Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started innocently.


Frank wanted to get rid of some stuff he had in his house now that Eddie would be moving in with them. Oh, he was so happy it almost was scary! Nobody had ever seen the Frank smiling so much before getting married! Wally was happy too, because why wouldn't he be happy that his dear friends were happy?

Sally and Wally went to the couple's home to help with anything needed, which means Sally wanted to get things for her plays and Home had convinced Wally to something other than painting and hanging out with Barnaby. No problem though, Frank didn't want all that old paraphernalia anymore, he'd gladly let Sally take it all to her own house.

Wally was putting some books a box when Sally snatched one from his hands stared at it in disbelief. "Oh, my lord from the highest heavens! Frank Frankly, you read erotica??!" 


"What-" Frank blushed and turned his head towards the star. "Gimme that!" They grabbed the book.
  

"Oh my, oh lord, this is absolutely scandalous! Frank Frankly, the most serious neighbor, reads erotica! And it's the heavy stuff!" She put her hand on her forehead and fell dramatically. 

"Could you not?"

"No. This is absolutely hilarious. That's the highlight of my week." 

Wally tilted his head as he stared at them, Sally laughing and Frank blushing before quickly putting the old book in the box. "What's erotica?" Wally asked.

Both of his friends looked at him with funny expressions before Frank embarrassedly began to explain. "It's a type of book that contains sexual situations. It's made for... uh... very interesting porpoises."

"Well..." Sally piped in "you could say that. I'd say it's a portal to humanity's deepest and most outrageous desires. There's poetry, violence, love, hate, pain and suffering —"

"Can I stay with it?" Wally asked calmly. 

The star let out a overly surprised gasp and Frank nodded. "Yeah, whatever. Just take it from my house before I throw it at this second category actress."

"What did ya say?"

"Thank you, Frank." Wally examinated the book in his hands "Do you have other books like this?"

Frank kicked Sally out of the room before answering that.

In the end, Wally left Frank's house with a pile of books so tall he had to ask help to carry it.

Doesn't matter, Wally had good friends who helped him without batting an eye to what he was carrying. When he got at Home, the house quickly put the books in place for him.

"Thank you, Home." 

Creak, slam, creak.

"Erotica." Wally sat on his armchair and opened a book "Sally said it had the deepest and most outrageous desires of humanity. It sounds interesting, no?" 

Slam, creak, creak.

"It can't be that bad. It's just a book. But thank you for your concern." He chuckled. 

And, under the night sky and with the moon as their testimony, he laid her on the grass of the palace. His rough hands traveled on her body hungrily as her own lips devoured his.

Wally was appalled. He had to close the book and stare at the wall again for the fourth time in an hour. Was it a horror book? Why were they eating each other?? And why the book treated it as something nice???

He opened the book again.

"Please..." she begged in his ear, her voice fragile as her body, "please, make me yours. Mark me, hurt me, but make me yours..."

He stared deep into her eyes, a burning flame in his gaze made her already demanding body squirm as she suffered from the delay of his touch. 

"My angel, have you forgotten who's the one taking the lead?" The raspy voice of her lover made the princess whimper. On, beautiful sound it was. Melodic, desperate, not fitting for royalty at all.

His hand, painted with the battle scars of a warrior, covered her neck carefully, his grip so firm but so perfect when he began to choke her.

Wally closed the book and stared at the wall. He decided to ignore Home's "I told you." In favor of dialing Barnaby's number on his telephone.

He waited, waited, waited...

"Hello. Barnaby B. Beagle speaking." A sleepy voice was heard.

"Barnaby—" "oh, hi, Walls." "Barnaby, I need you to explain things to me."

"Wally, it's midnight—"

"What does a gaze with a burning flame means?"

Wally somehow could hear his friend's confusion through the call.

"Uh, determination. Like, a fire to get what you want." Barnaby yawned. 

Wally nodded "Thank you. Uh, if someone's whimpering, they're in pain, right?"

...

"Buddy, what the flying f—"

"Answer the question, please."

Barnaby sighed deeply. "Not always. Some times people whimper when they're using their bodies too much."

"Like when they're having sex?"

"Yeah, like when they're havin- how do you know that word?"

"I'm reading a book. A horror one. They're having sex and the main guy is strangling a princess laying on the castle's garden. It's horrible, he's going to kill her and she's letting him!" Wally said, almost sounding irritated at that.

Barnaby was quiet for a minute, then there was a chuckle, then he burst out laughing. Wally would have frowned if he had the ability of doing so.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Wally, buddy," more laughter "are you sure you're not just reading erotica?"

Wally's eyes widened. So it was normal for erotica to be like that? "Yes, I'm reading erotica. Sally said it was interesting, so I decided to read it." He mumbled. 

"Thought so. Erotica is about sex, Wally. Nothing less, nothing more. People like that. But it uses a lot of pretty words to make everything sound more magical than it actually is." 

Wally looked over at the books.

"So it's normal?"

"Yeah, buddy, it's normal."

Wally fidgeted with the wire of the phone. "Ok, thank you, Barnaby." 

"No problem, buddy." Barnaby said before they said their goodbyes and he went to back to sleep.

Wally went back to the books and continued to read. He wanted to know more about what people liked. 

Over the course of the weeks, Wally found himself pretty entertained when the books focused on love rather than pain, but every now and then a sex scene started and it either sounded incredibly peaceful and pleasant or extremely hurtful and weird.

However... Wally's mind was starting to take a liking to a specific kind of situation in his books: choking.

He imagined the scenes in his head, the mental image of a hand on a neck was nice to him.

He wanted to try it out, but he didn't want to go without a sort of planning in his mind. Maybe he should start by thinking about it before actually trying it.

It seemed simple, like watching the clouds moving in the sky. There's a hand, there's a neck, you squeeze the neck and it feels good.

It couldn't be that hard. Wally had two hands, and he was small so probably it would be easy to take the air from his lungs.

He would choke himself, it would feel good, and then he would try something else out.

Easy. Simple.

He gulped and put his own hand around his neck, his heart beating faster, and then he squeezed. 

Wally found out he didn't like being choked by himself. 

He wiped a tear from his eyes and tried again, but it still hurt too much. What was he doing wrong? 

He looked at the book he was currently reading, that one had images, and tries to see where his mistake was.

Wally then came to the realization that the character wasn't choking himself, his partner was doing it. That was the problem, Wally was alone. 

He got a little sad, honestly. He liked to learn things, but he wasn't about to bother someone as it was already late. So he used the best thing an artist had: his imagination.

He needed to imagine someone with him, of course! One of his friends, since they were literally the only people he knew.

First, he sorted out his friends by his feelings for them. Frank and Eddie were out, Poppy and Julie liked women so they wouldn't work too, Sally... no, Wally couldn't picture she choking him. That left Barnaby and Howdy.

Wally pictured Barnaby first. His large paw around his small neck, maybe the claws digging the skin a little... he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and put his two hands over his neck, because just one of his hands would be too small to pass as Barnaby's.

He pictured his best friend above him, pinning him down by the neck.

Without realizing it, Wally laid down on the soft cushion.

Wally saw Barnaby calmly opening his mouth with a claw and taking a breathless sound out of it.

But choking came as a punishment, right? What would Barnaby be punishing him for? Wally couldn't think of anything. He would do that later.

He couldn't picture past that. He had no clue how his best friend would behave in a situation like that.

Wally sighed in defeat and took his hands off of his neck.

Could he just ask Barnaby to choke him? No, that wasn't how it worked in the books.

Wally was very smaller than his friend, so, in his logic, (and according to the books he read) he should take the passive role. He should just wait for Barnaby's advances or provocate him enough to punished by it, like in the books.

It annoyed Wally, not knowing how things worked until someone or something explained it to him. He wanted to experience things, know things, he was 26 goddamnit! He should be able to feel the things his friends did!

Wally sighed. Ok, picturing Barnaby didn't work. Now he'd try Howdy.

He created a scenario in his head...

Wally was in the bodega, it was almost sunset and there was nobody else there besides him and Howdy. He would grab an apple, he liked to hold them, and try to take it without paying. Obviously the caterpillar would notice and call him out for that. Yes, that would happen.

Wally wasn't good at telling jokes, so Howdy would just frown and cross his upper arms while the other pair would lift Wally up easily. 

It would be possible, no? Wally wasn't that heavy. Howdy would lay Wally on the counter and put a hand on his neck. 

Despite Wally doubts about his friend really doing something like that, but that was how the story was supposed to go, no? It was like that in most of the books.

Howdy would firmly hold Wally's hips with his lower pair of arms while the sort male squirmed under an angry gaze.

The choking would come after that. Howdy would get mad at Wally for a reason or another, he would growl and rudely grab Wally's neck with his left upper hand. He would hold it tight until the world started to fade for Wally's eyes.

