The Bear Cave

Yuki was withdrawn on Friday morning. Before I left for work, I showed her the cot I set up in the basement for her. I even bought her her own iPad to play around on while my parents were here so she wouldn’t get too bored.

Still, she was clinging onto my side like she never wanted to let go. Her tiny arms dug into the chub on my waist. 

When I started to leave for work, she burst into tears and I had to spend fifteen minutes calming her down before she let me get out the door. I felt so horrible and guilty that I picked up a dozen donuts on my way to the office and ate four in the car. I wasn’t even sure where that impulse had come from, just that I knew Yuki would’ve encouraged me to get the treats purely because I wanted them. I felt like I owed Yuki something for making her hide away in her own home and somehow that something was… eating donuts. Even though I’d already eaten breakfast.

Yep, that was solid logic.

After work, I had to drive through rush hour traffic to get to the airport, and the whole time I had Yuki on my mind. What was she doing? Was she okay? Was she crying? God, I hoped she wasn’t crying alone in that dark basement. It was too heartbreaking to consider.

When I saw my parents appear outside of ‘arrivals’ it broke me out of my melancholy mood. I was too pleased to see them to stay sad. I hopped out of the car and popped the trunk for their luggage.

“Peter! You look wonderful honey,” my mom fussed, hugging me tightly. My dad patted my shoulder once my mom released me.

“Colorado seems to agree with you,” he said with an amused glance at my belly. I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck.

“Yeah, well. The new job keeps me too busy to exercise much,” I shrugged.

“You look great sweetie, don’t worry, your father is just grumpy from the flight,” my mom said, shooting daggers at my dad. 

“I’m just joking, Pete. You look fine,” my dad said as we all got into the car. 

“So, how’s everyone back home?” I asked to change the subject. That got my mom started, and on the ride home I got an in-depth update on all the hometown gossip I could possibly want. 

I couldn’t help but feel relaxed and happy listening to my mom prattle on about her church friends and their drama. It was so familiar. I’d missed my parents more than I realized. 

Once we pulled into my garage, my parents started an excited commentary about how nice my house was. They wanted a tour so I walked them around the place. Nerves hit when they went in my bedroom since I knew Yuki had a drawer and section of my closet filled with her things, but my parents thankfully didn’t go through anything. That would’ve been difficult to explain.

I got my parent’s bags all set up in the guest room and then we ordered in some Thai food. It was weird not having Yuki’s cooking for dinner. I’d gotten so used to being spoiled by her. I tried to keep the frown off of my face as we ate.

While we picked at our food, I talked about my job and how I was liking the new place. I ended up excusing myself at nine since that was when I usually started getting ready for bed. My parents weren’t used to the one hour time difference, so it only felt like eight to them and they decided to stay up for a bit longer.

I headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Once again, I found myself missing Yuki’s presence. I wondered how she was doing. I felt like a parent who’d sent their kid to daycare for the first time. Which was ridiculous. She was a perfectly capable grown woman (demon). I shouldn’t have to worry. 

But I was. I was worrying.

When I slipped under the covers of my bed, I stared at the ceiling until my eyes got heavy. I was dozing a bit when Yuki literally appeared out of thin air at the foot of my bed.

“What the,” I said, startled. 

Yuki hushed me. 

“Sorry, I just. I missed Peter,” Yuki said through a pathetic sniffle.

God, I was like putty in her hands when she did that. 

“Yuki…” I glanced at the closed bedroom door. “Come here,” I said, opening my arms for her. She immediately scuttled onto the bed next to me and cuddled up to my side. She fussed, nuzzling me and hugging me all over. She chirped a few times, happy as a clam now that I was giving her attention.

“I know you said to stay downstairs but,” Yuki said apologetically, “I thought of something.” Yuki looked up at me. “You said no one could see me because I don’t look human.”

I nodded sadly.

“So what if I looked human, then I could be here with you and your parents wouldn’t know I’m a demon!” Yuki said excitedly. 

I frowned. “How exactly would you do that?” I asked.

Yuki sat up out of my arms and got on her knees on the bed. 

“Like this!” And then suddenly Yuki’s horns receded into nothing and her eyes turned dark brown and her tail literally vanished into nothing.

I was staring at a beautiful human woman. 

“What? How?!” I stammered in a whisper-yell. She looked so different. It was almost wrong to see her without her distinct demon features, which was ironic since when I first saw her those things freaked me out. Now she looked naked without the horns framing her face like a crown. Her eyes looked so mundane.

“I tried it when you were working to see if I could do it and I can! It’s transformation magic. It’s all thanks to you for making me so strong, Peter,” she said, and then she launched herself back into my arms for a hug.

I laughed into her fluffy black hair. 

“You’re brilliant, Yuki. Absolutely amazing,” I whispered.

Yuki shuddered and made a funny excited growl sort of noise.

“Thank you,” she whispered back.

*

In the morning, my mom made pancakes. She served me four, which I doused in syrup and inhaled in an embarrassingly short amount of time. I tried to pretend like I wasn’t still hungry, but my stomach rumbled audibly.

“Oh, someone’s hungry,” my mom commented, and put a single extra pancake on my plate. Like that was going to sate my hunger.

“Uh, yeah,” I said before stuffing the pancake in my mouth. My parents finished eating and I offered to clean up since it was my house, and also because my mom cooked. They reluctantly agreed and went upstairs to get dressed for the day. Instead of putting the leftover pancakes away, I shoved two in my mouth dry. Chewed. Swallowed. Shoved more in.

It was absolutely humiliating that I had to stuff my face in secret just as to not be embarrassed in front of my own parents. Yuki had been spoiling me too much, it seemed, if my belly couldn’t even go one morning without being jammed full of calories.

I ate all five leftover pancakes and then had a pop tart for good measure. Once I loaded everything in the dishwasher, I went up to get myself dressed.

Yuki and I had stayed up way too late last night planning, and so I had to stifle some yawns as I put on some stretchy athletic shorts and a t-shirt. The shirt clung to my stuffed belly a little too much for my liking, so I spent a minute pulling on the fabric with my fists from the inside of the shirt until it was stretched out enough to hang a little looser over my body.

My parents were already downstairs when I made my way down. 

“Do you mind if I invite my friend with us on the hike today?” I asked. 

My parents looked surprised for a second before my dad was smiling and my mom was gasping excitedly.

“Of course! Is this a friend from work?” she asked. 

I smiled. “No, she’s just someone I met when I was at the grocery store but she also just moved here so we connected through that,” I said, rehashing the story Yuki and I had agreed on last night. 

My mom unsubtly mouthed ‘she?’ at my dad. I rolled my eyes fondly. My mom couldn’t help herself. 

“I’d love to meet her!” my mom said.

“The more the merrier,” my dad agreed. 

Here came the more difficult part. I had to really sell this…

“But, uh I should warn you guys,” I said, furrowing my brow to make it more believable. It worked, as my parents both swiveled to give me their undivided attention. “She was raised in a cult apparently. I don’t know all the details, but you know… She doesn’t know a lot of things about like normal life. So be cool, okay. Don’t embarrass her. She might be shy and stuff too,” I said seriously. 

My parents both had matching sympathetic looks on their faces.

“A cult?” my dad repeated, “How horrible.”

“That poor thing,” my mom said sadly. My dad nodded along.

Well, they bought it. So far so good.

Truthfully, the part of this plan I was most nervous about was how Yuki was going to act. I’d had to give her tons of rules and instructions last night on how to act human. Hopefully it would be alright and if she acted odd I could just say that she was eccentric because of her traumatic upbringing.

I pretended to text my ‘friend’ and then announced a few minutes later that she’d agreed to come along.

When eleven A.M. rolled around, Yuki materialized in the backyard in her human disguise and I watched her walk around the house to knock on the front door. Luckily the houses in my neighborhood were a bit spread out and separated further by trees, making it unlikely that anyone could see Yuki appearing out of thin air. My parents were too busy packing bug spray and sunscreen to be looking out the windows too, thankfully.

Yuki knocked on the door. I grinned, excited to see her even though we’d talked through half the night.

“My friend’s here,” I called as I walked to the door.

“Oh how wonderful!” my mom murmured.

I swung open the door and there Yuki was. Only she looked so weird as a human. It was even more disorienting in the daylight. Her fluffy black hair was the same, but her skin no longer looked ashen and grayish, but rather a realistic pale, milky-white. She smiled at me with normal straight teeth.

She looked incredibly nervous.

“Um,” she cleared her throat. “H-Hi Peter!”

My chest fluttered. She was just so…

“What are you doing, Pete? Invite her in,” my dad said from behind me. I rolled my eyes.

“Come on in Yuki,” I said. “This is my dad Ken, and my mom Wendy.”

Yuki hovered near my side but dutifully put her hand out to shake just like we practiced.

“Hello,” she mumbled. “I’m Yuki. Nice to meet you.” 

Her voice wavered but my heart was bursting with pride anyway. She was amazing. My parents were easily charmed by her shyness as well.

“It’s great to meet you, honey. Look how sweet you are. Oh good lord, Peter, where did you find her?” my mother gushed. 

Yuki looked slightly overwhelmed, so I put a hand on my mom’s shoulder.

“Mom, stop freaking her out. I told you, we met at the store,” I scolded.

My mother tsk-ed with her tongue but let it go.

“Ready to head out?” my dad asked.

So we all loaded into my car, my parents insisting that Yuki take the passenger seat, and we drove off to a nearby nature park.

I tried to focus on the road but Yuki was staring out the window in awe which was very distracting. She’d never been in a car before. My parents didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, keeping up a steady conversation about the weather amongst themselves in the backseat.

Eventually, I parked by the entrance to the hiking trails and we all got out and put on sunscreen and bug spray. 

“Ticks are no joke!” as my dad pointed out.

We got started at a relatively slow pace. My parents were both in their 60s after all. I found myself feeling grateful for the easy pace because I hadn’t been doing much exercising lately. My job sort of demanded I be sedentary for at least eight hours a day and with Yuki doting on me all the time whenever I was home… Well it’s safe to say my fitness was pretty much neglected as of late.

Yuki on the other hand was absolutely thriving out here. 

“The sun feels so good,” she said quietly to me as we wandered through the trail. It was a beautiful day. I hadn’t realized that she’d enjoy the feeling of sun on her skin. I felt retroactively bad for depriving her all this time even though neither of us had known she could look human until yesterday. 

“Look Peter!” Yuki exclaimed loudly, grabbing onto my forearm. “You can see the mountains over there! And, oh my gosh, look at that bird! It’s so pretty!” she gushed. 

I couldn’t keep a smile off my face as I watched her excitement. It was contagious. 

“Very cool,” I agreed and Yuki looked so pleased that I’d validated her observations.

My parents also noticed and glanced at me with some very suggestive expressions on their faces, mainly my mother.

“Yuki,” my mom said, watching with interest as Yuki dropped her hand from my arm with uncharacteristic shyness. It was probably because Yuki was nervous about blowing her cover as a human.

“Y-Yes?” Yuki replied shyly.

“Where are you from? Peter mentioned that you just moved to Denver,” my mom said with a reassuring smile. It seemed to work since Yuki relaxed a bit.

“Um, Montana,” she said, just like I’d told her to. 

My dad hummed. “You liking it here?”

Yuki nodded, an easy smile lighting up her face.

“I like it here too, in case anyone was wondering,” I chimed in, and my parents laughed. 

“We didn’t forget about you, honey. But your new friend is just so sweet. What do you do for work, Yuki?” my mom asked.

I knew my mother would be like this. She was nosy by nature. But hopefully Yuki would be alright since we’d talked over her supposed backstory.

“I work for a cleaning agency,” Yuki said slowly. 

“Oh, that’s nice! Cleaning can be very therapeutic,” my mom said sagely. I huffed at her attempts at prying. 

Yuki didn’t seem to notice that my mom was hungrily digging for information, as she just said, “I love being useful!” with a cheery smile. 

My dad raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” I said with a tiny laugh. “Yuki is always helping anyone who needs it, aren’t you?”

Yuki started purring from my praise so I coughed loudly before anyone could catch on to what she was doing. 

“You alright, Pete?” my dad asked, thumping me on the back.

“Fine,” I said, clearing my throat. “Just swallowed my spit wrong.”

“Don’t you hate when that happens?” my mom said with a shake of her head. 

Crisis adverted. 

*

When we got to the lookout over a deep canyon, we stayed and admired the view for a few minutes. My mom took about 100 pictures with all of us in various combinations and poses. Yuki seemed to be having a blast, grinning from ear to ear in every one. 

By the time we hiked back to our car, everyone was starving. 

My dad suggested we go out to lunch, and my mom readily agreed. Yuki didn’t say anything and I couldn’t think of a reason to decline the request, so we all started googling restaurants nearby.

