Chapter 3, Part 1
The Perfect Gift
Once the dust had settled and the sun had just begun to set at Mordhaus, Toki managed to track Skwisgaar down. As soon as he saw the guitarist sitting there in front of the computer, looking at some X-rated pictures, he grinned and hurried over.
"Heys, Skwisgaar. What ams you doing?"
"Uh," was his only, thoughtless response as he 'X'd out the window and turned to him. "What do you wants now, little Toki?"
"Well...it secret."
His eyes lit up as he asked with a bit more life to his voice, "What? What you want to do?"
Toki cast a nervous glance at the door to the room, leaned close to him, and whispered delightedly, "It secret for Pickle-" Skwisgaar literally felt his heart stop beating for a moment and turn to ice. "-it ams almost our six month anniversary, and Is wants to gets him gift."
"Oh. Okays." and he sighed and became gloomy again. He motioned for Toki to pull up a chair. Once he had, Skwisgaar brought back up the internet and went to Google. As he typed in the key search words, Toki's smile faded somewhat and he lowered his brow.
"Skwisgaar?"
"Uh?"
"Why do yous look at so many pictures of nakeds peoples?
"Why you so curious? What happen to Pickle?"
"He says he likes to sees me nakeds," Toki commented as he let his head rest on his hand. It had been said offhandedly, not meant to offend or bring attention to anything. He was just making an observation. Perhaps that's why it cut Skwisgaar so deeply.
He was able to shrug it off, though, and say to Toki, "Yeah, right...anyways, let's starts looking and you can tells me what you like."
"Wowee!" Toki exclaimed as he scooted a little closer to the Swede. "This ams going to be fun!"
"Yeah," he said dully. "Real blast."
After a few hours of searching, they came up with nothing. Skwisgaar asked irritably, "We can'ts just keep lookings around randomly! What do Pickle haves that we can't get hims?" Toki's face twisted in thought. Skwisgaar sighed and asked dully, "What is a one thing that he doesn't haves?"
"I...umm..."
Unable to think of anything else to do, Skwisgaar clicked mindlessly on a link. It brought up a picture of a pair of shining, crystal drumsticks. Under it the picture there was a caption of, LIMITED EDITION SOLID DIAMOND DRUMSTICKS [gold engraving optional]
Toki's eyes grew wide. As soon as he saw this, he jumped up out of his seat, pointed at the monitor, and began chanting, "SKWISGAAR, WE GOTS TO GET HIM THOSE! We just gots to! Can you imagine hims face when he gets it? He will loves it! And we have to makes them say, For Pickle, from Toki. I loves you. That's what they they haves to say, okay, Skwisgaar? Can you makes them do that? Please, please, please?" he grabbed Skwisgaar's arm and began shaking it.
"Okay! Shut it, Toki!" Skwisgaar exclaimed as he ripped his arm from Toki's grip and clicked the Rush Order button. After that was done, he 'X'd out the screen and said, "There; now they wills be here in a few days, so just try not to have heart-tack from 'dat, okay?"
Toki just nodded and hugged Skwisgaar so tightly that he tought he felt his ribs splinter. "Toki, I-"
"You real pal, really you am. Thanks you so much, Skwisgaar!" and, without thinking, he kissed the Swede on the forehead and ran out the room, laughing like a kid who had gotten a good test grade. Once he had left, Skwisgaar let out a little sob and let his head fall into his hands.
Six fucking months? When had that happened? When had Toki blocked out the rest of the world and just began focusing on Pickles?
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Chapter 3, Part 2
The Diamond Drumsticks
The day of Toki and Pickles' grand six-month anniversary arrived. Along with it came the package. Toki was able to get it without the drummer suspecting a thing, and during breakfast he came striding into the kitchen looking delighted. Pickles barley glanced up at him as he entered.
"Hey, Bumblebee. What's up?"
Bumblebee. It was a stupid nickname that Pickles had taken to calling the childish Norwegian. Skwisgaar hated it. He AMMNEST NOT a fuckings bumblebee...he would think bitterly. Toki, however, really didn't see a problem with it, and on that particular morning, he hurried over to Pickles, threw his arms around his neck, and presented him with the badly wrapped gift.
