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Eugene had always struggled to connect with people. His parents liked to say it was because of his soft nature, he knew it was because he was a loser. In kindergarten, he’d rather lie in the grass with bees buzzing lazily around him. By the time elementary school rolled around, he had already taught himself to read and quickly made books his new favorite company.
Over the years, he’d had “friends” who came and went, the kind who asked to copy his homework and then tossed his books in the trash. After the bees, Wednesday was probably the first real friend he’d ever had, which explained why he’d agreed to become Pugsley’s roommate.
What it didn’t explain was why, exactly one week ago, he’d kissed Pugsley. Twice.
“I’m freaking out,” he whispered manically to himself, pacing up and down the bee shack. He couldn’t do this anymore, Pugsley was driving him absolutely insane, and now he was just expected to go back to their room and talk to him like nothing had happened?
That was how they’d handled this thing between them so far, when it had happened it was amazing, butterflies and fireworks exploding in his chest, the kind of feeling he could still recall in perfect detail. But now?
“Fuck.” He groaned, ruffling his hair in frustration. Why wouldn’t Pugsley say anything? After all, he was the one who had started it, with his stupid remarks and jokes and suggestions. This feeling, this suffocating unknowing mess, was more painful and annoying than any of Pugsley’s usual shenanigans. Right now, Eugene would rather adopt an entire family of zombies than keep thinking about this damn situation.
Sure, he had some friends at Nevermore now. The other guys from Caliban Hall were nice, and he could probably ask Ajax for advice. But they all seemed spectacularly unqualified for the job. They didn’t know him well enough, and they definitely had their own opinions about the Addams family. The worst part? He couldn’t even ask Wednesday, not because he was hiding his own raging bisexuality, but because…what about Pugsley? He couldn’t throw him under the bus like that. Not in front of his sister.
But… wait…
What if he just didn’t say Pugsley’s name?
Eugene stopped pacing, struck by the idea. Of course, he could talk to Wednesday about it, just leave out who it was about. He’d have to change the story a bit, sure, but leaving details out wasn’t really lying… right?
It didn’t take him long to reach the staircase to Ophelia Hall. His nervousness spiked as he climbed. What if she wasn’t in her dorm? What if he accidentally barged in on Enid and her new boyfriend? He had no idea what was going on between those two, just that Ajax seemed pretty upset about it.
He knocked anyway, the alternative was going back to his dorm, where Pugsley was probably torturing his caterpillars or breaking their lamps with his electricity again.
It was silent for a moment before the door opened, revealing the dark and gloomy figure of Wednesday Addams.
“It’s 8:21. You, Eugene, should know this is my dedicated writing time,” she greeted, face as expressionless as ever. “But you look even more troubled than usual, so I suppose I have no choice.” She stepped aside rather quickly, to his surprise.
“Thank you,” he sighed in relief. “I’m sorry, okay? For bothering your writing time. I just needed to talk to you alone.”
“I see,” she hummed, returning to her desk while Eugene took a seat in the armchair before his nerves could push him into pacing again. “Tell me, what did you do this time?”
“Me?” Eugene blinked, then realized that yes, in fact, he had been the one to lean forward and kiss Pugsley. But… only after Pugsley had pulled him closer by the neck. So technically it was both their fault.
“Okay… uh, I kissed someone,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
“My condolences,” Wednesday said dryly.
“No, that’s not the bad part,” Eugene laughed nervously.
“Oh? It gets worse?”
“Well… yeah. Or I’m not sure, actually. Before it happened, we were just… different. We’d talk, hang out sometimes. But now it’s weird, he acts like nothing happened, and we don’t talk about it. And it’s making me crazy.”
Wednesday nodded slowly, letting a beat of silence hang in the air. “I would take a rope or chain and tie him to a chair. Then pour a bucket of water over him until he starts to talk.”
Eugene stared. “But the problem is… I like him. You know, I want him to like me too.”
“My brother usually likes getting tortured,” Wednesday shrugged, turning back to her typewriter like she hadn’t just detonated a bomb in the middle of the conversation.
“Your brother?!” Eugene’s voice shot up an octave. “Who said anything about your brother?”
Without looking up, she continued reading over her manuscript. “I was already suspicious about why Pugsley was acting so strange this week. I expected him to blow up the school by Friday, but this might be worse.”
