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Being tall definitely has its advantages.
III would be the first person to say this.
Standing at a splendid height of 197 centimeters, he towered above everyone. Even Vessel used to be the tallest one in the room. That all changed when they got to know their future bassist.
Surely being tall was amazing. He didn’t have to use a stool to reach the top cupboard, unlike II.
He liked to be asked to get things from the higher shelves by his much shorter boyfriend, although it was fun to see him try to grab what he wanted. If he was lucky, he was even able to spot a patch of the milky smooth skin of the drummer.
Even his friend IV, not short in the slightest, tends to ask him to reach things. It’s so much easier to do things when a human giraffe is your friend. III was kind of sad to not see him at least try to reach for the top shelf. Not that he wanted to see his hoodie rile up his back and show his butt. Absolutely not, no way in hell, that’s confidential information.
Being tall was something he bragged about his whole life, right after hitting his final growth spurt. But something that he didn’t really want to acknowledge was the chronic pains.
That’s something that he never thought would happen, well not at least his fifties at least, which was in a very long time. He was twenty eight for Sleep’s sake! 28 years old and he feared the days where it would be cold because he just knew that would be an absolute nightmare. The cold just got to his joints like no other, making him feel a little bit like a very young grandpa.
He looked up the causes of his pain, maybe he was sick? There were plenty of syndromes that caused body aches. What if it was cancer? What the hell!
Of course his anxieties were just fabrications of his mind. That night Sleep had come to him in his dream, something that rarely happens. If ever. He could count on one hand the times where the god came to him.
She came, clouding his mind with one message.
”My third Vessel. Rest assured, you are not ill or sick. You are just… too tall.”
Well. As if he would be able to do anything about it! Besides sawing off parts of his shins and giving them to II, there really wasn’t much to do.
And he wasn’t going to talk about it to his boyfriends and his friend, who ever gets in such pain just because of the weather besides grandpas? Certainly not him. He respected and had a special thought for people who had an actual disorder that made their bodies sore. He was just tall.
So he would never mention it to his loved ones. That’s how he rolled most of the days where it ached. The others didn’t really see anything, III always acting like his goofy and funny self. Still being up to any kind of mischief that one could possibly have, still running around the stage…
Until one day, it wasn’t cutting it.
Usually, if he was in greater pain than usual, he would just take it easy that day, stay warm, draw himself a nice bath, maybe get II to cuddle with him (as if it was the hardest to do, he was a cuddle bug behind closed doors). If he had some weed on hand, he would roll up a joint. Cut with more legal herbs like lavender, the mix did wonders to appease his mind and soothes his aches.
But that day, everything just felt worse than before.
III had woken up during the night, something strange for him, being the one who never had any real sleep issues. The bassist woke up, arms wrapped around Vessel, the latter being spooned by II. His arms felt sore, not in the way that they should be after cuddling his boyfriends.
The pain shouldn’t be here. Some numbness was expected but III felt everything but numbness, he wished he did. The pain was sharp, enough to wake him up. His shoulders felt stiff, as if someone was firmly holding them against a wall. Which wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Still sleepy, he threw on one of his hoodies on him, turning up the heating before stretching whatever was hurting. Rolling his shoulders outward proved to be a daunting task for III, head fuzzy by the idea of going back to bed and sleeping it off. He pressed his hand on a wall to outstretch his arm and relieve some pain he felt in the meat of his muscle, which didn’t do much to help with his ache. Fuck it, he was way too sleepy to do his stretches, he was way too eager to go back next to his lovers, in hopes of getting distracted enough by Vessel breathing in his ear. So that’s what he did. He got back into bed, this time with more clothes than he did. Hopefully he was just too cold. He wrapped his arms around Vessel’s waist, pressing his nose against his torso before sleep took over.
What he didn’t expect was to wake up with his arms still feeling like he had gone boxing the day earlier. He managed to keep the pain to a dull ache all day long, the pain in his arms a mere reminder of the night before.
