FellPoth Short Stories and One-Shots

On the Outs: Chapter 2

Chapter warnings: Mentioned NSFW, swearing

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Before Lotus could question what 'unpleasant accidents' meant, he heard a door shut and the crunch of boots against gravel. "Hmm... your house is too far to walk, but your magic should get us there easily. Now, let us see...," the imposter hummed. Suddenly, it felt like the wind had been knocked out of Lotus as he crumpled to the ground. Taking a gulp of air, he heard it grunt, "What the hell, this is not where I wanted to go at all."

Amusement took hold in Lotus despite his circumstances and he rasped, "So much for control." His magic giving it problems was only a small victory, but at this point, he had to take what he could get.

"Enough," the fake snapped, muttering, "We are close enough to walk; now it is time to see my new home." Pulling himself back to his feet, he searched his dark surroundings in the hope of finding some way to get himself out of this mess or even a landmark to get his bearings. In the ten minutes it took for him to hear the sound of keys jingling in a lock, he was able to conclude there was nothing to be found; he was well and truly stumbling around in what seemed to be an endless void. 'A little small, but it is cozy,' it said, though it sounded a little muffled for some reason.

"Hey."

The sound of Rurik's voice had Lotus yelling and cursing at the top of his lungs, desperate to be heard. His boyfriend would occasionally sneak up on him for surprise cuddles if they got home first; he could only assume the skeleton was feeling particularly clingy today and this might be his best chance at stealing the march.

'Save your breath, he cannot hear you,' it hummed in that same soft voice before it groused at a louder volume, "Get off, I'm tired." There was silence for a few short seconds, followed by an uncertain, "... what?"

The confirmation that Rurik hadn't heard him was proven in the next moment, "Nothing, you weren't here when I got home and I missed you."

'As is natural,' the fake scoffed; seeing as Rurik wasn't reacting, Lotus could only assume these were its thoughts he was hearing, which explained why it sounded weird to him. "Work took longer than expected, now put me down so I can make supper already," it griped in a long-suffering way that he had to grudgingly admit sounded just like him.

"I already did it; Mac n' Cheese and peas," Rurik stated with a hint of pride in his voice; the sound of footsteps transitioned from hardwood to tile flooring and a chair scraped against the floor; if Lotus had to guess, it sounded like the taller had carried the fake to the kitchen and placed it in a chair. "Wait here and I'll get it," the footsteps receded as he spoke.

"Thanks...," it drew out the show of gratitude in skepticism, "Did you do something?"

"What do you mean?" Rurik asked.

"You're being very... helpful," the fake reasoned. Lotus wanted to be mad that Rurik had accepted it so easily, but he also would have assumed there was some ulterior motive in its place; something getting damaged, bad news, or an attempt to butter him up for sex would be his go-to explanations.

There was a clink of plates against wood, "Is that bad?"

"As long as it's not to cover some mishap, then no."

The words were met with a bark of laughter, "I feel like I should be offended, but-"

"But I'm right half of the time," the fake cut in, "Remember the times you knocked over one of my plants, or the time you put a hole in the wall? What about all of the times you tried to put me in a good mood to coax me into-"

"Ok, ok," Rurik laughed as another chair scraped against the floor, "You know me well-"

"Bullshit!" Lotus shouted into the void.

"-but I'm getting better at being nice for the sake of it," Rurik finished. He was irritated, but not surprised his outburst went ignored.

"Yeah, that's true," a fork clinked against a plate alongside the admittance, "So, anything interesting happen with work today?"

"Oh stars, you'll get a kick out of this... So one of the guys at work was carrying a box with a printer in it outta the warehouse."

"Mhm," the fake hummed, sounding like it had food in its mouth.

"And the guy's a dick, so no one wanted to help him load the truck. Anyways, the dumbass lost his grip, dropped the printer on his foot, and jumped back," A hiss of empathy punctuated the brief silence. Rurik snickered, "Oh, it gets better; he fell backward and knocked over a stack of boxes, which knocked over another set in the next pile-"

"Oh gods, he caused a domino effect?" his voice groaned in disbelief.

"Yeah, took out the entire warehouse," Rurik laughed, "the look on his face was priceless, especially when the boss came over to see what all the noise was about. I probably would've felt bad for the guy if he wasn't such a jackass."

"Sounds like karmic retribution if I've ever heard it," the fake mused.

"You'll be facing some or your own soon enough," Lotus grumbled; the fake sighed, but said nothing.

"What's up?" Rurik inquired.

"Just tired."

"Rough day at work?"

"No more than usual, though the last guy was a definite pain in my coccyx with how annoying he was," the imposter complained; it didn't take a genius to figure out it was subtly referring to him. '... but you will not give me any more trouble.' There was a hint of smugness to its tone, suggesting it thought the war was already won. Little did it know he wasn't done fighting yet; he only needed to wait for its hubris to cause a slip-up.

The clink of plates followed by the sound of running water from the sink heralded the end of supper and the beginning of Rurik's usual shenanigans; there was a rustle of clothing as the skeleton purred, "Why don't we have some fun?"

"I'm washing dishes," it said. Lotus breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for his usual stubbornness; he would always stand his ground on days when he was tired, so there would be no worries about any bedroom activities going on... at least for tonight.

Even so, Rurik was persistent, "The dishes can wait." He could just imagine how his boyfriend's hands were crawling around under his shirt, trying to tease him into acquiescence.

"No, I already told you I'm tired," came the predicted response.

"I promise you'll enjoy it...," and there was the husky tone. Dammit, why did Rurik have to be so good at pushing buttons; at this rate, the-

The fake sighed, turning off the water, "Fine, but don't blame me if I fall asleep partway through."

"That sounds like a challenge," Rurik crooned.

Lotus couldn't help the swift intake of breath or the cold dread racing through his bones as he heard a pair of footsteps transition from the kitchen to the living room, and the slight creak of stairs; Rurik was making flirty commentary as the fake brushed it off with sarcastic comments. Keeping the panic out of his voice, he yelled, "Hey, why are you doing something I wouldn't do?"

'To prove a point,' his captor replied in that quiet tone as he heard the bedroom door shut, 'This will show I can fool your stupid little boyfriend in every way possible. I am curious about his claim and your memories as well; who knows, maybe he will even like me better.'

"You can't do this!" Lotus declared with a little more distress than he would've liked.

'Oh, you will find I can,' it retorted, the sound of fabric rustling and the quiet groan of the mattress barely perceptible in the background, 'now listen carefully, and you might just hear the exact moment your horndog of a boyfriend becomes mine.'

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Word Count: 1,352