Chapter 2, Part 1
Midnight Shenanigans
The rest of that day passed by slowly. The highlight of it mainly consisted of Pickles carrying Toki up to his room and slamming the door shut. Though the walls of the Mordhaus were thick, sometimes wild shouts of laughter still were able to carry downstairs. Every time something like this happened, Nathan and Skwisgaar exchanged uneasy looks.
Finally, though, the time came to retire to bed. Skwisgaar went without a word. He found sleep impossible, though, and instead of staring at the pitch black nothingness of the ceiling, he stayed up until 1 o'clock strumming uselessly on his Gibson. Then, at 1:30 in the morning, something disturbed him. It was a knock at his door.
"What do yous wanting now? It's ams fucking 1 in the morning!"
"Ugh...Sk-Skwisgaar, please opens up..."
Skwisgaar's face lit up. Without any thought, he threw down his guitar and jumped to his feet. He scrambled to open the door in nothing but the black jeans that he usually wore. Nothing else. It was too late to worry about appropriate fashion. He retched open the door. Trying to act like he cared less, he asked, "Toki, what ammnest you wanting now? It's late."
Toki let out a simple, "Oh," and looked around warily. He began swaying where he stood, and he let a few strands of hair fall in his face. Oh yes, Skwisgaar knew this look well. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Pickle ammnest letting you drinks again?"
Toki shrugged and said numbly, "Maybes."
"Well what you doing out here? Whys you got to wakes me up!"
"I...umm...your light was on..."
Skwisgaar sighed, grabbed his arm, and ushered him in. "Come on, let's gos. You are probably abouts to puke, but just don'ts do it. Just follows me to the bathroom."
Toki let out a groan, hugged himself, and closed his eyes. Without thinking, he let his head fall on the other man's shoulder. He leaned against Skwisgaar heavily as he was lead to the bathroom. "Oh, Skwisgaar, my stomach hurts so ba—ba—ugh..."
"Hold on, don'ts puke yets!"
He let Toki fall to his knees in front of the toilet. Toki began vomiting and crying at the same time in a hideous display. Skwisgaar, not knowing quite what else to do, grimaced and held Toki's hair away from his face. With his other hand he began patting him on the shoulder.
"It's okay, Toki. You's ammnest goings to live."
"I thinks that I have dranken too much..."
He scoffed. "Yeahs, you think?"
Toki just let out a wretched little sob and hugged himself tighter. It was now that Skwisgaar realized that the finely toned and muscled Norwegian was only wearing his underwear. He swallowed. What the hell was wrong with this picture?
"Skwisgaar, why I drink so much?"
"Because Pickle ams...nothings, Toki. Just try not to get this sloppies next ti-"
"He saids that the more I drinks, the better I ams," Toki whispered. "Better I ams in bed..." He was done puking now, but Skwisgaar didn't let go of his hair. He reached over and flushed the toilet a few times, though.
He knelt down next to Toki and whispered, "Listens, I'm goings to take you to bed now so yous can sleep, okay?"
"But where will yous sleep, Skwisgaar?"
"Just come ons," and he heaved Toki to his feet and caught him when he swayed dangerously. Toki leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. His head lolled and he let out a moan.
"Uhh..."
"Toki? Toki?" Skwisgaar said as he tried to get his attention. "Cans you walk?"
His response to this was to fall against him and mutter, "Pickle gave me the vodka..."
"Vodka? Straight up vodkas? What ammnest wrong with you peoples?" Skwisgaar whispered as he scooped Toki up in his arms and heaved a labored sigh. It wasn't that Toki was heavy—he was much more muscular than himself—it was just that, well, honestly Skwisgaar was not a very well-built guy. In fact, some people had dared to say that he should spend less time fucking groupies and more time getting in shape...
Then again, Pickles always had said stupid shit when he had gotten drunk...
Skwisgaar felt ten times as out of shape as he looked down at Toki's perfect, defined muscles. Thankfully Toki didn't seem to notice his venturing eyes; his blue eyes were already halfway closed as Skwisgaar placed him gently in the bed. Before closing his eyes he muttered, "Do you thinks I am okays when I don't drink?"
