Wide Eyed

Karau taps his fingers against the table, staring at Jonathan who’s chatting on the phone with one of his friends. Chris? The demon didn’t quite catch the name, but he knows whoever the boy is talking to is someone special by his body language. He seems relaxed and content, when before his posture was wrought with tension.

It makes a flare of jealousy rip through Karau and he slams down hard on it. For hundreds of years, he was taught humans are nothing more than slaves for demons; sexual and otherwise. The fact he wants to shield Jonathan from the bad things in the world makes Karau want to tear out his hair in frustration or kiss the human senseless.

Sometimes he wonders what would be worse, letting Jonathan live an average life and watch him fall in love with another human, or giving in and showing just who Jonathan belonged to.

Karau flicks his gaze over to the television, where a woman talks about something or other. Jonathan called it news, but Karau calls it boring as fuck. Cracking his neck, Karau runs a hand through white tresses and leans back against the couch. He hears Jonathan talk for a few more minutes before the human hangs up the phone, and he tilts his head back to look at the latter.

“How’s what’s-his-face doing?”

“Chris is doing fine. He and Halley are planning a roadtrip across the country.”

“Is that so.”

Jonathan arches a brow at the demon and tips his head. “You sound so disinterested.”

“I don’t care about humans and what they do; I was making conversation as you humans call it.” Karau smirks and can’t help the emotions rolling through his stomach whenever Jonathan smiles back and blushes a bit. “You promised me food, remember? Get off your ass and let’s move already.”

Jonathan rolls his eyes. “Yes, my child.”

Karau snorts as he leaps over the couch and rests his arms around Jonathan’s shoulders. The human squeaks in surprise as Karau’s hot breath ghosts across his ear before he pulls away and gives Jonathan’s black-and-white hair a russle.

“Child huh?”

“...I stand corrected,” Jonathan mutters as he nibbles on his lower lip. “Let’s get your food!”

“God, finally. I was beginning to fade away.”

“Fuck off,” Jonathan throws back as he pockets his apartment keys. “Glamor yourself and then we’ll go.”

“Fine, fine.” Snapping his fingers, Karau’s eyes go white, pupils rounded, and ears round as well. “Now can we go?”

“Yeah yeah.”

***

Food is an interesting endeavor, to say the least. Karau eats like a horse and stuffs as much as he can in his mouth, while Jonathan goes for smaller portions and takes his time. The pair got some people looking at them with arched eyebrows, but Karau shuts them up by giving those who stare a small smirk and glare.

“Must you always scare people?” Jonathan questions as they make their way to his car. “I thought that one woman was gonna shit herself when your eyes glowed.”

“Hah! That’s the fun of it. Scaring humans is second nature to us… demons.” Karau says the last word in a hushed tone, and Jonathan rolls his eyes, a sigh dripping off his lips. “What next?”

“What next? We go home and you behave,” Jonathan quips, turning his head and grinning at Karau. “Unless you had other things in mind?”

“Me, behave? You’re hilarious.” Karau narrows his eyes at Jonathan’s word choice. “What are those “other things”?”

“Oh, nothing,” Jonathan teases. Karau clips him upside the head and the latter utters, “Ow, what was that for?”

“Because you’re annoying.”

“...I’m annoying. You’re more annoying than me!”

Karau snorts and leans back in his seat. “Just drive.”

“Yes master,” Jonathan complains, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the parking spot.

Master. Karau shudders a little at Jonathan’s word choice. Back in the demon realm, humans call demons their masters, and did whatever their lord wants them to… sexual or otherwise. Chewing on his cheek, Karau remains silent as Jonathan drives, gripping the dashboard.

“Yo, you okay?” Jonathan asks when they get to a red light. Karau looks at him and he gasps a bit. “Oh… shit. Sorry, I forgot.” Reaching forward, Jonathan grabs Karau’s hand and lets his warmth seep through skin. “I gotta remember not to say that word.”

“It’s… fine, you damn idiot,” Karau mutters, feeling himself calm. The light changes and Jonathan continues to drive, but he never loosens his grip on Karau. A few minutes pass before Karau comes back to himself and he snorts. “With all this hand holding, you’d think we were a couple or some corny shit like that.”

