch inside. You stopped your thoughts right before he answered, for the best, because these were thoughts about thousands of fanfictions out there about their band, where most of the time, four band mates were in relationships with each other.
“Yes, we live all together in London. It’s convenient! We all share creative ideas with each other any time and have our own studio in the basement.” Vessel answered.
“Oh, wow! Cool! How don’t you just kill each other? Being constantly together under one roof… that must be tough.” You said with concern.
“No, we… We get along well. By the way,” he quickly changed the topic. “Are you travelling alone?”
“Yes. I travel alone. And usually go to concerts alone. I’ve never had too many local mates to do it together. Probably, my music taste is just way too different from my friends’.”
“Oh? Makes sense though. But maybe it’s not too different from mine.” He smiled. You smiled back, and you raised your glass:
“For music taste!”
“For music, cheers!” Vessel announced, and you clinked glasses. At some point you both were lost in a conversation. Talking about everything and nothing, about where you both come from, about families and friends, education, career and ambitions, about just dreams. After an hour of being involved in it, it felt like you knew each other longer than it was in reality. The champagne long ago was finished.
“Probably, I’m holding you back. You have to rest and prepare yourself for tomorrow’s performance.” You said concerned.
“I’ll have tomorrow for that… Don’t you worry. I thought maybe you would make me company, we could go sightseeing, have a proper dinner, which slowly turns into supper, huh?” He suggested, and you visibly shivered, because never in your life you expected this to happen.
“Oh my-…” You exhaled. Every muscle in your body tensed, and all the insides twitched and jumped inside you from excitement and thrill.
“I don’t insist if you don’t want to… You are probably tired? If so, I could call you a cab to get you to the hotel.” He said, and you smiled, blushing.
“Aww, thank you. Thank you for your concern. You’re really from London, yeah? You call it a cab, not a taxi, he-he…”
“I am. But I guess here they have cabs, taxis and everything you want to ride on. How about the huge ferris wheel? What would you say?”
“You’re too sweet suggesting this all. I think I'm terribly close to saying ‘yes’ to any type of wheels you choose.”
“Let’s bring your luggage to your hotel then, and go see what Budapest can offer us, huh? Address, ma’am.” He took out his phone from the jeans’ pocket, looking at you with a cheerful demand.
____________________________________
Vibration of the phone in your own jeans’ pocket got you out of your thoughts and made you jolt. All four men sitting around the table with you noticed you coming back to reality, not knowing that you’ve travelled somewhere far away from here in your head. You took out your phone and looked at the screen.
Sugarbutt: “Meet me in the garage after breakfast”.
You blocked your phone, the screen went dark, and you put it back into your pocket. Slowly you raised your head, meeting Ivy’s eyes, while all the rest of the men were busy finishing their food. You slightly nodded at him, and somehow this gesture went unnoticed by the rest of the group.
“Hm-m-m, so”, you started. “Are we going to talk about…”
“Chemistry-y-y-y!” Ivy and III sang in unison, as if they were the main fans of the band.
“No, about sleepwalking.” II answered instead of you, and you gratefully smiled at him.
Vessel seemed to squeeze himself into his tiniest form, as if he tried to disappear. You put a hand on his hand affectionately, and he immediately tried to change his posture.
“Vessi, what can we do to make it easier? You can just tell us”. You said.
“I don’t know. Look… I’m avoiding this talk because… I don’t know anything myself!”
“So far, we know tha’ water could stop him.” III suggested. “We could put’a water in every room for safety, right?”
“That's a good prevention method,” II admitted. “But when are we going to discuss the fucking reasons for that? You all know that this is the bug in his nervous system. That means he is stressed. Maybe we’ll just figure out what bothers him first, huh?”
“II…” Vessel’s one hand was still under your palm, so he stretched out his other hand to touch the drummer's. “I know you are worried, and you are partly right, it always happens when I am bothered with something subconsciously. But we all know that we barely can control the subconscious. I guess it shall pass.”
“Yeah, you basically turned the subconscious into God.” Ivy snorted.
“It shall pass? When?” II interrupted, ignoring Ivy's statement. “When you’ll kill someone or yourself in your sleep?”
“Well, fine. Maybe… Maybe I’m anxious about the tour. Well, not maybe. I am! I’m so afraid to let people down. A tour of this scale is a huge responsibility. The whole thing got so big, and something can happen anytime. What if we will have some technical issues? Huh? Once I had a nightmare that the new stage construction would fall down beneath me. What if someone will just get sick during the tour?”
“Pffffhha! That’s unlikely someone will get sick. C’me on, you drama queen! Don’t overthink!” Ivy hit Vessel’s shoulder brotherly.
“Yeah, even if I am… sick. I’ma always in charge. You just put me on stage, I c’n play bass in a horizontal state too.” III added.
“In charge, really?” II raised his brows at the bassist's statement and turned his head to Vessel again. “My love, we… We’ll manage this all together, even if something bad or unexpected happens. As we always did. Remember? We always figured this out. Even at Wembley. We got this. We got you.”
“Thank you, II…” Vessel gave II a gaze full of gratefulness and affection, which always left you speechless in front of the amount of love they shared.
“If someone is interested in the fan base’s opinion…” You cleared your throat. “Vess, fans will be fans no matter what. And haters gonna hate. As for Wembley, I’ve watched tons of videos and even other people’s ‘documentaries’ from it. Despite everything that happened, people started to love the band even more than before! Just believe me. It felt… It felt like you are real people that you all are. At Wembley, it felt that you are even closer to us all. It felt like family. You, guys,” you pointed at each of the men sitting around the table. “You all – got this!”
They all smiled at you and nodded, all in different ways; warmth and kindness in all their blue eyes felt like oceans flooded and consumed you.
After some comfortable silence, II broke through again.
“I’m quite sure that the tour anxiety is only the half of a problem here, Vess. During two last episodes you choked your girlfriend, and then Ivy. Are we going to talk about jealousy?”
“I AM NOT…” Vessel opened his mouth.
“YES, YOU ARE!” II pressed.
“Wait. III is right.” Ivy added. “II, what’s the point of talking about jealousy? This is JUST a feeling, which comes and goes. We have to put water in every room, except bathrooms, I guess. And have you all forgotten that Six called Vessel by his full name in the last episode? Maybe it worked only for her. But maybe it will work for us too! Only time will tell…”
“So, you propose just to let this go and pretend that nothing is happening?” II was clearly irritated and looking helpless.
“Darling, you could add some more rules into your manifest to manage all this.” Ivy started in a low psychologist’s voice. “For your own inner peace. But really. Stop it. Stop torturing Vess and others. Do ya remember how jealous we all were, when we just started? Doing sneaky links, as if no one from us understood that it’s happening. And… remember when this stopped?”
“I remembah’!” III grinned.
“Please, don’t you mention this around the table.” II cut off.
“May I just say it more poetically?” Vessel intruded. “It stopped, when we all bathed each other in love, not keeping anyone just for ourselves. But I guess, you are right, II. Jealousy is present, and it’s a primal emotion, which I can’t really fight. But I’m not jealous, it’s just something which is in the basic settings of my mind. Okay? Just the subconscious. Also… You all just have to know. I’m afraid to lose any of you.”
After this, uneasy silence hung in the room. And in the next moment, all hands stretched out to Vessel, comforting him and words of love fell down on Vessel from all sides. The group of five people around the table slowly turned into a hugging pile. III couldn't stop wiping off the treacherous tears.
____________________________________
Sugarbutt: “Meet me in the garage after breakfast”. You kept looking at the message, nervously fidgeting your phone case.
You were standing in front of the wardrobe after changing your clothes again, even though there was no real need for this.
You jumped, when the next message came, almost dropping the phone to the floor.
Sugarbutt: “Please”.
“Oh boy, why the garage, Ivy…” You thought to yourself feeling the pricks of guilt inside. “It stopped, when we all bathed each other in love.” You replayed Vessel’s words in your head again. They were indeed very poetic.
Giving yourself one last look in the mirror, you sighed and prepared to leave the house.
Chapter 9: Too many swallowed keys
Summary:
I wish I could have more time to write this story and post more often, but it is what it is.
This chapter will be a little bit longer, but I hope you'll have a pleasant read. 📚P.S. Next chapter is planned to be sooner than this one, if my prayers to Sleep would be heard...
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - The love you want (chapter name)
Sleep Token - The love you want
Deftones music
Stoneside - Animal
Santana - Put the Lights On
Saltillo - The Necessary End
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
IX
The garage of the house was underground and had two entrances. One was through the basement, and another one was actually a way out with a road ascending right to the street from beneath. The garage was spacious and suitable for two cars. II’s and IV’s cars.
III didn’t have a driver’s license. According to the boy's stories about him, III was never even interested in driving, but he had a dream: to buy himself a fancy expensive car and just own it for a collection and for bragging. He once even said that he would hire himself a driver or just ask II or IV to drive him in his own car. He preferred his car to be acid orange or wine red. Vessel could drive, but kind of retired and sold his car many years ago after a traumatic experience.
When you walked in the garage, you saw Ivy’s car with the front door opened and also its owner’s leg popping out of it. He was sitting on the driver’s seat, waiting for you. There was music playing in the car cabin. Ivy owned black Volkswagen Passat Jeep. This guy definitely preferred spacious cars.
“For what, I am just curious.” You thought to yourself, at the same time, trying to stop your sudden dirty fantasies.
“Waiting for me?” You asked aloud, when you approached the front door of the car, looking at Ivy from behind. He raised his head to look at you with his puppy dog eyes and outstretched a hand to you. You did not accept, waiting.
“C’me here,” he said. And in the next moment, seeing that you didn’t react to his hand gesture invitation he grabbed your hand, and pulled you inside the car, spinning you a little, while making you forcefully sit on his lap.
“Ivy, what the hell?!” You screamed.
“Missed me?” He half-whispered, when his lips appeared to be right behind your ear, while his strong arms wrapped tightly around your waist pressing you to his hot body. That heat beneath you was consuming. His smell was pleasantly intoxicating, making your thoughts float in blissful forgetfulness right when you inhaled it.
“Ivy, what are you doing?”
“Nothing illegal. I thought you also wanted this…” He whispered again, his voice low and velvety.
“I thought you wanted to talk about something, that’s why I came here.” You said in a stern voice.
“Relax, don’t be so tense…” You felt his hand slip under your sweatshirt.
“What’s on your mind, Ivy? Someone will come here…”
“No, and you know that no one will. Not right now, for sure. You can moan, scream even. No one will hear.” Shivers travelled all around your body, despite this sounding kind of threatening, waves of arousal didn’t keep you waiting.
“No one will hear…” You gasped and let it out as a whisper too. In this same moment, you felt something hard pressing against your leggings-clothed ass cheeks, right where you were sitting.
“It makes you horny, does it?” Ivy asked, making a light hip thrust under you, his bristle and lips brushing your neck.
“Fuck…” This was all you could manage to say, the heat quickly raised from your guts to the neck, making you choke on air.
“I’ll take it as a ‘yes’…” Ivy’s devilish tongue trailed a line alongside your neck. Lust flooded you both, he became breathy under you, his length rock hard, his hands and fingers reaching quickly all that he wanted. You leaned even further back into him, giving up.
“Will you tell Vess today?” He asked you, panting.
“Please, Ivy, don’t push me. How am I supposed to tell him these four days before our anniversary? You… you think it’s even appropriate?”
He sighed and went silent, one hand cupped your breast beneath the shirt, another one caressed your hair and neck tenderly as a wind. You understood that he was not holding you anymore, you could leave any moment, but you continued sitting on that tempting hardness beneath you, melting into him.
“Okay, after the anniversary then?” Ivy pressed. You closed your eyes and leaned your head back on his shoulder, making his lips reach your cheek. At this very moment, his one hand slipped under the waistband of your leggings, beneath the panties and dove exactly into the wetness of your throbbing pussy.
“Ah… yeah. After the anniversary, Ivy…” You gave up, tired of fighting the obvious desire of intimacy with the guitarist. Even if it was not fair to Vess, — in your world, — this moment was overwhelmingly gut wrecking. The borderline situation of a possibility of getting caught sneaking into the garage with him made you unimaginably horny, as well as the guilt of not letting anyone, especially Vess, know it — put your adrenaline to its maximum level. You were not ready to go further with Ivy, as well as to give him a real kiss, simultaneously wanting him desperately, yet — it all felt forbidden and even more desirable at the end of it all.
Floating in the cocktail of your hormones and emotions you barely noticed the fact that his fingers were dancing inside you, moving in a slow, rhythmic pace, which made your legs fall even further apart, each of them wrapping his legs beneath you. Overwhelmed, you needed at least something to keep yourself grounded, you needed something to hold on, to bite on, to consume. You took his free hand and started to lay kisses all over it, just to fight your desire to turn around and actually devour his lips.
He chuckled at his, panting heavy and pressing his cock harder and harder into you, imitating fucking you from behind, while playing with you in the front. You lost it, completely giving yourself to him. The big cozy car was filled with the seductive Deftones music, making it even worse.
“Look at you, how much you want me, Six, how bratty you are trying to keep this all a secret and act like a good girl, you are not. Look how needy… and desperate you are to feel me. How much do you enjoy being a sneaky, horny little thing, yeah?”
“Ahhh, staahhp, Ivy. Oh no, no, no staaahp!” You whimpered, trashing a little on his lap, as if you were in a cage. By this he understood that you were close, and that was a signal not to stop actually.
“Cum for me,” he said, calling your real name. “Give it to me, now…”
Secretly, you desperately wanted his fingers to never leave your insides, because that comforting fullness drove you to the edge. Shocked that you could cum second time only just from his fingers, made you think what could happen to you, if you both went farther. The level of arousal and the crazy state of mind he brought you in was insane even for your own good.
“Ivy!” You squeaked and your legs wrapped him from both sides with a crazy force of adrenaline power, shaking heavy as you came in hard, teeth wrenching convulsions against him.
“Now you’re a good girl… you’re such a good girl. Come on, come on, rest…” He kept whispering little praises and different pet names to you, while you were having heavy aftershocks, resting your head on his shoulder and feeling his heated breath under your back, his soft kisses and low vibrations of voice.
Long after your breaths aligned again, returning back to the calm pace, you felt that Ivy’s erection beneath you didn’t soften a bit.
“You’re still hard, my sweet melon…” You admitted. Ivy moaned quietly, hearing that, his hips bucked up aimlessly.
“Never mind…” He said in a very low soft voice, sadness doubtlessly pouring out of it.
“I’ll help you…” On shaking legs, you slowly stood up fixing your clothes and dishevelled hair. He stayed on his seat in his obscenely tight grey sweatpants with a bulge that was ready to reach the stratosphere. His eyes silently followed you, pupils blown wide with desire, so the blue in them was barely visible.
Standing just beside the car and his seat, you helped him to reveal his throbbing cock, hooked one hand behind his neck and holding it in the other. He leaked already severely through the process of getting you over the edge, so his wetness was all over and adding just a little bit of saliva to help yourself, you started stroking him, staring in his eyes, giving his cheek and temple kisses.
“‘m sorry, ah! ‘m sorry, fuck! I won’t last… long.”
“You don’t have to; you don’t have to. Don’t hold it, my sweet boy, stop holding back”. You whispered in between giving pecks all over the closest side of his face, while your hand furiously jumped up and down his heated need.
His voice shook and sweet moans escaped his mouth one after another till the eyes rolled up and he came all over your hand again, wincing at the feeling of hypersensitivity. You bowed against him reaching the pack of wet toilet paper wisely being at hand right on the passenger seat. Ivy was panting heavily, his totally worn-out face following your movements. Right before cleaning his mess, you stick your finger in the white puddle on the upper side of your hand and put that finger into your own mouth for a taste.
“Woah! Girl… You… you didn’t give me a single kiss on my lips, and you do… this?!” Ivy exclaimed, jealous of his own cum probably, and you chuckled, kissing his cheek again.
“Give me some time, sugar melon… Please! Give me time to figure this out.” You asked him quietly. “Just don’t push too hard”.
“And what is this kind of a pet name, huh?”
“You don’t like it? I think, I saw it in your eyes when you came in my hand that you enjoyed being my sweet melon…”
He blushed so hard that even his neck became pink, but he avoided answering this. You just gave him a knowing smirk just to see him blush harder.
____________________________________
When you finally reached yours and Vessel’s bedroom, it appeared empty. You immediately took off your clothes, grabbed all necessary cosmetic assets and your long silky nightgown and locked yourself in the bathroom. You turned on the music and methodically lit all the candles there with long custom matches, and the room filled with different comforting smells: a combination of wood, pine, patchouli, cinnamon and bergamot.
You needed a moment alone yet the need for aftercare was insanely strong. All your feelings and senses were on fire that you couldn’t yet temper. You wanted to be left one on one with your thoughts, and at the same time you desperately needed cuddles and intimacy, maybe falling asleep with your partner… but you were so lost, not even sure who your partner was anymore.
As soon as you had immersed yourself into hot water with bubbles and a nice scent, your tensed muscles relaxed a little. You closed your eyes, and your thoughts drifted away. You were still fighting with guilt. You felt like these lies made your soul dissolve and get kind of smaller than it was, — in your own eyes. How much time will you be able to keep these secrets between a bunch of guys with open relationships?
The more time passed the more it felt wrong. You understood that you had to talk to Vessel. Despite that he kind of knew, — well, without details, — that something was going on between you and Ivy. But it was just not fair to Vessel not voicing this. You felt like the timer bomb ready to explode any time. Yes, you promised Ivy to tell Vessel about everything after anniversary, but these days already felt like torture. Even each hour felt like this.
You tried to listen to your emotions and different sides of your personality, but it got even harder.
“Stop it! Just… get yourself together and tell him today! Don’t waste time torturing yourself and others. He will understand. He IS a part of poly, he already experienced this, probably not even once! He will understand.” Your common sense told you.
‘Devil’ on your shoulder whispered different things:
“Come on, ya dirt-ey little thing!” Why did your ‘inner devil’ speak with a British accent? Seems like living with four British men under one roof did its thing. “Don’tya enjoy the thrill? Oh, you do. Just confess at least to yourself that you like these sneaky links, hiding in corners and doing your nasty things in secret.”
There was also a feeling of fairness:
“Vessel changed your life. Made your dreams come true. Gave you what you desired. And you can’t just be transparent with him and his lovers? Can’t you just be grateful and honest with him?”
And lastly, fear and anxiety. They SCREAMED:
“You better didn’t even start this with Ivy. You’ll lose everything you have now. You'll lose their trust. Most importantly, Vessel’s trust. This whole dream life you have, everything will end as soon as it would be revealed, or later… when you won’t be able to cope with what you initially can't cope with!”
“You fucking stop, now! All of you!” You screamed at them back inside your head and closed your eyes again, trying to shut down the buzz of thoughts in your brain.
You tried to focus on your playlist to avoid the intrusive thoughts. The song “Animal” by Stoneside changed with “The love you want” by Sleep Token. You shivered even being almost fully covered in hot water. You were trying to relax while the song was playing, enjoying Vessel’s voice, until these lyrics started…
“Too many swallowed keys will make you bleed internally someday…”
You opened your eyes so wide that it felt like they became cold because of such exposure. You’ve listened to this song not once and thought about these lyrics also probably unhealthy amounts of times, but it seemed like you felt and understood them only at this moment.
How strange it works sometimes that you realize something only when you go through it. Was he speaking about secrets? About hidden agenda? Are the swallowed keys actually lies? Or are they not really lies but just something you refuse to talk about? And the more you refuse to talk, the more keys you swallow? And most importantly is this metaphorical internal bleeding… THE CONSEQUENCE?
“Maybe, you believe that in the end you will be better off that way?” Vessel continued.
“No, I won’t. I won’t be better.” You answered more to yourself than to him. “You’re right, Vess. I have to stop swallowing keys. Even if it’s metaphorically.”
And suddenly, the decision came to you right after this, bringing you some peace. You have to tell him today! And come what may.
“The love you want” song changed with “Put Your Lights On” by Santana. And you suddenly remembered that day spent with Vessel in Budapest, the day before their ritual in Budapest Park. The song “Put Your Lights On” played on the radio, while you were sitting in the cab heading to your hotel, to leave your luggage.
____________________________________
It was actually the first time you were sitting so close to Vessel on the backseat. The car was small, and your knee was touching his lower hip. He was smiling at you, sometimes showing you something you were passing by, which showed you he really knew Budapest quite well. He told you that he has been travelling here a lot with parents in his early childhood. When you arrived at the hotel, he helped you to take out your luggage and said that he will be waiting for you in the car to continue the journey downtown.
When you took a last look at him before going to the hotel, for a moment, you thought that you were tripping or just seeing a dream, that it will end as soon as it started, and he will just vanish, disappear as fog. But when, after the check-in, you went out of the hotel building again, doubting his presence there already, the same car was standing in front of you, and he glanced at you from the window.
“Is this all real at all?” You constantly asked yourself.
When you arrived downtown, first you saw the big square not far from the metro station Deák Ferenc tér and the huge Budapest Ferris wheel. You silently thanked the weather, because it was ideal. Not too hot as for summer and not cold at all. Ideal August. The August you were feeling like your life had just begun.
You looked up at Vessel and smiled at him silly, still not believing he was walking beside you. He smiled back and put his hand on your shoulder, guiding you into the direction of the square street food market. He was impressively tall beside you, even with your average height it felt like you were walking with a lanky giant. His hair had blondish strands, which lost colour because of sun rays, which appeared to happen to him every summer. His nose was a little bit more tanned in comparison with his general snow white skin. His gaze was almost hawkish darting towards the little shop with ice cream.
Plenty of people were walking down the streets and squares, plenty of tourists and city visitors spread out the whole centre of Budapest, many of them planned to attend the festival the next day. You both were lost in the crowd and the turmoil, looking absolutely ordinary and not eye-catching. Suddenly, Vessel said:
“I like to be lost in a crowd, where no one or almost no one recognises me…”
You were silently nodding, listening to him, slowly starting to give up on your little game of pretending not to know him.
“I want ice cream!” He suddenly changed the topic. “Do you?”
“Yeah, I do.” You simply created a lopsided smile on your face, confirming.
“Ha-ha-ha, you remind me of Ivy, sometimes.”
“Of whom?!” You nearly choked on air.
“IV! The guitarist, come on. He is often up to any idea and his answers are mostly like ‘yeah, man’, ‘I will, man’, ‘okay, man’ and this smile.”
“Oh my… so according to your words, I’m blushing like II, and giving a ‘yes’ like IV. Nice!”
“For sure.” He confirmed, smiling and forwarding his neck so upfront that at the end of the move, he had no neck at all, which made you smile of how much he was who he was. In your thoughts, you were happy to see him unmasked and real, it created a comfortably warm feeling inside your chest. Meanwhile, you approached the ice cream booth. “What ice cream do you like?”
“Oh… hmm, lemon?”
“You weirdo…” He said and formed his lips in a pipe shape, scrunching his face hard, showing how sour he found lemon ice cream. You are like II!”
“What the… Why do I remind you of your band… mates?” You said with mocking offense but laughing. He just shrugged.
“Okay, what ice-cream do you like, Mr?” You asked.
“Uhh, vanilla.” He said without hesitation.
“What a… princess!” Words accidentally burst out from your mouth, and in a second you regretted this, fearing that this could offend him.
But he started to laugh so loud and wholeheartedly that you smiled awkwardly too.
In a few moments you both were walking already towards the Ferris wheel, holding your ice cream and giving a try of each other’s choice: you were rolling eyes at his ‘vanilla bliss’, and he was scrunching his face, looking like dry apple, from the portion of your ‘lemon punch’.
The queue to the Ferris wheel was really long, but you didn’t really care, you were both constantly yapping about something, laughing and enjoying your melting ice cream. At one point his long nose brushed his ‘princess’ dessert and he was blushing too.
Once you both settled in the Ferris wheel cabin, and it started to go up, blinding sunlight flooded your sight. Vessel winced and tried to shut his face with massive hands, you both giggling like kids.
“Oh, sorry. I… I didn’t even ask you if you are afraid of heights or not.” He said.
“No, I love heights. If I could, I would probably try any Ferris wheel I could only find.”
“You know… I wish you could see the London Eye one day. And have a ride, of course.” He added after a few moments.
“Oh yeah, travelling to London is my … old dream. Still haven’t even got a chance to be there.” You answered with regret. He nodded, looking at you with a smile, and his facial expression gave you a feeling of accomplishment, as if he was not talking about this hypothetically, but really decided to make it come true. You were looking back in his eyes, losing yourself in their blue depths, while trying to figure out his thoughts, that you forgot to look at the scenery around your cabin, drifting in the air.
“Look!” He said, suddenly pointing somewhere behind your back. You turned around and saw how the sun rays were caressing the dirty orange roofs of buildings, losing themselves somewhere in between Budapest architecture, where a wet glistening snake of the Danube River was hiding. The view was simply magnificent. “Oh, and there…” He pointed a little farther down the Danube. “There is the Budapest Park, where we will perform tomorrow.”
This suddenly gave you a reminder of who was beside you. And you turned your head to face him again.
“Vessel…” The word slipped accidentally out of your mouth.
He smiled, showing his perfect fangs.
“I wish you a great performance tomorrow…” You’ve said almost whispering, and he just hooked his arm around your shoulders, a bright smile not leaving his face.
____________________________________
The water in your bath started to get cold, the playlist ended and started all over again. The sound of violin and far too modern beat made you understand that it was “A necessary End” by Saltillo.
When you escaped the bathroom, first cleaning everything and blowing off the candles, you wrapped yourself in your nightgown having no underwear beneath. The decision was made: you planned to talk to Vessel today. But first you wanted to have a little nap. Cuddling up cozily in the blankets, fully covering your face, you almost immediately zoned out. But through the fog of sleep, you heard or felt that someone opened the door of the room, probably looked inside, but noticing that you were asleep, closed it again and went away. That could be only Vessel.
____________________________________
When you woke up, there was still no one in the room, except you. You saw the skies through the half-curtained windows. It was a calm summer evening and still not fully dark. You rubbed your eyes and slipped out of bed again, going back to the bathroom and making yourself prepared to go out for a talk with your mysterious boyfriend. Once you were ready, – a little makeup put on and all perfumed, – but still wrapped with the silky black nightgown and wearing black home slippers on tiny glass heels, you left the room and went through the second-floor corridor to the staircase.
Passing by III’s room, you suddenly heard the obscene sounds. First of all, there was loud metal music playing out there, but there was something else accompanying the song. A faint male moans, but moans that were more like not just from pleasure but also like from some minor pain or discomfort. According to the voice of that moaning man, you understood that it was actually the owner of this room – madman himself, — III.
And suddenly, you remembered what was going on. How could you even forget about this, if they were talking about this earlier today in your presence? Vessel and III were having a ‘scene’ that Vessel had won earlier. And as if to prove that this was not just sex, but actually a ‘scene’, you saw the welcoming opened door of the room. Immediately, II’s manifest came to your mind with a quote: “If the door is open, you can enter while ‘Scene’ is taking place and choose from four options: to ‘voyeur’, ‘to voyeur and play’, to ‘join’ or to ‘skip’.”
