There wasn't a lot that made 2D forget that Murdoc was in the same room as him. Russel was one of them, but now someone else joined that list. He hadn't had a lot of alone time with the guy, but Russel spoke very highly of his childhood friend and he was nice to 2D, which was a plus. Just because he was a ghost, didn't make him scary. If anything, it was all the better because the larger man could mess with Murdoc more whenever he picked on 2D.
Now Russel was asleep on the couch they had in their studio and the blue ghost was hanging out with the others. Noodle was in the recording studio now, doing her own thing while they waited on their sound booth person to show up.
"So I'm sittin' there, these fuckers thinkin' they're gunna ruin my best friend's birthday and I've never had to take a shit more than just then-"
"Why does that matter?" Murdoc snorted, arms crossed over his chest.
"How about you try to beat up a bunch o' people while having to have to take a dump," Del countered, also crossing his arms over his chest, though his gesture came off far more threatening than Murdoc's.
The green man grumbled and left to do something else. 2D secretely beamed that he could stand up to someone like Murdoc, and so easily. Soon, the sound booth person showed up and while he was talking to 2D, Del came over to them. 2D faltered in his speech upon the sudden drop in temperature when he neared and looked up at the blue ghost.
"Hey uh, I hate to steal any time from you guys or nothin', but Russel and I were talkin' and well, 'D, if ya wouldn't mind joining me, I have a song I wrote and well I think ya might like it."
He spoke so rapidly and with uncertainty that 2D thought he might have misheard him at first. When it finally clicked, he grinned shyly.
"Sure thing! You ready to record or anything?"
"Yeah, I am. Here, just uh... I thought yer voice would be perfect for the other part," he admitted, handing 2D a paper. "Uh, you can decide what pitch or whatever. I was never really good at that," he added with a laugh, rubbing the back of his head.
2D accepted the paper and nodded in response, glancing over the lyrics.
"I'll do my best," he replied, looking back up at him.
"Oh cool! Okay so uh... wish me luck," he said, slipping into the room.
He attempted to sit on the chair, but only ended up floating over it. Del didn't seem to mind as he put on the pair of headphones and brought the microphone closer. A shriek of protest rang out and he adjusted it accordingly.
"Sorry! Ghost electro-whatevers," he explained with a half-hearted shrug.
The sound booth guy gave him a thumbs up and adjusted some settings before giving him another thumbs up to start.
2D's heart skipped a beat. He looked over at the ghost as he started, rapping with such precision and smoothness that you'd thought he'd done this a million and one times. And God the way his voice bounced around the room only to hone in right on 2D's body sent a shiver down the man's spine. 2D moved to stand next to their sound guy, clutching the paper tightly.
Del couldn't help but move his hands around. It made it feel more natural, but just being here, finally in a music room, made his heart soar. He glanced out, just to see if 2D was watching, and he almost faltered when he saw just how close to blue-haired man was. He truly seemed facinated and Del hoped it was for all the right reasons.
Being in the recording room was an absolute high for Del, one that he thought he'd never get to feel when his life ended. But now here he was, and he was more focused on the man on the other side of the glass than he was the actual music. He hoped in the back of his mind that he wouldn't mess up but god, for the life of him, he couldn't focus back on what he was saying. He knew 2D was with Russel, but this was too much.
2D's hair was a little longer now and, if possible, he seemed skinnier. It worried Del, but he wasn't going to mention anything for offending the smaller man.
"Long time no see, little buddy," Del greeted him with an arm wrapped around his slim shoulders.
"Heh, yeah," he breathed, body hunkered down somewhat.
Sensing the unease, he removed the appendage and rubbed the back of his head. He thought back to the conversation he had with Russel the previous day and internally groan. Sure, he had the okay from the big man himself, but bringing it up to 2D was going to be a lot harder.
"Del? Earth to Del," 2D called him back from his mind. "The recording room is ready for you."
"Right, thanks," he said, offering a sharp-toothed grin down at the singer.
2D's face burned bright and he quickly looked away. Del waited a moment for entering the recording booth. He made sure to be careful of the mic this time. A breath. In and out. The fact that his heart was no longer beating in his chest apparently didn't quell the hummingbird fluttering he felt. He listened to the intro playing in his headphones before starting up.
