Chapter Text
Sir Pentious pressed his back against the door to his bedroom, sighing. It had been a long, tiring, and painful night after Arackniss stood him up for their date and came back home in a bad mood.
Pentious had been disappointed but tried to not think about it that much. After all, his boyfriend was a part of the mob, so it was fine.
Arackniss had been acting bitter as of late, usually yelling or ignoring Sir Pentious, causing them both to subconsciously distance themselves a bit.
Pentious tried to confront Arackniss, hoping they could have a civil conversation.
That was all false hopes as it only resulted in Arackniss becoming more bothered.
It hadn’t been the first time this had happened, which didn’t shock Pentious; for he had been quite used to it.
“Arackniss, all I want is a little warning next time. Like a message?” Pentious said, his voice gradually quieting.
Arackniss sighed dramatically “Sometimes, you can’t get what you want! Things happen abruptly for me, I don’t have a choice whatsoever!”
Sir Pentious winced. He had a point. “I-I know, but you still have your phone! You could at least send me a sentence or two, saying that you couldn’t make it. Tha-“
“My job requires almost every ounce of my attention, I slip up, and everyone is dead! Do you think being an assassin is easy?!” Niss yelled.
Pentious wore a weary expression. Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought this up? “No of course not—”
“I ain’t no overlord wannabe, Pent! My work is serious!” Niss gestured, facepalming.
“I understand that, Nissy! I just worried a lot about you! And.. I get really embarrassed sitting alone at a restaurant, I spend a lot on them for us.”
“Spend what? The money I make for you? I never asked for a fancy dinner.” Arackniss spat back, more annoyed by the second.
“No, I wouldn’t use your money without your permission. I have my own savings and my own ways of making money! I do this because I love you—I just hate that we can’t spend any time together..”
“Maybe, we shouldn’t if this is what happens when you don’t understand how my fucking job works!”
“Arackniss, I do understand! I know what it’s like to have a terrible father! I know what it’s like to-”
“You. Don’t.” Arackniss glared, burning holes in his face. Pentious backed away, in case anything happened.
“I do—“
“No. You don’t!”
SMACK.
…
Eventually it escalated a little too far.
Pentious had to retreat.
—
He touched one of his watering eyes, tenderly caressing the red skin around it, careful to not press hard, wincing in pain as he instantly failed.
“Ow..” He mumbled, solemnly slinking his way to the bathroom, his head hanging low as he slithered.
The mirror revealed freshly-forming bruises, one on his left cheekbone. At that moment, his nose suddenly decided it's the right time to bleed.
“Goodness..” He sighed, pulling the cabinet door open, grabbing an ice pack and a box of tissues.
He put the pack in the freezer for a few minutes, wrapping it in a paper towel and holding it near his cheekbone.
It burned. It was cold, but it burnt.
His nosebleed hadn’t been too drastic, stopping almost immediately once he used a tissue to block the flow.
He went back to his bedroom, Sitting on the floor, letting out a breath.
He annoyed Arackniss. He made him mad. It was his fault, maybe?
Pentious didn’t think he said anything intrusive or triggering, all he had been talking about was his status with Niss. Perhaps he went a bit too far? Maybe he should have waited the next day? Or just not mention it at all?
How and when did my relationship with Arackniss get this bad?
When Niss and Pentious first got into the relationship, it had been shy, but sweet. Like puppy love. They’d hold hands, blushing like bastards; occasionally doing little moves like kissing each other on the cheek. Maybe cuddle. Pentious’s favorite was to pat Niss on the head, it would always make him so adorably mad.
Then it all sorta went downhill. Arackniss got called to work more and more, coming home drunk or irritable, causing Pentious to stay on the sidelines.
He had tried, really hard, to regenerate the relationship, but each time he got close it never felt exactly the same as the first few months.
Pentious ended up accidentally sleeping on the floor with tears dripping down his face that night.
—
Pentious awoke to a dark silhouette sitting at the end of the bed, their back facing him; hunched over, silent.
It was short, with scraggly hair; A defined, muscular figure. Pentious shifted upward, blinking the blur from his eyes.
A wave of dizziness surged through his head, forcing him to stop his movement. Pentious’s vision cleared a bit, blinking away bits of white spots. The details of the figure sitting in front of him began to come to light.