You went numb and froze in place half-step. The situation was… odd. Having absolutely no experience in this way of life, you felt like having to pass an exam right after the first lesson. You stood awkwardly in the corridor, almost in front of the door of III’s room, and just… And what have you been actually doing? Overhearing? It looked exactly like this and if someone saw you there, it would be embarrassing as ever! But technically, yes, you were overhearing, being afraid to come and look through the door, not being sure if you were ready to see your boyfriend fucking his other boyfriend. But you knew that you could always skip a ‘scene’. The problem was that your legs refused to walk, and curiosity took its toll. So, you were just stuck standing there, hesitantly trying to understand what was going on just by the sound of the bassist's moans.
In just maybe a half of a minute you understood that this atmosphere immediately caused your arousal to start building. Your eyes widened.
"Are you a voyeur or exhibitionist?" II’s voice asked in your head again.
“Is this what voyeurs actually feel? Getting excited by hearing or watching others so easily, so quickly… Does it all mean that we are all voyeurs, when watching porn?”
Which still felt impossible is that this was not porn. This was real and happening meters away.
Your hand shook heavily, but to ground yourself, you leaned on the ball shape of an opened door handle first, then made one more step further, and now… you could see the insides of the room.
Apparently, Vessel and III couldn’t see you from this angle, more to it, Vessel was turned with his back to the door, and III was behind the towering vocalist. You were not gonna lie, the image was captivating. III had a big computer desk in his room, the monitor was pushed far aside by now. III was sitting on the desk with his long spider legs wide open, and Vessel stood between them facing the bassist, wearing black silky robe on a naked body and, as always, bare feet.
You were wondering what Vessel did to III to cause those moans, but… you were sure that the vocalist was still not yet inside the bassist. While distracted with your own thoughts and enjoying the seconds of watching unnoticed, you forgot that you were still standing in the corridor. Accidentally a warm touch of a hand made you jolt and jump in place and gasp.
II was standing centimetres away from you in his black tank top, exposing his bright tattoos. Blood ran to your face making you blush like a schoolgirl. His one tattoo-covered hand was holding your arm gently.
“Shhhh!!!” II shushed you and showed his other hand. He was holding two glasses and a bottle of wine in his strong grasp. “No need to stand here so shy.” His hand on your arm went down and he intertwined his fingers with yours. In seconds he led you inside the room.
You both came inside and went in the direction of III’s bed. III’s bed was the only one in this house standing pressed in the corner and not in the middle of the room against one wall like Vessel and II had. It was neatly done but had no headboard. III’s room was the only one that looked like it belonged to a teenager. The strong smell of III’s joint filled the room.
He had blank walls with a few posters, clothes rail instead of a wardrobe, where there were all of his clothes hanged, among them plenty of transparent tops printed with acid colours and psychedelic patterns, some old stage outfits even from his previous bands, and — beneath, of course, — a huge collection of shoes all in boxes, most of them Adidas. There was also a huge box, which seemed to be filled just with different socks, another box with accessories and also… a box that seemed to be specifically for storing his sex toys.
You blushed seeing all this, and when you together with II sat on the edge of III’s bed, your gaze finally fully landed on the scene. The blushing you had before was nothing in comparison with the blushing flooding you after your eyes finally saw III, who was first hidden behind Vessel. From this angle you could see both of them very well.
You froze in place. Vessel and III both turned their heads towards you and the drummer, and smiled with kindness and affection at you both, nevertheless with a huge surprise of your presence here. Vessel gave you a long final gaze as to making sure, if you are ready to witness what will follow. You looked back at him with already clouded eyes, and he silently nodded, looking back at III with desire only Vessel can perform.
Meanwhile, II passed you two empty glasses and uncorked the bottle of wine. He poured wine into both of them, emptying the bottle in one go, putting the cork back in the bottle and shifting it down on the floor beside the bed. He gently took his glass off your hand, but you barely noticed it, because your eyes glued to the scene.
III was looking stunning! He had his blondish long hair in a tight man bun, wearing a thick leather collar with long spikes on his neck. “Wow”, you whispered. “They look divine, don’t they?” II asked back in a whisper too.
A loud dirty metal music filled the room, and you were thankful they couldn’t hear what you and II spoke about. But they did hear you and II making cheers and clinking of the glasses.
“Celebrating Vi’s coming out? Ha-ha!” III asked in a barking cracking voice. II only nodded, smiling. You felt like blushing again, not being able to take your eyes of III. He was completely naked except the collar, high checkered socks and his magnificent new Adidas shoes with ‘Korn’ sign writing on the boot back. He was sitting on a desk and leaning at his thin lanky arms and pressing himself on the feet of his huge hands. Between his long fingers on one hand, he was holding his joint.
“Couldn’t take me in without his little relaxation kit”, Vessel commented, obviously just egging on III, just teasing him.
“Ya know tha’ I could take two of ya, Vessi. Don’t be so cocky!” III cut off.
The heat started circulating around your whole body, and you sipped your wine to calm down. II gave you a side eye with a grin.
You noticed what made III so worked up earlier and what caused his moans. There were two small chains dangling from his collar and joining his nipples with tiny nipple clamps. Vessel was still standing between III’s thighs in his silky robe. His naked torso and huge erected cock naturally curved onto one side were facing the bassist. Vessel slightly pulled the chains on the nipple clamps with just two fingers and III pushed his head back, a rich moan escaping him again, while his long arm brought the joint to his small pouty lips under his little moustache, and he inhaled.
“Fuck…” You whispered, mesmerised by the scene, despite nothing yet really happened. “Six, you can lay down if you want, just relax. You are too tensed.” II said, and you remembered that earlier today Ivy told you the same. You WERE indeed tensed, but how else should you react to everything happening lately?! II got himself on bed and instead of leaning on the wall where the headboard of the bed supposed to be, he leaned onto the wall facing the scene, savouring the better view for himself and sprawled his legs, taking another sip of wine. You followed his move, copying him leaned on the wall just beside him, both of your bicep areas touching. Now you were both sitting as if watching a game in a stadium.
“That’s a good girl”, II said, and you shyly blushed again as if it was possible to blush more. Your legs intertwined and pressed hard against each other under your own long robe. “No way!” II continued: “You do have a praise kink!”
“W-what? No-o-o…” And you nervously sipped more wine, avoiding II’s ocean crystal clear eyes, looking at you curiously from aside. He smirked and his hand landed nonchalantly on his belly, covered with the tank top.
“If he would start to play with himself…, what would you do?!” You asked yourself anxiously in your head. Despite these thoughts, the heat in your body was immense and only growing. Both from the scene, where Vessel devoured III’s lips, their tongues intertwined, long bassist’s legs wrapped around the singer, and — another view, what was right in your side eye area. II’s tiny tank top revealed quite a lot of his bare tattooed body, his heat was too close, his black Adidas pants so tight and his growing erection right beneath his thick fingers resting on his belly.
You started trembling, not knowing what to do and where to look. But at the same time, one thought was constantly buzzing in your head. “Where was Ivy? Did he plan to be here or avoided this scene on purpose?”
Meanwhile II noticed, where your gaze traced, and he looked down at his crotch as well. “Look, relax, Six. Your eyes are like plates now. If you are not ready… I won’t do anything yet. I mean, in your presence.”
“Uhhh, yeah, thanks, II!”
“But for some reason, I second guess that you don’t have underwear on right now. Is this on purpose?”
“I… what? No, it’s not. I… planned to talk to Vess. Uh… forgot that he has a scene.”
“Yeah, sure.” II smirked, nodding slightly. “This is your first scene, so I thought that you could just relax and see what is unfolding. Don’t overthink, you don’t have to do anything if you are not comfortable yet.”
“Thank you…” You turned your head to II, and your faces appeared to be maybe not more than thirty centimetres away from each other. For some moment you lost yourself in the blue depths of his cloudy eyes, his eyelids heavy, his face a little flushed with arousal. Room embraced you two with unending metal music and moans of hungry lovers on the desk. Not breaking the eye contact II said:
“Let’s just admire our gorgeous boyfriends and try to have fun…”
And in this same minute, you noticed Ivy standing right in front of the opened door. He was standing there just like you did a few moments ago, not entering – just watching. II noticed him too and waved his hand at him, inviting. You smiled awkwardly, but with huge joy of seeing him here too. But even in the distance of the room, you and the drummer saw that Ivy’s face was… not happy at all. He continued looking exactly at you. It seemed like Vessel and III didn’t even catch his eye. They didn’t notice him either.
Seconds lasted longer than hours. After a few though, Ivy turned and went away, loud steps heard, as he descended the stairs down to the living room. You jolted, trying to lift yourself immediately from the bed to follow Ivy, but II put a heavy hand on your silk covered thigh not letting you.
“Stay here, please. I’ve got him. I’ll go for him.” II gave you his glass of wine and quickly jumped off the bed to follow the guitarist.
Tears gathered in your eyes, and you immediately felt lonely and lost. Your heart was ripped between feeling sorry for Ivy’s hurt feelings, and being there all by yourself. Left alone, without II’s moral support, in front of your boyfriend and his lover making love, felt like stalking, and not voyeuring. But that was only just the beginning…
Notes:
Guys, I am really really sorry for this abrupt ending and the cliffhanger. But I reached my chapter size limit and the scene was planned big and long. So, it will be continued in the next chapter! 🩷
Chapter 10: My arms keep you in the room
Summary:
Uhhhhh, looong time no see...
This chapter will be bigger and I hope it's worth it ;P
Have a nice read
🥰😁
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Sugar (chapter name)
Notes:
I hope you'll leave Kudos (and comments if possible), because I really need to know your opinion on this story. It will help me see, if I'm moving into the right direction. I still have plenty of ideas for future, as well as - have many doubts. So, kudos will be SUCH A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT.
THANK YOU IN BEFOREHAND.
WORSHIP.
Chapter Text
The cocktail of bitterness and arousal was going through your veins, circulating, taking over you, for a few painful minutes, till you heard the sound of a car motor coming from the street mixed with two tall men moaning from sweet foreplay on the desk right in front of you.
II returned to the room, stepping almost soundlessly and placed his compact figure right beside you again. His face was flushed with a worry in his slightly wet eyes. He took his glass of wine back and sighed.
“II, what happened there?!” You whispered to him.
“I was late. He ran to the garage, took his car and drove away…”
“Oh…” You whined quietly. “Will he…will he be okay? What do you think?”
“He will. I’m sure. Don’t worry. He’s often moody. It shall pass…” He whispered back.
“Ahh, fuck ya’!” III almost screamed, when Vessel put his warm mouth on his nipple instead of the nipple clamp, contacting raged over sensitive skin.
You and II gave each other a knowing look, which showed that you both were happy these two didn’t hear or see the drama unfolding behind them, — either way it would definitely spoil their special evening.
Vessel’s gorgeous long fingers were dancing along III’s skinny body like it was actually his piano and despite experiencing this with Vessel before, you still felt it differently when watching him doing this to another person. What felt weird for you, is that despite the obvious fact of wanting Vessel, you started to feel interest in III as well. Not like in Vessel or Ivy, — still differently, — but surely you wanted your own fingers to dance all over that lanky body…
Both III and Vessel had milky white skin and almost no suntan, because of rarely leaving home in general, but their long limbs moving in sync, wrapping around each other were simply hypnotic. III legs were wrapped around Vessel and the singer caressed them all along, even reaching the long checkered socks.
“Will open you up now, dah-ling…” Vessel said quietly and almost guttural growling, which caused moans from everyone in the room.
Vessel took the bottle of lube from III’s shelf above the desk and poured it generously on his fingers. III held his legs up high, both folded on knee level, spreading them wide for Vessel and leaning on his hands behind him looking like the thinnest stick bug.
“Come on, Vessi, tear me’h apart.” III said, panting heavily not being able to wait for longer. Taller man for sure was on edge for a far too long time already.
You knew that Vessel was a King of foreplay and edging. He loved to edge all his lovers, as well as fans going into frenzy, revealing only small pieces of the whole picture, or small parts of the whole process to make everyone spiral in thoughts or going insane from arousal. What he did the best is getting his lover to the point when they could come even without touching or being touched. He was the King of torturing hypnotism.
III moaned even louder and more desperate than before, which made you shiver.
“Tear me’h apart! Please… I can’t wait fa’ more!”
“If you ask nicely…” Vessel said with a grin.
“Please, please, Vessi, need ya inside. Please, I’ll be good.”
“So far, you all talk.” Vessel growled, but pressed his oiled fingertip to III’s clenching entrance, making the bassist produce a sweet noise and go tense. Vessel leaned to him and bit his neck right above his collar to make him go crazier and whispered: “Relax, relax for me…”
“A-a-ahh, fock-k!” III moaned loudly, throwing his head back, when Vessel breached him with his two fingers simultaneously.
II tensed beside you. By his look it was understandable that he was worried because of Ivy, just like you were, but aroused at the same time. How could someone not be aroused looking at two gorgeous shameless exhibitionists on the desk in front of you?
“So…” He whispered. “Is this your first time seeing your boyfriend fuck someone else?”
This question broke you out of your cloudy thoughts.
“Uhm… Yeah.” You answered, not being able to tear your eyes apart from the image.
“Ah, foo-ock! Vess! Shit!” III screamed louder, while Vessel picked up the rhythmical pace of fucking his lover with his skilled fingers. He did that by leaning on the desk with another hand, almost towering III and not breaking eye contact with him for not a single second. At the moment, Vessel was definitely in his most possessive and dominant state. While III was literally fingerfucked, his huge, long cock was almost fully erect, bouncing right above Vessel's hand drilling his entrance. It was the first time you saw it in real life, without clothes or anything, and it was quite a sight. Probably, thanks to III’s impressive height, he had the biggest leather weapon in this house. That thing was monstrously sized.
“Is he always a bottom or switch?” You wondered. “And how do the other boys handle him if he is the top? It looked like he could easily break someone into two.”
II seemed to hear your thoughts, probably admiring III’s asset as well.
“You like it, don’t you?” He asked in a whisper, smiling. You smiled back and slowly nodded.
“Hard not too…” You whispered back and he grinned, approvingly.
“You’ll beg me for cock, understand?” Vessel roared without breaking eye contact with III not even once.
“Or ya will beg meh’ for ma’ hole, huh?” III managed to answer with the dirty moan and laugh.
With his free hand Vessel slapped III across the face so fast as the lighting, which made you jolt from the unexpectancy. II just covered your hand with his calming you down.
“Oh… my… Does he really enjoy such treatment?” You asked, whispering.
“Believe me they do much grosser things together and both like it.” II grinned. “This is just the warm up session”.
III’s face turned red, and his moans even more obscene.
“You won’t tell me what I would beg for or not.” Vessel cut off. “It was you, who provoked me to fuck the shit out of you, bitch.”
“Oh? Meh’? To be fair, ah-fuck, it was a game that you won. Ah!!! It could be Ivy, not you. Or II, which is unlikely. But… Ah, fuck! Fuck me already!”
“You knew exactly that these fucking shoes on your fucking kilometre legs will drive me crazy! You, long shit, you were aware of my reaction. Ivy is never obsessed with the shoes on you like I am. You knew that and knew that I would win.” Vessel growled, pinching III’s nipples with his free hand.
“Ah, come on!” III put his dead joint in the ashtray on the desk, being still red as a beetroot, stuffed by Vessel's fingers. A sexy rosy colour flooded his neck and upper chest under collar.
“Just say you did it exactly for me. You bought these…” Singer’s long fingers trailed the bootlaces of one shoe on III’s left foot. “For me! You wanted me to fuck you like a bad school girl bitch on this desk wearing only these…”
Saying this Vessel slowly withdrew his wet fingers out of III, leaving him wide-eyed, frustrated, empty and pouting from the sudden emptiness.
Instead, Vessel took the lube again and coated his own cock with it generously. Then he purposefully straightened his back and shook the black silk robe off his shoulders, and it fell down on the floor softly. III’s blue eyes coated with long lashes constantly followed Vessel’s movements. Huge tall man was now completely naked with a fully erected cock in his hand. His hand easily danced up and down his own length, being well-lubed. Vessel’s eyes met with III’s again and he grinned very self-satisfied.
“FUCK MEH’!” III shouted impatiently. “Ya nat’ leaving me like this watchin’ ya jerk ya’self.”
“Only when you’ll confess that you’ve done this all on purpose.”
“Done wha’?” III’s voice became really irritated.
“You provoked me to fuck you after some months of nothing. Just confess that you bought these specially for me. III, I know this is a second pair of them. Those you used to wear on stage are already worn-out. You bought these for me, knowing that this stage look drove me crazy each time you, bitch, wore them.” Vessel’s wet from lube hand, left his cock and travelled along III’s long leg, touching his hair like a wind and making the bassist shiver. He lifted his one leg on his shoulder and came closer to the desk. III was listening to him silently. When III’s bony knee appeared on Vessel’s mouth level, he kissed the offered knee, which looked so affectionate that you gasped, feeling II’s warm hand clench around your fingers, and continued. “Do you remember our moments backstage, when you wore them, right? Oh fuck yeah, you remember. You know how hard you make me with those shoes and socks and your ridiculous transparent monster long-sleeves...”
You blushed heavily and put your head down, looking at your hands, one holding a glass of wine and second covered with the drummer's supporting hand. Of course, you knew that this look III used to wear on stage drove not only Vessel, but the huge part of a fanbase crazy as well. And again you caught yourself thinking that you were living a dream of every fan right now.
All the theories, all the predictions, all the suspicions about their behavior backstage and the wish to see at least something with just a hint of the eye, was happening in real life right in front of you, confirming that these bandmates were having their hottest time backstage, just like everyone guessed it. Knowing this from what Vessel said earlier was different than seeing this happening. You could feel the heat on your face, because now this all made you aroused too.
“Of course, I remembah’, Vessi. I remember how ya fucked meh’ senselessly on the dressin’ table, nearly crashing the mirror with ma’ back…” III smiled. ”I remembah’ how you used ta’ fuck my throat, holding ma’ hair, asking meh’ to leave these shoes on, so ya could see meh’ kneeling in front of ya, being in nothing bu’t paint and these shoes.”
“I’ve missed you, long shit. So much…” Vessel said and leaned down to III for a searing kiss. “Say it…” He added, brushing his nose against III’s moustache. You felt a prick of guilt witnessing their first intimacy since you started to live in this house.
“I bought ‘em for ya…” III confessed, hissing against Vessel’s lips.
Vessel deepened the kiss, grabbing III’s hair and holding it at his nape. After devouring III with greediness only Vessel could possess, he lifted III’s second leg on his shoulder too and pressed himself to the lanky warmth. Now the bassist was folded like a book, naked with only his long checkered socks and Adidas shoes resting against Vessel’s bony shoulders. This image was unbelievably hot and, indeed, Vessel was right, this made III looking like a naughty schoolgirl being fucked on a desk, and the little hint of femininity was looking so good on III.
Not only III felt Vessel to finally breach him with his veiny and curvy beast cock. The room felt like a buzzing cabin of a spaceship in weightlessness. Not exactly physically, but you and II both shivered and moaned quietly watching III and Vessel finally connect. It felt like a collective feeling of fullness suddenly and this was so new to you, being a voyeur for the first time.
Secretly, you thought to yourself that you were a really lucky ‘unit’ to have these people as your first ones in this experience. Your arousal grew bigger and bigger and for the first time a sudden fantasy came into your mind. Seeing III and Vess making love, you wanted to be owned by Ivy right on this bed, while your head was lying against II’s lap. This fantasy made you desperately squeeze your legs so hard against each other, wanting either to have your treat finally or just to disappear.
Vessel took a rhythmic pace or ramming III, exactly in the same tempo as the song, which was playing at the moment. III was almost losing it, throwing his head back, his hair already half-wet stuck to his sweaty back. Vessel’s front few strands of hair were all wet too, the drops of sweat falling down III’s folded belly. And this steamiest scene was accompanied with both mens’ obscene moans. You loved how vocal Vess was in bed, but now, knowing the fact that III was actually the same, made you want to see if all of them were like this. In comparison with your previous partners, who were too silent and too difficult to squeeze any sound out of, your boyfriend and at least one of his partners sounded like a beautiful, sensual and emotional symphony; their moans mixed with heavy panting and passionate kisses, made your fantasy go wild.
Feeling that both of them were close, Vessel growled ‘prepare’ and suddenly picked up III by his tiny bony red ass cheeks and carried him right to the bed, where you and II were sitting. III wasn’t against manhandling, and he just wrapped himself around Vessel’s body, as tight as he could. You were not going to lie, it was a hard task for Vessel, and probably he was grateful that the bed was not really far from the desk, because a taller man was actually not as light as a feather to carry.
Vessel threw his lover right onto the bed in front of you and attacked him in a missionary position. Now that both men were impossibly close to you, it was almost impossible to hold yourself back. You thought you were going to explode and casted anxious look at II, and he just smiled back. Meanwhile, Vessel in a new impossible angle probably hit III’s prostate so hard, that III was desperately mewling. His tearing wet eyes met yours upside down, and the crazy grin appeared on his face.
“Fo’ck! Vess, I’m close!” He screamed.
“I should have landed you one of my cockrings.” II added, smiling. Holding his glass of wine in one hand, he leaned closer to III, splayed on the bed under Vessel and pinched bassists’ irritated nipple, making him squirm and moan. III’s head, collared neck, sweaty chest were the closest to you and II and, a smaller man just had real fun teasing him. II leaned down closer, and put his big heavy hand on III’s chest, brushing his almost invisible little breast hair, and gave III an upside down kiss in style of ‘Spider Man’.
Seeing this Vess slammed himself really hard and deep into III and a man, tearing up between a cock inside him and drummer’s lips over his lips, finally lost it and white spurts of cum fired out of his huge cock making a mess over his own belly. You gasped, observing this doubtlessly the hottest image you ever saw in real life.
Vessel, wiped the sweat of his forehead with the back of his hand and leaned to both III and II, and first kissed III, which seemed like taking the last breath out of him, and then kissed II with such a long and affectionate kiss, that Vess himself couldn't stop himself from continuing moving his hips back and forth into III chasing his own release. II bit his lip really hard and making an abrupt noise, Vessel started shaking, spurting his cum into III. That was the point, when you felt like you were going to have a heart attack, being too overwhelmed by seeing all that you saw.
Releasing his last drops into III, Vessel saw your totally spent face, and summoned you with his crooked index finger. And lastly, he kissed you, when you leaned to him, over III’s not any less spent body and face. It was a time, when you felt almost everything in his kiss, not just himself, but also a faint taste of III and II in his mouth, which made you almost melt down on III, diving into Vessel’s greedy kiss.
When you broke the kiss, Vessel fell down on III, his head rested on his chest, both were smiling and panting heavily, and II was playing with both of their hair, looking at them affectionately and somehow fatherly.
“Will ya sleep with meh’ taday, Vess, huh?” III asked after a little while.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, darlings… Need to be with him tonight.” Vess looked up at you and the drummer apologetically. You reached out to him, and made your fingers dive into his wet hair.
“You both deserve your time together.” You said quietly trying to hide some tears already brimming in your eyes. II nodded. “The time I took away from you…”
“NO! Please, don’t say that.” All three men shouted simultaneously, reaching their hands to you, all three different packs of grabby fingers landed on your silk covered lap.
“But it’s true, guys… It’s true. And thank you for this scene. I’m sorry, but I need some time for myself. Let me go now.” You said, trying to stand up. Seeing all of their concerned gazes, you added: “Stop looking at me like that. I’m alright.” They sighed collectively.
“Those sweet motherfuckers are really a band. Or a bond, or both.” You thought to yourself, leaving the room. You went directly to yours and Vessel’s room, slamming the door behind you. Furiously you ran to the wardrobe and opened the drawer full of sex toys with shaking hands. For some reason the first thing you saw was a vibrating red rose, with a fake tongue instead of one petal. Vessel, indeed, was creative with some of his offerings, giving you this rose instead of the real one, and this was what you have chosen.
Grabbing the rose and your phone, you locked yourself in the bathroom. Not even trying to sit somewhere, and thanks to the absence of panties under your silky robe and easy access to everything you needed so bad, you switched on the vibrating rose having no powers to endure the horniness those men made you feel, your chased your own release, which came just in a record time. On shaking legs, panting and mewling, you leaned on your hands against the sink barrier, putting the rose down, you raised your head and saw your flushed face in the mirror. Still half-blind after your own quick orgasm, something made you almost go completely blind: the tears.
After everything that happened, this was quite a logical end of the overwhelming evening. Tears streamed down your face so hard, as if you were grieving, but you knew it was a cause of going through too much different emotion all at the same time. Your hands shook, and you could not compose yourself, but you managed to take your phone and open the I-Message chat.
Sugarbutt: “Meet me in the garage after breakfast”.
Sugarbutt: “Please”.
22:06
You: “Ivy, please, come back home.” You wrote. Message was delivered.
You waited only probably for 2 minutes, looking at yourself in the mirror. He didn’t answer. You covered your face with your hands and started to cry even harder and desperate. You went down on the floor rug, leaning your back against the sink cabinet and whined far louder than you even planned. You were tired of hiding your emotions and you just let them out. The light as a feather knock on the bathroom door made you jolt.
“Come in! Whoever is there…” You sobbed.
The door opened in a little crack and II’s flushed face appeared in the frame, looking for you somewhere above, but then his eyes travelled down to find you on the floor. Of course, he saw a sink with the rose, and your totally devastated, red and salty from tears, completely exhausted face.
“Oh, fuck… shit! Sorry!” He shouted, understanding that he interrupted probably something intimate and secretive. He immediately tried to shut the door behind him, but you asked silently:
“Please, don’t go…”
“Oh no… What happened?” He asked, opening the door again, squatting and trying gently to get closer to you. His hand landed on your shoulder.
“I happened. Nevermind. Can you please stay with me for a while?”
“Only if you will stand up, wipe your tears and let me lull you to sleep.”
“Okay, mom.” You sobbed with a chuckle and rolled your eyes.
You stood up and approached the sink again, started to wash your face and then wipe it with napkins and apply the face cream. All this time, II was watching you attentively, crossing the hands on his chest and leaning casually on the door frame. This moment felt borderline intimate, and only Vessel used to look at you doing this before. They seemed to be a perfect couple though, both very patient and attentive, just keeping silent while the woman does her ‘shit’.
When you finished, you checked your phone again and sobbed.
“What?” II asked, furrowing his brows.
“Ivy didn’t answer… II, where could he be?”
“Oh, don’t worry, he’ll come back. Let’s put you to bed and make you sleep. You don’t need to wait for him. He’ll probably come back later. And tomorrow you’ll see him again. Okay?” II’s tone sounded as if he was talking to a child or asylum patient, but somehow it worked, somehow it made you calmer.
You both went to the bedroom, and when you were in bed, II covered you with the blanket. You put your phone on the bedtime table, anxiously looking at it.
II sat on the bed beside your left leg, putting a heavy hand on your knee.
“You are so sure that he’ll be alright. Do you know something? Did he text you?” You asked.
“No. I just… know him. He can go to the pub and drink there till the early morning. Or just go to his mates from his band or previous projects. You know he’s friends with all of them… Plus, they’re doing music as well. Or…” He paused and sighed, making you go tense. “…or… he could go to his mourning place.”
“W-what? A mourning place?” Your eyes went wide and round.
“Oh, he hasn't shown you yet? Don’t wanna give out his secrets then. When the time comes he’ll probably show you. I know you are…quite close already, right?”
You were silent for some time thinking about what II has told you.
