#yanois

“You should see the other guy. He ain’t got all his teeth no more.” Yancy chuckled.

“I don’t care what the other guy looks like.” Illinois huffed, grabbing some tissues and pinching Yancy’s nose. “Hold this and lean forward.”  

“Yes, sir.” Yancy played up his voice as he followed instructions. “Does this mean I’m grounded?” 

“Yes,” Illinois stated, getting his first aid kit and sitting on the bed with Yancy. “You’re not leaving the Manor for a while.” He made quick work of cleaning off any caked-on blood.

“A little ironic from the man who's gonna be leaving the Manor for days.” Yancy scoffed, wincing a little as Illinois used the disinfectant.  

“I don’t get hurt when I leave,” Illinois stated, placing his hand on Yancy’s wrist to get him to lower his hand, watching to see if more blood came out, and when it looked good, he started cleaning off his face.  

“And? Ya still leave me-us.” Yancy cleared his throat. 

“Now, what was that~?” Illinois half-sang, lips curling up into a cheeky smirk. 

“Just stating the fact you leave us a lot,” Yancy mumbled, turning his head away.

“Us? I heard something else.” Illinois placed his hand on Yancy’s cheek and had him look back at him. “Sounds like someone doesn’t like being left behind.”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, you are just the cutest when you pout, treasure.” Illinois hummed before leaning in and catching Yancy in a kiss. 

“I don’t pout.” Yancy protested against Illinois’ lips, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him in closer. 

“Sure you don’t.” Illinois chuckled. “You’ve never pouted a day in your life.” He slid his hand to Yancy’s chest and slowly coaxed him to lie back on the bed. “You’ve never pouted, never complained or whined, but-” Illinois dipped his head to drag his tongue across Yancy’s neck, grinning at the sound of a shaky breath. “-I do manage to get a fair share of whimpers from you, don’t I?” The grin grew at the sight of pink dusted across Yancy’s cheeks. “Am I right?”

“Shut up.” Yancy dove up into another kiss, pawing at Illinois’ shirt and messily undoing the top buttons. Illinois grabbed Yancy’s wrist and pinned it to the bed; his other hand went back to Yancy’s face, thumb grazing against his jaw, feeling the way it shifted with their kiss, moving to follow the flow Illinois was guiding. “Do ya have to go?” Yancy’s question was sudden and came out as a whisper. 

“I do,” Illinois whispered back. 

“If I admit to pouting, will you stay?”

“If you admit to pouting, I’ll take you with me.” 

There was a pause. Yancy dropped his voice even lower, softer, like confessing this was something that couldn't be heard by anyone else, not even the air around them.

“I was pouting.”

The hat stays on during sex.

This motive came to me very suddenly and didn't want to leave my head until I drew it. Normally I am not one for suggestive art, but my love for Yanois is too strong, I guess.

There was a list of usual suspects, and the one at the top of the list was Anti, but that was marked off right away when he heard him in Dark’s office. They were arguing about something or another, and they usually sorted those out themselves. Illinois didn’t even bat an eye and continued looking for his whip. 

Chase and Jackie were outside playing football with Marvin being the ‘referee’ by sitting in a lawn chair nearby and reading. So that crossed all of them off the list as well. 

He found Mad in the library with Host, meaning he was off the list. 

Illinois was now starting to really question where his whip was. Had he just misplaced it? That wasn’t something he ever did, but it also wasn’t impossible. 

He decided to go outside this time. Maybe he had forgotten it when he was practicing earlier? That was really out of character for him, but he had been pulled away in the middle of it to help Phantom 'scare off' some fellas wanting to go back on their deal. That might have thrown him off? Nothing wrong with checking. 

Illinois made his way to the nearby forest, walking through the man-made opening and the path that was created after being walked on over and over again. He went all the way out here to use his whips because he knew how loud they were, and some of the Egos weren’t the…biggest fans of those sounds, so he tried to make sure it was somewhat muffled for them.

“Put ‘em up!” A voice that Illinois recognized right away, even with the exaggerated accent, rang out. Illinois leaned against a tree to watch the ‘whip thief’ put on a show. “There’s a new sheriff in town!” Yancy pointed to the imaginary villain and flicked the whip, a soft click following. He perked up at the sound, showing how that was the closest he’s gotten to a proper crack.

“Not too bad.” Illinois saw how his sudden words got Yancy to flinch and turn. 

“Oh! Hey, Illy.” Yancy greeted with a weak laugh, hiding the whip behind his back. “I-uh-I was just-” He awkwardly laughed again.  

“If you wanted to crack one of my whips, treasure, all you had to do was ask.” Illinois chuckled as he straightened up and walked over. 

