#uchu.writes

Slipping past the door, Alastor is greeted to the sight of Vox himself sitting at his desk, surrounded by televisions of various sizes and a large aquatic tank to the left of the room. The entire thing is just as excessive as the demon the room belonged to, but that's not what got his irritation to spike and the burning hole in his gut to expand.

You weren't here either.

What little shadows there were in the area start pooling towards the centre of the room. The action doesn't go unnoticed by Vox, who turns in his chair upon noticing the smallest movement.

"What the fu— WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

Sparks fly off of Vox as he watches the shadows stretch to forming the shape of Alastor and recedes into the back of his coat. He ignores the snarl that passes the deer's teeth, getting up from his chair and stomping down the stairs.

"Get the fuck out of my building no one invited your lonely ass here!"

"I'm going to give you ten seconds to tell me where my dearest is." The vitriol in Alastor's voice isn't what makes Vox pause, that's basically the only way they communicate, it was the static. His words were nearly drowned out with the haze and Vox can't remember a time something got the radio demon this worked up to the point he lost control over it.

Vox still scoffs in his face, "What? You don't know where they are? They live under your roof, what makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

Despite the cool exterior he's trying desperately to keep up, Vox is panicking internally. How does Alastor not know where you are? Haven't you been at the hotel for the past two weeks? He never saw you walk out of the building, and Val is still coming to him complaining about how much Angel talks about you off shift. Surely you're still there… You have to be.

Alastor tilts his head to the side with a crack, "You're the only one who would dare take them without my prior knowledge. So unless you're saying you also don't know where they are—"

"Of course I know where they are!" Vox interrupts, irritated at the thought of Alastor doubting any of his capabilities, "They're…"

His screen suddenly flashes red, the facial recognition scan he was running in the background coming up empty. Not a single sighting of your face has been spotted in the last 24 hours.

Alastor's smile widens, his eyes turning from red to black, "Oh, are they not showing up on your cameras old pal?"

Vox's screen glitches slightly at his jeering, "Just a minor setback, give me a second."

He went and checked every camera in the last 48 hours. Nothing. The last 72? Nothing. The entire week?? Nothing.

At some point he switched from using his internal system to the supercomputer that is his desktop and checked everything again. He didn't think anything was wrong with his own— he's perfect in everyway, but his own increasingly sporadic thoughts could possibly be getting in the way. Still, no sightings of you could be found.

Now Vox was a hair's length away from having a breakdown. Still, he'd keep it together as long as the Radio Demon was in the room with him.

As a last ditch effort he just searched for the last time you've ever appeared in any of his cameras, and all he got was the day you walked into the hotel two weeks ago— the footage being caught by one of his drones.

"This can't be right." Vox repeats the check again, and again, and again, each one coming back with the exact same results and getting him more agitated by the second. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY!?"

Alastor hums, the static he's been emitting crackling in the air, "Ah, so you're useless at the one thing you could ever possibly be good for."

"You're the one who lost them living under the same roof!" Vox snaps, his pride taking a hit as well as the dread of not knowing where you are settling into his psyche. "I can at least do something about it. You can go back to your little hotel, sit and be pretty while I figure out where they are and save them from your incompetence."

The only thing to convey Alastor's annoyance is a pop in his static before it simmers out. His grin is quick to turn from irritated to sly as an idea springs to his mind.

"Won't you need their computer for that?"

Vox quirks his brow, not impressed in the change of tune, "Wow, look at you. When'd you become an expert of modern technology."

"I only say since there's no way you'd be able to access it without my help."

The effect Alastor was looking for was immediate, with Vox sputtering at his absolutely absurd claim and taking the bait.

"What the fuck are you talking about I own every computer in Hell!"

"Nope, not theirs! It doesn't run on your system, I made sure of it before allowing them to keep the thing. You'll be needing a more… Hands on approach."

Vox huffs, staring at the deer from head to toe to try and see if he could find what Alastor's goal is, but unable to see anything unusual for his standards.

"So what? You're gonna bring it here?"

"Oh, my goodness no! You really think I'd trust you with their device in your building? HA!" Vox's face falls flat, and Alastor goes to pinch the corner of his screen, "No, no, no, I merely suggest I bring you to it and you use it within the hotel under my strict supervision."

Vox tries to shock him, but Alastor pulls away too soon for him to do anything.

He was very confident he could find you on his own, but now that he thinks about it, he's never seen you with any Voxtek devices— not outside of the ones he's gifted you before Alastor threw them away. He knows you have a laptop, but he has no record of purchase under your name for anything of the sort. On the off chance Alastor actually is being truthful, he doesn't want to miss the opportunity to at least see what you're working with for himself.

"Fine. Whatever. As long as I'm not seen by anyone else."

"No need to worry!" Alastor cheerfully takes an electric watch out of his pocket he stole from one of the lower floors, "I don't want to be seen with you either!"

Vox rolls his eyes and flips the bird at Alastor before zapping himself into the watch. Alastor shoves the thing deep back into his pocket before letting the shadows consume him again and melting into the floor.

It's not long before he reaches his destination, your room, and quickly chucks the watch onto the floor as far away from himself as possible. As soon as it hits the floor, Vox is quick to zap himself out of it, dusting himself off and grumbling all the while.

He takes a moment to look around the room, since this is the first time he's actually gotten to see it. Unfortunately for him, with Alastor standing at his back he can't dedicate much time to checking every inch of your life in here, so he can really only take stock of the large items in the room— like the massive duck toy on your bed. Not that he wants to put off finding you for much longer either. He'll have to settle for recording what he could of it and watching it back later.

Vox clears his throat, his eyes now darting around in search of said computer he supposedly can't connect to from the tower. "So where is the—"

His eyes land on a heap of parts with a screen that instantly makes him recoil. The chassis is dented in multiple spots and what he thinks is supposed to be the keyboard is deformed, not a single key the same height or width as the one next to it but filed down to best try and match, the charger's been glued into the charging port, and the screen is held to the bottom with tape and a dream.

"What the fuck is this?" The words fall from his mouth before he can even think. He can't believe what he's looking at. You've been using THIS? You've known each other for how long now and he's not shy of telling you he'd get you whatever your heart desires, he's rich and perfect like that, so why the FUCK have you been using this thing?? Did you not think he'd get you a new one? He would've gotten you the latest brand— Hell, he would've made a completely unique one himself if it meant you'd never use this scrap heap ever again.

