Slenderverse One-shots

Get Out While You Can ⊗ MH x EMH

A03 request: Vinny dissuades Brian from staying and HABIT gets mad

(sequel to Brian x HABIT: Good Intentions)

Vinny hid a look of irritation and worry as HABIT walked into the room, Brian trailing after him. The two were nearly inseparable, though he didn't think of that in a good way. Ever since HABIT had killed off one of Brian's old friends things had been getting... messy. He could barely recognize the other man as the same injured guy who'd been brought home like a stray.

"Something wrong, Vin?" HABIT's stare felt as though it was piercing through his body.

"No, nothing." He kept his voice neutral by some miracle. "Just... thinking about what our next move is."

"Don't worry about it." Brian leaned against the side of the couch. "HABIT will let you know if you're needed."

Vinny honestly wasn't sure if he was being threatened or if Brian was just making a comment that happened to sound overly aggressive. Either way, he didn't appreciate the two practically trapping him—especially not with the fresh gore HABIT had splattered on his clothing. Ever since Brian began warming up to what the entity did, HABIT had been doing less and less to clean himself off before wandering around the house again.

"It's like he doesn't even see what HABIT's doing to him." He pitied the man honestly.

"That's right." HABIT walked back over with a fire iron in his grip and gave a tooth-filled grin before nipping at his partner's neck. A cold look was shot Vinny's way as he headed back to the stairs. "Just came to get this... Why don't you feed the cats or somethin' Vin?"

"I... Yeah, sure." He looked away, unable to handle looking at the grim when he knew where it'd come from. That poor soul was probably still alive too.

The couch sank down as Brian joined him, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. For a few minutes silence enveloped the room. Vinny glanced over at the other man; there was blood dripping from the fresh bite mark, though many others littered his skin. More dark smears were scattered about his clothes that had smeared off of HABIT's. At one point in time, Brian would've been disgusted but now it didn't even look like he cared.

"You shouldn't stay here." He finally came out with what he'd been wanting to say for weeks now. "If you do, you'll die."

"What?" Brian looked at him like he'd grown an extra limb.

"Have you looked at yourself? HABIT's really starting to do some damage, and if I'm being honest, it isn't just physically."

A laugh escaped him. "Honest? You? I've heard about what you did and what you let happen to your friends. Being honest to them wasn't high up on your list when it came to saving your own skin, was it?"

Vinny winced. Sure, he'd done questionable things... But he'd never wanted to get his friends killed, or Evan... Shit, Evan had it the worst. Was he even still in there with HABIT or had he entity killed him? "What else has HABIT been telling him? Am I the expendable one here?"

"You can't tell me you don't realize what's happening. He's going to kill you one of these days. Either he'll get bored or just do it for fun."

Brian stared at him and slowly reached up to rub his neck, wincing a little as he brushed some of the deeper punctures. HABIT had been getting rougher. He shook his head, though the action was filled with hesitation. "He saved me from that place. He's..."

"He killed someone you cared about and then said it was to help you."

"Tim lied and betrayed me. He left me for dead!"

Vinny tensed as Brian got defensive. With how he'd been acting he wasn't sure the man wouldn't outright attack him. "I... I don't know about that but do you really think he deserved what HABIT did?"

Once more Brian fell silent. The man jumped to his feet and began pacing around the room. Vinny watched as a series of emotions crossed the other man's face. At times, Brian would mutter under his breath about something and shake his head. He wasn't sure he hadn't made things worse.

"Maybe you're right..." Brian's voice was quiet. He closed his eyes as he fell back on the couch and dropped his head into his hands. "HABIT just... acted like he cared. He kept saying he was doing things for me that would make things better... I guess.. I felt like I owed him a little too."

"He manipulated you. He does that to me a lot—usually involved using Evan to do so."

"...What am I going to do?"

Vinny glanced at the stairs. It was hard to say how much longer HABIT would be distracted. "You need to get out of here. I can help you pack some things and cover for you. Just... get as far away as you can."

The two grabbed a few bags and began rounding up the necessities. While Brian grabbed clothes and whatever personal items he chose to take, Vinny raided the kitchen for food and grabbed the car keys. He paused to look at them. They only had one car. If he wanted, he could take it himself and run... The man shook his head; no, he couldn't. He'd always end up back here against better judgment. And Brian had been right, he'd done some bad things to save his own skin in the past, he could at least do this to make up for it.

Footsteps approached him and he jerked around to see Brian walking over, a bag slung over his shoulder. "Why aren't you coming?"

"...I can't leave Evan. I'm seeing all of this through to the end."

"Good luck with that."

He decided to take that as genuine rather than sarcasm. Brian didn't linger much longer, taking the keys and walking out. Vinny listened to the car starting up and driving off as he continued standing there staring at the door. Maybe he was a good person.

HABIT stalked down the stairs, his footsteps light against the fake wood. Vinny shuddered as the entity let out a low growl. "What did you do Vin?"

His hairs stood on end as HABIT moved closer and his breath caught in his throat. This wasn't going to end well for him.