WARNING: In case you didn't read the description, this fic contains drug use, suggested sexual scenes and deals with the topic of rape. Please, please don't read this if any of these things offend you. Thank you.
'What am I even doing?' Javier thought to himself, approaching one of the previously unoccupied houses on Frat Row.
The campus' newest fraternity had recently taken up residence in the very house before him, and although the trademark colours of green and yellow were visible, its decoration was still far from looking finished. Still, there was no doubt that soon enough, the house would be easily recognised by all as the house of Oozma Kappa.
Tentatively reaching a hand out as he reached the door, he paused in thought for a moment, reconsidering his decision. He sighed, giving in to what he'd already set out to do, and lightly knocked on the door.
When no reply came within about half a minute, he knocked again, louder this time. Within seconds, he could hear thumping from within the house, no doubt one of the monsters within running down the stairs. The door was opened wide in an almost violent fashion, a purple-furred, arch-shaped monster standing in the doorway.
"Ah, you decided to come!" Art exclaimed. "Awesome! Come in, come in!"
Art motioned for him to come in before running into the living space, leaving Javier unattended as he made to enter the house. Pausing in the doorway, he ran through his mind quite how unlikely this scenario was.
A scrawled note was passed to him earlier that afternoon as he made his way from his morning classes back to his fraternity house. It was an unremarkable week, so the event was quite surprising for a Friday. It wasn't the most shocking thing that had ever happened to him, but it ranked quite highly, he noted. Still, it was Art, and everyone on campus had long since learned that nothing should be unexpected from him. He was that innocent kind of crazy monster that could keep you on your toes, whether you knew him personally or not, but still be fun and humorous rather than an annoyance or a threat.
The note itself had simply said that the OK house would be vacated on Friday at 6pm, which just so happened to be tonight, and that there was something 'interesting' Art wanted to show him. It had piqued his curiosity to say the least, but still, being of as high a standing as he was, his first reaction was to crumple the note and toss it in the trash. But there was something about Art, something that would cause any monster to want to learn more about him. It could be because of the fact that, in retrospect, nobody knew much about him, not even his own brothers. It could be that Art had one of those personalities that just made everything he did or planned seem more interesting. Or it could be that…
No, he couldn't think like that. He wasn't even sure why he felt like that. But it wasn't something he planned to dwell on as he made his way into the house, closing the door behind him. It was at that moment Art made his way back from the living space, an excited look on his face.
"OK, just checked and everyone's out, as promised. C'mon, follow me."
Art began his ascent up the stairs, at an alarmingly fast pace. Again, Javier hesitated, wondering just what it was Art had planned.
'He's leading me to his room?' he thought. 'He can't seriously be planning to…'
He cut his thoughts off again, although a slight blush made its presence on his face. Slowly, he began following the path Art had taken. Once at the top of the flight of stairs, he looked to the left, noting it to be the direction he'd seen Art head in. Sure enough, Art was there, waiting at the end of the hall, a hand on the knob of the door at the very end, the excited look still on his face.
"C'mon!" Art said, sounding a little more urgent. "I've been waiting to share this with someone all week!"
He turned the knob and made his way into what Javier presumed was his bedroom. Javier himself was left flabbergasted, gaining a double entendre from what was just said.
'Share?' he thought, becoming even less sure of the situation. Something told him to just turn around and walk away now, but the larger part of him was too curious to do that. He shrugged, figuring Art wouldn't be the type to be so upfront in what he thought he could have meant, and decided Art must have had something else in mind.
Not wanting to keep the purple-furred monster waiting any longer, and feeling the sudden urge to satisfy his curiosity, he took a deep breath and followed into the room.
"Welcome to my lair!" Art exclaimed dramatically, chuckling slightly. "Make yourself at home Jav."
The bug-like monster was slightly irked by the casual use of his nickname, something he only allowed Johnny and his fellow RORs to do, but decided to forgive the transgression. At least just this once.
Taking in his surroundings, the room was decorated the same plain white the rest of the house had been, albeit with a few posters hung here and there. It obviously had yet to be decorated, unless of course it was already to Art's taste. He wasn't the easiest monster to figure out, after all.
