#human khol

"This extreme heat will most likely continue for the next few days, and I'm afraid it will only be worse tomorrow. A heat index of 105° is estimated as the high for tomorrow afternoon -"

The monotone voice of the weatherman just kept on and on and on. Never changing, even as he reported expected temperatures that could only be found near the gates of hell. 

You were next to him, unwrapping yet another Popsicle in your attempts to fight off the heat that had so rudely overtaken his house. 

"Khol. Sugar. You hear this shit?"

"..."

Khol honestly couldn't hear this shit. Between the sounds of the bubble machine working in the corner of the room, and the wildly flapping ribbons that he had tied to the bars of two of the four old box fans that were currently blasting air, blissfully cold (he thinks he fell in love with you all over again when you taught him that Cold Salted Ice + Bowl of Water + Fan = makeshift air conditioner trick), all through his bedroom.

Which was being a massive bitch right now because it was STILL hot despite the MOUNTAINOUS efforts you and him had put into cooling it down. 

"...Khol?"

Khol opened his eyes and looked at you. He actually turned his head for you. In this fuckass heat. That's how much he loves you. 

"Honey."

"Hm?" You turned away from the TV screen to look at him. Excellent. 

"You know how I don't like being cold?"

You snorted at him.

"Yeah. That mean you're holding up fine right now?"

Your tone indicated that you were just playing. 

"I want to die."

He was not just fucking playing. 

You leaned over to pat him once on his (beautiful) sweaty ass hair and reposition a fan to blow right in his face. It's one of the ones with the ribbons. They were very close to hitting Khol. He didn't move out of the way from them at all. 

He's honestly half tempted to grab the chunk of ice from that water bowl and lay it directly on his face.

Man! This suuucks! 

"Why was it so hooottttt?!" He whined to you, and you just took it like a benevolent sage. Or like someone who was both used to, and endeared by, his bullshit. 

Boyfriend perks were the best. He could be annoying as hell and you would just find him cute. As long as he avoided pissing off you specifically. 

You just slowly blinked, turning back to stare blankly through the TV screen and into the abyss as you slowly processed his question. 

"Uhhh.... I don't know, sweetheart. The sun just decided to sit it's ass crack down on the ground for us to deal with or something..."

...Huh.

"..."

"..."

"...Hey-"

"Don't think too hard about what the ass crack of the sun would be like"

"Damn."

He closed his eyes, but he could still hear you take a deep breath and chew on your popsicle as the news anchers voice droned on. The fans and the bubble machine were buzzing on in the background and only adding to the cacophony that was do it's best at blocking out his thoughts.

Khol rubbed his face and groaned. God, it was so hot.

It was his first summer as your boyfriend, and it was too hot to go outside and do something. 

Fuck. It was too hot to stay inside and do something! The nights were still blazing and Khols air conditioner broke the day before the weather really started turning for the worst.

What a dick!

He wanted to hold you! It was too hot to hold you.

...Maybe if he brought another fan in here it'd be cold enough? Maybe you'd let him hold you if he brought more ice? 

Maybe?

...Please? 

It could happen! There was a solid chance it could happen! You were being uncharacteristically bold today anyway.

Like, when the temperature peaked around noon earlier you had taken off your shirt and hurled it towards a corner that you didn't even bother to look at and acted like that was just something you did every day, not even having the energy to be embarrassed about it!

(Khol thinks he might've lost his mind a bit when that happened.

You were very hot and sweaty and you were laid out on his floor in his bedroom and he had stared somewhere that was not your face for a very long time after that. 

("...Sugar?"

"...Yeah?"

"My eyes are up here, sweetheart"

"...I've made my decisions") 

Listen, in his defense, you had long made it clear that you were perfectly fine with his staring.

Also, you had stuck your tongue down his throat last night while kissing him like a wild animal. Completely out of nowhere. So. His staring was just some sort of payback. 

Yeah... Payback.)

He felt something cold poke his side.

He opened his eyes, and you were right there, laying next to him. Your eyes were half lidded, with you being made tired by the heat.

Still shirtless, by the way! And looking very flushed as well... There was sweat dripping down your chest-

You poked him again with the cold thing.

oh yeah, and you had a popsicle for him. 

He snatched that thing up with a quickness when his brain caught up with him from its previous spot in the gutter, because holy fuck it really was hot out here.

So yeah. The heat was making both of you act a bit out of the ordinary.

Well. Not quite abnormal, per say, but bolder. Definitely bolder... Definitely....

... His thoughts were not fit for the public holy fuck. He needed to be put down. 

You spoke again, your words running just a bit into each other as you exhaustedly fumbled out your sentences.

"We probably need to make some more food for tomorrow once the sun goes down... What's something that's good to eat cold? Uh... Chicken wraps? White meat is good in cold food. Do we have chicken in the freezer downstairs?"

The thought of cooking right now had him wanting to die, but oh my God you were saying We like you lived here full time and this was your home too and- 

"Yeah I think so... I'll cook it later tonight, but I'm stealing some of the fans"

You shrugged and gave him a lazy smile. He wants to kiss you so bad. 

"I was planning on going downstairs and helping you anyways, so we can take all the fans you want. Well! Maybe we should leave one in here. To keep the room cool, y'know?" 

Khol only answered with a hum. You didn't mind. You just ended up stretching out beside him, as close as you could get to him without touching, and closing your eyes.

Besides a quick phone call with Zeke and Phoebe earlier, to make sure that everyone was still alive and hadn't been vaporizer by the sun, (Phoebe. Why the fuck was she OUTSIDE?!), conversation between you two had been going in and out all day with how much the weather was taking out of both of you. Sometimes you or him wouldn't even finish a sentence and just trail off into a peaceful white noise of fan ribbons and distant TV voices. 

Not the most fun way to spend the day, but this was still rather nice. Something about being trapped in a room all day with your sleepy lover and nothing to do but eat ice cream and pop a stray bubble when it floats too close to you just felt so idealic, really. 

You know what would make it more idealic, though? 

A cuddle.

Just one? Just one cuddle? A kiss, perhaps?

No? He couldn't have that? It was too hot? 

Fuck.

This had to be some type of cruel and unusual punishment, right?

You were both all alone. In his bedroom. With heavy curtains blocking out the sun and the outside. Minimal clothing on. Laying on a makeshift nest of sheets and pillows, and it was too hot to touch you. 

He wants the sun to explode.

Khol closed his eyes.

He hates this.

... 

Khol didn't open his eyes again until nearly three hours later in the day.

Ok then. He fell asleep. Makes sense. He and you had been taking short naps all day. The humidity coupled with the fact that you weren't moving much at all today kind of just meant that taking small naps here and there was the only thing you could really do. It was whatever. 

But where were you when he woke up?

We're you laying next to him in the same spot you were last in when he fell asleep?

We're you, perhaps, sitting up somewhere, eating a cold sandwich or drinking a soda from the cooler he had carried upstairs earlier for the both of you?

We're you maybe outside of the room for a bathroom break or something?

Nope! You were leaning directly over him. Breathing in his face and starting at him completely unblinkingly like a serial killer. 

You know. Maybe the heat really was driving both of you insane, because Khol just smiled automatically.

Awww you were just obsessed with him, weren't you? He was so flattered! Really!

Usually it was him admiring you when you were sleeping, so he was very happy to wake up and find the roles reversed! 

"Hi Honey..." He was still tired, but Gosh, he sounded like a shy kid meeting Santa Claus for the first time.

Oh! He fucking WISHED he could be meeting Santa Claus right now! At least then everything wouldn't be on the verge of nuclear fusion with how God damn hot it was! 

You gave him a (very aggressive) slow blink and smile in reply and continued to stare directly into his soul. 

... Well then! 

"... Honey? You alright up there?" He reached up and gently tapped the center of your forehead. You followed his finger with your eyes in an almost drunken manner, and kissed his hand after he pulled it back enough for you to reach. Awwwww! 

Maybe the heat really did melt part of your brain of something? That probably wasn't good. He should get you some water and a little nap of your own before you really started losing it. 

You sat back as he rose up from his position on the messy pile of sheets, still starting at him. 

"Honey? Are you alright? Here- let me get you some water, ok? Oh!"

You leaned forward and grabbed his face. Yay! 

