what fools these mortals be!

Listra’s heart skipped and she leaned into his kiss softly. This….wow. It was better than she imagined. She never wanted the feeling of his hands on her face, his lips on hers to end.

And then, just as suddenly as he was there, Christian was gone. Listra was left with one hand in the air where it had been halfway up to his face with a sinking feeling in her chest. Oh no.

He had run from her. What had she done wrong? Had she misjudged what she thought she felt from him? Oh God, what if she had ruined everything and now she was going to lose her best friend. As she was spiraling, she looked down and noticed most of Christian’s belongings still beside her on the couch.

Listra scooped his things up with shaky hands and resigned herself to the fact that she had messed their whole relationship up as she stood, head spinning from exhaustion. She forced herself through the house and out onto the street, nearly dragging herself to the spot where she knew Christian always parked as she ignored how her knees felt shaky.

The door to his car was unlocked and she opened it softly. She didn’t say a word as she set his things down on the passenger seat, not looking up at Christian. She had really done it this time. She couldn’t look up. She was already telling herself she had lost her best friend, she was too afraid she might see it confirmed in his expression. The exhaustion and resignation were clear on her face as she wrapped her arms around herself and turned back to the house, stumbling slightly.

The sound of the latch on his car door opening made Christian nearly jump out of his skin, eyes moving to look at Listra, watching her silently place his things beside him and turn to leave. Ugh. This made him want to die. “Lis…” he sighed, getting out of the car and moving to her, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. “I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I think Lust was co-piloting or something.” It was an absolute lie, he just didn’t want to ruin things, he wanted her to think it was an accident. “I was so embarrassed I… I’m really sorry.” he repeated, trying his best to help her back into the house, only pausing to get his things from the car and close the doors. “Come on, we have food coming and I know I can’t leave you alone tonight, you’re exhausted, I want to make sure you’re alright.”

By the time they reached her room, she shrugged off his hold and sat down on the edge of her bed, looking at Christian with teary eyes. "Chris.... Stop. Stop lying to me. I-if I misinterpreted and crossed a line.... Just say so." She chuckled softly, wiping tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "I thought...m-maybe my feelings for y-you weren't one sided. But if I got it wrong, just tell me. I'm a grown woman, I'll get over it. I just don't want to lose you."

Listra melted with a hum, a soft look in her eyes. She kept tracing patterns on Christian’s thigh as she took another drink. She was so aware of every point where his body met hers, every small movement he made, each time her breath caught as his fingers brushed through her hair…. She was baffled that Christian seemed to think she didn’t love him. To her, it felt as though her feelings were written on her skin in bold, glowing letters, so hot they burned. How could he not see them?

“You know I’ll always have time for you, my love,” she murmured, leaning up to kiss his cheek gently. Listra leaned back into her position against him, not sure how he would react to the word added on to her endearment. Her cheeks were already faintly pink. Admitting her feelings aloud gave her….almost a thrill, really.

Don’t kiss your best friend, Don’t kiss your best friend, Don’t ki- His hands clasped her face, pulling her back towards him when she moved away from his cheek, lips immediately pressing into hers. It was a once in a lifetime kiss. His whole body tingled. Is this what Lust felt every time he’d kissed her? Was this what Fae magic felt like when it was coating your tongue? Oh God this was a bad idea. He pulled away, quickly getting up, cheeks fully reddened and brow nearly sweating. “I have to go.” He spoke quickly, scrambling away, almost knocking over a chair on his way out the door. He just kissed his best friend. HIS BEST FRIEND. Oh that was a big mistake. 

And then, just as suddenly as he was there, Christian was gone. Listra was left with one hand in the air where it had been halfway up to his face with a sinking feeling in her chest. Oh no.

He had run from her. What had she done wrong? Had she misjudged what she thought she felt from him? Oh God, what if she had ruined everything and now she was going to lose her best friend. As she was spiraling, she looked down and noticed most of Christian's belongings still beside her on the couch.

Listra scooped his things up with shaky hands and resigned herself to the fact that she had messed their whole relationship up as she stood, head spinning from exhaustion. She forced herself through the house and out onto the street, nearly dragging herself to the spot where she knew Christian always parked as she ignored how her knees felt shaky.

She rolled her eyes, a soft smile forming as he kissed her knuckles. When he was done, Listra rested her hand on his face gently and tilted her head to the side.

“And he acted as if wouldn’t notice. I dug it up a few months later and had Matt dispose of it for me while I was redoing the garden,” she teased softly.

At the thought, her smile faded and she took his hand. “I am very glad that hasn’t happened,” she replied seriously. “Sloth knows I’m here whenever he needs anything, and I trust all of you to call me if you’re in trouble and need my help.”

“I prefer not to call, I’m more of a just show up kind of guy.” He chuckled, not one for serious conversations and giving a good attempt to pull it in a lighter direction. Even through that he still had a soft, grateful, smile on his face that showed that he really did know he could call whenever he needed her.