“Oh shut up,” Jonathan grumbles, letting go of Karau’s hand and rolling his eyes. “Want me to leave you to your own devices next time?”

Karau shakes his head and pats Jonathan’s head. “Nah, I know you’ll bring me back every. single. time,” he teases, laughing when Jonathan smacks his hand off his head. “You’re kinda cute at times…”

“I’m sorry, what?” Jonathan eyes Karau through the corner of his eyes and lets out a puff of laughter. “Was your food drugged?”

“Human drugs don’t work on me. You know that.”

“I’m making a joke.”

“I know.”

When another red light hits, Jonathan smacks his head against the steering wheel in exasperation. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“You love me anyway,” Karau quips, patting Jonathan’s head again. This time he sits there, sighing in annoyance. “Green light.”

Jonathan sits up and shakes his head before starting to drive again. Karau blinks, confusion coursing through him at how lethargic Jonathan’s acting. “Are you alright?”

“...I’m fine…”

“Bullshit.”

Jonathan clenches his teeth, fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white. “I just felt a bout of nausea, that’s all. Honestly. I’m okay.”

“You could lie to measly humans, but not me,” Karau says harshly. The demon can feel something is wrong with Jonathan; not just physically, but his aura is strange as well. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Karau kneads the muscle in a way to soothe the latter. “Did you want to stop?”

“N… No. We’re almost home,” Jonathan whispers, voice pained. It worries Karau all the more when the human winces and bites his cheek. “Besides… since when were you so concerned about me?”

“Since now, you stupid brat.”

“Hah…” Rain begins to fall from the sky as Jonathan pulls the car in the driveway. “Concern doesn’t suit you.”

Karau’s about to retort, but the words die on his tongue when he feels another presense. A demonic presense. He tries to bat it away, but it’s too late - a tendril of pure malice slams through Jonathan’s shoulder.

He screams in pain as it twists and tears muscle, breaks skin, and shatters bone. The tendril disappears in thin air as quick it came and Jonathan slumps forward, breaths heavy as blood coats his clothes and seat.

“What the fuck?! Jonathan!” Karau slams the car door open and moves to the other side, grabbing the human and dragging him out. The rain is heavier now; it soaks through Karau’s flimsy crop top and pants as he pours healing energy into Jonathan. “I swear, you son of a bitch, if you die on me, I’ll kill you again!”

Jonathan lets out pitiful, pained sounds as Karau continues to reconstruct muscle and bone. His face contorts and scrunches, heavy pants escaping from between his lips as his uninjuried hand moves. Karau wastes no time; he grabs Jonathan’s fumbling hand and squeezes.

Whatever the tendril was, it did significant damage. Karau realizes it’ll take a lot more to fully repair what it did to Jonathan. Grunting in annoyance, the demon carefully lifts Jonathan and carries him in the house.

“Ungh… K… Karau…”

Bright blue eyes automatically flicker to look at Jonathan. His breathing isn’t as heavy, but it still comes out shaken and choppy. Karau sighs as he sets Jonathan on the couch and smooths back his bangs.

“You’ll be okay, brat.”

***

It takes a lot of magic to repair the damage. Karau leans his head back so it touches Jonathan’s leg and lets out a heavy sigh. Since coming to the human world, his magic isn’t as strong as it used to be. Exhaustion seeps through Karau’s bones and makes his eyes flutter, but he refuses to sleep; not until his little human wakes up and tells him he’s okay.

Wait a minute. “My” little human? Karau runs a hand through his hair and groans in irritation. “Seems you’ve worked your way in my heart, you fuckin’ pest. Ugh.”

There’s a rustle above him, and Karau tilts his head back further, smiling faintly when Jonathan’s eyes flutter open. “Mm…?” When he notices their position, the younger man’s cheeks turn an interesting shade of pink. “Ah! K-Karau, what the-”

“You almost died, you damn idiot.”

