Chapter Text
It starts simple, innocently even.
“Tighnari.” Cyno says to get Tighnari’s attention. Tighnari tilts his head backwards as he sits on the couch with a textbook in his lap and Cyno is standing behind him. Tighnari’s ears press against Cyno’s bare stomach as he looks at his roommate upside down and Cyno snaps a picture. Tighnari blinks as the flash blinds him briefly.
The camera whirrs and spits out a picture. Cyno pulls it out and drops the still warm photo, it flutters down to land on Tighnari’s horticulture text. He walks away after, also dropping the camera onto the other end of the couch as he goes.
Tighnari shakes the picture to get it to develop and watches as a pretty decent picture of himself is revealed. Not bad. Maybe not worth the bright spot still swimming over his vision when he closes his eyes but, not bad.
A chime from Tighnari’s phone catches his attention and he looks up from his work that he’d spread across the library table. Alhaitham glances up at him briefly with an annoyed look but Tighnari ignores it as he swipes his thumb over the screen. He taps the email notification on the lock screen and his ears fall limply as he reads the First Warning email from the university.
“What?” Alhaitham asks, not bothering to stop writing.
“I… need to make a payment on my tuition.” Tighnari says, putting his phone back down on the table and sighing heavily.
“Right now? We just started.”
“No, I was supposed to make it last week.”
“Then do it.”
“I don’t have two thousand mora just lying around.” Tighnari snaps, pressing his hand to his forehead as a pressure headache starts behind his eyes. Alhaitham finally looks up from his work and fixes his intense stare on Tighnari.
“Then withdraw, or start an OnlyFans. Just let me know ahead of time if I have to take on the entire project myself.”
“God, you’re such a dick.” Tighnari groans.
“No, I’m pragmatic.”
“ I’m pragmatic, you’re bordering on sociopathic.” Tighnari picks up his phone and unlocks it, tapping around until he opens his bank account. He has just over twelve hundred mora right now.
“You’re a biology major, you don’t know shit about sociopathic tendencies.” Alhaitham picks up his own phone from the table and he busies himself with it for a second. He stands up and extends his arm to show Tighnari his phone screen. “Hybrids like you make mint on this, you can sit around and lament about it or you can get off your ass and do something about it.”
Tighnari frowns as he scans Alhaitham’s phone and sees a top ten list of The Hottest OnlyFans Active Right Now from a clickbait news website and over half of them are men and women with animal features like his. He looks past the phone screen and levels a look at Alhaitham.
“Are you coming on to me?” He asks.
“Fuck no.” Alhaitham sits back down, locking his phone. “I like my partners to be obedient. You’re annoying, pretty face, annoying though.”
“Thanks.” Tighnari says flatly.
“Do you have the outline done yet?” Alhaitham says to end the conversation.
“I’m short by eight hundred mora.” Tighnari says, getting a sinking feeling in his gut. He holds his phone in front of him and watches the pixelated version of the top half of his dad’s head.
“Well, surely more than that, you still need to eat.” Tighnari’s dad sighs, weary, and it makes the sinking feeling infinitely worse. “I will ask the bank for another loan.”
“No, Dad…” Tighnari says.
“Yes. It’s the only option, you must finish your school.”
“I… I’ll look for a job.”
“We’ll figure it out. I have to go, the bank is going to close here soon. I love you baba.” Tighnari’s dad waves out at Tighnari.
“I love you too.”
The call disconnects.
Tighnari scrolls through OnlyFans as he walks across campus, chewing on his bottom lip in thought. Maybe he could try- there’s no harm in trying.
“Tighnari!” Gorou says as he comes out of nowhere and bumps into Tighnari’s side. Tighnari grips his phone tightly so he doesn’t drop it and his tail flicks out in irritation. “What are you looking at?”
Gorou gets a glance at the screen before Tighnari can lock his phone and the brunette’s eyes widen.
“You down bad?” Gorou asks, both of his fluffy brown ears turning towards Tighnari in attention. Tighnari's ears flatten against his head and he shoves his phone in his pocket.
“In a way.” He mutters. “Not in the horny way.”
“Wait wait- what?” Gorou grabs onto Tighnari’s sleeve so they stop walking and face each other. “There is only one way to be down bad.”
Itto steps up beside them and they both turn to look up at him.
“Who’s down bad?” He asks.
“Tighnari is.” Gorou says.
“I am not!”
