Shoutout to @/agenticed’s little Stockshop fic called Infestation which is technically about hysterical domestic shenanigans but got me spinning some horrific horrific Stockman headcanons again <3333
⚠️ Full warning, this gets a little fucked up and graphic, Insane In The Membrane style.
Like…… after everything, I think Stockman has some majorrrr trauma about rot (for Insane In The Membrane reasons) and rodents (for Mousers reasons) specifically, but also pests in general.
His lab is always, always pristine. The moment something got used it’s getting rinsed, everything goes back in its place, and partially this is just y’know, general lab safety, it’s good practice. But part of it is, what if something doesn’t get cleaned properly right away, what if you touch something and it will react with your skin, eat at it, melt it, ruin it.
He can’t leave dishes in the sink. The moment the food’s eaten, everything is getting washed, or he’s never gonna bring himself to touch it. What if it rots? What if there’s mold? What if he accidentally breathes it in? What if it catches onto him, roots in his flesh, burrows too deep in him to ever be rid of it?
It’s the worst with dead bodies, honestly. He doesn’t see many of them these days (thank God) but working with the organic Mousers can lead to the occasional corpse, either of a Mouser or something it had caught, and while dissecting his own creations properly in his lab tends to be fine (safe space, familiar process on a familiar project, focus on the science like you always have, you can always rely on science), the Mousers are experimental and sometimes die outside while working and have to be retrieved. Sometimes it takes a while for people to retrieve them.
And those can be terrifying.
When the flesh smells of rot and is being overtaken by scavengers, worms and bugs and all sorts of small living things, when it starts falling apart easier, so much easier than it should, it’s hard not to make it personal. It’s hard not to think about your own lower jaw slowly, gradually, unhinging from where it’s supposed to be, of your eyesight blurring much faster than it’s supposed to, it’s hard not to think of falling apart, witnessing yourself dying long before death takes you.
I think about that a lot.
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One Is Not Better Than None
Soooo I was scrolling through my google docs and remembered this little AU that I started writing (with the help of @themiseryandcompany) a few months back when I first joined snzblr~
And well, the actual 6 part story where they meet isn't finished, and reading it back... the parts that ARE finished could use a lot of editing~ it was one of my first attempts at snzfics, but I did find this little drabble/side story from the same AU~
It's not good, definitely not up to my current standards, but I did a little editing to make it hopefully readable, aaaaand since I've been a bit slow with content, I'll throw it out there incase anyone wants it!
~For Context: In this AU B/akugo is a doctor,
and S/hoto is his boyfriend/a barista~
Word Count: 1.3k of utter nonsense that I'm posting because why not~
All Characters Written As 18+ In This Story, (picture late 20's)
~~~~~~~
Katsuki’s days off are few and far between, so when he does get time to spend at home, he finds that he often has a shadow.
Shoto seems to require constant contact, as if he fears that should their bodies stop touching for even a second, Katsuki would be out the door again. It would be annoying beyond belief, if it was anyone else. But it’s not anyone else.
He smirks over the journal he’s reading as Shoto lets out a breath that borders on a whine. He’s been trying to beat that level for an hour, and it seems like he’s just had to restart once more.
“It’s not funny,” Shoto starts, catching Katsuki’s eyes as he glares up from his perch on Katsuki’s lap. A half-hearted gaze at best. “I’ve been at this forever. I just wanna beat it but this one boss has a frankly offensive level of regen. I know the strategy but I keep messing up the timing.”
With another sigh of frustration, the glare is long forgotten, instead replaced by a look that leaves Katsuki fighting the urge to kiss him until all the breath is sucked out of their lungs.
“Why don’t you just take a break and come back to it later when you’re less frustrated?” Katsuki offers, running a hand through Shoto’s mismatched hair. “Isn’t that what you always tell me when a recipe I’m trying for the first time isn’t going the way I want it to?”
“Yeah, but…”
“What, too proud to take your own advice, Icy-Hot?”
It’s a nickname that came into being the first time Katsuki stayed over. Shoto had been sick at the time, and it was one of the first nights of pure vulnerability they’d experienced.
With a fever, his body gets incredibly hot, but at the same time, he’s always swearing it’s freezing, shivering to make his point. During the night Katsuki tried to get him to take some blankets off, lest he smother himself to death, and Shoto’s reply was “I’m an icy pop”. (To this day he still blames the fever talk for that little nugget).
To which Katsuki responded with a lighthearted “Oh yeah? Then why is said ‘icy pop’ so hot he nearly burns to the touch? Icy pop, more like Icy-Hot” and it just stuck from there. He normally saves it for playful teasing, such as today, but occasionally it slips out with a touch of softness when Shoto falls asleep in his arms.
“No, this is different. I’m not frustrated, I just wahh!-” He breaks off, and Katsuki glances at him to see his eyes glossing over, mouth hanging slightly open, right on the brink for a few seconds until-
“heH-! hH’KESHHiew!”
A beat passes, Shoto’s eyes still unfocused, Katsuki biting a blessing back on his tongue.
“Snff- Bless me.” And with that, Shoto’s back to the level, leaving Katsuki to stare at him with a mystified expression.
