Work Text:
If Ghost sighed one more time, Theo was going to throw the man over his shoulder and keep him there. As much as he enjoyed spending time with the other, it sure became a Thing whenever he tried to get him out of his lab to go do something.
“Babe.” Theo huffed, shooting the other a look when the tell tale inhale of another sigh was beginning. “Look, if you’re really that sour about having to do this with me, why don’t you go wait outside?”
“It’s not that.” Ghost muttered, shifting on his feet as he looked around the building they were in rapidly. “You know I don’t enjoy being dragged into unfamiliar places. And don’t call me ‘babe’.”
“Sunshine, then.” Theo quipped, grinning at Ghost as he reached a hand up to brush a stray lock of hair behind and ear.
“That’s not better and you know it.” Ghost was blushing, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried his best to keep himself in check. He crossed his arms over his stomach and looked up at Theo with a small frown. “You know I’m uncomfortable doing this stuff.”
Humming, Theo trailed the back of his finger along Ghost’s cheek slowly before cupping his face. “I know. I’m sorry. But if I don’t drag you out at least once a week, you’ll shrivel up.” He dipped down and gave Ghost a quick kiss before pulling away when he heard the door behind them creak open. Quickly letting go of Ghost just as the other stepped back, he turned around and gave the shopkeep a large grin. “There you are, Marty! Find it?”
Ghost quickly turned back to the front door, feeling his face getting hot and tried his best to stamp it down as he listened to the other two speak. Something about an item Theo was looking for? He wasn’t really paying attention. Glancing back towards them, he found Theo leaning happily against the counter while holding the conversation so he quietly slipped out of the building. Taking in a deep breath, he leaned against the door and let it out slowly, shutting his eyes for a moment. He just needed to breathe. He’d be fine. Why did Theo insist on bringing him along like this all the time? Opening his eyes, he nearly yelled when he found two children in front of him. Blinking a few times, he stared at the children who just stared right back at him.
“Can...I help you?” Ghost asked cautiously, clearing his throat. They continued to stare at him and he felt the mounting anxiety creeping up his chest, making him shift on his feet slowly. “Um-” He flinched when one of the kids moved forward to him.
“Are those real?” The smaller one, a boy, blurted out as he pointed up at Ghost’s horns. “Like real real. Do you really have horns?”
“You can’t just ask someone that!” The other one, a girl, reprimanded the boy by pinching his cheek harshly before she shyly peeked over at Ghost. “But um...are they? We’ve been kind of wondering since you walked in earlier.”
Blinking, Ghost stared at the kids in shock. It wasn’t often he got asked if his horns were real anymore. Most people just assumed what he was and ignored him. Or they purposely hit them to get him away from them. “Uh...y-yeah they are.” He managed to get out, tensing further at the gleeful look they both got immediately.
“Really?! That’s so cool!” The boy squealed, bouncing on his feet with his fists clenched to his chest. “So they’re a part of you? Why?”
Taken aback, Ghost snorted and quickly clapped a hand to his mouth to avoid laughing further. Now THAT was a question he never heard before. “They um,” He coughed and pulled his hand away while trying his best not to smile at the silliness of the situation. “They grew this way while I was growing up.”
“Whoaaaaa!” Both of the kids let out noises of surprise and the girl stepped closer to him.
Trying his best not to freak out, Ghost straightened up a bit and cleared his throat as he looked at them. They looked so excited to get that bit of information. He made the mistake of letting his tail flick forward and jumped as the two of them let out more squeals. “Wh-what?”
“You have a tail too?!” The boy asked, bouncing on his heels again. He looked up to Ghost who just nodded at his question and he went right up to Ghost, stopping right in front of him while still bouncing. “What are you?” He yelped as the girl came up and grabbed his ear to pull him back. “Ow ow ow!”
“That was RUDE!” She scolded, tugging him away while giving Ghost an apologetic look that was tinged with curiosity.
Watching them for a few more seconds, Ghost sighed and knelt down slowly. “Do you...want to touch them?” He asked slowly, stepping WAY out of his comfort zone. He was getting better about this kind of stuff though. The two of them came running up to him and he tensed up, biting the inside of his cheek harshly to avoid panicking and bolting. There was a hand reaching out to one of his horns and he let out a slow breath, letting the girl run a finger along the outside of it. Blowing out the breath, he gave her a small smile. “See?”
