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Somehow, he just knew this was the heroes’ fault. He couldn't quite figure out how exactly but- but it absolutely was, they were always to blame for the problems in his life.
Alex sighed again as he stared out at the peeling billboard that sat at eye level with Morgan’s apartment. It had been for a dentist- or maybe a dental product once upon a time, at least it must have been or why else was the washed out woman’s face plastered across the front be smiling that broadly? It had been an unsightly discovery the first time he’d visited the barely D-tier thief's apartment- seeing the giant woman’s face grinning menacingly straight into all of the tenth floor apartment’s windows. But now? Now it was just a familiar one. He hadn’t been living with Morgan for very long, but this wasn’t the first time he’d needed to crash with the D-lister either…
And maybe that was why this was all the heroes’ fault. Because they’d been the ones to destroy his lair again. They were the reason he had needed to move in with his… friend? again. We’re… We are friends, aren’t we? He didn’t feel like it was incorrect to call them that. Morgan was more than just a plaything, he’d graduated from that moniker months ago. Alex had grown oddly fond of the scrunggily thief. Something about the way he talked- about the way he acted- the way he lived was more than just amusing but… but interesting. Yes, Morgan was interesting now, so surely that meant they were friends.
But that’s all they were. Just friends. Just two people who on occasion enjoyed each other's company with no strings attached, a rare find for the S-tier villain. They had similar senses of humor and enjoyed villainy much the same way. It made talking with Morgan easy in a way he’d never really found with the A-tiers. They weren’t on his caliber but they were all just so- so… pretentious. They all wanted to be the best- wanted to be the most important- to be the center of the universe and bend everyone to their will… But that roll was already filled and Alex had no intention of sharing that crown so they were shit out of luck.
But Morgan was different. Morgan didn’t want to be anything more than himself. He just… he just wanted to enjoy the life he had built for himself, or at least he tried very much to do that. Sometimes he could be terribly self-conscious and moody, but he was a low tier villain so that came with the territory, Alex assumed. Still he liked Morgan. He liked the way the thief saw the world as- as- well… as a plaything. He played with his so-called ‘nemesises’ and loved every second of it. Even when he lost he still just enjoyed the act of mischief making and it was something Alex agreed deeply with him on.
Even if the weenie still throws up every time he sees someone’s guts… Alex mused, rolling his eyes a little at the thought of the most recent time his roommate had kicked up a fuss over one of Alex’s ‘projects’. The anger was probably justified, he had gotten blood on the ceiling, but the yelling and retching noises were overdramatic even for him.
Which is just one more reason why this is a stupid idea. And Alex sighed noisily again, turning from the winter grey skies and frigid winds whipping through the city just outside the single pane windows. The chill pulled at his clothes even just standing near them, so he in all his fluffy bathrobed glory retreated to flop down onto the hideous brown-grey threadbare sofa… one that somehow felt exactly how clouds looked. It was just one more mystery to add to the pile of unknowns that still surrounded the standoffish D-lister.
Maybe that was the real reason he liked Morgan… Because he’s a puzzle I haven’t worked out yet…
Dear god, he could never ever say that to the puzzle obsessed thief he’d think it was a compliment. Or maybe I should? Maybe compliments are the way to go to get what I want…
It had been a long time since he’d felt like this- since this unfortunately mundane yet so fundamentally human feeling had floated up to the surface. He… he wanted connection- physical human connection. He wanted to be touched- to be held. To- to… to be snuggled. And he wanted the snuggler to mean it. He wanted it to be real. To be a real connection, not just forced- not just as a transaction… not one that came with strings and obligations. Hence his predicament.
There weren’t very many relationships he had that were absent of strings- that felt equal… And for some unknown reason his relationship with Morgan did feel equal, or at least it was the most equal relationship he’d ever had, outside of his parents. And even that one had a substantial power imbalance, it was just canceled out by the parent-child thing. And yes, sure, he could just go home to the farm and make some cranky noises and his Pa would be more than happy to sit with him, and undoubtedly rope his mother into the moment too… but it still wouldn’t be exactly what he wanted…
He wanted… He wanted closeness with a peer, not a parent. And Morgan for some fucking reason was the closest thing to a peer that he had??? And- and- and- And he just wanted to cuddle with Morgan, okay-!? He didn’t need to have some deep esoteric reason to want what he wanted. He could just want things-! That was allowed damn it-!
