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If you looked into The Miz or Kit’s eyes, it’d be clear that neither man was present. It was like sticking a parrot into a person’s body and telling it to adapt to social norms. Thoughtless and confused, moving like they were in a body not meant for them. Danhausen knew he couldn’t keep them like this forever. He knew about their spouses, the people who care for them, the fact that Miz has kids at home. But right now, he needed Kit and Miz for his experiments. And, while he had the two, he figured he should at least enjoy the moment and indulge.
Danhausen relaxed, leaning back against the porcelain tub as he felt fingers slide into his hair. It was Kit, still decked out in his ring gear except for his arm warmers. He sat hunched over the tub, behind the demon he previously hated. Now, however, he jerkily worked shampoo into his hair without a care in the world. The movements were not professional in the slightest, unpredictable, erratic at times. Blunt fingernails pressed against the sides of Danhausen’s scalp, then ran across the top of his head. They momentarily stayed there, twitching, before leaving to retrieve more shampoo.
The smell of cocoa and cardamom filled the air, hot and sweet like a spiced hot chocolate. The tub was filled to the brim with bubbles, sticking to the edges of the tub and lightly spilling out a bit. As soon as he closed his eyes against the warm red light of the room, finally feeling like he could relax, he heard the shampoo bottle clatter to the floor. There was the sound of plastic sliding across tile and the shuffling of clothes as Kit pawed at the object, trying to pick it back up. Danhausen tilted his head to the side and groaned in annoyance, cracking an eye open.
He almost jumped out of his skin when he saw The Miz inches away from his face.
“Wah!” Instinctively, he lurched away from the man, rogue droplets of water splashing against Miz’s face and the front of his shirt. The Miz had no reaction, not even a flinch due to the sudden movement. Lights on, no-one home. Miz’s legs were splayed out underneath him, hands on the rim of the bathtub, leaned in way too close than he should be. He, too, was in his wrestling gear.
“Mizhausen.” Danhausen stared. The Miz blinked. The demon laid a finger on his nose, pushing his head further and further back so he was no longer leaning over the tub. He then wiped the stray droplets off the other’s face in an accidental caress. The Miz didn’t break eye contact, gaze fixated on the demon.
Danhausen dropped his hand, slightly unsettled, and his head was suddenly being forced back into position by Kit. Danhausen flinched, eyes widening. Kit’s hands then gripped his shoulders, forcing him back against the tub. Before the demon could say anything, Kit was back to rubbing shampoo onto his scalp in uneven motions. It didn’t feel absolutely amazing, but it did feel nice. Kit was trying the best he could in his state, at least, and he appreciated the effort. It was easy to sink back into comfortable silence. Danhausen slumped against the tub, enjoying the moment, Kit and The Miz… not feeling much of anything, really. Danhausen slid his eyes closed again.
Blindly, he went to rest his hand on the side of the tub. Expecting the feeling of cold porcelain, he instead found the weak grip of Miz, hands still bordering the rim. He ceased the opportunity, taking Miz’s hand in his with a care he would have not afforded him previously. Kit’s fingers scrubbed behind his ears and the demon sighed, a smile forming on his face. Danhausen idly ran his wet thumb across Miz’s knuckles.
He focused on the sensation of fingers in his hair. The soft sound of their breathing intermixed with the lathering of shampoo. The warm grip of another in his hand, as well as the warmth of the water enveloping his body. Consciousness very easily could’ve slipped from his fingers-
“AAAWE-SOOOME!” Kit yelled, loud, fingers spasming around Danhausen’s head.
The sound that came out of Danhausen’s mouth was only akin to a cartoon ‘eek!’. He was startled awake, hands flying over his ears, wincing hard. He sat up with Miz and Kit trying to pull him back down again, but he shrugged them off.
The water sloshed around him as he stood and turned to face them. Hair still slathered up, bubbles still sticking to his body in a way that made him look ridiculous, he looked down his nose at them. A black droplet, intermixed with water and his face-paint, made its way down his temple.
“Kip, no yelling into the ear of Danhausen!” He scolded, pointing a finger at the man. Kit stared dumbly. When he got no verbal response, Danhausen crossed his arms in annoyance. “…Okay, Kip?” He adds, exasperated.