"... Khol." Oh, you sounded very serious, actually.

...Oh no?

"Yes?"

"I Love you"

"aww! I love you too, honey-"

"Uh... Imma... I'm gonna make you my wife"

... Huh? 

"Or husband. Husband. Yeah. Imma make you my husband... Wife. Male wife. Whatever." You pushed back the front piece of his hair away from his face and just kinda. Squished your face against his face and gave him something akin to a nuzzle. "...You're mine." 

...

... AND THEN YOU JUST ROLLED OVER ONTO THE SHEET PILE AND FUCKING FELL ASLEEP! 

WHAT THE FUCK- HONEY?!?! WHAT THE FUCK WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT????

... Was this real?

Was he real? Were you? Well, if you weren't real then he'd probably kill himself, so he won't entertain that possiblity. But what the fuck was that?!

Was this a dream? Was he dreaming right now? 

Probably not, actually. If he was dreaming, then that confession would have lead to a lot more than a nap on your end and a spiral in his. 

Ok then. So how will he handle this?

What will he do in response to the person he loves most in the whole wide world, suffers a possible brain melt and tells him that they want to marry him? 

Start making wedding plans, obviously!

That was his first instinct anyway.

He kind of had to be glad that you had your eyes closed, because damn near every strand of loose hair he had had turned into a heart shape, and he just knew you'd tease him for it if you saw! 

Husband? Husband! You want him to be your husband?! 

Hot weather and dehydration could make a person do and say things they wouldn't normally do, and Khol knew that. 

But damn. These heat waves were STRONG if they were bringing THAT out of you! 

Ok! What all goes into a wedding? What kind of wedding did you even want? Did you want a theme? Big wedding or a small wedding? He didn't know many people (and his parents were never going to hear about this. Ever.) so getting a super big venue didn't make much sense for him, but for you-

...

Fuck. Wait. 

... You were going to feel the same in the morning when you cooled down and woke up, right? 

You were definitely delirious and probably didn't realize all the things you were saying. Your words came out slurred earlier and your pupils were dilated as hell (wow he really needs to get you some water holy shit). 

But...You were still going to want to marry him tomorrow, right? 

Right?

...

"...Khol?" Your voice was barely a whisper but he still cracked his fucking neck trying to whip his head around to face you anyway. 

AND HIS SPRIAL WAS IMMEDIATELY FORGOTTEN!

DAMN THESE HEAT WAVES WERE STRONG! 

"Honey?!" Some distant part of his mind wondered how insane he had to look right now. He knew damn well he didn't look normal- and ah shit. You were definitely seeing his hair going haywire right now! 

You weren't looking at him like he was insane though, and you didn't tease him about the hearts in his hair. You just looked at him with a blank, tired sort of softness that he loved, and rolled over onto your back to reach a hand out for him. 

...The temperature had gotten cooler while he slept, hadn't it? 

Oh hell yes!

Listen.

Khol was a very dramatic man. He new that very well, but the speed at which Khol found himself laying on your chest with his face shoved into your neck, heat and sweat from the both of you be damned, was almost quick enough to break the damn sound barrier. He was just so so happy! 

You turned your head and slowly gave him kiss after kiss after kiss on his head, hair, and face (Which he OBVIOUSLY returned)! You had your nails gently scratching his scalp and your other hand found his at your side and you were holding it.

Khol was melting into you like he was trying to get you to fuse.

You were touching him! Finally! It was still hot as balls and your were still very clearly tired (your eyes were closed again, despite your continued movement), and he was too, BUT HE GOT TO TOUCH YOU! LETS FUCKING GO! FINALLY! 

ALSO! 

"Honey?"

"hm?"

"Did you mean it?" If he could grow a tail to wag like a dog right now, he would, just to make his joy as known to you as possible.

Please mean what you just said! He felt so giddy right now please please please mean what you just said! 

...You only blinked at him.

"...Hm?"

... Oh.

Oh, ok. 

Well... There goes his fucking heart-

"Hm? Oh, the marriage thing? Yeah" 

...WELL THERE GOES HIS FUCKING HEART! 

"I mean. Eventually, y'know? I would like that... Wait wait wait- do you wanna get marrie-"

"YES I WANT TO GET MAREIED!" 

His face was red. Your face was red. You were a happy little couple of tomatoes in here. 

You smiled and kissed him on the lips. Just a quick peck, but still more than enough to make him lose his mind. 

"Inside voice baby..." 

"I'll use whatever voice you want!"

What the fuck was he saying? Dawg that didn't even make sense! 

You just giggled and twirled a strand of his hair around with your finger and he tried very hard not to bite you. Way harder than it looked, by the way! (So much access to so much of your skin-)

"... I still want an actual proposal, so, this ain't the official offering, but... I mean, those are my intentions with you. With us. So...yeah."

You were so nervous, even as you were practically falling asleep right under him from how sleepy you were...

Khol was happy! He was so happy!

But...

"... Honey?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to be the one to propose." His tone was completely serious.

He would just have to insist on his one, hon. He needs to be the one to take that step. He always wants to be the one making you happy. It was only fair! With how happy you always make him. 

You just smiled real wide at him, and stretched out under him like a cat. He only clung harder to you as you adjusted and got more comfortable in your new position. Your voice was barely there as you pet his hair a few more times.

"Anything you want, Khol. Anything you want..."

He just felt so, so damn soft. His voice was coming out in whispers.

"I want you. That's all" 

"Hm... You got me, Sugar..." You gave him one last kiss, a real one this time, and you fell asleep. 

...

"This just in! Temperatures for tomorrow are now estimated to get up to a whooping 110°! A heat advisory has been issued, urging everyone to stay inside-"

In your sleep you could feel his hair tickling your face. This was usually how you woke up whenever you were staying at his house. You kept your eyes closed and frowned. He persisted anyway.

“Khol”, you moaned groggily. “If you poke my eye, I will kill you.”

The dream you were having quickly turned into a blur as you blinked yourself awake.

“Somebody’s grumpy today”, he murmured. His voice was low and smooth. It felt impossible that anyone could sound that good first thing in the morning, but your boyfriend’s sleep schedule was more like a last minute shopping list. Terribly fragmented with various items missing.

You had barely begun to stretch the last bit of sleep out of your body when his arm reached out to turn you over to him. He looked like he’d managed to get some sleep, at least. His eyes were puffy and his hair was everywhere. Sprawled out across his pillow and onto yours. The bed head was clearly on purpose. He was a hair monster. It’d be impossible for his hair to tangle by itself.

“Oh, so you think you’re cute enough to be the first thing I see today?”, you teased.

He just hummed and pulled you in closer. The smell of cologne wasn’t overpowering, but it was more noticeable with you snuggled into his chest and buried underneath his sheets. In fact, you probably smelled just like him right now. Khol inhaled deep before placing a kiss on top of your head, and then another. Of course, he loved that.

“Do you have anywhere to be?”, his voice came through muffled.

Yesterday, you had only meant to hang out with him after work. Between Zeke starting his classes and Phoebe working on her studies, Khol had been more needy than usual. Anyway, an hour turned into several more and suddenly it was nighttime. Khol had a spare set of pajamas for you. He always did. So you just threw your day clothes in the wash and decided to sleep over. The wash! you suddenly remembered.

Khol shifted back, his face coming into view again. “Honey?”

“I just remembered I never switched my clothes over to the dryer!”

He smiled, “I took care of it while you were asleep. They’re folded too”. His gaze drifted past you, and his smile faded a bit. “So, if you need to get ready then…”

You poked his cheek and tired gentle eyes fell back on you. “No. I don’t have work until later this evening.”

A long black strand curled around the finger you’d poked him with and his smile returned.

“Perfect”, he breathed.

Dividers from curtainhshsh

A/N = Author's Note

SFW = Safe for Work (no explicit or graphic content)

Fluff = Light-hearted content

OC = Original Character

Khol was forgetting something.

He didn't know what, exactly (if he did then he wouldn't be having this issue), but it had been knawing at him all week. 

Honestly, he had also just had a pretty shit week in general. 

For some reason the restaurants manager decided to shove a massive stick up his ass and take it out in everyone else and start micromanaging everyone everywhere, and blew up at everything even slightly off. He was blowing up at that things everyone was in collective agreement to just let slide usually! What the hell was this sudden crack down?!