“You were…busy.” Yancy’s lying was usually more confident, at least when it came to lying to others, yet it always managed to come out so messy if he tried lying to Illinois. Illinois would say it was part of his charm; who could ever lie to such a handsome face? 

“Sure, I was.” Illinois moved around Yancy, stepping in close behind him and resting a hand on his hip. “Now, how about I give you a quick lesson about using a whip?” He asked with a hum, trailing his other hand along Yancy’s arm, fingers barely brushing against the skin. 

“O-Okay.” Yancy had to clear his throat when his voice came out shaky. 

“The wrist is very important,” Illinois said, hand pausing when he reached that part of Yancy’s arm. He took his thumb and started rubbing small circles into the center of the wrist, feeling the way it got Yancy’s hand to twitch. “You have to have control, to flick it hard and fast.” Illinois moved his other hand from Yancy’s hip to his stomach as he held him even closer, coaxing the whip away and holding it himself. “Just like this.” He said as his warning before lifting his arm up and then cracking the whip behind him, the sound echoing through the trees and getting Yancy’s breath to hitch. “If you’d like, I would be more than happy to give you proper lessons.”

“Yeah.” Yancy breathed out. 

“Sounds like a date, but first-” Illinois turned Yancy around, flipped the whip over Yancy’s head like a scarf, and gave it a little tug so that they were face-to-face. “-someone owes me for stealing my whip.” 

“Oh no.” Yancy played up his voice, getting a light chuckle from Illinois before the whip was tugged on again and pulled him into a kiss. 

------------

Transparent under the cut bcoz idk i liked it ^_^ also sorry i havemt been posting a lot ive been busy but i miss egos everyday n theyre always on my mindddd. Requests so welcomeeee rn

-

Ah, Illinois. Despite all the difficult changes, it was him that reached out and grabbed Yancy before he sank into the abyss. They had lunch at a small café nearby that Illinois was fond of, followed by an afternoon in the library. It was peaceful, and it was a chance for Illinois to show Yancy different things about the changed world in a settled environment. 

“It’s okay, Yance. You’ll get the swing of it in your own time.”

For every new adjustment to normal life, Illinois was right there. There was always the reassurance and support, even when Illinois was out of town and could only phone. No matter how frantic the stormy waves of the world were, Illinois was his anchor, keeping Yancy grounded and reminding him of the important things in the moment.

As the weeks passed, Illinois was right. Yancy found he could breathe again. He was able to get a small job that gave a decent wage, he managed to keep his space clean, and he was learning the art of budgeting. He was starting to understand the high speeds, and was figuring out ways to manage them in his own way. Sometimes he tripped, but Yancy could get back on his feet before anything bad could happen.

And all the while, Illinois was there.

But once this sense of normality helped Yancy feel more settled, he realised something: Illinois was taking a step back. At first, Yancy put it down to the adventurer simply giving him a chance to be more independent, as though taking the training wheels off a bike. But when Illinois declined an offer to go for a walk after grabbing coffee together, Yancy began to suspect something was amiss. This wasn’t like Illinois.

During his next shift in work, Yancy spent the downtime wracking his brain for ideas. He had been on his best behaviour. He had dressed up nicely, he hadn't said anything reckless, and he had even walked around unarmed. Was Illinois regretting his decision? He knew what he was signing up for when agreeing to date the former prisoner. Yancy hadn't kept the truth about his situation and the parole process a secret.

… Then again, had Illinois told him the truth about his own life outside of exploring? Yancy knew he was a teacher, but he didn't know the age group of the students, let alone the location of work. Yancy didn't have a home address for Illinois either. When he sent a letter, it was to a PO Box.

Was Yancy not good enough to be trusted? Was he some dirty little secret? Maybe the 'exploring' was going back to his real spouse! Maybe Yancy really wasn’t good enough now that he can be seen regularly! Maybe Illinois was seeing the trash that Yancy really was!

No. No. That wasn't right. Illinois had done plenty to prove that side of his life was genuine. Yancy had a small album that housed the postcards he had received. Illinois had shown him photographs. Everything about that side of him was the truth, and he meant it when he said he wanted Yancy there.

But now, that other side of Illinois was right here, waiting to be discovered - and there were no more obstacles in the way. It was clear roads where the cars could go as fast as they wanted. Was the change in the relationship too fast? Was he nervous?

A tap on his shoulder from a co-worker snapped Yancy back to the moment. Surprise quickly turned to inspiration. Why was it only Illinois who was required to reach out? Why shouldn’t Yancy give it a try this time?

-

"Hey, so I's been thinking -"

"A surprising development." 

"Shut up." Yancy leaned forward to lightly shove Illinois' arm, prompting the adventurer to laugh.

"Sorry, couldn't help it. What's on your mind, Yance?"