The issue was that Yuki couldn’t eat. Or she could but she didn’t like to. For some reason, I’d failed to consider the possibility that my parents would want to take my new friend out to eat with us. I felt so dumb. I tried to come up with an excuse for why Yuki couldn’t eat but aside from disclosing some kind of anxiety or eating disorder, I had nothing.

“How about this one? It’s a local bistro, that sounds nice,” my dad suggested.

“Yuki? That sound good to you?” my mom asked.

Yuki looked at me and then back at my parents. “Whatever Peter wants, that’s what I want.”

I could feel my parents’ eyes on me but I just looked at Yuki. My cheeks were probably red but I could blame that on the sun.

“I’m good with that,” I said.

We piled into the car.

The bistro was very quaint. Yuki sat pressed against my side in the booth. While my parents had menus in their faces, she whispered, “My tail really itches but I can’t itch it because it’s gone,” with a sad little pout

I grimaced. “Just hold on a little longer, okay?”

Yuki nodded.

A middle aged lady walked up to our table to take our orders.

My parents got soup and salads, but I wasn’t a big fan of most soups and salads were probably my least favorite food type. 

“I’ll have the cheeseburger with no lettuce or tomato and can I make the fries steak fries?” I asked.

“Sure thing, hon,” the waitress said. “And you?” she asked Yuki.

I braced, waiting to see what she’d say. I’m not hungry, I have severe allergies so I don’t eat out, I’m in the middle of a cleanse and I can’t have anything but juice for two weeks…

Yuki said none of those things. 

“I’ll have the same as him,” Yuki told the waitress, looking at me.

Well, alright. We’d just have to make enough of her food disappear so that my parents didn’t notice that she didn’t eat. I brainstormed. Maybe we could hide it in napkins or something…

After the waitress disappeared with our menus, my parents got right back to their conversation. 

“So Yuki,” my mom started. “Do you have any plans for the holidays? Thanksgiving is only a few months away,” she said.

Yuki shifted her gaze to look at me. “Uh, I-I don’t think so.”

“No?” My mom’s expression turned sightly pitiful. “You should come to Wisconsin with Pete! We always have extra room at our house. We’d love to have you.”

My dad nodded along.

I rolled my eyes. Real subtle, Wendy. My parents were absolutely shameless in trying to get me a girlfriend. It was kind of endearing but ultimately annoying.

“Um, can I?” Yuki asked me, looking up pleadingly. Even though her eyes were an average shade of brown, the puppy dog effect still worked its usual magic on me.

“Of course. If you want to,” I said with a reassuring smile. 

“Okay!” Yuki’s face lit up into a breathtaking smile and I swear my heart grew three sizes like in The Grinch.

My mom threw me a knowing look that I ignored.

Luckily the waitress saved me by bringing our food out.

“That was fast!” my dad said.

“It looks great, thank you,” my mom told the waitress.

“Awesome, let me know if you need anything,” the waitress said and then walked off. 

My burger looked amazing. I was hungry enough that I dug in without really thinking about anything else, even though Yuki had the same huge portion in front of her that I knew she’d rather not eat. It wasn’t until I’d taken a few bites of juicy burger that I realized Yuki’s ingenious plan.

I watched her just to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, but no. Yuki picked up her fork, stabbed her steak fries and brought them to her mouth. Only when they were about to breach her lips, they disappeared and she mimed chewing. In the same instant, my pile of fries grew on my plate. With each bite, she magicked her food onto my own plate. The same thing happened when she took a ‘bite’ of her burger. I stared at my own plate and saw the missing bites I’d already taken of my burger reappear whilst her own burger disappeared with each fake bite she took.

Yuki was an evil genius. Because now I had to eat two burgers and heaping portions of fries. 

I figured I needed to eat fast in order to keep up the charade before anyone noticed my food was refilling. It was easy enough at first since I was hungry, but by the time I’d eaten my entire portion and still had a half of a burger on my plate, I was getting full. Not to mention a large pile of steak fries. I shouldn’t have stuffed myself full of extra pancakes this morning.

My parents didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, thankfully. They continued on talking about how nice of an area my new house was in and how pretty the scenery was. Yuki and I nodded along, not contributing much.

I shifted, spreading my legs to give my belly more room because yes somehow my gut started filling up into my lap and hanging a tiny bit between my legs recently whereas before it would only barely brush against my lap. I was getting fatter everyday it seemed. And eating two entire entrees wasn’t going to help. Yuki’s plate was pretty much empty, and mine was still half full. Ugh.

I felt a tiny hand brush over my thigh and give it a supportive squeeze. Yuki. It gave me a little encouragement to keep going. 

While I probably had enough room to eat all of this, I knew I had to be able to get out of this booth and drive everyone home. 

Again, ugh.

I burped into my fist and then picked up the burger. Ate a few forkfuls of fries. More burger. I was getting pretty full, but it felt sort of good in a weird way. Like a nice stretch from the inside. It made me squirm in my seat a bit. I pressed on the side of my belly to relieve some pressure. More burger, more fries. Everyone else was finished eating and that made me feel strangely embarrassed to be the only person still stuffing their face. 

“The portion sizes are big here, huh?” My mom commented, watching me eat. My cheeks were surely on fire. “Just because Yuki ate it all doesn’t mean you have to dear,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know where you put it, Yuki.”

Yuki smiled innocently. “Dunno either ma’am,” she replied.

“Oh sweetie, please call me Wendy!”

As they talked, I finally finished my final bite and leaned back into the booth with a groan. 

The waitress dropped off the bill and I had to fight my parents to let me pay for everyone. Once I got my receipt, I sighed and started shuffling out of the booth, wincing as my tender stuffed belly was jostled.

I really needed to quit this habit of overeating.

The whole ride home, I was stifling burps, belly bouncing at any bump in the road. I could feel Yuki’s gaze on me but I focused on the road instead. 

When we got back to my house, I offered to walk Yuki to her ‘car.’

My parents each gave her a hug goodbye, which again had my heart thumping way too hard in my chest. Yuki seemed to like the affection too, if her ear to ear grin was anything to go by. 

I walked Yuki to the end of the block where the woods got a little thicker. We hovered near the tree line and hopefully out of sight from our neighbors.

“Alright, you can, um, disappear back to the basement from here, right?” I asked.

Yuki hummed and nodded. “Can I go back to our room to sleep again tonight?” she asked.

My stomach filled with butterflies when she said ‘our room’ instead of ‘your room.’

“Of course,” I said and then Yuki stepped up to give me a hug, careful of my bloated tummy, and then promptly disappeared. 

My brain didn’t quite understand what I was seeing, Yuki there one second and gone the next, dissolving into thin air, but maybe that was a good thing. It’d probably break my mind if I attempted to comprehend it. 

When I walked back to my house, my parents were giving me this annoying look that basically said I’ve known you your whole life, you can’t pull one over on me!

“What?” I asked tiredly.

My mom seemed to visibly contemplate her answer before saying, “Your girlfriend is adorable.”

I eye-rolled hard enough to give myself a headache. My dad burst out laughing at me.

“Mom, Yuki is just a friend,” I said in the patient tone of voice that I often used at work.

“Mhmm,” she hummed, unconvinced. “Did you try telling her that? She looks like a lovestruck puppy every time you look at her.”

Yeah, that did sound like Yuki. I’d thought she’d toned it down today though… Did that mean her adoring looks were usually more intense than a lovestruck puppy? 

“Well—,” I started, but then I didn’t know what to say. “I’m going to shower off all this gross bug spray and sunscreen,” I announced and then practically ran upstairs, which was particularly impressive on such a full stomach.

“You’re not fooling anyone, Pete!” my mother called. 

“I’m going to put you in a nursing home if you don’t cut it out!” I called back.

*

That night, Yuki appeared in my bedroom after I’d gone to bed. I was so relieved to see her in her true form that I pretty much tackled her in a hug, which was usually the opposite of how it went with us.

“Oof,” Yuki huffed in surprise as I tugged her body into mine. She started purring immediately though.

“I missed seeing you like this,” I mumbled into her fluffy black hair. 

Yuki chirped. “Did I do good today?”

I hummed, rocking us both from side to side while we embraced. “You did perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

Yuki nuzzled me, careful of her horns. My heart felt so light I feared it would break through my chest and fly away. 

“My eyes got kind of dry and itchy after a while, and not having a tail made me feel a little off balance, but I will work on it! I’ll just get better every time!” she announced optimistically. 

“Of course you will. You’re incredible, Yuki.”

I pulled back just enough to look at her face. I wanted to see her eyes, her natural eyes.

She blinked owlishly at me, a watery smile on her face. I’d even missed seeing those shark teeth today.

“Your eyes are gorgeous, you know that?” I whispered. Looking at her now after seeing her in a human form all day, I finally noticed what it was about her eyes that enraptured me so. It wasn’t even the color, though that was the most noticeable thing. Nor was it the size, since her eyeball was fairly normal in size.

No, it was that the iris of her eye was far bigger than a normal person’s. The whites of her eyes were mere slivers on each side. That purple iris and huge black pupil were endearingly big, cartoonish even. It was just another thing that added to her beauty.

I yawned, still holding tight to Yuki’s waist.

“Bedtime?” Yuki whispered tiredly.

I loathed letting her go, but I knew we should both get some sleep. So I reluctantly opened my arms and watched her slither under my bed like she did every night. 

“Night, Peter,” said the quiet demon under my bed.

“Goodnight, Yuki.”

Even though Yuki was right below me, I felt lonely.

*

My parents flew out Sunday morning, leaving Yuki and I the entire rest of the day to recover from the stress of the weekend. Yuki was cuddly as usual, but a bit more clingy. Almost like she’d been when she first manifested here. I was clinging right back, to be honest. I didn’t want to examine why that was.

Either way, I decided that since Yuki’s human disguise had worked so well this weekend, that I could start integrating her into the human world a little bit. After all, I wanted Yuki to have some independence. 

So Yuki accompanied me to the grocery store that evening. She had on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, and by all means should have looked fairly average. But Yuki was still very beautiful without her demon features, and I became slightly worried as the humans in the grocery store seemed to notice this as well. It probably didn’t help that she was clinging onto me with no shame nor concept of PDA.

“Do humans always stare like this?” Yuki whispered once we’d gotten a cart.

“Sometimes,” I said, “when the person they’re looking at is very pretty.”

Yuki blushed adorably. She was basically glued to my side, hugging my arm and occasionally putting her face into my shoulder to hide from wandering eyes.

“Lots of impure thoughts going on here,” she said with a scrunched nose, glancing at fellow shoppers. I laughed. 

“Humans are a bit rotten, aren’t we?”

Yuki’s arms migrated to my middle to give me a tight squeeze. “Not Peter! Peter is a nice person. Never felt anything vile coming from you, never,” she said with a smile.

Ah, well, I guessed I should take that as a compliment.

“You can sense what they’re thinking just by being near them?” I asked while I examined the meat section. Chicken thighs were on sale. 

“Mhm! I can only tell when it’s a deviant thought. Pure thoughts are safe from me,” she said, than added, “I don’t really know how it works.”

I put my arm around her shoulder. “That’s alright. Thanks for telling me.”

Once we had all of the fresh ingredients from our list, I led Yuki to the bakery isle. I loved having bread with my meals. 

“Get this one!” Yuki picked up the biggest baguette and held it up to me with a grin. 

“Okay, fine,” I relented. We went through isle after isle and Yuki convinced me to add more food to my cart than I normally would. It was too hard to say no when she was just so excited over the most mundane things.

When we passed a little display that had glittery snow globes, Yuki basically lost her mind. She shook the thing and watched little reflective pieces float around with an awestruck look on her face.

“It’s soooo cool, can we get it? Please?”

Of course we got that snow globe. And then she smelled some candles that we just had to get! 

I never said no to anything she held up to me. Purple oven mitts, a sparkly keychain, a birthday card that sang a stupid song when it was opened… All things that Yuki didn’t need, necessarily. But Yuki wanted them, so she was going to get them. It was possible that I was spoiling her a bit. I reasoned that Yuki spoiled me too, so it all evened out in the end. 

By the time we were in the check out line, Yuki pretty much declared that she loved the supermarket. 

After the success of that first trip, I was happy to have Yuki tag along with me on other errands. She seemed to love being outside. When I’d come home from work, Yuki would sometimes tell me about how she’d taken to sitting on the patio in the afternoons, basking in the sun. So long as she was in her human form, she was welcome to do that. 

And so we settled into a new routine where Yuki had more freedom. She could go with me on errands and potentially in the future once she understood human customs a little better, she would be able to go places on her own. 

