Mononoke Casino

5

It wasn't often that Blaine cried. 

Occasionally a crack in his smug façade would appear and the tears would seep through as they did now, gently dripping down his face and onto the floor as he held his head in his hands. He found himself still hoping that Fox would materialise around the corner and run over to him, but he never did. Blaine waited for hours, now perched on the iron railing of the building's side staircase, balancing precariously over the lengthy drop. It wouldn't be hard to jump, he thought to himself. Sighing, he swung his legs back over the railing and tromped up the last few steps, elbowing open the door to his apartment and kicking off his shoes. Karma was the suicidal one in their friend group. Usually Blaine was a tidy guy, but there was a cold coffee mug on his desk, clothes peppering the floor, and the remnants of a plant pot he'd knocked over still left where he'd broken it. Despite being organised and controlling, he was tired and annoyed so he just flopped onto the bed in his clothes and slept, his hand still tense from how hard he'd slapped his best friend. The best friend who'd been slapped was also sleeping in his clothes, having gone into McDonald's anyway and then driven angrily home. This wasn't unusual for him, he usually slept in his clothes out of laziness. 

Fox was walking alongside the road, neon lights from hundreds of signs lighting up his tears. He didn't know what he'd done wrong. He would've given anything, at this moment, to go back and run after Blaine instead, but he'd probably blown his chances with both of them now. He stopped walking and took a shaky breath, looking at the many gauzy shop windows that lined the pavement. He wasn't far from his apartment now. Walking faster than before, he finally arrived home and slammed his front door, tears starting to fall again. Everything had gone wrong, and yet- these past few days had been the most exciting of his life. He sighed loudly and flopped onto his bed, the third friend of the group to be sleeping in his clothes. 

Kanna was the odd one out this time. Naked and bound by ropes, she was shivering on the cold stone floor of this old man's basement, the playing cards still strewn everywhere. Streaks of makeup ran down her face as she cried silently. She screamed through her gag to no avail, her words lost through the tight fabric. The man came back into the room, grinning creepily and watching her struggle. She'd tried to run when he turned over that last card, but- it was no use. All the doors were locked and he'd had the rope on hand, almost as if... as if he'd known she was going to lose. Realisation crept over her like a spider spinning her into its web of pain. 

She'd never stood a chance.

The next day, Blaine woke up disgusted at himself for sleeping in his clothes and started to clean his apartment angrily. He stopped momentarily when he bent to pick up the broken pieces of his plant pot. It had been a gift from Karma, and ugly as it was Blaine had kept it anyway. He sniffed as he shovelled it into the bin, wondering if he should give his best friend a call. Grabbing the phone on his desk, he found Karma's number and called him quickly before he could regret it. It rang twice before he picked up. "I'm already on my way." He barked, hanging up immediately. Blaine smiled. His best friend knew him well, of all people. It wasn't long until he arrived. 'He really must've been already coming here...' Blaine thought to himself as he opened the door. "You've got some nerve, you prick," Karma said, grabbing Blaine's shirt and growling. "Oh, have I?" Blaine returned, grabbing Karma's neck in retaliation and smirking. Their faces were extremely close together, and Karma stuck out his tongue, the tip of it almost touching Blaine. "I hate your stupid tongue piercing. It gets in the way." He rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, and Karma pouted dejectedly. "In the way of what?" He said, knowing what was coming. Their lips met and Blaine stepped backwards, Karma pulling the door closed behind him as they started to make out aggressively. Blaine turned and pushed Karma down onto the bed, who in turn pulled Blaine on top of him, both of them rapidly removing clothing in between the messy kissing. A while later, they were both lying there, Karma resting his head on Blaine's chest. "You know, if we were-" he started, but Blaine cut him off. "Dating, I know. But I prefer this dynamic to last time we tried that." He said, fluffing Karma's hair with his hand absent-mindedly, who blushed at this moderate display of affection. Blaine was right, though. They worked better as 'friends with occasional benefits' than lovers. He sat up, sliding on top of Blaine. "Again? You dog." Blaine teased, grabbing his thin, pale waist. "You're not refusing." Karma returned, bending down and trailing kisses along Blaine's collarbone, leading up to his neck. He bit him playfully, and the two of them went at it again, until they were both panting and covered with hickeys. "I'll make tea." Karma said, pulling on Blaine's shirt and walking slowly to the kitchen area. 'Cute...' Blaine thought to himself, watching him. Karma stumbled a little and almost fell into the taxidermy fox. 'Maybe I shouldn't be so rough...' He smiled. Stuffed fox. Blaine wondered what the real Fox was doing. Guilt crept up on him as he thought about the fluffy-haired, loyal kid. Sleeping around with his friends wasn't exactly the best way to get Fox to trust him, let alone make him look like a potential boyfriend. He rolled over and swung his legs out of the bed, picking through his wardrobe until he found a black turtleneck sweater. "You bite me too much." He said, his words muffled slightly as he pulled it over his head. "But don't you dare stop.". He also pulled on some greying jeans, a handful of silver jewellery from his vanity table, and gave his hair a quick brush before sitting down at the breakfast counter to drink the tea Karma had made. "You should put some clothes on too..." He said as he sipped the boiling hot liquid carefully, eyeing his best friend's exposed skin. "My shirt doesn't cover you all too well.". Karma's phone buzzed from the pocket of his jeans on the floor. He walked over to them and grabbed it, then his face dropped. "I think Kanna's in trouble." He said, his voice panicky, starting to grab clothes, "Serious trouble, Blaine. She's been texting both of us desperately while we were fucking, for god's sake.". He fell over and crashed into a bookcase as he tried to pull his jeans on.