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eugene muttered, jumping up from the chair far too quickly to sound convincing. “But, uh, I should go. You know… caterpillars need their dinner.”
He stumbled toward the door, but before he could leave, Wednesday called out with a faint sigh. “Don’t worry. It’s hive code.”
Eugene couldn’t help smiling. Hive code, never snitch on friends. His secret was safe with her. At least that was something.
Still, he wasn’t sure if this conversation had actually helped. It was comforting to know Wednesday would be supportive in her own way, but Eugene wasn’t one for torture or inflicting pain. Sure, he could send bees after someone, but that was different. He wouldn’t risk Pugsley’s handsome face, it would probably upset him more than it upset Pugsley himself.
“Still not in your dorm, Eugene?” Ajax’s voice cut through his thoughts as he appeared from nowhere, catching up to him with quick steps.
Eugene frowned and Ajax added quickly, “I was at the library. For research.”
“Sounds suspicious,” Eugene said with a polite nod. He wouldn’t ask more, indeed he didn’t even want to know.
“Not as suspicious as you, walking here from Ophelia Hall,” Ajax smirked.
“Oh no, I was just with Wednesday,” Eugene replied quickly. Not that it was against the rules to visit the girls at Ophelia Hall, but the last thing he needed right now was rumors that could possibly reach Pugsley.
“Was she… alone?” Ajax asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Enid wasn’t there,” Eugene mumbled, and by the way Ajax inhaled, he was sure he’d just been recruited into some sort of werewolf jock stalking mission.
But apparently, not all heroes wear capes. Because at that moment, someone came running down the hallway.
And even after spending the entire day avoiding Pugsley, seeing him now still filled Eugene with relief.
…Until he noticed the giant moth chasing him.
“Ahhh, Eugene, I was bored and poked that white thing in our room, I didn’t know it was a cocoon!” Pugsley yelled out of breath, but still grinning like a jerk.
“Wow, that’s fascinating. The cecropia moth usually takes several more months to hatch,” Eugene whispered out, enchanted by the creature’s size and the beautiful grey-and-red colors of its wings.
“Just get it away from me!” Pugsley skidded to a halt beside him as the moth dove at his face again. Making some grotesque sounds, that made Pugsley laugh, because he just was a weirdo, apparently.
“Back off him,” Eugene ordered, while gesturing somewhere with his hands, making the moth obeyed and settle on his shoulder instead.
“What did you do to make it that mad?” Eugene sighed, turning to him.
“Hey, why are you taking its side? You’ve known me way longer than that flying little bastard!” Pugsley protested.
“Actually, I’ve had that cocoon since before the semester started,” Eugene corrected, making Pugsley roll his eyes.
“Pugsley! Great you’re here too,” Ajax greeted him now with a grin, interrupting their little banter. “Me and Eugene were just planning something.”
Much to Eugene’s chagrin, Pugsley’s sudden arrival didn’t rescue him from this “plan”, he yet had to agree too.
“Cool,” Pugsley said, smiling. “What are we doing?”
And with that it basically was settled. Apparently it was time to hunt down a werewolf.
“Tell me again, why exactly are we doing this?” Pugsley whispered into Eugene's ear a few minutes later, his warm breath making the hair on Eugene's neck stand up. They were currently crouched together behind a rock near the graveyard.
Eugene sighed. “Well… Ajax heard that the werewolves were meeting tonight somewhere around here. That’s why we’re at the east entrance and he’s at the north.”
Pugsley nodded, not seeming particularly impressed. “And when does something happen? If they show up, what do we do?”
Eugene let his head fall back against the rock. It hurt a bit, but he tried not to make a sound in front of Pugsley.
“I doubt we’re actually going to do anything. He just wants to see what that werewolf guy Enid is dating is up to, I guess.”
Pugsley huffed. “That’s so stupid. Can’t he just talk to Enid if something’s bothering him?”
Eugene shot him an irritated glance, the words already on his tongue, ready to slip out. Then Pugsley turned his head too, their eyes met, shoulders brushing. The rock wasn’t that big, after all. It was enough to leave Eugene speechless.
“I don’t think it’s that easy sometimes,” Eugene mumbled dryly, looking up at the moon, full and bright in the night sky.
Pugsley shrugged. “I mean, just talking from their perspective. Ajax is a good talker, and Enid seems to talk at every given chance. Shouldn’t they have it easier than others?”