"Yeah, Toki. Yous ammnest great."
He flashed Skwisgaar a little smile and asked, "Umhm...how greats am I?"
"The greatest," the Swede answered, pulling the covers over him. "Now gos to bed, okay?"
"Okays, but why you not being dildo to me like normal?" Toki asked. "Did I do somethings bad? Are you mad at me or something?"
Skwisgaar shook his head. "No, I coulds never stay mads at you, little Toki. Now go to beds," and he went to flush the toilet again—three times for good luck—and smiled to himself. The only reason that he had been so nice to Toki was actually because he was drunk. The odds of him remembering this was fairly poor, he had decided, so there was no reason to throw meaningless insults at him like usual. For tonight he had nothing to hide.
Some part of him actually hoped that Toki would remember this night, so that the next time Pickles offered him a drink, he'd think of Skwisgaar. This foolish hope was quickly extinguished as he began to hear the other man's slow and steady breathing falter. In his sleep Toki let out a rather seductive little laugh and whispered lovingly, "Mmm...Pickle..."
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Chapter 2, Part 2
Death Sentence
The next morning Pickles came stomping into Skwisgaar's room at the early hour of nine o'clock. As soon as he had entered the room, Skwisgaar, who had slept on the floor that night, jumped a little and looked up. Pickles glared down at him.
He, like the Swede, was wearing only his pants. Not only that, but he looked very angry. The angriest Skwisgaar had ever seen him. "What the fuck did you do to him?"
"Uh?"
Pickles shook his head in annoyance and went over to the bed. He knelt down and pressed his hands to Toki's cheek, whispering tenderly, "Hey, wake up." and to seal the deal he leaned forward and delivered a firm, deep kiss on his lips.
"Hmm...Pickle?" Toki opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. He let out a yawn and looked around, scratching his head. "Where ams I?"
"Not important. Come on," and Pickles wrapped his arms around Toki and scooped him up into his arms. Toki let out a tired moan and his arms fell around the drummer's neck. As Pickles carried him out of the room, the drummer narrowed his eyes at Skwisgaar and said coldly, "We're gonna talk later."
"Wait!" and Toki pulled away from him and said to the guitarist, "Thanks, Skwisgaar. You real pal. And also, I thinks that you is secretly the greatest toos." and he flashed him a beautifully perfect smile. Pickles hugged him closer and walked out the room.
Once he was alone Skwisgaar looked around and let his head fall into his hands. What had he done? If Toki remembered what he had said last night, then...well then maybe he was going to tell Pickles. Skwisgaar didn't know for sure, but he could take a fair guess and say that Pickles was a fairly jealous guy. He could fuck other people, but Toki? Absolutely out of the question.
Deep in his stomach Skwisgaar felt his worry growing. What would Pickles do to him?
: :: :: :: :: :: :
Chapter 2, Part 3
The Truth
Once Skwigaar had managed to drag himself out of his room and into the kitchen for breakfast, word had already gotten around Mordhaus about Toki's midnight drunkenness. As soon as Skwisgaar took his seat, Murderface began hurling question after question at him, each one more perverted than the last.
"Did you really let him shleep in your bed?"
Skiwsgaar sighed, let his head rest on his hand, and answered dully, "Uh, yeah."
"And you got him drunk?"
"Of course nots!"
"Picklesh shaysh-"
"Pickle ammnest idiot."
"Huh." was all that Nathan had to say to this. Though he seemed bitter at Skwisgaar for having had Toki alone all night, he still appeared to be a small bit triumphant at the fact that Pickles was in such a fury. Then he entered the room, holding Toki's hand and gave Skwisgaar a deadly glare. "Hey, uh...would you guys mind?"
"Mind what?" Murderface asked.
Pickles rolled his eyes and motioned to the door. "Getting out?"
"Why would we do that?"