Alex’s groan was muffled by the couch cushions as he flopped around like a dead fish, wiggling in his disgruntlement.
“...well that’s new.” Morgan muttered with a snort, as he peered down at Alex over the arm of the sofa, before asking, “You good down there?”
Head popping up, but only so far that he could glower at the current source of his ire over the lumpy armrest cushion, the rest of his face still pressed into the plush fabric, Alex grumbled unintelligibly.
“Oh, well in that case, this-” And he gestured down to all of Alex’s patheticness, “-all makes perfect sense. Carry on~”
A hand with perfectly manicured nails shot up to flip him the bird. Morgan, still smirking, returned the gesture as he turned away, heading back into the little kitchen so he could refill his mug.
When he returned, stale coffee in hand, Alex hadn’t moved. Like literally. He hadn’t moved. He was in fact still glowering at Morgan over the arm of the sofa as though his existence was a personal offense. It wasn’t an unfamiliar expression to see plastered across his friend’s face, nor was it unfamiliar to see aimed at himself.
Morgan quirked his brows in question as he raised his mug to sip at the lukewarm brew.
Alex grumbled into the sofa cushion again…
Morgan waited…
Alex narrowed his eyes…
Morgan snorted…
And finally Alex caved.
“Ugh- fine-! Bully me into talking why don’t you…” He griped, pushing up enough to roll onto his side. “I’m just… cold.” And he pulled his robe closed a little further. It wasn’t a complete lie but it certainly wasn’t the whole truth. It was just… clever subterfuge.
Hopefully…
Maybe…
“You’re… cold?”
Okay so maybe not so clever subterfuge but he was committed now so Alex pressed on, “Yes. I’m cold in this shitty poorly insulated apartment, where my extremely inconsiderate roommate won’t let me turn up the thermostat even one degree-!”
“Heat costs money. It’s set for 18°C, you’ll live.” Morgan replied, utterly unsympathetic to Alex’s feigned plight.
Well… what if it wasn’t so feigned? And with a thought Alex stopped producing body heat.
He’d taken reptilian forms before, he in fact enjoyed being a dragon quite a bit, but he’d never really done the whole cold-blooded thing before… It wasn’t bad per se, just different. He was however made very suddenly aware of how cold the apartment truly was as what was left of his body heat quickly began dissipating into the surrounding environment.
This time a real shiver racked his body and he pulled his knees up a little, the first beginnings of teeth chattering already quivering through his jaw. “Tha- That’s not true…” He shot back, turning to face away from his ‘tormentor’ and curled up further.
It wasn’t hard to bait Morgan, not when he actually managed to pull off a lie… something he could only manage by not actually lying. Luckily this was now one of those times.
Worry crept into Morgan’s face, his brows starting to crinkle. “Alex… What do you mean ‘that’s not true?’ 18°C is not life threateningly cold…”
“May-May-Maybe for you.” He shot back, as more shivers rolled through him. “But for us ‘cold-blooded’ creatures it’s mi-mi-miserable…” And he tried to put as much discomfort into his words as he could.
“Oh-” And Morgan’s concern quickly evaporated, recognizing his own words being used against him instantly. “You’re being ridiculous- You know I meant ‘in cold blood’ not that you were literally cold-blooded and you know it.”
“All I know is that my roommate must truly despise ‘cold-blooded bastards’ like myself- torturing me in this way…” Alex sighed dramatically… and then shivered again.
“Oh my god, Alex- You are not literally cold-blooded-!” Morgan scoffed.
But Alex only flicked his gaze up at Morgan for a second before looking away… No… No he wouldn’t—“Alex- You’re not literally cold-blooded right now are you?”
“...maybe…”
“Alex-!” He scolded nearly on reflex at this point, “What is wrong with you-! It’s the middle of winter-!”
“I thought it would be an interesting way to challenge myself- ju-just to see if I could survive a we-week in winter like this…” He lied, though even as he said it, that did sound like a fun challenge… so now it wasn’t even a lie. Convenient how that worked sometimes~
“Challenge yourself? Seriously?” Scoffed his roommate, still more annoyed than worried yet. “You’re being ridiculous. Just turn back and you'll be fine.”