Finally, Kit let out an affirmative sound. The demon seemed content with this, but he needed something more. He reached out, grabbing Kit by the hair. “You nod your head like this when you understand.” He instructed, condescending, as he puppeteered Kit’s head up and down.
When Danhausen removed his hand and looked at Kit expectantly, Kit slowly repeated the nodding motion. A grin spread across his face at the blatant display of obedience. “That’s very good.” He praised, cupping Kit’s cheek. Kit leaned into the touch, looking up at him with that glassy stare all the while.
The sight felt too intimate.
Flustered, he quickly jolted away like he was touching a live wire. Just like that, Danhausen decided the two men had done enough. He ushered them out of the bathroom, having to help them onto their feet. He was left alone to wash the shampoo out of his hair.
He tried his hardest not to think as he scrubbed his hair clean. After, he dried himself off and exited the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He was padding to his makeshift bedroom, but right before opening the door, he heard some light snoring from behind him. Danhausen scanned the area behind him for the source.
It was then that he spotted his two test subjects on the floor, collapsed against each other in a position that didn’t look natural. It was less of a cuddle and more of a mess of limbs, like two barbies discarded on the floor after a rambunctious kid.
He paid it no mind, shrugging before shutting the door behind him.
His room, or his ‘evil lair’ as he liked to call it, was dimly lit, a direct contrast to the bright red of his bathroom. Danhausen opened his closet and rummaged around for his pajamas. It was a matching set, soft black fabrics with a repeating tooth pattern in red. The top had short sleeves with a V-shaped collar that plunged a little too low, revealing the top part of his chest tattoo. It was complete with little white tooth-shaped buttons. The bottoms were a little short for men’s sleepwear, ending around his upper thighs. The garments were quite cute and hung loosely over his body.
After putting them on, he reached his bed in a couple steps and fell flat onto the mattress. Before drifting off to sleep, he reached up to turn off the burger-shaped McDonalds lamp on his nightstand. It was vintage, and it had two goofy-looking eyes on the top bun. It cast a warm golden light over the room, and upon being turned off, the room was plunged into complete darkness.
“Evilnight.” He said to himself, pulling the silk blankets over his body. He placed one hand under his pillow, snug, and let his brain go quiet. The tension seeped out from his limbs, and it wasn’t long before sleep overtook his body.
—
Danhausen was having a bad day from the jump. When he woke, Danhausen felt a sharp ache in his abdomen. He winced in pain, the feeling akin to someone grabbing his insides and wringing them out like a sponge. The pain made him want to thrash around, maybe scream and cry a little, but he contained himself. He groaned in frustration, and when he moved to stand up from bed, his legs ached as well. His brows scrunched together even further when he got up, both areas of his body attacking him and contributing to his foul mood.
Leaving room for his, albeit rushed, morning routine, the first thing he did was head to his lab for some Ibuprofen. Passing all the various self-made machines that seemed to run on magic and sheer force of will rather than actual science, he ripped open a cabinet in his desk and grabbed the painkillers. After downing a whole glass of milk, he’d consumed 2 tablets. He knew it’d take about 45 minutes to kick in. It was only then, already exhausted and still in his pajamas, that he spotted Kit repeatedly bumping into a wall. Over and over, backing up only to weakly slam his body into it again. He was trying to walk through it like he was moving through a free space. The Miz was near him, only face-down on the floor and twitching every now and then. They didn’t seem to register his presence.
The dark, blue light of his lab almost started to look red to him as he sighed angrily, snapping his fingers a few times until they looked at him. Kit stilled and started making his way towards him as if sleepwalking, Miz following shortly behind. It reminded him of how ants would act after being infected by cordyceps, the fungus completely hijacking the host's body and making it act unstable. Under normal circumstances, one would probably find someone walking towards them like this a little unsettling. Danhausen just tapped his foot and crossed his arms, impatient.
The demon thought they took too long to come to him. He surged forward and grabbed them both by the collars of their shirts, a new wave of pain making him grit his teeth. He almost stomped towards the bathroom, lightheaded from the feeling of something trying to burst from his insides.
