Egochristmas #13: Peppermint
So this started out as one line about peppermints and somehow turned into a fic about tentacle cuddles. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know, but I have no regrets. Also, I’m sorry for any mistakes. It was written fairly quickly. I had a friend proofread it for me, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I forgot to change one of their edits. Sorry!
You can also read it here
Chase slowly blinked his eyes open, twisting in the sheets until he was facing his boyfriend’s broad back. He smiled softly and pressed a gentle hand to the demon’s spine, tracing the black loops that swirled around his vertebrae. The demon shivered at his gentle touch but didn’t move, a content sigh leaving him.
Chase snickered and continued his ministrations, sliding closer to press his lips to the top few loops. It had taken a while to get used to the odd texture of the black markings, especially compared to Dark’s soft skin. They were almost rough with tiny bumps laced through them but had enough softness that touching them wasn’t unpleasant.
“Are you ever going to tell me where you got these?” he whispered, wrapping his arm around the larger male’s waist.
Dark chuckled and rolled over, scooping Chase into his arms and holding him close to his chest, “I’ve already told you, darling. It’s a very boring story. They’re not as special as they look.”
Chase squirmed against Dark, pulling far enough away to glare at the demon, “Maybe to you they’re boring, but I’ve never seen anything like them. Are they some kind of demon tattoo?”
“Chase, it’s seven in the morning. Why are you even awake?” Dark sighed, pulling Chase back against him, “Go back to sleep and we’ll talk about it later, okay?”
A low rumble came from the demon’s chest. To any who didn’t know better, they would think it a warning growl, but Chase had learned it was a sign that Dark was thinking. The rumble got louder until it was vibrating through Chase’s body. Eventually, the demon sighed, a heavy inhale that pressed them that much closer together.
“Fine, but not now.” Chase started to protest, but Dark shushed him, squeezing him lightly, “It’s too early to deal with that shit, honey. Just go back to sleep and we’ll talk about it later.”
Chase pouted but didn’t argue further. Dark snuggled closer to him, burying his nose in the light green hair. He was asleep before Chase could even get comfortable. The green haired man chuckled at his tired boyfriend and adjusted slightly in his arms, curling tighter against him. He was just beginning to doze off when something brushed against his ankle. He scrunched his eyebrows together, shifting away from the thing slightly. It followed him, however, poking at his foot before wrapping around his ankle.
His eyes flew open and he jerked up. Whatever was touching him was soft and slimy and if it was a slug, he was going to scream.
Dark groggily looked up at him, “Babe, what are you doing? I thought we were sleeping.”
Chase shook his head, clawing at the sheets, trying to untwist them from around his legs, “There’s something in the bed, Dark. I don’t know what it is but I think it might be a slug and I am freaking out.”
Dark slowly sat up, looking stricken, “What?”
Finally, Chase was able to tear the sheets from the bed and he looked around frantically, searching for anything that even resembled a slug.
He patted around the bed, muttering quietly. There was no sign anything but Dark and himself had been in the bed. He looked too Dark in confusion, “I swear, I felt something grab my ankle. I don’t know where it went, but it was there.”
Dark nodded, “I believe you, darling. Perhaps it was just a dream? Those tend to be quite realistic, don’t they?”
Chase looked lost, “Maybe. It felt so real though.”
The demon gently pulled his lover back onto the bed and held him close, carefully pulling the sheets back over them, “Go back to sleep. I’ll be here to keep those pesky slugs away.” He kissed the top of Chase’s head, running his fingers through the man’s green hair gently.
Chase huddled against his boyfriend’s side, letting his low whispers and the soft fingers in his hair lull him into a fitful sleep.
He never saw the guilty look on Dark’s face.
The incident happened two more times. Each time, it was exactly the same. Chase woke up with something slimy attached to one of his ankles but by the time he uncovered the body part, the thing was gone. Dark kept reassuring him he was still just having nightmares, but Chase wasn’t willing to take any chances. If there was a slug attacking him in his sleep, he wanted to know about it.
He decided to stay up late one night, determined to catch the damned thing. Dark had wrapped himself around him, entwining their legs and cuddling him against his strong chest. It was making it extremely difficult for Chase to keep his eyes open.
