Little Shop of Homos
Kewl_Kid
Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - Confrontation
Summary:
Orin shows up, and it gets very homoerotic. I am so sorry, it was an accident
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Seymour and Audrey sat on the shop floor staring at the passers-bys. They had been doing this for almost an hour.
"So, what about him?" Audrey asked, discreetly pointing at a suit-clad man across the street.
"I think he's straight?" Seymour guessed. "I mean, look at his haircut. No gay man would ever go outside looking like that." He subconsciously raked his hand through his hair.
Audrey motioned towards a short haired woman. "What about h-?"
"Gay. So very gay," Seymour stated with full confidence. "Her hair and nails are far too short to be straight."
"Yunno, the urchin's nails are alway really short..."
Their eyes met and they both shook their heads with a laugh.
"W-We shouldn't speculate," Seymour said noncommittally.
"You're right. It's wrong to make assumptions."
"But, I mean..."
"They are always hanging out together."
"And I never see any boys with them."
"Exactly, and-" Audrey stopped talking and hid behind the counter. "He's here!" She whisper shouted.
"Who's here?" Seymour replied with the same tone, leaning over the counter to look at her.
Seymour shot up at the sound of the shop bell ringing. His eyes widened at the sight of Audrey's boyfriend Orin Scrivello standing in the entrance.
They had never officially met, but Seymour knew him. This wasn't Orin's first stop by the shop. He often came by to pick up Audrey for some date or another. Seymour had always admired him from afar. Orin wasn't exactly his type, but he wasn't unattractive by any means. How could he not pay attention to a handsome stranger in a leather jacket?
Seymour realised he'd been staring and looked away.
Orin gave him a judging glance. "Hey. How ya doing?"
"F-Fine, thank you," Seymour cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "But the shop's closed."
"I'm not here to shop, I'm here to..." Orin paused, his attention captured by the big green plant in the corner. "Hey. This must be that new plant they're talking about on the news. Whatdya call it?"
"An Audrey Two."
"Cute name. Catchy," Orin said vaguely in Seymour's direction. His attention solely on Audrey II. "Nice plant. Big."
Seymour squirmed under the praise he wasn't used to receiving. "Th-Thank you, I raised it myself. Now if you don't mind," Seymour motioned towards the door. "I'm not really supposed to let anyone-"
Orin either didn't hear him, or didn't care what he had to say. "I hear it's some kind of new species or something."
"That's what they tell me," Seymour shook his head and summoned a firm tone. "But you'll have to leave now, we're closed."
"Alright, alright," Orin said, raising his hands. "I'm just here to pick up my date. Then I'll leave."
"Well, your date isn't here," he mustered up all the seriousness he could, keeping his voice steady. "And I think it's about time you leave."
Orin looked away from the plant, directing his full attention to Seymour for the first time. His gaze bored into Seymour's eyes as if to challenge him.
Seymour accepted, staring back with an unyielding firmness in his eyes. His legs started shaking, knees wanting to buckle. But he stood strong.
A smirk crept onto Orin's face. He diverted his gaze to look Seymour up and down before reconnecting with his eyes. Seymour couldn't tell if he was sizing him up, or checking him out. Either way, he felt a blush threatening to overtake his face.
"Yunno what, kid?" Orin said after a moment of silence. "I like you. What'd you say your name was?"
"Uh, S-Seymour Krelborn," he stuttered, straightening his posture.
"Well, Krelborn. I'm Orin Scrivello. D.D.S.," Orin walked towards Seymour, pulling a business card out of his leather jacket. "You see, I'm a dentist. You should stop by sometime."
"O-Okay..." Seymour stood still, unsure of what to do.
Orin stopped, his face just centimeters from Seymour's. "Say 'ah'."
"Uh..." his mouth fell open out of confusion more than obedience.
Orin narrowed his eyes with a tut. "Just as I thought."
"What?" Seymour asked in anxious concern.
"Your mouth's a mess, kid," Orin's left hand found its way onto Seymour's cheek. Orin's thumb pulled down his bottom lip. Nail scraping against his tooth as Orin pried his jaw open. Seymour stood silently as Orin's eyes wandered, exploring the inside of his mouth.