Just the thought of it made me feel a lot less guilty. Yuki was actually able to exist in the world without being held prisoner in my house now. It was a weight off my chest.

Ironically, the extra weight on my body hadn’t gone anywhere. Instead, I was just getting even fatter. It was out of control, really. I’d only had Yuki back in my life for four months, but I’d gained about 35 lbs. Every dinner was elaborate and delicious, and I typically ate every last bit. And these recipes made enough food for four people!!

It didn’t help that Yuki had begun dabbling in baking too. Now there were pies or cakes or pastries made every few days, and I’d of course eat multiple helpings of those every night after I’d digested enough from my dinner feast. 

As a result of all of this overindulgence, I started to be hungrier. In the mornings, a few pieces of toast or frozen waffles used to be enough to fill me up. Now after eating that, I was hungry by mid morning and would snack on vending machine food to tide me over until lunch.

My lunch order was growing along with my waist. It wasn’t intentional, but when I was hungry I had a propensity to over-order. And then when there was food in front of me well… 

I couldn’t blame this on Yuki, per se. She wasn’t making me hungrier. But she was encouraging this side of me. Any time I mentioned that my clothes were getting tight or that I should cut back, she’d tell me that she wanted me to be happy. That she could sense that I wanted to eat more. It wasn’t necessarily untrue; I enjoyed letting myself go, eating whatever I wanted, but it was a headache to have to buy new work clothes for the second time in just a few months. It wasn’t like I couldn’t get my clothes on or anything, but I didn’t want to torture myself by having my my pants digging into me all day while I was working, nor did I want to risk looking unprofessional in button downs that were loose enough to fit around me, but were tight enough that my flesh puckered around each button.

My gains were pretty obvious with or without new clothes. My belly, which before looked like a ball belly, or a beer gut, was now drooping a little over my waistband and forming rolls on my sides. My chest had puffed up too, forming two mounds of fat where before had been just hints of softness. Even my fingers looked puffy lately. My face wasn’t showing much, maybe some softness around my chin but, my belly was definitely taking the brunt of the gain, for sure. 

I wasn’t particularly bothered by it, which was probably weird. Most people would freak out if they gained so much weight so fast. But for some reason, I only felt like I should be upset, rather than actually feeling that way. It was embarrassing, sure, but not in a bad way. I shrugged it off pretty easily. 

As time went on, I began to consider that Yuki had been right about me and my so-called desires.

Eating whatever I wanted was fun. I grew used to being constantly full, and I found that having a full stomach was soothing in a way. Whereas before I would push these feelings away, shame and guilt eating at me, I now tried to embrace them. Yuki wanted me happy. Seeing me happy made her happy. Ergo… I should eat as much as my heart desires. For me. For her. 

The mental gymnastics necessary for me to reach this conclusion were irrelevant. 

What was relevant was that in a matter of weeks, I was up another 10 lbs. It wasn’t super noticeable, at least to me. Yeah so what if my gut was sitting more in my lap everyday? Or if my upper arms were getting puffier, and that my face and neck were getting thicker? That was normal for a man entering his 30’s!

Anytime I mentioned these changes to Yuki she would coo at me, saying how handsome I looked with a little softness added on. And she said everything so earnestly! I was pretty sure she wasn’t even capable of lying, so I believed her. 

Anyway. 

As one would suspect, I’d gotten a few lighthearted comments from other execs. My secretary at work, Denise, was too polite to make a comment, but she had been taking lingering looks at my belly, particularly if she’d just seen me eat a huge spread for lunch.

Overall, it wasn’t too bad. Most of the other men I worked with were overweight. The CEO was pretty portly himself, so most of the teasing was self-deprecating, and it never bothered me.

There was one issue, however, that needed to be resolved. 

I needed to get Yuki an identity. A real one. One that would let her get on a plane to Wisconsin come November because I’d promised Yuki that she could have Thanksgiving with my family. 

And yes, I was willing to commit a crime to make that happen. 

In order to get Yuki an enhanced ID good enough to go through airport security, I had to delve back into my old habits as a young teenager with way too much unsupervised internet access. 

I reintroduced myself to the dark web. 

It was a testament to how close I’d grown to Yuki that I was even willing to go to such lengths for her. 

Going on the dark web was my last resort. I had tried asking Yuki if she could make an ID for herself using demon magic, but she said that she had no power like that. She couldn’t conjure things from nothing, nor could she transform anything but herself, and even that only lasted a short period of time. Her ability to dissolve into shadows was also exclusive to only herself. Yuki explained that she couldn’t take anyone or anything with her when she did so.

So I got my VPN going and searched my way through darknets I hadn’t visited since I was in college. It took the better part of an afternoon before I found what I was looking for: someone who made and sold birth certificate and state ID forgeries. The person’s services supposedly included forging military ID’s and security badges good enough to get into the pentagon, so I hoped it was as legit as it seemed. It was insanely expensive (I only gave partial payment upfront, I’m not an idiot) and I had to send in several photos of Yuki’s human face so that the person could complete my order. It was supposedly going to arrive in my P.O. Box next month. 

Several thousands of dollars poorer, I would finally have a genuine identity for my strange, little lurking demon. I hoped she wouldn’t mind that I’d put my last name as hers as well. I just figured it would be easier that way. 

*

Soon, it was Halloween. We passed out candy all night, which Yuki found fascinating.

She probably made every kid’s night by sharing enthusiastic praise about every child’s costumes as they came up our walkway. I couldn’t help but grin at seeing her interact with humans. She was a bit childlike herself, especially when she got excited. She would gush over every cool mask or pretty dress. She squealed in delight at the one boy dressed as a superhero. 

And then at the end of the night, Yuki hand-fed me all of the leftover candies, looking all sweet and doting. 

No matter what she did, Yuki was always gentle, and kind, and caring, and beautiful, and…

Stop, I mentally slapped myself. 

Yuki’s (forged) ID came in in the mail with only a week to spare before our Thanksgiving trip to Milwaukee. I was a mess of nerves all week, worried about whether or not Yuki would be able to get through TSA with her forged license. I ate my stress a bit, munching on snacks all throughout my workday and eating my now-typical dinner feast.

The day of the flight, Yuki was a bundle of nerves, so I pushed my own worries down deep. I had to be strong for her. 

As we stood in line, I ran a hand over Yuki’s back. She was biting her lip and I knew that if she hadn’t been in her human form, her tail would have been nervously flicking from side to side. This had to work. We’d taken an Uber to the airport since it was cheaper than paying for parking, so if this forgery caused even the slightest of problems, we’d be stranded here with no real escape plan.

Think positively, I admonished myself.

Eventually, it was our turn to approach. I showed them our tickets on my phone, and then the man scanned my ID. The scanner light was all green. 

Yuki’s hand shook as she handed him her ID.

I tried not to look suspicious but I was sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat.

It turned green.

“Here you go, have a nice flight,” the man said in a monotone voice. I nodded and we hurried into the next line.

“See, it’s fine,” I told Yuki.

Yuki purred quietly.

“Peter’s amazing,” she said softly. 

The rest of the security check was uneventful, if you didn’t mind the casual verbal harassment from airport security as we loaded up our belongings to get x-rayed. That always seemed to happen whenever I traveled. I wondered why airport security was so grouchy. 

They did pat down Yuki’s back because apparently, her hair was too fluffy for the body scanner or something, but Yuki was her usual good sport about it as a woman ran her hand over Yuki’s shoulders and upper back. 

We made it through. I smiled to myself as we put our shoes back on. 

*

“AH! It’s so good to see you! How was the flight?!” My mom gushed. Yuki smiled sweetly, but she looked tired. Keeping her human form up for so many hours was draining, though I knew she wouldn’t complain.

“Not bad,” I said, hugging my mom and dad before putting mine and Yuki’s bags in the SUV.

“Didn’t like it,” Yuki said quietly. My mom cooed and pulled Yuki in for a motherly hug.

“Oh, was this your first time flying?”

Yuki nodded into my mom’s shoulder.

“I don’t like flying either,” my dad said. “Human’s aren’t supposed to be so high in the air.” He said it with a ‘tsk’ and a shake of his head.

Yuki met my eye and smiled like we had some kind of private joke. Because Yuki wasn’t human. And yet, she wasn’t meant to be up in the air either. She was meant to be very much below.

It was true that Yuki wasn’t a fan of flying. She hugged my arm and hid her face into it for the whole flight, shaking and whining whenever there was turbulence. I wished I could’ve given her something to relax but I honestly wasn’t sure if human medicine would even have an effect on her.

My parents, predictably, talked Yuki’s ear off for the whole drive. My childhood home wasn’t too far from the airport, so it only took about 20 minutes.

When we arrived, Yuki leaned very close to me. 

“I remember being here,” she said in a quiet voice. “Here is where I met Peter.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “Yeah,” I said, throat tight with… something.

But then my dad was getting bags from the trunk so I went over to help him. He had a bad back, so really he shouldn’t be lifting all that, but he never listens.

“I’ve set up Peter’s old room for you two,” my mom was telling Yuki.

“O-Oh,” Yuki said. She had to be exhausted. I needed to get her alone so she could transform back. She was pushing her limits.

“Wait, what?” I asked once my mom’s words registered.

My mother sent me an absolutely devious smile. “We made the guest room dad’s office so she’ll have to share with you. Don’t worry,” she said to Yuki, “the bed’s big enough for two.”

Yuki smiled and nodded. I looked at my dad pleadingly, but he just shrugged. He knew better than to interfere with Wendy when she was playing match-maker.

“Happy wife happy life,” he mumbled to me. 

My father probably deserved to be sainted for being married to my mom for all these years. 

Once we got the bags put away, Yuki and I had a second alone when my parents were downstairs ordering a pizza.

“Did I do… good?” Yuki asked, nuzzling my chest with her forehead. Her human form melted away, revealing the gray-tinted skin, horns, and tail, which was currently poking its way out of the waistband of her pants.

“You did amazing, Yuki,” I said, holding her close. She was pressed right against my belly, and she seemed to like how it felt, squeezing the rolls on my sides with her tiny hands. 

“Mmm, so tired,” she mumbled into my plush chest. 

“Go to sleep,” I whispered. “I’ll tell them you aren’t feeling well from the flight, okay?”

Yuki groaned lightly which I took as an affirmative. 

“Get some rest,” I said, leaning back to look at her face. I cupped her chin in my hand. She blinked her owlish purple eyes at me sleepily. “I’ll be back up later.”

Yuki grinned and her predatory teeth dazzled. “Peter’s the best,” she said as she slithered under the sheets. We hadn’t discussed her sleeping on the bed rather than under like she did at home, but Yuki was so exhausted that I didn’t correct it. “Peter always takes such good care of me,” she mumbled into the pillow. She dissolved into a fit of boneless, relaxed purring.

Oh no. 

Yuki’s words hit like bullets to the chest. 

Peter always takes such good care of me.

I’m not supposed to feel this way. I had promised myself.

Yuki was docile. Worshipful. That was just how Yuki was. It wasn’t a reflection of how she truly felt about me, was it? She’d say this to anyone in my position.

It didn’t mean she… wanted me. 

I went downstairs. 

“Where’s Yuki?” My mom immediately asked.

“She wasn’t feeling great from the flight still,” I said. “Decided to turn in early.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Well, we ordered extra pizza since we thought she’d be eating but…” my dad looked me up and down. “Maybe that was a blessing in disguise.”

“Ken!” My mom smacked him with a kitchen towel. 

“No, he’s right. I guess I’ve let myself go recently. Job stress,” I said with a shrug. 

“That’s perfectly normal,” my mom chimed in. “Eat as much as you want.”

I did. Probably a whole pizza and a few slices extra. I ate until I felt vaguely sick, which was turning into my default setting as of late. 

I crawled into bed next to Yuki with a sore stomach, bloated from all the carbonated pop and cheesy-meaty pizza. I burped into my fist a few times as I got settled. Yuki didn’t stir, but she shifted closer to me once I got settled.

“Hick, ugh,” I groaned quietly. My poor stomach was gurgling, struggling to digest.

Yuki turned, and her hand landed on the crest of my gut. I stared at her to see if she was awake. She looked asleep. Steady breathing, eyes closed. 

Her fingers slid under the hem of my t-shirt.

I felt myself slipping to sleep as well. The last thing I remember was feeling her hand softly rubbing my belly in soothing circles.

*

Thanksgiving was a parade of gluttony. It was one of my favorite holidays.

Even as a kid, I loved watching football with my dad, eating until I was groaning, and then getting multiple helpings of dessert after. 

Waking up in the middle of the night to have leftovers.

It was comforting in a way.

Yuki seemed to have recovered well overnight. She took her time getting ready before she left the bedroom, only donning her human form at the last second. 