Eventually, when Chase was about to give up and just sleep, he felt it. The small poke against his ankle and the slippery feeling as whatever it was wrapped around his foot. Moving faster than he thought possible, he jumped up, throwing the sheets aside. Sadly, he hadn’t thought this far ahead, so when he saw the black tentacle wrapped around his foot, he was not prepared.
He screeched and flailed off the bed, the tentacle keeping his leg on the mattress as the rest of him flopped over the side.
Dark grumbled as he sat up, twisting to look down at the human, clearly unimpressed, “Chase, what the hell are you doing?”
Chase pointed at his foot, babbling nonsense as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening.
Dark looked down at his lover’s foot and all color left his face. “Shit,” he whispered, his voice a guttural rasp.
Before Chase was able to get a proper grasp on what the hell was happening, Dark was gone, the tentacle disappearing with him.
The human laid on the floor for several minutes, breathing hard and utterly confused. Why had Dark left? And where had the tentacle come from? Was he just imagining things? Was this the beginning of the end for his sanity?
With a pained groan, he pulled himself from the floor, “Okay, Brody. You’ve seen stranger things than disembodied tentacles. You are dating one of the Harbingers of the End, after all,” he laughed and shook his head, “Who am I kidding? I haven’t seen anything like this before! And I thought Anti’s third eye was creepy.”
A muffled sound from under the bed caught his attention and he almost fell back to the ground in his hurry to look. A small gasp escaped him when he saw Dark spread out, something rippling on his back.
“Dark? What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Dark grumbled, his voice rougher than normal, “Leave for a few minutes. Please.”
Chase scooted a bit under the bed, reaching a hand out to brush against Dark’s fingers, “Honey, what’s wrong? Did I do something?”
“No, you did nothing wrong, Chase. I just… need a minute to get myself under control is all.”
Something smacked against Chase’s hand and he recoiled. It had felt an awful lot like…
“Wait a minute,” realization suddenly hit him like a brick, “Dark, come out from under the bed. I want to see.”
Dark grumbled something towards the negative.
Chase put on his dad voice, “Dark, if you don’t come out from under that bed right now, I won’t cook anything for a whole month.”
Dark started to rumble and Chase grinned. He had won this round.
Slowly, with quite a bit of shuffling and a good amount of cursing, Dark was out from under the bed. However, he had very carefully positioned himself so that Chase could only see the top of his hair.
Chase rolled his eyes, “Stand up, Dark. My threat still stands.”
With a low grumble, the demon stood, averting his eyes. Chase stared at him in awe.
Horns had grown from his head, humungous things that were black as night with tips that looked deathly sharp. They curled around his ears, the tips ending by his neck. His eyes had turned black, two red dots shining from the darkness. The points of fangs could be seen pressing against his lips. Behind him, eight inky black tentacles lashed back and forth, exploring their small bedroom.
Chase was astounded. He looked Dark up and down, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“I know. To a mortal, this form must look atrocious,” Dark mumbled. Even his voice was darker, rougher. “I tried to hide it the best I could, but my tentacles are curious things. They wanted to meet you about as much as I didn’t want them too.”
Chase still couldn’t find words. He slowly crawled onto the bed and shambled over to Dark, lifting a hesitant hand to one of his horns. He stroked it gently, not daring to touch the tip. After a moment, he smiled, “I think you look gorgeous.”
Dark’s eyebrows shot up in shock, “Really? Most mortals run away screaming.”
Chase snickered, “Do I look like most mortals?”
The demon smirked, being careful to keep his fangs hidden, “No. You’re much prettier than all of them.”
A light blush spread across Chase’s cheeks. He put his arms around Dark’s neck and leaned against him, “Why did you hide from me?”
“I didn’t want to scare you away. I care about you too much to risk such a thing,” Dark replied, leaning down slightly until their noses were almost touching.
“Did you really think I would run away just because you look different?” Chase was a little bit hurt.
The demon pulled his lover tighter against his chest, “No, darling. I was simply worried you would realize exactly what kind of creature you have become enamored with.”
Chase snickered, “You’ve already told me you’re a Harbinger. What more realization do I need than that?”
