Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

"I enjoy it, yes. And you've had thoughts, hm? Thoughts about me? I do find you amusing, Ivan. Just say what you want to. You find me, the son of the Devil himself, highly attractive and you want to have sex with me. Conceited or not, it's the truth isn't it?" Makai grinned just as smugly as ever, now leaning forward to press their faces up closer together, enjoying the proximity between them if his widening smile was anything to go by. "Just one little kiss, to test the waters. I've told you I won't hurt you, and I think you find me just as attractive as you did when you thought I was a boring human, to be honest~"​
 
"You're disgusting," he growled in response, his nails digging into the worn down wood, only to run his fingers through his hair to at least distance himself a tad between him and himself. After a moment, he glanced at Azaiah and exhaled harshly in defeat. If it meant that his sister and his town would be safe, he knew he'd at least have some salvation while probably being excommunicated.

"Fine. Are you happy? I'll kiss you, and you'll leave me and my friends alone, right? How do I know you'll keep that promise?" He asked, his tone unrelenting as he watched Azaiah critically, specifically.
 
"I mean, I-I never threatened your town, Ivan! I only came to get Makai back, I'm not, like, working with him to mess with you," began Azaiah nervously, biting on his nails and only stopping when tasting blood in his mouth from biting them too short. It was a habit of his, and right now, he would do anything to try and get the feeling of pressure off his shoulders. "I-I'd love to kiss you, duh!--"

"The offer wasn't to kiss him, dumbass. You kiss me-- we can have sex later, Azaiah, okay?" Makai grinned quietly, pecking the nervous demon's forehead in a rare show of genuine care and consideration. Having known the other since they were children, he was more than aware that the smaller man had a fair few issues with confidence and anxiety. In a way, it did make Makai slightly possessive of him, and letting him kiss Ivan, despite suggesting they all sleep together, would just incur jealousy. "I promise that I'll leave you and Laura alone, okay Ivan? Only if you don't like the kiss. If you repel it and refuse to kiss me again, then I'll leave. If you happen to like it, I don't see why I should leave and let you return to your boring life when you could be making out with me, hm~?"​
 
"I think I'd much rather kiss Azaiah, to be honest," he admitted, before warily beginning to munch on his now cold burger. He wanted to seem calm with the whole situation, after all. "He's nice to me, at least, and he isn't married to my sister. Now, um... how does this work? Just, here?"
 
"Yeah, so take that, Mr 'I'm-so-cool-because-I'm-Satan's-son'. He wants to kiss little old me. See? You have the looks, Makai, but personality counts too, and I'm not an asshole to him," beamed Azaiah happily as he almost instantly pushed himself across the table to tug Ivan into a kiss. If the priest was so certain about cutting off contact with him, then Azaiah was going to seize the kiss for all it was worth, just to ensure that his lasting memory of Ivan would be a good one. Besides, the fact the other wanted to kiss him did mean a lot. Being chosen over Makai was... well, unbelievable.

"Yes, well, you can stop now," mumbled Makai, hardly able to conceal his own disbelief and subsequent jealousy, even though he didn't know why he was jealous: was it because he didn't get to kiss Ivan, or because Azaiah was showing feelings for someone other than him? Or, potentially, a mix of both? "...Azaiah's not a great kisser, Ivan, don't get excited by it."​
 
While initially a bit startled, he was hit with a hard wave of sudden urges to desperately deepen the kiss. He had spent his entire life suppressing his feelings, and those were only heightened by the fact that he was a priest, and destined to force all of his natural feelings away. He practically forced the kiss to last longer by holding onto Azaiah's head. It wasn't until Makai spoke up that he awkwardly pulled away with flushed cheeks.

"Are you happy? Will... will you leave my family and friends alone?" He murmured softly, while avoiding both of their gazes.
 
"Oh, of course. I'll leave, considering you really seem to want Azaiah and I to leave. Shame, really. I would have loved to stay. What are you going to say to Laura? That I ran off with someone else-- or that I'm not human and caused chaos in your precious town? I don't suppose it's really my issue to be concerned about," shrugged Makai casually, finally getting to his feet and, seemingly, giving up attempting to convince the other that he, consciously or unconsciously, didn't want him to go. Desperately pursuing Ivan was becoming pathetically sad, and he was beginning to recognise that.

