Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

"See, I don't understand why I have to talk to her at all. She knows I don't completely love her, she knows I've lied to her for two years straight, and she realises I'm at fault for the city's downturn in fortunes. What do I possibly have to talk to her about, honestly? We could be having a nice drink in a nice bar, all three of us, yet you persist with this? Really? Fine, only for the kiss," sighed Makai, unable (or simply unwilling) to hide his frustration as he buckled in his seatbelt and calmly instructed Azaiah to do the same. "If this is some grand ploy to kill me, or injure me, I'll kill you both before you have a chance to hurt me. I like you a lot, Ivan, and Laura's sweet enough for a human, but I won't hesitate snapping your necks if this is a plan to kill me and get me out the picture. I'm paranoid, but given who my father is and the many demons who would love to see me dead, I think my paranoia's warranted."​
 
"I have an oath to hold, Makai, and killing is something incredibly frowned upon," he replied simply, before glancing back towards Makai with a frown. "I want you to talk to her and explain the whole divorce. I don't want you just disappearing without getting a proper, legal document that she doesn't have to deal with you no more. Now, just... We can do that, I can explain the whole 'kiss' thing, and that'll be it. We can continue our lives, while you two can run off to... I dunno, wherever you want. It's a bit rude to take Azaiah with you, to be honest. We could have been good friends...'
 
"Oi, who said I'm leaving? I told you, I'd be glad to stay. I don't want to travel with Makai, he'll ditch me for someone prettier or someone more inclined to drink all night and have sex all day. I'd rather stay and help clean up the church 'til it's looking all fancy again," promised Azaiah from the back of the car, his sincerity earning him a fierce -but ignored- glare from Makai. After all, losing Azaiah and coming second to him in terms of who Ivan preferred simultaneously pissed off the man who was so used to just getting what he wanted, and in instances when he didn't, he fell silent like a petulant child.

​
 
Noticing the petulant expression, it was hard to hold back a smile as the priest drove on past the wreckage. "... So, Azaiah, do you bring this whole chaos, too? Because I'll be pretty bummed if you stay and more people begin to die, o-or hurt people. My town is more important than my own feeling of loneliness." He admitted softly, before sighing heavily once returning to the cozy home- the only home that seemed to match the image on every Macon brochure.
 
"Oi, I take personal offence to that. Not all demons are sadistic assholes like Makai. I only came to bring him home, but I'm pretty normal, alright? I just want to hang out with you, chill up here awhile, relax away from the constant screaming down in Hell. It's honestly awful, sometimes. Like, I know people are being tortured for the wrong decisions they made when alive, but jeez, they don't have to scream all the time... Oh, cute home!" Azaiah beamed, indicating in that moment just how full his mind was. He flitted from one subject to another, seemingly without realising how fast he spoke or how quickly his thoughts transpired and new ones arose. "Am I allowed in, then? Like, Makai has this super important talk with your sister, I don't wanna intrude--"

"Please come in, I can't be left alone with Laura. I might lose my temper and crack her neck, because I'm a monster, aren't I, Ivan? A monster you'll be kissing real soon, by the way, and hey, if you want to fuck me after it, because you realise how amazing I am, I'm up for that," coolly smiled Makai, his petulance overshadowed by his charm as he simply abandoned the two and strolled into the home to get it over with, leaving Azaiah awkwardly watching him leave. He was supremely jealous of Makai, after all. The man was handsome, charming and said what he wanted to without caring about the consequence.

​
 
Shooting a glance towards Azaiah, he attempted a smile towards the demon before climbing out of the rusty truck. A part of him was jealous of his naivety, though now wasn't the time to really reflect on that. Instead, he motioned the man to follow suit.

"I hope you don't mind dogs. My dog is pretty big, and might scare you, but he's probably more afraid of you than anything..." he reassured quietly.
 
