|| The Demon's King ||

|2|

      Shoto groaned before fluttering his eyes open, letting them adjust to the sudden light coming from outside. It wasn't often that the kingdom got much sunlight, so it took some getting used to. Shoto glanced beside him to see Vox's spot vacant, which was pretty unusual considering that Vox loved to sleep in. Getting up from the king-sized bed, Shoto made his way downstairs, following the smells of delicious breakfast.

Entering the rather lavish dining area, Shoto was met with the sight of Vox, waiting on Shoto at the dining table. As he saw the demon slayer enter the room, his face lit up.

"Good morning dear, please sit down." Vox says, tapping the spot beside him. Shoto sits down before clears his throat.

"So, what's the special occasion?"

Vox smiles. "Nothing, just thought that I should treat you with some nice breakfast."

Shoto hummed as he ate the breakfast. Vox was truly a gifted cooker. Every meal he made was exquisite. That's why Shoto let Vox do all of the cooking, that and the fact that the last time he tried to cook with Vox, there was a lot of yelling from vox about his dishes not being washed...

"Thanks, I guess it has been a while since we actually had breakfast together, huh?" Vox hummed in agreement.

"I'm sorry that my schedule has been so hectic, I really want to spend more time with you." Vox confessed, caressing Shoto's cheek.

"It's okay Vox, as king I understand that you have duties to fulfill. Besides, I don't feel THAT lonely." Shoto said in an attempt to make his boyfriend feel better.

"Nonsense, I refuse to let you be alone in this house any longer, so I invited some people."

"Who did you invite?"  As if it was on cue, a loud knock on the castle doors could be heard.

"I'll let you answer that." Vox whispered as he grabbed Shoto's plate and went in the direction of the kitchen. Shoto rolled his eyes and gradually got up to answer the door.

Shoto unlocked the door and opened it, only for his face to light up in pleasant surprise.

"Uki? Enna? Millie? Alban?"

"Shoto!"  They all said in unison before wrapping him in a group hug. Tears began to well up in Shoto's eyes. He hadn't seen any of them since he left to join Vox in his kingdom. For so long he had been separated from them. In other words, he missed them dearly.

"Shoto? Are you...crying?" Uki asked, slowly pulling away from the hug.

"Yeah...sorry, I just—" Shoto attempted wiped his tears away. "Never thought I'd see you guys again."

"Vox told us that you could use some company, so we came over here as fast as we could." Millie spoke up and said.

"I hope this was a nice surprise. I wish I could stay, but I have to go now." Vox said in his usual monotone-like voice.

"Thank you so much babe! Have a good day!" Shoto exclaimed before giving Vox a quick kiss on the lips.

Shoto invited his friends inside before closing and locking the door behind them. He led them to the main living area which was one of the biggest rooms in all of the castle. The group looked through the castle in awe of how extravagant it was.

"I can't believe you live here Shoto! I'm actually jealous." Enna said as she sat down on the extended white couch.

"How are you and Vox?" Alban asked as he sat down beside Enna on the couch.

"We're great. He gets on my nerves sometimes, but he always puts me first and is always sweet and considerate of my feelings."

"He better be! I will hunt his ass if he isn't!" Millie retorted.

"Mills, you were just whining about a spider this morning...how the hell are you going to beat a whole ass demon?" Enna asked smugly.

"H-hey! In my defense, that spider was looking at me all weirdly, there was no way I was going to touch it!" The group laughed at the simple banter between those two. Although they bicker like cats and dogs, they were best friends for a reason.

"What's it like living here? Isn't it weird being the only human?" Uki asked.

"Well....um...to be honest, it's not fun at all. I'm constantly getting weird glances and I can't do anything about it. It's really hard..." Shoto looked down at the ground, hoping the tears that were forming in his eyes weren't noticeable.

"Have you talked to Vox about it?" Alban asked, genuinely concerned about his friend.

"I tried to last night, but I ended up dropping the conversation. I don't want to seem over sensitive, besides, this is his kingdom. I would hate to be a burden."

"Shoto..." Enna looked at his expression, he was obviously uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, can we not talk about this?" He could tell that his friends wanted to press the matter further, but they chose not to, respecting his wishes.

                            ~
        The rest of the day went smoothly, all things considered. The group stayed till evening time which gave Shoto time to prepare dinner for Vox and himself before the latter got home. Although his cooking wasn't on the same level as Vox's, it was still great. He would usually end up cooking dinner since Vox typically got home late. If they were both busy, they would simply get a chef to cook for them.

And so the wait began, the wait for Vox to return home.

10 minutes passed....

Then 30....

Then 40....

Then 50.....

Then an hour....

That was quite unusual, since Vox loved being punctual. Taking out his phone, he immediately called Vox, only to be led straight to voicemail.

"Where is he?"

~

"Are you sure this is what you want? After this, there will be no turning back."

"I'm sure," Vox crosses his arms. "Are you questioning my decision?"

"N-no! Not at all my lord! It's just that...this is a risky decision..."

"It's a risk Im willing to take." Vox turns to the window, staring at the pale-blue moon, the only light source that is being given to the room.

"Then it's decided. We will have the announcement tomorrow."

"Yes my lord."

As the subject leaves the room, Vox let's out a sigh he had been holding in for quite some time.

"I'm sorry Shoto, this is the only solution that I can think of..."

~
Word count: 1089

My apologies...I Lowkey forgot to update this story for a while, this chapter has basically been sitting here 😅