Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

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"Yeah, well, I guess I'm far more suited being up here with you and the gals at the church anyway. I'm far too nice for a demon, aren't I? Probably a huge disappointment to Makai's family, but oh well. I don't necessarily care if I've disappointed them, because I'm pretty happy for a supposed 'failure'," he drawled happily, squeezing the other's hand back lovingly in response, and onyl pulled away when the food came, only registering his hunger again when his pizza was placed down in front of him. "...Hey, this is real authentic, huh? Nothing like the ones back in Georgia."
 
"Oi, there ain't nothing wrong with Georgia pizza! It's those Florida ones you gotta avoid," he defended, before moving to nibble on the pizza. While the whole aura of the restaurant was beyond pleasant, a part of Ivan slowly grew paranoid. Everything was just... too perfect. He was happy, and unafraid to be affectionate with his boyfriend. The food was good, the wine was nice, and he was on vacation for the first time since moving out of their mother's home.

He hid his anxiety well by taking a sip of wine, hiding his frown with the glass as he rubbed Azaiah's knuckles. "This is all... too nice, don't you think?"
 
"Too nice? How can anything be 'too nice'? You're starting to sound paranoid, hon. This is a vacation, it's supposed to be nice," reminded the demon, a brow arched in response to the other's ramblings. If he was honest, he had been on edge and almost prepared for something to go wrong, but he pretty much convinced himself that even Makai wasn't that much of an asshole to leave his kids just to mess with Ivan, Azaiah or Laura. For all his flaws, he loved the twins, and Azaiah figured (or at least, hoped) he would focus and prioritise them.
 
"I know, but he's a cruel man, Azaiah! Don't you think he could come in, kids in tow, and just... fuck everything up?" He blurted, deciding to keep his PC language and whatnot on hold whilst on vacation. Who cared? He was going to Hell, obviously, and he didn't want to pretend to be some perfect, angelic piece of shit for a week.

"Ain't it better to be prepared, rather than have our guard down so he can swoop in and ruin our trip? I'm not gonna focus on it too much, just... keep it in mind?"
 
"I'll keep it in mind, sure, but I don't think even he is that reckless. He's an asshole, but he's... he's really not as bad as his father. I'm not totally defending him, but if he was like his father, we'd both be dead-- hell, we'd have been killed months ago. I guess I'm thankful he's at least got a little conscience, because it's what's kept us alive, you know? That, and the fact he's some sadistic jerk who likes taunting us."

Saying all that, and trying to convince himself more, even Azaiah grew more worried, especially once seeing how confident the other seemed to be about something going wrong. Everything did seem far too nice and it was extremely strange not to deal with something going wrong for them. "...Look, let's keep it in mind but not dwell on it? I want to enjoy my holiday."
 
"Yeah, yeah. I want to be super calm and chill for tonight. I want to have a nice, romantic moment, then wake up to birds chirping and a nice plate of... what's an Italian breakfast thing, crepes? Have a nice plate of crepes and a fine glass of wine," he insisted, before taking another heavy sip to calm his nerves.

"I love you, and you're the main focus! Some stupid demon like him ain't gonna ruin something I've worked so hard for." He grunted, slamming his fist down in anger. "Fuck him."
 
"Take it easy on the alcohol, alright? I... you don't seem to be handling it great, and I don't want to have to carry you back," he lightly teased, even if his smile was pretty much forced. He didn't at all care that Ivan was having fun and letting loose, but he didn't really want to see him cause some commotion by speaking loudly and punching the table. "Just... calm it down a bit, alright? And stop swearing, maybe? You always tell me off for it, I'm obviously going to return the favour~"
 
"I''m sorry," he whispered, immediately slinking into his seat wearily. "I'm just- I want to do stuff I couldn't do at home, I guess I've just got a lot of pent-up stuff I gotta get out, y'know? Swearin' is one of them," he insisted, his Southern drawl emphasized by his light buzz.

"I'm sorry, seriously. I mean, you can do whatever you want, too. That doesn't mean we should go and run amuck. Ok, it's your job to make sure I don't go too crazy, alright?" He insisted, before lightly bumping the other.
 
