Domestic ❧ Skephalo AU

Chapter 34.) It Don't Bite

Warnings: Depictions of violence, blood, attempted murder, and minor body horror. (Yes, you're reading all of that correctly.)

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Skeppy had compared BadBoyHalo to various animals in the past, and while they were harmless jokes made for the sake of embarrassing the demon, it'd taken him far too long to notice how they weren't jokes anymore, but rather astute observations. 

He had compared Bad's way of echoing things he'd heard prior to that of a parrot. The way his wings flared and ruffled whenever he was spooked only rubbed the ParrotBoyHalo joke in his face further, though not many other examples could be used to fuel his bird jokes.

Cat-like traits were much more prominent. Purring was the result of sheer bliss or a quiet cry for comfort, heat was always sought out no matter where it came from, and getting salty resulted in the nine-foot-tall demon wriggling his way under a mountain of blankets freshly pulled from the hallway closet. There were other factors to poke fun of, such as his ability to turn into a feline-like creature and the circumstances of when they first met face-to-face, and those reasons led Skeppy to genuinely believe BadBoyHalo could be summarized as a demonic cat-boy. 

There were a handful of traits that reminded him of a dog, including a wagging tail and the occasional growl, but every other inhumane behavioral characteristic was overshadowed by the mighty CatBoyHalo. 

Bad was a cat, plain and simple. 

That is until Skeppy had made the adorably god-forsaken mistake of taking both demons on a late-night food truck run. Bad and his hot-headed son wouldn't stop sticking their head out the window and pointing at random things that caught their interest. The memory, while endearing on its own, took a scary turn when he nearly crashed the car trying to stop Sapnap from jumping out and chasing a random goose. 

Surprisingly enough, Bad wasn't any better, almost falling out after Skeppy brought the car to an abrupt stop. They were forbidden from taking off their seatbelts after that, and only when they arrived at home did Skeppy allow them to even put their hands on the door. That night was a gentle reminder to never let them into his car ever again. 

It was one not-so fateful night that his comparison was sealed with a ribbon. 

Skeppy couldn't remember much about that night, other than he was lying down with his headphones on, music blaring through the speakers and keeping him oblivious to the sounds of running water and ceramic clanking against ceramic. He had meant to wait for Bad so they could kick back together, but having spent the majority of his day recording video after video for the sake of content, he was exhausted and nothing sounded better than falling asleep with Bad's arms keeping him close. 

It was hopeful thinking that eventually turned into dreaming, because when his eyes snapped open and light failed to slip through his open blinds, he realized he must've fallen asleep. The lack of lighting was the first thing he noticed, though he should've paid more attention to the sound of their newly-adopted dog Lucy barking up a storm. 

Rubbing the corners of his eyes, he glanced to his side and pouted when he saw the space was empty. 

"What is he doing?" Skeppy muttered under his breath, sitting up and sliding the headphones onto his lap. It was only when the lyrics of Ride with U stopped filling his head did he hear another voice yelling, followed by a loud crash. That was all he needed to hear before he stumbled out of bed and dashed out of his room.