Alastor watches Vox's internal meltdown from the sidelines, his grin growing with each glitch and spark that flies off of the mechanical sinner, "Why it's their computer. For a walking electronic such as yourself it is quite embarrassing that I'm the one that has to—"

"Oh shut the fuck up I know what a laptop is!" Vox snaps at Alastor, still not able to take his eyes away from the wretched machine you apparently call your laptop, "I want to know why it looks like it's been through an extermination, or got dragged through one of Val's orgies, just— no sane person would think this is fine! How could they possibly be using this garbage!?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but your little gimmicks are not allowed in this hotel. You included." Alastor's eyes turn into radio dials, but it only serves to make Vox click his teeth.

"Whatever! You wanna let them suffer with this be my guest." The laptop is atrocious, but it provided him a perfect excuse to invite them to the tower and see a real setup away from the deer's prying eyes, "Where the fuck did they even get this from anyway? I'm literally the only person that sells laptops."

"I'm fairly confident they made this themself around their initial arrival down here. Imagine, even a newcomer could tell right away your technology was not to be trusted!"

"Or maybe they just couldn't afford the good shit so they had to settle. We don't do handouts, and this is clearly a cry for help." Vox grumbles. Another reason to hate not knowing you as soon as you fell down here. From what he could figure out, laptops could hardly be called widespread by the time you died, so creating this off scraps alone is an achievement. Let alone doing it before he fully took over the whole market.

Vox turns your laptop on with little fanfare, choosing to stand by the desk instead of sitting in your chair— it being way to small for him. To his surprise, it doesn't take long for it to boot up and show the password screen.

He was expecting the password, but he was also expecting to see a real computer. With this he's already reached a wall in his search for you.

"This would be easier if this thing was Voxtek branded." Vox muttered under his breath, not really for Alastor to hear and just to vent a little frustration, but of course the deer heard anyway.

"If you can't do anything than why are you even here?" Alastor's ears lower slightly, his voice filled with condescension that got under Vox's skin.

"I said it'd be easier not that I couldn't do it! Has your hearing diminished in your time away or is this just your old age showing?"

"You're the one who's yet to do anything other than complain."

Vox's screen flickers with irritation. As much as he wants to tear off this red shitstain's antlers and shove them in his eye sockets, but starting a confrontation with him could possibly break the laptop and make them lose the one possible lead they have.

"Let's just start with the password hint. It might be easy." His words come out garbled, already at his wits end from being in the same room as Alastor for longer than ten minutes.

Said sinner now walking over to stand on the other side of your desk to better make sure Vox isn't messing with your devices in ways he shouldn't. When the hint pops onto the screen both of them bend a little closer to read it.

[ Who's company do you enjoy the most? ]

"Hmm. Must be a simple password." Alastor hums while Vox's eyes narrow, trying to remember all the people in your life this could possibly be talking about.

"They spend the most time with me— ugh, you, the Morningstars', and Angel Dust. No other relationships are worth considering for this."

"It's likely just a name then. I highly doubt they'd know exact dates relating to anything noteworthy for any of us." Alastor straightens up, next words coming out in a purr, "If that's the case, at least we know the answer is surely me."

Vox's whole body violently twitches, Alastor having to sidestep to avoid getting hit by a flying bolt. When Vox turns to him, his mouth has turned to static and his left eye has started swirling, "What the fuck are you talking about, they only entertain you because you get into everyone's business and scare everyone away!"

The air surrounding the Radio Demon only turns more confident, the playful aura and smugness radiating off of him in waves. "No I don't think so! Our last dinner together would've been quite awkward if that were the case."

Vox's twitching only gets worse, something Alastor find nothing but joy in, but he unfortunately needs him to function to be able to find you.

"If you're so positive I'm wrong then why don't you see for yourself?"

Alastor points at the computer with his staff, diverting Vox's attention back to the problem at hand. His face settles back into his default as he comes back to his senses.

He hesitates for a moment, but ultimately goes to type Alastor's name in— his need to see you outweighing his need to crash if it ended up being correct.

[ The password is incorrect. Try again. ]

"What?"

Vox bursts into a fit of laughter, relief washing over him like a charged blanket. He only grows louder when he notices how loud the static in the room has become.

"Oh this is glorious!" Vox wipes a tear from his eye and typing in his name, holding it for a bit to rub it in Alastor's face, "Shock.wav is going to hear all about this when I get back, so are the Vees. I won't shut up for months that I have something over—"

[ The password is incorrect. Try again. ]

"WHAT!?"

Vox's joy is instantly cut off by the computer denying his name. Though, he's quick to type in his real name just in case you used that instead, "Okay. Maybe they just—"

[ The password is incorrect. Try again. ]

Vox falls to his knees and slumps over the desk.

"So it's neither of us." The little joy Alastor feels over knowing your favourite person at least isn't Vox if it's not him feels hollow, knowing it's still not himself.

Vox jumps back to his feet, now pacing angrily around the room, "Well who the hell else could it be!? If it ends up being Angel Dust I swear I'll—"

Vox's oncoming rant is cut off as the two overlord's whip their heads in the direction of the door— the handle jingling faintly from being pushed open.

Lucifer strolls inside your room without a care in the world, whistling and twirling his cane all the while. He doesn't get five steps in before he notices he's not alone. His whistling comes to an abrupt end as his eyes snap to the duo still standing near your laptop. Lucifer's gaze flicks between it and them— both of them growing increasingly irritated the longer the king stands there in silence.

Lucifer's face suddenly scrunches up in disgust as he waves his cane around in their general direction, "What the heck are you two doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Alastor sneers, his smile twitching at it's edge with every word he has to grace his majesty with, "I thought you were above entering a tenants room without their knowledge. Charlie would be so disappointed."

The king turns worried for a second before becoming irritated again, "Real charming coming from the guy who shouldn't be in here at all! Now you better tell me why you're in here before I remove you both myself."

Vox chuckles, not intimidated by the king's threats in the slightest, "Like you could do anything to either of us."

With a snap of his fingers, Lucifer summons a portal at their feet, the other side showing nothing but a pitch black pit. His voice deepens as his next words come out void of all emotion.