The bassist’s legs were another story.
His knees felt like they were going to rust off away from his body. Which was not a good thing. He needed his legs to work. And walk.
Heck, even his muscles were way too sore for the things that he’d done the day earlier.
He didn’t work out, didn’t have a heated scene with his boyfriends, he didn’t fall… Such pain was definitely uncharted territory for III.
His shoulders weren’t all too well either.
The pain he felt in them last night was still here, as if he was sick. He remembered vaguely when he felt that pain, it was right after he had to have his appendix removed. The anesthesia seeping out of his body somehow really hurt his shoulders and trapeze muscles. The bassist didn’t miss that experience.
III had a crazy pain tolerance, everyone was aware of how high it was. He never complained about anything. The only thing he complained about in regards to this area was when he was sick. But then again, it was a phobia. He could go off about complaining.
III was the last one to sit on the couch. The whole band decided to have a movie afternoon, the gloomy weather trapping them inside (as if it would impact their way of living).
He carefully sat down on the couch, next to IV. The guitarist arched an eyebrow.
“I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you sitting on the couch and not throwing yourself on it!” IV snickered, playfully jabbing at III like he usually did. III snickered at him in an attempt to hide the fact that his teeth were gritted together.
“Just didn’t sleep well last night, ‘st happens.” Why was that couch suddenly that uncomfortable?
II looked up at his boyfriend, trying to find a comfortable position to lounge in to watch their movies. “You okay babe? " he quipped at the mention of his boyfriend being tired. “What happened?”
“Oh, just a stupid nightmare that’s all, plenty of weird dreams too.” Technically, this wasn’t a lie, he did dream about nonsensical things. Something about them all being bald. That could be taken account as a nightmare in itself for the bassist, too attached to his own blonde mop and to the luscious locks of his boyfriends. IV’s too. That man had the most luscious hair he’d ever seen and he was dying to run his fingers through it. Shut up.
That explanation seemed legit enough for the drummer. Vessel spoke out, chiming in about the movie they would be watching. Their movie of the day would be the third Alien movie. They were all keen about science fiction and horror, it made sense.
II and Vessel cuddled into each other as IV pressed play. III propped his legs on the guitarist’s lap, IV grasped his ankles in case they’d slip.
As III threw his legs on IV, the dull ache of earlier transferred into a sharp bout of pain, starting at his sacrum and spreading in both legs. He winced quietly, the screams of the xenomorph coming to life on screen covering the noise he just made.
The movie was spent in an almost uncanny silence before IV had to stand to grab something to drink, slipping III’s legs off his lap. The sharp pain was still there and it was a miracle that III didn’t visibly recoil at the sensation.
When the credits rolled out, Vessel was the first one to speak. He stretched out and looked at III and IV.
“I wrote something yesterday. Wanna help me out with the instrumentals ? I need some other sets of eyes” The singer quietly chuckled. He always liked to have the input of his bandmates when he wrote songs.
They all stood up, not before having a small snack and drink. They all went to their practice room. Vessel had written some lyrics the day earlier and he was eager to show them to his bandmates. They all liked to jam together when Vessel wrote lyrics and had only a basic idea of the instrumental part.
Slipping his bass strap on, III got all too aware of how heavy his bass was. The fans were always impressed to see him act the way he did on stage with such heavy basses. At this moment he regretted everything he ever positively thought about his instruments. The weight on his shoulders was way too heavy for his current predicament. He could have been wise and say that he would be practising later. But III had multiple qualities, being reasonable wasn’t one of them. Especially when it was about himself.
His wisest decision of the day was to sit on their cushioned stool they had in that room. He sat before grabbing his bass. That in itself was a challenge and he hoped that his bandmates didn’t notice the way he slowly grabbed the body of the instrument, as if it was made out of porcelain. Vessel acknowledged this but didn’t think it was something worth mentioning, given the bassist’s earlier justification.