“A-Arackniss?” He croaked tiredly, half conscious. The figure turned slightly, revealing a side of Arackniss’s face. He wore a blank expression, his eyes half-closed, and his lips pressed tightly together and his jaw clenched. His eyes swiveled over to the snake. “
Hey.” He muttered.
An uncomfortable silence hanging in the air for a good moment. It seemed like they were both waiting for the other to speak.
To say something about the night before.
What else could be spoken about the night before? Everything had been said without words.
“Are..” He whispered, “Are you feeling better today?” Pentious asked, cracking the silence as if it was delicate glass, not with enough force to shatter it.
“I— Yeah. I’m just.. hungover is all.” Arackniss grumbled, scratching his head, earning a confused look from Pentious.
What had he been doing while Pentious nursed his wound?
The silence arose again, strangely louder than a concert. Pentious wasn’t sure if his arguments from last night had come in one ear and came out the other; erasing that thought. He spoke up,
“I have some ginger lozenges in the bathroom cabinet. Maybe it’ll help?” He offered. Pentious sighed.
“I-I’m sorry that you weren’t feeling well last night..” Pentious muttered. Arackniss lowered his head, then put a hand on Pentious’s tail.
“Yeah.. Uh, I’m.. I’m sorry too. I was just tired, that’s all— You know how I get when I’m tired.” He rasped out, Pentious nodding.
It was true. Arackniss tended to get aggressive when he came home late, especially when tired. He also knew how much he hated talking about his father.
Sir Pentious was the one who stirred the pot, he went through the consequences. He shouldn’t have compared his father to Arackniss’s.
They were nothing alike!
“No, no—I’m really sorry.. I shouldn’t have been so demanding, and I shouldn’t have brought up.. Well, him.” He inhaled.
“That was my fault, I’m sorry..” He said, wallowing in shame.
Arackniss tilted his head up, then cracked a tiny smile. “Hey, it’s okay, thanks for understanding.” He replied, getting up.
”I’m gonna go take one of those ginger things.” He pecked Pentious on the forehead. “Love you.” He left the room, leaving his baffled boyfriend behind.
What.. What just happened?
He looked back to the door, staring at it.
How come Arackniss’s demeanor changed so quickly?
…
Pentious didn’t get out of bed for a while after that.
Something didn't sit right with him. He not only felt slightly nauseous from the anxiety of being near his easy-to-anger boyfriend, but the air felt dense.
He was lethargic and sleepy; his limbs all felt like pathetic, useless sacks of flesh.
All he wanted to do was sleep. All he wanted to do was to stay in bed. It had been that way for 2 weeks. His heart had been sore in more ways than one.
The weight in his chest was overwhelming enough, and all he felt like doing today besides sleeping was crying.
He just didn’t know why.
Maybe I do? He was a brash, annoying, flamboyant asshole who did nothing but embarrass himself each time he left his house. His stupid accent, his stupid voice, his stupid outfit. Everything.
His boyfriend had beaten him the night before. He definitely deserved that.
He pestered anyone and everyone he talked to; those he looked up to hated him, and he hated how he looked. He didn’t deserve anything he had.
He felt sick and tired for the past 2 weeks due to nonexistent work. He was fucking weak. Not to mention, he had no friends.
Is that the punishment for my sins..?
…
Yes!
THAT'S why. THAT'S why he felt like crying. Wasn’t it?
At the same time, things that weren’t even malicious, or considered remotely bad made him want to drop onto the ground and sob, and everything he wanted to do just made him feel worse.
All he heard was “You stupid lazy slob, get out of bed, crybaby, do something with your afterlife! You don’t want to be a fat lazy idiot who just stays in bed all day, do you?!”
Or.. “What are you crying about you fucking idiot? You did this to yourself! If only you hadn’t pissed your boyfriend off, faggot. If only you weren’t so bothersome, overlords would not have loathed you as such. If you hadn’t said that a few days ago, Cherri and Angel wouldn’t have looked at you like that. If only you didn’t make stupidly impossible plans, people might take you seriously and you wouldn’t be such a waste of everyone’s time!”
Pentious grabbed his pillow and shoved it in his face, a wave of tears accumulated, staining the pillow. His cheekbone began aching like the night before.
“Just get the fuck out of bed!”