Geez Louise, this chapter has been awaited for a while by many many people! Many wonderful readers who have loved this ship, whether from this fic or by their own accord. I'm glad to see a lot of mutual supporters. :) And thank you all for the sweet and positive reviews, guys! Now, without further ado,
Enjoy!
~Goldie
Vincent stood at the edge of the first tier, looking downward at the seemingly-bottomless pit, then upward at the seemingly-endless tower walls. It was enough to make a man despair that these nightmares may never end. But for Vincent, they just seemed to fuel his desire to get the hell out of these dreams as fast as he could. As his eyes scanned the current tier, the boxer-lover noticed that less and less sheep were making it up each night. Thankfully, none of his friends were among the lost sheep. Vincent had already spoken to said circle of wooly companions about what to expect this evening, and what strategies might prove helpful in the trials to come. Not much left to do on this level, then...
That meant he couldn't put off talking to the man in the confessional.
'Damn. I was hoping to stall a bit longer, but I can't do that the entire night, now can I? C'mon Vince, just go! What are you scared of?'
The anxious sheep shuffled to the confessional, moving aside the velvety drapes as he stepped into the small booth.
"Here you are, Brooks," Astaroth hummed, "but without even the slightest hint of a grin? It must be my lucky day, seeing how that means I won't have to hear any of your terribly cocky remarks!"
Sitting down on the wooden bench, Vincent rolled his eyes, "Must be disappointed for you. 'Cause we both know how much you love to get off on them..."
Astaroth choked on his own words, causing the dark-haired man to smile at so soon a victory. Rolling with it, the hero leaned back, relaxing on the wall behind him. He wasn't in the mood to trade banter with the other; but if Mr. Confessional is making it this easy, Vincent may as well be a tease. His brain went on autopilot as his mouth began to supply more teasing remarks.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Not hearing any sort of an answer, Vincent decided to take it a step further, chuckling. "Come now, you'll have to speak sooner or later. If you'd like, I could come over there myself and take the cat's place. Besides, I bet you'd enjoy it more if it was your 'lost lamb' making you speechless instead. Ooh, but I can't guarantee 'speechless'..." Vincent smirked, words now carelessly flowing from his mouth like water, "...since there's nothing to keep me from making you beg for more."
A startled noise came from Astaroth, giving Vincent a chance to break out of autopilot and realize what he said was not what he'd planned to say.
'What in the ever loving fuck was that.' The shaggy-haired man mentally screamed at his own mouth, wondering how it would allow such a sentence to be said. 'I know earlier I said I could act gay whenever I wanted, but that wasn't a free pass to do it 24/7! Geez. I thought I wasn't going to give him my all tonight.' His lips urged to form an embarrased frown, but Vincent did all in his power to keep it plastered in a devious grin.
All the while, Astaroth was just as surprised to hear Vincent say what he did. Such a forward and obviously sexual statement, but vague enough to prove dangerous to any active imagination. His breath slightly hitching, Astaroth realized he almost found that out the hard way. But, red-cheeked, he forced away that tempting train of thought. Growling, Astaroth hurried out the words "You wish, Brooks."
"Only as much as you."
"E-excuse me?"
"You heard me: I wish it as much as you do." Vincent shrugged, leaving his statement hanging in the air. 'Which is, to say, not at all...right?'
Silence overtook Astaroth as he tried to word his thoughts in a delicate manner. But, when did he ever do things delicately? Especially when it came to the boxer-clad man he was so fond of. Did Vincent not realize...? Astaroth was sure he hinted all he needed to. But, perhaps his lamb really was as dense as he seemed. Maybe some time alone to think would benefit the human. 'Well, then let's give him something to think about!'
Finally collecting his thoughts, Astaroth cleared his throat, "It seems you're very forward about your orientation, Brooks. Either that, or you need to watch what you assume."
'What?' This strange remark snapped the dark-haired man out of his seductive cockiness. His eyes shifted to the vent in the wall to his right, as if Vincent could see the other through it. Turning back into his comedic and confused self, the hero scratched his head, muttering "I don't follow."
"Of course you don't." Vincent jumped when the other sighed, thinking he didn't hear his befuddled statement. "Let me word it in a way that even the lowliest of lambs-such as yourself-would understand." Hesitating, he finally spoke what's been on his mind since the first night of this week.
"I wouldn't be opposed to you making me anything but speechless...nor do I hate the idea of coaxing a few moans out of you, little lamb~"
This shocked Vincent, as he had never heard the other make comebacks that matched Vincent's lewd statements.
"Hmm, who seems to be the speechless one now, Vincent?" Purring his name ever so sweetly, Astaroth caused the boxer-clad man's face to turn a few shades brighter than it was suppose to be. The other had never spoken his first name, let alone in such a seductive manner. Before he could even get another sharp word in edgewise, a booming voice from above interrupted.
THIS IS THE NINTH QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ACTORS IN A SEX SCENE?
Two familiar roped dropped down, swinging less than expected from such a fall. As their rhythmic swaying slowed, Vincent grabbed the one on his right and pulled it taut. It wasn't the hardest question he has had to answer; and right now, all he wanted was to thrust the teasing game back into Astaroth's side of the court.
"You can't say you made me speechless. I was interrupted, that's hardly fair play! Unless...you're telling me you like to play dirty."
This caused Astaroth to laugh, its bite as sharp as usual. "Although I won't deny your claim, you know as well as I that you weren't interrupted in the slightest! All that you were able to do was twist your own tongue. And to rehash your previous statements, it's a shame it couldn't have been me doing the twisting~"
Forcing down a soft blush, the dark haired hero flashed a faux grin, "Maybe next time, babe, I've got another tower to conquer. You can suppress your urges until I get back, yeah? I don't want to come back and find you've been grinding up against some other sheep-"
Astaroth growled, and the confessional was blasted into the sky to the next level far above before Vincent could even finish his statement. "Hmm. Perhaps Vincent is the jealous type...not that I would go to such lengths to test him." He mused whether or not Vincent would even do something to Astaroth if he pushed his lamb even further. The other could be predictable at times. But from this recent session, Astaroth was sure of one thing: Vincent was vulnerable to sweet talk, just as he himself was. What, the man wondered, would be the sweet results of Astaroth winning the heated battle of words?
As Astaroth dared to muse such a thought, he felt his face grow terribly hot.