"I can do anything as long as it's not meant to hurt you. Do not be fooled by my limitations you walking billboard."

Vox normally would be confident enough to test Lucifer's patience further, Alastor sure was gearing up for it, but he really didn't want to lose access to your computer right now. So with a heavy heart and his withering pride, tells the king what he wants to hear.

"We don't know where sweetheart is."

Alastor swivels his head to stare at Vox while Lucifer instantly belts out a laugh, turning from suspicious to smug in an instant.

"Aawwww. Did my darling friend not tell you two lowly sinners they were going out?" Lucifer speaks in a baby voice, making Alastor growl and Vox roll his eyes.

"Do you know where they are or not?"

Lucifer shrugs and walks over to the bed to pick up the duck plush sitting on it. "Nope! Not a single clue, they didn't want anyone jumping in— something about a surprise— wait why am I telling you!" He shouts suddenly points the duck in their direction, nearly hitting both Vox and Alastor in the face in the process, "And why are you hovering around their computer thingy? They told everyone not to touch it."

Alastor's eyes narrow, looking for any angle to gain the upper hand in the conversation again, "Petty thievery doesn't suit you."

Lucifer's smile widens again, the smug aura from before coming back full force, "I'm not stealing anything! I'm allowed to come in whenever and take this duck. It's part of a game we have, probably something neither of you would understand."

Static emits from both the media overlords in their frustration, but Lucifer moves on without a care for either of their demeanor.

"Aaanyway, don't think you've made me forget about the computer. You haven't touched it have you? Not that I'd be surprised from the likes of you, but you think you'd at least be respectful to the people you hold close."

Vox collects himself and clasps his hands together, trying for a smile to show confidence and not his anger, "Well, since they didn't tell us they were leaving, than the rules must not apply to us."

Alastor's ears fall slightly as he looks away, "I'm sure for you it's a general rule of thumb."

"Do you want to get into this or not!?"

Lucifer gasps and glares between the two overlords, "So you are snooping around!"

"What gave that away your majesty?"

Vox's snide reply is enough to further enrage Lucifer, but before Lucifer can respond, Alastor jumps back in, "You out of everyone should know it's dangerous down here. For dearest to run off without telling anyone their location is quite worrying. What if something happened to them? How would we ever know?"

Vox catching on to what Alastor was doing is quick to add on, "Unless, you don't really care about them?"

Lucifer growls, "Of course I do! So, uh, where are they?"

Alastor waves his arm towards the computer, "That's what we're trying to figure out. We need to get into their device first."

Lucifer doesn't waste any time after that walking by Vox to sit in the chair by the desk. Vox and Alastor share a look before directing their attention back to the computer.

"Who's company do you enjoy the most…" Lucifer mumbles out the text on the screen, making both of the overlords just as irritated as before.

"We've already tried our names…" Vox grumbles, still offended and shocked neither of his names worked.

Lucifer lights up, his previous annoyance forgotten hearing both the TV head and bellhop weren't at the top of your list, "Have you tried mine?"

The static in the room crackles as Alastor laughs at his suggestion, "As if the answer would ever be—"

The sound of squeaking throws him out of his train of thought. Glancing towards the source of the noise, he's greeted with the plush duck that Lucifer had grabbed— now sat in the king's lap. The angel's grin widens when he notices Alastor looking at the large plush, squeezing it again to emit the same squeaking as before.

The noise came from the duck…

The corners of Alastor's smile curl downwards as a snarl slips past his teeth, his ears also falling flat against his head. Vox isn't doing much better as his screen bugs out with colourful lines covering half of his face for a few moments.

The TV demon shoves the chair Lucifer is sitting on to the side to quickly type in his name, ignoring the sputtering coming from him at the action.

"If you're actually the fucking answer…" Vox trails off as soon as he hits enter, watching as the screen switches to load and opens up to your desktop cluttered with files and applications.

[ Welcome back :) ]

It's silent for a moment as the three take in the answer, static slowly filling the room again as the king's grin continues to grow larger.

"YES! HAHAHA! IN YOUR FACES!" Lucifer jumps from his seat as he cheers, waving the duck in their faces all the while.

Vox and Alastor sneer at the man currently parading around the room with the plush duck while thanking an imaginary audience. Neither are able to comprehend why you'd choose that buffoon over themselves.

It's fine. He might be your favourite right now, but they have an eternity to change your mind. They can be as patient as they need to bring you to your senses.

...

Over 20 years later and you still haven't made a deal with him

He's driven himself up the wall, using every manipulation tactic he can to get you to agree, but nothing worked

Very quickly he started resorting to making your life worse ontop of the manipulation, ramping up what he does each year you don't cave in

Tripping over inconveniently place furniture turns to debris falling on top of you, shitty bosses at your workplace turns to active sabotage, and mold outbreaks turns to eviction notices

He does everything in his power to make you give in—desperate to access your knowledge for his own use, but you never do

When you grew older, so did your understanding of that vision you saw. You make an effort not to look years into the future—with the further you go the more unreliable it becomes, but you have looked into that event a couple more times

You learn about the existence of demons and who Gwi-Ma really is, and that someday a group of girls will seal them away for good. That's all you needed to know to never make a deal with him, no matter what he does to you

Even if you had to move around the country more times than you could count, even if you can't use your ability for others anymore in fear of seeing something else Gwi-Ma wants to use, even if there's not a single person you could trust—not knowing if they're working with Gwi-Ma or not—you refuse to

It's simply not an option

At some point around your late teen years you thought you could trust the Hunters

Sure, they weren't the same trio that you saw in your vision (at least you think they weren’t, you haven't seen it in a while at this point), but they were still Hunters! Surely they'd understand and maybe help you separate from Gwi-Ma entirely

...

All you had to say after that utter catastrophe of a meeting was fuck Celine

(She feels a bit guilty over how she handled it seeing as you're not an actual demon—just being harassed by one, but she wants nothing to do with Gwi-Ma ever. Especially considering Rumi's whole existence)

Now hiding away from the Hunters while dealing with everything Gwi-Ma was throwing at you made you realize you were completely alone in this

You still believed in the Hunters to do their job killing demons and one day seal Gwi-Ma, that hasn't changed, but for anything on a personal level you could only rely on yourself

Gwi-Ma at this point is at his wits end. If he had hair it'd be completely gray from the frustration you've given him and he would've torn half of it out

So when Jinu comes to him and proposes creating a boy band, Gwi-Ma can't help himself but adding one more task for them

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Jinu couldn't help but notice how Gwi-ma has been… restless the past few years.