THEN that asshole changed Zekes shift schedule for the week without even asking him, so Khol couldn't even see his friend at work at all this week! 

AND THEN everyone and their mother decided that this week in particular they would remember this restaurant exists and SWAMP THE FUCKING PLACE! 

AND THEN, apparently, the store you worked at got the leftover bulk of a huge estates sale that had to be sort through, priced, and shelves, BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO MISSED THE ESTATES SALE SUDDENLY CARED ABOUT IT NOW AND THEY FOUND OUT THAT YOUR STORE WAS SELLING THE SHIT THERE AND WERE FLOODING IN.

YOUR BOSS WAS MAKING YOU PULL BACK TO BACK SHIFTS AND OVERTIME LIKE YOU WORKED IN A FUCKING HOSPITAL AND NOT A SMALL ANTIQUE STORE- WHAT THE FUCK DOES HE NEED YOU THERE 24/7 FOR?! HUH?! COULD NOTHING WAIT? 

There were a couple times in your relationship where he seriously considered killing Larry.

Larry was honestly fine! Usually! He just hated Khol, and he could live with that. It wouldn't be the first time he had been hated, but working you to the bone like this? Absolutely not!

You weren't getting back to your apartment until late at night and any phone calls you two made to each other had to be cut short because you were both just too tired to keep talking to each other! Don't even get him started on how neither of you were able to visit each other at work this week like you usually did!

Fuck his manager and fuck yours too! What the hell! 

... At least you never hung up the phone after you lost the energy to talk. You both would stay on the line and just listen to each other breath until you fell asleep. He enjoyed that part. 

BUT THE REST OF THE WEEK WAS DOG SHIT! 

He hadn't had. ANY human meat. In nearly two weeks!

It was all he was thinking about lately! Khol couldn't do anything without thinking of how hungry he was for something he couldn't have!

He was slamed! Zeke was slammed! Any pieces of meat from their last 'hunt' were gone, and they were both too tired to go to bars and lure anyone to the slaughter. He was going INSANE! And he's pretty sure Zeke was getting more snappy than usual, so he's feeling it too! 

And listen.

...He knows what he just did was sloppy.

I mean, seriously, he was covered in some drunk guys blood right now, but he was hungry. 

Was it stupid? Acting on a hungry whim? Going out without gloves? With loose hair? In public? With only the night and a route through some dark alleys and an abandoned house as his cover?

Was he stupid for calling Zeke to tell him what he did on an impulse, give him the location and then leave the body there for Zeke to find? Was that a dick move on his part? 

Yeah. Absolutely. He knew that. Sorry Zeke. But if he didn't get that meat today then he probably would have done something even more stupid. 

And, he would also admit to taking out some of his frustration on the guy he killed. Even more when the guy actually put up a good fight and got Khol just covered in his blood.

Seriously?! Blood was everywhere! He looked like an edgy horror movie victim! His pants, his jacket and his shirt underneath that was slowly getting soaked, his face, his hands, HIS HAIR?! HIS FUCKING HAIR?! ARE YOU JOKING??? He knows he didn't tie it up but this was just insane! 

Fuck. Maybe the guy had something to do with whatever he was forgetting? No, no, that couldn't be it. Whatever he was forgetting, it was something that happened a while ago. Plus, he already knew he messed up a lot of his usual process- Zeke had chewed him out royaly for it, but just!

Fuck!

What was he forgetting?! 

He knew it was something important! He knew that he was going to be mad at himself for forgetting it as soon as he remembered what it was, but he didn't remember what it was! 

This week sucked. He hated this. He wanted to go hang out with Zeke and Phoebe. He wanted a whole month off work. He wanted to kiss you and then collapse on top of you and let you dote on and take care of him, and then he'd dote on and take care of you. 

And right now he wanted a damn shower because THE STUPID ASSHOLES BLOOD GOT IN HIS FUCKING HAIR!!! THAT'S JUST RUDE! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THATS GONNA TAKE TO WASH OUT?! 

So he was a bit pissy when he jammed his house key into his door and shoved it open. 

His phone had died after he called Zeke, and it was so late in the night (morning? It was definitely past midnight) at this point that calling you would mean waking you up and disturbing your sleep. He couldn't do that. You were getting so little sleep as of late already. He wasn't going to add to that, no matter how terribly he missed you. 

So, he would be alone tonight.

There would be nothing for him tonight that could distract from this big, silent, empty house.

Khol slammed the door behind him and kicked off his boots. His work clothes were left in a plastic bag in the passenger seat of his car. He wasn't risking get blood on white clothes. 

He probably should just wash his hands and go back out to bring them in, but they could just sit there for the night. Tomorrow was the weekend and he didn't... Have...

The weekend. 

...Did he have...something to do this-

"Khol?" 

He stopped dead.

Your voice came from upstairs.

...You were upstairs. 

...No. 

You were upstairs. In his house. Right now. 

No.

Oh God. 

No no no no NO!

Khol could not have forgotten this. Not today. Not now! Not while he was covered in this gore! Covered in all this blood!

You two had made plans. He remembers now. You had made plans to stay the night with him for the weekend about week prior. He remembers.

Oh you had just been so excited about it; you both were! Khol had giddily made a grocery list to make your favorite foods, and you had spent half an hour together choosing bad movies and true crime documentaries- the ones that really dug into all the forensic details that Khol loved- that the two of you would watch together this weekend, all cuddled up on his couch, and warm, and happy, and- 

And then work had you both swamped by the next day.

And he forgot.

And now you were here. 

He hadn't even gone grocery shopping yet...

...FUCK! How does he explain this blood?! 

He heard your footsteps. You were coming down the stairs.

You were going to see him- 

"Khol? You there, Sugar?"

"Honey!" Oh fuck what could he do?! Yell at you to stay on the stairs or go back up? He doesn't want to yell at you! That would just scare you and he doesn't want that. He could not have that! But what does he do?! 

You came around the corner before he could decide. 

"You got back real late today, Sugar. Kitchen keep ya that long-..." Your sleepy, but happy tone that he had always adored hearing died out the moment you saw the red splattered on his face, and Khols stomach dropped.

"... Honey-" he needed to say something! He saw your face flash when you realized what you were looking at and, Oh God you looked so scared.

"What the fuck?!" Your eyes blinked back into focus, and you were on him in a minute. 

"Khol! Where are you hurt?! How did- where'd all this come from?! When did-" you were stumbling over your words, and your eyes and hands were moving from place to place like they just couldn't settle and he couldn't do anything to hold you and calm you down because his hands were just covered in dried blood and he refused to transfer that on to you! 

So he ended up holding his hands out like he was trying to placate a small, scared animal in a way that had never worked for him before with real animals but seemed to get somewhere with everyone else, all in an effort to not get you dirty.  

"Honey! Honey, breathe, please! I'm alright! I promise..."

And then, despite his efforts, you grabbed onto one of his hands and laced your fingers together as soon as you could. 

Despite his efforts, Khol let you. 

Your eyes were still wild and rapid as they checked him over, but as he did his best to sooth you, and when you could find no tears in his clothes nor any signs of pain from him, those same eyes gave way into an alert confusion. 

Then the warmth of your hand disappeared, and you started trying to get behind him and spin him around ever which way to get a better look at every possible location all the blood covering him could have originated from. 

"Where are-... Can you feel any pain? Did you get into a fight or. Or did someone follow ya? Here, take of your jacket-" You reached for his zipper and he, as gently as he could, stopped you by taking your hand in his. A reverse of your previous position.

He might as well hold your hand like he wanted, now that you had shown you didn't mind blood, at least not when you were worried for him.

You leaned in and kissed the back of his knuckles within a second, almost like you were running on instinct, staring at him all the while with those wide, lovely eyes like you hadn't even noticed what you had done, and somehow, his heart still found the strength to flutter. 

Fuck, he just loves you so, so much. 

He adjusted the way he was holding your hand so it was encompassed by both of his own, and brought them up to where he could lean in and kiss them at any second.

He rubbed his thumb across your fingers and looked deep into your eyes. 

How was he going to explain this?

"Hey, hey... I'm alright. The bloods not-..."

Oh God what does he SAY?! 