Though Azaiah wasn't, refusing to budge from his seat as his finger quietly tapped his bottom lip in recollection of the heated kiss. "I... I don't want to leave, I'm not a bad guy, Ivan! J-Jeez, do you really judge me because I'm not... human? I mean, g-gosh, I swear, I'm probably less dangerous than most humans, to be honest."​
 
"I would lose my job if anyone found out, you realize that, right?" He murmured quietly to the two, while watching Makai get to his feet. "If they found out I was making out with a human, alone, they'd have my head. Now, a demon? T-They'd... I don't know, they wouldn't be happy. Just- you and Makai have something."
 
Feeling just a little optimistic that, with a little persuasion, he could convince Ivan successfully to keep him around and engage in a few more kisses, Azaiah attempted to put on a more confident act. Admittedly, most of this was copied from Makai, hence why he suddenly sat back with the same pose Makai sat with. He didn't really pull it off as seamlessly, looking awkward and uncomfortable, but it at least highlighted his desperation to win Ivan over.

"Look, babe, you like me, don't you? That kiss was great, and I'd love to do it again," he drawled as smoothly as he could, his often energetic voice slowed to match Makai's deep purrs. All this behaviour was causing his friend to grin wide in delight. Not because he was flattered that Azaiah was copying him, but simply because it gave him something to tease Azaiah with for the next... well, thousands of years if he wanted.

"You really are a dickhead, Azaiah. You aren't me. You're not cool enough-- let's leave, Ivan doesn't want us here. I think he's a liar whose pants are on fire, but he knows where to find us if he changes his mind. The church is warm at night, isn't it Ivan? That's where we'll be sleeping for the next few days, so if you want us, come find us there~"​
 
"Aren't you afraid you'll get shot?" He snapped, while curling his fists in anger. "I mean, it isn't a very out-there idea, huh? If someone can blow their brains out, or burn it down, whose to say that someone won't come in and shoot up the whole place? Not like it would hurt you, huh? You guys aren't human, after all..."

As he spoke, Ivan's voice simply grew quieter in realization. He just kissed an actual demon. Something that movies would often make terrifying, beetroot red, with tons of horns and other intimidating features. Instead, he had been presented with drop-dead gorgeous men, one of which he just showed affection towards. His first reaction, oddly enough, was to begin to cry in his own disappointment, though he quickly wiped away his tears to try and avoid embarrassment.

"Fine, go. I'll make something up for Laura, or something. I'm sure she'll understand, I guess- she'll probably move back to L.A."
 
"Or you don't have to tell her and we can all be friends again? I get it, that's completely ridiculous-- but so is kissing Azaiah, and you seemed to adore that. You held him into that kiss longer than was necessary, but I don't blame you. He is cute, isn't he? Shame you won't have sex with us, Azaiah's surprisingly good at it."

"Do you have to constantly embarrass me? I'm trying to be his friend," snapped the other demon, shifting out the way to allow Makai out the booth, though refused to leave it himself, instead smiling brightly across at the priest. "We can be buddies, Ivan. I told 'ya, I'm not a bad guy, and... and I'll be at the church if you want to see me? I'll clean it up real good, alright? I'll fix the broken pews, clean up the blood, rearrange everything that I can touch without burning..."​
 
"Thank you," he murmured, before rummaging once again for money for the meal, and a tip. He refused to say much more on the topic, and instead wandered from the table to his car, alone. He didn't want to see the men who singlehandedly fall from grace.

As a result, while driving down the road, the temptation to crash his car and end his life was plaguing his mind. He was already fucked if someone found out, after all... but, he forced those thoughts away and trudged on into his house, frowning
 
And, just as he had left her, Laura was still cooped up on the couch watching her reality shows, though the ice cream she had been gorging had long since been finished. Unharmed and relatively comfortable, contrary to what Makai had suggested, her green eyes peered up at her brother casually, until seeing how pale he was and, combined with his shaky demeanour, she instantly sat up to inspect him properly.

