Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

"It's because you have the focus of a fruit fly," he scolded, before taking the celery and knife in his hand. "You have to be patient. If you honestly don't want to help, you can wander right back down to Hell, huh? I really do believe you have the ability to be a good person, like Azaiah. You can change your destiny, you know? That's what I always told Laura, when we were younger. I still think you're a terrible person, Makai, but I think you can change that. If one demon is willing to stay with a priest, despite the consequences, you can get the power to learn how to cook."
 
"I think there's a difference between him and me. He's not... anyone special-- he'll admit that himself, won't you Azaiah? He can mix in with humans because he's not used to the life I've had. You can't honestly expect me to cook, especially not for a Bishop who I'd honestly love to see go a little insane-- whatever. I said I'll be on best behaviour. Just stop assuming I can blend in like Azaiah. There's a huge difference."

"In fairness, he's not really wrong, I guess. I'm... not really... special," smiled Azaiah, having briefly been caught off guard by the sharp comment but, before his hurt could be seen, he covered it up with a nonchalant grin. Despite being with Ivan, he still harboured a hell of a lot for Makai - he had been his best -and only genuine- friend since they were children, and then they had been one another's first boyfriend. In Azaiah's case, Makai was his first and, for a long time, his only boyfriend. He still meant something, which was why hearing the casual disregard from him stung. "Hey, this smells great, anyway. I'm sure your buddy will like it, Ivan-- I don't really want to be sat at the table with him, though. I'll end up saying something rude and I know this is kinda important for you, ain't it?"​
 
  • Like
Reactions: saturnia pavonia
"I mean, yeah. I'm not going to force you to stay down here, either of you. If you two are really that disgusted with him, which is silly since I'm a priest, and just a few rungs lower on the ladder, then my feelings won't be hurt. It's a bummer, sure, but... I mean, it's okay." He muttered, while offering a smile. "I'll have plenty of leftovers, so it's not going to be a waate. We'll be eating beef stew for a few days straight, actually."
 
"In my defence, I'm pissed at him for reasons other than him being a Bishop. He fucked Laura behind my back. I think that's the main reason why I hate that bastard-- but you still want to sit down at the table with him and shove a homemade meal in front of him. Like hell am I going to sit upstairs and miss out on this. I want him to see my face. He knows who I am and he knows what he's done. Why would I miss out on that?" He argued, though, despite his temperamental attitude, he did return to cutting up the vegetables as neatly as he could, to show that he could be behaved and he could do as told. He wasn't... comfortable with it, but he could definitely do it.

​
 
"You said yourself you had an open relationship. It's a bit sexist for you to be okay with having sex behind my sister's back, but not letting her do the same thing? I'm beyond disappointed that the Bishop did what he did, don't get it twisted, but he's not the one who hurt my sister, he only hurt me. I'll have a proper conversation with him, as most people do. You're too emotional, at least in the negative sense. If you really want to stay, I don't want a single word from you." Ivan scolded harshly, before stepping back once all the ingredients were properly set in, grinning. He prided himself in his cooking, and to know the demons were helping? It was cute.
 
"Not even a single word? What if he asks me questions? Do I just sit there with a smile and ignore him? I think I'd look like a weirdo, don't you?" Makai questioned, being deliberately awkward and rather enjoying himself in doing so. He liked teasing Ivan because the priest didn't have it in him to ignore him without a word in response, and a little teasing here and there was fine in comparison to what he could be doing. At least, that was what he was going to argue if Ivan took him up on his teases - would he prefer the jovial jokes, or the manipulation of his town again?

"I just want to ask him some questions-- I can wait until the meal is over, if that helps. It's not sexist of me, by the way. If she had just told me that she wanted to sleep with someone, I'd have been fine with it. I'm not a jerk. It's just the fact it was all secretive-- and a fucking Bishop? Come on..."​
 
  • Like
Reactions: saturnia pavonia
"You wanted to have sex with me, Makai. I'm a priest. Your wife's brother." He emphasized, before moving to properly set the tables, "I'm honestly offended that you're being such a hypocrite. Look, let's not talk about this, huh? Let's talk about how long you're going to be here. I ain't rushing you, because it's my job to be hospitable, but... I don't know if I can trust you to stay here awhile and make a mess of my town again."
 
"I don't plan on leaving for a long time. Why would I leave? To go where? I enjoyed travelling while I had Laura. Newsflash: I don't have her anymore since I decided she was useless," droned Makai indifferently, ignoring the faint frown that automatically appeared at having to refer to Laura. If he didn't love her at some point, he would probably have done something to her he'd have later regretted. Not murder -he didn't do that, regardless what Ivan thought- but a little emotional manipulation, at least.