“That’s the only reason you look at OnlyFans.” Gorou insists.
“OnlyFans?” Itto repeats, confused.
Tighnari makes an annoyed sound in his throat and rubs his forehead again as the headache gets worse.
“What’s going on then?” Gorou asks.
“Nothing- I’m just weighing all my available options okay?” Tighnari says, and Gorou’s eyes widen again.
“Are you going to… make content ?” Gorou whispers theatrically like he was saying something lewd and Tighnari watches him start to blush.
“You really do not need to know that.” Tighnari responds.
“I have an OnlyFans.” Itto says as he smiles smugly. He nods and crosses his arms over his chest. Both of the canidae look at Itto at the same time. “Yep! Fitness pics for thirsty patrons. Genta really has a talent for getting that angle of the dangle if you know what I mean. Hey, you want me to send him over to your house?”
“No.” Tighnari says firmly. Gorou’s face drains of all color.
“Angle… of the…” Gorou looks off into the middle distance.
“Hey, if you want some advice ol’ numero uno Arataki ‘The Thirst Trap’ Itto’s got your back. First, you have to get a shirt that’s one size too small-”
“Look-” Tighnari says, cutting Itto off. “I appreciate that you’re going out of your way like this but for one, I highly doubt that would work with me as well as it probably works with you and two, I am struggling enough as it is and I’ve got a huge headache- I have to go.”
“Heard you loud and clear little buddy.” Itto claps his large hand on Tighnari’s back and makes the smaller man cough. “Ixnay on the porn-ay.”
Itto gives Tighnari an exaggerated wink.
“Let’s go Gorou, the gains are callin’.” Itto bends and picks Gorou up, throwing him over his shoulder. “Let me know what your handle is, I’ve developed quite the discerning eye for soft boy tail pics.”
Gorou just slumps over Itto’s shoulder, his tail hitting Itto in the head as they leave.
Tighnari spends hours making diagrams. He draws different compositions of possible photos in one of his notebooks like he draws specimens of flora in his Botany essays. He scrolls through other hybrid profiles and finds a pattern in the poses they make, drawing arrows to clarify what his facial expression should be. He’s meticulous about it. If he’s going to do it, he’s going to do it right.
He should get a collar, those are always popular. Eyeliner too, maybe blush to make him look more vulnerable.
Tighnari taps the end of his pencil against the notebook as he contemplates if he should make an effort to hide his identity.
He makes a list of possible handles and settles on Verdant304, it was unique enough but didn’t stand out too much. The number doesn’t mean anything personal to him and his hair is green. Simple. Tighnari sets up the account, submitting pictures of his ID and deciding to take some pictures while he waits for approval.
Tighnari sits on the couch and lifts his phone up to get a top down angle. He shifts and pulls the oversized t-shirt he usually wears as pajamas down so the wide neckline drops down to expose his shoulder. He takes pictures but they’re just not right.
Cyno comes out of his room, yawning wide and scratching his stomach. Tighnari ignores him, lifting his phone up again to try and get another angle. Tighnari hears the crack of a can opening and Cyno comes over to the living room.
“What are you doing? It’s three a.m.” Cyno asks before he takes a sip of his soda.
“Taking a picture.” Tighnari responds, “For OnlyFans.”
He’s still not getting the outcome he wants and he huffs in frustration. Cyno steps forward and moves the lamp that Tighnari has pointed directly down at him to a different angle.
“Give it here.” He says, holding his hand out. Tighnari looks up at Cyno and raises his eyebrows in question, but he hands him his phone. Cyno puts one knee on the back of the couch behind Tighnari and lifts himself up to get more height, he angles the phone slightly and then snaps the picture. He drops the phone in Tighnari’s lap and sips his soda again. “Done. Go to bed.”
Cyno turns and leaves Tighnari in the living room, closing his bedroom door behind him.
The picture is really good actually. It’s a great angle that makes his bare thighs the focal point, his tail pressed against one side of him.
Tighnari knocks on Cyno’s bedroom door. It’s a Wednesday and Tighnari knows that Cyno’s Wednesdays are free.
The man in question opens the door and fixes his stern stare at Tighnari.
“Yeah?” He asks.
“Are you busy?” Tighnari asks, looking over Cyno’s shoulder to see his computer on and Genius Invokation TCG on the screen. Cyno is shirtless, as usual when he’s home.
“Why?”