"Oh, I love dogs. Makai's got, like, seven dogs-- well, hellhounds. He sort of abandoned them, though, so I've looked after them all. I'm real good with dogs, it'll be fun! Maybe, if you do die and end up down in Hell for whatever reason, you could come see the hellhounds with me? Even if you're, like, ninety years old and ancient, we'll still be buddies," he promised with his now notoriously naive smile, trudging after the human and eyeing every little detail of the cosy home with nods of appreciation. "It's real nice. My family live in a literal shed, it's pretty shit. This is like a palace compared to that."​
 
Peaking into his home, he awkwardly stepped around Laura and Makai, desperately avoiding their conversation to escape to his bedroom. He wanted the two to finish what they were doing, kiss Makai,and try to return to normal life as much as possible. With Azaiah, he at least had someone to talk to in the meantime.
 
"Things seem heated. You sure this was a good idea?" Asked said demon as he wandered past the domestic scene, noticing Makai's eyes flamed in fury-- and it took a lot to get the man angry. Decidedly ignoring it, he wandered up the stairs after Ivan, forcing himself to smile and shake off the tense atmosphere. "Whatever, we can hang out until that's over with. I'll sleep on your couch, by the way-- unless you don't want me to crash here. I can find a hotel or something, that's cool too."​
 
"It's... fine. I have no problem stepping in if needed, but I think the two should talk to one another alone for a bit, like adults. If I hear anything get bad, I'll step in. I've just... never been a fan of yelling, so I'd rather avoid that whole mess," he admitted quietly, as the large dog snored peacefully on the bed. Taking a seat besides him, he glanced towards the demon warily. "You can sleep on the couch, sure."
 
"Don't look at me like that, I'm really not a threat to you. I'm... not out to hurt you, alright?" He sighed, retreating from his excited venture into the bedroom when seeing the wary look shot his way, Tiredly sitting on the edge of the bed, he instead offered a more tight-lipped smile and fiddled awkwardly with his hands. "...Anyway, your sister's real pretty, from what I saw of her. I can see why Makai liked her, she seems nice."​
 
"She can be pretty awful, you know? She's nice, I suppose, but she doesn't really know what respect is. I practically raised her singlehandedly when we left our mother, and she sort of went wild in protest. I understand, I suppose, but you're more respectful to my faith than she is, and you're a demon." He explained, his fingers nervously entwining as he locked his eyes on his dog. "I guess it's just what normal teenagers do, you know? They run off, fall for handsome men, make poor decisions... I wasn't really allowed that, since I was raising her, but I don't mind."
 
"I've had my own teenage rebellion, I get it. When I was about, like, 16, Makai and I ran off from home against his father's demands and lived in this little cave for a week, so I get the teenage rebellion thing. I mean, I had to go back, because going against Makai's dad is pretty suicidal. I think I'd be dead if Makai hadn't vouched for me and told everyone he forced me to go-- he's not that bad a guy, by the way. He's a jerk, but... he really cares for me, and he does like you," he reminded, even if that certain point was probably a waste of time uttering. After all, Makai had made it beyond obvious that he liked Ivan, with his constant flirtation and desire to kiss him.

Flopping to the bed and petting the dog's head with a bright smile, he kicked his shoes off and fully relaxed, under the impression that Ivan -thankfully- trusted him enough to at least be in his presence without worrying too much. "You are going to at least give him a kiss, aren't you? Hey, don't go liking him, alright? I'm... flattered you prefer me, to be honest. Makai's handsome. I'm just... barely cute."​
 
"Don't say that," the priest scolded firmly, while offering a shy smile. What Ivan knew about love was mostly based on what he saw at home, Or the internet, /9 it wasn't very surprising that he was a bit flustered talking about the men. "You're both honestly gorgeous. You act as if you're below Makai, but I disagree. Yeah, he's very,,, chiseled, but he's an awful person. That's what matters to me, you know?"
 