Then Howdy would let him breathe just to do it all again.

He imagined Howdy pulling his pants down with his second pair of hands. He imagined his friend being rough, because that's how the books show it. It would feel good. Probably. He thought about Howdy grabbing and squeezing and thrusting and...

Wally looked at his crotch. He was hard how many years had passed since the last time he was hard?

He let out a breathy moan and shakily started to stroke himself. 

Wally shut his eyes as the arousal build up. His hand was too small, he couldn't pretend it was Howdy's. He rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow, maybe trying to get that feeling of suffocation, maybe just wanting to behave like the characters in the pages did.

His hand was under him, which made masturbating much less easy, but he still kept touching himself.

Wally wanted to feel like everyone felt for a moment. He wanted to feel the pleasure they felt. He didn't understand why they did the things they did, the things that hurt, but must feel good and he wanted, needed, to feel it.

He continued to play with himself, his hips moving with his hand.

Howdy would make Wally's legs stay open. He'd continue choking him on the bodega's counter, pining him down like the needles pin Frank's insects to the wall.

Wally should beg. For what would he beg? He wouldn't beg to stop. That wasn't his desire. Would he beg for more? That wasn't it either. Wally didn't know what he wanted.

Howdy would continue. Hard. Firm. Strong. Almost sending Wally to heaven. Wally would beg for that.

Yes, that would do.

The tallest would smirk, would it be a mean smirk? He couldn't imagine his friend looking mean.

Well, he was imagining him being mean, so there's that.

Wally didn't moan as he stroked himself. He was never vocal. That wasn't right, was it? He should make some noise.

He opened his mouth and moaned into the pillow. His sounds of pleasure were as monotone as his voice. Wally's eyes got a little watery, be it from masturbating after so long without doing so or the simple frustration of not being able to express himself like he should.

Howdy would push deep, deep as the ocean, deep enough to touch Wally's heart, deed enough to make it interesting.

And then Howdy would release his essence. He would fill Wally. Wally naturally would come right after, of course.

So Howdy would pull out and let Wally panting and with the white liquid dripping down his legs on the counter as the shopkeeper would moved on with his day.

Wally couldn't imagine that clearly. But the vague image in his mind, fogged with his arousal, was enough to make him cum. He let out a quiet moan at that and took a deep breath before falling limp on his now stained bedsheets.

Wally Darling looked at his hand. It wasn't big. It wasn't the real thing. He wanted to feel touch.

Wally Darling wanted to live a history like the books. He wanted a strong man to take him.

Wally Darling decided that he would live a story like the ones in the pages.

And Wally Darling had a plan.

Chapter Text

Wally Darling was a very handsome man.

He knew that and made sure everybody knew it too. Every single detail of his appearance was picked out and put together carefully by himself and he was proud of how he looked. 

However... As handsome as he was, neither Barnaby nor Howdy even said anything about it. 

They should've already asked him out at least once during all the time they knew each other! Or, at very least, pointed out how handsome he was.

Because Wally darling obviously was the apice of masculine beauty.

So... why they hadn't made a move yet? He didn't want to change anything about himself, he was already the most and so was his appearance. He wouldn't change that at all. 

Maybe his attitude was the issue? He needed to choose if he would wait for their advances or try to provoke them. Waiting didn't seem to get anywhere, so provoking would be good. That surely would make them do something. 

Creak, creak.

"Is it already that late? I didn't notice." Wally looked at the window. Yes, it was already past noon. He should go outside. 

Slam, creak.

Wally walked to the door. "I wasn't daydreaming, Home. I was just thinking." 

Home rolled his eyes and opened the door for Wally.

"Thank you."

Creak, slam, slam.

The short man stopped in his tracks and fidgeted with the buttons in his cardigan. "I'm not... This isn't unhealthy. I'm just trying to have a normal life."

Slam.

"Of course the books aren't lying! Sally said it showed humanity's deepest desires, so everyone wants that, just doesn't say it out loud." He mumbled and continued his way. "Bye, Home."

Barnaby was smoking by a tree. He hadn't seen Wally that much since the day of the phonecall, which was weird. And not weird in the usual way Wally was, the kind that took things too literally or started to talk with someone none of them saw, it was weird in a "someone please go see if there's something wrong" way.

Nobody wanted to pry, of course, Wally was an adult and had perfect capacity of asking for help if it was needed.

Hopefully. 

Barnaby grunted and stood up. He was about to head towards his friend's home when he spotted the blue pompadour in a distance. 

Wally saw him too and waved before walking closer. "Hi, Barnaby." Wally said, smiling as always. "Beautiful day, isn't?"

"Hi, Walls. How're you doing?" Barnaby put his pipe down. He knew Wally didn't like the smell of smoke.

"I've been reading." He answered and put his hand on Barnaby's paw after hesitating for a moment. "Any plans for today? I'd like to go to the bodega to buy some things." Wally mumbled. 

The taller man raised an eyebrow. There was something different about Wally. His friend wasn't one for muttering, no, not at all.

"...Is everything alright, fella?" 

"Of course. Why?" Wally tilted his head.

"... nothing." Not convinced but willing to believe in that, Barnaby decided to just let it slide and go to the bodega with Wally. 

They walked in a comfortable silence, Wally stroked Barnaby's paw with his thumb from time to time and looked away when Barnaby looked at him. 

Barnaby was getting worried. Did something happen? Was Wally trying to communicate something? The short man was denying that something had happened, but surely something wasn't ok! The worse part was that Wally wasn't doing anything that weird, per see, he was just not being all the way Wally!

And when they finally arrived in the bodega, it just became more awkward.

Firstly: Wally blushed as soon as he saw Howdy.

"Howdy'ya doing fellas?" The caterpillar greeted from across the counter.

Barnaby eyed Wally and greeted the shopkeeper. "Howdy, Howdy. We're as good and a chick in the dirty."

Wally didn't understand what that meant, apparently, but Barnaby thought it didn't matter all that much as Wally got basically on top of the counter and smiled at Howdy. "Hi, Howdy." 

Both the dog and the caterpillar were surprised at the tone Wally had used. It almost sounded... sultry. And the fact that Wally still had his cheeks red also indicated something. 

Confused, Howdy glanced at Barnaby, who just shrugged, just as lost as him. The shopkeeper looked at the smaller one again and decided to just pretended he didn't notice how strange Wally was acting. 

"What could I get for ya today? The usual?" He asked.

Wally nodded. "Uh, yes. The usual. And..." he gulped. "Do you have protection?" He ran his fingers on the wooden counter and looked away.

For someone who enjoyed eye contact so much like Wally, that was a big sign of something out of the usual. 

"I- pardon? Protection?" Howdy asked with an even more confused face.

While that interaction happened, Barnaby's chin was on the floor. What the flying purple pink fuck???? Wally, his bestfriend for a lifetime, who didn't know what a kiss was before someone explained it to him, was asking for- for-

"Protection. For sex."

The caterpillar stared at Wally with wide eyes and a red face before looking at Barnaby for clarification, but the dog had none! 

Howdy's eyes went from Barnaby to Wally a few times before settling on Wally. If the dog wasn't so confused and lost, he'd have bursted out of laughter at the scene. 

Howdy, good shopkeeper he was, coughed and tried to regain his composure. "Uh, no. I- no. Sorry." He ran a hand through his hair. "The only couple in the neighborhood consist in Frank and Eddie and the rest of the neighborhood never asked for such thing, so I don't see a reason to have it in my shop."

The nerve Wally had to almost look frustrated...

Wally looked up at Howdy. "Oh... that's a shame... I was hoping to find everything I look for in you..."

"Well, sorry for that, but I have some apples that look really- wait, what did ya say??

"Ahaha!" Barnaby laughed nervously and grabbed Wally by the waist, lifting him up (and he was not going to think about the squeak Wally let out at that) and putting him on his shoulder. "Haha, very funny Wally. You're a talented jokester. Now let's go home." He said and quickly left the shop, covering his face in embarrassment. 

Barnaby walked all the way back to Home, Wally weirdly quiet all the time, and put the smaller man at the house's doorstep. "Did he hit his head?" He asked to the house.

Slam. Creak. Creak. Slam.

"Ah, yes, very clarifying." The dog rolled his eyes.

Wally was staring at him as if waiting for something. Somehow it wasn't the usual Wally stare too. 

Barnaby sighed looked at Wally, waiting for him to say something, when he remained quiet, the dog spoke up. "What's in your mind?"

"Won't you take me to your house?" 

"... what?"

"Well, Home might not like watch what we're going to do."

Barnaby looked Home, desperate for some explanation of what the hell Wally was talking about, but the house just looked at him with a "not my problem" glance and closed his curtains. 

Wow. He was going to splash green paint all over that damn house for that.

Barnaby looked at the sky before looking down at his dearest friend and asking: "what do you think were going to do?"