"Just come on already!" Nathan blurted as he rose from his seat and went out the door. Murderface took one last glance at the angry look on Pickles' face then hurried out of the room as well.
Then Pickles turned to Toki and said, "Hey, would you mind leaving us a bit?"
He looked down and asked quietly, "Whys? Did I do somethings wrong?"
"Of course not."
"Then why-"
"Look, just go. I'll come and see you in a quick minute, okay?"
Toki shrugged and let Pickles give him a kiss on the cheek before heading out the kitchen. Once he had left, Pickles let out a chuckle and sat down at the table. Without thinking, he reached for the beer that Murderface had left and took a deep drink of it before saying, "It's kinda like raising a kid sometimes or something."
Skwisgaar arched a brow. "Huh?"
"Being with Toki," Pickles said brightly, "it's like raising a little kid sometimes, but it's worth it. He's really fucking great—there's no one else like him, you know."
"Ya, I know."
"Then why are you tryin' to take him away from me?"
"I...uh..." and for yet another time, Skwisgaar couldn't find anything to say. He just sat there, looking down and repeating, "I...umm..."
"You do know what I mean, don't you? Everyone knows now...everyone but Toki," he continued. Oddly enough, Pickles seemed calm now. He explained himself coolly and smartly. This didn't help Skwisgaar's tumbling stomach, though.
"That's what I don't want to happen, 'cause like I said, he's like a kid; I think...well, let me be honest here," Pickles said, rubbing his nose a little and scooting towards Skwisgaar. He said in a quiet voice, "I think that I really don't ever, ever want to see you staring at me again when I am doing anything to him—you know, touching, kissing, hugging. Anything."
"But I don'ts!"
He shook his head, scoffed, and drank some more beer. "Don't fuck with me or try to feed me any of that bullshit. I see you and Nathan staring at us every time we so much as say one word to each other. Honestly, it pisses me off."
"Then why are yous such dildo?"
Pickles arched one of his pierced brows and asked, "Excuse me?"
Skwisgaar swallowed and said with some difficulty, "Then why ammnest you always slapping at hims ass and makings him drink and jacking him off under the table and...and..." Jackings him off under table, he thought with some bitter amusement. Little bit of exact-hermiation[1], but still...
"What the fuck do you care what I do with him?"
"Because I loves him too!"
Pickles laughed and said coldly, "Please, you must be an idiot if you think that I'm gonna take your advice on relationships. When was the last time you fucked anyone because you loved 'em?"
Skwisgaar didn't have an answer for this. Instead he said, "Looks, I just wants him to be happy-"
"He is! With me!"
"-but how cans he be when you treat him like hired whore?"
Pickles' eyes grew wide. He threw his beer onto the ground, jumped up, and yelled so loudly that his Wisconsin-accented voice echoed, "A whore? You think that I treat him like a whore? You're Skwisgaar Skwigelf, the biggest man-whore on the planet!"
"I'ms just sayin's the truth, Pickle."
"Yeah, well you wanna know what I think of your 'truth'?"
He looked up at him and asked, "Yeah, whats?"
"I think fuck you!" and he went stomping to the door, but before he left the kitchen, he hesitated and said, "Oh, and by the way, I'm serious. I don't want you fucking him up. He's mine."
And he slammed the door. Skwisgaar couldn't help but begin to laugh at this and say, "We'll see abouts that, Pickle. We'll see."
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Chapter 2, Part 4
The Big Deal
In the end, Skwisgaar went and rejoined the rest of the band in the living room. And, not to his surprise, Toki was laying with his head in Pickles' lap. He didn't bother wasting even a second to take this scene in, however, because Pickles was already giving him one of his malicious half-smiles as his hand traveled lower, to the crotch of Toki's pants.
That stupids fucker! Skwisgaar thought to himself as he plopped down on the couch beside Nathan. He ammnest doings it again!
Toki just regarded Pickles' playful gropes as just that—play. He shifted his hips, forcing himself into Pickles' hand a little more, and smiled a little, muttering, "Hmm...Pickle."
