Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey, is this guy bothering you?”

Corpse’s low and gravelly voice made the two men to turn around.

The intended innocent looking brunette blinked at him in surprise. “Eh?”

The confused look on his face and the cute little reaction made Corpse fight an invisible smile.

The other guy, however, didn’t seem that much happy about the Intervention. “Mind your own business mate.” He snapped at him, annoyed.

The ravenette’s eyes turned to look at him. “I wasn’t talking to you.” His voice was steel cold and he could feel the other man taking a step back.

Corpse knew that he could be intimidating and he wasn’t ashamed one bit to use it to his advantage.

“I-it’s ok.” The brunette with big does eyes stuttered out. “he was going to leave anyway.” He hurried to explain, trying to ease the electric buzzing tension between the two males.

Corpse just narrowed his eyes more.

The other man must have felt the danger coming from the taller man in waves because he murmured a half-ass excuse and scattered.

Dark black eyes followed him until he disappeared into the crowd of the nightclub. He then turned around to look at the nervous brunette.

“you ok?” he softly asked, making the boy look up at him again, blinking slowly.

“y-yeah.” He breathed out. Then gave him a little smile which a hand immediately covered. “T-thank you.”

Corpse just shrugged. “He was being a jerk. I hate douchebag like him.”

The shorter male just blinked at him again, making the other chuckle.

“I’m Corpse by the way.” The ravenette told him smoothly.

Something passed through those big brown eyes but it was gone as quickly as it came. “Well, thanks again Mr. Corpse. I’m Sykkuno.” He said cheerfully.

‘strange name’ came to mind but he dismissed it because honestly, he was in no place to say that.

‘Cute’ came to his mind next which he dismissed as quickly.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence – as much as it could be in the middle of a nightclub – between the two, not knowing what to do next.

Eventually, Sykkuno giggled, making Corpse blush.

“Sorry I, uh –“ he coughed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “ok, so, I’m gonna be honest, the guy being a jerk wasn’t the only reason I interfered.”

“Oh?” The other question with curiosity and the way he tilted his head to the side made Corpse think of cats.

Corpse loved cats.

“y-yeah, I, uh,” he stammered again, cursing himself for being such a simp. “can I get you a drink?” He finally let out smoothly, patting himself on the back mentally for not fucking up again.

Sykkuno’s eyebrows jumped up. “The other guy said that too, you know?”

Corpse freezes. “oh shi- I’m so sorry I- I didn’t mean to be like him or anyth- I can leave if –“ he hurried to apologize, fumbling over his words due to his panic.

The other finally giggled and decided to put him out of his misery. “I was just joking.” He then gave him a little teasing smirk. “and well since you’re being so polite –“ he trailed off, making Corpse let out a laugh of his own.

“I’m honored” he teased back, having a smirk of his own and wondered if the other could hear it in his voice since the mask didn’t leave much visible.

The Brunette giggled again, a hand running up to hide the beautiful smile. He gave Corpse another quick look, and there was something akin to amusement in his eyes.

The ravenette simply raised an eyebrow at the look but it was gone as fast as it came.

Now it was filled with interest.

“So, Mr. Corpse – “

“Just Corpse is fine.” he suavely interfered, making the other’s smile widen.

“Corpse.” He called out bashfully and Corpse really liked the way his name sounded coming out of those pretty lips.

“How about that drink you mentioned?”

~o~oOo~o~

“All I’m saying is that they must be an idiot to pass the opportunity of catching the interest of someone like you.” Corpse said bluntly, still not believing that the cute boy next to him just said people are not usually into him.

Sykkuno giggled again, not looking at him, his focus on opening the hotel room’s door. “Flattery gets you nowhere Mr. Corpse.” He teased him, the door finally opening.

Corpse walked behind him into the room, smirking beneath the mask. “Well, it got me here, didn’t it?” he heard the way the brunette’s breath hitched in his throat and the huff of laughter that came after that.

He looked around the room, not walking that much in.

For all of his confidence in flirting he was actually really fucking nervous.

The sound of the bed squeaking made his eyes slide to the now sitting brunette. He was leaning back on his arms, one leg draped over the other.

“Ran out of lines?” Sykkuno teased with a little smirk, eyes glittering with that familiar amusement and something more.

He seemed more confident, more in control.

It made Corpse’s heart beat faster for two very different reasons.

“I’m just thinking.” He murmured; voice oddly hoarse.