"You've got cavities." His thumb slowly travelled down to Seymour's chin, resting under his bottom lip which missed the pressure the thumb had applied.
"You've got plaque," Orin's eyes narrowed as the fingers on Seymour's cheek gently guided his head to the side. It took all of Seymour's willpower to not melt at the touch, for his knees to not buckle under the physical affection he hardly ever received.
"You're impacted." Orin's thumb pushed hard against his jaw as his head turned the other way. Seymour let out a strangled cough to avoid any other unholy noises escaping his open mouth.
"You're abscessed." When Orin's lips parted slightly allowing his tongue to peek out of the corner of his mouth, Seymour knew his face must be bright red. The intensity in his eyes alone was enough to make Seymour's heart race and breath quicken.
"I am?" He managed to spit out.
"You'll need a complete oral examination," Orin's free hand wormed its way onto the back of Seymour's head. As he spoke, his fist closed, pulling on Seymour's hair.
"Oh I'd start with that wisdom tooth right there." His grip tightened, bordering on painful. "I'd rip the little blighter outta your dirty mouth and-" he released Seymour's hair. "I'm getting ahead of myself."
He removed his left hand from Seymour's face and placed the business card in Seymour's shirt pocket, giving his chest a light pat. The feeling of Orin's firm warm touch lingered long after his hand had retracted. "Whatdya say you come down tomorrow? I'll be gentle."
"I-I'm sure you will." The words barely managed to escape his quivering mouth. His hand reached up longingly to where his cheek stung from the absence of Orin's tender touch.
Orin walked towards the shop door, but paused before opening it. "You'll stop by. Won't you, kid?"
Seymour hoped his face wasn't red. "Y-Yep? Yes! I, I will..."
"See you around, Krelborn." As the door closed behind him, Seymour's lungs ejected a breath he didn't realise was being held hostage.
From behind the counter came a whisper so quiet he could barely hear it. "I-Is he gone?"
He jolted a little, having forgotten Audrey was in the room. "Yeah, you can come out now," Seymour fanned his face, not wanting Audrey to see how flushed he was.
The first thing she did once she got up was leap at Seymour, almost knocking him to the floor with a bone crushing hug.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She squealed in delight.
"It's really no problem," he said with a hint of amusement in his breathless voice. "Audrey, you're choking me here!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," she loosened her grip, but didn't let go. "No one's ever done anything like that for me before!"
"Really, Audrey. It's fine," Seymour released himself from her grip. "That's what friends are for."
"I've never had a friend before."
"Me neither."
Audrey pulled Seymour into another hug. He tried to enjoy the hug, but something was bothering him. He couldn't help but feel like Orin might be a little- No. He couldn't be. There was no way. But the way he touched me- No. He was just projecting. Just being hopeful. But as Seymour searched for a heterosexual explaination, he was lost. He had a gut feeling that Orin was a little... yunno.
"Hey, Audrey," Seymour lowered his voice despite no one else being around. "Audrey, I think he- I think Orin. He might be a little..." He subtly limpened his wrist.
"Oh..." Audrey's face scrunched up as she tried to process this information. "No. No. He couldn't- Well... Maybe? No. No?"
"I know that's a lot to take in."
She didn't reply for a good minute. "Hey Seymour. Do you think you could find out for sure?"
"I-I dunno if I should Audrey," Seymour lowered his head. "I'm not sure if my guess would be accurate."
"Why's that?" Audrey innocently asked, not understanding the implications of Seymour's previous comment.
Because I want him to be. "Because... W-Well, uh..." he struggled to find an appropriate answer. "I- Your relationship with him. It would cloud my judgement."
"I mean, you had such a good judge on the people outside."
"But those were just strangers. Just guesses!"
"You're right, I shouldn't ask that of you. You've already done so much for me," Audrey paused. "But if you wanted to... Do you think you'd be able to tell?"
"I... I dunno Audrey. I guess I could," he pulled the business card out of his pocket. Turning it around in his hands, he examined it. "Well, I have been meaning to get my teeth checked for a while now."