The voice outside finally spoke again.
“…Boyfriend?”
“Oh my God,” Nina whispered. “They heard that.”
“I hate every demon hearing,” I muttered.
The cracked apartment door pushed open wider before a tall figure stepped through the gap. Everything about him was wrong in the deeply unsettling way demons apparently specialized in. His black coat brushed the floor behind him, his smile was too sharp to look human, and his glowing eyes swept across the apartment before landing directly on my demon.
Even those three took a step back the moment they heard his voice, and the reaction was far too instinctive to be comforting.
The taller demon glanced between us once before raising an eyebrow slightly.
“…You stayed for her?”
My demon sounded almost annoyed now. “You interrupted dinner for this?”
“WE WERE EATING CEREAL,” I snapped back angrily.
The new demon turned his attention to me, his eyes narrowing slightly like he was trying to figure something out before an unexpected smile appeared across his face.
“I see the appeal.”
My demon answered instantly.
“No you do not.”
The entire apartment went silent again. Nina turned toward me with the expression of somebody witnessing relationship drama at supernatural levels.
“…Okay wait,” she whispered carefully. “That was jealousy.”
My demon finally met my gaze then, still standing close enough that our shoulders almost touched. His hand was still wrappedaround my wrist beneath my sweater sleeve, warm and steady despite the tension filling the apartment.
Unfortunately, the second our eyes met, my brain stopped working properly again, which was deeply unhelpful considering the current situation.
The taller demon noticed first, and judging from the expressions around the apartment, everyone else noticed right after him.
Nina looked one second away from screaming into a pillow while those three members watched the situation unfold with the exhausted expressions of people realizing they were accidentally witnessing a demonic relationship drama.
Meanwhile I was still standing there trapped between panic and whatever weird nonsense my brain had apparently decided to develop tonight.
The taller demon glanced down toward my wrist where my demon’s hand still held onto me loosely beneath the sleeve of my sweater.
He froze, genuine shock written all over his face.
“…You formed a protective bond already?”
“I formed NOTHING,” I answered defensively.
“She gave him strawberries,” Nina said from behind the couch.
I turned toward her so fast I almost got whiplash. “WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT.”
The apartment fell completely still while the taller demon blinked once, his expression unreadable afterward.
“…Strawberries?”
For the first time all night, my demon sounded almost defensive. “It was accidental.”
