Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sebastian makes himself busy by rubbing pool chalk on his cue, waiting for Sam and Abigail to show up for their weekly saloon get-together. Usually, he’s not the early one, but something about today has him feeling a little more anxious, he can’t place his finger on it. 

 He blankly stares at the flashing pixelated screen of Junimo Cart, thinking intently, smudging too much chalk on his que. The Saloon’s door chime pulls him out of his trance. He drops the chalk and tries to rub the vibrant dust off his fingers as Sam and Abigail rush into the room laughing. 

  No. They’re giggling. 

 “What are you two so giddy about?” He asks, eyebrows raised as he looks them over. 

“Why are you blue?” Abigail laughs behind her hand as Sam reaches out to boop Sebastian on the nose. 

 “Ugh. Stop.” He grimaces, rubbing his nose and finding more of the impossibly hard to miss neon blue pigment. 

 “While you were playing with chalk, I finally got to meet the farmer!” Abigail says in a sing-song voice, clasping her hands together. 

 “Mhm! It was about time.” Sam added, a grin spread across his lips. 

 “The farmer? What do you mean finally?” Sebastian squints, almost unnerved with how his friends immediately seem so cheery over this farmer. 

 “You haven’t met the farmer? Huh. I would’ve thought you would’ve talked already.” Abigail stepped towards her spot on the couch, the cushions dipped slightly with her weight, letting out a familiar squeak. The couch was probably older than her and had an Abigail shaped imprint on it. 

 “Yeah, you’d get along I bet.” Sam chimed in, settling himself at the opposite end of the pool table, getting ready to lose again.

 “Uh, alright, can you tell me why exactly? Stop being so secretive it’s… kinda weird.” Sebastian said meekly, his eyes flitting between his two best friends.

 “He moved in about three weeks ago?” Abigail looked to Sam for confirmation and continued when he nodded, “Zuzu City Boy. He’s cool actually, he gave me an amethyst today… said it reminded him of my hair.” 

 Sebastian noticed how she swirled a lock of purple hair between her fingers. 

 “He’s given me at least three flowers by now, after I told him I actually liked them. I didn’t think he was even listening.” Sam bends over to line up his shot, biting his bottom lip between his teeth. 

 “Okay, so a random dude just moves to our shitty small town, starts giving you both gifts you like, and you’re not the least bit wary? Sounds like a murderer scouting out his victims.”  Sebastian knocks a striped ball into a corner pocket. 

 “Woah, buddy. If you’re worried I’m going to replace you, you’re sadly mistaken. You’re never getting rid of me, Sebby.” Sam cocks out his hip and nearly purrs the end of his sentence, earning a wheezing laugh from Abigail and a retching gag from Sebastian.

 “No, it’s just, I don’t know. It’s not very often that someone new comes here.” 

 “Yeah, but don’t you think it’s nice for a change?” Sam asks, aiming for a solid red ball but missing entirely. He whines when he ends up hitting one of Sebastian’s stripes a whole closer to a hole.

 “Hm, maybe I’ll have a shot at a pool partner who’s better than you.” Sebastian points at Sam’s failure.

 “Okay, don’t you push your luck. Maybe I will replace you, you know he gave me an entire pizza last Friday? Who does that?”

 “A stalker. That’s who.” Sebastian mumbles, “Last Friday?” 

 “Yeah, he left before you got here or I would’ve introduced you. Seriously.” 

 “Ah, so you’re friends now?” Sebastian hit another pocket, the ball slamming against the wood a bit too hard unintentionally. He didn’t like the sour feeling stirring in his gut. He knew it was irrational to feel jealous over this, his friends were allowed to make other friends. No reason to feel bitter, even if you’ve never met the guy and you’ve only had each other for years. 

 “Well, no. I don’t think so yet. We’ve only talked briefly.” Abigail shakes her head, not looking up from her portable gamepad, the flickering screen lighting up her face.

 “I’d like to be his friend, though. How often do we have new people move here and he’s our age?! Yes, please!” She says, her eyes lighting up. 

 “How come I’ve never seen him?” Sebastian rubs his hand on the back of his neck, ignoring when Sam whoops happily as he hits a ball in. 

 “I don’t know, schedules? You don’t come out of your room very much. I saw him a bunch before we actually spoke because of Dad’s shop.” Abigail huffs, the gamepad splotching red light against her cheeks. He guesses she lost. 

 “And uh, he’s a farmer. Always farming and stuff. When he gave my mom a cauliflower she nearly fainted because he was covered in so much dirt.”

 “Oh. Yeah. You’re right. I guess I’ll meet him eventually… How many people has he met besides me?” Sebastian didn’t know why he even asked, it’s not like the guy is a celebrity. Although, it feels like it when someone new is around these parts. He remembers when Leah came to the valley, everyone wouldn’t stop talking about her for weeks. 

 “My mom, My Dad, Your mom, Lewis, Ms. Jodi, Vincent, Jas, Penny, Leah, Elliot, Alex, Haley, uh.. all the saloon regulars… uh who am I forgetting?” Abigail listed, counting on her fingers. 

 “So, like everyone but me?” Sebastian blanched, “Wait, my mom?” 

 “Uh, yes dude, he’s been keeping your mom busy with projects, he’s been in your house! Ms. Robin was even talking to me about how she’s making decent Gs off of him.” Sam knocked another missed hit, groaning once again.  

 “You really should pay more attention to your mom.” Abigail said with a sly smile.

 Sebastian didn’t know when this turned into a shit-on-Sebastian group but he wasn’t here for it. He hits his last striped ball into a pocket, going for the 8ball next. 

 “Gees, sorry, didn’t know he was the talk of the town. I didn’t even know there was a farmer until today.” Sebastian sucks his teeth, sinking the 8ball into the pocket, subsequently winning the game. 

 “Hey, I just wanted to say that I feel like you two would get along, that’s all.” Abigail gives him a reassuring look, setting down her gamepad. “I’ll get us some drinks.”

 “Why though?”

   “Hm, he wore all black? When he first came here, Ms. Robin said he was wearing some serious ripped jeans and a metal band tee. Right up your ally, no?” She steps over to pinch at the frayed seams of his jeans, a small hole across his thigh. 

   Huh, on one hand it did seem like this might be an opportunity to make a new friend, he didn’t get the opportunity very often if at all.

   The other seemed bleak, the farmer swooping in and making all his current, albeit few, friends ignore him because the farmer is just too new, too fun. Not like him, anti-social and quiet, unintentionally pushing people away. 

Yech.

 “Ah… just cause someone wears black doesn’t mean we’ll get along… and when’d you get so close with my mother?” Sebastian just stares at Abigail, the corners of her lips curling into a devilish grin as he bats her hand away.

 “I love your mom, Sebby. I’ve always been close with her.” She flutters her eyelashes dramatically, making Sebastian hold back some bile. Sam laughs directly in his face at his misery. 

 “What’s his name anyways?” Sebastian asks to change the subject. He sets up the table for another round to once again show Sam who really should be laughing. 

 “Something with an A..” Abigail hints as she walks out of the game room, towards Gus’ counter. 

 “…Adonis!” Sam chirps, his smile as bright as ever.

 “What, like the Greek god?” Sebastian gawks.

 “Mmph, something like that.” Sam’s body relaxes as he speaks, supporting his weight on the pool cue- it's almost like he starts daydreaming. What was that noise he even made? He doesn’t want to think about it. Sebastian can almost see the comically large anatomically incorrect heart jumping out his chest. 

 That’s when Sebastian decides he does not like the farmer one bit. 

꩜

It’s not until tomorrow, he meets the farmer. 

 Well, they don’t meet per say, it’s more like Sebastian casually watches him from afar. All casual. Totally casual. 

 It’s Saturday, twenty after ten, he’s on his usual route, coming down the eastern stairs from the beaten down community center to the town’s heart to meet Sam, when his eyes catch on an unfamiliar figure. 

 Sebastian’s a good fifty feet away from the person, he doesn’t know why, but he slows his pace to duck behind the side shadow of Pierre’s building. Very casual. 

 The first thing he notices is their hair, a light lavender color, that seemed to darken slightly the further away from the root. It looked to trail down to their hips, and bit past that, but it was hard to tell. It flowed behind them as they walked, swaying in the wind. The sun filtered through it, making the shine glimmer  almost too perfectly. Abigail better run for her money, some other purple haired girl decided to own it!

 Could that be Haley? Her hair was pretty long, but curled more than that and wasn’t that lengthy. Haley wouldn’t ever wear dark colors either, including those black overalls and the deep maroon shirt underneath. Or dye that blonde nest she has. 

 Plus they’re too tall. 

 Must be really tall actually, their legs seemed to go on forever, taking big strides with each step. Sebastian spends too much time watching them walk until their pace slows as someone stops to speak with them. 

 It’s Elliot, he must be coming up from the beach as this girl tries to get down to it. Wow, they’re taller than Elliot.

 Wow. They’re taller than Elliot…

 Sebastian gulps, his eyes laser focusing on the small gap in between them. Sure, it must be only 4 or 5 inches, but considering Elliot is 6’0…. Six. Plus four. Equals six four. SIX FOUR! 

 His mind flashes back to the time he was forced to stand next to Harvey, resident six-foot-two tall man of the valley, as Sam heed and hawed at the obvious half foot gap in their heights. So funny. He couldn’t imagine standing next to someone even taller than him. 

  He did not want that to happen again, especially with a taller girl. Not that he had anything against tall women, Abi shared his height and she hammered on about how powerful it was to be a tall woman. He supported that, he just didn’t want to be humiliated again. He’s not even short. It’s an average height for an adult male.

 They turned to speak to Elliot, their side profile in view. He stilled for a moment, obviously staring. She was pretty. 

 Light brown eyes framed with thick eyelashes, high cheekbones, plump lips, defined jawline, a strong but beautiful nose that seemed to be dusted with freckles if he stared intently enough… which he did. 

  Her skin was so tan, it seemed golden in the sunlight. 

 His eyes lowered down their frame. They were slender, but he could see toned muscle underneath the tight undershirt. Their large hand curled a strand of hair behind their ear as they smiled at something Elliot said. Their small chest shook with each breath of laughter.  

Oh. 

 Sebastian grimaces, what is he doing checking out girls at his big age? He left that in high school.

 He leaned against the side of the building, watching them say goodbyes.  Elliot winked as she fluttered her fingers in a wave, turning back towards the path and carrying on her way. Her long strands of purple hair once again trailing behind her in the wind. She disappears as a tree blocks her from his view. 

 He stands there for a moment, his weight braced against the wall. Wind tosses his hair about as he glances in between his hands and the sky over the beach. Sebastian assumes she’s heading there, if the fishing pole poking out her blue backpack is anything to go by, he wonders what she’s doing down there. 

  Probably fish, fucking moron. 

  Footsteps clear his self-insults from his mind. As Elliot enters the town’s main clearing, Sebastian quickly starts on his path again, nodding his head once in acknowledgment as he passes. 

 Out of Elliot’s view, he picks up his pace, sprinting off to Sam’s house. He’s relieved when he turns the corner, spotting a head of blond hair. Sam’s already walking down the path towards him, skateboard tucked under one arm.

 “Yo, you were a little late so I was about to come looking for you, man!” Sam greeted him with a quick handshake and began leading him to the front door. “What took you so long?”

 “Uh, can I tell you inside?” Sebastian asked sheepishly as Sam raised an eyebrow in question, but didn’t disagree as they stepped inside. 

 “So no board?” 

 “Shut up- come on.”

 The moment Sam shuts the door and sets his skateboard down the house seems to come alive. 

 “Hello, Sebastian! How are you today, Dearie?” Jodi yells from the kitchen, her hands deep in soapy dish water at the sink. 

 “I, uh, I’m good. Thanks for asking, How’re y-“ 

 “Sebastian! Sebastian! When can I listen in on your practices, huh? You said I could!” Vincent ambushed him at the door, pleading and begging as he stared up at him with sparkling eyes.

 “Er, soon. I don’t know if we’ll practice today or-“ 

 “Okay! Let’s go to my room, Sebby!” Sam threw an arm around Sebastian and ushered him to his room and promptly shut the door behind him. Vincent’s distant complaining can still be heard vaguely, along with the occasional clang of dishes. 

 “Huh.” Sebastian stared at the door, taking a seat on Sam’s bed, walking into his house always felt like a whirlwind. 

 “Okay. What took so long?” Sam tapped his foot on the floorboards for comedic relief.

 “Who. Is that girl. With the purple hair.” Sebastian jumped up from the bed and grabbed Sam’s forearms, looking into his eyes like he just needed to be seen and heard.

 “She’s so tall.”  He added quietly.

 “Abigail?” Sam said blankly, as if his friend has gone mad. Maybe he has. Two people moving into this dinky town in the same month, this farmer dude and now this model lady? Unreal.

 “No! Yoba. Too many people are coming here it’s freaking me out. The tall girl. Her hair goes down to her ass. Overalls. Kinda hard to miss.” 

 “Well, you seemed to miss her for almost a month, bud.” 

 “What do you mean? Why did you say it like that.” Sebastian’s bottom lip tucked into a firm line, feeling confused and a bit slow.

 “You’re talking about Adonis, silly.” Sam grinned wildly, ripping his arms out of Sebastian’s grasp to poke him square in the chest. 

 “The farmer?!” Sebastian’s arms dropped to his side limply, mouth open in shock. 

 That was a man?! Holyfuckingshit—I thought- those were pecs?! Fucking massive for pecs… Holy shit, what is he hiding under those overalls- what— 

 “What, didn’t expect him to look like that?” Sam only smiled wider, skin creasing by the corners of his eyes. 

 “No.” Sebastian said nearly inaudible. It’s true, the picture he had of the farmer was nothing close to that. He thought he’d be big and burly, not closer resembling a giselle than a lion. His limbs were so long, his legs must reach higher than Sebastian’s hip. Ugh.

 “It’s weird right? A pretty farmer man? Working all day on the farm and looks like he hasn’t even broken a sweat..” Sam looks at nothing in particular, definitely thinking about him. 

 “I wouldn’t say pretty.” Sebastian paces around Sam anxiously.

 “You thought he was a girl.”

 “Yes…” Sebastian paces a little faster.

 “Well, what did you guys talk about? He didn’t really have too many words to say to me.”

 “We didn’t talk.. I saw him talking with Elliot by the bridge to the beach.” 

 “Oh. Just watching?” Sam smirked and Sebastian rolled his eyes at the notion. 

 “Yeah. Their hair was tripping me out. It flowed like.. tendrils or something. Like water.” 

 “Hm.” Sam gave him a look. 

 “He wasn’t even dirty or anything though. What farmer isn’t covered in a single speck of dirt? That’s weird.” Sebastian added with prominence on the weird part. 

 “I told you he has been though. Mom seriously would have died if mud got in our carpet. His hair was still perfect though. It was braided. I bet Elliot is having a field day with another lucious locked man.” Sam rambled, getting comfortable on his bed watching Sebastian retrace his steps over and over. 

 “Yeah, it seemed like it. I could see the stars in his eyes.” 

 “You should’ve said Hi! He’s friendly, although pretty quiet. His height was a bit intimidating at first.” Sam quietly chuckled to himself.

 “Oh shut up. You shut up. You are six foot,—“

“Six foot one—“

  “I don’t want to hear it from you.” Sebastian stopped his pacing and turned to face Sam, pointing to his guitar, “Enough about the farmer. Now, are we gonna fucking jam or what?”

“You were the one that started talking about him but okay.” Sam rolls his eyes.

 As Sebastian starts up his synth, he thinks distinctly of Sam’s skateboard resting at his front door. He totally bulldozed their plans of skating, or watching Sam skate, so Sebastian can rage smash his emotions out on his keys. 

 And Sam didn’t complain, only slung his strap over his shoulder with his pick between his lips. 

 He really was a good friend, maybe Sebastian himself should try it sometime. 

 “I dedicate this to you, my pal, for always being my homie fo lyfe!” Sebastian does his best Sam impression and plays a sick solo on his synth. Very funky, very Sam-like. 

 The blonde slowly cracks a smile until he’s laughing, adding some back up cords with his guitar. 

 They’re fine. The world didn’t— their friendship didn’t implode because of a stupid pretty farmer. 

Chapter Text

Another week goes by. Spring nearly rushes into Summer in the time it takes him to blink. More talk of the farmer travels across the valley, just like the blaring heat. 

 Emily squeals about a new friend to talk fashion. Clint chatters on about how his business has boomed since he keeps getting tools upgraded. His mom wishes him a good day before leaving to work on a coop for him. Sebastian wants to plug his ears.

  And for some reason the man didn’t attend the flower dance, or if he did, he didn’t stick around Seb. That was good though, god forbid another person witness the dance he has to perform every year like a circus animal. 

 Though, Sebastian doesn’t understand why he has this underlying taste of dirt in his mouth every time someone mentions him. He knows it’s irrational and honestly unfounded, but it keeps happening. 

 No one is forcing him to befriend the farmer, even though everyone keeps going on about how kind his is. He still wants to keep his distance. Maybe he’s secretly poisoning everyone in the valley with his plentiful gifts. 

 The question that keeps biting on his nerves is why he hasn’t come up to him. He knows by now, even Linus has spoken greatly of him, and Linus doesn’t let many people into his personal life. So, why is it that he’s practically avoiding Sebastian? 

 Sebastian pauses his thought, unsure why he’s even given it the time of day, or why he even cares. He slinks out of bed to head up to the kitchen. 

 After trudging up the stairs from his basement room, he beelines straight for the coffee machine, brewing himself his own batch. Maru walks into the kitchen as he pulls a mug out of the cabinet. 

 “Hey.”

 “Hey.” She nods in his direction, yawning. It’s a bit early for her to be awake. Her presence in the kitchen keeps him alert. He usually cherishes the early mornings, before the sun even thinks of rising, when everyone is asleep. He times it perfectly so he can have his time in the kitchen alone. 

  That could be why he sleeps in so late but he hasn’t quite made the connection. 

 “Would you mind pouring me a cup too?” Maru asks, sitting at the kitchen island, rubbing her eyes before putting on her glasses. He guesses today will not be one of those mornings. 

 “Sure.” Sebastian robotically grabs another mug, pouring the hot coffee in each. He grabs the creamer from the fridge and sets it on the granite island along with the two mugs. He wouldn’t touch creamer with a ten foot pole, but Maru loves the stuff. 

 “Thank you.” She says softly as he takes a seat across from her, slowly sipping on his coffee. 

 “No problem.” He corks the left corner of his lips in a half smile and the awkwardness settles in. 

 He wishes it wasn’t like this, but he doesn’t know exactly when it started and when it got to this point. When Maru was born, he remembered being so excited to have someone else closer to his age in the house, a baby sister. He stayed excited until she went to school, and got better grades, more awards, more friends, and Demetrius scolded him for not getting those grades- for not being like her. 

 He shivered at the thought and took another gulp of coffee that burned his throat. 

 “You working on some projects today?” Sebastian said over the steam in his mug. 

 “Nah, I have to work at the clinic today, I woke up too early and can’t go back to sleep… What about you, have some jobs going on?” Maru smiled softly, tugging on the sleeve of her pj’s. 

 “Yeah. A few. I just have to finish them up.” Sebastian nodded, noticing two red strawberries dangling from her ears. “Where’d you get those?” 

 “Hm?” She looked confused, before following his eyes and touching the earrings lightly with the tips of her fingers. 

 “Oh these? Adonis made them for me after I told him I love strawberries.” Maru closed her eyes in thought, and Sebastian noticed the color dusting her cheeks. 

 Oh no. Oh hell no. The farmer was not about to court his sister without even saying hello to him. 

 “Oh. Cool.” Sebastian swallowed, “You too are close?”

 “No, wouldn’t say that. Just new friends. He’s super smart, helped me fix a bug in one of my machines before I even figured it out.” 

 “Ah, okay.” He responded curtly.

 “What’s wrong? Was he rude to you?” Maru said pointedly, suddenly seeming to wake up a bit more. 

 “No. No, I haven’t even met him.” Sebastian’s hand squeezed around the mug, the hot ceramic warming up his skin. 

 “What! He’s been all over the town! That’s crazy.” 

 “Yeah, seems like he’s the talk of the town.”

 “Well, it’s not a common occurrence that someone new comes around these parts.” Maru shook her head, “I think you need to spend more time outside than holed up in your room.” 

 “Yeah. Got work though.” Sebastian frowned, standing up and taking his coffee with him towards his room. Did everyone forget he works almost every single day? More than a normal work week that’s for sure, yet no one notices. 

 “See you later!” Maru calls after him, a bit startled at his quick exit. 

 “Yeah.” He shut the door behind him.  

   ꩜

   It’s 11pm when he decides to take a break from his work. After going straight for nine hours without breaks, his back is screaming at him while his stomach does rapid succession somersaults. He stands and lifts his arms over his head, stretching out his body and groaning when his spine cracks. He shakes out his legs, grabs his pack of smokes and a lighter and heads out his room. 

 With Maru up in her room, his Mom and Demetrius asleep, Sebastian steps outside into the brisk spring night air undetected. 

 He makes his way over to the mountain lake, stepping close to the water’s edge. The small ripples from the breeze lapped at his feet. The tree leaves gently sing around him, as the wind kisses his skin. 

 He really does enjoy the night. 

 When the moon’s light makes the dark water shimmer, like rows and rows of liquid obsidian. The comfort of being hidden in the shadows, alone, made him feel the most at ease. Something about being the only one out, it’s like he could pretend the lake, the mountains, everything, it was just his. It was his to roam, and no one would bother him. 

 Linus could stay. And his mom, she built that house, it’s hers. He just wants the nature around it. 

 In reality, he knows he longs for a home. 

 He lives in a house, but it’s not his home, it hasn’t felt like it in a long time. 

  He stood quietly for a moment more, his eyes drifting over the water, before pulling out his pack of smokes. Among the rows of identical cigarettes, was a dimpled cone with a twisted top. Unlike the others, this one was fatter at the top, although it did have a filter, it was hand made out of a strip of thin paper.

 Sebastian always hid a joint in his pack, he never knew when he would need a fucking break from his humdrum life, but he found himself having to replace it often. 

 He plucked out the joint and placed it between his lips after tucking the pack in pocket. He took his lighter to it and lit the small twist of paper. He took a quick breath to blow away the paper’s burnt ash, before inhaling deeply. 

 He held the smoke in for a moment, and exhaled it with a sigh. After a few more repeats of that, he felt a small smile on his lips. He thought after smoking for this long, he would get used to how fast that fuzzy feeling would make the bulk of his anxiety melt away. Of course it didn’t last forever, but it was a nice temporary feeling. 

 He was a casual but regular smoker, not exceeding twice per day, that couldn’t be said the same for his cigs, but that’s a different issue for another time. He’s pretty sure his Mom has no idea, or anyone else for that matter, and he intends to keep it that way. He didn’t want to deal with another thing people would judge him for. 

 So, bi-weekly he’d take a smooth drive on his bike. Meet his friend from Zuzu at the halfway point between his home and the city, and buy enough to get him by. 

 He’s a responsible adult, he makes enough to choose what he spends it on. He could move and leave this stupid valley if he really wanted to, it would take a lot of time and effort, but he could . He’s not quite sure what even keeps him here. 

 Sebastian bites his cheek and takes another long inhale, taking a few steps back to lean against one of the large oak trees on the lakefront. 

 He lets his eyes roll close, shaking out his shoulders and wincing at how stiff they are. Maybe Abigail is right, he should take more breaks. At this rate he’s going to end up sounding like a glow stick every time he walks in ten years. 

 What did he even eat today? Coffee? That doesn’t count. 

 He exhales a large cloud of smoke, unworried of anyone noticing. He’s had his little routine for awhile. Wait until everyone in the house is asleep or preoccupied, sneak outside to the lake, and enjoy a nice one. 

 It works. No one bothers him. His family are all heavy sleepers, no one in town comes up to the lake this late, and he has time all to himself. Well, sometimes he can hear Linus making some noises in his tent, but if he’s noticed he hasn’t say anything. 

Not like he would. Linus is a real one.

 His body has just gently began to relax, the back of his head coming to rest on the tree’s bark, when he hears some concerning clanking and grunting. 

 His eyes flick open and he instinctively ducks partially behind a thick oak branch. He immediately fixates on a strange glow at the entrance of the old mine. Oh Yoba, he knew something weird was going to happen when that construction started- he just didn’t know it’d be so soon. 

 Prepared for the worst, his shrunk in on himself, unable to look away. 

 His heart jumped out of his chest when someone hobbled out of the mines. They seemed to be out of breath and exhausted. He gasped when he realized the glow was coming from the person themself, not a lantern.

 They suddenly stood tall, swinging a heavy blue backpack over their shoulder. It seemed to be filled to the brim with multiple heavy objects, he guesses that’s where the strange clanking came from. 

 They huffed and brushed a long strand of hair from their face. Adonis. Of course the strange glowing man covered in coal and dirt is Adonis. 

 He pulled off black gloves and proceeds to wipe his hands on his overalls, stuffing the gloves into the front pocket. He seems like he’s about to take his hair down when he finally looks up.

 Sebastian can visibly tell when Adonis notices him. He’s got his hands up, one pulling his lavender hair in front of his chest while the other is frozen mid-grip on the hair tie. They lock eyes and Adonis sways unbalanced, before quickly catching himself. 

 They kind of just stare at each other over the lake in silence. Sebastian does not understand why time feels paused and he doesn’t want to think about it. 

 He’s got soot in streaks all over his cheeks. His eyes seem bright even in the heavy darkness.

 Sebastian snaps out of it when Adonis drops his hands and flicks his ponytail back over his shoulder. Even with the distance, he can tell Adonis squints for a moment and exaggeratedly sniffs the air. Lifting his head to the air like a dog, even waving a hand to his face to get a better whiff. 

 Why is he doing that?

 Oh. The joint in Sebastian’s mouth is still lit. Wind’s traveling up north. Fuck.

He plucks it from his mouth in a hurry, bending down to put it out on a rock and slip the roach into his pocket. He stands back up with a shrug and meek smile. He meets Adonis’ eyes once again and his mouth forms into a flat line. 

 He’s smirking. That fucking farmer boy is smirking at him. Who gave him the right?

 It’s smug, but not in distaste per say. If Adonis was opposed, I’m sure he would’ve hollered or something narky. Whatever narcs do. But he doesn’t.

 Adonis opens his mouth, like he wants to say something, but closes it after gazing over the large lake in between them. They have another weird moment of staring at each other before Adonis lifts his hand to look at his wrist. 

 Sebastian watches Adonis’ face drop as he checks his watch. It must be nearly 1am by now. 

 Adonis looks off to the left of Sebastian, seemingly at nothing for a quick moment before meeting his eyes with a small grin. With the flick of purple hair over his shoulder, he gives Sebastian a nod and a two-fingered salute, and takes off towards the farm. 

 Sebastian watches him walk away, questioning how it looked like he was gliding through the air. He almost seemed a bit magical in the moonlight’s cover. 

 With one last whip of hair, he’s in the cover of the thick bush. After he’s gone, it almost feels like he was never there. 

 Sebastian’s left with his limp weight braced against a tree with so many questions.

 Why was he covered in soot, is he mining down there? How was he glowing like that? Why’d he dash away like that? Is he going to snitch on me for the weed? Was that nod him approving the weed? He’s from the city.. so would he smoke? Has he? No, be real, why the fuck was he glowing?! And what the hell was that weird staring across the water thing? Why did I like it?

 He groans audibly, slumping even further against the tree. He could really use another smoke. 

˖°꩜

  He goes to sleep that night and dreams of purple flowers swaying in the wind, when he goes to pluck one it’s always just out of reach.

˖°꩜

  Sebastian wakes up to the sound of rain. It’s muffled from his basement room, but nothing stops him from recognizing the rhythmic thump of droplets hitting the ground. 

 He gets ready that morning with a bit more energy. He loves when it rains. Just like the night, he relishes in the comfort of being alone in the open.  

 After finishing up yesterday’s project and sending it off. He takes a nice long shower. Letting the hot water roll over his body, he momentarily thinks of last night. The gold glow around Adonis. Their eyes met for too long. The air felt too still. It stirred an unpleasant feeling in his gut. 

 He shook his head, not wanting to continue this train of thought. He ran his fingers through his sudsy hair, the hot water beating down on his scalp. He liked it steaming. 

 After finishing up in the shower and toweling off, he changed into a black t-shirt and jeans and headed towards the kitchen.

 He fixes himself up some lunch. Maru’s off at work once more, Mom’s still at the farm, and Demetrius is off being Demetrius somewhere. He scrolls aimlessly on his phone as he slurps up the last portion of reheated leftover pumpkin soup. 

 He cleans out the bowl and decides it’s about time to head for some fresh air. He grabs his dark gray zip-up hoodie and tugs it over his shoulders and steps out the door. 

     Before he knows it, he finds himself on the familiar trail to the beach. Rain droplets splash against the cobblestone and seep into the fabric of his hoodie. He feels himself start to get damp, but it’s not completely unpleasant. The air is warm, nearing the end of spring and the start of summer.  

    As he steps onto the sand, it sinks under his shoes, but braces his weight better than it would if it was dry. As he crosses the strip of land before the docks, he looks across the ocean. It’s roaring today, the large waves crashing on top of each other seem to stretch on for as far as the eye can see. 

 He’s so caught up in the large expanse of blue, he almost doesn’t notice the figure at the very far right side of the docks.

 Almost.

 He would assume it’d be Willy, yet that’s not his normal fishing spot and he certainly doesn’t have long shiny hair. 

 Adonis. He can’t seem to go one day without seeing or hearing about him. Although, he didn’t expect to see him in this weather. Which he admits is a bit foolish, he’s a farmer, he must work in the rain. 

 Yet, Sebastian stills, eyes focusing on Adonis’ form. He’s got this silly hat on. One of those ones you’d see an old lady wear to church, with a flat rim so large it casts a shadow on their shoulders. It’s white, with a red ribbon tied around the top and a matching frilly lace trim. Sebastian thinks he pulls it off better than an old church lady for sure. 

 It’s a stark contrast to the slippery wet silicone fishing overalls he has pulled over a damp red long sleeve. The overalls shine with water, and crease and crinkle with his every movement.

 Huh. The farmer’s fishing. 

 He’s got his legs braced, his arms pulling the shaking rod closer to his body. His hand spins repeatedly, desperately trying to reel in whatever he’s trying to catch. 

  His hair, in a long thick braid, whips behind his shoulders as his catch finally breaches the water. Sebastian can hear him let out a small whoop of happiness as the fish slams against the docks. It must weigh a lot to make even the part of the docks Sebastian stands on vibrate slightly. 

 Adonis unhooks the fish and grabs it in his large hands. He holds it above his head with outstretched arms like he’s offering it to the sky and gives a little accomplished yell. Sebastian doesn’t know much about fishing but it doesn’t take half a brain to realize that it’s huge. 

 It’s not a fish, but an eel, seeming to be over eighty inches long, and the bastard is grabbing it with his bare HANDS! 

 He’s still holding it with his hands, but now shaking it in the air. The still, very much alive eel, flops about helplessly, it’s snapping jaw held pinned in Adonis’ grip. 

 Sebastian watches him lower the eel and stuff it in his backpack, after quickly and humanely as possible putting it to rest with the flick of a pocket blade. 

   Sebastian gives a small nod at that, he’s respectful to animal life, that’s good, I guess. I still think he’s weird for stuffing the slimy thing in his bag like that, does he wash it? Does he have multiple bags?

  He shakes his head of the thought as Adonis stands again, resuming his fishing stance. Sebastian leans against one of the dock’s wooden poles now, not even trying to step more than a few feet on to the dock. His eyes keep catching on the long pale purple braid as it sways in the breeze, the rhythm nearly matching the cycling waves. 

He gives up on trying to hide the fact he’s staring now.

  And he does just that for a couple minutes, glancing between the rolling waves and the farmer’s still body. He’s so calm compared to his display of satisfaction of catching the mighty eel. Sebastian can only see the side of his face, but he can tell his eyes are narrowed in concentration.

 Adonis’ shoulders jump for a moment as he begins reeling in again. This time there’s hardly a struggle and his line erupts from the water with a splash in no time. 

 Yet, instead of a massive eel, strings of dripping seaweed are hanging limply from the hook. Adonis sighs and coax’s the line closer to him, lifting it above the docks. 

 Sebastian expects him to untangle it and toss it back into the foaming ocean but once he unhooks it, he immediately gobbles it down. 

He washes it down with another piece. 

And another. 

 The farmer just scarfed down three, no, make that four pieces of seaweed straight from the ocean unphased. He even slurped a string of it like it was spaghetti. 

 Sebastian just stares. Eyes wide and mouth slightly parted as Adonis resumes fishing like it was nothing. 

 He really couldn’t believe what he just saw. The nonchalant way Adonis wiped his mouth afterward sent him over the edge. He broke out into laughter, the deep kind that rumbled in his chest.

 He couldn’t stop if he wanted to, and he did want to when Adonis whipped his head around and gave him a wide-eyed stare like a cat, but he couldn’t help it. It was just too funny. 

 He was doubled over, clutching his stomach when Adonis sheepishly lowered his fishing rod and furrowed his brow in confusion, like he couldn’t possibly fathom why Sebastian was laughing. 

   That did not help and sent him into another bout of laughter. He quickly waved a hand at Adonis, not wanting him to feel bad, but his giggles didn’t subside. They wouldn’t either as he nodded at the confused farmer once more and spun on his heel. 

 He walked across the entire beach trying to calm himself, realizing he really hadn’t laughed that hard in a while. It wasn’t malicious of course, just.. something about the farmer was so peculiar. It made him smile. He hasn’t even spoken two words to the man and he’s already starting to feel a little fond of him. 

  YECH! NO! What am I even thinking? Is this how he got everyone talking about him? For being a complete weirdo? 

 Okay, no. That’s harsh. He’s not a weirdo, per say, just different from the people everyone is used to in the valley. There’s nothing wrong with that, even if he does prefer his seaweed to be extremely fresh. 

 Sebastian’s chest heaves with a final chuckle as he makes his way to the bridge from the beach. He looks over his shoulder once more and Adonis is turned back towards the ocean, fishing rod firm in his grip. 

 He hopes he didn’t make Adonis feel bad, that wasn’t his intention. It was just so… unexpected it couldn’t be helped. Maybe he’d have to apologize to him or something. That is, if the man ever talks to him. 

 On his way home he forgets his previous mission to be stoic in the pouring rain while gazing at the ocean in a depressive thought-filled stupor. He doesn’t think about how he usually comes back from his ocean hours feeling more hopeless than when he arrived. 

 He only thinks of eels and fishy overalls, with a lighter feeling in his chest he definitely doesn’t notice. 

Chapter Text

   With summer quickly approaching, Sebastian finds himself spending more time at the lake. He knows it soon will be sweltering, and tries to make the most of it before the stickiness of hot air encroaches the valley. 

  He takes a drag from his cigarette as he sits on a large rock facing the lake. The water softly laps against the shoreline while the gentle sounds of bird song fill the gaps of silence. 

 Sebastian hears the sound of footsteps on the earth coming up from the trail, and assumes it’s Demetrius coming back from the cindersap forest. He went off this morning to collect some foragables and would most likely be back by now. 

 Not wanting to hear any off-handed comments about his nicotine usage, he puts out his cigarette on the rock and slips the butt into his pocket. He’s content to ignore him until he gets inside. 

 Yet, when the footsteps don’t head to the front door and instead divie off the path towards him, he groans. 

 “Demetrius, I really don’t want to hear it to- Oh- oh.” Sebastian starts turning his head to shoo Demetrius away when his eyes focus on legs way too long he stops. 

 Since he’s crouched down on the rock, his eyes have to travel up their body. Legs that seem to go on for days clothed in tight black pants, a firm chest behind a thin, loose white dress shirt with a collar that hangs too low, sharp collar bones leading to a thin neck with a strong adam’s apple, flowing lilac hair that cascades down to below their hips, and light brown eyes looking down at him expectantly. 

 His face suddenly feels too hot. 

 “Hi, Um,” Adonis speaks quietly, “You’re Sebastian, right?” 

 Sebastian just stares at him, blankly, like he’s trying to wrap his head around Adonis standing there in front of him. 

 Adonis’ face falls a bit, and looks like he’s about to run away. Sebastian quickly gasps and stands up, wiping his clammy hands on his thighs. 

 “Yes.” Sebastian utters, still staring, “That is me.” 

  Oh god, what a lame answer. Why don’t you ask his name, like a normal person? Even though you already know it, it’s polite. 

 “Ah, Well, I just wanted to apologize…” Adonis looks away from him as he holds out his hand. He’s holding two cups of coffee in to-go lids, Sebastian is surprised he didn’t notice before. 

 “Oh! Thank you.” Sebastian takes one from him with a small smile. 

Okay, seriously why are you being so awkward? He's literally just a farmer. 

 Sebastian stands there quietly for a moment, meeting Adonis’ eyes for the first time in this interaction. Wow, they’re a lot more colorful this close up. Instead of just a light brown like he thought, they’re almost an amber orange with gold specks and bright rings around the edge of his iris. He’s never seen anyone with eyes like those. They’re a little easy to get lost in. 

  What?  

 Adonis grins with a small nod and seems like he’s about to step away when Sebastian reaches out to grab the loose sleeve of his shirt. 

 “Uh-! Sorry-“ Sebastian drops his hand like it’s been burned, “What are you apologizing for?” 

 “For disturbing you the other day, I didn’t mean to.” Adonis looked surprised that Sebastian stopped him, his eyebrows lifting.

  Oh, his voice. 

  Sebastian didn’t expect him to sound like that, well he didn’t expect him to sound like anything, but not like that. His voice was deep, but gentle and soft. He seemed to have a slight accent he couldn’t place but the way the words rolled out of his lips nearly made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 

  What? Stop that. Just fucking talk to him. 

  “When did you…” Sebastian rubs his chin, “Oh, do you mean the other night… here?” 

 Adonis nods.

 “Oh! You really didn’t disturb me. I was just surprised to see someone out that late, is all.” Sebastian blanches, waving his free hand in dismissal. 

 “I was surprised that someone here enjoyed nature’s delicacy.” 

 “Oh, yeah, right.” Sebastian’s cheeks flood with color. Well, he’s definitely not a narc, no narc would call it that, but he remembered. He hopes he won’t joke or let anyone else know. 

 “Hey, I don’t judge.” Adonis says as if he noticed Sebastian’s distress. 

 “Okay, I just don’t want people knowing, yknow.” Sebastian knows he must be some shade of red by now, he tries to hide his face by taking a sip of coffee. 

it’s actually really good. 

 “Yeah, I understand. My Mama would get fiesty with me for smelling like it every time I would visit her.” Adonis cracked a small smile, the corners of his lips curling up. 

 Oh, he partakes! The little goblin in Sebastian’s head does a little jig. No one else in the valley is interested, he knows what the old heads say about the devils lettuce. Although Caroline has alluded to her younger days being filled with unconventional fun, she mostly keeps to tea now. Sebastian doesn’t dare ask what she means when she says the little white man with a monkey tail dances for her. 

  While Sam prefers getting blackout drunk and Abi said it just wasn’t for her. He respects that, but oh, he’s yearned for someone to share his premium packs with. To him, smoking is something that sometimes feels better with a friend. It’s easier for him to let go and really laugh. He hasn’t had that in a while. 

 “Do you want to smoke with me sometime?” Sebastian’s lips move faster than his brain and he shuts his mouth tightly. He didn’t mean to let that thought slip, but he did. 

Adonis’ face seems to brighten up. 

 “Really? Okay. That would be nice.” Adonis flashes another smile, this one large and shows his sharp canines. Sebastian thinks he has nice teeth. 

 “Mhm, yeah. I’m mostly always here because of my work. Just uh, let me know when.” Sebastian mimics him with a smile of his own. 

 “Okay, that sounds good.” Adonis says, taking a sip of his own coffee. 

 They both stand in a comfortable silence for a small moment, just looking at each other. Sebastian takes this time to really soak up Adonis’ frame. He’s got at least eight inches on his height, Sebastian has to look up to meet his eyes. His chest is much broader than Sebastian’s own, and he was right when he assumed Adonis’ hips would be nearly at Sebastian’s belly-button. 

  His legs were so slender, yet he could tell they were pure muscle. The slim length of them made him look like he walked on stilts. 

  And his hands.. 

  The fingers curled around his coffee cup are long and spindly, his hand completely dwarfs the cup. 

  God, what did his parents feed him? 

 “How’d you know I like coffee anyways?” Sebastian asks in a nonchalant way, even though he did not feel that way. 

 “Ha, uh, I might’ve asked Sam.” Adonis looks down at his feet. Is he embarrassed?

 “That’s nice of you. Thank you, again.”

Sebastian can’t hide his grin. He asked Sam what he liked? He had to have put thought into it. 

 “Of course.” Adonis met his eyes once more, albeit not for long. Maybe he had trouble holding eye contact like Sebastian does himself. 

 “I should go tend to my hens, It was nice talking with you, Sebastian.” Adonis grinned once more before turning towards the old beaten path to the farm. 

Seems like it’s got someone to liven it up again. 

 “Okay, see you around, Adonis!” Sebastian calls after him, not missing the way his head turns back with an almost awe-like expression on his face. 

 Could it be that he's shocked Sebastian knows his name? He shouldn’t be, with how everyone talks about him. 

 They share a quick wave and Adonis is gone behind the bush. 

 Two things Sebastian does when he’s out of ear shot. 

 One, pump his fist in the air like he’s one the lottery, and two spill hot coffee on his chest from said action. 

 “Ow, what the fuck- Okay.” Sebastian fills with embarrassment and shrivels in on himself. He just stares off thinking about why he’s even acting like this. 

 His heart is beating a little fast. Huh. 

  Why is that? Maybe he’s a bit nervous talking to Adonis, he doesn’t really know why. It must be his height, it’s unnerving to anyone when someone is staggering over them, right? 

 He didn’t feel nervous laughing in his face though. Shit. He forgot to apologize for that. He wasn’t laughing at him, just..

  Maybe he was laughing at him. It wasn’t in a bad way, Adonis is just a little comical without trying to be. It’s hilarious to see anyone chow down on raw seaweed out of nowhere, especially a 6 foot five man in a church hat. 

 Yeah, he’s gonna have to apologize. He must seem like such an asshole. Just laughing at him and running away. Then, he accepts his apology coffee when he’s the one who should be apologizing! 

 He shakes his head. Adonis seems like a nice guy. He’s starting to understand why everyone in the town likes him so much. It does feel nice to receive a gift from him. He even asked Sam about what he liked so it wouldn’t just be something he wasn’t interested in. 

 Adonis is very thoughtful. 

 He’ll apologize the very next time he sees him. 

꩜

   It turns out, the very next time he sees him he doesn’t apologize. 

 It’s the second day of summer and it’s already boiling. It’s like the season’s change on the dot in the valley, with the cherry blossomed cool air in spring morphing into the scorching fumes of summer. 

 He forgoes his everyday zip-up for a plain white short sleeved shirt. He wouldn’t dare wear shorts unless at the beach, so he picks out his normal black jeans. 

  Sebastian has plans to meet up with Sam today and try out some new skateboard tricks. Well, mainly Sam will be doing the tricks, Sebastian will sit on the grass giving his critics. 

 It’s been a couple days since he’s seen Adonis. He’s been wondering when he’s going to turn up, after seeing him nearly every day it almost felt weird not to.

 He hopes his invitation to smoke with him didn’t scare him off. Maybe Adonis just said that stuff about his Mom to make him feel better for being a stoner. Ugh. 

 Sebastian waves to Maru and says goodbye to his Mom before heading out the front door. The trek to Sam’s house was brisk but still made him break a small sweat. 

 Summer’s just started and he can’t wait for it to be over. 

 He notices Sam’s head of blonde spiky locks before Sam sees him. He’s balancing on one foot on his board with the other on the tip as Sebastian runs over to promptly shove him off. Sam flops onto the cobblestone path and just stares at him dejectedly.

 “Man, fuck you.” Sam barks with a devious expression as Sebastian helps him up with one hand. The moment he’s on to feet he wallops Sebastian hard in the arm. His punch packs a sting. 

 “Oh har, har, Sam. Your wimpy arms don’t hurt me.” He lies through his teeth. If it was a battle of strength, Sam had it on him. However, he was certain his strategy was better than his big oaf of a best friend. 

 “Okay, Bambi.” Sam shrugs, wiping off the strands of grass clinging to the butt of his pants. 

 “YOU- shut up.” Sebastian says, crossing his arms. In middle school, when Sebastian hit his growth spurt, his arms and legs seemed too long and gangly for his body, paired with his big deep brown eyes, he sort of looked like Bambi. 

  And when his English teacher lovingly compared him to the book character, it stuck. Bambi became his nickname for nearly THREE grades. Sam most of all wouldn’t put it to rest after a decade. 

 He’s pulling his arm back to let him have it when he hears a distant whooping. It sounds like multiple older women hollering. 

 “What is that?” Sebastian lets his arm fall by his side, distracted.  

 “Dunno, maybe that spicy romance author from ZuZu is doing another book signing, remember how your mom acted meeting him?” Sam coos, making kissy faces and exaggerated whimpers. 

 “Ew- Stop. You’re so weird.” Sebastian decides it might be a good time to hit him again when he hears it. 

 “Oh baby! Look at those legs!” Chimes a familiar voice, it must be Haley, because no one else speaks as nasally as she does. She sounds like she’s near the center of the town, from here Emily’s and Haley’s house blocks their view of the main courtyard. She must be close to them though, as her voice carried much clearer than the hoots of the other women. 

 “Oh man, I gotta see this.” Sam grins, starting to walk over when he stops in his tracks. The grinding sound of wheels on the walkway coming from someone else than him makes him pause. 

 He’s prepared to sock Sam in his arm once more when he sees why he stopped.

  In all his tall, lanky glory, Adonis comes swinging around the corner down the same strip of concrete Sam and Sebastian occupy. They quickly step closer to the grass when they see those pitch black roller skates attached firming to his feet. 

  Sebastian wouldn’t be as puzzled if he was just rollerskating, even though he doesn’t think he’s even seen one person roller skate here, but he’s not. 

 He’s roller skating listening to music.  

 Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but Adonis’ is full on dancing to whatever music is in his headphones. It must have a solid bass, because he’s rhythmically swaying his hips to something. He’s impressed by how smooth he’s able to dance and hold his balance on skates. 

 It wouldn’t be a big deal if he wasn’t seeing 90% leg.

 Tiny red shorts. 

Tiny red shorts that will be plastered in his brain. They cling to Adonis’ body, made of cotton that flutters with his movements. There’s full thigh on display and Sebastian’s mouth feels dry. He assumed Adonis must be strong to even hold up that big body of his, but his legs look chiseled out of marble. 

  They aren’t soft at all, the muscles moving underneath his skin are prominent. His veins even show softly each time he braces his weight on either leg. His calves were defined to the point he could see each cleft of muscle. 

 “I bet he could kick someone down like a horse- What?” Sam mumbles, seemingly in the same trance as he is. 

 “What?” 

 “Nothing.”

 It must’ve been a couple seconds that slowed down to minutes but Adonis skates by them soon enough. His long hair is down today, it whips  in the wind around him as he pushes off with his left leg to get more speed.

 He’s wearing those clunky sunglasses Abigail must’ve been talking about and a gray tank top. Certainly dressed for this heat. 

 “Hi, Sebastian! Hi, Sam!” Adonis chirps as he skates by them, giving them a cheerful wave and then focusing back on his dance slash skate combo towards Marnie’s farm. 

 He looks so out of place in this valley with his bright clothes and quirky attitude. The way he skates the transition of concrete to dirt is impeccable, and before he can even close his mouth Adonis is out of view. 

 “He’s so cool. How did he even do that? Roller skate on dirt? Is he human? Sebby, did you see how he waved to us? He didn’t lose his balance once dancing! And those shorts-“ Sam excitedly rattles on, moving his hands around animatedly. 

 Sebastian tries to focus on shutting his gaping mouth and once he does he has to blink several times. 

 “Was that man just wearing booty shorts?” He utters, quietly. 

 “Mhm. I loved every bit of it, yes uh huh.” Sam nods affirmatively, hands on his hips. 

 “What, are you in love with him?” Sebastian bites, unsure where the bitterness on his tongue came from. 

 “No! God, no. He’s just a funny dude. Funky little dude. Skating around in booty shorts.” Sam sighs with a big dopey smile, like he’s thinking back on something. 

 “Have you guys been hanging out?” Sebastian asks a little too quickly. Calm down, you shouldn’t even care. 

 “Yeah, actually. He’s pretty funny. We just sat outside and tried to skateboard. He was a natural. When he said he knew how to skate on blades, I didn’t expect that, though.” Sam explains, grin never dropping from his lips. 

 “Huh. Who would’ve thought.” Sebastian rubs his eyes like what he saw was just his brain playing tricks on him. 

  He has so much leg. 

 “Did you see those little shorts? He could really pull them off.” Caroline’s voice was heard from behind the corner. Soon she and Marnie approached down the same strip of walkway. 

 “I could pull them off him!” Marnie giggles crudely behind her hand,“I’d never, but he sure is a gem to look at! What a handsome young man.” 

 “His hair is very beautiful, I will admit. Who knew a farmer could look like that.” Caroline laughed with a befuddled expression.

   When they noticed Sam and Sebastian they quieted down and shuffled past them with meek glances at the ground. 

 They resumed their chatter once they wouldn’t be heard clearly. Sebastian was sure he heard some mention of “gams” and he was fine with not hearing any more. 

 “Dude. Seriously. I think this town has gone crazy since he got here.” 

 “Yeah, what if he’s putting pheromones in the water for everyone to love him or something.” Sam tilts his head, like he was genuinely considering the thought.

 “Don’t be crazy. He’s just new, once everyone is used to him it’ll be like the same old same old.” Sebastian claps him on the back. 

 “I don’t know, man.”

 “Okay, I’ll ask him if he’s drugging the water with pheromones to make us all horny for him when we smoke.” Sebastian says matter of factly, earning a whine from Sam. “I’ll tell him you were curious.”

 “Hey hey hey- I didn’t say all that!” Sam groans, waving his hands around. “I’m not horny for him, are you?”

 “No! I don’t even swing that way.” 

 “Neither do I, but I can tell who’s a fine ass man when I see one.” Sam licks his lips like a hungry coyote.

 “Okay, we’ll see about that.” 

 “Yeah. And smoking? You’re going to smoke with him? When did that happen.” Sam questions, suddenly his gaze is too much on Sebastian and he looks away. 

 “Oh- yeah. Well, he caught me at the lake late one night.. and uh, he came by to apologize for spooking me with a coffee.”

 “Aw, I told him you liked coffee.” 

 “Yeah, and I asked him if he wanted to smoke with me sometime.” 

 “What did he say!?” Sam clammered closer like an excited pre-teen girl.

 “He said that would be nice.”

 “AOooooOH! Sebby making moves!” Sam shrieks impossibly loud, throwing an arm around Sebastian.

 “It’s not like that! Get off me, you buffoon.” Sebastian shakes his arm off and groans. “And keep your voice down!”

 “I know, I’m happy you’re making a friend. Real shit, I felt like Adonis would get along great with you.” Sam says, his voice sincere and gentle, a stark contrast to his previous cheesy hollering. 

 “Okay, okay. Yeah. He hasn’t come around, though, maybe he’s not interested.” Sebastian’s shoulders slump a bit, Sam frowns when he notices. 

 “Nah, he’s just got a lot of farm stuff to do. I think today’s the first time he’s been off his farm. Summer is a busy time for farmers.”  

 “Yeah, you’re right.” Sebastian lifts his head a little higher. 

 “Wanna watch me bomb this hill?”

 “Hell yeah.”

Chapter Text

The next day it’s 8pm, Sebastian works diligently at his computer. His eyes sting each time he blinks. 

  He can’t hear much beyond his basement walls, it’s nearly soundproof, but the heavy thud of the front door vibrates familiarly. 

 Sebastian ignores it in favor of continuing to draft out an email for an important client. He can’t ignore the knock at his door, although it is gentle. 

 He swivels his chair before standing, stretching out his arms and dropping them unceremoniously. He steps up the small set of stairs towards the door, and cracks it open. 

 The expanse of bare chest immediately floods his vision. 

 Well, it’s not completely bare. A loose-fitted cerulean long sleeve with a neckline that dips dangerously low. What is that material… it’s partially see-through? 

 What is it with this man and his funky clothes?

   Adonis stands tall in his doorway, even though his shoulders are hunched in on himself. He seems a bit nervous, brushing a long strand of his curtain bangs behind his ear before he speaks.

 Ooh. Two braids! That’s new. 

  “I hope I’m not bothering you, Sebastian. May I speak to you?” 

  Sebastian nods and swings open his door, watching Adonis as he walks into his room, shutting the door behind him.  

  Adonis stills in the middle of it, eyes flitting around the room. He focuses on the computer for a moment, then Sebastian’s many posters, and his strange vase. He smiles, albeit it’s shy. 

 Sebastian feels a wave of anxiety slither down his neck. He shakes his shoulders out and makes a sound from the back of his throat. 

  Adonis won’t judge my room decor, why would that even matter? 

“Ms. Robin, let me in. Am I intruding?” Adonis chimes, like he’s worried Sebastian will think he just broke in. No. He already knows just how much his mother adores Adonis. 

  “You don’t have to call her Ms. Robin, y’know.” Sebastian hides a laugh behind his hand, pushing that awkward feeling away. Most times if someone wanted to talk in the middle of his work, he would kindly shoo them away. If they persisted he would unkindly shoo them away. He didn’t know why it felt different for Adonis. 

 The email could wait.

 “And no, you aren’t intruding.”

 “Oh. I see.” Adonis timidly plays with his hands, avoiding his eyes and looking down. 

 At his pants? Maybe? 

 Sebastian’s still in his red plaid pajama pants and a wrinkled black sleep tee that’s on it’s second wear after a wash.

 He gets that sickly feeling in his stomach again, like the time he first saw Adonis glow. Which, he still hasn’t gotten quite over, but that’s another issue. 

 He touches the back of his hand to his cheek, red hot embarrassment. 

 “Ah, are you okay?” Adonis uncurls on himself like a switch has been flipped and he’s at Sebastian’s side instead of 5 feet away in the center of his room. 

 He puts a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, just for a moment before pulling away.

 “Sorry, your face is colored like you’d be ill.” Adonis’ eyebrows crook upwards in worry. 

 “No-no. Oof, no. I-“ Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, it’s tossled around and unbrushed, “I just feel a little embarrassed about my clothes.”

 Adonis cocks his head like he’s confused, his large pupils dilated in the dim yellow light of the basement. When did he become so cat-like? 

 “Like, you’re wearing that, and I’m dressed like… this” Why is he talking so much? Sebastian wants to kick himself in the shin, what is it that’s making him blab his thoughts so carelessly.

 “What I’m wearing? No.” Adonis frowns deeply, looking genuinely concerned, “I was admiring your pants. They look soft.” 

  Sebastian sucks in his cheeks and stills. His pants? The ratty plush ones he got from his aunt five years ago, that are somehow still too big? Laughable. 

 Adonis has on his little blue scarf thing he calls a shirt, and tight dark denim jeans that flare out at the base. He’s got these dangly and quite sparkly gold earrings dancing from his ears and a matching necklace.

 This farmer knows how to accessorize, and he likes his pants? 

Sebastian laughs, of course he does. 

 “Soft?”

 “Mhm, the material.”

  “Ha, Thanks.” Sebastian doesn’t understand why he’s having trouble accepting a compliment from him.

