Chapter Text
The first time Tobias had coughed up the petals was an unfortunate moment for his cruel Fate to reveal itself. He and his partner in crime took their well-deserved rest in a cozy little tavern in a small harbor town. Just to spend their gold on booze and their time on recovering from their last mission and some low-stakes gambling to kill time... and other fun stuff.
He had spent the day in a bad mood and was easily irritable, which had led to Malcolm now ignoring him after a stupid argument about something small and unimportant they had earlier in the day. The peace afterward had not helped improve his mood in the slightest.
Tobias was instead hanging around the bar sulking in his loneliness. Ordering a drink after the other, trying to numb any feelings or to maybe feel something other than just down and miserable for no tangible reason.
The alcohol was burning sharply in his throat and it made Tobias grimace. Just maybe he shouldn't be doing this. Himself from the future would hate him for this but his present self could not bring himself to care enough to do something about that.
More often than he should, he caught himself letting his gaze wander to that dark corner of the tavern where he knew Malcolm did spend his night. Malcolm - seemingly in a way better mood - actively enjoying the evening. ln the company of another man. A man who was partly a damned octopus.
If Tobias' eyes had been able to shoot daggers with his looks only, the tentacle-man might have been counted as a septopus or worse.
He had nothing against sea folks in general and objectively could have admitted that this octopus man was quite attractive, but seeing how that man got into Malcolm's personal space, touching places with his tentacles... and the worst part was that Malcolm was letting it happen. And not only that! His partner seemingly enjoyed the attention.
He felt his chest thighten at the sight and he felt a sharp pain like someone was stabbing needles into his poor heart. The lump in his throat might have been growing too.
Tobias downed his next shot, not feeling any better afterward. No, Malcolm and the tentacle guy did not help bettering his mood in the slightest. It was quite the opposite.
He was thrown out of his loop of thoughts by a glass of whiskey being placed in front of him. A drink he had not ordered as far as he remembered. By sure he had not drunk enough to clear his memory. At least he was still painfully aware of Graves over in the other corner of the bar.
The barkeeper gave him a short smile at his puzzlement. "From the gentleman on the other side of the bar." And with that, he was alone again.
Tobias looked over to the man - no tentacles or other merfolk features - and made eye contact. The man smiled at him while Tobias was taking a sip of his new drink before he reciprocated the smile. The whiskey was good.
'To hell with it', Tobias thought, before he made his way to the other side of the bar. Maybe this could work as a distraction and save him from brooding in jealousy for the rest of the night.
As soon as the door fell into its lock behind them, Tobias felt himself pressed against the rough wood. He could see the hunger in the eyes of the other man before he dove in to nuzzle at Tobias' neck, which instinctively had Tobias throw his head back for easier access.
The man lost no time, starting to undo Tobias' shirt button by button, slowly revealing the body beneath. Hands were roaming his body, appreciating his muscles and slowly but surely getting lower.
Shaking, Tobias let out a breath he did not realize he was holding. Maybe this idea wasn't too bad after all, he thought. He could just enjoy the moment, right?
That was until a sudden tightness in his throat made him gasp for air, unable to suck in enough air to appease his lungs. Tobias' eyes widened in a moment of panic before his body released him into a coughing fit.
He turned away, slightly bending in a desperate attempt to suck in air. In a mixture of gulping and coughing, he managed to free himself from the foreign object in his airways. Greedingly he was breathing in the much-needed oxygen. At first not pay any attention to the objects in his hand.
"What the fuck", that was the other man he had taken back to his inn room. He was now wiping over his mouth, a disgusted look on his face. "I want nothing to do with this." And with that, he shoved Tobias out of the way and just left.
Bewildered Tobias looked at his hand. Then he understood as dread filled his body. They were tiny flower petals.