“Okay, I see. You’re not ready to talk about it.” He continued. “But please, try to sleep. He’ll come back and everything will be alright.”
“II, may I ask you for one thing?” You asked blushing.
“Yep? What?” He was looking at you with his kind huge blue eyes and warm smile.
“Could you p-please read to me a little bit?”
“Oh, you are just like Vess, right? He often asks me to read to him, when he’s too tired. What book would you like to hear then?”
Your eyes travelled to the huge Vessel’s bookshelf in the corner of the room.
“Please take the ‘Mythology’ by Edith Hamilton. ‘Timeless tales of Gods and Heroes’.”
II smiled, stood up energetically and went to the bookshelf waving hips in his favorite Adidas pants, mesmerising you. In a few seconds he returned with the book and sat on the bed beside you.
“The story about Pan and Echo…” II announced, opening the book where it had Vessel’s bookmark.
In the dim lights of the room, his voice sounded so pleasant, tone quiet and slow. No wonder Vessel liked II to read to him. You experienced both II’s and Vessel’s reading by now. Suddenly you imagined III or IVy to read and chuckled. It would be a total disaster. With III’s dyslexia it will be constant laughter and mess, and Ivy would probably sleep on your shoulder himself after reading a few sentences.
“What?” II asked, seeing you chuckle.
“Uh, nothing. I feel like a happy child now, actually… thank you so much, II”.
He nodded and continued reading. When he reached the tense moment in the story he put one hand on your knee, soothing and comforting, his voice went deep and dark accentuating each emotion in the scene and making it more dramatic. II’s reading and acting were insanely good and being totally hypnotised you kept staring at him, till the Sleep consumed you completely. That night you dreamed of II acting on the theatrical stage (arena style) in the milky Greek chiton, standing barefoot on stage and wearing a golden olive branch on his blonde head.
____________________________________
Next morning you woke up quite late. You were alone in the room and the house was suspiciously quiet. Bright sun rays filled the room with pleasant light, flakes of dust were dancing calmly around you in the lines of rays. On your bedside table there was a book II had left and your phone. First of all you checked on your phone, it showed 10:25 AM and no new messages.
After your usual morning routine in the bathroom, you changed your clothes to a complete Vessel’s style (white loose T-shirt and grey sweatpants) and went down to the living room. From the staircase you saw the missing guitarist sleeping on the couch in the living room, wearing the same clothes as yesterday, so you assumed that he came back home early in the morning and just fell asleep right there.
“Oh, boy…” You whispered and approached the sleeping beauty. ‘The beauty’ smelled like he drank the whole night. You squatted in front of Ivy and shook your head, hearing the sound of Butterscotch’s claws against the floor, while the dog was lazily walking to check on his owner. You gently kissed Ivy’s forehead, but he didn’t wake up. Butterscotch stood by you and hit your back hard with his waving tail.
Suddenly you’ve heard singing. For sure, it was not the angelic Vessel’s voice, Ivy was only deep sighing in his sleep, II never really sang, but imitated sounds of drums, when needed to explain the melody, but this…
These were definitely not bad vocals, but so casual and careless, sounding like a mixture of old hard rock and country music inspired with a cracking voice and crazy accent.
“III…” The realisation came to you, and you were already heading to the kitchen, where the vocals came from.
The image of the singing bassist made you stumble, and nearly fall down. III was standing near the oven and cooking breakfast. Kitchen was filled with tasty smells of food and freshly brewed coffee. And the tall chef was wearing only his socks, boxers, too far too short tank top on him, revealing his belly button and a happy trail, and the cherry on top of this look was the cowboy style printed handkerchief around his slim neck and a cowboy hat from the American tour. The moustache was now looking incredibly fitting. He was trying to do some sexy moves, while cooking, but his thin lanky hips were bucking back and forth, and were still looking like a stick bug dance.
Before yesterday's scene with Vessel, you’ve never ever seen III without pants, and rarely have seen him even topless. Seems like after the scene and you being a witness, he decided to change his attitude and felt free to walk in his boxers around the house now.
“What the…!” You exclaimed.
“WOOD MORNIN’, BRITAIN!” III shouted, seeing you.
“P-please, III!” You said closing your eyes with your hand. “Don't say that you're standing there with real morning wood right now!”
“Naaaah! Jus’ kidding, babe. C’me in, don’t be shy.” He immediately took the cup and poured coffee for you, placing the cup on the counter. “Take a sip.”
You sat on the bar chair, beside the counter and sipped the coffee.
“Wow, chef! This coffee is amazing! What’s that?”
“Nah, I’m na’t telling. Thass’ secret!”
“Ass!” You rolled your eyes and went to the fridge for some milk.
III started to sing again, which was quite a fresh experience for you, so you just sat and listened for a while, the voice accompanied by the sizzling sound of food cooking.
“Well, I know that you cook great, III, when you want, but I didn’t know you could sing.” You mentioned.
“Maybe, I’ll sing in my band too, na’t sure yet.”
“Your band?” You asked curiously.
“Yeah, the side band we do with my buddies.”
“Uhhh, that’s interesting. Never imagined you singing. Curious to hear your songs.”
“...‘preciate that!” III turned the tumbler on the oven down, switched it off, took his cup of tea and approached another bar chair in front of you. When he tried to sit, he winced hard and hissed, as if process of sitting was causing him discomfort.
“Oh, dear! Did Vessel cause you some trouble back there?” You asked emphatically.
“What don't ya do fo’ love, right?” III nodded, and hissed again. Saying this he licked his little pouty lips, under the moustache and gave you an intense eye contact. You blinked nervously.
“Right, by the way, where is he?”
“Have ya forgotten? Ya booked him’a’hair appointment. So, II decided to give him a lift to tha’ barbershop.”
“Oh my Sleep, true. Sorry, I really forgot about that. Was too distracted by… by yesterdays… hmmm… events.”
“Ha-ha-ha, I bet!” III gave out his most filthy horse laugh, but was interrupted by furious dishevelled Ivy, running into the kitchen, looking for an empty cup. When he found it, he poured water in there, took the cup with two hands like children do and started to drink with a loud gulping sound, as if he was choking. After emptying the cup he loudly put the cup on the counter and ran away as fast as he arrived.
“Oh man, poor boy. Did he drink too much yesterday… and probably today?” You asked.
“Yep, Vessi told meh’. And II told him. I didn’t even know he was away.” III said, his tone drastically getting sad.
“Have you spoken to him when he came back?”
“Nah. He’s not talkative when he’s in this mood. Im na’t a fan of him screaming at meh’. And he can… It’s bettah’ to leave him alone, he’ll come back ta’ normal and turn into mah’ Honeybee again.”
“How sweet…” You sighed.
In maybe twenty minutes, Ivy came back to the kitchen, as if nothing happened. He was freshly shaven on his face and neatly trimmed, where he has a longer bristle, with a little fresh cut, clothes changed to a white tank top and black shorts, teeth brushed, hair wet and smelling with his favorite shampoo.
“Good morning, everyone!” He said and came to III for a kiss. After they parted, III said, eyes half-blind:
“See? He’s my Honeybee again.”
“Glad to know…” You answered, avoiding eye contact. You hoped that Ivy would come and kiss you on the cheek or temple, as he always does, but he didn’t. He gave you a lopsided smile instead and sat farther from the counter at your common table on his IV’s chair.
After some morning coffee and casual conversation with the bassist and guitarist, the front door opened and Butterscotch barked joyfully greeting Vessel and II. Vessel looked amazingly fresh after his haircut and now stood in the kitchen in front of everyone awkwardly smiling.
“III, I’m hungry as hell!” II said, rubbing his belly. We only drank coffee from a local store near the barbershop, so whatcha got today, chef?”
“Ya both sit down and I’ll serve y'all. In a mood today, ya know? Home cooked fresh Mexican menu as an offering!” III announced, stood up and started to fill up the plates for everyone.
“Thank you so much, III!” Vessel said and then cleared his throat. “I have something for you, dah-ling.” His gaze met yours. Everyone went silent. From the chest pocket of his shirt he took out a tiny envelope and gave it to you.
Totally smitten by this gesture you took the envelope and opened it. It was an invitation to a date. To your anniversary. There was a little printed photo of you and Vessel made in a photo-booth in Budapest. It was more like a collage from 4 photos, where you and Vessel just made silly faces. On the backside of it, there was a hand writing, which you have read aloud:
“Meet me on the 1 of August and let’s find out if we possess a superpower of reading minds. V”
“What?” Your eyes met his. Everyone was confused.
“This is a little quest for you. I want you to figure out what I have planned for our date. I mean, what exactly we are going to do.”
Knowing Vessel, it could be literally anything, but you were speechless and out of breath.
“You have one more day to figure out, I guess.” He added and kissed your hand.
____________________________________
After the probably tastiest breakfast in your life, everyone left the kitchen and got lost in the many rooms of the house. Vessel brought his synth into the living room, because sometimes he liked to play somewhere different than the basement. He enjoyed his piano somewhere he could observe the sunlight. You were lying on the couch in the living room, scrolling your phone and listening to him torture the keyboard. Actually, you were trying to do shopping online and to choose your date outfit. At the same time, you were constantly thinking about the riddle Vessel gave you.
After probably an hour of ineffective scrolling, you gave up and noticed another thing. Almost the whole hour Vessel was obsessively playing one and the same tune over and over again. His fingers flew over the keys, and as he was sitting quite close to you, not only the melody was noticeable, but also tapping of his fingers, foot on the pedal and his loud breathing.
“Vess?” You asked, but he continued to play the tune, almost not paying attention, so you stood up and hugged him from behind. He jolted, closed his eyes and smiled, coming back to reality.
“Vess, you are playing one and the same thing over and over again. What happened? Are you stuck, darling?”
“Yep, it’s like an itch in my brain.” He answered looking up at you. “I wanna do something special with this piece.”
“Is this a new song?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe. By now I have so much music in my drafts that I could start a new band and already have a few albums…”
“Oh really? My Sleep!… Vess, are you breathing and music is getting written generations ahead?” You asked, chuckling.
“Huh?” He asked, as if he didn’t hear and started the tune again. Then he stopped and said:
“I wonder if I can make fans play this…”
“Fans play this? How?”
“Like releasing the note sheet before releasing a new song… or maybe it will not even be a song. Just music for them to play?” He said thoughtfully and the shit-eating grin appeared on his face.
You chuckled and hugged him from behind, pressing yourself to him, kissing the crown of his head.
“You are my evil genius…” You whispered. He smiled back pathetically as a child, and his hands ran furiously back to the keyboard playing the tune again.
The new message on your phone arrived and the buzz made you jolt. You opened the I-Message.
Sugarbutt: You’ll need a dress for your date. Meet me in the garage in an hour.
Your eyes went wide and round like plates.
Chapter 11: Sapphire on my white gold
Summary:
This probably will be the longest chapter I've ever written.
I hope you'll - especially IVy lovers - enjoy it.🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Emergence (chapter name)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
XI
“Is it appropriate to call kissing everywhere except the lips a make out session”? You thought, while your lips were brushing all along Ivy’s neck, and chin and cheeks, feeling his lips touch you all over the same areas, except the lips.
Again.
But first… there was a message.
Sugarbutt: You’ll need a dress for your date. Meet me in the garage in an hour.
First, you panicked. With another kiss on Vessel’s head, you left the genius at work, and he continued stubbornly playing his tune. As you reached your bed-room, you hectically started to choose the outfit. Of course, you didn’t know what Ivy was up to, and what kind of a dress-code this ‘meeting’ was supposed to have on agenda.
“Meet me in the garage… © What if that dork had been driving back home drunk? I would kill you, Ivy, if I’d figured out it’s true!” You thought, clenching your fists and looking at your wardrobe meanwhile.
“If his car is here, will you both go somewhere? Or will he take II’s car? Or… what if this is another manipulation again? To lure you to come to the garage for quick secret sexual… intercourse?” Thoughts were getting worse and worse, and you just stopped yourself. You didn't want to think bad of Ivy, plus after yesterday’s drama he would probably be a little mad at you. But in any case, you considered that grey sweatpants and T-shirt were too casual for any outings, if they were even planned.
So, you decided to stick to the blue jeans, white oversized shirt on buttons, and light brown loafers. Choosing the appropriate accessories and perfume, you finished your look with a small handbag on a chain, and gathered your hair in a tight bun. Exhaled. Ready.
Being deep in your thoughts you haven’t noticed that the hour had passed, and it was time to meet Ivy. You’ve heard heavy steps in the corridor, as someone was hurrying up, and then these same steps on the staircase, so probably Ivy already went downstairs to wait for you in the garage.
You waited for some minutes and left the room too. While getting down the staircase, you saw Vessel still sitting at the synth and playing. He raised his head up at you and narrowed his eyes with a suspicion. The tune stopped.
“Dah-ling, you look so neat and business. Got any plans? Are you going out?” He asked.
“Yes, love, going shopping.” You answered, stopping at the end of the staircase. “Wanted to find myself an outfit for… our date. Maybe I will also get a manicure, you know, girl’s stuff?”
“Oh, really? Have you already figured out, errmm, what we are going to do on our date?” He asked about clues he gave you, of course, but if you were going to be honest, there was no answer in your head still.
“No, I haven’t… yet.” You answered with a half-smile, raising up one lip corner only.
“Oh, well, so how are you going to choose your outfit, if you don’t know the plan…yet?”
“This nerdy bastard will be the death of me…” You thought, laughing silently deep in your chest.
“Who knows, Vessi, maybe endless rails of clothes in the shopping mall will help me to find more clues, maybe even the solution? You know I think much better, when moving and doing something.”
“Oh, got you then. Have fun. One head is good, two heads are better, right?” He grinned and returned to the tune. You blinked and stared at him for nearly like the whole minute. He smiled and continued playing, pretending not to say anything confusing.
“So, he supposed that you won’t spend the next few hours alone?” You asked yourself.
After a little hesitation on the staircase, you stepped forward and went to the corridor, feeling Vessel’s hawk gaze following you, till you were not visible behind the walls. While walking to the basement, where they had a studio and the door, leading to the garage right from the house, you remembered the clue, Vessel left you:
“Meet me on the 1 of August and let’s find out if we possess a superpower of reading minds. V”
You were not sure about your superpowers, but he definitely could read your mind. Each interaction with Vessel, seemed like he read you like an open book. Even though yesterday you still had no chance to confess to him about something going on between you and IVy, it felt like Vessel actually knew everything.
When you stepped into the garage, you saw Ivy sitting in his own car.
“Ivy, if you got back home driving the car drunk, I’ll …” You started.
“You’ll what?” He interrupted you.
“I’ll kill you…” You said not that self-confident as before.
“As if you even care…” He chuckled bitterly.
You approached the car and met his sky blue eyes. His gaze travelled slowly from your face down your feet, checking on your outfit. His lip corner raised up half-grinning.
“I texted you yesterday. Got no answer. But that’s no spoiler, right?” You bit.
“I’ve seen.”
“You’ve seen. You’ve seen?!” You suddenly shouted. “Is this all I’ve got from you for making me break down? For making me constantly think of what could have happened to you in the night? Or for making up that drama during the scene? Right? Is this all I’ve got for II trying to calm me down, when I was crying like a pathetic bitch?”
“Wait…” Ivy’s face turned grey. “Wait what?” He stood up from the car seat and slowly approached you, looking deep into your eyes, as if between them there was a thread, connected to the nape of your neck. His gaze was now concerned and intense, eyes slowly getting wet.
“Have…you…been crying, because of me?” He asked, as if he was not believing.
“You bastard…” You shook your head, standing akimbo and averting your gaze from him. But immediately after doing this, you felt his both hands cupping your cheeks and returning your attention back to him.
“I’m… I am so sorry…” He whispered in a low breaking voice. “I didn’t realize you… you actually…”
“I’m actually what, Ivy?” You interrupted.
“You actually c-care.” He finally let it out. “I-I’m sorry, I felt… I felt left out. J-jealous.”
“Me and II, we… We called you to join, when you were about to enter the room.” You said with reproof.
“I know, I just… I felt unwanted there. My… Okay, let’s say it this way: III was too busy with Vessel, you were there with II, as if… as if you were close, you know, as if you two got af-affectionate". He nervously licked his lips several times till he was ready to continue. “And then… I… I remembered our m-moment in the car, and you promised me that you’ll tell everything to Vess after the anniversary. Like it was s-something of low priority. It felt like everything was important to you… and everyone, except me.”
It hurt.
“Ivy, you’re the one living in a polycule! Not me! You were supposed to know how to share.”
“I know, I haven’t felt something like that for some long time since we all settled down. I don't know what’s with me, Six, I don't know. I feel like a… like a pathetic overwhelmed emo-teen.” Your face was still in his warm hands, while he spoke. “I felt like everyone is more important to you than me, and that I was nothing more than just a fun hand-masturbator for you.”
Your jaw dropped. And you were grateful he still held your face.
“How can you… how even…?” You tried to form probably a rhetorical question, but failed.
“I thought so, because you refused to even kiss me, like you feel nothing at all. Like I was just a sex-toy.” When he finished, tears dropped from both of your eyes and his fingers immediately caught them.
You immediately tried to hide your face in a crook of his neck, and fell into his tight embrace.
“I’m so sorry I made you feel this way, Ivy, I didn't want you to feel left out. While…w-while watching that scene, I t-thought about you, I wished you could come and join us. The picture w-was not whole without you…” Your crying escalated, and now you sobbed and barely spelled words. “And…b-bef-fore that. I,... I decided to come to Vess and tell him e-everything. I decided not to wait for the anniversar-ry, as I-I promised y-you, b-but…the scene… and I…”
“It’s alright…” He whispered now cradling you in his embrace, as if he was slow dancing in place. “I didn’t want to really rush you into that. I could wait for the anniversary or longer, as long as needed, I just… I just wanted to know if… if you feel at least something… to… me.”
You didn’t answer, sobbed harder, but Ivy grabbed your head again. He started to kiss you all over your face showering you with affection. In a matter of seconds he kissed away all your tears. Your own lips were trembling heavily until they found his flesh as well. Your faces met and breaths aligned. You wanted to compensate, you wanted to show him that you wanted to give him all the real kisses he needed, reassure him that he meant for you more than you dared to confess. But ironically… he continued playing your little game by your rules.
“Is it appropriate to call kissing everywhere except the lips a make out session”? You thought, while your lips were brushing all along Ivy’s neck, and chin and cheeks, feeling his lips touch you all over the same areas, except the lips.
Again.
It seemed like you both melted into each other, his skin became your skin, your breath became his breath; the world stopped existing for a moment. You felt his hardness pressed against you and desperately wanted to merge with it. You stopped, heavily panting and gulping like a fish, choking on air, pressed your forehead against his, closed your eyes, trying to calm yourself down, which was barely successful:
“I want you so bad, melon. So bad. It feels like a disease.” You whispered, breathing him in. “You don’t even realize”.
“I swear, if you won’t take your hand away from my ass, I’ll bonk you right here and now.” He shook his head, rubbing his forehead against yours, dishevelling his hair.
Your hand stubbornly squeezed his butt cheek. “… ah, and in the end I’ll call Vess to come see.”
It was funny and scary and hot at the same time. You laughed and slapped his butt before finally letting it go.
“Get in the car now,” he almost growled. “I promised you we’ll get you a date outfit, so we have to go… before we fucked each other’s brains out.”
That was it. This was exactly what made you love him, even if you were not ready to claim it.
In a matter of a few minutes you were driving to the shopping mall. You were not sure which one he’ll choose though, but you glanced at him and smiled, still holding your breath, not completely over the heat boiling in your own lower belly.
“Ivy, you better make sure you get rid of the boner, when we’ll arrive.”
“If you keep staring at it, it will stare back. Did ya know it?” He cut off, not averting gaze from the road.
“Ha-ha-ha! Oh melon…” You laughed loudly and melodically, as if this was the best joke you’ve ever heard. “Ha-ha-ha! I can’t… Oh by the way, you distracted me. I planned to kill you, dork. You were drunk, how the fuck you got home?”
“Surprisingly, I have friends, who don’t drink. That’s why I’m still alive.” Ivy answered as bratty as possible.
“Good to know that. I’m ready to give them tips for keeping you safe.”
“Have you… have you figured out what Vess prepared for the date?”
“Not yet. Was too distracted by his lovers, you know?” You almost barked.
“Oh, that’s a good excuse. How… did you… find the scene?”
“Oh well… that’s… that was the hottest thing I saw in real life.”
“Have you… eerrmm, like… played with yourself? Has II?”
“Nah. Well, we both just watched. Also I was constantly… worrying about you. Had to release myself later, fighting with tears actually.”
“That’s the sad way of pleasuring yourself…” He sighed. “I’m really sorry. Something got into me. Once you’ll get a proper scene… When you’ll be ready.”
“Yep, I guess so. II was also very patient with me, knowing that it was my first time voyeuring.”
“We all don’t really deserve II. Fuck!” He screamed, and you thought something was on the road.
“What?”
“I forgot to put my stage jacket in the safe box, as II asked. And today we got cleaning ordered.” He mumbled and nervously licked his lips.
“This will be the first thing we do when we are back home. Got this?”
“Yeah-yeah. Please, open the glove box and give me my snapback and glasses.” He asked gently, concern clearly heard in his voice.
____________________________________
The shopping mall was so crowded, that you easily lost yourself among people. Ivy gently wrapped his arm around your shoulder and you just went through fancy looking sparking showcases, just as the ordinary couple.
Couple…?
Once you were passing by a huge mirror wall, you stopped for a moment and looked at yourself.
“Just look where you got! Just a year ago this man was on stage in front of you, masked, mesmerising you, making you drool over him. And his band mates. Now this man, hiding his face behind snapback and glasses, hugs you casually in the shopping mall, choosing you an outfit for your date with another man, who just a year ago decided that dating a fan would be a good idea…” You thought, looking at yourself and Ivy.
He turned to you and gave you a look of his baby blue eyes above his glasses.
“What do you think of? I can physically feel your thoughts, but your look is so confusing…” He asked.
“Oh, it’s hard… to explain. Just think how we… got here.” You felt your cheeks getting flushed.
“Just get me informed, okay? I thought you were having a stroke…” He smiled. “Let’s go to that store, I’m pretty sure they have something we may need.” He nodded into the direction of a fancy British clothing brand.
“Ivy, no way! It’s expensive as hell.”
“Not always! And trust me ‘expensive’ is not the criteria of choosing for us today”. He grabbed your hand and pulled you forcefully into the store.
After some quick rambling through it, walking fast between the neat rails of dresses, you took four dresses for trying out, under Ivy’s pressure, of course.
He laughed and said several times in different words:
“I don't see any problem, you have a rich boyfriend! And you don’t have to take all four. We’ll choose one, but if you want one more, we could also take it. Maybe for another occasion.”
“You’re so easy with this, Ivy! I even know why you insisted on four of them.”
“Four is really a good number, you know.” He played with his eyebrows, making them dance above his glasses. “Now I want to see all four of these dresses on you. Let’s go!” He forced you into the dressing rooms.
When you tried the first dress, which was looking like a shiny gold snakeskin, and came out of the dressing room bare feet, Ivy was standing there casually leaning on the nearest wall, with his arms crossed under his chest. His arm tattoos here intertwined now, one arm fully covered with blackwork, under a snow white oversized T-shirt. He was looking just amazingly sassy, but at the same time ridiculous in his headwear and glasses, as if he was hiding from the law. III would totally advise him to grow out moustache for conspiracy.
The dress was just amazing, but so long that it fully covered your legs and, and so shiny, that it was probably suitable for the Red Carpet or Oscar Award Ceremony.
“Wow, it’s gorgeous. II would like it so much. What do you think, Six?”
You shyly shrugged standing awkwardly, feeling yourself not enough feminine for this fancy dress after getting used to wearing baggy bands T-shirts and sweatpants.
“It’s amazing, but this is too much. I think I’ll try another one.” You said.
“Agreed. This you could wear, when we reach 8 millions monthly listeners on Spotify. Ah, dreams…” Ivy chuckled.
“Deal!” You laughed and already imagined that, closing the curtain of the dressing room and disappearing again.
“How do you find this?” You came out again in a dress, which was looking like ripped and destroyed fancy dress of ripe cherry colour after a vampire party, where the vampires actually sucked out all your blood and left you to die on the street. There was also an additional fabric choker on the neck the same color as the dress, which created an element of a different era.
“Well, III would give this 10 out of 10.” Ivy added, staring at you from head to toe.
“That’s what I thought!” You laughed, spinning around. “Okay, I like this more, but… I don’t think it’s suitable for a date.” And you disappeared again.
After a short while, you came out, wearing a black long dress, but shorter than previous ones. It covered your knees, had a pleated skirt, and the top was more looking like a business casual style. All buttoned up till the neck with silver powdered buttons. It looked serious and classy.
“Are you fffff… kidding me?” Ivy’s eyes widened, and he approached you with the speed of lightning. “Get in!” He pushed you lightly back inside the locker room, and looking to the sides, making sure no one noticed that he came into your cubicle, closed the curtain.
“Ivy, what the hell?” You hissed.
“That’s fucking hot!” He hissed back.
“Well, t-thank you. But… are you sure that the most decent looking dress is hot?”
“Well, for me, yeah! Have you at least seen what those tight buttons look like on your breasts? And how this collar just runs all along to your neck, making it all harder to reach? This leaves so much space for… imagination.”
“Oh boy… Melon, do you like hardly accessible women? Mystery?”
“Of course, I do! And…” His whispering immediately went lower, almost growling. “And maybe, just maybe other boyrfeind’s girlfriends?” Saying this, he chuckled and came closer. He leaned forward, kissing your neck, moving just above the collar, without touching it, as it was really a forbidden territory. You shivered.
“You bastard. You’ve chosen this dress just for yourself, right? To see me in it.” You asked, panting.
“Abso-fucking-lutely!” He left out a snorting laugh. “But you know, it’s still not what we need for your occasion. Let me… Let me undress you for the final one?” He asked, his face turning red.
“Just buttons…” You agreed. “I’ll do all the rest myself.”
His skilled fingers immediately jumped to the buttons, undoing them purposefully slowly, teasing, enjoying himself. While doing it, he looked at you with his icy eyes above the glasses, and it felt like he undressed you only with his eyes, so intense was his gaze, which reminded you how intimate it was to feel his gaze from the stage at times. When his fingers finally reached your belly level he stopped and put his head down.
“I'm waiting for the final act…” He said, slowly leaving the cubicle.
The final dress felt like your second skin. It felt somehow so fitting, even before you glanced at yourself in the mirror. With a smile of Mona Lisa herself, you came out of the locker room once more, and Ivy gasped.
You were silently looking at him, not telling anything, then you spinned slowly. The dress was made fully and only of the heavy atlas fabric, tight-fitting, underlining your every curve. It was electric blue like a sapphire, and looked like waves of the waterfall going down your figure hanging only on thinnest almost invisible straps. It was a little bit lower than the knees, opening most of your ankles, and had a thin low decollete which definitely left much space for the accessory as, for example, a necklace on a long chain.
“Say something…” Ivy sighed heavily. “I wish I could read your thoughts, but I still definitely can’t.”
“Wait…” You exclaimed. “Oh my… ” You gasped, looking wide-eyed at the guitarist. “I think I… understood what kind of clue Vessel gave me. About the date!”
“Oh really?” Ivy said, shocked. “And… what do you think?”