Pickles chuckled cluelessly and glanced around the room, at his other band mates for help. When none of them offered him anything he turned back to Toki, took the gift, and said awkwardly, "Yeah...right...why are you giving me this again?"
Toki's face fell and he turned red. Trying to speak quietly, afraid to let the other Dethklok members in on his shame, he whispered, "It ams our six-month anniversary today!"
"Oh...oh yeah, right...I...um...thanks?"
"You forgots!"
Pickles was quick to shake his head. "No I didn't!"
Toki's eyes filled with tears as he blurted, "You forgets and now you am lyings about it!"
"No I'm not! I love this gift thingy, really! I didn't forget nothin'!"
"Oh yeah? Then what you's get me?" he asked, biting his lower lip and struggling not to cry. Pickles opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, his green eyes shining with desperation.
"I...uh..."
"Pickle, why you hate me?"
"I don't-"
"I trys, I really do, but I just don't know anymore..."
"Can't I at least open it?" he asked.
Over at the table Nathan let out a bitter chuckle and muttered, "Un-fucking believable."
"Yeah, what's a douche," Skwisgaar agreed. The fact was that he thought of Pickles as more than a douche. He just wanted to jump up, give Toki a kiss, tell him that everything would be fine, then stab the butter knife that he was using to slit the drummer's throat...
"I don'ts care no more!" but Toki didn't leave. He just stood there, glaring down at Pickles. Tears were now openly streaming down his face as Pickles opened the box and took out the pair of diamond drumsticks. His eyes lit up and he gasped.
"Oh my...Toki, what the hell? How the fuck..."
"They were last pair."
"I..."
"Engraving on side," was all he could manage to say as he tried to wipe the tears from his face. Skwisgaar shook his head in disgust. Why didn't Toki just walk out right now and leave Pickles? He didn't know. It didn't matter, not as the red-haired man turned the drumsticks around and began to read.
"For Pickle, from Toki." and his eyes grew wide as he sputtered, "I loves you. Ferever." of course, it really didn't say 'ferever', that was just how Pickles pronounced it. Once he had read it, Murderface made a sick gagging noise and pressed his hand to his mouth.
"That'sh fucking shick!"
"Shut it," Nathan growled. He moodily began stabbing at his eggs with his fork. Skwisgaar just felt his whole body grow numb as Toki began to sob and cry pitifully.
"But you don't care! You never cares!"
"No, wait, I do-"
"You only cares abouts jacking me offs under the table and kissing me on couch and...and..."
Was it Skwisgaar's imagination or was Toki using his exact words?
"Toki-" was all Pickles could manage to say.
"You's forgets..."
"-I DO LOVE YOU, OKAY?"
"...you always forgets..."
Pickles let out an annoyed sigh and yelled so loudly that it echoed throughout the dining room, "LOOK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND PISS OFF ALREADY? All you ever do is complain when I don't remember every little thing! I don't know what to do no more! Just leave me alone!"
That was it. That was all it took to make Skwisgaar leap up out of his seat, take Pickles by the collar of his shirt, and punch him as hard as he could in the mouth. "You stupid motherfuckers! You don'ts know what you ammnest talking about! Toki great! Toki the greatest! You ammnest the stupid, dildo-fucking bitch!"
As soon as he did this, he felt a dozen hands trying to pry him away from Pickles. Nathan was shouting in his ear, "Skwisgaar, what the fuck are you doing? Let him go!"
"Please, let's him go, let's him go, Skwisgaar! He didn't means to, he just drunk! He always drunk! Look, on table, he has beer can! That's all it is, just drunk!" He let Murderface throw him back into his chair. Toki was staring down at him with fearful, teary eyes. "Skwisgaar, why you do that?"
"Because I...I..." and suddenly he realized that everything was about to come crashing down on him. He felt his face turned red, and as he tried to say something else, a fist collided with the side of is face.
