Encouraged by Burrito, AJ decides to play along. Discouraged by ongoing run and frequent post rate, Canis wonders if continuing her for right now is a smart choice.

(don’t worry folks, we’re almost at the end of this trashfest of a fic. in the meantime, enjoy.)





–





“You know, I still don’t like this,” Gator growled.

“Wow, really? I definitely couldn’t already tell by your constant griping,” Burrito muttered.

“It’s just… creepy,” Gator continued, crossing his arms. “He’s so much older than him, too.”

“Psh. Only a couple of years. Age is just a number.”

“Ok, so… ” AJ began from behind the wall. He stepped into the doorway of his bedroom, displaying his outfit. “Is this good?”

Burrito eyed AJ’s neat blue shirt, navy tie and clean gray trousers.

“Eh, it’s fine,” he said, bored. “It’s not ‘wow’, but I doubt you have anything better, either.”

He smirked. “As long as it comes off easily, am I right?”

AJ ignored Burrito - which made the feline somewhat upset - and instead turned to Brian.

“What do you think, Brian?”

“I don’t wear clothes. I wouldn’t know.”

“Alright, enough about clothes,” Burrito gushed. “It’s time for me to teach you how to flirt!”

“Eh… okay,” AJ sighed and sat down on the couch. Burrito sat on the table in front of him. Gator grunted something, plodded into his room and closed the door behind him.

“Alright, AJ,” Burrito began. “I want you to try to seduce me.”

“I- what?”

“Just do it!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“You’re my friend, that’s weird! And you’re a cat!”

“And you’re being a pussy!”

AJ quieted. Burrito realized his mistake, and rushed to apologize.

”I’m sorry, AJ, that was rude,” he said quietly, looking at the ground in shame.

“No, you’re right,” AJ said. “It’s gonna be a lot weirder with Red, after all.”

“Well, um, okay.” Burrito stood back up and cleared his throat. “Let’s try again. Seduce me.”

AJ blushed. He glanced away.

“So, uhh… Do you… do you come here often…”

“More confidence!”

“I really like the way you… do your fur, gorgeous?”

“More subtle!”

“Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?”

“Less cliche! And look into my eyes!”

“Would you like to go to dinner sometime?”

“Less eager! And smile!”

“Burrito, I don’t think this is going very well-”

“That’s a terrible pick up line-”

Burrito stopped. “Oh, you actually meant that.”

“Yeah… I’m not sure if you can really craft me into some suave charmer in such a short time,” AJ sighed. “If Red came here for me, shouldn’t I just be myself?”

“Whoa!” Burrito exclaimed. “Bad mistake. You don’t want ever want to be yourself when flirting. Unless you’re someone like me, of course.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

Burrito stopped to think. “Maybe if I had a way to communicate with you real time-”

“I’m not letting you use your telepathy again,” AJ interrupted. “No offense, but I’m still not fully recovered from seeing what goes on in your head.”

“Then how about an earpiece and mic?” Burrito suggested.

“Do we have those?”

“Brian bought a whole set a few weeks ago to make his streaming and channel management easier, but couldn’t get it in his ear, since, you know, he’s a bird and everything.”

“Brian, do you still have that?”

Brian humphed. “I can look.” He flew upstairs.

“I’ll tell you exactly what to do and say,” Burrito explained to AJ. “All you’ve got to do is listen to me.”

“Got it,” AJ replied.

The room fell silent. Then Burrito suddenly spoke again.

“…You know I was just messing with you back when I said he was hard, right?” he sheepishly asked.

“…Yeah,” AJ responded with some delay. “I figured so.”

“To be honest,” Burrito started, “at first, I didn’t actually think he was seriously into you. I just saw the flowers and the neat get-up and started joking around. But then he just kept going, and now… I don’t think it could even be anything else.”

AJ wanted to say something, but didn’t quite know what.

“I found it!” shouted Brian suddenly, and returned to the living room with a black cardboard box in his talons.

Then, out of the blue, the doorbell rang.

“Is that him?” AJ asked Katie, who had fluttered over to check the door.

“Yep, it’s him,” she responded.

“But it’s… ” - AJ checked the clock - “only quarter to midday! Why is he here so early?”

“It doesn’t matter now. Go answer the door, AJ,” Burrito rushed him.

“But what about the mic-”

“Just stall him. We’ll move upstairs and come get you when the mic is ready,” Brian said.

AJ got up and dashed to the hall. He opened the door.

“Hi, Red,” he greeted, trying his best to sound welcoming. “You’re here early.”

“I wanted to make sure I was on time,” Red said. He was wearing clothes that were neat, but nothing formal or too out of the ordinary. “May I come in?”