"Hey, get drunk if you want to do that. Just... I know what you're like, and you'd be mortified in the morning if you did anything embarrassing or that caused a commotion, you know? So let loose, totally have as much fun as you want. I'll just... be real boring and keep it in check, I guess."
 
"Am I really that bad?" He whimpered, his lip quivering. "I wont have another drop. I dont want to ruin this for you, either. I mean, it's YOUR vacation, too."

Biting his lip, he slid the drink over with a weak smile. It wasn't much of an apology, but it was something at least. "I love you, alright?"
 
"I mean, it'd be helpful if you didn't sound so paranoid? Just... forget about Makai and all of that, because I want to be able to enjoy a week without panicking and preparing for the worst," he casually shrugged, trying not to fuss over the other's emotional state, knowing full well it'd only get the priest more upset, and he wanted to avoid making a scene. Admittedly, that was hard when his boyfriend was tipsy like this. "Just eat your pizza, dummy~ I'm not mad or anything, and hell, you aren't even that drunk. It's cute, I guess. Not the whole banging tables and angrily snapping, but just seeing you enjoy yourself is cute."
 
"I said I'm sorry," he insisted quietly, before moving to set his hands neatly in his lap, especially at the table banging comment. "This is good wine, at least. I bet you could drink bottles and be fine, yeah? I only get a sip of wine every Wednesday and Sunday," he reminded, though offered an apologetic smile.

"Finish all of it for me, then. I'm pretty weak willed, how terrible of a priest am I? I mean, I fall for a demon, get drunk, I've been to Hell! That's pretty bad..."
 
"Can you just stop with the belittling? You're not at all like that-- you know how I feel, I don't really need to say it. Look, how about you order us some dessert, some of that tiramisu stuff, and we can get back on track, right? I'm just going to find the toilets, so just... I don't know, motion a waiter over and just point at the menu? It isn't ideal, but I'm sure he'll understand. He said tourists visit all the time, so he should have a little grasp on English."

As Azaiah got up from the chair and offered his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek before heading off to the bathroom, the sole figure at a neighbouring table peered across at Ivan curiously from behind his menu, and once making sure Azaiah had disappeared, made his move across to the table to sit opposite Ivan with all the confidence in the world. He may be a complete stranger, but he perched on the chair as casually as anything, tapping his black-painted nails against the table with a slow smile pulling at his lips.

"...Ivan, right? Gosh, I'm so rude just bursting onto your little dinner date like this, but it was either this or knocking on your hotel door later, and that seems more intrusive," the man laughed, resting his face on one hand while the other continued to tap away at the table. He didn't even appear that old, in truth, maybe around 19 or 20 at the most, though easily had the confidence of someone twice his age. He was sat in a restaurant in Vatican City, probably surrounded by a tonne of religious folks, but it didn't stop him from putting on a little glittered eyeliner and walking around with bubblegum pink hair.

"I'm obviously not Italian, I don't think that needs disputing," he continued happily, as though talking to a longtime friend. "...I was listening in on you, is that rude? i mean, of course it's rude, what am I saying? Mind if I have some wine while we chat? I haven't had a good glass of wine in, like, an hour now."
 
With his eyes locked on Azaiah, he only turned around in shock once the stranger took a nice seat besides him. The figure was far too outspoken, visually, for him, nor did he know anyone who just happened to live in Vatican City. He was a bit buzzed, and initially looked confused as he tried to go through the list of people he possibly knew, but he soon reached the somewhat slowed conclusion that he had no clue who the other was.

"Uh... hello?" He replied, a brow raised as he adjusted the collar of his cheesy, Hawaiian shirt. "Do I know you? I mean, you probably know Azaiah, don't you? This is going to be just another weird interaction that I don't need on my vacation, and something bad is going to happen." He insisted, clutching the neck of his wine glass tight.
 
"Hm? Oh, I'm not here to, like, gun you down or massacre you. Far too messy. Have you seen what I'm wearing? This shit cost me a thousand dollars, I'm not getting blood and guts on it, doll. I mean, sure, maybe I know Makai and maybe I also know he's freaking the fuck out down in Hell right now, but I don't associate with him. He's an ass, isn't he?" Smirked the other as he calmly grabbed Azaiah's half-full glass of wine to sip gently at, knowing better than to guzzle it down. Where was the grace in that? Dabbing his mouth gently, to not ruin the layer of lipgloss he'd earlier put on, he offered another bright grin in hopes of at least showing the other he wasn't a threat. Hell, given he was a demon (that much was obvious at this point), surely he was to be recognised as someone to be trusted after insulting Makai?