“N-Nope. Wo-Won't be a challenge then… I'll ju-just suffer instead.” Alex chattered back as another deeper shiver rattled through him. He slyly peeked up at his roommate to see if his ploy was working.
Morgan was actually frowning now, as he glanced from Alex to the thermostat down the hall and back, his mind clearly trying to work through the problem.
Yesssss~
“I… could get you some more blankets?” He offered hesitantly, but Alex was already shaking his head.
“Wo-Won't help… I-I-I can't ma-make my own war-war-warmth…” He barely managed around his shivering now. He was seriously starting to feel the chill… it made his bones ache some and- and god he felt so tired all of a sudden…
“I…” And Morgan glanced away from him nervously again, thinking frown lines still in place, “...hold on I have an idea… just- just stay there.” And with that he was gone.
Alex could hear him doing something in his bedroom but he couldn’t really be bothered to figure out what… Luckily Morgan’s instructions to wait there weren’t difficult to follow… he barely felt like moving…
Hell… even keeping his eyes open… was a challenge…
“Okay- Okay- I'm back-” Morgan muttered as he rounded the loveseat to make his way over to the couch and the shivering man laying on it. He shook out the two thickest blankets he had and threw them over the S-tier villain. Alex had barely cracked an eye at his actions and it had something like fear skittering through him.
Morgan could remember what it was like- being that cold. Being so cold he couldn't think- being so cold he couldn't seem to stay awake even though staying awake was the only way to stay alive- He’d hated those years of his life- Had hated living like that… But he also knew the fastest way to help Alex warm up enough for them to be able to continue this argument.
So without hesitation he toed off his shoes, lifted the blankets, and ordered Alex to, “Scooch over.”
He barely responded but was able to muster enough energy to shift backwards… he couldn't quite bring himself to unfurl though…
Morgan slipped under the blankets and did his best to press himself against Alex—
Hands shot out like vipers, grabbing hold of his shirt and yanking him forwards-! Only for him to be abruptly rolled onto his back as a heavy weight landed on top of him- And then Alex stilled again, curled up on top of Morgan now, his head resting over Morgan’s heart, hands still curled into his shirt…
Welp…
At least Alex would start to warm up now… hopefully.
Another shiver rolled through him so Morgan wrapped his arms around the unwell villain, gently rubbing small circles along his back, hoping the friction might help. And it seemed to be because a few moments later Alex seemed to relax some, almost melting into Morgan’s embrace…
And Morgan tried very hard not to let the sensation go to his head.
They- this wasn’t actual cuddling… This- this was just medicinal closeness- Just- just until Alex was warm enough… even though it felt awfully- painfully like cuddling.
He- He was fine. This was fine. Be fine with this and- and when Alex was warm enough not to be stupid anymore he would be… would be fine when it stopped.
Alex nuzzled into his chest a little before sighing- his breath ghosting through Morgan’s shirt and across his skin.
The- the goosebumps suddenly skittering across his skin were only because Alex’s breath was cool, that's- that's all…
How long had it been since he was held like this?
Morgan didn’t think he wanted to know the answer… so he stopped thinking about it. Instead he just closed his eyes and decided to wait this out in peace…
So what if his arms tightened around his friend a little bit more? That didn't have to mean anything…
It didn’t…
~*~
As awareness began to slowly creep back in, Alex found himself laying on top of something deliciously warm and cozy~ He sighed happily and snuggled in deeper, pressing further into his pillow…
Which grunted in response.
That was not the sound his pillow typically made. In fact, his pillow didn't typically make any sounds at all…
Morgan watched as Alex slowly cracked one eye… and then watched as his second eyelid retracted too, which was… ‘cool’ probably wasn’t the right word to explain how he felt just then but it would have to do.
“Well, look who's finally decided to wake up…” Morgan muttered, he'd meant to sound more sarcastic but instead it just sounded vaguely amused.
“Hrmph…”
Morgan snorted in response. They’d only been on the couch for about ten minutes or so before Alex started to stir, but it took another five or so before he actually regained consciousness. He felt much warmer than he had several minutes ago which was probably a good sign, but still he had no idea what he was going to do now that the idiot was actually awake.
