Just Friends! We Promise! (Erwin x Clock)

[Clock]

Valentine was a silent, but heavy sleeper. He could sleep through pretty much anything, a trait proven when he managed to sleep through a major fire across across his house. Yet, Valentine didn't sleep well in strange places, with uncomfortable jeans on... So, he awoke, deciding to take a shower. A long, hot shower. Ah... As he looked around though, he couldn't locate his luggage.


So, grudgingly, he made his way down the stairs, following the faint line of cat hair. He flinched. Sei had been serious about a cat. Had he forgotten Valentine's dislike (and fear, but that was embarrassing) of animals? Even harmless little insects or cute fluffy hamsters unsettled him.


"Sei, you can't let a guest sleep in his jeans, for god's sake! Oh, and I need to borrow your clothing. Since you neglected to pick up luggage, dear." It's nothing you haven't already seen. Eh. But he didn't actually say that. Slightly glad that Sei had respected his private space. They had been more touching in these past few hours or so than the past few years. Ick.


...Exciting???

 

[Mituna Captor]

Sei looked up at Valentine when he heard his voice, eyes cool and calm.


"It's fine. I asked Yves to pick up your luggage. So I'll go out tomorrow and pick it up for you, but you'll have to borrow my clothes for tonight. Even if there is some... Size difference." Let's be honest. Sei was nearly a foot taller than Valentine by this point. 6'5 and still growing.


"Don't mind the cat, he won't really come near you unless I'm there. He likes to keep his distance from everybody that's not me." He said with a chuckle.


"I left you in your clothes because I didn't want to undress you. I have some pyjamas you can borrow for tonight." He said as he stood up, his own batman Pyjama bottoms on with a plain black t shirt.


He grabbed Valentine's hand loosely and took him upstairs again, into a separate room. A tiny one that held only Sei's wardrobe. He opened the doors and found some pyjamas suitable, passed them over and smiled.


"I'll sleep on the couch this week. There's only one bedroom and well... You... I... We." He stopped himself, turning away abruptly.

 

[Clock]

Ah, yes. The height difference really killed Valentine's pride. Not a few measly inches, but almost a foot. oops. Too bad he hadn't inherited the tall genes from his parents. Although, tales had it that Valentine's father was tall. And strong. None of which had been passed down, presumably. The boy watched carefully for the cat while being lead upstairs.


"We hate each other. Got it," Valentine finally finished, smiling a little. Although he'd never admit it, Sei's smile lit fireworks in Valentine's heart. Large, loud firecrackers. whoops. "But really, I don't mind. It's no big deal. We used to have sleepovers all the time? And you might not know this, but I sleep only in my... Shorts." He neatly placed the pyjamas back. When he turned back, Valentine had a neutral look on his face, even a tiny smile. It didn't reach his eyes though.


"And... I hate to be so abrupt, but there's a specific reason you left Manhattan, right? What kind of kid leaves their mother alone in such a hard time? So, are you going to tell me..?"

 

[Mituna Captor]

Sei's eyes widened slightly.


"I don't hate you." He said quietly. Shutting the doors to his wardrobe and smiling again. Those sleepovers had been the best nights of Sei's childhood. It wouldn't even matter. Nothing mattered back then. They'd fall asleep, all snuggled up in each other's arms with their legs intertwined, sharing cute little whispers as they did so.


His thoughts were interrupted by the question. It had to come but Sei didn't have an answer.


"I..." He coughed. He left Manhattan because he'd slept with Yves and he didn't want to stick around to face anybody if they ever found out.


"I did a terrible thing. And I ran away from it, because I'm a coward." He said quietly, bowing his head.


"I'm so sorry..." He whispered.


"I did such a bad thing..."

 

[Clock]

Valentine remained unreadable, but his heart rate sped up. What could Sei have done? Was he really a druggie? A serial killer maybe? Valentine inhaled, crossing his arms in an instinctive reaction. "I don't know what you mean Sei." That wasn't completely the truth. He was sure he knew something about Sei's reasons. Yves had hinted something. A faint whisper, You guys weren't that close after all, huh? I still feel bad... I just lost myself then. Valentine clearly remembered helping Yves become sober and nurse his hangover a month or so ago.