“That note said ‘Meet me on the 1 of August and let’s find out if we possess a superpower of reading minds.’ I was silent, and you said that you can’t read my mind. What if… what if? I don’t know, it may sound so silly. Maybe… pathetic even. But what if this was supposed to be a silent date? Like… What if he wanted us NOT to talk?”
“That’s something…” Ivy’s face now was so puzzled, as if he just created the universal cancer treatment. His mouth was opened and brows furrowed, as if he saw something even more surprising than you in a blue dress. “That’s actually so… Vessel. I think you’re right!”
“And this dress is just… ideal!” You exclaimed excitedly and jumped, hugging Ivy, like a happy child.
And then you looked at the price tag.
“Oh no…” You sighed heavily.
“Don’t even think about it! Everything’s on me. I wish you could also take the black one for me, but only if you’ll accept my invitation.” Ivy said going to the cubicle and taking the black dress.
“Ivy, no… that’s extremely expensive. And I’ve already told Vessel, I’ll get a manicure and pedicure today, so he will notice, if not. Wait… what?” You were chattering so hard, trying to convince him not to waste so much money, finally mentally stumbling on his word ‘invitation’. “Invitation where?”
“Uhm, I guess to our date. Which surely will be later, but… only if you’ll promise me to take on this dress.” He cutely pouted, showing the black dress hanging on his crooked arm, and intertwined index and middle finger in a ‘hope’ sign.
“Ivy… you’re crazy.” You approached him, trying to take the black dress away from him. This led to the small fight, where the winner was predicted right from the start.
____________________________________
In a few moments, grinning wider than the Cheshire Cat, Ivy came out of the shopping mall, holding two bags with dresses, leading you to the beauty salon.
What you predicted about Ivy, but after this day you knew for sure that he was the best companion for everything, including shopping and spa-procedures. He was a golden retriever type of guy, who was ALWAYS up to everything. Needless to say that he decided to get a manicure and pedicure together with you?
You were sitting on big chairs beside each other, and two nail techs were working for each of you simultaneously. The salon administrator offered you both glasses of champagne, but you strictly forbid Ivy to drink, despite knowing that this glass will mean nothing to him, as if it was just a glass of champagne spilled in the plant pot. Ivy dramatically pouted and asked for a moisturising face mask for him instead.
Leaning back on your chair you finally relaxed, turning your head to Ivy, whose one hand and foot were treated, making him ticklish. He was wincing and smiling under his mask, giving you warm looks.
“Ivy, I wanted to ask something…” You started.
“Yeah, please!” He was always an open book.
“What is the ‘mourning place’? You asked quietly.
“Who told ya that?!” He raised his head with such force that his mask nearly fell off.
“I asked II, where you could be last night… and among several options there was a ‘mourning place’. Please, don’t be mad. He gave no details…” You answered, choosing the words carefully. “Look, I was really worried, I asked him. Believe me, he gave me no details.”
He sighed deeply and threw his head back again, relaxing.
“Well, maybe I’ll show you it someday, if there is still a need for it. But yesterday I wasn’t there. I took a night ride… Then got drunk with friends from a side band. That’s all. I didn’t wanna think of… you know.”
You nodded, being distracted by your buzzing phone. You saw a new message.
My EMO Songbird: When are you expected to be home? II and III prepared fancy supper.
You: Almost finished. Will be on base soon. 😘
You typed quickly and hid your phone.
“Are you ready for a fancy supper, melon?” You asked.
“My mouth is always open for the new offerings”. He answered happily about the previous topic to be forgotten.
____________________________________
You both came out of the salon with neatly done manicure and pedicure with the only difference that your nails were all electric blue fitting the color of your date dress, and Ivy’s were just well groomed, so he couldn’t stop staring at them a little bit too often.
When the car motor went silent in the garage of your house, and the garage door was closed, you and Ivy couldn’t take your hands away from each other in an instant. Needless to say that your little spontaneous ‘date’ wouldn’t finish with your usual handjob session? World just stopped existing for a moment again. There, on the backseat of his car, sweaty and panting, you both were just living through aftershocks, not being able to avert gazes from each other. You both wanted it the whole day.
You kissed Ivy’s wet hair sticking to his temple and whispered:
“Thank you for this day… For spending it with me, for being patient with me, for spoiling me and preparing me for a date, even if it was not meant to be a date with you… Thank you for being so attentive to me.”
“You’re welcome. I haven’t been so amused for a long time. I loved doing this. And sorry, really sorry, but this was also partly for Vessel as well.”
“Aawww, you’re such a loving little creature, melon.” You kissed him again, feeling his sweat on your lips. “Let’s go try the promised fancy supper”.
____________________________________
When you and Ivy came into the house, laughing like idiots, pushing each other jokingly, holding your shopping bags, you were met by three pairs of curious blue eyes. Each of the three men gave you different smirks, and retired back to the kitchen area. Butterscotch greeted you with an energetically waving tail and his constant dog smile.
You went upstairs to change your clothes for something more comfortable and left the shopping bags in the bedroom, hiding them in your drawer. Ivy immediately went to the shower. When you were ready, you went downstairs to join Vessel, II and III at the table. You gave Vessel a peck on his cheek, dishevelling his freshly cut hair, slightly touched III’s and II’s shoulders greeting them.
“How did your shopping go?” Vessel asked casually.
You were already putting food on your plate before sitting down beside him. You sighed and took a long pause to answer.
“You’ll be stunned…” You finally said.
“Oh?!” Surprisingly this was simultaneously said not by Vessel, but by III and II.
“We are curious…” III added.
“Sorry, Darlings, but… this would be first and foremost for me and Vessel.”
Vessel let out a chuckle and continued digging in his food with a fork. He seemed less amused than everyone else. You gave it a notice, and this convinced you that the talk is inevitable. It’ll happen after supper.
You started to eat in silence and suddenly, your phone, which was right beside your plate on the table, buzzed and the screen lightened up.
Sugarbutt: *attachment*
You glanced at the screen, but continued to eat, silently thanking your phone that the attachment, whatever it was, was not shown. The phone screen went dark again, but Vessel saw the message coming.
In a few moments, freshly after a shower, Ivy came into the kitchen, giving everyone, except you, cheek kisses and back slaps and sat in front of you beside III.
What III noticed immediately was, surprisingly, Ivy’s manicure.
“Mate, why ya’ nails look so tid-ey, suddenly?” He asked.
“You haven’t seen my feet yet…” Ivy chuckled, mysteriously.
That’s when Vessel noticed you had new electric blue nails too. Honestly, Vessel was not always attentive to these kinds of things, you knew it, and was never bothered that he was often too late with this. He took your hand and precisely looked at all of the nails, kissed your finger and continued to eat. You smiled at him, and he suddenly loudly cleared his throat, took a deep breath and said:
“Dah-ling, not that I want to intrude into your personal space… or be controlling, or jealous. But I need to ask something.”
“Yes?” You felt like nervously sweating, when he started to speak.
“I saw a message coming… on your phone. Again, not that I’m mad, I’m just curious. Could you, please, tell us… Who is ‘Sugarbutt’ and why is he or she sending you… images?”
You nearly choked and went deep red. It seemed like all your blood steamed to your face. Silence hung in the room. Now all four pairs of blue eyes were staring at you with surprise and concern.
“Fuck… That’s embarrassing.” You whispered, putting your head down.
“Well, you know the rules.” Vessel said, his voice became sharp with the hint of pain, and he glanced at II, who nodded and kept looking at you with demand.
“Did they really think I found someone outside the polycule?” You thought.
Ivy and III shared glances and anxiously eyed everyone. You owed an explanation to them, knowing how hard they protected their ‘love group’ from others. You remembered your own ‘initiation’ and knew that the answer had to be given straight away.
“Well… Guys, I know I need to tell you, right? I’m just too embarrassed right now.” Your face went even redder, as it was even possible. “Well. Sugar…butt… is Ivy.” You put your eyes down, trying to avoid eye contact with all of them.
Ivy shouted first.
“Excuse me, what?!”
After a short pause, Vessel snorted, II smiled and squeezed your shoulder supporting, and III started to laugh like a herd of horses. Soon they all started to giggle, except Ivy who sat with open mouth all this time, looking at you, making you even more embarrassed. You wanted to run and hide.
“Guys, guys. Just… stop, please! Stop. Have you seen his ass? What kind of question is this …? Of course, you have.”
You didn’t know how much more you could embarrass yourself and, thank fate, they still didn’t know how the others were named in your contacts.
____________________________________
Vessel was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, as if he saw something more there than the rest of humans; his one hand resting on his belly. You approached the bed, and laid beside him, not being able to tear your gaze from him. At times you found him mesmerising. Actually almost always.
“Vess, I have to tell you something…”
“Oh, one of them will fall down right now…” He said, still looking at the ceiling.
“What?!” You understood nothing of what he just said.
“Nothin’. What’s that you wanted to talk about?”
“Uh… well, I’m not sure, but I think I know by the clues you gave me, what will our date be like…”
“Tell me,” he turned his head to you, his eyes curious with a new-born glance of interest.
“I think you wanted us… not to talk at all. Just spend time together. Trying to see how we vibe without words, how we understand each other. Is this right?”
He smiled gently and said, uncertain:
“You’re right. Do you like this idea? Or maybe… it was stupid, and we have to change it?”
“No, I like it. I’m curious too. I want to know how it’ll feel. You know that I’m … always up to a little game, right?”
“Yeah, I thought so. But wasn’t sure if you’re really up to it.”
“I am. But this is not everything I wanted to tell you. I wanted to share… this, before our anniversary, to be… completely honest with you, because maybe… you’ll reject me after?”
“Me? Reject you?” Misunderstanding was in his eyes.
“Let me finish… I wanted to tell you yesterday, but didn’t… because of your scene with III. I couldn’t… then Ivy left the house and came back only in the morning”.
“II told me this after you fell asleep.”
“Yeah, it was because of me. And you know, me and Ivy… We got closer. I’m not sure what we are yet, but, Vess, I’m sorry, there is something going on between us.”
He cupped your cheek, rubbing it gently.
“I kind of knew it, dah-ling, there’s always this sexual tension between you and Ivy.”
“I’m afraid… it’s not just sexual tension, Vess…”
“Really?” His voice shook a little.
“Yes… By the way, today he bought me a dress for our date with you. But that’s not everything. He bought a second one for himself.” You stood up from a bed and, as if showing him the evidence, you took the shopping bags in your hand, lifting them up a little.
“Ha-ha-ha, what? We’ll see him in a dress? I bet it would be sparkly!” Vessel laughed hard exposing his ideally sharp canines.
But you were dead serious.
“No, Vess. He bought a second dress for our date with him… He invited me.” Your voice broke at the end of the phrase.
“And,” he asked, bittersweet and anxious. “What did you say?”
“I said… ‘yes’.”
Notes:
"Well, I've been waking up under blades..." (C)
Chapter 12: You taste like new flesh
Summary:
HAVE YOU BEEN WAITING LONG......... FOR ME? 😁
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Jericho (chapter name)
Sleep Token - Caramel
Sleep Token - Summoning
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
XII
“He invited me.” Your voice broke at the end of the phrase.
“And,” Vessel asked, bittersweet and anxious. “What did you say?”
“I said… ‘yes’.”
He sighed, slowly stood up from a bed and went across the room to the window. You were silent in your confusion, watching him. He grabbed the curtains and swung them open. His tall thin figure transformed into a dark silhouette contrasting against the darkening evening sky outside, looking surreal as a comic book illustration. You imagined the white cartoonish cloud beside his head, writing the thoughts rushing through his mind at the moment.
“He probably already hates me…” You thought. But at the same time the overflowing feeling of relief settled in your soul. You finally did it, you finally let out the unspoken truth, which was torturing you all these days. Probably, it can be the end for you, or maybe a new start for him.
If this was so, at least, you were honest with him and with yourself. It’s always a pleasure to tell the truth, no matter how painful it could be.
His voice was very quiet.
“Thank you…” He said, looking out of the window and not moving at all, looking like a statue.
“Uhm… for?” You asked, carefully.
“For telling me right away…”
“Are you mad?” You dared to ask again.
“No, I just know how it feels. Now.”
“How what… feels?”
“To be in II’s place having me as a… lover, I guess.”
You slightly gasped, but didn’t say a word. You were still frozen standing in front of the bed, legs not able to move as if you were stuck in a hot lava slowly getting stiff. He closed the curtains again and went directly to you with one of his obscene walks, like a lion coming out of his den: a little lazy, a little sleepy, but powerful, controlling, purposefully careless; his muscles moving seductively on his lean body under the thin fabric sweatpants and white tank top.
“Vess…” You whispered and turned to face him as he approached you.
His long thin finger laid on your lips, shutting you up. He was towering you now, his eyes dark, posture dangerous, breathing hitched. You tried to figure out where that darkness in his eyes came from: anger or lust. Both were possible with Vessel, you knew that, but he was still a mystery for you, every time. His lips curved in a grin, but eyes stayed dark and dead.
“How huge are his lips and chin, actually”. You thought the same thing as usual each time you were around him. “This man is unbelievably large in many ways.”
His gaze shifted, and you saw exactly three emotions there inherent to Vessel… the desire, the intention to care, and the dark territorial possessiveness. It was like looking at someone willing to kill or fuck you at the same time. Or more likely – to eat you whole (maybe after the act).
“Is this okay to feel that your partner is willing to eat you alive?” You thought.
“Kiss me.” He demanded instead and stood doing literally nothing, as if the act was supposed to be only played by yourself. You rose onto your tiptoes, giving you the maximum height to get closer to his face, wrapped your arms around his neck, forcing him to bend a little, noticing that he quickly obeyed, and gave him a fiery, aggressive and dominant kiss, despite your lips being much smaller and weaker. He was left slightly off-guard and opened his mouth in surprise of this immediate and forceful act, and your tongue slid directly into it.
His one hand tore the shopping bags you still held from one of your hands and let them fall down to the floor and without breaking the kiss, where now both of your tongues were dancing like mating snakes, he slightly pushed you forward, making you both fall onto the bed.
Everything happened too fast. Vessel pushed his knee in between your legs, forcing them open and sprawled himself on you, making you momentarily pant from the feeling of his chest and flat hard abdomen pressing to your torso, and his hardness down lower meeting your still covered in clothes entrance. You desperately wanted him to undress you as fast as he started this act, and your hips bucked up shortening the distance between your and Vessel’s love spots.
His next act made you a little pissed off. He grabbed your buttoned shirt and swung it open on your chest, just like he just did with those curtains a few moments ago, ripping the buttons off, one falling against the headboard of the bed with the unpleasant rang.
“Vess!” You shouted protesting.
He just growled, ignoring you, and his teeth sank into the flesh of your right tit above the thin white lace fabric of your bra. Biting, and kissing and sucking it through the fabric, he took away your phone from your pocket, then quickly unbuttoned your jeans, and when his warm mouth left your tit, you immediately felt the cold emptiness there. But he paused only to pull your jeans down and free each leg, and to throw the useless denim away.
His mouth now attacked your other tit, also above the fabric, and his fingers crooked around the front part of your panties, which were more like a small assembly of thin stripes barely covering your pussy. Not thinking for too long, Vessel pulled them to himself hard, making all the stripes painfully cut into your skin, and… ripped them off as well, throwing them away just above your head.
“WHAT THE HELL?!!” You yelled at him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you new ones.” He growled again, hungrily biting into your tit, shaking his head into the right and into the left like the predator rips his prey to bits and pieces. Something animalistic was always present in Vessel’s nature, but for you, this side of him opened a little bit wider that night.
“What-t… What-t… in the…” You were panting between moans not being able to formulate your question.
Vessel was unbothered. He pinned you down to the bed on a hip level, sitting on you as if he was riding, and pulled up his tank top, taking it away.
“W-what made you so… so… worked up, Vessi?” You finally managed to ask.
Instead of answering he started to take off his pants weirdly trying to save his position above you, as if you were trying to escape. To no surprise he wasn’t wearing any underwear on his lean but muscular hips, revealing his aching throbbing hard cock. It looked painfully hard, as if it was even causing him minor discomfort; you could literally feel its pulsation from a distance.
Your phone buzzed somewhere on the bed, where Vessel threw it, and his gaze immediately turned to it. Probably he saw the screen… again.
“Oh, dah-ling, you still haven’t opened what your ‘Sugarbutt’ had sent you.” He said, mocking your voice and accent on the word ‘Sugarbutt’.
“You asshole”, you thought, feeling actual angry affection for him anyways.
Sitting on you all naked, he reached for your phone and passed it up to you.
“Go, look.” He demanded.
“Vess, why now? We are literally busy right now, aren’t we?” You asked, blushing like a schoolgirl.
He continued staring at you, waiting. Then blinked. You sighed and opened the message with attachment Ivy sent you earlier right after your short finger-hand appointment in the car.
“Oh my…” You let out a sharp breath.
“It isn’t a meme, right?” Vessel asked, mischievous fire in his eyes, and a little eager jump on your hips, a playful twitch of his cock, a little slap of it over your lower belly.
“It’s a dick… if I got it right…” You whispered, blushing even harder.
“Show me…” And he started a playful, unserious fight for your phone. Finally he took a look. His eyes went through the entire photo with hawkish attention in his stare, and his one hand slowly moved to his own cock trailing down his length. It got hard and stiff again.
“You perv…” You sighed. He exposed his canines again with literally a wolf grin, blocked your phone and threw it away again. Then he got lower and started examining your pussy.
“So… he was here. Right?” He raised his head to look at you. Your eyes met. A mixture of anger and arousal in his eyes.
“Uh, well… not fully…” You said, evasively. “Fingers, yeah.”
“So, he sent you his prick to show what was missing today, yah?”
It was so funny, that you started to laugh so bad, that tears broke from your eyes.
“No, I’m seriously askin’...” He added. This made you laugh even harder. And he shutted you up with a sudden intrusion of his two fingers into your mouth, on which you sucked deliberately, still smiling. He changed his position and settled himself between your legs. You felt his slick fingers leave your mouth and dive into your pussy, so easily after your very recent episode with Ivy.
“You horny dripping little shit…” Vessel said suddenly, which made you tense hard around his fingers. “You just had your finish with him, probably, but you’re insatiable, right? You still wanna fuck so bad...”
This made the desired effect. You felt yourself being dirty, but still so aroused that your mind became clouded and vision blurry, wanting only those things he could give you.
He started to drill your pussy furiously with his long fingers, holding a very nonchalant face, and continued:
“Yeah… That’s what you want, you wanna fuck us so bad. You wanna have both, right? Answer!”
“Fuck, Vess, please…” You realized that you produced the most desperate sound you seemed to ever let out.
“Say it, say how much you wanna be a slut for us. Use your words”.
“I-I… I want… Vess. I want… Yeah… I want you both!”
“Say you are a little slut for us!”
“I am. I am a little… s-slut for you.”
And then two things happened.
Firstly, somehow you realized your kink was a ‘dirty talk’, which you didn't really understand earlier. Vessel in real life was the most polite male you’ve ever met, maybe only II could compete with him. In real life, aside from the bedroom, he called you beautiful poetic things like ‘my angel’, ‘my little girl’, his iconic ‘dah-ling’, and such. But you’ve never realized that once you would be so aroused being called ‘a slut’ by the same person, whose words were usually like fine poetry.
Of course, you would be deeply offended if he’d call you ‘a slut’, casually eating his breakfast or playing a song, but in the bedroom it really had a totally different effect, which was so surprising for you.
Your eyes were wide from realization of this new fact and you haven’t even noticed that his fingers were replaced with his cock, and his face above you carried a very different emotion as well. You were completely in his mercy at the moment, and you could never imagine that he could create such a level of submission and total trust in you for any man in this world.
Secondly, something new awoke in Vessel as well, which you still couldn't figure out in your vulnerable and aroused state. He was on fire, he was probably THE FIRE, he was unhinged, feral, he pounded you balls deep like it was the last time on earth. You felt like you were pleased to be dirty, you wanted more, and you were insatiable indeed. You got your legs so far apart, as you even could, to be able to let him as deep in, as it was possible. If it was even physically possible, you would take all of him, not just his love tool. And that thought mixed in your brain with the fact that you wanted Ivy, probably the same.
“What’s fucking wrong with you, woman?” You thought, but you’ve got no answer. These men changed you deeply in your core.
Time stopped, Vessel was plunging into you, as he was literally diving into waters, so wet you were for him, for all of this. And suddenly, you felt that he was quite close. He squeezed his eyes shut, and a cramp ran through his face. He was wiping his forehead more often, because sweat was dripping down from his hair. Your hands travelled up and down his sweaty glistening torso, feeling his hitched breathing, hearing him pant and moan so beautifully, which was one of your most favorite sounds.
“Tell me, how much do you want him…” He let out with a breath.
“W-what?”
“Tell me, how much do you want Ivy…” Saying this, he called Ivy with his real name. “Tell me!” He yelled his final demand, so you were even afraid someone could hear that.
“Ah… oh, I…I want him. So bad.”
“Tell me the fucking truth… Tell me how much!” He shouted.
“I want him so bad that if I knew I was allowed to fuck him, I’ll do it right… fucking now… In the bloody kitchen, in front of everyone!” You yelled back and felt dangerously close to your own finish.
His eyes rolled back, mouth opened and with a strong pound into you, he moaned so nicely, slowly and so sweetly, that you felt it like honey flowing in your ears.
“You wanna have his cock in you right now?!” He asked again, demandingly.
“Yes, yes-s, yes, please… I want it!” You screamed calling Vessel’s real name. He nearly lost his shit; his whole body started trembling.
“Do you imagine that thick cock from his image to be in you?!” He asked, and you felt his finger right onto your clitoris, almost shredding.
“Oh, fuck.. yeah… I want more than that picture. I want that thick prick in me now.” The moment you said this, a huge crashing wave of the pre-orgasm cramp struck through your whole body and your legs suddenly wrapped Vessel’s body and pressed to him harder from both sides like a closing book.
“YES!!!” He shouted with guttural growl and you felt his hot cum filling you on the inside. In that same moment, your orgasm cramps took over you as well, and pressing him harder with your legs, you started shaking with your whole body, trapping his length with your bottom muscles so hard, as of trying to make him stay inside you forever, and not let go, like a carnivorous plant trapping its insect victim in it’s deadly bud.
Vessel was all wet; he fell down on you exhausted, staying still inside you, while his cock slowly softened in between your pulsing walls. You lost your vision in a cosmic white bliss, almost fainting in his arms, you both were panting as if you ran a marathon. His sweat from hair was dripping on your chest and neck, when he laid on it, pressing his one ear to your skin on your heart level, as if he was listening.
When you both were over the orgasm aftershocks, and his cock slipped away from you, accompanied by his cum, you chuckled and said:
“I feel you dripping off me… Marked your territory now, Vessi?”
“I just had fun. A lot…” He sighed, kissing your chest.
“He-he…I’ve noticed. One thing is bothering me anyways…”
“Hmmm?” He hummed unbothered.
“What the hell was that with Ivy, his picture, and… mentioning him, when you literally were going to cum?” You asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about it. Yet.” He cut, and sniffed the air deeply.
“Uh, well. Okay…”
“Please…Tell me you’re not going to the shower. I wanna sleep on ya, here and now. Leave everything for tomorrow.”
“Cover us then, and kiss me goodnight”. You agreed, also not able to do anything, and having only one desire… – to melt into your lover and forget about the whole world. His warm body left you for a few seconds, while he took the blanket, but he also gave you your phone again.
“Why?” You asked.
“You haven’t answered him.”
“Uh… I… I don't even know what to answer. Never actually answered to dick pics…”
“Write at least anything… He’s waiting.” He whispered and got himself into the same position again, where his heavy head sunk onto your chest, while your legs intertwined. You were grateful to Vessel for giving you this advice, – this is what was appropriate, – and while holding your phone over his back, you typed:
YOU: You do not even realize what this picture caused. 🥵
The answer came immediately, and Vessel chuckled, vibrating against your chest, as if he knew it’ll be exactly this way:
Sugarbutt: Tell me tomorrow?
YOU: Sure 😘
You blocked your phone.
“Was it appropriate to send that kissing emoji? Are we this close or am I rushing?” You thought, putting the phone away.
“Stop overthinking and… start worshiping Sleep.” Vessel said very seriously, almost like reading your thoughts, and started to breath demonstratively loud, as if he was showing how to fall asleep.
You kissed his head, smiling, and closed your eyes too.
____________________________________
The next morning, you woke up alone. Vessel was nowhere to be seen, as always, as he woke up earlier than you and ran his thousands errands. You slowly stood up and expected the mess you’ve both made in the night. There were your clothes all around the bed, including your ripped underwear and the shirt almost left without buttons. The shopping bags were still there beside the bed. You stood up, getting right in the trap of Vessel’s discarded pants on the floor, and nearly fell down laughing, remembering your night. You gathered the lost buttons, all the discarded clothes, putting everything careful into the wardrobe. Then you threw away your ripped panties, they had no chances for resurrection. And then you found your phone.
Sugarbutt: Tell me tomorrow?
YOU: Sure 😘
08:24
Sugarbutt: Good morning 😘😘
“Oh, well… He also used the kissing emoji, so probably you did nothing awkward before.” You thought, and really couldn't find the appropriate answer to it. What do you have to answer to a man, who is a few walls far from you, and you could actually talk to him? You imagined giving him a good morning kiss, and how sweet the sensation from it could be, totally forgetting to answer. Probably, this is what you had in common…
After completing your morning routine in the bathroom, and trying on new dresses again, you hid them in your personal drawer away from Vessel’s eyes and went down to the kitchen. Usually there were all of them having breakfast or chatting. Or just III messing with his coffee rituals. But surprisingly there was Ivy alone. What was even more shocking: he was cooking!
You felt a sudden wave of affection for him, actually silently chuckling about the burning food smell the guitarist created around the kitchen. Ivy wasn’t a great cook at all, you never actually saw him doing this. Yes, sometimes he helped III or II to cut something or just assisted them, but never actually messed with the oven himself. You used Vessel’s skill to approach without making any sound, moving on your tiptoes, and stood behind his back. You saw him cooking pancakes, and that one that was already on the pan was dangerously close to getting burned.
You hugged him from behind, tightly wrapping your hands around him, and he jolted and jumped from scare, so concentrated he was on the pancakes.
“Good morning, melon!” You said, answering his message, and kissed his neck. After that one kiss you couldn’t stop and continued planting kisses all over that veins… You finally let yourself devour him the way you wanted, your lips reaching even his stupid little tattoo behind his ear, half-covered by his hair. He got ticklish and started laughing, blushing like a school boy and shouting to let him go, because he needed to put the half-burned pancake away from the pan.
“Sorry, I’ve forgotten the feeling of female hands on me… in the morning.”
“Yeah. I just want to answer your message in real life.”
“Oi? Uhmm, I thought you were fancy to have breakfast with me. So…”
“Wait… are these for me? Us?” You were really in a pleasant shock. That was a big effort for a guy like Ivy! You would say, this was a truly romantic gesture from him.
“Yeah, but… I think I fucked them up.” He sighed, getting the last pancake out of the pan and turning off the oven. Then he opened the bottle of sweet syrup and poured it generously over the pile of pancakes he made. His final act was adding the blueberries over the plate. You were watching his actions from behind his shoulder, still hugging him and smiling. No wonder that smell attracted Butterscotch, and he slowly entered the kitchen, looking sleepy at both of you.