“Sure you’ll be okay all day today?” I asked, slightly worried. Yes, she’d done well at the airport in her disguise, but today would be more hours. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.

“Mhm!” Yuki said cheerily. She latched onto me like a leech, wrapping me in her arms. I knew if her tail was out, it would’ve been wound around my leg. “Today will be different! Can feed off of Peter today, yes, your aura should be so very filling for me today,” she said. I yelped when her little teeth bit my upper arm where it was most flabby. 

“Yuki,” I scolded.

The little demon knew she had me wrapped around her finger, as she just giggled and kissed the sore spot. I was grateful she didn’t do that with her normal teeth.

Although, under a certain circumstance, those teeth could feel…

Danger. Stop. This train of thought is prohibited.

We made our way downstairs where my dad had already gotten the turkey in the oven and my mom was making eggs and bacon to tide us over until dinner.

We took seats at the kitchen barstools.

I watched my mom plate Yuki up some breakfast and licked my own lips in anticipation.

This time, I was excited at the prospect of secretly eating double. I don’t know what exactly changed since the last time she’d done this, but now I wanted it. I wanted to eat as much as I could. I knew it would feel good. I felt warmth spreading through me, pooling in my gut, just thinking about it.

So when Yuki took a big heaping bite of bacon, I stuffed some of my own bacon in my mouth. Sure enough, Yuki magicked her food into my mouth and I smiled as I chewed through a doubled mouthful.

I felt immense satisfaction as I scarfed down two giant platefuls. I also felt very full.

Yuki blinked at me with her typical adoring gaze. I put a hand on her leg under the bar, thinking she was feeling as satisfied as I felt.

“More please!” Yuki said innocently.

I bit the inside of my cheek. 

“You’re feeling very devious today, aren’t you?” I murmured quietly to Yuki as my mom eagerly refilled her dish.

Yuki giggled. “I can sense it.”

I frowned at her. “Sense what?”

“Can sense the impure thoughts you’re having about being a glutton. It’s making me feel oh so floaty!” she whispered with a slightly crazed smile. 

Impure thoughts. About being a what?

But I didn’t get to ask because my mom was walking up to the kitchen island and handing Yuki a plate. 

Now to awkwardly chew without being noticed since I was supposed to be done eating… I hid my mouth behind my napkin as Yuki scarfed down ‘her’ second helping.

I sat down on the couch to watch the game. Yuki had offered to help my mom, unsurprisingly. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Yuki dutifully sliced potatoes. 

I had hoped to digest more of my breakfast, but it seemed like no time at all had passed before it the turkey was done and I was setting the dining room table. 

I didn’t’ know what was wrong with me, but I was feeling that same perverted sort of excitement I’d felt earlier. Even though I wasn’t at all hungry, I just. Wanted food anyway.

“Let’s say grace,” my mom said once all of her side dishes had been plated around the big golden-brown bird in the center of the table.

“Bless us, oh Lord, for these thy gifts….” We recited.

Yuki went ridged before she started to squirm uncomfortably in her chair next to me. 

“Amen!” 

Yuki melted back into her seat.

“Who wants white meat, who wants dark?” My dad asked, getting up to start carving.

The next hour or so was a blur of flavors. Every bite I took, I was getting a surprise second bite from Yuki. Sometimes the combinations were better than others. Mashed potatoes and turkey? Great. 

Green bean casserole and cranberry sauce? Not so great.

But. I kept eating beyond all common sense, because that was what Thanksgiving was about as far as I was concerned. 

Everyone was groaning appreciatively at the flavors, paying compliments to my dad (for the turkey) and to my mom (for everything else). Long after everyone else claimed themselves to be stuffed, leaned back in their chairs and wishing they had worn stretchy pants, I kept eating. My stomach was aching by then, but I didn’t care. I’d unbuttoned my pants in preparation before we’d even started eating so I wasn’t phased. And it all tasted so good. Yuki seemed to know it too, as she kept eating as well, secretly feeding me every bit.

I lost count of how many rolls, how many helpings of turkey, potatoes, casseroles, corn I’d eaten. It was an excess, that was all I knew. And when I truly felt like I couldn’t eat even one more bite, absolutely stuffed, painful stretching and shooting pains from my absolute tank of a gut filling my lap, Yuki pushed one more bite of buttery bread down.

I couldn’t help but moan around it.

“We really did a number on that bird, didn’t we?” My mom was boxing up leftovers and yes, there was only about a quarter of the turkey left. The rest of the dishes were either gone or nearly. 

It was easily enough food for six people, but three had almost wiped the table clear.

I felt a sick sense of pride, even though my gut ached something fierce and all I wanted to do was lay down.

“Ate too much?” My dad asked. I was in a major food coma, watching Yuki’s fluffy black hair fall over one shoulder as she helped pick up plates.

“You could say that,” I wheezed.

*

After our trip to Wisconsin, something between Yuki and I changed. It was like some kind of wall had crumbled. Neither of us were acting differently per se, but there was an energy there that hadn’t been there before. Knowing glances replaced innocent ones. I replaced my favorite belt with a larger one.

Whatever was going on with us, this feeding thing, it was no longer ignorable. Before, I could write it off. Yuki was simply engrossed in her new hobby, cooking, and of course my waistband was suffering because of it. That made sense. And Yuki used to have to push me to overeat, back when I was still in denial about how much I liked it. 

Then, over time, it became more natural to let myself indulge. I didn’t need prompting to eat enough food for four people at meals anymore. But lately… It was more than indulgence. I was falling into a cycle of gluttony. And I knew that Yuki was pleased at herself for thoroughly corrupting my self-control. 

I wished I didn’t find it incredibly attractive.

I did.

Soon the first snowfall of the season was upon us. Denver didn’t get as cold as the midwest winters I was used to, but the storm that came in early December was substantial. We stayed inside, bundled up in blankets cuddling on the couch as we watched it fall. Yuki made me a hot chocolate.

“The snow looks so fluffy,” Yuki commented, and a contented chirp rumbled from her chest. 

“We can go out there if you want. But it’s cold,” I warned her.

Yuki’s cheeks flushed with her excitement. “Really?!”

Just that look on her face made me inhale shakily. This was so dangerous. I had been ignoring this feeling for months. 

I couldn’t ignore it right then. Not with Yuki’s purple eyes glittering, staring at me like I was her entire universe.

I was falling in love with my demon. 

We went outside. Yuki didn’t like being cold as a general rule. She much preferred the heat, as evidenced by her scalding hot baths. But still, she excitedly tromped all around our backyard, even sticking her tongue out to catch some snow flakes.

“Let’s make snow angels,” I said. 

“Okay!” Yuki nodded, happy to go along with any suggestion of mine. Then, “What are those?”

After a short explanation, I lowered myself onto the wet, snowy ground. This was a lot more fun when I was a kid, I realized. Yuki followed along until we were both settled in the white snow. 

“Now you just move your arms and legs like this,” I said, demonstrating. 

“Oh my!”

Yuki giggled happily as we made snow angels. 

“Now, here’s the most important part,” I said. “You have to try to get up without messing up your angel.”

Yuki’s brow furrowed. I couldn’t help but smile, thinking I’d never seen such a look of serious concentration on her face.

I tried getting up, noting that it was more difficult since I’d last done this. I didn’t generally get on the floor often, and I definitely hadn’t done it since about 30 lbs ago. 

I felt my belly awkwardly pushing into my leg as I got myself into a kneel. I had to take a second to catch my breath.

“Okay, let’s see how we did.” I pushed myself up and then jumped out of my angel. I didn’t do a great job; there was a big boot print in my angel’s wing.

Yuki did much better. Hers was pristine. 

“SO COOL!” she gushed. I quickly had an armful of a squirming Yuki. She nuzzled me, even licked my neck, which I thought was a rather strange thing to do, but well. That was Yuki for you.

Yuki purred against me. We risked her coming outside in her true form since her horns were covered by a hat and her tail was tucked somewhere in her snow pants. Her ashen cheeks were pink from the cold and her eyes reflected the white that was falling around us. I found myself looking at her lips. 

They were turning a bit blue.

I wondered if she was really purring that hard or if she was trembling from the cold.

“We should go inside and warm up,” I said.

“O-O-ka-ka-ka-y,” she said through a frozen tremble. Her smile didn’t dim at all even as we shuffled inside. 

We shed our wet outer garments and thawed on the couch covered in blankets. It was perfect. I couldn’t ever remember a day when I’d been more at peace. 

Especially when Yuki decided to warm up the house by baking cookies. I may have eaten 10 in one sitting. 

 I got up to go to the bathroom later that day and was shocked at how fat I looked in my reflection. Sure, I had decided to just embrace my climbing weight since it seemed to make Yuki and Iboth happy. But seeing myself was still jarring sometimes. 

I had a proper double chin these days. My arms, which used to be toned and muscled, now looked swollen with fat. Even my wrists and hands were pudgy. My legs weren’t really that big; I was decidedly top-heavy, but even so, my thighs had started to rub together. My gut was surely the biggest thing about me, but my love handles had swelled to the point where I had an exaggerated muffin top at all times now. I could see that my belly was drooping too. I could barely see my pants-button. And of course when I turned to the side to look at my profile, it was even more obvious how fat I was. My stomach stuck out far enough that it was a little hard to hold my belly button with both hands. I lifted my belly up and watched it jiggle as I let it go.

“Peter! Dinner!” Yuki called.

I sighed and patted my stomach. 

“Be right there!”

* 

December was flying by. In what seemed like no time at all, I woke up one morning realizing it was nearly Christmas. I shuffled out of bed rubbing my tired eyes. I could hear Yuki’s heavy sighs and occasional purrs from under my bed and I couldn’t help but smile fondly. 

Yuki was not a morning person. She only got up when I was about tot leave to say goodbye to me before I went to work, and even then she always looked sleepy and soft. With swollen eyes and a wrinkles from her pillowcase on her cheeks.

God. Ever since I admitted to myself that I had feelings for Yuki it was like I couldn’t help but thinking of her all the time anymore. My love for her was spilling over into my every waking thought. I was turning into such a sap. 

I didn’t act on my feelings. For one, I wasn’t sure if Yuki could even feel romantic love. She wasn’t human. It was easy to forget because she was so kind, compassionate, caring, all attributes that I associated with humanity. But she was a demon and I wasn’t sure if she was capable of human love. I knew Yuki cared about me in her way, but caring about someone and loving them were different. I didn’t know if I could handle it if I confessed only to have her say she couldn’t reciprocate.

For two, I recalled all of the workplace harassment training I’d taken for my job. Hours of my life sitting through modules where relationships with power imbalances were discussed, along with the potential legal ramifications for engaging in such a relationship. Of course, these were geared toward workplace relationships. It’d be unethical for me to date someone in my company, particularly someone who I was a direct supervisor to. 

But after everything that happened when Yuki reappeared in my life, I was certain that Yuki and I were in a similar situation. After all, she was beholden to me. She was my demon. That was an uneven power dynamic if I’d ever heard one. And I’d repressed my own growing feelings for her because, on some level, I thought that I would be taking advantage of her if I ever acted on my feelings. And Yuki’s docile nature didn’t dispel that illusion for me. It felt wrong to force my affections on her, even though it was usually Yuki who initiated physical affection. Cuddling could be platonic, after all, so I still felt weird about aiming for more than that. 

But I wasn’t so sure anymore. Yuki had the ability to have her own life outside of me now. She’d met my parents, gone out in public with me several times, and we were working on her becoming even more independent. So maybe it could work. Maybe it wouldn’t be wrong to love her. 

Assuming Yuki returned my feelings, of course. 

I splashed cold water on my face to wake me up before I went downstairs to eat some breakfast. I’d always started my day with a hearty breakfast, but lately I’d been waking up ravenous. My stomach would rumble like I hadn’t eaten in weeks like I hadn’t in fact eaten a meal for four only ten hours earlier. 

I threw four frozen waffles into the toaster and started the coffee machine. I picked at some cookies while I waited. It seemed like only a short while ago, two waffles would be more than enough to hold me over until lunch. But of course, I now needed at least five. I could probably eat eight if I really put my mind to it.

I loaded up my coffee with flavored creamer and sat down with my syrup and waffles. As I stuffed my face, I thought about the upcoming holiday. I had my last week of work and then my parents would be flying in for Christmas. 

I also had the annual Christmas party for work to attend. It wasn’t mandatory, but it would look bad if I didn’t show up, seeing as it was my first year working as an exec.

It was black tie, and so I’d had to order a new tux for the occasion. I was debating asking Yuki to accompany me. My secretary, Denise, said that most people bring a date. A spouse, a fiancé, a fling…

I had none of the above, but I did have a Yuki. 