"Will you tell me the the fuc-" Valentine paused, calming himself down, it was so easy to get irritated at Sei, "Will you tell me the truth, Sei? We both know you're not a coward." Well, not much. Valentine felt rather stupid and left out at his moment, so in a desperate attempt he connected the cards, "Will you tell me what happened that night with Yves?" The pleading tone was hidden with ice, but he appeared rather helpless.

 

[Mituna Captor]

"We... We drank an awful lot..." He tugged sharply at his hair to stop himself crying. But every single time he imagined that night, he wanted to cry.


"Yves... And I... We... Did..." He stuttered, realising just how stupid he sounded.


"I slept with Yves. He pretended I was Katrina." He forced out. Not adding on the fact that he may or may not have pretended that Yves was Valentine.


"It's an awful, awful thing. And I wasn't able to bear thinking about it. I didn't want to face it. Don't say I'm not a coward, because I am, I ran away half way across the world. I'd say that's a pretty damn cowardly thing to do!" His voice faltered slightly and he looked down.


"I'm so sorry..." He whispered, wiping his eyes before he could cry.


"So that's why I moved here. I didn't want to leave mum alone, I really didn't. But she told me to go. I didn't just move, Valentine. I thought I could confide in her about Yves and I. I didn't know who else to turn to by my own mother. I'd already been planning to leave... But after she screamed at me for so long and told me to go, kicked me out. I left."

 

[Clock]

Valentine fell silent after that. Now, thinking back on it, he really hadn't wanted to know. It left a mix of emotions in him. The kind that tore him up. Disgust, loathing, surprise, hate, pity, sadness, regret, betrayal. Sei could do that? Valentine had never thought of him like so. He let the emptiness fill the space between them before finally bursting into laughter. He leaned against the wall for support. After a few seconds or so, he finally quieted down. "How could you do that to my sister, you s***? Why would you do that?" He stepped forward, slapping Sei without hesitation. Valentine slowly let his arm fall, trembling from both laughter, fear and the cold.


"I know I did bad sh** to you, but I never physically hurt you, did I? And you know I would never have sex with any of your family. Married family." Valentine pushed Sei away, annoyed at how close he was. Even though he'd been the one to initiate that. "You're so f***ed up. I really thought I was the one being the b****." He pushed Sei again, and again, waiting for a reaction. "Just because your family is a screwup doesn't mean you have to take it out on mine's. God damn it, Sei." Valentine took a step back, eyes suddenly empty, "I hate that I can't even fully blame you." And I seriously love blaming you.

 

[Mituna Captor]

He stepped back, the slap causing him to smack his head against the wall. His hand quickly shot up to his cheek. As Valentine pushed him away, the tears that had been threatening for so long finally streamed down his face. He covered his eyes and began to speak.


"You don't think I know that?!" He shouted back.


"I hate me too. Valentine! I know what I Did was horrible! And I'm so so sorry! But I can't turn back time and erase my mistakes. I would if I could. BECAUSE IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME THEN I'D STILL HAVE YOU!" He ended in a borderline scream, fisting his tears away furiously and making an attempt to stare Valentine out.


"It takes two to tango. You're probably not going to slap Yves though, are you?" He whispered. Not reacting to Valentine's pushing. But it did act as a metaphor for what Valentine had been doing all these years. Sei's heart was beating fast and he didn't know what to do. He could have lied and told Vallie that he was on drugs. Or something else. But he'd never lied to Valentine.


The blonde's words hurt him. But his tears soon stopped and he just stared at Valentine, taking in everything. It made his heart feel like it was about to explode. But Sei knew that he deserved this. He deserved what Valentine was shouting in his face. And he deserved that slap and the constant pushing. His eyes were cold and twinkling. But he was listening, intently.


"I'm sorry..." He could try to explain. But it was no use. None.

 

[Clock]

To be fair, Valentine would only refrain from slapping Yves due to the catastrophic reaction it would cause. It would lead to Katrina finding out of her husband's affair, and Valentine didn't want her to know. Under any circumstances. She was indeed a woman as bold as brass, and though it would hurt her, she'd divorce Yves in under a second.