Okay, it's been closer to a couple decades, and he's more than a little restless. Aggravated, seething, infuriated, extreme murderous intent—all words that better describe the bouts of emotional turmoil he seems to be going through more recently.

He's been sending demon after demon through the Honmoon extremely recklessly; a good portion of them not even being sent to deal with the Hunters. Sure, the more inexperienced demons are getting sent to do that secret other objective while the more skilled get sent to the Hunters, but while the skilled still end up dead the others just come back traumatized. He wouldn't care if they didn't fill the normally silent realm with their incessant crying.

It's starting to piss him off—more than usual anyway.

If he had to listen to one more wail of agony over whatever harrowing events happened to the last wretched fool he was going to tear his own ears off. So, after he gathered four other reapers willing enough to go along with him, he approached Gwi-Ma with a plan of his own. One that would surely weaken the Honmoon to let him slip through freely. Even if it was a bit ridiculous.

The approval from the rest of the demons was enough to sway Gwi-Ma into agreement, even after learning why Jinu actually offered his idea. Though, he still wasn't fully satisfied.

"I'll let you go out—on one condition."

The four reapers behind Jinu tensed as he tried not to sigh. There was always something else with Gwi-Ma, even if you were doing something for him. Though, the thought that he might also set them up to help deal with his secret objective on top of the idol work made him anxious.

"And what might that be?"

"There has been a thorn in my side for too long—a human. They come from a long line of seers, and have proven themself the most useful with their ability to see the future. I have tried to strike a deal with them, but they deny at every turn. Convince them, and I'll grant you more than just the erasure of your memories. That includes all of you." Gwi-Ma tells them, his words landing like a sheet of ice across the five demons.

They share looks of doubt, dread seeping into each of them of varying degrees. It's a wonder how someone like that has seemingly been roaming around without the Hunters taking them in, or succumbing to Gwi-Ma's will. It's also safe to assume that whoever this is, they're the cause of Gwi-Ma's irritable behaviour the last few years. If it's because he hasn't been able to convince them into a deal after all this time, then what kind of a person is this? What hope do they have to convince someone Gwi-Ma hasn't been able to control for over two decades? And what if they're the one that's been traumatizing the demons all this time? Were they really weak willed or are they that good?

Jinu sighs as he makes his way through the Honmoon, the others following not far behind. They all hope that whoever it is, they're not nearly as skilled as the Hunters

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

You're on your way to the kooky doctor for an appointment—since he's the only one you can afford—when you run into the demon boys for the first time

Gwi-Ma is yapping his ass off and you're trying your best to tune him out

Turning into the alleyway with the doctors office, you're not expecting to literally bump into random pretty men

Truly, you would've apologized thinking it's just another petty scheme of Gwi-Ma to make your life a little more embarrassing, but you stop short when you notice the glint of colour across all their skin

You're mood instantly sours when you realize it is one of his schemes, just not a petty one

The one you bumped into looks at you in contempt, but you refuse to take anything a demon says without throwing it back. Especially from one who doesn't even know how to fully tuck his shirt in

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

"Watch your—"

"Shut the fuck up and get out of my way before I shove my fist down your throat and rip out your spine."

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Jinu immediately jumped out of your way, causing some packet to fall out of his pocket which you decide to take for yourself

The others don't notice, instead laughing at Jinu for how quickly he moved away from you

They shut up when you turn your glare on them, but since you should start caring less about the opinions of demons, you continue on your way without another word

You think you hear them groan with a few more laughs thrown in, but you stick to your guns and move on

(It's Gwi-Ma telling them you're the other target. Everyone but Baby hates that. Baby thinks it's funny, while Jinu had his fears confirmed)

You don't get far through the alley before you see three girls crouched around a box—picking up packets suspiciously similar to the one you stole off of that guy

Looking at it and seeing it's a tonic from your quack doctor, you figure it's something they think they need and decide to give it back

They are a little weary, both from trying to act like normal people and learning that guy somehow stole a tonic from them, but drop their guard pretty quickly

You have an appointment with the quack doctor (Rumi was not impressed to hear your reason for picking him)

Mira finds you amusing (threatening the group of boys, stealing their tonic back by accident and proving the doctor isn't worth shit are all a little too funny to her)

You seem super uninterested in them being Hunter/x so you probably don't even know they're famous (really Gwi-Ma's told you who they are the moment they appeared and you want to get away from them as soon as possible)

You're about to part ways when you all start hearing music coming from back the way you came

Since you arrived 30mins early to your appointment, you let curiosity get the best of you and follow the girls to the plaza

The mood between you all instantly sours when you see the boys from before start singing

Especially yours with Gwi-Ma laughing in your head

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

"Not these fucking demons again."

"It's those stupid jerks again—wait what?"

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

In between watching the performance and prodding you, the girls learn you already know they're demon hunters and can see the Saja Boys patterns

It makes them extremely suspicious of you and plan to interrogate you before going to "Play Games With Us!" to kill the Saja Boys

Gwi-Ma notices them slowly closing around you and starts yelling in your head to get the fuck out of there

You just hate them both and think answering the Hunters questions will possibly get them off your ass so you can go back home sooner

You have no real faith in this plan, but you refuse to go on the run from Hunters again. You could barely keep a job with the last three on your ass before they suddenly disappeared

They drag you over to a more secluded area before they start grilling you with questions

Who are you? How can you see the Saja Boys patterns? What do you know about the Honmoon? How much do you know about Huntr/x?