Would that be weird? Would Yuki even want to go? Moreover, Yuki didn’t have any formal clothes. I’d have to take her shopping. It sounded like a chore, but then the more I thought about it, I realized seeing Yuki try on clothes might be sort of fun. She’d surely look stunning in anything she wore…

I put away my dishes and got dressed. Yuki slithered out from under my bed while I was tying my tie. 

“Leaving?” She asked. I nodded. “I’ll miss you!” Yuki clung to my middle and nuzzled my chest. I could feel myself blushing. 

“I’ll miss you too. Be good,” I said, petting her hair. She purred lethargically. 

“Always good,” she mumbled.

“I know you are.”

*

I didn’t bring up the Christmas party until I got home that night. Yuki was finishing off a big pan of shrimp Alfredo that smelled absolutely delicious. She put the fettuccine into a pot of boiling water, tail swaying from side to side as she did. She always cooked barefoot, tiny gray-ish feet padding around the kitchen tiles as she stirred and chopped. 

“Hey Yuki,” I said.

“Mmm?”

“How would you feel about going somewhere with me? For my work.”

Yuki tilted her head, considering. “Go somewhere?” she echoed. “I’ve never been to Peter’s work.”

I smiled. “I know. Ah, well, it’s a work party. So it isn’t actually the place I really work at. But most of the people there will bring someone. I thought, maybe, if you wanted to, I could bring…you,” I said lamely. I felt like a goddamn middle schooler, stuttering trying to ask out some girl. 

But Yuki just lit right up. Her face brightened into a pleased and slightly surprised smile, and she hopped a little in place, clapping her hands together.

“Peter wants me to go with him! Of course I’ll go! Any place with Peter there will be the best place for Yuki to be,” she said with a feverish smile. She even ran over to where I was sitting at the kitchen bar to hug my arm to her chest.

“I’m glad,” I said, putting my arm around her instead and pulling her into a proper hug. “We’ll have to get you a nice dress to wear. It’s kind of fancy,” I said. 

Yuki lifted her head super fast at that, and I dodged blindness by horn-point. 

“I get to wear a dress?!” she whisper-yelled.

“You sure do,” I said. 

“EEEE!”

It turned out that getting Yuki a dress wasn’t actually too hard. I recalled how Yuki used to be scared at when we went out in public at first, as she was naturally a bit flighty and nervous, but over time, she began to love being around other people. 

The sales attendant that helped Yuki pick out her dress (she ended up choosing a gorgeous midnight blue number, floor-length with silver accents) chatted Yuki up and I could tell, Yuki liked the attention. It helped that everything she tried on looked gorgeous on her. Even without her demon features, she was a knockout. 

Apparently Yuki was a winter undertone so cool colors will compliment best… I didn’t know what any of that meant, so I just nodded along and swiped my card to pay for it and carried the garment bag to the car. 

 The day of the party, I decided to step on the scale for the first time in a while. It wasn’t like I was avoiding it, but I had been sort of enjoying the mystery of not having my weight gain confirmed. It was nice to think I might still be somewhere around 280. 

When the scale said 303, I bit my lip. Well, I supposed I’d maybe been underestimating just how many extra calories I’d been eating every day. How could I have put on another 20 pounds without hardly noticing? Sure it was the holiday season so everyone was gaining a bit of winter fluff, but this was putting my gain at over 50 lbs in just 6 months. That seemed… substantial. 

I decided not to think too hard about it, and just started getting dressed instead. My new was loose actually, which was good. With the way I was going, it probably wouldn’t be loose on me for long.

Meanwhile, Yuki was nearly bouncing off the walls with excitement as she got ready. 

She looked stunning. She’d even curled her hair with the new curling iron we’d picked up, so her black hair fell in silky spirals on her back. 

The saleswoman at the dress shop must’ve been onto something because Yuki’s pale skin looked fantastic against the deep blue tones of her dress. And even though I missed her purple eyes, she was still a sight to behold in her human guise. 

“What do you think?” Yuki asked, giving me a little twirl. And was I imagining it, or were her cheeks looking a little pink?

“You look absolutely beautiful, Yuki,” I said. 

Yuki’s face lit up and she swayed on her feet a little from the compliment. It was so cute how flustered she got sometimes.

“I think Peter looks the most beautiful,” Yuki muttered. She was definitely blushing now, but so was I.

So I just held out my arm. “Let’s go.”

*

Everyone at the party thought Yuki was my girlfriend. Maybe I should’ve foreseen this and prepared for it, but for some reason it hadn’t even occurred to me. Stupid.

“Oh my, I didn’t realize Peter had a partner, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“And who might you be? Peter never mentioned having such a beautiful girlfriend.”

It just went on and on like that with every acquaintance I came across. I didn’t correct anyone, because me having Yuki as a girlfriend was much more believable than the truth.

Yuki, for her part, did extremely well. She didn’t talk much, but that was mostly because she was still pretty shy around big groups. She only replied to direct questions, or said “Nice to meet you as well,” and she didn’t let go of my hand the whole time. 

Meanwhile, everyone we passed couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off of her. I didn’t blame them, she was radiant. If only they knew how much more beautiful she was in her true form… Still, the attention was a bit much. Men’s eyes followed her around the room. I imagined them wondering to themselves how I was able to find someone as gorgeous as Yuki looking how I did. For some reason, their jealousy was turning me on. I felt sort of like an asshole for thinking it, but I was oddly pleased at the amount of attention Yuki was receiving. There was something so hot about having the most attractive person in a room, when they only have eyes for you.

If only Yuki really felt that way about me. 

“How are you feeling? So far so good?” I whispered to Yuki as we finally made our way to our table for dinner. 

“Mhm!” Yuki nodded her head enthusiastically. “Everybody is so nice. I feel so energized from all of the envy and greed here. Very lush,” she said with a tiny giggle. 

“Envy and greed huh… I suppose that is the world of business,” I acknowledged with a laugh. 

We found our table pretty easily; we were sitting with a few executives I liked and their spouses. I was relieved that Carl wasn’t sitting near me. That man was insufferable. 

We got our champagne and listened to our CEO give a brief speak before we cheers-ed. Yuki had never tried alcohol before, so I told her to just take a tiny sip or not drink it at all. 

I watched out of the corner of my eye as she sniffed the glass, made a face, and then pushed it into my hand.

One of my colleague’s wives noticed and said, “Don’t like it?” When Yuki shook her head, she said, “I never used to either. It’s an acquired taste.”

“I don’t think that is a taste I will be acquiring, ma’am,” Yuki said with a worried expression. The woman laughed.

“Oh my, you’re such a sweetie!” 

I was inclined to agree. 

After a few minutes, they started bringing food out, and I was relieved. Even though I’d hit the appetizer tables a little hard, that fancy finger food hadn’t done much to stave off my hunger. I was starving. 

As had become our routine, I ate my food while Yuki covertly magicked her own food on my plate. Over the course of the dinner, I ate two helpings of salad, soup, porterhouse steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and finished off with two big slices of cake. I was feeling pretty stuffed and drowsy after so much rich food. Yuki seemed worn out as well, since I knew that keeping up her human appearance was tiring, and socializing with so many people was out of her comfort zone. We decided we would have a photo taken of us in front of the gorgeous holiday display and then leave early. The photographer had a short line, so we made our way over there to get that done before we planned to slip out of the party. 

Yuki slipped her small arm around my middle and squeezed at the flesh there. 

“Thank you for bringing me,” she purred, tucking herself into my side.

“Of course, Yuki. I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else.”

Her hands rubbed my swollen sides. 

“I love Peter. Peter’s the best. Always… always so nice to me,” Yuki murmured sleepily. I instantly froze. Yuki… Yuki said what? She… loved me?

“Next!” the photographer called, and oh my god that was us. Of course it would be. Of course I wouldn’t be able to talk to her about what she’d just said. 

Yuki pulled away and we positioned ourselves where we were directed. 

“Now smile on three. One, two, three!”

Flash. 

I started walking in a daze. It felt like time had stopped the minute I’d heard Yuki say she loved me. Did she actually say that? Was I projecting? Memory is fallible so it was hard to say… 

“And then, when the picture comes in, can we put it on the fireplace? In a nice frame. Because we have so many nice pictures on there already, but none of them have me in them, so I was thinking, maybe you would like it if there was one of us on there. Do you think we can do that? Please?” Yuki rambled as we walked towards the doors. 

I tried to focus back on what she was saying. “Sure, I’d like that,” I said quickly.

“Yay! I’m so excited to see it,” she chirped. 

*

We were almost to the exit of the venue when I heard someone call my name.

“Peter, leaving so soon?”

Carl Wellington, the man I’d successfully avoided all night (until now, that is) was walking towards us.

I was instantly irritated. Yuki stiffened next to me. I glanced over at her, and the look on her face… it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Even without the horns or anything, she looked… menacing.

A low, rumbly growl started emanating from her chest as Carl walked closer. 

“What..?” I began to say, but then Carl started speaking.

“Oh my.” He genuinely looked surprised as he glanced between Yuki and myself. After a moment, a look of realization dawned on his face. “Ol’ Saint Pete has himself a demon? Now that is unexpected,” Carl said, and I could see something far more evil showing in his face than I ever had before. His eyes looked… void of any humanity altogether. His pupils were dilated and cruel. 

“A d-demon?” I echoed dumbly.

Yuki growled louder, even going so far as to put her arm in front of me and taking a step forward. The shadows in the room suddenly seemed darker. I swear I saw Yuki’s human guise flickering in and out, but any time I noticed purple eyes or horns or shark teeth, they were gone in the next moment. 

“Stay away from him,” Yuki snarled, and her voice sounded horrible. Her growl had turned into more of a hiss. The sound made me feel a chill down my spine. I felt goosebumps rising on my arms. I glanced around, all the sudden nervous about someone witnessing this altercation, but luckily the hall was empty aside from us. 

“I didn’t realized another of us had already claimed you, Peter.” 

Wait, had he said another one of us?

Carl’s eyes lingered on Yuki. “She is lovely. And very attached, I see.” His gaze bounced between Yuki and I with an intelligent glint that I absolutely hated. “Well, that does explain your good fortune. But my, how interesting. I’m oh so glad I was able to run into you both. This has been very informative. Have a pleasant night you two,” Carl said with thick condescension, and then he turned on his heel and walked away. 

I watched, shocked and bewildered by the entire conversation, as Carl disappeared back into the main banquet room.

Beside me, Yuki was no longer growling. In fact, she was shaking. I watched as her eyes welled with tears.

“Yuki, it’s okay. Come on, he’s gone. We need to get out of here, let’s go,” I said. 

Yuki slumped like a deflated ballon and let herself be led outside and to the parking lot. 

My mind was reeling as I buckled her into the front seat of my car. I’d never seen Yuki so hostile before. And what in the world was my colleague? Was he a demon too? 

Yuki made a pitiful, whining sort of sound, like a wounded dog, as I put the car into gear and started driving.

I reached over and put my free hand on her thigh, rubbing soothing circles into her skin with my thumb.

“It’s alright, you’re okay,” I said gently. I had to keep it together, since clearly whatever Carl was, Yuki was afraid of it. 

“S-Sorry,” Yuki mumbled after a few minutes of silence. I looked at her before quickly shifting my gaze back to the road.

“For what?”

“Was s’posed to protect Peter, but I got scared,” she sniffled. “Bad Yuki.”

“Huh?!” My face twisted in confusion. “Yuki, you did protect me. You were marvelous. A bit scary, honestly, but amazing nonetheless. I was the one who was helpless back there.”

Yuki pursed her lips like she didn’t agree. 

“What was that anyway? Is Carl… a demon too?” I asked hesitantly. I mean, it wouldn’t be so hard to believe. Carl certainly acted devilish at times. 

Yuki shook her head before leaning over the console to put her forehead against my bicep.

“Not a demon. But he’s being possessed by one,” she mumbled.

My eyebrows shot up. That sounded worse for some reason.

“He’s… possessed?” 

“Mhm,” Yuki mumbled. “Not by a very strong demon, though. Just a demon of greed. It’s clinging to the man’s soul, using his body,” Yuki said quietly.

I tried to pretend that this wasn’t the most horrifying thing I’d ever heard. 

Jesus. How many people in the world had demons attached to them right now? How many do I see everyday without ever knowing? How many were as good as Yuki? Probably not many. 

That wasn’t terrifying or anything. 

“If he’s possessed,” I considered for a second, “is there something we can do to get the real Carl back?” I asked. 

Yuki hummed, thinking. “Demons like that can’t possess just anyone. The person has to let them in,” Yuki said. “It’s not like in the movies. It was probably able to take over because Carl wanted whatever it is that the demon was offering.”