After several minutes of silence, and Katsuki’s eyes never leaving his face, mouth still slightly ajar, Shoto finally breaks away from his level to glance up at his boyfriend. “Uhh… what’s wrong..?”
“Y-you… sneezed…”
Shoto lets out a small chuckle, letting his phone rest on the couch as he sits up to meet Katsuki’s gaze. “Yeah? And? I do that quite often, you should know that by now.”
Katsuki rolls his eyes, as Shoto continues with a smirk. “And even if I didn’t, it’s a perfectly normal bodily function. You’re a doctor, I’m worried for your patients if hearing someone sneeze shocks you this much.”
“But… you… it was…. only one?”
“I guess so, yeah.”
There’s another pause, then Katsuki begins again, his words coming out uncharacteristically timid. “It’s… it’s never just one…”
The dumbfounded nature of Katsuki’s voice is enough to make Shoto burst into laughter. The joyous sounds finally snap his boyfriend out of the trance that the single sneeze had put him in, as he lightly punches Shoto’s arm.
Shoto pulls away, still shaking with the joyous tune dancing from his chest, rocking the couch with each burst. For a minute, Katsuki feels his heart start beating through his throat, mind running wild. His full laughter is so rare… I’d do anything to hear it for the rest of my life.
Finally coming to his senses, Katsuki fires back with, “Hey, don’t laugh at me! I’ve never heard you sneeze just once before, it’s always at least two, more often in the hundreds”
This earns him a very weak punch, laughter still dancing through Shoto’s eyes. “I’m not that bad!” Sniffling lightly to test the waters, Shoto shrugs. “But yeah, just the one, I don’t feel any more. I’m sorry, I’ll make up for it next time I’m sure.”
Shoto reaches forward, touching their lips in an apology for the harm that his lack of a fit had apparently caused. Katsuki leans into the kiss, but his eyes still seem a bit far away.
~~~~~~~
The rest of the day, it felt as if Shoto was under constant surveillance. Every time he looked over at Katsuki, his boyfriend was watching him, and would quickly avert his eyes, pretending to be doing something else.
Finally enough is enough. Shoto stands from the chair he was lounging in, and walks over to Katsuki who’s currently trying, and failing, to pull his eyes away long enough to read an article on his phone.
Wordlessly, Shoto leans down and rubs his nose against the cat-infested couch. Usually his meds are enough to starve off any really desperate attacks, but living in an apartment with your allergens is enough to set anyone off.
Add to that Shoto’s already sensitive nose, and it’s a sure thing that you’ll get at least a couple small fits per day. However, right now he needs that fit immediately, and his meds seem to be working a bit too well, so it’s time for drastic measures.
Rubbing his nose at all was a sure fire way to form a tickle, but add to that rubbing it against an allergen, and the reaction was certain to be quick and merciless.
“What are you doi-” Katsuki starts, but is cut off by Shoto’s breath catching, as he holds up a finger, attempting to explain himself before the fit can start.
“You... w- were... hehh- ihh... st- staring... at m... ESH’shiew-! Ishh’yu-! kishh’oo-! tishh’iew-!”
Still trying to catch up, Katsuki can only blink, muttering to himself, “I was staring…”
“huh- ishh-tishh-kESH’iew! Tishh’oo! Heh- hH’kschh!”
“Bless you-”
“hep’kschh-kshh-nggxt’shiew! hehh… hH’ngnt! G’nxxt!uhh Hh’ ihhh… hDT-”
Shoto pauses for a second, watery eyes pointed at the ceiling, seemingly stuck in a hitchy agony, caught between the overwhelming urge to sneeze, and the denial taunting him.
With a shaky exhale, and a snff, he tries to finish the sentence he began earlier, “Staring ahahh at-”
-which the sneezes pick as the perfect time to release themselves. “ihh’keschh’oo-! hH’ISH’hieww-! Staring at me. Oh, bless me. It was starting to scare me a little."
Katsuki flushes at the accusation, admitting to himself, and only himself, that there may be a touch of truth in it. He sheepishly hands some tissues to Shoto, who takes them with a wink and a chuckle, cleaning himself up as Katsuki averts his eyes.
Once finished, he drapes himself onto the couch, lips hungrily capturing Katsuki in a deep kiss, only stopping once he needs to take a desperate breath and duck another “hh’kssh-! Ihh… heH! hahh’keTSH’iew-!” into his shoulder.
“Bless you… Ya know, you shouldn’t have done that, you’re gonna be sneezing for hours now ya dumbass.” The words may sound harsh, but there’s no fire behind them.
Shoto lets his head rest on Katsuki’s chest, looking up at him, eyes alight with mischief. “Well worth it in my book. As much as I enjoy you watching me, I was starting to worry you’d forgotten how to blink.”
This earns him another light punch, but the laughter that comes with it makes his statement even more true.
Anything is worth getting to hear that laughter. The true kind, the kind he doesn’t let other people hear. I’d do anything to hear it for the rest of my life.
Slowly he lets his eyes close, drifting off to the sound of Katsuki’s heartbeat, their breathing falling in sync, exactly how it was meant to be.
La fin.
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