To which Wally simply responded:

"Sex."

Chapter Text

Wally didn't understand why Barnaby looked so dumbfounded when he said that. He didn't understand why Barnaby didn't look at him with a burning gaze or pushed him against the wall, that was supposed to happen, right? He had provoked both the dog and the caterpillar, so obviously one of them would have done something about it, maybe even punish him. 

So why wasn't that happening? 

Why did Howdy look confused at the bodega? Why did Barnaby hide his face in his paw? That wasn't how it was supposed to go! If anything, Wally himself should be the one covering his face with his hands! He was doing everything right, he should be under the counter, against a wall, on a bed- 

"Buddy, why the hell do you think we'll have sex?" His best friend asked, his voice kind even though he had a frown in his face and his blushing cheeks hidden under his paw. 

Wally looked away. He usually didn't do that, did he? But for some reason he couldn't look at Barnaby's eyes at the moment. "I provoked you and Howdy, isn't that why you took me out of the bodega? Maybe you got jealous of Howdy and me and wanted to mark your territory?" He said quietly, fidgeting with the buttons on his cardigan. 

"W- what? Huh?? Buddy, no..." the dog looked up at the sky and sighed. "I... that's not what's happening, Walls..." another sigh. 

Wally couldn't frown, it was impossible for him to do so, but... if he could do anything other than smile, he'd express his confusion and disappointment like his friends did. 

"... No?" He asked so quietly he wasn't sure Barnaby had heard. 

"No." His friend shook his head. 

Wally looked down. "Then what's happening? If you aren't going to have sex with me, why taking me out of the bodega?" 

Barnaby thought the answer was obvious but, thinking about it now, he wasn't sure neither... 

"Because... because you were embarrassing yourself!" He blurted out without thinking. "You- Fuck, Walls, that wasn't nice at all, and not seductive too, you shouldn't have done that. You were making a total fool of yourself, man!" 

Oh, God, how he regretted saying that when he looked at his friend's face. 

"I... was?" Wally asked and he could almost, damn hell he could ALMOST feel his face beginning to make an expression. 

Almost.

Barnaby didn't know what to do, he didn't- he couldn't find a way to not make the situation worse, but he couldn't let Wally like that. No not at all. 

The dog decided to let his paws rest on his friend's shoulders. "Wally, buddy, look- whatever made you think that sex was supposed to start like that is extremendously wrong." He sighed. "How about we hang out? You need to clear your head." 

Wally looked right into his friend's eyes and thought about what he had said. Had he embarrassed himself? Did that mean Howdy hated him? Did Barnaby hate him? He didn't want that. That wasn't- that wasn't the plan, that wasn't what he hoped would happen, why did it happen? What had gone wrong? Why was his throat being tied into a knot and his eyes burning? Why were his lips trembling?

"Hey, buddy!" He heard his friend calling him. 

Someone was touching his face. Probably Barnaby. That was good. Felt good. Meant Barnaby didn't hate him. 

Wally was feeling a lot of things. Emotions. He would like them more if he knew how to describe them, sadly he didn't so it was just frustrating and uncomfortable. 

He very much liked the feeling of concrete things better. For example, he felt water on his cheeks, soft fur around his body, and the lack of ground on his feet. 

There was a smell of tobacco incredibly close to him. He hated it. He hated the smell of the things Barnaby smoke. He wanted it away from him. 

He felt his hands pushing something, it was soft like a pillow and made his fingers want to squeeze, which he did. He heard a sound, it sounded frustrated. Or maybe not. He didn't know. But he did know he felt the grip around him getting tighter. 

Wally heard a door opening, felt his body being seated on something that reminded him of a pillow, and felt large hands, no, not hands, paws on his shoulders. The paws weren't shaking him, nor squeezing or anything, they were just there. He didn't know if he wanted to push them away or not. 

He did know that the light was too loud, that his heart was beating fast and that he was feeling an emotional that made him want to hide in a hole and be forgotten.

╠┈┉┈┉┈┉┈┉┈┉❲✿❳┉┈┉┈┉┈┉┈┉┈╣ 

Howdy was minding his own business when he got a call. 

"Howdy'ya doing, fella? What can I get—" 

"Howdy there's something fucking wrong with Wally I don't know how to fix it I said some shit without thinking and now he's like a rag doll and he doesn't answer when I say something and please come to my home Poppy isn't answering her phone please I need help here—" 

"Woah, slow down! Where are you?" Howdy asked, his eyes wide. He had never heard Barnaby so freaked out before! 

The caterpillar could hear the sound of Barnaby taking a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Come to my home. Wally's not ok. Poppy isn't answering her phone." 

"On my way." He nodded and left the bodega. 

What did Barnaby mean when he said Wally wasn't ok? Well, Howdy could clearly see the shorter man had acting in a weird fashion earlier, but he couldn't put a finger on why was that. 

He went to the dog's house as fast as he could, worried about his short friend. 

Howdy didn't even need to knock at the door before Barnaby swung it open and pulled him inside. 

The cathedral wanted to complain about how now one of his arms was hurting because of that, but as soon as he opened his mouth he saw Wally on the couch. 

Wally Darling. In silent tears and with his lips twitching as if trying to break the smile he always had. 

Wally Darling was crying. 

And Howdy understood Barnaby's panic.

Chapter Text

Howdy hated things he couldn't control, maybe that was why he chose to be a shopkeeper in the middle of nowhere and almost never socializing with his neighbors. He controlled what merchandise he had in his bodega, he controlled his schedule and even when things didn't went his way he still found a way to walk around it to make everything right again.

That, of course, didn't apply to people.

People are unpredictable, wild, confusing, and aren't controlled by numbers and logic, not even to emotions, he noticed. He couldn't control people, he couldn't tell them how to behave nor how to talk in a way that made sense to him, and he couldn't control how they would react to his interactions, maybe that was why he lived in isolation, with his family far from him and his cozy little piece of paradise, he didn't even have to interact that much with the neighbors, since most of them only went to the bodega when they needed something. That was fine. He liked the solitude.

There were always exceptions, though, after all, he too was a person. 

Barnaby B. Beagle was Insufferable in basically everyone's eyes. That dog was an asshole, really, he was rude, full of himself and incredibly sarcastic, terrible, really, and Howdy to this day wondered what the hell his brain was thinking when it decided to be fond of that man. Surely, there was an awfully low shortage of men in his proximity and, yeah, he would understand if his dick decided to be interested in one of the two men who were still single around there, but his Brain??? Unbelievable. 

Howdy, contrary to popular belief knew that he himself wasn't exactly the best man in the world, oh, yeah, he did, if he wanted to argue with his mind he would say that that was why he liked to have Barnaby's company, because they were incredibly alike, two books where the only difference is the cover, but he knew that wasn't the reason of his fondness. 

Barnaby was funny and surprisingly caring, even Frank could see that and Frank hated the guy, he had his way with words and could make people's mood shifts in less than moments if he wanted to. He took care of what was dear to him and took care well. Howdy liked Barnaby's way of being, he liked how laid back he was and how quickly he would become protective and mindful when he sensed any problems that could affect what he had of most dearest. Which is why Howdy had gotten so worried when he received the phone call and hear Barnaby's voice so full of panic and uncertainty. 

But he understood the fear as soon as he saw Wally's teary face. 

Wally Darling was weird, and yet he was the easiest to talk to. Wally Darling was predictable, he had been living the same period of his life in a loop Howdy had came to understand over the years he had been living in the neighborhood. 

Wally left his home exactly nine in the morning every day, spent twenty minutes doing nothing in the neighborhood, then he would spot Barnaby and they would start to do nothing together, maybe paint or play a random game nobody really cared enough to learn the rules, and then one of the other neighbors would start socializing with them until it was seven PM, when Wally went back to his home.

And repeat. 

See? Easy. Simple. The only times Howdy saw Wally out of that routine were the ones when Home locked him in or out of themselves, in which Wally would become incredibly frustrated before heading to wherever he went when he wasn't with anyone, and even that in itself was a pattern. 

Howdy Pillar had been cultivating affection for him ever since he noticed their similarities, I mean, who wouldn't? They both liked things to be exactly like they wanted them to be, they liked to keep a routine, to control their own time and live a simple life where nothing changed, and Howdy respected that in Wally.

Howdy, however, saw what everyone saw then they saw Wally. 

A naive man who once had been a sheltered child, a man who knew nothing but the walls in his home and world of the books he read. 

Nobody knew what Wally's deal was, such a strange man had a life of mystery and yet caried his history in the palm of his hand. He was weird, did he know that? Those deep eyes, a permanent smile, and that wonder he had, that curiosity, the craving for learning... Wally Darling desired, more than anything else, to be a person. 