After Sei's outburst, then silence, Valentine managed to regain his composure too. He never lost his calm, hated to, in fact. But he returned Sei's stare. Yves is scum, Sei is scum. Good men are hard to come by, huh? "I'll just forget what you did." And suddenly, a grin appeared on his face, lighting up his pale face. "But you really need to stop saying I matter to you, or ever did. Because your actions clearly don't match up." He ran a hand through the tangled mess of his hair. "Unfortunately, I have to choose now to stay with either cowardly sl** number one or number two. I choose you." A headache was coming over, and Valentine wanted to leave the room. So with shaky steps, he walked out. Shower time. "By the way Sei, you cry too much. You suck. In more ways than one." And with that sick comment, he was off.


Valentine only ever cried when no one else was there, if at all. He hated seeing himself cry, so never in front of a mirror or any polished surface. I look so ugly. So guess where he cried today? LMAO.

 

[Mituna Captor]

Sei left the room promptly. Anger burning behind his eyes after what Valentine had just said. He wasn't a s*** was he? He didn't think so. Oh and whoops. All chances of winning Valentine back had been exterminated. It seriously felt like somebody was stamping all over his heart. To the extent that it hurt to breath. He peeled off his shirt and trailed downstairs. Curling up on one of the couches in the living room and falling into a fitful, uneasy sleep.


~


Sei woke up around an hour later. Shakes had overcome his form and sweat trickled down his cheeks. Damn it. Damn it. Night mares? Really Sei? You're eighteen going on nineteen. Pull yourself together. He rolled back over and closed his eyes. But the man was unable to sleep. And so he got off the couch and grabbed his phone. Yves was first in his contact list. That alone made his blood boil.


He quickly texted him:


'Should be over to pick up luggage today. Please don't speak to me. Thanks.'

 

[Clock]

Yves received the text as soon as he hung up his call with Valentine. It was from Sei, how ironic. Reading it over, he realized that perhaps he'd never received such a sweet, concise text. He smiled despite himself. Yves held no bitter feelings towards Sei, though the opposite held less true. He texted the other back: 'Don't bother. I'll just drop the stuff off.' With that he snapped the phone shut. Valentine's icy remarks still echoed in his ear. The boy had just simply stated what he wanted: his luggage. And he'd given Yves exactly half an hour to complete the task. Harsh, considering London's traffic.


Hauling Valentine's baggage was serious work. It probably weighed more than the boy, or heck, even Yves. He did hold some admiration for Sei at this moment. It was blatant from the text that Sei had no idea Valentine had asked him to drop off the luggage. But was going to do it anyways. So sweet. I wonder if I could stop him from getting hurt? Because it was a well kept secret that the youngest Krane son loved to sleep around lmao.


Driving like a maniac, earning more than a few honks, he made it to Sei's doorstep in time. The luggage beside him, he knocked on the door.

 

[Mituna Captor]

Sei, having been halfway through a coffee when Yves knocked. Got up and opened the door.


"What could anybody possibly want at this t- oh." He gazed over Yves and cringed mentally. Somehow he seemed even better looking and distracting for Sei than before. Memories flooded back to his mind. His bony legs wrapped around Yves' waist... Yves' affections pressed along his neck. Scratching, biting...


He snapped himself out of it and looked up.


"Thanks for coming at such a stupid time. Although I thought you meant in the morning or something like that... It's awfully sweet of you." He said with a small smile.


"I'll help you get he stuff inside." He said. His smile fading. As much as he wanted to hate Yves. He'd taken it out on his own body. After what the pair did. He drank and awful lot more and went from two to seven cigarettes a day. He slipped past Yves and to his car. With the other Mans help. They spent around ten minutes hauling bag after bag and suitcase after suitcase inside.


"Why so much for such a small guy that's only staying here for a week?"


Ah well. He trailed upstairs and knocked gently on his bedroom door.


"Yves brought your things." He said, yawning afterwards.


"In gonna sleep now. So goodnight I guess." He whispered, making his way back down the stairs and collapsing on the sofa. Tossing and turning and thrashing around in his sleep when it finally came.

 

[Clock]

Valentine didn't respond right away. He just buried his face deeper into the pillow after hearing Sei's voice. It had been another one of his b*tchy plans. To get Yves to drop off the luggage and Sei to pick it up. So, they could see each other. Because Valentine felt sick inside. And he wanted to kill them both. That was one of his distinguishing features. When he was hurt, angry or sad, he tried to destroy whatever had caused that. Not by physical means, but by any other ways. Mentally, emotionally, Valentine felt the need to destroy whatever was inside of the thing that had hurt him.