  “I don’t usually get to wear those types of clothes.” He looks up and down Sebastian’s body. His eyes are so large, even when they soften looking at him. When he blinks his thick eyelashes lay delicately on his cheeks.

   His body suddenly feels hot, and he’s sure he resembles a certain vegetable… or fruit… whatever Demetrius says. 

 Okay. Stop staring and say something. 

  “Why’s that?”

  “Farm too much.”

  “What about when you sleep?”

  “I like to sleep nude.” 

  “Oh.” Sebastian feels himself sink deeper into his computer chair. Shutting his eyes for longer than necessary.

  “Sorry, should I not have said?” Adonis suddenly looks smaller, standing in the middle of his room. His tan cheeks flush a deep rose. 

 “HA, nah MAN! anything is chill between bros!” Sebastian sits up straight, back like a board, not wanting to have Adonis feel uncomfortable, “I do it too! It gets hot down here in the summer!”

  Oh god, shut up. You sound like a tool, a mega tool. Like Sam. Sebastian wants to stick a fork in his eye. 

  “Ah, good. Okay.” Adonis shuffles his weight, uncurling his back and straightening his shoulders. Sebastian wonders if he ever gets self-conscious being so tall and broad like that. He knows he himself gets like that over his short king complex. 

 Well, he probably feels self conscious standing blankly in the middle of the rug with his hands folded together. 

 “Oh, hey, why don’t you sit down? My bed’s nice.” Sebastian patted the bed next to him. He had his work set up directly to the right of his bed that was pushed against the wall so he could purposely flop over into it after he finished. 

 It also means he’ll get to be real close to Adonis if he sits there. His legs probably would fall off the bed if he sat sideways, with his back to the wall. 

 And that’s exactly what happens. Adonis climbs onto his bed, the all black bedding ruffling as he slides his legs down, his calves hanging off the bed and close to Sebastian’s thighs. He crosses them at the his ankles. 

 “So, we are bros?” Adonis asks, with his far-away accent and a small grin on his lips. 

  “Yeah! If you want to be.” Sebastian doesn’t realize he’s smiling back until he closes his mouth. He swivels his chair so it’s facing Adonis more head-on. He doesn’t miss the way his eyes light up. 

 “I would like to be, yes.” Adonis seems to relax more, his shoulders slumping down. “That is why I came to see you.”

  “Really?” Sebastian says a bit too enthusiastically, didn't he just have a weird grudge against this man for no reason? 

  “Yes. I have something for you, Sebastian.” Adonis reaches into his bag which he removed from his back. After fishing out an object he lays it gently next to Sebastian’s bedside table. 

 God, why does he have to pronounce Sebastian’s name like it’s being drizzled with chocolate and drowned in honey.

  “Ah man, you shouldn’t have.” Sebastian looks up at the ceiling for strength and then meets Adonis’ swirling amber eyes with gusto. 

 “Well, I saw this… and I thought you would like it.” Adonis sheepishly  un-cupped his hands, a small tear-dropped crystal was held delicately in his palms. 

  “I.. Woah, I didn’t-“ Sebastian stares in awe at it’s slight blue glow, “I didn’t know these actually existed, I thought it was a myth.” 

 Adonis reaches out to grab Sebastian’s hand, placing the crystal in his. For the brief moment their hands touch, Sebastian marvels at the warmth, A drastic change from his own cold fingers.

 “I really love this, Thank you.” Sebastian can’t help the big smile that forms as he looks back up at him. A matching one on Adonis’ lips is all his reply. 

 “I heard you have to go deep in the mines to even have a chance at finding this… how often do you go down there?” Sebastian asks with genuine curiosity, slipping the crystal on his nightstand. 

 “Often. You caught me on one of my late night runs.” 

 “AhhahHA. Yeah. That. Speaking of.. do you want to, maybe?” Sebastian blanches at the nerve-wracking memory, switching the topic quickly. 

 “Want to…” Adonis settled back into his comfortable position, head slightly resting against the wall, his neck bearing more tan skin. Sebastian did not even spare a glance.

 “Y’know…?” 

 “My apologies, I am not following.” Adonis looked at him with those big moony eyes once more. 

 “You know, the ganja, grass, tree, funky skunky?” Sebastian stammered only to be met with the same blank stare. 

 “Uh.. wanna smoke weed?” 

  “Yes, of course, I’m just playing with you.” Adonis broke out into a laugh, another signature catlike grin on his lips. 

 “Man.. you are something.” Sebastian couldn’t help the small laugh either as he turned his chair slightly to reach into his bedside drawer, shielding it’s contents from his guest with his body. 

 They were becoming friends, yes, but not to that level. Honestly, he doesn’t think he’d ever let even his closest friends privy on his drawer details. 

  He pulled out a small tray, a grinder, and a mason jar packed to the brim with fresh bud, and last year's snow festival gift he got personally from Sam. He hasn’t used them much, but he figured it was the perfect time. 

 “Are those purple joint papers?” Adonis asked the obvious, clasping his hands together in excitement. 

 “Mhm, they match your hair don’t they?” Sebastian teased coyly. 

 “Almost perfectly.” Adonis was beaming. He pulled on the ends of a thick section of his bangs, flitting his fingers through the long lavender locks. 

 Sebastian was starting to see why everyone liked the farmer so much. He just seemed to radiate happiness. 

 “I was hoping you’d want to.. it’s been a while for me. I was thinking of dedicating a patch of the farm for it, but I’ve never grown it before.” Adonis kept his hair twisted between his fingers, Sebastian was almost in a trance with how soft and silky the strands look. 

  “I could help you!” Sebastian blurted before he could stop himself, nearly cupping a hand over his mouth in shock. 

 “Oh, yes? Really? That would be so kind of you. Thank you, Sebastian.” Adonis all but squealed, his smile growing impossibly brighter. 

 “Yeah! I’ve had lots of practice before, I’m sure it would be great!” Sebastian’s mouth kept running. What was he even talking about? He had no grow experience, besides that dinky flower that barely grew in the closet.

  He had janky purple lights and definitely not enough humidity, it’s no wonder that it crapped out before a bud even formed.

 He looked between Adonis’ smile and his own hands, what did he get himself into. There was no talking himself out of this one. He’ll just have to worry about it later. 

 “You are too good, Sebastian.” Adonis nearly cooed in that unique voice of his. It made Sebastian want to lean back so far that his chair would topple over him.

 “Thank you, let me roll this right quick.” Sebastian ducked his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs as he crouched over the tray, not wanting to spill a single crumb. 

 It wasn’t like he was using that opportunity to let the heat on his face fade. No. Not at all.

 He had to lift up his head to lick the paper, and he was surprised to see caramel eyes staring back at him. 

 How long was Adonis just watching him? He must be bored. 

 “Ah, sorry, am I taking too long?”

 “No. It’s okay, nice view.” 

 “Hahha…” Sebastian felt a shiver down his spine, and reacted to it by jolting a bit. Adonis bit his bottom lip between his teeth, hiding some smug expression. 

  Holy fuck- Was he flirting with him? Adonis, flirting, with him? His palms suddenly feel sweaty, tongue swollen in his mouth. He’s just playing, he was definitely capable of teasing, so good it’s hard to tell if he’s actually joking or not. Sebastian figures he’ll get used to it—eventually, if they make this a recurring thing.. whatever this is.

   He’s looking forward to it.

 Something about this man, his vibes are too good. He has no idea why he was so wary of him in the first place, even if he is a little quirky. However, he’s also devastatingly attractive, you don’t have to be gay to see it, and paired with that ‘nice view’ comment in that velvety voice…

  Sebastian decidedly needs a second to recompose himself before finishing rolling, deciding to play some music to calm his thrumming thoughts. 

 Oh. Would Adonis like his music taste? He doesn’t care, why would he care what the farmer thinks about his music. He wouldn’t play anything normally, too aware of someone new judging him for anything, even music— but Adonis doesn’t seem like the type to judge. 

 He set the tray aside for a moment to step over to his record player, placing one of his favorite Pink Floyd albums on the set, lifting the needle and delicately placing it back down onto the record. 

 The start of Echoes floods the room.

 He has to fight his grin when he notices Adonis bobbing his head slightly to the song… of course he wouldn’t judge.

 He settles back down, this time choosing to sit on the bed next to Adonis, mirroring him by placing his back against the wall, but closer to the pillows, tray now secure on his lap. 

 He looks down at their legs for a moment, he can’t help but compare them. Sebastian’s feet barely graze the edge of the full size bed but Adonis’ feet are hanging off, crooked together. He can’t get over just how long he is. It makes him feel smaller than he already is. 

 Nah, Sebastian is not small. 

 He shakes his head, throwing out the thought. Instead, he thinks about how Adonis automatically took his flats off at his door to be respectful and how colorful his socks are— are those frogs sitting on top of chubby cats? That’s kind of cute…

 Suddenly, he doesn’t feel too embarrassed about his Minecraft creeper socks. 

 “I like your room decor.” Adonis says, eyes dancing around the room, scanning over the ‘decor’.

 “Decorations…” Sebastian tears his gaze away from Adonis’ legs, a little fuzzy on what he just said- oh!- “Yeah… Thanks,” God, now he’s embarrassed about his room all of a sudden, “I’ve been sticking posters on the walls for years, I guess it’s kinda cluttered…” 

 “No, it’s endearing, is that Kermit? I love the Kermit!” Adonis sounds so cheerful, just so happy to be here, it stuns Sebastian for a moment and.. did he just pronounce it like ‘Ser-mit’? That’s.. 

 And he’s laughing again, another one deep from his chest, this seems to be a recurring thing that happens around Adonis and he doesn’t know how to feel about it— Oh no, he’s laughing at him again and- why did his face just fall like that no-no-you’retoocuteforthat— 

  “I am SO sorry-“ Sebastian is trying to calm down his wheezing but to no use, it’s more anxious laughter at this point but Adonis suddenly looks so shrunk in on himself he has to get it together. “You- I just- the other day, when I saw you on the pier I was laughing because it shocked me. You didn’t do anything wrong, I wanted to tell you that before but it slipped my mind.”

 “What shocked you? Did my eel electrocute you?” Adonis’ voice is soft now, eyes trained on Sebastian’s so well he can’t hold his gaze. 

 “No, the seaweed,” Sebastian busies himself with rolling, folding up the filter and tucking the purple paper around it into a cone with shaky hands, “The way you…” 

 He looks up to see Adonis’ eyes still on him and it’s like the breath is punched out of his chest. His eyebrows are furrowed together like he’s confused and he must not understand it’s very, very rare to see someone swallow down a piece of raw seaweed fresh from the ocean— let alone four pieces. He doesn’t quite understand how, isn’t Adonis supposed to be from the city? 

 But, who is Sebastian to judge him? He won’t let him know that’s different because what exactly is different? Sebastian hates most people, so who cares what the general population thinks. 

 He doesn’t think Adonis is weird. That was pure living of the land if he’s ever seen it, or living off the ocean- whatever. If Adonis is going full farmer, who is Sebastian to stop him? 

 “Have you ever had Sashimi?” Sebastian changes the subject tackfully, a small grin pulling on his lips when Adonis’ eyes seem to sparkle for a moment. 

 “Yes!” He all but shouts, a stark contrast from his previous confused and subdued behavior, “I actually make it almost everyday!” 

 “Oh word?” Sebastian takes a moment to lick the paper near the filter, sealing it closed so it won’t fall out, “It’s one of my favorites, you should let me come over and try it sometime.” 

  Woahnelly— where did that come from? Sebastian has no idea where these bold ideas come from, and why his brain thinks it’s okay to speak for him when talking to Adonis. Did he seriously just invite himself over to the farm for the second time this night? He barely knows the guy— calm down. 

 “Oh, I’d love for you to try some.” Adonis smiles again, his lips a pretty rouge color, does he wear make up? No… he’s a farmer… 

 “Sweet.” Sebastian wants to shove his own foot into his mouth, maybe then he’ll finally shut up. Instead, he licks a long stripe down the paper, and really, it wasn’t intentional, but he just so happened to keep his gaze trained on the man next to him and.. 

 He must be imagining it, but Adonis’ eyes seem to follow the action of his tongue gliding along it. 

 Sebastian’s tongue darts back into his mouth and he swallows thickly, eyes snapping back down to his work, sealing the cone up and waving it lightly through the air so it will dry. All the while he can feel two eyes boring into the side of his head. 

 Now, his mouth feels so, so dry. 

 “Do you usually smoke in here?” Adonis breaks the moment of silence, he mustn’t have realized where he was looking and even if he was— that wasn’t weird— Sebastian was the one making it weird, why does he keep thinking like that.

 “Ah, yeah, all the time.” He lies. He does not. He very, very rarely does, it’s his Mom’s house after all, and when he does it’s usually out of a bong so the smell is at least a little more dampened— but- hell if he tells Adonis that- no! He is a super cool twenty-three year old who can smoke anything and anytime he wants in his mom’s basement! 

 God, he wants to move out so badly. 

 “That is very cool.” Adonis curls his legs close to himself, shifting his weight so he’s angled more towards Sebastian and less towards the wall, he must be getting comfortable. Comfortable on Sebastian’s bed… justbenormaljustbenormal.

 Why would he care about a man on his bed anyways? Sam comes over all the time and he’s not hyper analyzing all his movements. 

 “Ha, just.. let’s keep this between us, yeah?” Sebastian starts packing the joint, thanking his past-self for surprising him with leaving some already prepared in the bottom of his grinder.

 “No problem.” Adonis gives him a little nod and a wink. A wink! Phew, this is gonna be hard. Is he normally this flirty? Does he understand the effect his teasing has on people?

 “Mm,” Sebastian grins, holding his finished product up proudly, “What do you think?” 

 Adonis’ eyes get wide for a moment, but they seem to focus past the joint, Sebastian can’t tell, “Perfect.”

 “Why thank you, kind Sir, why don’t we light this?” Sebastian thinks longingly about his foot in his mouth again, cursing internally at himself. ‘Kind Sir,’ really?

 “Here.” Adonis pulls something out of his pocket and Sebastian’s honestly surprised that he could fit anything in the pockets of those tight jeans. 

 He hands over a blue lighter, but it’s not just the classic blue, it has rhinestones all over it. 

 “Of course you’d have one like this.” Sebastian laughs, and he didn’t mean to say it, but he did, regretting it terribly so when Adonis’ demeanor changes. 

 “What does that mean?” Adonis seems to stiffen up entirely, eyes narrowing on Sebastian’s frame so intently he’s worried lasers will shoot out of them and vaporize him instantly. 

  “Nothing bad, just a comment on how luxurious you dress.” Sebastian pauses while taking the lighter from his open palm, hand resting lightly on top of Adonis’. In a normal circumstance, he’d probably notice and have another mini freak out about how warm his hands are, but he’s too deathly afraid of offending him. 

 C’mon Sebastian, can’t go five minutes without accidentally sounding like a homophobe? 

 “Luxurious!” Adonis’ jaw nearly dropped, eyes shifting between Sebastian’s. Sebastian almost felt paralyzed under them, “Luxurious? I sew 90% of my clothes.” He finishes, less offended than when he thought Sebastian was being homophobic but still upset. He was an earth-conscious farmer! He would never. 

 “That’s not what I…” Sebastian looks down at their hands and plucks the lighter out of his palm quickly, “Like, you dress good when you can. I guess a better word is fashionable- I don’t know-“

 As if the gears finally turned in Adonis’ head his face slowly shifts from one of confusion and slight offense to one of… realization…? glee…? No, that’s a smirk, oh why are his eyebrows raising like that. 

 “Do you like how I dress?” In that voice. 

  Sebastian is going to go mad, and he can’t even blame it on the weed, they haven’t even lit it yet, the lighter busy being flipped through his hand subconsciously. 

  “I mean… Yeah.” Sebastian can’t help but glance down at his outfit, his necklaces rest daintily against his collarbones. Eyes flicking lower, Adonis’ shirt is so loose and hanging so low, His room is so dark, it’s hard to tell, but he still wants to know if it’s partially see-through. “I personally wouldn’t wear your style, but I like it on you.” The too honest confession gobsmacks him and he immediately follows his answer with lighting the joint. 

 Something needs to occupy his mouth if he’s going to keep talking this nonsense. 

“Well, I apologize for misunderstanding… I feel the same way about you.” Adonis is back to his regular self, exuding charm and warmth. He finishes speaking to reach out and tug on the knee of Sebastian’s plaid pajama pants, making him nearly choke and cough out his first inhale. 

  And that phrasing, feel the same way— Sebastian didn’t like how hot his ears felt, he knows rationally Adonis is literally just referring to his soft pants but that phrase. It’s like everything about this man sets him on edge, the hairs on the back of his neck standing, he can’t tell if he likes it yet. 

 “You say that, but I haven’t taken this shirt off in two days.” Sebastian casually remarks and then nearly drops the joint as he passes it to Adonis. Oh yeah, that was so smooth, admit you’re a stinky boy who stays inside all day in stinky boy clothes. 

 “Hm,” Adonis smiles at his clambering, pausing to take a hit and speaking again with the smoke held in his lungs, voice a little strained in that tone only smokers know, “It’s okay, ‘is just seasoned.” He blows out the smoke with a laugh.

 “You did not just say my shirt is seasoned. Oh my god.” Sebastian claps a hand over his mouth, staring at the man next to him in awe. Everything he says either creates or abolishes an assumption he made about him, maybe he should stop with those.

 “What! Can I not be funny? It’s not like you smell bad!” Adonis tilts his head, lips wavering with held back laughter and Sebastian can’t help but laugh too. 

 “You can be funny.” Sebastian grins, having to tear his eyes away from him because he feels like he is looking at Adonis too fondly.  

 He instead takes a long drag, closing his eyes to really enjoy it. He knows Demetrius or his Mom- or Maru, would make an offhand snarky and judgmental comment if they smelt the residue of smoke in the morning when he opens his door but, he can’t give a fuck right now. 

  He’s made a new friend, they’re enjoying themselves, plus it’s decriminalized so who really cares! Yadda, yadda it’s their house yadda yadda, whatever, it’s not like he smokes inside often if ever, weed never killed anyone anyways! 

 He exhales, partially through his nose like a bull, he thinks it’s fitting. But god, he rolls his shoulders out, it feels good. With it only being his second hit, he is definitely not high yet, but it’s the point where he finally feels the faintest hint of his muscles relaxing. When he opens his eyes, he finds Adonis’ staring. 

 “Here.” Sebastian hands him the joint, he must’ve been waiting, he didn’t mean to hold onto it for a second, he was just relishing in the wonders of smoking inside. Yet, those eyes still stay focused on him as Adonis silently takes his hit. 

 In the lighting of his room, his eyes look darker, but still have that gold gleam and makes his stomach swirl. 

 Wordlessly, Adonis lifts his hand and Sebastian plucks the joint from his two figures. And when he closes his lips around the filter and inhales once more, Adonis is still staring. 

 It’s insane how trapped under his gaze he feels, he’s never met someone with such enticing and almost.. what.. he’s already said cat-like but that doesn’t feel right right now.. like an apex predator, like a lion. He blows out the smoke.

 Another thing he’s noticed is that Adonis has a goddamn staring problem. Maybe it’s different in the city, but no one else here ever looks at Sebastian the way he does. 

 “How old are you?” Sebastian asks completely, left field. 

 “Twenty-two, why?” Adonis’ corner of his lip quirks up when he’s passed the joint again, taking another puff and passing it back. 

 “Oh,” Sebastian’s eyebrows shoot up, “I’m twenty-three. I was just wondering. That’s pretty young to have your own farm.” 

 Twenty-two. This man looks like that and is younger than him? Who gave him the right. 

 “Hm, I guess so.” Adonis looks to the side for a moment, a little far off before his attention is back on the joint as Sebastian finishes his own turn, “but,” Adonis inhales, “I inherited it, I didn’t start from nothing.” He exhales. 

 That’s the second time he’s spoken while holding a hit, he mustn’t have been just trying to make Sebastian feel better when he said he used to smoke all the time. Huh.

 “Uh, buddy,” Sebastian plucks the joint from his waiting hand with an astonished look, “Don’t sell yourself short. For a couple years when was empty, Me, Sam and Abi would hang around there at night. It was just snarls of grass and a shit-ton of trees.”

 “Okay, true.” Adonis smiles, with a surprised but pleasantly surprised glint in his eyes. 

 “Wait- sorry, We haven’t gone in a long time—“ Did he seriously just admit to trespassing on his now deceased grandfather’s farm with his friends to said grandson who now owns the property, yes, yes he did, “That was bad of us- me— I’m sorr-“

 Adonis laughs, quite loud but that’s not bad at all. Sebastian thinks this is the first time he’s heard him laugh fully, it’s deep and hearty and he kind of likes it? 

 “Oooh, Sebastian,” His broad chest shakes, “I don’t care. Don’t apologize. That’s hilarious, I’m glad someone enjoyed it before me. So what you smoked down there with your friends, I’m happy you had a place to!” 

 Sebastian just stares at him incredulously, the smoke in his mouth pooling out without even being sucked into his lungs. How’d he guess. 

 “Maybe once or twice. But Abigail doesn’t like it and Sam’s a pussy.” 

 Adonis just starts laughing again, hitting Sebastian on the arm playfully. Sebastian finds himself laughing too. 

“I like them. They are so fun.” Adonis says after their laughter subsides and he’s hitting the joint again. They’ve made a decent dent in it, a third burnt off and in the ashtray, and it’s a king-size too! 

 “Me too.” Sebastian says dumbly, of course he likes them, they’re his friends. 

 “Do you think, maybe,” Adonis hands it back to him, “the four of us could hang out together?” 

 “Yeah! I’m sure that would be fine, you could come to one of our saloon nights if you wanted…” Sebastian nods his head a bit too fast for his liking, but with those eyes looking at him like that, so expectantly, he can’t say no. Plus, he’s pretty sure Sam is in love with Adonis and Abi thinks he’s like a model or something so they wouldn’t complain. 

 He doesn’t like the weird displaced jealousy that makes him feel, and also really doesn’t like how can’t exactly tell what or who he’s jealous of anymore. 

 Sebastian takes another long drag.

 “Delightful.” Adonis says when Sebastian exhales and looks at him, those eyes now pointedly trained on his lips. Was he watching him inhale? Again? 

   See, that’s the thing with Adonis, with what he’s noticed from their little meetings so far. This man will watch, and by watch, he means really fucking watch. 

 Maybe it’s all in Sebastian’s head, but he swears those eyes of his are hypnotic. 

 “I’m curious,” He passes it back to the man in question, “What is your day like on the farm?”

 “Don’t get me started,” Adonis rolls his eyes but Sebastian can tell he really enjoys farm life, “I wake up at 6am every morning, I immediately milk my cows and collect my hen’s eggs and refill their wheat. Then, I tend to my crops and— Summer is crazy for crops, I have hot peppers growing out of my ears.”

 They both pause to giggle and take their rotations. The room is starting to get a little foggy, the smoke hanging in the air with the lack of air circulation. 

 “Then—! I make sure my cat, Onion, has his water and feels loved. Next, I have to fish for at least three hours, otherwise money will be tight. It is a bit hard to start with snarls of grass, like you said… then I run around and say Hi to everyone, forage, chop down trees, stuff random food in my mouth so I don’t pass out from exhaustion, and then hit the mines until 1am and run back to the farm like a chicken without a head.” 

 Adonis lets out the breath he was holding with that spiel, Sebastian feels his cheeks start to hurt with how hard he’s grinning. 

 “Your cat’s name is Onion?”

 “Yes.” Adonis stares at him, face serious and tone to match, “because he is stinky. Like onion.”

 “I—“ Sebastian’s smile grows wider, “I love that.” 

 “I love him. Stinky little man… but that’s all you got from my novel long daily routine?!” Adonis’ parental-like fond look wipes off his face as he folds his arms together, only unfolding them to snatch the joint from Sebastian cheekily. 

 If Sebastian was delusional, he would think that Adonis was upset he wasn’t getting praised for his hard work… 

 “No, seriously, that does sound like a lot of hard work. You must get tired with a schedule like that.” Sebastian runs a hand through his hair, his knee knocking against Adonis’ when his weight shifts. He didn’t realize they were sitting that close together now, they started with at least two feet between them.

 “Tell me about it.” Adonis looks away as he exhales a deep hit, blowing the smoke out with a sigh. Seems like he really needed this.

 “Could you imagine me living on a farm? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?” Sebastian laughs, knowing damn well he’d die from that much physical exertion. Yes, he works on his motorcycle, but that’s about it. 

 “Hey, you never know…” Adonis hands him the joint once more, Sebastian is momentarily shocked to see its nearly down to the filter, “You could enjoy it, that’s what I thought until I moved here.” 

 “Hm...” Sebastian thinks for a moment, taking his hit and handing it back to Adonis. Him, on a farm… waking up to sunshine and fresh coffee, taking care of animals, gardening… Him, on the farm, 

   No. 

 Sebastian must not have noticed the feeling until now because he’s been too occupied talking with Adonis but, he’s definitely high now, it’s making him think such loopy things. 

 “I dunno… you said you wake up at 6am and go to bed at what, 1:30am? That’s like, four hours of sleep, I couldn’t do it. You need to take better care of yourself, can’t have you passing out from exhaustion, right?”

 Apparently it’s making him say loopy things too. He puts out the roach into the ashtray. 

 Adonis pauses for a moment, and maybe he’s delirious from the weed and lack of sleep, but is he blushing? 

 It’s getting late. Sebastian shouldn’t smoke with this guy at night, he starts thinking weird. 

 Like how nice the color looks, the flush on his cheeks matches the color of his lips. 

 Weird… weird, weird. 

 “You’re too sweet,” Adonis’ voice like honey, “but I’ll rest when I finish fixing up that damned community center, or my dead body will.” 

 Sebastian snorts. Adonis grins.

 “Seriously though, I know you’re really helping the community and all, but, you couldn’t help anyone, or yourself, if you’re not doing well.” Sebastian adds, his own voice a little too soft.

 Where did that come from? No need to bare your soul Sebastian, he’s also a grown man, he can take care of himself. This is what happens when someone speaks to him with such a voice and face, and body- he needs to plug his ears, and blind himself immediately. 

 Adonis looks away for a moment, cheeks still rosy, like he’s trying to think of what to say to that. He turns back to him with shining eyes, lips parted like he’s ready to speak when suddenly his face drops into something of pure horror. 

 “What’s wrong?” Sebastian freezes as Adonis gasps so terrified he’s acting if someone died. 

 “I- just- uh- what time is it?” Adonis’ once smooth and velvety voice is now caked with worry. Sebastian whips his head towards his permanently on screen-saver and reads off the time to him as he squints his eyes.

 “12:40? Oh- man, didn’t realize it got so late.” Time flies when you’re having a good time. 

 “Oh, god.” Adonis jumps out of Sebastian’s bed so fast it makes it head spin, he has to reach for the ashtray so it doesn’t go spilling to the ground from the sudden jostling. 

 At some point they must have pulled the blanket over them, he wishes he would’ve noticed earlier, seeing Adonis curled up in his blankets would’ve been something. He must’ve been too busy staring into his eyes.

  Those eyes that are now bulged out in terror. Why is he looking so affronted? Is it because of what he said? Maybe he shouldn’t have been so.. maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. Sebastian doesn’t have the right to comment on what he does with his body, he’s just met the guy. 

 “Where are you going?” Sebastian asks, mortified at how vulnerable his own voice sounds. He did not intend for that. 

 “I- uh- I just I have to go.” Adonis grabs his backpack that was laying haphazardly on Sebastian’s bedroom floor, swinging it on one shoulder as he slips his socked feet into his flats by the door. 

 “Oh. Okay. I’ll see you, then.” There he goes with that vulnerability again. Awful.

 “I’ll text you, sorry- I really, really need to go now.” Adonis has this crease between his brows that only intensifies as he struggles to get one flat on. He tries shoving his right foot into it over and over but the lip of the shoe keeps catching on his toes. He groans and reluctantly uses one hand to pull it on, annoyed. 

 “You don’t have my number.”

 “What’s your number?” Adonis finally looks at him for the first time since his panic-filled scuttle started, and he’s looking intently. 

   What? Is he going to memorize his number off the top of his head? He doesn’t see a pen or paper, or even his phone out. Is he that pressed for time? 

 “(***) 988-8532.” 

 “ Nine-triple-eight-five-three-two, nine-triple-eight-five-three-two, nine-triple-eight-five….” Adonis starts repeating his number under his breath over and over again. 

 Okay. He is going to memorize his number. That’s totally fine and doesn’t make Sebastian’s stomach do a flip. 

 “…three-two— Bye, Sebastian! I have to go, now!” Adonis pulls the straps of his backpack up, climbing up the three small steps towards Sebastian’s door and opens it up, “Thank you! Bye, bye! Nine-triple-eight—“ 

 And with the flick of twin purple braids he’s gone and the door clicks shut behind him. 

  Sebastian stares at the door bewildered and realizes he is screwed. So, so screwed. 

꩜

 After going on and on about the night's events in his head, he fell asleep peacefully and genuinely happy for once. 

 Even though he stayed up even later than usual for a text, he never received one.

Chapter Text

And he doesn’t receive one for three days afterwards, assuming Adonis must’ve passed out and forgotten all about it. Sebastian still wants to know why he left so suddenly and why he seemed so frantic but he doesn’t dare ask. 

 It’s Friday, he’s getting ready to head down to the town center for the gang’s weekly Saloon night, when his phone starts buzzing insistently. 

 He gets a call from a number he can't recognize, swiping the answer screen quickly. 

 “Hey, Sebastian!” A deep, but cheerful voice drawls on the other end, Adonis. He should’ve guessed Adonis was more of a phone call person than text. He ignores how light his chest feels finally hearing back from him. With how fast he left last time, he was worried he did something wrong. 

 “Hey, Adonis.” He’s sick at how soft his voice gets, all this man needs to do is say his name and he melts like putty. 

 “What’cha doing?” 

 “Nothing much,” Sebastian looks down at himself, shirtless and pants still not buckled, he flushes, “I’m getting dressed…”

  “Oh,” Adonis seems to pause for a moment before speaking rapidly, “What are you getting ready for?” 

 “Meeting Sam and Abigail at the Saloon,” Sebastian does up his belt, hoping the clinking of the buckle isn’t audible over the line. “Wanna come?”

 “Oooh, yes!” Adonis squeals, his voice crinkles over the phone, “I’d love to— see you then!!”

 And with that he promptly hangs up before Sebastian can even think of a response. Oh, why is his heart beating out of his chest so suddenly. This was getting too much. 

 He finishes getting dressed and sprays himself with cologne, running out of his room in a flash. He misses his mother’s shocked expression as he flies out the front door. 

 Sebastian is at the saloon in record time, bustling past Pam as she gives him a disgruntled look. He heads to the game room and is surprised to see Abigail and Sam already deep in conversation on the old red couch. 

 “Oh Sebby!” “Sebastian! We were just talking about you!” They coo, waving him over. Rolling his eyes, he steps to stand in front of them, the two of them occupying all the available space on the couch. 

 “What exactly were you saying about me?” Sebastian looks down at the two of them, his dark eyes flitting from each of his friends. 

 “Oh nothing…” “Just that you want the farmer to spit in your mouth— I mean-“

 “Saaaam— shut up!” Abigail hits the blonde in the chest with a sour expression, turning back to Sebastian with a complete 180 sparkling smile. “What he means is that, we are happy you finally don’t hate the farmer.” 

 “Yeah- yeah- I’m choosing to ignore that.” Sebastian also smacks Sam, but on the back of his head. Sam whines, holding his head, something about how no one treats him right. 

 “Mhm, anyways, speaking of the farmer, when are you going to invite him here?” Abigail twists her fingers around a lock of hair, pouting. 

 “Why do I have to ask him, you guys very well could too.” Sebastian cocks an eyebrow, confused, “but, he’s actually coming tonight.” 

 “Tonight!?” Sam and Abigail shout in usion, looking panicked, immediately Sam is running his hands through his hair and Abigail is smoothing out her shirt. Those are certainly interesting reactions. 

 “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!” Sam groans, trying to wipe at a ketchup stain on his shirt to no avail. 

 “Thought it wouldn’t be a big deal…” Sebastian whips his head towards him, he didn’t know when he started pacing around, but he is now, maybe their anxiety about seeing the farmer is rubbing off on him. 

 “You. You don’t get it.” Abigail is now standing in front of the Junimo Cart machine, using the black screen as a makeshift mirror, turning to the side and shamelessly checking out her own backside. 

 “What don’t I get?” Sebastian keeps pacing, his arms crossed together. 

 “That the farmer is hot as balls? Like smoking hot? Hot pepper overload?” Sam answers for her as Abigail just nods and lets out an “Uh huh!” exaggeratedly. 

 “What.” 

 “Yeah, see? Absolutely clueless.” 

 “No- I’m- you guys think the farmer is hot?” Sebastian stops his pacing for a moment, glancing between the two of them, they both give him the same ‘no shit.’ expression.

 “Sam, you don’t even like men.” Sebastian gasps, expecting Sam to just giggle but when his face is motionless he does a double take. 

 “I mean… been having some conflicting thoughts recently…. He smells so good, Sebby.”  Sam whines once more, holding his head in his hands. 

 Sam. Sam likes the farmer. Or at least admits he’s hot as hell. Holy shit. 

 “When did you get close enough to smell him?!” Abigail stops checking herself out to give Sam another betrayed look, hands bracketing her hips. 

 “I wasn’t even that close! It was the other day, and I passed him at Pierre’s and he must’ve been just farming because he was all sweaty but he smelt like vanilla, Abi, fucking vanilla frosting!”  

 “You whore! Why didn’t you tell me? I’m gonna fucking sniff him next, I don’t care, I’ll do it.” 

 Sebastian just stares at the two of them as they rattle on. The farmer must really have insane charisma to have them fighting over him like this. 

 “So, you’re saying you don’t think he’s hot?” Sam suddenly directs his assault towards him, Abigail now at his side backing him up like an evil demon on his shoulder, suddenly he wishes he paid attention to their bickering. When did his name come up? 

 “I don’t…” Sebastian is only able to utter two words before they jump on his back. 

 “WHAT! Insane. Jail. Jail immediately.” Abigail barks at him, pointing at the hallway out of the gaming room like she’s telling him to get the fuck out. 

 “You are blind, dude, so fucking blind.” Sam just throws himself back in the couch, settling into the backrest with his hands covering over his eyes like his favorite sports team just lost.

 “When did you invite him here?” Abigail asks, blue eyes trailing him as he continues pacing in circles.

 “The other night, when we smoked together.” 

 Sam and Abigail both scream. 

 “At your house?!” “In your room?!”

 “Yes… in my house… in my room… what is the issue?” Sebastian refuses to even look at them, but he knows they both have their mouths wide open like guppies. 

 “You never tell us anything!” Abigail slaps her thighs in dismay, staring at Sebastian with the stankest of faces. 

 “Watch next he’s gonna say…” Sam stands up only to bend down and whisper behind his hand into Abigail’s ear, she fucking cackles. Sebastian has never wanted to disappear more than now. 

 This is why he needs his ‘antisocial’ alone time breaks from them. 

 “Well,” Abigail sighs after Sebastian ignores them for the last five minutes, “You gonna tell us what happened?”

 “Why do you both care so much?!” Sebastian raises his voice, if only slightly, flinging his hands up into the air in dismay. 

 “Dude, we’re just interested,” Sam waved his hand in a circle, beckoning him, “Go on…”

 “Okay. Okay.” Sebastian relents, sighing and rubbing at his temples, “We smoked and hung out.” 

 “And…?” Abigail groans. 

 “Well, we laid in my bed…” 

 “In your bed?!” Sam claps his hands on his cheeks with his mouth agape like that one painting. 

 “We sat in my bed.” Sebastian ignores their faces falling with disappointment, “And…” Sebastian debates on saying this out loud, but ultimately the two pairs of pleading eyes win him over. “I fumbled so bad.” 

 What can he say? He’s a pushover. 

 They both gasp, more confused than surprised. 

“What do you mean, fumbled?” Abigail speaks slowly, like she’s trying not to scare off a wild animal. 

 “It’s so bad. Like, I kept nearly dropping the joint and I choked on the first hit and- and- I think he thought I was a homophobe for a second?” 

 “Oh my god.”

 “Dude.”

 “But I smoothed it over! I may have told him I’m an experienced grower though, which obviously, I am not. Invited myself to the farm two times and then told him to take care of himself so he doesn’t pass out.” 

 Sam breaks out into laughter, while Abigail’s shocked face slowly morphed into absolute glee.

 “You have it soooo bad.” Sam wheezes between giggles, wiping a tear from his eyes. Sebastian wants to throttle him. 

 “What?!” Sebastian doesn’t understand, “You know, some point we got under the covers but I didn’t even notice until he ran out. Guys, he fucking ran out.” 

 “Sebby, he probably needed to sleep. He never sleeps.” Abigail stops smiling, instead her eyebrows perk up into something like pity? Sebastian hates it. 

 “Whatever— I don’t care. He wanted to come out with us tonight, it’s fine, right?” 

 “Mhm.. did he ask you?” Sam is fiddling with the strings of his jacket, watching his friend’s expression carefully. 

 “Yeah he.. he called me? He memorized my number.” 

 “He memorized your number?” 

 “Bro.” 

 Abigail and Sam turn to share a look with each other, and Sebastian hates that even more. What the hell are they telepathically communicating and why is it making him want to rip out his hair. 

 “Are you sure you don’t think he’s sexy?” 

 “Abigail! Stop!” Sebastian pulls on his cheeks, dragging the skin and then stuffing his hands in his hoodie front pocket angrily. 

“Oh well! Speak of the devil!” Sam chirps, bustling passed Abigail and Sebastian towards the hallway. 

 That’s when he hears thudding footsteps that could only be made by a very large person, followed by the cheers of the Saloon patrons. 

 Adonis really knows everyone in the valley, and everyone loves him. 

 Sebastian swallows dryly as he watches Abigail and Sam happily greet Adonis in the hallway, he hears his deep laughter and feels himself sway on his feet. 

 “Hello, Sebastian!” Adonis walks in with Abigail and Sam on either side, tucked his arms like they belong there. 

 Sebastian feels pale. 

 “Hey…” Sebastian just stares up at Adonis as he breaks away from the other two, his smile bright and beaming. 

 At first, Adonis walks up with his hand out. Sebastian thinks going to shake his hand so he offers his, but he’s surprised when Adonis pulls him into a one-armed hug.

  Suddenly, Sebastian is met with a wall of chest, his cheek is shoved against it. For the few moments it lasts, it’s a really nice hug, for how nice a one-armed hug could be. 

 Sebastian inhales. 

 Sam was right, Adonis does smell good. 

 “I’ve brought gifts!” Adonis gleams when he pulls away. Sebastian’s left momentarily teetering from the loss of balance. Someone chortles in the background and he makes note to kill them later. 

 “Awww, you’re too sweet!” Sam cooes as Adonis hands him a beautiful bloomed poppy. Sebastian watches him take a whiff of the flower and bat his eyes. 

 “How’d you know? Just what I wanted.” Abigail grins as she gets a handful of refined quartz, stuffing them into her pants pocket like a gremlin. Adonis pats her on the head. Sebastian seethes. 

 So he wasn’t special for getting gifts.

 “Here,” Adonis stands in front of him, pulling out a little box wrapped in a cloth, “I know that sashimi and vodka don’t go the best together, but if you don’t want it now it can be a snack for the morning.” 

 Sebastian takes the box from Adonis, their fingers brushing as he grabs it, a smile spreading across his lips. 

 Adonis got Sam a flower, Abi some quartz, but got Sebastian sashimi. Those were only gifts they liked, but Adonis gave Sebastian something he loves. 

 Something he told him he loves. 

 Adonis listened and remembered. 

 Sebastian would kick his feet in the air if he could. He doesn’t know why he feels like this, he wants to kick himself in the face instead.

 “Thank you,” Sebastian places it delicately on one of the spare unused stools, “That’s really kind of you.” 

 Sebastian comes to his senses when he spies Abigail elbowing Sam in the ribs, pointing at his face. He raises the back of his hand to his cheek, away from Adonis, and internally groans when he feels how hot his skin is. He’s really got this to get this stupid crush- No- infatuation— friendly admiration- under control. 

 “Okaaaay! Who wants drinks?” Adonis claps his hands together, getting everyone’s attention, “Let me get a round on me!” 

 The three of them can’t help but let out their satisfaction in various degrees of hollers. Sam, of course, being the loudest as he hoots Adonis out of the room. He walks out shaking his shoulders to the rhythm of Sam’s chanting. 

 Sebastian feels his cheeks hurt from how hard he’s smiling. The three of them are subconsciously watching the man as he strolls up to the bar counter, leaning against it and jutting his hip out. 

 He wastes no time chatting up Gus, making him laugh something fierce, they’re just far away they can’t really hear anything clearly, but Sebastian is sure it’s something dripping with charisma. Gus turns away to get the drinks ready and Sebastian can’t help but focus back onto Adonis. 

 His eyes are tracing the line of his body when someone tugs him back behind the wall out of view. 

 “Are you sure you don’t think he’s hot?” Sam croaks, holding onto his arm a bit too hard. 

 “No!” Sebastian shakes his hands off of him, wanting to spit in his face. He’s about done with all these prying questions. 

 “So,” Abigail steps closer to him, in response he steps back and hits his back against the wall. With Sam bracketing Abigail’s right, they have him literally backed against the wall. “You don’t mind if we go after him, then?” 

 Sebastian blanches. Looking between the two of them, he feels small. Their gazes are so piercing, he would feel intimidated if he didn’t know how stupid they both really were, but still. Goddamn! 

 “No- I mean- what—“ Sebastian doesn’t know what’s wrong with him and why his lips move on their own accord. 

 “Oh! So you would care!”

 “NO!” 

 “But that’s not what you just said.” 

 The two of them descend on him like a pack of hungry wolves, cornering him even more. He wants to get out of this situation right now. 

 “I have driiiiiiinks!” Comes a delighted sing-song voice, Adonis pops around the corner with four voda sodas filled to the brim. How Adonis knew they didn’t like beer was beyond him, but maybe he just sensed it. Gus still puts them in those chunky beer glasses, it’s a little funny.

 “Ooo! Yipee!” Sam clasps his hands together, clambering away to crowd up Adonis’ space. Abigail follows suit, holding onto Adonis’ arm for a moment with praise. Sebastian thunks the back of his head against the wall before walking up to join them. This would be a long night. 

 “For you, Sebastian.” Adonis holds out a mug, rather two mugs, in one hand. His long fingers are able to hold two in one grasp, curling around the cold glass. 

 His hands are so big. 

 This would be a really long night. 

 “Let’s play pool.” Adonis says after he finishes half his mug in one gulp, setting it down on one of the tables. 

 “Oh yeah? Do you even know how to play pool?” Sam cocks a brow, giving Adonis a teasing look. 

 “No,” Adonis wrinkles his nose at him, “But you can teach me!” 

 Sebastian wonders how close they’ve gotten. 

 “No fair! I wanna teach you!” Abigail nearly chokes mid-swallow as she rushes to stake her claim.

 Sebastian chugs his beer, slamming it down on the same table Adonis placed his, “I should be the one to teach him since I’m the best at it.” 

 He’s met with three pairs of wide eyes, and he momentarily wishes he said nothing at all but, 

 Adonis slowly starts giggling, softly, behind his hand, and you’d really have to look to notice, but his cheeks and the tips of his ears burn hot. 

 “Guys, guys, there’s enough of me to go around…” Adonis flaps a wrist weakly, obviously joking but it turns Sebastian’s stomach inside out. This man would be the death of him. 

 “Let’s play rock paper scissors to decide teams.” Sam says stoically, eyes squinted and far too serious for the saloon. 

 “Oh- okay, so what does winning decide- oh! Alright! You’re already going for it then, okay.” Adonis looks between the three of them, head turning towards each person and then back again. 

 To someone outside the gang, the way the act must be shocking, but to them it’s normal. So when Sam and Abigail immediately start throwing it down rock paper scissor style, there is no question what the winning objective is. 

 Sam loses with a pitiful groan, hitting himself in the forehead, “I should have known you’d pick scissors!” 

 Abigail chuckles evilly, turning to Sebastian with a menacing grin. 

 Sebastian wordlessly throws his fist down into his palm, the only sound in the room besides muffled voices from the main bar is the sound of loud clapping. “One, *smack* two, *smack* three, *smack*— LETS GO BABY!!” Abigail throws her fists into the air, celebrating wildly, Sebastian only flips her off unceremoniously. 

 Abigail and Sam chest bump and Sebastian mimics throwing up all over them. Then, Sam seems to realize he won nothing, frowning as Sebastian ‘vomits’ into his hand and throws it at him. 

  Adonis starts laughing nervously at their antics, confused when Abigail suddenly loops her arm with his. 

 “Team purple for the win! We got this Adonis!” 

 Adonis seems to catch on they were playing to be on his team and he smiles crookedly, worrying his bottom lip. He looks cute, all flustered like this. 

 Who said that. No he doesn’t. He’s just a guy. 

 “Okay. What balls am I?” Adonis comes to stand on one side of the pool table, or Abigail drags him there, whatever works. 

 “What balls are you? Silly, we can be stripes.” Abigail finally unhooks her arm from Adonis to hand him a pool cue, holding one for herself in her other arm. 

 Sam and Sebastian do their bro handshake as a show of comradery, stepping to their respective side of the pool table, rolling their eyes at Abigail’s obvious flirting. 

 “Okay, not like I’m always stripes, but whatever, who cares!” Sam lips, racking up the balls and centering them. 

 “Oh no. You can be stripes if you would like, Sam.” Adonis speaks with that smooth voice again, he must talk to everyone like that. 

 “Aw,” Sam visibly relaxes, “No, I’m just being sarcastic. It’s fine. You and Abi are stripes, Seb and I will be solid.” 

 Sebastian just nods, Adonis starts smiling again so bright it makes him look away. 

 “Okay,” Abigail readies her shot, getting to take the first one, “This is how you aim.” 

 She bends down, arching her back exaggeratedly, lining up her cue and aiming by looking down with one eye closed. 

 Sam and Sebastian scoff. There is no rule that says you have to shove your ass out like that. 

 “Are you watching?” Abigail chimes, striking the ball with passion. 

  And watch Adonis does. 

  It’s really not his fault, that’s what Abigail wanted. It was very quick too, the way his eyes scan down her body and back up again and then pointedly somewhere else. He even nods his head once, approvingly.

 Sebastian can’t blame him, everyone knows Abigail has a nice ass but it still makes him angry. Why it makes him angry he doesn’t know, he just knows it does. 

 “Okay, my turn!” Adonis flutters over to the pool table when Abigail straightens out, giving another devilish grin to the two boys opposite of her. 

 “Like this?” Adonis finds himself in the very same position, back curved deviously and hair falling down his shoulders as he leans forward to aim. 

 A beat of silence covers the room. It’s Sebastian’s turn to look, and he sure does. He really hadn’t noticed before but.. Adonis has a nice ass. Oh, wow. Okay. 

 As if Sam has the same thought, his pool cue clatters to the floor, his hands still curled around nothing hanging uselessly in the air as his eyes rake down Adonis’ frame. 

 This was dangerous. And awful. And all the bad things. He needed to figure out these weird feelings before someone else figured it out for them.  

 “Yes! You’re doing amazing, sweetie.” Abigail says, standing proudly behind Adonis staring somewhere that definitely isn’t the balls on the table. 

“Hehe, thank you.” Adonis hits a ball and actually gets it in. However, it was a ball for the opposing team. 

 “Nice one, you get one point.” Sam smiles after picking up his pool cue with shaky hands.

 Adonis landing a solid into a hole would actually mean Seb and Sam get a point… 

 “Oh really! That’s wonderful! My first goal in pool!” Adonis laughs happily, a little squeaky. 

 No one says anything. 

  The rest of the game goes like that, bending the conditions and fundamentals of the game just to see Adonis smile. It’s like an unspoken agreement they all have.  

 “Nice shot, Doni.” Sebastian can’t help but compliment him when he actually knocks a red striped ball into the corner pocket. 

 Adonis stands back straight when Sebastian notices the color dusting his skin. Oh, he called him Doni. They’re doing nicknames, now? That’s allowed? 

 “Thank you…” Adonis looks at him and then at the floor, “Sebby.” He finishes his sentence with a little laugh behind his hand. 

 Nicknames are definitely allowed, they are SO allowed. When Sam and Abi call him that it doesn’t make his chest heavy like when he does. This was getting worse. 

 The two in question notice their little interaction, Sam getting another shove to the side with Abi’s elbow. Worst best friends too. 

 Friendship ENDED with Sam and Abigail, ADONIS is my new best friend. 

 That reaction meme crosses his brain, making him laugh and then clap a hand over his mouth. It seems like anytime Adonis hangs around the chances of him laughing increase tenfold. 

 “You win! Adonis wins! Yeehaw!” Sam suddenly jumps around when Adonis hits another ball into a pocket. He went twice in a row and this time it wasn’t even the 8ball that was the final ball but— he still won. Sam knows it, Abigail, knows it, Sebastian knows it.

 Adonis won… at more things than just pool. 

 The long-haired man breaks out into another blinding grin, clapping his hands together and joining Sam in jumping in a circle. Abigail follows suit, squealing with them, her hair flying up around her face when she leaps. 

 Sebastian couldn’t resist, normally he wouldn’t be caught dead hopping around screaming like some highschool girl, or Haley, but… 

 He steps over, starting to jump with the three of them. They momentarily look surprised but welcome him into the circle, the four of them now slinging their arms around one another’s back, turning into a pulsing circle of limbs. 

 Sebastian would feel stupid, or silly, or something else bad doing this, but, when he looks around at his friend’s smiling faces he can’t help but feel good. 

 It’s okay to let go sometimes. 

 “Am I interrupting something?” Emily strolls into the game room, a tray of eight mugs on one shoulder, her other arm holding it steady. 

 Since when did Emily serve at tables? Since when did she even enter the game room? That was new. 

 “Not at all! Emily, you’re a gem!” Adonis breaks out of the party circle to help her set the next two rounds down on the tabletops. Emily flushes, calling him a gentleman for helping, dragging her hand up Adonis’ arm, swelling over his muscle. 

 “Get out of here, Emily. We know you don’t serve tables!” Sam flops back onto the couch, laying flat so his knees hang off one side of the armrests, flicking his hand at Emily to shoo her away. 

 “I’m showing our new, and now best, customer some hospitality!” Emily gives a wink, gathering up the tray and out with a sway in her hips. 

 Adonis just laughs once more, handing the drinks out to his new friends. Sebastian was getting a little tired of all the town’s bachelorettes and bachelors throwing themselves all over the farmer. 

 When does he get his moment to shine. 

 No. No, he doesn’t even want his own moment— since when would he ever want his own moment. Sebastian is more than fine hiding in the shadows, and he would too, his feet slowly inching to the corner with the least light. 

 Adonis puts a stop to that, hoisting a frosty glass in his direction, “C’mon you gotta catch up!” 

 Sebastian takes the mug from him wordlessly, letting their fingers brush again longer than necessary and takes a swig. Adonis must be referring to how Abigail and Sam have already slammed their second drinks in record time. 

 If they keep going at this rate, they’ll get tipsy in no time. He wonders what type of drunk Adonis is… Sebastian chugs his drink and starts on his third. 

  “You know what we should do,” Adonis says after a lull in conversation, “We should play never have I ever!” 

 Sam and Abigail beam, nodding enthusiastically, just what he wanted. To be stuck under the thumb of his evil flying monkey friends as they ask targeted questions under the ‘guise’ of a game. Wonderful. 

 He knows Adonis wouldn’t think anything like that, but he has no idea how demented Abi and Sam can be. He wishes Adonis never suggested it, but he finds himself nodding along to appease everyone else. 

 Sebastian wants to curl up into a ball and die. 

 “Okay, can I start?” Abigail takes a spot on the floor next to Sam’s legs, Adonis immediately sits on the floor next to Abigail, teasing Sam, who’s head is near hanging off one end, by tugging on a strand of blond hair. 

 Sebastian rolls his eyes. 

 “Move.” He nudges Sam’s shoulder with his knee, motioning for him to sit up. Sam doesn’t need the entire couch, and if Adonis is fine sitting on the rug, he’ll take the couch too. Sam grumbles when Sebastian sits down next to him nearly sitting on his head before he sits up, earning a pinch on his side. 

 “Mhm, go ahead.” Adonis nods, his legs tucked underneath him with his hands resting on his knees. It’s funny how such a large man can appear so tiny.

 “Alright, since we all know how to play, I’m just gonna go,” Abigail raises her hands, fingers spread, everyone else copies the motion, “Never have I ever gotten black out drunk.” 

 “That’s no fair!” Sam howls, sticking his pointer finger down. Sebastian sighs, mimicking him. Adonis also puts his finger down with no shame. 

 “Wow! Everyone but me!” Abigail raises her brows, finishing her third mug. If she keeps going on like that, she will get that mission accomplished tonight. 

 Adonis calls for another round of drinks which Emily happily obliges and passes out drinks to the four of them, Adonis slips her a twenty as a tip. 

 Sebastian decides it’s his turn. 

 “Never have I ever kissed two people in the same night.” Sebastian cocks his head to the side, pointedly staring at Abigail. 

 “Woah!” Abigail sticks her pointer finger down discreetly, eyeing him something fierce. 

 “Starting off strong, Seb!” Sam cackles, although the rest of his fingers remain standing up. 

 “So what’s the story with yours?” Adonis has his second finger down as well as Abi. The other two men share dumbfounded looks. 

 “Oh… I was at a sleepover… I was a teenager so it wasn’t crazy just pecks but, I don’t know! I had my awakening that night, that's for sure.” Abigail looks away, tucking deep purple hair behind an ear. 

 “Cute!” Adonis just smiles, “Never have I ever-“

 “Oh no, you are not getting out of this, what was your story like? If I have to share mine.” Abigail speaks like she’s threatening him, and she might as well be with the way she’s pointing at his fingers like she’s going to bite them off. 

 “Hah…” Adonis looks up to the ceiling like he’s thinking back on something, “Listen, I had just turned eighteen, got my fake, and hit the clubs for the first time… anyways.” 

 Sebastian holds his breath, the visual of Adonis club hopping filling his mind. 

 “Go on!” Sam adds, eyes rolling over Adonis’ face. 

 “No.. really that was it. I just was dancing and these two.. they just came up and started dancing with me so.. you know! But all I did was make out with them. That’s it.” Adonis speaks muffled, covering his face with his hands, it’s obvious he’s embarrassed, the tips of his ears bright red. 

 Sebastian breathes out slowly. Thinking intently. 

 What was it like, did they just come up and start grinding on him? Getting him worked up and then turning around to crowd him into a kiss? Or did they pull him towards a sticky couch, suffocating him with their presence and kissing down his exposed neck? A flash of Adonis’ head thrown back and lips parted as two blacked out figures kiss and touch over his skin. 

  Holy shit. 

 Sebastian physically had to shake out his shoulders to get those thoughts out of his brain. He finishes his fourth drink with a large gulp, unsure when he even finished his third or when this new mug appeared next to him. 

 “Daaaaamn, okay, I see you!” Abigail hollers, wiggling her fingers at him, “Okay, Sam, your turn!” 

 “Hehe- okay. Never have I ever greened out.” Sam dials it back, when Sebastian sends him a telepathic ‘thank you’ for. 

 Abigail immediately sticks her second finger down, sucking her teeth. 

 “Remember when you puked all over that bush?” Sam pries at Abigail, cheeks full from smiling, his smile quickly drops when Abigail nods to his fingers. 

 “Put one down.” 

 “But that doesn’t count! I didn’t throw up!” 

