“A couple that thieves together, stays together.”
“You’re such a romantic.” Dav shook his head as he turned back to the kitchen.
“Tell me that wasn’t worth it. Tell me you’re now wondering if the other humans are finding demon soulbonded.”
His friend grumbled, but he was absolutely smothering a smirk as he picked up a box and shoved it at Laz. “Let’s go. We’ve still got a few hours left before we can call it a night.”
That was already a win for Lazerath so he grabbed a tray and got back to work. No, really, he would have made Dav proud for only getting distracted that one time with Ozirax and had been incredibly productive.
Because events like this? They were his specialty. The rooms brimming with social energy, the bodies and conversations he could weave between, the mix of joy and work and a lot of alcohol? This was where he thrived.
The only thing Lazerath didn’t love was that he wasn’t in the middle of it. He kept to the walls, ordering the borrowed staff from Culture’s offices around, but he wasn’t part of the main action.
He wanted to be. Maybe not with these snobby demons who wouldn’t have given Davarox a second look if his friend wasn’t already keeping invisible like the staff. But Laz wouldn’t mind going to parties like this, dressing up, weaving from conversation to conversation.
Only if he had Rose on his arm, and Dav holding her other.
He’d spend the first ten minutes of everyconversation bragging about his human. He’d walk her to the dance floor and spin her around for everyone to see. Make sure there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that she was the most spectacular mind and beauty Heck had ever seen.
Because how could one look at her andnotsee that? After the few glimpses he’d gotten of her tonight, he could already tell she was meant to be here. Meant to be petitioning for her causes. Meant to change Heck.
One day. One day he’d take her to all the fancy outings. He’d be in nice clothes, no longer a caterer, just catering to her. Anything she wanted, he’d do it.
“There’s just a few more tables left, but we’re mostly cleared out,” Lazerath said, stack of trays balanced on one arm with a wine-soaked towel in the other. One noble had gotten a little too stumbly, but at least the only casualty had been the male’s shirt and that towel. “Still a few demons who refuse to move their conversationoutside?—”
Laz pulled up short as he turned, finding Davarox standing stiffly and another demon in the room with him.
“Argeth.” Laz darted another glance at his friend. “Is there a problem?”
The orange demon, wearing leather straps and a sheer top that Lazerath could never hope to pull off, gave him a practiced smile. “Of course. I was simply waiting for both Lovable Loaf owners to be present before offering my appreciation for tonight.”
The first part was obviously a lie. Laz had no doubt that Davarox’s discomfort had everything to do with the Horndoing or saying something before Laz’s arrival. But the latter…
“I was in quite a bind,” Argeth said, palms up as he spread his arms wide. “And you came in and didn’t miss a step. Enough food and drink, quick refreshments of empty tables, and a flow that made this one of the most successful fundraisers we’ve?—”
“That was Rosalind,” Lazerath said, noting that Argeth had mostly kept eye contact with him and not his partner. “And Davarox. Logistics were all them, so if you’d like to thank someone?—”
“Laz,” Davarox hissed.
“No, no. I’m going to finish since we’ve already been paid.” Laz waved off his friend as he set his armload aside and stepped closer to the Horn of Culture. “Yes, our food is delicious. It’s baked with love, and yes, that’s a real ingredient. But the success that brought your department and every other council member money? That’s all because of my friend there and the human under your employ.”
Argeth’s eyes had gone wide, and Laz belatedly realized his claws had extended. He managed to squeeze his hands into fists, though there wasn’t much to be done about the fangs he could feel against his lip.
“All of this is possible because of the work she did, all while having no previous knowledge about demons or our culture. She learned it, respected it, and managed to put together this fundraiser while researching and preparing her proposal for an art district that this governmentdecided wasn’t worth their time. But a human, who we have been taught are vicious and evil, came in and decided that, with absolutely no resources, she was going to care for the demons that our own kind left behind. Demons that her kind were told to fear.”
Laz was breathing hard, unsure where the adrenaline had come from. Probably all the cookies he’d eaten.
He rolled his shoulders back, fixing his uniform. “Anyway, Rosalind is brilliant, and you would be wise to listen to her about all things. And make one of your other assistants get tea for the office, for fuck’s sake. We have two arms and a tail for carrying shit.”
Argeth’s wide-eyed shock had narrowed into something scrutinizing, but there was also a hint of respect. He turned to Dav expectantly, but the gray demon only shrugged.
With a delicate huff through his nose, Argeth shifted his body so that both Laz and Dav were included. “Your comments are noted.” Then, to Davarox, “Thank you. I think the chocolate tart was my favorite.”
Lazerath didn’t know how Argeth had identified one of Davarox’s recipes, but a smirk pulled on Dav’s lips as the gray demon said, “And if you seek to use any of this against Rosalind or her proposal, I’ll make sure you can never taste anything ever again.”
Well, that was certainly the Davarox he’d grown up with.
Instead of cowering or running away, Argeth’s lips stretched into a satisfied grin. “I see why she likes you.” His eyes flicked between them. “Both of you. Have a niceevening, and I do hope there’s a chance for my office to work with you again in the future.”
