Chapter Text
About two weeks, three days, and eight hours had passed since Pugsley had moved to Nevermore.
And, as a consequence, he was now Eugene’s roommate: that clumsy, adorable, mentally nervous boy his sister had introduced him to.
Their first meeting had not been as friendly as Pugsley would have liked. Partly, it had been his fault. He had been so nervous that he couldn’t control his oddness; he wanted so badly to make a friend that, unconsciously, he pushed away the one person he would be with 24/7.
Even so, Pugsley didn’t give up. He tried to be his friend. He started by spying on him—like any normal person would—looking for shared interests, learning his schedule so he could “accidentally” run into him in the hallways.
Little by little, he realized he was more than just interested. He found everything about him fascinating: the way he was, the way he spoke, the way he walked, the way he pretended to be normal. All of it was, in simple terms, captivating
He didn’t realize how much he liked him until his sister confronted him two months later:
“Could you stop looking at Eugene like you want to bite him and focus for once?”
Wednesday muttered, annoyed, while unsuccessfully trying to come up with a plan to steal a book from their mother. She hadn’t understood why her brother was with them until she noticed, two tables away, the new overachievers Eugene had started hanging out with.
“I don’t want to eat him,” Pugsley said, rolling his eyes. Then he sat beside his sister’s best friend, trying not to irritate Wednesday further.
“She said bite him—and yes. Sorry, dark circles, but your intensity can be felt from ten thousand kilometers away,” Enid laughed, teasing him.
“You look at him the way Dad looks at Mom on offering day,” Wednesday added, sighing as she packed her things and left the two boys alone.
Pugsley didn’t say anything, but from that moment on he understood that his sister—no matter how annoying she was—was right. He wanted Eugene for himself, and he would do anything to get him.
Eugene was starting to regret accepting Wednesday’s brother as a roommate. First, he had tried to eat one of his insects. Then, for months, he wouldn’t stop stalking him.
He could feel his gaze burning into his back, feel him slowly approaching, hear his breathing when they were alone in the room.
And Eugene wasn’t stupid.
He had spent half his life being intimidated by people far more aggressive than that pale boy with terrible posture. So when he opened his backpack and found a box containing a dead rat with all its organs removed except the heart, he knew exactly who had sent it.
He tried to ignore it.
He threw away every dead animal delivered to him, ignored the pots full of poisonous plants now decorating his desk, wiped away the bloody drawings that greeted him in the bathroom mirror every day. All of it, only for Pugsley to surprise him the next day with a new way to torment him.
He didn’t understand what he had done to upset him so much. Maybe he had been a little rude when they first met—but it didn’t have to go this far.
Eugene entered the room, nervous and frightened. He planned to tell Pugsley to stop this stupid game once and for all—but he froze when he saw his bed. It was covered in black rose petals and filled with transparent boxes of different sizes, each containing the heart of the animal he had previously received.
He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know whether he wanted to vomit, run, or cry. His breathing grew faster as thousands of thoughts begged him to flee:
“Is this a death threat?”
“This is too much.”
“The smell is disgusting.”
“The cuts are clean.”
“How did he remove the squirrel’s heart without breaking its bones?”
“He’s going to kill me…
Eugene’s eyes met the Addams’. He was smiling from ear to ear, approaching with a small box wrapped in black cloth. Standing in front of him, Pugsley revealed its contents: a knife so sharp it could cut through bone effortlessly.
He took it out carefully, and before he could say a word, Eugene fainted.
Pugsley looked at the inert body of his beloved on the floor.
He carefully set the knife aside, lifted him, and laid him on his own bed. He sat down and gently stroked his curly hair.
He felt a slight disdain for himself. He had worked so hard on every gift, every detail, waiting for the perfect moment… and yet it still seemed like nothing was enough.
It didn’t matter.
The night was young, and he would wait as long as necessary just to see the sparkle in the eyes of that bee-loving boy who belonged to him.
Hours later, Eugene woke up. He tried not to make noise as he sat up, but Pugsley was already waiting for him eagerly.