 “You laid on Sebastian’s floor for two hours shivering and mumbling about lasagna, don’t wanna hear it.” Abigail holds a hand out to his face, smug. 

 Adonis starts laughing, quietly, but he does. Sam follows with a pout and a whine. 

 “I’m surprised you haven’t, after you spouted all that talk about smoking so much.” Sebastian looks at Adonis, eyes catching on his canines pressing on the bottom of his lip from his smile.

 “You should know, being a seasoned smoker helps me not green out. I know my limits… unlike you, apparently.” Adonis speaks slowly, his deep voice coy, as he nods his head at Sebastian’s third finger put down.

 “You!” Sebastian gasps, was Adonis really teasing him? Why does he like it? Seb gabs out his finger at Adonis, nearly meeting his solid chest. 

 “Me!?” Adonis points at himself with his hand parallel to Sebastian's, continuing to tease him with an exaggerated shocked face, like he has no idea what he’s doing.

 Sam and Abigail cheese, their shoulders jumping from the force of it. Sebastian can’t help laughing too, even if it’s directed at him, it doesn’t feel bad. It’s like they’re laughing with him, instead of at him. 

 “Okay— okay—“ Sam wheezes, “Adonis you go.”

 “Hm..” Adonis thinks for a moment, tapping his chin, before brightening up estaticly, “I know! Never have I ever ridden a motorcycle!” 

 Adonis is notably surprised when the rest of them immediately put a finger down. Sam and Abigail have both hopped on Sebastian’s motorcycle once or twice, it was a right of passage of being Sebastian’s friend. 

 “What! All of you?” 

 “Sebastian has his bike in the garage.” Sam says nonchalantly. 

 “Oh.” Adonis pauses, “Cool.”

 You’d really have to pay attention to see it, but with Sebastian’s all seeing eyes,  

watching Adonis’ as he looks off to the side, blinking slowly, deep in thought. 

 Is… is he jealous? Does he want to go for a ride on the back of his motorcycle too? Sebastian feels overheated, shucking off his hoodie silently. 

 If Sebastian’s ‘all seeing eyes’ were looking he’d see Adonis’ follow the action without stalling, training on how tight his shirt is in the chest. 

“Alright,” Abigail gives Sebastian a knowing glance, “Never have I ever had gay thoughts.” 

 “Abigail.” Sebastian frowns. 

 “C’mon— you have to put a finger down too! I KNOW you kiss girls!” Sam kicks her with his foot that’s close to her side, it wasn’t hard at all but she mimes like she’s been cut in half. 

 Adonis puts down a finger with a complete neutral expression, watching the others bemused. Sam quickly follows after Adonis does it first, his freckle dusted cheeks tinting pink. Abigail throws her finger down too, looking even more impish than she has all night. 

 Oh wow, Adonis likes men! Well, of course he does… Sebastian does a once over of his outfit, another flowy long sleeve that is most definitely at least 30% see through, tight brown bell bottoms and sparkly pink cowboy boots that match his sparkly pink cowboy hat. He might’ve taken saloon literally but damn does he look good doing it. 

 And obviously not straight. 

 Sebastian tucks his finger down as calmly as possible but his two buffoons start squawking. Sam and Abigail slowly fade into the flying monkeys he pictures them as. It fits too well. 

 “Whatever, you guys know if I actually was gay I’d be too powerful, that’s why you laugh, you couldn’t handle 1% of my power.” Sebastian rambles on, his finger still pressed firmly to his palm. He’s going to start running out of fingers to put down if it keeps up like this. 

 He chugs another glass as the fools cackle and hoot, knocking various limbs against each other as they apparently can’t contain the laughter inside their body, they have to smack each other to get it out. 

 Adonis just puts a hand on his knee, smiling with a small laugh, but it’s not a teasing laugh—it’s an ‘I see you, it’s okay,’ type of reassuring laugh and it makes Sebastian droop into a puddle on the floor. 

 “We all have a little fairy in us.” Adonis grabs the room’s attention with the flick of his hair over his shoulder. They all laugh at the joke but Sebastian,

  Since Adonis is sitting on the rug near his feet, those long light purple strands end up falling over his knee. A whiff of vanilla puffs up into his nose, Sebastian actually closes his eyes to savor it, only to be rudely shoved by Sam. 

 Adonis doesn’t see it, for that Seb is thankful. Yet, Sam still motions a beautiful story with his hands. He points at Sebastian, pretending to suck a dick, —very graphically, he may add—, pushing his tongue in his cheek and shaking his balled up fists to his mouth in rhythm, and then points to Adonis after he’s finished with that lively display. 

 Abigail busts into hideous laughter, clapping her hands so loudly it stings Sebastian’s ears. She must’ve already had too much to drink, so had Sam if he’s being that much of an idiotic dickhead. 

 “I’ll kill you. I’ll burn you, sink your stupid body into my lake. No one will find you.” Sebastian jabs his finger into Sam’s chest with each breath. 

 “What? Why are you killing Sam and hiding his body?” Adonis asks as if he’s asking about the weather, looking up at Sebastian from the floor with a relaxed but slightly confused expression. 

 Abigail continues her ‘WEE-SNAW’ing covering her mouth with her hands, clearly she observed Sam’s show too, Sebastian wants to commit double-homicide now. 

 “Why am I not killing Sam, honestly,” Sebastian mimes stabbing Sam in the chest as Adonis smirks, “There are so many reasons.” 

 “Okay, let’s avoid murder,” Adonis interjects holding back a giggle, “Abigail, you go.” 

 “Never have I ever done buttstuff.” 

 The three men gasp in various degrees of shock, feeling so very targeted. 

 Sebastian doesn’t realize he’s the loudest. Abigail doesn’t even know about it, how could she know? He doesn’t let anyone see that drawer. That is for his eyes only! Did she snoop? She wouldn’t do that. No way. This has to be coquenidense, but why does he feel so targeted? 

 Abigail looks between the three of them, the rest of her fingers remain straight up, signaling no, in fact she has not partaken in buttstuff, which makes sense.

 She’s not the one with a g-spot in her ass. They are. 

 Sebastian curses himself, and that one subreddit he stumbled upon that unlocked a part of his brain he wishes was kept away. Listen, masturbating with a dildo isn’t gay. There is no other man involved, it’s rubber—It’s just self-pleasure. And that little black thing with a button for seven vibrations was a whole bundle of pleasure!

 Sebastian loses his train of thought when Adonis sticks another finger down with ease, not batting an eye. He’s so comfortable with himself, or he doesn’t give a fuck if the rest of them care or not. Either way, he admires it. 

 He’s so busy admiring he doesn’t register he puts down one of his own fingers too, damn you subconscious! 

 Sam decidedly does not put one down and Abigail obviously won’t so when the three of them finally notice him, he freezes balling his fists in his lap with the blink of an eye. 

 “Oh, wasn’t expecting that,” Adonis murmurs, eyes widening like he didn’t mean to say that out loud, “Not complaining, though.” he adds quickly. 

 “So giving or receiving?” Abigail questions right after, her blue eyes so intense he feels like she’s going to send an ice-ray out of them and turn him into a popsi— Sebasicle. 

 “I— I- I don’t know! Both!?” 

 He’d prefer being an ice block actually, then he couldn’t speak. Because clearly, all his mouth wants to do right now is run a fucking marathon. 

 “Whaaat…? Whodidyoudoitwith?!” Sam is gaping at him, almost with a loading symbol over his head. Sebastian thinks he can hear the blonde’s brain whirring like an old computer turning on for the first time in a decade. 

 “Nobody!” Sebastian puts his hands up like a SWAT team is surrounding him, and that’s honestly what it feels like, “It was just me- I didn’t- I… I’m going to stop talking now.” 

 He did not just admit to using a dildo on himself in front of his best friend, ex-crush turned close friend, and the fucking FARMER. Sebastian tucks his legs up to his chest, hiding his head in his arms atop them. He’s never felt this embarrassed in his life, it hangs heavy in his chest, bitter and coiling. 

 There’s a long pause, the three of them looking at each other with worried glances because, newsflash, all three of them do care about Sebastian and don’t want him to feel ashamed about any aspect of himself. Including beating off with a piece of silicone up his ass. 

 “I just got a visual of that in my mind,” Abigail blurts, trying to come up with something to lighten the mood, and failing, “That’s… kinda hot, not gonna lie.”

 Sebastian lifts his head over his arms to see Abigail biting at a cherry red nail with over exaggerated seductiveness.

 He laughs weakly when he notices none of them look disgusted or think he’s a freak for doing that, and a shudder of relief runs down his spine. 

 Adonis and Sam both nod their heads at Abi’s joke with gusto, and even giggle themselves. 

 Okay. Everything is fine. Sebastian can fuck himself with a dildo and the world won’t implode. Awesome. 

 “Never have I ever,” Sam speaks out of turn, yet, no one corrects him, “got to 2nd base.” 

 Adonis sheepishly puts another finger down, and well as Abigail, albeit the latter much more proud. 

 “Oh! So how was that?” Sam asks, head propped up on his hand, staring down Adonis like a wolf; could he be any more obvious? There’s no way Sebastian looks like that when he’s talking to Adonis… 

 “You’re asking me how my first time went?” Adonis stares back defiantly, not backing down as he finishes another pint, “Take me on a date first, Geez!” 

 Sam physically shivers, affected tremendously. Sebastian understands, knowing that Adonis is indeed a ‘Flirty Drunk’ sets him on fire too.

 What he doesn’t understand is when their game went down this road, but Sebastian would be lying if he said he didn’t want to know. 

 “Alright!” Adonis gathers his hair from behind his back, pulling it in front of his chest as he shakes his head, “I’ll tell you, you absolute freaks.” 

 Sebastian stays quiet as the other two giggle maniacally. 

 “So… I was nineteen, I believe… I was seeing this guy and we had finally gotten close… so we were watching a movie on his bed and one of those scenes popped up… then something of his popped up!” 

 Sebastian hangs off every word, not realizing he’s slowly leaning in closer with each sentence. 

 “Long story short, I took care of him. It was… honestly, terrible?” Adonis finishes quickly, cringing at himself. The way he said it too, took care of him, vaguely sounded like a murder threat but it was still hot? Crazy. 

 “Terrible! Haha, why?” Sebastian finds his lips moving before his brain even thinks of a response. Well, he’s happy his brain didn’t speak for him this time, because the first thing he thinks of is the fact Adonis has topped before. 

   Which is dumb because that does not correlate to Sebastian at all and anyone who thinks that is an idiot who knows nothing. 

 “He… he was okay, just, ugh,” Adonis pinches the bridge of his long nose, “He was so, so loud, and normally, I’d be flattered but.. it was so bad. As if a horse was naying, I am serious.” 

 Abigail starts shrieking as Sam falls over into Sebastian’s lap laughing so hard his body shakes. Seb can only clap a hand over his mouth. 

 “No way! Oh my gosh— did you break it off?”

 “Yes, of course I did. But I didn’t tell him why…” Adonis sighs, his lips formed into a tight line. 

 “You’re joking!” Sam wails, clutching at his chest as it heaves. 

 “What, did you see anyone else after that?” Sebastian speaks again, and wants to cut his tongue off, again! Maybe he should’ve paced himself more with the drinks, he feels more than tipsy and he’s showing it.

 “Ah.. no.. it’s been a bit of a dry patch for me… or dry years… haha, yeah.” Adonis gets impossibly more red under Sebastian’s gaze. “It’s fine, I have the farm to occupy me.”

 “Who needs to bang anyways! Virginity rocks! Right, Sebby?” Sam knocks him with a boney elbow, pointing out how neither of them put down another finger. 

“Whatever, not everyone is proud to be a 23-year-old virgin like you.” Sebastian doesn’t give him the high-five he’s raising his hand for, smiling as Sam drops his hand slowly.

 “It’s not our fault! We grew up with everyone here… I’m not.. there’s not many opportunities.” Sam rubs his shoulder, looking down at his converse clad feet as they knock together. 

 “Speak for yourself.”

 “Be quiet, Abi, no one wants to hear your lesbian scissor adventures with Haley.” Sam sticks his tongue out at her childishly, earning a hard wallop to his calf.

 Adonis watches them with a pleased smile, looking away when Sebastian catches his eyes. 

 Great, so now Adonis knows he’s never felt the loving touch of another and he has something burning through his bedside drawer in the same night! 

 Life is so wonderful. 

 “Never have I ever,” Adonis takes the reigns, “stayed up so long working that I woke up the next day with a keyboard imprinted on my face.” 

 Sebastian gawks at him, so now Adonis was joining in on targeting him? No one was safe. This was a full on assault. 

 Sam and Abigail wheeze again, keeping both their fingers up, Joja has labor laws and Abigail’s dad wouldn’t work her to death even though it seems like it, so they can’t put them down. 

 Sebastian grimaces as he slowly lowers another finger. Six fingers down. He only has four left, how did that happen? 

 “No! You would have to put one down too, you’re always farming until exhaustion!” Sebastian counters as he realizes that’s really a rich play coming from the farmer. 

 “Ah- ah ah! Nope! I don’t even touch a keyboard in a day.” 

 “But you still pass out while working!”

 “Farming isn’t work, it’s my life.” 

 “No, it’s still work. It’s how you make a living!” 

 “Still, no keyboard.”

 “Adonis!”

 “No keyboard, no finger.” 

 “Jesus Christ.” Sam interrupts them, staring with one eyebrow cocked up. Adonis only giggles that light airy one of his, leaning more on Sebastian. 

 Oh. He didn’t realize when it happened, but Adonis swung an arm across Sebastian’s knees, using him as an arm/headrest as he sat on the floor, the side of his forehead pressing against the knee of his jeans.  

 Sebastian wants to run his fingers through those long lavender locks. 

 He finishes his last drink, deciding that thought alone was a good enough sign to cool off. Sebastian’s alcohol tolerance is pretty high anyways, but his behavior is concerning him.

 “You guys are so….” Sam finally comes back into his world, for a moment, he almost forgot the other two were there… Oops! 

“We’re what?” Adonis fully rests his head on Sebastian’s lap, his cheek squished against his legs. His body heat is so warm that Sebastian can feel it through his jeans. His heart skips a beat.  

 “Ah…” Sam looks down at Adonis and then back up to Sebastian’s face, his grin so smug Sebastian wants to wipe it off with a slap. “Nothing, Nevermind.” 

 They continue the game, the questions less and less spicy as the four of them realize just how much vodka they consumed. Abigail had to excuse herself three separate times to relieve her bladder, coming back with a strip of toilet paper stuck on her shoe which Sam chastises her for. Sebastian even gets to his sashimi at one point, plopping the pieces into his mouth and savoring it, washing it down with some water that Emily must have brought out sometime.

 Eventually, the game fizzles out, Sam sprawled out taking up too much room on the couch, Abigail nearly passed out on the floor, Adonis still using Sebastian as a headrest. It’s not like he minds it, though.  “Should we head out? It’s nearly 1am…” Sebastian asks the half-sleep man on his lap, Adonis looks up through his long bangs, those light brown eyes meeting his dark ones. 

 “Ohhh noooo….” Adonis slurs, his face tinted red from the alcohol, so pretty, “I need to get back to the farm before two or I’ll die and lose all my money.” 

 “What?” Sebastian laughs, brushing purple strands off of Adonis’ face, his hair is so soft, wait—did he really just do that? Whatever, being drunk is his excuse, “What are you talking about?” 

 “I’ll die, Sebby,” Adonis whines, the hair Sebastian just brushed away falling back into his face, “I’ll be broke. I can’t. I need to have money for more seeds. Then sell those crops, and do it allllll againnnnn…” 

 Adonis’ accent really comes out more when he drinks. Sebastian likes it. 

 “No, we can’t have you dead and broke, huh?” Sebastian looks down at him fondly, only to be disturbed by Abigail sitting up like a zombie. 

 “I’ll walk you home, Adonis!” Abigail sounds like one too, her voice garbled, hair sticking up every which way. 

 “Ah, ah, ah, I don’t think so, you can’t even walk yourself home,” Sebastian tutts, giving her a once-over that indicates, ‘you look a hot mess, girl,’ “ Would you be a dear, Sam? Take Abi home for me.” 

 Sam just gives him a lazy thumbs up.  

 “Whaaaat, no fair! You just want Adonis all to yourself!” Abigail folds her arms together, the action nearly knocking her off balance and sending her back laid across the ground. 

 She gets way too honest when she’s drunk, Sebastian forgot. 

 “No, there is literally a short-cut to the mountains, my house, through his farm. Do you understand now?” Sebastian gives her a vicious stare, getting her to quiet down. 

 “Whatever. You suck.” 

 “Sure. Anyways,” Sebastian shakes his head at his own answer, questioning it, “I’ll see y’all tomorrow, come on big guy.” 

 Sam and Abigail wave them off as Sebastian tries to haul Adonis to his feet, which, of course, is unsuccessful.

 “You gotta help me, man. You’re nearly a foot taller than me.” Sebastian grunts, his arms underneath Adonis, an unstoppable force trying to move an immovable object, it doesn’t work. 

 “I know,” Adonis giggles, finally moving his legs to stand up, when he does he immediately falls forward stumbling, crowding up Sebastian’s space, Sebastian has to put his hands on his chest so Adonis doesn’t send them both toppling over, “You’re so short.”

 Oh great, now he wants to call him short too? 

 “I’m not—“ Sebastian looks up to Adonis, seemingly forgetting how tall the man is until he’s standing right in front of him, the bite immediately dropping from his voice, “…You’re just freakishly large.” 

 “Hmm.. freakishly? What… you don’t like it?” Adonis throws his arms around Sebastian’s neck, holding him still, and there goes that vanilla scent, Sebastian feels the urge to start barking. 

 “…didn’t say that…” Sebastian has to rip his eyes away from Adonis’, the latter looking like he wants to eat him. Maybe he shouldn’t drink with Adonis again, his untamed flirting is going to give him a heart attack. 

 “Take him home already, Swayze.” Sam shouts, looking over at them with a crooked smile, Abigail is still motionless, slumped over on the floor. 

 “You’d be swayze out of the two of us!” Sebastian groans, smoothly angling Adonis to the side of him instead of that chest-to-chest hold he had on him, slinking an arm around his back so Adonis can lean on him if he needs to. 

Sebastian really hopes he needs to. 

 Sebastian ignores the second blowjob gesture thrown at him from behind Adonis’ back and walks him down the hallway, Sam’s laughing fading away. 

 The lights in the main bar are much brighter than the game room, making his head throb. Adonis whines too, curling closer to Sebastian, so… he will take the opportunity to lean on him, awesome. 

 Seb nods at the bar stragglers, Pam gives a weak wave and Shane just burps as a response. Gus bids them a safe walk home with a hint of slyness. What, does he think they’re together? No, it’s not like that… 

 Sebastian has to kick the door open gently, his arms occupied with a whole lot of man. He holds Adonis’ hand down the stairs, only to make sure he doesn’t lose his balance. Not because he really, really wanted to see the size difference of their hands. Surprise, surprise, the difference is huge. 

 He reluctantly drops Adonis’ warm hand, sticking his own in his pocket like it’s been burned. Sebastian with his other arm holds across Adonis’ back tighter—, or more his waist, their height difference even more prominent as they walk attached at the hip. 

 Adonis keeps laughing, each time he nearly falls, each misstep, each time his grip on Sebastian’s shoulders almost falters. Sebastian is losing it. 

 “Who knew you’d be such a lightweight considering…” Sebastian tugs his hand out his pocket to gesture up and down Adonis’ body. Gus always skimped on the alcohol to soda ratio though, so it was even more surprising. 

 “I never drink. Only with friends, so it’s been a looong time.” Adonis sounds so happy, his words drawn out and sing-song, even though that sentence sounds… lonely… 

 Sebastian wonders what his life was like before he inherited the farm, it seemed like he was alluding to not having many friends. That’s not right, someone like him… he deserved good friends, real friends, that would be there for him whenever, always. Sebastian could be that for him. He wants to be. 

 “Well, you had fun? You like hanging out with them?” Sebastian asks, wanting to know if Adonis enjoyed spending time with him, but he’ll say them instead. 

 “Of course I do… I love it.” Adonis nearly trips on a twig, leaning onto Sebastian even more, his long hair almost gets in his mouth. The night has a small breeze going, the streetlights keeping them aware as they pass by Pierre’s and the clinic. 

 “You love it?” Sebastian speaks out of turn, or out of turn with his brain. When will he get his mouth and head aligned? He’d like to know. 

 “Mhm.. you guys so nice to me.. I like them..” His words are like liquid, flowing into the next, “but you…” 

 “Huh?” Sebastian whips his head towards him, the back of his hair ruffled up from the man’s strong arm rubbing against it as they walk. 

 “You…..” Adonis trails off, like he’s forgotten what he’s even saying. Sebastian feels a spike of anxiety, what, does Adonis not like him? He’s surprised at how much that would upset him. 

 Since when did he want anybody’s approval? But, he wants Adonis’ approval, so bad. 

  “What about me?” 

 “You smell good.” Adonis says the words as clear as can be, the most eloquently spoken he’s been for the later half of the night. 

 “What? Me?” Sebastian gapes, the man who walks around smelling like whipped cream and raspberry sorbet is telling him that he smells good? What alternate universe did he teleport to? 

 “Mhmmm.” Adonis holds him closer, Sebastian now squished against the side of his chest, he can feel it vibrate with each of his words, “Yummy, like a man.” 

 Sebastian feels the heat rush up his neck, making his whole face red. Adonis did not just refer to him as yummy… he needs more information immediately. 

 “Like a man? What does that smell like?” 

 Sebastian speaks slowly, carefully, he knows Adonis is drunk, he won’t remember this conversation tomorrow so he has to ask now. 

 “Mm, good,” Adonis buries his face into Sebastian’s hair, the pace slowing immensely, it’s getting hard to walk with such a big man hanging all over him, “like… Sandalwood,.. mhm, yeah, Sandalwood and sea-salt and- and- cinnamon and a lil bit of diesel.. mph.”

  He can’t process anything right now, with those little noises Adonis is making, his head is spinning. 

 It’s like Adonis is describing a delicious food he wants to devour, not Sebastian. 

 He can feel Adonis’ breath spread through his scalp, it sends a shiver down his spine, he blames it on the cold. 

 “Diesel?” Sebastian finds himself asking, his voice cracking. It’s much darker now, since they’re walking through the dirt near the bus stop, but when Adonis pulls his face out of Sebastian’s hair, he thinks he’s blushing too. 

“Yeah… working on your bike.. can’t believe I didn’t.. wow.” Adonis’ voice is quieter with the last sentence, acting like he didn’t know the most obvious thing, like it was important, and not just one of Sebastian’s hobbies. 

 “Come by sometime… I’ll show it to you.” Sebastian keeps them going, they’ve made it to the farm’s gate, Sebastian pushes it open with his foot. 

 “Yes! I wan’ see…” Adonis stutters, his feet trudging and he stumbles again, nearly taking down Sebastian with him.

 “Careful, if you fall on me, we won’t be getting up.” Sebastian wants to take the quip back when he realizes how it can read as suggestive. 

 “Can you lift two hundred pounds?” Adonis gives him some sort of sleazy smile, making Sebastian almost fall on his face from that alone. 

 “You’re two hundred pounds?” Sebastian knew not to comment on people’s weight, but honestly, he expected Adonis to weigh more. All that muscle adds up and… he needs to stop thinking of another man’s muscles. 

 “Two-thirty.” Adonis’ smile only gets wider as he looks over Sebastian’s shocked expression. “What? I’m 6’5, what did you… expect?”

 “That’s not- bad. I thought you’d weigh more.. ‘Cause you got all that muscle, huh?” Sebastian reaches out with his free hand to the forearm over his shoulder, rubbing into the muscle, before he can stop himself. He quickly rips his hand away before he can do anymore embarrassing things. 

 “I have to be strong to work on a farm.” Adonis gestures to the vast fields of wild grass and hoards of trees. This is the first time Sebastian has been on the farm since Adonis moved in. It’s past midnight, the sky is dark, but the moonlight illuminates the ground enough that Sebastian can see he’s made decent progress. 

 There’s two large patches of crops, getting watered by the continuous fizz of the sprinklers, a big barn, a coop, various chests all organized and color-coded with all the colors of the rainbow... It’s cute. He really must have been working hard, it’s only been two months, give or take a couple days. 

 “So I could never be a farmer, got it.” Sebastian teases, working a laugh out of him. To his surprise Adonis mimics his earlier actions, grabbing onto Sebastian’s arm. Instead, he takes his bicep in his large hand, feeling the muscle under the skin. 

 “You could.” Adonis says matter of factly, like he isn’t basically feeling Sebastian up. His hand is so large that his fingers nearly touch around the circumference of it, that doesn’t help his point or the hammering of Sebastian’s heart either. 

 “Hah, maybe, okay big boy, let’s get you inside.” Sebastian has to change the subject or he’s sure he’ll collapse on the steps. He leads Adonis up them, trying not to laugh at how he clings onto the guardrail like a lifeline. 

 The cabin is in great shape, from what he can tell of the outside. Painted a bright white, light blue roof, smoke puffing from the chimney. It’s homey. 

 Adonis unlocks the door, finally breaking away from Sebastian to fight his pants’ pocket for his keys. Sebastian suddenly feels cold without his warmth, he forgot his hoodie back at the saloon. 

 “Take me to bed.” Adonis pauses in the doorway, hanging onto the doorknob like it’s the only thing keeping him upright. 

 Did he just hear that right? He asks the man before him to repeat himself. 

 “Take me to bed, please?” Adonis’ eyebrows quirk up, “I’m gonna fall asleep on the floor if you don’t.”

 Oh. He meant tuck him in, not… okay. Alright. That’s fine. 

 “Whatever you want.” Sebastian hooks his arm with his, leading him in the house even though he has no idea where he’s going. 

 It’s extremely dark inside. The only lightsource being the furnace burning hot in the living room that they just walked into. 

 “My room is over there…” Adonis points towards a room to the right of them, it’s an open floor plan, no door, so he can see the edge of the bed through it, alright. 

 Sebastian is a little disappointed he can barely see the inside of Adonis’ cabin, he was curious, okay?! 

 Yet, there can be other times, if Adonis invites him over that is. He’s done enough self-invites for a decade. 

 It smells good in his bedroom, like incense. He would’ve guessed Adonis would be the type to burn incense, he doesn’t know why that makes him smile but it does. 

 “Mm… bed.” Adonis flops onto his bed face first when it’s in reach. Sebastian has to let go of his arm so he doesn’t pull him onto it too, although he’s not sure he’d care. 

 Adonis is on his stomach, face in the pillows, feet lifted into the air as Sebastian grabs onto one of his ankles. 

 “Whatcha’ doin?” Adonis giggles, muffled by the pillows, Sebastian ignores the tone of his voice, he’s drunk. He doesn’t mean to sound so.. inviting. 

 “Taking your boots off for you, I know you don’t want mud on your bed, do you?” 

 “Nooooo…” Adonis garbles into the pillows, staying still just long enough for Sebastian to pull off both of his boots, setting them down somewhere on the floor. 

 Sebastian nearly gets kicked in the head as Adonis suddenly turns over onto his back, legs hanging off the bed bent at the knee. With Sebastian standing between them, he’s given quite the view of the man before him. 

 “You wanna… take my pants off for me, too?” Adonis grins dangerously, his eyes trained on Sebastian.

 He can’t speak, the air caught in his throat, his own eyes scanning down Adonis’ frame. 

 He looks so enticing like this, laid back on the bed, hair splayed out all around him, his shirt falling down his chest. The deep line of definition between his pecs is calling to Sebastian. No. No. Adonis is drunk, he has no idea what he’s saying, he won’t remember this tomorrow… Sebastian is not going to take advantage of him. 

 What the fuck is he thinking, he does not want to ravish Adonis until the daylight breaks. 

 Adonis shifts his hips, getting more comfortable, his knees close around Sebastian even further. 

Actually, maybe he does. 

… 

No! No, he does NOT!

 “You need to sleep.” Sebastian answers, voice barely above a whisper, stepping back, out of the inverted V of Adonis’ legs. 

 Adonis’ eyes gleam in the lowlight, his canines prominent as he smiles. “Who’s gonna walk you home, then?” 

 “Not you, don’t think you’d even be able to stand anymore. I’ll be fine.” Sebastian looks away, down at his knuckles that he rubs together mindlessly, anything to occupy his hands.—He’s afraid he’ll do something he regrets, like reach out and touch—

 “You promise? You go straight home, okay. You be safe….” Adonis’ voice is caked with sleep now, he’s mumbling, obviously drowsy. 

 “I’ll be safe.” Sebastian sighs, a little touched at how Adonis is basically ordering him to be safe at night. 

 “Bye-bye, Sebby...” Adonis stretches out his arms like a cat, then settles back into the dip in the bed, and he’s out. 

 Just like that, legs still halfway off the bed, pink cowboy hat falling over his eyes, he’s knocked out cold. 

 Sebastian holds his laughter, pausing at Adonis’ bedroom doorway, leaning on it as he gives him one more look. 

 It’s cute, the way Adonis sleeps, arms tucked to his chest, eyelashes so thick against his cheeks, legs spread wide. A strand of purple hair flutters as he lets out soft breaths.

 Sebastian stands up too straight when he realizes he’s watching him sleep. God, don’t be a total freak, he rushes out of the cabin hurriedly, closing the door behind him. Gently, not to wake Adonis up. 

 When he’s out in the outside air again, his arms fly up to his chest, even though it’s summer, it’s still a little brisk out at night. He really wants to go back for his hoodie at the Saloon…

  But Adonis told him to go straight home. To be safe. So he’ll listen, walking back home in the dead of night with the new budding heat in his chest to keep him warm. 

Chapter Text

Sebastian wakes up to an ear-splitting headache, and pounding at his bedroom door that makes it ten times worse. 

 “Wake the fuck uppppppp!” An obnoxious voice from behind the door calls, sounding suspiciously like Sam. 

 “No.” Sebastian hollers, even his own voice makes him hurt, grabbing at his head as if it will do anything to lessen the pounding against his skull. 

 “You need water, I know you don’t hydrate yourself,” The person behind the door lectures, “I’m coming in! Don’t be naked!” 

 “Why would I be naked?” Sebastian asks as Sam walks into his room, looking bright and chipper as ever. He doesn’t know how, since the man always drinks like it’s his last night on earth, but Sam never gets hungover. 

 Sebastian does, and when he’s handed a crisp unopened water bottle, he downs the whole thing in five seconds flat. 

 “You’re welcome!” Sam rolls his eyes, even though he doesn’t actually care about a ‘thank you,’ he’ll mention it just to hassle him, “And I dunno, with the way you were acting last night, I figured I’d see a head of purple hair in here too.” 

 “What— Abigail?” Sebastian nearly chokes on the water, capping it closed and setting it loose on his bed.

 “No, stupid, the other one.” 

 “Adonis?!” 

 “Act so surprised…. As if you weren’t falling all over him last night.” 

 “As if you weren’t.” Sebastian rolls over on his side, his covers jumbling all over his legs but he pays no mind, ignoring the blinding overhead light that only makes his headache worse to give Sam a stank face. 

“But you were the most…. Well, the most in your standards. Never seen you like that before! It feels wrong.” Sam takes a seat on the edge of Sebastian’s bed without invitation. It wouldn’t matter anyways, they’ve known each other so long—each of their rooms just feels like an extension of the other’s.

 “Whatever. Whatever. I get it, I’m fucked.”

 “Apparently not. I don’t see nobody else here.” Sam sits back on his hand, smirking at him. 

 Sebastian just stares at him blankly, finally sitting up, his blankets falling down into his lap. 

 “So we’re just gonna admit Adonis is really hot and we want him.” Sebastian breaks the silence he created, running a hand through his messy black hair. 

 “You just admitted that, not me.” Sam deflects, with an overly peachy grin. 

 “But you do too!” Sebastian wants to smack him in the side of the head, hard. 

 “Yeah, yeah... But you don’t catch crushes easy, so this is like, a thing.” Sam speaks with his hands, both of them bracketing the word ‘thing’ as he says it. 

 “What. No. I just know he’s hot, I’m not even gay, I don’t actually want him. That was just a joke.” 

 Silence hangs in the air. 

 “Nah, no it wasn’t.”

 “I know, it’s not.” Sebastian groans into the palms of his hands, holding them to his face, too embarrassed to see Sam looking at him with those knowing green eyes. 

 “Dude— what do I do— I never thought a man was hot before.” Sebastian peaks through his fingers to see Sam holding back laughter. “It’s not funny!” 

 “Well,” Sam calms down to give him genuine advice, “it’s not like I have experience but, do you think Adonis is attractive?” 

 “Yes, I just said that.” 

 “Shhh-shut up. Listen,” Sam puts a finger to Sebastian’s mouth, grimacing and pulling it away when a tongue pokes out and licks it, “Ew- Okay. Listen! Would you act on that attraction?” 

 When Sebastian says absolutely nothing, Sam starts shrieking. 

 “Oh! So you would!” 

 “Uh.. no. Well, not at first, but, after last night, I… I had the weirdest dream.” Sebastian refuses to look him in the eyes, instead his comforter seems much more interesting. 

 “What do you mean— what happened last night? When you walked him home? Oh my god, did you suck him off?” 

 “NO! Why is that your first thought? Freak!” Sebastian is appalled at how happy Sam looks at the idea, “No, I didn’t do anything like that.” 

 “Then what’s the deal, brother?” 

 “Uhm.. he may have asked me to take his pants off.” 

 “HE WHAT????” Sam jumps to his feet, hands immediately on his head and pulling on his blond hair in disbelief. 

 “He was sooooo drunk, I don’t think he knew what he was saying.” Sebastian tries to reason, knowing that is most likely the case. 

 “Bro, I get drunk, I don’t start asking you to take my pants off— how the fuck- how did that even come up?” 

 “Well, after he asked me to take him to bed—“  

 “Take him to bed? Ohmigod, I bet he sounded so sexy, wait— why did he—“

 “Shut up! Do you wanna know or not?” 

 Sam nods his head rapidly. 

 “Alright then,” Sebastian makes Sam sit back down on the bed, ordering him like a dog with his pointer finger, “He asked it weird because he doesn’t know…”

 “How would he not understand what take me to bed means— he lived in Zuzu.”

 “ZIP IT. He didn’t mean it like that, like make sure he actually makes it to bed instead of passing out, whatever, it was like 2am.” Sebastian takes a deep breath, “ANYWAYS! I took him to his bed and he like flopped on it and his ass was like, there, so I looked, and then I noticed he had his muddy boots on so I took those off and then he asked me if I wanted to take his pants off too.” He exhales, not knowing when was the last time he spoke that much in succession. 

  “Bro. And you didn’t do it?” 

 “Hell! No! He was drunk— and even if he wasn’t I don’t think.. like, Adonis is really, uh, attractive but.. I’m not gay.” 

 “Hmm…. But you think a man is attractive.” 

 “Yes.” 

 “So, you’re gay.” 

 “No- that’s not how it works. I just think he’s attractive.” 

 “Dude that is literally how it works. You, a guy, like Adonis, who is also a guy. Guy plus guy equals gay. You don’t have to kiss him to be gay, you’re already there.” Sam looks at him like he’s cracked Davinci's code, explaining like he’s got the science of homosexuality down to a T. 

 “I am not gay. I’ve liked- I like women.” 

 “So you’re bi.” Sam just shrugs, “I might be too. Dunno.” 

 “Wha- no! I’m not! I’m.. I’m not,” Sebastian notices how calm Sam is about his new revelation of sexuality and envy rears its ugly head, “How are you so chill about this?” 

 “Uh. Don’t care.” 

 “You don’t- but what about your family finding out- your Dad…” Sebastian knows Sam’s parents are okay, but he also knows they can be too-traditional assholes most of the time.

 “Don’t care!” Sam interrupts him with a hand out, palm flat, like he’s trying to shut him up. 

 “What about the other townsfolk, I’m sure Alex wouldn’t shut up if he saw you with another man…” 

 “Don’t. Care.” Sam lays back on the end of Sebastian’s bed, so nonchalant, so carefree, hands behind his head, “Also I’m like 99% sure Alex is fully gay, like the closet is glass.” 

 Sebastian laughs at that, he could see it. Alex, always so masculine and heteronormative, taking it up the ass. 

  His stomach stirs at the thought, so he ends the visual before it even starts. 

 Sebastian really needs to stop having sexy visuals of men getting it on. This was the second time! 

“So… speaking of that dream….?” Sam props himself up with one forearm, the other hand drawing circles on Sebastian’s bedding. 

 “Stop it, weirdo.” Seb smacks his hand, getting him to stop that fake display of flirtation, at least with Sam he 100% knows it’s fake, “I don’t have to tell you, what time is it anyways? I have a module due at four.”

 Sebastian tries to get up but only gets as far as shoving the covers off him before Sam slaps a hand on his leg, keeping him there. 

 “You will tell me. You will tell me everything.” 

“For why?” 

 “Because,” Sam whispers now, “I’ll tell Adonis what you did in fourth grade.” 

 The fucker is threatening him! 

 “NO. You will NOT!” Sebastian is ready to unleash hell on this boy, but relents because he knows Vincent wouldn’t like being an only child. 

 “I won’t….” Sam looks at his nails to seem busy, only to whip his green eyes right back on Sebastian as he thought he could finally catch his breath, “Because you will tell me.” 

 “Okay! Fine!” Sebastian groans, voice hoarse from cheering so much last night, “But you will never tell one single soul.” 

 “Promise.” Sam grins cheekily, holding out his pinky. 

 “Ugh.” Sebastian rolls his eyes but interlocks his pinky with Sam’s for a moment, cementing the promise. 

 “Ok! Go! Speak! Now! Now, now, now!” Sam probes, slapping the bed with each ‘now’ with varying degrees of intensity. 

 “I hate you.” 

 “No, you don’t.” 

 “I do— okay. So, it started off normal… at least, kind of?” 

 Sam rolls his wrist, urging him to continue. 

 “I was walking down the path to the farm, you know the one from my lake?” 

“‘Course I remember, how could I not? We used that path all the time before Adonis moved in.” 

 Sebastian seems to freeze up at the mention of his name, swallowing thickly. 

 “Mhm, so, I was walking… and I was looking down, my hand was being held.” Sebastian says it like he wasn’t actively participating, “My vision was all blurry.” 

 Sam throws his hands on his knees, cupping his face and listening intently, his big green eyes focused on Sebastian so clearly he has to avoid them. 

 “Ha… like I knew someone was there, holding my hand, but it was fuzzy. It’s like I didn’t want to know who it was, but their hair was flying everywhere, it was purple… light purple…” 

 “Hooo boy…” Sam is covering his mouth with one hand, crinkles by his eyes from what no doubt must be a huge smile. 

 “And I, I knew it wasn’t Abi, that ship has sailed anyways— but, their hand was too big, too strong, I knew. I looked up, and then my eyes seemed to focus and-“ Sebastian curls in on himself, arms tightly folded and back curved forward. 

 “C’mon,” Sam drops the hand from his mouth, giving him a way too sincere look, “It’s okay, you know I don’t judge.” 

 Sebastian nods his head weakly, “It was him, and his grip was so steady and warm. He was smiling, it’s like I could only see him, the sun was shining only on him, through the trees, his skin was— he looked, he looked… I don’t know.” Sebastian covers his face with both hands, leaving his voice muffled, “He starts leaning in? I must’ve too, because I realized we were going to kiss and I- I didn’t stop it!” 

“Oh- did you kiss him? God- what happened next?” Sam looks like he’ll fall off the bed if he keeps teetering on the edge like that, Sebastian wants to throw a pillow at his head. 

 “No— I did not kiss him. Someone decided to wake me up before that could happen.” Sebastian removes his hands just to give Sam a pointed look, ignoring how his own voice sounds… disappointed at that. 

 “Ohhhhhhh shhhit,” Sam flaps his hand and pretends to drop an imaginary mic, “Sorry brotha, didn’t mean to interrupt your wet dream.” 

 Sebastian reaches behind him to whip a pillow directly at Sam’s head, the blond swerves out of its path at the last moment, cackling wildly. 

 “No-“ Sam wheezes, “no- listen, sorry, I’m not tryna be an ass. That doesn’t even sound like a wet dream at all, that sounds like…” 

 “What?” Sebastian’s eyebrows are going to get stuck high on his forehead with all these new confusing emotions. 

 Sam just gives him a look. 

 “What! What?” Sebastian knees closer to Sam on the bed to grab his wrists, shaking them along with the rest of his body, “What! What is going on in that vast, barren brain of yours? Huh?!” 

 “Chilllllll, chill.” Sam knocks Seb’s hands off of him, “I was just gonna say… that’s no horny dream, that was a dream of yearning.” 

 Sebastian gasps, his mouth falling slack. 

 “Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t have the dream, you did,” Sam throws his hands up in surrender, “Plus, I should know, I’ve had horny dreams about Adonis, seven probably.” 

 Sebastian’s eyelid twitches at how easily his friend was able to admit that, while talking about holding hands makes his own stomach drop. 

 “Aw, don’t worry, I don’t want Adonis like that, I can just appreciate a beautiful man when I see one!” Sam winks. 

 Sebastian feels his blood boil, for Sam to assume he’s yearning, which he definitely is not, and then to have sex dreams with Adonis? Seven of them? 

 Sebastian doesn’t understand why he’s upset about that. He’ll ignore it, just like everything else recently. 

 “I’m not yearning.” 

 “Yes, you are.”

 “No, I’m not.” 

 “Well, then, Dream-Sebastian was.” 

 “Shut uuuuuup.” Sebastian throws another pillow, this time it hits Sam straight in the chest, making some air knock out of his lungs, satisfyingly. 

 Sam quickly grabs the pillow at his chest, walloping it right back to its sender. Sebastian watches the pillow hit his shoulder and then topple to the ground, unfazed. “You’re bad at that.” 

 “You’re bad at admitting when you have a crush.” Sam lays back down on his bed, comfortable, but looking like a dog, scratching behind his ear with fever. 

 Sebastian sighs. 

 “I should know, after all…” Sam cocks an eyebrow at him, smirking. 

 Sebastian takes it back, Sam doesn’t look like a golden retriever who still thinks it’s a puppy; no, he’s not that cute- he’s an asshole. He can be a coyote, a coyote with mange. 

  He really doesn’t want to hear it again, how Sam had to nurse him back to sanity after Abigail. Sebastian pined for her for a full year. Each day was more hopeless and sad than the last. Sam was there to spoon-feed him Cheeto-puffs and distract him with video games through all of it. 

 Because really, they both knew, all three of them knew, it wouldn’t work. Abigail was younger, had more dreams, had more life to her. Sebastian couldn’t take that away from her, he couldn’t drag her down. He knew that’s what would happen. He knew they’d never make it out of Pelican Town. 

 That’s what they both ultimately wanted, right? To leave this town. They couldn't do it together, it would ruin everything. It would ruin them. 

 “I still think you only liked her because she was the only alternative-shawty in town…” Sam breaks him out of his thoughts, “But now there’s a new alt-shawty… ah-haha.” 

 Sebastian groans, loudly. 

 “Am I wrong?! But, am I wrong though?” Sam laughs, trying to avoid the little kicks Sebastian sends over the covers weakly. 

 “Shut UP! I’m tired of you.” Sebastian flings himself out of the bed, trudging over to his computer and starting it up. He needs to get his work done, not think of purple-haired people who have or are turning his life upside down. 

 “Aw- but without me, who would save you from dehydration? I put some ibuprofen on your desk!” Sam cooes, taking the opportunity now that the bed is empty to sprawl across it, fishing his gamepad out of his pocket. After years and years of being friends, they treat each other's rooms as their own. 

 “I have some ideas- IT’S TWO?” Sebastian croaks, eyes focusing on the little white text in the right corner of his computer, 2:10pm. 

 Sam only giggles, his gamepad chiming to life with a family tune from that stupid game he’s addicted to. 

 “You’re lucky we’re friends or I’d kill you.” Sebastian only shakes his head, fingers thrumming as he works on finishing that module that’s due in under two hours now. 

꩜

 Adonis debates on whether or not he should apologize to Sebastian. He could feign ignorance, he was too drunk, he didn’t know. Or, he could ignore it all together, maybe Sebastian wouldn’t remember. 

 He couldn’t be that lucky, the spirits were displeased today.

 After a shower, and a twenty minute hair braid session, he’s decided. 

 What takes even longer is deciding what to wear. He knows he has to tend to the animals at some point in the day, preferably earlier so the hens get sunlight. And milking the cows… he can’t wait until he gets his hands on an auto-grabber, his mornings would be so much easier. More time to visit… 

 Alright. He has to get it together, slipping on a worn pair of black overalls and a black long-sleeve underneath, he heads out the door, saying goodbye to Onion on the way out. 

 He regrets it as he steps out, within the first week of summer and it’s already blazing hot out. No, it will cover up his anxiety sweats, this is perfect. Sebastian will never know. 

 He almost turns around as he makes it through the path towards the lake, eyes landing on the huge wooden house. He would have listened to the thoughts tugging on his brainstem, urging him to run back home and give his sweet Onion a huge hug— if he didn’t hear some noise. 

 Or music, rather. It was beautiful and harmonic, it reminded him of fairy music. If fairies made music, he didn’t know, but he assumes it’d sound like that. 

 He follows it subconsciously, momentarily forgetting his boy troubles and stepping past Sebastian’s house. Sebastian very well could be awake by now, it must be afternoon, maybe one? But he can’t bring himself to the door, choosing to follow the melody instead.

 When he’s near the lip of the lake, he sees them. The culprit of those melodic tunes that lulled him into a sense of security. One that was not truly there. 

 Abigail is swaying, her long hair fluttering around her, eyes closed as she blows into her flute. The wind seems to make the notes travel even more so. 

 He never thought Abigail would play the flute, but he’s made a lot of bad assumptions lately so what does he know? He knows absolutely nothing about these townsfolk, no matter how much he tries to fit in, he has a feeling he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

 Her light blue eyes slip open, focusing on Adonis and turning into cresets as she pulls the mouthpiece away from her lips. 

 “Adonis! Hey, bud! Did my flute disturb you? You look... troubled.” Abigail folds her hands together in front of her after she sets her flute down in its case, giving him a once over. 

 “No, you are fine,” Adonis grabs his long braid from behind him, smoothing it down with two hands, “It’s very beautiful, actually, I am just stressed.” 

 “Awh, thanks. But why?” Abigail sits down on one of the large rocks, her legs tucked so she’s angled towards him, patting another rock next to her like she wants him to talk about it. 

 Adonis is no saint, he will take the opportunity to vent if he can, if it’s presented to him on a silver platter. 

 “I messed up. I, it was catastrophic- Oh Abi, I am so bad- terrible, awful, GARBAGE.” Adonis plops down with an anguished groan, knees clunking together, using every synonym for ‘fucking shit’ without expletives. And He’s too damn tall for this rock, his legs bend up in sharp angles, he must look like the fool he feels like.

 “How so…?” Abigail is gentle, kind, and Adonis assumes they are friends now. She is the closest to him out of anyone, even more than Sebastian or Sam— always in his daily path to Pierre’s- they talk once a day, at least every other day. He figures he can tell her this, she seems trustworthy, even if he’s only known her for little over a month. 

 “When Sebastian took me home last night I- I- Iaskedhimtotakemypantsoff.”

   “You what?”

 “What- I asked him to take my pants off. Is that not correct? You know English is not my first—“ 

 “I get it,” Abigail looked at him fondly, “Just wanted you to say it twice.” 

 “You are devilish. You are! Like a minx, a fox in the tall grass. You wait to pounce, don’t you?” Adonis is slack jawed as he speaks, eyelids pinned back in disbelief. Abigail is smiling at him like she’s proud of herself.

 Adonis never really noticed how piercing her eyes were. So blue, but so light, like arctic ice. Somewhere distant in his mind he’s on a ship getting wrecked by an iceberg with purple hair. 

 He really needs to get to know the townsfolk more often, they are throwing him curve balls left and right. 

 “Well? What’s so bad, he didn’t do it?” 

 “No- he didn’t- what am I saying? He did not. I know that I must have scared him, he must have left so quickly, or I passed out- I’m unsure.” 

 “Ah, I see.” Abigail has her hands connected, thumbs together and fingers pointing up like a triangle, like she’s pondering. 

 “What does that mean?” 

 “Well, Sweet DonDon, I know for a fact that is good. If he ran out that means he likes you.” 

 DonDon? Sweet DonDon? How endearing! Wait.

 “What- that does not make sense. Is that not.. the opposite? Shouldn’t he be running to me?”

 “Oh!” 

  Adonis blinks a couple times when Abigail’s jaw drops in a gasp and crude smile; maybe that sounded more suggestive than he intended. 

 “No, you see,” Abigail pauses to giggle, “when Sebastian actually likes someone, he runs the other direction. Treats them like a plague, avoiding— stalking in the shadows, I should know, he liked me for a while.” 

 Adonis is gobsmacked again, stunned into silence, wishing he never said anything at all. How could it be a good idea, telling one of the people who’s known him way, way longer than you, that you fancy one of her best friends, apparently one that had a crush on her!

 He wants to melt into the earth. He should not have even left the farm today, just tend to his sweet chickens, he could’ve vented to them! In fact, he does regularly, but that’s just between them and him.

  If he just minded his own business and kept to himself, and his hens, he wouldn’t ever be in this situation, he was beyond embarrassed. 

 “Oh sweetie, look at that blush, you always get so red. It’s real cute, no wonder Sebby can’t handle it.” Abigail speaks slowly, coyly, and the image of a fox tracking its prey rears in his mind. 

 “What? You aren’t upset that I…?” 

 “No, no offense but ew, me and Sebastian was never- and will never- be a thing. He’s a cute guy, yeah, but us in a relationship would be awful. I’m more than fine being friends with him. Only friends.” Abigail crosses her arms in a big X to cement the point. Adonis is starting to feel the walls of his mind crumble. She says something else but his mind is already blanking out, something like an alarm blaring. If his brain had filing cabinets the little creatures in his head would be throwing them around in panic.

 Abigail is so gorgeous and Sebastian? He’s Adonis’ perfect ideal type, scrawny with a little muscle, big dark eyes, brunette, slightly awkward but so sweet, he’s everything. How could Abigail not jump on it? They would be a very attractive couple…

 “So, it’s okay?” 

 Abigail looks confused at his question for a moment, but before he knows it she’s placing both hands on his shoulders, “Adonis… you are so precious… yes, please, pursue Sebastian. He needs this. Anyone would be enthralled to have you as their partner.” 

 “You.. you think so?” Adonis feels the smile before he resisters it, Abigail really is a good new friend to have, he was right to trust her. 

 “Yes, of course, and I’ll keep this between us, okay? I won’t tell him.” Abigail lets go of his shoulders only to emphasize her statement with the point of a finger towards the wood house. God, it strangely felt exciting to talk about Sebastian right in front of his house, he was almost giddy. 

 “Why did you come this way anyways, to see him?” Abigail wiggled her eyebrows playfully. 

 “No- yes. I was going to apologize for last night.” 

 “For what? Flirting with him? Don’t you fucking dare.” Abigail’s bluntness genuinely startled him, he inches backwards on the rock for a moment. 

 “But- that was so vulgar of me…” Adonis tucks a strand of his bangs behind his ear, looking at the dirt. The tip of his boot digging into it, a little dust cloud in its wake. 

 “No, that was perfect. Sebastian is kind of a dummy, I mean, especially if it’s another guy, he won’t know unless you spell it out for him. I honestly bet he’s denying it meant anything right now.” 

 “You think? And- what do you mean, another guy? Is he not… is he not a little gay?” Adonis asks genuinely, watching as Abigail breaks out into deep laughter. 

 “No- at least he thinks he’s not. Thank god, someone else sees it! I thought it was just me. Sebastian is gay. He just doesn’t know it yet. It’s like you were sent for him from heaven! You are the perfect man to get his head out of his ass.” 

 “This is all so much, you’re telling me he’s not queer? I really thought… he just seems so…” 

 “Fruity?”

 Adonis wasn’t going for that exactly, but he nods his head anyways. 

 “Exactly. Now, let’s plan, let’s think how we’re gonna get him to wake up. Or how you will get him to wake up.” 

 “Ah- are you sure he will like it? I think he’s really… he’s really nice. I don’t want to scare him off. I can just be a good friend! What if he doesn’t even want a… boyfriend? What if I don’t even want a boyfriend- the farm is so much work. I won’t have the time—“

 “Calm down, pretty boy. Don’t worry a hair on that head of yours, knowing Seb, this will be as slow as slow burn gets. You’ll have time to think about it. So will he.” 

 “Scheisse- alright. What do you have in mind? You know him better than me.” Adonis relents, scooting closer to Abigail, they huddle close together like this is an important meeting. 

 “Yes! Finally! I can scheme! Oh yes, alright, so what you need to do first is…”

꩜

 “I can’t believe you almost made me miss my due date.” Sebastian groans, head at his desk collapsed into his arms. 

 “Well, you turned it in on time, didn’t you? Also, phrasing it like that makes it sound like you’re pregnant.” Sam hasn’t moved from his spot one Sebastian’s bed, some sort of RPG lighting up the screen of his gamepad. 

 “Yeah. If you think one minute away from the deadline is on time, and fuck you.”

“It shows determination!” 

 “Whatever, asshole, I need a smoke.” 

 “Mhm.. I’ll head out. I’ll catch you later, the potluck is coming up.” Sam slips his device in his pocket as he stands, stretching in the middle of Sebastian’s bedroom. 

 “Oh, almost forgot.” Sebastian lifts his head in time to see Sam scale the three steps to his door, pausing to send Sebastian an exaggerated wink.

 “What is that for?” 

 “Don’t you think we’ll have another guest attending the famous blue tent at the potluck this year?” Sam grins, wide and toothy.

 “I’ll ask.” 

 “You do that, buddy!” And Sam is out, the door closed behind him. Sebastian lets out the sigh he didn’t know he was holding. 

 Sam can be so intense sometimes, don’t get him wrong, Sebastian loves him so much. Sam is his very best friend, he wouldn’t know how to go on without him, but he still needs his breaks in between. 

 And when he thinks he’s seen the last of Sam for the day, footsteps thud down to his door and Sebastian isn’t surprised when a head of blond hair pops into his room from behind it. 

 “Go take your smoke break now.” 

 “What? Why?” Sebastian is shocked to see him again, and especially with such a bewildered expression. 

 “Uh… the sunset is so pretty right now.” Sam looks around the room as he thinks, “Uh, yeah.” 

 The sun shouldn’t even be setting now, it’s four pm in summer.

 “Bro, you’re weird. Get outta here.” Sebastian waves him off with a flick of his wrist, sighing once more. 

 “Go outside! Okay- byeeee!” Sam disappears with a closed door once more, and Sebastian can’t help himself. 

  He gets up, so curious he forgets what he’s wearing, just his dark plaid boxers and a loose sleep-shirt, nothing he’d ever wear in public, but he climbs his stairs anyways, a cig tightly between his fingers and a lighter balled in a fist.

 He brushes past his mom, she doesn’t spare a glance either so he figures it’s fine, and walks out the front door. 

 Sam is long gone by now, so he can’t ask him what was so important he needed to come outside this instant, so he scans over the property instead. 

 Nothing is out of the ordinary, the water ripples against the store, birds chirp, the tree leaves rustle in the wind, and you know what, the sun really is beautiful today...

 He’s lighting the cig in his mouth when he sees it, mouth dropping in shock so rapidly the cig almost falls to the ground half-lit. 

 Abigail and Adonis, talking animatedly by the lakeshore. And he means animatedly. 