Seeing Art had taken a seat on the bed, Javier spotted a chair by the desk opposite, deciding on taking a seat there. Once seated, the bug-like monster turned a stern gaze onto his 'host' as he was fumbling with a tin of some sort.
"So… why is it you've summoned me here?" Javier asked, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice, but also amusement, most likely due to the fact that Art seemed to be struggling to open the tin he was currently fiddling with.
"You looked like you needed to talk to someone," Art replied flatly, his attention still mostly on the tin he was trying desperately to pry open.
Javier was taken aback, his eyes widening from their usual undaunted look. "Why would you say that?"
"You seem more stressed than usual," Art shrugged.
Javier was shocked again, so much so that he became slightly irritated. "How would you know that? The RORs and the OKs have little to do with each other, and we don't share classes."
"I see you around," Art said in the same flat manner. "I take interest in watching the monsters on campus from time to time. I used to be a New Age Philosophy major, y'know?"
Javier wasn't quite impressed with this reply. "That doesn't really answer my question."
"Well, uh… I guess I was kinda interested with you. I see most of the fraternities and sororities walking around the campus too, but there was something different about you. You tend to hide your emotions a lot. That's not healthy."
Javier clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Why should that concern you?"
"Like I said, I used to be a New Age Philosophy major," he said with a little more enthusiasm. "I take interest in monster's behaviours, and I like to help too!"
"Why me, specifically?"
"Well, I dunno, really."
A click could be heard; Art had seemed to finally get the tin open, to which he smiled widely.
"Besides, that wasn't the only reason I invited you over. I've been waiting all week to find someone to share one of these babies with!"
Before Javier could even open his mouth to voice the obvious question, Art had plucked something from the tin and thrown it in Javier's direction. Perfect reflexes formed from years of ping pong training allowed the blue monster to catch the small object with ease and, gazing down at the object in his hand, his eyes widened again before looking back up to Art.
"How did you know?"
Art cocked an eyebrow, a knowing smirk appearing on his face. "Do I really need to answer that?"
Javier chuckled slightly at that, suddenly realising how stupid the question was. Gazing down at his hand again, he regarded the object in his hand, a perfectly rolled joint. He looked back up, an amused smile appearing before he spoke.
"You realise I have plenty of this shit back at my own place, right?" he asked with amusement, momentarily forgetting where he was and allowing his language to become more casual.
"Trust me on this," Art began, his smile widening even more. "You don't have any of this."
Art sparked up first, taking a deep drag before handing the lighter to Javier. Javier took the lighter, but rather than sparking up he just looked quizzically at Art.
"Look, just give it a try," Art said, amused at the reaction he was getting.
After short consideration, Javier decided to do just that. Placing the joint between his lips, he flicked the lighter, inhaling deeply as it ignited. A moment later, he exhaled the smoke from his lungs, taking another look at the joint as he nodded his head in approval. "Smooth," he said.
Art chuckled. "I know right? Best I've ever grown. I'm pretty proud of it, but since moving out of the old house I've had no-one to share it with."
Javier cocked an eyebrow. "Since moving out?"
"Yeah, the only other monster I knew who smoked it was Ms. S."
"Ms. S?" he asked curiously before realisation suddenly dawned on him. "No way! Really?"
"Hell yeah," Art chuckled. "She used to be a party animal! Still is now, really."
Javier couldn't help but chuckle at the vision of Sheri dancing wildly at a party, beer in one hand and a blunt in the other. And yet, the image wasn't actually that out of place from what he'd seen of her.
"So what's up man?" Art said, cutting into Javier's thoughts.
"Huh?" came the reply.
"With you, I mean. What's getting you so stressed lately?"
Javier couldn't help but be a little impressed by Art's perception. So used he was to masking his emotions it was rare anyone ever picked up on his troubles, even those closest to him. It surprised him that a relative stranger had noticed.
"Oh, it's nothing really," Javier said in an attempt to brush it off.
"Bullshit."
Javier was taken aback by the reaction. For some reason he'd never envisioned any of the OKs capable of uttering a curse, let alone being forceful. "I'm telling you, it's nothing," he said sternly, overcoming his initial shock.