"..." You kept looking him up and down. Kept looking at where there were large quantities of blood and stared at them like you were expecting them to be darker or get bigger in a way that implied bleeding, and then moved on to another area after not finding it. 

You were becoming more and more confused by the second when nothing was turning up.

Khol knew there were some cuts and bruises on his arms hidden under his jacket (courtesy of Mr Fight Club earlier), but nothing that would amount to the blood bath soaked into his clothes, and Khol suspected that you would see that for yourself in the near future. 

Khol could feel each and every beat of his heart and every breathe that entered his lungs as you looked him all over for answers and came up empty. 

"... The blood ain't yours?" 

"...No" 

You looked... He didn't even know how to interpret that look. He only knew he hated it. Your voice was coming out shaky and he hated it.  

"... Its-... Sweet heart, it's a lot of blood..."

"..." Khol closed his eyes. What could be say?

He took a deep breath and pulled your intertwined hands closer and took his time laying a kiss to your knuckles.

"... I'll. I'll tell you later... Honey..? Is that ok? Can I tell you later?" He looked at you with a desperate hope. 

Please, please say yes.

Please Honey, please say yes.

Let him figure out what lie to tell you later.

Let him keep his secret for a little longer.

Let him keep your freely given love for now, please. 

Keep looking at him with not an ounce of fear in your eyes for just a little while longer. Please. 

Please. Please don't leave him when you finally find out. Please don't leave him all alone!

You just blinked at him, sweetly oblivious to the reasons behind his inner strife but still recognizing it was there.

"Uh. Yeah! Right, right, of course you can love! Um. Just... Just let me..." You reached out your other hand towards the zipper of his jacket once again, and Khol didn't stop you this time. 

You stared at him. The blood that had soaked through the jacket and clung to his arms and the fabric of his T-shirt was much less, but still very much there. 

"... Khol?"

"Hm?" 

Your other hand came and joined where the rest of yours were all intertwined, and your eyes locked with his.

"... If you feel pain, at any time, then you gotta tell me, alright?"

Khol found himself smiling softly, despite the situation. You were so worried for him! Even if that feeling in you changed when you found out that the blood truly wasn't his at all, he could have this moment right here right now.

He kiss your hands once again "Of course, my dear" 

The panic was subsiding, and you found yourself fit to fluster in the way that Khol always made it his mission to bring out in you.

You were still fidgeting with everything you could. Shifting your weight from side to side and you kept squeezing and playing with his hands. You were looking for something to do. 

"... Right... Well then. Let's uh- let me clean you up, ok?" 

Oh, Khol could feel himself softening up by the second, and that was reflected in his voice and in his gaze. 

"Anything you want, honey"

You smiled, a crooked little thing, and took your hands back to grab into his arm and lead him up the stairs. 

He pretended not to notice you were moving slower than usual, in case he really was injured and was either hiding it or didn't realize. Khol couldn't mind it much. The last ten minutes had felt slower than usual, after all. This would only fit. 

You had stopped and let go of him only to grab towels and washcloths from the hallway closet, and then silently herded him into the bathroom before you once again began to fuss. 

"Alright uh. I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt right now. I need to get that in water real quick if you wanna get that blood out." Your words were a little slurred and jumbled together as you distract yourself with turn the shower on and checking ever few seconds to see if it was hot enough. The tell tale steam eventually forming when it did. 

Khol raised a brow and looked over himself. 

He smiled. Something shit eating and not fitting in with the overall atmosphere, but... He just didn't like seeing you like this, trying to find something to do to help him with a problem that he couldn't even explain. 

"... Honey?"

"Hm?"

"What about my pants? Should I take those off too?" Not that it would lead to anything, but he wanted to hear you laugh. 

"Please do." Your voice was more clinical than anything.

Oh. Ouch. 

Ok then. Not the time. Got it.

...You were probably just crashing from the high emotions. That was fine. Khol could understand that. 

He'll just... have to find a way to make you laugh tomorrow...

-AND HE HAS TO COME UP WITH A FUCKING STORY TO EXPLAIN THIS SHIT BY TOMORROW! FUCK!

You left him in the bathroom after a quick comment about fetching some clothes, so Khol dedicated about ten seconds to a nice mental breakdown as he stripped. 

What does he say? What can be say? Where do people get covered in blood? Fucking murder scenes. And fights. Oh! Fights! Ok. So let's say he got into a fight. Who was he fighting? Did he know the guy he was fighting in this scenario or was it a stranger? Fuck fuck FUCK-

Khol but his lip. Fuck! Ok, so he got into a fight- it's a lot of blood, and none of it came from him, so the hypothetical person didn't know Khol could fight, so let's go with stranger. 

Khol had gotten into a bar fight in front of you once- the fucker deserved it for what he said to you- but he held back for your sake. He really, really does not want you to be scared of him.

But then Phoebe also made a comment about it, teasing him about how light he was on the guy, and asking if it was because you were there. Right in front of you! So, you probably did know that Khol usually went farther in fights when you weren't there to see it. 

Khol did his lip harder. Ok. He got into a fight with a stranger and he beat him way too far. Fuck. Now that make him look like an asshole. 

What if there were multiple guys?! That would explain the blood a bit better.

How many could he get away with? Two? Three? Khol was strong but a three against one was a little- 

... What if he wasn't alone in the fight though?

He had never told you that Zeke got his shifts changed, did he? He had forgotten about it after you showed him a weird little jar that had a two headed centipede floating in preserving liquid that came into your shop. He lost his mind when he saw it, and then lost it more when you told him that you already bought it for him as a gift, and Zeke was forgotten about. 

Ok. So him and Zeke got into a fight.

...Well shit. Now he has to get Zeke involved with this. 

Ok, but why-

The door creaked open and his eyes found you instantly.

You came back into the bathroom with an almost shy look and a pile of soft, matching pajamas that you had bought for both of them as a 'joke'. You two didn't wear them as often as he would like, but something about seeing them, and knowing that you deliberately packed yours for this sleep over, and rummaged around his room to find his made his wild heart beat a little more softly. 

He loves you. So much. 

"Ok. So we can't soak your clothes in the tub, so I'm gonna just put your shirt in the sink, and your pants and jacket are both black, so they can wait a little longer or get the blood out. Cool?" 

"Cool" he would be cool with almost anything if it was you asking. 

You smiled at him and slow blinked like people have told him cats do when they love you "...Cool." 

You turned on the cold water and plugged the sink drain, which made the bottom part of the now foggy mirror briefly have an identity crisis before the steam won, and put his red T-shirt in there to soak. 

And then you started stripping yourself. 

Oh!

Yay! You were joining him! 

(of course you would be. Of course you wouldn't leave him alone right now) 

You said nothing once you were bare, only looking away from his face to briefly scan how much blood had made it on his body- and undoubtedly noticed the small cuts and bruises you couldn't see before with his jacket on and hadn't noticed till now.

Khol struck a pose like you were checking him out instead "You like what you see?" 

"...Huh? Oh!" You gave him a. Not quite laugh? You exhaled pretty hard out of your nose though, and you smiled, so he would take it.

Then, you gave him a small kiss on his collarbone, and that made him blush and want to melt, before taking his hand once again to lead him into the shower. 

You got him under the warm hot water and had your hands in his hair immediately, and he went a little bit insane in the safety of his thoughts, because if someone told him that this is what heaven was, he would believe them and die in an instant to get this forever. 

But if he was dead then he wouldn't get to see you. So. That obviously couldn't happen. 

Khol already knew that the sound he made was going to haunt his dreams and embarrass him years down the line, but God! He hasn't seen you in a week and now you were right here, and he could see all of you, and you were so close, and you were touching him, and you cared about him so much, and he cared about you so much, and- 

His eyes were completely closed and heavy. You were massaging his scalp and making him tilt his head this was and that so you could scratch where you needed to to loosen up the dried blood in his hair, then ran your fingers all the way through it to get as much of it out as possible before properly washing it. 

Khol barely remembered to give himself some artificial tangles in his hair, both to avoid suspicious about how his hair stayed pristine after such a violent 'fight', and to give you something to do to take your mind off of the blood. Which, predictably, you took little parts of his hair at a time and unwound the tangles with tremendous efforts to not break the hair, and he made sure to not make any knots that would require that. 

But eventually , you took apart the last tangle, and you simply took a moment, with your hands resting on his shoulders, to just look at him, and Khol looked back. 

