#pt15

Just then, Snail walked through the door, and cocked an eyebrow up at the magazines he had scattered all over the table. “The hell’s all that?”

Daniel preened himself. “Articles about my bravery in the face of discrimination, of course. I got all the ones I could find as little mementos.”

Snail stepped closer so they could read the headlines. A thoughtful look was on their face. Not quite a smile, but he could tell they were happy. Maybe it was just the bad memories tied with it. “Yeah, this is pretty cool.”

That’s when their eyes finally landed on the magazine in his lap. And they laughed in his face.

“Celebrity Hunk? Um, you sure that’s the right article?”

“Of course it is,” he hissed, face hot. How could they see through it? He touched it up perfectly! So he pointed to the smiling photo of himself that was probably gotten off the internet. “That’s me!”

Snail only kept laughing. Full belly laughs that had them hunched over and gasping. To which Daniel huffed and gave them a scathing glare. It wasn’t that funny. Damn it all, maybe just leaving it as was would’ve been less hurtful to his pride.

“Next time you try to change something like that,” they wheezed out when they had mostly sobered up, “try to make it more believable.”

“I can be a hunk…”

They got that tight-lipped look like they were about to laugh again. And he didn’t want to go through another round of being humiliated by his boyfriend, thanks.

“Anyway, the best part about this is,” he said, cutting off the bark of laughter that had flown out their mouth, “that Mike’s reputation is a little in shambles. And he’s facing some mean consequences.” A coy smile took over his face as he held up the magazine on his lap. “Or so I’ve heard.”

Their eyebrows shot up, and all humor left their face. “Oh yeah? Cool, cool.”

And now was the hard part of this conversation.

“Also,” he began, setting the magazine down with the rest, “I’m going to try and get a protective order against him. Just in case.”

They let out a sigh, like they knew his exact reasoning for that decision, and plopped down right next to him. “That’s really unnecessary, you know.”

“He doesn’t live in town,” Daniel argued, “You told me that. He had no reason to be here. Except one.”

They had nothing to say to that. Hell, they couldn’t even look at him.

“I just want to do as much as I can,” he explained softly as he scooted closer to them. His heart warmed at how smoothly they put their arm around him. “Since you don’t want anything to do with him anymore, I’ll take all that off your shoulders. But there is something I have to ask you.”

Their face softened a bit, but they still shot him a suspicious side-eye. “What?”

Just to ease them, he pressed a kiss to their jaw. “Well, of course there’s going to be some kind of bullshit hearing in court. It might help my case if you’re able to be there and talk about what happened.” As soon as Snail tensed, he quickly added, “But. You don’t have to. I’m fairly sure I can win by myself. But I’m putting it out there that if you want to, you can help.”

“...Is he going to be there?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Their face screwed up. Then they let out a sigh. “I don’t know.”

“That’s fine. Like I said, you don’t have to.”

They glanced over at him, face unreadable. “You’re really… Taking me in consideration a lot, huh?”

He blinked. “Well, why wouldn’t I?”

“Dunno,” they answered with a half-smile. It was almost a little sad. “Sorry. Guess it’s just nice to have that for once.”

“Well, lucky for you, you’re not gonna have to go without it anytime soon,” he half-joked. “I think I’m gonna keep you around for a bit longer.”

Thankfully, they snorted and raised an eyebrow up at him, with a deadpan reply of, “Oh really?”

“Really.” In a bold move, he pulled himself onto their lap, straddling them so he could lean in real close to their face. “You’re pretty good looking. Can make good tea. You know how to stroke my ego- that’s very important.”

At that point, they had a bit of a grin on their face. “Yeah, I can stroke your dick pretty well too. That’s important, right?”

Their hands made their way to his hips and held on tightly, making his mouth fumble a bit in getting words out, “I- yes, exactly. Among other things.”

“Other things?” they repeated coyly as their wily hands of theirs slowly moved to his ass. “Like what? I’m just dying to know.”

“Oh, you know,” he answered and pressed himself closer against them, eyes half-lidded. He could already feel himself getting a little worked up. “Like, let’s see… Being able to pin me down and fu-”

Buzz-buzz!

“Oh my god,” he snapped, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Fucking interns, I swear, if they cockblock me, they’re going to regret it.”

But, to his surprise, the text he got was from no one in his contacts. Odd.

Unknown: So I see you’ve been making headlines lately.