"No, no, no," Art said, making some attempt of shaking what could best be described as his head. "That's the same crap I used to pull when I tried covering up my problems. Something's troubling you, something bad."
Javier sighed. "It's just… thoughts of my past. But I'd rather not delve into them."
Art hummed in acknowledgement. "I know that one. But are you sure, man? I brought ya here to talk."
"Well, my past I try to keep behind me," Javier said, looking to the floor for a moment before returning Art's gaze. "Besides, isn't that what you've done? No-one really knows anything about you, from what I hear."
"True," Art agreed. "And as long as I can help it, that's how it's gonna stay. There's some deep, dark secrets that are best left in the past," he said lowly, to which Javier looked curious. "Or not!" he suddenly exclaimed, causing Javier to jump.
"OK then," Javier said, chuckling again. "But it is true. You keep more secret than I do. All anyone knows about you is what you've done since coming to MU. I mean, do you even have a surname?"
"Not anymore," he replied with a chuckle, taking another drag of his joint.
Javier opened his mouth to ask what he meant by that before figuring it best not to. "But seriously, why help me? I know you said you like to help people, and you saw something different in me, but is that all there is to it?"
Art looked down for a moment, a slight melancholy look replacing his previous grin. "Well, no, actually."
After waiting for further elaboration and not receiving it, Javier persisted. "So what is it?"
"I kinda… get the feeling your secrets might be similar to some of mine, actually," he replied, meeting Javier's gaze once more. "You just… have that look about you. To someone who knows, that is."
Javier remained silent, taking another puff of the joint in his hand and flicking some ash into the ashtray he found on the desk beside him.
"So why now?" Art asked. "What's happened to bring all that back to you?"
"He got out last week," Javier replied simply, no longer thinking twice about being honest.
"Ohh," Art muttered. "Yeah, that's gotta be a bummer."
Javier snorted. "Poor choice of words there, my friend."
Art chuckled slightly, appreciating the dark sense of humour about the situation. "Yeah, my bad. So… what are you gonna do?"
Javier narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Art shrugged. "I… I dunno. I mean, it's troubling ya. Are you gonna stick around still?"
"Of course I am! He might've robbed me of my childhood, but he's not taking any more from me than that. Besides, I doubt he remembers me anyway."
"Why d'ya say that?" Art asked. "Criminals usually remember the reason they're sent to the big house, right?"
Javier took another drag, slowly this time, as if mulling over another painful memory. "It wasn't me he was sent down for. No-one cared for what I had to say. They were more interested in the armed robbery he was caught for."
Art remained silent for a moment. He took another drag as well, unsure of what to say next. "How long ago?" he finally asked.
"Seven years and two months."
Art sighed sadly. "So you'd have been… fifteen at the time?"
"Yes."
"Damn."
The two monster's gazes fell to the floor, silence taking over again as several unspoken thoughts and questions hung in the air. A few more puffs were taken by both monsters and after a while, Javier sunk to the floor. When Art looked questioningly at this, Javier chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"It's going to my head a little. I don't feel too safe up there," he said, gesturing to the chair.
Art laughed at this and decided to mirror the motion. "Lemme join ya," he said, sitting in a lotus position.
"So what about you?" Javier asked.
"What about me?"
"Well, you said my secret was similar to one of yours. Gonna tell me about it?"
"Nah, that hatchet was buried long ago," he said. "Besides, I was older, and my situation had a different outcome."
"Just how old are you anyway?" Javier asked, clearly amused by the notion.
"Ah, now that would be telling, wouldn't it?" Art chuckled. "Truth be told, I don't even know."
"You… don't know?" Javier said in disbelief.
"Nope. After spending several years on your own, your sense of time kinda slips away from ya."
"I see."
Taking another puff, Javier precariously reached out for the ashtray, taking care not to drop it or knock it off the desk. Flicking some ash into it and settling it between the two of them, he thought of another question to ask. "Why is it you keep so much of your past locked up? You've gotten me to talk about mine, is it that you're afraid of opening up?"
"No, I just don't have anything to gain from it," he shrugged. "Everything that's happened in my life I'm in complete peace with. No point opening it all up again if it isn't a present problem."