"He knows you and Azaiah are here, by the way. It's why he's freaking out. He isn't coming, don't worry! I just thought I'd pop along, pay Azaiah a nice visit, meet the troublesome little priest who stole his heart~! I mean, I hope it at least brings you some pleasure that you're making Makai miserable just by vacationing here-- he wouldn't dare step foot in this city, so you're pretty safe, darling. He's too chicken to come here."
 
"I'm not an idiot, there must be some other reason you're here," he insisted, as he angrily glared down at the wine. With his free hand, he pulled the cross he hid beneath his shirt, just in case. After all, he had lost trust with all demons outside Azaiah... though, that should have been the case to begin with. They were demons, after all.

"So Makai knows we're here? At least he'll leave us alone. I want us to have fun, and I don't want him anywhere near us. I don't want YOU near us, to be honest."
 
"Well, ain't that rude? I thought you were a good Southern gentleman, that's what I heard about you. It's really disappointing that you're not welcoming, especially when I've shown you no reason to be a bitch to me. Very judgemental, aren't you? Gosh, I came primarily for Azaiah. If you don't want to believe me, that's your problem, hon, but I'm not going to leave unless he tells me to leave," responded the other with a purse of his lips, a little taken aback by the attitude he faced. Perhaps it was naive of him, but he had thought that everything would go swimmingly and that Ivan would be open and chatty-- and the fact he wasn't only made the demon pout further. He was used to people liking him-- hell, loving him, so to be faced with someone who clearly didn't was annoying.

Fiddling in his pocket for his small mirror, he held it up to examine his makeup-- though it was a mechanism that helped him avoid the awkwardness he suddenly felt. "He's my father, I thought I ought to pay him a visit. I'm sure he'll tell me to fuck off now he has a perfect life here with you, but hey, you can't fault me trying, right?"
 
"Father? Azaiah is a father?" He blurted, as he shot a glance at the bathroom door in horror. "That's... Really? That can't be true. When? With who? God, I..." he stammered, his own fingers now tapping against the table, his eyes locked on it.

"Oh boy, a-aha... I never really expected to have children, though I guess it isn't too surprising. He's had sex with other people before, obviously, long before he was with me. That's pretty stupid of me to think otherwise, Makai did say he was a bit of a flirt. Who could blame him? Look, you're being honest with me, right? I don't want this to all be a lie so my week can be ruined."
 
"...I didn't know you were doing some cute holiday thing-- I'm totally not against him being with you, by the way. I'm cool with that. I just wanted to confront the guy and see how things are. As you can probably tell, I'm a huge disappointment to him. He hates my mother, hates that side of the family-- hey, you've met my Mama, right? Minerva? She and my auntie Primrose sort of dragged you down to Hell a few days back, which I don't think was real cool of them. They took my Dad too, right? My Mama was just pissed off, she gets like that. It's probably a short person thing, she's so hot-headed or whatever. That's what uncle Makai says, anyway," babbled the boy as he slapped the mirror shut and, presumably satisfied with how he looked, rested his head back on his hand with a glance over the other, taking the time to examine just what his father might see in the human.

"I'm not like them, by the way. Clearly I'm far more stylish than that side of the family will ever be, for a start-- Look, I'll come back when you guys aren't having some romantic getaway. Azaiah's avoided me all my life, I'm sure he doesn't mind avoiding me for another week. He'd prefer seeing me without all this makeup on anyway, he hates that a lot."
 
"No, no. I mean, this is more important, right? I know how it feels to not see a family member for years, so... I mean, it's just poor timing, but I can always spend the rest of the vacation, yeah?" He reassured quickly, his mood switching only seconds later to the usual, priestly behavior. Yeah, this man may be a demon, but he cared about Azaiah just like any human.

"What's your name, then? If you're sort of like an unofficial step-son to me, I'd love to be able to at least understand this whole mess? Obviously, you seem to know my name, then, through poor circumstances..."
 
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