petition to pay more attention to usami/edogai, aka “weird twinks do weird shit together and are in love” because its fuckin adorable and also mildly uncomfortable in that horror movie way
usami drags an actual dead body (murder victim more like) to edogais house like, hey man look what i got you, i hope you like it bro 😌and edogai just 😳🤭🥰💋
(You’re Right!)
“Edogai-kun~ You should really come outside!”
“Hm.. is… that so?”
Nights used to be a lot more lonely, before Tsurumi-san and his entourage came- and Edogai would have been lying if he said that it hadn’t unnerved him, even when he got used to digging up graves. When one went alone places, when they had to stay hidden, everything seemed far more amplified… Every single crackling twig or rustling leaf spelled danger, and monsters were easier to imagine on nights when the moon was sparse and dim behind clouds or the Earth’s shadow. When you were the only living soul…
Usami took less time to get used to the others. The one with the big lips (that Edogai couldn’t for the life of himself remember the name of, but he was too awkward to ask at this point, because then that’d be more than a little rude) seemed terrified to even speak to him, which was… disheartening. And for all of Tsukishima’s encouraging words and motivational gestures, Edogai could see the hint of resentment in his eyes, whenever he looked over Edogai’s work. Neither of them wanted to understand his work.
Usami, though… he was much different. He’d only just appeared yesterday… Edogai might have meant “arrived”, but oddly enough, he’d never seen Usami come in with any bags! He more or less just appeared on the shop floor near dusk, deep in thought while looking over a taxidermied rabbit that Edogai had had since forever.
The sudden appearance didn’t startle Edogai any (even if it was a tad odd that he hadn’t even heard the bell ring), and ever since yesterday, it’d felt odd to think that there was ever a time when Usami hadn’t joined him in the workshop, marveling over his creations.
Edogai… still wasn’t sure what to think of Usami. But he seemed rather nice! And now, the shorter man was tugging slightly on Edogai’s sleeve, gesturing for the door. The wide smile on his face pushed those two moles farther apart, revealing little dimples underneath. It reminded Edogai that he’d wanted to replicate dimples at some point for a mask, but… it was so hard to find skin that retained that quality, when the muscles underneath were stripped away…
“Coming, coming…” Edogai said, slightly embarrassed as Usami dragged him through the front of the shop and through the front door. At first, Edogai didn’t even really notice anything out of the ordinary. Glancing around, he asked Usami, “What was it you wanted to show me, Usami-kun..?”
Usami grinned even wider, in a way that seemed to take up half of his face. It was… kind of endearing, to be honest! It made Edogai want to see if he could replicate it… “Look down.” Edogai glanced down and his hands flew to his mouth, strangling back a sudden shriek.
Edogai was used to corpses. But… he’d never seen one so…. Fresh.
The eyes bulged out, big and brown and frozen in terror. The man’s entire face was frozen that way, mouth artfully dribbled with blood and wide open, revealing yellowed teeth. It looked like blunt force trauma. The rest of the body laid limply down, and it was then that Edogai realized that the body was so fresh, that rigor mortis hadn’t even set in.
“You said you got all your skin from the cemetery,” Usami explained, his eyes shining bright and wide. “Well, that skin’s older- they embalm the bodies and do all sorts of things with them, and the skin’s all stiff… I figured it might be easier to preserve something fresh!”
“I- well- I…” Edogai stammered for a moment, taken aback. He’d… he’d never used skin this fresh before, so he didn’t really know what to do- and he wanted to ask who this man had been, and where Usami had found him, or why Usami had- but a greater part of Edogai was… touched. This was the first time anyone had taken such an interest in Edogai’s work that they wanted to help him.
“Well? Isn’t it great?” Usami was still smiling, but there was… oh no, was he nervous? Was Edogai making him nervous??
“It is!” Edogai quickly said, straightening up. He didn’t want Usami to get the wrong idea! And… Edogai was a little nervous about asking about the origins of the corpse. Maybe he should specify that he preferred skin from corpses because they weren’t using it… or that he’d like only skin from people who didn’t deserve it. “It is. I’m just… overwhelmed? Because… this is one of the nicest gifts I’ve gotten.”
Usami lightened up, beaming. “Good! It might help Tsurumi-san too, so…”
“Right! It’s a good idea,” Edogai agreed, crouching down to slowly reach for one of the arms. He was… half afraid the man would come back to life. At the same time, Usami bent over, and both of their hands touched on top of the fingers of the dead man.
There was a quiet moment. Edogai looked up at Usami’s dark, wide eyes, and Usami watched him back, eyes seeming even wider. Usami’s hand was strangely soft and warm, calloused in places. Edogai could feel his heartbeat under his hand, and…
They both pulled away. Usami coughed, looking to the side, as Edogai’s face reddened.
“I’ll… get the body in. You can prepare-”
“R-right, yes, of course- before rigor mortis sets in- don’t want it being too too stiff-”
As Edogai stood up ramrod straight, he tried to calm his beating heart. Usami took the dead man by the hands and looked up at Edogai, giving a little smile. “So… see you inside,”
“Yes… See you there.” Edogai said dumbly, walking back inside. There was a dragging sound behind him, but it grew faint as he rushed inside. God, his heart…
Hm. It felt warm.
Nights wouldn’t be lonely, anymore. He felt that, in his chest. It was… a warm thought.