“So, that’s why I’ve been locked up in here yesterday. I wrote this, I don’t know if it’s album worthy or just a scarp to get inspiration, but it could start up like this.” Vessel grabbed his own guitar, a well loved white stratocaster, the first electric guitar he’d bought himself back in college.
As the singer started to play some chords, a nice upbeat rhythm that one could dance to. The lyrics then came up next and in true Vessel fashion, they didn’t fit the joyful mood of the song, heartbreaking words about addiction and pain danced on the metaphorical line of the song.
III saw II get into it, drumming softly to add rhythm as to add more depth. The drumming wasn’t overbearing and was there to guide the others into following along.
IV got the cue and started to add some riffs and some complicated chords. Ever since he got that beautiful 8-string, the guitarist was really fond of adding cool chord progressions to songs. A fact that III adored since that could mean he could go wild on the bass. Listening intently, III finally had a bass line pop up in his head. He reached out for the second fret and–
The movement that he just did made him yelp. Audibly yelp. The pain that he felt all night and morning finally blossomed into seething aches. III saw white as his shoulders and back cramped hard.
If it wasn’t for the bass strap, he would have dropped his precious bass on the floor.
They all stopped playing when they heard the choked up sound the bassist made. Vessel put his guitar down, so did the others.
“III! Are you okay? What happened?” IV was the first to be on his feet. He stood near III, visibly in pain.
“Just– just take my bass off. It fucking hurts–” He audibly groaned when the guitarist slipped his hand under the strap to take off the bass.
II and Vessel looked at each other, both worried and dumbfounded.
“Babe, talk to us, what’s going on? What’s hurting you?” II cupped his cheek and tilted his face upwards. The bassist’s face was strained, eyes brimming with tears that threatened to fall.
“Everywhere– “ III replied in between two groans. “Starting last night, it didn’t stop even when I put the heating on.” He explained as best as he could, not bothering his testimony with details, too much in pain to precise anything. “My joints, my muscles, today just sucks.”
Vessel frowned, heart aching at the sight of his boyfriend being out of it. He reached out for his shoulders, lightly rubbing them. IV spoke out.
“Okay, love, we’re gonna take this elsewhere. You need to rest and get some pain killers. Do you do something when it hurts badly?” IV inquired, as sad as the others to see the usually cheerful and seemingly invincible bassist in such a state.
“I just suck it up.” He said through gritted teeth. “When it’s really bad I draw myself a bath, take a painkiller”. He breathed in, shakiness taking over his voice. “Fuck, it never hurts this bad”
The tears that brimmed in his eyes were now on his cheeks. He was now sobbing in a mixture of pain, helplessness and the feeling of being a burden. II wrapped his arms around him, rubbing his back in an attempt to make the muscles loosen up. III continued sobbing, occasionally sniffling.
Everyone in the room felt sorry for him, and III hated it. IV was the first to snap out of his daze, Vessel standing stoically in front of III.
The guitarist spoke up. “Ok, Vessel, go fetch him some painkillers please?” Vessel promptly nodded before running out of the room. “II, please help me get him to the bathroom. We’re drawing him a bath.” II started to lean forward before III groaned, displeased.
“I’m not some kind of charity case y’know, I’ve dealt with this alone for the past couple of years.” He mumbled before standing up, not without almost falling. IV and II gasped before settling themselves on each of his sides. “I can manage, you go back to the song, I’ll just go and lay down.” He mumbled, accent slurred because of the pain and his clogged nose.
IV audibly groaned, grabbing him around his torso
“You really think you’re handling this on your own right now?” The guitarist said as they brought the tall man into the bathroom, where the bathtub was starting to fill up with hot water. “Well, that’s not how it works. We see you writhing in pain, drop your beloved bass on the floor because you ache everywhere, and you expect us to not do anything?” IV huffed as he put III on the edge of the bathtub. “Well, babe, you’re so damn wrong.” IV let out, the pet name slipping without him not noticing.