“... Can you take another picture of me? The one last night was really good.” Tighnari asks, lifting his phone.
“Uh- yeah if it’s quick.”
“I’m ready to go now.”
Cyno takes Tighnari’s phone and they go out to the living room together. Cyno goes to the kitchen and drags one of the chairs out from the dining table and puts it against one of the brick facades in their living room.
“Sit here.” He directs. Cyno goes to the window and opens the curtain wider as Tighnari pushes his sweatpants down and gets in the chair. He shifts a little, pulling at the middle of his shirt to hide his underwear as he kicks the sweatpants to the couch.
He hears the shutter click and he looks at Cyno surprised. The shutter clicks again.
“I wasn’t ready.” Tighnari says as Cyno hands him his phone back.
“Yeah you were.” Cyno walks back to his room and Tighnari finds himself staring at the way Cyno’s pajama pants hang off of his hips.
Tighnari looks at the photos and… they're really good; just like before. The sunlight brings out the green in his hair and tail and he looks shy as he pulls his shirt down, like he’s not wearing underwear. The second one has him looking surprised, his lips just barely parted and his ears standing at attention.
Maybe Cyno’s talent was wasted in Law.
“What’s the deal with Cyno anyway?” Albedo asks and he pushes Tighnari’s phone across the table back at him. Albedo is really the only person Tighnari trusts to show the pictures and get an honest opinion. That’s what best friends are for.
“There’s no deal,” Tighnari says with a half shrug. He thinks about his roommate; about how Tighnari watches him lift his school bag every day when Cyno leaves the house to see the strain in his forearms. “His sister knows my dad and they set up the apartment for us, it's kind of a thing where we’re from? Everyone just kind of knows everyone tangentially. We get a tin of Honeyed Dates from his sister every once in a while. I didn’t know him personally before school started.”
“You’re both from Sumeru?” Albedo asks as he closes the notebook he was writing in and takes off his glasses. He folds the arms and sets them down on the table. Tighnari nods.
“He’s in Law. He’s pretty serious about it.” Tighnari says. “He’s serious about everything though, he always looks stern but that might just be his default setting.”
“Resting Bitch Face, I can relate.” Albedo says with a rueful little smile.
Tighnari snorts a laugh.
“But I dunno, he washes his dishes and doesn’t leave his clothes on the bathroom floor, that’s all that matters.”
“And he takes really good pictures of your skinny thighs.” Albedo says, shrugging one shoulder.
Tighnari’s tail twitches at the slight and he wrinkles his nose. “They’re not skinny, not everyone can be Mona Megistus.”
“I don’t want to be Mona, I want to be her tights.” Albedo snaps his fingers and with a spark of geo energy the blank paper for Tighnari’s notes alchemises into a warped piece of sheer fabric.
“Your form is getting better.” Tighnari says as he flicks the fabric across the table with the end of his pen. “But you have a better chance at turning lead into gold than a chance with her.”
“Turn your head.” Cyno directs, his voice firm and even. Tighnari follows his order and tilts his head slightly but he keeps his gaze on the little lens on the back of his phone. Cyno hums to himself and kneels on the floor just in front of Tighnari while the fox leans back against the kitchen table.
From this angle, Tighnari can see the focused look in Cyno’s orange eyes.
“You have something on the front of your shorts.” Cyno says and Tighnari looks down.
“What? Where?” Tighnari dips his hand between his legs to feel along the inseam of his shorts and Cyno snaps the picture. Heat rushes into Tighnari’s cheeks when he realizes and Cyno snaps another picture when Tighnari glares at his roommate.
Cyno stands up and puts Tighnari’s phone on the table.
“You-”
“You’re welcome.” Cyno says before Tighnari can pop off and retreats back to his room. Tighnari gets off of the furniture and takes his phone back into his own room.
His profile was approved, he could set his price and start posting his pictures now. He’d already done the math, he wasn’t going to get what he needed from subscriptions, he needed the money by the end of the month and with the calculated reasonable growth he wouldn’t get there. Tighnari was going to have to try and get donations and tips.
Tighnari sits down at his desk and his ears twitch in nervousness as he sets up his account. He goes through his notes, he touches up the lighting and-
He uploads his first set of pictures.
Once the upload complete notification pops up, Tighnari locks his phone and crawls into bed quickly, his tail flopping over the edge of the single bed and he stares at the wall in the dark. He doesn’t feel as regretful as he thought he might, but that might change.