The girl was wide eyed and staring at the horns in awe. “Wow.” She breathed out, looking at Ghost with a large smile before she looked to the boy and motioned for him to do the same. “They are real! I was right!”
“I never said you weren’t.” The boy said with a huff, pouting a bit even as he reached a hand up to poke at Ghost’s horns. His eyes went wide immediately and he poked at them again before jumping as Ghost’s head was pushed slightly. “I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine.” Ghost said quickly, turning his head slightly to look at the boy. “I’m fine. It didn’t hurt.” He felt the smile on his lips before he even realized what he was doing and he didn’t try to stop it. “That sate your curiosity, little ones?” That got him a giggle from them.
“Little ones?” The girl giggled again, grinning with a crinkled nose. “You sound like my grandpa.”
“Rude. I’m not that old.” He murmured, biting back a bigger grin as that got more laughter out of the children. “Do you two live here?”
“Our uncle runs this shop!” The boy answered, back to bouncing on his feet. “The guy you came with is here a lot! He’s really nice!”
“Is he now?” Ghost raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear that bit of information. Although, Theo had mentioned it before that this was a frequent stop for him. Whatever that meant.
“Yeah! Sometimes he stays and plays with us! Or he tells us some wild stories! I don’t think they’re true though.”
“Oh? You might want to start believing in those stories.” Ghost said, standing up slowly as he heard the bell on the door chime. He looked back to find Theo walking out while saying his goodbyes to the shopkeep. “Took you long enough.”
“Yeah yeah.” Theo laughed, shrugging before pausing as he saw the children. “I was wondering where you two were! Your uncle wants you inside.” He pointed a thumb back into the building before reaching his hands out to ruffle both their heads. He waited until the two of them had run off into the building before he turned to the other with a grin. “I’m all set. You good?” He only got a nod in response but he honestly wasn’t expecting more than that so he set off with the other next to him. Glancing over at the smaller male, he couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he saw the small happy expression on the other’s face. “They were pretty cute weren’t they?”
Ghost startled and looked up at Theo quickly, his cheeks turning pink quickly. “What?”
“The kids. They were pretty cute. Curious lil buggers though.” Theo chuckled, watching the blush get worse on Ghost’s face. “I’m surprised you let them get that close to you.”
“It’s not like I could just tell kids to fuck off.” Ghost huffed, walking a bit faster to get away from the conversation. He heard Theo chuckle and then felt the other next to him, grimacing as he felt a hand tug on his sleeve. “What?” He sighed, looking up at him as he stopped walking.
Theo was still grinning, amusement clear in his eyes. “You let them touch your horns.” He said simply, trailing his hand up to Ghost’s head before he let it fall to the other’s cheek gently. “It surprised me.”
Eyes widening, Ghost sputtered and went to step away in shock but was stopped just by the look in Theo’s eyes. “Uh I...They...were just curious.” He stammered out, twisting his fingers into his clothing. The embarrassment was quickly flooding his cheeks again, his face turning red. He winced as he felt the other step closer to him, lips pressing against his ear.
“So you don’t like kids huh?” Theo murmured, pressing a quick kiss to the other’s ear before he pulled away. Looping his arms around Ghost’s shoulders, he watched the other go through all sorts of emotions before he ended up flopping forward to bury his face into the chest in front of him. Careful not to start laughing, Theo just ran a hand through the other’s hair slowly while he waited for him to calm down from the embarrassment but he couldn’t stop the quiet chuckle from escaping. His shoulders started to shake and he knew it was making Ghost angry before the other even huffed and pulled away from him suddenly to start walking off again. Catching up again, he slung his arm back over Ghost’s shoulders and dipped to press a quick kiss to his temple. He fell quiet after that, feeling the other start to relax into his touch before he grinned widely as he spoke up again. “Gonna have to find a baby for you to hold to really see how you react.” The choking noise he got from his counterpart was absolutely worth the sucker punch he received not a second later.