aeipathiclove

[aeipathiclove]

@crownedkxngs / replying to this for beta + i know you changed his face! realised i totally misread the post lmao so this is very different direction, lmk if you want someone else / someone not in on the plans

melville turner grinned, reaching over to scrub a hand through ethan's hair. the kid was cute -- not at all like richie, who had been mel's best friend. but that wasn't a bad thing.

"well, assuming those film geek fucktards don't blow our plans all to hell, i plan on dancing with you at as many halloween parties as possible." he winked, leaning back on the couch. "i think the whole rich boy asshole with a heart of gold falling for the awkward nerdy virgin angle is working pretty well to keep the carpenters off our scent."

mellie was anything but what he was currently pretending to be -- asshole, yes, heart of gold, no, rich boy, as if. he'd grown up in foster care. but they all had their roles to play in what was to come.

[aeipathiclove]

technically billy's place was closest, but there was a plan forming in the back of his mind, so he took the turn toward his boyfriend's place instead. he wouldn't push him, of course, but after the initial shock wore off, billy would suggest he pack a bag and come home with him -- possibly never to leave. while nowhere near as shaken as artemis had to be, it was definitely fucking with billy that had he been there a little sooner, he could have prevented the whole thing.

he cared about artemis in a cloying, possessive way. he was reluctant to ever let the boy out of his sight again.

not long after, they pulled up and billy turned off the car. before artemis could get out on his own, he came around to the passenger side and scooped him up. "arms around my neck, baby, i'm gonna get you inside and into the shower. then some soft clothes and sleep. i can stay on the couch if you don't want me in bed with you."

he needed to go. he was feeling anxiety just being here with the man's dead body in front of him. but the entire time, his eyes did not falter away from billy's face. he just kept his eyes on the other, and he hoped that he could get out of there as quick as they could.

artemis knew he couldn't come back here. because his mind now was filled with the sounds and the face of the other man as he felt him. he shook his head, looking at the glasses that the other had handed him. he put them on, immediately the shade being a barrier for him. the body was still there, but it was dark that the shades made it more difficult to see anything. but as he got up, he held the other's hand and followed him wherever they went.

once they were in billy's car, he took the glasses off, not realizing the blood that was on his face, and now on his hands too. the boy was shaking. anxiety building up. he realized that billy had spoken, and he looked at him, with eyes blurred.

" which ever is closest, " he spoke, before turning to look out the window. he still couldn't believe what had happened, but he tried to keep his mind focused on the buildings, the lights, and let his mind slowly fade so there were no thoughts left.

[aeipathiclove]

billy was relieved when artemis accepted his touch, leaned into him and made eye contact. selfishly, he was afraid that seeing this side of him would make the other reject him. he wasn't capable of romantic love, not the way other people were -- but he was falling for artemis nonetheless. enough that if he asked him to leave, he swallow his rage and do as he was asked.

"okay, baby, i'll take you home." billy smiled, digging in his pocket for his sunglasses, still there from earlier. "here, put these on," he murmured, sliding them on to his face. they wouldn't make the body disappear, but would make it easier to ignore for a few moments. with gentle, cautious hands, he fixed artemis up as best he could, and then wrapped his arms around him.

other people might have worried about the body, but billy knew that some drunk piece of shit outside a gay strip club wasn't going to warrant the time of day from most cops. the only thing that could tie him to it was the knife tucked in the waistband of his jeans -- there were no cameras out here, on purpose.

so he hurried artemis past the body and towards his car, hugging the shadows. the sooner they left, the better, and a few moments later they were both seated, billy putting the car in gear. "i'm assuming your place, unless you'd rather be at mine. whatever you need."

artemis tried to avoid seeing the man. even though billy had killed him to protect artemis, the image of the man coming after him, pressing his body against his. he couldn't get it out of his mind, and he knew that the boy would now be traumatized over this. and now, seeing the man's severed corpse, artemis closed his eyes, not wanting to paint another picture of the man.

when the other got level with him, eyes finally looked up at the other. he leaned into him, wanting to feel his touch, only billy's touch. the comfort that he got from it was all he needed. " billy... " he whispered, finally becoming coherent. " take me home, please, " he whispered, not wanting to be there any longer.

he kept his eyes on the other, not wanting to see the body, not wanting to see the blood that was now flowing, leaving the man. no, he needed to just focus on billy, and only billy. " please, take me home, " he repeated. " okay, " he said, knowing that this wasn't good, not when someone discovers the body. he just needed to get out of there.