“A deal,” I said, remembering a very young Yuki in my basement, desperate for one hair off of my head in exchange for her protection. I wondered what Carl had wanted badly enough to make a deal like that, but then I didn’t really want to think about Carl’s possession anymore.

When Yuki changed the subject, I was grateful. 

“Those kinds of us aren’t usually very strong. I guess I froze up back there because…” Yuki sighed heavily. “I was still scared like how I used to be b-before. Before I met Peter. I forgot that I’m stronger now.”

I pondered that for a second before speaking. “You thought it’d be like it was when you were with your siblings?” I guessed.

Yuki whined in confirmation. 

“It won’t ever be like that again, do you hear me?” I told her. “Because I have the best demon, don’t I?” Warmth bled into my tone as I spoke. “I have the smartest, sweetest, most incredible demon in the world. And no one is better than you, Yuki. No one.”

Yuki sniffled before smiling a little. “You mean it?” she asked.

“Of course I do.”

Yuki didn’t say anything for a while, so I risked a glance over at her and oh god, she was giving me that look. The one that melted my heart like candle wax. The devoted, worshiping, loving, look. Damnit. 

The car felt too stuffy all off the sudden, but we were nearly home already, so I only had to bear it for a few more minutes before we were pulling into the garage. 

Except that tight feeling in my chest didn’t ease once we got inside the house. No, it was getting strong and stronger every second.

It was like my body could’t contain all of the emotions I felt for Yuki. They were spilling out, bubbling over like a pot left unattended. 

I made myself act normal despite the storm brewing in my head. 

Yuki and I were both tired from the party, and worn out from the confrontation with another demon (I had yet to fully process that to be honest) and our conversation in the car. 

We headed up to our bedroom to get ready for bed. I started to untie my tie, but I kept messing it up with my shaky hands.

“Here, let me,” Yuki said quietly. Her hands gently pushed mine aside and she started to slowly undo the knot. Then she started unbuttoning my shirt. She was looking at me demurely, shyly, peeking up at me from beneath her lashes, slowly undoing each button one at a time. 

We were standing very close to each other. I looked down at her since she was shorter. 

Then, and all at once I blurted out what I’d been wanting to ask all night, “Let me see your real face.” 

Yuki looked up at me in surprise. But whatever expression she saw in my face seemed to reassure her, and after a second, her human disguise melted away. 

I was looking down at my beautiful demon, my scary gorgeous, sweet demon. Her purple eyes glittered in the soft light from the bedside lamp. Her razor-sharp teeth shone as she smiled up at me. Her glossy black horns framed her face, and her tail poked its way out of her dress to caress my ankle. 

I loved her so much it ached. 

I was about to do something I might later regret. But, in that moment, there was nothing I could do about it. It felt like if I let that moment pass, I was sure that I would miss my chance forever. 

So I leaned down. 

Yuki caught on to what I was doing and met me halfway. Our lips met in the middle, and it was everything I had wanted for so long. I was instantly groaning and grabbing at her shoulders to mesh our lips together more deeply. 

Yuki purred, and I could feel it in my own chest, since she was pressed against me. Her hands wound around my waist, fondling and squeezing at the rolls on my sides. It felt so good, so incredibly good. 

I opened my mouth for more, and Yuki did the same, our tongues swirling together. I felt the edge of one of her teeth brush lightly against my tongue, and I swear something about the threat of getting nicked by one of those sharp things was just making me burn even hotter.

Eventually, I moved to kissing Yuki’s neck. She was moaning softly and chanting my name as I kissed every part of her I could reach.

“Peter Peter Peter Peter…”

Yuki’s tail was moving up my right leg, squeezing and un-squeezing around my calf. It should have been weird, but it was just another sensation adding to my arousal. 

I pulled back, loving how wrecked Yuki looked. Eyes glassy, cheeks flushed even through her natural ashen skin. 

“Yuki, about earlier,” I started to say, but then I felt nervous. She was still clinging to me, looking up at me like I was her world. “You said something. Back when we were about to have our photo taken….Uhm, you said you loved me,” I said, voice a little uneven. “What-what did you mean by that?”

Yuki blinked slowly. Her purr came back in full force and she leaned her head into my chubby chest to nuzzle at me.

“I said I love Peter! And I do, I love you Peter. Peter finally kissed Yuki!” she muttered excitedly, the words still clear though slightly muffled by my chest. “I’m so happy,” she sighed.

I felt like I was on cloud nine. 

“You really do?” I asked, slightly amazed. 

“Mmmm, yes!” She sprang her head back up with a slightly feral grin on her face. “Does this mean Peter wants to be with me?”

I swear my heart nearly burst with how much I loved her just then. She was so freaking cute I could just squeeze her to death. 

But my logical head chimed in to dim my high before I got too carried away. 

“Only if you wantthat Yuki. Remember, you get to choose now. You always have a choice with me. If you don’t want to be with me like that, that’s fine. I’ll still be your Peter. You don’t have to be mine in that way if you don’t want to.” 

I tried to make myself sound objective, like Yuki wouldn’t be crushing my hopes and dreams by saying no. If that was what she wanted, that would be what she’d get. I would just have to bear it. She needed to choose me. 

No matter my own feelings, I didn’t want her that way if it wasn’t by her own choice.

Yuki pouted adorably. “But that’s all I want! Yuki wants to be Peter’s in every way,” she said, sounding petulant.

God, she really was precious, wasn’t she?

“You do? You want to be my partner? Romantically?” I needed clarification like I needed oxygen. Yuki looked a little fed up, rolling her eyes like I was just being stupid on purpose.

“Yes! Yuki already belongs to Peter. I want Peter to belong to me too!” she said, and her voice shaky with excitement. Her eyes were a little teary, but her smile could light up the darkest of rooms.

Overcome with emotion, I kissed her again, softly this time.

“I’m yours,” I whispered against her mouth. 

*

Yuki and I slept together (literally—we just slept, nothing else! Get your head out of the gutter) that night and I woke up to her sleeping half on top of me. Her tail had wrapped its way around my ankle and her hair was in my mouth and her chest was rumbling with a contented purr that made my own heart pitter patter. 

Typically, I didn’t linger in bed. I liked to get up, take a nice long morning shower, and then eat breakfast, since I usually woke up ravenous these days. But today, I let myself laze around in bed, enjoying the feeling of holding Yuki close. 

When Yuki woke up, she lifted her head and blinked dazedly for a few seconds before hugging me in a crushing grip. 

“Ah,” I gasped, “good… morning,” I huffed, getting the words out as best I could with a demon clinging onto my midsection. Her little arms dug into the ample flesh around my waist, and after a second, she relented her grip in order to kneed my softness. It felt so nice. 

“Mmmm, waking up next to Peter… It is a good morning,” Yuki said cheekily. 

I blushed, flustered at Yuki’s flirty tone.

Before I could reply, my stomach growled audibly.

Yuki popped up immediately at that, and I admired her morning face, puffy from sleep with lines from her pillowcase on her cheek.

“Peter’s hungry!” she exclaimed, wide-eyed. “I’ll go make something!” Yuki hopped off the bed, tail wagging behind her as she hurried out of the room and down the stairs. I blinked at the empty space in the bed.

Well, I supposed I should get into the shower. Yuki would probably have something cooked up by the time I got out. I shuffled to the bathroom with more of a kick in my step than usual. 

When I got in and soaped up my body, I found myself whistling to myself. 

I wasn’t put off by how jiggly I felt as I washed my belly, still riding high from my confession last night and Yuki’s eager reciprocation. 

After I got dressed, I followed the tantalizing smell of vanilla and cinnamon and went downstairs. Yuki was frying up some French toast and god did it smell amazing. 

“Here!” She shoved a plate stacked high with about for pieces of thick, brioche bread, which I then smothered in syrup and powdered sugar. 

I groaned at the taste. It was perfect, not overly sweet, gooey but not soggy. I inhaled my first plate and Yuki quickly served me up another. I sipped coffee with lots of creamer in between bites. Per usual, I overate. After possibly 12 slices, I felt full. My stomach was bloated up, and I rested a hand on the top where it jutted out from under my chest. But I kept going past common sense. It was getting easier and easier to eat past my limits every day, and Yuki was only making it easier by cooking up so much tempting food. 

I sighed heavily past my fullness and tucked into another helping. It was getting harder to swallow, each bite weighing heavily, like a cement block in my stomach.

Yuki took her usual place on my lap and started rubbing on my swollen, aching stomach. Only today, she started kissing and licking on my neck as I ate. If it was meant as a distraction, it surely worked, since I absentmindedly shoved more food into my mouth, focusing only on the hot lips and tongue loving on my neck. 

By the time I cleared that plate I felt sweaty and vaguely sick. Even Yuki’s hands weren’t soothing the stretched out skin on my belly. Even my loose cotton t-shirt felt too constricting, so I pulled it up over my belly, letting the cool air hit my poor skin. 

“Poor Peter, you ate too much,” Yuki cooed, and I watched, breathing harder than an athlete, and she slid down to her knees in front of me. I spread my legs and she glanced up at me from beneath her lashes. Her purple eyes were shining with a different sort of look than I was used to. It was a devious look, surely, but also tender. 

She watched me and kissed my poor abused belly before reaching underneath it to fiddle with the waistband of my sweatpants.

“Yuki,” I tried to say, not wanting her to feel obligated to go any further than kissing, but she didn’t listen. 

She kissed my belly again, open mouthed. “Need you,” she breathed.

I swear, my eyes probably rolled back at that comment, with how needy and sweet and sexy she was being. So I let her shimmy my waistband down and tuck me into her mouth. 

Oh god. 

Yuki… Her mouth was so hot, and her hands kept rubbing on the sides of my belly, and her tail was rubbing up against my shin, up and down.

I reached down over my swollen gut, carefully as to not jostle it too much, and ran my hands through her hair. It was so soft. 

Jesus. Somehow my hands found themselves using her horns like handlebars, and holy god was that doing something to me. 

Yuki hummed her encouragement as I started tugging her mouth to and fro. 

I came with a grunt, and Yuki just swallowed me down. I swear I saw white. I’d never come that hard in my life.

“Yuki…” I muttered once my breathing returned to normal. 

“Love Peter,” she said, nuzzling her face into my belly. She was purring again, loudly. 

“I love Yuki,” I said, giving her head another loving pat. 

*

As it turns out, dating your own personal demon was very different than just living with your demon. It was so much better.

Yuki didn’t sleep under my bed anymore. I got to cuddle her all night. Or actually, Yuki usually cuddled me. She would wrap herself around me from behind, clinging from head to tail, all night long. It was a little strange at first to shift in the night and feel a tail groping you, but as most things about Yuki were strange, I loved it anyway. 

I’d had girlfriends before, but I’d never had a serious relationship. Most of my experience with dating were superficial college flings. Being with Yuki was drastically different. It made me feel like a novice to relationships. Yuki brought out feelings in me I didn’t even know I could have. Yuki was it for me. 

There was a part of me that wondered if this was wrong. Yuki wasn’t human, so was this some kind of cross-species relationship? 

But Yuki reassured me that humans and demons have had relationships for as long as humans have been around, and it wasn’t and odd as it maybe seemed.

The timing of this new relationship development was… unfortunate. 

We had only a few days of bliss exploring this new romantic side to our relationship, until it was Christmas Eve’s Eve.

 My parents decided to come to me for Christmas this year, so they came in early that morning and I picked them up from the airport. 

But the upside was that I could finally tell my parents that me and Yuki were together. Officially. 

“Oh thank GOD!” my mom said with a dramatic sigh when I broke the news. “What took so long?”

Yuki giggled and put her arms around me. 

“Peter didn’t wanna take advantage of me,” Yuki said, giving me a soft look. I felt myself blush.

“Oh, I really did raise such a sweet boy, didn’t I?” My mom pinched my cheeks like I was five.

“Get off,” I demanded half-heartedly, "and dad don’t laugh, you’re egging her on!” I said, affronted.

Everyone laughed. 

It was safe to say my parents were supportive. They loved Yuki. Who wouldn’t? She was perfect. 

My mom had even surprised Yuki with her very own stocking. It was family tradition that everyone has handmade stocking with their name on it. We’d even made them for our pets growing up. My mom had written Yuki’s name out with a silver glitter pen on a red stocking. My mom even went all out and drew some cute little snowflakes on it.

Yuki started tearing up when she saw it hanging on the mantle along side everyone else’s. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, even though I knew they were happy tears.

“I f-feel so happy!” she said tentatively.

I hugged her close. “I’m happy too,” I said, and I kissed the top of her head. 

*

Opening presents on Christmas morning didn’t take long since my parents and I had a rule of only one gift per person. This meant that gifts were typically more sentimental or based on experiences rather than purely materialistic. 