In a matter of a few moments, you and Ivy were already outside, sitting on the swing bench in the backyard. A little coffee table was already there with your drinks Ivy took care of as well, and pancakes. Everything was served cozily, because what Ivy could do really well is to create comfort, blankets were there, warmth of Ivy’s lap present. Butterscotch sat beside the bench, posture straight and frozen, as a good boy, silently asking for treats with his puppy eyes.
“Sorry, if they taste bad, I nearly burned them…” He said again.
“IVy, I appreciate the effort so much that I would eat them even if they were all black like charcoal…” You answered, smiling.
“Aw? Really?” He asked with his funny Welsh accent, making a harsh “a” on the word ‘really’.
“Really.” And you kissed his cheek gently.
“Guys rarely ever do something like this for me, Ivy. I’m so lucky to be here with you. And Vess. I still can’t believe I’m here living literally like a princess. By the way…” You stumbled mid-phrase.
“Hmm?” He looked at you curiously.
“I told Vess about… us.” His eyes widened. “Let me finish. I told him about our possible date in future, as well.” He hummed, smiling. “And… There was quite a strange moment after. I don’t really know if I have to be happy about it or not.”
“He wasn’t really mad, right?”
“He was horny as hell, and also he forced me to open… your pic in front of him. As a result, we had a wonderful night…” You blushed heavily, putting your head down, and Butterscotch silently half-barked, thinking that the conversation could be about him or his treats.
“Boy, it’s not about you, relax…” Ivy said, laughing with his most hoarse voice, patting Butterscotch's head.
“Are you jealous?” You silently asked, feeling uncomfortable about the truth you revealed to Ivy. It was embarrassing for you to admit, that first of all, you shared Ivy’s intimate picture with you INITIAL, – so to say, – lover, and secondly, this picture, which was dedicated to you, made another man so horny.
“I am.” Ivy admitted. “Yes, I am jealous. But I’m not sure of whom more… of you or Vess.” And you both started laughing so bad, which caused snorting and tears.
“Where the fuck am I living…” You finally said, breathing heavily and wiping your tears off your face. “But you see… you are jealous. And I thought that… Vessel would be too, when he figures out. And first, he was! But then… something changed. I’m afraid he's got a weird kink.”
“Why are you afraid?” Ivy asked, curiously rubbing his short bristle on his chin.
“Don’t you think that it’s not really normal, when he’s getting aroused by the idea of his girlfriend cheating on him with his mate?”
“Hmm, I feel like it’s not relatable in the poly.” Ivy said, thoughtfully. “I think this is more like ‘girlfriend sharing’ kink. Interesting, I didn’t know he had it. None of us knew…”
You absorbed every Ivy’s word. He added:
“Don’t overthink it. Or google it, if it’s going to make you calmer. Or I don't know… ask chat GPT.”
“You really think it’s not that bad?” You asked one more time, a little less anxiously.
“I don’t really have it, but… I really think it’s not a big deal.”
The rest of the breakfast you spent with Ivy, putting your legs over his lap and leaning on his shoulder, watching funny videos, and memes. Once you were so distracted, laughing about something, that you didn’t notice Butterscotch stealing the pancake and running away, like he was escaping the jail. But you were happy and unbothered.
“ ‘ave you seen the memes about the Summoning rendition?” You asked.
“What?” Ivy was totally unaware of that.
“Well, fans are worried about that. You better release it soon. They ask when it’s ‘soon’... Oh well, sadly, I could be among the fans desperately waiting for new posts and promised rendition…”
“Ah, I didn’t really plan to… release it just yet. Plus, we were doing this with my guitar tech and… well, we got distracted.” He paused, thinking about something. “I don’t think it's an appropriate time for this anyways”.
“Why’s that?” You asked, smiling, showing him the meme, where the dude was touching a photoshopped Ivy, lying on the floor, with a stick and asking ‘do something’.”
He laughed at the meme wholeheartedly, and continued:
“I still can’t get used to this all. To this… ‘fame’... It feels like I’m obliged to post, and do stuff, you know?”
You just slowly nodded, putting your chin on his shoulder.
“Anyways, soon the Graphic Novel will be released, and… maybe people will just forget about that bloody rendition.” He chuckled.
“Oh yeah, hope for that…” You cackled.
Suddenly, your idyllic quiet moment was broken by a scream.
“Ivy, what did I tell you about the cleaning?!” II shouted, breaking through the door into the backyard. Worried and disheveled III and Vess ran behind him.
“Yo, what the fuck…” Ivy was looking surprised and unbothered.
“Hey, ya’ll didn’t invite meh…” III exclaimed with frustration and pouted, noticing the setting you and Ivy had created.
Vessel leaned on the doorframe behind III and II looking at you and the guitarist, at your feet on Ivy’s lap, at your chin on his shoulder, and chuckled mysteriously. II was irritated and stayed akimbo, brows furrowed.
“What I’ve told you about your stage jacket, you little shit?!” II shouted again.
“Fuck… I…” Ivy nearly choked on air, remembering that he forgot to hide it in the safe box down in the studio. “Fuck, I’m really sorry, II!”
Understanding that drama and screaming would escalate in a matter of seconds, you hissed through your gritted teeth at them:
“Stop it, now! We are outside. Neighbours can hear…”
“She’s right… Everyone get in now…” Vessel said quietly, giving you his iconic smile, pressing his lips into a thin line, and nodded.
____________________________________
“Tha situation is na’t that hard, as you describe it, ta be honest…” III said, thoughtfully, rubbing his moustache.
“Yeah, clever cookie, I’VE GOT IT. And I handled it alone, without ya’ll…” II said, clearly pissed off, and pointed his finger at everyone one by one, except you. He just gave you an angry glare.
“What have I done, II?” You asked.
“You witnessed this. We were all together going to buy groceries, when I told Ivy to hide his stage jacket in the safe box!” II was talking as if he had learned this text by heart. “He knew exactly that the cleaning company sent us a new maid. And he knew exactly that it was irresponsible to forget about this in the first place. He got TOO distracted!”
“You hint that I’m a distraction?!” Your voice rose to become thin and high-pitched.
“Stop it now, you both!” Vessel rolled his eyes. “It’s not the scariest thing that could happen. Actually, you all know too well what was the scariest one, and why we all relocated.”
“Look, I’m very very sorry…” Ivy tried to intervene, but it broke out so quietly that no one noticed, and you just gave him a reassuring pat on his back.
“So, you prefer to have a group of thirsting teenagers in front of our door or what?!” II asked Vessel, looking furiously up above.
“What? Why teenagers?” Vessel raised his brow, continuing staying akimbo.
“She has a 15-year old daughter… And she’s obsessed with us…” II sighed.
“Gha-gha-ha-ha!” III barked and shook his head.
“Wait… what exactly did she say when she saw that bloody jacket?” Vessel pressed.
“She said that her OBSESSED daughter constantly talks about the band and shows her photos every day, and especially photos of a guitarist in this jacket.” II casted a deadly gaze at Ivy and, the mentioned guitarist put his head down. “Well, I said that we are cosplayers and left, but then she approached me again, and told me that she knows exactly who we are, and that we are not fucking cosplayers!”
“What the hell? Tha’ granny knows a lot.” III quacked. And you smiled at him, because you also knew that most of the maids working here were elderly women, probably having nothing in common with this kind of music.
“She’s not granny, III, she’s only 38!”
“Wait, did she try to blackmail you?” Vessel asked with a hint of anxiety in his tone.
“Exactly, Vess. She still CAN leak our address and...”
“Naaahh, come onnn’!” III interrupted. “We can make her fired with one phone call.”
“Oh really?” II asked sarcastically. “We made a deal tho…”
“Tickets?” III raised his brows playfully.
“Not just tickets, III, four tickets. Her daughter is underage and can attend the ritual only with an adult.”
“Why four then?”
“She asked for II shows. First and second ritual in London on O2 Arena…”
“Wooop, that MILF knows what she wants… Got a good taste tho.” III quacked.
“Also merch.” II said, darkly. “For this she promised to keep our address a secret. But… of course, I warned her that we still can make her fired in an instant.”
“Well, II. Sorry you had to handle this alone, but you did so well. Just as always. Eternally grateful…” Vessel grabbed II, and hugged him so tight, that you all heard II’s joints squeak. Then he continued:
“As for the woman, she’s probably struggling alone with a teenager. Working as a maid. I guess she was more than happy to realize what house she got in by chance. Which mother wouldn’t dream to give her child tickets she cannot afford and fulfil her dream. Plus… the headline shows, for the first time. When I was a teenager I could only dream about that… II, please, let me know, when she’ll be cleaning next time. I’ll talk to her as well.”
“I already made the necessary calls.” II said quietly, with less anger in his voice.
“Good, now please… Ivy, be careful and just a little more attentive. No one takes away your distraction.” You instantly went beetroot on your face, as well as Ivy. Then Vessel trailed his soft gaze through everyone in the room and said: “You all, stop blaming each other. I wanna have a quiet day. I need to finish one song before we’ll start recording the new album. I… I have almost done everything except minor details. And II, please come with me… I need to play with you. I really need… And like.. in an hour, I’ll need you boys, too.” He nodded at two guitarists. “Dah-ling… I’m sorry. We’ll spend a day together on our date tomorrow.”
You nodded so sharply, as if you were a soldier.
“Yeah, you'd be dead without me…” II chuckled.
“This is not even a metaphor.” Vessel smiled and wrapped II’s shoulders with his long arm, and they left the room.
“So, when ya were going to tell meh?” III asked.
“About what?” Ivy said, a big sad crept in his voice.
“About yar’ distraction.” III said this, looking exactly at you, and you felt like cold sweat showed up down your spine.
“He is… jealous too…” You thought and this scared you more than your yesterday’s confession to Vess.
Faint drumming and melody were now audible from the studio where Vess and II started their creative process again. Probably they didn’t shut the door, because the sound was very clear and loud. You didn’t know the song’s name yet, but you’ve heard it many times, while Vessel was writing it. You recognized it immediately.
“Love, I… I was going to tell you…” Ivy raised his very sad and heavy lids at III, trying to apologize already by the look on his tragic face. Probably, he blamed himself for everything. He was clearly on a black list in this house for God knows what time…
III’s gaze went dark, and he interrupted his mate and lover:
“I’ll go for another round with mates. Then see ya in the studio…”
Bassist’s long legs immediately lifted him from the couch, and he disappeared within seconds.
Ivy hid his flushed face in his big palms, leaning with his elbows on the knees. You felt incredibly sorry for him, but at the same time… a little frustrated. He didn’t tell III, his lover… He didn’t say anything. Not that II and Vessel weren’t his lovers, but their connection was special and deep. Just like II’s and Vessel’s was. You felt more power and freedom now, since you confessed to Vessel. Why didn’t he? Wasn’t he sure about you? Were you just a little distraction for him and nothing more?
Vessel’s clear beautiful voice broke from the studio:
“...This stage is a prison!
A beautiful nightmare,
The war of attrition…”
This sounded as a reminder to Ivy and all of them about the value of their anonymity, – the importance of being constantly careful. You shook your head:
“He’s a Saint, for real…” You whispered, listening to the song with brimming tears in your eyes. “How he reacted to this woman… from cleaning. Man…”
Ivy’s voice became dark, cracked and quiet, as if it was broken:
“I do not deserve this all. I do not deserve HIM. All of them. I came here last, and… for some still unknown reason, – they have chosen exactly me. Not the other guy, who can definitely play guitar… maybe better than me. They gave me all the best things in life… everything I’ve ever dreamt of. I don’t understand how I’m still here being this piece of shit. I’m a huge frustration, as I always was. I’ll only suffer.”
You stood up and said, harsh:
“Get yourself together, Ivy… You know they LOVE you. You know you are a great guitarist, great musician, great tech and great friend. And… lover. Now stop this self-hatred parade and go help Vessel in the studio. Music always heals, we all know it. You need to be with your mates now. Especially now.”
“You hate me now?” He raised his big wet lamb eyes at you.
“Get III… Bring him and your ass to the studio. Play music together, drink.. get high. Do anything. But talk to III sincerely and openly. And be beside Vessel and II.”
“You didn’t answer… You don’t wanna be… like… together?”
“I can’t, Ivy. Not until you talk to III, and obviously not until he’ll accept it. I can’t, if he won’t…”
Notes:
Let me know what you think about this chapter so far 📌 I will highly appreciate your reactions, comments are so very welcome!💋
Chapter 13: You pray for sound and I pray for silence
Summary:
I'm so happy to deliver THIS 🌹🌹🌹
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Look to windward (chapter name)
Sleep Token - Provider
Sleep Token - Infinite baths
Sir Elton John - Tiny Dancer
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In a small but decently crafted home-made music studio something was ‘cooking’. In a few hours after Vessel and II went there, music was still clearly heard from the basement: they weren't bothered to shut the door, and you actually enjoyed hearing every sound of it, even if some parts they played were a wrong take. Music was still beautiful, lyrics were still genius; you basically already heard each song of the upcoming album, without knowing the names of them, or the order of songs, or even the album’s title.
One thing you knew for sure: this album was supposed to not only continue their sky-rocketing, it was supposed to make them one of the biggest bands in the world.
They were sitting in the studio for hours by now. At some point, you’ve heard guitar and bass join drums and vocals and smiled kindly. Deep inside you were hoping that the string section of the band had a TALK. At least, let the woman dream!
Your own last words spoken to Ivy were still ringing in your head…
“You didn’t answer… You don’t wanna be… like… together?” Ivy pressed.
“I can’t, Ivy. Not until you talk to III, and obviously not until he’ll accept it. I can’t, if he won’t…”
Now, indeed, you were anxious about this. III was clearly hurt, despite the fact that all this time he seemed to be totally okay with your and Ivy’s constant obvious flirting. What if III won’t really accept you as Ivy’s … girlfriend? Side project? Distraction? Two thoughts as two fighting cockroaches were messing in your head. Empathy for III and his hurt feelings was the first one. The second one was your ego, probably. And that second one was selfish. If III wouldn’t accept you with Ivy, it will hurt you , – who would only know how much you grew into Ivy.
You got chills from thoughts you had listening to them practicing, but you hoped they had a moment, and talked. On the other hand… You knew men. They would do anything but avoid talking about feelings… Younger Vessel, for example, needed a good talk and a hug, regularly, but instead.. he started a band.
Even if III and Ivy didn’t participate in song writing, they learned to play new songs immediately after Vessel said that the song was 90% ready. Vessel showed it to II, the drummer played his first raw idea of the drum parts, which were often changed in the process, when he added his powerful fills and interesting features, and his parts became progressively juicier.
Only after this, Vessel gave Ivy and III the idea of how he wanted guitars to sound, humming them melodies and telling them when to start and what exactly has to be in this or that moment of the song. They played something similar to his given melody and he often shouted “THAT’S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT! AMAZING! YEAH! I WANT IT THIS WAY!” or sometimes it was “Dah-ling, here I want tu-tu-tu-duh-duh to be aligned with drums, and here you go like tu-duu—ooop—pause—tu-du-do-do.”
This practice was different just because almost all album material was already crafted, and guitarists already learned the songs. They were playing new songs and just checking the vibe, thinking of maybe some details to add. You’ve even heard the crashing harsh vocals of Ivy adding to Vessel’s, which set the whole house on vibration, as the studio was still open. Once again, like hundreds of times before, you felt joy and gratitude for being there, with men of your dreams. Who would only imagine having what you had? You were not even supposed to be here, and no one was supposed to know you exist in their space.
Sitting all alone, listening to the born but not yet released masterpieces, you felt like a guard in this house, but… protecting what? Four grown ass men? Protecting or gatekeeping?
Suddenly, a very anxious feeling crept into your heart, remembering the last conversation with all of them. The bad thought hit your brain again, pushing you towards the sudden decision. You had to tell this to all of them, even if that meant to be interrupting their practice.
____________________________________
Vessel suddenly stopped singing, seeing you through a small window between their studio and little mixing room, where you were looming for a few seconds, trying not to break into the studio like a storm. II stopped playing too, as only them were facing the entrance. Later the guitar tunes stopped with slow buzzing; III and Ivy turned to you as well, silently staring.
“Dah-ling? Is everything alright?” Vessel shouted away from his mic, knowing that the sound proof walls would muffle him. “Come in here!”
You came into the studio and leaned on the door frame shyly, looking at them all with awe, as it was the first time you saw them. Ridiculous… No matter how long you have been with them, you’ve always got this strange feeling of intervening in the sacred ritual.
“Guys… I’m… I was thinking…” You started and stumbled on words.
Deep inside you, happiness quickly crept into your heart, that no one of them EVER said inherent to most men you’ve met in your life sexist insults… Something like “oh no… she was thinking…”.” Or similar bullshit. Four pairs of blue eyes were staring at you, attentively listening.
“I think this is important.” You said. “I’m sorry to interrupt your practice though.”
III put his head down, his blonde dyed hair covered his face, so it was hard to see his emotions. He slowly took off the bass guitar from his shoulder, and placed it onto a holder. On the little couch there was still Ivy’s jacket, the reason for the recent incident with the cleaning service. Ivy himself was darker than a cloud. Vessel and II were unbothered, as they did not hear how your conversation with III and Ivy ended.
“Let’s take a break then!” Vessel nodded, curiously smiling, looking at you with eager impatience. “Please, tell us, what you’ve been thinking? You are, anyway, our first listener!”
“It’s not about music, Vess… Music is amazing, there is probably no chance for me to dislike it.” You chuckled, making them all smile. “I was thinking about the maid… from the cleaning service. Look, I understand that… the case is kind of closed. She keeps her job, she receives her tickets to your two huge shows and merch. But… I think that we have to change her and send her to another object.”
III was to speak first, and the thing he said, made you tense:
“No wonder… ya feel like a queen here, the one and only. Of course, ya won't ta’lerate any other woman in this house. Ya want all ta’ yourself.”
You knew that he wasn’t meaning what he said for real, he was just bitter because of yours and Ivy’s situationship, jealous and spiraling in his dark headspace at the moment, and it had nothing to do with other women. Or even other men.
“Oi, III, that was a bit rude…” II said, taking out his ear monitors with a metronome out of his ears.
“Agreed.” Vessel added, glancing at II and then at the bassist.
“Oh-kaaay, sorry-y!” III raised both hands in a ‘giving up’ gesture and started to approach the door to go out.
“Stay, III, listen to the end…” Vessel caught III up, putting his hand on bassist's bony shoulder.
III sighed and closed his eyes, then with gritted teeth, not even looking at Vessel, hissed:
“Ya said we ‘ave a pause in practicing. I’ll go take piss.” And not minding Vessel’s hand on him, he went out of the room as fast as a lightning nearly stumbling on you in the doorframe.
“What’s wrong with him today?” Vessel shrugged and threw up his hands in confusion.
Ivy raised his sad cat eyes at Vessel and answered, nearly whispering:
“My fault… I’ll fix it later, when we finish. We had… a moment.”
“You better do, please!” Vessel looked at Ivy seriously, but kindly. “So, dah-ling… Why do you want to send the maid away?”
“She already knows a lot… And we are all lucky she met only II. First of all, it’s better for her not to see other members. The more she’ll know and the closer she’ll get with everyone the more her appetites will grow. If she already suggested her silence in exchange for tickets, she will think that she’s allowed to ask for more. That’s the first thing!” You paused, looking at all of them one by one. “Second thing, it’s good that she didn’t see me. Well, maybe she saw some femalish things somewhere in the house, but… if she actually saw me living here… One woman with four men.”
“I thought about that too, Six…” II said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Just imagine that ‘news’ if something will be leaked.”
“Yeah, something like ‘4 members of Sleep Token share one girlfriend’... Kind of interesting clickbait for a yellow source, right?” You immediately continued.
“See? Probably, you were not a bad journalist in your past!” II chuckled. “No offense though. I think you are absolutely right. She already knows that we are all probably living together. Adding a girlfriend of no-one-knows-whom would be too much. I won’t even mention that some of the crew members know we share one address…”
Vessel nodded and approached you, taking your face in his huge palms and giving you a very shy, almost vestal kiss. Seemingly that violently horny man, who fucked the shit out of you yesterday disappeared, and let this gentleman to take his place. His touch was delicate, as silk falling down on a naked skin.
“Not that I like to repeat myself or II, but you are right… And thank you for being attentive enough, and considering it’s important to raise this topic again, Angel…” Vessel said quietly, cradling you in his arms.
III came in exactly, hearing II and Vessel telling you were right… He smirked at you and Vessel, standing in the doorframe, giving you a look of a defeat, filled with bitterness.
You continued:
“Guys, even if we change the maid again… we have to be more cautious in general. It’s better that no one figured out that a woman lives here too. And I can clean our room myself, Vess. I’m not working anyways and it’s not that hard.”
“Dah-ling… the idea is good, but don’t worry about that. You can’t keep us safe from the whole world. We all can’t. People now recognise us almost everywhere we go: in the cafe shops, supermarkets, other band’s shows… Especially, III. Plus he always opens the door to meet the delivery men, and often they understand who he is. But we’ll change this maid. That’s for sure.”
“Okay… Good. I need to fix some things." You said mysteriously, and looked at their puzzled faces once again. "Have fun, boys. Oh and… what a masterpiece of an album you just played.”
They all looked at each other with delighted childish smiles, joyful and genuine, as if they’ve heard this for the first time in their lives. You guess, this is what it always felt like for a creator. You wanna know that you are doing well, no matter how famous you are already.
____________________________________
Vessel’s room sat across the hall, its door shut. You entered with one and only goal, to grab your laptop and try to fix your thoughts with some research. In the room you found a discarded Vessel’s hoodie on the armchair, and took it in your hands. The warm fabric was soft and smelled like him. You brought it to your face and buried it into it. After some deep sinking in the feeling of his ‘presence’, you put it on you, gliding your hands once again all over yourself. The hoodie nearly reached your knees.
Your laptop glowed softly in your lap, the search bar blinking like it was holding its breath.
“sharing girlfriend kink meaning”
“why is my boyfriend not jealous”
“polycules and emotional detachment?”
You’d never thought you’d be that person – Googling your relationship secretly, while your man was working, wrapped in Vessel’s hoodie, fresh from a night where everything both made sense and didn’t.
Last night you finally told him – Vessel – about Ivy.
You’d been holding it in like a secret with teeth, chewing at the edges of your conscience. It had felt like a betrayal, even though nothing had happened. Not yet.
And his reaction… What the hell did that mean?
Yesterday he’d taken you like you were oxygen he’d been holding his breath for. He pulled sounds from your throat like a symphony of need. He’d been unhinged , but never angry. Possessive, yes. Jealous? No. Turned on.
Like your confession had fed something in him.
Now, hours later, you laid curled on the bed, reading Reddit threads like they were sacred texts.
“I didn’t think I’d be into sharing until I joined a polycule. Turns out, it wasn’t about less love—it was more.”
“Some people don’t get jealous. It’s not detachment. It’s compersion—joy at your partner's joy.”
“It’s not always sexual either. Sometimes it’s just about trust and fluidity. But also... yeah, for some, the idea of sharing their girlfriend drives them absolutely feral—in a good way.”
You scrolled further, eyes catching on the word:
Compersion.
A weird word. Beautiful, kind of. Foreign. Like compassion, but... twisted into something more complex. You paused, heart stuttering in your chest. Was that what Vessel felt? You remembered the look on his face when you’d told him. Not distant. Not cold. He had looked lit up. Like something inside him had been waiting for that truth. But the doubt still gnawed at you, sharp and quiet.
What if this wasn’t about compersion? What if he just didn’t care as much as you did? What if he was playing a part, enjoying the drama without the risk?
You buried your face in your hands, letting the laptop warm your thighs.
You were in love with him. You knew it now, or maybe you’d always known it. But being loved by someone like Vessel – ethereal, unreadable, strange and sweet and detached all at once – was like trying to hold smoke in your hands.
And now… you were in a ‘polycule’. Or at least orbiting one. Living in a house where intimacy wasn’t linear and nothing was quite defined. You didn’t hate it. Not really. But it scared you.
You closed the laptop and laid back on the bed, eyes tracing the empty ceiling, still listening to the distant sound of music they've created.
____________________________________
The warm breath of a London summer evening wrapped itself around the rooftops, thick with the perfume of distant rain and city dust. The streets pulsed with life, but here, everything had slowed – muted like a held breath. You stepped out of the cab Vessel ordered for you, in front of a quite old building downtown. It was a hotel, and you were a little confused, but there were some instructions in the short SMS Vessel sent you before.
You approached the building, entered a big hall, and went across the space passing by the hotel reception right to the lift, heels clicking softly on the floor, the ocean blue silk of your dress catching the dim lights like water in motion. It clung and shimmered around you as if it had been poured on. Once again you thought that the dress was ideal for this date, and it was the choice made by fate. Somewhere behind you, the lift door hissed shut, and silence settled in with you.
The cabin stopped on the very last floor of the hotel.
Vessel stood with his back to you near the edge of the rooftop, his figure outlined in gold by strings of warm Edison bulbs. He was wearing a suit, sharply cut and perfectly dark, and it made you pause for a second. You had seen him in every form – shirtless or all naked, cloaked in the myth of his stage persona and casually dressed for his workout – but never like this. Never like a man dressing up just to celebrate something sacred.
He turned when he heard your steps. No words. Just him.
Your eyes met, and something passed between you both – already a familiar, warm, and heavy with unspoken things. He extended a hand toward you, palm up, and you didn’t hesitate. Your fingers slid into his, and the contact was effortless, like muscle memory.
He led you deeper into the rooftop space. Everything felt like a movie.
“Can’t be happening to me… Am I dreaming?” You thought, looking around.
The rooftop had been emptied only for you both – secluded, intimate, the kind of place hidden from maps and time. The bartender, an older man with greying temples and knowing eyes, nodded to Vessel before disappearing into the back, as if this whole night had been arranged in reverence.
There were no menus, no chatter, no clinks of cutlery from nearby tables. Just the hum of the city in the distance and the flicker of candles that lit the table beside an upright piano. The silence between you wasn’t awkward; it was deliberate. Chosen. A mutual understanding shaped by one year's worth of shared breath, glances, and all the things you never needed to say aloud.
You sat as he pulled the chair out for you, and when he took the seat across from you, he studied you in silence; eyes roaming the slope of your neck, the way the silk of your dress caught the light like a second skin. His expression didn’t change, but his gaze deepened. You felt seen. Unravelled. Worshipped.
He was more than satisfied by the dress you have chosen for a date, but he could speak only with his gaze, which was deep and grounded, as if he was confirming you belonged to him. And yet… there was something else. A shift. A quiet storm beneath the stillness.
You didn’t have to speak it. He already knew. The flicker of feeling you had tried to bury, the one tied to Ivy, the one who always met you with crooked smiles and smouldering eyes. Vessel didn’t flinch. No bitterness. No jealousy. Just an acceptance that settled over him like smoke, thick but calm. His eyes told you everything:
“He won’t make you less mine…”
And somehow, that made you love him more.
Dinner arrived as if summoned by thought – small plates of delicate and fragrant oysters bathing in juice, lost between lemon slices and wet sea decoration stones. You ate slowly, savouring each bite like it had meaning. Every glance across the table was another sentence in your silent language. At one point, when your eyes locked over your wine glasses, the distance between you seemed to dissolve entirely. The air shifted. Grew heavier. Sweeter. You smiled at him, thinking of how genius it was to plan this date. No words needed, still more romance and intimacy present.