“Sure,” AJ said. Red thanked him and stepped inside. AJ couldn’t help but feel a bit defeated, even if it letting Red in was part of his plan.

Red took a few steps forward, but upon seeing Katie, he stopped.

“Katie, was it?” he asked the dragoness.

Katie gave a reserved nod. Red pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. It appeared to be a letter.

“ATV wanted me to give this to you.”

“Well… thanks,” she said, confused. She unfolded the letter. Three words were written on it in barely understandable chicken scratch. ‘Fuk u bich’.

“How thoughtful of him,” she sarcastically mumbled.

“Well, anyway, AJ,” started Red, turning to face AJ, who was closing the door. “Shall we proceed?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” AJ hurriedly replied. “The living room’s right there. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.”

Red walked over to the couch and warily sat down on one end. AJ reluctantly followed him to the living room, but didn’t yet feel quite comfortable enough himself to have a seat as well. He stopped across the table from Red and decided to stay standing there.

“Well, I should probably finally let you know why I’m here,” Red started, seeming uneasy.

“I-I already know why you’re here,” AJ rushed to clarify.

This better be worth it, Burrito, he thought.

“Really?” Red said, surprised. “H-how?”

“Uhh-”

“Did Abe tell you?”

“Mm, yeah,” AJ quickly replied. “It- I- he told me, yes.” Or… do I want to say that? What does he want to hear? he thought, distressed.

Red looked he was contemplating AJ’s words rather deeply.

Suddenly, he smiled with a quiet, small laugh. His eyes didn’t match his expression.

“That’s good to hear. To be honest, I didn’t want to tell you myself. You can probably guess why.”

AJ nodded and stealthily glanced at the top of the staircase, fervently wishing someone would appear there soon.

“As much as I hate to admit it, AJ, you are a pretty powerful trainer,” Red said. “And we do have a lot of… history together.”

He looked away and laughed briefly, albeit seeming a bit uncomfortable. “This is a cruel twist of fate indeed… but of all people, I’m glad it was someone I knew.”

“Yep, we sure… yeah.” AJ really had no idea what to say.

“So, with that out of the way, let’s cut to the chase,” Red began. “If you know why I’m here, you must already know what I want us to do next. After all, I’ve been told that this isn’t even your first time.”

“W-what?”

“You’ve done it before. With Joey. That’s what your mon told me.”

“Oh, I… I actually haven’t,” AJ confessed, blushing. “They were probably just assuming.”

“Hm, I see…” Red glanced away briefly. ”So, this is your first time then?”

“…Yeah. I guess it is.”

A moment after, AJ noticed some motion from the corner of his vision. He glanced up and saw Brian peeking his head from upstairs, discreetly gesturing AJ to come.

“Oh, um…” AJ started, looking back at Red. “You know, you came a bit early, so I didn’t have time to get completely ready. Do you mind if I…”

“Go ahead,” Red said, disinterested. AJ promptly moved to the stairs and began climbing up.

“It is your first time, after all,” Red added.

AJ winced to himself, and ascended the remaining steps a bit more speedily.





“Can you hear me now?” Burrito asked, leaning into the microphone.

“Yeah, I think it’s working now,” AJ answered.

“Is the volume okay?” Brian asked.

“It’s fine.”

“Alright, then you should be good to go,” Brian said. “We’ll let Gator know what you’re doing through the floor hatch so that he won’t disturb you.”

AJ sighed uncomfortably.

“What’s the problem,” Brian monotonously asked.

“Guys, I don’t know… what if they come off?”

“They’re fixed in place. And the mic is in your pocket, so it can’t even drop away. I guarantee they won’t come off, AJ.”

“Unless you’re talking about the pants,” Burrito quipped.

“Burrito, please, it won’t go that far,” AJ retorted nervously.

“Fine, fine, whatever. Now, get out there!” Burrito pressed AJ, trying to push him out of the room, but not having even nearly enough strength to succeed.

“We’ll come down the moment anything goes awry,” Brian assured. “And remember: the safe word is ‘wowzers’.”

AJ snorted. “Still sounds really stupid…”

“That’s why you wouldn’t say it normally, which makes it the perfect word,” Brian explained.

“I suppose so… well, wish me luck,” AJ said.

“I’ll give the commands here, hun,” Burrito chuckled, adjusting his headset.

AJ, still looking a bit doubtful, walked backwards out of the room and closed the door.





“Oh, AJ. You’re back,” Red remarked, glancing at AJ, who had just descended the stairs.

“What are you doing in the kitchen?” asked AJ, confused.

“Your knives are awfully dull, you know,” Red pointed out as he was in the middle of carefully washing a large-ish kitchen knife.

“What are you doing with my knives?” AJ exclaimed, though still trying to preserve a little politeness in his voice.