"You like me being here, Ivan. Don't deny it. I light up your otherwise boring world with a little fun and unpredictability," he reminded, overtly smug in his delivery as he collapsed back on one of the chairs at the table. "You can't hate me. Sure, I'm a demon and whatnot, but you clearly have a thing for demons. You two are going to have sex soon. As if you could resist Azaiah's apparently devilish good looks..."​
 
"I would never go that far, Makai... Sorry, Azaiah." He murmured, with a genuine frown of apology. He wanted to have sex, sure. There were plenty of nights, long before the demons decided to show up, that he dreamt of having proper, heated sex. Of course, he would pray those thoughts away every evening, alone. The priest wandered to the living room to turn on the fan and proper jazz music, wanting his home to be welcoming to the Bishop.

"I don't want to talk about sex, o-or anyrhing like that right now. If I'm being honest, I would love to be able to have sex with both of you, but I would rather dedicate my life to God and Azaiah. I've already sinned enough."
 
"You'd love to have sex with me-- Oh, why do I sound surprised? Of course I know you want sex with me. Look at me, I'm sex on legs, right? That's what Laura said-- though that's inappropriate. She's your sister, I respect that. Even if she's a fucking whore who I'd love to drag to Hell and torture for eternity. Is that childish? It sounds petty, but god, it'd feel so good. I do like a splash of revenge here and there," laughed the man, the casual mention of torture contrasting reactions with Azaiah, who, instead of responding joyfully, cringed a little at his boyfriend's comments.

"You didn't mean that, you said it just to appease him, didn't you? Course you did, he's... he's a jerk who doesn't shut up. You don't really want to have sex with him, aha... a-anyway, I... I'm going to go in the bath, I think. I won't ruin this dinner for you," responded Azaiah the moment the bell was run, watching Makai delight in answering the door. "...I'll speak to you later, I think-- I'm not mad! Gosh, no. I'm-- tired, that's all! Tired..."​
 
Taking Azaiah's hands before the demon could leave, he offered a quick kiss before the Bishop made an appearance. He knew that the whole sex thing may have seemed a bit... bad, but he didn't want Azaiah to feel even more self-conscious than he knew he already felt. Hopefully, the quick kiss was at least good enough to reassure him for awhile. He then sighed and wandered to the door, pushing Makai out of the way, and offered a smile as he opened the door.

"Hello, Your Grace! You came in just on time, I just finished cooking and prepping. I hope you don't mind, but I have a few people over. I have my brother-in-law, and a close friend, so don't be afraid if you hear some rustling upstairs."
 
"Yes, well... It's your home, you're entitled to invite who you want," answered the Bishop as calmly as he could manage, but it wasn't entirely easy to hold back from a nervous grimace when his eyes landed on the supremely smug Azaiah. He knew him, of course-- and he knew that Makai was aware of what had happened. Of course it made the man nervous. He had broke his religious vows by having sex, and to have the girl's husband stood beside Ivan? Arden was uncharacteristically anxious as he wandered in, fiddling with his fingers in an effort to cope. "...This is your brother-in-law. I... did briefly meet him, a few days ago when I arrived into the town..."

"Ivan's aware of our meeting. I told him every second of our encounter, didn't I, Ivan? He found it all interesting-- enlightening, really," smiled Makai as he poured out a glass of wine for himself. "But we'll wait until dessert to talk about that. Ivan probably wants to talk about some religious crap, right?"​
 
"Makai, be respectful." He scolded flatly, his patience having already been practically nonexistent with the man. Nonetheless, he tried to smile back at Arden, preferring to treat the whole situation as if everything was completely fine. "I... I would definitely like to talk to you about that, but it is our job to not hold grudges over one another, right? That is one of the most important rules in our practice, after all. Let's just enjoy a nice, homecooked meal. I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable knowing that my sister's husband made it, sort of."

With a feigned excited clap, he led the man to the kitchen table properly before plating the stew. After all, even with the tension, he was proud to have made a pretty delicious stew with the two demons. In a strange, confusing way, he saw it as proper bonding. With his finest dinnerware, he carefully took his own seat before offering his hand in prayer.
 
