Their safe house was a small one bedroom apartment with one of the living room walls knocked out, successfully connecting two small apartments to make a much larger one. The door to the second apartment was their exit, leading them through the back alleys of the town they occupied. Nick was tense, sitting on a barstool staring out the small safe house window, for a few reasons. The one less obvious was the fact that the Tank was still out there somewhere.
If it were quiet, and if Nick listened hard enough, he could swear he heard it tromping around, somewhere deeper in town. Or maybe he'd catch an angry roar or yell far off in the distance. It might be his head playing tricks on him, but the monster could very well be still in town. He was just waiting for the Fucker to come and try to beat their safe house door down. He'd be waiting.
The other reason, the one that was now a subtle underlining to his conscious, was Tate. Ellis hadn't stopped playing with the damn Hunter since he figured out his name. It made Nick roll his eyes every time he heard, "Do you love me, Tate?" then the Hunter would give a playful growl, "Yea? Good Boy!" or "Give daddy some sugar~" and Ellis actually let the thing lick his face. What the hell.
Whatever, Nick was done with that. He'd let Ellis have his little buddy if that meant he was spared the boredom of the Kid's Keith stories. He just made sure to keep an eye on the Hunter, in case the infected did ever come to its right mind. He'd give him one right between the eyes.
It had been getting dark for the past few minutes, but after Nick blinked he realized just how dark it actually was. By this point, there would have been street lamps flickering with light, anticipating the dark night to come. But with no power through the town, the lamps stayed unlit, their glass eyes blank, and sightless. That also meant that with no power, once the sun went down, they wouldn't have any more light. So that meant getting ready to sleep, even if it were still early in the afternoon.
Nick could use that extra sleep, anyway. He felt close to having an aneurism.
He then turned from the window to glance back at Ellis…. To see him tickling the Hunter's belly. The infected laid on its back on the couch as Ellis ran his hands under his hoodie to give tickling scratches at his abdomen, making the Hunter give huffing giggles and squirm, his arms and legs trying to push at Ellis' hand to get it away. Ellis giggled right along with Tate, having a jolly old time.
It made Nick scowl.
"If you need me, I'll be in bed. I suggest you hurry up and join me before you're running around in the dark." He told Ellis, not even looking over as he kept heading for the bedroom. He heard, "Alright, Nick." Through breathless giggles. And Nick rolled his eyes again, closing the door behind him as he made it to the bedroom.
"Damn Hunter…" he mumbled. He took off his gold rings, setting them in his inner coat pocket then started taking off his shoes once he sat on the edge of the bed, "Damn Ellis…" he mumbled once he'd thrown his shoes off and started tugging his coat off to throw across the room's arm chair. He gave a sigh, staring down at the ground between his bare feet. "If only you could see us now." He mumbled lastly. He would pay money to see Coach and Rochelle's reaction to Ellis' new companion.
But then again, he was sure they'd never see them again. He needed to convince Ellis some more, so they could hopefully get out of this town before a Jockey or a Smoker decided to join in on the fun. Or worse. Before they could run into that Tank again. Nick shook his head, tired and cranky. He then began to unbutton his blue dress shirt, sliding the article off his arms in the soft light of the setting sun and slung it over with his coat. He then slung his legs over the side and laid back on the bed, lifting his hips to unbutton then slide his pants off, kicking them off the end of the bed carelessly. His whole suit was a wreck, so there was no point in trying to maintain it any longer. A sad, sad fact for Nick.
Just as he began getting underneath the blanket, he heard soft growling and Ellis' cooing voice, "Awe, you tired, Tate? You wanna go to sleep?" Nick rolled his eyes then turned over in bed, away from the door. He figured Ellis would fashion a bed out of a basket and blankets for the Hunter, making him chuckle, but then the bedroom door opened.
Nick glanced over his shoulder and watched Ellis kick off his work boots and start to strip to his orange briefs, closing the bedroom door behind himself. "I'm gonna have to give you a bath, Mr. Stinky." He mumbled to the infected, eliciting a small growl and yelp, still sounding excited and playful. Ellis chuckled, "Ooh, it ain't gonna be so bad." He reassured the uncomprehending infected. After tugging off his own shirt, Ellis reached down and gave little tugs at the infected's arms, "C'mon, stand up for me." He mumbled, and the infected acted on Ellis' tugging arms, standing to his full height. Ellis chuckled, "Good boy." Then began to tug the infected's hoodie up.