“Look…” Morgan sighed after a beat, “you’ve made your point, okay? I’ll… turn up the temperature a few degrees, but you need to go buy a space heater or electric blanket or something if you’re actually planning on doing this stupid challenge. I do not need you going into hibernation or something on my sofa, got it?”
Alex however clearly did not ‘get it’ because he was still just snuggling further into Morgan, his hands sliding up Morgan’s sides a little. The casual intimacy of the gesture had Morgan’s breath catching and it took everything he had not to shiver. But before he could do the sane thing and shove the other villain off of himself, Alex was opening his mouth to reply.
“...but why would I do any of that… when I can just steal some of your body heat instead~” Alex murmured back, still making no attempt to get up. It felt like his brain was filled with a wonderful kind of contented static. No noise, just a warm happy buzz that make him want to purr… God, he really had been right, snuggling with Morgan was exactly what he needed.
Sleep slurred his words a little bit, but the amusement in his tone was in no way lost on Morgan, and the thief rolled his eyes in response. Alex was so much like a cat sometimes that Morgan genuinely wondered if the S-tier villain wasn’t secretly some escaped science experiment gone wrong. Like someone had tried to take all of the features of the ‘world’s most effective killers’ and put them into a human… and now they had god-like powers, insatiable bloodlust, and undeniably adorable tendencies.
Still… Morgan did not let this deter him.
“Because,” He muttered in exasperation, “I have things to do. I- I can’t just sit around on the couch with you all day because you’re being dumb.”
“What? You mean you don’t want to just let me use you for your body~?” Alex all but purred in response. His voice all soft… and sleepy… and sultry~ He knew what he sounded like- knew what he looked like. And so, obviously, did Morgan.
He’d gone very still underneath Alex, body stiffening ever so slightly, as his words sunk in, nearly unresponsive even… Except for his heart. It stuttered it’s way into a new rhythm- a new much faster rhythm~
But before Alex could press his advantage, Morgan dashed his plans with a few short words.
“...that does not even deserve a response.”
It wasn’t what he had said, but how he had said them. Cold. Flat. Unamused. Morgan said them in a way that shut down that avenue of manipulation so fast it nearly startled the S-tier villain. He wouldn’t say flirting always got him his way but… it was usually incredibly effective… but obviously that was not the case with Morgan. Noted.
Still that didn’t mean he was about to give up, instead Alex simply pivoted to a tried and true method of manipulation that always worked on the theif.
“Hmm… fineee.” He relented, dropping the sultry sleepy tone from his voice. “I’ll make some arrangements…” Before slyly suggesting, “But if we cuddle more during the day you won’t have to turn up the heat.”
And this time when Morgan hesitated Alex could tell it was for a much better reason. Morgan was nothing if not a greedy bastard and Alex could always use that to his advantage, something that still held true today.
“...fine.” Morgan muttered after a long moment of silence, “But-! But-” He added quickly, “This is only until the end of your stupid challenge thing, got it? As soon as the week is over, no more bullying me into cuddling so you can steal my body heat.”
“Deal.” Alex hummed back, before he settled more comfortably on top of his vaguely reluctant pillow.
A week would be more than enough time to satisfy this annoying itch, he was certain, even if he’d had to negotiate for the cuddling time. He knew Morgan never would have slid onto the couch with him if he didn’t genuinely care, even now he could feel the way the thief adjusted a bit to hold Alex more securely. Morgan would not have put himself in this position if he didn’t care about Alex…
It was… a nice feeling…
Being cared for… and about…
Being held by someone who genuinely felt and did both of those things for him…
…
—Regardless- he was sure this irritating little desire would soon fade and he could carry on maiming and murdering people without that annoyingly human little itch in the back of his mind that so desperately wanted ‘human connection’ or whatever the fuck. Still… it was good to know that if it did ever crop back up again he could just turn to Morgan to resolve it.
I wonder if… maybe I could convince him it’s an instinctual thing… Like I just naturally want to snuggle people when I’m cold… or maybe just when I’m sleepy or something? Would he buy that?
Meh.
That was a scheme for another day and he pushed it from his mind, instead choosing to just let out a deep contented sigh and enjoy the very real and very comforting warmth of his friend’s arms wrapped around him…
Morgan really did give the best hugs~