Rekindling- Pico x Keith/BF

[hey there! this chapter includes brief descriptions of gore, as well as guns and a panic attack. if any of that stuff makes you uncomfortable or triggers you, i recommend skipping this chapter. i will leave a short and non graphic description of what happens at the bottom for anyone who isn't comfortable reading this! also since i know people are gonna say this is edgy or whatever, yes i know pico's school is originally just a sort of parody on edgy stuff, but this is fanfiction and so looking at it from an author standpoint i feel it would be traumatic to his character, so i'm writing it in a serious way]

Pico had stared dumbfounded at the person he'd come across while walking home from work, mouth closing and opening. What the hell was Keith doing here?! After a month or so of tensely waiting in fear that the other boy would make his way near where Pico lived, he'd eventually calmed down and started to think he'd forgotten the place entirely. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that wasn't the case. The man in question sat right before his very eyes, hair as blue as ever and leaning against...speakers? Pico supposed he shouldn't be so surprised, Keith had always loved music after all. He wore a white shirt with a cancel symbol on it, red and blue cap sitting in his lap. The laces on his ripped up sneakers were untied and he looked so comfortable sitting there on the grass that it almost felt like an insult. Pico hardly noticed the girl next to him until her phone started ringing, and he practically jumped out of his socks. He quickly scampered a few steps away, cursing softly to himself. He was sure he'd spontaneously combust if they caught him spying on them, even if it'd only been for a minute or so. When he realized neither of them were moving anywhere near to where they would've seen him, he growled in annoyance. All he'd done now was make it so he couldn't hear their conversation. Taking a deep breath, he hyped himself up. You can't hide from him forever. You need to go confront them, make them stay away from here.

Hand going to the gun at his side and gripping it for comfort, Pico stood up and began creeping closer to them, slowly changing his walk to look casual and confident, even though his heart was pounding with fear. Stop being such a wuss, for gods sake! You've got a gun, they couldn't even hurt you if they wanted to! Still, nothing Pico said to himself could calm him down. He never liked talking to strangers, and much less people who asked questions. Unfortunately now he had to talk to both.

Forcing an angry grin on his face, Pico stepped out of the shadows. "And what the fuck are you doing here?" His voice wavered a bit, and he prayed that they didn't hear. It took everything in his power to not let his free hand fidget with the hem of his sweater. Still, it seemed like his show of fear fueled confidence fooled them. Keith stood up, staring at him with his mouth wide open, the girl next to him blinking anxiously. "P-Pico?? What are you doing here?" Pico scoffed, rolling his eyes. Some of the fear had seeped away and was being replaced by his normal annoyance. He forced himself to remember how Keith had acted last time he'd seen him, letting the anger soothe him. This was nothing to be worried about, he could get this guy out of here easily. "I live here, dimwit. Remember?" Keith simply blinked in surprise, looking around at the litter on the ground and scanning the nearby buildings. Pico tensed- it was like he was judging where he lived all over again.

Finally, to his relief, the other boy spoke. "Sorry, I thought you'dve moved to somewhere else by now. Are you still in the same apartment?" Pico grit his teeth. Keith didn't seem like he wanted to leave anytime soon- in fact, now he seemed like he wanted to stay, staring at Pico with curiosity like he was some sort of anomaly. "Yes. Now, answer my question. What in the fresh fuck are ya doing here?" Finally, finally Keith broke that everpresent stare of his. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, cheeks flushing pink in the darkness. "I-uhh, Cherry and I didnt have anywhere else to practice and so we came here because I remembered it and I didn't know you were still living here and I really didn't mean to bother you-" "Well, yer gonna have to find somewhere else to practice," Pico cut off the other boy's rambling with a growl.