Chapter Text
They’d been walking for hours.
Or rather, he had. The Pale Visitor.
The creature’s gait was just all the more proof of his inhumanity, long smooth strides at speeds that shouldn’t have been possible for a thing of its size.
“The moon is lovely tonight, is it not?”
And of course, the monstrosity was going to subject him to his personal hell of small talk as he loped through the midnight plains like a lone wolf returning to its den with a fresh kill.
“Yep. Gorgeous. I can tell it’s just so enchanting, with how the light bounces off your ass.” The homeowner grumbled sullenly. He kept having to swallow back drool that wanted to follow gravity out of his mouth, and his stomach was starting to hurt a little from the constant pressure of supporting the rest of his body weight.
The visitor let out a soft, “oh,” as if realizing something, before the world spun and the human suddenly found himself cradled in the creature's arms, bridal style.
Oh. Well. This is fucking worse.
“Hello again, my dear,” it said, chuckling in a way that almost sounded bashful, even as it bared those unnaturally white teeth wide in an unapologetic grin. “I apologize for taking you away from what sounded to be a far more scenic view, but I am hoping this will be a bit more comfortable,” His voice was dripping with dramatic mock sorrow undercurrented by vicious delight, as if his captive admitting to staring at his ass was some kind of victory. “Will you forgive me?”
“Fuck off,” The human groaned as he threw a wobbly arm over his face, already exhausted with this conversation. This unwarranted facsimile of kindness… made him uneasy.
Probably just playing with its food…
He must be very lucky the beast was in such a good mood, otherwise his mouth surely would have gotten him killed by now. Why was it hauling him around, anyway? To keep its next meal… fresh? He’d never actually seen these things eat, had no guarantee they’d go for human flesh, but if he could hazard a guess…
He glanced up at it through his eyelashes, hoping he wouldn’t be noticed.
Those dark, hooded eyes were already gazing right back down at his own, gleaming with a gentle desire he didn’t want to name. The homeowner quickly turned away to stare up at the waning half-moon behind them, flustered at being instantly caught as his arm dropped back into his lap
“…Yeah, it is nice out. Tonight.” He mumbled lamely to cover his blunder. He’d always been so bad at small talk, and current circumstances were not helping. “Why… do you care…?” He continued without thinking, distracted by how his stomach was still doing uncomfortable backflips.
“I think I’ve always enjoyed watching the moon, even… even before.” The Pale One confessed softly, “I’ve always adored the sight of something so… cold and alone, up in the sky. So beautiful. So unreachable. I would have enjoyed capturing it in a painting, I think, or maybe in photography. Perhaps, I was an astronomer?” The rhetorical question had a note of coaxing to it.
The human refused to acknowledge or return the other’s expectant gaze, however, and they mercifully lapsed back into silence after a moment. The Pale Man let out a seemingly resigned sigh as the conversation rather abruptly died.
The thought that this thing had been human itself once unsettled him very deeply. The human let out a shaky sigh of his own, and focused instead on something practical for a change. Namely, recovering the use of his own body.
Gradually, slowly, sensation was returning in tingling waves. He could feel the late-night breeze brush pleasantly over cheeks still flushed by gravity and embarrassment, and the tight collar of aches and bruises blossoming around his tender neck began to smart sharply with each breath.
He could also feel, rather than hear, the strange rumble of some form of deep subvocalization radiating from deep within the Intruder. Some kind of humming, maybe? Something to do with the mechanics that let him lead his sick charade of life?
Maybe, just maybe, they had their own freakish version of purring. Or chuffing, as some larger cats were known to do. The human scoffed inwardly at himself.
Right. Yes. Because this fucker is THAT pleased with himself that he won our stupid little game of fucked up peek-a-boo. Bet if I scratched him just right behind the ear, I’d find their ultimate weakness and be the savior of humanity. If only it were that easy…
Soon, he found he could twiddle and intertwine the fingers resting on his stomach without any jerky twitching, and when he subtly flexed his sneaker-clad feet and toes, he was pleased to see everything seemed to be working as it should.
Whatever poison- venom, he’d said??- his kidnapper had dosed him with, the worst of it seemed to have finally passed. There was no one else around for miles in any direction to worry about, either, no FEMA patrols or gaggles of survivors milling nervously about.
He could see clearly now the distant shape of what the man knew to be the next town over hunkered down on the horizon, rising steadily closer with each measured stride his captor took. It glared an evil red that told of uncontained fires, and God only knew what horrors this freak had in mind for him there.
The charred, rolling plains they were in currently were peaceful, at least. Quiet as death. The night was crisp and clear, and the waning moon had sunk to hang low in the almost unmarred sky. Almost, if not for the raging fires.
The visitor paused to look around, perhaps get his bearings, and the grip behind his knees and clutching his arm softened just slightly.
From the very corner of his eye, the man spotted a squat cabin lurching drunkenly from behind a hill some distance away, small and dark and sagging on one side but mercifully still upright and intact where it mattered.