  Abigail is speaking currently, he’s too far away to hear what she’s saying but he can tell from her lips she’s speaking with power, her hand in a fist slamming down on her other open palm empathizing her point. Adonis jumps back, his shoulders shaking from what must be laughter. Okay, so she’s not angry at him, what could they be talking about so fiercely? 

 They kind of look funny, two brightly colored heads of hair, the sun shining down on them as they lounge across the large rocks near the water. He’s reminded of mermaids, the powerful ones that lure men to their deaths. 

 He wants so badly to see Adonis’ face, his back is turned from Sebastian’s point of view, but he watches as the man twists a strand of hair between his fingers, head bobbing as he talks. Abigail giggles, covering her mouth. 

 Oh wow. He didn’t know they were close like that, close enough to gossip, close enough to share something intimate, something Sebastian isn’t allowed to hear. 

 Well, he doesn’t know that for sure, so he does something so out of character it shocks him himself. 

 “Ay! What y’all doing?!” He shouts across the grass, two purple-haired heads snapping towards his voice. 

 Once they recognize it’s Sebastian, they cower in on themselves, squealing with laughter and various noises of shock and embarrassment. 

 Oh. So they are talking about him! Like gossiping bitches ! 

 “Get on! Get on outta here!” Sebastian calls after them, taking a long puff of his cigarette in between sentences, smoke crawling around his words, “GIT!”

 The two of them struggle to get to their feet, too busy laughing and catching their breath, before they take off like bats out of hell, running past Sebastian as he looks at them go with his mouth agape. 

 The two of them run down the path towards the farm, cackling all the while. Did they seriously just skip off holding hands and giggling? 

 So that’s why Sam wanted him to come out, to catch them in the act. Oh god, he wants to know what they were saying so badly. It has to be about him— the way they reacted to him coming outside. 

 Sebastian takes another drag, eyebrows furrowed, creasing even further when he looks down at himself. 

 Wonderful. Adonis and Abigail catch him in his boxers with sleep-swept hair, just rich. 

 Sebastian throws the half-smoked cigarette to the ground, face hot. 

   He still picked it up and threw it away after a quick breather. 

Chapter Text

The Luau comes sooner than later, almost surprising Sebastian. He really should be used to it, it’s the same time every single year, his mind must be elsewhere lately. 

 He doesn’t dwell on why. 

 After finishing a steaming mug of coffee, he rings out his back on the head of his chair. Crack, crack, crackcrackcrack. 

 His back aches. He’s been holed up in his room for days now, working, barely eating, not sleeping. 

 If it wasn’t for the event he’s sure he wouldn’t even go outside today either, how many days since he’s seen the sun? 

 Sebastian can’t remember, but the light burns his eyes when he steps outside, momentarily getting flash banged. He stumbles, but makes it on his way to the beach. 

 The wind rustles the hair he already spent too much time trying to tame into place, he can’t seem to let go of his bangs, it’s like they’re a part of him. He smoothes them down, passing through the town. 

 Once the bridge is in sight, Sebastian feels the familiar anxiety finally rolling its way up his back.  He regrets his outfit suddenly, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

 This is the first time in a while he’ll see Adonis again, usually he’ll say Hi at least once a day and/or bring him a gift twice a week but this last week was radio silence. Adonis has Sebastian’s number too, he could’ve texted- or called. 

 Sebastian could’ve done the same, in fact, he drafted a text to Adonis. Something like, ‘How’ve you been, is your head okay?’ but it sounded wrong, so he deleted it immediately.  

 It’s weird. Sebastian kind of… misses those interactions? He didn’t realize how much he looked forward to them until they stopped, it’s not serious, it’s only been a week but… 

 He feels nervous. Extra nervous, more so than a normal townie event. Is that because of Adonis? 

 Sebastian stills, looking over the river that rushes under the bridge. 

 He’s going to be fine. He will see Adonis again and they will be chummy. No one will talk about- that night- oh- he almost forgot. How could he forget? 

 Sebastian can still see it, hear it, even smell the incense heavy air of Adonis’ cabin when he thinks of that moment. 

 The way the man’s lips curled up after he asked him to take off his pants. 

 Sebastian bites his lip, pinching his thigh through his jean pockets. He can’t be thinking like this right now, or ever. 

 He forces his feet to move, crossing over the bridge; the sunlight already beating down on his back as he steps through the sand. He shouldn’t have worn black, but this shirt was a special black shirt. It highlighted what little muscle he had. 

 He didn't pick it out for any specific reason, no. 

 “Sebby! Brothaaaaaaaaaa’” A familiar voice calls, and before he knows it Sam is bounding up to him. He doesn’t know how he missed him, considering how he’s wearing bright red shorts and a flimsy white tank top.

 “Hey man.” Sebastian returns his handshake and claps him on the back, Sam tucks an arm under his, resting on his back as he guides him through the bustle of people on the beach. 

 “Still in jeans? Thought you’d loosen up by now.” Sam giggles in his ear. 

   Sebastian has half a mind to push his head away but he won’t. 

 “‘See you’re dressed like a manwhore.” Sebastian grabs at Sam’s skin-tight tank and the fabric *thwacks* back.

 “Could say the same.” Sam gives him a nod, eyeing at Sebastian’s pecs through his tight black shirt. 

 “Whatever. Why loosen up? It’s just another year.” 

 “Another year to get high and party!” Sam shouts, bumping the side of his hips into Sebastian’s, who inches his own away in response. 

 “Keep your voice down, idiot.” Abigail comes up to Sam with a drink in one hand, ripping him away from Sebastian to scold him. “Want the Mayor and his lackeys to hear you and shut us down? No. Didn’t think so.” 

 Oh yeah. The tent. The pink tent. 

  Sebastian almost let the most important part of the potluck slip his mind, just like a lot of thoughts recently. Get it together. 

 “When are we starting?” Sebastian teeters on his feet, his black converse already covered in sand. 

 “Emily and Sandy are getting set up. I think Adonis is helping them now, dunno, he was talking with Linus last I saw.” Sam shrugs once Abigail is done setting him straight. She takes a long sip of her drink. 

 “Okay. Cool.” Sebastian smooths down his bangs again, out of reflex, nothing else. 

 Abigail laughs. 

 “What?” Sebastian drops his hands back into his pockets. 

 “Nothing. Come on. They should be ready now.” Abigail steps behind the two boys, corralling them towards the right of the beach, sticking close to Elliot’s house as they pass to avoid as many geezers as possible. 

 “Want a refill?” Pam calls across the dance floor, stirring at her punch concoction. 

 “In a second, Pam!” Abigail raises her cup towards her, pointedly avoiding the gaze of Lewis and that weird critic guy from out of town. Pam only grumbles something and gives her a nod. 

 Sebastian is amazed at Abigail’s social battery. That interaction would have Sebastian stumbling, considering where they’re headed. 

 Soon enough, the bump of the speakers and gaggle of townie voices fade. Sebastian thinks they’re going to rear off to the side when Abigail keeps their path straight. 

 “What? When did this get fixed?” Sebastian asks as they walk over the now restored small bridge to the previously unavailable beach, “Are we moving the spot now?” 

 “Mhm, Adonis fixed it, ain’t that cool?” Abigail hums, her hand guiding Sebastian over it. 

 “I think so, check this out.” Sam motions to the beach. This part of the sands has little dunes where water can collect, tide pools. There are so many shells and sparkling rocks laid in the sand, they glimmer in the sunlight, it’s beautiful. He had no idea this was even here and he’s lived in this valley all his life. 

 “Huh.” Is all he can say.

 “Right?! Also! He brought fairy-lights! So when it gets dark, it’ll be even cuter.” Sam points at the tent, it’s now moved all the way to the very top corner of the second beach, tucked near the bush. 

 And there’s lights, draped across the large tent and strung around fake-torches, they sparkle yellows, reds, and blues. It has Adonis written all over it. 

 “Hey sexies!” Sandy waves them over, tending to her grill which has six weenies roasting delicately across it. She’s wearing an apron that reads ‘HOT MAMA!’ as she flips one over. 

 “Brought back the hounds, girl!” Abigail shouts back, walking ahead of the two proudly, her cup still strong in her grip. 

 Sebastian really thinks Abigail gets in her element when the lesbians come out in the valley. 

 As they walk up, they can see Emily gyrating her hips to the small stereo on the one, long table. Various alcoholic drinks dot along it as well. 

 Sebastian wonders just how much the girls have already had to drink. Emily has those fake flower necklaces swinging around in her hands. 

 What catches his eye next are the various spread of towels, pinks and blues; colors splashed across the white sand.

 On a dark purple towel, Adonis is laid out with his arms behind his head.

 “Hey.” Sebastian finds himself planted right in front of him, looking down at him; his shadow even blocks the sunlight. 

 He has to be honest, his mouth went dry. He needs a drink, now . 

 Adonis looks stunning. From those little black swim shorts that showcase those muscular thighs, to the way he wears that loose, white-cropped tank. His hair, down and flowing in the wind, with sunglasses perched on his long nose-

 Wait.

 Cropped tank? 

 Abs in his face, gleaming golden in the sun. Sebastian understands where that ‘grate a block of cheese on ‘em’ saying comes from now. 

Hmm… that’s.. yeah… yeah, okay. 

 His vision nearly fades out for a moment, a voice bringing him back. 

 “Oh Sebastian, so good to see you.” Adonis chimes, pushing his sunglasses up onto his head. 

 Now that those melting milk chocolate eyes are staring up at him, Seb feels like he’s swallowed sand. Maybe he wasn’t ready to see Adonis again, maybe he should go home. He can feign sick, it would work. 

 “What have you been up to? I haven’t seen you in a bit…” Adonis smiles up at him, sharp canines… the sun is in his eyes. Why isn’t he reacting? Those eyes… 

 “What? Oh, nothing. Just work. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been outside.” Sebastian teeters on his feet, he feels awkward like this. As much as he likes it, it’s a little much to keep staring down at Adonis. Should he sit down? 

 “Well, I’m glad you are.” Adonis is always so genuine with his words, is he like this all the time? With everyone? Sebastian definitely needs to sit down. 

 “Come on, buttfuckers. Let’s go.” Sam breaks the moment, screaming from the tent opening as he holds the flap open for Abigail to crawl in. No one acknowledges the pet name. 

 Sandy flicks off the grill and shucks off her apron. Emily turns the stereo that’s now playing 80s disco all the way up and clambers inside. 

 They’re starting early this year, okay, Sebastian can do that. 

 “Should I be nervous?” Adonis gets to his feet, towering over Sebastian once again.  

  He wonders when he’ll get used to it. Maybe never, as Sebastian’s eyes drift down to his exposed stomach again. 

  How does one get so taught? Farm work? Yeah, farm work. Working all day. Sweating. 

 “I’ll take that as a yes.” Adonis laughs, walking toward the tent. 

 “No- what? Sorry, I zoned out. No, don’t be nervous. Nothing you’ve never dealt with.” Sebastian has to skip a step to catch up to his long strides. 

 “Okay!” Adonis cheers, getting down on all fours to get inside the opening. It’s too small for his frame, because, of course it is. 

 Sebastian definitely isn’t enjoying the view as Sam coughs loudly. 

 “Shove it already, will you?” Sebastian gives him a stank look as he ducks his head in the tent, yipping when he feels a hand smack his ass. 

 He’s ready to turn around and tackle Sam when someone else’s hand tugs at him instead, dragging him down the floor, falling cross-legged. 

 “C’mon now, don’t make us wait.” Abigail gives him a sly grin, letting go of his hand only to chug the rest of her drink. 

 Adonis laughs quietly to his left— did Abigail purposely make him sit in between them? No, that’s silly. That wouldn’t make sense. 

 Sam comes to sit next to the other side of Adonis, Sandy next to him and Emily sat between her and Abigail. The circle around the spread is complete. 

 “Oh, I was not expecting this. This is… glorious!” Adonis finally notices the spread before them, eyes flitting from various objects sprawled across the blanket. 

 They seemed to upgrade the tent this year too, instead of uneasy sand under the thin tent floor, they piled plush blankets around, pillows even. Some fairy lights strung around the ceiling for ambience, it’s like they were trying to impress someone. 

 “Right? We went all out this year, we wanted to show ya’ the valley is still something fresh!” Emily bounces on her knees, a brownie already in her hand. 

 Before the six of them, there had to be twenty brownies, ten marshmallow treats, two canisters of gummies, a large rainbow glass bong with a large tray of ground hash, and thirty pre-rolled joints, tucked into a flower vase like a bouquet. 

 “This is crazy. How did you even get all the stuff?” Adonis has his hands cupping his cheeks. There’s this expression across his features that makes Sebastian want to see it more and more and everyday forever. 

  “Went down to ZuZu on my bike.” Sebastian speaks before thinking, mouth running, “Sandy baked the goods, I wrangled Sam into helping with the joints.” 

 “That’s so sweet of all of you… you didn’t need to go the extra mile for me, you all know that, right? I’m impressed by all of you already.” Adonis is so kind when he talks, his voice so low and smooth, it must make everyone feel the same way it makes Sebastian. 

 “Yeah, yeah. We just wanted to, big oaf.” Sandy reaches over Sam’s lap to rub at Adonis’ ear for a moment, taking back her hand like it was normal. 

 Adonis is making friends with everyone, close friends, to call him a name like that, touch him like that— have him react with a cute smile. 

 Even Sandy, who Sebastian himself only sees once a year? Did he fix that bus too? Adonis has been fixing everything lately.

 “Don’t sell yourself short, your lips got chapped as hell making all those cones.” Sam raises some fruity alcoholic drink in a tall can that Sebastian has no idea where came from, towards him. 

 “Stop. It’s whatever.” Sebastian rubs the side of his cheek with his tongue, staring up at a random pink tarp corner. He did not like being put on the spot. 

 “Shall we start?” Abigail speaks up right after him, which he’s thankful for. Only Sam laughs in return. 

 “You? Uh-huh babygirl. You just gon’ sit there while the adults get high.” Sam always chastises Abigail for being younger, even if it’s just a year.

 “Stuff a joint in it.” Abigail ignores Sam’s tutting to pluck a joint from the vase and tossing it into his lap, “Light it, blondie, Mama needs her secondhand high.” 

  The group dissolves into laughter after that, it flows even more as more joints get lit and bowls get cashed. At some point, seven joints came in rotation and no one knew what to do, but they made it work. 

 Only one brownie remains after an hour, they all start to crumble. 

 “Never knew you handled your smoke like that, city boy.” Emily’s dress has slipped off her shoulder, she’s half-way on Sandy’s lap at this point, half smoked joint between her fingers. 

 With the opening to the tent zipped tightly closed and the air vents taped shut, the tent is foggy. Smoke hangs in the air thickly, swirling around in the currents of six breaths. 

 “Oh yeah? Watch this.” Adonis shakes out his shoulders before taking a deep inhale off another joint, the smoke curls out of his mouth before he sucks it back in seamlessly. A perfect ghost. 

 Sebastian would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed, and if he didn’t think that was a little hot. 

 “Well I’ll be.” Abigail hoots from a puddle on the floor, this may be the one time a year she’s comfortable around smoke, but damn does she get comfortable. She must be feeling it a lot, sprawled across the blankets like they’re the most comfortable in the world. 

 “Can you do this?” Sam immediately interjects, snatching the joint to inhale and attempting to let the smoke flow up his nose but he coughs and it all sputters out. 

 “Ha, lame, give it,” Sebastian reaches over Adonis to pluck the joint off of a wheezing Sam, there’s a reason Sam doesn’t smoke often, “Watch and learn.” 

 Sebastian takes a deep inhale, one to just enjoy it and another he lets float up through his nostrils. He performs his trick well, not a slip of his inhale drifting away.

 “Alright, Sebby!” Someone giggles. 

 “Okay, Sebastian, I see you!” Another cheers.

 “Whatever, I tried.” A grumble. 

 “Nice!” Is all that Sebastian’s ears register. Adonis’ eyes already meet his gaze, like they were trained on him already. 

 His stomach twists. Sebastian didn’t get to really bask in it the first time, but he can now, high Adonis, no- cross-faded Adonis really was something else. 

 His eyes are half-lidded, but that stare of his is somehow twice as intense. Sometimes Sebastian feels like Adonis is looking through him, rather than at him. He can’t tell if he likes it. Sometimes he can feel it when he’s not looking. 

 “I try, I try.” Sebastian comes back to reality, handing the joint away— to anyone— he doesn’t know, but someone takes it from him. 

 “Im sooo sleepy.” Abigail yawns so loudly, kicking her feet out across the blankets, right into Sebastian’s ass, sending him forward into Adonis’ chest. 

 That wasn’t intentional, he knows Abi is out of her mind, but God, does it feel intentional when large hands rest on his back. Vanilla and broad chest slams his senses. Sebastian is curled against him, his own arms braced against Adonis’ frame to hold himself up. 

 “Looks like you’ve fallen, I’m so sorry, Sebastian.” Abigail says mono-tone, still laying pin-straight on the blankets. 

  Adonis laughs, his hands still holding Sebastian upright. With Sebastian this close to him, he can feel Adonis’ laugh through his chest. And it’s good. It’s nice. 

 “I should have caught you.” Adonis helps him back into a sitting position, situated much closer to him now, afterall he was almost in his damn lap a moment ago. 

 Sebastian feels like he can’t talk, that was all so much and too much, it’s a lot to process at once. 

 “I’m clumsy, it’s my bad.” He chokes out, brushing a clammy hand through his hair, probably messing it up more than fixing it. 

 “You’re good.” Adonis mimics him, carding his long fingers through his locks, but he looks so damn good as he does it. 

 That should be it for Sebastian, he’s starting to get that floaty feeling again, that’s how he knows he’s at his limit. 

 It’s exactly like the feeling in his dream, before he leaned in and-

 “Who wans…toplay beer pong…?!” Sam slithers out from nowhere, speaking slurred and connected. It takes Sebastian right out of his dreamy visualization, he stops staring at Adonis’ lips and prays the man didn’t notice he was. 

 “Me! Me! I do!” Abigail sits straight up like it was no effort at all, her teeth bared in a lopsided grin. Isn’t she supposed to be sluggish? That’s how she was putting on just a moment ago.

 “Oh! My weenies! I need to check my weenies!” Sandy jumps, nearly knocking Emily off of her as she gets up and unzips the tent before anyone can react. 

 The smoke starts sucking out into the fresh air immediatey. It must be extremely obvious to anyone with prying eyes to conclude what they were doing inside this gargantuan tent. 

 Abigail doesn’t blink an eye at the commotion, only kicking Sebastian again, as she flies up right after Sandy out the tent flap ‘door.’

  Emily huffs, fisting at the blankets with her sunglasses askew. Or were those Adonis’ glasses? Sebastian can’t remember. Sam uses his shoulder as a makeshift rest to help himself off the floor, sending Sebastian back further into Adonis. The blonde pays no mind, only skipping off outside of the tent.

  “Leave y’all to it.” Emily rolls her eyes, dusting her knees off as she trudges out the tent, joining the others. 

  Sebastian is so high, so drunk, he doesn’t catch what exactly she says, but it must be funny, Adonis is laughing, so he laughs too. 

 Alone in the tent, laughing together, at something Sebastian doesn’t know. 

 And then it’s not funny.  

 Sebastian is laying his head in Adonis’ lap, when he got himself into this position, he can’t fathom, but he’s there.

He can’t help it, he stares up into those amber eyes like they’re the only thing he can see. Sebastian’s throat is dry again, he can’t laugh anymore. 

 It’s quiet, he can’t hear the music, he can’t hear the clambering of his friends just mere feet outside, it’s only the soft breathing between them, with Adonis looking back down at him. 

 Sebastian keeps glancing at his lips, back up to his eyes, and then down to his lips again— so much so Adonis must notice at this point, but Seb can’t- he doesn’t want to stop. 

  They’re so full, they look so soft, he wants to feel.

 He reaches his hand up, something in him compelling him to place his thumb on Adonis’ bottom lip. He could do it, just a couple more inches, his hand is shaky—or he could grab around his shoulders and pull him into a—-

  Is this what ‘want’ feels like? 

 He’s going to throw up. 

 “Are you okay?” Adonis’ sweet look is wiped off his face, instead concern is written all over it, his eyebrows etched up high. His slender hand cups over Sebastian’s cheek, it’s so intimate. 

 “I’m going to hurl.” Sebastian stammers, sitting up rapidly, nearly knocking his forehead into Adonis’ chin. The motion doesn’t help his stomach, he clutches at it through his thin shirt, digging into the skin.

 “I- okay- do you want me to he-“ Adonis watches him get up with a frown, his arms helpless by his sides. 

 “No- no- I’m- okay- yeah-“ Sebastian stumbles his way out of the tent, nearly knocking over the bong and stepping on a rice krispy treat. 

 Once he’s out, the sunlight momentarily blinds him. Sebastian stumbles around, nearly collapsing into the sand. 

 Distantly, he recognizes the others whooping, hollering things at him, but he can’t tell exactly what. Spit starts to pool under his tongue, he knows exactly what is about to go down. 

  Sebastian barely has time to crouch near a bush when it comes up.

 The cheers turn to concerned ‘Ooou’s once they realize he’s going through it. 

 He whines and gags, wiping at his mouth when it’s over, grimacing at the wetness on the back of his hand. 

 “Hey, bud,” Sam crouches near him, rubbing his back, “Let’s get you some water, yeah? Why don’t you lay down in the tent?” 

 “No- no tent.” Sebastian grovels, sitting on his knees with dried spit on the corners of his mouth, defeated. 

 “Ok, okay, no tent, it’s alright.” Sam hoists him up, letting him lean on his side as he guides him through the uneven sand. Sebastian is sat down in a bean bag chair that he never noticed, but is more than grateful as he sinks down into the plush material. 

 “Drink.” A water bottle is hoisted into his face, Sebastian drinks it like it’s the only liquid he’s had in months. 

 “I’m so thirsty.” He mumbles as he crunches the bottle in his grasp, empty. 

 “I know, I know you are.” Sam bends down to look him in the eyes, looking over his face. Sebastian hates it actually, he feels too open, he looks away. 

 “Want a weenie?” Sandy is suddenly holding a hotdog poached on a grilling fork out to his nose, he almost gags but he smells just how delicious it is and is distracted. 

 Stuffing bun, dog, and ketchup down his maw, he’s content. He’s almost forgotten what caused him to be in this delirious state, he’s reminded when Adonis comes out of the tent. 

 He’s such an asshole, gazing tenderly into Adonis’ eyes then immediately running out to throw up? What was Sebastian thinking! He must look like such a tool, oh, Adonis is walking up to him now, be cool. 

 “Sebby, are you okay?” Adonis crouches down next to him, his flip-flops flicking up off his heel from his position, it earns a weak half-smile from Sebastian. 

 “Mhm. Too much.” Sebastian just nods, mouth full of weenie, looking so cool and collected. In reality, he’s giddy that Adonis is even talking to him after that disastrous fiasco. 

“Too much to drink? That’s surprising for you, I thought you could handle your liquor.” Adonis holds out another water bottle, placing it in between the dip in the beanbag chair and his side. 

 “I can. This was jus’ a momentary setback.” So Adonis doesn’t think he’s an asshole, that’s great! 

 “Mhm. Will you be good here while we play beer bong?” Adonis reaches out to hold at his wrist, rubbing a quick circle into his skin before pulling away. 

  Oh, do it again.  

 “Mhm. So good.” Sebastian’s tongue feels heavy, he’s done with that hot dog. He sets it down on a paper plate and lays it onto the sand, uncaring. His brain is more preoccupied with the urge to keep the conversation with Adonis flowing. Sebastian is fine now, he just needed a moment. 

 “Okay, just rest.” That velvet voice calms him, making him sink deeper into the beanbag. It quiets his mind so much, he almost doesn’t register Adonis standing and joining the others. 

 But eventually he does. And Sebastian wants to get up, he really does, but he really is comfortable. A voice in the back of his mind nags at him to be good, so he stays put. 

 Also, it’s not bad just watching. 

  From this angle, he can watch Adoni’s lower back muscles flex as he joins along in beer pong. His tank top does nothing to cover those shoulders, the way the muscles under his skin shift…. suddenly Sebastian craves another hotdog. 

 He goes for the half-eaten one on the plate but ants have already staked their claim. Seb relents to spending the next twenty minutes coming down from his high, watching his friends laugh and have fun. 

 That’s nice and all, seeing them all happy, but he wants in. His feet move before his brain, and Sebastian comes up behind Adonis and slaps a hand on his upper back; normally he’d be aiming for a person’s shoulder, but Adonis is not the average person; height or otherwise.

 “Let me play.” 

 “Ah, are you good now?” Adonis throws a look over her shoulder at him, his eyes making Sebastian second-guess his sturdiness. 

 “Yeah, you good?” Sam, with Abigail hanging off his arm, shakes a ping pong ball at him mockingly. Sebastian makes note to sock him later. 

“I never puke, this was rare. I’m fine, I promise.” Sebastian directs his attention towards Adonis, who nods and hands him a ball. 

 “Want to be on my team? I’m winning.” Adonis looks back to the table, some half-full cups filled with a ball, some knocked over. Of course, he’s winning.

 “Yeah, okay.” Sebastian rips his eyes off of him to immediately fling a ball toward the cups, in disbelief that he actually made it in. The things adrenaline will do. 

 “Nice one!” Adonis whoops, standing up to him like he’s going to.. 

 Sebastian jumps up int time to knock his chest with Adonis, his cheeks burning when his feet touch the ground again. They did not just chest bump, Sam must be so jealous. 

 Sam is in fact, not jealous, just giving him an all-knowing look when Sebastian finally meets his eyes. Abigail laughs behind her cup. They’re sick. 

 Sebastian ignores it, and continues playing along with his friends. Emily and Sandy must have slinked off somewhere to make-out, just leaving the four of them to their own devices. 

 The game fizzles, Adonis and Sebastian can only win so many times in a row before he gets old. The sun is setting now, they must’ve spent the whole day out on the beach. Usually their yearly tent-event doesn’t drag this late into the evening, it must’ve been a good one.

 “How about I walk you home tonight?” Adonis says after he finishes collapsing the foldable table and placing it near the tent. Emily and Sandy occupy the tent currently, they can take it down later, the younglings will clean the beach— that’s the deal. 

 “Yeah? Alright.” Sebastian finishes twisting close the black trash-bag, flinging it against the tent with a thump. Someone inside makes a groan of displeasure— or pleasure, he rather not know. “Let’s go quickly then.” 

 “Agreed.” Adonis wipes his hands off on his shirt, or what little cloth could be called a shirt. Sebastian still hasn’t gotten over it, or the tensing of his solid stomach as he laughs. 

  Enough. Be normal on the walk home, it’s not even a mile. 

 They wave off Sam and Abigail, who are busy stacking solo cups together on the sand. They barely spare a glance, stacking the cups so high it’s like a sandcastle but instead of sand it’s recyclables. 

 “They’ll be fine?” Adonis looks a bit worried as they make it off the beach, the town lights are on now, it really must be getting late already. 

 “Yeah, don’t worry. We’ve done this for like, almost a decade. Not to that extent, but they’ll be fine.” Sebastian sighs, knowing it’s true. They’re adults, they got it down, this 

 “Good. Good.” Adonis nods, walking next to him down the cobblestone path as they cross the bridge. 

 A silence falls over them. It’s not necessarily uncomfortable, but Sebastian wants Adonis to talk to him. 

 “You seemed to handle your liquor better today.”

 “Really?” Adonis looks at him for a moment, expression unreadable before looking away, “I didn’t want to seem like a fool.”

 There it is. He’s referencing that night. 

 “You aren’t a fool, you’re never a fool.” Sebastian speaks so earnestly it shocks himself, but he doesn’t stop, “You’re really cool. I mean it, everyone thinks so.” 

 “You do?” Adonis sounds so hopeful it makes Sebastian’s stomach turn. Their footsteps are so loud, the only sound besides the hum of crickets. It’s night before their eyes. 

 “Yeah, I really think so.” Sebastian tries not to stick his own feet in his mouth as they walk past the old community center, but it only spires him further, “You’ve already done so much for this town, fixing all these things, impressing that critic dude with your gold star crops, making everyone happy, and what, you’ve only been here a month or two?” 

“Ah, Something like that…”

 “Still.” Sebastian’s lips tug into a smile, teeth and all, “That’s badass.” 

“Sebastian… please. I am badass?” Adonis is smiling too, so bright in the dim light, Sebastian can’t stare for too long. 

 “Yes, badass.” Sebastian confirms, eyes turning up into crescents when he looks back at him. 

 “We’re here.” Adonis says just as Sebastian goes, “So...”

 They both laugh at themselves. 

 “Why don’t you come over tomorrow?” Adonis is staring at him with those big eyes, how could Sebastian say no, “We can start on the greenhouse. I finally got it fixed up.” 

 “Yeah- yeah that would be great.” Sebastian’s lips move, what is he saying, he has like twelve modules due, he can’t push it off. But he will, he will for this. 

 “Okay. I’ll call you when.” Adonis smiles again, that blinding sunshine one of his, the porchlight above them is no rival. 

 They pause. Or, Sebastian pauses, it should be his turn to speak but he just can’t. Sometimes when he looks at the man before him, he gets entranced, dangerous thoughts whirling in his mind before he can stop them. Like, 

 I should kiss him. 

 No, Sebastian should not. Not even if the light shining from the porch illuminates him so perfectly, not even if his lips are soft and just waiting to be kissed, not anything. 

 “I’ll see you.” Sebastian shoves his hands into his pockets, fearing he’ll do something pitiful like try to reach out and touch. 

… Oh wait. 

“Tomorrow.” Adonis bids him goodbye with another fluttery wave of his fingers, turning away with a smile and a shimmer of long purple hair behind him. 

 It reminds him of the first night he saw Adonis, glowing. 

 Sebastian doesn’t think he ever stopped. 

 Sebastian does something awful that night. It can't even be blamed on the various substances he consumed, he’s sober by the time he shuts his bedroom door, back against it, bearing his weight. 

 His chest feels light, and his smile hasn’t faded since Adonis bid him a goodnight, he’s almost, giddy? He doesn’t know, he just knows this is a very, very fresh and confusing feeling. It stuck with him the entire time he got ready for bed, amplifying, really.

 He’s half-hard through his sweats, looking down at himself brings another feeling, shame. 

 All it takes is one 6’4 blindingly beautiful man and Sebastian is weak in the knees. 

 “Fuck.” His voice is heavy in the dark room, the only noise is the clinking of his ceiling fan as it rotates lazily. 

 He has to take care of this. Just get it over with, fast and quick. It shouldn’t take much, this was long overdue if he’s being honest. 

 Sebastian knows this doesn’t need to be drawn out, but he finds himself stepping in front of his bedside drawer.  The metal handle seems to sparkle at him, beckoning, if drawer handles could do that. 

 He can’t….. That’s too much….

 It’s already too much to beat off to the new farmer boy who moved in just ‘cause he’s nice to you, it’s another to fuck yourself with a dildo imagining it’s him. 

 So he won’t, he’ll imagine what his brain normally conjures up in this situation. 

  That’s what he tells himself as he breaks, slipping his hand into the drawer to pull out a velvet bag. He throws it on his bed without a second glance. 

 Oh shit, he’s really doing this. 

 “Imgoingtohell.” Sebastian whispers to himself under his breath, hands shaking as he undoes his fly, shucking off his pajama pants like they’re poison on his skin. 

 He sits back on the edge of his bed and once he’s down to his boxers and his old, worn sleep-shirt, he stills momentarily. 

 If Sebastian continues with this, even if he thinks of something else, he’ll know that Adonis was the one to spur this. Those sharp teeth when he smiles, enchanting eyes roaming all over his body, that was it for him. No going back.

 Sebastian doesn’t find himself necessarily attractive, but he’s not completely stupid; he could tell Adonis was checking him out, he just can’t believe it. 

 He wore a tight shirt on purpose, he invited those eyes on him. 

 Sebastian can’t admit it. 

 Instead, he lays against the wall on his bed, fishing a vile out of the bag, his boxers pooling around his ankles. The only light in the room is the yellow hue from his bedside lamp, but he still feels too open, too raw. 

 If someone walked in on him like this… did he lock the door? He should probably lock the door- No- stop. It’s past midnight, no one is awake anyways. 

 Just get it out of your system once. Once. Then, Sebastian wouldn’t think of Adonis that way and nothing would change. They could be friends, he fit in so well with the trio, it could be a foursome! 

 Oh- that sounds bad. Sebastian wills his brain to stop thrumming insistently. He busies himself by uncapping the vile and spreading the liquid down himself generously. 

 Every time he does this, he still gets a deep sense of dread in his stomach. He pushes past it, corking the bottle again and shoving it out of sight within the sheets.

 He’ll need it in a moment, seemingly a quick one, but the thought doesn’t cross his mind. He’s more preoccupied with other thoughts, or the specific one that he should not be preoccupied with. 

 Adonis’ hand instead of his own when he finally wraps it around his cock. 

 Sebastian hisses out a breath, leaking already, not even shocked at himself as he fists down his length slowly. Why he tortures himself, he doesn’t know, maybe he has a masochistic streak. 

 The thought makes him laugh grimly, before pulling his lip between his teeth to pick up his pace. 

 It’s embarrassing how quickly it takes him to get to that point, where he’s teetering on the edge. It’s fine, not like anyone will know he can’t last. 

  Sebastian bites the bullet, finally kicking off his boxers from his ankles to somewhere onto the floor. His other hand, that isn’t preoccupied, searches the sheets for the bottle, the other closing tightly around the base of his dick, he needs, wants to hold on a little longer.

 He wants this, screw the half-assed pegging fantasies he clawed on to, this was not about that. 

 Dripping more lube onto his fingers, he relents, massaging it down past his dick, spreading it across his hole. 

 Sebastian feels filthy, he must look it. 

  Face screwing up as he prods the tip of his middle finger at his entrance, legs pushed up on either side, knees bent. 

 He is very much on display, everything so open, the fact he can feel air on his taint makes his skin burn red. Even though he’s alone, he still turns his head away, eyes shut tightly as his finger slides in smoothly after catching on the first joint. 

  It’s been a moment since he was able to take care of himself fully, so he has to go slow with this, even though every ounce of him wants more, now, faster. 

 He pumps his finger weakly, getting used to the feeling again. He pushes it, slipping his ring finger beside his middle, eliciting a sharp inhale. It stings slightly, but melts away as he finally moves the hand on his dick in tandem with the shallow thrusts inside of him. 

 That could be it, he feels the pressure building behind his gut, he’s getting close just from that. What would Adonis say about it? He can’t barely handle his fingers, how would he handle that monster Sebastian just knows Adonis is hiding. He’d probably last under a minute if he actually got that thing inside of him— Good god. 

  What would Adonis think of him being so vulgar, so nasty- as he fantasizes about him? What would Adonis think if he could watch?

  Sebastian audibly moans, clamping his lips shut afterwards. It’s deep in the night, his family must be asleep, but there is no way Sebastian would have any sliver of a chance of them finding out his guilty secret. 

 His wrist is starting to get sore. 

  Sebastian slips another finger, his pointer, in beside the others a little too early, biting back another embarrassing noise. 

 With a shuddering sigh, he lets go, finally letting himself enjoy it. 

  Curling his fingers just right, they brush against his prostate and he gasps, breaking off a whimper with bitten lips; they’re going to be red raw the next day, he doesn’t think about it. 

 Instead, he imagines what it would be like to have his pale, scrawny fingers replaced by tan, long, thick ones. His knees threaten to knock together in front of his chest as he attempts to massage at that spot, but he’s only able to brush against it briefly. 

 Adonis would have no problem, wouldn’t he? He'd be able to rub circles against his prostate— milking it until he can’t take it anymore. 

  Fuck. 

 He gives up, removing his fingers and wiping them on the sheets without a second thought, like the dirty boy he is. 

 Sebastian huffs at the loss, remembering to stay quiet at the last second. God, he’s about to shove something else up there, shut the fuck up, he thinks, ashamed at how needy he’s acting. 

 The hand that isn’t holding himself fumbles, slick fingers spread, blindly searching across the sheets until they wrap around an object encased in the velvet bag. 

 “C’mon,” He breathes, fishing it out and positioning it right. It'd be a lot easier if someone else was there, or if it was someone else, “Ah- Fff-…”

 It takes a moment to get adjusted, but not as much as it would have if he didn’t prepare himself this morning. His shower was a bit longer than normal.

  There wasn’t a rhyme or reason exactly, he just had a sense or urgency to clean out his ass. No correlation to it being the day he’ll see Adonis again for certain, with paraphernalia involved too. Nah. 

  Something sick and twisted was deep in his brain, infecting him with a virus to make him think like this, to make it feel so damn good to think like this. 

 Sebastian knows his lips will be cracked when he’s finished, he’s not very vocal— He avoids it entirely if he can, but tonight? 

 Sebastian’s struggling to hold in the weak, pathetic noises that are trying so hard to break free from his lips. He’s just too sensitive tonight, as the silicone prods flush inside him for the first time— he’s trembling. 

 His hand shakes at the base of it as he weakly pulls it out, and then back in, slowly. Repeating the action over and over again, his head lulling by to the side, he bares his neck for the empty room. 

 Sebastian has never seen what he looks like when he gets like this, he sort of never wants to. 

  He can feel the heat on his face, he can see the redness spreading across his shoulders, the sweat coating his skin. All on display like this, needy and open, would anyone like it? 

  Would he- 

   Suddenly, he craves something real—throbbing— hot; pushing against that spot inside of himself instead of a fake plastic toy. Throwing his head back against the wall with a thunk, he ignores the slight sting, instead welcoming it as it silences another would-be pitiful whine. 

 Sebastian can’t help himself now, picking up the pace to relentlessly slam against his prostate now that something can finally reach. See, he just had to purchase it, his fingers weren’t enough forever. 

 Something in him whispered that even this wouldn’t be enough eventually, a shiver rolls down his spine.

 Sebastian wants so badly to be touched, to know what it’d be like to have someone kissing him, kissing down his body…

 Shuddering, he finally resumes stroking himself, trying to time it in tune with his other hand's thrusts. 

 It’s a lot of work to get him this blissed out by himself, what would be like to just lay there and take it? Strong hands holding him down, or moving his hips for him—

 He actually moans, it’s small and half-cut off by the snap of his jaw but he can’t ignore it. Sebastian never has let himself go this far, he’s too terrified of anyone finding out. It’s embarrassing, it’s awful its-

 It feels so good. He wants someone there, he wants to be loud, to take it. He’s exhausted of being by himself as much as he wants to deny it. He wants a break— he wants.. 

 Adonis rocking him back on his cock, holding him from behind on his lap as Sebastian rides him; kissing down his neck, touching him where he’s touching himself, breathing in his ear.

 And Sebastian’s finished just like that, head pinned back against the wall, legs bent up like a whore, shirt tucked up and painted with his cum. 

  His chest heaves, face dropping after the high of his orgasm fades. Now, He isn’t running through fields of lavender, smelling only vanilla—he’s curled up, red faced, and covered in his own spunk. 

 Sebastian groans, guttural and only from a man in deep regret. He only winces with slight distaste as he pulls the toy out of him with a slight ‘pop.’

  Holy fuck. 

 After mentally digesting what he did to himself, he carefully removes his shirt, deliberately trying to avoid getting cum on his skin. He quickly rolls it into a ball, like it’s about to explode, and whacks it into the corner of his room. 

  It completely misses his laundry hamper, falling onto the floor right next to it, like it was taunting him. 

  I can’t believe I just did that. 

 Sebastian will deal with it in the morning, in fact he’ll deal with everything in the morning. 

  He scrambles to find some pair of boxers to cover his bare ass and shuts off the light with still-shaking fingers. 

  I just masterbated to the thought of someone I know. 

 It was a first, of course he’s had his petty crushes, but nothing ever, ever inspired something so deep from inside his soul as that display. 

  I just masterbated the thought of a man. 

  That was also a first.

   So many of those, Sebastian might just be unlocking achievements at this point. Achievements for what? He can’t tell, he’s too busy using his special bedside wet wipes to clean his fingers and asshole.

 Who cares really? Who cares! It’s all in his head, his brain, safe and secure away from anyone else. It’s just thoughts, who would know? Not his family, not his friends, and certainly NOT Adonis. 

 How would Sebastian face him in the morning? How could he? How can he look him in the eyes after imagining them scouring the most intimate parts of himself? How can he look at those lips when he imagined them sucking on his skin? 

  Sick. Actually demented. 

  After he’s clean enough for his half-sleep, horny brain, he lays back into his dirty sweat-soaked bed without a second thought. 

 You would think he’d be up all night anxious over the next days’ encounter or his own self-rendezvous just the moment before, but no. He’s out like a light, head smushed against the pillow. 

 It’s nearly 2am, afterall. 

Chapter Text

He gets a power nap (a power outage moreso), waking only four hours later- drenched in sweat. 

 Sebastian sits up in bed, brain lagging behind him as the room spins. Birds are chirping. He can barely hear it down in the basement, but that means it’s morning. 

 He needs to clean up before it smells sour in here. The basement is already stuffy; no need for day-old spunk to stink it up. 

Ew. That is mortifying. 

 As his vision focuses, he throws his sheets together in a pile. Including his shame-covered shirt, he wraps them all in his comforter. Taking the ball of laundry into both of his arms, he waddles up the stairs. He has to tussle with the door first, balancing the blankets on his knee to swing it open with one hand.

  Good job! You made it up the stairs!  

 His inner thoughts are more patronizing than usual today. Perhaps it has something to do with the reason he’s shamefully washing his sheets at 4am. 

 It’s too early for anyone to be up, especially for anyone to be doing laundry; so when Sebastian hears the hum of the washing machine down the hall, he freezes. 

 No way… no one gets up before nine! Sebastian even refuses to leave bed until ten most of the time, so this? This was a sign, a tormentation for his sins. 

 He continues on, figuring it’d just be empty. Despite this, guess who’s sitting there watching their laundry spin? 

 Apparently Maru. 

 Her back is curved in—slouched, as she sits on a small footstool directly in front of the washing machine; seemingly entranced by the low-speed spin-cycle. 

 “Oh, hey,” She turns her head lazily. She’s still in her pajamas, old hello kitty ones. Sebastian recognizes them from years ago, “Why’re you up?” 

 “Uh, laundry.” Sebastian holds the ball of fabric closer to his chest self-consciously. He realizes he didn’t even put a damn shirt on, squeezing it tighter to cover himself. 

 “Hm, me too. Can’t sleep, I’m tired though, so I don’t know why,” Maru yawns as she rubs her face. She’s not wearing her glasses, hair tucked in a bonnet, “You want me to put your load in after mine? It’s got two minutes on the timer, so I’m just waiting.” 

 “NO.” Sebastian barks, aggressive and much too loud for six in the morning, it even shocks himself. 

 “What? Why?” Maru looks genuinely confused, almost hurt.

 She really was just trying to be nice, but that’s not— she can’t know or touch these sheets. That would be trauma and nuclear damage on both sides. 

 Sebastian says nothing, frozen in a mix of shock and dismay— overwhelming shame, he must be beet red. 

 “I was just trying to be nice, but okay… You don’t have to be….” Maru starts speaking slowly, like she’s really trying. 

 Something must cross her mind, because her collected expression suddenly morphs after looking Sebastian in the eyes. 

 Shock, confusion, realization, disbelief, disgust, and absolute fear all stream across Maru’s features, leaving her eyes wide and mouth agape in a grimace. 

“No-no no- shut up- ew- no- UGH! JUST SHUT UP!” Sebastian clings to the ball of cloth, half-shouting over it as Maru remains frozen in silence with that look. 

 Sebastian takes his leave, not wanting to deal with that at all. There was no reason for that to happen besides some spiritual force torturing him. This was so bad. 

 He runs back down to his room, nearly tripping over the sheets as they threaten to unravel in his grasp. 

 Trudging down the steps, Sebastian slams his door behind him. He throws down the pile, screaming into his hands.

 This was all just too much. 

 He flops onto his bed and curls up into his comforter. Maybe it’s from extreme stress— or just lack of sleep, but he’s nodding off once more.

꩜

 He wakes up hours later, another thick coat of sweat atop his skin. 

 Sebastian reattempts his laundry quest, this time putting on a shirt and sweats instead of boxers. Quickly after, he scopes out the laundry room, forbidding any other awkward encounters.

 Luckily, Maru is long gone. Sebastian knows they will never speak of that interaction, but the fact his sister had to witness it makes him want to hurl.

 At least it wasn’t Sam. He’d never stay quiet about something like that.

  He kicks the washing machine, regretting it immediately when his big toe somehow hurts right after. He’s not being childish, he just can’t handle all the feelings he has right now. 

 Everything seemed to go to shit. His work. His family. Even relations with his friends sometimes, and then something good happens— Adonis moves in. He makes everyone happy, makes the community thrive, and makes Sebastian happy. 

 Sebastian just has to ruin it by making it sexual and wrong. He just can’t handle a good thing; and now he’s supposed to go see Adonis today? How can he even face him? 

 He wants to be a coward and chicken out, maybe fake an illness…

 …however, another large part of him really wants to see Adonis again. 

 Something light breaks through the muddiness in his chest, something bright. He has not felt that, before, whatever it was. 

  Crap, what time was it?  

  Sebastian runs from the laundry room to the kitchen, checking the time on the microwave. When the beady, green letters read out ‘9:39’ his hands involuntarily slap against his face. 

 Sebastian is pretty sure he promised Adonis he’d be there before ten. His legs start to move before he knows it and he’s getting ready in record time. 

 He’s standing naked in the basement, towel around his hips, staring at his closet fifteen minutes later. 

 What should he even wear? Sebastian doesn’t farm. He doesn’t know the first thing about growing— let alone large scale in a damn greenhouse.

 He shouldn’t go. He doesn’t even have clothes for planting— no, he needs to go. But he can’t… He really shouldn’t— yes! He has to! He promised! He's gonna look stupid; googling can’t compare to experience. But he has to go, he wants to.  

 His phone rings from across the room. 

 Sebastian left it on his bedside table. Just walking over to it makes him frown, but he ignores it and answers the call. 

 “Hello, Sebastian!” A sweet voice greets him on the other line. 

 “Hey, Adonis.” Sebastian smiles to himself, flattening his lips together when he notices it. 

 Smiling over a phone call, get a grip. 

 And you’re naked. Fix that. 

 How Adonis seems to always call him when he’s naked or in the process of getting changed is a mystery to him. He knows that, rationally, it’s just a coincidence (plus it’s only happened twice). Still, he doesn’t like how it makes him feel. 

 “I’m getting it ready, I’ll be in the greenhouse when you come,” Adonis pauses for a moment, “If you still want to.” 

 “Yes- yeah, I still want to, of course.” Sebastian tucks his phone between his shoulder and his ear, walking over to his closet and digging through his underwear drawer. He can’t be naked while he speaks to this man, especially when he talks all cute and hopeful. 

  Get it together!!!!!

  “Okay! Wonderful!” Adonis’ voice brightens up. There is some rustling on the line and then he’s speaking again, “I’ll see you soon!” 

  And before he can respond, Sebastian hears a click. The call screen fades to his lockscreen. The picture of a frog on a lilypad with its little butt out seems to mock him. 

 He sighs and throws his phone at his bed, it lands in the middle of it with a thud. 

  Get dressed, fool. 

 Sebastian puts on some loose jeans, some older pair he doesn’t care much about. He reaches for another black shirt— wait, it’ll be hot. No, it’s fine, it’s a greenhouse. The closest item he has to farmer boots are some hiking boots, so he guesses those will make do. 

 A look over at the mirror doesn’t make him feel any better. He feels stupid. He feels like he looks stupid too. 

 But he can’t cancel, he doesn’t want to. Sebastian will not flake on Adonis. He simply refuses to. 

 He locks his room as he leaves, not bringing anything with him besides a lighter and a pack of smokes. Adonis must have his preparations in order anyways. 

 Sebastian’s halfway out the door when his mom calls out to him from the counter, “Where are you headed, hon?” 

 “Meeting the farmer, going to help him with the summer crops.” Sebastian really hates lying to his mother, especially when she’s looking at him so sweetly. The wrinkles by her eyes have gotten deeper, just a bit, but it still makes Sebastian’s chest swell. She works so hard for them. 

 “Oh? Wow- I never imagined you farming,” She laughs softly, but gives him a sincere look, “But I’m glad you two are close, he’s a real good man.” 

 “Ah, yeah. He.. he sure is.” Sebastian hovers for a moment in the doorway, looking at his mom. Is she really saying what he thinks she’s saying? 

  Somebody save me. 

 “Anyways, I’ll see you later. If I miss dinner, don’t worry— uhm, farming is hard work.” Sebastian wants to slam his hand in the door. Why his mouth keeps running when he doesn’t want it to still remains a mystery. 

 She just gives him another smile and waves him off as he shuts the door. Sebastian is getting really tired of that look getting thrown at him. What do all these people know that he doesn’t?

 His hair is still wet when he gets to the farm, thanks to the shortcut. It really is handy, though. He never knew he’d use it this often, let alone use it to meet up with the new farmer.

  Anyways.

 Sebastian is momentarily confused when he walks back onto the farm. It’s almost like it’s been completely changed, as if a new farm sprouted up overnight. 

 There’s rows and rows of crops. Blueberries, melons, hot peppers, and a ton of corn stalks lined up all neat and organized in the fields. The sprinklers continuously hum as they water the plants. A gentle breeze carries the fine mist in the air that eventually manages to reach him, speckling his skin. 

  It’s refreshing in this heat. 

 It must have taken so much time and hard manual labor to get these planted and growing. Sebastian admires him a lot for that.  

  And, does the ground look different? Did Adonis install hardwood paths— there’s even cobblestone accenting the garden beds and flowers… so many flowers; a rainbow of colors, really. There’s a huge lot dedicated to just sunflowers in the far distance, bathing in the sunlight. How did he have the time for this? 

 Sebastian didn’t know Adonis grew flowers too. That’s kind of.. sweet. 

 Thinking of him so much, he remembers why he’s even standing there in the first place. He needs to find Adonis, not stand there sniffing the roses and gushing about vegetables. 

  Pretty sick vegetables, but still.

 Adonis must already be in the greenhouse setting up. Sebastian is a little late.. he’ll have to apologize for that in the greenhouse. Now, where is it…

 He turns around, scanning the large farm with a hand shielding the sun and another on his hip. One third of the farm is still in complete brambles, there’s trees everywhere. That’s to be expected, Adonis can’t be too perfect. 

 But does that mean he cleared the rest of the land out by himself? Chopping down all those trees? Breaking all those rocks in the hot sun? He wonders what he looked like, sweating in the sun… skin glistening.

  Enough. 

  The greenhouse is smack dab to the right of him, and he’s too busy in his head to notice the obvious now? Terrible. 

 He gets those nervous jitters again when he walks down the stone path to the greenhouse, boots clacking on the rocks. He almost has the urge to bolt at the glass doors but he hears.. a thumping? 

 The unforgettable thump of bass is pounding from inside the greenhouse. It’s not obnoxiously loud, but it’s there and Sebastian digs it. It’s the perfect mix of edm and funk that he enjoys. He pops open the door, stepping in. 

 It’s bright inside, large lights hanging from the metal frame on the ceiling, illuminating the grounds. There’s a decent spot of soil, which seems to be freshly tilled. Besides some trees starting to fruit, dotted along the walls, it’s empty. 

 Besides the large man gyrating his hips to the beat in the middle of the giant plot of soil. 

  It’s cute, honestly. Adonis seems to be feeling the music. His hair is up in a ponytail today, too. It’s flopping around as he dances, his eyes closed and hands clasped around a hoe.

 Oh, he’s using the hoe as a prop now, spinning it around with flourish. 

 Sebastian accidentally laughs, causing the man’s eyes to fly open as he freezes in a very flamboyant pose. 

 Adonis immediately collects himself, shoving his shoulders back as he stands straight. 

 “Hey- hey, relax,” Sebastian throws his hands up, smiling, the anxiety he had already long-forgotten, “It’s cool.”

 “Well, Hello, Sebastian. You sure know how to sneak up on someone!” Adonis gives him a bashful smile, scratching at his neck, leaning his weight on the garden hoe. 

 “Wasn’t intentional… but I’m glad I did. Didn’t know you had moves like that.” Sebastian walks closer to Adonis, stepping onto the soil. The sunlight comes in softer through the greenhouse glass, bathing the both of them in gentle light. 

 Sebastian specifically didn’t know Adonis could move his hips like that. He did not mind at all. In fact, he enjoyed it. 

 “Ahg, stop, if you really wanted to see me dance, we should go to a nightclub! You missed me and Emily as we set up the tent, she’s a great dancer!” Adonis perks up. He as he speaks, he steps to the small stereo to the side of the cleared plot, turning the volume down. He leaves his hoe sticking straight up in the soil. 

 As Adonis walks back to the marked spot, he absent-mindedly shakes his hips slightly; He must be thinking of all the clubs he used to frequent in Zuzu. 

 “Did you hit the clubs very often?” Sebastian takes the opportunity to ask. He wants to know so badly about Adonis’s life before he moved to Stardew Valley. He just doesn’t know how to bring it up without sounding like a psychopath. 

 “Ah, I used to…. A lot. You know I touched on it before at the saloon, but it was a moment in my life I mostly regret,” Adonis looks off at nothing, “I had a lot of fun, but I… lost myself. Got too wild, I made friends but, how many really stayed? Look at me now, a farmer.” 

 He stops bracing himself on the hoe, standing tall and gestures to himself with open arms. His dark overalls are caked in dirt from the knee down, tucked into chunky rubber boots. Adonis must have been out here all morning. 

 “You say that like it’s a bad thing…” Sebastian crosses his arms together, wiping the sympathetic look off his face once he registers it’s there. The last thing he wants is Adonis to think Sebastian pities him. 

 “It’s not, no. I apologize, that was a little too emotional for this time in the morning.” Adonis chuckles and just like that he’s bright and cheery again. It’s not the right time, but Sebastian wants to know what made him look so defeated. 

 All in time, Adonis isn’t going anywhere. Sebastian isn’t sure he’s leaving anytime soon, at least. 

 “Don’t.” Sebastian offers him a quirked side of his mouth as a smile, “Don’t apologize, we’re friends, no? It’s okay to talk to me.” 

 “Yes, yes, you’re right.” Adonis’ smile reappears better than ever. Maybe that’s just because it’s directed at him, “I am… I think I am happier now.” 

 “Now?” Sebastian shouldn’t be surprised, but he is. It’s only been a short time, but Adonis has already captured the entire town’s heart. It must feel good to be wanted here. 

 “Yes. Now, I feel like I’m starting to make real friends. I fit in almost…” Adonis motions to himself again with the roll of his wrist, “I stick out normally. I wonder why.” 

 Sebastian giggles at that. 

 “I’m happy you moved here.” He suddenly says, even though Adonis looked like he might say more. It just came out. Sebastian couldn’t help himself. It was another one of those brain to mouth moments where his body never involved the rational part of it. 

 Adonis seems startled for a moment, but that gentle shock quickly melts into something else. Something so sweet. It makes Sebastian feel a little woozy on his feet. Maybe it’s just the uneven soil. Yeah. 

 “I’m happy too.” 

 “Hoo..” Sebastian audibly sighs and has to look away from those pools of milk chocolate Adonis has as eyes to regain adequate footing, “Now, let’s get started. Do you have the seeds?” 

 “Mm, yes! Over here,” Adonis spins around leaving the hoe propped in the dirt, to conjure a large bag, “Look.”

 He dumps the bag onto the ground, another smaller, plastic ziplock bag, half gallon sized, flops onto the soil with a thud. 

 “Good lord.” Sebastian gawks.

