Work Text:
Ambrosia - Rosie Tucker
Bdubs smelled like fallen leaves, like fresh soil and sunshine, like the earth just after rain. To Etho, that was the smell of home.
He buried his nose in the mossy cloak, drinking in the sweet scent like it was his last chance. It was knitted together with a dark shade of yarn and leaves that had somehow stayed green, just big enough to make for extra warm hugs. The man had said they were magic, but Etho said he didn’t believe in magic. At that Bdubs had just laughed, an unconventional melody that had come to make his heart swell just at the sound of it. He could almost believe in magic, he thought, just holding the smaller figure in his arms. He pulled back a moment to let his forehead fall against his friends, his breathing slowing and heart thrumming a little faster at the closeness they shared.
“You’re clingy this mornin’, aren’t you?” Bdubs muttered, his voice low like the thrumming of an engine, gathered close only for Etho to hear. “You’re warm.” He hummed indignantly in response, not really caring if it was a bit of a white lie. I missed you. He almost let the words slip past his lips, but something stopped him. Maybe he was afraid. Afraid to feel something for someone so strongly that he didn’t know what to do. But he’d made a promise to himself, not to let fear dictate him any longer.
“Come on then mister, I’ve got work to do, I can’t just be sitting around here all day.” He made a move to pull away but Etho protested with a small whine, pulling him back by the shoulders. He wanted to tell him. Now.
He wanted to tell him how much he missed him. How much it hurt to be without him, how much he wanted to spend every second by his side that he’d let him. How much he cared, how much he loved him. Not despite, but regardless of any flaw. The way he teased and grumbled, his almost narcissistic jokes and clingy nature. He loved it all. His smile, his hair, his eyes. Everything.
“I…”
“Yes my love?” His voice softened the sort of way it always did when Etho knew he could tell he was timid, a fond tease. He didn’t meet the smaller man's gaze, becoming fascinated with his own boots instead. A hand came up to carefully cradle his chin, forcing him to meet those big brown eyes. Bdubs drew swirls on his mask with the side of his finger distractedly, tracing the outline of every shadow on the dark fabric. He missed all of this. Just being with him.
He missed Bdubs. Why did he miss him? It hadn’t been that long… but it felt like an eternity. He leaned into the touch automatically. “You’re adorable.” Bdubs cooed. Ethos' face dusted lightly pink, and he resisted the instinctive desire to bury himself in his hands and curl up in a ball so the mossy man couldn’t see. He opened his mouth to try and speak again, but nothing came out.
He tugged down his mask, what was usually a shield between him and the world, concealing half his face along with his intentions, and anything he didn’t want to show. Bdubs was the only one allowed to pull down his mask besides himself, the only one who had the privilege of seeing him so often without it. He wanted to be honest, he didn’t want to hide anything right now.
Bdubs thumb lingered on the edge of his jaw circling around to tilt his chin downward, and leaned a little onto his toes to better meet his friends eyes. For the first time in a while, Etho didn’t think.
“Can I kiss you?” The question came out almost a whisper, a breathless request from the taller of the two. Bdubs nodded, red filling in his cheeks.
He didn’t think, just closed the gap between them.
Bdubs tasted like honey, heavenly syrup dancing on slightly parted pink lips. He pulled him closer, his own hands finding their way to his midsection and the back of his head, running his fingers through a tangle of soft brown hair. He dared pull back only an inch, allowing himself the selfish desire to stay this way at least a bit longer.
“I love you.” He sang faintly, the words tumbling from his mind and out onto the floor in front of them as his eyelids fluttered open. The words hung in the air for a brief moment, leaving silence for just a heartbeat before he could decide it wasn’t enough. He felt the inexplicable need to express all his emotions now, to try and show Bdubs just a fraction of the care and affection he felt for him. Maybe it was just early in the morning, or maybe something in him was breaking from waiting so long. “I love you. I love you! I love your stupid hair and stupid smile, and your stupid laugh and everything about you! I love your stupid jokes and your stupid mispronunciation of spanish, I love you.” It was a song he could sing a thousand times.
“Oh sweetheart.” The pet name made his insides do flip flops.
“Not just… Not just in the ways I’ve said before, too. I want to spend every moment at your side. I miss you when you’re gone and I think about you far too much for me to just consider you my friend. You’re my best friend, I guess. More than that, even.”
His heart was beating so fast now he thought it might burst out of his chest before his companion could open his mouth to reply.
Bdubs huffed with embarrassment, his face painted pleasant shades of red and a sloppy grin plastered across his face.
“...’Dubs?” Fear flitted like a butterfly grazing its wing across his heart.
Bdubs replied with his signature all-fitting comeback.
“Shut up already!”
He yanked his companion down by the collar with both hands, pressing a firm stamp onto his lips. Etho gladly let himself be pulled into the kiss, his brain short-circuiting and setting off fireworks in his head. He snatched a breath, just to be pulled back in for another moment before two hands shoved him back by the chest.
A fresh grin spread across Bdubs face, teeth shining boldly. “I guess work can wait a little. The king should be a bit put off…” A hand came up to graze his own chin, rough with the soft stubble that lingered there, as if to consider his options.
“You are not leaving me after that.” Etho demanded, earning a laugh. He couldn’t help but smile in return. Bdubs pressed another kiss to his lips, softer this time, dragging like a feather across the pink rows and leaving Etho hungry for more. How was he so good at this?? Practice, probably. He thought, silently promising himself there was time to feel jealous later.
Bdubs slipped his hands into Ethos, intertwining their fingers and mixing together their shades of light and tan skin. “I love you too, cutie-pie. More than you could ever know.” Flowers bloomed within his ribcage, sunshine painting a smile across his face and a bright outlook he never considered ahead.
He hesitated, just one last time, before regaining his confidence.
“Can I… Can I kiss you again?”
Bdubs beamed adorably, bobbing his head up and down in a way that was slightly reminiscent of his bobble head shop nearby.
Etho bent down and carefully pressed his lips to every space he thought needed it, the corner of his mouth, his eyebrows, his eyelids, the tip of his nose, his chin, it was sloppy and something he’d never done before but he wanted to, wanted to claim Bdubs as his own and shower him with affection. He kissed him until he giggled so hard he had to push Etho away again. The joyous laughter bubbled up and infected the other man so much that his tail flapped with pure glee. He flapped his hands, trying to shake the brimming happiness out to his fingertips.
He spun Bdubs around and around, “I love you! I love Bdubs!” He wanted the whole world to know. He’d said it before, but this time it was different, it was more than that, it was something special they shared now. He spun ‘till they both stumbled to the floor, a heap of giggling, hiccuping, joyous souls. Bdubs let his head fall onto Etho's chest, joy bursting from his lips in a laugh that was anything but shy. His chest ached pleasantly as the two caught their breaths, falling back onto the cool carpet. They lay there for a moment in content silence, side by side, hands still holding tight at one side.
“Hey wait a second! My hair isn’t stupid!”
“A little slow on the uptake, are we? That’s my Bdubs.”
“I hate you.” Etho chuckled softly, but he wasn’t worried, because he understood, in the hidden language in Bdubs smile he’d long since memorized. He rolled onto his side and tucked his head atop the smaller mans, lifting their intertwined fingers to brush his lips across Bdubs knuckles.
His Bdubs.
His home.