You answer all to the best of your abilities without giving away anything Gwi-Ma wouldn't know so he can't use anything against you

It goes fine for the most part, but when they start asking how you know all this information you have no idea how to tell them

You really don't want to deal with another group of Hunters chasing after you for having Gwi-Ma stuck in your head, but not answering makes you more suspicious than you already are

The demon king himself is whispering in your ear different lies you could tell them instead of the truth, but you know lying itself would make your life harder if they ever figured it out

You doubt Gwi-Ma wouldn't use that to his advantage at some point

No option is good, so you just bite the bullet and choose the one that hopefully inconveniences the demon the most

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The moment the words exit your mouth, the area falls silent. The girls expressions steel, immediately becoming hard to read, but their eyes give them away. Rumi and Mira rake your form, looking for any exposed patches of skin you may have, while Zoey's stay trained on your eyes. You know what they're looking for, but you don't know if they’ll be satisfied with the conclusion. The last weren't.

The tension in the air would be enough to choke you if you hadn't gone through this before—arguably with Hunters more menacing than the three in front of you. With each passing moment, all you can do is mentally prepare yourself for another life never knowing if you'll wake up the next time you fall asleep. For as long as your willing to put of with Gwi-Ma, you don't think you have it in you to run from Hunters anymore.

"We could be free of all this pain, if you just give in..."

Gwi-Ma voice echoes throughout your head, but you refuse to acknowledge him outside a twitch of your brow.

Zoey is the first to break the silence, her voice restrained of her usual energy—completely devoid of any emotion to give her away, "Gwi-Ma... told you?"

The other girls look into your eyes

"Yeah he did. He's been in my head since I was little."

"How young?"

Your eyes trail over to Rumi, and you try to hide your surprise at how... earnest she's suddenly turned. She's still guarding her expression through layers of walls, but she's looking at you with something suspiciously close to sympathy.

"Probably around five. I don't really remember."

Zoey is soon to drop her own edge, but like Rumi still doesn't fully let her guard down. Mira only stretches out her hand and looks to your arm—a silent gesture asking to see it. You rest your arm in her hands without issue and let her check until she's satisfied.

"Why would Gwi-Ma be so fixated on you? You seem normal, if not a little insane."

You shrug your shoulders after she lets go of your arm, the unfortunate truth being something you've long since come to terms with, "I come from—"

Searing hot pain suddenly strikes through your mind, causing you to crumble to the floor clutching your head. Your cries and fall startle the girls in front of you, their guard dropping as they frantically try to figure out what's going on with you.

"Hey! What happened?"

"Are you alright? What's going on?"

"Are we sure they're not tricking us?"

"Look at them! Does this look fake to you!?"

"I don't know! This is so sudden I don't know what's happening!"

"What if this is Gwi-Ma's doing?"

Their voices muddle together as the pain rises, until you can't focus on the words they're saying past your own screeching. Your hands dig into your head and your press yourself further into the pavement, like you're trying to claw away at the source of your agony.

"You will not be telling them anything about your powers. They are mine to use. I refuse to allow the Hunters another chance to gaze into the future. They cannot help you, so be quiet."

Gwi-Ma's voice pierces your skull, like he’s etching his words into your brain so you never forget the affect he has on your life. Though, even in turmoil, you've never been one to bend to his whims.

Through the cacophony of white noise and the electric fire burning your veins, you try to think of someway to inform the girls of what's happening—potentially even answer their previous question. Each straying thought is punished with another jolt through your whole body, but you don't relent. There's no way to get out a single sentence through the nerve searing torture you're currently in, but you’re struck with the memory of someone who could.

"C-Celine."

As you choke out the woman's name, all pain immediately ceases. You lay limp on the floor, covered in a layer of your own sweat as the demon grumbles into the back of your mind.

The girls had moved to nearly around you, arms hovering not knowing if they should touch you or not, but the mention of their mentor sends confusion through all of them. Until Rumi remembers a conversation she had with her a long time ago.

"Wait, are you the seer Celine told me about?"

You, Mira, and Zoey whip your heads to her in shock. Mira and Zoey for not having heard of this seemingly important person sooner, while you're surprised Celine neither warned the other girls or drill into Rumi how dangerous you could be.

Said girl helps you up from your position on the floor to lean against one of the walls in the alley. Her eyes scan you from head to toe as she does so, becoming more convinced in her assessment as she does so.

"You match Celine's physical description. You just look a little older, but I guess it has been a few years since she told me."

Despite your will, getting tortured by Gwi-Ma is something you'd rather avoid for as long as possible... or forever, so you only nod in confirmation.

"Woah Rumi hold on."

Mira moves closer to her to place a hand on her shoulder, her eyes flicking between you both in bewilderment, "A seer? Why haven't we been told about their existence before? That's not someone you just forget to mention."

Rumi shrugs, her voice wavering under Mira's gaze, "It was so long ago and Celine never brought them up again. I think she felt bad for how she acted and only told me to keep an eye out."

You almost snort at her statement. The thought of Celine—the woman who nearly killed you on the spot—feeling guilty over how she treated you is laughable. You'd eat the soot of Gwi-Ma's flames before you believed she could ever feel remorse for you.

Zoey suddenly springs forward, barely leaving any space between you, "So you can see the future?"

You start to crumble at how close she is. Her wide eyes stare into yours with a level of anticipation that hasn't been directed at you since you were divining. The other girls listen in with the same level of interest. It's starting to make you uncomfortable.

"I guess. I haven't done it in a while with the demon king living in my head rent free."

That brings them back to the reality of your situation. Zoey visibly deflates, her next words coming out mumbled as she looks down.

"Yeah, it's probably the best you don't do that with him around."

Mira rolls her eyes, "How can you live with that monster in your head. Must be terrible."

You don't get to respond before Rumi launches her own question, her face displaying a level of sincerity you're finding hard to comprehend, "So… how are you doing? Having him in your head since you were five and not giving in must have been exhausting."

You're stunned at their complete change in attitude. They were ready to tear your throat out at a moments notice. One wrong move from you and you wouldn't still be here, but their entire stance changes as soon as Celine is mentioned to have felt sorry for you? For a situation she helped perpetuate?

It's honestly pissing you off.

You ignore the chuckles reverberating through your mind, solely focused on the girls looking at you like you're a charity case, "Right now, I'm on my last box of instant noodles, I'm about to lose the water, and I've just been demoted at my job. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm fired soon though, this is the longest I've held a job so far." The girls look like they're about to cry, but you frankly don't care, "So yes, it is terrible having this pissant as a freeloader in my own mind, but I don't need any of you to help me. I've been fine on my own for over twenty years. I didn't need your pity then, and I don't need it now."