That didn’t go unnoticed by III, whose heart had decided to do somersaults in his chest. Even when he was in an unbelievable amount of pain, he was still affected by IV and his pretty words. IV wasn’t wrong, III would have probably done the same if instead of him being in pain, it was one of the guys. He always insists on helping when II has meltdowns, maybe he decided to be helped for once. Just this once though.
Begrudgingly, he decided to let his boys take care of him. II helped him out of his shirt and hoodie, discarding them on the floor, leaving him in his jeans.
It’s around this time that Vessel walked back with a glass of water and painkillers which he promptly gave to him. The blonde man gulped down his drink in a swift motion. Vessel cleared his throat before speaking, clearly still taken aback by the sudden change in behavior of III. He always felt things deeply. After gaining back his composure he looked around their bathroom and its various cupboards. He found a bottle of massage oil under the sink.
“For after the shower. He spoke, concern painting his face. It should help you, I’ll give you a massage.”
He stumbled upon his words. III knew how much he felt and how much he cared. He was aware that he would be in such a state. Which is exactly why he always wanted to deal with this on his own. III reached out for the singer’s hand as to give it a squeeze.
“You don’t have to, y’know, just a bath and painkillers will do the trick— He got cut off by II, flicking water in his face. Hey!”
“You are getting a massage, end of story. You’re getting your back, your legs, your arms, everywhere that hurts alright? No arguing.” II scolded sternly. Damn, he could be a convincing one. That left no other choice for III.
“I’ll cook something for us.” IV spoke, looking at the other men silently agreeing to his offer. “But I insist, III, II’s right. I’ll get your legs. I used to do rugby. I know how sore it gets.”
Hm, maybe that night won’t be so bad, if IV offers such a thing. III snickered
“If you’re so kindly suggesting, then…” II shot a knowing glance at III. The latter pretended to ignore him.
IV gave a squeeze on II’s shoulder before closing the bathroom door. Oh yeah, III was still in his jeans and had yet to strip off fully.
Vessel helped III with his belt, unbuckling it, a gesture that became natural over the years, this time it didn’t have the urgency of intimacy. It was an intimate gesture but not in the way that led to sex.
It was something else and it made III swoon.
“You know, I would have loved for you to take off my pants in another setting.” The tall man suggested. Vessel cracked a small smile, looking at the taller man with kind eyes.
“So do I. But now, we’re taking care of you alright?”
Vessel slipped off III’s jeans and underwear carefully in one go. III was strictly against socks at home so that wasn’t an issue.
Vessel and II carefully helped III get in the water. He insisted that he wasn’t some kind of thing that would break, but that only earned him some kind of variations of shut up coming from the mouth of his boyfriends.
II grabbed some body wash, the kind that he knew III enjoyed. It belonged to Vessel and smelled like lavender.
He applied some on his shoulders, the soap acting as oil. II got to work and started to massage the shoulders of his lover. II took note of the change in III’s skin color. Sleep really was something else. The back of the bassist was starting to darken, a stripe of blueish black slashing his milky white skin. Like a bass strap.
III winced, which made II recoil. “Am I hurting you?” The smaller guy enquired.
III shook his head no, groaning at the loss of II’s hands.
“Nah, it feels good. But it still hurts. ’S a good kind of pain.”
II continued to massage his boyfriend’s shoulders as the warm water did wonders to help with his legs. Vessel sat down on the floor, head resting on the edge of the bathtub, rambling about his latest deep dive on youtube, anything that could keep III’s mind off the pain. Vessel had a talkative side that few people knew off, in order for him to really show his true colors, one had to really find a subject that spoke to the singer.
III also had a side that was kept secret from most people. Although he was a hyperactive man, always running and laughing around, known to interrupt conversations and remember useless things, he loved to listen. He rarely took on that role, it was usually him who rambled about things. But when he did, he loved it. It’s like when II reads his book out loud just so that III can enjoy it. He loves to listen, and that’s what he needed at that point. To listen and also to listen to himself.