“Good evening, my dear,” Pugsley smiled, stepping closer. “You really are a heavy sleeper, but don’t worry. Your gifts are still fresh.”
Eugene looked at him with tears in his eyes. Pugsley’s smile faded immediately. Concerned, he gently lifted the curly-haired boy’s chin, searching for signs of pain.
“What’s wrong, my soul? Does something hurt? Don’t cry… I don’t like seeing you like this,” he tried to comfort him, stroking his shoulders, but only made him tremble more.
“Please… let me go…” Eugene’s voice was barely a whisper, broken with fear.
Pugsley looked confused. He didn’t fully understand what he was seeing.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have treated you badly when we first met…” Eugene sobbed, curling into himself, smaller and smaller.
Pugsley stepped back, bewildered by the trembling figure before him
“Please… don’t kill me…” Eugene begged, his voice shattered by fear
Pugsley sighed, frustrated. Things were not going the way he wanted.
“I’m not going to kill you, Eugene. Please, look at me.” He gently held his face, forcing their eyes to meet. “I would never hurt you. All of this was just to tell you that I love you.”
Eugene blinked, confused, but said nothing. His eyes still reflected terror. Pugsley sighed again, desperate, the knot in his chest tightening. He didn’t understand how Eugene’s fear could provoke so much love—and so much helplessness—in him at the same time.
Pugsley stood abruptly, grabbed the largest glass box with a heart inside, and opened it in front of Eugene. He pulled out a rose and carefully placed it in his hair
“I like you. I like your curious eyes whenever you look at an insect. I like your laugh, the one you try so hard to hide. I love your teeth, even though you’re embarrassed by your braces. I adore your rebellious hair. I just want to kiss your hands, your skin, your mouth… I want to hug you, touch you, possess you.”
Eugene blushed deeply. He didn’t understand what was happening, didn’t understand why his heart was racing so fast; he didn’t know whether it was fear, uncertainty, or the weight of all those words pouring from his roommate’s mouth.
“I… I barely know you,” Eugene said, pulling away carefully. His head was spinning and he felt sick. “I don’t know anything about you. You don’t know anything about me… how could you love me?”
Pugsley grabbed his hands desperately, not wanting him to leave.
“But I do. I love you. I’ve loved you since the first day I met you. You pierced my eyes like two stakes… Please, Eugene.”
Eugene pulled away again, a little irritated. This had to be a joke. This couldn’t be real. No one could fall in love that fast—not with him.
“We’ve only spoken twice. You can’t fall in love in one conversation. Just because I’m the first person you spend this much time with doesn’t mean you have to love me.”
Pugsley didn’t know what to say. In some way, Eugene was right—they barely spoke. But still, Pugsley already longed to spend his entire life beside the frightened boy who was now on the verge of leaving the room.
Desperate and not knowing what else to do, he pulled Eugene toward him, gripping his waist firmly to stop him from moving. He pressed an inexperienced, trembling kiss against his lips, eyes closed, hoping that—even if this was the only moment he would ever have with the love of his life—he could at least enjoy it.
Eugene froze. It was his first kiss, and his body didn’t know how to react. He wanted to pull away, to struggle, to scream… but Pugsley’s grip was firm yet strangely gentle, and he could do nothing but let it happen. Butterflies erupted violently in his stomach, and his mind found no escape
The kiss ended, and they slowly pulled apart. Neither spoke at first. Eugene was red; Pugsley was scared, but determined not to let this be the last time he kissed him.
Pugsley dropped to his knees, as he had seen his father do so many times. He gently took his beloved’s trembling hand.
“I’m not asking you to love me—but please, let me love you. Let me court you… I beg you, my beloved.”
Eugene sighed. He didn’t want to hurt him, and despite having been literally terrified all night, he couldn’t lie: the kiss and all those words had moved him.
“Fine… you can court me. But I don’t want any more dead animals in my bed or my backpack,” he said quickly, still remembering how horrible it had been to clean his bag every day.
Pugsley smiled, quickly standing up and wrapping Eugene in a tight embrace.
This wouldn’t be a normal love story… would it?