"Uhh…" Nick finally spoke up, getting his attention, "Just where in the fuck is he gonna sleep?" he asked, turning over fully in bed, incredulous scowl deep set in place. Ellis looked from Nick to Tate, and apparently just then it finally occurred to Ellis the predicament. He sucked his teeth, dropping his hands to his hips, "Fine." Then went back out into the living room.
Nick sighed, shaking his head as he looked to Tate. But instead of following Ellis like he assumed he would have, the Hunter gave a grin to Nick and began crawling over to him. Nick's eyes went wide for a moment, "Hey, keep your distance, Tate!" he grumbled at the infected.
Back in the living room, Ellis gathered up blankets and some worn looking pillows for Tate. He was a little aggravated, all he wanted was Tate to sleep at the end of the bed, like any normal pet. But then again, he figured Nick never had a pet growing up. And he maybe just didn't want the Hunter in the same bed with him. Either way, Ellis was still aggravated.
He took the blankets and pillows back into the bedroom, tucked under his arm, but once he made it back, he dropped the whole bundled in a fit of laughter. Tate had climbed up into the bed with Nick and was apparently trying to cuddle with him, but Nick was not about to have any of that. Tate was trying to lay down beside Nick, but the gambler was pushing him on the back, trying to shove him off the bed with arms and legs.
"Get this damn thing off the bed!" Nick yelled in frustration. All Ellis could do was give a weak nod through his laughter, then motioned at Tate with a limply waving hand, "Down boy…" and began laughing uproariously again, holding his gut. It was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.
Luckily, with just Ellis' presence, the Hunter was willing to hop down from the bed and happily nuzzle into Ellis' naked leg. "He just wants Lovin' Nick. He wouldn't be so needy if you pet him every now and then." Ellis tried to reason, one hand going down to pet through the Hunter's dark hair. The Hunter reacted with purrs and more nuzzling, even a tiny lick to Ellis' knee. "See?" Ellis then looked up to Nick.
But Nick was still frowning like a grouch. "I don't give a flying fuck what it wants. Keep it away from me, Ellis." Nick glared down at the Hunter, "This is your only warning. Next time I'll do more than swat at him with a newspaper." Nick warned sternly.
Ellis sighed, his party officially pooped. "Fine, fine, fine. Whatever." Ellis huffed, picking back up the blankets and carrying them over to the side of the bed. He laid out the blankets in a circle, then put the pillows down like a little barrier around the blankets then called the Hunter over, "Tate, c'mere." He mumbled, then the Hunter did as he was told, and laid down in the circle of pillows and blankets with a purr. Then Ellis set the last pillow on top of the Hunter's exposed side, "There. You comfy?" he asked in his baby voice.
The Hunter responded by nuzzling its face into the pillows, purring loudly. Ellis grinned, petting at the Hunter a few more times before he finally climbed into bed himself. Nick had turned back over, facing the wall, and Ellis wanted him to face back his way, to get Nick to hold him like usual. He tugged a little on his shoulder, but Nick shoved his hand away with his shoulder, "You don't need me to fall asleep." He mumbled, half-heartedly rejecting Ellis.
Ellis' face pinched up in annoyance, "You better turn around before I pin you down and I make you hold me." Ellis warned in a low tone. He rarely threatened Nick like that, and Nick was well aware he was more than capable of doing exactly what he said he would. He learned that the hard way. So, with a sigh, Nick shifted in bed and turned back onto his other side, facing Ellis, a bit annoyed. Ellis grinned before he nestled into Nick's body, one arm draping over his waist, and the other folding up and laid on the pillow, his head resting atop it as he gave soft kisses to Nick's jaw.
Slowly, the peace baring kisses melted through Nick's ice, and the gambler gave a sigh. Then, only slightly begrudgingly, he began to kiss back, pressing back on the mechanic's lips sweetly. Ellis gave small, muffled giggles, tangling his legs with Nick as he got comfortable.
Once the two of them had gotten settled into one another's bodies, their breathing began to slow, and Nick's hand found its way to the back of Ellis' head, just cradling it. Soon their eyes closed for the night, the both of them getting much needed sleep.
It was only until Nick felt warm sun shine on his cheeks did he begin to regain consciousness. His eyes crinkled as he tried to fight it off for a few moments, but he finally relented and began to yawn, his hand, still in Ellis' hair, began to softly massage the back of his head. Nick then grinned lightly as he leant forward, wanting to kiss Ellis awake, knowing he loved it when he did that.
