#smalltownbeans

as much fun as making del’s royal wishes come true was, buck was glad to be freed from the countless clips and foreign accessories latched onto his hair and ears. he couldn’t explain how euphoric it felt to have joey’s fingers ruffling his hair before they showered. the moment that her fingers raked through his disheveled locks, he moaned out as his hands found her hips and he seemed to hold her in place. he just knew that he’d miss her fingers and the feeling on his scalp when it was over.

after they shower and after fooling around for what felt like an hour of suds, slippery kisses, and lip biting fun, buck and joey were found strolling down the street to a restaurant nearby. “how are you feelin’?” he looked down at her as they walked hand in hand, the warm air around them fanning her shirt at her hips, doing an amazing job at giving him a glimpse and showing off her shorts and the boots that she had packed.

Love me anyway..

Buck would never understand how, by just a touch - a small, mundane gesture like her small hands cupping his jaw - the cradling of his face, could center him so much. Joey was his anchor and even if the problems didn’t entirely fade away, they were distracted by her presence and her touch. And that was more than he could bear to ask of her. 


Her thumb strokes reminded him that he was no longer in his parents icy, inhospitable presence. He was home. With Joey. Every stroke and every breath that he felt against his face was a reminder that he was in his personal safe haven. The blame, the betrayal, the neglect, they were all melting away with every passing second as Joey reassured him and held him. Just as his heart had begged, she had come through for him. Of course she would. She was the person that he wanted to turn to after turbulent times, after a fire, after the darkness, but most importantly, the person that would walk with him through those moments without him having to utter a word. 


Joey just knew. And he believed her when she said she was there for him right then and there. Undoubtedly, the fear and the worry would exist in the very back of his mind, the thought of pushing her past her patience and capability to withstand his crap. But, for now, he believed that she was there and that he had her. 


There was something about Luca that reached apart of Lucifer that seemed to....calm the devil in a way. Today, he decided to take Luca out, show him off as he loved doing and he reached out to close the buttons of his shirt up just enough. “There,” Lucifer said and then pulled him close to him. “Beautiful.”

“I’m fully aware of how cold it is, I promise,” He male chuckled softly to his smile, hitherto hidden friend as he walked up to the address Luna had given him. They’d somehow never actually studied at each other’s homes during school which was.. pretty odd now that he thought on it. They’d certainly been friends for some time during school but that was amended now that they’d reconnected by pure chance at a cute little coffee shop. And now, instead of reviewing boring college courses, they could sit down and talk magik like he’d always wanted all those years ago. He rung the doorbell, looking to his shoulder, words coming out as whispered hisses and soft breaths, “And I also promise it’ll be warmer inside, alright? Now tuck tuck away before you--” But before his words could finish, the door clicked open and Levi’s head tilted at the person who was very very obviously not who he’d come for. 

“Well hello there. You’re not Luna, are you” He hummed almost to himself, head tilting as his friend, a highly venomous ratsnake with shimmering orange and black scales poking his head up and seeming to tilt it in time with the male’s. They did look similarly enough though. Pale silver eyes scanned over the male half a second longer before his [and the snakes] head inclined a little, “Sorry to bother you. I’m here to study with Luna. Is she around?”

Just when he thought that he had gone through the worst, Buck was looking at a photograph and finding out that he had another sibling, a brother. A brother who died. The reason that he was brought into their dysfunctional family was as spare parts because their kid was sick. He felt useless, because in the end, Daniel didn’t even make it. All those years spent trying to figure out why his parents would look at him with such a distant look in their eyes, why they would argue for what felt like hours, forcing Maddie to shield him and distract him with her promises. It was all just a coverup. To hide the fact that they couldn’t look at Buck without thinking of the son that they lost.

Buck felt useless, like a husk of man. He was so broken that even as a counterpart, he was defective. He couldn’t save Daniel. How could they keep such a big secret from him? Maddie… of all people, how could she?

“His name was Daniel,” Buck had explained the entire story to Joey, recalling every detail that he could recall from that revelation.

He had been looking down at his fingers with a blurred focal point, the tears pooling at the edge of his eyes, and it was when he could no longer hold his eyes open that he blinked and looked up at Joey who surprisingly hadn’t said a word. She was motionless and for the first time, Buck wasn’t able to read her expression. She seemed… unfazed? Blank. “Why-why are you looking at me like that?” She didn’t seem shocked, she couldn’t have known already, could she?

“Jo, did-did you already know this? Have I been the only one this entire time to not know that my entire life was a lie?” His back straightened up as he looked at Joey with a perked eyebrow, his head tilted slowly as he took her reaction in. “Maddie told you already..”