“Something wrong?” Snail asked with a concerned frown.

“I don’t know who the fuck this is,” Daniel muttered, already working on a rather snippy reply, “or how they got my number, but I’m not putting up with this shit right now. Let me just get this fucker off my back and we can get back to it.”

Who the hell is this? And how the fuck do you know me?

Snail’s hands slid up to his back, light touches keeping his mind from buzzing too much. It was like his brain was replaced by a swarm of angry hornets. But he took a deep breath, and waited patiently.

Unknown: Jumpy, aren’t we? Well, I can’t blame you. This is what I get for changing my number. Anyway, it seems like things are rather stressful for you right now, so I thought I’d just check up on my favorite little protege. It’s been so long, after all. But I’m sure you can guess who I am now.

Cold washed over him. He reread the message a number of times, searching for any clue that could make the theory stuck in his head wrong. But no.

It was them.

Each heartbeat in his chest felt like a painful squeeze. He scrambled off Snail’s lap while his lungs tried working to get some damn air. It was like tunnel vision- all he could see were the stairs, the way to escape. Even Snail’s words didn’t quite break through the haze as he rushed up and locked himself away in the first room he could get to.

Years had passed since they left him. And now they were back. What did that mean? Were they keeping their promise?

A knock on the door. “Daniel? You doing okay?”

His throat tightened. No, he wasn’t doing okay, you moronic fuckhead. But the lie slipped out of his mouth all too easily. “Yeah, sorry, I just… Need a moment.”

“Okay…”

His phone buzzed in his hand, and he immediately felt like he was going to throw up. But that was just excitement, of course. He was happy they were back. Just overwhelmed. That’s all.

Unknown: I take it you’re in shock? Well, whenever you see this, I’ll be stopping by your house tomorrow evening. There’s important things we need to discuss, after all. Like the future of the show, and your choice in… Partners. Surely you could’ve found someone a little better for you?

Sure, Snail wasn’t refined, but they made him happy. And that’s what really mattered, right? Maybe his reputation was a little question now, sure, but… He was happy. 

He was.

Was he?

Finally, after struggling with the lead weights his hands had become, he sent back a message.

I don’t think you have much of a say in who’s ‘better for me’.

Unknown: Oh, so you know best now, is that it? You really think you don’t need my input anymore? Fine, I guess I could just find someone else to turn my focus to. I’m sure another young, handsome star in the making is in need of some guidance. You can just stagnate like you’ve been doing, I really don’t care.

Stagnate? He hadn’t been stagnating. He looked over the numbers, viewership has only been going up. But… They were always better at reading that sort of thing. Maybe they knew something he didn’t? Maybe viewers weren’t coming in as fast as before? But he thought…

Sorry, I’m just out of it right now. I’d love your help, really.

Unknown: Of course. You know I’m always happy to lend a hand. I’ll be there around seven to pick you up. A little dinner date sounds like a nice way to catch up.

They’d never taken him out to dinner before. Or agreed back when he’d constantly invite them. But things were different now, it seemed.

Alright, sounds like a plan.

It was just then he realized he had already made plans with Snail. Well, as much of a plan as them coming over and spending the night could be. But they’d understand, he could have them over some other night.

He left what he now realized was the guest bathroom and made his way back down to the living room. His body was on autopilot, seating him on the couch about as far from Snail as he could be. Nothing seemed quite right anymore. They saw something in Snail that he couldn't, apparently. What the hell was it?

“You look like you’re gonna puke,” Snail commented, eyebrows furrowed together as they scrutinized him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” he insisted. But there was a little thought in the back of his head. Be honest. And, well, even now he couldn’t resist it. “Just… Someone I thought was long gone texted me. Threw me for a loop. We’re going to have dinner tomorrow.” He gave them an apologetic look when that scowl took over their face. “It’s the only time they’re free.”

A lie. But it was fine. They let out a little huff and leaned back, arms thrown across the back of the couch. Like they were inviting him to curl up next to them.

As much as he wanted to stay on his own side, he found himself doing it anyway. Their touch, once again, calmed his head down a bit. Softly, he said, “How about I come over and stay with you on Saturday?”

They scrunched their nose up for a moment. “Ah, fuck. I need to clean if we’re doing that.”

He rolled his eyes at them. “Well, you have all day tomorrow to do it. So you better get it done. I want that place spotless by the time I get there.”