And right now his targets were Sei and Yves. Ever since Sei's confession, he hadn't taken the time to consider how it made him feel. He only considered Katrina's perspective. The family's perspective. If he considered his own... Where would that lead to?


~


In the morning, Valentine took longer to get ready. His belongings consisted of many unnecessary items, but because it was him, everything had to be there. After taking care to brush his hair exactly 200 times and pick the shirt that matched the jeans, he headed downstairs. Sei was still sleeping. So, Valentine just took to the kitchen, brewing coffee. There wasn't much else he could make. The man's kitchen was empty. Bare. Traces of alcohol and cigarettes. Not the best lifestyle.


"Hey, I made you coffee. It's the only thing I know how to make. Or the only thing I can make in your kitchen. Good cure for hangovers, huh?"

 

[Mituna Captor]

His eyes opened slowly when Valentine's voice came to his ears. He breathed out slowly.


'Good. He's still here.' He thought, rolling over and getting up off the couch.


"I don't have a hangover." He said, staring at Vallie, the coffee.


"You just presume I do because there's alcohol in the house. I'm not an alcoholic." He walked over to Valentine and took the coffee. Taking a ginger sip and placing it on the counter.


"It's awful sweet of you. But I'm not really that in to coffee." He smiled and cracked his fingers against the cup, eyes closing.


"Best cure for a hangover is sleep. Not coffee."


He found himself staring into the other's eyes, Unable to look away from him. He did after a few seconds, Bowing his head.


"I'm really sorry.... About lastnight, I know you hate Yves and I... But... But..." He couldn't even come up with something to say.


"Please... I beg of you. Please. Please forgive me. I'm not worth anything without you."


He turned and walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.


"It's not like I can make him want me now anyway. Not now. Not ever. No. I need to stop, I can't keep doing this, Valentine doesn't want me now. Especially not now. He never wanted me. What if he never wanted to even be my friend? He probably just did it out of pity. Pity friend. Pity friend because I didn't have any friends. Pity friends for nine years." Sei leant against the wall, just talking to himself, talking to himself for what seemed like ages, giving himself the talk he'd needed for a long, long time.


"I've got to go back in there and face him..."


He opened the door slowly and walked back in, considering giving Valentine a hug. He wrapped his arms around the shorter man and held him for a second.


"I'm so very sorry. Valentine... If there's anything I can do.. To help you forgive me... I'll do it, I'll... I'll... Stop drinking, stop smoking! Anything! Can't you see that this is hurting me too?! I wish I could comfort my mother. I wish I could go back and tell her it's going to be okay. That she doesn't need to miss dad. But I can't! She was the only family I had left. Now I've lost her... And quite frankly I couldn't bear to lose you too! You're the only person I have!"


Even though that already happened eight years ago.

 

[Clock]

"I..." Valentine paused, tilting his head slightly. He couldn't stand seeing Sei like this. From what he remembered, it hadn't been that way before. Sei had always been rather... Emotional, whereas Valentine hated expressing his feelings without reason. Yet, the young boy had grown up to be messed up. Sei had been expected to be the perfect one. And now he was drinking, smoking, ruining marriages at a barely legal age. Valentine gently set his coffee down, feeling both guilty and angry.


Heck yeah, Valentine was mad. He breathed in, then out, glancing up at Sei. Holy, he was tall. And quite handsome. But it was blatant Sei remained ignorant to the fact he could probably get whomever he wanted.


"I... Just don't understand why it had to be Yves. I wouldn't be pissed off if it was anyone else," lies, "But why him? Sei, you could get anyone you wanted. So, what was the point in ruining his marriage? He's screwed up, but you knew better. You knew it was wrong." Over drinking was not an excuse, it would never be. And Valentine wasn't sure if Sei's claim of not being an alcoholic was all that true. "I just don't get why you're doing this to yourself. Do you enjoy getting into all this sh*t? Do you like running away?" He stopped again, feeling as if he'd spoken too much. "Just come back to Manhattan, that's all I want. Okay?"

 

[Mituna Captor]

"But the fact is, I don't want just anybody..." Their eyes were locked but Sei's were watery.