After a while, the water now cold, they decided that it was time for III to get some food in him before getting his massage, as promised.
IV had cooked his favorite meal, how precious. The pesto pastas were served in four bowls, parmesan cheese and shredded cheese packets alongside.
III was a known picky eater. While II had chosen to be vegetarian way back (he doesn’t remember when, sometime in high school), III was just picky. Vessel and IV had normal taste buds and enjoyed most things that III didn’t.
III had grown fond of II’s vegetarian dishes, liking how flavorful they were even without meat.
He saw that IV cooked the dish in the way that II ate: with heaps of vegetarian parmesan cheese and vegan pesto sauce, ingredients that they all switched to after learning how it was made.
A plate of what seemed like cooked pork was set on the table. That was the way that III and Vessel enjoyed the most, with a serving of meat on the side. IV really did pay attention to what they liked, it made sense after living with them for a few months. But that really moved III for some reason.
IV squeezed his arm, giving him a one armed hug.
“How’s the pain going ? Did the bath help?” He asked, looking at III concerned.
There was an undeniable kindness in his stare, one that really was proper to the man. He was just so incredibly sweet, a fact that the others enjoyed and made them thank Sleep often for putting him their way.
III shrugged as best as he could, feeling like an under stuffed scarecrow. He sat in his designated spot.
“It’s a tiny bit better. My joints feel left stiff but it’s not like usual that’s for sure.”
II walked to his side and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, rubbing his side gently. III leaned against him, closing his eyes. The pain medication always made him loopy, especially after a warm bath.
They all quickly ate their dinner, the topic of III’s pain of course, was mentioned.
He then proceeded to explain everything: the days where he was bundled up into clothes when he usually ran hot, the days where he was exceptionally cuddly. That’s when II gasped a little. “You should have told me! I would have gotten my fancy heating blanket. I would have pampered you!”
III shrugged, clearly not used to being put in the spotlight in that way. He liked attention, he liked it when it was something that he did that was truly important, or when he was being bad and had to take accountability in a particularly nice way.
He was then brought back to his and his boyfriends’ shared room, the other men trailing behind him. Vessel held his hands out, in case of III slipping off the staircase leading up to their room. Which wasn’t really something he had to do, but felt like it was helpful.
III laid on the bed, sighing in relief as the weight of his body dropped to the mattress. Once he was laying down, IV sat on the side of the bed. II handed him the massage oil. Vessel pat IV’s shoulder, silently thanking him.
“We’re going to make you a nice warm drink. Where’s your hot bottle? Vessel asked. He looked around their room to try and find it, which he did and promptly walked out of the room to fill it.
IV looked at III with the same concerned eyes as before, but with something else in his stare. Was it eagerness ?
“ I think…” He started to speak before a faint blush crept on his face, tame enough for him to not feel self conscious, but visible enough for II and III to smirk to each other. The guitarist really was a pretty boy. “You’ll have to take your sweatpants off-“ He cut himself right away. “For the massage ! I-I have to reach for your muscles and I can’t really… do that with your sweatpants in the way.” He told, sheepishly smiling at III, who cracked a smile at that, How could he be in pain when he was surrounded by so many cuties?
“IV! Where are your manners!” III mocked. “At least take me out to dinner first before taking my clothes off!” He sounded like a hurt dog and the two men present couldn’t help but laugh. It was nice to see III gain his spark back after such a day.
The man raised his pelvis up as II helped him shimmy off his pants, leaving him in his black boxers, save for the hoodie he had on. III’s skin got goosebumps because of the sudden exposition. And because he was dying to feel the guitarist’s hands on him.
Wanting III to not get too cold for his joints, II gave the massage oil to IV. II pecked III’s forehead afterwards.