But then the light that had shown on his face was suddenly blocked by something.
The Hunter had found its way up on to the bed anyway, and had curled up in the small niche at the back of Ellis' legs, and once it had heard Nick stirring, he had awoken too, sitting up and leaned over Ellis to stare at Nick with a happy grin. A sight that came very unwelcome to Nick.
"Tate…" he nearly growled it, not wanting to be too loud, in fear of waking Ellis before he got the chance to do it the way he wanted. He didn't want him waking up to Nick yelling at the Hunter. "Get down…" he strained to be loud enough through clenched teeth. But it seemed the Hunter wasn't getting the message. Instead, it crawled over Ellis' and Nick's legs till it was now on Nick's side of the bed and began crawling toward Nick.
"Tate…." He growled warningly, half a second away from swatting at the Hunter but before he could, Ellis began to shift. Nick's attention went back to Ellis' face, and to his dismay, he was waking all on his own volition.
"Mmm, Nick…what'chu doin?" Ellis' half coherent speech was heartwarming, especially when he hadn't even opened his eyes yet, just lazily moving his legs as he smacked his lips a few times, his hands clenching tighter on Nick. The gambler grinned regardless of his foiled plot, and began kissing Ellis' sleepy face anyway.
"I'm trying to keep the mangy mutt off the bed." He mumbled, his usual venom lessened to a degree due to the circumstances. And those circumstances being the fact that Ellis was grinning and trying to hide his lips away from Nick, giggling as he buried his face in Nick's chest. Nick purred to himself as he ran his hand through Ellis' messy hair.
He had almost completely forgotten about the Hunter, until the infected started to feel left out of the hugs and kisses.
"Rrrrauugh…" Tate complained, followed by a small whimper. Of course, that's when Ellis decides to peek out from Nick's chest to look for the Hunter.
"Awwe, Tate, you want some lovin's too?" Ellis cooed to the infected, one hand reaching out from the warm cocoon of their bodies to pet through Tate's hair. The infected purred then crept closer to nuzzle his face on Ellis' covered body then licked at his face, earning him some giggles from Ellis. The mechanic then held Tate's face with one hand as he gave the infected a kiss on the cheek. "Alright now, get." He told the infected and playfully swatted at his behind. Of course Nick knew it was coming, but he hadn't expected to feel so jealous… So when the Hunter wiggled its body happily and hopped off the bed to scamper through the bedroom, Nick snatched Ellis back by the back to seal a kiss on his lips, in a childish way stating his dominance.
"Im gonna work on breakfast." Nick mumbled after the kiss was broken, his voice void of humor or enthusiasm. Ellis gave a lopsided grin, then gave him a small peck on the lips, "You mad I gave away some of your sugar?" Nick didn't need to give an answer, and instead his blossoming frown gave him away, prompting Ellis to give a sympathetic chuckle and rub his hands along Nick's stubbled cheeks.
"Whatever. Let me go so I can cook." He grumbled, averting his eyes to the door. Ellis gave a pat to one of Nick's cheeks, "Sure, babe." Then shifted to lay on his back, allowing Nick to escape. The gambler was quick to scale over Ellis' body, receiving a gentle touch on his hip as he passed over the mechanic below him. He wasn't sure what he'd be able to whip up, given their limited supplies and resources that would resemble a traditional breakfast, but after having gone through this for some time now, sticking to tradition wasn't a priority.
As he got to the door, he made a sweeping motion with his foot, getting the Hunter to jump back a bit from him so he could open the door, noting how the Hunter gave a long glance to him as he passed through the door way. Whatever. Let the little Home Wrecker stare. He had to get working on some food, anyway. He knew how much more crankier he could get if he didn't eat properly in the morning. He knew it wouldn't be fair to Ellis if he subjected him to a Pissy Nick.
Ellis sighed, propping himself up on his elbows as he watched Nick go. Waking up wasn't as bad as he'd dreamt it would. He half expected to be woken up to the sounds of little Tate getting gagged by a furious Nick, or maybe even fussing and more wrestling with Tate trying to sneak kisses on Nick without the elder's consent. The latter made Ellis smirk and give a small huff of a chuckle.