"I want you." His voice was barely a whisper, he finally tore his gaze away, head cast down to the floor.


"I knew... Of course I knew it was wrong. I tried to stop him from taking it further than a kiss... But I didn't do enough. And it makes me feel sick just thinking about it." He then shook his head, he wasn't ever going back.


"You want me to go back? Why?! It's not like you'd speak to me. It's not like you'd be nice again... You have your friends... You don't need me there. I don't want to live in fear and have to deal with a suicidal mother when quite frankly I've experienced some of the same feelings." The last part was whispered, He'd had to carry on with counselling once he moved to England, but people actually talked to him here... They were nice. He rested his head against Valentines and sighed.


"Don't you see? You're better off without me. All I ever did was drag you down and turn you into something you're quite clearly not. You don't need me. It's me who needs you."

 

[Clock]

Valentine wanted to walk away, slam the door and head on the first flight back to Manhattan. He couldn't handle Sei's complaining. It evoked a whole bunch of feelings Valentine would rather not come to terms with. Listening to the other man's accusations made him shiver, but he forced himself to remain stoic. As Sei moved closer, Valentine finally broke.


"You need to seriously shut up." He whispered, wrapping his arms around the taller's man neck. He admittedly liked Sei's height. Valentine found himself easily attracted to the ones with height. Once Sei was pulled as close as was physically possible, the younger boy leaned in to kiss Sei. With undisturbed grace, he pushed the other back until he felt Sei hit the wall. Trembling, he leapt onto the other, legs wrapping around Sei's waist. He pulled away, resting his head on the man's shoulder.


"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Valentine sounded almost robotic, numb, as he repeated the words over and over again. Admittedly he liked Sei's height. Admittedly he liked Sei's smile. Admittedly he liked Sei's scent. Admittedly he liked Sei. And admittedly he needed Sei. Perhaps more than Sei could imagine??? Why do I like such a pathetic crybaby? I have no standards.

 

[Mituna Captor]

Sei's eyes closed tightly to stop the impending tears as the other man connected their lips. He could only enjoy to contact for a second before he was shoved back against the wall, One hand supported Valentine's leg where it was and the other stroked his hair comfortingly.


"It's alright, it's alright..." The unpleasant tears streamed down his cheeks once again and he slid his fingers under Valentine's chin, raising his head and staring into his eyes... Beautiful, beautiful eyes. The taller man gently kissed the blonde again, for a little longer and with a little more passion than before, when he turned away, he gently set Valentine to the floor and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him close and kissing him again.


"It's alright... I... I forgive you... I'd always forgive you... V-Vallie..." He stuttered out the nickname as he buried his head in the other mans shoulder, a dry sob escaping his throat.


"I love you... I love you..."

 

[Clock]

"Don't say that." Valentine scolded gently, hands loosening their grip on Sei's waist. He was sure at this point that Sei didn't love Valentine; he loved the idea of him. Because the Valentine that used to exist ceased to do so now. The Valentine now wasn't exactly the same. He was more selfish, less forgiving, more needy, less compassionate.


Pulling away, he took the time to study Sei. Handsome, as always. Valentine's sisters had always complimented Sei's appearance. 'He looks like the dangerous kind. So hot,' Aria had once said. The younger man mused over that now, noticing the tears in Sei's eyes. He wasn't dangerous at all.


On an impulse, Valentine reached out to wipe away Sei's tears. "I guess I made you cry again?" He smiled a little, flushing slightly after realizing what they'd done. It wasn't illegal, although it might have been for Valentine. He'd almost forgotten how fun it was to kiss Sei. How he could spend his life doing just that. Ouf.


"Can we go home now?"


(shall we have a time skip from here to manhattan they stay at london like their honeymoon, all lovey dovey. valentine is moody and clingy but overall tolerable. they don't do anything past kissing and loads of touching. & valentine doesn't let them touch in public. & forces sei to eat. & anything to add?)

 

[Mituna Captor]

(Okay! That's fine!! But do you mean they go back to Manhattan all together or they end up back in London?))


((All of that is fine too, I've moulded Sei Ito the type that wouldn't really be interested in much after making out, his only exception was Yves really, he'd be quite content to snuggle and kiss Vallie c: and he'd to he happy to eat for him too!)) 
After he was so carefully and gently scolded, he rested his head against Valentine's and stared back at him, Also studying how beautiful he was, his blonde hair, his sparkling blue eyes... How small and tiny he was.