“True, you wouldn’t know…” Red wiped the knife dry, put it down and turned to AJ.

“Nevermind the knife for now,” he said. “I have something to ask of you.”

AJ slightly relaxed his pose. “…What is it?”

Red lowered his voice. “You don’t mind getting dirty, do you?”

For a second, AJ looked positively appalled, but after hearing Burrito’s instructions, he tried his best to adopt a flirty approach. “Of course not,” he cooed, thoroughly disgusted internally by his own words.

“Good.”

Having said that, Red promptly took off his jacket and began to remove his shirt as well.

“Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?” AJ demanded, causing Burrito to hastily ask a slew of questions, none of which AJ reacted to.

“Well, considering what we’re about to do, this is a reasonable course of action to take… You had better follow my lead, too, unless you want some… stains.”

Red finished removing his shirt, exposing his bare chest. AJ blushed. Oh boy, here we go…

He tried his best to stop himself from looking, but his curiosity won. He eyed Red’s top half up and down. He appeared to be toned, but not bulky. Some scars of varying sizes and directions ran across his torso. For a moment, AJ examined them, wondering how many of them were self-inflicted, but the healthier areas soon caught his eye again.

Oh, wow, he’s… actually kinda hot… AJ thought, but denied those words instantly after. No. Think of how he’s hurt me in the past. Think of how much I hate him. Think of Joey instead.

“You work out?” AJ blurted, causing his cheeks to turn even redder. I didn’t mean to say that! What’s wrong with you? he scolded himself, but then remembered his plan. Right. It’s good that I said that. That’s what I was supposed to say.

Recalling also Red’s words, he hurriedly removed his shirt and carelessly threw it into a corner. I guess I better keep playing him for now…

“Work out? Of course,” Red answered, folding his shirt and lightly placing it away. “I have to be strong and agile if I want to defend my faith.” He turned his head away for a moment. “Something you wouldn’t know about,” he resentfully muttered.

“Are you still in the kitchen?” Burrito whispered, snapping AJ out of the torment that was his thoughts.

“Yep,” AJ whispered, as inconspicuously as he could.

“Well, fix that,” the feline ordered.

AJ sighed with repressed frustration. “We should go to the living room,” he said, looking into Red’s eyes again, for a change.

“Whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Red replied, with a slight hint of irritation in his voice.

AJ ignored his guest’s poorly concealed displeasure, gave a mere passing nod and moved to the living room. He looked at the sofa, sighed again and took a seat.

He turned back to the direction of the kitchen, waiting for Red. In a moment, Red emerged from behind the wall, holding the same knife from before.

“What are you doing?” AJ snapped, assuming a defensive stance.

“Didn’t I tell you to nevermind the knife?” Red sighed. “I’m not going to use it to harm you.”

“But-”

“Just go with it,” Burrito said, interrupting AJ.

AJ groaned quietly. “Fine, then,” he said, quickly changing his tone to a more benevolent one, and forced himself to smile.

“Now,” Red continued, “do you have any… diseases I should know about?”

“Wh- no,” AJ answered, seeming offended.

“Good to hear,” Red said. “That means we won’t be needing any… protection. Which means real skin contact. The traditional way.”

“Oh, wow…” AJ could hear from his earpiece. “Well, AJ, no need to freak out. You yourself said you two wouldn’t even get to taking off your clothes,” Burrito continued.

But we’re already both shirtless… AJ thought, shivering briefly.

“Come closer,” Red abruptly said. “If this truly is your first time, I want you to get a good look at what I’m about to do.”

AJ hesitated, but got up anyway. If he makes one wrong move, I’m calling it quits, he thought. The thought of messing with him is amusing and all, but it’s not worth a knife lodged between my ribs, no matter how freaky he likes his foreplay. Or whatever he’s doing here is.

“Now,” Red started, bringing the knife up to his open right palm. AJ noticed a few similar scars across it, all perpendicular to the fingers. Is he going to…?

“Watch closely.”

Red violently pressed the knife’s edge into his skin and swiftly moved the blade down. Blood came bursting out the wound, sliding down his hand and dripping off.

In pain, but in a determined manner, Red offered his bleeding hand to AJ.

“Shake my hand, AJ.”

AJ took a step back, dismayed. “I-”

“Do it,” Red ordered.

Hesitantly, AJ reached his hand towards Red’s, then finally cautiously grabbed it. AJ could feel the warm blood stick to his palm. Red firmed his grip, even though it seemed like it hurt him quite a lot. AJ decided to do the same, but only for a second before disgust loosened his hand again. They held that position for some while, staring in each other’s eyes, AJ with some degree of doubt in his gaze.

“You know…” Red ominously began.

