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What if I bring beer? FT. King
Prompt: What if I bring beer? Features: King // Mentions: D Λ Я K
Twenty-five unread messages. His phone blinking at him as if it was mocking him. Julian glared at the small device, hearing the ping to signal another message coming in. His brows furrowed as he clenched his fingers into his sweatpants. He didn’t know how things got so….wrong. Wrong yet so right. Friendship. It was not something Julian was used to. Something he did not need. So he had picked up his phone, typed out a quick message then sent it to the man that had wormed his way into Julian’s heart before putting the phone down. It was a night when King worked so he knew it would take a while for the message to be read so he had ignored his phone and rummaged through papers on his bed. Lorraine had asked him to look over some evidence that they had gathered of a demon terrorizing a family of three. The first ping of his phone didn’t cause a reaction but when it had pinged about four more times in rapid succession it caused a furrowing of his brows before Julian was pulling his eyes off of the paper in his hand and towards the small device. Twenty-six unread messages later and Julian was still staring. It had to be King. A quick glance at his bedside table showed the time in bright red lights. He was wrapping up a night at Euphoria. So he had seen his message. He sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose as he leaned back against the headboard. Another ping. Twenty-seven. His fingers twitched as if they were going to grab at the phone but he kept still. Twenty-eight. Another ping. His eyes clenched closed and he leaned forward.
Everything in him screamed to pick up the phone. To soothe a probably panicking King. To type out a ‘Just ignore what I said’ message but no. Friendship was a weakness he could not afford. Pulling away now was the best solution. Before things got even further. Before it was too late to pull away. His fingers tightened as he ignored another ping. Twenty-nine and knowing King it would keep going. His fingers trembled as he took a deep breath: fully intent on going back to what was asked of him to do. Instead his free hand grabbed the phone and easily put in his passcode. The last message ‘What if I bring beer?’ flashed at him. Before he could even try to see why that question was asked a last message appeared, ‘I’m coming over.’ Thirty messages. Julian blinked, trying to wrap his mind around what he saw before he put the phone down. He could type out a message for the other not to come but once King had his mind set on doing something nothing could deter him. He could pretend that he wasn’t home but he had given the other a key. In case he needed a safe spot in a pinch. The place had wards up to keep away anyone that Julian did not allow. A perfect place for King to hide until Julian or Ash could take care of whoever was daring to try to harm King. He could just leave but he was comfortable and he really needed to figure out which of his pathetic demon kind was at fault. He put his phone down, trying to throw himself back into the work laid out before him but his mind was preoccupied with what would be happening.
The more he thought about it the more he didn’t want to see King. He’d try to change Julian’s mind. Show him that he couldn’t just walk away from their friendship. King did not understand. How could he? Everyone flocked to him. He made friends easily: with powerful demons. He had the sweetest mother who didn’t teach him that things such as love and friendship was weak and held too much power over you. He didn’t have to worry about the slightest mess up to be met with a disappointed look and sometimes a raised hand. He didn’t understand what Julian had gone through. What he had been taught. He just did not understand. He couldn’t: their lives were so different from each other. “F***.” Julian whispered, deciding for now that he was not going to get anything done. He silently picked up everything and put it into the manila folder that rested on his bedside table. A ping to his right. Another second of ignoring only for the harsh sound of a key being inserted into his door. He looked at his half-open bedroom door, contemplating if he should get up. “Julian?” King’s voice. Julian’s teeth clenched. He shouldn’t. This needed to end. Soft footfalls got closer. He should leave. But still he stayed: eyes on the door. Half-fearing that King would come in. He really shouldn’t. Finally the door opened fully and standing in the doorway was the one who Julian had just tried to get rid of. He couldn’t look at him. His gaze lowered onto the bed, tension in his shoulders as the silence grew between them. Before he knew it the other was putting whatever he had in his hands down. And literally threw himself onto the bed and against Julian.
What? Julian’s head was pulled to King’s chest as he wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders: pulling him into a hug. A tight one. Julian flinched. Not use to the sudden movement towards him. Expecting pain but instead being pulled into a hug. He tensed up, not knowing what to do. His hands were still clenched into fists against his thighs. But that did not deter King in the slightest. Instead he got more comfortable to properly hug the other. Damn it. Damn this man. He should push him away. Tell him to his face that this friendship was over. He should be steeling himself for something that was not this. “I’m sorry.” Julian frowned at the soft apology. Why was he apologizing for? “Whatever I did to make you feel that way. I’m sorry.” Oh….Oh! Of course he would take it wrong….Julian hadn’t explained his side. Just sent ‘We can’t be friends’ and left it at that. Should have known better. That King would think he did something….with Julian having to save him time and time again it was inevitable. Humans were frail things. Too frail. Too emotional. King most of all. Julian sighed, gently disentangling himself from King’s too hard grasp. “Don’t apologize.” He bit off the ‘It’s weak’ comment that was bubbling under the surface. The words sounding loud in his mind and sounding suspiciously like Ash. He scowled at that thought of his father before shaking it away. “You did nothing wrong….I just can’t do this.” This hurt in his chest. That was new. And it just kept tugging at him as he tried to look at King but he just couldn’t. “I’m not use to this….this feeling.” God was he really going to speak about this. Yes….With King staring at him trying to keep his tears that gathered in his eyes from falling, he deserved to hear what Julian had to say. Damn this friendship. Damn these feelings. Damn King for making him feel this way.