Javier nodded, somewhat surprised by the wisdom in Art's words. "But you do seem to drop little hints now and then."
"Huh?"
"Well, I've just learned you spent some years living alone. I guess that means you have no family?"
"Huh, I guess you're right. And nope, just me nowadays."
"So… nothing to gain from it, huh? Didn't you consider someone might actually be interested in your story?"
"Well of course. Don, Squishy, the Terries and Ms. S have all tried to figure me out. But… it's just not something I want to discuss." He shrugged. "I prefer learning about other people, my story just bores me."
The two took another drag before Javier spoke again.
"So what is it you wanted to learn about me? Was it just what's getting me down? Because that's been accomplished now."
"Well, not just that, I wanted to try and… well, make you feel better, I guess."
"There's not really anything that can be done to do that," Javier sighed. "Unless you count this, of course." He gestured to the joint, which was now a third of its original size. "This makes me much better," he chuckled.
"You know it shouldn't be a substitute for an actual solution, right?" Art said, showing some concern.
"Better than nothing," he shrugged.
"So… all this time since?" he asked, not feeling the need to complete the question.
"Yes. I've been toking ever since then." He sighed. "It's the only thing that can take my mind off it. No-one I've ever spoken to about it has helped. My parents… didn't take me too seriously, to put it mildly. And Johnny, well, his heart's in the right place but he just doesn't really understand."
"And what about me? Has talking to me about it helped?"
Javier pulled a questionable face. "Well, you're not exactly forthcoming with information about your own experience."
"Would it really help if I did tell you?" Art said in a manner that expressed his belief to the contrary.
Javier sighed. "I suppose not."
Art placed a hand on Javier's shoulder, a move Javier would usually have shrugged off but didn't feel the need to.
"Listen, Jav, truth be told there's not really much anyone can say to help you through it. You just have to come to terms with it, call it what it is, and put it behind you."
"But it's too difficult," Javier said, sighing again with just the slightest hint of a tear forming in one of his four eyes. "It wasn't just the… y'know… it was everything that came after. It hurt my relationship with my parents. Granted, it wasn't the best anyway, but that was the last time I ever felt I could talk to them about anything."
Art patiently listened, not making a sound until Javier finished. He then took a drag of his joint, Javier doing the same.
"You can't say it, can you?" Art asked bluntly.
"Wh-what?" Javier asked, perplexed.
"'It wasn't just the… y'know'," he imitated whilst trying not to come across as mocking. "Can you even say it?"
"O-oh…" Javier stammered, becoming slightly flustered. "S-sure."
Art didn't look convinced. "Then say it."
Javier went on the defensive, becoming annoyed. "Why should I have to? You know what I mean."
"I want you to say it."
"I'd said it plenty of times back when it happened."
"But you can't now."
"I don't have to say it; you know what I'm talking about."
Art sighed. "Yes, I do. And you're never going to get past it until you can call it for what it is. You need to acknowledge what happened, fully. You'll never let it go otherwise."
Javier opened his mouth to argue back, but then remembered he was speaking to someone who claimed to have gone through the same. He sighed, gazing down at the floor. "Fine."
A moment's silence passed, saved for a couple of heavy breaths on Javier's part, and Art didn't dare question why. He knew Javier should feel he had all the time in the world to prepare for what he needed to say.
Keeping his gaze to the floor and taking a deep breath, Javier looked back up to lock his eyes to Art's. His vision was slightly blurry, tears filling his eyes and beginning to fall freely, but he didn't let it distract him. He'd prepared his words and he wouldn't let the tears stop him now. "I… was raped."
Something clicked in Javier's mind. It was almost as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt… relieved. So relieved that he actually had to choke back a sob. Those tears still falling, tears that had started off as those of bitter sadness, slowly turned to those of joy. Art was right, by simply being able to call out his rape for what it was, he felt miles better than he had in years.
'How cliché,' Javier inwardly chuckled. But, looking back on memories passed, he questioned whether or not he really did use the word specifically since the incident, or if he'd gone into denial. He now knew it was the latter. A knowing smile was presented to him from the monster opposite him, and he couldn't help but smile a little himself.