“I’ll get your upper half otherwise okay? Don’t want you to have any more issues.”
II sat in the armchair that was facing the bed, for obvious reasons, in that case watching IV’s work of hands.
IV started with III’s calves, placing his legs in his lap. He rubbed his hands to warm them up before applying oil on them.
“Tell me if I’m being too hard, okay? I’ll stop right away.” IV warned before starting to rub the oil in.
“Oh don’t worry, I like it rou- ah!” III’s raunchy remark was cut off by him letting out a pained moan. He put his hands on his mouth, surprised to have made such a sound. II laughed as IV grew concerned. III reassured him immediately.
Turns out that you’re prone to have a hell of a sore body when you have so many achy spots in your legs. IV wasn’t going too hard, not too soft either, the perfect amount of pressure to work out the knots in III’s calves.
“So… rugby?” III let out when the pain in his right leg dulled out. IV got the oil ready for the left one.
“Yep!” He said popping the P. “I did it for most of my teenage years. Didn’t get too many broken bones or concussions but I got mean cramps in my legs especially. I was tired of spending money at the massage parlor that was just under my apartment so I taught myself. Turns out it’s really helpful to know when you’ve got a bad case of achy legs.”
He explained as he pressed his thumbs against the muscled part of III’s calf. This part had recently started to darken because of Sleep, the skin becoming mottled. IV had yet to have his ceremony of transformation into a vessel, the others wanting to be sure that it was what he wanted. They also were worried after III’s transformation. It had been a painful experience that lasted over three weeks.
III was nodding, drinking IV’s words in, concentrating on what he was saying instead of processing what was currently happening. If he had a boner right at this moment, II would never let him live this down. Vessel too. It’s probably at this moment, as IV’s getting his legs, that III realized that he is down bad for the guitarist. Surely he talked about it with his boyfriends, who were also very much in the same predicament, but III for some reason, thought that it would go away. As if it would, given his elastic heart.
III decided to open his bond to II, speaking telepathically with the shorter man.
“I’m fucked, am I?”
II nodded, smiling hard, a blush dusting his cheeks.
“Told you that he would find a way to crawl in your heart. You were just an oblivious idiot, baby.”
III audibly groaned. IV turned to face him, worried.
“ Did I hurt you ?” He asked.
III could hear II laughing through the bond. Oh boy, were they fucked.
Vessel had, at some point, joined them into the room. III was too far in his head to notice his boyfriend’s presence. Said boyfriend who was putting a warm bottle on his chest. Oh yeah, he had to boil water. He turned his head to see that a mug full of tea, mango and peach flavored his favorite kind, was placed on their shared nightstand. Ah, what a wonderful idea. III smiled at Vessel, clearing his throat before he spoke.
“You are all so kind to me.” He said as Vessel sat on the armrest of the chair II was sitting in. II was silent as he seemed to speak telepathically to Vessel. Given the smirk on Vessel’s face, he was probably talking about III realizing he liked IV.
“You deserve to be taken care of, you know?” Vessel spoke out, watching IV’s knead into III’s calf, earning a moan from how sore it was. III looked at him quickly before IV spoke.
“Mate, I don’t know why you’re being stubborn about that situation. It’s alright. We all have our downs sometimes. Do you expect II to thank you when he’s having a meltdown?” IV asked as he wiped the leftover oil with a napkin. “Turn over, I’ll get your thighs.”
There was no way in hell that IV wasn’t aware of what he was doing, or how it could be perceived. Fucking hell, why was he so kind and hot.
III heard Vessel laugh through the bond. It echoed in his head. The bastard.
“He asked you a question, darling.”
Oh that’s right. He had to answer. He rolled on his belly before replying.
“Of course not. It’s my job. I’m one of his boyfriends, I should take care of him. And I want to take care of him.”
IV snorted.”Then accept the same treatment back you idiot.” He said, playfully smacking his bare thigh.