Dark looked down at him in wonder. How had he managed to find a mortal as wonderful as this? He leaned down the rest of the way, pressing their lips together in a sweet kiss.
Chase jumped at the feeling of fangs nipping at his lip but got used to it quickly. It actually felt kind of nice. He deepened the kiss slightly, finding another surprise when Dark opened his mouth for him. He pulled away in surprise, “You have a forked tongue?”
“Do you not like it?” Dark questioned, “I can get rid of it.”
“No, don’t do that. I was just surprised is all.”
Dark smiled and continued the kiss, pulling Chase impossibly tighter against him.
One of his tentacles brushed against Chase’s arm and he recoiled, once again breaking the kiss. He looked up at Dark’s hurt expression apologetically, “Sorry. I kind of forgot about those.”
“Perhaps we should hold off on our makeout session then.”
Chase shook his head, “No, Dark, it’s not that I don’t like them! I do! I’m just not used to them, is all.”
“Chase,” Dark chuckled, “I know. I’m simply saying maybe we should just enjoy each other’s company while you grow accustomed to this form. I would hate if you felt any kind of discomfort.”
Another tentacle slid across Chase’s skin and he shuddered. They felt so strange! He nodded and sat back, smiling up at Dark shyly, “Sorry.”
“There is no reason to apologize, love,” Dark murmured, climbing onto the bed next to his boyfriend, “You were not prepared for this. It’s perfectly understandable that you need some time to adjust. Luckily for you, I have all the time in the world.”
Chase looked at him gratefully. A tentacle wrapped around his shoulders and he jumped. He stopped himself from falling off the bed and simply let the tentacle wander, poking at it experimentally. When it didn’t react, he brought a hand up and pet it, crinkling his nose at the odd texture. It felt like the marks on Dark’s back, just more intense. It was velvety soft with a thin layer of wet over it. The tip of it bent around and played with his fingers, weaving between them. He laughed and continued to pet it, looking up at Dark.
The demon was smiling softly, “You are incredible, Chase Brody.”
Chase grinned, “You’re pretty awesome yourself, Darkipoo.”
Dark scowled at the dumb nickname, “Well now you’ve gone and just ruined the mood.”
Chase laughed and kissed his grumpy boyfriend’s cheek, “You still love me.”
The demon tackled him to the bed, his tentacles wrapping around him, “Do I?”
One of the tentacles was stroking Chase’s cheek lovingly, “Going by this little guy, I would say yes.”
Dark grinned and nuzzled his boyfriend’s neck, “Then you would be absolutely right.”
A few days later, they were cuddled up on the couch. Some Christmas program was playing, but neither of them was paying attention. Chase was wrapped up in Dark’s tentacles, idly playing with one of them. Dark had his arm wrapped around his lover’s shoulder, keeping the human pressed to his side.
A huge yawn escaped Chase and he snuggled closer to the warm demon beside him, “You know what you remind me of? This form, I mean?”
Dark hummed in question, leaning his head on the smaller man’s, gently brushing away some green hair.
“Peppermint,” Chase mumbled, “Just from looking at you, people expect you to be bitter, but once they take time to know you, you’re actually quite sweet.”
Dark laughed, kissing the top of Chase’s head, “Well I’m glad you think so. Now let’s get you up to bed. Something tells me someone’s a little bit tired.”
Another large yawn made Chase’s jaw crack, “What gives you that idea?”
“I couldn’t imagine,” Dark mumbled, easily picking the human up, his tentacles gathering in the small man’s lap.
Chase nuzzled into his shoulder, already almost asleep.
Dark shook his head and laid him on the bed, quickly changing him into his night clothes. Chase grumbled unhappily while Dark changed into his own pajamas, leaving his shirt off so his tentacles could wander. He crawled into bed with the smaller man and pulled him against his chest, burying his nose in the back of his neck.
Chase hummed happily at the warmth, a soft laugh escaping him as the tentacles began wrapping around him as well. Soon he was buried in a tentacle cocoon. Dark squeezed his middle slightly, pressing his back flat against the demon’s chest.
With a content sigh, the human fell asleep, completely surrounded by the one he loved.