"Feels better, doesn't it?" Art asked.
"Yeah. It does."
"I'm gonna hug you now," Art chuckled, having the decency to give fair warning, a courtesy he usually would have forgone if not for how delicate the situation was.
Javier, not knowing what else to do, just laughed at the seemingly random statement. Too incapacitated to argue, whether it was from the drugs or the unlikely hilarity of the situation, he held his arms out in invitation. Eagerly taking it, Art stubbed out his joint and scooted up from his seat, almost tackling Javier to the ground as he wrapped his arms around in a hug. The feeling of fur on his exoskeleton made Javier shiver slightly, but he brushed off the thought, just enjoying the feeling of being… loved.
"Gracias, amigo," Javier whispered. "No-one has ever taken the time to listen, and understand."
"Cuando tu amigo pide, no hay mañana," Art whispered back.
Javier broke the hug, staring at Art with wide eyes. "¿Hablas español?"
"Eh, a little," Art chuckled. "I just happened to know that proverb. Thought it was appropriate."
Javier shook his head, laughing. "You're full of surprises. Although, for one who doesn't reveal his past, that should be a given I suppose."
"Heh, yeah," Art said, chuckling weakly but acting slightly embarrassed.
Javier smirked and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, deciding to finally ask the first question he had when he first arrived. "OK, spill it. What was the real reason for you inviting me here? Why do you want to get to know me better?"
"I-I said already, didn't I?" Art replied. "I wanted to help you."
Javier looked unconvinced. "Was that the only reason?"
"Well, yeah, sure."
"So why the Spanish? Are you trying to impress me for some reason?"
Art looked down and began twiddling his thumbs. "N-No, that wasn't it…" he said, his stammering only becoming worse.
"Or were you perhaps trying to flirt with me?"
"No, no, no, nothing like that…" Art trailed off, actually resisting the urge to babble on for once, lest he dig himself a deeper hole.
Javier couldn't have predicted his own next words. Even after, he didn't know why he'd uttered them. But he held some sort of… attraction to Art. Why, he couldn't say. Even after the discussion they'd had he knew their personalities didn't mesh, not really. Perhaps he was curious? For all the monsters Javier had ever slept with, Art was unique. As bad as it may have been to admit, he was interested in how Art's anatomy 'worked'. Although he knew he wasn't the only one, many a monster had commented similarly. But something had been pressing at him ever since receiving that note, and he was finally starting to realise what. So for all the confusion as to why Javier said what he said next, he didn't regret it. Not one bit.
"What if I said I liked it?"
Art gasped, looking back up to see a playful smile on Javier's face, a look he certainly hadn't been expecting. "You… you mean..?"
"Look, it may be the weed talking," Javier started, holding up his joint for emphasis, "but if you wanted to fool around I wouldn't be opposed to it. Just don't expect something steady."
Art simply stood there, mouth agape. He fiddled with his hands slightly subconsciously, not sure what to do. He didn't know what he'd expected. In all honesty he hadn't planned for Javier to agree.
Javier simply chuckled at the spectacle in front of him. He took one last drag of his joint before stubbing it out. He picked up the ashtray and set it back on the desk, not wanting it to get in the way of what he was about to do next. He crawled his way over to the immobilised monster before him, reaching an arm around Art to pull him closer. He slowly brought Art's lips to his own, kissing him lightly at first. When he noticed Art wasn't kissing back he pulled them apart, looking at the purple-furred monster with a questioning gaze.
"Something wrong?" Javier asked.
"Uh, no, no," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just… still kinda shocked you want this as much as I do. I didn't think-"
Art was cut off when Javier brought a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Well, it doesn't matter what you thought. I want it, do you?"
"Y-Yeah!" he said a little too enthusiastically.
Javier smirked, trying not to laugh again. "Then how about we try this again?"
For the second time Javier pulled Art into a kiss. This time Art responded in kind, deepening the kiss as he wrapped his own arms around Javier. Javier brushed his tongue across Art's lips, his silent request being met almost immediately as Art allowed his tongue entry. Javier smiled into the kiss as Art let out a quiet moan, their tongues brushing over each other as Javier explored Art's mouth.