I liked this better anyway, since I really didn’t need more junk around my house. 

But a part of me felt bad since it was Yuki’s first human Christmas. I knew she would be happy opening a few small gifts, but it was difficult not to go all out and spoil her rotten. I justified it by promising myself that. I would just spoil her the rest of the year to make up for it. 

My parents got Yuki and I tickets to go on an Alaskan cruise next summer, which was very generous of them. Yuki looked curious, but when I explained what a cruise was, she got excited. 

I got my dad a voucher for golfing lessons and I enrolled my mom in an advanced French cooking class.

I was surprised when Yuki handed me a poorly wrapped lump. For some reason I hadn’t been expecting her to get me anything. I’d signed both of our names of my gifts for my parents, knowing that she wouldn’t know what to buy someone as a present. But the fact that she’d somehow gotten me something without my even knowing was so… sweet. 

I loved her so much, it was ridiculous.

I opened the wrapping paper and instantly let out a pleased laugh.

It was the picture of us from my work party, placed in an elegant wooden picture frame. How had she even gotten this printed so fast? I wondered briefly if she’d used her magic on it, but then decided it didn’t even matter. The photo had turned out beautifully. It was us standing in front of a gorgeous staircase, decorated with garland and lights. Yuki looked so stunning, with a big beaming smile on her face. I stood slightly behind her with one arm around her waist. You could tell how happy I looked in the picture. I didn’t even look particularly handsome, not when standing next to someone like Yuki anyway, but there was something radiant about my expression that made the photo so special. 

“Okay, this is going on the fireplace right now,” I said, throat thick with emotion, and Yuki squealed with excitement. When I had it set where I wanted it, the picture looked like it belonged there.

“Last one,” my mom said, reaching for one last tiny box from under the tree. 

She handed it to Yuki.

“To Yuki from Peter,” Yuki said aloud. She looked up at me and smiled. 

I hoped she liked it.

“Oh my!” she said when she opened the box. The amethyst necklace was very pretty, a big sparkly gem on a silver chain. It was almost the exact color of her eyes, her real ones. 

“Do you like it?” I asked.

Yuki’s eyes teared up, and I wished they were her eyes right now, but they were just mundane brown ones. “I love it!” And she tackled me in a huge hug. 

With the holiday came a lot more eating. Well, more eating than normal, I should say. I had gotten used to Yuki over feeding me, but of course, she went above and beyond for Christmas. She and my mom cooked up a storm in my kitchen (which was for all intents and purposes, Yuki’s kitchen). I had to eat double meals of course, and Yuki didn’t go easy on me. She loaded up her plate with massive amounts of food and got seconds.

“Where does she put it?” my dad asked as he watched Yuki refill her dinner plate. She knew what I liked, so her dish mostly consisted of potatoes and meat, as I didn’t really like veggies or casserole as much. 

I looked at my own swollen stomach, which was brushing up against the table even though I was leaning back and stifled a groan. I knew exactly where she was putting it. 

I was relieved my parents decided not to mention my eating habits or climbing weight. I overheard my mom mention to Yuki that she must have been ‘treating me well.’ If only she knew the half of it. 

My parents had to fly home a few days after the holiday, so I had the rest of my break from work to relax alone with Yuki.

I swear during the days between Christmas and New Year’s, I don’t think there was a moment where I didn’t have some kind of food in front of me that Yuki expected me to eat. Except maybe when I was asleep. I felt hugely swollen and lazy, barely getting up from the couch the whole time. I could tell I had put on weight just by the way my back started to hurt when I stood up, and by how many new stretch marks appeared on my belly. 

And with this time off, Yuki and I took advantage of our empty house. 

I hadn’t exactly known what to expect when it came to our sexual relationship. I mean, my girlfriend had a tail for god’s sake. 

But it was mostly sweet and romantic, if a little weird. That was just Yuki’s personality though. She’d kiss me and tell me she loved me and chant my name, but also she’d bite me with her shark teeth and tie my hands together with her tail.

I don’t know if all demons were insatiable when it comes to sex, or if that was just Yuki, but she seemed to be able to go on and on with no refractory period whatsoever. I’d have to tap out from pure exhaustion and she would still be rearing to go. 

And Yuki’s general submissive personality manifested in a very interesting way in the bedroom. I got used to Yuki on her knees begging for me, catering to my every whim, sometimes before I could even think to ask. She’d always be offering whatever I wanted. At first I was hesitant, thinking maybe she just wanted to please me for some demon/master-related reason or something. But as it turned out, Yuki just loved giving pleasure. 

Part of the pleasure was food. Yuki kept me even more well fed after we got together than she had been before. I quickly got used to eating a big meal, getting absolutely stuffed full until my belly ached, only for Yuki to slide down onto the floor to suck me off while I digested. I loved it so much. 

I would sometimes grab her horns in my hands and she’d just open her mouth for me and I could just buck right into her mouth— And when she started purring when I was inside… oh good god.

Ahem. Anyway. 

I was so so spoiled. Yuki ruined me for anyone else. 

*

I had to go back to work eventually, but even then our relationship continued to strengthen. I avoided Carl at work, which seemed to suit him fine. I’d noticed that he looked rather sickly lately, which hit me with a strange pang of pity. But there wasn’t anything I could do about it anyhow. 

I’d been spending more time with our CEO Seth, which made it easier to avoid Carl anyhow. Seth seemed to have taken a liking to me, which was flattering. I hoped that meant good things for my future in the company. 

Time passed. Winter turned to spring and Yuki and I fell deeper and deeper in love.

In May, Yuki was getting bored around the house, and I suggested she should try out a hobby since she’d gotten very good at blending in with humans. After a few days of researching (Googling), we ended up signing her up for adult-only beginners dance class.

The first day, Yuki was visibly nervous. She was holding the little dance bag which contained her leather dance shoes close to her chest the whole drive over, bouncing her knees, all jitters. I found a place to park and decided she probably needed a pep talk. This would be her first time around other people without me.

“Yuki,” I said, pivoting in my seat to look at her. My gut was pushing up into the steering wheel from that angle, but I ignored it. 

Yuki looked at me with puppy eyes. 

“This is for fun, remember? If you decide you don’t like it, you can always pick something else,” I said. Yuki nodded. She’d been deciding between dance and pottery, but she thought dancing would be more fun since she wanted to get better at balance when she was in her human form. (The missing tail did tend to make her little wobbly).  

“Okay,” Yuki said, giving a brave smile though her anxiety was still showing in her face.

“And you know,” I said, reaching over to grab Yuki’s hand in mine, “they’re going to absolutely love you. And if they don’t then they must be idiots.” I relished in how Yuki’s pale face blushed furiously at my praise. “Knock ‘em dead, baby.”

“Mhm!” 

I walked her inside, where Yuki was greeted with several women of varying ages. They all seemed pleasant and welcoming, so I left feeling pretty good about the whole thing. 

I had an hour to kill before her class finished up, so I decided to take a walk. I probably could use some exercise, I thought to myself. I still wasn’t really used to my recent weight gain, and I was sure that the amount I weighed now was surely higher than it had been even just a few months ago. I started down the block, but I only got about 12 feet away when I saw what was next to the dance studio. 

A casual restaurant that sold street tacos. Well, I had to check that out, obviously. 

After Yuki’s first day at dance class, I was was always full of tacos by the time Yuki got out. As it turned out, Yuki really liked to dance, and she loved the friends she made from the class. She’d barrel out of the studio every week with a big grin on her face, looking sweaty and flustered from all of the dancing. But even on those nights, Yuki still insisted on making dinner for me when we got home. So apparently I was eating two dinners these days, if you counted the six or so tacos I ate while Yuki twirled around… 

This trend also continued at work. I’d stay late working on some project or another and realize that lunch was a pretty long time ago and really, I’d be much more productive if my stomach wasn’t growling, and I’d end up ordering more takeout to eat. Only then to come home to Yuki’s homemade spread. It was like my body had gotten accustomed to eating between 4:30 and 5:00 PM from all of the dance-class-taco-eating, so when I didn’t have something to snack on, my stomach would start rumbling like mad.

And yes this was probably gluttonous or greedy of me, but I sort of enjoyed the excess of it all. I wasn’t eating because I was hungry at that point. Oftentimes, I’d eat myself into a stomach ache. 

But it was addicting to eat so much. For the past year and a half I’d been overeating past fullness, but having four large meals a day felt like a different level. And my body was showing it. 

By the time summer rolled around, I was up a few more clothes sizes, and my gains weren’t slowing at all. I had gotten used to the two dinners now, and it was becoming easier to eat more all the time. I supposed the stomach was a muscle, wasn’t it? By that logic, I must have been some kind of athlete, stretching it out so I could eat even more.

One day, I decided to figure out how much ‘relationship weight’ I’d put on since the new year. I got out of the shower, feeling fatter than usual. I’d spent a good while scrubbing my body, feeling it jiggle in places it never used to, since there seemed to be more and more flesh to clean these days. 

I glanced at the bathroom scale when I stepped out and started toweling off. 

Didn’t people say to weigh yourself in the morning, before you eat, to get a more accurate result? It was only 7 am, and I hadn’t yet had breakfast. I shrugged and stepped on the scale. 

Except, I couldn’t actually see the number over my belly. I leaned forward.

Still nothing. 

“Yuki!” I called from the bathroom. She was probably still in bed, but I knew she was awake.

“Hmm?” Yuki shuffled into the bathroom, eyes still puffy from sleep. Her hair was all tangled up around her horns and her tail was making her pajama shorts slide down awkwardly on her hip. 

She looked perfect.

“Can you see what the number says?” I asked, looking down. “I’m too fat,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Yuki’s purple eyes lit up. 

“Oh my!” She ran over and glanced down at the scale. “It says…” she bit her lips, holding in a grin, “377!”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

Yuki giggled gleefully and then pulled my flabby body into a crushing hug.

“Peter’s so handsome! So big and soft! Perfect,” she purred, tail caressing my legs.

I sighed and petted her head a little. 

“You like this, you little perv? You like me being all big and fat?” I accused her mockingly. But Yuki just nodded her head emphatically.

“Peter’s giving into his desires, it makes me so pleased,” she said with a crazed smile, and then she started nibbling at my double chin with her teeth. 

“Ow, Yuki…” But I couldn’t really scold her when she looked so sweet, could I?

“God, I’m almost 400 pounds,” I realized aloud.

“Almost,” Yuki said, but the way she said it, it sounded like she was looking forward to that number… 

We went on our cruise in June. Yuki had never seen the ocean before, so I was pretty excited to see her reaction once we got on the ship. Yuki was like a kid at Disney Land when she saw the darn thing. Once we boarded, we made our way to one of the high decks to see the view. 

“It’s… amazing!” Yuki squealed. When she turned her head to look at me, her eyes were wet with happy tears.

I put my arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head. 

The best part about cruises is that drinks and food are included. And well. Yuki and I took advantage of that.

For five days, I pretty much ate at a never ending buffet of junk. I was tipsy pretty much all day, only alternating beers and cocktails with soda or water when I was feeling a little too close to drunk. Yuki fed me insane amounts of food with her magic, and I did pretty well stuffing my face on my own too. I felt huge at the end of every day, waddling back to our room, groaning and stumbling from excess.

“Peter’s looks so pretty,” Yuki would mumble at night as she helped me get undressed. I was usually too full to help much by that point.

“Pretty, huh?” That wasn’t an adjective that I’d say really fit how I looked just then. ‘Swollen like a tick’ seemed more apt.

But Yuki insisted that I looked good stuffed to the gills, and who was I to disagree? 

Nighttime was my favorite part of the cruise because in the privacy of our room, Yuki could drop her human guise. I got to look at the real Yuki as she rode me or cuddled me or kissed me.

I really was one lucky bastard. 

I gained 10 pounds on the cruise. 

It seemed impossible to put on two pounds a day. Part of it had to be water weight, right? But the pounds stuck. When I looked back at the amount of food I’d been consuming, it seemed very possible that I really had stuffed my face enough to accomplish that.

But it wasn’t until September that I actually hit 400. It was a small accumulation of events, eating breakfast at home followed by ‘mid-morning snacks’ at the office, huge spreads of takeout for lunch, quick dinner before I went home for the day, followed by what I was now referring to as ‘big dinner’ when I got home, followed by Yuki’s baked goods and ice cream for dessert. I was eating like a fiend.

And I really enjoyed it.

Being so hugely fat was kind of hot, if I was honest. I liked feeling so big, always having a big ol’ gut in my lap, always feeling comforted by all the weight. And Yuki clearly enjoyed it. She was constantly pushing me to eat even more, and always gave my body such loving attention and affection. 