He started to put the oil on the back of his thighs, starting with the right one. He dug his thumbs near the pit of his knee first, working his way up. III was groaning like crazy, and he was too tired to stifle them. A pillow would do fine.
“Oh my god, if you’re this vocal about getting a massage, I don’t think I should imagine how loud you are in bed.” IV teased. Was he flirting? Or just joking?
“He’s flirting with you.” Vessel replied. He apparently thought out loud.
“Oh, IV, you’re missing out on private concerts then.” II teased back, dodging a pillow that was thrown in his direction by III. The little fucker.
“You guys really want me to have a boner right in front of him while he’s literally kneading my legs as if they were sourdough?
Only a deep breath was let out by Vessel, confirming what III thought.
“Next time I’m so embarrassing you, dear god!”
After a long massage session, III felt somewhat better. Well actually a whole lot better. His legs finally felt like his again. They didn’t feel like they were a hundred kilo each which was in itself amazing, the sensation was god awful to him , way too over stimulating and uncomfortable. Like they were both restless and yet like they were made out of concrete.
They were also not sore anymore. Wow, IV really did something to soothe his pain. Not that he didn’t trust him of course, he just thought that the aches would pass on their own, with nothing to help. Right after the guitarist had kneaded him like a puff pastry, II went in and did his own massage session, this time on III’s arms. The smaller fingers of the drummer dug into the bassist’s skin really efficiently, making the dull pain in his arms fully go away. Vessel also went and rubbed an anti- inflammatory ointment over the parts that still felt sore.
Feeling as he weighed as a feather, worn out and relaxed, he laid in their shared bed in a position akin to the one of a starfish. He grew conscious of his own attire, just laying in his boxers. He reached out for his discarded hoodie on the bed, slipping it on. Although he ran hot, he liked being warm, his muscles too.
The boys were still there, chatting about what they could do to further help the lanky man in the bed.
“You’ve done enough.” III interrupted them, sitting straighter in the bed to grab his mug full of tea to take a sip. He smiled before speaking again. “Actually, there’s something you could do.” He glanced at the clock. It was almost ten in the evening.
The boys looked at him, listening intently.
“I could use a cuddle. They say that it’s better to be warm when you apply this stuff.” He pointed to the ointment now discarded on the nightstand. He smiled cheekily.
“No need for excuses, I’ll cuddle the shit out of you whenever.” II climbed on the bed before laying on him. It was his favorite way of cuddling, and being cuddled in. The warm weight pressing on III’s felt amazing, soothing any last of his anxieties. Vessel smiled at him and laid on his right side, resting his head on the bassist’s shoulder. IV smiled at them before clearing his throat. There was something in his stare that was different. Was that what longing for someone else looks like? It sure was beautiful.
“Well, then, I’ll go and get the dishes, we won’t have to do them in the morning that way…” IV stopped after II tutted.
“Nah. You’re not getting the dishes.” He smiled at him, half laughing.
III pat the left side that was still unoccupied. He chuckled. “Wanna cuddle with us?” His proposition was honest, full of adoration seeping out of the bond he shared with II and Vessel. “‘S not fair leaving you to do the dishes after being such a sweetheart to me. Least I can do is cuddle you. Do you like being hugged?”
IV stood there, a bit surprised to hear this. He nodded at him, smiling from ear to ear. III grinned as he looked at the others, his heart running fast.
“You’ll thank me later, baby. Now let’s enjoy that” II said, pressing a kiss to III’s chest.
IV hopped on the bed, reaching III’s side. Not knowing what was okay to do or not, he just sat there, wondering how to tackle this. III reached out to wrap an arm around his waist. Long arms were always a blessing for cuddling.
IV immediately melted to the touch and scooted closer to III, resting his head on his shoulder like Vessel did. III gently rubbed his hand to ease him into it, which IV did, wrapping his arm around III’s body.
At some point, Vessel grabbed the TV remote to their TV, playing a show that they all loved and liked. They watched the fourth season of American horror story for a while before they all dozed off.
