Chapter Text
It's a warm Saturday evening when Sebastian turns and asks Sam if he could drive him to the city.
They’re sitting on Sebastian’s couch, probably a little too close, but they’re comfortable and it's really not so weird to have your best friend's hand resting against the back of yours.
Right?
Sam turns and looks at his friend, taking in the red rimmed eyes and blown out pupils. Sebastian’s eyeliner is smudged, having previously run down his cheeks in small rivulets. Sam fights the urge to wipe it away with his thumb. He’s at the point where he might miss and accidentally poke Seb’s eye out before making it to his cheek.
Sebastian bumps Sam's shoulder for what might be the third time. He can’t really tell anymore. Sam’s too busy staring at the inky lines on his face to keep track.
“Sammy!”
“Wha?” his entire body jerks. Sebastian is looking at him, head tilted just slightly in confusion.
“Wait.. Were you talking to me?”
Sebastian’s eyes roll but instead of his usual put upon sigh he lets out a small laugh. No- he giggles . That's how Sam knows Sebby’s bought the good stuff. The relaxed smile on his face is telling. Sometimes Sam feels like he’s starting to see it less and less and it worries him.
Sebastian frowns and Sam realises he’s too high to have unhappy thoughts. Apparently he’s at the point where his face shows it all.
“You don’t have to do it, if you don’t want to, Sam.” The crestfallen look on his friend's face shakes him out of the floaty headspace Sam had been stuck in. The dried tear tracks also help.
“I didn’t say that- no!” he stumbles over his words “Wait.. What am I doing?”
Sebastian takes the blunt being held between Sam's loose fingers. Neither notice the ash that falls onto the couch or Sams patched up jeans. But Sam definitely notices the small smile returning. He’d never miss that. He rapidly blinks in an attempt to break the trance he keeps finding himself in.
“Would you drive me to the city? My mom said we can borrow her truck. I just have to tell her what day.”
“Oh..” the blonde says a bit too loudly “Yeah sure, Seb… Why not just drive us on your bike though?”
A brief silence sits between them and Sebastian looks down at the red fabric sewn onto the knee of Sam’s pants. It’s not odd for Seb to get quiet sometimes, especially when his brains not doing so hot, but it seems like he’d been having a good day. Sam wonders if he shouldn’t have asked. Sebastians normally pale cheeks darken ever so slightly before he looks up at Sam and answers “I gotta go back to the piercing place.” And that's all the answer Sam needs.
“Oh, okay. I’m down for it.” he responds. There's no further questioning after that. It's probably just another earring or that bar thing that goes through the ear lobe, right?
--
The following Tuesday, Sam finds himself staring deep into the clouded eyes of a wet snake specimen. It's curled and piled into a glass jar that he’s sure was turned just so the snake's face is looking at the bench. Maybe it's a fear tactic to weed out the weak before they go into the back and get a needle forced through their flesh. When he’d asked Sebastian about it he’d received a look severe enough to have him staring back at the dead snake again, wondering if Seb would preserve him in a jar or just bury him in the ground. Above him hangs a dried bat taxidermy..thing, that's very obviously accumulated over a years worth of dust. Sam wonders if the shop owner was too scared to clean it in fear of a piece falling off.
Sam grimaces, sliding further down on the bench away from it. If any part of it fell onto him he might literally jump out of his skin and give the tattoo shop another dead thing to pin up on their wall. He bumps into Sebastian who immediately elbows him back without batting an eye. Seb’s currently filling out paperwork with his ID sitting in his lap. The pen he’s using has a small black widow perched on the back end of it. These guys were really invested in their aesthetic. Very, Sebastian.
Eventually, Sebby finishes the required paperwork and hands it to the tattooed receptionist smiling at him from behind the desk. Her cheerfulness seems to rub off on Seb who smiles back at her in a way Sams sure he wouldn’t if they were back home. He seems more comfortable in Zuzu than Pelican Town, especially here in the tattoo shop. Maybe it’s the anonymity awarded from being in such a bustling city, or maybe it’s just because these people kinda fit the look Seb had slowly adapted.
Everyone close to Sebastian knew that he was drawn to the city. He and Sam had spoken about it dozens of times but it was always a passing thing. Sam always told himself that they’d cross that bridge when they got there. He tried not to worry about it and live in the moment but seeing his friend so at ease in the place of his dreams was making it all too real. It seems that it's only a matter of time before the big city steals his best friend away from him. The revelation makes his stomach churn.
When Sebastian sits down next to him Sam lightly elbows him in the ribs until he protests and shoves Sam away. Sam smiles at the needed familiarity and teases him, asking “What's wrong?” and using as many variations of Seb’s name as he can think of until he sees Sebastian biting his cheek to suppress a smile. The rib poking continues and before long Sam feels small tremors vibrating through Sebs' side. He stops prodding and falls onto his friend, resting his full weight against Sebby’s side. Sam lets out an exaggerated sigh, puffing out his lips and blowing black hair out of his face. The poorly suppressed laughter he’d been aiming to hear finally graces his ears.
The moment is short lived, but it's enough to calm the fear in Sams middle for now. Sebastian’s name is called and he quickly shoves the blonde off of him. The pair are led down a decorated hallway to a smaller room. The piercing artist is a short tattooed man with plugs the size of Sam's fist. He’s as friendly as the receptionist and claps Sebastian on the back in a way that makes Sam think Seb’s been here far more than he’d previously been aware of. He wonders if Sebastian has any piercings Sam doesn’t know about and- Yikes . That would hurt like a bitch. He almost cups himself in solidarity.