... Why were you looking at him? We're you about to ask? Right now? We're you- 

You grabbed his face. Oh! 

Honestly, grab was a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like you were simply finding a new place to rest your hands. 

He leaned closer to you. Leaned more into those hands. 

You gave him another slow blink, and then you moved his hair out of his face, and then you closed your eyes, and then you gave him a slow, weighted kiss on his forehead. Right between his brows. 

"I love you" 

Your voice was so calm and so clear, and you were looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the world. 

Amd he was staring at you with his eyes and mouth open like a fucking idiot. 

What was this reaction time he had? Who let him date? 

He put his hands over yours and put a kiss right on one of your palms. Flaking and melting blood running down both of you with the flow of water be dammed. 

"I love you too, sweetheart"

You brought him towards you and pressed your forehead against his, right where you just kissed. Slowly- all so slowly, like you were trying to burn this moment into your very being. Burn this moment into your soul.

"...I love you so much"

Khol closed his eyes.

He wants this burned into his soul too. 

...

You both breathed together one more time, and then you pulled away, gave his face one last stroke of your thumb, and then turned to get one of the cloths you had laid on the shower bar and wet it under the running water. 

You were silent as you held his hair back with one hand and started to wash his face with the other, and Khol was silent as he stared at you. 

You were always so gentle with him in ways he had never known he'd receive. He doubted he could ever truly tell you just how much he meant that. 

You cleaned your hands and applied the actual cleanser yourself. The tips of your fingers gliding across his face in a way that was much calmer as the majority of the blood on his body was being slowly washed away, although you did switch back to the cloth to clean off the soap for him. 

Khol started melting the second you reached for the shampoo bottle. 

"Honey?"

You were working the shampoo between your hands and trying not to drop any on the floor. 

"Hm?"

"I love you" He already knew the smile on his face looked stupid. 

You smiled at him right back. "I love you too, Sugar" 

And then you began that scalp massage all over again as you washed his hair and- listen. Could anyone really blame him if Khol said that time seemed to pass by in a blur after this? He faintly remembers leaning on you so heavily that his face was just in your neck with his eyes closed by the time you began to work the shampoo through the bottom part of his hair. Just to make sure everything was clean. 

...He may have started leaning on you on purpose, though. But you, for one, clearly didn't mind! You had kept him in that same position as you walked him back under the center of the water flow and worked the suds out of his hair, and he didn't know how many, but he's sure that you were giving him kisses on his shoulder and anywhere you could reach, so you needed to be this close too!

That was the official excuse that Khol was going to roll with if you ever teased him for this later! 

Conditioner was much the same ritual, and this is also the moment where Khol accepts that his usual hour long hair routine was not happening tonight.

He just wanted to be in bed with you in your matching pajamas and holding you as soon as possible. He could happily sacrifice one missed night of hair oils and wax for that. 

No, but really, he is so tired right now.

Like. Wow. This week, and this night in particular had taken a lot out of him. 

And- ugh! He still has to think of a full story to explain this later! Probably by morning. Fuck AND HE HAS TO TELL ZEKE TO BACK HIM UP FUCK! 

He gets another kiss on the shoulder and then slightly pushed back so you can get the cloth again and move on to cleaning his body...

So now he's trying to multitask on coming up with his story and figuring out the best way to tease you right now with a sleep deprived brain. 

He ends up just absentmindedly kissing you wherever he could reach while not disturbing you from your task. Not the tried and true method, but eh. He'll tease you later. 

...Uuuhhhhhh shit. Man he doesn't know. Him and Zeke were closing and some difficult customers came back and started causing some bullshit scene outside.... And uhhhh.... I guess Khol had recognized them from a previous incident, or maybe they were a 'past friends' horrible terrible ex that should've been in jail anyway.... Uh. Yeah. Yeah that sounds fine... Ugh. Now he has to make up a fake friend he doesn't talk to anymore. Fuck his chungus life. 

"... Khol?" Your voice cut through his half asleep mind. 

"Yes?" 

"... Baby, whose blood is this? Do you know them?"

"... Ah"

Honey! How convenient! How sweet of you to wait until he came up with a story! Thank you very much that's very considerate of you! 

But maybe he didn't respond soon enough because you got nervous.

Aw man. 

"You ain't gotta tell me what happened! Not yet, anyway... But- I mean-... do you know them?"

Shiiit. Yes and no? Let's just say he had met this Ex-friends Ex character a couple times but didn't really know him. That sounds legit.

You weren't looking at him in the eye when you asked "... Do they know you?" 

... Oh Honey. You worried about him too much. (Please never stop)

"Uh. Kind of? It was three guys actually. Don't worry! Zeke was with me so it wasn't like I got ganged up on it anything" 

You stepped closer to him and held his hand. Awww. He kissed your forehead.

He really needed to brush his teeth so he could kiss you for real. He doesn't want you tasting any hints of blood in his mouth, after all. 

"Hm... One of them was dating one of my friends- not someone you know. Me and her didn't really keep contact after high school, but trust me, that guy was awful to her. Apparently he hasn't changed. Started causing a scene outside the restaurant." He'll have to fine tune the details later, but that was later. 

"Outside the restaurant? Did he know you were working there?"

Forehead kiss. "Probably not? That guy was always fucking weird, but I only met him like twice and haven't seen him in years... I'll tell you the rest later, ok?" After he gets this story straight with Zeke. And he gets some sleep. And some cuddles. And an actual kiss.

Khol took a deep breath and stretched. Ok. Time to lock in. He was so tired. Sooner you guys got out of the shower the sooner he would get those cuddles. 

He gave you another kiss, this time on your cheek (he just really liked doing that) and took the washcloth from your hand to finish washing himself, and you took that as your sign to finally start washing your own face and body. 

Khol washed your hair though. He was done with himself by that point and honestly just kind of wanted an excuse to play with your hair. 

Yeah... You guys were probably in that shower for like two hours, but Khol had no sense of time at this point, so who knows. It wasn't like he was panicking over his potential water bill anyway. 

He also wasn't ashamed to admit that, by the time the water was shut off and you two were patting each other dry with towels, that his shirt soaking in cold water and his bloody pants still in the floor had completely slipped his mind. 

He wasn't really happy when he got reminded about them. He literally said "Boooooo!" When he stepped out the shower. 

He just! Wanted! To sleep! And maybe have a little kiss, too! Fuck! 

You also groaned as soon as you saw them, so he wasn't alone in this. 

He briefly though of talking you into just ignoring the clothes and dealing with them tomorrow (gross, he knows. He doesn't care right now), but you were already moving to drain the bloody water and ring out the shirt, so that was obvious a no go. 

Even as he saw both of your life energy drain when your eyes landed on the bottle of hydrogen peroxide that Khol had brought out from his medicine cabinet, you didn't stop.

He gave the bottle to you and took his shirt back. It wasn't completely clean yet, and he still didn't like the thought of you getting blood on yourself. 

Khol gave you another kiss, this one on the top of your head and hair as you opened the bottle and poured it on the worst of the blood stains while he held the shirt still, disinfecting the fabric.

You both rested it on the sink counter when you were finished with the front. The back hadn't gotten much blood in it, thankfully. But the chemicals had to soak. Which took more time. Ew. 

Khol sighed and stretched as you washed your hands. He wanted to be in beeeedddddddd! 

He looked back at you. 

You were kind of playing with the water, he noticed... Not in a scared way, just in the way you'd get a bit too nervous when asking for anything you thought might 'burden' him. He was still trying to spoil that thinking out of you. Success has been greatly varied. 

"...Sugar?" Awww you sounded so sleepy! 

"Yes?" He perked up in an instant. You know, sometimes he felt like a dog with how happy he got when you just talked to him. 

"... Your pants and jacket are black..."

...Oh? Was he about to get his way? 

"They are"

"Blood doesn't show up much on black..."

"It doesn't"

"Can we... Sugar, can we maybe leave them for tomorrow-" 

"Yes we can!" He got his way! Hell yeah! 

You were both ready to fall over each other, so between getting you dressed, getting himself dressed, brushing his teeth, and rinsing out the shirt again and chucking it in the laundry for an actual wash while his pants lay happily forgotten in the bathroom floor, there was mostly just an exhaustive urgency to Finish This Shit, and Finish This Shit you both did. 