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Now they're panicking, trying to undo the hurt they didn't even know know they were doing

You don't listen to them though, just wanting to get away from them and go back home

The girls let you without much of a fight. They don't want to make anything worse

While you go back home and sulk (rescheduling your doctors appointment as soon as you can), they immediately get Celine on the phone and demand to know more information about you

Though she delays giving them a straight answer once she hears that the Saja Boys are demons and tells them all to focus

So they leave to go prepare deal with the demons after the game show

Meanwhile, Gwi-Ma turns his gaze back to the Saja Boys to inform them what just happened

The boys are less than enthused they now have to compete with the Hunters to get your attention, but it's at least easier knowing you don't like them either

During their clash at the bathhouse, neither group brings you up in fear of aggravating the other side more, but they don't hold back afterwards

This starts the race to see which group wins you over first, while you're trying to avoid both groups (and failing miserably)

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

"Can't a guy want to spend time with his other half?" Val leans over the back of the couch, looking you over with a grin and purrs, "One of them anyway. Just you is fine though."

You turn the page of your book. "If you're counting me, those aren't halves then."

"Whatever."

Val pinches your cheek, dodges your attempt to swat at him, and climbs over the back of the couch to lean on you. You try to push him away, but he just grabs your hand with one of his and kisses it. Knowing him, you take it back before he has the chance to lick it.

Val hums in amusement, starting to drag his finger up the arm you just pulled away, "You're always so distant. I'm starting to think you don't like me."

"Maybe it's because Vox brought you despite me asking him not to."

His reaction is instantaneous. Val pulls away from you so fast you'd think he flew to the other end of the couch. The action is so out of character from him you actually look up from your book to pay attention to him.

He looks more surprised than anything. His smile is gone and his eyes are blown wide— the faint light emitting from them dimming a tad— and his arms are clutched to his chest. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he almost looked sad, but the twitch in his hands is a telltale sign he’s itching to shoot something. You don’t know what, but you’re not dumb enough to wait for the answer.

Closing your book, you fully turn your body to face him with a small smile, "You're here now and you've been nice to me, I'm not kicking you out. I’m more mad at Vox than you— he always does whatever he wants."

Even with your reassurance, Val doesn’t seem to be any less upset, if anything he’s gotten visibly angrier. With a huff, he roughly digs a hand into his pocket to pull out a cigar— lighting it like and taking a drag like it’s his last line of sanity.

"Well there’s one of my questions answered." Val says through gritted teeth, taking off his hat and shoving it on your face before blowing the fumes of his aphrodisiac your way. "Didn't know I was starting from zero, but this is fine. I'll make you like me soon enough."

You wave your hand in front of you to get rid of as much the smoke as possible before raising his hat to glare at him. Val’s grin is back full force as he stares you down, not at all deterred by your ire. If his hat hadn’t blocked most of it you swear you would’ve… wait… one of his questions?

Is that why he barged in here shouting for Vox and possibly breaking the wall again? He had something to ask him? Then why is he still here with you?

You adjust his hat so it won’t slip over your eyes and your can keep track of his movement, "What are you talking about? What questions?"

He waves a hand at you haphazardly looking slightly irritated again, “Don’t worry about it, just little things I’ve noticed. You just told me everything I need to know.”

He takes another drag, this time blowing the fumes away from you to your relief. Though, you’re not sure how to feel when he’s suddenly grabbing your face with his free hand and caressing your cheek.

”Now, onto Vox,” Using his lower hands, Val lifts you onto his lap and holds you down firmly, “Who put a stick up his ass? We're in bed one minute, then he's talking about statistics the next. Now he's not even here.”

You try to squirm away at first, but his hands only tighten their grip on your waist and his eyes narrow a smidge, so you think better of it. As soon as you stop he starts acting laid-back and smug again, causing you to roll your eyes.

"Vox is always like that. Can’t keep his mind off his work for more than an hour. He was like that when we were alive too. I swear he thinks he’ll implode if he doesn’t." You shift a little in Val’s lap as he starts to rub circles into your hip, "But with you he's also in denial."

Val’s eyes narrow again, this time in confusion. You sigh upon realizing how shit Vox has been at establishing what’s going on between the three of you.

"Every time I bring you up he insists you're just 'partners in business' then turns around and has sex with you more than me. Did he tell you anything?"

The moth’s eyes brighten and his grin grows more smug– his next words coming out more sultry than before, "Ooh~ You talk about me? You jealous mami?"

You scoff, completely believing he'd glossed over your criticisms of the TV-headed buffoon to talk about you instead, but disappointed nonetheless. "The only thing I'm jealous of is how wet his dick is while I'm sitting here dry. He needs to get over himself."

He chuckles and switches from drawing shapes on your hip to caressing your thighs, "While getting Vox to cut his bullshit something we can agree on, there are things we can do to solve your other little issue."

His lower hands slowly start to inch inwards your crotch. As much as you would’ve liked, you can't help the shiver that goes up your spine. The idea of getting back at Vox with the guy he’s been ignoring your for is all to tantalizing, but you’re not like him… right?

"You want me to cheat on him?"

"Cariño, I'm in the relationship—" Val pauses, gritting his teeth before forcing himself to calm down and staring directly into your eyes with an intensity you never expected him to aim at you. “Okay, even if I’m apparently not in it— Vox fucked me first. I think you deserve your own turn.”

You raise a brow, "You're getting off on this aren't you?"

"Immensely." He spreads his legs, bringing you down far enough to feel his erection straining against his pants, “You wouldn’t know since Vox is a little bitch, but I’ve wanted to take you just as much as your asshole of a husband. I thought you knew and were just playing hard to get, but it seems Vox is better at keeping us apart than we thought. So, want to go for a round or four?”

Without waiting for a response, he grinds up into you— catching you off guard you can’t hold in the moan that escapes you. You bury your face into his chest while he laughs and moves his lower hands to clutch your ass.

"I hope you know I'm putting this scenario in one of my films."

"You're so gross," You groan out in embarrassment, but can no longer deny how desperate you currently want this sort of attention, "But… If you’re not busy…"

Val leans over to reach the side of your head and growls into your ear, “Baby I’ll go for as long as you want.”

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

[ A few weeks later ]

Vox: When were you going to tell me you and Val were fucking BEHIND MY BACK!?