The other’s smirk deepened. “oh?” he looked at him from under his lashes, the innocent voice in contrast with the look in his eyes. “About what?”

Corpse gulped, his Adam apple bumping up and down and the brunette’s eyes followed its move, going down his neck.

Corpse felt really hot.

There was something in the back of his mind, screaming at him and he knew he shouldn’t.

He could feel the small weight near his torso, near the small pocket of his hoodie, and the way it had nothing to do with the hot feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He should have just ended it there.

But Sykkuno was simply sitting there, patiently, as if he knew all about Corpse’s inner battle.

And he looked perfect, and oh so evil.

There was fire burning Corpse from inside out.

He wanted to kiss the smirk off those pretty pink lips.

To whip that smug look off his face.

To turn him into a wreck, crying mess.

He never felt such a strong urge to claim.

Sykkuno grinned like he could read what was going through his mind.

And it ticked Corpse off.

He took a step towards the bed before he was able to stop himself.

The brunette’s grin widened and Corpse cursed himself for being such a goner for those pretty doe eyes.

He eventually reached the bed, hovering over the shorter male. Sykkuno looked up at him, face oddly calm and collected.

“You.” He finally growled out and he sounded like an animal.

Something passed the other male’s eyes and then he giggled again, blushing.

The ravenette growled again and bent over, making the other lie down on his back. He put his hands down on both sides of those fluffy brown hair.

Their faces were inches apart.

Corpse could feel the way his heart was beating so fast, and if Sykkuno heard it too, he didn’t comment on it.

His focus was on the man’s face hovering over him. He raised a long elegant finger and tracked the line on the side of his face.

Corpse stiffened.

The mask.

Sykkuno’s eyes bore into his own, finger still dancing around the only thing keeping his identity hidden.

The calculative and dark look in his eyes had no right to be as hot as it was.

The finger moved away.

Corpse couldn’t take his eyes away from the deep dark black hole that was Sykkuno’s eyes.

He finally felt the feather-like touch next to the shell of his ear.

His mouth went dry and he felt something burning at the back of his mind.

Alarms were going off in his head, telling him to stop it right there and then,

But he was completely frozen.

He still couldn’t look away.

The finger lightly looped behind his ear.

Sykkuno’s eyes were roaring with hellfire, hiding the devil himself in its depth.

And that’s when Corpse realized.

He was so, so doomed.

A  sharp loud noise cut through the room, making Corpse jump back in shock and curse loudly.

His eyes snapped to the nightstand to see a phone ringing.

Sykkuno simply sighed. Then, in a very relaxed manner, moved a hand to grab the phone. He looked at the person calling and sighed again.

“I’m sorry but I need to take this.” He apologized sweetly and to his credit, he actually looked sorry.

Corpse didn’t know to feel relieved or disappointed.

He silently nodded and watched as Sykkuno disappeared into the bathroom.

The door shut behind him.

Corpse dropped his head in his hands and groaned loudly.

Corpse you fucking idiot.

He was so stupid. So, so fucking stupid. An absolute idiot.

Not only did he forget about the whole fucking mission; he even almost gave his fucking identity away.

All because of some pretty boy.

Because he was thinking with his dick instead of paying attention to his fucking instincts.

If Sykkuno’s phone hadn’t ring… he shuddered at the thought of revealing his identity.

Not to mention what he was about to do.

He cringed at himself and pulled at his curly black hair.

The pain finally brought him out of his mind.

Stop whining so much and fucking move already.

Right.

He still had a mission to finish.

He finally lifted his head and looked at the still closed bathroom door.

There was a high chance that what he was looking for was with the boy himself.

Now the question was how to find it.

The best and fastest way was probably to go straight for it.

And as much as Corpse didn’t want to do it, he had no other choice.

Except…

Well, there were always other ways to get the boy out of his clothes…

Corpse cursed at the mental image and gave himself a warning slap.

No, noooooooo–

That would be too fucked up.

Defiantly a lot worse than putting a knife under his neck and threatening him into giving him the thing.

His eyes wandered around, his mind going a mile a minute.

There wasn’t much that he could do until Sykkuno came back anyway.

And that’s when he saw the wallet on the nightstand.

His whole thoughts came to a halt.

He stared at the little piece of leather like he had seen the devil himself.

There was no way…

There was no way that he would put something so important lying around where literally anyone – Corpse – could steal it so easily.

