I HATE YOU I LOVE YOU

Hesekiel had only performed one show at the circus before he was almost fired. He had been in a tent alone, and he hadn't associated with anyone. The failure of his show caused Stephan to almost fire him, until he realized he could still put Hesekiel to use.

That was how he got assigned as Merlin's 'assistant'.

With his luggage in hand, he begrudgingly moved to the tent which was clearly Merlin's. He knocked, with that expressionless expression on his face.

But of course, the artist sometimes known as Merlin Ceri Marquise Raine Ludomir Dracen Lewins but more commonly known as his stage name, The Amazing, Marvelous and By All Means Incredibly Fantastic Merlin Marquise, didn't hear it; he was too busy entertaining more girls than should really be inside of one tent.

"Who wants to see me pull their bra out of a hat?~" he asked flirtatiously, reclining on his bed like the pimp he totally was; Merlin was never happier than when he was surrounded by lovely women.

Thus, the door was kicked in and Hesekiel walked in as if nothing had happened. He took one look at Merlin and suddenly felt a flare of emotion. It was disgust.

He sat his luggage on the spare bed and sat down, staring all of the women down with his eery yellow eyes.

Finally, one woman spoke up.

"Merlin?"

"Yeah, sweetcheeks?"

"...Who's that creepy guy?"

"Guy?!" exclaimed Merlin, springing to his feet; when he noticed Hesekiel, he scowled.

"Look, I don't know if you're new, or whatever, but you're int he wrong place--this is my tent, so scram."

Hesekiel held up a note from Stephan which read simply;

Dear Douchebag Merlin Who Thinks I'm Not Pretty,
I made this scary guy your assistant. Also, those women have to pay for their time with you or they have to leave. I'm trying to make money, here.
Love, Stephan, The One Who Owns Your Ass

Merlin's frown deepened as he folding the note and slipped it into one of the girls' shirts.

"Ladies, hourly fee's due." After a chorus of "aww"s, the girls each dropped Hamiltons into a pimp-worthy top hat. "Thank you very much," he cooed, groping two of them at one time. He turned to face Hesekiel, his expression suddenly cold.

"So, I guess you sleep here, now. Which is unpleasant, to say the least, but I'll tolerate it. However, I'm entertaining womenfolk right now--to put it bluntly, you need to leave."

Hesekiel just stared at him, unblinking.

"It's my room now. I never leave." He informed Merlin, his voice impressively deep.

Merlin glared.

"I'm making money here--if you don't leave, the ladies will find the next part difficult, and that's rude."

"It's not my problem." He told him simply. With that, he reached into his luggage and retrieved a book, opening it to his bookmarked page.

Irritated, Merlin sighed.

"So, girls, who's first?" The room erupted into a chorus of squealing and raised hands; pointing to one girls whom he assumed to be a double D, Merlin invited her to join him on his bed.

"You can still leave!~" he called tauntingly to Hesekiel.

"I'm used to this sort of thing." He said casually, flipping the page in his book. Unfortunately, his time in that cult had gotten him used to a number of unpleasant things.

After five hours of boderline group sex, the girls left and Merlin reclined on his bed happily.

"Your fault for staying," he chuckled.

Hesekiel simply turned the page in his book once more.

"You're really terrible in bed." He commented, not even the hint of a smile on his face.

"...Excuse me?"

The man said nothing more. He did, however, put his book down.

"I'm talking to you," he said, louder this time.

"I said, 'you're really terrible in bed'." He repeated simply.

He dug through his bag until he found what he was looking for. Pajamas.

He snorted.

"How would you know?! With a face like that, there's no way you get any action. Besides, why were you looking? Don't tell me you're gay--I don't want to share a tent with a gay guy. I attract ladies, Lord knows how badly a man might swoon for me."

He stood up and stripped out of all of his clothes, doing so as slowly as possible, it seemed.

"I'm not attracted to anyone." He informed Merlin. "Yet, I still know how to truly please a woman."

Merlin felt his skin crawl at the sight of Hesekiel changing; it must be disgust.

"The issue is that you can't get one. And besides--I wasn't going all the way. I've never had an unsatisfied woman when I go all the way."

He pulled on his pajama pants and sat back down on his bed.

"You are good at coming up with excuses." He remarked, picking up his book again. "I'm going to read now, you should stop talking."

Merlin gave him the finger.

"I refuse to listen to you--you're the dumpy failure of an assistant here, not me. I can actually bring in money on my own."

He didn't bother responding. Though he couldn't help but falter as he turned the page to his book. He enjoyed talking to Merlin, getting him worked up was somewhat enjoyable.

After a short pause he said, "Are you positive you aren't compensating for something?"

"Compensating for what, might I ask?!"

He turned the page in his book, satisfied.

"You tell me."