#kiryuyoshiya

Handprint bruises on his hips, warm breath on his neck, nails clawing on his back, they burned, they burned.

The scent of incense in his nose, his tongue numbed with a strange sweetness.

Somehow, though, Shintaro can taste the blood smeared on his lips.

The blindfold slips a little more, just as Shintaro hears him moan. Low. Guttural, so strangely beast-like that it made his stomach churn.

He's not allowed to dwell on it for much longer.

Hands clamped tightly on his wrists, hips buck and fangs finally break through on his skin again. Hips move in tandem, the wall scratches his back and Shintaro's trembling increases in tempo. He's lost track of the shameful things leaving his mouth, lost track of the pain in his back, the wall grating his skin and he clings on, muffling his cries in his shoulder.

And somewhere near Shintaro's ear, he feels the scratch of fangs on his earlobe.

Hears a whisper in that voice that he loved and hated, that made his heart stop.

"Disgusting."

And that's all that it takes for Shintaro to wake up.

His chest is heaving, his hands ache from the strange angle he's sleeping in. He's mouth is dry and he's drenched in sweat.

It doesn't take him more than a few seconds to get his bearings. And when he does, he groans and his head falls back into the pillows, hands covering his face.

"Again...? Really?"

That same dream again? Just how desperate can he be?

He checked under the sheets and sighs. Great. He needed to sneak down and do the washing.

Just great. Fuck.

When the hell did this become his daily routine?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When he arrives downstairs, Haruka's already there. He's preparing the ingredients for lunch, it seems.

"Good morning, Shintaro-kun." He says, cheerful as ever. He's wearing his favorite green sweater that was a bit loose on him, a grain of rice stuck to his face for some reason and a smile as bright as the sun.

Looking for all the world like he was a human. An angel even.

Despite the obvious curled black-red horns on his head, strange little fangs that honestly looked like fake ones poking past his real teeth-oddly cute for a grown boy-and bat wings that were sunset-orange and glittered in the strangest way.

Sometimes, Shintaro thought he could even see stars in them.

Shintaro's greeting is little more than a grumble and the demon giggles. "There's some coffee for you on the table. Should I make some breakfast?"

"No, I'll just skip it and go straight to lunch. It's way too late anyway."

"...Did you get some sleep yesterday?"

"Not really." Shintaro says with a yawn, sipping his coffee.

"More bad dreams?"

"Yeah, the usual."

"But...that's bad. You haven't slept in days. Humans can't go for so long without sleep." Haruka says, looking slightly upset. Shintaro snorted, "I'm not going to die from insomnia, Haruka. I'll just take a short nap, later."

"...Maybe I should take a look at them?"

"No!" Shintaro says immediately, his tone a little bit louder, a little more stern than he needed to be, "...I...I mean. Um. No, it's fine."

"Eh...are you sure?"

"Y-yeah. It's just normal bad dreams. I mean, you'd be able to tell if it was something messing around with me, right?"

"O..ok then!" Haruka only looks uneasy for about a few seconds before the smile is back in place. "

How in the hell was this guy a demon again?

"...Thanks for the offer though."

"Anytime!"

Of course, to him, it's just a simple matter of him helping out his friend. His old friend that he'd known for years, so why would he ever start doubting him now?

Why would Haruka ever think that the boy he'd seen as a child would even have wet dreams about him?

...It's even more pathetic, Shintaro thinks with a sigh, when he says it in his head like that. Bared for his entire mind to see, actively thinking it when he's been trying to push it down for years.

...Though all things considered it probably wasn't even Shintaro's fault in the first place. An unfortunate combination of puberty and demon pheromones were the most likely cause.

And it certainly didn't help that Shintaro had had what was essentially a kiddy crush on him from the very beginning.

...

Apparently it was possible for him to feel more pathetic than he usually did.

He sighs and rests his head on the table.

"Shintaro?"

"...I'm just a bit tired. Sorry, Haruka."

"It's fine."

Haruka's suddenly standing next to him.

"Go and sleep upstairs. It's more comfortable there, isn't it?"

"Too tired." Shintaro says shortly.

 And I don't want to be away from you.

Even if you make my heart skip more beats than it should.

'Alright then."

There's a warm hand patting his head, a sweet warmth that Shintaro loves.

"I'll be here when you wake up. Ok?"

"Mm."

Could he even sleep like this?

He's been awake for too many nights it seems.

He's out like a light after a few breaths.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Shintaro was important to him.

Shintaro had been important to him ever since he found Haruka, injured and unable to move, when he'd sheltered him in his attic all those years ago.

His one and only human friend.

He hears the boy mumble softly and he resumes patting him on the head.

No-one was interfering with his dreams, as far as Haruka could tell. Without actually looking at them.

But Shintaro would tell him if he feels something is wrong. Haruka is sure of it.

He'd always been sharp when it came to supernatural phenomenon.

Sometimes, Haruka had wondered if he was a demon too.

But no.

Shintaro's hand feel warm in his own.

He hears the boy mumble something under his breath again, before settling back into a fitful sleep.

Slowly, carefully, Haruka holds Shintaro's hand up to his lips.

The sweet scent of human and the sour, hot tinge of pubescent heat fills his nose. Like a field of flowers in summer.

Even as he kisses the back of Shintaro's hand softly, he can feel his own heart rate increase rapidly.

A blush on his cheeks, a strange pressure in his stomach.

Thoughts that fill his mind with situations that made his hands tremble, his knees weak.

But Shintaro...should never know about this.

A demon, in love with him? Was it even possible...?

In any case, Shintaro shouldn't get trapped in his world of darkness. Of lust and shame and everything that humans should never touch.

Shintaro never should get involved with him. Even if he had the desire to. Which he didn't.

The chuckle that escapes from Haruka's lips is quiet and humorless.

Even so...to protect this child that was the reason behind his smile...

To protect Kisaragi Shintaro, he would do anything.

Even if it meant giving away the rest of his damned soul.