Listra rolled her eyes as he moved away, settling into the couch with a hum and making herself comfortable. "Probably best not to go out and cause more trouble. There's a chance the influence could wear off before that guy has fully forgotten the details of tonight and even the possibility of running into him doesn't sound fun to me.... How about a movie, some wine, and takeout? The rest depends on how much of a pain you decide to be."

She could’t help the giggle at his wink, rolling her eyes in response. The blue was finally starting to fade from her eyes as her magic dissipated back to its normal levels.

“What did you do?” she laughed softly. She stretched the arm closest to him across his lap so her hand could rest on his hip gently. Absent fingers traced soft patterns as she looked up at him, honestly just basking in the close contact.

He leaned in closer with a wild smile on his face. “I jumped out the second story window.” He let out a crazed laugh, almost bringing himself to tears, hardly able to say the next sentence properly. “And he… the husband he… he wasn’t in the house yet…” More laughter. “So I landed, very ungracefully might I add, right in front of him!” He was practically cackling now. It was ridiculous, the whole thing, and this wasn’t even the most trouble he’d gotten in before. He composed himself a bit before speaking again.

It was a very amusing image.

It was almost too easy. The man on the other side of the door was a mortal after all, and mortals were so easy to manipulate with magic, Christian thought. He’d watched Listra do more than this with less, so he wasn’t at all surprised when he heard a sigh from outside. The man was practically in tears, his scowl turning to a frown and sad puppy eyes. “You’re right.” He said, voice hazy and influenced by Listra. “It’s all my fault.” He nodded, his eyes entranced by the fae in front of him. “Sorry for the intrusion.” And with that he was gone, no longer a problem for the demon hiding in the shadows.

Lust finally emerged again, a giant grin on his face. “If I was a monogamous man I would ask you to marry me.” He laughed, grabbing the woman’s hand and giving a soft kiss to the back of it. “You are, once again, my saviour. And I am in your debt.” The demon did a far too theatrical bow and then without a second thought went further into Listras home and made himself perfectly comfortable on her sofa, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up. “How shall I repay you my dearest?”

Listra gave the man a pitying look in an attempt to hide her amusement. She didn’t bother saying anything in reply, just giving him a nod as he left before closing her door and locking it.

She laughed and followed him to the couch, leaning against the back and reaching over to pluck the cigarette from his lips. She took a drag and exhaled softly, a pleased smile forming on her face as she dropped over the furniture to land on her back beside Lust, feet still hooked over the back.

“Hey, easy there touch guy, you’ll pop a stitch,”

“I think you’re doing the right thing for yourself,”

“Hey, I want you to know I’m here for you, whatever you need,”

“The heart wants what it wants, right?”

“Am I gonna have to tie you to your bed to make you rest?”

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“I think you should sing for me sometime,”

“So where’ve you been?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t change what happened,”

“What’d you do, change the locks?”

“KInd of tired of all the lying and the fighting,”

“When things are really special, it makes it pretty hard to let them go,”

“The doctor said you shouldn’t be out,”

“How long was I out?”

“You’re lying to me, and you wouldn’t be unless you’re doing something I’m not proud of,”

“Why are you pushing somebody out of your life who really and truly cares about you?”

“You were out late last night,”

“Why am I the only one who needs to tell the truth around here?”

“I made some mistakes in the past,”

“I don’t want to dance around this,”

“Whatever I said last time you asked me that question, probably still applies,”

“I didn’t know you play the piano,”

“I didn’t mean to make you mad,”

“There’s something going on with you, I’ll figure it out sooner or later,”

“How’s it going with the talent show?”

“I feel like you’ve become a little detached,”

“I know how to take care of myself,”

“Can you pick up the dry cleaning?”

“We should try and be less negative,”

“I’m right here, what do you need?”

“You don’t need to spend a million to look like a million,”

“Does somebody need a wambulance?”

“I want you to wear something beautiful tonight, so please, choose,”

“Were you trying to get me to take the blame?”

“If you’re looking for m to be the ba guy, you’re snarking up the wrong tree,”

“You did that on purpose,”

Electric blue eyes locked on to angry ones, Listra’s shoulders shifting back slightly as though preparing herself for the man to get physically aggressive. “Be more specific,” she ordered, magic lacing her voice to compel the man to do as she asked.

She was hoping she would be able to handle the situation without having to knock the man out and replace his memories herself, but it was certainly possible for him to be too angry for her to influence him properly with words alone.

“Calm down and tell me who you’re looking for instead of just shouting at me.”

Lust had to hold back a laugh at the whole situation, it was in his nature to find stuff like this at least a little bit funny. He managed to keep himself silent, slipping further back into his shadowed corner.

Please let it work. Knocking him out will be such a hassle....