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Started January 05, 2019 by @_sleeby_rat_

tune

Lionel’s face burned. “We’ll have this conversation somewhere private.”

"Sure," Sebastian snickered, licking his ice cream a few more times before just taking a large chunk off

Lionel stifled another groan, electing to shut his mouth and finish off his ice cream before he embarrassed himself further.

Sebastian would occasionally snicker as he ate his ice cream, still thinking it was hilarious just how badly Lionel had embarrassed himself

Finally, when he was finished, Lionel stood. “My place or yours?”

"Yours. Haven't seen your place yet, and I'm bored with trying to find hotels," Sebastian said with a small chuckle, finishing off the last of his ice cream

Lionel faltered, realizing suddenly what he’d asked without registering the implications. He swallowed, but nodded hastily.

Sebastian chuckled a little at how nervous Lionel suddenly seemed. "What? I haven't seen your place yet," he said with a small shrug

“Just don’t….. Don’t have any high expectations..” he murmured, sweeping a small pile of napkins into his hand. “It’s… not…. It’s not exactly.. nice.”

"As long as it's not a drug den or something, I think it'll be okay," Sebastian chuckled with a small shrug

Lionel nodded, ashamed that one of his largest insecurities had risen to the surface. “It’s not.. not a drug den, I promise.”

"And it's not a meth lab? Again, it's okay as long as I don't step in someone's vomit or cocaine or something," Sebastian said with a small smile

Lionel nodded, doing his best to seem less troubled than he was. Since he’d begun to date Sebastian, he’d started wearing his nicer clothes (which were casual wear for the rest of the world) and trying his best to seem like less of the financially challenged man he was. But now…

Sebastian eventually sighed, wrapping an arm around Lionel's waist and pulling him against him. "Look, it's okay if you don't want me to see the place. I respect if you don't feel comfortable about it. You shouldn't have to feel pressured to do anything, okay?"

He chewed on his bottom lip. “I can’t exactly keep you from it—you’re my boyfriend. I just don’t want you to think any less of me…”

"Why would I think less of you? At the very least I can help you if you need new furniture or anything. And technically, I'm more or less homeless, so it's not like I don't understand," Sebastian said with a small shrug

Lionel gave up, deciding to let his apartment do the talking. “Let’s go, then. Your car?”

"Of course," Sebastian chuckled, leading the way to the parking lot. He hummed faintly, giving Lionel's hand a little squeeze

Skip to the house?)

Lionel took his time opening the front door of his apartment, wincing visibly as he stepped inside. The worn floorboards of the cramped space creaked and groaned loudly underfoot, as if announcing his entrance. He flicked the light switch, and it took a few seconds for the overhead light to flicker weakly to light. Even then, the space was dim, despite the small, cracked windowpanes. The walls were lined with spiderline cracks, the furniture sparse and drab. Overall, it was kept clean, neat, but… that didn’t stop his shame from rising. Perhaps the worst thing visible were the gouges in the far wall, like the claw marks of a monster.

Sebastian, however, was smiling as he looked around. "Aww, look at it! It's so homey and cute!" he exclaimed, grinning as he walked inside, looking around a bit. "It makes sense, y'know? It's adorable, just like you," he cooed as he gave Lionel a little squeeze

Lionel’s brows drew together in confusion. “You—like it?” He gestured vaguely to everything around them. “It’s so…. ugly.”

"No, it's cute and refreshing. Do you know how much of a pain seeing perfect walls is all the time?" Sebastian asked, now looking at Lionel like he was crazy

Cute? Refreshing? Lionel felt suffocated in his own home, and not only because of its cramped interior. He'd spent too many nights clutching a threadbare blanket and sobbing from sheer pain as he tried to repress his monthly transformation, lock the monster up inside. It never worked.

"It….. is?"