He would also have zero shame in admitting that he was straight up half asleep lying on his stomach against your chest as you lazily blow dried his hair for him on his bed. Two of his favorite things were happening at the same time: he was getting his hair played with and you were touching him. He saw no way this could possibly be a bad thing. 

He also happened to notice a jar full of a two headed centipede on his nightstand! He was gonna be jumping around about that in the morning! 

The second the hair dryer shut off and all the fuzzy feelings he always had around you were reaching an all time high, he pulled back just enough to see you fully.

You were so sleepy and so cute and he never wanted a week like this to happen again because he just missed you! So, so so much! He loved you and he missed you and he wanted to really, really kiss you! ... Oh wait-

"Can I kiss you?" He hoped he had puppy eyes right now. He didn't really know what puppy eyes were supposed to look like, but he hoped he had them.

You didn't answer, but you did smile and pull him closer to you, SOOOO-

Uh. He may have gone a bit crazy with the way he pushed you down against the pillows and kissed every square inch of your face like a rabid dog...

He couldn't help it! He really, really loved you! And you loved him! And you were smiling and petting his hair while he kissed you so CLEARLY you were ok with this and that was all Khol needed to know! 

He has no idea where he was getting all the energy to kiss you from. Maybe he just had a separate system dedicated to you, who knows? But you were clearly worn, so Khols little rampage turned into nuzzles in only a few minutes. 

Awww, honey, you were barely keeping your eyes open to look at him! 

He leaned over you to turn off the lamp before falling back down to his place next you you.

You were barely awake...

Khol kissed your eyelids and you smiled, and took that as your cue to snuggle up to him and close you eyes for the night with one last yawn. 

"..."

"... Khol?"

"...hm?" 

"I love you"

The smile on his face was dopey. He didn't need a mirror to know that for a fact. 

"I love you too, Honey" 

and with that, you fell asleep. 

...

... Fuck.

Something was still bugging him. 

He was supposed to do... Something- OH FUCK HE NEEDS TO TELL ZEKE- 

Zeke would then get woke up by a dozen illegible and incoherent texts from Khol, asking him to back him up with... Some story. Apparently they now had a make believe high school friend with the world's worst ex.

What the fuck, man? 

What the fuck is this shit? What was the point of a "there was only one bed" situation if the one bed couldn't fit both people?! 

Oh you were just devastated when Khol first came over and started acting all shy to be in your apartment for the first time- just like he was when he first walked into your work and fumbled his way into getting your number after buying the world's most regrettably designed chandelier- and you just smiled and gave him a little kiss on his big ass forehead and sat him down on your bed to play some video games or watch some trash TV and more kisses CAUSE YOU GOTTA GIVE HIM KISSES HE LOOKS LIKE A SAD DOG WHEN HE DOESNT GET ANY and then realized how much he just DWARFS THE FUCKING BED. 

DAWG! 

DAWG!

He didn't even lay down and you already knew cuddling wasn't gonna be an option here! 

Khol wasn't staying the night that day, so it wasn't a huge issue, BUT! COME ON MAN! What kind of partner can't drag their own boyfriend down for a a cuddle while you play with his hair, huh?! Mr Rapunzel was in your apartment and you couldn't even have a snuggle in your own bed! Or the damn couch! Shit!

You and your humongous lover had been together for about a year. Most sleep overs had to happen at his place though, purely cause he can't sleep somewhere he can't fit, and you don't like seeing him trying to pretend he's not uncomfortable in the most cursed and cramped sleeping position you have ever seen in you whole ass life. And you've seeing some fuckery during your college days at parties! 

And look. Khol was a lovely boyfriend. Very doting and adoring. 10/10. You wouldn't trade him for all the cornchips in the world. 

But like.... His house was kinda lifeless....

That shit was so grey. He found a color palette and committed to it. You fear the day someone shows him what Brutalism is. There will be zero recovery from that.

He did get a plant! And he's got plenty of windows so sunlight wasn't a problem! But his house just didn't look nearly as lived in as it probably should be.

Although in his defense, he spent most of his free time at anyone's house but his own. Either yours, Zekes, or Phoebes, so you can understand how his place just wasn't quite broken in yet. 

Still though. You would admit in your own mind to liking your apartment better, as small as it may be. 

So, you made an executive decision. 

You ripped off the blankets, pillows, and sheets from your mattress and threw them on the carpet of your living room floor. Then you went and got your mattress. And then you got more sheets, more blankets, and more pillows. You were grabbing blankets you haven't used in years for this. But you wanted your honey to be able to actual sleep with you when he came over! 

So you made a fort. 

And it was one sick ass fort (after you rebuilt like three times, anyway).

You took a picture with your phone camera and sent it to Khol with no context. Only asking him what time he was getting off work. And maybe one or six kiss emojis. Just because you weren't there to give him kisses physically. What a tragedy that was...

The good thing was he was already set to come over to your place today anyways. You had both decided that last night after getting sick of only getting to talk through phone calls and the occasional texts. It had been a busy week, after all... Sue you if you wanted to spoil him a bit. 

Maybe he'd want to watch a movie with you in the fort? You could grab your computer... Or you two could just listen to music and talk. Honestly anything was good with you if it meant he would be here with you. 

He must of seen your texts, because your phone was ringing. And t was from him. Even if the Caller ID wasn't right in front of your face, you had set his ring tone to a song from that Lords of Acid album that was printed on the shirt he gave you.

You kind of went back and forth on whether you liked the band, but Khol loved it, and always looked so darling whenever he talked about the bands lore or showed you a new song, so you could never really mind the music whenever it came on. 

You smiled and accepted the call with a soft giddy feeling that always found you when Khol was around. 

"Hi love-"

"I'll be there in ten minutes!" 

Aaawwwwww he sounds so excited!!! How the hell did you manage to pull this man? 

"Don't speed on your way here again, baby! I ain't going nowhere!" You said with a slight laugh. Khol had a bad habit of doing all sorts of reckless shit trying to get to you as fast as possible. It's real sweet, but it does make you worry for him. 

"Yeah yeah. Totally legal speeds over here, honey! But come on- it's not like I'd get caught anyway"

Yeah. You worry for him alright. You sighed.

"Sugar..."

"... I'll be there soon. Not speeding. Trust."

"Hm... Well I guess I have to trust you, huh?-"

"-Really, the hardest trial of all-", oh you just KNOW he had a shit eating grin right now. You smiled. You loved him.

"Oh shush! Tell me when you park and I'll unlock my door for you. Do you want to order pizza? I've got coupons!"

"I can cook for us, honey"

"...You've been cooking all day though. You ain't tired of it yet?" You just really didn't want to burden him, especially after the long week he's had. The restaurant he works at has been slammed.

His response came immediately.

"Not if it's for you I'm not! I'll always cook for you. Whenever you want..."

"..." Honestly, he just had these moments where he'd sound so lovestruck while talking to you that you honestly don't know what to do with yourself. Sweet, sweet boy, this one is. 

"...Ok, love" 

"Ok- I'll be there in like two minutes! Love you! See you soon, hon" 

"Love you too, sugar", you hung up on him- because he NEVER hangs up first- and threw your phone and yourself down into your pillow fort you were so proud of and screamed. 

HE IS SO SO SO CUTE OH MY GOD- 

You know what? If he asked for some intricate ass hairstyle where you pretty much had to have your hands in his hair for a whole hour, or a hundred kisses, or an absurdly long cuddle session, you were gonna GIVE IT TO HIM! And it was gonna happen in your PILLOW FORT! And he was gonna spend the NIGHT! and you were both going to SLEEP! In a COMFORTABLE POSITION! In your PILLOW FORT! 

Wait wait wait holy shit did you have enough food in your house for him to cook?! You must have. You assumed you did, but you could really let your pantry go sometimes.

Uhhh you think you had chicken in the freezer? Maybe fish too? You probably had enough food for him to work with. He always side eyes your kitchen so hard when you don't have any actual ingredients in there! 

Ok... You had food (allegedly), you had shitty, low budget movies already downloaded on your computer that you two can laugh at, as well as some actually good quality horror movies that he was probably gonna pretend he hadn't already seen for the sake of letting you show him something 'new', you had a hairbrush on stand but and a whole new pack of red little elastic bands and little hair clips for him, because he needs to be pampered as much as possible, and you had your PILLOW FORT LETS FUCKING GO- 

Your phone dings. 