 “I know! I got an amazing deal, or I would not have bought otherwise. I’m sorry if it is more than you bargained for.” 

 “No, no. This is epic. This is.. dude….” Sebastian drags his hands through his hair in disbelief, he’s never seen anything like this. It will take a lot of time for this yield. He didn’t know using the greenhouse would mean using all of the greenhouse, but he’s not complaining. 

 More product equals more time he gets to spend with Adonis. Bonus, bonus. 

 “Right? I am, as Sam would say, totally stoked! ” Adonis mimics a beachy-punk-skater-boy voice pretty well, considering his accent is so thick. 

  Sebastian gives him a round of applause after breaking into a fit of laughter. 

 ꩜

 They don’t get to it right away. Instead, after Adonis opens the bag of seeds to Sebastian’s prying eyes, he snaps it back closed immediately.

 “What? Why?” Sebastian steps back from looming over the bag in Adonis’ grasp. 

“You are going to wear this?” Adonis asks as he stares at Sebastian’s outfit, giving it a good look up and down.

 Sebastian immediately covers himself with his arms. “What’s wrong with my outfit?” He hates how vulnerable his voice sounds. 

 “Mm, nothing. Looks very cute, but for farming? No good.” Adonis sucks his cheek and sets down the bag, “Wait right here, okay?” He starts off and is out of the greenhouse before Sebastian can even blink. 

 Before he can even register Adonis calling him cute!  

 Well, he didn’t exactly call Sebastian cute, just his outfit. But that was a win! 

 Why was that a win, exactly? 

 He stands in the middle of the greenhouse simply processing when Adonis comes back inside with a small pile of clothes.

 “I am back! Now, since you are so tiny, these will be very loose. These are the smallest I own and they have been through the heat cycle, so it will do, for now.” He places them into Sebastian’s arms with little resistance. 

 “Mhm, yeah, but what’s wrong with this? I don’t care about them, it can get dirty.” Sebastian holds the clothes to his chest even as he questions, momentarily blanking at the ‘tiny’ comment. 

 He’s not even mad. When has he ever not been completely enraged when someone calls him tiny? He isn’t even neutral about it, it’s almost…

 “It’s good! You need just thicker pants. I don’t want your skin to get rashed.” Adonis gives him a pat on the shoulder, backing away slowly. 

 “What? Where are you going?” Sebastian clutches the ball of clothes harder like a lifeline, suddenly feeling as bare as he did in the hallway earlier this morning.

 “You don’t want me to watch you change, do you? I’ll be back.” Adonis gives him some sort of look, a smile or something, and disappears again behind the greenhouse door. Whatever it was, it made him feel faint once again. Sebastian has to really focus on the ground— and how to avoid colliding with it. 

 He doesn’t get a good look at the clothes until they’re on him. It felt a little weird to get changed inside the greenhouse but he pushes past it. 

 They’re big. Of course they’re still big, Adonis was massive and Sebastian was… not. He wonders what wearing Adonis’ right sized clothes would be like, would they drape over him even more than this? Oh— he’s wearing Adonis’ clothes. 

  Sebastian immediately and unashamedly sniffed the shirt’s collar.

  It’s a worn out off-white shirt that dips lower on him than it would on someone who would actually fit it— and it still smells like him. It’s very faint, but it’s there, it’s only just a part of Adonis’ very addicting fragrance, maybe a fabric softener? Whatever, it’s delicious, that's what it is.

  Creep! He drops the collar faster than ever and it droops crinkled under his collarbones… That’s a new level of weird. Don’t do that. 

 The overalls were nice, though. They were strong material, more than twice the thickness as his jeans. He recognizes now that, after prolonged time on his knees, his old jeans wouldn’t do right. 

  Overall, he liked them. Heh heh.

 Even though they are a bright light blue denim and— were those embroidered daisies on the cuffed bottoms? They trailed up one pant leg and then sprawled across… 

 Are those fucking embroidered flowers plastered across his ass? Oh God. 

 “Sebastian! Finished?” Adonis’ voice calls from outside, and Sebastian stiffens up like a board.

 “Yeah!” He shouts, wiping his clammy hands on the front of his overalls. 

 Fucking daises, what the hell. 

 “I’m sorry, I don’t have boots that will fit you, considering.. but, I’ll go—“ Adonis is rambling as he comes in, stopping the moment his eyes look up from the ground and land on Sebastian. 

 There’s a beat of silence until he squeals.

 “Wow! Just Wow!—Du siehst bezaubernd aus!—I thought you wouldn’t wear them! I thought you would refuse!” Adonis is cupping his cheeks, his ponytail bouncing behind him. He looks absolutely delighted. 

 Sebastian suddenly feels embarrassed. Was this a trick? Was Adonis just trying to make him feel stupid? Well, it’s working. 

 “No, no,” Adonis quits his light laughter and stands closer, his palms up, “I’m not making fun. Those really are my smallest pair, I grew out of them, but my Mama sewed them, so I saved them.” 

 Sebastian looks up at him through his lashes, uncurling from himself as he subconsciously did just moments before. 

“They’re cute, but I must look dumb.” Sebastian flattens the overalls down his chest, “What did you say in.. is that German?” 

 “No! No! Yes— but it’s not funny! It’s not important, I never— I have never seen you out of black clothing, and black does suit you….” Adonis shifts his weight on one hip, looking him up and down, “But colors are nice, too.” 

 “Haa.. yeah? Thank you. Okay. I don’t feel dumb. So that’s where you got your accent, hm?” Sebastian should’ve guessed already, but it still doesn’t sound entirely German. 

 “Harhar, Güten tahg, Mm? Wonderbal! Let’s plant some marijuana now, shall we?” Adonis grins as he plucks the large hoe out of the ground, setting it into a brightly colored chest. He procures two small pick hand shovels from it, handing one to him. 

 “Let’s.” Sebastian twirls the shovel in his hand, already forgetting about daisies and dumbness. Now, the only thing on his mind is how to impress the man before him. 

꩜

 One hundred and twenty. 

 That’s how many plots they had to dig, a total of sixty each, but Adonis did do more than his fair-share against  Sebatian’s protest. 

  “No, no, you are my guest, I’ll do this row.” 

 “But that’s not even— that other row was supposed to be mine too—“

 “My hands are calloused, I don’t want you to get blisters. I’ll have gloves that fit you next time.” 

 “You.. my hands are manly and strong too.” 

 “I didn’t say they weren’t!” 

  But they finished, at least step one. They dug the holes, laid the seeds and dusted the soil atop them. This should be suitable for a week or two until they start to sprout, and then Sebastian will come back.

 Now? Now he’s laid up against one side of the greenhouse, breathing heavy with sweat dripping down the back of his neck. It’s summer. It’s hot, but it gets amplified the more you work in the heat. 

 And they’ve been working; it must’ve been at least an hour, maybe two. Sebastian’s arms are more than sore, he doesn’t think he could even lift them if he tried.

 “That was good work. Thank you, Sebastian.” Adonis smiles at him from across the plot of soil, unclipping the buttons of his overalls, letting the flap fall forward to rest on his hips.. 

 The soreness leaves Sebastian’s arms, immediately. He could definitely use them now. That tank top is drenched in sweat and sticking to Adonis’ muscled chest like a second skin. Yeah, Sebastian could use his arms for lots of things, actually. 

 “It’s no problem. Didn’t even break a sweat.” Sebastian kicks his feet out, the heels of his boots scraping against the stone flooring. 

 “Mhm, me neither.” Adonis laughs softly, picking at his tank top and letting it snap back at his skin. 

 Sebastian is going to die of heat stroke. 

 “Here,” As if Adonis is a God and a mind-reader, he throws Sebastian a second water-bottle from the pack in the corner. Sebastian catches it in one hand, nods at him as a thank you, then proceeds to jug down half the bottle in a second. 

 Adonis is bent over away from him when he speaks again, fishing something out of his pocket, “A gift, for such a job well done.” He spins on his heel to face him.

 At first, Sebastian is honestly still staring at his chest, but then his gaze lifts up to Adonis’ lips. There’s a perfectly packed blunt propped between them. 

 “Oh you shouldn’t have….” Sebastian bats his eyes, yet betrays his statement with grabby hands. 

 Adonis laughs as he walks over, and Sebastian thinks the man will just sit down in front of him. So when he plops down right next to him– shoulder to shoulder– he’s a little surprised, happily.

 Usually Sebastian would be so appalled to have someone so sweaty pressed up against him, but this? This is welcomed. 

 Adonis is so warm, even warmer than Sebastian in this heat as he still tries to get his labored breathing under control. As he lit the blunt, the flame only enhanced his features. Sebastian’s breathing gets just a tad heavier, he doesn’t even mind that it’s hot out now. 

  This man was beautiful.  

 Plain and simple. Adonis was gorgeous. His face seemed to be carved out of marble and the same thing could be said for his body. And that hair, don’t get him started. Sometimes he feels like he’s about to start trailing right behind Adonis’ flowing locks; hovering in the air with hearts coming out of his head just like those old cartoons. 

This was getting bad- no, catastrophic.

 What’s even more, Sebastian’s self escapade last night comes flooding back to him now that he’s sitting right up against the man of his desires.

 Adonis is not the man of his desires. That was just a slip, just because he’s new. He does not fancy the farmer. No. Sam was wrong. His brain is wrong. His dick is wrong. 

 “Sebby?” Adonis is looking at him, peering into his space to find his eyes, and Sebastian nearly jumps. 

 Adonis must have been holding it out to him for a while, and the whole while Sebastian was thinking about him like a freak. What a mess. 

 “Sorry, just not used to using my hands so much.” Sebastian wants to explode into a million pieces. If Adonis only knew how much he used his hands.

 “I understand. When I first moved, I cried after the first day. Then, I really focused and ignored the pain. That’s why I didn’t go to town for a while.” Adonis explains with a smile, as if that wasn’t soul crushing to hear. 

“No,” Sebastian inhales, “That’s not good. You have to take breaks, don’t hurt yourself.” He exhales, oh wow that’s some good shit.

 “Mm..” Adonis looks at his hands. They’re calloused. Strong and now covered faintly in dirt, they show how hard he’s worked, “You’re right. But, I need to keep funds up, there is so much to do.” 

 “Don’t kill yourself over it, there will be time.” Sebastian hands the blunt back to him after his second hit, making sure to speak to him while looking into his eyes. Adonis needs to know he is still human. 

 “I won’t! I won’t. Especially when the G’s from this special crop roll in,” Adonis winks at him as he puffs out a cloud of smoke, “I hope you know you’re getting half the profit.” 

 “What?! No!” Sebastian is glad it wasn’t his turn in the rotation, otherwise the blunt would have been in the air at that announcement. 

 Is he insane? That’s got to be like, thousands of G’s, at least. That’s at a low-grade rate, but knowing Adonis, this stuff has to be premium. So maybe more ! 

 “Mhm! You think I’ll work you for free labor? I’m so sad you think of me that way…” Adonis mimes a tear rolling down his cheek and then hits the blunt deeply, exhaling as he passes it back to a frozen Sebastian. 

 But of course, Sebastian is Sebastian. He won’t resist a blunt being presented to him, even if he’s shocked to the core. He hits it without breaking his wide-eye stare.

 “Dude… no… I didn’t even pitch in anything, that’s like… you did most of the work! And it’s not even done, what if I mess up something or, or, I—“ 

 “Shhhhh…. just smoke this weed, valley boy.” Adonis smiles, knocking Sebastian’s hand that holds the blunt closer to his mouth. 

 “God,” Sebastian blinks at him as he takes his hit, “You’re something else.” 

 ꩜

 Sebastian can’t pinpoint when exactly, but at some point he's laying his head against Adonis’ shoulder. Almost all of his body weight, actually. He’s just tired after all.

 The blunt is reduced to a roach, smudged out on the cobblestone floor. It’s been a half hour since they lit it, at least. Time gets lost the more he spends it with Adonis. 

 They keep giggling, over the smallest things. They spent minutes laughing over a moth that made itself known by nearly flying into Sebastian’s hair. 

 “What strain is that…” Sebastian enjoys himself, regret can be felt later. His head angles up to look at Adonis, glancing at his strong jawline. 

 “Hm.. Gorilla Paste? Something like that.” Adonis sighs. Sebastian can feel him exhale, his body shifting slightly from the movement, “I don’t pay much attention to the name, just the percentages.”

 “That’s funny coming from a grower.”

 “Haha, a brand new one.” Adonis gestures to the plot of soil. Nothing has sprouted in the time it takes to smoke a blunt. 

 “Just wait, it’ll be good,” What is Sebastian even saying, “We, um, have to do a lot of work though once they sprout… like, a lot of work. They might not even flower until winter, and if that happens.. God, we’ll have to bring in humidifiers.” 

 “I.. I hope this isn’t going to be too much work. If you can’t help me, I understand…” Adonis is softer when he speaks now. He’s looking off at the ground, mindlessly fiddling with his hands in his lap. 

 “No-“ Sebastian’s voice sounds squeaky as he rushes to speak, coughing to adjust his throat, “It’s no problem. I’ve always wanted to do this. Although, I thought I’d do it with one, or maybe three plants if I’m getting ballsy. This is another level.” 

 Adonis shifts his gaze towards him, eyebrows raised. 

  Oh, that wasn’t very reassuring, huh?

 “But, it’s cool. This is going to go for so many Gs. I could even take a break from programming… wow.” Sebastian’s tongue feels heavy in his mouth. This was so much at one time. This new, beautiful farmer suddenly waltzing into his life. Making him have gay thoughts, and then becoming a makeshift dispensary? Where is all this weed going to go? Who exactly does Adonis know in the city anyways…

 “Are you sure?” Adonis seems a bit more lively, watching Sebastian carefully. His stare is always so intense. How does he do that? Like, how do his eyes do that… what?

  “Yeah. 100%. So sure.” Sebastian is a little bit more than high, but he knows what he’s getting into. Even if those amber eyes coax his mouth along, he wants this. 

 “Okay,” Adonis nods breaking that weird stare thing they just had going on, “Maybe Sam and Abigail would want to-“ 

 “Nah, no- I mean, not right now,” Sebastian wants this time just to himself, “They’ll be bored with the seedlings. We’ll really need help gathering and then trimming the bud.” 

 “Hm, okay.” Adonis furrows his brows like he’s thinking and that’s when Sebastian notices exactly what he’s doing with his hands. 

 “Stop that,” Sebastian impulsively reaches out to tug at Adonis’ left hand, “Sorry, I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.” 

 Adonis looks down at his hands, Sebastian’s still lightly holding onto his wrist, “Oh, I didn’t even notice, sorry- It’s a nervous habit.” He still subconsciously tries to move his fingers together, while Sebastian shakes his wrist slightly; stopping the action before it starts. 

 Adonis was trying to dig his pointer finger nail into the side of his thumb. And now that Sebastian looks hard enough, he can see a small part of his skin in that area scarred and cracked. 

 “It's okay, dude. Don’t be sorry, trust me. I understand.” Sebastian puts emphasis on the last sentence, not intending to. He changes the subject to the first thing on his mind, “Your nails are really nice— for a farmer. How do you keep your hands so…” 

 “So…?” Adonis tilts his head. The long strips of bangs he has slightly fall over his face. 

 “Soft..?” Sebastian must be off his ass stoned, but it was only one blunt split between two. It must be that, because something inside him thinks it’s a wonderful idea to slide his hand up Adonis’ palm; grabbing onto his thumb and then feeling up his fingers. 

 His hands really are soft though. They still are calloused in the areas most used, but they aren’t rough like you’d expect from a farmer. Everything else? Smooth. His fingers, the top of his hand, the groove in his palm, Sebastian lets his fingertips roam over it all. 

 Did he seriously just caress and fondle this man’s hand? That must have been a desire deep from within because now every ounce of him is panicking. Can that be played off as friendly? It didn’t feel friendly. 

 “You think so? Wow, I guess my skincare routine is paying off.” Adonis' voice is quiet, but in a much different way now, gentle. Sweet . It doesn’t help the heat rising up Sebastian’s neck. 

 Adonis hasn’t yanked his hand away, and neither has he. That’s a good sign, right? 

 They aren’t holding hands, more so Sebastian is pressing his hand against Adonis’ much larger one like he really wants to. Does he want to? He kind of does, only to know what it would feel like. 

 “Your hands are big.” Very eloquent, Sebastian, well done. 

 “Or, yours are small.” Adonis shifts their hands up slightly. Sebastian’s arm is pressed close to his like this. Actually, he’s pressed close to Adonis, their hips lined up next to each other.

  That alone could send Sebastian into a frenzy, but when Adonis splays his long fingers out, lining them up with Sebastian’s—

  Hell, oh this was awful. The tips of Sebastian’s own barely brush the last joint of Adonis’ fingers. 

  He seems to think it’s amazing, grinning wildly as he bends the tips of his fingers over Sebastian’s like a grabby claw for emphasis. 

 “Whatever, they are not small. They are normal. You have daddy-long-legs for fingers, that’s what makes your hands big.” Sebastian talks like this is a beef but he still hasn’t removed his hand. Instead, he's takes the time to line it up even more accurately, “In fact, look. Your palms aren’t even that much bigger than mine, just your fingers! You just have long limbs in general! That’s why you’re tall!” 

 “Hmmm…” Adonis takes this opportunity. The moment Sebastian is focused on his bitter rambling, he slips his fingers into the grooves of Sebastian’s, “I didn’t know you were paying that much attention.” 

 Sebastian stops abruptly, mouth frozen open. That went straight to his groin. Oh, it sure did. That suave voice. He deepened it even more on purpose. Holy shit, is that flirting? Did Adonis just flirt with him? 

Again?

Chapter Text

Sebastian glances between the hand holding his and the eyes staring down at him repeatedly in disbelief. 

 Should he flirt back? What does he say to that? Oh, man. If I was a woman, I would have just creamed my pants. No– that’s weird… wait, what? 

  “Sorry, was that too much?” Adonis starts laughing. He pulls his hand away before Sebastian can interlock their fingers. It’s a shame, he was really about to do it. He spent the last few moments mentally hyping himself up, too. 

  “What? No– you’re funny. I think you’re just mad I don’t have to walk into Pierre’s without ducking.” Sebastian drops his hand that was hanging limply in the air back onto his lap. 

 “I do not have to duck!” Adonis’ eyelashes nearly press against his cheeks as he gets wide-eyed, “It’s not my fault he has a small door.” 

 “He has a lot of small things, I bet. Caroline always looks so unfulfilled these days.” 

 “Ugh-! I don’t need to hear that! I sell that man my vegetables!” Adonis smacks his thigh, holding back a laugh. 

 Sebastian takes that moment to divulge all the town gossip he’s heard over the years. His grin grows wider each time Adonis gasps in shock, or intrigue.  

 “And that’s why I know for sure Marnie and the Mayor hook up.” Sebastian finishes with his arms crossed looking very proud of himself. Adonis stares back with his eyebrows raised. 

 “No way. So let me tell you this,” Adonis speaks with his hands, pointing at him, “Mayor Lewis sent me this letter asking me nicely to retrieve his ‘purple shorts’ ‘very discreetly,” He curls his fingers into air-quotations, “I think I might have a new place to look!” 

 “Ewwwwwww…” Sebastian groans. He can’t help it. That’s absolutely absurd, “Why would he ask you that? That– what?! You’re serious. Like, you’re not just fucking with me?? He really asked you that… wow.” 

 Adonis just keeps nodding, looking more and more lifeless with each one. What exactly has Mayor Lewis been asking this man? How close are they for him to even think that’s appropriate? 

 Whatever. Who cares that much about the Mayor.. the sound of his stomach growling halts his train of thought. 

 “Are you hungry?” Adonis perks up, suddenly alive and ready to jump up from their spot on the greenhouse floor. 

“Maybe a little bit…” Sebastian thinks that’s really nice. Does he care that much? 

“Ha, it was hard work! I’m hungry too, now that you mention it. Do you want me to cook?” Adonis wipes his hands down the front of his overalls. Any dirt that was left has been long gone by now— especially after Sebastian’s impromptu hand massage. 

 “No, you don’t have to do that.. I can just eat something at home.” Sebastian doesn’t want to intrude and be a bother; but, he’d be lying if he said some freshly cooked food didn’t sound amazing right now. If he went home, he’d be eating a reheated can of beans or something. Yech. But it would be fine, he'd make it work..

 “Or I could make you… some fresh pumpkin soup?” Adonis smiles warmly, talking in that sweet voice that Sebastian can’t resist. And as if he had no choice, his stomach sounds again, answering for him.

  They both laugh at the same time. Sebastian isn’t even embarrassed. He’s just being, just living. For once, he’s in the moment. Surprisingly, it’s not scary or bad.    

  It’s calm. 

 Adonis gets up first, dusting off the knees of his overalls with a sigh. Then, he offers his hand to Sebastian. 

 It's the same hand he had just fondled moments ago. Sebastian just stares at it for a moment before realizing he should probably take it like a normal person. 

 When Sebastian’s brain finally loads, he places his hand in Adonis’ and lets the man pull him to his feet.

  As he’s trying to stand, he's helped a bit much. Sebastian is taken to his feet and a bit more as he teeters on his tip-toes before steadying himself. Adonis gives him a shrug and a half-smile at his miscalculation, “You’re lighter than I thought.” 

 “What is that supposed to mean?”

 “Don’t you start.” 

 “Adonis, where did you pick that up from? Abigail? Don’t start talking like her.” 

 “Why not?” 

 “Just because,” Sebastian shakes his head, “your accent makes it sound silly.” 

 “Your accent sounds silly!” 

 “I do not have an accent.”

 “Yes. You, like, so do have an, uh, accent. Like, y’all, for real.” Adonis does his best to intimidate something that sounds as if a valley-girl and an Appalachian rancher had a baby. 

  Their conversation changes as they leave the sweltering greenhouse and trek back to the cabin. Despite the change of scenery, Sebastian keeps dwelling on one thing. 

  Adonis really does have a strong grip. Maybe he doesn’t realize how strong he is, but he should! The way he’s built, it’s like he’s been molding those muscles for years… When Adonis helped Sebastian from the ground, he nearly lifted him in the air. He bet he could too, just with one arm. Wow. 

 The wooden door to the farmhouse nearly swings in his face as Adonis opens it. 

  “Careful. Are you alright? You got quiet for a moment.” Adonis holds it open, gesturing for him to walk inside. How gentlemanly. 

 “Mhm. Good.” Sebastian flashes a grin and takes his cue, stepping past the wall of man briskly. 

 When Adonis closes the door behind him and flicks on the light, he’s momentarily shocked. 

  Sebastian didn’t get to see much of Adonis’ house last time, considering it was pitch black and in the middle of the night. However, he didn’t expect this. 

 There’s rich brown couches settling around a large, stone fireplace; its loud crackling is soothing. To the left of them was a little sitting area in front of a TV, accompanied with a table on the side and an ashtray/paraphernalia atop. Many paintings decorated the walls surrounding the cozy little setup. 

 The floor is a deep oak wood. The walls have a wooden trim that matches; and the wallpaper is this lavender color that reminds Sebastian of a particular person’s hair. He also can tell someone took the time to hand paint swirls of gold across the borders. Adonis even has leaves and vines hanging from the ceiling that trail into the kitchen. As they walk in, Sebastian can feel Adonis guiding him with the ghost of a hand on the lower part of his back.

 This man has taste. Sebastian didn’t think he would even have time to decorate, let alone make it look so homely and lived in already. 

 “It looks really nice in here.” Sebastian stands awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, his feet pointed together. The floor in the kitchen is different. It’s this light brown and white checkered linoleum that makes him smile. 

 Weird. Why is the floor of someone’s kitchen making him smile? 

 It’s just that, it screams Adonis. Everything about this little cabin does. From the various plants thrown in pots, to the crystals laying across the windowsill– especially the purple oven mitts hanging over the stove. 

 “Oh, you like it? I have been saving up for the second house upgrade your mother sells, but the catalog set me back.” Adonis has his back turned, fishing something out of his fridge. He shuts it with a halved pumpkin and a jar of milk in one arm. 

“Mhm. The candles are cool.” Sebastian shifts his weight, mentioning the one thing that could be sussed. Hey, they are cool. The candle holders are golden and the candles are black, that’s metal as fuck.  

 “Good, they cost me a month's labor.” Adonis tutts to himself, setting the items down on the counter and scrubbing his hands. When he looks over his shoulder, he frowns, “You can sit down! Make yourself at home.” 

 “Hah.. okay.” Sebastian looks to the small table in the middle of the kitchen/dining room. It’s tiny. There’s two chairs on each side and a bowl of fruit atop it. As he takes a seat on one of the chairs (angling it slightly toward Adonis instead of the table), Sebastian wonders what it would be like to live alone. 

 Adonis must have a lot of freedom. Wake up anytime he wants, do what he wants, whenever he wants… things Sebastian has never known. Of course, Adonis has an insane chore list, but he’s the one who created it. Adonis is his own boss. What would that be like? 

 He starts to smell pumpkin. 

 “Pumpkin soup, mmph,” Sebastian can’t help the pleasured sound that leaves his lips. It’s his favorite , and he’s drooling already. He offhandedly asks a question as a distraction, “Haven’t had it this fresh since fall. Where did you find a pumpkin? You said you’d only been here since spring.” 

 Adonis freezes mid-whip. The whisk in his hand is placed delicately back in the bowl. The soup must be on pause for the moment, because he turns to face Sebastian immediately. 

“I am a liar.” 

 “What?” 

 “I am a very big, huge, fat liar!” Adonis’ face is full of worry. His hands come together in front of his chest as they fidget nervously, “Please, do not hate me.” 

 “What? Dude— I don’t care where you got the pumpkin from. Sorry I asked.” Sebastian stares, genuinely shocked. What could possibly illicit that reaction? 

 “No, you do not understand. I am the worst. You can’t—You must not tell anyone.” Adonis lowers his voice to a whisper, looking around like someone will jump out from a corner any moment now. 

 “Who cares where you got the pumpkin? So there’s a black market for crops that only farmers know about, whatever!”

 “I lied to you, to everyone—“ Adonis looks so distressed it makes Sebastian stop his stoned chattering, “I have been living a lie.” 

 “Hey, what? It’s okay, you can tell me.” Sebastian does his best to sound comforting. He has no idea why Adonis is so distraught all of a sudden but he wants it to stop as soon as possible. 

 “I.. I moved here in spring, yes, but…” Adonis breaks eye contact with him to stare up at the ceiling, “It was not last spring, it was spring of last… year.”

 “Oh…” Sebastian nods, but stills for a moment trying to understand what that means. Adonis continues to stare away but gasps like he’s about to cry. 

 “Oh….?” Sebastian tilts his head, tongue rolling across the inside of his cheek as it clicks, “So, you’ve been here for a year and two months instead of just two months?” 

 “Yes…” Adonis finally looks back at him and Sebastian honestly wishes he hadn’t. He’s never seen those eyes all wet and sparkly like he’s holding back tears. That’s what upsets him. “I understand if you want to leave— if you want to stop being friends. I just could not lie to you anymore.”

 “Man, so what? Who cares?” Sebastian sighs, leaning back on the wooden chair and cracking his back on the head of it. 

 “But– but I lied- I lied to everyone but the adult adults, Sebastian— I made them feel special.” Adonis is wide-eyed, looking like he’ll be sick. Sebastian would laugh if it didn't seem mean at the moment. 

 “So Marnie and Pierre got to feel like the secret government of farming supplies. That’s actually great! I’m sure my mom got a kick out of that too. Secret Agent Carpenter!” Sebastian throws his feet up on the chair opposite him with a sly grin. “Why, though? Why didn't you want to face the youth? Did we scare you off? Was it me? I know I can look a little intimidating.” 

 Adonis looks appalled, the crease between his brows deepening. 

 Sebastian laughs, eyes shut, he even clutches at his chest when he opens them to find Adonis even more confused. 

 “I don’t care! I’m messing with you. You wanted alone time, I get it. Out of everyone, I understand.” 

 “No– that’s not it,” Adonis shakes his head, calming himself down with a deep breath, “I wanted to make sure everything was in order—That I wasn’t inviting people over to a pile of nothing. I don’t want my friends– or future friends– to think I moved to their town just to sit around and be lazy.” 

 He looks so serious. Sebastian struggles to hold back laughter, but somehow he manages to lift his brows upwards with a faint smile. 

 “You don’t have to impress anyone, you know.” 

 “I.. You– you don’t understand, I want to make this valley my home, until I’m old, until I’m gone. I want to meet someone; I want a family here.” Adonis meets his eyes for this, speaking fast but steady like this is directly from his heart. 

 Sebastian is a bit hurt, though. Why would he not understand? Well, Adonis must think he wants to leave this place as fast as he can but,—yes, that’s the plan. 

 Or it was his plan. Sebastian has been having conflicting thoughts recently. 

 “If someone doesn’t want to date you because your farm isn’t perfect, then they aren’t good enough to date you.” Sebastian says firmly, making sure to keep his eyes trained on Adonis. 

 “Huh, that’s… wait, you don’t think I’m fooling?” Adonis speaks so properly most of the time, Sebastian does a double take when he realizes, and breaks out into another bout of laughter.

 “Fooling ? Like, you’re messing with me? You’re cute.” Sebastian breathes weakly between wheezes, “Did Sam teach you that one? My God,” He settles once more, giving him an inquisitive look, “No, I don’t think you’re fooling. I think you just care too much about other people’s expectations of you. You don’t have to be a hardworking farmer all the time, you can just be Adonis.” 

 Hold on, he just called this man cute. Sebastian needs to stop making this a therapy session, and to also quit speaking in that sweet tone that only pops up when Adonis is around. It’s sickening. 

 “You are too good to me, Sebastian,” Adonis looks back at him like he’s charmed, with the corners of his plump lips curving up. It makes Sebastian look away, “I don’t deserve it.” 

 “Everyone deserves a good friend.” Sebastian clears his throat and picks at his collar while staring at his shoes. He needs to drop the ‘friend’ word before he gets too deep. 

 “Well, let this good friend make you some soup.” Adonis laughs weakly. Sebastian can feel his eyes linger for a moment before he’s up and back at the kitchen counter, whisking away. 

 Adonis didn’t have to tell anyone when he moved here or why, but Sebastian was curious. Even more so now that he knows he lied… 

  He understands. It’s starting to look like Adonis has major self-esteem issues and a huge hang-up over impressing new people but, is that all? Why does he feel like that? He really doesn’t need to try that hard— Were the younger townsfolk that intimidating? 

  Who did Adonis want to impress, specifically? 

 “So, what was your life like before you moved here?” Sebastian changes the subject. 

 “Oh,” Adonis falters as he pours the purée into a stove pot, nearly spilling, “I lived in Zuzu for a year after college, I hated my office job. I couldn’t take it. I had to leave. I had to come back to what I knew, nature.” He sets the bowl into the sink with a clang. 

 “Long hours, huh? Shitty boss— unpaid labor, yeah, thought so.” Sebastian sighs each time Adonis gives him a somber look over his shoulder, “What nature? Did you grow up on a farm?”

 “Not… exactly. I was born in Russia. Lived there in a.. large orphanage until I was seven, then my Mothers’ adopted me. It was hard work living there—Work kids did not need to do, but it taught me.” Adonis’ voice is far off, yet he continues mincing garlic diligently. 

 “I’m sorry.” Sebastian says quietly, unsure if he should say anything at all. He didn’t mean to bring up something that seemed so sad. He didn’t even think that would be a possibility. Adonis seemed so happy all the time; there were barely any moments where he wasn’t smiling. Sebastian wouldn’t have ever thought he had a rough childhood. 

 Not everyone wears it on his sleeve like Sebastian does— Not the time— He can’t be self-deprecating when Adonis is opening up to him. 

 “No, it’s not your fault… Anyways, I had a good time when I was adopted. I lived in Germany with them for seven years. They owned a goat ranch– that was fun. I told them I wanted to see American life. I was obsessed with the American dream at the time,” Adonis matches the unamused look Sebastian wears, “I know. I was so blinded by propaganda at the time, I didn’t realize I already had the perfect life at the ranch.”

 “So, you came to Zuzu for highschool? Was it the casino ads that got you? Or the clubs? For me it’s the gaming companies.” Sebastian resists joining him when Adonis finally cracks a smile. 

 “It’s hilarious to say out loud, but, it was the fashion industry.” Adonis stops pivoting himself towards Sebastian to finish plopping garlic and onion into the soup base. Sebastian is a little flattered. Is the conversation with him actually interesting? He hopes so.   

 “ZuZu Styles?”

 “Zuzu Models,” Adonis laughs after they both pause in silence, “I know, I know. What a silly dream, right?”  

 “No, you.. you could definitely be a model.” Sebastian gives himself one moment. One where his eyes roam down the broad expanse of Adonis’ back, his toned arms, that perfect ass, only snapping his eyes back up at the last second when Adonis’ turns his head. 

 “I actually meant as a photographer, hopefully promoted to main stylist. But thank you, hah, that’s an unworthy compliment.” Adonis was in the middle of stirring the soup on low-heat when his hand stalls for a moment, the broth keeps swirling around the motionless wooden spoon. 

 “You could though, for real.” Sebastian lets his mouth run, this was a wonderful excuse to let it be known he finds Adonis beautiful. It’s only so the big guy’s self esteem would get better. 

   That’s all.  

  He can’t fathom Adonis being insecure for any reason. If Sebastian looked like that, he’d never wear a damn shirt. 

  “Don’t flatter me…” Adonis gets back to stirring, albeit a little faster, “You could too. I actually exceed the height limits and I’m much too bulky, but you’re… you’ve got the perfect body– for modeling.” 

  Sebastian’s legs reflexively curl in on himself. They bump underneath the dining table and he holds back a groan. 

 Holy— oh god. Fucking hell. Sebastian rubs his knees with his palms, shrinking on himself as much as possible. This man did not just say he had the perfect body— for modeling— when he looks like that. Sebastian feels himself burn up, crossing one leg over the other. Hearing that shouldn’t feel so damn good, but it does. He wants to hear it again. 

 “If you exceed the height requirements, what do you think of me?” Sebastian croaks, trying to regain composure. 

  Thankfully, Adonis is too preoccupied cooking to notice or is simply acting oblivious to the thunk his bones on solid wood just produced. 

 “You can always wear heels. I can’t remove my knees,” Adonis chuckles, “No, really though. I don’t know why you hide it all the time, when you look like that.” 

 Sebastian is actually not thankful. He wants Adonis to turn around. He wants to see his face, study his features as he says that ridiculous line. He’s joking. That’s not even a realistic thing anyone would ever say about him ever— why is it making his face feel incredibly hot and his mouth dry?

 Like that. What does that mean? Why’d he have to say it in that tone? Buttery and smooth. That went straight to his groin. Fuck. 

 “Like what? Like a skeleton mixed with a trash goblin?” Sebastian’s voice warbles. He starts to fidget with the buttons on his borrowed overalls. When did it get so hot in here? 

 “No, please,—like.. you look inviting ,” Adonis turns off the stove with a ‘click’, “It’s the perfect look for photo shoots. Photographers love those doe eyes.” 

 Sebastian slumps over the table, leaning halfway on it. One arm slung is out so he can use it as a headrest. He continues watching Adonis’ back as he grabs two clean bowls from a cupboard, slowly crumbling all the while. 

  Inviting, that’s a first. Sebastian rarely gets compliments and it's even rarer when they’re directed at his appearance. He’s unsure how to react; his body has an idea, though. Suddenly, overheated and hands trembling, he's fighting off the arousal in his gut. 

 Doe eyes, huh. He has doe eyes? That photographers love? Adonis was going to be a photographer. Would he love them? What does inviting even mean in this context? All he knows is that it sounds heavenly coming from Adonis’ mouth. 

 He’s boring holes into Adonis’ back trying so hard to think of something to say back, when the man speaks again, “How do you even know about ZuZu Styles? I didn’t think you would be into fashion.”

 “Ah, I designed a webpage for one of their designers once. I could do that for you too.” Sebastian props his head up with one hand on the table, now. He watches Adonis set the now empty pot into the sink, taking two steaming bowls into each large palm. 

 “You’re a dear. No, I’ve long since abandoned those dreams. I would rather have a successful farm now. That's why I must work hard.” Adonis strolls through the kitchen and places the bowls down on the table. The delicious scent wafts over to Sebastian immediately, “Would you like a ginger ale?” 

 “That’d be awesome, thank you.” Sebastian didn’t even need to respond because Adonis was already in the fridge, procuring two ice cold green bottles and bringing them back to the table. 

 He even cracks the bottle open for Sebastian, setting it next to him before opening his own. Adonis was such a wonderful host.

“Okay, I know it won’t rival the original recipe’s owner,” Adonis winks, mentioning his mom, “But, try. I want your opinion.” He’s smiling over the steam from his own bowl now, waiting expectantly. He looks so young like this. 

 Sebastian shares the smile, picking up his spoon and blowing off the rising steam. Adonis watches him as he takes the spoonful to his mouth. Sebastian looks somewhere else as he swallows. 

  Oh, it’s good. It’s buttery, creamy, and so flavorful that Sebastian goes for another spoonful immediately. 

 “I’m glad you like it!” Adonis claps his hands together once, cheeks rosy, before taking his own first bite.

 “Mhm, good,” Sebastian says between slurps from his spoon. Working in the sun made him hungrier than he realized, “So good.” 

 “Yeah?” Adonis takes a long sip from his ginger ale. 

 “Better,” Sebastian licks his lips, “Better than mom’s.” 

 “No! Don’t say that!” He nearly chokes on his drink, setting it back down with a clink of the glass on the wood, “I won’t ever tell her that and you won’t either. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.” 

 “Really, what did you add? It’s different, but I like it.” Sebastian grins wildly as Adonis sticks his fingers in his ears and pretends to ignore him. 

 This was nice, really nice. Sitting with Adonis in his kitchen, eating food he made, in his house. The fireplace crackles in the gaps of conversation, the hum of insects from outside. It’s homey. 

  Sebastian thinks it’s an amazing change of scenery from the stuffy basement. He could get used to this. 

 “So, you said you went here for college but you got an office job for a year? You lying about your age now?” Sebastian looks over the rim of his bottle at him, catching himself when Adonis starts looking panicked, “I’m kidding.” 

 “Haha, very funny,” Adonis rolls his eyes, biting back a grin, “No, I’m not lying about my age. No more secrets. I graduated high school at sixteen.” 

 “Wow! Smart and handsome. How come you aren’t married?” Sebastian recoils out of his relaxed state. He pushes his shoulders back to quit slouching, sitting straight up in the wooden chair. What procured him to say that– no, what allowed him to say that? Because, it’s been on the forefront of his mind all evening. 

 Adonis seems like the whole-package. Why was he so nervous to impress the bachelorettes and bachelors? He could walk in the room and have everyone in the palm of his hand. Actually, maybe that’s why he avoided all the eligibles the first year. He knew they’d descend on him like a pack of wolves. 

 That’s what it felt like sometimes. Well, from Sebastian’s point of view at least. He can’t speak for the man himself. But, he’s heard the most outlandish and downright provocative assumptions about him from townsfolk of all ages and genders. 

 Sebastian can’t get over the time on one Friday night— on his way to the saloon, he overheard Alex asking Adonis how he gets his ‘gams so tight’. 

  Sebastian entered the saloons the fastest he’s ever had before in that moment. He didn’t want to eavesdrop. 

  “Stop, you act like I have proposals at my front door,” Adonis laughs, Sebastian does not, “I just threw myself into school. America wasn’t like I thought it was. People weren’t always nice to me— so hard work it was. Finished early, took four  years of college. I barely passed because I partied too hard, and then it was the office. Now, I’m here. This is much better than the city, in my opinion.” 

 They both share a look for a moment, like Adonis is urging Sebastian to say something contrary. That’s new, and quite fiery. It’s like he actually wants Sebastian to stay in the valley, but won’t say it. Or Sebastian is being delusional and grasping at straws. 

 “Now, you know all about me. Why don’t you tell me what it was like growing up here?” Adonis folds his hands together. He props them up with his elbows as he rests his chin across them, eyes crescent in that cat-like way he has. 

 “Well, there isn’t much to know,” Sebastian rubs at the back of his neck, “I moved here when I was four when my mom was pregnant with Maru. She thought the valley would be a good place to have kids. Yeah, the only kids in the whole valley. You know for the longest time the only people around my age in town were my sister and Sam?” 

 “Oh, wow.” 

 “Yeah, so Sam was my only friend for a long time. That is, until everyone started moving here. For a while Alex was really nice to us, like, he was a real friend. Then Emily and Haley moved in and it went downhill from there. Abigail moving here was pretty awesome though. Even if her Dad is a tool, I won’t shop at Joja.” 

 “Me neither, I’m seriously trying to run them out of business.” Adonis adds, eyebrow twitching when Sebastian gives him a ‘good luck with that’ expression. 

 C’mon. Adonis works hard, but no single person can run-out a huge corporation like Joja. Sebastian continues to change the subject. 

 “So we had to take a bus to school, an hour and a half long ride every morning. When we would get back to the valley it would be pitch black. School was awful,” Sebastian blinks, “Don’t even get me started with middle school either. Sam was my only saving grace and even then he was also a dumb kid. High school was better, he got popular and they were nice to me in return.” 

  Sebastian finishes his spiel by scraping his bowl clean. Adonis takes his empty one and stacks it in the middle of the table, grabbing the two empty bottles with one hand. 

 “No, I’ll wash the dishes.” Sebastian stops him by placing a hand over his. Adonis stalls and gives him a look, “You cooked. The least I can do is wash two bowls and a pot, go sit back down.”

 “Alright,” Adonis sits back down slowly. He's a bit dumbfounded, but lets Sebastian gather the dishes and take them to the sink, “So, you finished high school and then came back here? 

 “Mhm. Did online college for four years, got a coding degree, and haven’t done shit with it. Now, I'm wasting away in my Mother’s basement.” Sebastian punctuates each statement with a rough scrub from the purple sponge on the bowls. 

 “You aren’t wasting away. Don’t say that. Everyone has their own pace in life. If you were away in the city, I’d never know such a small town in the mountains had such a cool person in it.” 

 He’s glad he’s turned away from Adonis. Sebastian is sure seeing the soft expression he gets—especially paired with that sweet statement— would turn him into a ball of goo. 

 “Haha, that’s what you think,” Sebastian shuts off the faucet, wiping his wet hands on a frilly towel hanging over the sink, “Everyone else, besides Sam and maybe Abigail, think I’m a big fucking loser.” 

 “Well, that’s bullshit.” Adonis speaks matter-of-factly, Sebastian pauses putting the dishes on the dry rack to look him in the eyes, “You are not a loser. You are twenty-three; you have time. Don’t stress yourself out, life isn’t guaranteed either. Let’s just be happy you’re here.” 

 “You’re right…” Sebastian bites his bottom lip, looking away. He tries busying himself with setting the rest of the dishes to dry, but even then he can’t stop himself, 

 “I’ve been thinking of the city less and less,” Sebastian bites his tongue, “the valley is a lot cooler when you actually go outside to enjoy it.”  

 Yes. Have Adonis think it’s because of the summer weather, not because Sebastian was thinking of how nice it was to work on the farm. 

 “That’s the right idea!” Adonis slaps a hand on the table. It thuds with the weight, “I’ll force you outside more often. Have you ever been to the secret woods? Or, or did you know there’s a spa near the railroad?! I didn’t for the longest time-“ 

 “That old stinky thing? Yeah, it’s the building I lean on for a smoke break. I thought no one else went up there but Abi.” Sebastian throws the bottles into a trash can, grinning. It’s nice to see someone so excited about their small little valley. 

˖° ⋆｡˚꩜

 “Do you want me to come by tomorrow?” Sebastian says, holding a plastic bag of his clothes with both hands. He's leaning against the handrail to the stairs (obviously not to look cool). Once they clocked that it was nearly seven pm, they decided to call it a night. Neither of them realized how late it got until the kitchen started to get dim. That's when Adonis started to jump up worriedly, rambling about closing gates. 

 “Tomorrow? No, the seeds will be fine for a while. I’ll just water them, that’s nice though.” Adonis flashes another award-winning smile his way, lingering in the doorway. It seems like neither of them want to say goodbye.

 “Ah….” Sebastian looks around the farm for a moment, thinking of what to say, “Oh, your clothes— let me change back into mine-“

 “It’s fine. I can’t fit those anyways; just bring them back next time. Don’t wear them though. I’ll have something else ready.” Adonis stops him from running back inside with a hand in the air. 

 “Are you sure?” Sebastian looks up at him confused. Why does this man have to talk in riddles? 

 “Yeah, don’t worry.” Adonis’ smile only grows, “Want me to walk you home?” 

 “No, I’ll be fine,” He’s grown. Sebastian can handle it, and he needs a second to regain control on his breathing, “You gotta make sure your pigs don’t get out!” 

 “You don’t understand the pain of rounding up over thirty animals until you’ve done it months straight!” Adonis calls out after him but Sebastian is already skipping away, slinging the bag of clothes on one shoulder. 

 He’s almost off the farm and getting ready to light a cigarette for the walk back when he stops dead in tracks. 

 There’s a lump in the middle of the pathway, the only pathway off of the farm and towards Sebastian’s house. 

 It moves like it’s breathing, steadily up and down rhythmically. Sebastian gawks at it, staring, waiting for anything. It’s too dark out to make out anything but the vague shape of limbs. He counts four. 

 The creature makes a disgusting sound. Garbled, groany, raspy, and filled with hatred.

 “Oh my god-“ Sebastian nearly jumps three feet in the air, shocked out of his skin. He drops his cigarette and takes off, his limbs taking him faster than they ever have before. He leaps over the damned thing, half afraid it will sprout tentacles and drag him back to the earth. 

 The whole way home his feet slap against the ground, small dust clouds puffing up in his wake. 

Chapter Text

The next morning was a blur to Sebastian. He didn’t have time to think of anything but work for the first eight hours. Once he was satisfied (and starving), he decided to give it a break. 

 He really liked spending time with Adonis. Unfortunately, Sebastian can’t seem to get himself together. Every single time after they meet, it ends up with Adonis stuck in his head— all the time. Obviously, this makes it a little hard to focus on other things. 

  Wow, that’s so bad. Jesus Christ. He’s screwed. 

 Well, not screwed either. Maybe he would shut up if that actually happened for once. 

 Enough of that sexual frustration bullshit. He was getting tired of it. Sebastian decides that he needs to demolish some soup, smoke a fat joint, and then go to bed. Wait, what time was it? It’s only seven, but he could sleep. He’s been having some interesting dreams lately— No. He just said enough of that! 

 After microwaving some leftovers from the fridge and scarfing it down, he’s content. He flees the kitchen the moment he’s finished eating. Luckily no one is in the house right now, but he doesn’t want to chance it. 

 He’s really not in the mood to see anyone today. It’s nice to be alone sometimes, y'know? Sebastian is more than excited to just stand outside, watch the sunset, and smoke. End the night well and go to sleep for the next twelve hours.

 That’s the plan. He gets to it by revisiting his daunting end table. Opening the drawer, he grabs for his stash and twists open the jar. 

  Oh no. Absolutely not. How could he be out now? He thought– man, what the fuck. This sucks.  

 Sebastian knew he had to re-up soon, but not now. He just wanted to relax and have a good sleep! Nothing ever goes his way. 

 It’s okay… it’s alright. It’s still early. He could call up his weed guy and meet at the halfway point. Yeah! 

 It’s settled after a quick stream of texts. He has about thirty minutes until he has to leave. He should probably get ready. 

 With his leather jacket on his arm, thick jeans, and boots, Sebastian’s out the door. He hauls the heavy garage door open. He’ll never get tired of it, even if it yanks his shoulder sometimes. 

 And there she is– Ripley. She's named after the protagonist from the Alien series because of course. He never gets enough of riding at night, it’ll be dark by the time he gets back. It feels so freeing. He’s able to forget about problems, even if it’s just for a little while. 

 Sebastian runs a hand along the fuel tank, picking up his helmet and putting on his jacket. He’s all suited up and ready to take off as he turns the key in ignition. 

 But life isn’t easy for him, it never is. 

 The oil light beams an eye catching red as it lights up. Ah, Ripley, why must you do him this way?

 “Alright, fine. Please let this be simple.” He kicks the stand down and shuts off the motor. Sebastian sends his guy a quick text just in case he’s a tad off schedule, and shucks off his jacket. 

 Unfolding the creeper and grabbing his tools, his second nature kicks in. He leaves the garage door open as he works, the fresh air is nice when he has to change the oil. 

 “No offense girl.” He says out loud, as if the motorcycle could hear his thoughts. 

 Sebastian works diligently for a moment. It doesn’t take him long, only pausing when he hears footsteps nearby. 

 He really can’t tell who it is. He knows they’ve stopped in front of him, but something in him tells him it’s Adonis. Like a sense, he doesn't know— or want to think about it. 

 “Oh, hello Adonis.” He says as he rolls out from underneath the bike, eyes immediately catching at the tall form in front of him. 

 “Hi…” Adonis stands smaller than usual, shoulders a bit hunched as he looks down at him. 

  Sebastian suddenly feels a little conscious of himself being at an angle like this. He might look stupid. He tried to seem cool as he rolled out, but maybe he didn’t. Sebastian looks down at himself. Wow, he’s really on display like this. He never thought to be embarrassed, but oh well. It's a bit late for that.

 His annoying tight shirts.. he should’ve never bought them. They always roll up when he lays down, exposing his stomach. Yeah, that’s embarrassing for sure. He quickly pulls down his shirt and acts like it never happened. 

 “What, you’ve never seen my motorcycle before? Hmm… I guess I haven’t shown it to you.” 

 “No, you have not. It’s very cool though.” Adonis brightens up, eyeing along the bike before staring back down at Sebastian. Holy– his gaze was intense, especially when he’s looking down at him. 

 He can’t handle it much longer, rolling back underneath the motorcycle to keep working at it. 

 “I hope I’m not disturbing you… I finished up in the mines. I was going home but..” 

“You don’t disturb me.” Sebastian says quickly, “It’s nice to see you.” 

 Adonis makes a little noise of surprise, or Sebastian thinks it is. He surprises himself too, that sounded too honest. Didn’t he just say he wanted to be alone today? What a contradiction. 

 “It’s nice to see you too, I have something for you.” Adonis shuffles on his feet. Sebastian can tell by the way his shadow sways over him. 

 “Oh, what—“ He starts to roll out from underneath the bike but something stops him in his place.

  Adonis’ foot. He’s blocking it by stepping on the end of the creeper. 

 “Ah, ah, not yet.” Adonis tilts his head, his hair is in one long braid today, it falls over his shoulder, “Finish what you need to do, then I’ll give it to you.” 

 That’s completely normal and not ridiculously attractive, especially not his choice of words. What exactly is Adonis going to give to him? Sebastian would love to find out. 

 He was right. Being beneath Adonis like this is too distracting, especially when he’s all grizzled from being in the mines. For God’s sake— this beautiful man has soot smudged across his cheek! Sebastian sometimes has the urge to bark. 

 “Whatever you say, man.” Sebastian inches back underneath the bike, clanking away. 

 “How often do you ride?” Adonis asks, his foot kindly removed from the creeper. Sebastian wouldn’t mind if it was still there anyways. “Besides when you get more grass.” 

 “That’s actually what I’m picking up now,” Sebastian laughs, “But, besides the restock trip, uh, whenever I feel like it. I…” 

 He pauses, he doesn’t quite want to mention it’s usually when he is yearning to get the fuck out of this stupid, crummy valley. Sebastian thinks of it, he really hasn’t had much of an urge to do that recently. 

  “Sometimes, after dark, I take the long ride out of the valley… There’s nothing else like it, blazing along the empty stretch of road toward the faint city glow.” 

 Sebastian can’t help it. He gets a little poetic about his favorite hobby/stress-relief. There’s a certain feeling he gets when he stands out in the night, watching the seemingly unattainable city from afar. 

 Adonis lets him talk. 

 “This whole time, I’ve been saving up money to get out of here. For so long, I’ve wanted to leave. Head out to the city and beyond… just me and my bike.” 

 Sebastian hates how depressing it sounds out loud. 

 “But you don’t want to leave now?” Adonis’ voice is quiet, barely audible as Sebastian finishes changing the oil. 

 “No, I mean, sometimes I really do. I think I will one day, but,” He rolls out from underneath the bike a final time, he wanted to look Adonis in the eyes, “I don’t mind sticking around for a while now. You’ve shown me it’s not that bad here.” 

 Sebastian also hates how honest and vulnerable he sounds, he quickly changes the subject to the first thing that comes to mind. 

 “Hey… I’ll take you for a ride some day.” 

 Where did that come from? Oh God. What has gotten into him today?? He really should go to bed. 

 “That would be nice…” Score! Let’s fucking go! “I have to admit, I’m a little scared of motorcycles.” 

 “There’s no need to worry,” Sebastian’s mouth runs on its own accord, “I’ll keep you safe.” 

 “Sebastian…” Adonis’ eyes widen for a moment, before his face falls back coolly, “You’re so charming.” 

 Charming? Charming! Sebastian could swoon. He practically is, staring up at Adonis like he’s the only person in the entire world. No one has ever called him charming before. That’s– wow , charming… Charming! 

 That was a direct complement. A real one. Just about Sebastian, describing him directly. He can’t explain that away; it makes his stomach feel funny. 

 “That’s funny coming from you.” Sebastian has to deflect, look away. It was getting too much for him. He already knows his cheeks must be flushed pink. 

 “What is that supposed to mean?” Adonis has a confused lilt to his voice. When Sebastian looks back up at him, his hands are on his hips.

 “Nothing. You’re just very charming yourself,” Sebastian wants to bite his tongue off, “Help me up, please?” 

 “I’m not…” Adonis wants to act bashful, as if he wasn’t the epitome of angelic. How ridiculous. He pulls Sebastian to his feet by grabbing his hand. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take Sebastian a couple inches off the ground this time.  

 “See? So gentlemanly.” Sebastian puts his hands in his jeans pockets afterwards, worried he’ll do another stupid thing, “Now, what do you have for me?” 

 Adonis laughs for a moment. Sebastian is captured once again. If Adonis only knew how easy it was. 

 “I knew you’d love it once I saw it…” Adonis lets his backpack fall off one shoulder, digging through it until he pulls out something that sparkles even in the setting sun’s light. 

 “Obsidian?” Sebastian lets him place it into his hands, looking over it with his mouth parted. It’s beautiful. He’s touched that Adonis would give him something so special to him. How would he know? It can't possibly be on purpose…

 “Yeah…” Adonis closes Sebastian’s hands around the gem for him, letting his own hands linger on his for a moment too long, “The color… it reminded me of your eyes.” 

  Hah. Woah.  

 Sebastian’s knees feel weak. 

 “You’re too nice to me.” Sebastian’s voice doesn’t even feel like his own. He just keeps staring down at the gem in his hands. Adonis thinks his eyes are that stunning? Unreal. It’s just flattery. 

 “I’m not,” Adonis grins, canines resting on his bottom lip. Sebastian would say it would be enticing, if he could say anything at all, “I’m the perfect amount, though, sometimes I want to be more.” 

 Sebastian doesn’t have time to dwell on the meaning of the statement, as Adonis keeps talking. 

 “Now, I think I should hire your mom to build you a shelf for all the gifts I’m going to give you.” 

 More? More gifts? Sebastian won’t complain, but it’s starting to get to his head. He’s starting to think this may be some sort of courting? No, that’s ridiculous.  

 “I’m sure she’d do that for free, she really likes you.” 

 “Really? Good. I want her to like me— I should be going now. I’ll let you get your special treats.” Adonis speaks a little faster than normal. If Sebastian paid enough attention to his face, which he does, he’d see he’s flustered himself. 