It was now or never.
With a grace that belied his screeching nerves, the young man rolled out of the cage of the Pale Visitor’s arms and wrenched himself away as for all he was worth, using his feet to kick off the other’s chest and into the night.
Surprising himself, he actually slipped out of reach fairly easily, stumbled a little in catching himself, before pelting full tilt through the darkness towards his only hope of sanctuary without daring to look back.
…it was this way, right?
He thought he heard the visitor exclaim something in surprise, but he couldn’t make it out over the pounding of his heart and his own ragged breath in his ears. Whatever was said was quickly followed by a terrible animalistic bellow, shrill and low and spasming and shuddering all at once.
What the FUCK was that?!
The demonic jabbering was absolutely horrible, resembling a hyena with a collapsed lung being electrocuted to death, or perhaps some kind of asthma-ridden terror bird the size of a truck cackling sadistically upon spotting wounded prey.
Undeniably, there was a tone of sick merriment about it, as opposed to the expected outrage. The reluctant truth bled to the forefront of his mind like an ulcer.
He’s- it’s laughing. It’s fucking giggling because now it gets to chase me-!
Absolute horror sank its ragged claws into him. The inhuman cackles had such a bizarre range of pitches that they seemed to be coming from every direction, and since he was no longer being held aloft above the tall grass, he couldn’t see more than two feet in any direction. The frightened and disoriented human had no real way of tracking the beast now gleefully hunting him from the pitch-black field, or getting his bearings. He was basically a sitting duck, and that revelation terrified him more than when he’d awoken helpless in the creature’s grasp.
I fucked up. I fucked up so bad…!
The visceral panic this brought on was a handicap in and of itself. He was probably running in circles like an idiot, thoughts too scattered to formulate a proper plan of escape, and on one occasion, he nearly threw himself straight down a rocky gully on the purely instinctive notion that the Pale Visitor was right there, right behind you, dodge him escape him move move MOVE!!
The unfortunate result of all this was that he lost track of what direction the little cabin was in completely. His beacon of safety was gone, assuming he hadn’t just imagined it up in desperation to begin with, and he was running on pure instinct and desperation.
Things that wouldn’t sustain him forever.
The reclusive man wasn’t exactly weak, per se, but he certainly wasn’t much of a health nut either, with his less-than-sparkling diet. And, of course, he didn’t exactly have time to stretch and warm up beforehand, so already his body was starting to complain.
Still, he pushed himself far beyond his own limits, bolting hard in the opposite directions when he heard the telltale stomping of inhumanly swift footfalls rushing at him from the shadows, dodging that cannonball gust of wind that followed a large hand swiping at him and often missing by a mere hair, punctuated always by an uptick in the manic giggling from hell.
Jesus CHRIST-!
The visitor nearly snagged him a number of times, large fingers slipping on the hems of his clothes just before they could get a good grip, but the homeowner was determined to give as good as he got. He desperately refused to acknowledge the growing suspicion that he was being allowed to get away on purpose. That this was just some sick game the monster was indulging him in, a way of mocking his desperate bid for survival.
This monster, who had once been human just like him. This monster, who killed and maimed and tortured others on behalf of some unknowable eldritch being.
This monster, with bottomless hunger and possessive need burning in his sanity-wrung eyes since the first time they’d met face to face, since the creature had seen his very human and vulnerable self in full and not just a wary green eye peeking out of a view hole.
It had been like a bulwark had shattered, something new and unhinged awakening in the star of his nightmares, and the hermit knew the consequences would damn him if he failed to get away.
His life, his humanity, God knows what else, depended on his getting away. He had to try, even if he knew deep down that it was a doomed endeavor.
So, for as long as he could, the homeowner held out. Always escaping by the skin of his teeth. Always fighting the old, heavy hopelessness that weighed down his bones and whispered to him to just lie down and give up. He waited for an opportunity to arise, for some miracle to give him even a fleeting chance of true escape, but time was ultimately not on his side.
The mad chase held out through the early hours, into the soft light of dawn, the temperature already climbing to unbearable heights before the sun had even parted with the horizon.
The sweltering heat had sapped his stamina down to its thinnest margin, and between his encroaching exhaustion and heat-addled delirium, the human finally made the fatal mistake his monster had waited so patiently for.
It happened while he was trying to turn sharply, to throw the beast off again, when his ankle simply… folded.
There was no pain for a moment, just the numb realization that his foot was sideways and his leg was suddenly carrying all his weight and momentum in a way it shouldn’t, before he came crashing down with a cry of shock more than pain.
He tried desperately to keep going, to scramble to his feet or at least his hands and knees to keep moving, but his recovery came too late. The Pale Visitor literally pounced him from behind like some hellish balding tiger, and they went rolling to the dirt together.
The owner’s face was shoved sideways into the earth by the massive palm now gripping his entire skull, his back end having half-risen as if to try and bolt without him. A low sweep put an end to that, and the knee planted on the small of his back to keep him down sealed his fate.