King held up a hand, “Wait.” Julian’s eyes narrowed as King jumped off of the bed and held out a hand. “I said I was bringing beer. I think you need a drink.” Julian stared at the outstretched hand, shaking his head. He grabbed the other’s hand, letting the other help him up off the bed before he was following after the other. As difficult as it would be to speak of his feelings, he knew King deserved an explanation. But just where the hell should he start? And would King leave at the end of it? Or would Julian change his mind in the end? He did not know but first things first. That beer. Then they had the rest of the night: knowing King he already had probably called or even popped into his home to let his mother know that he probably wouldn’t be home for the night. Fingers wrapped around the neck of his beer bottle, he settled down for a long and hard night. Feelings of friendship were foreign to him but King would be patient. He’d listen without interrupting. Sure enough the male was staring at him, his own beer open but just sitting in front of him as they stared at each other across the table they settled in. Julian eyed the bottle in his grasp, sighing. “King….I’m not use to this. This feeling. I was raised by Ash…to see these things as a weakness. Something to be exploited and used against me. I don’t know what I would do or how I would feel if you were to die on me or get hurt because of me.” Already a liability. King looked torn between wanting to reach out to Julian and keeping still and focused. “You weren’t supposed to become important. I was only told by Ash to watch you when he could not. To protect you when he could not be here. Hell he went so far as to threaten me if something were to happen to you under my protection.” That had hurt. All this time and Ash had never gotten attached to anyone. Definitely not enough to threaten those under his protection. King looked ready to say something about it and Julian was sure he’d be speaking about that with Ash the next time they met. Julian would deal with that consequence later. Right now he was trying to word his feelings right. Without making King think he was at fault.
“You shouldn’t be this important. You were just another thing to watch over.” Harsh words and he probably should have said it a bit nicer but that wasn’t his style. And while King did flinch at that he kept quiet. “But then in true King fashion….you wormed your way inside. I should have walked away. I would have. But I didn’t. I blame you. Like the damn sun you are.” Which would make him a planet he supposed but that sounded weird in his head so he did not say it out loud. “And here we are.” King finally spoke, his voice a whisper as if he was afraid if he said anything louder that Julian would run. “Yeah…And here we are.” “I’d miss you.” King whispered, finally reaching over to lay a hand on Julian’s now clenched fist against the table. “I don’t want to lose this friendship….But if.” He stopped. Julian could hear the tears in his voice and while everything in him told him to just let the other go he sighed. “I don’t really want to stop….I might not understand this feeling. And it was definitely unwanted at first but…Well you’re my friend.” Julian caught King’s eyes. “I’m not a good person King. I kill people. Hunt them down. I use what Ash has taught me and I execute it perfectly just the way he taught me.” He leaned forward, “Do you really want to be friends with a monster like me?” “You’re not!” The sudden exclamation caught Julian off guard but not for long. King could not keep these fairytales about him. “I am!” His hands slammed down on the table, standing up as the chair he was sitting in skidded across the floor. “King despite what you think of me. I am not human. I look it. I act like it when I need to but I am far from human. Stop pretending as if I am this good person because I am not. I torture people. I seduce them. Lead them on and then I strike. I’ve killed, maimed and did everything in between. I am NOT a good person. I am NOT a kind person.” Why was it so damn hard for King to get that through his head? Why did he think Julian was something he was not? ‘Because you haven’t done it in front of him’ the thought came unbidden in his mind. He wouldn’t. Not even to prove a point.
“I know!” King stood up, voice quiet yet firm. “I know all of that. I understand: you’re not human. But despite all of that you are my friend….You aren’t a good person to others but to me you are. You protect me. It might have started as something simple as a command but everything afterwards was all you. You came to Euphoria to watch me when you did not have to. You’ve invited me out to drinks after work when you’ve noticed the stress of everything catching up to me. You gave me a dagger for protection. Helped protect my mother when she was almost brought into all of this. When I was too tired to drag myself home you were there to help me every step of the way. You gave me a key to your apartment JUST so I can be safe if I feel as if home isn’t safe enough. You are a good person to me and while I don’t want to think about what you do outside of here when it is just the two of us it does not matter to me.” Julian swallowed, that feeling of something stuck in his throat getting worse with each word. “I’m not.” “You are.” Julian sighed, shoulders slumping forward as he hung his head. “Damn you.” God how he hated this feeling. Hated it with everything in him. King moved around the table, gently laying a hand on his shoulder, “You have done a lot of terrible things I am sure but I know I am safe with you. I know you will never harm me nor put me in harm’s way. You are a good person to me and that’s all I need to know.”
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