Good Little Valkyrie

Part 5

"Vinny didn't come home last night!"

"I'm sure he's fine."

"But what if he's not? What if he got caught out in the sun? What if someone took him!?" Horror frets, pacing back and forth in front of his desk, Rosie sitting in his chair as she works on the computer, her eyes focused on the screen. "What if he's hurt and he dies while I'm supposed to be watching him!?"

His girlfriend finally sends him an amused look, the computer sending a ghastly glow upon her skin. "Are you upset because he could be possibly hurt or because it makes you look bad?"

"It makes me look bad!" Christopher will be so pissed! Horror can't let his younger brother be damaged while living with him, it'll show he can't handle that type of responsibility! Honestly Horror doesn't intend to have much interaction with Vinny, but it still makes him anxious about the baby demon not even coming home to sleep --- does he not know how dangerous that is? He's vulnerable in the sun and their family has too many enemies! "Christopher will wring my neck if he dies!"

Rosie sighs, finishing up payroll before closing the lid of the laptop, eyes focusing on the demon pacing maddeningly. "Honey, I'm sure it's fine. He's an adult, he can take care of himself. He may even be at your brother's."

"He's not at my brother's." Horror already checked.

"Does it feel like he's hurt?"

The truth demon hesitates; he might have felt a little pain throughout the night, but he'd not paid it any attention, it wasn't so severe it required that. "Not at the moment."

"See? Nothing to worry about. He was probably at his girlfriend's."

"He's too young to have a girlfriend! He's barely in his twenties!" Horror squawks, flustered as he brushes his long black hair behind his ears. "This is ridiculous! He could at least call one of us if he's not going to come home! Does he have no respect for my house!?"

Rosie tries very hard not to smile. "Do you realize how much of a dad you sound right now?"

Horror seethes. "I do not sound like a dad."

"Oh, you do." she chuckles, rising to her feet. She comes around the desk, absently smoothing her hand against his shirt where it's bunched. "But it's alright. It's okay if you care about your brother, Ricky. There's nothing wrong with that."

Yeah, no, that's not what it is. To Horror, Vinny feels like a complete stranger, he doesn't feel any sort of bond with him or anything like that, they've barely ever held a conversation. He's still wary of the younger demon living in his home, where it's possible Rosie could be hurt; she might have demon blood right now but that doesn't mean she's invulnerable!

"He just could have a little decency and let us know," Horror finally mumbles, sighing. Rosie slips her arms around his waist, giving him a light squeeze.

"He's fine, he'll be home soon, I'm sure. There's nothing to worry about."

Horror grumbles under his breath, his arms closing around her. He presses his lips against her cheek, inhaling her soft scent. He doesn't want to worry about any of that, he just wants to enjoy his time with her. He's constantly concerned about her health. Once his blood is out of her system, what's he going to do? Is Red going to be able to give her immortality? She should be able to, but she's so focused on her baby there's no sense in talking to her.

But she likes Rosie, so surely she'll help? Of course, she will, why is Horror even bothered about that? She likes his girlfriend too much to let her die a human death, of course. 

He suddenly stills, and his eyes flick to the door as his hellhounds alert him to his brothers presence.

"Ha! He's finally home." Horror pulls away from Rosie, eyes still focused on the hallway. He has it in his mind to go demand to know where the demon has been, give him a fifteen-minute lecture on letting his older brother know where he is and why he didn't come home last night! Man, it's weird saying younger brother, Horror's been the baby of the family so long it still doesn't sound right.