He essentially threw the two into his room, closing the door behind him with a force he would not regularly exhibit. Both managed to stay upright, Kit just standing there awkwardly while the Miz slowly paced around the room. Both stared off into nothing as Danhausen retrieved his electric heating pad, forcing it into a nearby socket before cranking the setting to high. He flopped down on the bed back-first and settled the device on his lower abdomen. Then, he was snapping his fingers again to get their attention once more, signaling for the other two to come closer.
They stalked towards him. Once they were close enough, he tugged them down by their arms. Danhausen moved to lay on his side, and they provided absolutely no resistance when he maneuvered them. Kit was pressed against the demon’s front and the Miz against his back, sandwiching Danhausen on both sides. Danhausen wasn’t thinking about the implications, he just needed arms around him. Someone to take care of him. Someone to claw at. He exhaled, the pressure on both sides of his body bringing a brief sense of relief.
The demon coaxed Kit’s arms around his shoulders. He rested the side of his head on Kit’s chest and felt the Miz’s arm slink around his waist. It struck Danhausen as a move someone would pull in their sleep. The Miz clumsily knocked his head against the back of his neck, and Kit’s hair brushed against the side of Danhausen’s face. Danhausen reached up so Kit’s chin fully rested atop the demon’s head, his hand staying for a moment before traveling up his shirt and to his bare back. He grit his teeth harder, the pain coming to him in waves.
He raked his nails down Kit’s back, muffling a whine in the other’s neck. Kit let out an involuntary gasp, eyes fluttering shut. Danhausen then slotted his head in the crook of his neck, sinking his teeth into the flesh there. At the same time, his other hand slid into the Miz’s hair and pulled. There was the combined noise of Miz and Kit’s groans, Kit already sounding a little more breathless than the other man.
He felt skin break, the taste of iron flooding his mouth. Kit was trembling underneath him, hands tensing around his shoulders. Nails dug into Danhausen’s waist from behind. Danhausen detached his teeth from Kit soon after, the back of his head knocking against Miz’s shoulder. He then released his grip on both men, whimpers now unmuffled and out in the open. He felt cracked open, raw and vulnerable. Danhausen’s eyes slid shut as he maneuvered Kit’s hand from his shoulder to his face, making Kit cup his cheek. The demon leaned into the touch, a direct mirror from earlier, grasping the fingers holding him. Suddenly, he felt the side of Miz’s head leaning against his, then lips against his temple. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
Danhausen kicked his leg weakly, pain still roaring in his lower abdomen. He ended up intertwining their legs, three pairs of feet all tangled together. He then hugged Kit around the waist and squeezed hard. Kit’s fingers twitched around his face before moving to the back of Danhausen’s head, pulling him back onto his chest. He tried to run his fingers through the demon’s hair, but it came off as more of a push, pulling him in even further.
They stayed like that for a while, the demon’s heart rate slowing down more and more as they held him, warm bodies pressed against each other head-to-toe. Danhausen savored the moment, enjoying being held like this by his two test subjects. He was growing more needy by the second, however, wanting more than just their touches. He needed words of affirmation. He let out a dissatisfied sound, wanting to make it clear to them.
“Tell Danhausen he’s the best.” He murmured. He sounded like he was so close to crying, voice starting to break. “Tell him… tell him that everyone loves him.” He tacked on.
There was a brief moment of silence, the two dazed men processing the information. He could imagine it was much like trying to see through a thick fog.
“…The best…” Kit repeated back softly, “…love you.”
“…Everyone loves you.” The Miz agreed, much more coherent than Kit, lips inches away from Danhausen’s ear.
“That’s right.” Something about the tone of their voices made Danhausen shiver. Once wasn’t enough, he wanted to hear them say it once more. “Again.”
They both murmured the praises to him all over again, obedient, Miz’s breath ghosting over his ear. The Miz’s hand smoothed down Danhausen’s side, the demon’s shirt already pulled up a little, caressing the soft flesh there. Danhausen let out a shuddering breath, the dual sensations from the soft touches and pain proving to be too much. He shattered under the pressure, tears running in rivulets down his cheeks.
It was then that he registered the soft trickle of blood, traveling down Kit’s shoulder and onto Danhausen’s skin. His eyes slid open, and for a brief second, he contemplated soothing it over with a lick. He decided against it, however, about to just reach up and wipe it off.