Howdy couldn't explain even if he tried, but he understood the feeling of despair when you realize you're not like those around you, when you notice how they see colors you don't, when they hear and speak in different frequencies, when the words you know become alien in all the conversations you hear around you, when you realize you're not like them.

And doesn't matter what you do, it seems like it's never enough, you'll never be a person like them, you're something else, a thing they don't comprehend and neither do you, a thing that craves something it never had and never will have.

He wondered if Wally felt upset when people treated him differently, when they saw a man who didn't know the world and immediately started treating him like a boy, Howdy hated when his family treated him like a child, maybe Wally hated it too.

But maybe Howdy's understanding of him was also twisted, he never saw beyond that smile, he had assumed that Wally was incapable of feeling emotions, that he simply didn't understand them enough to make them real. 

Oh, how wrong he was.

The first time he noticed Wally's emotions was five months after the bodega had been opened, but he had brushed it off, of course, because how could Wally feel something? But now he realized, and it was a very late realization, that that day, when Wally had walked into the bodega and tried to talk to him, those eyes staring deep into his, Wally was feeling. He didn't know what, but he knew he was.

Now, he saw Wally crying on Barnaby's couch, and all he could think about was all the interactions they ever had, having finally realized that Wally Darling did, in fact, have the ability to feel.

Howdy glanced at Barnaby, who seemed like a lost puppy who someone forgot in the rain.

It would be adorable if they weren't in that situation. 

Howdy looked around for anything that could possibly help Wally, something concrete and heavy to calm him down, and he found it in the form of two thick blankets that he promptly put on Wally, who grabbed on them tightly and curled up even more, but at least didn't look like he would die from a heart attack anytime soon.

He heard a relieved sigh when  Wally stopped crying and stared at nothing after a few minutes. 

The caterpillar sat down on the ground with his back on the couch and rested his lower forearms on his knees and his upper arms on the couch behind him, looking up at Barnaby.

"Um..." Howdy tried to break the uncomfortable silence that infested the room. "Care to tell me what made him...?" He gestured with his hand.

Barnaby rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "I... accidentally shattered the view he had of something and embarrassed him... a lot..."

Howdy frowned and was about to ask what the hell that meant when Barnaby spoke up again.

"He wanted me to fuck him, well, he wanted us to fuck him. Apparently he has been reading a lot of less than cutesy books lately." 

His jaw hit the floor. Oh, oh God.

"You're joking." He shook his head.

The dog sighed and sat down on the floor across from Howdy. "Not this time." 

That... certainly explained some things.

And raised some questions. 

"Is that why he was being weird today?" Yes, Howdy had noticed his friend's unusual behavior. 

Barnaby nodded and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I swear to God... who the fuck thought it was a good idea to give him fucking erotica?!" Howdy heard Barnaby complaining to himself, but his thoughts were already shifting. 

That was unexpected. Incredibly appealing, yes, but unexpected. 

Howdy drummed his fingers on the ground and glanced at Wally again.

This revelation went against a lot of certainties Howdy had, and his brain was trying to walk around them to get as much control of the situation as he could again, which was very little, to say the least. 

There were four variants now, him, Wally, Barnaby and the illusion Wally had, and he had to put each of them in their place or else he wouldn't be able to handle it, because he had to think of each of them separately yet as a agglomeration, which was frustrating, really.

Ok, variant one: himself. He himself would have sex with Wally? Maybe, he had had sex before when he was younger, but none of his partners were four feet tall and had been so sheltered as Wally had. Would Howdy have to literally explain to Wally how sex worked? God, he hoped not, that would such a turn off... Wally probably already knew the basics if he was reading erotica...

... yeah, no, someone definitely would have to give Wally a talk about how sex was not like the books said it was.

He would need to discuss a lot of things with Wally, especially regarding the fact that Howdy needed to be in control, even things weren't exactly being kinky.

Variant number two: the illusion. Wally had crafted his idea of sex around erotic literature, that clearly was a disaster and had to be destroyed and rebuild. Did he even know he importance of consent or what it was? What type of erotica had he been reading? A more soft and tame one? Fetish literature? Anything BDSM related? Well, clearly he hadn't read much of the "normal" ones if he was planning on being fucked by two men who were thrice his size. 

Which brings him to number three: Barnaby. Yes. He would have sex with Barnaby, no doubt about that, problem was: Barnaby was very clearly a top and so was he, so it wouldn't work our. Plus, he wasn't even sure if the man would be willing to sleep with him, even with Wally in the middle... literally. 

Barnaby was a good friend and Howdy would never want to fuck up their friendship for something so trivial, he would need to hear Barnaby's thoughts about the matter before taking anything initiative with him or Wally, because anyone with a half functional sense of sight could see the love Barnaby had for Wally. 

And... number four: Wally. He was small. Very small. Worryingly small. Howdy's dicks were the size of Wally's thighs and it wasn't even funny, he would kill the guy if he didn't know what he was doing. Wally could secretly have the biggest size kink of the world and it still wouldn't be enough to keep him from being ripped apart by accident. 

That and the fact that they could very much tell anything to Wally and he would take it as gospel, seriously, to this day Howdy wondered how the fuck Wally managed to have never gotten hurt by someone, his thirst for knowledge and acceptance was wonderful at best and pitiful at worst, they would need to be extremely careful if they went through with it, Wally didn't deserve to be hurt in something that was supposed to be pleasant, nobody did.

Howdy glanced at Wally again, he had stopped staring at the wall but was wiping away his tears with the blankets Howdy had put on him. "Sorry.." the short man murmured.

Howdy decided that, before literally anything else, they needed to talk. Actually talk. No judgments, no shame.

"If we want this to happen, let's put all cards on the table." He said firmly.

Barnaby's eyes widened almost comically and Wally's brows frowned.

"I don't have any cards with me." Wally tilted his head.

Howdy chuckled. 

Barnaby stood up and went to the kitchen. "He means we have to talk, Walls." His voice was soft, with was weird to hear him like that, as he grabbed some water and took it to Wally.

"Oh." The short man nodded and took a sip from the glass.

Howdy Pillar didn't know what to expect from that conversation, but he already could say for certain that his fondness for them wasn't gonna change after it.

Howdy Pillar loved his friends. 

Howdy Pillar wanted to know to which lengths that love would take him.

Chapter Text

Barnaby B. Beagle always had a snarky reply on the tip of his tongue.

A snarky reply, a joke, however, wasn't what he needed in that situation. 

He had his arms crossed and his gaze fixed on the floor underneath him, not knowing how to start that conversation. In all honesty, Barnaby hoped that one of the other two would speak up first so he wouldn't have to do so.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen and the silence was unbelievable worse than the possibility of embarrassing himself. 

"I'm not sure we should have sex." Yes, great way of starting a conversation, 10/10.

The shorter man, who by now had his characteristic smile on again, albeit the corner of his lips trembled and faltered, tilted his head. "Am I not attractive?"

"Couldn't be farther from the truth, believe me." Barnaby murmured and glanced up at him. "I just don't know if it'll bring... not great results."

"Wow." The caterpillar facepalmed, impressed by how Barnaby's way with words seemed to have disappeared now that they were in a serious situation.

"What? It's true!" He huffed.

Wally's fists clenched on his lap. "I don't think so." He looked away. "I think it'll be nice... then again, what do I know?"

Noticing his friend's discomfort, Howdy spoke up. "Which is why we need to talk. We need to make sure everyone's on the same page."

"Okay, mr communication skills." Barnaby rolled his eyes "give us your insight."

The dog just wanted all that shit to end, there wasn't anything more awkward in the world than having to discuss about sex with the person whose shop you frequent and your best friend who also happens to have little to no knowledge of many aspects of life most of the time.

He saw Howdy crossing his arms, all four of them, and hesitantly starting to speak. "I'm all for it. I would gladly have sex with you two, however, there are things we need to talk about before anything, one of those being Wally's inexperience."

"What makes you think I'm inexperienced?"

"Have you ever had sex before?"

"... no?"

"See?" Howdy gestured to Wally with his upper right hand "we need to talk."

A grunt left Barnaby's throat and he looked at the ceiling. "Please tell me we won't have the birds and bees talk, that would be so weird..."

"I'm not a child, don't treat me like one." Wally said in his usual monotone voice, a hint of a frown on his face.

The dog sighed and let his gaze fall on Wally again. "I know, I'm sorry."

Silence fell on them again.

How awkward. 

Why did God hate him so much? Why couldn't he live his life without having to have this conversation?

Barnaby was picking on his claws while Howdy was drumming his fingers on his arms and Wally was staring at his own lap.

Howdy opened his mouth to talk again, but Wally beat him to it.

"I masturbated at the thought of you two a few days ago."  

The taller men were stunned. 