He smiled back, as if he understood what you were thinking about. In that gaze, you saw more than the man in front of you. You saw your Budapest. The first time your eyes met. The way he’d noticed you mid-step, like something had tugged at his soul.
And somehow, a year later, you were here.
When he rose from the table and gestured toward the piano, you followed him blindly. He sat at the keys, his fingers hesitating a little before pressing down.
A soft, haunting melody spilled into the air – neither joyful nor mournful, just... present. Like him. Like them. You drifted closer, placing a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked up at you, your eyes met again and deepened. There was a language in the way you stared at each other. The truth. The trust.
The piano bench was wide enough for two people. You sat beside him, putting your head on his shoulder wrapped in a suit. You lost track of time… the melody was so beautiful and so raw, as he played it effortlessly, messy, fingers tapping on the keys with a sound, deep breathing beneath your temple. He played quite longer than it was probably necessary, but you didn't want it to end either. When he finished the melody with quiet slow notes, as if fading, he looked down at you with a side-eye, and smiled, putting his lips into a thin line, as he usually did, when he accomplished something. He moved his shoulder slightly as if checking if you fell asleep or not.
You nodded once, smiling warmly, as if coming back to reality, and he stood up. His eyes found the old bartender coming back to the rooftop, holding a towel over his forearm. Vessel nodded and the bartender gave him the knowing look. Soft music started playing all over the rooftop, and you felt like Vessel’s long fingers intertwined with yours and he pulled you into the centre of the roof.
“Oh my God… Is he trying to invite me to dance?” You thought anxiously, tensing your feet in high heels. You caught yourself thinking that you haven’t worn high heels for years by now.
It was a song by Elton John called “Tiny Dancer”.
"Of course, oh Vessel…"
You danced slowly, bodies swaying in time with the music and the heartbeats in your chests. His hand rested lightly at your waist, yours at his collarbone, feeling the steady rhythm beneath his skin. The city lights blinked far below, unconcerned, as two souls on a hidden rooftop moved without a single word to the music.
And in that sacred silence, they spoke volumes. No empty words. No explanations. Just understanding.
And that was enough.
“Hold me closer, tiny dancer…" You felt him singing inside his head.
____________________________________
You barely noticed the clink of the silverware or the low hum of the city anymore. Something about the weight of Vessel’s gaze – silent, steady, knowing – pulled you inward. Deeper. The candlelight flickered and, just like that, the rooftop blurred.
And there you were again.
Budapest. Your Budapest. 1st of August a year ago.
The air had been thick with summer heat, the Danube glowing under a bruise-purple sky. You remembered wandering into that little red-lit bar near the ruin pubs – not to drink, really. Just to prolong the deep dive into each other. The kind of day that didn’t need choreography. You walked the cobbled streets together, talked about nothing and everything. Ended up at the city’s ferris wheel, rising slowly over a skyline stitched with gold.
The wind kissed your skin as the gondola creaked, swaying lightly.
You had been sitting close, your thigh just brushing his, and when you looked at him, after hours of playing pretend of not knowing who he was, you finally gave way.
"Vessel."
He froze slightly, then turned his head to look at you more fully. “That’s it.”
You were unable to keep the grin off your face and the sensation of finally saying it.
He exhaled, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “And yet, you played along.”
“I wanted to meet you. Not the mask.” You said.
He looked away for a moment. Quiet. Then: “Thank you.”
Later that night, you both drifted back into the bar, unable to stay away from each other. The drinks were stronger this time. You were sitting close, sharing stories, shoulders touching.
He was… different. Not cold, not unreachable. Just watchful. Careful with his words. But there was laughter, too. Real laughter, rare and warm, shared over some ridiculous story he told about their last tour, involving a drunk sound tech and a haunted hotel.
At some point, you stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
He leaned back in his chair, swirled the last of his drink, and said, smiling:
“Try not to leave through the window.”
You turned, raising a brow: “Excuse me?”
He gave a lazy, crooked smile: “It’s happened before.”
You stared at him: “You’re joking.”
His lips twitched: “Only partly.”
It was bittersweet, funny, but tinged with something else. A vulnerability he tried to tuck away behind humor.
When you returned, his smile was different. Softer. But something had changed. You followed his gaze to a small group of girls clustered at the end of the bar. One of them was clearly whispering. Another lifted her phone like she might snap a photo.
They had recognized him. Not him, not the man in front of you, but Vessel. The myth. And they were staring at you, too. Measuring. Wondering. You didn’t say anything. Neither did he.
He stood up. “Come on,” he said gently, offering you his hand.
Outside, the streets were quieter, but busy with neat yellow cabs. Golden light spilled from shuttered cafés and the scent of summer trees drifted down from the hills.
He walked you to your hotel in silence, his fingers brushing against yours but never fully clasping them. There was a tension between you now, something alive. A question neither of you quite dared to ask.
You stopped in front of the entrance, blinking up at the building. The night pressed in around you, warm and private. You were afraid to look back at him, as if fearing he will disappear as the apparition.
He looked down at you with an intense calm. His voice was soft, low: “You know… I wouldn’t mind if I… could stay.” And he glanced at the hotel building.
The implication hung in the air – gentle, not demanding. It would’ve been easy to say ‘yes’. You were a little drunk. He was a little tipsy. He was your favorite singer. You were just one of many fans, given a little chance. And you both felt it – that pull.
But still, you shook your head, smiling. “We just met, V.” A pause.
“Have I just killed the first and the last chance with him?” You thought anxiously, as if making a mistake on the exam, one step away from passing it successfully.
Then he leaned down and kissed you. Not hard, not desperate – just enough. Like a bookmark pressed between pages. It was just a dry single kiss on your lips. When he pulled back, his eyes stayed closed for a bit longer than necessary, as if wanting to go deeper. You choked on your breath, not being able to say a word.
“Well…” He stood awkwardly with both arms hanging down his lean body. Within seconds he turned from a rock star into the shy guy from college, who had to deal with his first real rejection. “I guess… not today.”
“You realize that… I want it more than you?” You suddenly said, your voice trembling heavily, panting.
“Good. I know where you stay, anyways.” He grinned.
“Vess, phones already exist.” You chuckled.
You exchanged numbers, and your heart painfully squeezed, realising that the next minute everything will end. Tears already started to brim in your eyes, and you were trying your very best not to show it to him. He turned and walked away without another word, disappearing into the shadows like he had never been there at all.
That was exactly what you have been afraid of since then. That once he will disappear forever. And no matter how long you knew each other, one day everything can just end, leaving you in deafening silence in the empty room, as if nothing has ever happened.
That night, you laid in your hotel bed, staring at the ceiling. You couldn’t sleep. The pillow smelled like the bar, cigarettes from your passive smoking. Your lips felt him still. That one touch lasted a few seconds, but never left your lips afterwards, cutting through your memories as a blade.
And all you could think about was this aching little fear:
“What if I’ll never see him again? What if I’ll never see him off stage?”
____________________________________
The sound of the city crept in at the edges of your consciousness – the distant hush of traffic, the creak of rooftop wood cooling under summer heat. Your wine glass sat empty now, condensation collecting like dew. And across from you, he watched.
Vessel.
No longer the memory of Budapest. Not the stranger from the airport. Not the myth from the stage.
But your boyfriend.
Your partner of one year.
Your anchor. He was still here.
You blinked, breathing in slowly, and let the flashback fade into the shadows of the rooftop. His eyes never left yours. He knew. Somehow, he always knew when your mind drifted to that night. Back to the beginning.
He didn’t speak, didn’t have to. The curve of his mouth was soft, amused, affectionate. It said:
“I know where you went. And I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.”
The wind stirred faintly, brushing a strand of hair across your cheek. Vessel reached across the table slowly, gently tucking it behind your ear. His knuckles skimmed your jaw, and something ancient flickered behind his eyes – the yearning.
There was something in the way he looked at you. You’d caught glimpses of it before: in the shadows backstage, in bed at 3 a.m., in the curve of his mouth when he whispered ‘mine’ in the dark. But here, now, under stars and candlelight, it burned differently. With desire.
He stood, holding your gaze, and extended a hand without speaking. You didn’t ask where you were going. You didn’t need to.
The cab ride was brief and hushed, the driver understanding from the way you sat close that conversation was not welcome. You leaned into him, your head on his shoulder, his hand resting on your thigh in a way that was possessive and gentle all at once. He didn’t speak. Neither did you.
But it pulsed between you:
“Soon. Soon. Soon.”
When you arrived, you thought how strange everything felt… But you trusted him no less. He could book a room in the same hotel, where you just had the best date of your life… But he had booked another hotel ahead of time. Was it because of the secretiveness? Another silent clue. Another careful gesture.
The room was lit only by the amber glow of a floor lamp. Tall windows framed the skyline. A single bottle of water waited on the nightstand, unopened. The bed, broad and white, looked too perfect.
He turned to face you, his suit jacket already half-undone, and for a moment, you both stood there. Just breathing. Watching. Waiting. He didn’t push. And you reached for him first.
Fingers on buttons. Skin against wool. The quiet gasp when your lips met his neck. He was looking stunning in this suit, despite the fact that earlier you thought that nothing can top his stage appearance, – the tall man with authentic, not conventional beauty in his features, lean and graceful like a gazelle, and at the same time edgy in moments of self-doubt. YOUR MAN.
It was even sad to take off the suit. But it HAD to be done, because the yearning from both sides were louder than any words.
Vessel’s hands found your hips wrapped in a silk blue dress, like they belonged there – like they had always been waiting to return. Waiting to return… You kissed with urgency, but not recklessness.
This wasn’t hunger. This was recognition.
In silence, he guided you backward, his hands never leaving your body, until the backs of your knees hit the bed. He kissed your collarbone, your shoulder, the place where silk gave way to skin. He drank you in.
With his few well-played movements, the dress slipped to the floor. He followed it down, glimpsing your revealed totally naked body now. The knowing grin brightened his face in the darkness, the whites of his eyes and teeth like fireflies lit up your soul. Your heart jumped and spinned in the air, sinking down, as if ready for the ride now.
And then the night opened like a secret just for the two of you.
There were no words, not even whispered. As it was meant to be tonight. Only breath. Only skin. Only the sacred rhythm of two people who no longer needed a voice to speak.
He moved above you, within you, as your bodies folded into one another like verses of an old prayer. Or a new song. Suddenly the words, you’ve heard Vessel singing in his cozy home-made studio a day prior to your date, played in your head:
“And our bodies converse like old friends,
Exchanging the years in silence…”
You thought, the blurry, sensational feeling in your mushed brain:
“How's he going to name this song?”
You understood the true meaning of the date.
Not just a celebration. But remembering. An infinite return. And in that sacred silence, you made love like it was a language all its own.
____________________________________
The world had slowed to a hush.
The city lights flickered behind the hotel window, blurred by the glass and the fog of heat between your bodies. The sheets clung to damp skin, twisted halfway around your thighs, and your breath had only just begun to return to something steady.
He laid beside you, still pressed close, his hand resting just below your ribs like he needed to feel you breathe. He always did. His skin was feverishly warm and his chest rose and fell in time with yours. You could feel his heartbeat where it met your shoulder.
The silence had stretched past the act itself, like it didn’t want to let go just yet. Like it had one more thing to give. Being non-verbal started to feel so good that you might develop a taste for it. Vessel probably infected you just by preferring it.
You turned your head slowly, catching his eyes in the dim amber light. His hair was mussed and damp at the temples. A shadow of a smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, soft and knowing, as always.
Vessel brushed a knuckle along your jaw, tracing the outline of your cheekbone. You leaned into it instinctively.
You thought he might still keep the silence alive – make it last the whole night. But then, in a voice low and quiet, almost reverent, he whispered:
“…Did we pass the test?”
“I think we broke the grading scale.” You let out a breath of laughter.
His grin widened just enough to be smug without ruining the tenderness in the air. “I knew you’d say that.”
You rolled your eyes, but your lips curved too. “So you really planned all this?”
He nodded slowly. “Every detail. Was even rehearsing…”
“W-what?” You traced your finger along the curve of his collarbone, watching how he shivered just slightly.
“Why silence though?” You asked, not accusing – you liked it more than you ever thought, – just curious.
He hesitated for a beat, then met your gaze again, steady and open.
“Because I wanted to know what would happen when we stripped everything else away,” he said. “No distractions. No noise. Just... us.”
You swallowed, the words hitting something deep in your chest.
“It felt like having a superpower, indeed. Like we could read each other’s minds for real…” You said softly.
He leaned in, kissed your forehead, then your temple.
“It was.”
You lay like that for a while longer, tangled in breath and skin, wrapped in something deeper than sleep, heavier than lust. The world outside the window moved on without you, but you didn’t care. Tonight was something holy.
____________________________________
You didn’t remember falling asleep, just the warmth of his chest against your back, his arm draped over your waist like a barrier against the world. The hotel room had fallen into that velvet-black stillness only 3 a.m. time knows. The kind where time suspends itself and every shadow feels too alive.
You woke up to silence. But he wasn’t beside you. The bed felt empty.
You blinked, heart stumbling into your throat as your eyes adjusted to the dark. The warm, safe shape that had been curled against you was now standing – no, swaying – in the center of the room.
He was facing the window completely still. Except for his hands.
They were twitching. Slowly opening and closing at his sides like he was grasping at something that wasn’t there. His shoulders rolled forward, tension rippling down his spine. There was something feral in the way he stood – like he wasn’t in his body anymore.
Your stomach dropped.
“Vessel?” You whispered, sitting up slowly.
No response. He didn’t move. But you knew this. You knew this too well already.
The words screamed through your mind in a random flow.
You rose to your knees on the mattress, breath shaky, watching him as he suddenly tilted his head to the side. His neck cracked.
Then, another step toward you.
“Vess…” you choked on the word. His name. His stage name. It wasn’t enough, you knew it.
His face was blank. Eyes open but unfocused. A smear of moonlight caught on his jaw. His bare chest rose and fell too quickly.
Another step.
You stumbled off the bed backward, your feet hitting the floor.
“Stop,” you whispered, chest tight. “Stop, please, Vess!”
But he didn’t. His hand reached behind him. You saw the glint of something. Steel. A knife?
Your heart slammed into your ribs, panic rising like bile. You grabbed the water bottle on the nightstand, but it was empty after your heated night. You looked around, frantic, getting ready to scream the name you were still sometimes afraid to pronounce.
You stepped back again, shaking.
“Wake up. Please, wake.the.fuck.up…”
He stopped mid-step. His hand trembled. Then, he spoke. But not in his voice.
A low, guttural whisper, like it was being dragged out of him:
“All this glory you did not earn…”
The knife dropped from his hand, clattering against the floor.
And for one second, just before he collapsed right next to the blade, eyes rolling back, he smiled.
Notes:
Let me know what you think about this chapter so far 📌 I will highly appreciate your reactions, comments are so very welcome!💋
Chapter 14: Will you halt this eclipse in me?
Summary:
📚 I hope you'll have a good time and good laugh with this 😁
AND I HOPE THIS WILL HALT THE CERTAIN ECLIPSE...
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Look to Windward (chapter name)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
XIV
He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
One second standing, knife slipping from his fingers and the next, – Vessel passed out and fell to the floor, limbs folding in on themselves, his body hitting the hotel carpet with a sickening thud.
“Vess!” You dropped to your knees, heart hammering so hard it nearly drowned your voice.
You reached for him, hands trembling, pressing against his shoulder, his cheek, his chest, anywhere that might wake him.
“Come on, baby – come on – please wake up!” Your voice cracked with every word. He didn’t stir.
His skin was clammy. Cold sweat kissed his temple. His breathing was shallow but present, soft exhales through parted lips. He looked peaceful now, like none of it had just happened.
The knife.
You swallowed hard and looked over your shoulder: there, just a half-meter away, was the blade. Sleek. Clean. Nothing special. But far too sharp. Far too real. Why did he even have it with him in the hotel? Did he take the knife to your date? The knife was different this time though. It was a knife from his own collection. Not Ivy’s Swiss knife.
“Why was he still allowed to collect and carry knives on him?” You thought hastily. “How did II even approve that?”
You crawled toward the knife, picked it up carefully by the handle, and glanced at your purse on the armchair. It was small. Too small for anything this size. But you shoved it inside anyway. The zipper caught, snagged, but you forced it closed.
Your heart was still thudding in your throat as you turned back to him. You dropped to the floor again, arms under his shoulders, trying to pull him upward. He was too heavy. Dead weight.
You grunted through clenched teeth, digging your heels into the carpet, trying to shift him onto the bed, onto anything – somewhere that made this feel less terrifying.
“Don’t do this to me, Vessel,” you whispered. “Don’t make me…”
Nothing. Just that same quiet, that same strange serenity on his face.
You grabbed your phone from the nightstand with shaking fingers, opened your messages, and scrolled through until you reached the thread marked as Fun Sized Master.
You hadn’t texted him in a long time… Last messages were about groceries you asked him to buy for a surprise dinner.
Fun Sized Master: OK!
Today 03:23
YOU: II, Emergency! Vessel had his sleepwalking episode again and fainted. I can’t lift him. Please hurry! Don’t tell the others yet. Please.
The message sent.
“What a stupid FUCK… Oh!” You cursed being angry at yourself, remembering that II probably won’t see this message. It was a little bit over 3 a.m. and the drummer probably was seeing his best dreams. You pressed a ‘call’ button, taking your phone to your ear.
You stared at Vessel, listening to the torturing long beeps.
“Please, II… Pick up! PICK UP!” You hissed, glimpsing at the screen and putting it back to your ear.
You reached out and touched Vessel’s cheek again, your palm resting just long enough to feel the heat of him. The sleepy voice in your phone made you jolt.
“Six? W-what happened?” II asked in a raspy voice.
“Thank Sleep…” You exhaled, and trying to regain your composure, you said: “II, please, help! Vessel… He was sleepwalking again, but he passed out. He’s on the floor unconscious! Please, come here and take us home!”
“F-fuck.. what? Uhhh-hmm, wait… Where are you?”
“In a hotel. I don’t know where it is. I’ll send you the location now. But please… don’t wake up others yet !”
“III was gaming and streaming… He may still be awake. I’ll send him.”
“NO!” But you’ve heard a sudden silence. II ended a call. You opened a chat and hastily sent him the location.
In your side-vision Vessel's lids trembled slightly, and he inhaled and licked his lips.
“Vess!” You grabbed his face with your both hands, dropping your phone mid-move. His face was serene and unbothered.
“Dah-ling? What happened?” He asked with raspiness, as if his mouth went totally dry.
“Don’t move! Stay where you are!” You said and rushed to the hotel mini-bar to grab water for him. Your hands closed around a tiny hotel-brand bottle of water, still cold, and you twisted the cap with a crack before rushing back to him.
Vessel was sitting up now. Slowly. Groggily. Still very much not all there. He blinked at you as you dropped to your knees beside him again, unscrewing the cap and offering it.
“Here. Drink this.”
He took the bottle from your hand with a lazy grace, fingers brushing yours. He sipped, then winced like it burned.
His eyes moved to your face, searching. Soft. Curious. But not alarmed.
“I had a dream,” he murmured, voice scratchy and low. “It felt like I was underwater.”
You didn’t answer. Your heart was still trying to claw its way out of your chest, pounding against bone.
Vessel glanced around, frowning slightly. “Did I… say something weird?”
You stared at him.
He never remembered.
You looked down at your purse – the lump of the knife hidden inside it bulging unnaturally against the zipper. You pressed it closed with your forearm.
He noticed.
His brow creased, concern breaking through the fog in his expression.
“What did I do?”
“Well, from where to start… Uhmm, Vess, you passed out at the end. I called II. He sent III to pick us up.”
Silence. He leaned his head back against the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling. “Fuck.”
You sat beside him, your knees brushing his. He looked so calm again now, so completely Vessel. That same mystery-soft presence that somehow both soothed and unsettled you. He placed the water bottle on the floor with a gentle clink. A long pause stretched between you.
Then he whispered, almost ashamed: “Did I hurt you?”
You shook your head. But your voice cracked when you said: “You scared me.”
The silence between you swelled again, thick and hot with everything you weren’t saying. You reached for his hand this time, and his fingers laced through yours automatically. Like he needed the contact as badly as you did.
You both sat there for a while, knees touching, the air between you slow and thick like molasses. The panic was subsiding, leaving in its wake a kind of emotional hangover. The kind that makes your limbs feel too heavy and your thoughts too loud.
Vessel didn’t speak, and you didn’t press him to. There was a certain safety in the silence, a mutual exhaustion curling around you like fog.
Then – without fully thinking – you reached out and brushed your fingers along the inside of his forearm. Your touch was featherlight, almost cautious. But you knew what you were looking for.
You’d seen them thousands of times before.
Three pale, jagged lines. Faint but deep. Under the hotel’s warm, golden lamplight, they stood out like whispered warnings against his skin. He didn’t flinch when your fingers made contact. He simply watched you. Like he always did. Quietly. Intensely. You traced the largest of the scars with the pad of your finger, slow and deliberate.
It felt… wrong. Soft and healed, yes – but ancient in a way that made your stomach turn. Something brutal wrapped in skin.
“What happened here?” You asked, voice low and steady.
He didn’t answer right away.
Then – almost too calmly – he said, “I don’t remember.”
Your hand stilled.
“I’ve had them since I was a kid,” he continued, looking down at the marks like they didn’t belong to him. “They just… showed up.”
You pulled your hand back slowly. Like it had been burned. He added nothing else. And you didn’t ask further, though your brain screamed with questions. Because something in his voice carried an unspoken truth that chilled you straight to your bones:
“He had done this to himself. In his sleep.”
An unsettling stillness filled the room.
You swallowed hard. It felt like betrayal. Like fate had handed you this impossible softness of a man wrapped around a blade.
He looked at you, expression unreadable, and said nothing more. Just leaned his head back again against the bed frame and stared upward.
One short, impatient beep. The sound dragged you both back to the now like a hook through flesh.
You reached for your phone and read the message.
Tall Drink of Water: Here. Come down. Got the cab. Tell V not to look too dead or I’ll panic.
A short, dry laugh slipped out of you, cracked and breathless. Vessel glanced over, confused.
You stood, took your purse – the hidden shape of the knife straining the edges – and helped him up again. His hand was warm in yours. Steady, for now.
“Dress up, please...” You gently commanded.
Vessel looked toward the window, eyes lost in something far away, before letting his head drop with a quiet sigh. Wordless, distant, he began gathering the scattered pieces of last night: his suit trousers slung over a chair, the crisp shirt half-buttoned and crumpled beneath it – moving like a man still half in a dream.
Only then did it hit you.
You were both still completely naked. Your skin prickled with sudden awareness, as if the spell had just broken. You reached for the ocean-blue silk dress lying in a tragic heap on the floor, its shimmer now dull in the morning light. It felt foreign against your body – like it belonged to someone far more glamorous, someone who hadn’t just witnessed her boyfriend collapse with a knife in his hand. Like some half-sauced Cinderella, you slipped it back on, wincing at the chill. The night before had been glass slippers and magic kisses… and now? Now everything had turned back into moth-bitten lace and a pumpkin-shaped existential crisis.
Fairy tales were fun – until the carriage crashed headfirst into his never-ending drama.
“Ha!” Vessel suddenly let out a short awkward laugh. “Ha-ha-ha-ha!” He broke into laughter after some pause, even snorted.
“Excuse me?” You looked at him more terrified than confused.
“Ha-ha-ha! Sorry…” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, clearly amused. “I just saw what you named III in your contacts. And now I remembered.”
Your stomach dropped. “Oh… man.”
“I mean… ‘Tall Drink of Water’? ” He burst out again, wheezing this time. “That’s so specific.”
You rolled your eyes and groaned, tugging your dress down over your thighs.
“Come on. He’s waiting. Can you maybe stop almost dying and laughing at my contact names in the same morning?”
“No promises.”
____________________________________
Through the tinted window of the yellow car you could already see III in the passenger seat, arms folded, jaw tight. He didn’t even pretend to look at you as you opened the back door and helped Vessel in.
“Tall Drink of Water,” Vessel whispered in your ear with a stupid grin as he climbed in. You smacked his thigh lightly.
III half-turned from the front seat, finally acknowledging you both with a narrowed glance.
“Well, well,” he said dryly, “I was wonderin’ when Sleepin’ Beauty and his emotional support hurricane would grace us with their presence.”
You winced, but Vessel just chuckled, reclining like a man returning from war.
“Morning, sunshine,” Vessel rasped.
III didn’t return the smile. “Ya good? Or do we need ta’ stop at a hospital before headin’ home?”
Vessel shrugged. “Still breathing. She fixed me.”
“Uh-huh.” III’s eyes flicked to you in the rearview mirror. “That’s how it always starts.”
You shifted uncomfortably, unsure whether he meant your rescue efforts or the relationship – or both.
The driver, silent until now, pulled away from the curb as Vessel’s head leaned back with a groan.
III muttered something under his breath, too low for you to catch. But the tension was thick, coiling between the seats like smoke. You weren’t sure if it was about Ivy, or about Vessel, or maybe just the sheer weight of everything unspoken in this strange ‘family of theirs’.
Then Vessel, eyes closed, spoke again: “She Googled ‘sharing girlfriend kink’ recently.”
You slapped your palm over his mouth. “VESSEL!”
“Oh my, didn’t I clear my search queries?” You thought, being totally exposed and embarrassed, blaming Vessel for being so fucking attentive, and for eventually using your laptop too.
III turned to you and glanced at you curiously from the front seat with a nasty grin. You looked like you aged three years in two seconds.
“I mean, it’s a fascinating read,” Vessel mumbled against your hand.
“Can we just – get home without any more revelations?” You asked. “Preferably before I unbuckle this seatbelt and walk into the Thames.”
Silence followed for a beat… and then Vessel giggled again.
You couldn’t help it either – you started laughing, tired, delirious, and borderline hysterical. The van rolled through the gray London morning, heavy with secrets, old wounds, and awkward laughter.
But at least, for now, he was awake. And he was yours. Even if you had to share a bit of him – with Sleep, with ghosts, with music, and with Tall Drinks of Water alike.
“I need a co’ffeeh!” III exclaimed and redirected a driver to make a stop at the coffee shop.
“Take one for me, please…” You nearly whispered. “Black. No sugar.”
“Uhhh! Our C’ougar’ has cla-a-aws.” III said in a sing-song manner and grinned, then looked at Vessel. He nodded.
“For me – same as always!” Vessel confirmed his nod.
“Don’t listen to him, III, he’s not the one to ask for coffee today. For any caffeine. He’s going home, then we put him to bed, and I swear to all known Gods, if someone will let him stand up at least once during this day, I’ll send the Godwrath on that house myself!”
“Please, at least Caramel latte!” Vessel pleaded.
“No sugar, no caramel, no caffeine for you today. This is my last word!” You pointed at him like a furious mother banning sweets from a rogue toddler.
“ Booo! You’ve turned into II!” Vessel whined with mock betrayal, arms crossed tight over his chest. “Cold. Heartless. Oppressive.”
You stared at this grown-ass man – a dark, mysterious, cult-adored music deity – literally pouting like a toddler over caramel . You almost burst out laughing on the spot.