You smile and shoot up to go unlock your door. 

I mean, you could really feel the spirit of the mission impossible theme song right now. 

But like.

The stupider version that Kronk hums in the Emperor's New Groove. 

You didn't have the royalty money for the actual theme. Broke ass.

You were currently being snuck into a restaurant (thank you Zeke you are a hero) through the back alley door. Y'know? The one where trash is taken out and employees go out of to smoke cigarettes and contemplate how badly they needed their jobs. Could they cuss out their boss or their customers today, or was rent due? 

The question of life, truly. 

You had called Khol a bit early yesterday, just as he had gotten into his car after his shift and was taking a minute to gather up his will to live before he drove home. He still sounded plenty chipper when talking to you, don't get it wrong! He just seemed a little less talkative than usual. 

You had asked why, worried that he was working too hard, or that there was maybe a coworker he didn't get along with, but no. Turns out he just tends to have a sudden drop in energy towards the end of the dinner or lunch rush. 

Makes sense. Working in a restaurant, especially as a line cook, could take a lot out in a person. Working through any type of rush and getting into a flow about it could easily give you a sudden drop when the end was finally in sight. You could understand that just fine. 

So! You asked Khol if there was anything you could do to help.

He invited you over for the night, which you had happily accepted, as you were off and he had worked the morning shift that day, so it was only the early afternoon and you didn't have a problem with getting your ass over to his house for some...time together. 

But you also had the bright idea of of bringing him a little snack. 

"I could get you some coffee! And something small to eat too- do you like dark chocolate? It's plenty bitter, and I think there's a little candy shop by my place that sells it real dark-"

"Wait wait wait wait wait! Here me out!"

Now. You had originally planned to get the snacks and give them to Khol either before his shift (coffee would be cold by the time he needed it. Plus, he's probably just end up drinking it in the car on his way to work and get too much energy too early), getting yourself a seat for dinner in Zekes section and then making him deliver the stuff (too many problems with that. Zeke would be feeling the slam before Khol would and you didn't want to give him more work. Also Khol had said that if it looked like one waiter was giving one chef special treatment, then every other chef would take it out on them during the shift. Damn), or just having Khol make a quick run out the door in the back before the rush fully set in and you could give him the coffee and the chocolate yourself. 

And that's when you heard two beautiful seconds of silence before Khol started manically laughing like the cartoon villain be was always meant to be. 

You can not believe you gave this man your number. Holy shit.

So now here you are. Sneaking in through that door to meet up with Khol for a quick little date for the duration of Khols break before the dinner crowd arrived.

You had also brought a much sweeter chocolate bar and a latte for Zeke.

As a gift? Nah. As a bribe. 

Well. Kind of as a gift. Zeke was still your friend and he was being super cool right now. He deserved a little treat too. 

Speaking of treats. That dark chocolate bar you got for your boyfriend? The super bitter one? The one you picked out for him because it was 85% coco? That one? That one costed you EIGHT FUCKING DOLLARS ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! THE COFFEE WAS LIKE TWO! 

Zeke gives you a spare employee uniform that's just a bit too big for you. Although exactly whose uniform it is was a mystery that will just have to be left up to God because you sure as shit weren't about to ask questions. 

"If anyone asks, your new here."

You raise a brow at Zeke as he leads you through the building. 

...Yeah ok Zeke. There was a little problem with that though. 

"Won't they notice when I ain't here tomorrow then?"

He just shrugged.

Ok then! 

"Yeah, but we'll just act like they're crazy. The people who eat here are a rare kind of stupid, so it won't be too unbelievable. Just be natural- oh. Thank you." 

You hand him the latte and the sweet caramel chocolate you bought for him. (It had melted caramel in it and that bitch still costed less than than the dark chocolate. You doubted you would get over this any time soon.)

"Mhm! Do you know if Khol is already in the break room?"

"Uh. I think he might still be in the kitchen? He said he's gonna... Hey. Have you eaten yet?"

"...No?" Did Khol cook you something? 

"Ok good." Zeke left it at that.

...Yeah. Khol definitely cooked you something.

Sweet boy. 

Zeke led you to the (shockingly empty) break room, and nudged you toward a conveniently shady spot in the back corner of the room that had a weird little set up with some curtains that just. Did not look like they were supposed to be there. 

They were some seriously out of date shower curtains that were just hanging from a portable rack in the middle of the room.

Who the hell put those super convenient curtains up right there? 

"Hey Zeke?"

"Hm?"

"Who put those super convenient curtains up right there?" You pointed at them.

Zeke side eyed you. You full eyed him back, because you commit, to both your bullshit, and your staring. 

"...Those have always been there."

"... Huh "

".. But they really don't fit with the rest of the room, now that I think about it"

"..."

"..."

... Man, now y'all were staring at those things like they just told you your address or something. 

You blinked.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"How long has this restaurant been running?" 

"uh let me think... Since like, sometime in the 70s, I think- Oh..."

"..."

"..."

Ah.

Of course.

And what did stressed out chefs in the 70s do in their spare time? 

You looked at Zeke.

"Cocaine corner?"

He was going back and forth between looking at you, and squinting his eyes at the half hidden table. 

"...Cocaine corner. Probably... Anyways" and then he gave you a single pat on the back and left you to your own devices in the employee break room. 

...So you would be secretly meeting their boyfriend at the alleged restaurant cocaine corner.

What a delightful occasion this was! Truly, this was the highlight of your day! 

You sit down in the chair that's being most obscured by the curtain and put the coffee and the chocolate (eight fucking dollars dude!) on the table. 

Now all ya gotta do is wait. 

You really did hope that this helped him. You were pretty sure it would, if he didn't shoot he idea down- 

No, no, Khol wouldn't have shot the idea down even if he knew damn well the coffee would do nothing. Coffee and caffeine can have the opposite effect on certain people and just make them sleepier, and you had no idea if Khol was one of those people. You hoped not, because you knew he was going to drink it anyway, just like the way you just knew, in the back of your mind, that Khol would find a way to come see you in person to collect the snacks from you when you mentioned dropping off a little Pick Me Up for him today. 

You smiled and fidgeted a bit with your hands. He really did always find an excuse to see you, or at the very least, call you.

He was always more than happy to do so, and even when Zeke Phoebe would let you know ahead of time that he's had a hard day and wasn't in the best of moods, he would never snap at you. Even on the rare occasion he was irritated with you specifically, he would handle it remarkably calmly, and he would always make things right as soon as he could. 

He really did love you. 

And now, apparently, he had found the time to cook you... something! Oh you were excited for that! Khol had many talents, but holy shit your man could COOK! 

The door flew open with a sharp sounding squeak- and you meant it when you said sharp.  Them hinges needed some WD40 or something.

But oh my God, Khol! Khol was in the doorway! 

With a huge ass serving tray! Holy shit!

Wait holy shit. Why was he carrying... What the fuck? Why was he carrying three plates? 

Sugar, you were hungry, but not that hungry! 

Actually, you know what? Fuck the number of plates BECAUSE KHOL WAS HERE! LET'S FUCKING GO! 

And he was LOOKING AT YOU-

There were no words on earth, living or dead, that could describe the emotions you felt watching just how starry Khols eyes got when they moved from the food he brought and landed on you. 

"Honey!" 

... The cocaine table can go fuck itself. THIS was clearly the superior highlight of your day!

HE LOOKS SO FUCKING HAPPY THAT YOU'RE HERE! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOU WERE GOING TO EXPLODE! 

Ok shit. Shit shit shit. You gotta lock in.

He can't know that you're actually insane. 

You smiled at him with the energy of someone trying not to tip off the police about their current acid trip, and also like you didn't want to bite him. Very difficult thing to do.

Hercules ain't got shit on this trial that you were facing. 

"Whatcha got there, love? You seem excited" You moved the coffee and the chocolate you brought to the side so that he could set down the tray. 

"Well!" He moved the plates from the tray to the table as he spoke, "You know I like cooking, and I like you- love you, actually, and I want to cook for you more, so I made you a little taste test platter that you can try!" And then he SMILED-

Ohhhh, you wanted to shake him. You wanted to shake him very hard. He was so cute. He should be in jail for being so cute. This should be a crime.