[aeipathiclove]

Tyler Lawrence Gray (2023)

[aeipathiclove]

billy was quiet while he waited for artemis to speak, standing between him and the body. slowly, he lowered himself to the ground, crouching in front of the other man, body language as open as possible. he'd inflicted enough trauma to know how fraught the immediate aftermath could be. he was unbothered by the mess behind them -- killing the man was justifiable homicide by any stretch of the imagination, so there was no need to rush, to push artemis to speak before he was ready.

"you don't need to thank me, temmy," billy murmured. he reached out, holding his hand palm up toward the other, a silent invitation if he wanted the physical contact. "i only wish-- well, anyway. i'm here now."

billy wanted to help artemis dress himself, get him out of there and never let him go again. but he had to exercise what little humanity he had left, empathise enough not to make things worse. "if you don't need a doctor, can i get you out of here?" he tilted his head, frown deepening as he tried to get artemis to meet his eyes. "we can walk away from this, i promise." he jerked his head back at the corpse behind him. "we can just go and never come back."

artemis was finishing up for the evening.   and he grabbed all his stuff to leave when he saw the man from earlier.   the man that wanted more than just a dance, but the rule was just the dance and just the dance only.   but he wanted more, but artemis told him he couldn’t have him.   so when he started to walk past him, the man grabbed him.   “ let go of me, ” he said, but the man was huge, in the fact that he was like a boar, and artemis was very small compared to him.

“ fuck off! ” he said as he tried to free his hand from his grip, and when he finally did, he went out the back doors.   but the man, clearly drunk, clearly intent to wanting to do more, came after him.   and as he felt the pressure of his body on him, his hands gripped tight around artemis’ wrist, he cried.   “ fuck!  fuck you, let go of me, ” he cried.   but as he heard the belt buckle and the zipper, he knew what the man was going to do.

and he tried so hard to fight him, but his weight outmatched artemis and when he felt the man pulling down artemis’ pants and underwear, all artemis did was cry. 

he didn’t know how long it was until he finally felt free.  could have been a few seconds or a couple minutes.  everything had slowed down, and he felt his body broken from the heavy weight pressed hard on his body, and his face pressed hard on the wall.  

but when whent the weight was off, he turned and saw billy.   tears were in artemis’ eyes, and everything felt like a blur.   but he could see billy had stabbed the man, and finally when he saw the throat, blood splattered all over, hitting artemis face, he was in shock.  but the moment he saw the man drop to the ground, artemis sat against the wall, holding himself. 

when he saw billy approach him, he was shaking.   artemis didn’t know exactly what had happened in the last few minutes, but billy had saved him.   he cried when the other asked him if he was hurt, head down from what had happened. 

“ thank you, ” he finally spoke.

[aeipathiclove]

for @crownedkxngs / billy & artemis 😢 (trying to keep it non-graphic / vague!)

billy barely had time to process what he was seeing before he was at the man's back, knife at his gut. it was a questionable miracle that he had the weapon on him that evening, tucked into the back of his pants -- he'd planned to ditch in the club's dumpster before he picked artemis up.

"you are scum," he muttered in the man's ear, sliding the knife in slowly, the wet squelch of it only interrupted by the piece of shit's pathetic noises. "i'd say if you ever touched him again, you'd be dead, but ... whoops?" billy flashed a smile as he brought the knife up to the man's throat, slicing quickly. the stomach gash had been for fun -- the slit throat was for efficiency.

as soon as the man was limp, billy dropped him with a sneer, then turned to artemis, his face instantly transforming into a soft, fond expression. "did he hurt you? physically?" 'are you okay?' would have been a dumb as shit question -- billy just needed to know if artemis needed medical attention, or if he could take him home.

[aeipathiclove]

still very much a work in progress // all info on @sparsilelove applies here