A faint redness made itself know on Wally's cheeks and he fidgeted with the buttons on his cardigan "I was reading a book and... and I wanted to try what the characters were doing, but I was alone so I had to imagine it all." He gulped "I thought of two separate scenarios, in the first one Barnaby was mad at me for a random reason and choked me, punishing me." 

Barnaby quickly raised one hand at that, incredulous.  "Hey, buddy, what the fu-"

"I'm not done talking." Wally said firmly. 

Damn, ok, silence is it, then.

The short man glanced at them and then at the floor. "The second scenario was similar, I had stolen an apple from Howdy's shop and he pinned me down to the counter and fucked me while squeezing my neck." 

They were starting to see a pattern there.

"I decided that I wanted to have sex, real sex, like how I read about, and I believe I want to do so with you two." Wally continued. "Which is why I flirted with you today. I wanted to make one or both of you mad enough to punish me."

Howdy had his face in his hand, not knowing exactly what to feel about that confession. "That was the most unhealthy thing I've ever heard in my life, Walls."

"You said we would talk without judgment." He pointed out.

The caterpillar sighed. "I did, didn't I?"

"I'm pretty sure any of those scenarios is a crime, buddy." Barnaby told Wally. 

"It isn't a crime if I-"

"Do not finish that sentence." Both Howdy and Barnaby said in unison. 

Wally shrunk in himself. 

"Look, buddy, that is the problem: you based your entire view on sex on badly written porn that either starts or ends in a crime. Do you know what consent is? Foreplay? After care? Precautions and risks? The difference of love and attraction?" He wasn't trying to be mean, really, Barnaby was just trying to draw the clear picture for his friend. 

After a minute of silence, Wally looked at him. "What would you say sex is, then?" He asked in a quiet voice. 

"Sex is when two people touch each other with the intention of giving and receiving mutual pleasure, simply as that." Barnaby's answer came without missing a beat. 

Wally looked at Howdy. "And you?"

"To me, it's when two or more willing participants stimulate their genitals, chasing an orgasm, basically what Barnaby said." He shrugged. "It's not that glamorous, really, it's just a normal part of life."

Great choice of words, Howdy, thank you. not really. 

That answer made Wally deflate a little, looking away. "I want to do it... be normal..." he mumbled quietly. 

Barnaby frowned and focused on what his friend had to say. Howdy recognized his mistake, but it was to late to reformulate his words.

"Everyone feels those things, Do those things. They never had to ask someone to explain it, they just knew, and I Don't." his hands gripped the fabric of his pants. "For God's sake, I only learned what masturbating was when I was nineteen. Nineteen! Because I never knew what those urges were, I didn't even know they were there, and even when I learned how to do it I still didn't feel the craving others had. And it's not just the sexual aspect that is weird, isn't it? I'm all wrong. I don't realize I'm hungry until I'm sick, I forget to drink water, how many times have I not realized something was not right?" His smile was faltering again.

Howdy placed a gentle hand on Wally's knee.

Wally put his hand on Howdy's. "I just... I just wanted to do something, one damn thing, like everyone else does. It can't be that hard, right? Orgasms fell good, sex should do too, and I'm handsome, it should be easy to do it with someone, but... but it isn't. Because now that I had the books as manuals, you tell me they're lying and I'm doing everything wrong and being weird again." He rubbed his eyes with the side of his arm and let it fall to his side again. "Sorry... I'm not used to talking this much."

"It's ok." Barnaby assured him then looked away.

He had never seen Wally getting so emotional, it was... uncanny... like seeing something he wasn't supposed to. 

Barnaby continued. "If it makes you feel better, nobody really instinctively knows how getting laid is supposed to go." He did, but that was because of the fact that he was an anthropomorphic dog man. 

"The first time is always the worst, pal," Howdy piped in before Wally could "it's awkward, messy, and unpleasant, usually doesn't even ends up in an orgam."

Wally tilted his head. "It can't be that bad if everyone is always doing it."

"Good point."

"Not really."

"Well, I think so."

"You're wrong."

"Oh, shut-"

Wally chuckled quietly, effectively getting their attention. 

Barnaby and Howdy looked at Wally, then at each other, then at Wally again, and nodded. 

"I like to follow three principles when it comes to fucking: safe, sane and consensual." Barnaby said, raising one finger to each topic "safe as in no risk of something getting badly hurt, sane as in no one is under the influence of any type of drug or mental incapability, and consensual as in everyone is fully aware and ok of everything that's happening."

Wally listened intently and nodded at the end, it sounded pretty tame compared to what the books he read described.

Howdy spoke up next. "I think the same as him, however, I'm into impact play and other kinks that can cause damage, which is why I have to be careful with my partners."

Barnaby raised one eyebrow. 

"Free of judgment." Howdy reminded him.

The shorter man blushed, thinking of what types of kinks Howdy would have, what would he do to him if given the chance? "Can I- we. Can we know your kinks?"

He very clearly debated a lot with himself before nodding at the request.

Howdy sighed and pulled the list from the back of his head. "I'm into impact play, choking, dominating and submission, sensory deprivation, and, uh, I'm not sure I'm comfortable sharing the last two." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Barnaby's eyes were the size of plates, his jaw on the floor.

Coming out of his speechlessnees, he laughed "dude, man- oh, God, you can't be serious! We're just now lecturing the guy about how sex is Not supposed to be like that and you fucking cheeks all the points in the list we told him!" The dog couldn't believe in such irony. "And you still have the nerve to not tell them all? Come on, Howdy, what could be worse than saying you like to hit people?"

However blushed and adverted his gaze, offended and embarrassed. "No judgments here, remember?"

"Yeah, Barnaby, let him talk." Wally waved Barnaby off, his eyes staring intently at Howdy as his words left his lips. To absolutely no one's surprise but those two, he had a boner.

"Oh, so you do have a dick-" Barnaby mumbled. 

"Of course I do. What did you think I had?!"

"That certainly makes things harder." Howdy mused.

Barnaby smirked "Not harder than my-"

"So, Barnaby, Why don't you tell us what gets you going? You must be completely vanilla if you're talking shit about my interests." Howdy dared with a grin, wanting payback for being made fun of because of his very common, very safe and not at all related to his need for control at all.

Barnaby shut up.

Wally's gaze moved from the caterpillar to the dog, staring at him with something that could only be described as desire. 

The dog grunted and looked away. "I like making my partner cry. A lot. Through overstimulation, teasing and edging. Bondaging is also interesting, I like tying them in a way that makes impossible for them to touch themselves, then I leave the room and leave them begging and pleading to finish." God damn, his tail was wagging now. Fuck. "I'm a sadistic in some aspects, to be honest. I also have a thing for food play and..."

Howdy raised an eyebrow yet again.

Wally's hands were clenched and his body warm. "And...?"

"I... may or may not..." he mumbled the last bit so quietly nobody heard it.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I may... or may not... have a thing for... ahem..." God, if you exist please send a lightning storm and struck him in that instant, amen. "Uh... how do I say this... Consensual sex while asleep."

"You WHAT???" Howdy's voice echoed in the house.

"Consensual! Focus on consensual! With consent!" Barnaby defended him, raising his hands in surrender. 

"How the fuck does asleep and consensual are both true in one situation??" The caterpillar insisted.

"Agreed upon before falling asleep. Damn, Howdy, do you think I just go around fucking people without them knowing? Geez, thanks for the high view of my person..."

There weren't words to describe Howdy's line of thought now. "Why would you even like that???"

"Suddenly this isn't a safe space for kinks anymore." Barnaby grunted. 

"You can judge me but I can't judge you?"

"You wouldn't understand it, it's nice, knowing that someone trusts you enough to give you their own body in such vulnerable state, that they trust that you won't hurt them, that you'll only do what was agreed upon, it's... exciting. I like being awakened by a beloved partner bouncing on my dick, and I love waking them up with my hands holding them close and my dick deep in their being." 

"That sounds creepy as hell, you should probably look into why you're that weird." 

"Oh, fuck you!"

"You certainly won't."

"If it makes you feel better, Barnaby, I think your explanation is lovely." Wally mumbled, imagining himself in that scenario. He wasn't sure if it was something he would want to do, he would still have to think a lot about it.

"You're not really a good measurement for that, buddy." Barnaby chuckled and Howdy nodded.

Wally tilted his head and chuckled a little too, they were probably right, he still had a lot to think about and understand, he probably should keep things more safe... or as safe as they could be considered the size of Howdy and Barnaby. 

And it didn't have to be today, he realized. 

Wally slid his body from the couch to the floor, shifting closer to Howdy and resting his head on his shoulder. 

They would talk, they would come to an agreement, and then maybe they would have sex, maybe not, and it could take a lot of time or not. It was ok, he was starting to understand. 

Howdy's right arms wrapped themselves around Wally, one over his shoulders and the other around his mid section. 

Wally looked at Barnaby and called him overzealous he wanted them close to him, if not as partner then only as friends. 