"I finally have the all-clear from the higher-ups to have guests. You wanna swing by before youse head back?"

Illinois blinked. "Right now?"

"Yeah. I know youse wanna have time to prep before work tomorrow. It won't be a dinner or nothing, but why not see the place?" As Yancy spoke, he watched Illinois' reaction. There was a brief moment of apprehension, followed by a sigh as Illinois forced himself to relax.

"Yeah, why not?"

-

The walk to the halfway house was a familiar one. The pair had taken the journey numerous times together once it was discovered Illinois could get a bus nearby. Yancy kept the conversation light as they went through the reception and let the staff know that Yancy had a visitor. Once the all-clear was given, the pair began the short trip to Yancy's door. It was up one flight of stairs and down the corridor on the right..

"I know it ain't a fancy place, but it's clean and safe. The door's lock works a treat, and the folks either side of me are nice. There's a couple on the left, they's the one who made me that cheesecake, remember?"

The new environment was strange, but Yancy’s voice helped settle Illinois' nerves.It felt like a huge, unexpected jump in their relationship, but Yancy spoke so casually about life in the halfway house. He could never understand how Yancy could take all these changes in his stride once he recovered from the culture shock. It was effortless, almost.

"And here we are. Should be clean. If it ain't, you don't see it and pretend it's sparkling." The click of the lock, and the door swung open to reveal the small place Yancy called 'home'.

The accommodation was laid out like a basic studio apartment. It consisted of one large room with a small bathroom poking out on the right. The kitchenette was on the left, hugging the same wall as the door. In the corner was a small table with a chair. On the opposite side of the room was a window where a worn couch and a small coffee table were positioned. To the right, around the corner from the bathroom, was a drawn curtain hiding the bed from public view.

Yancy stepped into the apartment, turning on his heel with open arms to emphasise the space. "Think I could get used to this sorta living. What do you think?"

Illinois stayed by the door, leaning against the frame as he took the sight in. "It certainly looks more comfortable than your old cell." If Illinois were to estimate, the cell would fit in this apartment twice. It wasn't a huge upgrade, but it was glamorous for someone who was used to the bare minimum. "How are you adjusting to it?"

"It’s paradise! I can read a magazine and leave it out without worrying that someone's gonna penalise me! I can cook cheap crap whenever I want! I don't gotta wait for the shower. Oh! And I can put shit on display! Look! I has a shelf that ain't for clothes!" He hurried across the small space, beckoning for Illinois to follow. When Illinois didn’t move, Yancy returned to the door to face Illinois. He reached out, took one of the adventurer’s hands, and slowly led him toward the living area.

There, at the wall beside the couch, was a small set of shelves. The collection was sparse, mostly consisting of little photo frames and ornaments. Yancy let go of Illinois’ hand and crossed his arms. "It ain't much yet, but I's planning to get a few more things. Maybe some sorta fake plant? Need a bit of colour, but I ain't ready for the commitment of a real plant!"

Yancy's words were partially acknowledged by Illinois, who silently approached the shelf. He lifted a tiny elephant carved from jade, only to put it down and raise a wooden sculpture of a deity that fit neatly in his hand.

"Yancy… Most of this is the stuff I gave you."

"And?"

Illinois looked like he was going to answer, only to change his mind and examine the shelf. It was rare for Illinois to hold his tongue. 

"And," Yancy repeated after a short silence, "There's nothing wrong with that. The Gang is precious to me, yeah, and I miss 'em every day… But you means the world to me, Illinois." It was serious when Yancy used the adventurer's name rather than the endearing nickname. "Every day, I get to come over here, and see all these things… And it's a reminder that even though I never deserved it, I got to meet a guy who loves me. And every day, I tell myself that I wanna make him proud. I wanna be the man worthy of that love."

Illinois took in every word in silence, helpless as Yancy took one hand in his again. This time, Illinois’ hand was squeezed softly.

"I know youse would normally start on 'bout how I is worthy and all that, but that ain't the point. Everywhere you went, you thought of me. I wanna get to that point where I can give you reminders of everything that makes me think of youse." He smiled, before remembering why he was talking about this. "This ain't me trying to put pressure on youse or nothing. I just… Youse waited for me. And I is happy to wait for youse. Now that I'm out here, I don't feel that pressure to act fast no more. I wanna take it slow. I wanna go buy coffee and fuck up youse's order 'cause I keep forgetting what's a cappuccino or what's a mocolotive or whatever-the-fuck the coffee’s called. I wanna go on them little walks 'round the block. I wanna spend a full day at the museum. I just wanna live in this crazy world knowing that youse is there too. One day at a time, yeah?"

"Yeah." Illinois smiled, stepping closer so he could lean against the shorter man. "Thank you."