Are we others? Eugene thought, but he didn’t dare say it out loud. He also didn’t know whether he should agree. Yes, he and Pugsley were awkward. They had been from the start. But that weirdness had something calming and trustworthy in it.
They kept quiet for a while, listening to the sounds of the night. At first, it was calming, the light breeze and sound of crickets, but the longer Eugene stared into the dark, because he didn’t dare look at Pugsley’s face, the more the cold seemed to settle into his bones.
The trees moved too fast in the wind, making a threatening noise. The crickets began to sound like roaring. Something seemed to be creeping out of the darkness. Eugene couldn’t look away. He imagined seeing red eyes. Breathing became harder. Was the air changing? Was it suffocating him? Killing him? The darkness was everywhere, the cold creeping in.
“EUGENE!” Pugsley shouted, shaking him by the shoulders. Judging by his expression, it wasn’t the first time he’d called out to him.
“Hey, you were totally zoned out just now,” Pugsley whispered. “Usually I find that shit sick as fuck, but you looked like you were going to cry.”
Eugene felt Pugsley’s hand on his back, rubbing calming circles.
“Shit, sorry,” Eugene breathed out, closing his eyes for a moment. “I just… I still see it everywhere in the darkness.”
Pugsley only nodded, pulling Eugene closer until their heads softly bumped together.
“Should we just get out of here?” Pugsley asked with a comforting grin.
“Just bail on Ajax?” Eugene mumbled, not totally against the idea. Pugsley seemed to catch that.
“Duhhh?” he laughed quietly. “What do we have to do with his ex not wanting him back? So not our problem.”
“But friends don’t…” Eugene started, then faltered at his own thoughts. Kiss? Friends don’t kiss.
“He’s not even part of the hive,” Pugsley said, cutting him off.
“Are you?” Eugene huffed.
“Of course I am,” Pugsley replied, sounding offended. “Do you even remember how many afternoons I spent in that shack with you?”
“Because of Slurp-”
“After that too,” Pugsley grinned, abruptly tilting his head, so Eugene’s fell onto his shoulder.
“Wow, smooth,” Eugene mumbled sarcastically, adjusting his glasses.
“Would be smoother if you wouldn’t disagree with everything I say,” Pugsley laughed, ruffling Eugene’s hair.
“Maybe because you’re always up to-” Eugene began, but before he could finish, Pugsley clapped a hand over his mouth. “Shhh, someone’s there,” he whispered.
And indeed, a horde of approaching footsteps could be heard. Eugene’s heartbeat quickened.
“It’s not the Hyde, don’t worry,” Pugsley murmured, peeking from behind the rock. “Just the werewolves.”
“Pugsley,” Eugene whispered after Pugsley lowered his hand, “I want to go.” His voice still trembled. He hated it, hated looking so weak when there was no real danger, hated that his heart was pounding and he felt close to tears.
“Okay,” Pugsley nodded without question. Almost instinctively, he grabbed Eugene’s hand.
“I think I can make a branch at the north entrance fall down. The fence should conduct electricity, that’ll distract them.”
“But Ajax…” Eugene mumbled, but Pugsley silenced him with a dismissive wave.
“Who gives a fuck about Ajax? Remember how he and Bianca let us do all the work in detention?”
“Yeah, but still…” Eugene sighed.
“Oh, just shut it. I only care about you, not stupid heartbroken Ajax. The werewolves aren’t going to tear him apart… even though that would be pretty funny.”
Eugene gave him a less than amused look, but before he could respond, Pugsley was already pulling him along, their fingers interlaced.
Reaching the fence, Pugsley closed his eyes to concentrate his powers in one hand. While it was fun to give Eugene a little shock, the voltage level he planned to reach now would be much more dramatic than just making his hair stand up.
And of course, letting go of Eugene’s hand wasn’t an option, way too boring, and Pugsley hated boring.
Electricity bolted from his fingertips, leaping onto the fence and racing to the gate’s top, where it struck a branch. With a loud crack and a bit of smoke, the branch fell.
“Let’s go,” Pugsley grinned, and Eugene quickly nodded, as they started running towards the school.
“You have terrible stamina,” Pugsley laughed, though completely out of breath himself, when he swung open their dorm room door.
