Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

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"Don't speak to her like that, hm? She realises I'm not a bad guy, and we are married. Her feelings for me aren't exactly going to disappear in a few seconds. Besides, I haven't actually hurt anyone, or made anyone commit bad crimes. I've simply made them realise what they have always wanted to do, whether that be good or bad. I think it says more about this area and its influences if most people have illegal urges, don't you?" Muttered Makai from the couch, casually pulling Laura back down if only to stop her fidgeting, which had increased the moment she heard her older brother's discouragement. "Hey, you didn't like me pursuing you, Ivan, so you ought to be happy that I won't be paying you a tiny ounce of attention from this point on."

"I'm not... completely happy with Makai, Ivan, b-but he's... I love him. He hasn't hurt anyone," repeated Laura with a firm nod, peering between her brother and her husband anxiously. "I... I know you won't let him stay here, so we'll move, I guess. Back to California, o-or out of the US, I don't know yet-- you really need to realise Makai's a good guy, okay? He's a... demon, sure, but he's never hurt me. He loves me."​
 
"I'm just... shocked, mostly," he admitted, while wrapping his arms around himself. "For starters, you go on and make fun of me for my faith. When you eventually do believe me, and I tell you how he forced me to kiss someone despite my role in the church by threatening to hurt you, you simply shrug it off. Are you also not going to mention how he's affected the town? Someone killed themselves, Laura! People are getting raped, murdered, stealing, a-and you honestly don't care?! How... How selfish can you honestly be?!" He blurted, his face red in anger.
 
"He's still my husband, Ivan! You know, I can't expect you to understand. I'm not forgiving him completely, he needs to make it up to me, but I want to try and be happy! Is that really so much to ask, for me to want to keep my marriage together? And hey, maybe I'll do the unthinkable and have a few kids, to really piss you off," she declared just as angrily, albeit from the comfort of Makai's arms as the demon smugly sat back, his lips pulled into a smirk at the events playing out in front of him. He did feel he like Laura... though whether or not he was truly capable of love was debatable. In many ways, he was just using her passion for him to see how Ivan would react, because seeing the priest mad was cute.

"Mm, kids sound great," he cooed to her, contracting his earlier statement that it was his own personal idea of hell. He didn't want kids, not at all, but he could pretend to, to get Laura's approval and piss Ivan off even more. "Would you babysit for us, Ivan~? Even though my children would be disgusting monsters to you?"​
 
"I have spent my entire life trying to make you happy, Laura! While you were out getting drunk and skipping school, I was trying to balance taking care of us both. You lashed out at me, blaming me for all of your problems, and what did I do?! I let you do it! I let you break my furniture when you came home drunk, and I let you and your friends steal my stuff. 'Wanna know why? Because I wanted you happy. Then, you decided to leave town, leaving me alone to go to California, where you could live your dreams. You have never shown respect for me, even when I gave up everything for you!" He snapped, his fists clenched.

"Because of your husband, I am going to lose my job, the only thing I did to make myself happy- and you didn't even support my decision! The only reason I didn't just off myself was because I felt obligated to take care of this town, and now I have nothing! But, that doesn't matter, right?! I don't support a man who ruins people's lives and ruins my life, and I'm the bad guy!"
 
"I have spent my entire life trying to make you happy, Laura! While you were out getting drunk and skipping school, I was trying to balance taking care of us both. You lashed out at me, blaming me for all of your problems, and what did I do?! I let you do it! I let you break my furniture when you came home drunk, and I let you and your friends steal my stuff. 'Wanna know why? Because I wanted you happy. Then, you decided to leave town, leaving me alone to go to California, where you could live your dreams. You have never shown respect for me, even when I gave up everything for you!" He snapped, his fists clenched.

"Because of your husband, I am going to lose my job, the only thing I did to make myself happy- and you didn't even support my decision! The only reason I didn't just off myself was because I felt obligated to take care of this town, and now I have nothing! But, that doesn't matter, right?! I don't support a man who ruins people's lives and ruins my life, and I'm the bad guy!"
 
Staring at her brother in genuine horror, having expected far less than the outburst she received, even despite the circumstances, she forced back tears of her own and fiercely grabbed for Makai's hand as a physical display of where her loyalty currently lied. If he was intent on creating division from Makai, and essentially placing pressure on her to choose, she was choosing her husband-- she would have definitely debated the issue over, if she wasn't yelled at by Ivan like this. Granted, his words hit her and made her realise how shitty she had been, but predictably, she was too stubborn to own up to her faults, and, like always, preferred to run away from facing her past behaviour face on.