He then looked to Tate, giving a kissing sound in the air to call him over, then affectionately ran his hands through the grinning Hunter's hair as he came close. "You hungry…?" he first asked, but as he kept scratching through his hair…
"Ya'know what… I'd better give you a bath first…" he openly mused as he tried not to gag on the almost caustic stench coming off the Hunter once he'd rustled it up. In fact, that's exactly what Ellis felt like doing at the moment. He's sure he'd get no objections from Nick about the idea of cleaning Tate, though he's sure it'd be the only thing they agreed on.
"C'mon Tate, let's get you washed." He mumbled, smiling to the Hunter as he got up and out of bed.
In the kitchen, Nick went through cupboards, looking for anything he could scrounge up to eat. There were a couple cans of miscellaneous random goods, like water chestnuts and qeso-dip. He frowned, lips forming a taut line as he thought of the combination and it's flavor. He then shoved them to the back, looking for something else, trying not to be picky, but at the same time, Nick still had a limit.
Just as Nick found a can of Italian Wedding soup, he heard Ellis talking to the Hunter, "Trust me, you'll thank me when I get all that dirt out'a your face." Nick quirked an eyebrow, watching Ellis lead Tate into the bathroom. Just before the bathroom door closed, Nick spoke up, "Are you givin him a bath, or something?" Ellis chuckled, "Hell yea, man. You smelt him, right?" he shook his head, going back to coursing Tate into the bathroom, talking over his shoulder, "I can't deal with that shit no more." That got Nick to chuckle, "Second that…" he mumbled, looking back to his can.
In the bathroom, Ellis gave a sigh, now trying to figure out how he was going to do this, flipping the night switch and closing the door behind himself. The Hunter was wandering, curiously sniffing at items on the counter or trying to swipe something off and onto the floor, reminding Ellis of a cat. He grinned.
He then went over to the tub, looking over the shower curtain and dubbing it useless and a possible hazard and took down the shower curtain rod all together, then started to wrap the curtain around the rod to put it aside. He'd washed enough home pets to know their tactics of escape, and having a shower rod fall on his head from multiple attempts of a German Shepard trying to jump out was not fun.
Once the curtain was out of the way, he then reached into the tub and turned the knobs, tampering with the temperature a bit to make it comfortable. The Hunter then started taking interest, its head popping up beside Ellis, looking into the tub. One tumored hand came up and into the tub to feel at the water, and once he'd realized it was just water, he reclaimed his hand, turning around to keep exploring.
Ellis grinned back at the Hunter, then began undressing. This was either going one of three ways. Either Tate was going to let Ellis wash him willingly with no problems, or he'd put up a fight, throwing water everywhere, or Ellis would have to get in there with him, and force wash him. Ellis had a strong feeling it wasn't going to be the first one, so to save his clothes from getting wet he took them off, right down to his underwear, and hung them over the railing, away from the tub.
Now came the tricky part.
"Tate, c'mere. Stand up for me." He urged, grabbing at his hands and pulling them up. Tate moved as instructed, his bright eyes curious. Ellis then let go of his hands in favor of getting his dark blue hoodie off, starting by putting his hands underneath the material, feeling a second layer, his shirt, and making sure to catch that too, and pulled up. At first, Tate was confused, but then started to get the idea, and as if to help, with a swift motion Ellis almost didn't comprehend, Tate slunk out of his shirt and hoodie, his arms sliding out perfectly as he crouched down.
Ellis was shocked, not suspecting such a quick motion but then began to laugh, shaking his head, "You're crazy!" he cooed to the Hunter, setting the hoodie and shirt onto the closed lid of the toilet and petting the Hunter. This time, without being assisted, the Hunter stood up on his own, giving Ellis a full view of his chest. It was free of scars or injury, and seemed spotless, even lacking many of the tell-tell markings of being infected, like the tumors. Ellis was starting to see the signs pointing to why Tate was so friendly.
He wondered if there were other infected like Tate out there. He wondered if they'd found companions like Tate had. He then found himself hoping they weren't getting hurt. He realized that he didn't think he could ever hurt Tate now, once he'd gotten so attached to him. He looked into the Hunter's yellow eyes, smiling sadly. "You're such a good boy." He whispered, patting his cheek.
He then got back to business, reaching down and tugging down at the Hunter's baggy sweat pants. To his utter shock and surprise though, instead of running into a pair of boxers or briefs, he found a pair of lacey black women's panties. They had a lace pattern of floral decoration, exposing much of his pubic area and the very beginning of his manhood, obviously not big enough to fit all of it.
He slowly looked back up to the Hunter, meeting his uncomprehending eyes.
"What were you into, Tate…"