They broke the kiss and looked at one another, recognising a look of desire in their eyes.
"Got any-?" Javier began.
"Middle drawer," Art replied all too quickly.
Reaching behind him, Javier found exactly what he was looking for almost immediately, pulling a condom out of the middle drawer behind him. Perhaps Art really had planned what Javier had thought initially. The thought didn't give cause for concern, however, not anymore.
Casting aside all uncertainty Javier pulled Art into another kiss. He kissed more fervently, more desperately. He wasn't sure why, but he needed this more and more as time passed.
He wasn't sure when it happened, but it didn't matter. At some point Art led Javier to the bed and things had only proceeded from there. Minds hazy from the smoke and hormones, hands clumsily stroked and groped, a tongue met unfamiliar flesh.
Art cried out when Javier first entered him but the pain was soon consumed by a sense of euphoria. Hands gripped bed sheets, gasps and groans filled the room, wood knocked repeatedly against plaster.
It was over all too soon, but it was all either monster needed. Javier collapsed beside Art, remaining there for a while. The two muttered blissful nonsense to each other, too caught up in what had just happened to make any sense.
Despite feeling tired neither monster fell asleep. Even in their current state of mind they knew the house wouldn't be empty for much longer. And Art knew privacy wasn't high on his fraternity brothers' priorities.
"You need to go soon…" Art groaned.
"Yeah…"
In all honesty Javier was too comfortable to want to move, both the duvet and the furry monster in his arms giving cause for hesitation. However, a few minutes later Javier unwrapped himself from Art, slowly climbing out of bed. He looked around the room to find his ROR jacket which lay in the corner of the room, having been casually discarded at some point during their previous activities.
Art watched Javier from the bed as he buttoned up his jacket, smirking. Javier took notice of this and chuckled. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Art said lazily. "Just checking out what I just slept with."
Javier rolled his eyes, though his smile only grew. "And the verdict?"
Art laughed. "I'm a pretty lucky monster."
"Better believe it," he replied in a manner of smugness even his president would be envious of.
The two shared a final laugh before Art climbed out of the bed, opening the door to his bedroom and leading Javier downstairs.
"So, I guess this it," Art sighed once they reached the main door.
"No need to look so down," Javier said, patting Art on what he could best determine to be the equivalent of a shoulder. "It was a fun evening."
"Yeah," he replied, perking back up. "Yeah, it was."
Javier smiled. "And… thank you. For the talk. You were right, it helped a lot."
"You're welcome," he said, smiling wider. "Well, I better let you go before the others start asking questions."
"Don't worry about that," Javier smirked. "I told them I was meeting a special guy tonight."
Art blushed, though it wasn't visible under his matted fur. His nervous chuckling did give away his embarrassment, however. "Heh, thanks."
"No problem. Guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah, see ya around Jav," he said as he started to open the door. He paused when a thought suddenly struck him. "You… don't mind me calling you Jav, do you?"
Javier could have laughed at the irony, Art only thinking to ask that now, though he settled on smiling warmly as he gave his answer. "No, I don't mind at all."
"Good." He opened the door fully, allowing Javier to leave. "See you around Jav."
"You too Art."
Javier made his way out and, with one final wave to the purple-furred OK member, made his way back to his own fraternity house.
Along the way his mind raced through the events of the day. The note, the doubts entering the OK house, the talk and what it led up to. He had to laugh at it all. Most monsters had to work to get Javier's attention, yet Art had somehow managed it in a day. That was certainly an achievement Art should be proud of, though Javier knew he wouldn't view it that way. Perhaps even that was part of the reason Javier was so willing to meet him, knowing what it could have, and did, lead to.
He didn't regret it one bit. He felt better about himself in every way possible, and he'd almost forgotten what had been getting him down. Say what you want about the guy, but Art was certainly remarkable.
Javier would remember this encounter for a long time to come. He also had to wonder if perhaps there would be more like it. He wasn't exactly opposed to the idea. And he knew Art probably wouldn't be either.
He didn't dwell on the thought too long, however. No, right now a shower was all the bug-like monster wanted. If his brothers allowed him to grab one without an endless sea of questions that was.