"I-I'm going now, unsurprisingly. Good luck with the town and all, it's pretty shit anyway, so don't worry if it doesn't return to how it was. It was never perfect," she muttered beneath her breath, calmly pulling on Makai's denim jacket once the man offered it to her. "H-Honestly, I'd rather live with a demon than my own brother, how sad is that?"

"...I'll be right out, okay? We'll walk to the train station," smiled Makai as he gently ushered the girl out the living room, before tutting loudly and turning his eyes to Ivan. "Seriously? Now look what you've done, I have to leave town with her. Shame, really. I wanted to stay and, you know, have sex with you. It was going to happen, it was unavoidable really-- but oh well, we'll be back in a year or two, probably. Laura loves you, you love her, this feud is pathetic and won't last long-- is Azaiah coming with me or do you have him under your command now?"​
 
His own expression of horror came when he finished his outburst, going as far as to cover his mouth. He had never been this angry, especially not towards his own sister, and while most of him was absolutely devistated by what he did, he would never admit that a small inkling of his was proud to finally stand up. He always saw himself as the strong one, while Laura was able to handle her trauma however she liked. Ivan realized that it was obviously planned by Makai after the fact, though he was a bit astonished at the moment.

"You are never allowed back into my home, understood? Laura... Laura is free to come home, but I don't want to see a single bit of you ever again, understood?" He replied sternly, once wiping the tears from his eyes. While his southern drawl may seem rather inviting and cute, it could be genuinely enforcing if need be

"I... don't know if Azaiah will stay. It's up to him, I ain't forcing him to."
 
"I'm not ever allowed back? That seems a little harsh. You like me, you just refuse to admit it because you think it's wrong. Relax, I'm going-- but I'll see you real soon when we return, and you will let me back in," he confidently promised after eyeing the human in front of him closely. As flirtatious as he was, though, he wisely chose against kissing him instead simply smirking to himself and making an exit through the door just as Azaiah gathered the courage to enter.

"You alright? I mean, Makai's actually... leaving. Shit, he's really going?" He blurted, staring after his best friend and frowning unsubtly at the realisation. He had been without him in Hell for two years, but that was his home. Being on earth without Makai around was a whole different story, but if Makai could be rebellious, then so could he, right? "...Oh well, that's fine! Hey, let's go get a nice cup of tea, huh? We're, like, housemates now, aren't we? I'll be way better than Makai. I'll clean up and I'll do chores and stuff."​
 
Once the door closed, Ivan felt comfortable enough to sit down and fully wipe the tears from his eyes. He remained quiet for some time, choosing to instead try and think of the proper response, though ended up with a simple shrug instead. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and he would much rather be in his bed sleeping. Though, thanks to his southern hospitality, he felt obligated to at least stay up and seemingly okay for Azaiah.

"I can make tea here, if you want," he offered softly, while locking his eyes on the soap opera. "I don't really feel like going out right now... You'll stay, right? I d-don't think I can fix what he's done alone, and it means a lot to me that you're willing to put up with me. I'll... I dunno, what would you want from me? You don't really need money, right?"
 
"Huh? Oh god, no. I don't need anything, just... your trust? But that has to be earned, and I plan on earning that, okay? So... hey, you go to bed, I'll fetch you up a cup of tea, alright? You look exhausted, to be honest, so go get some rest? I don't really sleep, so I'll just stay and watch some of this television stuff," admitted Azaiah as quietly as he could, thinking that his usually loud and upbeat voice wouldn't be welcomed when Ivan had just been through a fierce argument and some more of Makai's threats, however peaceful they seemed.

​
 
"I'm really sorry, about all of this. If it helps, you get a whole bedroom to yourself?" He weakly offered, though knew it probably wasn't much help if the demon didn't sleep. He only had so much to offer, especially now, but it was what mattered. Getting to his feet, with the blanket still wrapped around him, he moved to at least offer a quick peck on the other's cheek as a thank you. It wasn't as dirty as Makai's suggestions, but he knew it at least showed some appreciation.
 
"Really? Hey, you don't realise how great that is. Like I said, my parents lived in a tiny place, like a shed really. I had to share my bedroom with my whole family. Having one to myself is pretty damn amazing, actually-- you're pretty kind to me considering I'm... what I am and all. That's real nice of you," he admitted in his usually complimentary manner, eagerly returning the kiss on the cheek and having to physically hold himself back from pulling him into an appreciative hug. "Tomorrow, we'll go to the church and clean up some more, if you feel up for it? I'll volunteer around town too, see if I can help clean up for anyone else. I kinda feel responsible for all this."​
 
"Don't. You didn't cause this trouble, you only came to try and fix everything. It's sort of funny, you know? A demon is living in my house, attending church..." he babbled, while wandering up the stairs. He chose not to continue his thoughts, instead choosing that staying under blankets with the AC running was fine.
 