"Oi, I'm chiselled too! I'm not Makai, but hey, I'm not that bad, am I-- sorry, I forget you're, like, a priest. You don't really like all this flirtation, do you? I mean, the kiss was really nice, Ivan, but I promise, if you let me stay, I won't be flirty or beg for kisses like Makai. I'm not even that flirtatious a person, I just... I see Makai do it, and he's brilliant, so I thought, hey, I can do that too," he began to babble, nibbling along his thumbnail and smiling in order to try and introduce some confidence into his expression, though, by now, it was relatively obvious that Makai was someone he held in high regard and practically idolised.

"Makai's a big deal, you don't have to pretend he's not. Like, I get he's so handsome and charming, I've known him since we were little kids-- but he abandoned me, so I'll happily abandon him for awhile. Hey, once the church is up and running again, I can help you with sermons and stuff, right? I get I'm a demon, but I like your church, it's pretty and cosy."​
 
"You think so?" He beamed, whilst smiling wide. "That- Azaiah, you don't need to do that. I-I mean, won't it hurt you? Touching things and whatnot? And, I mean, we need people to come first..." he insisted, hoping to get his mind off of the yelling downstairs. "That's sweet, you know. I mean... I-I'D be willing to kiss you in the future, if you wanted me to...."
 
"This... wasn't some sneaky trick to convince you to kiss me, I genuinely want to help out, but I won't say no if you wanna shower me with a few kisses in secret," he grinned in delight, having assumed that, after seeing Ivan's panicked reaction after their last kiss, he wouldn't get to experience it again, especially after the news of him being a demon properly settled in. To now be offered the possibility of some intimate kisses with him, while Makai was left completely out of the picture, cheered the usually self-doubtful demon right up.

"Hey, I can wear gloves or something to hand out Bibles, I guess? I'll find a way to help out. Just don't go splashing holy water at me, that shit will burn right through my skin-- Makai said it'd be agonising, and I'd rather avoid all that."​
 
"Maybe I should keep a proper vial around my neck, then. Just in case, you know? I don't know if anyone else from your kind will try and cause havoc. I'd rather that not happen, eh?" He offered, hoping to at least come off as cool and whatnot as he moved to tug his legs up on the bed, and ran his fingers through Buddy's ear carefully.

"... I really hope you aren't pulling what Makai is. I don't want to make a friendship just so you can manipulate me or something... I mean, not that I don't trust you, of course. I'm just nervous, you know? Look, I... I might go down, see if everything has been figured out."
 
"Well hey, be careful down there. I mean, it's gone quiet, but silence can be ominous-- not that Makai would have hurt her, I mean... ignore me, just check it out," nervously smiled Azaiah, cutting himself off when realising he was straying into territory that made it seem like the silence downstairs was something to be concerned over, when, in reality, Makai would never be stupid enough to murder someone. He probably had it in him to, if he felt like it, but it would put make all his plans of staying on earth redundant.

However, while Azaiah wasn't expecting a bloodbath, he really wasn't expecting the two to have fallen silent because they had embraced. Yet, downstairs, the scene was that typical of a married couple in love, with Laura sat on the demon's lap and returning the heated kisses he offered her. She was fully aware that he was a demon, and even if she wasn't, the colour change of his eyes from blue to red was a major giveaway.

Jumping back nonetheless when spotting her brother, she nervously smiled and got to her feet, shuffling from foot to foot as coolly as she could. "...Everything's fine, Ivan, I've sorted it all, alright?"​
 
"... Really?" He asked, while sighing in relief. Thanks to his already existing, overbearing personality and Azaiah's suspicious wording, Ivan was well prepared to lash out at Makai if he even saw the slightest harm to his sister. To see them making out passionately was a bit unsettling, and it somehow made him far more uncomfortable than it would be to see one of them covered in blood.

"That's, uh... Good. I'm totally glad you're back with him, Laura, despite what I've told you about him. I'm not surprised, to be honest." He replied, while hiding as much sarcasm and bitterness as he could. Makai lying to him was one thing, for his sister to know very well just how messed up the demon was, and to still want to exchange heated kisses? It was heartbreaking, to say the least... Though, not surprising.
 
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