It's ok, you're fine with dating a criminal if it's him BECAUSE HE'S SO CUTE!

He pulled up a chair next to you at the Cocaine Table™ (does he know about that? You'll tell him later) and you took to holding his hand immediately as he looked at you with the most charmingly boyish grin you've ever seen, and you smiled right back. You were so happy that he was happy. He deserved the world, in your humble opinion. 

"Aw, Khol, thank you for this! I really do love your cooking", you wonder if it was possible to make him perk up even more? Uh... Oh! You looked him dead in the eyes and kissed his fingers. "And I love you as well, of course."

Annnddd instant blush from your boy! 

THERE IT IS! You know, sometimes he was shockingly easy to fluster. For as blunt as he could be sometimes, you noticed he couldn't really take affection from you as well as he could dish it out. 

Sweet, sweet boy, you have.

You leaned over and kissed his cheek- just cause you liked kissing him, really- and, gosh, you could almost see how the dial up sound effect was playing in his brain right now. 

The hand you were holding started absentmindedly playing with yours as he tried to laugh it off.

You backed off to let him get his cool back, and turned your attention to the spread he had made for you. 

And holy shit what a spread it was.

Seriously. This was way above your tax bracket, good lord. 

Was. Was that a Cornish hen? You had never seen that shit before in your life. You honestly didn't know why you were focused so much on the shrunken chicken because there was also a steak. There was a whole ass lobster tail on the fucking platter right next to it. 

Fuck. Were you forgetting an important date? Was it his birthday soon? Was it your birthday soon!? You know your anniversary was still months away, so it couldn't be that. Did you two have something super special planned that you had forgotten? 

Khol! What the fuck was this, sweetheart?! 

Khol just watched with a smile as you lost your mind. And he was gonna have to keep watching you lose your mind cause you ain't done yet! 

Ok, so there was an appetizer plate, and entree and garnish plate, and a. Was that a sides plate? The dishes on that one looked relatively simple compared to the other two. Sauteed vegetables, a loaded baked potato, and mac and cheese. Stuff you'd expect from a bistro and done up in a way that looked way too fancy to be the things that they were. So, yeah, that was a sides plate.

Each plate full of three dishes, each that, if sold, could probably generate enough money for you to buy you and your boyfriend concert tickets to a band you'd both recently gotten into. 

(You would need to take him on a date soon. He had been the one making all the date plans lately and you needed to spoil him too damn it!)

You cranked your head from the food over to Khol and- oh! He had found the coffee your brought him! Excellent. 

"Khol."

Khol, now fully recovered, smiled, wide and toothy in a way that drew attention to his rosy cheeks and made you insane.

"So, you like it? You know it took a long time to plan out how I was gonna-" 

Yeah, so anyways you climbed into his lap and started kissing him. 

Dawg, what the fuck else were you supposed to do?! Either you were forgetting an important date that he was preparing a Gordan Ramsy ass meal for, or you were being spoiled just for the sake of being spoiled! By your boyfriend! That you were dating! Holy shit when the fuck did that happen?! How did you pull this man?! 

He's cute, he's sweet, he's funny, he's rich- 

Oh yeah, he's rich, ain't he? You forgot...

This behavior was in his budget, then.

Ok, so you were probably being spoiled for the fuck of it. Nice to know!

Praise be to financial stability! 

Khol had apparently gotten a well enough factory update earlier that he was able to stabilize and kiss you back immediately with no hesitation. There wasn't any fumbling as he tried to figure out what to do with his hands like there had been in those darling early stages of your relationship. His arm just went around your waist and other his hand to the back of your head like it was second nature. The same second nature that made your own hands get right to the task of messing up his nice and neat hair as you gave him all the affection you could. 

Progress, people. Progress. You had both came a long way from the idiots you were when you had your first kiss after your first date. Horray! 

You personally think you should celebrate this one sided revelation with more kissing. Khol on the other hand-

"Hon- Honey?" He suddenly pulled back and turned his head out of the way from your kisses.

Ok then. You went for his neck instead.

YOU AINT GETTING AWAY THAT EASY, SUGAR!  

"Honey?" 

His voice was a bit breathless now. You loved it very much. 

"Hm?"

"Listen, I love you too-" Annndddd a kiss on his jaw, and a kiss on his throat, and a kiss on the side of his neck, and a kiss to a stray strand of hair that had fallen out of that bun when you fucked it up like thirty seconds ago. Really, you were a bit distracted with this, "-i really, really love you too... Honey... Honey, my break is only 15 minutes..."

Ugh.

You pulled back and stared at his face. It was a great face. 10/10 face, and it was looking at you apologeticly (and a little bricked up but this ain't about that). 

You groaned and crawled off. You'll just. Have to continue that later. When you weren't at risk of being walked in on by some poor employee. Didn't mean ya had to like it though! Khol was a very kissable man and you didn't like it when you couldn't kiss him!

Damn. What a bad day this was...

... Luckily, there was a bunch of food right the fuck there to distract you, and luckily, you had the attention span of a damn squirrel! 

"... Oh wait, yay! Food!" 

Damn. What a great day this was! 

Khol laughs as he fixes his hair and wipes his mouth. 

He looks so red right now. 

Anyways! 

"These are appetizers, yeah?" You point at Plate One. 

"Yeah. Do you wanna start with those first?" Now, despite it being a question, he picked up the plate and eagerly put it in front of you before you could answer. Fair enough. Appetizers go first. 

There were stuffed mushrooms, what looked like a spinach and artichoke dip, and chicken wings. Classic stuff! Wasn't as fancy as the meat choices, but you couldn't complain. You really can't go too wrong with these things! Plus, you didn't need super expensive fancy food to be happy. Khol was a professional chef, for fucks sake. Like you thought before, your man could COOK! 

And cook he did, clearly! 

The portions on all the plates weren't large, it was a sampling platter, after all, but they was definitely made to all add up to a full sized meal. 

This must have taken a lot of time...

You grabbed your fork and stabbed a stuffed mushroom and plopped it in your mouth. 

And then you had to contemplate the meaning of life because DAMN! 

You thought this shit was just stuffed with cheese! It wasn't just stuffed with cheese! It had crab in it! And cheese! Fuck me, this was good! Khol ain't skimp out on seasonings neither. 

You were about to ascend. 

Were you even going to be able to enjoy food at a regular restaurant now by the end of this? 

You looked at the plates yet to come. In all their individual, perfectly seasoned (you had no doubts about this), glory. 

... You were about to get disappointed by restaurants for the rest of your life after this, weren't you? Aw man. 

Whatever expression you were making (probably multiple in rapid succession), it had Khol laughing in his seat next to you. You could hear it loud and clear and he made zero efforts to hide it. What a menace. You adored him. 

But eating by yourself was a little bit awkward to be honest. You picked up the other mushroom and all but shoved it in his face, to which he waved his hand at you dismissively. 

"Ah! Oh, no Honey, I'm ok-"

"Oh come on! You made all this food and you don't want to eat it with me?" You said in a very real and totally not playfully offended tone that Khol recognized as being totally genuine and not fake at all. 

So, in response, he very genuinely gasped and moved to clutch his non-existentant pearls. 

"Honey! I never said that! How could you even say that?!" 

Got em! Time to switch up.

"Fantastic! Now open up, sugar!" You smiled at him and put your hand on his jaw, trying to encourage him to open his mouth and let you feed him. 

He smiled back at you and sighed, pushing his oh so very handsome face into your palm. 

"...I've eaten all these before. I mean, I made the recipes!"

"I know, Khol... So, you won't eat with me?" Puppy eyes. Puppy eyes. You better have some puppy eyes right now! He's weak to those things! 

Yeah. Now he's panicking a little. Perfect. It's all coming together. 

"Honey, don't be like that. You know I love to eat with you!" 

You only brushed his lips with your thumb and nudged the fork closer to him. 

He looked at the fork. He looked at you.

Lieten. He knew you were bullshitting, but he also knew that you knew that he knew that you were bullshitting, and his break was passing by too quickly as is, so what could he do? Eat the damn mushroom, that's what! 

Anyways, you got to feed Khol the mushroom.