…Right?

He cursed again and glanced at the still-closed door.

He had no other choice. He had to actually check the thing just in case. After all, you never knew.

He snatched the wallet and searched through it, heart going crazy.

What he saw disappointed him, but not surprise.

It was just some money and a few business cards. There wasn’t even a real ID card.

“Looking for this?”

The whole world froze.

Corpse’s eyes widened and his head snapped back to stare at the now returned brunette.

He was leaning to the bathroom’s door frame with one shoulder, one hand crossed over his chest, the other up in the air.

And between those long elegant fingers,

Was a black USB.

He knew.

Corpse felt his heart stop.

And as he looked at the brunette’s face, everything finally fell into place.

He wasn’t stupid to not see what was staring him in the eye. He wasn’t stupid to mistake it as anything other than what it really was.

The relax face, the smirking lips, the amusement in his eyes.

He knew.

Since the very start.

“H-how –“ he stuttered pathetically, feeling the start of a panic. Because how the fuck did he know?!

Sykkuno just giggled. “Oh, I just got lucky.”

Corpse didn’t believe that even for a second.

His eyes searched over the other’s face; mouth dry. His mind running a mile a minute.

Sykkuno wasn’t armed.

He had noticed that during their night together. When he still remembered his mission and had checked out the brunette – not because he was hot or anything – for any possible weapons.

And Sykkuno wasn’t armed…

He really didn’t want to do this.

His hand crept towards the pocket of his hoodie.

But he had no other choice…

Corpse froze.

The brunette’s smirk widened.

“Looking for this?” he whispered, surprising Corpse with the same phrase for the second time that night.

Then with a swift motion of his wrist, too fast for Corpse to really see, he pulled out a knife.

Corpse’s knife.

The ravenette stared at the familiar black switchblade, heart sinking.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Sykkuno apologized. “I didn’t mean to steal this or anything, really. But I couldn’t help myself.”

Corpse didn’t believe the innocent voice for even a second.

“I was just so –” he continued, brown eyes gliding over the sharp blade. “mesmerized.” He whispered, eyes glittering dangerously.

Corpse shuddered on himself.

“A-are you gonna kill me?” he blurted out; voice strained.

It made the other snap out of his frenzy. He looked up at him in surprise. “What? no, no, of course not!” he rejected the idea and gave him a look like he was being silly.

He then smiled. “I’m not that much of a violent person, I prefer to fix things by talking and coming to an agreement, you know?” he gave him another soft smile which he supposed was meant to be reassuring.

It didn’t really help with the ravenette’s nerves.

“Actually, I’m quite the pacifist regarding things like this, you know?” he started up again, ignoring the tension coming off the other male in waves. “You’re pretty lucky in that case, because if it was anyone else,” keen eyes caressed the knife once again, “You wouldn't have been so lucky.” He finished in a low whisper, dark eyes lifting to bore into his soul.

Corpse didn’t feel very lucky.

He had a feeling that no one was more dangerous than the man in front of him at that moment.

“Look man,” The younger stuttered out. “I don’t know anything ok? I’m just a simple street thief, pickpocketing people because I need the money.” He explained, hoping that the reality of his situation would save his life. “I’m not involved with the Mafia nor ever I wanted to.”

The other simply hummed, not taking his eyes away.

He took that as his sign to continue. “I just robbed the wrong guy ok? They said that they would let me live and even give me some money if I rob that thing off of you.” He pointed to the USB.

The brunette simply hummed again. “…I see.”

His eyes didn’t move.

Corpse fidgeted in his seat and tried not to look away. He was telling the truth. He didn’t have any reason to hide.

Sykkuno eventually nodded, apparently accepting his words as the truth.

“If that’s the case,” he started up, eyes sharp. “Why don’t you tell me who actually sent you?”

The ravenette shook his head. “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me anything.”

“What about their faces?”

He froze. “I – I can’t. they’ll kill me!”

The other male looked at him with mocked sympathy. “Ah, well, that’s sad.” Then smirked, “Considering your position.” waving the flash drive in his hand.

That’s when the realization hit Corpse.

There was no way he was leaving this room with that thing alive.

And if he didn’t manage to complete the mission…

Sykkuno was right.

This was a dead end.

The absurdity of the situation made his hands fist on his lap.

A few seconds of silence.

“H-how can I be sure that I can trust you?” he finally questioned with hesitation.