"Uncomfortable? Why would it make me uncomfortable, Ivan? What a silly statement. I... I like your sister, and, while I didn't get properly acquainted with her husband, I still rather like the man-- let's just say grace and enjoy this meal you've so graciously prepared--"

"I won't be saying 'grace'. I think I'll spontaneously combust into flames if I did so. You two carry on, I'll watch," said Makai, slowly watching the Bishop grow more anxious by the second as he stumbled onto the realisation that both the men he was sat with know of his... indiscretions. For Makai, watching the human grow ore uncomfortable as seconds ticked by was the best form of amusement he could ask for - he just hated that he was witnessing it alone, without Azaiah. He may not like the demon dating Ivan too much, but he didn't like knowing his best friend was upstairs, alone and upset. It didn't... sit too well, but he was admittedly too delighted in watching Arden to focus too much on it. "Come on, say 'amen' and let's eat already, Ivan. I'm starving. You don't keep someone like me waiting for food, I thought you'd have known that."​
 
With a not-so-subtle roll of his eyes, he quickly murmured a prayer, all the while squeezing the Bishop's hand harder. He was disappointed by both men at this point, so giving a bit more pressure to the other's hand wasn't the worst thing he could do.

"Please enjoy the meal. We all worked really hard on this, and I don't want this situation to make the food taste poor. Please ignore my brother-in-law, though..."
 
"You had no trouble ignoring me when you fucked my wife, so I'm sure it'll be real easy to ignore me now. I don't like being ignored, especially not by a hypocritical asshole-- I was going to wait until dessert, Ivan, but look at him. He deserves a good punching," groaned Makai under his breath, though still with the same wide, delighted grin on his face. Seeing him somewhat jovial was much better than having him angry and fuming. He was likely to lose his human appearance if in some uncontrollable fit of rage, after all.

"I-I never did that. It's all a horrible misunderstanding, I assure you-- this all looks amazing, Ivan--"

"Why don't you tell him about Azaiah, Ivan? He's sinned far more than you have, I think you're in the clear. You'll both have dirt on one another that neither one of you can risk revealing," shrugged the demon as he piled his plate hungrily with food. "I'd like to see you and Azaiah out in the open-- it'll cheer him up, and given you've pissed him off, I think he needs something to perk him back up, huh?"​
 
His face ignited in a mix of anger and bashfulness as he nibbled on a chunk of carrots, his eyes locked on it warily. He knew he was on equal, if not lower, levels than his superior, but that didn't mean he couldn't be uncomfortable bringing it up. Much like he assumed Arden felt, he had spent years of his life trying to appease a high standard of living. To break that standard was embarrassing, to say the least.

"Makai, I'd rather not have this conversation during dinner. You understand our circumstances, and... it isn't appropriate dinner talk." He scolded lightly, while his southern drawl made an appearance.
 
"I'm trying to help you out. He slept with my sister, you want to sleep with me-- and Azaiah, of course. He has a boyfriend, upstairs. Clearly you can't say shit about that, because, unlike you, Ivan's too committed to do anything other than a kiss. He's not gone as far as sex, but he could if he wanted to-- eat up, Bishop. I think we've sorted this awful mess out now." Makai said happily, delighting in the silence that had fallen over the table as he reached for the salt. "...Tell you the truth, you're welcome to Laura. She's not my wife, not when I get the divorce finalised at some point. See, Ivan? Everything's fine and dandy now, isn't it? Want me to go and fetch Azaiah? He deserves to eat some of this, it's delicious."​
 
"Makai!" He snapped, his face now beetroot in embarrassment as he shyly covered his face. Everything he said was true, sure, but that didn't mean he wanted to admit it, especially not in front of his superior, even if said man was far worse than himself. With a soft whimper, he peaked up at the Bishop shamefully, before motioning the demon to leave.

"Go... Go and get him. This is terrible, Makai. Why... Why do you ruin everything?! Look. I'm... I'm done talking about this!"
 
"I thought honesty was the best policy? Wouldn't you rather tell the truth than continue lying? Like, I'll happily admit that I find you cute. Isn't it better hearing that than being oblivious?"

While Makai finished his smug babbles and wandered upstairs to fetch his friend, Arden topped up his wine glass and, with a cough into his hand, finally dared to bring his eyes back over to Ivan. "...I didn't... think it would stay hidden for years, I knew I'd pay the repercussions for doing something like this, but every man is prone to sin. I... suppose I didn't have as strong a character to reject it as I'd have liked-- that man I met earlier, in the church, is your... boyfriend? It's very smart of Makai. I can't exactly have you fired when you know what I've done. It appears we're in the same boat, doesn't it?"​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back