And Barnaby went, he laid his head on Wally's lap and left it there, Wally's erection wasn't as pronounced now anyway.

"I'm a little tired, can we rest before talking more?" The short man asked softly, petting Barnaby's head.

"Sure."

"Alright for me."

Wally smiled a little more, Barnaby and Howdy did to. They loved Wally. A lot. And maybe he wasn't like everyone else, maybe he still had to get the gist of what he likes and dislikes, but they would help him. They had all the time and all the love in the world. 

It was ok.

Chapter Text

Wally woke up in their little cuddle pile feeling warm and far less confused, but he still had a lot of questions that went unanswered in their last talk.

He looked at one side, seeing Howdy, all handsome and calm, and at the other, where Barnaby snored like a locomotive, the dog was even drooling! So cute!

Giggling, the painter wormed his way out of the cuddle pile without waking up his...

Were they boyfriends? No, probably not, they hadn't put any labels on their relationship yet... partners? That would be more likely, yes, they would be his lovers from now on, right? So they were partners, romantic ones! That was exciting, his first relationship would be with his best friend and another great friend of his, it was already on the path to success.

They were so lovely too, taking care of him through his... Could be call that a meltdown? It hadn't been that bad and it hadn't even hurt him, it had just been bad, and bad could always be worse, so it wasn't that terrible. Thinking about it, he wasn't sure what caused that reaction, how strange, it usually came when he was feeling a lot of things at the same time, but that didn't happen, did it?

He was pulled out of his train of thought when he heard his stomach growling. Ah, right, he hadn't eaten in what, ten hours? He should eat now.

Wally stood up and headed to the kitchen, he already knew where everything was, obviously, he was a common guest in Barnaby's home.

The stool Barnaby had gotten so Wally could reach the high cupboards without help was proof of it.

He started preparing breakfast with all the patience and care of a man who just figured the sacred secrets of the universe, quietly working on a meal as warm as he felt. His partners deserved that.

Partners... What a cozy sensation that word brought to his chest... Was that what being in love felt like?

... No, probably not, he was never right about the whole "feelings" thing... Oh well, he knew what he was feeling was more than what he felt towards his other friends, and that was enough for him.

As the food was placed in the plates, Wally pondered about what else they would do together. Not sex, certainly, at least not yet, those two had made it very clear last night. He'd have to his hand and imagination for the foreseeable future, what a pity...

But! He had the confirmation that he now had not one, but two handsome men as companions! How exciting! 

A yawn brought his attention to a sleepy Barnaby slowly dragging himself towards Wally with Howdy right behind him. Smiling, the man cut the distance between them, no words were said, there was no need, and they just enjoyed breakfast together in silence.

It was nice, warm, not only because Barnaby's house was always warm but because of something else, something he couldn't quite describe yet.

Wally hoped to never feel cold again.

In all honesty, Wally's routine didn't change all that much now that he was in a relationship, he thought it'd be a whole different world, a complete shift from normalcy, but it wasn't. He liked it though, god knows how annoying a change of pace could be... He was still a little upset about the time Julie brought spring earlier than she should, but oh well, what could be do about that? It was an accident and she was his friend so he had forgiven her.

Point is: things were the same. Basically. 90%. 

He hadn't even kissed any of his partners yet and kisses weren't even something sexual as far as he knew, should he bring that up? Yes, probably, but he didn't think he should. Wally wasn't as experienced in relationships as those two... Or anyone else, for the matter, so maybe relationship were supposed to start slow like that, with just cuddles and hugs, and kisses came later in line along with more intimacy, but he was getting impatient! It had already been one week since their talk!

He didn't want to be seen as too desperate or anything like that, he wanted things to run smoothly for all three of them in every aspect of their relationship, like it was supposed to, he just didn't know how.

So went he went to see Howdy and Barnaby for their first official date — a picnic, wasn't that lovely? — he hadn't risen his expectations for the afternoon all that much. Sure, it would be nice and warm, he'd lean on Barnaby's shoulders or lay on Howdy's lap and they'd chat until one of them had to head back home, it'd be comfy, welcome, but not exactly intimate.

And it really did start like that, when he saw Howdy closing the bodega and smile at him, when they headed to Barnaby's home to pick him up, and especially when the trio calmly walked through the woods to the clearing, talking about mundane things to pass the time, Wally failed to notice how the caterpillar was blushing as he glanced at him.

"I think that's a good spot." Barnaby said when they finally found an area without ants. "And it's under the shade of the trees too, we won't need to worry about the sun." He pointed out, already setting their picnic.

"You worried about the sun?" Chuckling, Howdy sat down and grabbed a sandwich. "It's truly the end of the world, I see!"

"What? Summer's coming and the days ain't getting any colder, I'll become a hotdog at the end of the season if the temperature raises any more!"

Wally, as usual just sat by his partners and grabbed an apple from the basket. "I think you already are a hot dog, Barnaby." His monotone voice didn't really gave much to the joke, but Barnaby knew him well enough to pick on it and laugh.

Rolling his eyes but still with a smirk on his face, Howdy looked up at the sky to watch the clouds moving lazily and relax a little, he deserved it, after working so hard all week.

Sometimes Wally's wished he had a job too, then he remembered how tired Howdy and Eddie got after their working hours and promptly shoved that idea in the most isolated corner of his mind and left it to rot.

He was fine being an artist for fun, thank you very much!

"Want some?" He heard Barnaby asking as a piece of cake popped up in front of him. "Orange, Poppy made it for us."

"No, thank you." Wally shook his head, receiving a nod from the dog.

...

"Won't you offer me some?" Howdy raised one eyebrow.

"Nah." 

"Wow, I see... No more discounts for you!"

"You haven't even finished your sandwich yet!?"

Somewhere between when they actually started to eat and when the sun threatened to lay down for the night, they get in their little cuddle pile again, laying down on the grass and just... Being there.

Barnaby's huge paw rested on Wally's side, gently caressing the short man's waist with his thumb, while Howdy stayed still like a corpse in a coffin and stared at sky.

Wally though he looked beautiful from the angle he was seeing, from Barnaby's chest, the caterpillar had some ethereal beauty... The soft light the stubborn light beens still coloring the sky added an yellowish pink hue to Howdy's face, it suited him, like how the midday sunlight suited Barnaby. 

"You're staring, pal." Howdy's voice took Wally out of his thoughts.

"Oh- sorry, Howdy." He bashfully apologized. "You just look so beautiful right now.."

And with that Howdy's cheeks grew redder than ever and Barnaby fought the urge to throw a joke there and ruin the cute moment. Luckily he restrained himself because, if he hadn't, Howdy would have never used that glimpse of confidence to gently pull Wally closer to himself and press his lips against his.

Wally's eyes widened. Oh damn.

Holy moly.

Not knowing what to do but knowing that he didn't want it to stop anytime soon, Wally's arms quickly wrapped themselves around Howdy's neck and he squeezed his eyes shut. 

Four hands tentatively held Wally's waist and thighs, not sure whether or not to really grab his flesh and feel him up a little or not, it was still their first kiss, after all, so they shouldn't be that straight forward... Yet.

Wally liked Howdy's hands, very much so, and there was nothing he wanted more than to be squeezed like a stress toy as he clumsily moved his lips against his partner's, but he knew he should follow his lead if he wanted this to work, not only because Wally was inexperienced in that aspect but also because Howdy was very much not.

It was insane how good the kiss felt, how Howdy could move his lips like that, there was some sort of dominance in his actions but somehow it didn't feel caging, more like... Comforting and heavy. Like a blanket. Like he was saying "I know what I'm doing, trust me and let me take care of it." Which was far hotter than Wally would ever admit to anyone. He liked to be taken care of, sue him.

Howdy, on the other hand, was trying very hard not to turn it into a french kiss and show Wally how it's really done, if his lips were on literally anyone else's that someone would already be a panting mess on his lap, but this was Wally and therefore different. Good different. So he stroked his thighs instead of sinking his fingers into the soft flesh and didn't let his upper hands sneak their way under his colorful clothes.

So it was almost romantic, even though their bodies were starting to show signs of arousal and the shorter man was unconsciously rocking his hips against Howdy's stomach. A chuckled escaped Howdy's throat as soon as he realized how horny Wally had gotten.

Unfortunately, they still needed to breathe. They meaning Howdy, because apparently Wally could spend the whole night like that.

Prying Wally away from his face was like trying to take a cat away from a particularly well cooked piece of meat, it'd be endearing if they weren't so damn turned on.

As soon as Wally sat up on Howdy's chest, panting as he looked down at him with a flushed face, before he could even formulate a sentence, a large paw calmly grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up just enough to drop him on Barnaby.