He tried to stop himself, but it was too late, Eugene had already pulled him down onto the floor. Still holding hands, they half-landed on each other, but neither of them seemed to mind.
Trying to catch their breath, they looked at each other and burst into hysterical laughter.
“You think they saw us?” Eugene laughed, cheeks flushed red from running.
“No way, my distraction was way too good,” Pugsley grinned, rolling onto his side so they were face-to-face, his leg still over Eugene’s.
Eugene shook his head, but couldn’t stop laughing. “That was so stupid. Why did we even go with Ajax in the first place?”
“Noooo clue,” Pugsley chuckled, brushing his thumb over Eugene’s cheek. “Just thought: well, that sounds like some fun Eugene-and-Pugsley time.”
“Eugene-and-Pugsley time?” Eugene echoed, smiling like an idiot, probably because the touch on his cheek made him feel even more giddy.
“Yeah… maybe I missed that,” Pugsley murmured, glancing down at Eugene’s lips.
“Yeah,” Eugene somehow croaked in a raspy whisper. “I think… me too.”
He might have leaned forward too, but this time it was Pugsley who tightened his grip on Eugene’s cheek and pulled him in until their lips met again.
It was different from the first time, like they’d both been thinking about it for a week straight, putting all those thoughts into this kiss. It wasn’t just lips pressed together, they almost moved in harmony.
Pugsley’s hand slipped into Eugene’s hair, while Eugene’s fingers tightened in the collar of Pugsley’s uniform.
They were smiling when they pulled away from each other, foreheads still resting together as if neither wanted to break the moment. Eugene’s breath was warm against Pugsley’s skin, his braces catching the faint light from the window and flashing in a shy, lopsided grin. His cheeks were still a little pink, whether from the kiss or the awkward closeness, Pugsley couldn’t tell.
“Hey,” Pugsley snickered, the sound low and amused, making Eugene roll his eyes with exaggerated slowness.
“Hey.”
Pugsley let his head fall back, rolling onto his back again. The wooden floor pressed uncomfortably against his shoulder blades and he groaned quietly. “We should have made it to the bed”, a lazy smile tugging at his mouth, “wouldn’t have let go of you again.”
“Ughhh, I can’t stand up, my legs hurt,” Eugene mumbled dramatically, his voice pitched like a tragic hero, “Leave me behind.”
“Bullshit,” Pugsley laughed, his voice breaking slightly with the effort as he pushed himself up, before offering Eugene a hand.
“I’m too weak,” Eugene signed, letting his head fall back onto the wooden floor. Making Pugsley roll his eyes for once, but his lips twitching like he was holding back a smile.
“Okay, okay, I get it,” he laughed and crouched down again, knees creaking against the floorboards. With a grunt, he hooked one arm under Eugene’s knees and the other behind his back, hauling him up.
Eugene squirmed instantly, wrapping his arms around Pugsley’s neck, more for survival than affection, because it wasn’t that unreasonable to think he might be dropped sooner rather than later.
“Don’t you dare drop me onto my bed,” Eugene cried out now, words tumbling over each other, “we were rolling around on our dirty dorm floor, sat in the graveyard mud, and I was at the bees earlier.”
Pugsley didn’t stop or let him down, but he passed Eugene’s bed with the neatly folded bee blanket and instead dropped him onto his own bed. The mattress dipped under Eugene’s weight, the faint scent of gunpowder and a metallic tang clinging to the sheets.
Eugene whined, not in pain, but at the thought of Pugsley’s stained bedsheets.
“Don’t worry, I’ll just sleep at your bed if mine is dirty.”
Pugsley thought about just throwing himself onto his bed too, wrapping his arms around Eugene and ignoring the dirt and mud he was rubbing into the bedsheets. But Eugene looked up at him, slightly pissed, but honestly just more adorable than anything.
“Fineeee, you win, but don’t think I was intimidated by that cute frown,” he huffed and started unbuttoning the vest of his school uniform.
“Your pyjamas are under the bed, right?” he asked while already strolling over to Eugene’s bed, not even waiting for the confirming hum that soon followed.
He threw the checked black-and-orange, or was it yellow, pyjama set over to Eugene, while grabbing one of his own black-and-white striped sweaters and a pair of black sweatpants from a nearby chair.
“Are you finished changing?” Pugsley asked a minute later, still keeping his back turned to where Eugene currently was.