"What is up with you? Did someone shoot their brains out again over your church? Look, dude, the church isn't being targeted, everywhere's pretty shit right now," she reminded in her own comforting way, patting the space on the couch beside her suggestively. "Come sit, doofus. Where's Makai, anyway? He left to go find you, you were taking ages and I... look, I got worried. It's bad outside right now, I thought you were hurt or somethin'."​
 
"No... No..." he replied softly, while shaking his head. Slowly taking a seat, he simply offered a shrug before offering a forced smile. "I'm, uh, fine. Great. Dandy. I just need some sleep- Makai met up with a friend, and they're at the church, so... do you." He muttered, before moving to sit besides his sister, sniffling. "How are you? Are you okay?"
 
"Better than you, clearly-- bro, you're not right. What's gone on? Has Makai been an asshole to you? He came in seething that you didn't invite him to help you at church, so he could have been a jerk, I suppose. Ignore him, he just cares about you," she attempted wearily, not quite sure how to comfort her brother when she didn't know what was wrong, but she had never really seen him like this anyway. He always seemed to have it together, a brave face painted on. He never looked vulnerable or frazzled, and Laura was finding it difficult to properly comfort him

"Look, want some news to cheer you up?" She grinned, nudging her brother with a faint glint of mischief in her eyes. "Makai wants to have a baby, and I know you were pressing us to have one, right? To play out in the garden and stuff. I don't really want one, but Makai's pretty passionate about it. I've always wanted a puppy, one of those cute corgis..."​
 
"Don't have a kid with him!" He blurted, his defeated form immediately becoming stiff, his face flushed. "D... Do what you want, for yourself! You don't need to go and produce a baby, you're young and free and whatnot. Laura, I know you, and I also know that you're awful at taking care of other things. Remember your hampsters? One ate the other because it was malnourished. Imagine a baby, yeah?"

Amongst his babbling, Ivan's face switched from pure white to beetroot red in a second, his internalized fear now projected on his sister.
 
"...See, now I definitely know Makai's done something to you. You wanted us to have a kid when you first met him, remember that? Now you suddenly hate the idea? Dude, that's fucking weird. I don't want a kid, relax. I was contemplating it 'cos Makai seems keen, but I don't think it's really 'me', so chill," she promised, relaxing back against the couch, but she continued to glance at him strangely. The seeds of suspicion had been sewn, and his reaction to the news was the final piece of evidence she needed to realise that not everything was quite right.

"What's he done to you? He's my husband, I love him, but you're my big brother-- if he's been a jerk, tell me. I'll tell him to leave you alone. Has he made fun of your religion again? Look, I... I know I've done that, but I still support what you're passionate about. Makai needs to fucking get a life if he's still teasing you."​
 
"It doesn't matter what he's done to me, Laura, I just don't want him to hurt you." He insisted, before imitating the other by fully easing back into the couch with a sigh of relief. With his heart having been racing, he was happy to close them and simply enjoy their quiet prescience for a short while.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you what happened, okay?"
 
"And you think I'm going to sit back now I know something went on? Fuck that, you're going to tell me. We don't keep secrets, Ivan. You're my older brother, but you can still tell me stuff, because I wanna protect you," she began warily, sitting back up again to set her intense stare on him. She was rarely ever this serious, though seeing her brother like this and alluding to something that had happened did stir her more serious nature up.

"Is it to do with Makai or isn't it? He's my husband, Ivan. If he's fucked up, I'd like to know," she continued, now growing more concerned. "Has he cheated? Look, I... we have this open thing, it's not an issue. I mean, he should discuss it with me first, but if you saw him, like, kissing some girl, that's... it's not as big an issue as you think. He should have told me, but I can accept that-- is that what's making you freak out?"​
 
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"What's the most ridiculous thing you can imagine him doing?" He asked, while locking his eyes on the way in front of him to try and keep what was left of a composure. "What would be the thing that left you thinking, "that can't be true! Makai would never do that!"? Because I won't tell you until you tell me that,"

As he spoke, Ivan's hands began to wring nervously. The whole memory was distressing enough, plus the fact that he had to come up with some excuse about the whole situation?
 
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