The other simply smiled. “You can’t.”

His knuckles had now turned white. He felt sick.

He was stuck. Like a little bunny catch in a trap with no way out.

His only way of survival was to trust the man in front of him.

And even that could end up with his death.

But that was the thing…

Corpse had no other choice.

“Look,” The velvety sound of the brunette brought him out of his self-destructive thoughts. “At the end of day, your fate isn’t really any of my business.” Black locked in chocolate brown. “The only reason I did any of this at all, instead of getting rid of you at the very start, was because I liked you.”

The confession caught the younger off guard, the elder simply smiled at his shock.

“Not a lot of people manage to catch my interest but you did.” He chuckled. “Gotta admit, your acting truly impressed me. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that you’re actually interested in me.”

Oh, if only he knew…

“This is why I’m going to tell you this.” His voice was genuine and serious. “The people who sent you, they were never planning to let you live.”

The younger looked at him with bewilderment. “W-what do you mean?”

“You didn’t really think that they would send a random thief of the street to a mission as important as this, right?” he sounded serious to the core, not a hint of joking or lying on his face. “You were merely a distraction meant to avert my attention. You were never going to succeed.”

The ravenette just stared at him in shock and confusion.

What the brunette said… actually made sense.

Honestly, at first, he was surprised too.

Why would they ask someone like him to do this?

If they were really that powerful, wouldn’t they already have better people for a mission like this?

And now… it all made sense.

Corpse dropped his head in his hands and groaned silently.

This was such a mess.

How did his life become so complicated?

He could feel the other male’s gaze on him.

He raised his head and locked eyes with the other, as expected.

“What do you want?” he asked defeatedly, his decision already made for him.

“I want you to tell them that you actually managed to steal the flesh drive. Then tell me the meeting place. Anything after that, my team will take care of it.”

So basically, lure them into a trap. Made sense.

“Then what? …What happens to me?” he asked uncertainly.

If Corpse was actually going to do this, then he wanted to make sure he at least got out of this mess alive. Honestly, at this point, even a half-ass promise made him happy.

“I can ensure your safety during the mission. After everything is done, you can go your own way. No harm done.” He assured him confidently. Then smiled. “Who knows, maybe you even get a job offer.”

The younger fought the urge to scoff. No, thank you.

He then thought about it all for a little more, eventually sighing in defeat.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” He quietly asked, not really expecting an answer.

The elder simply gave him another smile.

It just made him feel worse.

The mother fucker was enjoying this.

Corpse just sighed again and nodded his head. “Yeah, ok, I… I’ll do it.”

Sykkuno smiled again, eyes turning into crescent moons. “Wonderful! I knew you’re a smart man.”

The ravenette fought the urge to curse the other, he was smart after all.

Suddenly Sykkuno started to walk towards him.

Corpse stared at him with wide eyes, heart speeding up again.

Sykkuno was staring right back, steps confident and eyes not leaving his face.

He finally reached the bed… and bent over.

Corpse's heart stopped.

There was no way…

He watched as their faces got closer and closer.

Was he…

His eyes slipped towards those pretty pink lips; mouth suddenly dry.

Was this really…

But then Sykkuno stopped their faces inches away.

Confused black eyes jumped up.

Only to see the amusement in the other’s eyes.

Before Corpse had any time to understand what the fuck was really happening, Sykkuno drew back.

Corpse was never more confused in his life… that is until he saw the wallet in the brunette’s hand.

Mother fuck-

Sykkuno watched the realization dawning on the other’s face with amused eyes and a little mischievous smile on his lips.

Corpse just cursed him -in his head- more, because him being so evil really shouldn’t be that hot.

Corpse definitely had a problem.

“Here.”

The brunette’s voice brought him out of his head, seeing the card in front of his face.

He slowly took it and looked at the little green sprout printed on the front.

Cute.

He then turned it around to see a number.

“This is my number; you know what to do.” The brunette simply explained, then left.

But then he stopped at the door and turned around. “And Corpse?” He called for him, making the other look up.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Sykkuno simply told him, eyes sharp and knowing.

Corpse froze, unable to look away from the man in front of him.

It felt like for the first time, he was truly seeing Sykkuno for who he was.

Dangerous, poisonous, beautiful.

And as the sound of the door closing echoed through the room, that’s when he realized, since the very first moment he met Sykkuno…

Corpse was doomed.