"You ain't thinking of leaving me out of this, eh?" Barnaby chuckled, holding Wally's chin beta his thumb and index finger. He took a minute just to admire that pretty face all red and needy, thanking god for being one of his favorites before giving Wally a kiss of own.

Barnaby was far more laid back than Howdy when it came to kissing, it seems, but he had some tricks that served only to make Wally wanting more and more and more and-

And Barnaby was biting his lower lip so nicely it made Wally's knees weak, his whole body going limp as he wondered where else all those fangs could bite...

God- god, he needed those teeth on his neck, needed to see them sinking into his thighs...

His own small hands grabbed Barnaby's shoulders, trying to get even closer to him, to get more of that heat he so desperately wanted flowing his body, but the paw holding his face in place didn't even struggle to keep him in place, which only made him whine in defeat.

Chuckling under his breath, Barnaby broke the kiss and cupped Wally's cheek in his palm, stroking his lips with his thumb. 

A silence that was too comfortable to be awkward but too warm to be just that fell upon the trio, for an eternity nobody said a thing, the only sounds around them were the quiet chirps of the night creatures that by now had already left their hiding spots.

Wally licked his lips.  "Good god..."

Wally Darling stared, wide eyed, at his partners as his mind worked on processing what had just happened.

Wally Darling had had his first kiss... Kisses...

Wally Darling wanted to do it again.

Chapter Text

Barnaby had never been more content in his life.

He, who would otherwise be alone around that time of the day, now sat comfortably on Howdy's couch, with Wally laying his head on Barnaby's lap and his legs over Howdy's, sharing popcorn as the movie they had picked for that night entertained the trio.

Rain poured heavily on the neighborhood with no indication of stopping anytime soon, even so, it was strangely comforting, made the dog feel his eyes threatening to close and lead him to a deep, deep slumber, but Wally's voice grabbed him by the ankle and tore all his sleepiness away from him with just five simple words:

"I wanna have sex tonight."

Judging by how how Howdy stiffened at that, he could confidently say that the shorter man had taken him by surprise too.

"I'm serious," said Wally with crossed arms and red cheeks. "we've been together for a month and half and you two have yet to make a move."

"I thought we were taking things slow?" The caterpillar raised an eyebrow.

"How slow is slow? One month is already enough time for me." 

Tilting his head, Barnaby asked "Why the rush? It's better for us to go at a snail's pace, you're —"

"Inexperienced." Wally huffed. "Yes, I know, Barnaby, but I'm not inocent and I do have desires, and I desire you two. Very much."

"Are we gonna have another discussion about that?" Howdy clicked his tongue. "Because there's some things we haven't talked about yet."

"How would it fit, for example." The dog chuckled and playfully poked Wally's stomach.

Rolling his eyes, Wally sat up straight on the couch and sighed. "Yeah, I've been thinking about it, not sure any of you would fit without at least a whole day preparing for it..." He looked away, fidgeting  with the buttons on his pajama shirt. "but maybe we can try something different."

The painter waited for them to speak up, when none of them did he continued to talk.

"I've been doing research, real research, and I think we can start with handjobs or blowjobs, or maybe you guys can finger me— I brought lube just in case — I'm up for anything, you know that, I just... I feel ready, and I want you two as soon as possible."

"We're too much, Walls, you'll choke." Said Howdy.

Wally's usual smile turned into a smirk "you promise?"

Oh damn.

Barnaby was certain that it wouldn't be the most amazing sexual experience he ever had, after all, Wally was, well, Wally, so didn't have high expectations when the short man finally dropped to his knees on the wooden floor of Howdy's bedroom, far more fitting for that situation than the living room couch.

And those assumptions weren't exactly wrong, but he was far from right.

"Go on, buddy." He had said, stroking Wally's hair as he freed Barnaby's dick with eager hands, having decided to start with him first.

Barnaby was thick, every part of him was, why would his cock be any different? It made the painter's mouth water and his heart beat go wild, his interest certainly hadn't been the only thing to rise at the sight of such monumental beauty.

Howdy should be jealous, Barnaby's mind told him, giggling as he glanced at said man, who stared at Wally from his spot on the large bed.

Looking down again, the dog saw the man between his knees gulp and direct his gaze upwards in such a alluring way that it had to have been practiced in front of a mirror before, his hot breath making Barnaby trob.

"Please...?" Wally whispered.

And suddenly Barnaby had to refrain himself from grabbing his lover's hair and pushing his face into his dick. "Go on." He said instead.

And so Wally kissed the underside, always keeping his eyes on Barnaby's, his hands, so eager yet so unsure, wrapped themselves around the base, barely even applying pressure and just slightly caressing him. If Wally wasn't genuinely so new to those things Barnaby would have thought that the snail pace was some sort of punishment for making him wait so long for some action.

Experimentally, the man trailed kisses following a vein on Barnaby's underside, all the way to the tip and then licked the slit, making his companion bite his own lip. Good, it meant he was doing something right.

Wally started moving his hands along the length, but still didn't apply even the slightest pressure in his grip. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth as much as he could, finally trying to fit Barnaby's large cock into it.

Unfortunately yet obviously it didn't go all the way in, not even half of it, just the tip, but that was a huge deal to the short man, especially how he could hear Barnaby's tail hitting against the soft bed as it wagged.

He tried to circle Barnaby's tip with his tongue, only being half successful at that, as he continued to move his hands in a quickening pace.

Barnaby's fingers gently stroked Wally's hair, it was getting quite messy, he hopped Howdy had some hairspray for when Wally realizes that fact.

He almost chuckled, Wally certainly could cover his lack of knowledge with his enthusiasm, but it still shows, he'd spend the whole night like that and Barnaby wouldn't even go near the climax, but that was okay, he wasn't about to interrupt his friend's concentration for something so silly in their first time.

Howdy had not the same qualms as Barnaby.

One green hand wrapped itself around Wally's yellow ones and made their grip get tighter. Barnaby gasped. Wally paused and looked over at the caterpillar, Barnaby's dick still in his mouth.

"Firmer grip, pal, and move your head, not just your tongue." Howdy told Wally and made the painter's hand move again, in a rhythm this time. "Squeeze at the base and near the tip, relax at the middle, keep quickening the pace while you do it; use your elbows, not the wrists."

Barnaby was about to tell Howdy to cut Wally some slack when the shorter man started again, with even more vigor and determination, following the taller man's instructions to a T and making Barnaby howl.

Wally very quickly found out he loved hearing Barnaby like that.

Sharp claws fought against digging into the shorter man's scalp as his pleasure continued to build up, an instinct if you will, he just wanted to grab Wally and throw him on the bed and fuck him until he forgot his own name and had Barnaby's fingerprints permanently marking his waist and—

And a choking sound broke him out of his stupor to see he had pushed himself deeper into Wally's throat without even realizing it.

Panicking he tried to pull his cock out "Shit— fuck, Wally I'm so sorry—" but Wally didn't let go, gripping the fur on Barnaby's thigh to stead himself.

Wally held a hand up, asking for a moment, closed his watery eyes and tried to breath through his nose.

Then he threw threw his head down with all the strength he could muster and swallowed down three quarters of Barnaby's cock and clenched his already tight throat, effectively making Barnaby's eyes roll back and come.

Wally glanced up at his lover, seeing black spots dancing around in his vision as he gagged around the large intrusion, contentment filling his system as he struggled to remain conscious 

A green hand yanking him back did bring him back to reality, though.

Coughing and gagging and gasping, Wally found himself being held by his dear Howdy Pillar, who very worriedly tried to keep him from dying on his first night of pleasure.

When he finally could put some air in his lungs again Wally glanced at Barnaby, poor dude was about to rip his ears off in guilt if he kept tugging them like that, licked his lips, still tasting Barnaby's cum, looked at Howdy and smiled like a succubus about to have the meal of it's life. "You now."

Barnaby B. Beagle was dumbfounded.

Chapter Text

Wally Darling knew what he was gonna say even before he said it.

Howdy Pillar was, deep down, a caring man.

"Hey, hey, calm down now, pal!" Howdy chuckled ever so softly as he patted Wally's back. "Take a breath, have some water, yes?"

"I will not go all the way to the kitchen just to grab some water, Howdy."

"We should have brought it with us." He heard Barnaby grumble. "Guess we didn't think this throughout."

Wally Darling thought they had thought too much, but oh well, they're the ones leading the night.

"We didn't think this throughout at all, pal, the only conversation we had about this only lasted ten minutes or so." The caterpillar said, gently grabbing Wally's chin and tilting his head around. "It doesn't seem like anything's out of place."

The shorter man huffed, annoyed at the fact that they were making him wait even more than he already had. "A pity, if you ask me." He murmured and pulled his face always from his lover's hand. "You say you'll break me in half but I don't even have a single hickey! Come on, I'm fine, I'm not made of glass!" 