“Looks like… I wiiiin~.”
The thing’s voice was hoarse with his hours of cackling, but it otherwise barely seemed to have lost its breath. The thing was panting softly, as if it had just jogged down the block and back instead of savagely tearing through the underbrush on all fours to get at its prey.
Said pinned quarry, on the other hand, was struggling to get his lost oxygen back. Despite the action having come to an abrupt stop, he was racing to choke in breaths that were never enough, so they came shorter and faster, unable to keep up with his body’s excruciating demands. He was gasping madly now, he was- he was hyperventilating, and he didn’t know how to stop as his panicked realization only escalated his frantic wheezing further, and he couldn’t get enough air he needed air there was no air-
“Hey, hey. Shhh…” The monster murmured above him, all traces of manic predatory joy gone. The hand clutching his face slipped down to gently squeeze his sore neck, just enough to stop his air flow and force him to listen.
“Now, when I let go, you’re going to breathe in slowly, and then out slowly. As slow and deep as you can. Got it?” The visitor ordered in a low voice somewhere behind and above him. The lack of oxygen was forcing his racing thoughts to fuzz over, and after taking a few precious moments to marshal what remained into some semblance of order, the human felt himself nod jerkily.
The Pale One let out an approving hum and then slowly let up the pressure on his human’s neck. He struggled to comply at first, his first inhale jagged and disjointed with the urge to race in and out, but he eventually found his rhythm. He distantly registered the beast’s bony hand sliding further down to rub soothing circles between the hermit’s shoulder blades, almost like a reward.
When… when was the last time I had my back rubbed? Like this…? I must have been so little… back before Mom…
Like magic, his quivering muscles released their tension one by one, like a breeze rippling through grass. The recluse slumped fully to the ground as he savored the blessed feel of life-giving air flooding his lungs.
For a moment, he forgot where he was. Who he was. He forgot who he was with, and why. All he knew was that he was floating thoughtlessly on a cloud of quiet bliss, and his body was singing with relief.
The visitor behind him let out a pleased rumble that was more ursine than ape, and he immediately came crashing back down to reality.
God. Christ. Did I really just…?
Feeling heavier and weaker than he’d been in years, the man rolled unsteadily to his side so he could curl up into a weak little ball and bury his burning cheeks in his palms. The comforting pressure between his shoulders slipped away compliantly, and he was startled to realize he hadn’t even minded the monster touching him. He flinched a good second after the simple contact had ended, embarrassingly late.
“Theeeere we are,” the Pale Man cooed in an overly sweet tone, as if coaxing a frightened baby animal into letting him help it, “That’s my boy. Thaaat’s my good young man…”
That pale, spidery hand swooped in to cup and stroke his warm, sweat-moistened face beneath where he was peeking through his fingers, and the homeowner immediately shoved it away with a snarl. He tried to sit up as he did so, but only managed to prop himself up on one elbow.
As he’d thought, that obnoxious mocking grin was back again, and his kidnapper watched with lazy amusement as he groaned and shuddered through the pain of just trying to sit up without the whip of adrenaline helping.
Shit. I-I really overdid it…
…All for fucking nothing.
Stained hands ultimately had to grip his arm and help pull him up, and the homeowner clenched his jaw and his stinging eyes shut tight against the frustrated humiliation and all too familiar self-hatred that welled in his chest. He was propped up to lean sideways against that massive chest where the visitor was kneeling, and refused to be grateful for the shadow it cast against the apoplectic sun.
He jumped as a cold grip slipped beneath the bottom hem of his trousers and soothed his throbbing ankle, prying it away from where it had been unconsciously hidden away against his body. “Now then,” The monster stated clinically, “Let me see…”
The human choked and cringed as long, bony fingers prodded and explored the injury, hissing from behind one hand every time the pressure applied became unpleasant. The other clawed into the disintegrated grass, as if he had any chance of pulling away.
“It’s not so bad, I think. Juuust a sprain, nothing torn or broken.” It said after a moment of deliberation.
His foot was released without warning, and the human found himself scooped back up in the visitor’s gangly arms just as he’d been carried before. The thing nuzzled its saggy cheek into his sweat-soaked hair with a happy rumble, and the human grunted in disgust when a mockery of a sweet kiss was pressed to his crown. He immediately wanted to scrub the spot furiously as if to avoid infection, but he doubted he’d have the strength.
It continued on as if nothing had happened. “Oh, but dear oh dear… we got rather carried away with our gaaame, didn’t we, my little hermitcrab?”
“Don’t call me that,” He groused low in a dry, reedy voice. It came out far less intimidating and authoritative than he’d been hoping for. Even to his own ears, he just… sounded so tired.
The Pale Visitor craned its unnaturally long neck to leer down at him in amusement. “What? A hermitcrab? Or… mine? Hehehe!”