When III woke up, he was still tangled up in Vessel’s embrace, spooning him. II wasn’t on his chest and IV seemingly had left the bedroom. He was an early riser after all, it made sense. III vaguely remembered a conversation II had with him yesterday about going to the shops the day after. Hence why II wasn’t here.
He also realized as he felt Vessel loosen his grip on his waist that he felt great. No pain in his limbs, no pain in his back, no sadness and bad feelings in his heart. His heart was full of affection and gratefulness, god, his lovers were great yesterday, so was IV. Oh how he surprised him. And how much he loved having him by his side.
He decided to see where the guitarist was and to walk around to see if his body really wasn’t hurting. He scooted off Vessel’s embrace, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. The latter grunted before rolling over on his back.
III took tentative steps out of their bedroom. Oh he’s definitely texting II to tell him to grab a gift for IV because he really outdid himself. It felt so amazing walking without pain!
He tried to see if IV was in his room. He peered into the doorway to see the room empty. He then climbed down the stairs. He could hear some music being played downstairs, meaning that IV stayed home.
His stomach grumbled. He felt like having a nice fulfilling breakfast. As he walked into the open kitchen area, there he saw him.
IV was sitting on one of their couches, a sketchbook on his lap. He smiled at him.
“Hi III! Do you feel better?” IV inquired before putting his pen down. It seemed that he was drawing flowers. It looked so good. The guitarist was a very talented artist on top of being an awesome musician.
III nodded, grabbing stuff to make himself a breakfast sandwich. “I don’t know what you did to my body, where you learned that skill, but I’m definitely noting that down”. He chuckled as he spread cream cheese on his slices of bread.
IV smiled brightly and laughed “ Really! I’m glad it did you good. No pain at all?” He questioned and then smiled ear to ear as he saw III shaking his head sideways. “That’s amazing! You should take paracetamol this morning so that the pains don’t return, "he said pragmatically.
“I will, no worries. But really, Ivy,you did a number on me holy shit! Thank you, so much” The bassist said as he reached in the fridge to grab ham.
“Hey that’s alright man, I wouldn’t have left you in such a state!” IV replied as he continued his sketch. III decided to tease him.
“Ivy, did you sleep well?” III asked and then gave a glance to the guitarist, a faint blush now dusting his cheeks. III grinned.
“Oh! Hm, yeah…” He told III as he tried to hide the blush creeping on his face. “It felt nice, being cuddled up together like this. Didn’t expect you to sleep talk though.” He chuckled. III laughed.
“Oh yeah, you better get used to it y’know. If we’re gonna do this sometime soon. Wouldn’t want you to feel left out.”
IV’s cheeks turned another shade of pink. III smiled. IV looked up at him. He put his sketchbook on the couch.
“About yesterday. I could you know.”
III looked away from his sandwich, arching an eyebrow to the man now in front of him. IV walked up to the bar and sat on one of the highchairs.
“Could do what?” III questioned, not sure of what IV could ever mean by that.
“Invite you to dinner.” IV smiled at him.
III was grateful to not have been holding something in his head because he would have dropped it. Did he hear that correctly? “Would you?”
“Huh-huh. Same for II and Vessel. I’d take you all to dinner.” IV blushed but looked at III in a serious way.
He wasn’t joking and god did this to III. IV’s big blue eyes stared right back at him and he swore he could drown in his stare. III gained his composure back, pink dusting his cheeks.
“I think…” He cleared his throat. “I think they’d like that…”
“And would you?” IV retorted.
“I’d like that a lot, Ivy.” III laughed softly. “Very much so.”
“It’s a date then.” IV smiled as he walked over the kitchen to make himself a coffee, not before squeezing III’s side gently.
III quickly grabbed his phone to send a text to II. Grab flowers on ur way back x
Being tall had its downsides, but for once, III was grateful for the pain it caused.