“Of course, your highness,” they replied with a hint of snark. But luckily for them, they offset it with a kiss to his cheek. “Anything for my pretty princess.”

That comment got them a raised eyebrow. To which they gave a cocky grin in return. Well, he’d let them call him a princess if they wanted. But only if they kept calling him pretty too.

This was the fourth time he stabbed his fork into his food without the intention of taking a bite. He felt like a child, picking at it, moving little bits of chicken around so he could look like he was eating. So he could pretend that his stomach was working with him.

“You’re awfully quiet over there.”

He looked up at them. It was a little hard just taking them in again like this. Especially with the wrinkles deeply settled under their eyes. Like the definitive proof of the passing of time.

“I’m just thinking,” he answered, voice soft and complacent. The last thing he wanted was to make them angry now. Not when things seemed to be on good terms.

“About?”

Their tone gave away that they already knew. But of course, they had always been able to read him like a book. So he took a deep breath, and finally asked the question that had been plaguing him this whole time.

“Why now?”

A thoughtful look took over their face. “Well… I felt like now was the best time. You’re a star now, of course, but…” Concern shone in their eyes. “I’m also worried about you. And the people you bring into your life.”

He grew tense. “You mean Snail?”

They stuck their nose up. “Yes. Them. I don’t think they’re good for you, Daniel.”

“Why?” he barked out, knuckles turning white as he held tightly onto his fork. “You don’t know them. You don’t even know me anymore. You can’t just fucking disappear for almost a decade and come back thinking you can dissect the people in my life again!”

“Daniel,” they said calmly, fingers laced together on the table. “You’re causing a scene. I thought we were going to discuss this like adults.”

That tone immediately cowed him. This was just one step before… Well, something bad. And he didn’t want to go through that again.

“Sorry,” he said, eyes downcast. “But I love them. And they love me too. We’re happy together.”

“Do they really?” they asked. “Because I’m not so sure.”

It was like he took an icicle to the heart. “What makes you say that?”

They sighed and pinned him with a pitying look. “You poor boy. It’s just, well… To me, it seems like this Snail is only using you. I mean, think about it. What could they possibly see in you besides fame, fortune, and a pretty face?”

He opened his mouth to say something. One of the many qualities he had. But nothing came out. For some reason, he couldn’t think of a single thing. Had he ever even been able to think of something before?

“People like to use stars like us,” they said, reaching across to place a comforting hand on his own. “Now I don’t claim to know the exact reason, but… It only makes sense that they’d have one.”

“That’s not true,” he argued weakly. 

“Tell me, how did you two meet?”

He narrowed his eyes at them, then answered slowly, “They tried getting into a function I was attending. I helped them out, and we got to talking after that.”

At first that memory only held mortification for him. But after a while, he’d spend occasional moments reminiscing fondly about it. Over a cup of tea, or maybe while sitting next to Snail. But now… 

Now he could only see a conspiracy.

“That settles it,” they said, pulling their hand back with an outraged scowl. “Would someone like that really show up to a formal function out of the blue? I think not.”

“You don’t know what brought them there,” he said. It was the one thing he held onto. The one little fact that kept him from breaking down right then and there. Snail wouldn’t use him. They wouldn’t. And didn’t.

But fear ran down his spine as they turned their nose up and practically glared down at him. “You don’t know either.”

He didn’t have an argument for that. Yeah, he never bothered asking what they hell they were trying to do back then. It never mattered. And it still didn’t.

“Even if they do love you,” they said after they let him stew for a moment, “Do you really need someone who lets you get assaulted by some ruffian? Someone who doesn’t match you in any visible way? People are only going to question this relationship, Daniel. And if they don’t see integrity in your partner, they won’t see it in you.”

“I…”

“Look, no one is saying that you have to end things with them,” they said, voice now soft and caring. “I’m just telling you things as I see them. You're an adult, you can make decisions for yourself. I just want you to make one with all the facts in front of you. And when you’ve made your choice, you can contact me and I’ll help you out however I can.”

Something about this didn’t seem right. “But-”

“I’ve never been wrong before, have I?”

Had they? He honestly couldn’t remember. At least not for sure. It was something he didn’t want to think about, either. And what was he even going to say? That was lost too. But it was probably for the best. They really never steered him wrong before. At least, not unless he fought too hard and made them.