 “Ah, okay,” Sebastian blinks at his erupt exit, watching him step away, “I’ll see you!” 

 “See you!” Adonis takes off to his farm, out of sight once he walks past the side of Sebastian’s house. 

 Every interaction with this man leaves him more confused than the last— And more eager to see him again. Sebastian taps his foot again, just staring off in the direction Adonis left. 

 He needs to leave before his weed guy gets mad at him. 

꩜

 The drive to the halfway point isn’t too long, about forty five minutes. He’s there before he knows it. Listening to old funky love songs Adonis would probably like in one earphone is more enjoyable than he thought. It helps speed up the time, too.

 He spots the black Tesla parked next to some bushes on the overlook. Classic Trevor. He pulls up next to it, flipping up the visor on his helmet as the driver side window rolls down. 

 “Hey Trevor, I’m sorry I’m late. I had to change Ripley’s oil.” Sebastian gives the fuel tank a light pat. 

 “You gotta switch to electric man, I’m telling you.” Trevor reaches out the window to give him a handshake, grinning. After years of meeting up, he still can’t believe this frat-jock type guy is deep in the cannabis scene. 

 “Yeah, whatever. Here’s your money.” Sebastian curls the bills in his hand, “Not everyone gets big bucks like you and can afford it.” 

 “This is my boss’ car, bro. I’ve told you that like twenty times.” Trevor scoffs, taking the money and putting it somewhere in his car. He stays turned away from him as he rummages, turning back to Sebastian with a ziplock bag in his hand. 

 “Dude, don’t dangle it out the window! You’re nuts.” Sebastian gasps, snatching it from him and stuffing it into the bag attached to the back of his bike.

 “No one’s around. You worry too much.” Trevor flashes a white-toothed grin. He looks like he’d be a good rival for Alex if Sebastian was to think about it. Anyways. 

 “I sure do, man. I sure do.” Sebastian sighs, rolling out his shoulders, “Thank you for coming out so late.” 

 “It’s ight, I love the city lights from far away. Up close, it’s not as pretty.” They both look over to the brightly lit ZuZu City miles away in the distance. 

 Sebastian used to be really jealous of him, getting to live in the city. Maybe the grass isn’t greener on the other side. 

 “I’ll let you get back, though. See you in two weeks.” Sebastian gives him a smile, backing off from the car to let him out. 

 “Be safe, man.” Trevor gives him a wave and starts up his car with the stupid electric button. 

 “You too.” Sebastian calls to him as he rolls up his window and tails out of there, leaving him alone in the dark; a thousand g’s more poor. 

 He props up his bike with the kickstand, taking off his helmet and setting it down on the seat. He walks over to the railing and thinks to himself that living between mountains could be nice sometimes. It gave him the best view. 

 The lights sparkled and glimmered: reds, blues, greens, bright white and soft yellow. It used to call to him so much, but now he doesn’t feel it as strongly anymore. 

 Don’t get him wrong, he yearns to have a taste of the city life. Party— let loose for once in his damn life— but it’s not half as intense anymore. 

 He thinks of the times before, when he would stand out here for hours and dream. It’s funny to think of it now. He can’t help but correlate another aspect of him to Adonis. 

 All those nights gazing out into the city… Adonis was out there, living his life. Sebastian wonders what he was doing. Was he having a good time? He said that it wasn’t all rainbows and sparkles, so who knows…

 Sebastian wonders what it would be like on the off chance he went to the city before, hit the clubs, and found Adonis there. Would he have the courage to talk to him? Or would he just gawk and scurry like he does now? It makes his head hurt. He has to stop thinking before the scenarios in his head get too realistic. 

 He doesn’t linger for long, giving the shining city one last look before hightailing it out of there. It’s already ten now. He wants to get back before midnight. 

 Sebastian smokes a hard-earned joint by his lake in the dark that night. One hand holding an obsidian gem between his fingers. 

 ꩜

 “Abigail. I’m ruined. It’s over for me.” 

 Adonis did not head back to his farm after giving Sebastian his gift. Well, he did—an entire lap. 

 Running through his farm then from Marnie’s to Pierre’s left him just a little winded. He takes a seat on Abigail’s bed, her eyes following him across the room. 

 “What now?” Abigail feigns annoyance, but her smile betrays her act. 

 “I was flashed, I’m about to melt into a puddle. I think I like this man too much. I’m scared.” Adonis covers his face with his hand, absolutely mortified. 

 “Flashed? What do you mean, flashed?!” Abigail has to pause her video game, setting the controller down and spinning sideways to face him. 

 “His stomach, his shirt— his shirt was pulled up. I saw his waist Abigail, his waist.” 

 “Like, how?” She has a deep crease between her forehead, almost scared. 

 “He was working on his motorcycle...” Adonis peels his hands away from his face, looking a little terrified himself, “I saw his happy trail and then started acting a fool. He must know I’m insane now.” 

 “Naw, he’s dumb. He probably didn’t even notice. Did you flirt with him?” Her expression morphs to something more intrigued. She just wants the saucy details.

 “I gave him obsidian.” 

 “Best gift for emos—“

 “I told him it reminded me of his eyes. ” 

“You are insane,” Abigail claps a hand over her mouth, gobsmacked, “That is bold. I thought we decided you were going to be coy and hard to get for now.” 

 “I know, I know… I’m so bad.” Adonis can’t help but laugh, Abigail returns it. They laugh together for a full minute, on the same wavelength completely. 

 “It’s over for you, for real.” Abigail folds her arms over one another, a smirk on her lips, “You want him bad don’t you. Happy trail? You want to fuck him.” 

 Adonis blanches at her straightforwardness. After hanging out with her so much, he thought he would be used to it by now. 

“No- no. I don’t think like that.” Adonis says, and it’s quiet.

 They both break into laughter once again. 

 “Really! It wasn’t on the front of my mind… I really just like him, I promise.” Adonis has to catch his breath, “But, that did have me thinking. I will tell you that much.” 

 “Crazy man. I love you.” Abigail hits him on the leg, cackling. Adonis smiles warmly, he loves her too. She makes him feel so welcomed here. 

 “Don’t flatter me.” Adonis deepens his voice just the slightest, like he subconsciously/consciously does when he speaks to Sebastian.

  Abigail loses it again, curling into a ball and clutching at her stomach. 

 When she regains herself, she asks, “What did he say to you? Like, how’d he react to that?” 

 “He said I was too nice— oh, but I’ll tell you, he said he wanted to take me out for a ride.” 

 “A ride?”  

 Adonis nods smugly. He can’t help it. It felt amazing for Sebastian to offer something like that. Riding on the back of Sebastian’s motorcycle, he can imagine it clearly. It would be worth it to face his fear, just to hold around Sebastian’s middle as they drove through the beautiful mountains. 

 “Oh, like on his bike? Not on your—“

 “Abigail! Cut it out!”

 “Okay, okay, that’s a new level though. I don’t think he’s ever asked anyone to be his passenger– how romantic.” Abigail coos, her hands holding up her head. She’s laying on her stomach now, feet kicking in the air behind her. 

 “I don’t think he meant it like that… I told him I was scared and he said he would keep me safe.” Adonis twists a strand of his hair between his fingers as he speaks. 

 “You think the guy telling you he will keep you safe is friendly? Maybe you are actually stupid.” Abigail gives him an unamused look, closer to a scowl. 

 “I don’t know anymore! Save me God, from this hot emo boy. Save me!” Adonis gestures to the ceiling like someone will hear him pleading. 

 “You’re whipped.” 

 “Maybe.”

 ꩜

 The next morning after taking a ride, Sebastian always sleeps so well. He’s thankful for it. What he isn’t thankful for, though, is the awful dreams plaguing his psyche.

 They were starting to get a little too realistic for his liking. Especially the one he just had. Going from kissing two warm, soft lips to waking up in a cold and dark basement was one way to start the day. 

 It was almost like he could feel it. 

 Sebastian rubs at his lips, as if it actually happened. How embarrassing. 

 He hasn’t even stretched out his shoulders and he’s already smiling. It feels foreign, especially so early in the morning. 

 Or rather, he thinks it’s morning. When he glances at the clock, it reads 1:10pm. 

 No wonder he feels well rested. 

 Instead of panicking and rushing to check any overdue projects, he simply relaxes back into his pillows. 

 He’s not happy, per say. It’s more… smug? 

 Sebastian enjoyed his time with Adonis. He enjoyed knowing more about him. Mostly, the secret he revealed. 

 Adonis has been fixing up that farm for a lot longer than everyone thinks. He hasn’t told any other eligible people yet, right? Well… he told Sebastian. 

 Adonis also said that he moved here to settle down and marry someone. That’s relevant too.

  Huh. Cool. Very interesting. 

 Sebastian should stop thinking so much. It’s getting to his head. He can’t admit it feels a little special to have secret intel on the new, hot farmer. 

 Or, should it be taken in the reverse way? Did Adonis tell him that because he doesn’t think Sebastian is eligible— that could be it. 

 And the hand thing— why did they even… what was that? Maybe he’s just that charming. He doesn’t mean to flirt with Sebastian, or stare into his eyes like he’s the only person on the planet. 

 Maybe it wasn’t flirting at all. 

 Sebastian squeezes his hands into fists. He shouldn’t care anyways. It’s not like he’s going to pounce on Adonis and make him his or something totally unrealistic and crazy like that! Aha.  

 He needs to talk to Sam. He’ll set him straight. Oh, well. 

 He calls Sam twenty minutes after he washes his face and changes into something that isn’t boxers and a ratty sleep shirt. 

 Sebastian really should be working, but that doesn’t seem too important to him right now. He knows it’s bad and will bite him in the ass later…

 But hey, in a couple months Adonis will give him thousands of g’s. So he can coast for a moment— It's fine! 

 Sebatron:

Hey 

 Samson: 

wassup

 Sebatron: 

Come to my room 

 Samson: 

why 

 Sebatron: 

Bro. 

 Samson:

omg okkkkk gimme 10 minute

 Sebatron: 

Thanks bro ❤️

 Samson:

gay 

 Samson:

💙

 Sebastian laughs at Sam’s double text, setting his phone back on his desk. He might as well check how fucked he is— overdue work wise. He isn’t getting any actual play, that's for sure.

 He doesn’t get much done because Sam is true to his word. He even arrived sooner than anticipated.  

 “I have cheesy poofs.” Sam announces as he enters Sebastian’s room, holding an entire three gallon jar of bright orange cheese puffs.

 “I see that.” Sebastian rolls his chair back from his computer to look at him, astounded. 

 “I’m going to eat them in your bed.” Sam spares him no mind, crossing the room to plop down and sprawl out in his bed immediately. 

 “No, you’re not— in my bed? Really?! Man..” Sebastian stares at him with his lips curled as he untwists the lid, shoving a handful of cheese puffs into his mouth. 

 “Now,” Sam swallows, “Tell me your whims, gayboy.” He crosses his legs daintily for a six-foot-one beanstalk. 

 “You’re getting real brave with that gayboy shit.” Sebastian wags a finger at him, but he can’t bring himself to really care.

 “I can say it whenever I want, I’m bisexual.” Sam smiles proudly, batting his eyelashes. 

 “Yeah?” Sebastian will ignore the cheese dust on his lip. He’ll let Sam have this, “That’s cool, man.” 

 “Mhm. It is. Thank you.” Sam nods to himself, going straight back to munching on bright orange artificial cheese.

 Sebastian really does think it’s cool. He’s glad Sam is comfortable enough to express himself. He wants that too. 

 “Now, tell me.” Sam tilts the large plastic jar towards him. 

 “Okay, so,” Sebastian can’t resist, grabbing a handful of the snacks, “I- wait, how do you know it’s about Adonis?” 

 “Well, number one, I just called you gayboy and you associate that with him,” Sam cracks another smile, “Secondly, you didn’t answer my texts all day yesterday, and you always answer mine within a day!”

 “That’s how you know?” Sebastian raises his brows. Maybe Sam can be smart. 

 “Also, you are simply glowing shawty. You got that enraptured babe look— like you’ve been having good dreams..” Sam rattles on, finishing with a wink. 

 “Shutthefuckup— Do you want to listen or are you going to yap?” 

 “You love when I yap.” Sam’s crunching is the only thing heard for moments after. Sebastian keeps giving him a repulsed look. 

 “Whatever, I have a secret about him, don’t you want to know?” Sebastian eats one of the cheese puffs–ah classic–and throws another at Sam’s head. 

 “Oh my god, yes. Speak now.” Sam holds the jar in his lap tightly, attention focused. 

 Sebastian really hasn’t thought this through. He shouldn’t tell Sam about Adonis’ prolonged stay and decision to hide it from certain people, including them. Sebastian kind of likes being the only bachelor privy to Adonis’ life plan. 

 Mainly the part where Adonis wants to get settled very badly. More importantly, he asked Sebastian not to tell anyone. So, he won’t.

 “Ah,” Sebastian shrinks in on himself, “Well, you see…” 

 “Dude, now. Snap snap? Let's goooo.” Sam snapped his fingers, lips popped out. 

 Think of something else. There could be a very positive meaning to being the only one to know about Adonis’ little secret. 

 Sebastian thinks he wants to be the person to reap those benefits. 

 “He’s never played Solarian Chronicles!” Sebastian claps his hands together, smiling wide and fake. He hopes it looks real. 

 “Dude! He could be the third player we need,” Sam seems to buy it, “Call him up now.” 

 Oh, wow. That’s actually a wonderful idea. 

 “Call him?” Sebastian is still a little uneasy, at least this would be the first time they haven’t called while he’s naked or partially naked. God. 

 “Uh, yeah?” Sam looks at him sideways, “He likes calling people more, you should know that.” 

 “Yeah.” Sebastian just shakes his head at him, reaching for his phone, “I’ll ask if he’s busy first.” 

 Sebastian is really hoping Adonis hasn’t actually played Solarian Chronicles before, otherwise that would look real fishy. 

 “Let me say hi too.” Sam runs a hand through his hair like it matters as it dials. It's a damn phone call. 

 “Sebastian! Hey!” Adonis picks up after two rings, and Sebastian puts the call on speaker.

 “Hey, Adonis,” Sebastian crosses his heels together, leaning back in his chair, “What are you up to?” 

 Sam laughs at him silently, cupping a hand over his mouth. 

 Sebastian flips him off. 

 “Oh, nothing much. I just finished checking on the greenhouse— we are going to make so-“ 

 “Haha- I’m with Sam,” Sebastian cuts him off. He can’t risk Sam knowing about their project right now, “Say hi Sam!” 

 “Heyyyy!” Sam speaks into Sebastian’s phone mic without a thought in his mind. He doesn’t seem to pick up on the reason for Sebastian’s erupt change in conversation. Good.  

 “Hello, Sam!” Adonis’ is very good at picking up signals, not a hint of surprise in his voice.

 “Do you wanna come over?” Sebastian takes the phone away from Sam, tilting his chair a little bit away from him. 

 “Yeah, that would be nice. When?” Adonis’ voice is gentle, like always. 

 “Now?” Sebastian looks over to Sam, who nods in turn very enthusiastically. 

 “Oh- Yes, okay. I’ll head over soon.” 

 “See you soon,” Sebastian says as Sam calls out, “Byeeee!” 

 “See you, guys.”

 The line disconnects and they both look at eachother with bewildered expressions. 

 Sam immediately jumps to leave Sebastian’s room. He returns moments later with freshly washed hands. Wow, he took the time to wash Cheeto dust off his fingers? Great job, Sam. He wouldn’t even do that for his best friend of over a decade. 

 “Do I look okay?” Sebastian smooths down his hair, pulling some of his bangs to the side. 

 “Yeah, dude. You look like yourself.” Sam gives him a look, running his fingers through his own hair. He’s started wearing it down sometimes now, it’s weird. He hasn’t seen Sam without unfathomable amounts of hair gel on his head since middle school. 

 It looks good though, he wonders why he suddenly changed it up. 

 “Thanks, Wait— What’s that supposed to mean?” 

 “It means what it means. You look like you, and Adonis likes you.” Sam pauses mid-hair tussle to give him another obvious look. 

 “You really think he does?” Sebastian drops his hands into his lap, hating how hopeful his voice sounds. 

 “Dude. Just shut up.” Sam rolls his eyes, going back to fixing his hair. 

 “What!? I don’t know.” Sebastian shrugs, looking away from him. 

 “I think he does. I hang out with him too but it isn’t, like, the same.” Sam stops messing with his appearance, folding his hands together. 

 “He says those types of things to you, too.” Sebastian tries to rationalize everything. 

 “Listen, I don’t know what I have to say to get it through your thick head—“ Sam points a finger in his direction, making Sebastian look at him. He seems like he’s about to go on a tirade when there’s a knock at Sebastian’s bedroom door. 

 “Come in!” Sam calls, voice entirely different than just moments before. 

 “Hey guys!” Adonis comes through the door, shutting it quietly behind him, “What is up?”

  He is so cute.  

 Haha, his brain thinks such funny things. 

 “Sam and I were about to play Solarian Chronicles. We were hoping you’d join us.” Sebastian stands from his chair, walking over to the board already set up in the corner of his room. 

 “Oh! I’ve never played before, will it be okay if you help me?” Adonis steps over too, eyeing the board and the little pieces dotting along it. 

 “We can teach you. Sebastian’s the one who got me into it, too.” Sam takes his seat in the middle, like he usually does. 

 “Okay, I’ll try.” Adonis sits down beside him, that’s fine. Sebastian can sit across from him and look into his beautiful eyes.

 “It’s better with three players anyways, let me draw the scenario card.” Sebastian looks away. They’re as mesmerizing as always, but he can’t stare for too long, “It looks like today’s quest will take us into the Necromancer’s tower to retrieve the Solarian Staff from the clutches of the DreadLord Xarth.” 

 “Xarth? I like that name.” Adonis sits cross-legged, his hands clasped together. 

 “Well, he’s the bad guy so you can’t like him.” Sam elbows Adonis in the arm.

 “I can like who I like.” Adonis grins cheekily, before facing Sebastian with a neutral expression, “Continue, Seb.” 

 “It’s time to choose your character. Adonis, you go first.” Sebastian decides to ignore their commotion, “There’s three options: Wizard, Warrior, and Healer.”

 “Ah, I’ll go with Healer…” Adonis thinks for a moment, “Yes, healer.” 

 “Healer, huh? That’s a very important role,” Sebastian is very happy Adonis chose anyone but his favorite option. He acts nonchalant as he chooses his, “I guess I’ll be the Wizard then.” 

 “Cool, I like the Warrior anyways.” Sam rattles his die in his hand, looking at a spot on Sebastian’s wall. As if he didn’t whine and beg to play as the Warrior every single time. 

 “Let's begin…” 

 ꩜

  Adonis thinks the game looks interesting. It reminds him of something else. He can’t remember what, though. It’s hard for him to pay complete attention. Sebastian looks so focused, reading off the scenario cards without stumbling once. He must really enjoy this game. Adonis can visibly see a wave of relaxation fall across his features.  

 Sebastian asks him a question directly. 

 Oh, he’s awful. He might’ve lost concentration on listening to Sebastian, but he was doing a great job at staring.

 It’s not his fault Sebastian was so captivating to him. It wasn’t something he could explain— or more so, he could not explain without sounding deranged. 

 It would be a very long tangent with no end. 

 “Hm?” 

 “You have to decide whether or not to go in.” Sebastian smiles and Adonis threatens to zone out again, how rude, “Either the back or front.” 

 Now, what exactly did he miss— because, that— 

 Oh it’s about the tower. Right. Yes. Keep it together. You cannot lose this.

  “The front entrance.” Adonis tucks his hair behind his ears, deciding to be bold. He’s the healer afterall, he can save them. 

 The corner of Sebastian’s lip quirks up like he liked that answer. Good. 

 “A skeleton guards the hallway before you,” Sebastian holds up a card with a slightly intimidating skeleton, “It looks dangerous. What do you do?” 

 “Fight the skeleton.” It’s only fair, it’s what he would do if he were to find one in the desert’s cavern. 

 “The skeleton lunges forward,” 

 Sam thumps the table with his fist, he opens it with two black dice in his palm, “Roll these.” 

 “Ah, okay, I see.” Adonis takes them from him with a smile, rolling them across the table. 

 “Beautiful,” Sebastian smiles as he reads the die, “Natural twenty. The skeleton crumbles before you.” 

 “Mm,” Adonis brightens up even further; understanding the gist, “Good! Now?” 

 Sebastian keeps looking at him over the table. Adonis doesn’t think he spared Sam one glance since the game started. He’s starting to feel a little hot under his gaze. 

 Does Sebastian know exactly how good he looks? Is he acting oblivious on purpose? He wouldn’t do that. 

 “The skeleton’s shattered body reveals the path. Do you go down the tunnel?” Sebastian’s voice sounds more serious, more rasp. Adonis needs to focus on the game, not the man before him. No matter how hard it might be. 

 He shares a smile with Sam, finding relief in his nonchalant expression. Adonis doesn’t want to be caught staring, it’s inappropriate. 

 “I go through the tunnel.” Adonis keeps his eye line low, avoiding Sebastian’s eyes. Especially in the lowlight of the basement, his eyes seem pitch black. 

 It does something to him. 

꩜

 Sebastian was a little upset, if he’s being honest. He wants more attention. He can admit it, at this point. 

 He enjoys Adonis’ attention. In fact, he revels in it. 

 For some unknown reason, though, Adonis is refusing to make eye contact with him. It was eating Sebastian up. Even more, he’s a bit ticked off that it’s suddenly directed all at Sam.

 After Adonis slashes through capsules, putting poor souls to rest like the kind man he is; Sebastian changes the course. He has to, Adonis just slapped Sam’s knee and laughed out loud. Sam said something– some corny joke, but it can’t be that funny. 

 “The capsules reveal a secret passage. Will you go through it?” Sebastian speaks calmly, it interrupts their laughter. 

 “I’ll go through it.” Adonis gives him a look finally, his eyes a bit wide. His hand keeps tugging on his necklace, perhaps a nervous habit. 

 No, he shouldn’t do that. Adonis must be nervous, maybe in some way he’s trying to impress Sebastian by being good at the game? But that’s not true, no one would care that much about his opinion. 

 He will do it anyway. Adonis’ other hand hasn’t moved from Sam’s knee. He decides. 

 “You go through the dark passage, it leads to a dead end.” 

 “Should I roll my dice?” Adonis asks, dropping his hand from Sam’s knee and cradling them weakly in his palm. Good. 

 “No.” Sebastian clears his throat, “The deadend has an old wooden door crudely placed into the wall. As if it’s unnatural. Do you enter?” 

 Sebastian dares to keep his eyes steady, rarely pulling them off of Adonis’. He wants to give him a taste of his own medicine. He doesn’t think he could compare, but he’ll try. 

 Somewhere in the periphery, Sam tries subtly waving like he’s trying to secretly grab his attention.

 He ignores it. 

 “Yes. I enter.” Adonis must pick up on a shift of energy, because he starts to look him in the eyes once more. It feels different. 

 Sebastian can’t explain it. He likes it though. It’s strange being on the opposite side of this. This thing they do. Pushing each other, seeing who will crack.

  It won’t be him today. 

 “The door leads to a secret staircase with rickety wooden steps. Do you continue?” Sebastian evades Sam’s morse code blinking. It should be shameful to act this way in front of Sam, but Sebastian doesn’t really care all that much right now.  

 “I continue…” Adonis has this curious glint in his eyes. It’s almost like he’s daring Sebastian to speak his mind. That’s the only green light he needs,

 He leans back in his chair slightly, letting his legs stretch out under the small table. 

 “As you ascend the stairs,” Sebastian hopes and prays that his voice doesn’t sound shaky. And most of all, that it is Adonis’ leg that he slowly drags his foot up, “A snake-like creature slithers out from a hole in the wall. It curls around your leg.” Sebastian stops right as he reaches the top of Adonis’ knee. He continues, “It leaves you immobilized and defenseless. Who do you call upon to save you?” 

 Adonis has a physical reaction to Sebastian’s one-off flirtation. Sebastian can pinpoint the exact moment Adonis realizes he was doing it on purpose. The slide of his pant leg drops as Sebastian takes his foot back. He hooks his ankles together unnasumiddly, as if Adonis didn’t shutter right before him. 

 It was a beautiful sight. That much was true. The way Adonis’ eyelashes fluttered in disbelief, then another more interesting emotion replacing it.  

 Delighted recognition. 

 He stays silent for a moment. Sebastian wishes he could read the thoughts going through his head. Adonis looks off to the ceiling, biting his goddamn lip, before answering, “I choose the Wizard.” 

 Sam makes some sort of noise offhandedly. Sebastian doesn’t pay much mind. He’ll have to make it up to him later. Sebastian needed this. He was still recovering from Adonis’ stupid hand holding flirt thing. Two can play at that game. 

 “The Wizard casts a spell. The snake is paralyzed immediately.” Sebastian leans forward in his chair, elbows on the table, “At the top of the steps. You find the evil dreadlord Xarth. He pities you. For some reason, he finds the healer so otherworldly– so beautiful and pure. He allows you all to go free, including giving up the staff.” 

 Now, trust him. It was extremely hard to hold eye contact with Adonis as he spoke. Sebastian felt like his tongue might tie in a knot watching his eyelids droop half-lidded. Adonis was enjoying this. He had to have caught on by now, this wasn’t part of the script. 

 “Wow, what a game.” Sam’s voice is small to the side of them. Sebastian gives him one look, Sam’s entire face is red. The tips of his ears look hot. 

 Maybe that was too much to witness. Sebastian is suddenly a little self-conscious. Forcing Sam to sit through what must look like a sick mating ritual? That’s a new low. Sam puts up with too much. 

 “Yes.” Adonis seems to come back to reality too, covering his hand over his mouth, “I-I have to go. Now. Um— I have crop.” 

 “Hmm?” Sebastian gives him a wide-eyed look, feigning confusion, “What’s wrong?” 

 Adonis only responds with a gasp, giving him a stare that could be taken as angry— if he was an outsider. No, Adonis was shocked; But intrigued! 

 He wonders why he has to leave so fast. The man practically sprints out of Sebastian’s room without so much as a goodbye to either of them.

 The moment Adonis is out of sight, Sam’s knees slam up against the table. It would make Sebastian laugh, if it wasn’t reminiscent of himself just a few nights prior. 

 “That was kind of— that was really hot. Oh. Maybe I should leave too.” Sam starts laughing too, his cheeks still impossibly red. 

 “I’m through. Oh my God.” Sebastian’s laughter turns to wheezes as he holds his head in his hands, coming to rest it on the table with a little more force than needed. 

 “Don’t feel bad. Man, I- wow. I’m proud of you.” Sam rests a hand on his back, rubbing it across his shoulders. Sebastian feels a little overstimulated. His own face probably isn’t doing any fairer than Sam’s. 

 It’s warm in here. 

 “So, I wasn’t just losing it? That was a thing, right? I can’t believe I acted like that— what possessed me to do that? I feel insane. Maybe I am insane!” His voice is halfway muffled by the sleeves of his hoodie. 

 “He was totally into it. You did that fucking leg thing I told you about— yeah? I bet he had to leave because he popped a massive bon—“ Sam’s voice is sleazy again, like he’s indulging in his own thoughts.

 “Stop. No. He is a busy man. Always working so hard on that farm of his… ah.” Sebastian crumbles further, sinking into his arms. 

 “You are down baaaaad, son.” Sam claps him on the back and takes his hand back, prompting Sebastian to sit up. 

 “Oh, you think?” 

 “Well, what’s stopping you?” Sam prompts, resting his chin across his palm. He’s giving him the most incredulous look, like he’s missing something entirely obvious. 

 “A lot of things.” 

 “Adonis likes you, it’s very clear. I could even sense the tension. The air was like a blanket, man.”

 Sebastian makes a weak, pathetic noise somewhere between a cry and a grumble. He wants to hide in his hands once more. 

 “If you know that he knows that you know, why don’t you just ask him out?” Sam speaks so casual now, it’s driving Sebastian mad. 

 “It’s hard. I don’t… I don’t know if I’m ready for all that— I don’t know if he’s ready for all of me. I have a lot of baggage.” He won’t look at Sam as he talks, or else he’ll get too vulnerable. He can’t go from a high to such a low; can he go back to playing footsie under the table? 

 “You’re a good man… I’m sure Adonis sees that. You aren’t ugly either.” 

 Sebastian lifts his head just in time to see Sam throw him a sultry wink. He kicks him in the ankle.

 “Owh, I compliment you and this is how I’m treated? Not, oh thank you Sam, you’re pretty hot and sexy yourself. Wow.” Sam curls his leg up, propping his heel on the edge of his chair just to exaggeratedly rub his ankle. 

 “You’re a real catch too, Sam. You aren’t hideous.” Sebastian tends to speak in a more monotone voice, but he purposely plays it up just for this moment. 

 “What?! I mean it. You got that whole sexy emo thing going on. Is that better? Did you want me to say I think you’re sexy?” Sam forgets about his ankle immediately, breaking out into another fit of laughter. This batch is a bit more unhinged than the last. 

 “Yeah. Thank you.” Sebastian’s lips quirk up before he realizes it, “I’m feeling sexy right now.” 

 It’s so unlike him to say, they laugh again. 

 There’s a moment soon after, where they look at each other and suddenly stop.

 “Your face is so red.”

 “So is yours!” Sam acts scandalized, but brings the back of his hand to his cheek too. 

 “This is crazy.” 

 “You’re crazy. You’re acting crazy.”

 “So are you.” 

 They sit in silence for another moment. 

 “If he asks me out, I’ll be with him.” Sebastian’s voice sounds so loud in the quiet basement. He wasn’t sure he was going to say that out loud. He should regret it. 

 Sam screams, it’s very high-pitched. It almost hurts his ears. 

 “You will?!” He claps his hands together rapidly, “You will? I’ll hold you to it. I bet he’ll ask you soon, too. I give it until next summer.” 

 “Nah…” Sebastian hugs his arms around his chest, lips flattened into a line. He’s trying to hold back the smile, but it ultimately fails. 

 “Oohhh!” Sam clasps his hands together now, bringing them close to his face as he hollers, “Okay! Make that this winter.” 

 It earns him a punch to the shoulder.

Chapter Text

Sam was in another reality if he genuinely thought Adonis would ask him out. 

  “In order for that to happen, Adonis would have to want to. I really don’t think that'll happen.” 

 “Sebastian, you want to call me stupid all the damn time— but you’re the stupidest person I’ve ever met. Did you not just see that reaction? I sincerely doubt he left for his crop.” Sam has snuck onto Sebastian’s bed by now, flat on his stomach. He’s holding his head up with his hands just so he can lecture Sebastian with prolonged eye-contact. 

 Like that would actually make him listen. Haha. 

  “He has important crops.” 

 “Not important in a way to make him all bothered like that.” Sam gives him a disgruntled look, lines creasing by his lips as he frowns. 

 “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 “I was right there! What the fuck?! You’re just doing this on purpose—“ 

 “Okay, so, he got uh, attracted..? That doesn’t mean he wants to be with me.” Sebastian feels a little weird talking about this with Sam. His skin starts to burn again. 

 “I’m sure he does, and now he knows that you find him beautiful.” Sam scratches his head exaggeratedly, “What else was it- Oh, otherworldly?”  

 “Please— shut up. I don’t know what came over me.” 

 “I do. Rhymes with shmorny.” Sam tucks some of his blond bangs behind his ear, expression changed from his previous frown to something akin to a smile. 

 Sebastian thinks it’s corny. 

 “That’s not even a word. You could have said corny, or even stormy, that starts with an S too, yknow—“ 

 “Stop deflecting…” Sam flops onto his back, leaning his head off of the edge of the bed. Sebastian doesn’t understand how he can be so casual about this. Is this what guy friends do? They talk about their romantic inclinations with each other? About being horny? 

 Sebastian doesn’t have many friends, in fact, Sam might just be his only true friend. He’s close with Abigail but not enough to talk like this. What would he know about dude bro relationships… Maybe guys talk about this stuff all the time. 

 “Maybe.” 

 “Mm,” Sam blinks at him. He looks kinda funny upside down. “Not maybe, for sure. I saw everything man. That was a little wild to witness…” 

 “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through that.” Sebastian avoids looking at him, how could he make his best friend uncomfortable? It’s awful.

 “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” 

 “Oh.” 

 Sebastian pauses for a split-second, glancing at Sam.

 “Oh.”

 Sam bursts into laughter, sitting back up and fanning his face. His cheeks have turned pink too. 

 “Can I tell you something?” Sebastian speaks in the middle of Sam’s giggling fit, lips thinking for him. In reality, he’s not really thinking at all at this moment. 

 “Yeah. Of course.” Sam huffs, calming himself down. 

 He must think Sebastian will tell him something serious, or at least.. not what he decides to say next. 

 “I had a dream about Adonis.” Sebastian closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to watch; he can’t watch, “I came to the thought of him. Sam… What do I do?” 

 “Aha,” Sam sounds a little out of breath, “ Fuck him? That’s what I would do if I were you.” 

 Sebastian peaks one eye open and the world doesn’t fall apart. His lips feel numb, like his body is trying to shut down this entire conversation for him. Sam is delighted though, watching his every move like he should be eating popcorn. Where did he put that entire container of cheesy poofs anyways? 

 “So, you’re like– you want to fuck a man?” Sebastian’s voice feels weird to his own ears. 

 “ Me? ” Sam points to himself, perplexed, “Yeah, duh. I’ve accepted that. Don’t know when it’ll happen, but I think it will be… fun.” He lays down on his side, his head resting on his arm. 

 “I see.” Sebastian swallows. 

“You’re lucky, too. What are the odds— this fucking tall, buff, hunk of a man strolls into town and wants you? And he’s a farmer? With his own house and land?” For a couple moments, he’s curling a strand of hair with his free hand, deep in thought. “He’s making good money I bet…” 

 Sam should’ve kept the gel, he’s getting too cocky with his hair down. 

 “You make it sound easy. It’s not confusing for you?” 

 “No— I mean, it was. But, can I be honest?” Sam looks embarrassed for the first time tonight. Sebastian nods to reassure him, “After I beat it to some gay porn, I realized I’m not fooling nobody. Acceptance is key, brother.” 

 “So I’m not weird?” 

 “No, you’re not weird. Jeez man, it’s not the 50’s anymore. Live a little.” Sam tutts, “Suck a dick, bang a guy, masturbate to the thought of the hot farmer. We all have our vices, so who cares!?”

 Sebastian screams into his hands. 

 “I shouldn’t have said anything.” 

 “Nah man. I could tell you a lot, but I’ll save your ears.” Sam gives him a devious smile, like he remembered something from deep in the crevices of his brain, “So, when you did it… did you use that little black beauty in your drawer too?” 

 “What. The fuck. How do you know—“

 “Listen, you asked me to grind up some weed for you one time and it was just out there man. No privacy bag. Nothin’. Very bold. This is the best time as any to tell you I saw it.” 

 Sebastian was mortified. Jesus fucking Christ. This day couldn’t get any more humiliating. He knocks on the game table in front of him; he won’t jinx it. 

 Sam just sits there, very pleased with himself. 

 “I hate you. You’re the worst. Forget I said anything. To think I called you my best friend. Eleven years down the drain.” Sebastian flips him off for the second time tonight. This time he holds it in the air proudly. 

 “I’m a good friend, man. I was gonna take it to the grave. I swear! I just had to tell you now that I know you actually use it. I thought, maybe it’s a gag, or.. I don’t know.” Sam holds his hands up, he’s not trying to make him feel bad. Sebastian knows that, but God. This makes him want to disintegrate into dust. 

 He slowly curls his middle finger away, “Don’t tell anyone.” 

 “I haven’t. Why would I? I am your best friend, asshole.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian threatens to throw his finger up again, only lowering it when Sam frowns again, “Whatever. I don’t want you to think I’m some nympho-freak addicted to sex or getting off on the farmer. I do like Adonis, I think. I really like being with him.” 

 “Hmm, we both know I’d be the nympho-freak between the two of us—“ Sam laughs but his expression cools, “But, I don’t think that of you. You want to have the ‘it’s natural to beat off’ talk with me? We’re too old for that.” 

 “Shut up.”

 “No, no, I’m playing,” Sam tries to keep his composure, “I mean, you want to date him right? Why not go for it? You guys would be a cute couple.” 

“Hah..” Sebastian hearing someone refer to Adonis and him as a couple makes his insides feel weird, “I can’t, yet. I want to know more about him. His life before the farm, his childhood, his family… I want to know everything he likes and dislikes. His favorite movies, his favorite songs— I’ve been asking about his music tastes and I even made a playlist of his—“ 

 “You… Wow…” Sam stops Sebastian’s nervous rambling with such an amazed look on his face it almost makes him laugh. 

 “What?”

 “A playlist of his favorite songs so you can listen to them on repeat… Are you even hearing yourself right now? Sounds like you’re in love, buddy boy.” Sam dramatically sighs, sprawling out on the bed like it’s the most comfortable thing in the world. 

 “No.” 

 “ Okaaaaaaaay,” Sam twirls a finger in circles by his head, “Whatever you saaaaaaay.” 

 “Shutthefuck-“

 “Shut my fuck up, I know. You tell me a thousand times a day.” 

 “Be quiet.”

 “You love the farmer!” Sam sits straight up again rapidly, “You loooveee the farmer. Yes you do! You do! You do!” Sam rolls his shoulders to the rhythm of his twisted melody, pointing out his fingers in little guns in a dance of mockery! 

 “I don’t know if I love him… that’s too much.” Sebastian looks at the floor. Everything is still too much, “But, maybe I could.” 

 “Man, I was jus’ joking. You are so fucking over.” Sam can’t seem to stop laughing at Sebastian’s pain. He’s practically wheezing now.

 “I know. It’s so over.” Sebastian resides to defeat, holding his arms around himself in shame. He needs to kick Sam out and get some sleep.  “I’m gonna make a request on the community board tomorrow. You’re going to help me think of something and then get out.” 

“Ugh,” Sam rolls his eyes, “Fine. Only because I am a wonderful best friend.” 

 “Yeah, yeah.”

 Sam chucks a pillow at Sebastian’s head faster than the speed of light. 

꩜

Help Wanted! 

I’m looking for a dozen eggs, I want to chuck them as hard as I can against a cliff. 

꩜

  It’s five pm when he comes by, holding a basket of eggs. Brown, white, and black? No way. 

 He had an inkling that Adonis would see it the same day he posted it. 

 Sebastian would be lying if he said he wasn’t waiting. Perched up on a rock, sitting with his ankles crossed, one arm bracing his weight as the other took an occasional drag from his cigarette. 

 Sebastian ashes it on the rock and slips it into his pocket the moment he sees Adonis. 

 “I read the post and knew it was you without looking.” Adonis smiles warmly, walking over with the basket raised in show. 

 “I’m sure you did.” Sebastian copies his smile, “Black eggs. Are those what I think they are?” 

 “Mm-hm, void eggs.” Adonis looks down at the basket, avoiding eye contact once he’s close.

 Sebastian assumes they won’t mention their last interaction.

 “How did you get— so you have void chicken?” Sebastian looks between the man in front of him and the two large black eggs nestled in the middle of brown and white. 

 “Mm-hm. Do you know how?” Adonis taps the basket and gets Sebastian’s attention, finally looking him in the eyes. 

  “How…?” Sebastian is a little stunned under them. He must have assumed right. They’ll ignore it. But that doesn’t quell the sick urge to ask Adonis why he left so suddenly the other day. 

 “A witch flew over my coop and zapped one of my eggs.” Adonis speaks calmly, without a playful lilt to his voice like he normally carries when he’s sarcastic, “The next day, I incubated it. Now, I have two void hens.” 

  The way Adonis is talking to him has Sebastian  forgetting anything else. What is this, a game?  

 “Oh, yeah?” Sebastian keeps his eyes on his, even if his gaze is always so intense. He refuses to laugh. He has this weird sense like Adonis is testing him or something. But, a witch zapping chickens is highly unlikely and ridiculous. 

 However, when he thinks about it… this valley has always given Sebastian this feeling. He never experiences it anywhere else; almost like it’s a separate plane of existence sometimes. 

 If he dwells too long on it, he starts feeling strange.

 “Yes, with a broom and evil cackling, all that. She did me a favor, Heba and Helga are very sweet hens.” Adonis keeps giving him that look as he mimes someone flying with his hand. 

 “It could happen, this place is otherworldly.” Oof, stop talking, don’t use that word— “You know those skeletons Marlon has every Spirit’s Eve feel a little too real.” Sebastian plucks one of the eggs from the basket and examines it, feigning nonchalance. 

 It’s a little bigger than the others and shaped differently, with a tapered almost pointy top. Ouch. 

 “I’m not lying, you should see them. I’ll show you next time, since our crop will need tending soon.” Adonis drops that stare and returns another warm smile. 

 Ha. Our crop. Yeah. Ours. 

 “Looking forward to it. Oh—“ Sebastian digs in his back pocket for the Gs. He knows Adonis is making decent money now, but he will still pay the man for his efforts. He could’ve just sold the eggs too. Plus, Helga and Heba did some hard work laying them. 

 As he produces the Gs from his pocket, Adonis flings an egg at the rock face. It smashes instantly, egg yolk and tiny black pieces of shell splattering against the cliff satisfactorily. 

 “Nice, usually I stand a little closer but you just– you just threw that thing. Alright. Here.” Sebastian has to ignore Adonis’ blinding grin before he does something stupid, like putting the G’s in Adonis’ front pocket for him. 

 He does that exactly.

 “You don’t have to pay me… I’m going to throw them with you.” Adonis laughs as Sebastian immediately throws the other void egg at the cliff. 

 “It was a request, you fulfilled it.” Sebastian laughs shakily, reaching for another egg. He decides to avoid Adonis’ reaction to his bold display. 

 He’s got to stop with those. He must be coming on way too strong. Think of something else. Ah, eggs. 

 They’re a little farther back than where Sebastian usually tosses various items at the cliff with. He’s been doing this for stress relief or pure boredom for years now. There’s a science to it. 

 Optimal throwing distance, close enough to really see the splatter but minimal splash back. Guess that goes out the window when you have strong farming arms. Woof. 

Absolutely not. 

 Sebastian should be sedated if he’s going to bark like a damn dog. 

 “Mm,” Adonis reaches for a white egg (this one is smaller than the rest), and winds up for another aim, “Alright then.” He throws it, hitting right on top of the previous splatter. 

 “Did you just aim for that?” Sebastian gawks just a little bit, before closing his mouth. Sebastian takes notice that Adonis’ hits are higher up the cliff; more centered while his falter a bit lower. 

 It’s only because he’s farther away than normal. He’s got a good arm, really. Adonis just happens to be good at everything. 

 “I played softball for a little bit in Germany; I was on a junior team. It was fun– I don’t play anymore though…” 

 “Cool.” Sebastian wonders what teeny-bopper Adonis looked like. He bets Adonis was the type to be lanky, like him. 

 “Glad you think so. I got called schwuchtel constantly. Especially by the baseball boys across the field. It did not help that I was the only boy on my team.” Adonis digs through the basket as he speaks, curling his fingers around a large brown egg. 

 “What does that mean?” Sebastian pointedly doesn’t repeat it.

 “Faggot,” Adonis’ brow furrows for a split second, but Sebastian notices. He wallops another egg at the cliff, cracking and splattering down the side, “Basically.” 

 “Damn… I’m sorry…” Sebastian frowns subconsciously. Guess there’s homophobia everywhere, unfortunately, “I’ve been on the receiving side of that as well and I…” 

 Adonis looks over to him after admiring his egg splatters with a questioning look. 

 Sebastian would say he doesn’t- didn’t even like men but that doesn’t feel like the truth anymore. 

 “Really? Happens to the best of us…” 

 “Yeah,” Sebastian busies his hands with another egg, hurling it at the cliff, “It’s because I wore skinny jeans. Which doesn’t even make sense because everyone wore skinny jeans in 2014.” 

 “Maybe it’s because you were so cute they were questioning themselves. When I was drunk scrolling one night, I checked out one of the guys facebooks and guess who married John Smith?!” 

 Sebastian bursts into laughter. 

 “Right? It’s always the ones who are the loudest with something to hide.” 

 “Tell me about it…” Sebastian momentarily thinks of a certain someone with brown hair and muscles, “But I don’t think it’s because I was cute… I was really awkward looking. You know I got the nickname Bambi too. Fucking hell.” 

 “Bambi! Bambi! That’s– yeah. Mhm.” Adonis smiles wildly, before his expression falls completely neutral, “I’m sorry… that must’ve been really annoying.” 

 “It’s okay, you can laugh.” Sebastian smiles at himself for a moment, before dramatically hanging his head solemnly. 

 “No- no- it’s not funny-“ Adonis starts giggling, “It’s really cute. You’re- it’s cute. It fits…” 

 “You’re right. I will say I kinda resemble Bambi, kind of. The dead dad part fits too.” Sebastian laughs grimly, watching Adonis’ face contort, “You can laugh at that, too.” 

 “Dead Dad club! Woohoo!” Adonis sounding overly cheerful, contrasting his frown; eyebrows creasing as he slams another egg towards the cliff. The cracking sound echoes through the mountains. 

  “Can I ask– how did…? Nevermind. I'm sorry— that’s...” Sebastian immediately clambers, shutting his mouth tightly. Goddamn, asking the person you’re subconsciously trying to woo how they were orphaned is not the way to go. 

  “It’s okay,” Adonis smiles weakly, not reaching his eyes, “My moms got me therapy! Really, it was a car accident. I don’t understand how a baby can live through a minivan colliding with an eighteen-wheeler, but not the adults. Maybe my car seat was really great. Who knows.” 

 “Oh.” Sebastian cradles the egg in his hand softly to his chest, “I-I’m sorry.” 

 “Hey, you weren’t driving it! Some drunk fuck was, but I forgive him. He lived, too. I guess alcohol loosens the body.” Adonis chuckles, a bit grim, “In some way, I’m glad I was so young; unable to remember, or else it would hurt more.” 

 “I understand what you mean. I was four, so I only have bits and pieces… I can’t remember his voice anymore.” Sebastian sighs, a bit shaky. He didn’t mean to spur this, it just happened, “It was a motorcycle accident. Isn’t that funny?” 

 Neither of them laugh. 

 “I never got my license. I was too scared. Thank god for the bus.” Adonis says, looking over at Sebastian. His gaze feels so heavy, he doesn’t return it. 

 “I like to think of it as taking back what he loved. He loved his bike. It got torn up… ha, but he had a second. That’s the one he worked on, to give to me,— we were supposed to go out on the road together.” 

 “That’s really brave.” 

 Sebastian laughs. 

 “No- it is. I couldn’t do it. You’re a strong person, Sebastian.” Adonis steps closer to him. His hand came out to tug on the loose sleeve of his shirt, not touching him but grabbing his attention. 

 Adonis has this soft look on his face, eyes boring into him when they meet. Sebastian feels something crawl up his spine. Warmth? Is this what it feels like for someone to genuinely listen and care about him? He can’t handle it. 

 “That’s something else coming from you. You’ve already done so much at such a young age. Who cares if you don’t have a license?! You, I really admire you.” Sebastian licks his chapped lips, feeling so stupid. What is he saying? 

 “Thank you, I admire you too.” Adonis’ features seem to grow even fonder, Sebastian blinks rapidly. This man cares too much about him. He’s a nobody. Why does Adonis see so much good where there is none? 

 “You know, apparently my father was a huge Russian man with a big gut; like, 6’8 or something insane.” Adonis changes the subject after easily picking up on Sebastian’s internal feelings, letting go of his shirt and rummaging through the egg basket once more. 

 “I can see it.” Sebastian looks Adonis up and down once he’s standing up straight, with his eyebrows pointedly raised. 

  Adonis mimes throwing the egg at his face, and now they laugh.

 “And yours? I’m pretty sure you didn’t get the hair from Robin.” 

 “My Dad’s Chinese– first gen. Never taught me Mandarin, though. That would’ve been cool, not to mention useful.” Sebastian tugs on a strand of black hair, smiling softly before grimacing, “You know, I got shit on for not speaking it by my paternal grandparents? Like, sorry my dad died. What do you want me to do? Perform a seance and use a pinyin ouija board? I don’t see them offering to teach me.”  

 Adonis frowns, stifling a laugh. Sebastian will allow it, he knows he can be smart sometimes.

 “No, really!” Sebastian starts laughing with him, throwing the egg he forgot he was cradling like a baby. 

 “I think it would’ve been awesome to learn Arabic. I tried, but it's hard for me. Did you know that it has the most words out of any other language?” 

 Sebastian shakes his head.

  “Yeah… but I should keep it up… I already know Russian by learning as a kid on my own. Orphanages surprisingly don’t have the best schooling! And German from my mamas… and English from soap operas, isn’t that wild? It was very fun.” Adonis seems a little out of breath after finishing. Sebastian knows he would be too, after such a powerful statement. 

 Three languages at 21, Sebastian taps his foot on the ground. It’s like he can see Adonis’ aura points increasing in the thousands. And the dude doesn’t even realize it. 

 “That’s impressive. It makes sense with the way you talk,” Sebastian smiles to himself thinking of little tween Adonis, sitting in front of a tv, watching American soap operas intensely, mumbling the words to himself, “It’s cool.”

 “What does that mean…?” Adonis sucks his teeth, raising a brow while tossing an egg between his hands. 

 Wow, his forearms are large. 

 “Your vocabulary is really extensive; a lot of dramatic words that cheated on wives scream, and proper. I don’t think I’ve heard you use ‘like’ as a filler once.” Sebastian grabs another egg from the basket and throws it at the cliff in record time. He’s going to run out of distraction eggs if he keeps up. 

 “Oh! That’s really nice– thank you! I have tried my hardest, I want to sound like I know what I am doing even though I do not!” Adonis smiles brightly, in turn making Sebastian mimic it immediately. Something about it was just so contagious. 

 “How’d your parents meet? Egypt and Russia are pretty far away from each other.” Sebastian asks, genuinely curious. Biting his tongue afterwards, He wonders if Adonis would even know that? 

 Thankfully, the man brightens up even more. 

 “You’re not going to believe me. It sounds like a fable, but it’s true. My mother kept a diary, I have it. It’s purple stained leather, it was her favorite color,” Adonis grins, “My Father was a trader across the oceans. She met him as she loaded cargo.” 

 “She loaded cargo?” 

 “I didn’t just get my muscles from my father, if that is what you think.” Adonis says charmingly as Sebastian resists the urge to ogle said muscles. 

 “Do tell…”

 “So, my mother’s family was very well off. Jewelry stores, luxury clothes… the works; she did not like the type of people it attracted. I’m uncertain from her writings, but I believe she was alluding to some type of Egyptian mafia. I don’t know…” Adonis laughs, “It’s crazy right?” 

 “No, that sounds badass to be honest. Can I call your mother badass?”

 “Sure, I think so too. But the point is, she hated her family. Especially my grandpa because he left to the Americas to start a damn farm. He got to have the very life she craved, while she had to work underneath her mother. She used a lot of words to describe her…” 

 “I’m sure they were super sweet.” Sebastian adds sarcastically, fighting a little grin. Everything about this guy was so interesting. what a chance it was for him to end up here? 

 “You bet! And when she saw my father... that was it for her. She very explicitly described how much it was for her, which I hurriedly skipped past, ehm,” Adonis looks queasy for a moment, “They met every time he sailed down and eventually she got knocked up. Surprise, it was me! It was out of wedlock, of course, and that was a big no-no.” He wags his finger for emphasis which earns a laugh from Seb, “So, she sailed off with him one day and tried to make a home in Russia with him.”

 “How did they speak to each other? I’m assuming they didn’t automatically know each other’s language.” Sebastian doesn’t realize it but he’s smoothing a strand of his bang between his fingers as he listens intently.

 “They spoke with their eyes,” Adonis hums, meeting his own, “Her words, okay. They eventually figured it out…” 

 Sebastian laughs nervously, “How romantic…” 

 “I know right… hm,” Adonis sighs wistfully as he looks over to him, Sebastian looks everywhere else but back at him, “must be nice.” 

 “I don’t know if romance is in my cards...” Sebastian speaks, regretting it the moment he does. 

 “Why’s that?” 

 “Ha, no reason, I just don’t think anyone would want that with me.” Sebastian’s hands nervously rub down his shirt before stuffing themselves in his pockets. He’s forgotten about the eggs, the bulletin board, and the reason he even wanted Adonis here. 

 “You’d never know…” Adonis speaks in a tone Sebastian can’t pinpoint, “It could be right under your nose and I doubt you would notice.”

 Oh. Oh. Is that flirting? He’s flirting right? Nah. He’s just calling him thickheaded in a nicer way. Huh. Or is it?

 No, there is no way for a man like Adonis to want anyone like him. Sebastian feels his skin burn. 

 “You callin’ me a dunce?” He pulls a new-yorker accent instead of asking the dying question if that’s flirting or not. He can’t just pull a ‘do you want me?’ in the middle of egg-throwing and after dead parent talk, fuck. 

 Adonis cackles, winding up a particularly strong throw and a brown egg goes whirling through the air so fast it whistles. They both stand in silence as it smashes and oozes down the mountain. 

 Sebastian points to a clump of eggshell and says, “That’s me.” as it slides slowly and awkwardly down the cliff side. 

 The two of them watch silently as it limply falls to the ground with a loud, wet slap moments later. 

 They giggle. 

 ꩜

 Adonis and Sebastian throw the rest of the eggs easily between conversations. Before they realize it, all twelve eggs are broken into pieces crumpled on the dirt. 

 They say their goodbye’s with the idea to meet up with Abigail the morning of Sam’s birthday. But, not before Adonis also says hello and goodbye to his mom. 

 “My Gosh, I really like that boy. He’s so gentlemanly. I’m so glad you two are friends. I’ve been waiting for this.” Robin nearly sings the moment Adonis is out the door. 

 Sebastian just stares at her, eyelid twitching. 

 “How long have you been waiting?— because now that I think of it, it’s almost like you’ve known Adonis for a while.” Sebastian watches her features. Her eyebrows raise slightly– just slightly, and he can tell she’s caught off guard. 

 Living with your mom for twenty-three years will do that for ya. 

 “Haha, well yeah. Adonis is a likable guy! I just get along with him. Ah, think about our business booming since he moved here!” She’s smiling so brightly, Sebastian immediately removes any of the bite from his voice. 

 “It’s okay, mom. Cut the carp, I know he’s been here longer than Spring.” Sebastian sighs, a faint smile on his lips using the inside joke term they had. He doesn’t quite understand what spurred this interrogation, maybe it was the prideful glint in his mom’s eyes when she saw Adonis walk in.

 “Oh!” Her eyes widen, her hands coming to cover her mouth, “He told you?” 

 Sebastian nods. 

 “Oh… he told you.” His mom starts grinning, grinning! 

  “What? What are you trying to say to me right now? Don’t do that.” Sebastian stammers, eyelid twitching even more. Maybe it will fall off, he would like that right now. 

 “He must trust you! Aha! Oh, I knew it.” Robin spins on her heel, looking way too excited, “How wonderful!! My sweet angel, I’m so happy for you! I’m glad you’re finally meeting someone—“ 

 “Mom….. mom… Oh my god- Mom!” Sebastian gets her attention after the third time. Her face falls and she looks genuinely confused, “I’m sorry— did he not just ask you on a date? I thought egg smashing might just be the new young person's way to flirt… my bad.” 

 “Mom- No, Adonis doesn’t like me like that-“ Sebastian blanches, “I- I don’t.. You wouldn’t care?” 

 “What do you mean— you think I would give a damn if you like men? Good lord Sebastian, I raised you to love everyone. You really think I’d care? Hell, I’m glad you couldn’t get someone pregnant that way. I don’t want to be a grandma this young!”