Instead, you kept a straight face.
“This grown-ass music emperor,” you thought, “ pouting like a five-year-old because I won’t let him mainline Starbucks syrup. Incredible.”
III opened the car door and stepped out with an exhausted sigh.
And that’s when the affection punched you straight in the chest.
“Come here,” you murmured, leaning over and planting a soft kiss on Vessel’s cheek.
His pout vanished instantly, and his lips curled into a curious little grin.
“Do you wanna know a little secret, huh?” You asked, lowering your voice conspiratorially.
His face and eyes lit up.
He loved secrets.
He Loved them like candy. Like velvet cloaks. Like ritual masks and hidden meanings and whatever the hell was going on in the liner notes of This Place Will Become Your Tomb.
“Tell me,” he whispered, eyes wide with childish anticipation. “Tell me the thing.”
You opened your phone, tapped your contacts app, and tilted it toward him.
There it was.
Fun Sized Master.
Vessel stared for a second in disbelief. Then burst out into a wheezing, high-pitched fit of laughter that made the driver flinch.
“ FUN SIZED MASTER?! II? ” He bellowed, grabbing your arm like he needed physical support to handle the absurdity.
“I knew you’d appreciate it,” you grinned, locking your phone.
“Ivy is Sugarbutt , III is Tall Drink of Water , and II is Fun Sized Master – you’re building your own personal Pokémon team,” he said between gasps of breath, wiping tears from his eyes.
You snorted. “What would their type combos be?”
“Ivy is Fairy/Fire. III is Water/Grump. II is Psychic/Tiny.”
You leaned back, smug.
He was still giggling when he turned toward you again, eyes shining.
“And… What about me?” he asked softly. “What am I saved as?”
Your smile froze just a little, because that question suddenly felt… heavier than the rest.
His voice, though playful, had dropped – just a note. Like it mattered to him.
Like he wanted to know if he had a silly nickname too… or something else.
Your thumb hovered over your screen, your own heart unexpectedly stammering. You hesitated just a second longer. Then turned the phone screen toward him.
He leaned in, peering at it curiously.
My Emo Songbird.
Vessel stared.
Blink. And then his hand flew to his chest in mock offense.
“My Emo Songbird?!”
You winced with a guilty smile. “Too much?”
But instead of being insulted, he lit up. His lips stretched into that slow, crooked grin, the one that made your ribs melt inward.
“That’s… horribly adorable ,” he whispered, stunned, blinking rapidly like he’d just been hit with a compliment so unexpected it fried a fuse in his brain. “It sounds like something a very drunk girl would name her playlist and then cry to on the night bus.”
“That’s my vibe, actually,” you grinned.
He chuckled under his breath, more flattered than he probably expected to be.
“I was hoping for something like ‘Master of Shadows’ or ‘Brooding Angel of Doom’ but, no, you went with My Emo Songbird. ” He shook his head in disbelief, a hand over his mouth. “God. I’m gonna die. I love it .”
He was still laughing when the car door slid open with a click and III climbed back in with two takeaway cups in hand.
He paused the second he saw you both – faces flushed, eyes watery, Vessel giggling like he’d just been told the world’s dirtiest inside joke.
“…Wha’ happened?” III asked slowly, narrowing his eyes and holding out a coffee like a bribe.
“Nothing,” you both said in unison – way too fast, too coordinated.
“ Definitely something,” III muttered, handing you the cup and giving Vessel a suspicious once-over. “Did ya give him ca’ffeine? Or sugah?”
“I’m not carrying a portable coffee shop in my panties, III!” You reassured, covering a smile behind your lid.
Vessel grinned at the window like he’d just stolen something from a church and gotten away with it.
The car driver coughed, slightly irritated.
III squinted. “What the hell did you two talk about?”
You sipped your coffee and said airily, “Nicknames.”
III groaned and muttered under his breath, “I don’ even wannah’ know.”
But Vessel leaned closer to him and stage-whispered like it was national treasure intel: “That’s the kind of performance I wanna leave for the moment, where everyone will be present.”
Vessel was still laughing by the time the car pulled out into traffic.
And for the first time in hours, you felt the tight string in your chest loosen just a little.
The world could wait. For now, you had your emo songbird and your dumb little car ride, and it was enough.
____________________________________
The door clicked softly behind you as the three of you entered the dim, quiet house. A warm hush had settled over everything, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. It was early, too early for birds, too late for dreams.
In the living room, the glow of the television lit up the space and two faces in the room. Some drummer documentary was still running, snare drums rolling in the background like a heartbeat. II sat hunched on the couch, bleary-eyed but upright, as if he hadn’t moved all night. His blonde slightly dishevelled hair strands were quiet on one side, a blanket draped haphazardly over his lap. He stared at the screen with haunted devotion – either to the documentary or to the stress of waiting up.
Curled beside him, half-draped over his shoulder, was Ivy.
The guitarist’s compact frame was tangled into the cushions, head tipped against II’s shoulder like he’d collapsed mid-sentence. He looked younger in sleep, bare-faced and vulnerable, his tattooed, sun-warmed limbs tangled and one hand loosely curled near II’s chest. His breathing was steady, mouth slightly parted, cheek pressed into fabric.
And on the carpet below them, like a sleepy little sentinel, was Butterscotch.
The orange dog was curled into a warm cinnamon roll of fur, tail twitching as he chased something in his dreams. Of course, he was deep asleep, as his owner. One ear flopped backwards, and his big, squishy paws flexed in time with his sleepy huffs. His presence grounded the scene – ridiculously peaceful, despite the night’s chaos.
For a moment, no one spoke. You, Vessel, and III just stood there, absorbing the unexpected intimacy of it – the tension of the past hours melting slowly into the strange comfort of a found family. Then, taking his eyes off the screen, II spoke quietly.
“How are you both feeling?” His voice was hoarse from staying up, but laced with steady concern. “Is HE okay now?”
You glanced at Vessel beside you. He didn’t answer right away. III gave a small nod in II’s direction, stepping past to hang up his jacket.
Vessel exhaled slowly. “We’re alright,” he said, voice quiet. “Just… tired.”
II turned his head to look at you both properly, his gaze lingering on Vessel for a beat too long, scanning his face like he wasn’t sure what he was looking for – but needed to know he was still there. Then he nodded, slowly, and reached down to adjust the blanket over Ivy without waking him.
“Alright,” he said again. But his eyes remained alert. As always.
III glanced at you both. “Y’all owe meh’ for this Uber. I wan’ pancakes. An’ possibleh’ a therapist.”
Vessel smiled at him, put a hand on your back, gently nudging you forward. You stepped deeper into the room, the floor cool under your feet, the smell of coffee and the distant trace of incense still clinging to the air. Home. Messy, weird, beautiful home.
____________________________________
Despite all his poetic dramatics, the undeniable truth was this: Vessel was staying in bed. He had argued, of course. Relentlessly.
“I’m fine,” he grumbled for the fifth time this morning, now horizontal and deeply offended by the presence of his own blanket. “I didn’t die. I just… collapsed slightly. With flair.”
“You fainted, ” II shot back from the doorway, arms folded and expression already sliding toward parental. “And you had a knife , Vessel. You don’t get to dramatically sigh your way out of that.”
“I do dramatic sighs professionally,” Vessel mumbled into the pillow, holding it up his face trying to act like he’s going to choke himself with it.
You sat perched at the edge of the bed beside him, brushing hair from his forehead with light fingers. His skin was still cool. His pulse, though slower now, had taken hours to return to something normal.
“And I’m not letting you out of this bed until you stop looking like a Victorian ghost who lost his sheet,” you said, firm but soft.
He squinted up at you, lashes fluttering in irritation. “Cruel. You’ve both turned on me. I expected this from II, but you ?”
You leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose.
“That’s for being a little sleepwalking maniac,” you whispered.
II popped his head back into the room with a glass of water. “I heard that. And I endorse it.”
“I don’t need water, I need justice,” Vessel muttered, but took the glass anyway, because apparently even gothic ghosts get thirsty.
You stayed with him most of the morning, occasionally rubbing small circles into his shoulder, sometimes just watching his chest rise and fall beneath the soft folds of the duvet. The rare sight of him like this – tired, grounded, human – made your heart twist in a strange, protective way.
Downstairs, someone put on a record. Muffled III’s taste music drifted up through the house, mixing with the late morning sun.
At one point, he dozed off mid-rant about “the tyranny of horizontal living”, and you pulled the blanket over his arm carefully, your thumb brushing gently over the edge of one of his oldest scars.
II peeked in once more and caught your eye. His voice was quieter now.
“Thanks for keeping him here,” he said. “We’ll keep him safe today. Even from himself.”
You smiled faintly, your hand still resting lightly on Vessel through the blanket.
“We’re kind of a dream team, huh?” You said, glancing at II. “Not bad for two people who used to argue over tea temperatures.”
II gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, we’ve come a long way from that showdown in Budapest.”
You both, of course, knew that in reality you were never arguing about tea or something, more about “sharing Vessel” ...
“Hey,” came a muffled voice from the bed. Vessel didn’t move, but his words spilled slowly and theatrically into the space between you. “If you two start getting along too well, I’m going to develop a very inconvenient jealousy kink . And you know what happened last time.”
You blinked. “You got drunk and cried during a Spice Girls documentary.”
“Exactly.” He peeked out from under the blanket, one eye open and entirely unserious. “Don’t test me.”
II shook his head with a smirk and stood up, muttering something about needing caffeine to survive the drama.
You stayed seated beside Vessel, amused, warm, and quietly thankful – for all of it. For the ridiculousness, the safety, the way this strange little world of yours somehow worked, even with its messes.
“I wanna have you all here in bed… you know? If I am forced to stay horizontal I need all of you here with me.” Vessel said suddenly.
“Oi? Really? Then stay where you are, and I’ll summon them all here, okay?”
“...‘k…” He pressed his eyes closed with pleasure and comfort.
II eventually came back with a cup of smoking hot coffee and a book under his armpit, then gave a sceptical snort from the doorway, arms crossed and one brow lifting. “You mean like a cult cuddle pile? Again?”
Vessel groaned dramatically and rolled his eyes, flopping back against the pillow like a starfish. “Yes, again. What’s the point of having a polycule if I can’t weaponize it for snuggles in times of personal tragedy ?”
“Tragedy,” you echoed, unimpressed. “You fainted and got tucked in like a Victorian ghost with anaemia.”
“And yet,” Vessel said, lifting one finger toward the ceiling like a scholar making a thesis, “I suffer.”
You laughed, and so did II. He finally pushed off the wall and stepped inside, tugging off his hoodie as he approached the bed.
“You’re insufferable, man,” he muttered, put the cup onto a bedside table and climbed onto the other side with a sigh. “But fine. One pity cuddle. Just one.”
Vessel immediately draped himself across both of you like a smug, overdramatic cat, sighing with unholy satisfaction.
“This is life,” he murmured. “Where are III and Ivy? All together we can become an unholy cuddle pentagram.”
You shook your head, grinning.
“II?” You asked, when the drummer settled beside Vessel in bed. “What is this book you brought?”
II glanced down at the thin black book in his hands and held it up, almost reverently. A sleek, black-and-red hardcover - its surface so glossy it reflected the window light like obsidian. Embossed in bone-white serif letters, SLEEP TOKEN: TEETH OF GOD sat centered with the weight of a title that knew exactly what it was.
He handed it to Vessel without a word, and the singer cracked it open.
Inside, the pages bled with crimson and jet. You were instantly struck by the artwork – unholy and seductive with pages in deep, textured reds. Something feral, yet deeply human, beat through the paper.
“It’s the first copy,” II said. “ Teeth of God. Was delivered yesterday, while… you guys were enjoying your date…” He looked down at Vessel with something between fondness and concern. “Felt like the right time.”
Vessel's expression shifted into something softer, quieter. The barest smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“…It’s real now?” Vessel asked, voice low and slightly hoarse.
II nodded. “Yeah. This one’s ours to keep. You know better, when they’ll plan the announcement of the start of sales though.”
Vessel blinked at the book like it might vanish if he stared too hard. Then he reached for it tentatively, brushing his fingertips over the cover like it was sacred scripture.
“This man is a genius… All of them. The pictures… Exactly how I asked,” he murmured. “We made it. All together.”
“You made it,” II corrected him gently, giving him – very affectionate, not really inherent to II – kiss on a temple.
You leaned over from Vessel’s other side, resting your chin lightly on his shoulder as he slowly opened the book at another page. The pages were heavy, the art breathtaking – raw and layered, like the band’s music had bled into ink and shadow.
Your heart swelled a little. It was beautiful.
But also — this was a moment for them. For the band. For the core that had built something sacred out of noise and myth and insomnia.
You remembered it like fragments from a fever dream – those nights when Vessel would vanish into himself, writing like he was exorcising something sacred and venomous all at once. Teeth of God had been haunting him even back then, its concept already born during the Take Me Back to Eden recording sessions. But the bones of the story… those he carved out later, during the long hours where the only light was his laptop screen and the glow of his strange, relentless mind.
You weren’t living together yet then, still orbiting each other’s lives. You remembered when he first showed you those raw drafts through Facetime.
"I'm not an artist," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "But… it’s in my head. I just need to drag it out."
And yet even then, the weight of his vision stunned you. The story was vast, mythic, and painful. He was so much more than just a frontman. He was building his own imaginary world, brick by brick, in the form of a graphic novel.
You told him exactly what you still believed:
“You’re terrifyingly talented, you know that?”
He hadn’t answered then. Just smiled, tired but warm, and kept on sketching.
You kissed Vessel’s shoulder over the fabric of his thin white T-shirt, and whispered, “I’ll go summon the rest of your little cuddle cult.”
____________________________________
You slid out of the bed, stretching as you padded toward the hall. Ivy’s room was first – the door cracked. You tapped once, softly.
“Ivy?” you called. “Are you awake?”
A low, familiar groan came from inside. Then the door creaked open wider, revealing Ivy shirtless in plaid pajama pants, hair a complete mess, rubbing one eye with the heel of his hand.
“…You,” he grumbled and retired back to the back of the room, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Why do you look like you just walked out of a Victorian asylum?”
You smiled tautly. “Because I did. Come on. Vessel’s awake. II brought the Teeth of God. The actual book. He wants us all there.”
That woke him up: “Wait. The copy? The first one?”
You nodded. “We’re forming an unholy cuddle pentagram. You’re required.”
Ivy groaned casually scratching his bare chest:
“You people are so dramatic.”
He watched you hover in the threshold, tension seeping from every word unsaid. He followed your gaze tracing all over his naked torso, tattooed arms, lower belly. You were torn between wanting to stay, close the door behind you, push him onto the bed, and… come what may! But… you were looking at him in a silent awe, not able to move.
“Come with me,” you whispered. “All of us in bed. Vessel wants the full cuddle pentagram.”
A flicker of longing flashed in Ivy’s eyes, but he just chuckled: “Yeah, I’m coming...”
“Please, hurry…” You half-whispered, panting.
His eyes lifted slowly to meet yours again. And lingered. The air between you thickened. You could feel it almost immediately, that familiar flicker of tension crawling up your spine. Your body responded before your brain could catch up: the breath caught in your throat, your pulse beat out of rhythm.
He rose from the bed slowly, that signature feline grace wrapped around his bare chest like smoke. He didn’t close the space entirely – just enough. Just so you could smell his shower gel and the warmth of his skin. You swallowed hard, your hand brushing the edge of the door frame behind you. His smile was a little dangerous. As if he would do something randomly, attack you or kiss you.
Ivy tilted his head slightly, fighting with intrusive thoughts in his head just like you. His eyes flicked from your mouth to your throat, resting there just a moment too long. The space between you pulsed, alive with everything deliberately denied.
You steadied yourself against the doorframe, your voice a whisper softened by nerves.
“Did you… talk to III?”
He let out a low breath, half-laugh, half-sigh, and leaned back slightly, running his fingers through his hair.
"Not yet," he said, voice like velvet crushed under something heavier. "And we… we’ll just wait until we’re starving for it."
You blinked at him. "That’s not an answer."
"It’s the only one I’ve got right now," he said, stepping just a half-step closer, but no more. His restraint was infuriating and addictive.
The moment held like a breath in glass. You could feel your pulse in places you shouldn't have. And judging by the faint flush creeping across Ivy’s collarbones, he wasn’t immune either. Still, neither of you moved to close the space. Because if you did… it would happen. And it couldn't. Not yet.
Instead, you forced a shallow breath, glanced toward the hallway.
“Come on. We’re supposed to be summoning the rest of the pentagram.”
Ivy arched his brow: "You really want to knock on III’s door while you’re flushed like that?"
"D’you think you look any better?" You shot back.
He grinned, wicked and boyish all at once. “Fair.”
Still glowing with too much heat and too little relief, you both turned toward the hall, shoulder brushing shoulder just once – on purpose – and set off to find III.
____________________________________
The lights in Vessel’s room were dimmed, the faint scent of incense still lingering – something woody and warm, like cedar and ghost stories. The five of you lay tangled across his massive bed – the whole pack all together for the first time – and the graphic novel passed between you like some sacred relic.
Vessel sat propped against the headboard, legs long and relaxed, the book on his lap. He looked proud, but quiet. Like someone holding their breath through a memory.
Ivy was curled at the foot of the bed, one arm tucked under his head, his eyes darting over the illustrations with boyish intensity. He muttered occasional commentary – “That’s sick,” or “Did you actually mean for this to look like this?” – to which Vessel responded with the barest curve of a smirk.
You were somewhere in the middle, between them all. Half-sitting, half-sprawled, elbow brushing the plush blanket, your eyes fixed more on the others than the book. You could feel the warmth of Ivy just behind you, his knee pressed lightly to your spine like punctuation. III, in contrast, stayed a respectable distance – close enough to be included, far enough that the quiet between you still felt unresolved. It was tolerable, for now.
There was a strange, heady intimacy in the way you all rested – legs overlapping, arms slung loosely, a pile of bodies not entirely comfortable but deeply familiar.
And for some reason, a single image came to your mind: an old promotional photo of Lacuna Coil . The lead singer – Cristina Scabbia – draped in the centre of the bed like sin incarnate, surrounded by her bandmates like a dark halo. The energy in that image wasn’t so different from now – heat humming just beneath the surface, a unity both creative and carnal. You weren’t quite the centre (Vessel was), and you certainly weren’t draped like a goddess, but the comparison stuck.
Your fingers ghosted the edge of the page.
"Vess," you said quietly, "this really is gorgeous."
He glanced down at you, something in his posture softened. “It’s only the beginning…”
After a moment of silence and quiet collective cuddle, Vessel chuckled as if lit up with the new idea:
“You know what? Let’s play a game…”
Notes:
Let me know what you think about this chapter so far 📌 I will highly appreciate your reactions, comments are so very welcome!💋
Chapter 15: You’re the only game that I like to lose
Summary:
Finally, I'm able to deliver this. Guys, I must confess it was the HARDEST chapter to write even if it's just a filler chapter for fun. It's all just a game. I hope you'll enjoy yourself and write me a few words here... It took me over a month to bring it all together, as well as edit it properly. I hope it was worth the long pause.
Despite that I know for sure what will happen next and all along till the end of the first big part of this story, it's sometimes very hard to write fillers, because it feels like I'm stalling the plot.
But this chapter was meant to be here! It's just inevitable.
P.S. There are some mentions of Ivy's previous projects.
P.S.1. I hope you're enjoying the tour so far? How about...
🎶 Music references/mentioned songs:
Sleep Token - Provider (chapter name)
Oh baby... Oh baby....
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
XV
“You know what? Let’s play a game…” Vessel suggested, boyish mischief in his eyes and wide grin on his face.
That got a few groans and some reluctant shifting among the limbs and blankets, but no one actually moved away. Most faces turned to Vessel, as if he was always a centre of everything, the heart, the initiative, the creative mind.
“Oh no,” III muttered, already suspicious. “If this is like that time you tried to get us to do trust falls…”
“No falling involved, we are already horizontal!” Vessel promised, his voice soft and lazy, head tipped slightly towards II on the pillow. “Just truths. Or lies. You get to decide.”
II rolled onto his back with a sigh. “He means the three-facts game.”
“I love this one!” You said, sitting up just enough to look around at the others. “Come on, it’s fun.” You insisted, looking at their unamused faces. You were glad Vessel suggested this, glad that the incident with his sleepwalking episode, followed by fainting in a hotel room, brought them all together. To one single bed. They are finally not each in their room, playing games together online, but physically separated. You finally could enjoy the evening of a massive reunion and you’ve learned to enjoy such moments at home, because… you knew that soon they would be on tour again… And everything will once go back to something basic and usual. “And it’s not like we’re going anywhere.”
Ivy let out a dramatic sigh but was already reaching for his phone. “Fine. But we’re keeping a proper score this time. No chaos points. No pity points. Just blood and math.”
III raised his thin long index finger. “I'll keep score.”
“No, you’ll cheat,” Ivy muttered, clutching the phone to his chest like a sacred relic. “You once gave yourself seven points for making Vessel laugh.”
Vessel grinned. “Yeah that one… It was a very good joke.”
This was the kind of night everyone remembered in fragments: voices, warmth, closeness, music, smells… III’s horse laugh and Vessel’s high-pitched half-howl, half-laughter, bursting out tears. Alcohol, tour exhaustion, love shared between them all…
“Alright, alright,” II said, rubbing his face, a smile still present on his face with fading memories of their nights and games. “Who’s going first?”
The soft click of claws on floorboards made everyone pause. Butterscotch had pushed the door open with a head bump, pads tapping a steady rhythm as he trotted into the room. He circled once, huffed a long sigh, and dropped himself beside the bed with the kind of weary groan that only came from a creature who’d seen too much.
“…Right on time for the show,” Ivy murmured. “As always.”
The bed creaked with movement — limbs shifting, someone tugging a blanket, III tossing a pillow towards II, who yawned too loud. For a moment, it was all warmth and lazy chaos.
Vessel’s, II’s and III’s backs were leaned against the beds headboard, while you and Ivy were cozily nestled between their long legs.
“I think,” Ivy said, smirking, “since someone suggested the game…”
All heads turned toward Vessel again. He didn’t even pretend to argue. Just smiled, as if waiting for any arguments.
You cleared your throat and said: “Before we start, one rule.”
Vessel blinked. “Rules? In this house?”
“Yes. The facts have to be new,” you said, eyes flicking between them all. “Stuff no one else here knows. You all have been tangled up in each other’s lives for years – I’m not letting you recycle old tour stories and pretend it’s a mystery.”
“Ohhh, dang,” III muttered, already laughing. “She wants blood.”
“I want dirty secrets,” you said, leaning back into the nest of limbs and pillows.
Ivy pointed a lazy finger at Vessel. “He’s stalling.”
Vessel groaned. “Fine. I’m going first.” He cleared his throat softly, his voice syrup-smooth, a little shy, teasing.
“Alright. Real one’s in here somewhere.”
He closed his eyes as he spoke, fingers absently tracing the hem of the blanket.
“Fact one: Once I spent a whole summer working at a historical museum. No qualifications. They just let me stay because I kept correcting the exhibits.” Everyone smiled gently, staring at him. He nonchalantly continued: “Fact two: When I turned eighteen, my uncle thought it would be educational to hire me a sex worker. I politely declined her attempts to provide me with her services; had tea and a good conversation with her instead. We’re still friends.” Everyone gasped and laughed. “And fact three – I’ve been arrested for public nudity. Walked out completely naked in my sleep. The neighbours were… less than charmed.”
With one opened eye, watching the reactions ripple across the bed like a slow wave, he added:
“Go on then. Vote for your favourite.” He grinned.
Ivy was the first to speak, eyebrows high, mouth already twitching. “Oh, definitely the naked one. Has to be. That’s so you.”
III laughed, muffled by the pillow under his cheek. “Agreed. I can see it – just swannin’ down tha’ pavement in a trance, bollocks out, philosophical. Cock’s out too! Gha!”
II gave a dry little snort, shaking his head. “Nope. It’s a museum thing I guess. He’s a fraud, but a knowledgeable one.” He nudged Vessel’s ankle with a toe. “That one feels too real.”
You glanced over at Vessel, grinning. But you hesitated: II knew Vessel for a very long time. You were very close to choosing a variant with a museum as well, just because II probably knew a lot about Vessel’s previous ‘career choices’. But at the very last moment you’ve said, drawing curious gazes to you:
“I’m going with the sex worker. Sounds like you, honestly. Not the sex. The conversation.”
Vessel turned slowly to look at you, that crooked little smile crawling across his face like dawn.
“Touché, dah-ling… You’re the one who guessed it right!” Vessel said, content sigh slipping off of his lips. Everyone made a sound in the room. Mostly there were surprised ‘huhs’ and the groans of a loss.
II cocked his head, watching you with that thoughtful squint he always wore when something didn’t quite add up – or maybe when it added up too well.
“Wait,” he said, lifting his head slightly from where it rested near Vessel’s shoulder. “Why that one? You looked like you were about to say the museum…”
All eyes were on you now, a soft hush of breath and warmth from the bodies strewn around the bed. You felt your cheeks warm – not from embarrassment, just the strange glow of being known so well, and yet still surprising them.
You shrugged lightly. “You said you’re still friends, Vess. That’s what gave it away.” You met his eyes, your voice soft but sure. “You used the word sex worker, not hooker. That’s not just the polite version. That’s… respectful. Personal. You wouldn’t have phrased it that way if it hadn’t meant something.”
There was a beat of silence. Vessel tilted his head, gaze steady, impressed. “Genious!”
Ivy gave a scandalized little groan into the pillow. III smacked Vessel’s arm with a pillow corner. And II just muttered: “Someone else, please, take turns before she’ll start scoring points for detective work. Don’t underestimate fans spending hours with his lyrics, trying to figure out where to find a Holy Grail…” He smirked at you.
Laughter broke out across the bed. Your skin turned beetroot. Vessel rolled onto his back, one arm tucked behind his head. His eyes were half-lidded, dreamy with memory.
“II was almost right, though,” he said, casting a glance across the bed. “I didn’t technically work in the museum. I volunteered. I just kept showing up and giving impromptu lectures until they started letting me lead the boring weekday tours.”
II blinked. “Wait – you volunteered to give unpaid history lectures? That’s… even worse.”
“It was peaceful,” Vessel shrugged. “Quiet rooms, dusty air, skeletons, the sound of my own voice. Paradise.”
You snorted. “So basically the same as now, but with more dust and bones.”
Vessel's grin widened. “Exactly.”
Then, a little softer:
“As for the sex worker…” He tilted his head. “She had a degree in history, too. Smart as hell. We talked for hours. I told her about ancient burial rituals, she told me about Victorian courtesans. After she left the sex industry, she actually did end up working at a museum.”
Ivy broke the silence with a deliberate tap on the phone screen.
“Three points to language-sensitive Six. And if y’all don’t mind – one point to II. He deserves it!”
Everyone agreed. Then II sighed, dramatically stretching his arms behind his head like he was about to give a TED Talk from the middle of the bed.
"Alright, alright. Round two. You want truths? I’ll give you nightmares."
"No trauma-dumping, please," Ivy cut in with a lazy grin, scratching his naked chest. "We’re all emotionally dehydrated already."
"Relax," II said, flashing a crooked smile. "Here we go."
He cleared his throat with theatrical weight and counted his facts off on his fingers.