Sei and Valentine slotted together like a jigsaw when it came to height and it had always been that way.


Perhaps he didn't really love Valentine...


Maybe he had just loved him for so long that it had become the norm for him to think and even say so. He just loved so many things about him. He loved him being here, Maybe he didn't love him... He'd never really though about that but now he did, it actually made perfect sense.


"Fine, Then I love you being around me." He said with a shaky laugh, smiling softly as the blonde wiped his tears away.


"I guess so..." He sighed, He looked down slightly, Noticing the faint bruises and scars that littered Valentine's arms. That made him want to cry again if he was quite honest, he gently lifted his arm and kissed some of the worst bruises.


"Who did this to you...?"

 

[Clock]

(lol no i meant that they go to manhattan but wanted to describe what the rest of their time in london was like~ to give an idea of where they stand with each other, like IDK????)


Valentine looked down at his arms with surprise. He had forgotten about the bruises and scars, they didn't hurt much so they'd long become just a part of him. Or more accurately, for the past few months, he'd gotten through life in a daze. Even if he focused, Valentine couldn't remember a single detail. Except that sometimes it hurt to sleep.


Still, he knew the reason. And the reason was standing in front of him. The reason was currently kissing what he'd caused. The reason admitted he only loved being around Valentine. Woah, that hurt. He smiled slightly; he'd never let Sei know how he felt. That would be showing weakness.


"Hey Sei, make me something to eat." Dodging the topic, he led them to the kitchen. Once there, he seated himself on the counter, dangling his legs over the edge. "Hey honey, wear that cute apron!" This kid needed to work at a bar. Now.

 

[Mituna Captor]

Sei laughed faintly and pulled away from Valentine, pulling his black frilly apron down from the hook and tying it around his neck and his waist. His lack of trousers made sure that the apron just about covered his ass at the back, the rest of his thighs and legs were exposed and it made him chuckle.


"I do love you, you know? I never really stopped. I hated you and loved you at the same time. I couldn't ever stop loving you, and that stuff about just loving you being here was a lie, I love you loads. You just don't want to hear it because you can't man up enough to say it back." He laughed then, opening his cupboard and pulling some bread down.


"I'm just kidding, i'm not nasty like that." He said with a warm smile.


Sei then turned and kissed the other man's nose, slotting a couple rounds of bread into his toaster and delving into the bare fridge and pulling out the small packet of butter that was one of the only things in the fridge, apart from bottles of Alcohol that the raven haired man had hidden from Valentine's view.


"I don't see the point in my wearing an apron when all's I'm making is toast. But you probably just want to stare at my ass or something, that's funny because it's almost non existent."


And Sei was right, he was so painfully skinny again that he was flat all the way down. 
(((Oh right!! I see what you mean now! And yeah yo. That's fine. I think Sei would be a little upset about Valentine not letting them hold hands and such in public but as long as he made up for it when they were alone, he wouldn't be that bothered by it, and also, when they return home, I'd really like Sei to find that his mother hates his guts for the Yves episode and for leaving))

 

[Clock]

(would you like me to reply to the current text or start from manhattan? hehe)

 

[Mituna Captor]

((You could start from Manhattan now! c)

 

[Clock]

When Valentine had first landed in Manhattan, he'd felt a sense of freedom. He wasn't looking forward to a reunion with his family, however. But it had come better than he had expected. Mother seemed less mad, convinced she'd had Valentine's sexuality wrong. The sisters seemed less annoying, more busy with their own lives.


A week had passed since arrival, and Valentine found himself gradually falling back to his old lifestyle. He never drank excessively, except on Fridays. And he never went with strangers to their homes, except on Fridays. Ah yes, Fridays were slightly crazy. It was around Monday that he overheard Aria speak of Sei. Valentine froze. They hadn't talked since they came, or met. While partially his own fault, it was Sei's too.


There was nothing else to do, Valentine decided. So, he walked all the way to Sei's house, wondering what he'd say. He still liked the man very much. But there was no place for him in Valentine's old life, he thought sadly. Or there had been, but Rei had just filled it up. Valentine didn't think much however, he was just scared as hell thinking about Sei's mother. Knock knock.