The other boy didn’t answer immediately, but Pugsley heard the soft creak of footsteps coming closer across the old floorboards, so he eventually turned around.
“Yes,” Eugene nodded, standing in front of him in his pyjamas, school uniform neatly folded over his arms. The fabric looked freshly pressed, the folds sharp, like Eugene had some secret vendetta against wrinkles. Pugsley’s own uniform, in contrast, was scattered in a lazy heap across the floor.
“Soooo… your bed, right?” Pugsley grinned, not even needing to glance over at his own. Truthfully, he probably wouldn’t care about a little mud or dirt in his sheets, he’d slept in coffins, under piles of attic dust, and once under Uncle Fester’s car without complaint.
“Yeah, you can’t sleep in there,” Eugene hummed quickly, nodding toward Pugsley’s bed. “I’ll help you get it clean tomorrow.”
“Whatever you say,” Pugsley mumbled with a smirk, watching Eugene walk past him to sit down on his own clean bed.
“Can I ask something?” Eugene blurted out before Pugsley had even sat down completely.
“You already did,” Pugsley teased, dropping onto the mattress beside him, “but I’m sure you’ve got more stored up here.” He bumped one finger gently against Eugene’s forehead, or rather, the mess of hair covering it.
Eugene rolled his eyes, but their hands still found each other under the blanket. Pugsley’s was as cold as ever, Eugene’s warm and soft. Somehow, their temperatures seemed to balance perfectly, the cold calming Eugene’s racing thoughts, the warmth grounding Pugsley like an anchor.
Eugene cleared his throat. “I mean… us… what are we? I don’t want to rush anything or… you know? But, like… what’s the direction here?”
He glanced up carefully, half-afraid he’d said something awkward or too much at all, but Pugsley only let out a soft snicker.
“Ahhh, you’re way too cute, Eugene. You’re going to kill me one day.”
Eugene huffed, a faint flush creeping across his cheeks. “What kind of answer is that? You didn’t even acknowledge my question.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Pugsley grinned, his thumb brushing lazily over the back of Eugene’s hand. “If you ask me…like, if I have any say in it, I think we’re well on our way to being a complete disgrace to the whole family.”
Eugene caught the implication, but still tilted his head in light confusion. It was a weird way of saying they’d be boyfriends at some point.
“My moms are very supportive,” he clarified, squeezing Pugsley’s hand a little tighter.
“I figured,” Pugsley laughed. “I mean a disgrace to my family.”
With knitted brows, Eugene studied him, a bit baffled. Was he just masking insecurity with humor? Was that what this was about?
“I’m sorry…” he began, trying to think of something reassuring, but Pugsley shut it down before he could.
“Oh? What? Nooo,” Pugsley laughed, shaking his head amused. He cupped Eugene’s cheeks between both hands, his palms cool against flushed skin. “That’s absolutely amazing.”
Eugene’s lips curved in a reluctant smile. “Your family is so weird.”
“Ohhh, you need to meet my Uncle Fester,” Pugsley said with an almost ominous fondness. His eyes lit up like he was about to share a rare treasure. “He once taught me how to make a Molotov cocktail out of pickle juice, gunpowder and a sock.”
Eugene blinked and mumbled, “…Yeah, I’m looking forward to it already”, with a rather forced smile.
Pugsley could only shake his head in laughter, deciding for both of them that this conversation was now over. It had been a long day for both of them , a long week even. So he wrapped his arms around Eugene, pulling him down and tugging the Bee blanket over both of them. His arm found its way almost naturally around Eugene’s waist, cool fingers pressing lightly against the soft fabric of his pyjama top.
Despite Pugsley’s coldness, Eugene still melted under his touch. It couldn’t even be compared with the chill he felt in his nightmares or when he was at the graveyard. Pugsley could never truly scare him like that, no matter how weird he sometimes was.
Pugsley rested his chin lightly on Eugene’s hair. “You’re so warm. It’s disgusting. Don’t you dare move.”
Eugene looked up at him as far as possible, a slight pout on his soft lips. Pugsley definitely needed to kiss him again soon. “You make absolutely no sense.” Eugene rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth refused to flatten.
“And you’re so cute, it might actually kill me,” Pugsley hummed softly against Eugene’s hair. “I can’t wait for that day.”