Wally wormed his way out of Howdy's beautifully carved strong arms and positioned himself on the floor once again, resting his hands on the caterpillar's thighs and looking up at him. "Or are you trying to make me beg?"

If he could read Howdy's face as well as he'd like, he'd see that those words had quite the affect on him. Howdy was a man of very specific tastes, after all, and even if he tried to deny it, Wally was almost a fantasy, maybe some part of him knew that, maybe not, but it was a fact. 

Having gotten no response but an intense glare from the caterpillar, Wally decided to lean on Howdy's crotch, resting his cheek on it and say "Please?~" In the most needy and desperate tone he had even mustered in his entire life. 

The firm grip that immediately fell on his hair was enough proof of his technic's affectivity.

He licked his lips, quickly looking up again, shivering at Howdy's deep gaze studying his face, thinking. After a second or two Wally glanced at Barnaby simply to see if he was enjoying seeing them, seeing him like this, and he was, he could tell that much before the hand on his hair yanked his head back, making gasp and look at Howdy again.

"Eyes on me, pal." The caterpillar said– no, commanded, to him.

And all he could do, with awe in his eyes and a racing heart, was open his mouth and muster a "yes, sir!"

Howdy should be far less excited about this, it'd only be a blowjob, really, he wouldn't go full on crazy on Wally without at least an hour of discussion and planning beforehand, but, well, Wally was pretty damn good at listening... Especially when he got something out of it.

And wasn't Wally's problem with Barnaby the fact that he had no instructions? Then instructions he'll give!

"You'll start at the tip." He calmly started to unzip his pants. "Use your tongue in circular motions at first, then focus on relaxing your jaw as you go down. Do not use your hands. Understand?" 

"Yes." He nodded, well, he nodded as much as he could with his hair still in a death grip.

"You'll give him a whole manual of instructions?" He heady Barnaby's snarky voice asking.

"He seems to prefer it."

"I do."

A laugh, quiet, amused, far more intimate than what one would usually hear from the canine. "Well, who am I to judge?" 

Howdy rolled his eyes fondly, or something like that, Wally couldn't tell, his mind was more focused on the reddish, bumpy, enormous monster the caterpillar had just freed from his pants.

The thing was as big as his forearm, if not bigger, far thinner than Barnaby's but hopefully easier to wrap his lips around. Probably. Yeah, for sure.

Sensing Wally's hesitation, Howdy slightly loosened his grip and gently stroked his head with his thumb. "When you go past the tip, move your head slowly. I'll guide you." He said calmly.

He glanced up at him again. "Understood."

The shorter man then kissed the tip, just a little, it just felt right, before circling it with his tongue like Howdy had asked him to. All those bumps and whatever texture he couldn't put a name on made keeping his movements consistent a lot harder than he thought it'd be, but his frustration over that fact was soothed by the firm fingers locked on his hair and him wondering what'd it feel like to have that cock in him. Hopefully he'd find out soon. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait a whole another month for that.

"Good..." Howdy murmured, calmly pushing Wally's head down. "A little more now. Relax your jaw."

And he did, because it'd be simply idiotic to ignore a voice so alluring.

He heard Howdy grunt, gasp, and try controlling his breath, beautiful melody it was, though not as deep as Barnaby's sounds.

"He's a natural." The dog said, moving closer to watch over Howdy's shoulder. "And so handsome too..."

How flattering, Barnaby thought he was good at what he did and he was handsome! Even if he already knew that the comment on his looks was the objective truth, he still felt his heart racing faster than a marathon runner, pumping his blood everywhere but the head above his shoulders.

Barnaby wasn't the focus right now, though, as a push from Howdy gracefully reminded him.

Wally tried to relax his jaw as much as he could, basically dropping it, and slide the phallus in his mouth as deep as he could in one go. It didn't go very far, he still had to get the hang of it, but the short man was nothing if not stubborn determinated and he'd never give up so soon. Looking up at Howdy, whose face was far redder than usual, he tried to ask for assistance with his eyes, he didn't know if he managed to do so, as the caterpillar simply stroked his cheek with one of his many hands.

Barnaby, ever the savior he was, spoke up. "Facefuck him."

"Wha—"

"Trust me."

Howdy was unsure —which was very unusual since he hardly felt that way— but Barnaby could read people fairly well and the man on his knees hadn't take a step back when he heard the suggestion, an indication that he had no problem with the idea. 

The caterpillar's upper hands stayed on the edge of the bed as the lower ones secures themselves on Wally's messy blue hair, holding him in place.

And Wally looked at him with his droppy, glassy eyes and teased with his tongue ever so slightly.

And Howdy began thrusting his hips, making the man between his legs gag if only for a minute before deciding to let his body go limp and let Howdy do all the work. To Wally, it felt... Good... More than good, in fact! There was something to say about it, probably, something his lovers would want to discuss later if he ever spoke about it, about how going stop moving and letting himself be... Used, for lack of a better word, not only felt perfect but also far easier than actually trying to figure out what he was supposed to do.

Although... His own erection was almost screaming in those painfully tight pants of his, having been ignored for far, far too long. 

Surely Howdy wouldn't have a problem if he took care of himself, right? He wouldn't be interrupting him, he had no reason to, honestly, the cock roughly fucking his throat only added to the thrill of the experience! It'd be no problem!

He slid his shaking hands into his clothes, wincing when his fingers brushed against the sensitive skin,  slowly wrapping the member in his hand and pumping it at a fast pace.

Barnaby, who was watching the two with far greater interest than he'd like to admit, noticed Wally's hand disappearing in his pants and almost felt guilty, nor him nor Howdy had even touched the dude, it was unfair, wasn't it?

The dog got out of the bed and sat down behind Wally, putting his hands on his waist and making him jump slightly in surprise. "Focus, buddy, lemme take care of you." He whispered into his ear. It was Howdy's turn, after all, and, unlike someone, he didn't want to interrupt.

Fishing a small bottle of lube out of Wally's pocket, Barnaby didn't waste time to open it and pour a generous quantity on his hand. He would love to finger the guy, but that'd take time and patience he didn't have at the moment, so a handjob would do.

He hooked one of his claws on Wally's waistband and pulled both the pajama pants and the underwear to make room for his hand, which made the shorter man shiver as the colder air hit his leaking cock. Oh, what a delicious sight...

Barnaby's hand was big and strong and almost enough to cover his dick entirely, Wally's hand was unnecessary right now so he took it away and let his lover work.

It somehow felt like heaven and incredibly overwhelming at the same time, being masturbated while having his face fucked, two strong men, far stronger he'd ever be, handling him both with care and with desire. It didn't feel like they were taking pleasure from him, only giving, he hadn't expected that, it made him feel a little selfish, but then he realized they probably felt exactly like that too so it was okay. 

From the angle he was on the floor, he could see how Howdy's muscular arms twitched and flexed involuntary as he used Wally's throat, "he's holding back..." Wally thought. It made sense, if the shopkeeper wasn't holding himself back Wally would've broke his neck, probably, certainly... The fact that Howdy could cause him great harm and yet didn't do it shouldn't be so hot, right?

And Barnaby too, behind him, stroking his cock with magnificent practice, whispering things he wasn't even hearing into his ear as he did so, nuzzling into his neck, pressing his mouth into it — he wanted to bite him, Wally would come to realize later that same night — in such a comforting manner, but his short fur brushing against his skin tickled and made him shiver and he wanted to moan but he couldn't because his mouth was full with his lover's cock and he almost whimpered because it felt so fucking good but it was so much too because it was more than ever had and it was sweet and hot and too much but not enough he wanted more and it was too much too much—

Wally came, hard and quick and with no warning but a muffled shout, sending vibrations to Howdy's cock, which made him bury himself deep into Wally's throat one last time and cum. By some miracle, Wally didn't choke, even though he was damn close to.

He felt Barnaby's fuzzy hand — the one not covered in Wally's cum, that it — pry Howdy's fingers away from his hair and gently pull him away from the softening member.

The shorter man had the audacity to whine in longing as the canine scooped him in his arms and laid him on the middle of the large bed. 

Howdy turned to the shorter man, thinking to himself that it was weird to see him without his perfectly crafted hairdo, and stroked his face and shoulder with his two right hands. "You were perfect, Wally." He whispered.

"Hm..." The painter pressed his cheek into the hand caressing it. "'m tired..."

"I'd be too, buddy." Barnaby chuckled fondly.

Glassy eyes, red cheeks, messy hair... Wally though he must've looked terrible right now, but... The way they were looking at him, it made him think that maybe he was mistaken, maybe he was the most beautiful man they had ever seen.

Howdy Pillar and Barnaby B. Beagle had never seen Wally in a less than perfect appearance, but maybe they liked what they saw in him exactly like he was at the moment, in that bed, even more than the polished version of him the world knew.

Maybe Wally Darling liked that.