The man huffed and looked away, clenching his fists where they were crossed protectively over his chest. Everything, he wants to say. All of it.
I was never your property, just because you stole me away. And… I can’t be much of a hermitcrab without a damned ‘shell’, can I?
Speaking of…
“I will find us some shelter,” The Intruder informed him matter-of-factly, just as he opened his mouth, “I thiiiiink I saw a good spot just over here…”
They trudged a short distance back where they’d come, the heated air providing no relief where it puffed over the hermit’s overheated skin. Already, his skin was starting to sting unpleasantly from the exposure to direct sunlight, and the man grimaced.
“Here we are!” The intruder said cheerfully. He was stopped in front of a wide, flat rock, which had not an inch of shade to its name. “This will do nicely.”
“…uh…?” Was all the homeowner got out before he was held aloft and promptly dropped onto his rump a short distance away. “Ugh!” The dirty look he shot the creature’s way went completely ignored.
The Pale Intruder then turned back to the stone, clasped his hands together as if ever-so-pleased with his find, and dove down on all fours. Furiously, he began to maul the earth at the base of the rock with his bare hands, tearing out great chunks of dead root-choked dirt and throwing it between his legs like some sort of dog.
The human watched on in stunned silence as, within the space of what felt like mere seconds, the creature had easily carved out a space beneath the rock and scurried inside, the entrance still ejecting debris. It was as if the hard, thirst-choked land was less than sand to him, giving way easily to the Pale One’s raw strength and power.
Its captive was as impressed as he was disturbed. Well, I… I guess that makes sense. They do claw their way up out of the dirt, after all…
He was brought out of his dazed musings by the sound of clapping; the visitor was seemingly already done, dusting his hands off on one another and brushing off his pants. He then turned that piercing gaze back to the homeowner, and he stiffened like a hare locking eyes with a wolf.
“Now then. Shaaall we?”
The thing bowed with a flourish, pale hand extended as if to ask for his in an elegant dance, and the human suddenly wondered if he’d actually prefer to stay out and burn in the sun. The little dirt cave seemed structurally sound enough, the weight of the rock above held steady by the surrounding undisturbed land flanking the entrance, but…
This also reminded him a bit too much of the times he’d unwisely snuck out to go exploring as a boy against his father’s explicit orders, and been unfortunate enough to one day flip a stone hiding a seething pit viper’s den. He’d nearly died that day, and not just from the bite.
Old instincts were screaming at him.
He disguised his shudder as a shake of the head as he turned away, childishly hugging his wounded leg closer as he pawed at the too-loud heartbeat in his chest as if to convince it to slow. The creature said nothing, merely stared for a moment with an expression he wasn’t brave enough to observe, before scooping him up in the crook of one arm and sliding them both into the shelter without another word.
The human winced as the squeeze pressed him tight to the monster’s chest for a brief moment, blinking rapidly to adjust his eyes to the dark.
It was… actually not so bad, down here. For a fucking two-seater coffin.
He could almost sit up if he hunched, and his new roommate was only just able to prop itself up on its elbows if it craned its neck to the side. There was plenty of room for them to spread out horizontally, however, and a small opening opposite where they’d crawled in allowed a nice cross-breeze to keep the air from going stagnant and stifling.
It was definitely cooler down here, and the main chamber dipped down just enough to ensure direct sunlight would never touch them. Any resident bugs or critters had long since scurried away in the upheaval of their homes, and the floor was packed in enough to keep most filth from clinging to their clothes.
“Sooo?” The chilly lump next to him asked quietly enough to mind the enclosed space, “What do you think? How’d I do? Could I have a future in real estate, do you think?” He sounded like he’d already made up his mind that he was quite pleased with himself, but wanted to hear the praise from his captive all the same.
The man was begrudgingly a little impressed with the creature’s subterranean architecture skills, for how quickly it was made, and rather annoyed that he couldn’t deny it.
He also wasn’t stupid enough to try.
“Yeah, it’s- that was actually pretty quick,” He mumbled. He could practically feel the smug aura oozing from the form beside him. “Why, yes, it was! Thank you!”
The human rolled his eyes and scooted away as far as he dared, tucking his arms beneath his head as he tried to let his yawning exhaustion take him. Best to rest while the monster was in a good mood, maybe he’d actually live to see dusk…
Though, as he tried, he realized sleep may be a pipe dream today. He had no beer, and the adrenaline crash only made him realize just how parched he was. It’d been at least a day since he last ate as well… not to mention how his overtaxed body throbbed like one big sprain in and of itself. Being entombed with the creature he feared most in a dirty hovel, which he wasn’t certain wouldn’t cook him alive in the full heat of the sun, wasn’t exactly conducive to counting sheep, either.
“How about the air? It’s not too cramped, is it?”
He scowled at the far wall in bemusement, having faced away from the creature. “No… it’s just right,” he muttered noncommitally, “Nice breeze.”
