The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Fourteen pt 4

When the demon's hearing cleared, the bubbling sound of running water came from his left. He was on the ground with his wings fanned out to his sides and elf wrapped around him.

After a long moment of silence, Eial croaked weakly. "S-Sorry." He slowly un-clung himself from the demon. "I'll make you a big feast. And have your favorite black berries. And—" He gulped. "And then you can leave tomorrow."

Drokn's brows furrowed and he looked almost alarmed at the elf. "What are you saying? I told you, I'm not planning to leave."

Green eyes shook back and forth, trying to understand. Then, when he had enough confidence to look back at the demon, he voiced, "You're not planning to fly away?"

Looking to the side at his wing and then to the elf, hurt came over him for multiple reasons. Hurt for the elf's worry. Hurt for the mistrust. "No, my back felt tight. I wanted to stretch them," he explained, gesturing to his wings. "I told you, Eial. I'm not leaving you."

Blinking once, then twice, Eial finally said, "I'm sorry for misunderstanding you."

His apology reminded the demon again of his own. "Again, I'm sorry for yelling back there. I... was an asshole. Also..." Drokn looked around. There was open air with bright green grass. A fresh scent wafted in the air and a glass clear river with a blue tint trailed to one side. "Where are we?"

Eial clipped his mouth and didn't respond.

Staring briefly at the elf whose head was down, Drokn sighed. "Fine." He stood up and walked up to the stream, crouching down and dipping his fingers into the cool flow. "Look. I can't say bullshit like 'she's going to come back.' She's left me before. She's left you." Now his whole hand was in the water. "But it's fucking obvious that she wants to come back for you."

Eial pondered this for a moment. That's right. She'll be back. She wants to come back. She promised. Eial quickly glanced at the demon, then back down. That's right, he thought. I can trust her. As the heaviness wafted out of the elf, he brought himself to stand.

For the first time that day, he felt light. And that's when he realized, he missed feeling light. A smile painted on his face and he breathed in the crisp air and felt the light breeze on his face. He walked over and crouched down next to the demon, plunging both of his hands into the water. "Thank you," he said, his voice filled with glimmer along with his bright lit eyes.

The demon felt a small bit of heat rise to his cheeks and he smirked at the elf, trying to divert himself from his own fluster. "Well, and— whether she comes back or ends up adopting another elf or gets locked up, I know she'll be okay. She's been surviving so far. And if she can— uhm... trick me in a fight and somehow throw me off guard, she'll be fine in fights with anyone else." Fucking spellcasting witch, he wanted to say, but kept it to himself. "In the meantime, you'll just have to put up with me."

A smile continued its presence on Eial. "I don't just put up with you, Drokn. I want you to know that I really like you. Except when you're being mean. Even if you have your reasons, sometimes I just want to splash you with water."

Laughter escaped the demon as he filled with a cozy glow. "Like this?" the demon said and swiped his hand, making the water lift from his fingertips and sprinkle the elf.

"No, like this." Eial swung up his left hand and swung it back down, immediately causing a rush of water to rise up from the stream and pour all over the demon, the backsplash wetting Eial's right side.

Drokn was stunned and still until he whipped his head towards the elf, droplets of water spraying out. Quickly, Eial rushed to his feet and started to dash away with a playful grin, but only a few steps out, Drokn hugged him behind. Well, his intention was to grab the elf and let the elf suffer from the wetness he inflicted upon the demon, making the dripping water on his clothes drip onto the elf. But— intention or not, that was definitely a hug. A very tight, playful hug.

Eial laughed openly, shifting in his stance, trying to swerve away from the demon. With a pull, he was brought down to the ground, sitting against the demon's chest, his legs between the demon's.

His wrists were held together by one of the demon's grip. The demon's other hand went missing briefly until suddenly, Eial saw the red ribbon in front of him. In the quickness of a blink, Drokn swiftly wrapped the ribbon around the elf's wrists and tied it with a loose knot. And before the elf could voice anything, he was spun to the ground with gentle force, his hands pinned above him and the demon smirking on top of him.

The demon's grin widened mischievously and he shook his head vigorously. The loose water on his face, his hair, his horns, all sprayed on the elf. Eial squeezed his face in reflex and tried to shake his own head to get rid of the water dripping on him. Drokn laughed at the elf's contorted features and eventually the elf laughed back in response.

And there it was again. A pull in their chests. Their bond, like fine wires of cut string, slowly piecing together, fiber from fiber, asking to be closer. Feel closer. To touch. Breathlessness shoved into the demon as he stared down at the lovely elf, the sunshine reflecting off the water drops, making Eial's face glimmer as if a fairy.

A light smile dawned on the demon's lips and curiosity took to the elf's eyes. A hand pinning above and the other steadying him to the side, Drokn shifted himself downward, his heart beating deeply, wanting. Their lips were just inches away when, out of nowhere, something hard struck right between Drokn's legs. Eial's knee, to be specific, bashed him right where it was most sensitive.

Drokn careened away in agonizing pain and stuck his hands between his legs to both soothe and protect.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Eial frantically apologized in explosive concern after sitting up.

A snarl bared on Drokn's teeth, but instead of roaring at the pain, he roared:

"I want to kiss you!"

Eial looked up apologetically with eyebrows curved up. "I'm sorry... Not now."

"Then, when can I kiss you??" Drokn was still pitifully lying on the ground.

Eial bit his lip in silence and stared at the braided ribbon on his wrists, the knot loosening.

"Why can't I kiss you?" In Eial's continued silence, Drokn kept pushing. "Tell me."

Eial's eyes shifted to the side and something like sadness tinted the curves and creases on his face. "The last time you kissed me, you..."

It dawned on the demon at that moment how exactly their last kiss had gone. When he ruthlessly slipped medicine down the elf's throat and left him unwillingly asleep and abandoned. "Fuck!" he shouted at himself. "I fucked up." He drove a hand through his wet hair, his claws scraping his scalp. "I'm sorry, that was horrible, I shouldn't have."

He thought about why he even thought of that abhorrent idea . Then, he remembered that back then, he did not care about the elf. He wasn't expecting the elf to be in his life at all. It didn't matter what happened between them.

No. That's not right. He understood in reflection that all of it was a lie. He'd lied to himself about his convinced disregard of the elf. Lied to himself that he didn't need that beautiful light the elf carved in him. A demon didn't belong with an elf, he had thought. What bullshit.

The pain tolerable enough, Drokn shakily sat up and untied the elf's wrist. Holding the ribbon in his palm, he took a deep breath with determination and looked straight into Eial's green eyes. "Then," he started, "whenever you feel ready, tie my arms and legs up if you want. And you kiss me."