“Wait, that’s cute. Do you sell those here?” I asked, pointing to the pin.
Sagitta pointedly turned his head towards me like an owl.
Alex beamed as they examined the pin in question. “Oh, this? Yeah, we sell them up by the counter. I can set one aside for you, if you’d like.”
“Sure.”
After Alex left, I noticed Sagitta regarding me closely.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I... Nothing,” he murmured. After a loaded pause, he said, “That pin. Are you...?”
It took me a second to understand what he was asking.
“Oh, no, I’m not trans,” I explained. “It’s for my best friend, Lily. She loves cute stuff like that.” Wanting to be sure, I asked, “It wouldn’t, like, be a problem if I was, would it?”
“No,” Sagitta stated firmly. “Sorry. I was just surprised.” His mouth curved into a smile, and almost imperceptibly, the corners of his eyes softened. “Although I suppose I shouldn’t have been. I already knew you were a kind person.”
I blushed at his random compliment. “Huh?”
“Nothing. Let’s look at the dildos.”
My cheeks flushed hotter at the casual way he mentioned it, but once I followed him to the colourful display rack, I got over my embarrassment. It felt like shopping at any other store, except more fun.
“So we’re in the sex toy store,” Sagitta said under his breath. “Does the demon have anything to say about it?”
“Now that you mention it, Faust’s been suspiciously quiet since we got here,” I mused. “Maybe he was telling the truth.”
Sagitta crossed his arms. “I highly doubt that.” He paused in meditative silence, then picked up a lime green dildo. “But for argument’s sake, let’s pretend he was. What exactly does he find repellent about this place? Surely this demon from Hell isn’t a pearl-clutching Puritan.”
I gulped at the sight of the fake dick in Sagitta’s grip being wielded like a weapon. He looked ready to beat Faust to death with it, if that was what it took to exorcise him.
“I dunno. Like I said, he’s been quiet,” I admitted. “Should I try talking to him?”
Sagitta frowned. He’d instructed me to ignore Faust, but now that he was absent, he seemed torn. He paced back and forth, still clutching the dildo as he thought hard and long about what to do.
“Yes. Do it,” he decided. “See if Faust responds.”
“Okay.”
I searched for him in my mind, but his annoying voice was nowhere to be heard. It was like he popped out for a break.
“Weird,” I mumbled. “He’s not talking to me. Usually I can at leastfeelhim there, you know? But right now, nothing.”
Sagitta’s eyes flashed with intrigue. “I see.” He fixed his gaze on the dildo, then back at me. “May I hit you with this?”
“Um, what?”
“Faust prevented me from harming you this morning,” he explained. “But if he’s truly gone—at least for the moment—I should be able to strike you without his interference.”
That made sense. Sagitta wasn’t beating me with dildos for fun. He was only doing his job.
I shrugged. “Sure, dude. You’re the expert. Do what you gotta do.”
Sagitta stepped back, readied his aim, then walloped me in the arm with the silicone dick. It hit me with a thud and a dull smack of pain.
“Ow!” I cried.