“Wait… what?” Jonathan looks around, confusion bleeding out of his body. “When did we get in here?”

“...You don’t remember? Strange.” Karau yawns and makes a motion with his hand. Jonathan scoots over so Karau can sit next to him, and the demon rests his head against the latter’s shoulder. “I poured every bit of magic I had into saving your sorry ass. You better be grateful.”

A hand tangles itself in his hair and Karau lets out a content sigh. “I am. Thank you… but I don’t know why you saved me.”

That wakes Karau up faster than ten cups of coffee. Narrowing his eyes, he stares at the human, who simply shrugs at the disbelief in the other’s eyes. “Why wouldn’t I save you?”

“I dunno…” Jonathan tucks a stray hair behind his ear and chews on his lower lip. “Maybe because I don’t deserve to be saved?”

“Where the fuck did you get that idea?”

Jonathan fiddles with his hands and gives Karau a bitter smile. “I’ve done some not-so-great things in the name of getting drugs. I should have gone to prison, but Chris took the fall for me. Everyone’s always been saving me and… I should pay for what I’ve done.”

Karau sighs when tears stick to Jonathan’s eyelashes before dwindling down his cheeks. Reaching forward, he wipes them away with the pads of his thumbs, and leans back against the couch. “By that logic, I should be dead too.”

“...Why?”

“Before you summoned me to this world, I also did some terrible things. I fought against every demon that came my way. I slept around and hell, even ended a few relationships because I wanted someone and I didn’t know how the fuck to stay away.” Jonathan tips his head, eyes twinkling with wonderment, and Karau rolls his eyes. “We all do shit we aren’t proud of. You should be thankful you’ve had people to protect and save you against what could have been bad.”

Jonathan lets out a puff of laughter. He wraps his arms around Karau’s muscular frame, burying his face within the fabric of Karau’s crop top, and simply inhales. Karau, in response, chuckles warmly and runs his fingers through Jonathan’s hair. “Ya know? You saved me by summoning me.”

“Wha?” Jonathan lifts his head to gaze into Karau’s eyes, confusion heavy in his own. “You, the great Karau, needed saving?”

“Hah. Hard to believe, huh? But yeah.” Karau’s fingers idly play with the human’s hair. “Before you summoned me, I was on the verge of being sent to the void.”

“The void?”

“It’s an empty place. You float around and never die, doomed to exist eternally in a place worse than Hell.” Jonathan gasps and tightens his arms around Karau. The latter snorts and shakes his head. “So I can’t go back there. You’re stuck with me, you brat.”

“I have no complaints,” Jonathan replies. “So I guess we’re even now?”

“If you want to put it that way.”

The unlikely pair sit in silence for a stint before Karau lifts Jonathan’s face up. Jonathan’s eyes glimmer with naked want, and damn it, how could he have not seen it sooner? Maneuvering them so they’re in a more comfortable position, Karau leans down to press his lips against Jonathan’s.

Jonathan lets out a noise of surprise. However, it soon melds away as he throws his arms around Karau’s neck and deepens their kiss. How could I have denied us this for so long?

Karau is the one to pull away. A smile tugs at his lips when Jonathan looks at him, flushed and lips swollen from kissing. Unable to help himself, Karau leans forward to softly kiss Jonathan’s forehead, to which the younger man stutters in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry.”

“Eh? What are you sorry for?”

“Denying you - us - this for as long as I have.”

Jonathan laughs quietly as he pokes Karau’s forehead, the latter’s face scrunching up at the movement. “Relax, it’s fine. It just takes near death experiences to knock some sense into you.”

Karau grabs Jonathan’s hand when it moves away. Bringing it to his lips, he presses a kiss against Jonathan’s knuckles. And when he looks up, seeing Jonathan’s eyes wide and cheeks brilliant red makes Karau let out a puff of laughter.

He pulls Jonathan close and smiles when he nuzzles his face within his neck and sighs. “No matter what, I’ll protect you against whatever dares to harm you. And if I can’t, I’ll make the bastards regret it.”

Jonathan kisses Karau’s neck as he laughs softly.

“I know.”