2D watched the larger man silently, almost mesmerized yet again by his performance. He seemed more upbeat about this song, grinning most of the time and trying hard to keep his voice even.
"... making cuties so beligerent," Del rapped.
And 2D felt Del's gaze shift towards him again, a playful expression on his face that set 2D's skin on fire. This song was clearly more provocative than Clint Eastwood and it seemed as though the blue ghost was singing this specifically towards 2D, which caused a warmth to gather in his belly. He had to turn away for fear of his face melting off from the embarrassment. He instead turned to Noodle, who was indeed wiggling it and having a grand ol' time. He decided to join the small girl and started dancing with her. That is, until he heard:
"Oh no that's way too friggin' cute."
Everyone paused, even Murdoc, who was mid-bite into his sandwich. The sound guy quickly paused the recording and erased the mistake.
"It's all good," he said quickly, reassuring Del who's face had gone purple.
"Uh yeah can I... take a break?"
Before the guy could answer, Del disappeared, going through a wall. 2D bit his lip, unsure of what to do in a situation like this, before deciding to go after him.
"D-Del?" 2D sputtered, almost bumping into him in the hall right outside the room.
"Huh? Oh, hey, 2D. Sorry. I was just kinda mad that I messed up that recording," he said with a shrug. "I'm fine now," he said quickly, seeing how worried 2D still was.
The smaller man seemed unsure, but slowly nodded.
"Sorry if we distracted you," he mumbled, rubbing his upper arm.
"Hey man, if you guys can dance like that just to me recording, it makes me happy," he responded, offering the smaller man a smile. "Makes me think others might actually enjoy it," he added.
2D nodded silently, looking up at him.
2D waited anxiously for Del to finish recording Rock the House. He finally checked his phone and read the message Russel had sent him the night before. He'd been so hyper-focused on controlling his blushing for the day that checking his phone hadn't even crossed his mind. Now his heart was pounding and he was so afraid it might pop out of his chest that he couldn't help but cross his arms over it.
"Was that good?" Del inquired when he came out.
"Uh, yeah," 2D replied, nodding. "It was really good."
"Don't think we'll need to do another one," the sound guy added. "Hey, Noddle, ya wanna go now?"
The young girl nodded excitedly and slipped passed the other two, holding her guitar close as she climbed onto the chair.
2D made sure she was settled alright before moving over to Del. He glanced over, worried that Murdoc would bother them before he had the chance to say what he needed, but thankfully Murdoc was busying himself outside somewhere. He returned his attention to the taller man, who was looking down at him curiously.
"I uhm... uh... hhh..." he breathed, finding it a lot harder to find his words now, even though he'd rehearsed long before this.
"Yeah, 'D?" he inquired, cocking his head to the side somewhat and leaning down a little more.
"Uh yeah, well. Oh god this is so much harder than it needs to be," he rambled, looking at everything save for the taller man's white eyes.
"Heh, yeah... you finally read your messages, huh?" he inquired, leaning even closer.
"Y-You knew?" he sputtered, face reddening more and more.
"Of course I did. I just thought you didn't care as much, but clearly I was wrong," he murmured, moving in closer so 2D was up against a wall.
"Y-yeah, I guess so," he breathed, now only able to focus on the goose-bumps covering his body.
Del's lips were so close to him, to his own lips, that it hurt. It pained him not to just crash his lips into Del's plush ones. They were so close and so available and god what was even stopping him? Clearly he had Russel's approval as well as Del's, so what was stopping him? He swallowed hard, chest so tight it hurt to feel his heart beat so rapidly.
Finally, Del stopped being cruel and closed the gap, kissing 2D lightly, tenderly at first, before pressing in even more. The rush of emotions and relief made his legs give way, but thankfully Del caught him.
"Heh, careful sweet-cheeks. I know I'm to die for, but how about we hold off on that, hm?" he teased.
"Aah, yeah..." he squeaked, fingers unconsciously moving to touch his own lips, just to make sure they were really there and really tingling.