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Corpse had been invited over to Sykkuno’s house to watch one of the Marvel films… he thinks. He doesn’t remember much from their conversation really, only the fact that he was to go round and watch a film with the person he had been crushing on- scratch that, falling in love with for the past year; Is that too dramatic Corpse thinks to himself, Nah. The reason behind his laps in memory was because of the joke Sykkuno made just before details about the film where mentioned. Sykkuno mentions this being, “kinda like a date,” covering his smile with his hand as always. “Just kidding, just kidding…” he replied afterwards, looking down awkwardly, scratching his neck.
So here Corpse was, sitting in his car outside Sykkuno’s apartment, mentally preparing himself for what he can only imagine being one of the most awkward nights of his life. He’s not really a fan of Marvel, if that is what they are watching- he really should learn to pay better attention sometimes. But he would do anything for Sykkuno, anything – Corpse thought about this for a while and realised this was quite worrying – he’s only known him for just about a year! Maybe things between them are moving a bit faster than the normal friendships he’s had in the past, but there is this voice in the back of his head telling him that Sykkuno is special for some reason. Sy is different from other people, he just gets me. Anyway, right now he needs to build up the courage to go inside and watch this damn film with Sykkuno. He needs to!
Corpse thinks the best way to do this would be to message Sykkuno to tell him he is outside, don’t want to knock on the wrong apartment, fuck how embarrassing would that be. Patting down his pocket in search for his phone he feels it vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out of his back pocket, he notices the notifications for a certain bird app. Someone has tagged him in more fan art of him and Sykkuno, aww that’s cute. Shaking his head to get back in the moment, he opens his message app to send Sykkuno a text telling him he’s outside.
(Sykkuno) (Corpse)
Heya Sy, im outside
What was the number of your apartment again?
Hey Corpse
It’s number 4
Cool omw
Cool Mr. Corpse 😊
Can’t wait
Corpse took a drink from his water bottle he had in the car, cleared his throat and put his mask on. “you can do this man, fuck!” he tried to hype himself up before leaving the car. As he left the car, he locked the doors and pulled his hands into the long sleeves of his hoodie. Corpse walked up to the comms at the door and pressed the buzzer for apartment 4. Buzz.
“Corpse is that you?” Sykkuno’s muffled voiced came out.
“Er.. sup Sy.” Corpse replied. Buzz.
“Come on up!” The door was unlocked, and Corpse started on possibly the longest journey up a flight of stairs he ever had.
He got to the white door and stared at the silver ‘4’ on the door for a good minute, trying to calm his heavy breathing; partly from the stairs, partly from the nerves. He knocked three times on the door. Waiting. It seemed like minutes had passed and he wondered why there was no response. Corpse’s thoughts started to race. what if I have the wrong apartment? He pulled out is phone and checked the number Sykkuno had sent him. There it was in white text, clear as day on his phone, ‘4’. Suddenly he began to hear noises behind the door, and it sounded like Sykkuno, “Oh Jesus!” It was definitely Sykkuno. The door opened revealing a slightly dishevelled Sykkuno. Corpse breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“Oh hey Corpse. Sorry ‘bout that. Kinda thought I had time to go to the toilet quickly…” he rubbed the back of his neck, “apparently not.” He mumbled. “Anyway, come in.” Sykkuno gestured with his arm into his apartment.
It was a nice place, the type of place Corpse thought Sykkuno would have. Small but spacious, it felt cosy but breathable. This was a welcome relief from the confines of his tiny apartment with cold spaces and dark corners. This home was open and bright, just like the owner; it definitely felt more welcoming than Corpse was used to.
“How was your drive here?” Sykkuno questioned, leading him to the front room.
“Huh?” Corpse questioned, “What was that?”
“Heh! How was your drive, I hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. I mean, it was a long drive.” Sykkuno questioned. Corpse looked into Sykkuno’s eyes and noticed a slight sense of nervousness. I’m not alone in that then. He thought to himself.
“It was ok, just listened to some music, kinda helps the time pass quicker.” Corpse explained. He looked around the room and noticed on the coffee table was a selection of DVD’s, snacks and drinks. Wow he’s thought of everything.