There were downsides as well. It was getting really hard to fit into my office chair at work. My sides sort of swallowed up the arms of the chair, and my stomach pushed into the desk, which wasn’t really very comfortable. I knew other people in the office were close to my size, but these days, I was one of the biggest, if not the biggest. It felt embarrassing to ask my secretary to put in an order for a new chair, but I figured this one might actually break under my weight one of these days, which would be infinitely more embarrassing. Plus, it was really hard to un-stick myself from the chair after a long day’s work.

I was putting off mentioning it, hoping magically that the chair would expand or something. The CEO, Seth, was always a bit of a portly man himself, so I didn’t feel overly ashamed when he suggested we all get newer chairs after one awkward incident when he’d stopped by my office and it had taken me several seconds of vigorous wiggling and shimmying to stand up from the stupid chair. And I was out of breath from all that moving, too. 

Seth phrased the newer chairs as being ‘decorative, a new modern design to fit the culture of the office’, but when I saw the design (retractable armrests and extra-wide seats) I knew I was probably the cause for the change. 

But boy did I love how the new chair didn’t groan when I sat, that I could push the armrests out of the way so my love handles could spread out in peace, and that my butt wasn’t squished so much. It didn’t change the fact that my gut pushed up against my desk when I typed at my computer but maybe I’d had my expectations too high on that front.

Yuki and I flew to Wisconsin again for Thanksgiving with my folks, and I realized with dismay that the seats on the plane were becoming a tight fit as well… I’d had to ask for a seatbelt extender. Luckily the flight attendant had been very nice about the whole thing, so I wasn’t too embarrassed. I wondered if I’d have to buy two tickets next year. Right as I thought that, Yuki started smiling and nuzzling up at my fat neck.

I knew she couldn’t actually read my mind, but at times like these, I wondered if her ability to feel my ‘desires’ almost worked just as good. 

My parents didn’t bring up my weight anymore, though I was sure they noticed it. Maybe because I was with Yuki they stopped caring about how fat I was getting. I’d already found a nice girl and settled down, so who cared if I was obese, right? As long as I was happy. 

And I was. Obese, that is.

Yeah, sometimes it sucked getting out of breath just walking to and from the bathroom. And going up and down the stairs at home was getting to be a pain, but I only did that twice a day. But it was worth it to be able to eat as much as I wanted. To be able to live with no abandon, without restriction. 

While Yuki and I were in my hometown for the holiday, I decided to meet up with some of my old high school friends at a local bar. Yuki was a little nervous, but she perked up once the waitress dropped off the food menu. 

Honestly, I was probably more nervous than her. My friends hadn’t seen me since I’d been around 150 pounds slimmer.

“Oh my god, is that you Pete?”

I lifted my head to see my old buddy Taylor absolutely gaping at me. I scooted my chair back and then hefted myself up to give him a hug. Taylor hugged me back, pressing his flat stomach against my beach ball sized one. 

“Yeah, I know I’ve put on a few,” I said, blushing a little.

Taylor scoffed. “A few?”

“Ahem.” That would be Yuki, who had gotten up and was standing beside me. 

Taylor glanced at her and then back at me.

“Taylor, this is my girlfriend, Yuki.”

Yuki pushed herself into my side and I wrapped my big arm over her shoulders. She put one hand on my gut, almost daring Taylor to say something about it.

“Ah, oh. Hello. Nice to meet you,” Taylor muttered. 

I relished in his surprise. I almost wanted to say See? Fat guys deserve love too. And from beautiful women, no less. But seeing as Taylor just went through a nasty divorce, that might be in poor taste.

It wasn’t long before our other friend Allen showed up. The three of us caught up on current events in our lives, while Yuki kept ordering appetizers. Boneless wings, onion rings, jalapeño poppers… 

Yuki and I ate most of them, which is to say, I ate most of them. 

“I’m glad you’re doing so well in Colorado, man,” Allen said as I licked buffalo sauce off my fingers.

“Yeah, we were sad that you were moving, but I’m happy it all worked out for you,” Taylor added, sparing Yuki a lingering glance. 

“Me too,” I said. “How’s it going with your partner, Allen?” I asked.

“Oh, he’s terrible,” Allen said with a conspiring smile. “Never marry your yoga instructor!”

After a while, I had to go to the bathroom, so I excused myself, leaving Yuki at the table with Taylor and Allen.

Bar bathrooms were never the cleanest, but I did my business as quickly as I could and then started to wash my hands. I looked up as someone entered the bathroom behind me. I could see them in the mirror. A person I hadn’t seen in at least 12 years.

Mike.

He locked eyes with my reflection but didn’t seem to recognize me at all. He walked passed the sinks like I was a stranger. 

I looked at myself in the dirty mirror. Sure I had a big double chin, and maybe I was getting some wrinkles around my eyes. But I looked mostly the same, didn’t I? I glanced down and saw my huge stomach, which was not very well disguised in my almost-toot-tight black t-shirt and flannel. 

I didn’t look chubby or big. I looked fat, but not even just normal fat. I looked fat fat. 400+ lbs fat. 

Damn. I dried my hands and then stood to the side in the mirror, taking in just how far my belly jutted out. I reached to touch the front of my belly where it hung the lowest and found myself struggling to even reach it all. I knew logically that this wasn’t new. I wasn’t even particularly shocked or upset by the discovery of how shockingly fat I’d gotten, how I’d totally let myself go. But for some reason becoming fat enough that my old friend from middle school didn’t even recognize me? That was … surprising. 

I must’ve lingered there staring at myself for a while because Mike was leaving when I turned to go. He did a double take then, staring at my eyes for a second too long before I saw him put two and two together.

“Hi Mike,” I sighed. This wouldn’t have been as embarrassing if he would’ve just recognized me from the get go. But now we both had to acknowledge awkwardly why he didn’t.

“Oh, wow Pete! It’s been… so long,” Mike said delicately, glancing at my belly. Mike looked a little out of shape himself, but it was a modest beer gut. I was in another league of fatness. 

I didn’t really want to deal with awkward small talk where we avoided how much we’d changed after graduation, so I said “Yeah, I’m here with Taylor and Allen, come say hi.” I quickly ushered us both out of the men’s room and towards the table.

Mike followed me and I wondered if he was staring at my gait as I walked. I had to take wide steps since my thighs rubbed together. 

“Look who I found in the bathroom!” I said as we approached the table. Yuki looked pleased to see me back, and I felt a little guilty to have left her sitting with people she hardly knew for longer than I’d intended. 

“Mike! What’s up buddy, how’ve you been?” Taylor said, pulling him into a side hug. I sat back in my seat with a thud. Yuki quickly clung to me, hugging my arm like a teddy bear. I glanced up to see Mike eyeing Yuki sharply. 

There was no way he’d… would he?

“You met Pete’s girlfriend yet?” Allen asked, noticing Mike staring.

“N-No,” Mike stuttered.

I swallowed a lump. “Ah, this is Yuki, Yuki this is Mike,” I said calmly. Mike wouldn’t recognize Yuki from that night. That was so long ago. And she looked so different now! Plus she was in her human form, anyhow.

But then why was I so nervous?

“Hello,” Yuki said shyly, hiding into my side a little bit. 

Mike’s eyes widened a fraction. “Hi,” he said stiffly. He shook his head and then backed up. “I’d better,” he gestured to where his friends were gathered by the pool table. 

“Nice seeing you,” Taylor said. Mike nodded, looked at Yuki once more, and then wandered back.

We didn’t stay long after that. 

In the car, I asked Yuki what she thought of the encounter. 

“I couldn’t tell much about him since he wasn’t having impure thoughts,” she mused, tapping her chin with one finger. “I remembered him though,” she said with a little grin. “His energy wasn’t as good or strong as Peter’s, even now!” And then she leaned over to place a big juicy kiss on my cheek. 

I stopped worrying. Maybe Mike’s reaction could be chalked up to some deja vu from seeing her? If so, that was relatively harmless. And even if he did make the leap that she was the demon from the basement, who would believe him?

No one. 

I put the whole thing out of my mind. I should probably be thankful for Mike, actually, because if I hadn’t been trying to impress him all those years ago, I would’ve never met my Yuki. 

And Yuki was my everything. 

Now it’s been about 5 years since Yuki reappeared in my life and I couldn’t be happier. 

Eventually, as I gained more and more weight, I had to make some adjustments to my life. I moved our bedroom downstairs where the office used to be. It just wasn’t safe for me to be climbing those things anymore. I’m almost 500 lbs nowadays. 

Yuki likes how big I am, and how much space I take up. She even likes it when I lay on her and squish her under my blubber.  She says it feels better than soaking in a hot bathtub even! It isn’t even dangerous since Yuki doesn’t need to breathe.

Sometimes I think we should slow down on my gaining, but I’m pretty much addicted to food. If I go a few hours without a meal I get serious hunger pains. It probably sounds very spoiled, but it’s true! 

I ended up asking if I could work from home sometime last year, which was approved. As I said, I think my CEO Seth has a soft spot for me. He even ended up promoting me again, as the his right hand man. He says I can work from home whenever I want so long as I still get work done. 

So for the past year, my lifestyle has started to become more and more sedentary. I’m either sitting on the couch (which is feeling a little small these days. Or maybe that’s because I’m wearing a crater-sized dent in the middle of it…) or I’m working at my desk, doing meetings and reports. Yuki makes sure I have everything I need. 

At night, she still purrs in happy rumbles, holding any part of me she can latch on to.

“Peter is happy,” Yuki sighed into my chest. She was leaning over my belly, fitting into whatever amount of lap I still had. I scooped another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. I was still pretty full from dinner, but I had room. And it tasted good.

“I am. Very happy,” I sighed, taking another bite. Yuki’s tail caressed my sides, slipping between rolls.

“Hey Yuki,” I said.

“Hmm?”

“Your power… you’ve made me fortunate, right?” I asked.

Yuki licked my double chin sensuously. “Mhmm.”  

I sucked on my cold spoon. “But me being so, erm, wanting excess…” I mumbled through another scoop of rocky road. I didn’t really want to say a gluttonous, fat greedy pig out loud. “That wasn’t you, was it?”

Yuki sat up, her purple eyes gleaming in the low light from the TV. I loved how her black horns reflected light, like obsidian. 

“Nope,” she popped the P. “That’s all Peter. Yuki only wanted Peter to get what he wants,” Yuki said, running a hand through my swollen chest (I loathed admitting I had moobs). 

“Does it matter either way?” Yuki asked after a second.

I thought about it. Took another bite.

“No, I guess it doesn’t.” 

I used to wonder if I would’ve ended up this way without someone like Yuki to encourage me to live authentically, but I supposed that wasn’t important. I had my perfect demon Yuki to love and care for, so it only made sense for Yuki to want to love and care for me too.

I scraped the bottom of the carton.

“More?” I asked. Yuki sprang up to fetch another ice cream. I smiled to myself as she raced back over to the couch. 

“Here! I got you your favorite, cookie dough!” Yuki smiled at me, her big eyes warm and loving and doting. The kind of look that made my heart melt like candle wax. The look that I loved more than anything else in the world.

“You’re the best, baby,” I said, and Yuki settled back on my lap and started purring. Her tail swished back and forth in a lazy rhythm. I really did have the best demon, didn’t I?

THE END

Epilogue

Mike gathered all of his supplies. Oil, wine, water, a candle… Mike couldn’t remember the exact ritual he’d done with Pete. That was like 20 years ago, after all. But he found one online that seemed legit enough. He recited the latin words as best he could. 

Mike knew that whatever had happened way back when was real. He’d had nightmares for weeks following that horrible sleep over. It ended up driving a wedge between them, since Mike unconsciously associated Pete with that terrible night.

But somehow the thing they’d done… it’d worked. The summoning or whatever. Mike saw her, that girl, the girl from the basement, she was at the bar with Pete just a few years ago. She was real. And they were… together.

Mike wanted that. He’d never felt such envy. After all, Mike had been there that night too. Should’t he get an equal cut of whatever benefits Pete got from the demon? 

Wy was Mike working as a science teacher struggling to pay bills while Pete was living the corporate American dream? It just wasn’t fair. 

So he’d started researching. It took a while for him to build up the nerve, and even longer to recall the exact things they’d done way back when. But now he’d finally done it. He would finally get his own demon. Maybe his would be a hot girl too, and he could date her like Pete was doing with his. That’d be nice. But Mike supposed he could settle for something a little less attractive. 

For a few minutes after Mike finished the ritual, nothing happened. The silence went on and on. How annoying. He hadn’t really thought it’d work, but it still sucked that his hard work was wasted. Mike sighed, getting up from the floor and beginning to clean up. 

Then, there was a rustle behind him