 His mom speaks gently but firm, strong with each word, looking into his eyes. Sebastian suddenly feels heavy on his feet, eyes stinging. His stomach flip-flops incessantly. He knows she added that last bit to be funny, and it was, but he can’t laugh. 

  Wooooah there, no need for all these emotions today. 

 Sebastian sniffs hard, willing the budding tears in his eyes to suck back into his tear ducts. 

 “My baby…” Robin sighs, eyebrows creasing as she comes from behind the desk. She walks over and holds Sebastian in her arms. 

“I love you for you, Sebastian.” Her voice is muffled from being squished into his shoulder, but neither of them care to mind. She rubs his back as it shakes. 

 “I love you, too.” Sebastian moves one arm from her to rub at one eye, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.” 

 “Don’t apologize, you’re my only son. My first child, I’m always here for you.” She breaks away from him with a smile, but he can tell her eyes are red. She cares for him so much. She’s been saying things like that, my first child, to reassure him ever since Maru was born. He still appreciates the sentiment all these years later. 

 “And don’t worry about any of that stuff,” Her hands grip his shoulders. She’s a little shorter than him now and has to look up at him, “Your mom is no stranger to the land of same-sex love!” 

 “Ewwwuugghh,” Sebastian slithers away from her grasp, the somber moment broken. For which he’s thankful for, but not that exact sentiment, “Don’t tell me about your ‘twenty-something adventures’ again! I don’t need to hear that!” 

 “I love you, Sebastian!” Robin laughs, loud and raspy at the end like always and Sebastian fights the urge to laugh too. 

 He takes this chance to slink away to his basement, deciding that is where this conversation should end. She already told him too much about the biker gang she infiltrated at twenty-one. He didn’t need to know anything after that. 

 “I love you too!” He calls after her as he scrambles downstairs to his room, locking the door. 

Chapter Text

Instead of Sam’s birthday at the end of the week, he sees Adonis again two days earlier.

 Sebastian heads down the side of Haley’s house on his way towards Sam’s. Abigail must already be there, because he can hear music thumping before he even turns the corner. 

 They’ve had their band practices going for a couple months now. He feels like they’re finally starting to get somewhere. Sebastian doubts they’ll make it out of the valley, but it’s still nice to have something to do.

 Especially after the fruit of their labor. 

 It took ages to convince Mayor Lewis– two months actually, but they were prepared. Many ‘we won’t be loud’ and, ‘we will stop before dark’ were repeated over and over again. Until he cracked with, “Alright, I understand. I was in a band once when I was young, but one noise complaint and you’re done!”  

 The three of them skipped off laughing and it was settled just before the heat rolled into the valley. 

 And, somehow, Jodi allowed it in her precious home. Sometimes she could be really cool.

 Sebastian doesn’t even knock, he knows the door would be unlocked anyways. Vincent isn’t home; he’d know by the first few seconds inside. It's almost a relief, he doesn’t think he can handle an ounce of Vincent’s energy right now. 

 No offense to him. 

 Sebastian bangs on Sam’s bedroom door just to be a menace. “You’re being too loud in there!” 

 “Sebastian, get your ass in here!” Sam’s voice is muffled through the door, the music abruptly silent.

 “Lame.” Sebastian is greeted by the two of them with unamused glares. It’s like they paused mid-jam for emphasis.

 “You’re thirty minutes late.” Sam squints his eyes at him, “Is there a particular reason why, or?” 

 “No.” Sebastian's eyes bulge. He’s trying his hardest to telepathically communicate. ‘ Let’s talk about this later, bro.’ He doesn’t know if it’s working. 

 “No reason?” Sam continues, eyebrows raising. He looks like he’s about to sneeze.

 “No, man. I’m just tired.” Sebastian raises his eyebrows too. 

 Sam’s face drops. That has to be a ‘I got you, bro.’ confirmation. When he gives him a sly smile, it’s understood. 

 “ Weird ass fucks .” Abigail mutters under her breath, “Sam, are you going to ask him your question?” Abigail starts thumping on the snare repeatedly, grabbing their attention.

 “Yeah. Whatever, help me think of a sexy riff to play?” Sam taps the neck of his guitar incessantly, looking too eager. 

 “What?” Sebastian flicks on the synthesizer, a grimace making its way across his lips involuntarily. He shouldn’t be surprised.

 “I personally suggested Living Dead Girl, but then I remembered it’s Sam playing so…” Abigail shrugs, swirling one of her drumsticks in one hand. 

 “Oh nice, thanks.” Sam throws her a teeth-bared ‘smile’ and then looks back to Sebastian urgently, “Please brother. I’m lost.” 

 “Dude, I don’t know.” Sebastian fiddles with the knobs, adjusting the volume lower so Haley doesn’t come out of her house yelling, “Why are you asking me?” 

 “Here we go…” Abigail sighs. 

 “I want you to play a new song, please?”  Sam balls his hands together, pleading with eyes widened so large they might pop, “On the bass?”

 “Why? We just got halfway through ‘Beach Dreams’ and you want me to learn a new one? This would be, quite literally, the seventh song we’ve dropped in a month. Also, I have not touched the bass in three years after you said I was hot garbage.”   Sebastian presses a key on his synth and holds a note down. He has it programmed in the sound effect mode currently, so it just repeatedly spams the sound of a deep male voice going “UGH!” over and over. The entire time Sebastian stares at Sam blankly. 

 The act earns a small laugh from Abi. At least someone finds this funny. 

 “Please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease— I’m sorry, you’re not hot garbage- I just said that because I was intimidated and felt threatened but that was immature and I’m sorry and- and- you’re really good- you’re my best friend- “ 

 Man. 

  “Okay. Fine.” Sebastian hits another note repeatedly, continuing to give Sam the stiffest look. This note was a woman’s blood curdling scream. 

 “YEAAAA-YUHHHH!!!” Sam pumps his fist in the air, only to duck down once Sebastian and Abigail shush him in usion. 

 “Please, just tell me what damn song you want me to play— Abi, were you in on this?” Sebastian watches the smile on their faces grow as Sam pulls out his phone, already on, from one of Abigail’s drums. 

 “C‘mom, it’s just a snippet…” Sam continues swiping on his phone, connecting it to the Bluetooth speaker with a paired beep before Sebastian could object. 

 He wouldn't anyways. He feels he owes Sam after scarring him in the basement. 

 “Why have me on bass? I was looking forward to playing synth today…” 

 “He wants to show off his skills , but he wants a proper backing or whatever that means. Some pussy pansy shit.” Abigail drums a fast beat on a snare, not needing to focus on insulting Sam. It just comes naturally. 

 “What— stop! Listen, man, you get it. I want to shine! Shine like the star that I am!” Sam outstretched his arms towards the sky, his guitar hanging limply from the strap, “You’ll just have to do the basics, promise. And— Synthia can wait. You can fondle her after we have a good run through.” 

 “Okay,— uh—you don’t get to call her that, and don’t say I fondle her— what fucking song?” Sebastian gives his synth with a longing look, abandoning his spot to grab the dusty bass from the corner of Sam’s room. Does Sam even play this thing anymore?

  “Uhhhhh, that’s where I need your help.” Sam grabs onto his guitar again, stringing one high-note. 

 “Man, how would I know?” Sebastian puts the strap of the bass over his shoulder, taking hold of it for the first time in months, no, years . He tests a few notes experimentally.

 “I dunno. You listen to a lot of sexy, yearning, emo shit.” 

“Dude, what? No, it’s not emo – it’s alternative rock. Fuck off. That’s not even-“ 

 “Bruh, don’t bust a vein. I don’t know, I’m just out of ideas!” 

 “Why do you want to be sexy?” 

 “What?”

 “You just said, you want ‘sexy yearning shit’!? What’s that supposed to mean?” 

 Abigail starts to drumroll slowly, watching the two of them. 

 “That’s not helping!” Sebastian scowls at her at the same time Sam gives her the finger. 

 She just shrugs at them, silent. 

 “I… I would like to impress someone. I may or may not have invited them here.” Sam looks all around the room, everywhere but Sebastian, “That’s the type of music he likes.”

 “It’s Adonis isn’t it?” 

 “Oop.” Abigail covers her mouth after she misspeaks . 

 “May or may not.” Sam must think the ceiling is super interesting. 

 “That doesn't even make sense grammatically.”  Sebastian folds his arms together, his face dropping. He’s tired. He’s so exhausted he’ll ignore Abigail’s sassy little ‘since when did you care about grammar?’ too.

 “May or may not BE!” Sam frowns, stomping his foot dramatically before collecting himself so fast it gives Sebastian whiplash. “Yeah, it’s him.” 

 “Oh,” Sebastian straightens up, “So, that’s why you want me to play bass; so you can shine like a star for your farmer crush. ” He really means that to be a teasing gesture, but too much bite seeps in through his voice. Is this seriously what he thinks it is? Is Sam pining for Adonis too?— Sebastian isn’t necessarily pining for him either. This was making him feel queasy.

 Sam gives him a hurt look for a split second, then shaking his head and smiling once more. He’s too kind sometimes.

 “Nouhh! It’s not like that, I just want his opinion on something.” Sam looks down at his feet, almost looking a bit nervous before blinking and throwing an arm around Sebastian, “You’ll look super hot too. Everyone thinks bass players are hot.” 

 “Me? What, so synth players are steaming piles of shit? Incels?” Sebastian grins, clearly joking at this point but something nags at him deep in the back of his head. Super hot too ? What does that mean? Does Sam want to be hot in front of the farmer? Sebastian shouldn’t be jealous.

 “No, Sebby, you’re so sexy too– just, I dunno…..” Sam lets go of Sebastian to teeter on his feet, rubbing at his arm. His guitar swings from side to side opposite his motion from the strap. Sebastian thinks he looks like one of those wind-up walking toys he got as a kid that would always break and hobble in place like idiots.

 Something in him snaps.

 “You wanna fuck him.” Sebastian says calmly, giving Sam a onceover. 

 He thinks Abigail laughs distantly in the background. He can’t tell, he only hears the blood rushing past his eardrums. 

 “I don’t want to fuck him.” Sam slices a hand over his own neck, a cutting motion, “I just want him to think we’re really cool.” 

 “You want him to think you’re cool. You want us to let you have your moment for him.” Sebastian keeps speaking confidently and concise. He doesn’t want to seem condescending, but Sam needs to see what this is for what it really is. 

 “Okay!” Sam claps his hands together, looking a bit frustrated, “Maybe a little bit, but is that so wrong? I don’t want him like that though, Sebastian, I know that you—“

 Sebastian steps closer to Sam, a clear warning. He rationally knows Sam wouldn’t mean to air out their secret bro talk in front of Abigail, but he can’t risk that happening. 

 Sam seems to get it, silently going from alarmed to an expression of recognition as Sebastian shifts his eyeline to Abigail and then back to him. 

 “You don’t want to fuck him?” Abigail thumps her cymbal once, cheekily. She must miss more of their telepathic commutation; that, or she just doesn't care enough to acknowledge it.

 “No!” Sam wipes a hand over his face, another smile relaxing over his features. 

 “You just have… a bro crush on him?” Sebastian offers, genuinely trying to understand. He had that conversation with Sam already about his feelings, but they didn’t touch much on Sam’s own. 

 He did say he didn’t want Adonis like that, or at least not in reality? Sebastian was confused on so many things. 

 “Mhm! Yes. I want to be his friend so bad! I admire him a lot. He works so hard…” Sam looks up at the sky as his sentence falls off, like he’s thinking about something intently. He even kicks at the hardwood, shoe pointed as he drags it in a circle.

 Jesus Christ. Adonis has everyone in this damn town under lock. 

 “You already are his friend.” Abigail groans, rubbing at her nose bridge like she’s exhausted. 

 “ No. Like, a close friend.” Sam corrects, snapping his head back to Sebastian when he says, “But I don’t want to fuck him. I don’t want to date him. I really don’t. I’m serious.” 

 “Okay dude! Why would I care?” Sebastian lifts his hands up, allayed. 

 “Let’s not open that bucket of worms.” Abigail is suddenly poised in position, “Let's get something together already. You’re down for it aren’t you?” 

 “I guess so. What is ‘it’ anyways? You invited him here— to what? Pretend you weren’t waiting for him?” Sebastian is just trying to understand the situation, not be an ass. 

 “Uh, basically.” 

 “No.” 

 “Alright, Abigail, we’re on the same page. Let's decide. What about something Adonis would like?” Sebastian will indulge his best friend, even if it leaves his gut just a tad sour. 

 “I’ve only picked up on two types of music he’s liked, and that’s the gay ass edm shit you like; and 70’s disco.” Abigail tutts at him, like it’s obvious. Man, what ? He thought she was on his side. 

 Sebastian doesn’t even have time to be offended. Sam is already squealing. 

 “I know, I know! Something— it has to be an old song he’d recognize. Sebastian don’t you know—“

 Oh Sebastian knows. He’ll pick one of the songs he heard Adonis playing when they were planting their crop , one that uses the keyboard as a vital instrument.

 “Do Ya’ Think I’m Sexy?” 

 “Hmm, I mean, yeah you are objectively but I thought we already had that conver—“

 “No, that’s the song name, idiot.”

 “Fuck off. You’re not sexy—“

 “Uhhuh, yeah. Did you know this song also features the keyboard? So I don’t need the play the bass….” Sebastian starts laughing at him, covering his mouth to stifle it, “How about I play the synth like I’m used to, and you play the guitar with no bass so you can shine. Don’t you want to be the only one playing cords?”

 Sam stares at him dumbfounded, lips parted like he wants to speak but can’t. 

 Sebastian lets himself laugh now. 

  “Don’t look so proud of yourself.” Abigail laughs too, her smile coy. 

 “Whatever, Adonis likes the song— so sorry I pay attention to him like a good friend.” Sebastian gets a crease on his forehead as he grimaces at her once again, “You’re mad.”

 “I’m not mad!” Abigail gasps, head tilting to the side so fast her neck might snap. 

 “Ah,” Sebastian sticks his tongue out at her, “You’re mad.” 

 “That’s a great song idea Sebastian,” Sam says so sweetly, “You’re so smart. Why don’t we all practice before Adonis gets here? Wouldn’t that be cool!?”

 His voice contrasts the unhinged look in his eyes. 

 “Sure thing.” “Alright.” 

 Abigail and Sebastian decide to give Sam the reins. Sebastian sets the dusty bass back into the stand, coming back to synthia, smiling over his victory. He only had a way with words when it came to getting his way. 

 Sam pulls up a video on his phone. Super Easy Tutorial, it says. It does not feel like it. 

 They seem to get the gist of it, meaning only the first minute and it’s okay at best. The three of them unanimously allow themselves to play some of the backing instrumentals on Sam’s stereo. It’s totally fair, they only had thirty minutes. It's their decision. 

 “So, is he just going to barge into your house and in your room?” Sebastian sighs, hands resting on the guitar straps. His fingers aren’t used to this much strumming, especially after the fifteenth run through.

“Isn’t that what he does anyways?” Abigail yawns, like she’s been bored of this whole ordeal since it first started. 

 “Yeah. I kinda like it, though.” Sam is using his guitar strap too, but only to dig his thumb into the material.

 “Right? It’s endearing. Like, hello, I would like this random gift you’re giving me. See you tomorrow!” Sebastian lets himself talk. He sure can talk. 

 Why does he talk? He should stop. 

 “You’re fucked bro.” Sam has this half-smile across his lips that Sebastian wants to run away from. 

 “Okaaaaay boys. If you want your little surprise, sexy-man act along with your own sexiness plan to work… get to it !” Abigail points one of her drumsticks at the two of them and then the door, “If my ears aren’t deceiving me, I’m hearing some big footsteps right now.” 

 “Oh, Sebastian press play- do you think he’ll know it’s the song—?“ Sam cards his hands through his hair, trying to tame it. 

 “Dude, you’re right next to it.” Sebastian nods to the stereo, unamused, “And yes, he will. He was humming to it so, I assume—-“

 “-My bad, sorry.” Sam flinches, ducking to fix the backing track. 

 Wow. Sam really wants to make this a moment; have Adonis roll up as they’re playing and looking all sexy musician-y. Good lord, that’s cheesy. Sebastian is going to give Sam the biggest earful about it later. But now? He’ll lean into it. 

 He leans in so hard that he makes sure to pull up his jeans on his hips; he also fixes his shirt so it’s more fitted as the music starts playing through the speaker. Sebastian even tugs up the shoulders a bit so what little bicep he has is more visible. 

  Who’s cheesey now? A voice somewhat like Sam’s chastises him inside the chambers of his mind. 

 Sam tugs at the first few notes, Sebastian following closely behind, thankfully on the synth, he feels much more natural than he would with anything else. Sam’s really the multi-talented musical one, but Seb got most of it down to where he’s sure he won’t make a mistake, (at least for the minute they were able to practice.)

 He’s sure Sam will stop playing once Adonis makes it through the door, he’ll make a big show of it. ‘Oh, sorry. Didn’t see u there.. was just being all sexy n stoic guitarist for no reason…’ Yeah, Sebastian sees it clearly, even more so when he looks over at him.

 Sam’s got his fingers spread out so exaggeratedly it makes Sebastian nearly drop his act and laugh. He’s even clenching his jaw. Oh, this was perfect ammo for later. 

 Adonis’ footsteps couldn’t be heard over the music, or the thumping of Abigail’s drums now. The door opens though, and they all keep up their act. Sebastian meets his eyes for a moment, but wishes he never did. 

 He almost forgets an entire chord sequence. Sebastian was too caught up in Adonis’ expression. 

 Adonis looked awe-struck, stopping his pace just a few steps into the room– just staring. His mouth was parted, almost a smile but not quite. He was enraptured . 

 Sebastian has to say, maybe the little act worked. 

 Not entirely in Sam’s favor though, he has to admit. 

 They kept it up, finishing the last part they practiced as Adonis stood watching– swaying a little bit to the rhythm. Sam acknowledged him with a nod, a gratified sleazy grin, Adonis waved back shortly. Abigail twirled her drumstick at him and he giggled, but those eyes kept drifting back to one person. 

 It was a bit awkward to play while looking directly into someone else’s eyes, that’s it. Even if it was under a minute… 

 Adonis kept his eyes trained even when Sebastian would look back after changing his finger position on the keys. 

 Heat snuck up his back, slithering up his neck and curling around his ears. Sam pressed stop on the backtrack, and they ceased. 

 Adonis immediately broke out into cheers, rushing over to clap Sam on the back and fist-bump Abigail. He was saying something excitedly, so animatedly, so bright. Sebastian couldn’t really focus over the thumping of his heart.

 He couldn’t believe he did this, or was even talked into it. He got anxious performing his own instrument with his own friends, alone in Sam’s room; but, in front of Adonis?

 “Oh, Sebastian,” Vanilla and raspberries clouded up his brain, “I didn’t know you played… how do you pronounce this in English?” Adonis is standing in front of him now, so tall and broad. He puts a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder and just leaves it there. 

 Hubba hubba. Sebastian feels like he’s about to start thumping his foot on the ground and salivating. Yes, please. Compliment me again, tell me more. Wooaha— 

 Now that’s was an intense thought that definitely was not voluntary. 

 “Uh…” Sebastian loses his train of thought for a moment, “synthesizer. Sin-thuh-sai-zur.” He croaks, instead of sounding husky and cool like he wanted to project. Adonis looks adorable sounding out the word, Sebastian can’t handle it— he speaks again, “I can play a grand piano too.”

 “Ah!” Adonis has a flash of some emotion Sebastian can’t pinpoint in his eyes and his hand rubs into Sebastian’s shoulder, “You are such a treat, you know that? Always a new surprise with you.” 

 “I’m sorry you walked up on us like that. We shouldn’t have kept going, how rude.” Sam comes up next to them, smiling wide as ever. “I’d like your thoughts, though.” 

 He called it, of course. The suave didn’t see you there, so original . As if Sam didn’t lay this whole moment out just for this. 

 Sebastian feels Adonis give his shoulder one more squeeze before he lets his hand drop. 

 “Why, you’re not rude. That was a blessing— it was the sexy song right?!” Adonis turns to them all instead of staring into Sebastian’s eyes like he’s the only man on the planet. He’s pretty sure Adonis looks at everyone like that, but it still doesn’t lessen the effect. “I like that one.”

 “The Sexy Song? Hehe, Adonis, you’re so…” 

 “Mhm, I heard it the other day with you so… I thought it would be fun to try…” 

 Sam and Sebastian start speaking at the same time. Their heads turn towards each other, matching sheepish expressions. 

 Abigail coughs, quickly changing the subject. 

 “That was the first runthrough.” Abigail taps her drumstick to her cheek, looking up at Adonis with a pleased smile, lying through her teeth. They ran through that one minute clip more than he can count on his fingers. 

 “You guys are seriously the coolest. ” Adonis compliments them again, looking very proud of his new vocabulary. Just how much have Sam and Adonis been hanging out? 

 “Hah! God, Adonis you crack me up,” Sam finishes laughing with a wheeze, throwing his arm around Adonis’ shoulders, “Now, what type of music do you like? We’ve hit a hill in our progress, maybe we should switch it up.” 

 Sebastian watches Adonis think, while having a realization of his own. He’s so jealous of how easy it is for Sam to touch him like that, so careless as he holds him with one arm, Adonis doesn’t even bat an eye at it.  

 “Funk.” Adonis nods once, before shaking his head, “I like the older influences though, Why don’t you try more like that? In your own style of course… I’m not sure,” Adonis suddenly seems a little meek, “It is not like my opinion matters, you guys are in the band!” 

 “Your opinion is the only one that matters!” Abigail pretends to hit his chest, or does, but lightly. 

 “Ditto.” Sam squeezes Adonis to the side of him, finally letting go after what seemed like ages, “You’re like an honorary member of the band!” 

 “Guys…” Adonis scrunches in on himself, like he does when he tries to make himself smaller, cheeks a little rosy.

 “You should come see us.” Sebastian can’t stop speaking, it’s that illness again ,  “We have an event coming up soon.” He really should stop, “It’s in ZuZu. We’ll get you in for free.” 

 Adonis stands tall again, gasping, “That is so awesome! Your own show? Wow! I really am friends with members of a band? This is the best!” 

 “What- it’s not even confirmed yet, uh-“ Abigail gives Sebastian the most alarmed of expressions, whipping her head back to Adonis with a sickenly sweet voice, “We’ll make sure you’re the first person invited though once it is.”

 “Uh, yeah. It won’t be for like a month either, but, yeah! Gosh, it’ll be sooo fun!” Sam also joins in on giving Sebastian a secret look, but this one is full of betrayal. It’s a threat more than anything. 

 Sam was going to kill him later. Abigail would double kill him afterward, probably . 

 “I’m looking forward to it!” Adonis claps his hands together, completely oblivious to their telepathic communication.

 “Hey, want to learn how to play synth?” Sebastian fully lets his mouth run this time, unable to stop. The flying bats are already pissed at him, he’ll flounder in the time he gets before he’s banished to the dungeon again. 

 That’s a little dramatic, but it holds. 

 “Yes! Why even ask!” Adonis excitedly steps over to the synth, pressing a note and laughing before snatching his own hand back.

 As Sebastian stands to the side to let Adonis next to him, Sam meets his eyes with a look. However, unlike he would think, it isn’t scornful or jealous, it’s almost a grin— like he’s in disbelief but… proud?

  And Abigail, oh, she’s smiling wildly, eyes boring into him like she’s figured everything out before he even has. 

 Okay, it looks like she will just eat popcorn as Sam throttles him gently instead.

                                    ~*~ 

 “Are you fucking kidding me?!” Sam whisper-shouts the moment Adonis leaves and the door of his bedroom is shut tightly. 

 “Yeah, that was totally uncool. We don’t even know if we have the spot secured!” Abigail plops down on Sam’s bed, tucking an askew stray of hair behind her ear. Her face is all red. 

 “Sorry.” Sebastian tucks his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He’s actually quite happy, he got to spend the last hour teaching Adonis the basics of keyboard. He even got to touch his hands a lot to reposition them on the keys, it was great.

 “That’s all you have to say for yourself!? I was going to ask him there! Broooooo.” Sam whines, cupping his hands over his head and pacing around the room. 

 “Sorry! How was I supposed to know!” Sebastian refuses to raise his voice, he knows that he should’ve at least waited until their spot at the event was confirmed.

 “Talking to us beforehand is a thing!” Sam yanks his hands off his head so fast Sebastian is surprised he didn’t pull off any hair with them. 

  Oh , he’s actually upset.

 “You do want him. You wanted that to be like a date, like you’re inviting a girl out to a show.” Sebastian tilts his head, eyeing Sam, refusing to back down. Bro code must mean nothing now. 

 “No. I do not want to date him! God! What is so hard to understand about that? You’re the only one who wants to date him.” Sam waves his hands through the air like that will help get his point across, but it already sinks deep into Sebastian’s thoughts before he’s done. 

“Uh huh. Sure,” Sebastian laughs, loud and a bit unhinged, quieting down once he remembers Abigail watching them from the bed, “No- I don’t want to date him either! Shut up!” 

 “You the one who just ran your mouth, you asked him on the date.” 

“It’s not a date!”

 “Well— you just said me asking was like a date!” 

 “He doesn’t think it’s a date!”

 “So you want it to be a date!?”

 “I didn’t say that!”

 “Can you both shut the fuck up, oh my god.” Abigail claps her hands together once, loudly, and they both turn their heads to her like trained dogs. 

“You both are so insufferable. Like, what the fuck? You’ve never met an insanely hot guy before? Get it the fuck together, seriously. This is embarrassing. Sam, you don’t want to date him, we get it. You think he’s hot, just found out you aren’t straight, yeehaw , you’ll find another guy. Sebastian— you— you…” The power slowly fades from her voice, her finger that she was using to point at them with every syllable now curls weakly. 

 “What. What? What!?” Sebastian increasingly gets more loud and frazzled as she just stares at him blankly, as if him standing there says it for her.  

 “You… I’ve never seen you act like this before.” Abigail flicks her nail at him, eyes wide like she’s trying to speak directly to his soul, “You are acting like….” 

 “What the fuck does that mean?! Acting like what?” 

 “Acting like you’re in love.” She folds her arms together and nods her head as if that is fact, as if it can’t even be debated, like it was the first text written and translated into every other language after that. 

 “‘Fuck you talking about?” Sebastian feels his blood run cold, Sam chortles and it turns to ice. 

 Did Sam tell her? Why does everyone think he’s in love with this man besides himself? Sam, Abigail— his MOM?

 “Getting so damn shy, not even normal shy like, UwU I’m so flustered shy- and your voice gets all weird when you talk to him? It’s kinda cute. Oh, and your eyes, you like, stare at him all the time. You don’t think anyone notices, but we do.” Abigail lists of points on her fingers, talking like she could go on for hours. 

 “Mhm, we do.” Sam adds. 

 “You get so jumpy too! Never once flinched if me and Sam touched you, but Adonis grazes your arm? Sebastian: Deceased. Cause of death: dehydration. ‘Cause you so damn thirstayyyyyy.” Abigail bounces her hips on Sam’s bed, dancing to her own demented song.

 He looks between both of his friends, them gasping for air between breaths of laughter, and he gets the urge to say the unthinkable, something he’d never admit in a million years even to the cops— no, the feds . 

 “I think I might like men.” 

 They both stop laughing, Abigail’s mouth dropping open. Sam just cups a hand over his budding smile, like he’s happy to finally hear him say it.

 As if they had their own telepathy too, Abigail jumps up from the bed to lock her arm under Sebastian’s the same time Sam does. Crowding up his space, they pull him on the bed. 

 They sit on either side of him, keeping him locked down with their arms that they refuse to remove. Sebastian tried to wriggle free but they’re both surprisingly strong.

 This was miserable.

  Sebastian doesn’t even know why he voluntarily gave out that information. It just came out. He can’t blame it on any substance, he’s straight— Sober. 

 “What is wrong with me, what is going on. I think I’m dying.” Sebastian groans, holding his hands over his face, he feels someone pet his hair. 

  “It’s a crush, you’ll be fine.” Sam’s voice cooes in his left ear, Sebastian bats the hand away from his head that seems to belong to him. 

 “I’ve seen you have a crush before,” Abigail speaks but there’s a beat of silence that all three of them hold their breath for, “This ain’t no normal crush.” 

 It’s one thing to talk about crushes, but having your old crush talk about your new one? It’s too much, he should’ve kept his damn mouth shut. He can feel all the atoms in his body start to vibrate with the sheer need to phase out of existence— immediately. 

 “Mhm, mhm. You’re right, Abi, this is serious. I can’t- wow-“ Sam breaks into hysterics, clutching at his chest as if it’s so damn funny he can’t breathe, “You want the farmer.” 

 “Dude.” Sebastian pinches Sam’s thigh hard resulting in the other yanking his arm off of him to rub at the developing bruise, “He’s not- he’s not just a farmer—I do like the whole farmer thing though? Uh- he’s so- I don’t know- I don’t know! I don’t know anything anymore.” 

 “It’s okay, Seb, you can say he’s sexy as fuck, we all agree.” Abigail nods her head, eyes closed like this is a normal thing to say. Sebastian doesn’t think so. 

 “He- okay, Yes, he’s really— he’s hot. It’s destroying me. I never- I never had thoughts like this, I never acted on thoughts like this. How can he just stroll into town with gorgeous hair and… eyes.. everything… ” Sebastian stops speaking, clamping his mouth shut. He’s said too much, said way too much. The two evil demons on his shoulders are going to gabber on about this for weeks, months, maybe years! 

 “Stroll into town and turn you gay?” The blond demon on his left squawks, making the other giggle insistently. 

 “ Shh-! Mhm, yes, Sebastian. Adonis does in fact have eyes, how observant of you…” The other demon on his right keeps giggling, he wants to sew her lips shut. 

  “Will you guys drop it? Forget I said anything at all. I knew you’d be like this.” Sebastian spits his words out like acid, venom coating each syllable, he makes to stand up but Abigail’s arm clings around his tighter. 

 “I’m sorry,” Abigail shoots Sam a menacing look, “ We’re sorry, we weren’t making fun of you, it is just so unlike you, we—“

 “Unlike me? Unlike me— what does that mean. You think I can’t like a man?” Sebastian turns his head towards her, inching forward, she leans back in turn, bright blue eyes searching his features. 

 “You really do want him?”  Sam says breathlessly, making Sebastian’s attempt to intimidate Abigail cease and rain down on him instead. 

 “I never said that.” Sebastian feels his lips curl, God, is he bearing his teeth right now? Like a dog? Something must be wrong in his brain chemistry, that was unlike him. Since when did he care about anything, let alone enough to have him nearly snarling.

 “You quite literally, just did.” Sam smiles under Sebastian’s harsh gaze, but he’s shrinking in on himself, eyes wide and brows quirked upwards. 

 “Mm.” Sebastian calms, sitting back relaxed instead of stiff, waiting for the right moment to bolt. Seb nods his head repeatedly, trying to digest that information, emphasis on trying— because this is wrong. He didn’t ask Adonis to the show as a date. He didn’t want to go on a date with Adonis. He didn’t want Adonis. 

 Repeating that mantra didn’t feel right either, only frustrating him further. 

 “You look like you’re going to explode.” Abigail comments, most likely leaning in his space to stare at his face if the shadow over his eyes means anything. She’s always doing that, always scanning all over his face, looking for the smallest hints of discomfort, the slightest twitch. 

 He knows it’s because she cares, but sometimes, most times , it rubs him the wrong way, like now. Sebastian opens his eyes with a snap, giving an expression awful enough to make her inch backwards again. 

 No one else ever searches him like that, well, actually.  

  Come to think of it, Adonis is the only other person who will stare him down, blatantly trying to figure him out. Yet, it’s so different from Abigail. He doesn’t feel like a science experiment under his gaze, instead he feels more like prey, or a delicious meal, either way, it turns his stomach in a completely different direction. 

  “Alright, okay, sorry,” Abigail lets go of him, the corners of her lips tugging down into a grimace, “Too far. Too much. This is already a lot for you, I know. I already had my awakening and now it’s your turn, bud.” 

 “Yeah, it’s okay. Just accept you find him attractive, you don’t have to date him you know. Just admit the feeling, you don’t need to do anything about it if you don’t want to.” Sam slinks his arm around Sebastian’s stiff shoulders, rubbing his fingers on the skin underneath his collar. 

 “It’s really bad though, I act so stupid around him. I forgot how to talk when he held my hand.” 

 “You—“ Abigail’s eyes fly open, ready to speak but Sam crushes Sebastian into his side. 

 “He held your hand?!”

 “Uh? Kind of…?” Sebastian rememinces on the day he spent in Adonis’ greenhouse. The gazes they shared, the smoke curling from his lips, his hands so large against his own. Sebastian is already looking forward to the next time he’ll visit the farm. 

 “Dude. What the fuck is, ‘Kind of?’ .” Sam raises his eyebrows, unamused. 

 “Yeah, man, that’s all you’re gonna give us?” Abigail tugs Sebastian out of Sam’s tight grasp, which he silently thanks her for, he revokes the thanks when her nails dig into his arm. 

 “Ugh. You guys are relentless. We were just on the farm, I was helping him check his crops…” Sebastian makes sure to omit any details relating to the greenhouse or cannabis growing for the time being, “We got tired, smoked a blunt, sat against the porch and.. I told him his hands were big? And he grabbed mine—“

 “No way he didn’t.” Abigail cuts him off with a lip bit smile, eyes sparking with glee as she shares a look with Sam. 

 “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Sam’s lips spread into a smile matching hers.

 “What are you talking about?” Sebastian asks, audibly concerned. 

 “Shut up!” 

 “Hurry up and speak!” 

 Their voices overlap as their heads snap towards him. Sebastian is starting to get a little creeped out at how good the two are getting at being in sync. Do they want him to shut up or keep talking?! 

 “God, help me. So, he grabbed my hand and he compared it to his—“

 “OHHHHHHhhhhhohhhhhhh!” Sam jumps from the bed, pacing around the room with his fists in the air. 

 At the same time Abigail claps her hand over her mouth, removing it only to laugh at Sam’s display. “He did the thing, bruh.” 

 “What thing?” 

 “The thing? The fucking gay hand-size comparison flirt-thing?” Sam looks at him with a judging up and down, “Dude, even I knew about that.” 

 “That’s flirting?” Sebastian had hoped, —prayed— that it was flirting. Someone else validating that, even if it was Sam, was strangely comforting. 

 “Uh! Doi! Stupid ass, I’m tired of you.” Sam is obviously joking, his arms crossed sassily in front of his chest, lip popped out in an exaggerated scowl. 

 “No, really, that’s like a trope and everything.” Abigail adds, unhelpful. 

 “So he was flirting with me. I’m not going crazy?” Sebastian lets out an airy laugh, more of a breathless wheeze. 

 “He likes you….” Sam’s smile is so sleazy, he even licks his lips, one eyebrow arched, “He wanna fuck.” 

 “Oh my god.” Sebastian’s jaw drops, he is past blushing at this point, he feels how hot his cheeks are with the back of his hand. 

“Saaaaam!” Abigail snorts, “You’re gonna give him a heart attack.” 

 “He made me soup.” Sebastian rubs at his eyes, voice muffled and strained. He doesn’t feel much like a person at the moment, let alone someone with enough willpower to handle this. 

 “Soup?! Soup!” Sam tilts his head, pronouncing the word with more syllables than necessary. 

 “He! Made! Him! Soup!” Abigail claps her hands with each word causing Sebastian to dissolve into manic laughter. 

 “It was pumpkin soup, I bet.” Sam speaks right after her, not giving Sebastian one moment to himself. 

 “Oh it sure was, wasn’t it?” Abigail cackles when Sebastian solemnly nods his head, “Aha! I knew it. Souping his way right to your bussy.” 

 Yeah, that’s it. That’s when Sebastian decides he’s going to staple his lips together, or at least shut the fuck up for all eternity, Abigail did not just refer to his— she did not just say bussy.  

 “Abigail. I mean this so sincerely, I hope you have a wonderful life, move out of this shitty town, meet someone you love, maybe have kids or pets, live a long healthy life until you’re 60. Then, in the middle of the night, I hope your house catches on fire, burning all your possessions and everyone you love to a crisp. I hope you go homeless. I hope no one shows up to the funerals. I hope you die alone, under a bridge, bald .” 

Is what he says instead of a vow of silence. 

 Abigail just stares at him, unblinking. 

 “You’re fucking crazy man, I love you so damn much. Oh god, you and Adonis are gonna have such cute babies!” Abigail crowds him once again, instead of acting hurt or shocked, she pinches his cheek and cooes at him. 

 “He is not having my babies.” Sebastian’s face is void of any emotion, the life force sucked out of him so badly he actually lets Abigail relentlessly poke at him. 

 “Yeah, you’d be the one having his.” Sam winks at him, pointing his fingers into guns. 

 “Ugh.” Sebastian wishes he had a book to throw at him within reach. He actually sees one laying haphazardly on the floor, but he’s too lazy to grab it. “I don’t want to date him.” 

 “I actually hate you, nevermind.” Abigail lets go of him like she’s been burned, hopping off of the bed to stand next to Sam with a disapproving look. 

 “What is your problem, dude.” Sam cuts his palms through the air in front of him with inflection. 

 “I can’t- I can’t date him. I- He’s not into me like that . I’ve never even been with a man, how can I date one?” Sebastian looks down at his hands, fidgeting his fingers. 

 “Sebastian… you date a man to be with one! That’s step one! You literally just said it yourself.” Sam is out of view, but Sebastian is sure he’s gesturing wildly. 

 Realistically, he knows that is how it works. If he wants to be with a man, he has to date one. But that is a lot . Dating Adonis. Hugging him. Kissing him. 

 Sebastian’s head feels heavy. 

 “What if I just ran away.” 

 “What? Sebastian, look at me,” Abigail lowers her voice, stepping a bit closer to him, “No, don’t say that. You’re fine. You don’t have to date Adonis, you don’t have to date any man!” Her voice is still calm, but another emotion he can’t place coats it now, “But don’t string Adonis along. Do not hurt him.” 

 As Sebastian finally looks up, he sees his two closest friends standing side-by-side in front of him, wearing matching concerned looks. Sam’s bracketing his hips, forehead creased, Abigail has her lips pinched together kind of like a butthole. They look like tired parents. 

 Sebastian has another fit of delirious laughter. Sam and Abigail both groan and pace across the room in opposite directions. 

  Who needs to do drugs anymore, just get obsessed with a farmer and give too much information to your best friends!

Chapter Text

 Sebastian steps down to the playground a couple days later at noon, ready to meet up with Adonis and Abi. 

 He’s on time; they must be early because the two of them are swaying gently on the swings as he walks up. They’re doing that thing again, where they talk animatedly in hushed whispers. 

  They’re moving sideways instead of back and forth, hands bracketing the metal chains as they lean their heads close together. 

 “Hey!” He shouts and watches them straighten up immediately, eyes wide in matching shocked stares. They should’ve heard his footsteps. Sebastian guesses they were too absorbed in whatever they were saying. 

 “Heyyyyyyy!” “Hi, Sebastian!” They both speak in unison; voices strained slightly–clearly put on. 

 “So, what were y’all talking about? Hm? Must’ve been so interesting!” He crosses the mulch and steps in front of the swings, looking between them. 

 “Uh, the weather.” Abigail smiles, fake and wavering. 

 Which, to think of it, is uncharacteristic. If they were actually talking about him, she would have a perfect grin. She’d be a really great actor— but does that mean she wants him to think they are talking about him? No. That’s weird.

 Sebastian takes a good look at Adonis, he looks great in orange. He has on another one of those long sleeves where the neck dips too low— It’s this sunset color, fading into pinks and purples. It compliments his eyes well. He’s stopped wearing completely dark colors, hasn’t for a while now. Sebastian isn’t complaining, he looks good. 

 He loses his train of thought. 

 “Alrighhhht! Let’s talk about the man! I was thinking we could shove him down a hill in a shopping cart, or myself. He’d probably like to do it more though.” Sebastian starts, already conspiring multiple ways to snatch a cart from Joja. 

 “That’s a good idea! We can do that too, but Adonis actually planned something…” Abigail speaks to him but looks over to Adonis with a sweet smile. 

 “Oh! For real? That’s nice of you.” Sebastian is surprised, but not in a bad way. Which is a little out of character, Seb would get jealous having someone else plan the activities for Sam, but he’s simply not. 

 “Thanks–uh, I hope you don’t think it’s stupid, but I bought a lot of credit for Ape & Busters; and a food pass too.” Adonis is sheepish, hands folded in front of him. He looks so cute on the swing; he’s too big for it. His knees are buckled up because his feet touch the ground and then some. 

 “That’s not stupid. That’s awesome! We haven’t gone all together in ages!” Sebastian doesn’t add the fact that Adonis coming along would make it even better, it teeters on the tip of his tongue. 

 “He always sells himself short. Dude rented a car, too. No stinky beer bus for us!” Abigail pushes off the ground to swing a bit. Her hair whirling around her, she looks younger than she is like this. 

 “I don’t even know how Pam is allowed to drive that thing… or retain her license,” Sebastian grimaces before brightening up and turning towards Adonis, “Can I drive?” 

 “Yeah, if you want to.” Adonis smiles back at him, looking more than pleased. 

 “I know Sam won’t wanna drive, especially after I give him his present.” Sebastian flashes another smile before tugging a little bottle out of his hoodie.

 “Dude, is that liquid THC?” Abigail tries to stop swinging but her momentum pushes her on, looking a little funny with such a concerned look on her face as she swings on a play set.

 “Yeah! It’s in the perfect form for Sam! He’s gonna love it.” 

꩜

 “A BMW! A BMW! Oh my god- ‘M gonna bust!” Sam screams, finishing the last of his sentence with a particularly high-pitched voice. After he circled around the car multiple times in silence–no, disbelief–he couldn’t be stopped now.

 Sebastian hits him on the back of his head, “Stop that, nasty.” 

 “This is so cool! Thank you Adonis!” Sam completely ignores him, or perhaps he didn’t even process Sebastian’s slap; skipping giddily over to Adonis, Sam immediately envelopes him in a tight hug. 

 “Geez man, don’t suffocate him. You’re acting like you get to keep it.”  Abigail snickers behind a hand, watching the display with amused eyes. 

 “I’m sorry you don’t get to keep it…” Adonis frowns as they break apart from each other.

   “Dude- shush- this is awesome! I don’t want to have to drive, though. I want to be the passenger princess for today. Can you drive for me?” Sam holds onto Adonis’ forearm, batting his eyes while dangling the keys out to him. Sebastian doesn’t even remember when he got them. 

 “No license...” Adonis’ voice is small and quiet, the silence is deafening after. 

 “Oh!” Sam shakes his head before smiling once more, “Okay, Sebster! You’re gonna be my prince tonight!” He sing-songs, tossing the keys to Sebastian. 

 “Don’t ever call me that again.” Sebastian catches the keys with one hand, without even looking! He hoped he looked as cool as that felt. 

 “Yadda yadda yadda, get in loser!! We’re going shopping!!” Sam quite literally bounds over to the bright, cherry red convertible— the fancy ones with four seats instead of two.

 “We sooo need to watch Mean Girls again— Adonis, have you ever watched Mean Girls?” Abigail asks as she makes her way over to the car, popping open one of the backseat doors. 

 “Of course I have! It was one of the first classics I saw. Thirteen year-old Adonis had a great time.” Adonis crinkles his eyes as he talks, stepping over to the car. However, instead of hopping into the backseat with Abigail like Sebastian had originally anticipated, he slides around the front of the car.  

 He has to step a little in front of Sam to stop him. Adonis is laughing the whole time at Sam’s confused face before opening the passenger side door for him. 

  Sebastian’s eyelids peel back so fast he swears there would be a shutter sound if it was a cartoon, but this is real life. His life, where Adonis apparently opens car doors for people, for men. 

 “Oh, Adonis.” Sam practically coos at the man, rubbing a hand down his arm, “You’re such a gentleman.” 

 “Please, you’re the passenger princess aren’t you?” Adonis grins, eyes nearly shut from the genuineness of it. Once Sam ducks inside the car, Adonis closes the door after him gently. He even takes a moment to check if Sam’s big feet were inside the car before he does. 

That should be me. 

 Something deep within the caverns of Sebastian’s inner thoughts screams at him. Why would he go down that train of thought? He is completely capable of opening his own doors. It’s the bare minimum of a partner anyways. 

 Partner? 

  He’s never referred to… That’s not even a category— Sebastian decides if he blacks it out, it didn’t happen in the first place. 

 “Wanna start this engine?” Sam hollers to him from inside the car; the top isn’t down yet. Sam is just tall enough that Sebastian can see his hair-gelled mop crunching against the low roof. 

 He must’ve zoned out the whole time as everyone got settled and buckled up. Sam beckons him with a curled finger from the front seat, while Adonis and Abi were patiently waiting in the back. He must look so stupid just standing there. 

 “What’s wrong with the bus!?” A raspy voice makes Sebastian jump. Even Sam whips his head towards it. 

 Pam is standing at her spot, looking grumpy and tired— possibly hungover. Adonis must’ve had the car hauled up here to the valley. It’s hilarious that the rental center left it right in front of the bus. Was she standing there watching as it was dropped off? The thought makes Sebastian snicker. 

 “Nothing! It’s for Sam’s birthday night!” Sebastian yells across the strip, speaking the latter under his breath, “It’s not like you reek of beer every morning and swerve at every corner!” 

 “What did you just say to me, boy?” Pam roles up her sleeves, sun-marked forearms on full display. She means business.

 The other three start laughing hysterically. Sebastian must’ve been louder than he thought. He takes that moment to scramble into the front seat, slamming the door once he’s inside. 

 Tapping the key (because it’s a fancy new car) and not turning it aggressively didn’t have as much flare, but he still pressed the gas and high tailed it out of there before Pam could give him a piece of her mind. He wasn’t speeding.

 Well, fifteen over is considered speeding; he wasn’t speeding, though. He had it under control. 

 “Everyone is buckled, right?” Sebastian speaks calmly, cutting the gas once they’re out of the tunnel. The passengers hooted the whole while.

 “Dude– that was so- hah-! Sebastian, you can be so cool sometimes.” Sam is breathing heavily, head turned towards him as Sebastian keeps his eyes forward.

 “Yeah! We’re good back here! But you’re not!” Abigail smacks the back of his headrest; Sebastian’s head vibrates from the force of it. 

 “Sebastian!” Adonis’ voice chastises him; Sebastian’s eye’s flick into the rear mirror, catching his worried eyes. 

 Maybe the driver should wear a damn seat belt. And also not act reckless with someone who just opened up to you? Common sense. 

 Fuck. 

 “Dumbass. That’s not cool.” Sam reaches over his chest to grab his belt and hooks it in for him, which is even less cool.

Apologize. 

 “Sorry! Pam was going to throttle me with her beer-breath, I really didn’t mean– I’m sorry.” Sebastian swallows while looking back towards the road, hands tight on the steering wheel, “That’s my bad. I won’t drive like that again.” 

 He looks back into the mirror, only catching Adonis’ eyes for a moment; He looks content. 

 Which is saying something, since this large man is being so cramped up in this tiny convertible. Sebastian noticed his knees bending up into his chair. He didn’t comment on it and silently inched his seat forward with the button on the side. It’s not much, but he tries to give him more room. 

 “Take the top down, baby!” Sam shouts, rolling down his window, “Mama wants to feel the air!”

 “How— oh, okay.” Sebastian looks at the dash, spotting the large button almost instantly. He rolls his thumb over it and then places his hand back on the wheel.  

 “Oh yeah! Hell! Yeah!” Abigail screams, her voice being carried away by the wind as the roof rolls down behind them. 

 The fresh mountain air smells amazing. It hits them immediately. The drive down to the city is a beautiful one; the highway winding around the sides of mountains through the steaming Calico Desert, proceeded by passing fields of wild grass and trees before finally hopping the bridge over the ZuZu River and into the city. 

 But it’s also a long one. 

 “What music should we play?!” Sebastian has to raise his voice to be heard, too. The windshield does wonders to block the wind from hitting his face, but nothing to stop the constant whipping noise. 

 “I get AUX!!!!!!!” Sam fishes his phone out from his jacket pocket, pairing it to the car and searching through his music library in record time.

 “Maybe I need some rehab, or maybe just need some sleep.” 

 Sebastian would roll his eyes if he wasn’t driving, but he’s still mouthing the words the moment they come on. 

 Especially the part “do you wanna have a slumber party in my basement?” with a bit more enthusiasm than anyone expected. 

 Abigail starts singing in an exaggerated pitchy voice, clapping in rhythm with Sam’s spine bending in some contorted way that he calls ‘seated twerking’, “I LOVE THIS SONG!” Adonis says over the pounding thump of bass. The car’s stereo is no joke and gathers everyone’s attention. 

 It’s a little funny to hear someone passionately singing Ke$ha with a German accent. It doesn’t mean Sebastian isn’t enjoying it, though. Adonis must be enjoying it too, from the way he’s clasping hands with Abigail as they chant the lyrics like prayers. 

 Sebastian distantly wonders just how much American content Adonis has consumed in his early life as he turns the volume dial even higher.

 They all have a good time, blasting various songs; even a few Adonis recommended. Who knew eurodance music bumped that hard?

 Eventually, everyone started recommending so many different songs that Sam enthusiastically started a multi-contributor jam from his streaming app. 

 Half way through the drive–on the long straight road through the desert–they hadn't seen any other cars for miles. Someone dared to play something that wasn’t entirely upbeat dance music music. 

 Oh! Adonis queued this one. Sebastian notices the sharp change from Barbie Girl by Aqua. 

 “Fame! (FAAAAME)— makes a man take over—“ 

 David Bowie! Adonis must know the man behind the music; he must be soaking up all of queer history. Adonis briefly touched on how much it interested him during their egg-toss talk… Not that it particularly interested Sebastian for any reason either— he just really liked David Bowie, okay? Man was a legend. 

 And if he was mouthing the lyrics too, it went unnoticed. Sam and Abigail’s perfect impromptu session was in full swing, adlibs and everything. 

 Adonis seemed to be enjoying the song in his own way. Now that they were on the straight road through the desert, Sebastian could be more sparing with his glances into the rear view mirror. 

 He’s sitting up on his knees now, seeming alright— relaxed even at highway speed; his eyes closed, with the sun beating down on his face. Oh, he’s raising out his arms now, spread like an angel as the wind whips through his hair while his clothes wrinkle and toss from the force of it. 

 What’s really funny is seeing a 6’4” man sing heartily to the wind, “Fame- FAAAAAME-“ each time the lyrics repeat, giving Sam and Abigail one hell of a backtrack. It’s actually not funny. It’s making Sebastian’s heart pump wildly. Adonis looks so cute like this; so happy, beautiful— it’s endearing. 

 It’s making Sebastian fond. 

 And distracted. 

 “FAAAAAAAME!” Sebastian screeches, snapping his eyes back onto the road and refusing to remove them. He doesn’t take any looks into the mirror, even after he starts hearing noisy cheers for him. 

 The drive seems so short. They keep blasting hits with the top all the way down. Before they realize it, they’re thumping over the bridge while Lady Gaga blares from the speakers. 

 Since they’ve been back on the main road for a bit, no one has dared to poke their heads out from the top or the sides— which Sebastian is thankful for. He felt like if he kept looking at Adonis in that moment, his eyes would get stuck and that would be the end of that. 

 Rolling down the crowded city streets in a sexy ass convertible–inadvertently drawing every passerby’s gaze–felt kind of badass. Not kind of, it did feel badass. It felt badass to be the one driving it too. How much did it cost to rent this car?

 Sam of course winked at as many people as he could. Not just the people their age— Moms, Grandma’s, scrunchy faced middle-aged business men. Everyone. His confidence never seemed to run out. 

 Adonis seemed to be the only flustered one, looking at the carpeted floor, patting down his hair,— pointedly away from Abigail as she sang into an imaginary microphone to the tune of Two Of Hearts. 

 Sebastian flicked the music off as her “Come on!”’s started sounding a little inappropriate. Easily enough, just in time for them to snag a spot in the maze of concrete they call a parking garage. The flashing lights of Ape & Buster’s calling to them, illuminating half of the garage neon blue. 

 Like moths to a flame, the young adults flock the sparkly lights; their footsteps echoing through the parking garage. 

 Sebastian locks the car, checks that it’s locked twice, and also looks back a third time to really make sure he rolled the top down. He’s not risking any chance for the expensive car Adonis rented to get broken into.  

   He hooks the key directly onto his belt. He better not lose the damn thing, it looks more like a keycard than a car key— goddamn BMW, so advanced and fancy. 

 Sebastian sucks the drool back into his mouth when they start to hear some pop-song thump from the building. The sign in front is huge, flashing white and yellow. The smell of greasy fries and oversized hamburgers is thick in the air. 

 He distantly wonders if they have those scent machines that lure people in, like Disneyland. Maybe he’s just hungry. He’s been driving for almost two hours.

 “Hehhehe— I’m so excited! The last time I was here, I was like eighteen and I had to babysit Vincent. Mom wouldn’t let me do one Zombie Shooting game, not even the hunting one either.” Sam leads them toward the big double glass doors while bouncing on the balls of his feet, swinging one open for them. 

 “Don’t look so elated. I will destroy you at DDR.” Abigail swipes a finger across Sam’s cheek as she walks in, leaving him with a lip pulled up in disgust. 

 “I’d like to see you try, missy.” Sam scoffs, yet wipes the grimace off his face just to smile at Adonis as he walks past. The foul look returns as Sebastian enters. 

 “I’m pretty sure I could beat you at DDR.” Sebastian gives him that, and gets swatted on the butt as Sam lets the door close behind them. 

 “Cut it out, asshole! Get your hands away from there.” Sebastian half-whispers, giving the attendant a sheepish look as she waves them in, barely glancing at the passes on Adonis’ phone, “We’re in public, and there are children here, so don’t slap my ass.”

 “Like there’s so many kids out on a Wednesday night.” Sam rolls his eyes, walking in front of Sebastian defiantly. He’s at perfect ass-swatting distance now, but Sebastian won’t go back on his own word. 

  But when he looks around as they falter in front of the game floor, he notices there really aren’t many kids out; mostly gaggles of older teens, a couple of preteens hassling the poor minimum wage worker at the ticket counter. The noticeable adults seem to be stationed at the bar in the center of it all. Tired looking parents or the occasional couple nursing drinks. 

 “That’s good, though. I do not want to hear one screaming baby tonight!” Abigail kindly directs a very confused looking Adonis to the ATM-like credit machines that spit out little cards loaded with ‘Ape Coins’.

 Sebastian snaps out of it, shaking his head. Adonis must be overwhelmed seeing the inside of one of America’s Child Friendly Casinos for the first time. 

 He told everyone he researched it online after Sam mentioned it once and was enthralled with the pictures— but right now, he resembles a Victorian child discovering a touch-screen vape for the first time. 

 Sebastian steps to the side of him, looking up at him with a hand on his arm. He can literally see the flashing wheel-of-fortune lights reflecting in Adonis’ eyes. 

 “So, what do you think?” Sebastian asks him, some sort of relief when he meets his gaze and the wheel stops spinning.

 “This is cool! How do little children function here?!” Adonis laughs, covering his mouth. He starts tapping buttons on the machine, lip between his teeth as he grabs the card that was spit out from the flashing slot. 

 “Dunno…” Abigail subtly, but not really, points to two children at a far corner. They must be elementary-age, little grubby hands jabbing at the controllers while stationed at their own individual slot-type ‘game’ machines. 