He stilled when a hand from behind slid under his chin, peeling him from Kit’s chest. The hand spasmed, forcefully pulling his head back and turning it so he was face-to-face with the man behind him. It was the first time he actually got a good look at Miz since the start of their encounter, and it didn’t disappoint.
The Miz’s eyes were glazed over, pupils dilated so far they almost covered the iris, drool gathering in the corners of his mouth. Danhausen never thought he’d see him like this, utterly dumb, staring at Danhausen as if he was the center of his universe. The Miz’s eyes slowly roved over his face.
The demon didn’t look much better. In fact, he looked so much worse.
Some of his facepaint rubbed off, making it appear sloppy, primarily on the tip of his nose and the side of his face. It made him look a little silly, pink skin contrasting against white. His hair had a massive case of bed-head, hair messed up and sticking up in multiple different directions. Black paint ran in streaks down his face, eyes wet and shiny like two lagoons. The Miz glanced over each of these features carefully, hand twitching under the other man’s chin. If it wasn’t for the circumstances he was under, Danhausen would think he was drinking this up; savoring his agony.
Danhausen continued to stare into The Miz’s eyes, but he couldn’t find anything behind them, no matter how hard he tried. They were dull, empty, and utterly not him. The real him was somewhere else, his physical body reduced to a trance-like state. Even so, Danhausen felt little to no remorse for what he was doing; the experiments, the humiliation, everything. It even felt correct, in a way. He always thought The Miz belonged beneath him, after all, but he knew good things couldn’t last long. He understood he had a moral obligation to return him to normal at some point. The ‘very nice’ part of Danhausen had to come with the ‘very evil’, otherwise he’d just be a villain. He didn’t want to be, he swears he isn’t.
He felt Kit’s hand slide to his hip, then jerk to his thigh, erratic, fingers shaking like a new thrum of electricity just ran through him. A steady flush worked its way down Danhausen’s chest, the demon ripping his eyes from Miz’s gaze in order to look at Kit instead. Although his movements felt so awkward and mechanical, he seemed at ease. His shoulders were relaxed, eyes already fixated on Danhausen’s face like he couldn’t look away. Multiple strands of hair had fallen across his face, and the demon reached up to to brush them away. However, much of what he said about The Miz could be said about Kit. It wasn’t really him.
It hit him, just then, that Danhausen thought the two men looked… beautiful like this. He thought they were right where they belonged; serving him, taking care of him, focusing all of their attention on him. Their faces were all too close now, the mind-numbing pain having been reduced to a dull ache, leaving them just holding each other mindlessly.
“You need to touch me,” Danhausen rasped, odd accent accentuating his words. “more, I need it.” He repeated hungrily, voice fully breaking.
When Danhausen blinked, more tears escaped and began to roll down his cheeks. It was then that The Miz closed the gap between them, licking the tears from where they were making their way down his face. The demon couldn’t bite back his gasp, caught off guard. His facepaint slid onto The Miz’s tongue, leaving more patches of flushed skin. Danhausen gripped the back of Kit’s neck as if to anchor himself to reality.
He heard Kit make a soft sound at the sight, gripping the back of Danhausen’s thigh mindlessly. The demon frowned when The Miz pulled back, releasing his grip on Danhausen. He was relieved when Kit replaced Miz’s hand instead, abruptly pulling him in by the chin and placing a light kiss on his cheekbone, then his forehead, and the arch of his eyebrow. Danhausen couldn't help but laugh, giddy, almost too pleased with the current situation.
The Miz watched them from over Danhausen’s shoulder, hands travelling under the demon’s clothing and curling around his bare hips. He arched into the touches, flushed all over. Danhausen relished in the attention, smiling wide. He hummed, low in the back of his throat, a purring cat being pet by two sets of hands.
“That’s it, just like that.” He murmured, comfortable. His two test subjects were doing a very good job, and he felt like telling them so.
It was only when Kit moved in for what would undoubtedly be an open-eyed kiss on the lips that he broke out his haze.
He froze.
He couldn’t.
There was a boundary.
He immediately pushed off the bed in a panic, strong hands trying to pull him back down again once more. Their grips were very weak on him, however, so he broke out pretty easily. Danhausen forcefully unplugged the heating pad from the socket in his wall, producing a small spark.