Suddenly, quicker than AJ could even react, Red swung his left arm around AJ and pulled him closer, still holding the knife. They were close enough for their bare chests to touch the backs of their still connected hands.

“You are so close to me right now,” he continued with a blank expression, still not breaking eye contact with AJ, who was now quite alarmed.

“AJ! What’s happening?” sounded Burrito’s worried query.

I wish I knew, AJ thought, heart racing.

“It’d be so easy for me to… just…”

Red steadily raised the knife to AJ’s neck. Seeing what Red was doing, AJ tried to pull back, but Red only tightened his grasp and leaned even closer.

“…slit your throat.”

An unsettling smile crept across Red’s mouth. He touched the side of AJ’s neck with the blade. AJ could feel the cold steel and the wet blood press against his skin. He couldn’t move.

”To see your tainted blood come pouring out,” Red continued, slowly. He seemed to enjoy every word he spoke. “To watch as it runs down your neck. To witness that animalistic fear in your eyes as you realize your death is only moments away. To hear your very last breath. To drop your lifeless body onto the floor.”

“AJ, what is he doing?” Burrito hissed from the other end of the line.

Don’t rush in, please don’t rush in, AJ repeated in his mind.

“But I’m not here for that. Not today.” Red’s smile faded. He moved just a bit away.

AJ felt a wave of relief flow across his body.

Red lowered the knife and placed it away on the table. “Look at you,” he chuckled. “So startled… You’re like a frightened little pichu.”

He gently placed his left hand on AJ’s cheek.

“That’s the face I want to see you make when I kill you,” he whispered.

Then, without a warning, Red let AJ go. AJ immediately jerked back, cherishing his regained freedom.

“A-are we done with the knives?” AJ stuttered with a bit of a nervous laugh.

“We are done with the knives,” Red answered, in a somewhat patronizing tone, as if he was talking to a child. “Anyway, I should probably go take care of this.” He pointed to his wound. “Oh, and sorry about your rug,” he added, heading for the kitchen.

AJ glanced at the rug, and saw some dark red stains in front of him. So that’s what he meant… He knitted his brow. Ugh, that’s not gonna come off easily…

“I suggest you wash your hands as well,” sounded a shout from the kitchen.

AJ looked at his palm and the vividly colored blood smeared all over it.

“I was just going to… anyway…” he muttered, and traipsed into the bathroom, confused, heart still thumping restlessly.





“What did he do? Are you alright?” asked Burrito, worried, as AJ locked the door.

“Yeah, I’m alright…” AJ sighed as he opened the faucet and put his hands in the water, beginning to scrub the red smudges off. “But I think I just took part in some kind of… ritual. He seems to believe that I actually know something about that… culture of his.”

AJ picked up the soap, but froze for a second, realizing something. “Wait a second,” he started. “He said something about you guys telling him about me… and Joey… and first times?”

“Well, um… it’s less like we actually said anything to him, and more like he just kind of… jumped to conclusions.”

“What do you mean?”

“Katie told him you were taken by Joey, and he sort of misinterpreted that.”

“Huh.”

“But enough of that,” Burrito said, clearing his throat. “I have some critique to give about your performance out there.”

“Oh, come on,” AJ groaned, closing the faucet and starting to dry his hands. “I was a bit too busy trying to stay alert and safe out there. He’s pretty unpredictable, you know. I mean, you heard how he spoke to me. First he takes off his shirt like it’s nothing, then the next thing I know, he’s serenading me about how he wants to mutilate my-”

“He took off his shirt?” Burrito repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Was he swole?”

“Burrito!” AJ hissed disapprovingly. “But… yeah, somewhat,” he quietly admitted after.

“I knew it. Pay up, Brian,” Burrito said, lowering his mic.

“You’re lying,” Brian grunted in the distance. “That freak never leaves his house. I’ve never seen him outside in any posts, and I follow everyone he knows online.”

“Well, anyway,” Burrito continued, raising his mic again, “I suppose your awful act is partly my fault, since I didn’t get to instruct you very efficiently.”

“Told you we should have added a camera,” Brian muttered.

“And put it where? Up his ass?” Burrito snarked. “At least we’d get front row seats to the action, then.”

“Burrito!” AJ intervened.

“Nevermind that, hun,” Burrito meowed. “How about, when I need to know something, I ask you some yes-or-no questions, and you answer by tapping your pocket?”

“Sounds plausible.”

“One tap means yes, two taps means no, okay?”

“Got it.”

“And, AJ?”

“Yeah, Burrito?” AJ sighed, turning to face the door.

“Really put your heart into it this time.”

“Mhm.”

“No mercy.”

AJ unlocked the door. This is it…

“No mercy,” he repeated, and twisted the door handle.