Settling down in front of the TV with a blanket tugged around himself, his hand easily cupped his cheek if only to confirm to himself that he hadn't imagined the kiss, because his mind did tend to often play tricks on him. He loved Makai endlessly, and always had, so to see him head off with Laura was gut-wrenching to say the least. However, having Ivan show these little pieces of affection towards him more than made up for it, and Azaiah could only really hope that they developed into something more-- though unlike Makai, he wasn't going to force anything, but let it develop naturally.​
 
Despite it having only been around four in the afternoon that Ovan had decided to sleep, he didn't wake up until ten the next day. He had gotten into proper pajamas halfway through the night, and donned slippers for extra comfort, though sightwouod be more than embarrassing for any other human being.

"... Azaiah? You here?" He asked meekly, not wanting to shout to thin air, and sat down wearily on an adjacent armchair
 
"Huh? Oh, yeah," came the tired and grumbled response of said demon who was practically hidden by the mounds of blankets he had taken from the spare room to pile onto the couch. He could have simply taken the spare room, as Ivan had insisted, but with Laura and Makai's things still strewn around (and probably would remain there now they had left in that hurry), he didn't feel very comfortable just bursting on into such a personal room and sleeping, hence why he was currently curled up on the couch among the duvets.

Discreetly poking his head out with a sleepy smile, he wrapped the duvet around himself as best he could, to protect his modesty, having decided to sleep in just his boxers. While he wasn't too shy about showing himself off, he felt doing so right now wasn't the wisest move. He wanted to be respectful and show Ivan that he was nothing like Makai, so making a clear effort to remain polite was important.

"Nice sleep, dude?" He asked with a loud yawn of his own, audible cracks of his bones sounding as he stretched out his long frame. "The couch is real comfy, you know? I think I'll sleep here, not the bedroom. Laura and Makai slept on that bed, it'd feel weird."​
 
With a sigh of relief, he offered his own halfhearted smile at the sight. He was expecting the demon to have run off after Makai, since there was no real reason for the man to stay in the small town in Georgia. He was thankful, of course, and the other's dedication was pretty heartwarming after what happened with his sister.

"I can clean the sheets, if you'd like. I'll donate their clothes to the shelter, and you can happily sleep in there. Those cracking bones don't sound too comfortable- do you even have clothes? Do demons buy clothes?"
 
"I have clothes, dummy-- they're just in Hell right now, and I'm sort of basically naked under here. I'll borrow Makai's clothes, I noticed he left a lot in the wardrobe upstairs, and we're more or less the same size," answered the demon as he rubbed the back of his neck, smiling off the notion of the bed... even if he was admittedly rather sore and cramped from his night on the couch. Sleeping in a bed, something he hadn't done for awhile, would be amazing-- but he wouldn't do that until the room was removed of all links to Laura and Makai. It felt like an intrusion, otherwise.

"What's the plan for today then, buddy? We going to the church again?" He asked curiously, shifting up to grab the glass of water he had prepared for himself during the night. "Because I'd like to get it cleaned up properly, and I can't really tidy the Bibles, can I?"​
 
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"Well, I planned on cleaning the house a bit. Laura was always a slob, and I'm not surprised that she hasn't changed that. I was gonna make breakfast first, though, and after we clean up, we can go to the church. I... I hope everything will return to normal, you know? I don't know how those powers work, eh? I just hope people will realize what they were doing was wrong..." he murmured, before reluctantly getting to his feet to start some eggs and toasts.
 
"It'll all be fine, I'm sure that it's like waking out of a deep sleep or something. I haven't really done anything like this before. You were the first human I'd ever met in all two hundred years of my existence, so I couldn't really tell 'ya what'll happen," admitted Azaiah as he wrapped a blanket around his lower half and trailed after his new friend, if only to keep company while breakfast was being made. He did like Ivan quite a lot, and simply sat with him would keep him content, even if nothing was said and they sat in silence. That was just as rewarding as a full-blown conversation, in many ways.

"She's still your sister, by the way, so don't insult her? I dunno, I haven't got good relationships with my siblings, so I guess I understand-- hell, you know Makai's sister tried to poison him? He doesn't even associate with his siblings, and he has a lot, so you're really not alone with the whole crappy sibling thing."​
 
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