Luminescently pale claws rolled him closer, that bright grin looming closer in the dark than he’d like. “And the amenities~?”
He forced a chuckle as he allowed gravity to pull him onto his back, very aware of the hand still splayed across his shoulder and the pitter-patter of his heart rate picking up again. “Alright now- now you’re just fishing. Everything is peachy, it’s great under here. Good-good job, man.” It felt wrong and strange to be having this stiff attempt at friendly banter with the monster who had taken him from his home and chased him to the point of an utter meltdown, but… he knew he’d been lucky so far.
He was somehow avoiding the punishment he’d been sure was inevitable for running. He did NOT want to push it.
He didn’t think he could take anymore right now.
“Hehe, nooo, silly. I mean it! How are the amenities?” The visitor’s bloodshot eyes curved into gleeful crescents.
“Uh,” What could THAT mean? The man looked around, seeing nothing. “What amenities…?”
The grin split open like a maw about to snatch up prey, “Why, the shower of course!” And suddenly, the human’s face and head were doused in lukewarm liquid. Water?
The homeowner gasped and sputtered, genuinely caught off guard by the prank. “What-the fuck?!” The creature didn’t even give him time to recover. “Here, let me help you clean up…” Something tugged at the hem of his turtleneck, and his stomach did a flip.
“No-wait-hey!”
“You are my gueeessst, I insist!”
After a short and very pathetic struggle, the beast had wrestled his top off of him entirely, using it as a washcloth to dab and swipe at his face, neck, and hair. (And nowhere else, thankfully) The wool was scratchy and unpleasant on his lightly burnt skin, but it apparently did the job well enough to satisfy the visitor.
“There now, isn’t that better?”
He imagined he looked as much like a wet, pissed cat as he felt. “…You’re unbelievable.” He grumbled, unable to come up with anything else. He snatched his sopping sweater away and hugged it to his chest, seething with rage. He was not sulking at all, because he was a full-grown man, and that’s not how men react to such childish japes.
He licked his lips to catch what precious water had beaded there, his thirst now an even crueler taunt. He was bitterly disappointed by how little he got. He tried to push himself away to return to brooding in isolation, but found himself much closer than he’d realized, almost chest to chest with the beast, with a wiry arm encircling his waist.
He blanched. Wh-When did that happen?!
Probably in the scuffle to keep your shirt, his mind provided unhelpfully. The thing chortled close enough to feel, clearly u phased by their sudden proximity. “Aw, now don’t be like thaaaat… here, as a treat for being such a good sport.”
Something small and plastic was pressed into his hands, and he realized the visitor must have been carrying a few mini water bottles in his pockets. Without hesitation, he tore the cap off and slurped up the contents in one go like a rabid animal.
Or rather, a very thirsty animal, since rabies tended to come with crippling hydrophobia. …I am so fucking tired.
A tongue clicked in the dark. “My now, where are your manners? Some guest you are, how ironic.” The human tensed at the unreadable tone. “S-sorry. Uh… thank you, as well.” It burned to say, but he was in no state to be antagonizing this demon.
Another cold arm wrapped around him like cellophane to give him a full-body squeeze, just on the edge of too tight, and the Pale One nuzzled his face into the human’s damp hair again. It breathed deeply in a seemingly happy sigh, and the human almost considered relaxing again in spite of the creepiness. “Aw, nothing to thank me for. I just aim to be a gracious host! Though, I certainly do appreciate your gratitude. Ah, and, speaking of gratitude…”
“I’m quite grateful we had so much fun today. Don’t you agree, little human?” The flat, unamused growl made his stomach plummet through the floor.
Fuck.
…Fuck it.
“Why haven’t you killed me?” He whispered back in a small voice, not bothering to mask how tired and afraid he was in that moment, “What could you possibly want with me…?”
“Hmmmmm.” The wall of cool flesh at his front vibrated in a long, thoughtful hum. “…You’ll see.” It said at last, the statement completely and utterly final.
The human clenched his teeth. “No…” He felt his hands curl into fists against that pale blue chest in mounting frustration, “No, that’s not good enough. Please, just tell me, why are you doing this? What is going on?! Where the hell are you taking me?!” His voice climbed and cracked without his permission, and by the end, he knew he was shaking with pent-up aggrievement he didn’t have the energy to keep corralled inside anymore.
The intruder was not pleased. “That is irrelevant, right now. What matters right noooow… is what you did. You tried to run.” Spindly arms tightened like a noose, as if the creature could selfishly keep this young man hidden away down here, all for himself, forever. Its growl was low and deadly, “You tried to run from me, from what needs to happen. You got yourself hurt for absolutely no reason. Cowardly idiot.”
The recluse pressed his lips in a thin line and maintained his stoic silence, turning his face away. He made a point to focus on his breathing, and not on the familiar misery the scolding was dragging out from the deliberately forgotten recesses of his mind.
…God dammit. His stupid, weak body was shaking again.