Skwisgaar let out a sigh and stared intently at the T.V. The only voice that could be heard besides Pickles whispering to Toki was Murderface saying, "Sho what? Shkwishgaar's not sheelping with Tok-"
"Nothing happened, mother-douche bag." Pickles broke in as he squeezed Toki roughly. The Norwegian's eyes grew wide and he let out a pleasured, surprised gasp.
"Pickle, why you-"
"Just sshh and let me touch you for a while."
"But I-"
"Shut it."
Toki knitted his brows together, as though he had to think about what Pickles meant by this. Finally he tried to say, "Okays, but-"
"Ain't ya heard me? I said shut it."
Skwisgaar bit his tongue and looked down, his hands trembling. He was able to sneak a glance over at Nathan, who was glaring intently at the T.V. screen and biting his lip so much that a little blood was trickling down his chin. Skwisgaar did the same, but when he heard Pickles whisper something and Toki begin to giggle, he could stand it no more.
"You have a really nice ass. Have I ever told you that?"
"Yeah, Pickle, you do..." he laughed a little.
That's it...he was going to explode...
Pickles snickered as well and rolled over so that he was straddling Toki. He kissed him and pressed his hips close against the other man's. He leaned close and whispered, "Hmm...you're a good kisser now that I've taught you how to do it."
"Yous ams to."
...utterly EXPLODE...
Pickles chuckled and gave Toki a little kiss before saying softly, "Would you mind goin' and getting me a beer?"
"That's it! I can'ts stands it no more!"
Everyone turned and stared at Skwisgaar as he jumped to his feet, chest heaving, his eyes casting a deadly look at Pickles. The drummer just turned to him and pressed his body a little closer to Toki's. "Can't stand what no more?"
And suddenly Skwisgaar understood what he had done. Pickles had wanted him to have an outburst, that had been the whole point of his behavior. Just to make him admit his feelings for Toki, right here and now...but why? Hadn't he just said that he didn't want Toki to know? Maybe it was because that if Toki found out right now he'd never even consider Skwisgaar...he'd reject him forever...it would be the most embarrassing moment in the guitarist's life...
"What?" Pickles inquired in a seemingly innocent way, "What can't you stand no more?"
"I...uh...I's was just sayings that I could be...be hungry..."
Toki's eyes lit up as he tried to wriggle away from Pickles. "Oh, wowee, me toos. Can you gets me—"
"Toki follow me upstairs," Pickles broke in suddenly, casting a nervous glance at Skwisgaar.
Why he looks at me like that? It's like he thinks that if I has one moment alone with Toki I's will tells Toki that I loves him...
And a slow, devious smile spread across Skwisgaar's face as he said, "Sure, Tokis. What ammnest you wants?"
"Cookies and ice cream and-"
"What about pop-sckakles?"
"Yeah, popstickles!" Toki exclaimed excitedly.
Pickles actually looked worried. He swallowed and fell into Toki's arms. "Let's go upstairs..."
Toki's eyes became wide as he looked down at him. "Now? Buts I ams hungry!"
"And I'm horny, so come on." and he hopped off of Toki and pulled the Norwegian to his feet. He kissed him one more time before leading him up the stairs. "I'll give you something to eat, alright."
And Toki seemed to forget food altogether as he exclaimed, "Okays! Then you do me, right?"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever."
And they disappeared upstairs. Once they had left Nathan let out an angry yell and shoved Skiwsgaar so hard that he was pushed several feet backwards. The guitarist frowned and asked obliviously, "What's did I do?"
"Just...never mind. You wouldn't get it anyway," and Nathan got up and walked out the living room.
"Hey, where are you going?" Murderface called after him. "Don't pull that shit now! Look, Tokish jusht went up with Picklesh, what'sh the big deal?"
"The big deal is shut the fuck up," he mindlessly retorted as he went out the door. Skwisgaar frowned.
How could things get any worse? Toki was unintentionally tearing the band apart.
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**A/N**
[1] exact-hermiation
::exaggeration::