"Fact one: I once got caught trying to sneak into Glastonbury through a drainage pipe. Surprisingly, I fit in that pipe very well. Got out of there with a rat in my hand.” He didn’t let anyone start screaming already after the first fact, and immediately continued. “Fact two: I once jerked off in time with a metronome just to prove I had perfect rhythm. Left it ticking at 120 BPM. Almost passed out.” Collective groan was unnoticed again. “Fact three: I was in the cast for a not significant role for the later Harry Potter movies. All because of this pretty face.” He pointed finger at himself. “I failed the cast, because I’ve told them fact number two."
There was a full two seconds of stunned silence before the bed exploded with laughter.
Vessel nearly choked on his own breath, flopping onto his back and wheezing into the air. “120 BPM?! That’s allegro, you absolute lunatic!”
Ivy rolled over and buried his face in a pillow, howling. “No. No. You did not say that to a Warner Bros casting agent…”
“I did!” II shouted, beaming proudly. “She asked if I had any quirks. I panicked!”
III was bright red, both hands over his mouth, visibly shaking from the effort not to scream with laughter. “I’m nat’ even surprised! This is exactleh’ the kind of stor-ey’ you’d drop during a work meeting or the Pottah’ casting.”
You blinked at II, one hand halfway to your mouth. “The rat… Was the rat okay?”
II gave you a solemn nod. “I named her Florence. She bit me. Mutual respect.”
Ivy, gasping and letting tears stream from his eyes, lifted the phone in one hand without even looking at the screen. “I’m giving you negative three points for psychological damage.”
Vessel chuckled, low and gleeful. “No no. If anything, that’s a bonus point for artistry.”
They all settled slightly, wheezing and adjusting their tangled limbs. The room still hummed with aftershock giggles.
Then Vessel turned lazily toward you. “Alright, prophet. What’s your guess?”
You scratched your nape, thoughtful. “Well, II is a good actor and he kind of confirmed that he did all three things. Hmmm, let me think… He’s a good actor, that’s why he took part in the Potter cast. And told them the second fact. Which probably was also a part of his teenage shenanigans. But I chose the third one.”
Vessel raised a brow at your logic, clearly entertained. "So you're gambling on a double-bluff?"
You shrugged. “Exactly. It’s too outrageous not to be true. And honestly… I want the metronome story to be real. But it feels like it’s too good.”
Ivy smirked, looking at II, mischievously. “I mean, if anyone here would wank to a time signature, it is you.”
III was still recovering from laughing, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. “I don’ even care if it’s true or nat’. I just want it tattooed on his gravestone.”
“120 BPM,” Vessel murmured, grinning. “A beat to die for.”
Ivy flicked his thumb on the notes app. “Alright, my turn. I’m going with the Potter cast. You could be a Slytherin #3, but instead you’ve chosen to tell a metronome wank story and failed the cast.”
“Instead, I'm a legend,” II deadpanned.
III tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “I’m goin’ with tha’ metronome. Jus’ feels too weird nat’ to be real. I can picture the whole thingy. Dim lightin’. His face in tha’ mirror. Dead eye contact.”
Then, all eyes on Vessel. He stretched, exaggerated and slow, like a cat in sun-warmed sheets.
“The rat story,” he said lazily. “It’s poetic. Disgusting. Perfectly aligned with the dude who would’ve even thought to get to the Glastonbury through a drainage pipe for a glimpse of music. He was a rebel, guys, if ya didn’t know it…”
II beamed like a game show host. “And the winner is...”
He pointed directly at Vessel.
“The rat story was true. So was the metronome. But the Potter cast? That was a lie. I auditioned once, sure. But they didn’t even let me say a word. And not for Potter.”
A groan swept through the bed.
“Unbelievable,” Ivy muttered, flicking more notes into the app. “Three points to Vessel, obviously. And one point each to the rhythm-believers.”
“Justice,” III murmured, still delighted. “This is tha’ proudest moment of ma’ life.”
“I knew the metronome was too detailed to be fake,” you said, shaking your head. “And I still voted against it.”
“Sorry, dah-ling, but you still got one point for it as you believed he told the metronome story to Warner Bros,” Vessel said, rolling toward you. “Not even prophets or women are immune to tempo-based masturbation.”
Ivy raised the phone triumphantly. “Scores updated. And III, you’re up. Blow our minds. Surprise me with something I don’t know about ya, freak.”
III grinned slowly. “Alright, kids. Let’s see if ya’ can handle ma’ freak.”
He pulled his hoodie up halfway, like he needed partial anonymity for what he was about to confess.
“Alright, here we go. Fact One: On our tour with ma’ first band, I gat’ so wasted I ended up puking inside a guitar case. The next night, I still had ta’ play that guitar. Smelled like death far’ weeks. Lethal!”
The room filled with disgusted “ew-w-w-w”.
He still held a long finger up, nonchalantly. “Fact Two: I once stole a pair of Adidas Superstars from a departmen’ store. Still wear them sometimes. Never felt guilty.”
Another pause – then his mouth twitched into something vaguely resembling a smile.
“Fact Three: At one point I had seven cats in my apartment. Ta’ be fair… Only two were technically mine. The others just... moved in. I named them all after ma’ favourite metal bands.”
The chorus of groans from the first fact still lingered in the air. II pulled a face like he’d just tasted sour milk.
“Mate, that’s fucking foul. Playing through the stench of your own sick? That’s not dedication, that’s self-abuse.”
Ivy, phone in hand, made a gagging noise as if demonstrating the fact one in action. “The guitar case is forever cursed. Imagine the next poor bastard who opens it…” He mimed passing out. “This fact is kinda not new for me either. Saw some similar shit in my early touring days as well.”
III shrugged, unbothered, like it was just weather talk. II looked at Ivy, full of pissed judging:
“You guitarists are gross…” And rolled his eyes. Ivy nodded, smiling, as if he confirmed this, and continued:
“This fact feels somehow too common for metal tours… I’m gonna vote for the cats…” Ivy tapped the notes app with a dry snort. “Seven cats? Seven? Mate, that’s not an apartment, that’s a zoo. Did you even have a bed left, or just a fur mound?”
III only pulled the hood further over his eyes, deadpan. “Tha’ bed was theirs. I just rented it. As for tha’ fur… living with seven amazin’ fluff mates I was able to puke my own fur by myself.” Saying this he was somehow proud.
“Seven cats,” Ivy declared. “No hesitation. You give off feral landlord energy. Half of them probably pissed in your shoes, and you still let them stay.”
III chuckled mysteriously and shrugged.
Vessel was the last to move, lazy as if the whole exchange had been a slow-burning cigarette. He stretched, knuckles cracking, then gestured lazily with two fingers.
“My guess is the Adidas stealth job,” he decided, voice smooth. “You don’t look like a klepto, which is why it’d be you. Small crimes, no guilt. And you’d wear the evidence like a crown.”
He smirked, crooked and smug. “That’s the most III thing I’ve ever heard.”
Ivy drummed his fingers on the phone screen, thoughtful.
You tilted your head, weighing him. “The cat thing’s too specific not to be real… but I’m going with the puke-in-the-guitar-case story. It just feels cursed enough to have happened on tour.”
II shot his hand up like he was on a game show. “Nah, nah, nah. Adidas theft. I can see it. Hoodie up, dead face, security guards too scared to even bother chasing him. It’s art. Besides, I feel some mom’s little criminal energy in you…”
Vessel exhaled smoke-smooth laughter. “Exactly. Adidas stealth job. He wouldn’t even run. Just… walk out the door like they were already his.”
Four sets of eyes settled on III. He stayed under his half-raised hood, staring at the floor for dramatic effect before muttering flatly:
“…Cats. Seven of them. All real. All mine. Well – technically not’ mine. They just refused ta’ leave. Named one of them Gojira. Another, Meshuggah. There was a guy… Trivium.”
Ivy let out a triumphant cackle and tapped three points into his phone.
“One for your humble servants,” he announced, hinting at himself. “The rest of you, degenerates, get nothing.”
II groaned. “Fucking hell, man. I really wanted the Adidas heist to be real.”
“I think it was partly real,” Vessel drawled, lips curling. “But I guess this story will be a myth for future generations to decode. Right, III? With him, I actually never know which story is real, because he always changes them…”
Everyone laughed, because it was actually true. No one still really knew how III got his name into the Guinness World Record book and for what kind of achievement.
“What happened to the cats then, III?” You asked, full of curiosity, always worried about the animal in the story.
“All six happily adopted, livin’ their happy cat lives. One called Sabbath, fully black, died though. Was really old one.”
Vessel dramatically sighed. “Meow”. III looked at him, concerned.
II cackled. “Carefully, Vessi! Or our cat mom will feed you with fresh milk. Look, how he’s becoming protective, hearing the ‘meow’.”
III punched the drummer's shoulder, rolling his eyes.
Ivy was the first to catch his breath, wiping a tear from his eye and sitting back up, phone still in hand. Unlike the others, he still hadn’t bothered putting a shirt back on, sprawled against the pillows like the room’s self-appointed decoration. One arm with a blackwork style tattoo like a painted, but not finished up high on the shoulder sleeve. Old sleeve with sea waves and foam — still visible where it’s not covered with blackwork.
II made a face. “Ivy-butt, are you seriously doing your round half-naked? That’s cheating. You’re distracting the jury.”
Ivy snorted. “I’m the jury. Come on”.
Vessel didn’t even look up, just stretched lazily beside II. “It’s not cheating. It’s strategy. Ivy knows if he lies, we’ll be too busy staring at his tits to notice.”
You snorted. “Bold of you to assume anyone’s staring at his tits.”
“Anyone, but you, dah-ling? Right?” Vessel deadpanned, making you blush and others chuckle.
Ivy smirked, unbothered, tapping his chest with the phone like it was part of the presentation. “Say what you like. If I win, I’m counting the shirtlessness as an assist.”
He angled the screen so everyone could see the glowing notes app, his thumb hovering dramatically over the next blank line, like he was about to inscribe a prophecy.
Ivy cleared his throat with mock gravitas, like he was about to deliver Shakespeare instead of filth.
“So, fact one: Back in the days I played bass for a band called Boys with X-ray Eyes. One night I got so drunk I passed out behind a stack of speakers in the venue. My bandmates forgot me entirely, drove to the next city, and only realized their bassist was missing when they hit soundcheck. They had to borrow some poor local kid to mime the set while I woke up still in yesterday’s eyeliner.”
II slapped his knee. “Classic Ivy move. Human lost property.”
Ivy grinned wolfishly, then raised another finger.
“Fact two: I won Butterscotch in a bar game.” Butterscotch, hearing his ‘name’, immediately raised his head, looking up curiously. “Yeah, you…” Ivy continued. “Some psycho brought a puppy into the pub as collateral in a card game. I cleaned him out on a round of liar’s dice, walked out with a pint in one hand and a trembling golden fluffball in the other. Never lost a higher-stakes bet in my life.”
The room broke into howls. Vessel covered his mouth, shoulders shaking. III muttered something under his hood.
Ivy, smug, leaned back further between III’s long legs.
“Fact three: I once dated a girl for three months without realizing she thought my name was actually ‘Kevin.’ Like, dead serious. Every time she said it, I just thought she was being cute and complimenting me. Whole relationship built on lies! Ended when she introduced me to her mum as Kevin at Sunday lunch. As fucking Kevin Bacon. Her mother said I wasn’t the actual Kevin Bacon. Poor girl couldn’t stand the frustration."
The second Ivy dropped the “Kevin Bacon” bit, the whole bed collapsed into howling chaos. II doubled over so hard he almost kneed Vessel in the ribs, while III actually wheezed, “Six degrees of separation, mate,” before burying his face in the blanket. Vessel, half-hidden in the corner, was laughing that silent laugh of his, shoulders shaking like he was in physical pain.
You pressed your hand over your mouth, trying to keep it together, but your chest hurt from holding in the hysterics.
“Kevin Bacon?” You gasped finally. “There is no way in hell you’re topping that. But…” You squinted at Ivy, still lazily sprawled and looking pleased with himself. “You’re a menace in bars, so I’m going with the Butterscotch story. That dog had to come from somewhere unhinged. Plus… this name. Does anyone know if this is a real name or the name of the alcoholic drink?”
Ivy winked, smug. “Well he knows both of his names I guess.”
II flopped dramatically against the pillows. “Nah, nah, nah. It’s gotta be the missing bassist story. I can see him in eyeliner, half-dead behind a speaker, and a poor local kid being shoved onstage to mime the parts. That’s canon.”
Vessel stretched, head tilted in mock solemnity. “Agreed. Nothing feels truer than Ivy being abandoned like luggage at a venue. Once we forgot him on the bus… he sleeps like a hibernating pensioner Teddy bear. He was so sleepy the whole show that he was leaning at the stage decoration for probably three songs… Almost motionless! And you know… only fingers, only fingers tearing the guitar strings. At least, he still performed with us…”
Everyone chuckled, remembering the most recent American tour.
III leaned forward, hair falling in his face, grinning. “Nah... The Kevin Bacon thingy is too specific. Plus, I know that it was his alias, when he played with Continents. Don’t really believe in tha’ girlfriend story, but who knows. I’ll stay with tha’ Bacon.”
Ivy drew it out with game-show flair, tapping his bare chest. “And the winner is…”
He let the suspense build, eyes flicking to each of you in turn.
“The Butterscotch story, of course.” He finally gave out. You hissed ‘yessss’ clenching your hand in a fist, making the triumphant gesture. The bed erupted – howls, snorts, feet kicking blankets.
III, still gasping for air, wheezed, “And… one point for Kevin Bacon, technically!”
Ivy agreed. “Yes, technically, I had Kevin Bacon alias… just, y’know, meeting girls after shows, telling this to each of them to impress, or just for fun. Actually, the truth is… I haven’t been dating a girl thinking I was Keving Bacon for three months. She was aware OF THAT the next morning! So, yeah, III gets one point.”
Everyone collapsed back into pillows, gasping, faces red, trying to catch their breath but failing spectacularly. Even the blankets seemed to laugh – and somewhere beneath the bed, the real Butterscotch twitched an ear, unimpressed.
Vessel, still chuckling, finally leaned back against the headboard, eyes glinting in that silent, teasing way. “Alright,” he said, voice low and deliberate, “your turn.”
The bed shifted as everyone turned towards you. “Three facts,” he prompted, shoulders trembling a little from leftover laughter. “Impress us.”
Ivy nudged you with a bare elbow. “Don’t be boring. We know you’re hiding something.”
III muffled a laugh into the blanket. “Yeah, shock us, lass. Or at least confuse us.”
II groaned dramatically, stretching an arm over his face. “I’m still recovering from Kevin Bacon – don’t let me die laughing again.”
The room went quiet for a heartbeat. All eyes were on you.
You cleared your throat, cheeks warming, and spilled your first fact.
“Okay… so, once, I was kind of a stalker of this local band I really liked. Like, full-on — show after show, trying to get close. Ended up getting the restraining order… except it turned out the vocalist just wanted to prank me. He asked me to be his girlfriend — right there in the police station. I said no. And yeah, I stopped going to their concerts.”
The room went still. II almost dropped his phone. III’s jaw went slack. Ivy’s eyes were wide enough to swallow a pillow. Vessel’s corner-laugh started building again, silent but deadly. Vessel didn’t seem to believe it already.
“Fact two,” you added quickly, trying to lighten the mood: “I’m terrified of the garden gnomes,” you admitted, voice dropping like it was a confession of a true crime. “Like, I’m in actual terror. The tiny hats, the beady little eyes… So, there was this friend’s party… Everyone was drunk, including me, music blasting, chaos everywhere. I went outside for some air, and right there in the yard, under the moonlight… a whole army of garden gnomes. I screamed. I tripped over a hose, smashed into a fence, and somehow… yeah, I ended up with a few stitches on my forehead. Ever since, I can’t even look at one without feeling like it’s plotting against me.”
III choked on a laugh. “You… you gat’ stitches… ovar’ gnomes?!”
II groaned, burying his face in the pillow. “Fucking ceramic murderers… that’s insane!”
Ivy was doubled over, wiping tears from his eyes. “I… I can’t. I’m never walking past gnomes again.”
Vessel’s shoulders shook with that silent laugh, eyes glinting. “I think I see a new target for mischief…”
“Don’t get any ideas!” You warned him with your index finger. “Now, the last one fact.” Everyone went silent, wiping tears after the gnome story.
“My… so far… last job was at a tiny local TV channel,” you said, smirking. “I was the weather broadcaster. Three days in a row I only talked about the weather in one tiny area. In another county. Why? Because that’s where a music festival I wanted to go to was happening. My channel didn’t give me the vacation to go to that festival. So I broadcasted another country’s weather prediction for three days ahead, telling additional stories about the festival, lineup and different festival facts. Yapping at each broadcast… I got fired, of course. Worth it.”
Vessel’s corner-laugh shook his shoulders, silent but sharp. “You are ridiculous, but adorable,” he said, eyes glinting.
II groaned, hiding under the pillow. “You… you can’t just ruin your job for a festival…”
“Why not?” You asked, smiling.
Ivy was shaking, flush touched his cheeks and eyes turned wet, when he was looking at you. “Can I start? I’ll go with the local band stalking and getting a proposal from a vocalist… somehow it clicks!”
“Uhhh, Ivy, there was no ring, so no proposal counts…” You deadpanned. “But I get why you chose this one.”
“Yeah, I kinda was dating one girl, who was constantly at every show, when playing in Continents. Didn’t end well; but anyways!” He shrugged.
“You weirdo… You liked being stalked or what?!” II’s voice was sharp and stern. “Can’t you see any red flags, huh?”
“I thought it was a party…” Ivy rolled his eyes.
“Well… maybe you’ve heard alarm bells?” Vessel added.
“I thought… It was a party.” Ivy repeated dry.
“Maybe ya heard some sorta callsign?” III pressed.
“Shut up, y’all. I like the festive atmosphere. And… It boosted my confidence. Can’t blame me!” Ivy gave up.
II shook his head, looking at Ivy fatherly, and gave out his own guess:
“Well, I just want the Gnome phobia to be real… Plus, I know I won’t win anyways, so I’ll choose a fun variant! Stand up for Gnomes!”
“You’re my little Gnome…” Vessel’s long arm immediately wrapped around the drummer, hand grabbed the smaller man’s head and lips pressed a kiss on a blonde temple.
II immediately started to trash and fight in Vessel’s embrace and punched the singer violently in the abdomen.
“Ouch, gremlin! Hate you, evil arse.” Vessel spitted, still half-smiling. “III, what’s your variant?”
“Ehhh, well. Ta’ be fair, my chances of winnin’ are too small, so I’m standin’ for Gnomes too. I’ve got an idea for tha’ future, if it’s true…”
“III! Don’t you dare!” You yelled.
He mysteriously smirked, hiding his little smile under moustache and shit-eating gaze.
Vessel snorted and, rubbing his chin for a long while, finally said: “I’m going with the weather broadcast! For the sake of the festival.”
You smiled at him, not confirming, or denying.
“My girl isn’t afraid of the stupid gnomes. I don’t think she’s afraid of anything, actually. She’s ridiculously daring. She’s the type: everything or nothing.” He delivered the tirade and crossed his arms at this chest, underlining his point.
“And the winner is…” You exhaled, dramatically. “My Emo Songbird!”
The silence hung in the room.
“Excuse me, who?!” Ivy raised his brows so hard, that his forehead got similar to accordion.
Vessel burst into laughter. All eyes were on him now. But you continued:
“Vessel is the winner. That was not just a festival. It was ‘Budapest park’. I was fired. The same day I bought a ticket on resale, packed my suitcase and went to Budapest. It was worth it.”
“So… you sacrificed your job to get there anyways…” II said soft and quiet, nearly whispering, as if re-acknowledging your whole personality.
“Yes, II… To see you all play. Little did I know that you can meet your favourite band in the airport. Sometimes losing your job actually means getting some other ticket.”
Vessel smiled and shrugged. “And you don’t believe in fate…” He eyed each of his mates.
“You better do. What else except fate could make me play this game with you all?” You added, continuing. “But II and III get one point anyways. The Gnome story is partly real. And please don’t take advantage of my sincerity. I gave you additional points!”
Ivy updated results. And then his low voice broke the silence again:
“Wait! Partly real?! So what actually happened with Gnomes there? And someone please explain to me since when we call Vessel ‘emo songbird’?
“We were in the Uber early in tha mornin’ taday… And these two were laughin’ like toddlers an’ the backseat.” III said pointing finger at Vessel and you. “When I asked what tha’ actual fuck, they’ve told meh that they were discussin’ nicknames.”
“Uuuuhhh! That’s interesting!” II lit up with a fresh wave of curiosity. “Do we get a second episode of the ‘Sugarbutt’ blockbuster?”
“Dah-ling… If only you don’t mind…” Vessel looked at you with silent pleas in his eyes.
“Well…I mentioned it myself. So, I guess, just… go on. If I’m going to be embarrassed in front of you all once again, we’ll get to the very end. Everything or nothing!” You gave up.
Ivy silently typed something on his phone and brought it to his ear. Your phone buzzed in your sweatpants pocket. You took it out and showed it to him. Ivy’s face became as red as a pomegranate.
“So, if this… fucking true?” He gasped, choking on his saliva. “You really named me ‘Sugarbutt’? So… it wasn’t a joke?”
You just shook your head, awkwardly smiling.
“Tha’ is tha’ most adorable pet name I evar’ heard, ta’ be fair! My own creation ‘Honeybee’ really loses tha’ game to tha ‘Sugarbutt’. Excuse meh, Mr. Sugarbutt!” III laughed and punched Ivy’s bare shoulder.
“Wait…Okay… So, I am… Nevermind!” Ivy started shyly, still not ready to spell his pet name aloud. “Vessel is ‘emo Songbird’, then… Who are III and II?”
“Excuse me, but… ‘My emo Songbird’. Yes, like this.” Vessel corrected.
“Yeah, of course, ‘my.’ This girl willingly lost her job to meet him. No wonder!” II snorted, not without a bit of jealousy.
“Fuckin’ lessdo it!” III lost his patience, dialled your number and waited for your phone to buzz again. You showed him the screen. First III saw it, then II, whose head was lying quite near IIIs, and when they both burst into laughter and confused dramatic offense, Ivy started to pull your hand with phone to see it too.
“Tall Drink of Wa’er?!” III repeated, as if that was deeply offensive and at the same time trying not to laugh like a horse.
“Fucking hell… Ha-ha-ha-haaaa…” Ivy broke into laughter, fell down against yours and Vessel’s stretched out legs and howled into the ceiling.
“My Goodness! Ha-ha-ha-haaaaa! Girl, your fantasy is just… something else! The way she…” II didn’t finish the phrase, dying from laughter.
“Oh yeah, that’s the effect I wanted!” Vessel said happily, clearly remembering his own reaction, when he figured this all in the morning Uber. “But dah-ling, call her now too!” Vessel said, looking at II with curious playful eyes.
“Me?” II remembered that he was the only one not aware of his own petname, wiping his tears from his precious blue boba eyes. When he finally got ready and took out his phone, III and Ivy were still laughing at all three names they’ve already heard, throwing joking insults at each other like schoolboys, trying to spoil the lecture.
Your phone buzzed with II’s name on screen, and you showed it to II.
“What… the actual? Fun Sized… Master?!” The drummer half- screamed at this.
“Ha-ha-aha-ha-ha-ha… Hah-ha-haa….” III and IVy both collapsed onto each other, holding each other by the shoulders to keep their composure but both failed dramatically. Vessel pressed a palm against his mouth, trying to choke his own hysterical outburst.
“Fun Sized… Master?!” II repeated. “Well, ha-ha, I can… I guess I can forgive you about ‘fun size’... but master?”
“I’m… I’m really sorry, II…” You whispered guilty, but feeling absolutely no guilt inside for real.
“Ha-ha-ha–haaaa-hah-ha! Don’t be fucking sorry! That’s bonkers!!!” Ivy screamed through laughter with his eyeballs nearly falling off of his skull.
“I thought… I thought… You are, you are the… dominant one here. And… fun sized.” You still tried to justify yourself, but it sounded very weak.
“Vess was right, I guess. You’re something else. The level of dare in you… But better don’t make me prove my petname to you.” II finally smiled again, after sitting with a stern face while his band mates were dying laughing.
“The king was stabbed by a sharp word!” Vessel admitted. “Come-e o-o-on, II, this is hilarious and so fitting! I think she passed the test to be a part of a family. Multiple times!”
“Yeah. I mean… you’re right!”
“Don’t be too strict with her, if ya, little shit, decide to… you know… prove your fun sized master skills to her…” Vessel said, smiling. Ivy stopped laughing and tensed a little bit, III noticed it and went silent, rubbing his moustache, thoughtfully.
“Now that everyone knows…” You started, feeling embarrassed and relieved at the same time. “I would like to know who won. And what is the award?”
“Award is always a wish. The winner makes a wish, others fulfill it in the promised time.” Vessel said, as a lecturer.
Ivy cleared his throat and sighed. “Well, let me count all the points.”
While the guitarist did his jury job, III suggested:
“So… Six, we still don’t know tha’ full store-h about tha’ Gnomes.”
“Oh…” You sighed mysteriously. “I was really injured because of my phobia…of… of… the Garden Gnomes. What was more embarrassing… It was a birthday party of my… controlling and narcissistic ex.” Everyone got silent, all eyes shocked, all fixed on you. “Instead of calling the ambulance for me after it all happened, and after I fell down and bruised my forehead… He made fun of me with his friends. It was the happiest night in my life back then, though… The ambulance was called by another person, and I… finally decided to leave my ex.” You smiled. “Come on, guys, look at your faces. Cheer up. It’s a happy ending!”
“Well, dah-ling… I knew about your ex, but this is something new. It’s now somehow inappropriate to joke about Gnomes.” Vessel said, quietly.
“Jus’ don't scare me too much, okay?” You smiled at him.
Ivy left his notes and leaned to give you a hug… His shirtless hot torso pressed to you, strong arms wrapped around you, and inhaling him blissfully, you thought to yourself:
“This all meant to happen for me to be finally here…”
After a moment of silence…
“I’ve got the winner…” Ivy raised up his eyes, showing his phone to everyone.
“Suprise us, Mr. Sugarbutt!” II added up.
Ivy gave him a glare and announced.
“It’s Six. The winner is Six with Seven points. Vess is in second place with 6 points.”
“Wow, what?”
“It’s a pleasure to lose against my woman…” Vessel murmured.
“You’re fucking heeler, gha!” III snorted.
“I am. And I’m not even ashamed. I’m a woman-pleaser.” Vessel deadpanned.
“Seems like Six knows us better than… we know each other?” Ivy asked, curiously rubbing his chin, messing around with a bristle.
“It’s because the facts were new, just like I asked.” You said, all flushed, flattered and excited about your win.
“What does my queen wish for then?” Vessel asked, looking at you with dare in his facial expression and a mischievous glint in his eyes.
With a little thinking and hesitation, you finally gave out:
“I wanna know you all even better. I know, it will come with time… But now, I wanna be a part of a scene with all of you… As a voyeur. I have won seven points. Let it happen on the 7th of August."
Notes:
Guys, I will highly appreciate Kudos 🌹 and want to know your opinion in comments.
After this, I promise - more plot and more smut.
*POTATO HEARTS*
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