He turned back to the two still lying on the bed, dazed, to usher them out of his room. He grabbed them both by the collars of their shirts when they didn’t budge, throwing them out of his room the same way he threw them in.
As soon as the door slammed shut, he stuck his back against it, chest heaving. He slowly sank down to the floor, hands holding his head. He gripped his head in frustration, close to pulling out strands. From an outside perspective, one would probably see the disheveled man and think he was having a mental breakdown.
The Miz and Kit would probably have one, too, if they retained any memory of this.
—
The Miz was wearing a nice, expensive looking suit. His outfit was all black except for his white dress shirt. He wore a suit jacket with notched lapels, a crimson handkerchief in his breast pocket, vest tightly buttoned underneath. Danhausen thought it fit him nicely. His hair was styled, slicked back like he usually wore it. Noticeably, there was no grey stripe in his hair anymore, which Danhausen mourned the loss of. This close, he could smell a tiny hint of his cologne, rum and vanilla. His brow was furrowed, having taken off his sunglasses to glare at Danhausen like he was the scum of the earth. He also couldn’t help but notice that Miz’s eyes looked tired, minor inconveniences piling up and becoming an expected part of Miz’s day-to-day life. The Miz knew how to reverse the curse, but he was too stubborn to accept the reality of the situation.
Kit looked equally as tired, the grey stripe also gone from his hair, which he also mourned the loss of (‘Just like Frankenstein’s bride!’ he thought, leaned over Kit’s hair as he dyed it himself). As opposed to Miz, however, he was wearing his usual wrestling gear; white wrist tape, black bedazzled outfit with pink and blue stripes, ‘not toxic’ nametag merch underneath. He ran a hand through the front of his wet, black hair, pushing away rogue strands of hair that fell over his face. He was also looking at Danhausen disapprovingly, but he could tell there was a hint of apprehension in his gaze. He could smell him just a little bit, too; it was a floral scent, lavender and orange blossom.
The two taller men loomed over Danhausen in the hallway, having cornered him to demand answers about what happened between their electrocution and now. They couldn’t remember, so they needed him to fill in the blanks. It was understandable, he figured it must’ve been unsettling to not know, but Danhausen hesitated all the same.
What actually happened between then and now was: he used them for his own personal gain without any regard for their well-being, treated them like lab rats, and tossed them out to figure out their own travel, all while making them look like idiots. It was a wonder the two even got cleared to wrestle. He remembered the feeling of the Miz’s arms around his hips, Kit pulling him in by the chin, what very easily could’ve happened, what it could’ve turned into- the demon suddenly felt very uncomfortable, shifting his feet.
“Well?” Kit barked, impatient, hand on his hip.
“Well…Danhausen made you do…” He winced mid-sentence, ”...his evil bidding, of course!”
“Such as?” Kit questioned.
“Ah… you know…” accent strong, he gestured vaguely at them, hoping the motions would convey everything he wanted to say. It didn’t. They looked thoroughly unamused. He tried his best to seem casual as he began rattling off everything that came to mind, failing to think before speaking. “Giving Danhausen some winhausens, lending him your daughter's other bicycle,-“ The Miz’s nostrils flared. “-defending Danhausen’s honor, you know, cuddlinghimwhenhefeltbad-“
“What?” The Miz interjected.
Kit’s eyes widened.
Danhausen froze.
The two men stared down at him, bewildered.
Danhausen blinked, unsure on whether he should elaborate or if it’d be better to just say nothing. He chose the latter, plunging the moment into an even deeper uncomfortable silence. The demon’s eyes focused on everything except the two in front of him, clasping his hands together and pulling a face like it physically hurt to be under the glares of Kit and Miz. He felt like he’d melt into the floor if they stared at him for any longer.
Thankfully, they averted their gaze for a second to turn and look at each other instead. Kit looking horrified, Miz looking like he could burst through a wall.
They turned back to face Danhausen again, The Miz already beginning to shout something, tone incredulous. “What d-“
He stopped mid-yell, hands grasping around nothing when he intended to shove Danhausen into the wall. The demon was gone without a trace, thanks to whatever magic he conjured to get him out of the situation.
Kit and Miz were left to just stand there in silence, aghast.
When The Miz took a step back, he slipped on a conveniently placed banana peel.