Pickles voice would be heard saying, "You want to hit me, motherfucker? I'll fuck you up, you cock-sucking douche!"
He couldn't be sure, but just before everything faded to black, Skwisgaar thought he got in a few more hits on Pickles...but he wasn't sure...he just kept taking punches and kicks to the stomach, to the face. He felt his brain rattle, his nerves scream, but none of it mattered.
No, because at that moment Toki was the only thing that mattered.
: :: :: :: :: :: :
Chapter 3, Part 3
Awakened
He heard a voice...
...a beautifully wonderful voice...
...so perfect in every way...
...no, better than perfect...
...it was—
"Hmm...Toki?"
Skwisgaar opened his eyes and let out a grunt. The whole right side of his face was pounding, and as he went to sit up, he felt himself grow dizzy. He was in the living room now, laying on the floor. A few feet away from him, sitting upright on the couch, was Pickles. He had an ice pack pressed to the side of his head. When his green eyes met Skwisgaar's blazing blue ones, he looked away.
Next to the drummer Toki hovered, looking worried. "Pickle? Pickle, ams you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"I'ms so sorrys. I just got carried away. It was stupids. I-"
He acts like was one who hit Pickle, Skwisgaar couldn't help but thinking.
The only voice that could be heard in the room was Pickles saying, "Ssh, just come here." He held his arms open wide and let Toki fall into them. He closed his eyes and let his head rest on the other man's shoulder. "I love the sticks, Toki. Thank you so much." he sighed and squeezed him tighter to him. "God, you're really perfect...I get that now..." and his voice trailed off.
There was something new about it now, Skwisgaar felt. Even in the tone of his voice. It almost seemed like Pickles was beginning to take Toki seriously. It almost seemed like—well, it almost seemed like he finally understood just how serious Skwisgaar loved the other man. Now there wasn't the slightest hint that he was taking him for granted.
Nathan sat next to Skwisgaar, picking at the black nail polish on his nails. "Hey, Skiwsgaar, listen," he whispered in a nearly inaudible tone. "Toki knows...he knows that you—you-"
"Pickle told him?"
"Yeah, he did."
He nodded. "Uh, yeah. Okays." and he glanced back over at Pickles and Toki. They hadn't broken apart yet. Pickles was holding him so tight, like he thought if he let go even a little bit—even an inch—Toki would drift away forever, into some invisible sea.
"I love you, Toki. I love you."
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Chapter 3, Part 4
Made Anew
Hours later, once everyone was back on their feet, Skwisgaar managed to track down Pickles. He was, conveniently enough, raiding the fridge for any form of alcohol. Upon seeing the red-haired drummer there, drinking deeply from a bottle, he went to turn around. All the courage seemed to flee from him. A voice stopped him, though.
"Hey, uh...Skwisgaar?"
"What?"
"I...I'm...well...I really don't know what I am."
"I don't have to tell yous what I think." and he went to walk away again, but Pickles stopped him again.
"Hey, wait. We really need to talk. I-"
"Fine, ya, let's talk." and Skwisgaar turned around, his face just as red as Pickles' hair. "Let's talk about how you told Toki how I loved him. Why not let's talk abouts that? Huh? Why not lets us be talkings about how you was such dildo to Tokis. Let's talks about that!"
"I admit it, I was a fucking prick," Pickles agreed, putting some of the bottles down on the counter and closing the door to the fridge. "Look, I know what I done was wrong. I apologized to the kid, okay? I changed. I-"
"He tries to be good, but you throws it back at hims always!" and he looked down at his boots and asked, "What ammnest you doing down here anyways? Where ammnest Toki?"
"Upstairs waitin' for me. I was just gettin' some beer."
"You ams getting your own beer?"
He nodded. "Yeah, who else am I gonna get to do it?"
Skwisgaar swallowed. "Ammnest he mentioned me?"
"I think that you two should talk." was all that he said.
This took him by surprise. So much so that his blue eyes met Pickles' bright green ones. "When?"
"I don't know, but not now. We need to make up." and with that, Pickles loaded the bottles into his hands again and went out the door.