The visitor’s chest rose and fell dramatically in an indulgent sigh, chafing the wet wool of his sweater unpleasantly into his breastbone, “Buuut… I suppose I also can’t exactly blame you. I knew this would happen, of course, I just thought you’d take longer to pluck up the courage! That’s on me, then, for underestimating you.” Chilly breath rustled his drying hair, as the visitor-ugh, nuzzled him. “Maybe you are more brave- or more reckless- than I thought.”
The human blinked, heaved an unsteady sigh of his own. The air was so still and heavy, and he didn’t dare to move. Is he… letting me off with a warning?
“That being saaaiid,” He felt himself being pulled in even closer, long fingers tangling in his hair to pull it back and bare his throat. They were face to face now, the gleam of those crescent, bloodshot eyes and ravenous grin just visible in the sparse light, “I can’t just assume you won’t try it again the second I doze off, now can I?”
Ice invaded his veins, and his empty stomach twisted hard like he was going to be violently ill. Shit. Shit, he’s- He’s going to hurt me, he’s going to break my leg, or gouge my eyes-!
“Let’s get you on a fresh dose of venom, hmmmm?” The thing asked quietly, as if offering a perfectly reasonable compromise.
The human winced, unable to turn or pull away from the tight grip imprisoning his scalp, “V-venom? From what?! How- before, what did you- how did you even-?” He only realized he was blurting out his panicked thoughts when it was too late to take them back, and he had an awful, sinking feeling he was going to regret asking about it out loud.
He was right.
The Pale One did not answer with words. In the dim light of the early morning, the false human’s eyes rolled back as they always did for its favorite expression, and its maw gaped impossibly wide, more and more until the jaw unhinged with a sickening pop. Its neck craned back, and it tilted its face up, all to make room for the writhing mass sliding up its throat, and-
“Oh-oh dear god!”
-A veritable bouquet of black, writhing, honest-to-God tentacles surged up from the depths of its innards, each no thicker than a common earthworm. They were all nestled comfortably alongside the visitor’s flat, round tongue, which looked as grey and dead as the rest of him.
One final abomination surged out proudly above the rest, as thick around as a femur and flashing tiny fangs in a vicious smile.
It-he’s like a damned eel- or, or a fucking alien from that one movie! Jesus fuck, I’m gonna puke…!
“You-you’re a fucking monster!” He gasped, nearly screamed, as he cringed ineffectively in his fleshy straitjacket.
The intruder put his… demented menagerie away and smirked down at him. “Just now figuring that out, are we young man?”
The reason for such a horrific showing came rushing back to him. “That-that thing is venomous?!”
The Pale Intruder kicked its lips with a hooded smile at his reaction. “Yep. Knocked you out good and cold last time. I hope you’re still not hurting from that, by the way.”
Hurting…? But…
“B-But wait,” he swallowed nervously, the wound in his throat stinging at the action, “I didn’t feel any bite marks on me, so where did- did that thing-?”
-his throat.
…His throat.
That THING bit him at the back of his goddamned throat, didn’t it?
He shuddered hard, utterly revolted and desperate to be proven wrong. “So-so what, you fucking- kissed me?!” The notion was so absurd, he didn’t even care how shrill his voice had become.
“Pretty much, yes.” Its grin was wide and mischievous, its eyes smug like a cat that caught the canary.
“Oh, my fucking god-!” Bile rose dangerously high, and the man made himself turn away to gag. The monster holding him laughed softly, as if endeared by his reactions. “I could almost taste it, you know,” its lips pressed close to murmur against the shell of his ear, “What you’ll become.”
The human ignored the trap, steamrolling it entirely in favor of latching onto denial with a death grip.
“You-you did not. You’re just-messing with me! Sick bastard!” He snarled and jerked about, just barely twisting an arm free to immediately swing savagely and unthinkingly at the thing’s cheek.
He may as well have punched a foam brick wall for all the reaction it got him.
“Oh, but I diiiid,” it crooned, “And, I’m afraid after your little stunt, it seems I’ll have to do so again.” Strong fingers gripped his jaw tight, and the man froze as his brain short-circuited.
The creature’s gaze softened. “Please understand, this isn’t a punishment. Just a precaution. Just something to keep you safe until your time. Okaaaay?” The Pale Visitor whispered tenderly, holding his gaze.
The recluse was frozen, forced to look up into those black riverstone eyes that held a genuine apology in them for almost a solid minute… and then, his jaw was being pried open with impossible force. His face tugged steadily closer. “I’ll be as gentle as I can, little one…”
“Whaa- W-WAAI-, WAI-!!” He shouted and threw himself back as hard as he could in pure desperation, unable to close his mouth or escape the ring of muscle holding them together.
Utter panic shattered his mind. That thing was going to-! To actually-! And, and he couldn’t move, he couldn’t get away- h-he couldn’t-!