You: Why do you care? You've been going at it since he got here.

Vox: Well—

You: If you say it doesn't count because you're both men don't bother finishing that sentence.

Vox: I-I wasn't! He's just—

You: Valentino's in the relationship, we can do whatever we want.

Vox: He's only a partner in business!

It took a bit of convincing on your end, but he agreed when he heard it was a hidden spot with nice sinners and he wanted to see if that was true himself.

You were both having a great time. Lucifer was actually really enjoying the atmosphere and the food— especially since any rambunctious sinners stepped out as soon as they realized who he was. Since you couldn't exactly eat or be seen by most of the sinners there, you were just enjoying his company— watching him move between blueprints like a tornado of creativity.

He often muttered his plans in a way for others to think he was just thinking aloud, but really it was for you to understand what he was working on. He also kept glancing your way with this big dopey smile on his face. It was as companionable as you could get as a ghost hanging out in a public space with the king of hell.

Though you should've known peace doesn't last long for you.

Noticing a few sparks coming off a camera in the corner of the store, you know your time of leisure is over. The next moment, Vox appears in a burst of electricity in the centre of the room— his screen glitching slightly and scowl on full display.

He's quick to correct his mistake when he takes in the others in the room, slapping on a grin that hid his current irritation, but Lucifer did nothing to hide his own.

"What are— where did you even— why are you here?"

Lucifer growls, but Vox only rolls his eyes and brings his attention to the rest of the sinners still in the café.

"Everybody get out. I need to have a word with," His eyes dart to you for a moment before settling on the king, "Lucifer."

Nobody questions his sudden demand and make a break for the exit, not wanting to get on the overlords bad side. The only people who don't leave immediately is the staff, but they obviously looked like they were debating it. That wasn't good enough for Vox though.

"I said everybody."

Static underlines his last words, making the staff quickly start packing their things to leave like everyone else, which Lucifer wasn't fond with at all. He just wanted quality time with you, and while he was hesitant at first to come here he definitely wasn't complaining now. So for this TV to barge in and destroy the peace really got under his skin.

"Now hold on! This is their store you can't just—"

"It's okay Sir Morningstar." One of the staff interrupts with a quiver, "I'm sure it'll only take a moment and we don't want to interrupt. We'll just wait outside!"

They all rush out with their tails between their legs. As soon as the door closes behind them, Vox turns back to the both of you, dusting off the front of his jacket like he accomplished something.

"Now, since that's been handled," Vox narrows his gaze solely onto you, his previous anger coming back in full force, "What the FUCK was that!"

You hide behind Lucifer to hopefully avoid most of Vox's rage. Though it's pissing you off a little since you have no idea what he's even referring to.

Lucifer raises a brow at Vox's shift in demeanour. He angles himself a slight bit so he's blocking more of you from Vox, not caring if you've chosen to go invisible for the overlord or not with his sudden shouting.

"That was you getting rid of all the pleasant chatter, which was rude of you by the way. We were actually in the middle of something before you dropped by and ruined the atmosphere so if you could just—" Lucifer raises his hands to shoo him away, "go back to wherever you came from that'd be great."

"You can fuck off," Vox points at Lucifer— ignoring the overly dramatic gasp that came from him and looking past him to you, "but YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU FUCKING COST ME!?"

Your face scrunches up in sheer confusion. You have no idea what you could've done to him that would make him so mad at you. Besides messing with him during a meeting, but you haven't done that recent enough for him to be yelling at you for it now.

"Dude, what are you even talking about???"

"STOP—" Vox suddenly stops and stares at you for a second, taking note of your expression and your posture, and sighs, "Stop coming into my room and flipping the whole thing upside-down with your freaky paranormal shit. Today I woke up, fell from the fucking ceiling, and needed Velvette to replace my head. This is after she filled an album with blackmail."

You still have no idea what he's going on about, but you don't have time to say that when Lucifer jumps to respond before you.

"I can't imagine your game was great to begin with. Maybe the replacement will help you."

Lucifer's shit eating grin doesn't falter when Vox fixes his glare onto him. Neither of their moods is help when you're clearly heard trying to hide your snickering.

Vox's screen darkens, "I'm not the one who's wife left without a word."

You can see the blow to Lucifer's own ego is instant in the way he filches back into you. The air grows tense as his eye's begin to glow harsher.

"At least I could keep a stable relationship for eons. How's that uhh… moth friend of yours by the way?"

Their argument continues to escalate and you've completely zoned them both out. You know by now that when any of them argue it's better to wait it out than trying to stop it.

You float a little bit further from the two, not wanting to catch either of their attention and be dragged into whatever feud they have going on... again. It's while you're looking around you spot movement in darkest corner of the café. The shadows seem to get more energetic as soon as you lay eyes on it, curling upwards into a familiar form.

Alastor's shadow then looks at the other two in the room, rolls its eyes (from what you can tell), and beckons you to follow it outside. You got nothing else to do, so with a shrug you follow it out the building and to wherever it wants to bring you. Nobody notices the shadows dancing along the walls, and since you can just fly through people it doesn't take long to reach your destination.

One of Hell's only parks quickly comes into view, and so to does Alastor himself— standing off in a secluded area by himself. His smile widens the moment he locks eyes with you, twirling his cane as his shadow melds with him again.

"Why my dear it's quite a pleasure! You sure took your time, I was beginning to think you'd let those two bore you to tears!"

You roll your eyes at what is basically his admission of stalking you, but you can't hide the grin on your face, "It's not like much others are able to see me. I'd take their petty nonsense over being by myself again any day."

"But why settle for them when you can be out here with me! I can offer you more than sitting in silence and accusations of tedium you hadn't even committed."

"Wait— how do you..." You trail of as his smile turns into a smirk, that alone was enough of an answer. "Okay then nevermind actually. What could you possibly offer that's better than what the king of Hell could do? We can't exactly talk in public either without you looking like you're on your last screw."

He suddenly hold out his arm and presents his staff to you, "Hold this for me."

You stare down at the staff like if you touch it it'll come to life and double curse your already questionable existence, "Why...?"

Alastor hums, "I know this may take a bit of energy for you to commit to, but if you can indulge me for a moment it'll be worth your time."