Sebastian pulls his hoodie off from over his head. Sam has to blink a few times to make sure his eyes are working correctly because, wow that boy is pale and Sam can’t remember the last time he’d seen Seb in anything less than a t-shirt. Maybe that's why he can’t stop staring.
Sebastian holds the worn hoodie in front of his chest as the piercer sets up. He makes flustered eye contact with Sam and Sam knows he’s supposed to look away but he doesn’t because he’s not sure he can and suddenly the piercer is moving Seb’s hands out of the way to inspect his chest. The guy probably has a name but Sam never heard it. He’s too busy being a fucking lunatic and eyeballing the shit out of his childhood best friend because- wow, what the fuck!
Maybe Seb doesn’t want blood on his hoodie?
.. Or any shirt.
Because he’s not wearing one.
Not even a tank top.
Seb doesn’t do that.
..Maybe it's a city thing?
The piercer is still ogling at Seb’s chest much harder than Sam is. His face is barely inches away from Sebastian's pecks. He’s really fucking checking them out.
Sebastian keeps his eyes on the ceiling. It’s obvious he’s uncomfortable. Seb’s always covered his body to the point of it becoming concerning. When the piercer moves away to put gloves on, Sam so badly wants to drape his jean jacket over his friends shoulders. He wants to shoo the piercer away and take Seb out of the situation completely.
But suddenly the man is back and wiping Seb’s chest with some shiny shit. Sam’s eyebrows rise to his hairline then to the damn ceiling when the piercer rubs both thumbs over Sebastian’s nipples. A healthy flush appears on Sebastian's face. The same can be seen high on Sam’s cheekbones. He would choke on air if he were able to breath.
Sebastian winces. The piercer lightly pinches both nipples causing the tan nubs to harden under his fingers. They're given one last pull before the man in front of him grabs a sharpie off the tray next to him.
“You're kinda sensitive there.” he muses aloud. Sam swears his soul leaves his body as Sebastian's face flushes further. Two small dots are placed on both sides of Sebastian's nipples in a horizontal line. “This isn’t going to feel good. Sure you want them?”
Oh.
Sam's not sure when he sat down or where the stool came from but he’s suddenly flat on his ass. They are definitely not here for an earring and Sebastian is absolutely getting his nipples pierced.
Both of them.
Plural .
Holy. Shit.
The piercer lays the back of the large black chair down, motioning for Seb to climb on. As he does, the silver clamps are prepared and Sam is still desperately trying to take a breath.
Sebastian lays on his back, now stiff and visibly uncomfortable. He doesn’t know what to do with his hands so they sit on his stomach, fingers slowly drumming against pale skin.
The piercer stands above Seb’s head “Last chance.” he cautions. The clamps in his hand glint warningly in the artificial light. Biting his lip, Sebastian nods. His eyes flit over to Sam then back to the clamps. He lets out a low grunt when the first pair closes around his nipple. The quick intake of breath that follows shakes Sam to his core. He’s not sure why the hell he’s freaking out as hard as he is but hes really fucking glad he chose not to wear skinny jeans today. Sams heart hammers in his chest as he watches. Sebastian is clearly uncomfortable and about to be in a lot of pain. It shouldn’t make his blood pump the way it is or excite him in any way. He’s not sure if he feels nauseous or turned on. The poorly concealed whimpers coming from the man laid out on the chair are making Sam sweat.
The piercer moves the tongs around to inspect the flushed nubs on Sebastian's chest. With one last squeeze he picks up the needle. Unsure of what to do, Sam stands but keeps his distance, just in case.
“Deep breathe” the tattooed man instructs, “Try to stay still for me.” He leans forward for a better view then pushes the needle through.
The instant the needle touches his flesh, Sebastians entire body tenses up. His head tilts back slightly, back arching off the fake leather chair. Pale skin tightens over barely visible muscles. The muscles in his neck tighten, adams apple bobbing as he gasps. The following noise Seb lets out sounds almost like a whimper.
The entire display is enrapturing. It stirs something in Sam. He’s never wanted Seb like this before.
Sebastian is panting lightly as the piercer prepares for the next one. His eyes are still tightly shut. They open when the second clamp bears down on his non pierced nipple. He looks to Sam, slightly panicked and it really fucking bothers him.
Fuck, Sam wants to hold him.
Wordlessly, he steps closer to grab Seb’s hand. Sebastian looks grateful.
The next needle breaks skin and Sebastian grunts loudly. His entire body rises off the chair once again, muscles tensing in pain. Sam feels pale fingers tightly squeezing his own but pays them no mind. The two keep constant eye contact until the piercer screws the final ball on.
Again, Sam can’t tell if he’s hard or nauseous. If he wasn’t so nauseous he’d be hard as hell but if the traitor between his legs would calm the fuck down he’d be bent over the wastebasket. Both feelings are nothing alike but at this moment he can’t tell between the two.
“All done.” The piercer pulls the gloves off his hands with a loud snap.
Sebastian lets out a sigh. He looks down at the small silver bars now forever on his chest. His nipples are swollen, chest a deep red. Sam is absolutely gobsmacked as he eyes Seb’s new jewelry until a little peek of red bubbles up then slips down Sebastian's chest.
Then, suddenly everything goes dark.