“- So what do you think Corpse.” Sykkuno looked at Corpse. Shit.
“Eh? Oh er I don’t mind really, it’s up to you.” Corpse replied. He noticed just in the nick of time that Sykkuno was referring to the pile of DVD’s on the table, all of which he had never seen and only heard of in passing; most of them were quite popular but he’d never seen any of them.
“Cool, looks like it’s Avengers then. I hope that’s ok with you.” Sykkuno spoke.
Corpse was trembling “Yeah man, sounds good.” He didn’t realise he was this nervous. Fuck!
Sykkuno walked to the DVD player and popped in the disk. “I know everything is streamed nowadays but my internet is a bit slow at the moment, I need to call someone about that.” He walked back towards the sofa, placing the box back on the coffee table. “Please Corpse…take a seat.” Sykkuno sat, playing with he hands.
Corpse slowly shucked off his jacket and placed it next to him, sitting an acceptable distance from Sykkuno.
Sykkuno moved forward and grabbed a bag of popcorn, “oh Corpse, feel free to take anything that you want.” He said pointing at the table in front of them.
“Yeah, will do thanks.” Corpse tried to still his heart from beating out of his chest, his breath appearing short and shallow. Now is not the time for a panic attack! He told himself. He grabbed one of the bottles of water and went to open it, trying to slow his breathing.
Sykkuno looked up towards Corpse, “Just to let you know, I bought some reusable straws, so you didn’t need to take the mask off if you feel uncomfortable.”
Corpse smiled to himself, that’s nice. “Er...thanks for that Sy, that’s kind of you.” His voice deep and gruff. He picked up the straw and placed it into the bottle, taking a sip and closing his eyes. Breathe man. I wish it was darker in here so he can’t see that I’m a mess.
“I can turn the lights off if you want as well, like it’s a real cinema right?” Sykkuno smiled behind his hand and got up towards the light switch. “There you go. If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask Corpse.”
Sykkuno is nice, he gets me. “Oh yeah, heh right.” Corpse loved this man. Can he see I’m panicking? Sykkuno must have known Corpse would feel more comfortable in the dark. Corpse focused on his breathing; in the dark it was easier. Thank you Sy! Corpse mental praised him. Taking another gulp of water, he put the bottle down on the table and sat back on the sofa, pulling he sleeves over his hands.
For a good 45 minutes or so everything was going well. Corpse decided to ask Sykkuno for the packet of popcorn. “Er… Sy,” his voice coming out deeper than usual. There was a slight jump from the body left of Corpse.
“Y-yeah Corpse, you ok?” Sykkuno whispered.
“Sorry, just wa-wanted to ask if I could ha-have some of that popcorn you o-opened earlier.” Corpse played with the end of his ragged hoodie.
“Oh, Sure thing Corpse,” there was a rustling, some movement form Sykkuno then he felt something by his thigh, “Here you go, just moved a bit closer so that we can both reach it, h-hope that’s ok.” Even in the dark Corpse could tell Sykkuno was rubbing the back of his neck out of anxiety.
“Thanks Sy.” He reached into the bag of popcorn and took a few pieces, placed them under his mask into his mouth. This is going quite well. Corpse thought, feeling butterflies in the pit of his stomach. However that sense of panic never going away.
There they both sat there on the sofa, bag of popcorn between them, enjoying the fast-paced film that was on screen currently. Both of them caught up in the action. There was nothing said between the two, apart from the odd comment on what was happening during the film. They took it in turns reaching for the popcorn, careful not to touch one another and make the other feel uncomfortable. While a pretty intense scene was being shown on screen between the villain and the hero, both Corpse and Sykkuno reached for popcorn. As their hands met, they both blushed; looking at each other in the dark, light reflected from the TV in both of their eyes. Corpse’s heart skipped a beat, Fuck!