The first tendrils passed his gasping, moistened lips slowly, reverently, exploring his gums and teeth curiously while avoiding his flinching tongue. An open-mouthed shriek of sheer horror rattled the cave to echo painfully back at him, and his frantic kneeing and kicking into what little of the other’s lower half he could reach did absolutely nothing.
More followed at a trickle, and his free arm was clawing uselessly at the back of his tormentor’s head to try and yank it away. His other arm was trapped between them, he still couldn’t find any leverage to move in this stupid coffin’s soft dirt, and- and his eyes were burning with helpless, frightened tears again, but the angry roar of his pride refused to let them fall. He clenched his eyes shut tight, snarling loudly around the prodding appendages even as he shook uncontrollably. The visitor mocked his attempt at savagery with a thrilled shiver.
Their lips finally met, pressed together, sealing the- the kiss, holy shit, this lunatic fucking meant it- and the visitor’s tongue meandered in as well to rub haltingly along his own, oddly shy and reserved at first. The human tried to bite down, hard, but those fingers and surprisingly strong tentacles kept his mouth jacked open just where the other wanted it.
Large, slightly chapped lips massaged against his with gentle care despite the brutality of prying him open, and an unfamiliar tongue played in his mouth with increasingly unrestrained longing. A low moan escaped the young man, and he tried to cling to anything his hands would close around as the world spun wildly. Dark hair, ill-fitting skin, anything.
God help him, but it felt… good. Really fucking good, despite his terror, common sense, and, well… everything.
He’d never been kissed so deeply, so passionately, as if every inch of his mouth was a treasure to be revered. He had never even used tongue before, certainly not with Vera! The only kisses he got from her were short and chaste, just enough to keep up appearances for both their sakes.
He never tasted any more of her than her chapstick. The intruder was all he could taste right now; he was sweet, almost sickeningly so, syrup and honey blended together and sprinkled with sugar and a bizarre blend of foreign spices he couldn’t name. He could hardly get any air, practically having to breathe through the creature or risk passing out. The lack of air made it all so much more intense.
It was… otherworldly. Horrifying. Magical. He could feel himself melting, and it terrified him beyond what words could describe.
A soft, high, quivering whine escaped him, equal parts reluctant pleasure and frightened distress, and the beast ravishing him clutched him closer still with a low growl, as if it wanted to merge them into one. The hermit’s pinned arm was yanked up and aside so they were flush together, his turtleneck tossed aside and forgotten.
He could feel his heartbeat racing frantically in his chest right alongside the Pale One’s own staggered rhythm as he squirmed, their bare sweat-slicked chests sliding together salaciously. The visitor’s newly freed hand palmed the expanse of the human’s back, the touch seemingly intended to be gentle and placating at first, but quickly turning skin-hungry and greedy as the beast capitulated to its own desires.
The unexpected iciness at his sensitive back had the human arching up into his captor with a loud series of gasps as he was momentarily freed, and a throaty groan resonated from deep within the intruder’s chest and into his.
He only managed to steal a few precious lungfuls of air before the Pale One wasted no time practically yanking his face back down to reclaim him. Something hard brushed his knee as they shifted, and his limbs snapped protectively inwards like a dying spider.
This-this is a nightmare. Just a nightmare! Any second now, and I’ll wake up! I’ll-I’ll wake up, and I’ll be back in that damned shitty house, and I won’t ever have to think about this again! Just a nightmare…! Just- just-!! He mantra’d hysterically to himself, unable to deny what he KNEW he’d felt.
The visitor’s tonguing suddenly became more aggressive, intertwining and pinning its partner down with deliberate force, and the satisfying roughness coaxed a reluctant groan from him. Something new crept past the human’s lips, something larger than the smaller tentacles massaging every inch of his mouth to try and distract him, make him relax.
He could immediately guess what that was.
He choked and flailed wildly, pulling his tongue free from the other’s. The visitor’s tongue chased and fought to restrain his as he desperately tried to shove at that horrible little intruder, to force the danger away. Obscenely loud wet smacks ensued as he was inevitably made to kiss back with an overstuffed mouth in the struggle.
But, the harder he fought that invader, the more it seemed to entice its owner further. This was very clearly a losing battle.
His wet eyes flew open, desperate to catch the visitor’s gaze and plead wordlessly for mercy, but the visitor’s eyes had rolled disturbingly far back in its head again. Occasional low, happy hums left it, seemingly lost in utter bliss even as its brow pinched with concentration in trying to subdue him.
The man found himself viscerally aware of how bruisingly tight the visitor was clutching at his back and gripping his face, of the thing’s arhythmic heart racing alongside his own. The small, soft groans that were building alongside his own increasingly carnal yet pleading whimpers and mewls. The way he had to cross his legs to hide his own shameful, biological reactions to all this. The way his lungs got just enough air to leave his head spinning.
God…! Jesus, n-no, this is-! This is wrong! I can’t really be-?!