 Now, they’re in the zone. Completely entranced, sharing the same zombie-like stare towards the bright LED screens as they rapidly shift controllers and slam buttons. 

 One must’ve won, because he screams and jumps into the air. That’s when they notice he has an entire wad of cotton candy glued to his hair. Alright. 

 The girl next to him loses, her screen flashing red. It must enrage her even more, because she quietly turns to the boy and smacks him across his face. 

 It results in the two of them starting a real brawl. 

 “Holy shit.” Sam says, slapping a hand over his mouth in shock as the little girl body-slams the boy to the ground, the boy sits up immediately to punch her in the stomach. She falls to her knees with the most scorned look a child could produce, it was honestly a little scary, really. 

 “I was- I was joking, I didn’t think…” Adonis starts to speak but trails off as the children continue fighting on the ground. Rolls and rolls of tickets fall on top of them, completely forgotten in favor of the bloodlust. 

 “Everlieigh Annely Johnson!” Someone booms from across the various noisy machines and chattering people— an exhausted looking woman sitting at the high top tables at the bar. 

 “CLEETUS.” An equally exhausted man with a bad comb over looks up from another table, furious, “YOU DO NOT HIT GIRLS.” 

 They jump up at the same time–abandoning their drinks, her purse, his laptop–to scold their kids and yank them away from each other. 

 The kids both start to wail and are dragged off by their parents in opposite directions. 

 “Wow! What a show. I don’t think I ever want children.” Abigail blinks slowly. She hooks her arm under Adonis’, guiding him away from the card machine. 

 “Me neither.” Adonis mumbles, lips pulled together in a flat line. 

 Hmm. 

 “What game should we play first? You should choose, Sam.” Sebastian decides to ask. He’s the birthday boy, afterall. 

 “Uhhh— you know damn well what I want to play.” Sam begins smiling wildly, “Mutant Bug Safari!” 

  “Okay, word. We can do that, right? Where is that at? It’s been a second.” Abigail drops her hand from under Adonis’ arm, scanning around the complex. 

 “I think it’s been moved…” Sam has his eyes squinted and eyebrows pointed up together; he looks funny. 

 “Heh– stop. It’s over there.” Sebastian points across the floor. The large, black box in the corner with a giant spider attacking a jeep in flashing lights should be it. 

 “So, you just kill giant bugs? Is that it?” Adonis says as they make it over, eyeing the outside of it. 

 “Basically, but it’s cool! Now that we have four players, it’ll be even better!” Sam claps his hands together— his smile hasn’t faded the whole time he’s been here. 

 “Okay– okay, c’mon.” Sebastian walks in front of him to slide into the booth, holding the curtain open for the closest person to join him. 

 Coincidentally, it’s Adonis. It’s not like Sebastian wanted to show that he could display gentlemanliness too. 

 Adonis just grins, sitting down in the booth next to him. 

 Of course Adonis also holds the curtain for Sam, who in turn lets it fall into Abigail’s face. 

 “What the— if it wasn’t your birthday I’d pummel you.” Abigail shoves the curtain to the side, sitting down and lightly shoving Sam with her shoulder.

 “Sorry! I have tunnel-vision now, I’ve been waiting for this. I want to be player one.” Sam sheepishly offers a shrug, grabbing onto one of the controllers.

 “Yeah. I can tell.” Abigail gets to be the second player— a chad-type character with sunglasses. 

 “You want to be the girl?” Sebastian gets to be another frat clone. This guy isn’t wearing a shirt though. Very unlike him. 

 “Yes! She’s so cunt.” Sam laughs, turning to Adonis to put the controller in his hands for him. 

 “Cunt? I thought that was a bad thing?” Adonis looks confused, eyes flitting from the controller to the screen. He’s left with the third frat guy archetype. The character has long hair too. Isn’t that funny? 

  “No– I mean, it can be? But it’s not really anymore.” Abigail answers for Sam, a smile spreading across her lips, “Just don’t call anyone back at the town that. They wouldn’t understand.” 

 “Okay…” Adonis raises his eyebrows, looking like he’ll speak more but Sam shouts over him. 

 “IT'S STARTING!! I want to do this map.” Sam loads the game before anyone can say otherwise. They all lock in when they notice the countdown. 

 “Wait, I don’t…” Adonis’ voice is soft but Sebastian picks up on it. 

 He must not have any idea how to play this stupid game. Adonis mentioned something about Germany not having many of these types of businesses out there. Something about impeding kids’ development and heightening the chances of a gambling addiction. 

 Which could make sense…

 “Oh, here,” Sebastian reaches out to place Adonis’ finger on the trigger, “Just shoot with this, and reload with this,” He positions his thumb on another button on the back, “You can use a bomb three times with the little pedal on the floor.”

 “Oh, that’s simple! I didn’t see the reload button, I’m sorry.”

 The game loads and it opens to the four NPCs lounging on a blanket by the beach. 

 “No, you’re fine. So, basically a bunch of giant bugs are going to chase us and you have to aim for the glowing circles. Yellow and red, If you hit them on red it’s double damage.” Sebastian explains, but he still hasn’t removed his hands from Adonis’.

 Good lord, his fingers really are long. 

 Once Sebastian realizes that there is no need for him to grab at Adonis’ fingers for longer than what’s considered normal, he takes his hands away, grabbing his controller from his lap. 

 “Okay! I can do that,” Adonis perks up, “You know, I’ve killed my fair share of giant bugs in real life.” 

 Sebastian laughs, Germany must have a lot of crazy insects or something. He can’t actually mean the valley. 

 “Sebastian!” Sam elbows his side from the right of him, “You’re gonna die!” 

 Sebastian blanches; by now their characters have already gotten swarmed by a field of rapid mutant grasshoppers. They’ve climbed into a jeep, but the bugs aren’t letting up. 

 “Not my fault you’re rushing!” Sebastian immediately gets to firing shots off at the grasshoppers. He hits the target points every other shot. It’s been a moment, but he’s still scoring more points than anyone else. 

 “Oh yeah! We beat the first wave– the spiders are next.” Sam kicks his feet against the metal floor of the machine, giddy. 

 “Ugh, I don’t like this part,” Abigail grumbles, “The things I do for friends.” 

 Sam just sticks his tongue out at her. 

 Adonis actually scores the most points that round, which is just a little impressive for his first time. 

 It's a slightly difficult game, alright? 

 And even though it’s a game, it still doesn’t help Sebastian from eyeing Adonis’ arms as he holds the gun. 

 That’s enough of that.

 “Duuuude, I don’t care that I got second. I demolished them.” After they finish the route, their scores pop up and they’re able to save their initials on the leaderboard. 

 “Aw, look.” Abigail points to the list of names. 

1. 2,566,786 pts. SEB
2. 1,977,906 pts. SAM
3. 1,673,003 pts. DON
4. 723,871 pts. ABI

 “That’s cute.” Sam smiles, setting the gun back into the holster. 

 It is kinda cute. They also pointedly ignore the person with the initials ‘POO’ in fifth place. 

“It is time.” Abigail shoves the curtain to the side, the bright colorful lights coming from the main game room almost blinding them for a moment. 

 “For what? Oh! Yes...” Sam rubs his hands together, conniving, “It’s air hockey time, brothers.” 

 “Let's go before some kids stake their claim on the table.” Abigail is out of the booth in a flash, leaving the curtain to swing back and hit Sam in the face. 

 Sebastian holds back a laugh and opens the curtain to the left of him on the opposite side. Once again, he makes sure to hold it open for Adonis.

 Adonis flashes him another grin and his knees weaken.

 That is foul. He must get it together ASAP! He cannot be fawning over this man on Sam’s birthday. Especially not at a damn Chuck E. Cheese on steroids. 

 Sebastian quickly joins the rest of them as Sam leads the pack across the game floor. 

 They have to directly pass by the bar. It’s glowing blue, the main floor is dark in comparison besides the flashing devices so it stands out. Beckoning. It's like the bar is calling to him. 

 He’ll have to make a stop there later.

 “How are we going to team up?” Adonis asks once they reach the table, watching Sam swipe the game card through the slot. 

 The more Sebastian thinks of it, the more he understands why this type of place could be seen as promoting gambling.

 “Me and you first,” Sam turns to Adonis. Sebastian can’t see but he’s sure Sam is giving him another blinding smile, “Then I don’t care.” 

 “Whatever you want, birthday boy.” Adonis joins Sam’s side, clapping him on the shoulder. Sebastian hates how his hand lingers before it drops. 

 Hate. That’s such a strong word. Not good. 

 “Look at us, together again.” Abigail laughs almost sullenly, as she looks to Sebastian “We get to be blue.”

 “What— no. Sebastian is so red-coded. I’m blue.” Sam reaches over the table, snatching up the two blue air hockey handles. 

 “What does that even mean?” Abigail takes the two red leftovers, handing one to Sebastian. 

 “I’m red-coded? Is that some of your character analysis or what?” Sebastian taps his fingers on the table, “C’mon now, birthday boy.” 

 “Shut up. You’re mad I actually put more effort into the world and character building for our DND campaign.” Sam’s lip curls up, “See, you’re red.” 

 “I’m not— and you do not put more effort into world building?!— that’s, that’s my whole thing. I wrote pages, Sam. Pages!” Sebastian would continue defending himself, but something about the way Adonis’ eyes rested on him made him stop.

 “I think you’d be red, too,” Adonis flattens his lips together after he speaks, like he shouldn’t have, “Abi is not, red though. She is definitely green.” 

 “Swipe the card, Sam.” Sebastian holds the air hockey pusher much harder than necessary. 

 “Green?” Abigail flicks her hair behind her shoulder, “I wouldn’t be purple?”

 “No, you wouldn’t be purple. Adonis would be purple.” Sam nods his head along to his own statement, like he’s got everything figured out. 

 “No…” 

 “Charge the damn card.” Sebastian sighs, abandoning his anger relief air hockey pusher to rub at his nose bridge. 

 They play surprisingly cordial once they begin, falling into comfortable banter and hushed laughter. At one point, Sam cheers so loud for Adonis getting a solid shot straight into the slot, several people even turn to snap their heads towards them. 

 The four of them grow silent, if only for a couple minutes after. Something about the various overload of flashing colors, the smell of greasy food and sickening sweet desserts pumped through the air lulled them into their own personal bubble. It didn’t help that the air-hockey table was tucked in the corner of the building near the emergency exit. There was a dark hallway angled out of view from the various patrons and workers. 

 Sebastian has a brilliant idea. 

 “I won! I won! No– we win!” Sam claps Adonis so hard on the back the man stumbles forward, bracing himself with his hands placed on the lip of the hockey table. 

 “Yay for Sam!” Sebastian hoots, pumping a fist in the air, “Perfect time for your birthday gift, buddy.” 

 “Gift? For me? I thought this outing was my gift… oh, Sebastian you shouldn’t have.” He bats his eyelashes wantingly. He steps out from the opposite side of the table like he’ll join Sebastian. No. 

 Seb blocks him from coming further by walking up to him and placing a hand on his chest. 

 “What—?” 

 “Come over here.” Sebastian drops his hand to tug on Sam’s jacket, leading him behind the wall of the hallway. 

 “Should we follow or are y’all going to kiss or something?” Abigail calls from behind. It's almost like Sebastian can see the look her and Adonis must have shared. 

  “Wh– No. I wouldn’t– come here.” Sebastian stops frowning once he gathers the rest of them behind the wall, “Now, we have to be quick or we’ll get in trouble. Don’t act weird or crazy.” He reaches into his jacket’s inside pocket–the one he usually reserved just for special spunk–and holds out a small plastic bottle. 

 “What is it?” Sam leans in, his shadow looming over Sebastian’s open palm. 

 “It’s liquid THC.” 

 “Duuude– gimme–“ Sam snatches it out of his hand, cracking the cap open and downing half the bottle before Sebastian can blink, “SAM– oh my god– sam– do you know how much you just consumed? You’re supposed to take less than a spoonful- Sam.” 

 Abigail starts laughing hysterically, bracing herself with one arm propped up on the wall as she clutches her stomach. 

 “It’s yummy, tastes like spicy orange soda— Might as well finish it off.” Sam parts his lips and leans his head back like he’ll down the other half, but a larger hand clasps around his halting his action. 

 “Sam, do you want to smell colors? I don’t think so. This is very strong, it’s not the same as consuming cannabis by smoking it,” Adonis smoothly pries the bottle from his fingers, closing his palm around it and sliding it away from Sam in quick motion. 

 “That sounds kind of–“ Sam hiccups between his words, the carbonation getting to him,  “fu-uhn.” 

 “Lord, what will we do with you?” Adonis looks down at Sam fondly, patting his shoulder. And Sam? He leans into the touch, falling back into Adonis’ chest with a dopey grin. 

 Sebastian clenches his jaw. No way he can blame that on the gift, it takes longer than one damn minute to kick in. 

 “You have thirty minutes until gravity turns off. Once we go outside, if you don’t hold onto something you’ll float into the sky and up into space with no oxygen.” 

 Sam just blinks at him slowly, rubbing his back into Adonis’ chest. Kind of rolling his shoulders around his pecs, it’s hard to look at.

 Freak. How is he my best friend? I understand you don’t see a man like Adonis very often in life, let alone befriend someone like that, but he doesn’t need to— 

 “Sebastian! Why don’t you finish the rest of the bottle. Sam definitely had enough.” Abigail tucks her arm in the small of Sebastian’s back just to pinch at his skin, “You look like you’re about to pop a blood vessel.” She whispers in his ear once she’s close enough. 

 “But I’m driving—“ “I’ll drive us back.” “But I wanted you to try—“ “You know it’s not my favorite.” “But,” “No buts, you and Adonis finish the rest.” 

 “I thought you were the youngest here, not the eldest.” Adonis cocks his head at her, a smile playing on his lips. Sam sticks out his tongue, “My mouth feels weird.” 

 “Alright….” Sebastian looks between the three of them, grabbing the bottle from Adonis. He takes a long sip. It tastes awful. 

 “My turn.” Adonis finishes it off, sputtering afterwards with a grimace, “Seb, you made that look like it was nothing.” 

 “It’s a talent. I exude nonchalance.” Sebastian wipes his hands off on his jacket, refusing to meet anyone’s eye, knowing his facade would fail. 

 “Whatever you say,” Sam pulls away from Adonis to throw his hands in the air, “I want to play DANCE DANCE!!!” 

 Sam ends up dragging all three of them by the hand towards the overwhelmingly bright, pink lights in the corner. The game had also been moved from its previous spot, but Sam seemed to smell the dance dance energy from across the room. 

 Unsurprisingly, it’s occupied. 

 Two guys, possibly their age. They’re having a lot of fun, laughing and smiling. Neither of them are particularly great, but that doesn’t seem to be the focus. 

 It looks like they’re a couple. The way they throw grins and giggles at each other. 

 Sebastian feels himself smiling too.

 The four of them wait patiently for their turn. Sebastian tries hard not to stare too much. 

 When they finish they clasp both of their hands together in the air, looking into the other's eyes with matching fond expressions. 

 Sebastian does stare when they walk off holding hands. 

 Must be nice… 

 “Come on, let’s boogie!” Sam draws Sebastian out of his trance, pulling him towards the gamepad. 

 Oh, he’s going to go first? Sebastian suddenly feels a little nervous. He doesn’t dance much– or really, at all. The last time they played, he was sixteen; and he’s lost confidence in the dance department instead of gaining it.

 With Adonis watching too, he thinks a silent prayer to not embarrass himself. 

 “What song?” Sam is already flipping through the song catalog, tapping the screen a little too hard. 

“I don’t know, it’s your birthday.” Sebastian holds in any sliver of attitude that might bubble up. He’s the type to get snappy when he’s under the spotlight. 

 But there is no spotlight– you’re making this a big deal for nothing. Adonis doesn’t give a shit about your dancing. Don’t flatter yourself.

“Ahaha! I know! I know!” Sam sounds so delighted. That should have been the first sign. Yet, Sebastian still doesn’t expect the song as it begins, the lyrics blast with no preparation. 

 “Popipo~~ Po-pi-po—! Po-pi-po—! Popipo~!”

 “No.” Sebastian blanches, his face scrunching up as he looks at Sam. 

 He’s dancing already, “Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!” singing along as he does spin around the pad, hitting all the arrows like the steps are ingrained in his head, “Do it! You’re missing the beats!” 

 Sebastian is frozen for a moment as he watches the arrows on the screen flash red. His side of the screen repeats ‘MISS’ over and over in time with Sam’s ‘PERFECT!’s. 

 “Fuck off,” Sebastian relents, shuffling his feet as he tries to get into the rhythm. He won’t be sour on Sam’s birthday, even if this is beyond mortifying. 

 “Do the arm movements too! I know you know them!” Sam has many talents– embarrassing Sebastian and being amazing at DDR are just a few that pop out. He’s waving his hands through the air, his feet still hitting every arrow with precision. 

 And would you look at that... When Sebastian stops scowling at Sam and glances at the screen, he’s hitting every beat too. 

 It’s not like Sam and Sebastian got obsessed with playing the video on repeat like scripture in middle school for an alarmingly long period. 

 They had the dance down and everything. Vincent even recalls a faint memory of the two of them hovering over him in his high chair dancing intimidatingly. 

 Big, bright neon-blue pigtails swing across the screen, carrots and leeks rain down around her almost tauntingly. 

 Ah, fuck it. 

 Sebastian decides there’s no reason to care. Abigail has seen it all, and if Adonis is frightened by his actions… It doesn't matter either. 

 He gives it all the overly cute movements, coming naturally from–cough–weeks of practice. Sebastian must feel really kind to follow with his arms. That’s not even required! 

 The two of them fall in sync, their feet stomping across the tiles the moment they light up. Sebastian finds himself smiling wildly. It turns out it’s not that bad to enjoy yourself when you’re out in public. Everything else seems to fade away besides his intense focus on hitting the notes in time. 

 The two of them nod at each other when the hardest part rolls up, using the handle bars to lean back against to hit multiple tiles in rapid succession. Who knew Hatsune Miku would be this labor intensive? 

 “Ahaha! Fuck yes! Look at that!!!!” Sam bounces when the song ends, clapping his hands together repeatedly, “A+ brother!” 

 “Eh, it would have been better if I was into it from the beginning,” Sebastian scoffs, but holds his fist out anyways, “After years, the movements are still coded in my brain.” 

 “Eheheh,” Sam fist bumps him, teeth shining brightly in a smile under the fluorescent lighting, “Miku never leaves you, we’ll recreate the MV when we’re 80.” 

 “Woah! I forgot how hard you guys went when it came to DDR, that was intense. Bravo!” Abigail’s clapping drags Sebastian back to the reality that he was an adult man in public and not twelve years old in Sam’s living room.

 He almost forgot Adonis and Abigail were even there, almost. 

 “Ahaha… yeah, I…“ Sebastian turns to look at them, finding himself at a loss for words as his eyes fall on Adonis. 

 “Waaa, wouw..” He’s clasping his hands together like he was watching their every move. Was he? Sebastian wants the gamepad to break apart and drop him into a sewer— anywhere but here. 

 “What? What!? You didn’t expect us to get down to Hatsune Miku? I’ll have you know I’m very cultured. I know almost all—“ 

 “No-no! No! I.. I did not know you both could be so cute! Ahah, I’m sorry, it’s… Wow! Hahaha!” Adonis starts laughing. He covers his mouth immediately, speaking muffled, “I’m not playing fun. I mean it. That was adorable..” 

 Sebastian doesn’t think it means anything, but those brown eyes keep sliding towards him with every other word. Adorable. He’s never been called adorable. 

 He probably just means Sam. He’s the one with a knack for ‘acting cute’. It must look weird and downright unnatural on himself. 

 “Shut up...” Sam swings his arms around himself in a hug, clearly flattered, “Why don’t you show us something, too?” 

 “Yeah, c’mon big guy. Let’s have the queens show them how it’s done.” Abigail grabs Adonis’ hand away from his face, leading him towards the dance pad. 

 Sam happily steps off the side, letting Adonis have room to start. Sebastian still feels frozen, his feet not listening as he wills them off of the platform. 

 Just as he regains the feeling in his feet, Adonis sends him a look like he wants to say something. 

 Sebastian wants to hear it. He plants his feet and doesn’t move them, willingly. 

 “You know– if I had known you were so cute when you dance, I wouldn’t have felt embarrassed when you caught me in the greenhouse.” Adonis licks his lips like he’s nervous, but smiles anyway, “We can dance together next time.” 

 Sebastian doesn’t have time to even blink before Abigail is downright shoving him off the dance pad. 

 “Move it. I need to get the jitters of driving back home out of my system.” Abigail stretches her arms out behind her hand when her side is clear, giving Sebastian a smug little grin over her shoulder. 

 What is that for? That was nothing. It didn’t make his heart skip a beat or anything like that at all. Adonis is just a funny guy. He doesn’t even know he sounds a little flirtatious. 

 “What’re you feeling? I’m thinking… Oh, man, you read my mind!” Abigail gasps and drops her hands as Adonis flicks through the songs. 

 His silhouette is… large, so it’s hard for Sebastian to see what song they’ve chosen until some upbeat music flows out the speakers. 

 “I should’ve known Adonis would like Kpop. He seems like the type.” Sam has a smile playing on his lips when Sebastian rips his eyes off Adonis’ broad shoulders. He’s leaned up against the side of some large arcade game, so Sebastian joins him too. The both of them watch Adonis and Abigail get into position. 

 “What do you mean by that? What type?”

 “Gay.” 

 Now, if Sebastian heard Sam say something like that just a couple months prior, he’d be shocked; worried that another person in his life could be discriminatory and cruel. But now, he knows that Sam’s not being cruel or offensive– he’s taking back the ‘joke’ that’s been placed on themselves and people like them. 

 Like ‘them’. Aha– oh, what time can do.  

  “You recognized it was kpop before there were even any Korean lyrics.” Sebastian bites at his lip to stop a shit-eating grin, “What does that make you?”

 “Why do you think I said it?” Sam elbows him in the side just as Abigail starts belting out the lyrics, namely the ones in English, “Uh-huh, listen boy!”

 Sebastian notices a couple of people turn their heads, but he sees how quickly they go back to whatever game occupied them. Maybe, it was okay for them to enjoy themselves. Maybe no one really cares and actually expects people to play games at an arcade! 

 “My first love story~” Adonis steps onto a flashing tile, hitting a pose to match Abigail’s. It was a little funny to see such a tall, large man pose so femininely. Hand on his hip and all. 

 Huh. Sebastian’s cheeks hurt from how hard he’s smiling. 

 The song starts off slow. Sebastian definitely doesn’t recognize it, but he thinks it’s cute. The song is cute, not the way Adonis delicately steps on each tile in time with the soft beat. 

 Funny. 

 “Uh, uh! Let's go!” The two of them cheer, and the arrows on the screen speed up tenfold. They were even faster than the high-speed song Sam and Sebastian were dancing to. 

 What’s crazy is that Adonis and his freakishly long legs are able to keep up with it. And, hit every single arm movement in sync with Abigail. 

 What? Did they both know this dance, too? From the way they’re both moving seamlessly, he guesses so. 

 Adonis even lets out a few of the lyrics too, Abigail backing him up with multiple “Gee gee gee gee’s!”. 

 “Don’t tell me you know Korean, too!” Sebastian shouts before his brain registers. He was undeniably sucked into their performance. 

 It really was a performance. When Adonis casts a quick look over his shoulder, flashing Sebastian a blindingly beautiful smile, he somehow didn’t miss one beat. 

 “Everyone who is anyone knows at least one part of this song. It shaped generations!” Abigail calls out, eyes glued to the screen and body moving in a trance.

 When they finish, it’s hard for Sebastian to quell the bubbling laughter in his chest. He thought it was an overwhelmingly wonderful treat to see Adonis play dance dance. Sebastian should have invited him here himself. 

 Abigail hops off the small platform and shoots them finger guns in response to Sam and Sebastian’s applause, “Ah, Adonis I’m so glad we revealed our stannie side to each other. We really are unstoppable.”

 “Mm, I’ll never forget discovering it. Thank you PSY!” Adonis sighs with laughter, rolling out his shoulders before leaning on the arm rest with one hand. 

 “PSY! Oh my god, shut up.” 

 “What! Without him I would have never experienced the joy of girl groups! You know FX?—“ 

 “Yes, of course I know FX—“ 

 “Well, there’s this one song I’ve been playing a lot—“ 

 “Shadow? Yeah, I already know.”

 “Haha, haha.” Adonis laughs monotonically while leaning further onto the armrest, his hip cocked out. 

 Sebastian has no idea what they’re talking about, or what an FX is, but he’s not really paying attention; his gaze glued to the outline of Adonis’ waist. The sheer material combined with the bright LED light from the screen highlights his silhouette right through his flowy button-up. 

 He never even buttons it to the top either. The collar is always dipping dangerously low. 

 Adonis definitely just said something to him but Sebastian was too busy ogling to notice. Just perfect. 

 “Hmm?” Sebastian lifts his head, slightly snapping his gaze up to Adonis’ eyes– praying he didn’t notice. 

 “I said, do you want to go again?” Adonis looks back at him expectantly, “You can pick the song this time.” 

 His smile is sweet, eyes so soft. Sebastian would have a hard time saying no to anything Adonis would ask of him. 

 He’s standing next to Adonis on the dance pad before he knows it, finding that having control of the song choice is a tad overwhelming. 

 Sebastian mulls over the choice as he scrolls through the list, feeling like there are three pairs of eyes on him. He wants to pick something Adonis would also like, but Sebastian is worried he doesn’t quite have the energy down for kpop yet.

 “Haaa.. you ever heard this one?” He hovers over a song, the preview plays a couple lines of the chorus. 

 “Oh– you are joking me!” Adonis physically perks up, his features lighting up, “Do you know this is a German group? How fantastic that it was so popular internationally as well, ha?” 

 “Okay, okay, I did not know that,” Sebastian can’t help the smile spreading across his face. Adonis’ excitement was dangerously contagious, “Let’s get to it then.” 

 Sebastian would have lost his mind if you told him he would feel completely comfortable and even the smallest bit confident dancing in public right next to someone he wanted to impress. 

 That’s the past now. Sebastian’s starting to feel himself now more than ever recently. He can’t quite place why that is. He doesn’t have the time to dwell on it either. 

 “I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me..” 

 Adonis looks intensely serious as the song starts off, channeling the pure essence of eurodance through his veins. 

 Alright, Sebastian can match it; or at least, he’ll try. He loves his song too, even if he’s more familiar with the nightcore version. Don’t ask. 2014 was a very intense year for him filled with pink-haired anime girls with butterfly headphones and angst. 

“I still feel your touch in myyyy dreams…” Oof, that lyric rings with too much meaning now, “Forgive me my weakness but I don’t know why… without you it’s hard to survive.” 

 When Sebastian hears Adonis half-sing/half-shout with him, it’s hard not to feel a little flustered. He keeps his eyes glued between the flashing tiles and the arrows on the screen. 

 “Cause every time we touch! I get this feelin!” The flashes get quicker and closer together. Was every song going to be this upbeat? It was starting to feel like a workout. 

 That thought completely flies out of his mind when he sneaks a glance at Adonis, “And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly!” 

 The multicolored LED lights light up his eyes. They sparkle with the arrows flying across his irises. His smile is so genuine, the gasps of laughter between breaths and unstable singing. He looks so happy. 

 When Adonis mouths the lyrics “Need you by my side,” he turns to meet Sebastian’s eyes.

 Sebastian misses ten beats in a row, ruining his 87-beat perfect streak. 

 He makes sure not to sneak anymore looks towards Adonis. He has to make sure he doesn’t trip over his own feet at this rate. Even stomping around on a dance pad that still seems too small for his frame looks charming on Adonis. It’s making Sebastian's head spin. 

 He manages to make it through an entire song with Adonis. They actually get to a point where it seems like a section of the arrows is a repeating face sequence for an entire instrument drop. Adonis grabs his attention by facing towards him without missing a beat, his hands outstretched towards him. 

 Sebastian makes a barely audible noise of confusion but mimics him, facing towards him instead of the screen. Adonis waves his fingers a couple times like he wants Sebastian to grab them. 

 Aha, okay!

 Sebastian grabs his hands and they use each other to balance and absolutely demolish a killer combo in the triple digits. He’ll never get over how big Adonis’ hands are. They’ve been the only hands to dwarf his and right now it feels amazing. 

 Sebastian feels amazing himself, almost like he’s floating. Adonis has a way of making him feel like he’s the only person in the world– it’s utterly apparent at this moment. 

 He’s tugged to reality as the tiles switch up and they both miss a few, a loud error noise above the music. Sebastian didn’t even register it until Adonis dropped his hands with light laughter, facing back towards the screen and to finish with a bang. 

 Sebastian wavers slightly for a moment but gets to it and they finish with a “GREAT!” rating. 

 “Well done!” Adonis holds up his hand like he’s going for a high-five. However, when Sebastian lifts his hand, he pulls him in for a one-armed hug. 

 Okay– it’s a classic bro hug, but it didn’t feel like that; and Sebastian got another whiff of whatever delicious vanilla concoction he wears, which does nothing to keep him steady on his feet. He’ll take that over a high-five. 

 “I didn’t think you’d be that good at DDR. I’m sorry for doubting you in my mind.” Sebastian forces something out to sound normal, stepping off the platform to avoid Adonis’ eyes. 

 He wasn’t trying to be rude. In fact, he wanted Adonis’ eyes on him. He just couldn’t handle it for prolonged periods without feeling lightheaded. 

 “Ah, ah, why? You don’t think I’m a good dancer?” Adonis speaks and Sebastian can hear the pout in his voice. 

 “No, no. I didn’t say that. I think you’re, uh, great. You’ve just got such long legs and the dance pad is kind of small, so-” 

 “Wooha! That was phenomenal! I can see the German dance duo already; all we need is clogs!” Sam comes up behind him, yipping away. 

 “Shut up man,” Sebastian frowns but smiles lip-sidedly, “you’re stupid.” What he really means is, thank you for saving my awkward ass. Sam seems to get the memo with a knowing gleam to his eyes. 

“That’s actually a great idea, don’t you think so?” Adonis actually laughs, clutching his stomach slightly. 

 “Hey hey, I want my turn with Samson.” Abigail clings to Sam’s arm, more of a death grip than anything affectionate. 

 “Your birth name is Samson?” Adonis blinks rapidly, “I like that!” 

 “Agh, no, it’s not.” Sam frowns, a line creasing between his brows. 

 “Whhhat is it, then?” Abigail stares blankly for a moment, “Sorry, I thought you told him. It’s not even a bad name anyway.” 

 “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it, but I agree. It’s not bad.” 

 “Abigail.” Sam sheepishly looks at Adonis before turning directly to Abigail to address her, “You peeved me. What do we do when I’m peeved?” 

 “Ah, I see. Hit it.” Abigail nods solemnly, before they both break out into laughter and start up another song on the dance pad. 

 “What are they doing exactly?” Adonis looks confused and slightly concerned watching Sam tap his foot aggressively on the metal panel as Abigail hurriedly scans through the songs. 

 “Just wait.”

  The song starts and they get into position. Sam’s hand remains firmly planted on his hip as he belts, “This one is for the boys with the booming system, top down AC with the coolest system. When he in the club he be blazin’ up—“

 “Oh! He is really giving his all.” Adonis looks on in amusement of Sam’s pure passion.

 “Yeah, he’ll be on this for a while…” Sebastian looks around the room, scanning for something; anything— this could be his chance to get Adonis alone, just for a moment. Why does he want that so badly? He can't tell, but he wants it. 

 “Hey, do you want to play a round of skee-ball while we wait for them? Sam gets very serious about Nicki Minaj.” Sebastian points over to the line of dimly lit skee-ball machines. They’re tucked into the corner— still close to the dance pad, and no one is using them. Perfect. 

 “Okay! Yeah, that sounds fun.” Adonis follows him to one of the games in the long row, swiping the card; the balls drop down the shoot.

 “You’ve played before?” Sebastian grabs two and hands one to Adonis, leaning down to line up a shot. 

 “No, but I get the premise.” 

 Sebastian feels his gaze on his neck when he rolls the ball up. It falls into one of the lesser point slots. At least he didn’t miss. He would’ve blamed Adonis in his head for it, though. 

 When Sebastion looks over his shoulder, he finds him staring like he expected– but he never gets used to it. 

 Adonis cracked a smile and lined up his shot, getting a better score than Sebastian. Since they were playing on the same machine, there was no need to keep individual points– not like that will stop him. He was always competitive by nature, but that also seemed to fade around Adonis. 

 Maybe he wouldn’t mind working as a team, or duo, or couple. 

 Wait. 

 “You go, come on.” Adonis says softly, handing him a ball, “You’ve got pool down, but I could be better at this.” 

 “Hey, I’ve been playing for a long time.” Sebastian shakes his head, shooting up the ball into the jackpot just to make a point, “I’m used to pool.” 

 “And skee-ball apparently. What can’t you do?” Adonis laughs, making Sebastian’s chest feel light. He knows it’s only a silly thought. It’s just skee-ball. It's not rocket science. But then again, any compliment from Adonis sends a rush of warmth that rolls over him. 

 “Heh, he-h.. you’re so funny.” Sebastian swallows his spit roughly, nearly dropping a new ball on his foot. Luckily, he catches it at the last second. 

 “No? I’m– ha? Uuuggh, no, no,” Adonis suddenly switches tone, sounding rather disgusted. Sebastian straightens up immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Sebastian forgets the ball on the slot, dropping it back into the holster to step over into Adonis’ space. He’s grabbing at one eye; maybe he’s hurting. 

“Something’s in my eye.. think it’s an eyelash?” Adonis’ voice strains slightly, his lips pressing into a line. 

 “Let me see,” Sebastian leans closer as Adonis removes his hand. It’s watering that’s for sure, but he can’t see much because he’s too damn short to see eye to eye with him. 

 Sebastian reaches up, placing a hand on the back of Adonis’ neck to gently pull him down to eye-level. Doing so brought his face so close to Sebastian’s, it makes him hold his breath. 

 Neither of them make a sound for the seconds that Sebastian looks into his eye. He doesn’t see anything. If an insanely gorgeous man standing inches from his lips is nothing. He tries to keep it together. Sebastion really did search to see if there was an eyelash or a fiber, but his focus was on other things at the moment.

 It was hard not to give in and kiss Adonis right then. Unfortunately, this was not the time, or place. Adonis’ eye was tearing up for god’s sake; but the urge was so strong that it consumed him for the briefest moment. Sebastian’s hand was still planted on the back of Adonis’ neck, keeping him there, but he wasn’t resisting at all. 

 He had his long hair down today, so when Sebastian put his hand around him some of those soft purple locks threaded around his fingers. He sucks in a quick breath and snakes his hand away.  

 “I’m sorry. I don’t see anything.” Sebastian manages to speak without sounding it, but he feels like he might faint. Has he ever been that close to Adonis’ face? How does that man have not one wrinkle or fine line? He’s twenty-one, but still, not one pore either? Not even a crease? 

 Sebastian had the sudden urge to bite through his damn cheek. 

 Adonis pulls away, placing a hand over his eye once more. Sebastian could think there was a hint of a deep flush to his cheeks. It must be the blue lights playing tricks on him. 

 “I’m, I will fix this in the restroom, I’ll go do that now.” Adonis mutters, not waiting for a response as he steps away. 

 “Do you know where it is?” Sebastian calls after him, watching him walk. 

 Adonis slips between rows of 80’s style arcade games and then he’s out of sight. 

 Sebastian stands there staring at the machines; the pixel screens seem to blink at him mockingly. 

Chapter Text

  What took over him to grab him like that? Pulling him down to stare into his eye— Sebastian understands that he was worried about him, but he could have just asked Adonis to lean down. 

 What is wrong with you? 

 That was bad– really bad. Sebastian stiffens up, turning like a board back towards the DDR pad. Two new people who are definitely not Sam and Abigail have already found their stake on it. 

 Shit. Where did they go? Sebastian pouts his bottom lip, giving up on the game and walking off blindly. Skee-ball is the least of his worries right now. 

 He scans through rows of beeping games and overstimulating lights; not a trace of Sam and Abigail. Where could they have gone in such a small period of time? They weren’t away for very long, right?

 Sebastian feels a little sick. He’ll blame it on the foul THC concentration, fuck, he’ll blame all his previous actions on it. What on earth compelled him to act such a fool in front of Adonis? He must feel grossed out– manhandled.

 Sebastian was gentle as he could be but Adonis must have been alarmed. His eyes widening up confirms it. 


 Sometimes Seb’s anxiety feels like it has a voice of his own.

 What if Adonis feels uncomfortable about to the point he just leaves instead? 

 Realistically, he knows Adonis would never ditch him- them here, but his stomach still swoops with nerves. He pushes his feet forward, avoiding any strangers that might bump into him. 

 Somehow, some force in the universe shines some luck down on him; he’s thankful. Sebastian sees a pair of shiny Mary-Jane’s and large roughed up sneakers under a curtain. Of course, the photo booth– he should have known. 

 He doesn’t check to make sure it’s them. Afterall, Sebastian’s the one who wrote in sharpie on the side of Sam’s sole. ‘Lord Dingus’ was definitely him. 

 “Hi.” He shoves his way into the booth, squeezing the two of them to the side. He fully interrupts a photo sequence, looking up at the camera with a pale face once he realizes. 

 “Man! Can’t you wait your turn? We were going to grab you two when you were done sucking face.” Sam huffs, shoving Sebastian into the side of the booth. 

 “Haha, yeah. We saw y’all leaving,—“ Abigail starts, her attention pulled towards the screen as it displayed their photo set, “HA! Look at that.”

 The four photos start off calm, Abigail and Sam posing with matching peace signs.

 It dissolves when there’s a blurry flash of black pushing them both to the side, both of their faces in shock. Then, Sebastian squashing the two of them to the side, they’re frowning, peace signs crumbled. Finally, a shot of them staring at Sebastian; Sam caught in the middle of shoving him back, Abigail laughing, and Sebastian looking dead ahead towards the camera like a deer staring at headlights. 

 What a great summary of his night.                                                                                                                          

 “Maaaaan, now we gotta do it again! Where’s Adonis?” Sam sticks his lip up at the screen, but it’s clear he’ll stick this photo set up in his room like all the others. 

 “Yeah, that– Sam, I need to talk to you.” Sebastian does his best to convey his seriousness to him. It seems to work seeing as Sam’s features relax. 

 “Hmmm, okay. So, where did Adonis go?” Abigail peers from Sam’s side, looking over his shoulder. 

 “He’s in the bathroom– he got something in his eye.” Sebastian blurts. 

 “Okay, I’m going to go check on him for now. Bye.” Abigail looks concerned, disappearing behind the curtain in a flash. 

 “What’s in his eye?” Sam grabs at his wrists, face now pulled into a horrified expression. 

 “No-no! An eyelash? I don’t fucking know. Dude, I was just so weird– so incredibly weird. Why did I do that? Why would I do that here? Sam, I need you to put me down.” 

 “Sebastian, I’m not going to put you out of your misery in a damn Ape & Busters. Tell me what’s up.” He shakes Sebastian’s wrists slightly, dropping them as he folds his arms together.

 “His eye got irritated and he wanted me to check I guess,” Sebastian came up to him first, “And, I totally screwed it dude. I grabbed him down by his neck to look at him.”

 “Ooooouuuh….” 

 “Yeah. I was all up in his face, man. I wanted to kiss him.” Sebastian lets himself talk, the false privacy of the Photo Booth curtains lulling him into security. 

 “Do it, do it.” Sam chants, earning an unamused look, “Okay, I get it– not here, but you should kiss him tonight.” 

“You’re absolutely insane. Nuts, bonkers– whatever. You’re crazy.” Sebastian throws his hands up, nearly scowling. 

 “Hey! What’s your deal? What are you worried about? He probably wanted to, too.” Sam giggles, “too too.” 

 “You’re a man child.” 

 “Don’t be mean to me because I’m right about everything and I’m smarter than anyone could ever realize. I may act dumb, but it’s mainly for your entertainment!” Sam laughs loudly, “You’re the man child– can’t even get a crush out of your head. Just kiss him.” 

 “No. End of discussion. He probably thinks I’m a pervert now.” 

 “He already knows you’re a pervert, you freak.” Sam smiles smugly, tapping his temple like he’s holding back a vault of ammo, “I’m just saying, you should do it soon, or I will.”

 “What?” Sebastian’s blood runs cold. 

 “No, I’m kidding. Oof, sorry. Must’ve struck a chord—Heheh—I just wanted to see your reaction. You look like you’re gonna jump me in a bad way.” Sam giggles nervously while looking around the photo booth, anxiously inching towards the curtain. 

 “I’ll throttle you one day.” Sebastian lifts his hands up in a fist like he’ll actually grab him and do it, when the curtain behind him swings open. 

 “Group picture time!!!” Abigail opens the one behind Sam, shoving him up and stealing his spot in the booth before he can even recognize it. 

 “What!!! That’s my spot!” Sam shouts, bending awkwardly in the small space, one hand trying to protect his hair. 

 “You can sit on my lap. Four of us can’t fit in here, and Adonis is like, 1.5 people.” Abigail pats her thighs with a wide grin, “Sebastian get up.” 

 Adonis has his head poked in through the curtain, smiling at Abigail’s comment before his eyes slowly slide towards him. 

 “What?” Sebastian looks away from him, head sharply turned towards Abi, “What, why?” 

 At least Adonis’ eye seemed to be feeling better, but the knot in Sebastian’s stomach only seems to grow. 

 “Adonis is going to have to sit in the booth.” Abigail says matter of factly as Sam resorts to sitting in her lap. She slings her arms around his stomach in a death grip. 

 “Oof.” Sam makes a pained noise, jumping up on her lap once to put his weight further onto her. 

 “Stop! Your assbones are going to kill me!” Abigail is distracted and downright ignores Sebastian, leaving him to face Adonis himself. 

 “You don’t have to– I can wait.” Adonis is flushed, a deep rose across his cheeks is much more vivid under the bright lights in the booth. 

 “No, I want you in the picture.” Sebastian says, but still doesn’t move from his statue-like posture. 

 “Okay…” Adonis looks at him for a moment, “I do not think you can handle me on your lap.”

 First of all, wow. Second of all, Sebastian will prove that wrong. 

 Some day, but not today, because Adonis pulls him up to his feet and steals his spot. Before he can react, Adonis quickly maneuvers him into his lap by grabbing his hips. 

 Ooooooooooohhhh My god.

 Sebastian feels every cell in his body combust and reanimate themselves a million times over. What the fuck? What the fuck?!

 Adonis must have raised him in whatever act Seb pulled moments earlier. If Sebastian wanted to manhandle him, he'd show him better, ten fold– no, a thousand fold! 

 “Who’s ready for pictuuurrres?!” Abigail shouts, dragging their focus to the countdown. 

 Unfortunately, Adonis let go of his hips as soon as he was planted there. Now, holding onto the sides of his shoulders instead, smiling from behind him. Sebastian wasn’t prepared for the photos at all. All he could do was look up at the ceiling, feeling his face get hot. There was no possible way he could be sitting in this man’s damn lap right now. Holy shit. 

 He feigns a smile for the other photos. Looking at himself like this makes him want to grimace. 

 Is this what he really looks like? Lord, he wants the world to swallow him whole. Adonis’ broad frame pokes out from behind Sebastian; the difference in their builds is extremely apparent as Seb sits on top of him. 

 He doesn’t look at Sam and Abigail’s side of the screen once. He’s too busy staring at the way Adonis’ hands fall on his shoulders, the feeling of his muscular legs on the back of his thighs, and how he can feel Adonis laugh through his chest. 

 How that if he just sat himself a little further back, their hips would be pushed together. 

 Oh hell no, you are not getting turned on at a fucking Ape & Busters. Reel it in.

 Sebastian throws up the weakest peace sign he’s ever had in his life.

 “These are so cute!” Someone exclaims to the left of him, as their photos are relayed back to him. 

 Sebastian looks fucked up. It’s got to be the THC, nothing else. He thinks he looks like a goddamn tomato, his entire face tinted pink. 

 Adonis looks beautiful as always, smiling so nicely, eyes shining. From the way they were sitting, if Sebastian just focused really hard on the two of them (and not Sam and Abigail’s exaggeratedly fake seductive posing,) it could almost look like a couple photoshoot. Sebastian was thankful he managed to smile just a little bit. This was great to have actually. He wants a copy of the photos for himself, too. How many do these sets come with? 

 “Yeah, they are. Let's go get them now.” Sebastian shoots up and stumbles out of the photo booth, having to catch himself by grabbing weakly onto the curtain. 

 “Hahahhaha, oh my god,” Someone wheezes from inside the booth. He can’t see, but he can tell it’s Sam. He’d recognize that sickly smug laughter anywhere. 

 “Mmh, shit.” Sebastian gathers himself, leaning against the side of the booth while waiting for the sets to drop down. The others slink out from the booth as well, Adonis coming up to his side. 

 “Are you okay? I feel it too.” Adonis’ has his eyebrows knitted together. His eyes look so dark swamped in the dark blue light. How late is it now? How long have they been here…?

 “Oh, yeah,” Sebastian realizes he’s talking about the pure concentrate they’ve downed, and starts to feel a little clammy, “I do, too. We should probably get back soon. I don’t want Sam to flip out. He drank more than I thought he would.”

 “You’re fine, though?” Adonis looks at him closely, eyes still peering down at him. 

Sebastian’s mind swims under his stare. 

 “Yeah, I’m good. You seem great. That tolerance of your’s working out for ya?” 

 “Mhm, there won’t be a day where it won’t win.” 

 “Yeah, yeah, great! You’re both great! Let’s find Sam because I lost him. I would be a horrible trip sitter.” Abigail claps them both on the back, standing between them. 

 “You lost him?”

 “Uh, I do not have the card anymore.. it was in my back pocket..” Adonis pats along his body which Sebastian definitely doesn’t take the time to watch. 

 “Fuck.” Sebastian looks away, eyes roaming over the various blinding games and gaggles of people. 

 “Oh. I found him.” Adonis points across the entire stretch of funky carpet and sticky games, lifting his head up. Yeah, have the tall one scan over the head of people and rows of metal. That will work. 

 “Come on. We need to get him home, now.” Abigail’s face contorts into an expression of pure terror as she takes off, Adonis and Sebastian close behind. 

 “What are you doing, mister?” Abigail finds Sam feigning, smashing various buttons and slamming levers on some brightly colored machine. A pretty lady on the screen announces numbers while a skeleton pirate screams “JACKPOT!” over and over again. 

 She hooks her fingers into the collar of Sam’s jacket and pulls, tugging him off the stool and away from his previous screen. 

 “ABI!! Abi Abi, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Adonis, she was calling to me. The game, she spoke to me from across the floor. I heard her. She wanted me to play. Look, look, I won! See? Jackpot, baby!” Sam flounders, pointing at the screen, himself, and the tickets pouring from the slot in rapid succession. 

 “Great job, you little gambling addict. Why don’t we cash all these in?” Adonis takes the card that was clutched firmly in Sam’s left hand with unparalleled smoothness. 

 “Are you mad at me? I spent the rest of the coins.. I’m sorry, but I was on a roll!” Sam looks pitiful, still stuck in Abigail’s grasp with his jacket tucked up. She lets go of him with an eye roll. 

 “No, I’m not mad at you. This was your gift. Come on, let’s go get you some prizes.” Adonis laughs wholeheartedly, tugging Sam away as Abigail grabs the tickets. They’re still being shot out into ribbons on the floor. Maybe the game really was calling to him. 

 “Adonis is such a great friend. I would have smacked Sam upside the head.” Abigail sighs, holding bundles of tickets in her arms. There was so much that Sebastian had to hold them, too. 

 They spotted Sam and Adonis at the ticket counter. Sam was excitedly pointing at various large items. Abigail and Sebastian decided to speed up the process and feed the tickets into the counter for them, without Sam there to impede the process. 

 “I know, but he’s extremely high right now. I can tell it kicked in for him… a lot. I shouldn’t have let him see the bottle without telling him the dosage.” Sebastian mindlessly hands her rows of tickets as she feeds them through the counter robotically. 

 “Yeah. Good god– he looks beyond stoned, but how does he still have so much energy?” Abigail sighs, glancing at the counter numbers as they go up. 

 “Don’t worry, he’ll crash soon. That’s why we gotta get him out of here before then.” Sebastian hands her the last of the pile. The machine stops its obnoxious fake chewing noise to spit out a card with their ticket count. 

 “Yeah, and I’m gonna have to be the one to watch him tonight.” Abigail starts walking off to join the others.

 “What? Why, I can just do it? I figured I’d have to anyway.” Sebastian has to pick up a step to catch up to her, giving an alarmed look. 

 “No. You’re going to feel sick and need to sleep over at Adonis’ farm cabin. Yes, you will. Yes. Yes, you will.” Abigail keeps repeating her words every time Sebastian gives her a more detailed concerned expression, creases enlarging on his forehead. 

 “What are you trying to do, get me fucked? Is that what it is? For me to stop being a virg—“ 

 “Sebastian—! Keep your voice down. Maybe you actually need to be watched. You are going to stay there. You need to ask him in the car.” Abigail whispers, dragging him over to Adonis and Sam before he can protest any further. 

 “Yeah! Did you already get the ticket thingy? Yes! I’ve decided what I want– okay, it’s between the pink one or the blue one. I’m leaning pink, buuut the yellow one is kind of speaking to me too. I don’t know, but actually, the green—“

 Sam rattles on, teeth bared in an overwhelming smile. Sebastian is happy he’s having a good birthday, at least. He hopes he won’t feel too bad later as a result of his gift… 

 They walk out of there a little sweaty and with an excessively large, purple Junimo plush. Sebastian never really saw the appeal of the whole fake mythical creature Junimo fad, but he will admit they’re cute. But this one is spacious, having to shove it in the tiny trunk—much to Sam’s dismay—was a feat in itself.

 “I wannnt my Juniiiii.” Sam sighs helplessly as Abigail props open the passenger side door for him. “I wanted to sit—“

  “No.” Abigail shuts the door once all his limbs are inside, Sebastian stands with an eyebrow raised near the trunk. 

 “You’re going to sit in the back. He needs the room upfront.” Abigail gives him a pointed stare, before walking around the front of the car to get in. He knows what she’s asking him to do, but he can’t see himself doing it. 

 He slides into the backseat next to Adonis. He’s already buckled and listening to Sam talk excitedly about what type of skateboard wheel is his favorite choice. 

 Once Abigail pulls out of the lot and starts off on the highway, Sam’s pace slowly comes to a halt.

 “He’s out already?” Sebastian asks. He can’t see from behind the seat but it sounds like there is some snoring going on. 

 “Mhm..” Abigail lowers the Britney Spears song playing lightly on the dash, “Don’t need Toxic to reeve him up again….”

 It’s silent for minutes, the three awake in the car enjoying the calm ride. They’re keeping the hood down so Sam sleeps well, but it’s still nice. Must be almost midnight, the sky dark and littered with stars. How eight hours can go so fast amazes Sebastian. Those places really tend to suck you in—no windows, blaring sounds and flashing light—but, there’s something else telling him that’s not it. 

 He had a wonderful time tonight, and it wasn’t even his birthday. Mulling over the events in his head, he embarrassed himself, yes, but he had fun. He had fun sitting on Adonis’ lap the most. 

 “I don’t feel too hot, can you turn up the AC back here?” What is he saying? He feels fine, a little hazy, but fine. Something selfish in him takes over. 

 “Ahhuh, one sec.” Abigail flicks the dial up, looking through the rear view mirror for a moment, her eyes meet his coyly before darting back to the road. 

 Sebastian felt devious. 

 Adonis looks over at him and offers a comforting smile. He’s resting his head against the window, looking more relaxed than tired. 

 He looks good. Adonis usually sits very politely, legs together or crossed. But now his legs are pushed out, with his right knee knocking into Sebastian’s. The car is so dark– the road, empty. It’s quiet besides their breathing, some song barely audible.. Sebastian can’t help but drift into his thoughts. 

 Sick thoughts. His eyes keep trying to focus on Adonis’ lap in the dim light. Every time a highway light flashes through the window, illuminating it, his gaze flicks towards him. 

 He wants to sit on him again, facing him, put his hands around his neck, pull him in for a deep, messy kiss. All the things he shoved to the back of his head throughout the night bombard him at once. He wants to grind their hips together in this damn car, get him off in the backseat, make him finish without even taking off his clothes. And then again, without his pants. And then again—

 Fuck. Stop. 

 Heat encroaches up Sebastian’s spine, so much for not getting horny tonight. He crosses his legs together as subtly as he can. 

 “I’m gonna have to watch Sam tonight. I’ll crash at his place.” Abigail hums, eyes flicking up through the mirror for a split second, “You still okay back there, Seb?” 

 “Hah,” Sebastian makes eye-contact with Adonis, which does nothing to help his situation. It’s not his fault– Adonis looks impossibly good all the time. It’s environmental, “I don’t know.. maybe I had too much.”

 “Let me know if I need to pull over, we don’t want to ruin this expensive rental car,” Abigail sighs softly. Sebastian can hear the snide snear in her voice, “You feeling alright, Adonis?”

 “I feel fine, I feel good… where did you get that from Sebastian?” Adonis sighs, stretching out one arm across the backseat headrests. His arm is so long his hand drops next to Sebastian’s shoulder. 

 “My dealer… I asked if he had anything like that and he said they just started producing them.” Sebastian presses the back of his head to the seat. The motion of the car does make him feel a little ill– yeahhh, that’s what it is. 

 “Ahhha, I see,” Adonis laughs airily, “And Abigail, don’t worry about the car. If Sebastian throws up, they won’t kill me. I’ll have them clean it– they’ve got the resources for that.” 

 “What makes you say that? Isn’t there a fee or something stupid?” Abigail drones from the front, hands clasped around the steering wheel as she takes an exit. They’ve now got thirty miles of a two-lane road to go down until they hit the valley. Sebastian’s already awaiting the curvy stretches in the mountains.

 “No, my friends own this car. I rented it and they said it’s okay if it gets wild to an extent.. Vomit is nothing they haven’t seen.” 

 “Your friends..?” Sebastian interjects immediately. He thought Adonis said he didn’t have many friends. What friends have the resources and money to have cars to rent? Who are these friends… How does Adonis know them? Is it a man? A woman?

 “Yeah, they’re great. They’re a couple I’ve known for a long time. I don’t see them much because they are so busy working, but they’ve got my back.” Adonis hums, looking out the window in thought before turning back to Sebastian, “Are you gonna be okay, tonight? You could always stay at my place. It is closer to the bus stop…”

 Sebastian stares blankly. 

 “Or I’ll just walk you home. How about that?”

 “No— no. I want to stay.” Sebastian has to quiet the urgency in his voice, “I don’t think I can walk that far right now. I can’t wait to lay down.” He lies through his teeth. 

 Sure, his stomach isn’t feeling the best, but he’s more than okay to walk through the shortcut home. He could do that. He didn’t need to stay with Adonis. He wanted to.

 “Okay, okay. You’ll sleep in the bed and I’ll have the couch.” Adonis nods, a faint smile on his lips as he settles further into a comfortable position.

 “Uh– no, I’ll have the couch. It's your bed.”  Sebastian slurs, his head feeling too heavy for his neck. He leans it against his hand and the window. 

 “Nooo. You’re the guest, and you don’t feel good.”

 “But,” 

 “You can’t wait to lay down. A soft bed, warm blanket.” Adonis’ voice lulls him to silence. His cheeks still ache from grinning so much in one time period. 

 Sebastian doesn’t recognize himself falling asleep until he’s awoken some time later. Adonis’ hand on his knee, shaking him lightly.