As quick as he could, he moved his hand from the bag of popcorn and placed both of them in his lap. He refused to take his eyes off of the TV, there can’t be long left right? Corpse wondered. As long as I look forward, nothing happened. He was trying to reassure himself. As much as he liked Sykkuno, his Sy, he didn’t want anything to change between them. He liked things as they were, but maybe with a bit more kissing if he were to be honest. He sat there awkwardly for the rest of the film, heartrate picking up speed through nerves.
The credits started to roll as the film came to a close, Corpse was trying to act as if nothing happened between the two, but he really couldn’t deny what had taken place. “…kinda like a date…” Sykkuno’s words rolled around in his head. Oh Jesus! He thought.
Sykkuno picked up the DVD remote and pressed stop, plunging the room into darkness. Quietly he stood up, “You might want to cover you eyes Corpse, this light is quite bright after sitting in the dark for a while.” Sykkuno clicked the switch and a flash happened and the room exploded with light.
There Corpse was sat on the sofa, head down, hands in his lap. Feeling the eyes of the other on him, he pulled his sweater sleaves over his hands, playing with the fabric between restless fingers. “Thanks for letting me come over Sy, you probably want me to leave now right.” Fuck! There it was again, that feeling of panic.
“Eh? Corpse?” Sykkuno questioned. “The film just ended, you don’t have to leave just yet. We can order some food in if you’re hungry. I know popcorn is good but it’s not very filling.” Sykkuno moved and sat back down next to Corpse, gently brushing past his thigh. “How about some veggie pizzas, I know quite a good place round here.”
Corpse had that feeling in his chest again. The rising heartbeat, the breathlessness, his hands has started to sweat. He started to shake.
“Corpse?” there was worry in his voice Corpse noticed. Sykkuno moved to kneel in front of Corpse, “Breath Sweetheart, it’s all right.” Corpse looked down to Sykkuno through his mess of curls. “With me yeah. In… 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Hold, 2 ,3. Out, 3, 4, 5, 6.” Looking into his eyes Corpse followed Sykkuno’s lead. After a while he started to feel his breath go back to normal. “There you go sweetheart, all gone.”
Bringing up a sleeve covered hand, he rubbed his eye. Feeling something damp through the sleeve he realised he had been crying. Bringing his hand back he looked at the small wet patch and then looked down at Sykkuno, “Sy I... I…” he sighed voice rough, exhausted from what had just happened. “Thanks Sy.” Eyes sparkling in the brightness of the room.
Sykkuno placed both hands on Corpse’s knees, looked up to him as smiled. No hand covering his face, no awkwardness behind it, it wasn’t forced and Corpse felt so at home. “No worries Corpse. Anything I can do to help.”
Sykkuno stood up and sat back down next to Corpse, thighs touching reassuringly, as if to tell Corpse that he wasn’t going anywhere. “So, what do we say to pizza? It will take a while to get here but I’d say its worth it.” Corpse just nodded, wiping he’s eyes again like a child would when tired.
“Oh Jesus Corpse! Stop being so damn cute all the time!” Smiling and bringing the other forward. Once in front of him, his brought his face closer to the others. Smiling, and not covering his face he spoke, “I love it, you’re so cute sweetheart.” And kissed him on the forehead.
Corpse froze. Fuck! “Pizza does sound nice,” he tried to hide the waver in his deep voice, “but I’m kinda tired.” Corpse’s blush was visible, appearing above and bellow the mask he was wearing.
“Aw, no worries Cor-sweetheart. You can take a nap if you want.” Sykkuno smiled behind a hand, obviously slightly embarrassed, “it will take a while to get here anyway.” He picked up his phone and started to look through it. “I can leave if you want-”
“Stay,” Corpse gabbed Sykkuno’s arm, “Please!”
“Anything for you Corpse… sweetheart”
So Sykkuno let Corpse nap with his head on his shoulder, curled up on Sykkuno’s side. Maybe Sykkuno didn’t order pizza as Corpse drifted off. Maybe he remembered that the place he was talking about didn’t actually exist and he had the pizzas in the kitchen. Maybe he just decided he wanted Corpse to sleep off any worries he had and when he would come round, he would make him anything he wanted. And maybe Sykkuno fell asleep with Corpse in his arms.