Eventually, the sheer pleasure and swirling inner conflict were enough to distract him as was needed, just for one critical moment. He gurgled out a wail of despair when the intruder slipped past his tongue to delve into his fluttering throat proper, arching gently along the delicate moisture-soft walls like an affectionate cat as he momentarily choked on it.
He began to fight and struggle in earnest again, his movements frantic and mindless as he slapped at the thing’s misshapen shoulders like he could tap out and kick his feet uselessly into thin air. Every rapid breath was punctuated with a little shriek now, blind panic having utterly capsized him.
He spasmed and sputtered violently as the miniature fangs bumped against his previous bite wound, as if giving an apologetic kiss, before finally, finally coiling back like a viper-
And striking.
“MMMMMMHHHHMMFFF!! MMMNNNGGK-!!” Pain pierced his throat from the inside before fuzzing away into nothingness. The young man howled in despair, bucking and twisting wildly, uncaring of the fat, hot tears rolling freely down his cheeks. The thing remained horrifically clamped on, injecting its shockingly hot poison less than an inch from the vital highways of his spine. It seemed to last an eternity.
Finally, blessedly, the tiny fangs had apparently released their grip and pulled out. He felt the bitter sting of defeat drain the fight out of him, and all he could bring himself to do now was manage his own unsteady breathing as his sticky eyes clamped shut in denial.
The rest of the tentacles carefully extracted themselves one by one, until just the intruder’s tongue was swirling along his own, as if trying to entice its limp, shaking partner to dance with it again. Eventually, that withdrew as well, departing with a final tender stroke to its counterpart’s underside. A final small shiver of pleasure escaped the human, and the beast finally, finally pulled away for good.
The silence was deafening. The recluse wasn’t exactly crying, not anymore, but the occasional small gasp or hiccup still occasionally escaped him as he struggled to realize it was over.
A string of saliva was connecting his lips to the Pale Visitor’s, strangely blue with a barely-there bioluminescent glow that he could only blankly register as being there.
His unseeing eyes slipped open, dry but still aching, and his mouth was hanging uselessly ajar as small, weak breaths stumbled in and out between reddened lips.
A small, distant part of him was absolutely mortified that he’d actually cried-and gotten hard- because of a single kiss, but all the rest of him was too shell-shocked to care. He wondered if this was what it felt like, to have a bomb go off near your head yet somehow survive.
The poison was taking its wicked toll already as he was drifting lost in his own head, and his already heavy limbs were starting to blink out of contact with his brain. The visitor was breathing unsteadily as well, harder than when he’d run him down like an animal. Powerful, shaking hands slowly rose to cup his human’s face between them, the touch light and feather soft. A twitchy pair of thumbs swept the fresh tears from his cheeks, slow and oh so careful. Like they would both shatter from the slightest misstep.
The homeowner blankly recognized that the intruder was looking at him with the kind of devotion saved for divinity. Lips descended on him, the Pale One literally kissing his lingering tears away, pecking softly at his lips and cheeks as if to take the pain it had inflicted back. Up along the bridge of his nose, following his moles and freckles and scars as if they were temples of worship.
A jagged gasp from the bottom of his lungs broke them both out of the trance, and the homeowner shoved the intruder away as hard as his dying limbs would let him. He rolled over and curled up small, reality returning gradually to him like a diver surfacing at a crawl to avoid the bends.
He covered his mouth when strangling his sobs didn’t work, and he hated himself for being so weak.
God, but everywhere inside and out, he hurt. Each weak sob wracked him with pain, and nothing in him could have held back the tiny, wretched noises he was croaking out.
Heavy, careful hands wound around his waist again like an addict reaching for his stash. A chin slotted itself perfectly into his shoulder, and for a moment, the recluse simply let himself be held as the need to weep slowly bled out of him. Silence encroached, and if he closed his eyes and ignored the corpse-like embrace at his back, then maybe he could pretend he was all alone, spiraling in his bed again.
“So…Some kiss, huh?” And of course, this asshole just had to ruin it.
The homeowner sighed out a groan, feeling exhaustion down to the very roots of his bones. “I hate you.” He whispered.
The visitor huffed against his neck in amusement. “Hmm, maybe so… but not anywhere near as much as you hate yourself, my crabby little homeowner.” Now that he was listening, the human could tell he wasn’t exactly unaffected by the moment of passion either, his voice velvet soft with the softest quiver of emotion to it.
“That has to count for something, I think, when you cling so stubbornly to life’s skirts regardless.”
He replied with silence. When hands began to manipulate his numb, doll-like body into rolling over, he let them, finding his face soon tucked beneath the monster’s chin and close to its heart.
The homeowner felt that strange rumbling against his chest again, and heard the low hum of some vaguely familiar lullaby. Sweet slumber crept in to claim him at last as his senses gradually succumbed to the soothing vibrations.
Chilly fingers pet idly up and down his bare spine like a devote knight patrolling to keep the oppressive heat of the sun away, and eventually, it pulled him down into the calm black sea of oblivion.