With a sigh, you hesitantly pool what little power you could into your hands and reach out to grab his staff. The eye on the microphone opens as soon as you make contact and stares directly at you— not once looking away. It was creeping you the fuck out, but it wasn't doing anything else.

"Okay, what now—"

"Okay, what now?"

You nearly screech when the staffs starts speaking in that old timey way you only recognize from cartoons. It takes you a moment to realize it repeated what you said back at you.

"What?"

The staff repeats what you said again, to your confusion and Alastor's growing amusement.

"Seeing as my shadows and other powers have no trouble sensing you, even after you do your little vanishing act, it's nothing to me whatsoever to have them speak on your behalf either. So," Alastor grabs the bottom of his mics cane with a bow and waves his other hand back in the direction of the park, "Shall we?"

Your face is nearly split from how much you're smiling. Being able to talk in public and go on a walk sounds absolutely delightful, but before you can speak a word—

"ALASTOR! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE AND I KNOW YOU FUCKING TOOK THEM!"

"WHY DO BOTH OF YOU HAVE TO INTERRUPT MY DATE—"

"Did they call it a date or are you simply forcing your views onto them like a—"

You can't help the sigh that escapes you as all three start arguing. Peace, truly, doesn't last long for you.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from you— letting his gaze travel from the tips of your wings to your chest. He doesn't notice the red drool glitching into existence on the corner of his mouth, but you do and swiftly bring your wing down to cover yourself.

"Can I help you? I'm a little busy here."

Your voice snaps him out of his daydreaming. Right... You're actually sitting on the bed in front of him. He's not staring at a picture he can fantasize about without consequence. His eyes now dart around the room, noticing how ruffled your wings actually are and how much feathers are scattered around the room.

His screen brightens a tad in embarrassment, but he shoves that all down and tries to regain control of himself. Slapping his showman grin on, Vox locks eyes with you and desperately uses every last ounce of willpower to keep his eyes on your face.

He laughs off your question and teases you instead to get your mind off his earlier blunder, "Kinda sounds more like your struggling."

"Same thing." You roll your eyes at him and go back to reaching for the back of your wings— ignoring his presence in the room altogether. While he's completely fine just watching you do your thing (especially when you're shirtless), he has no idea what you're actually doing.

"What uh... What are you even doing?"

"I'm trying to preen my wings, but it's hard to reach the back to do them properly." You drop your arms and wing with a sigh, "I used to get help from my family but... Well, you already know."

Vox can't help the snort that escapes him. Yeah, he was keenly aware of how low your family actually was. Lilith up and left all of you, Lucifer has done fuck all for you the past few years and basically forced you to pick up all his work, and while Charlie may be... nice, she still left all the responsibilities for you to take care of while she worked on her delusional wish list.

Family matters aside, Vox hates seeing you look so defeated. Especially when the cause involves the family that clearly doesn't care enough about you. And your wings are so pretty, even when ruffled like this. It'd be a shame if you hid them away forever 'cause you couldn't care for them effectively.

"I can help?"

He spoke before he could even process how he wanted to fix your issue in the first place. While he doesn't exactly want to take back what he said, the look you give him is enough to have him scrambling to backtrack.

"I mean— if someones always done this for you I don't mind taking time— Uh, I'm not that busy anyway so—"

"Do you even know the first thing about preening wings?"

His confidence immediately comes back as he hears your retort and puffs out his chest, "I'm a walking search engine babe, anything I don't know I can find out in seconds."

You stare at him for a few seconds, brow raised unimpressed, but Vox doesn't let himself falter for a second time. When you finally look away from him and look down to smooth out your topmost feathers, your response is short and clipped.

"I'll be fine on my own."

His anxiety spikes for a moment at how lacklustre you sounded before he smooths himself out with pure logic. If your family were the people to help you before, not being able to do it yourself must be grating on your nerves. Any reminders of his deadbeat family would piss him off too. So, what if he just... replaced the memories for you?

Vox's grin widens at his thought and slowly brings his hands up to grasp your shoulders, "I get you want to separate yourself from your family as much as possible and be completely independent from them—"

"When did I say—"

"But you still have me! Val and Velvette to I suppose, but we have known each other forever!" He leans in closer, stopping right in front of your face and dragging a hand down your shoulder to thread through your feathers, "I wouldn't mind... filling in the void."

Your breaths mingle together. The short distance between the both of you send a shiver up Vox's spine. What he would give for you to lean in the rest of the way and put an end to this song and dance.

Suddenly you pull back, looking down and moving your wing away from his hand to his disappointment.

"I'll eventually get it done myself. You don't need to waste your time."

You sound so tired, he can't help the smirk that appears and grips your shoulders with both hands again. It's cute that you're thinking of his time and business, but really he'd rather be spending the whole day with you. VoxTek will last a day without him.

"C'mon, not everything I do is to benefit something! It can just be something we do, at least let me just this once? If I'm terrible at it we never have to do this again, and if I'm great you don't have to fumble around like a headless chicken for hours on end."

You sigh, and Vox is already celebrating in his head— knowing he's won you over.

"Fine."

"Great!" He doesn't hide the enthusiasm in his voice or his actions, not wasting a moment before he's jumping onto the bed behind you. "Now, what am I doing?"

"I thought you were a walking search engine?"

"I am!" He lets his claws run over your feathers, nearly losing himself at how soft they are, "But you surely have specifics. Can't imagine you have a normal routine with wings like this."

Vox hasn't met many with feathered wings, but none have looked as pretty as yours and he highly doubts they're as soft either. It may just be a perk of being a Morningstar, but you must do something special with them and he doesn't want to mess it up.

"You don't have to bother with any of that. Right now I just need the loose and broken feathers removed."

He snickers and starts scrutinizing the feathers more closely, "Any sensitive spots I should know about?"

"Nice try Vox."

"Worth a shot."

The next little while passes by in a comfortable silence— the longest Vox thinks he's been quiet in your presence in years. He fumbled through your feathers at the start, but quickly grew more confident in his motions when he knew which ones to look out for. He lets himself admire you as his hands start to move on autopilot, every twitch in your wing and flex of your back driving him deeper into desire.

The urge to drag a claw down your spine to see how you react grows with each passing second, so he tries to think of something to talk about to distract himself from following through.

"Y'know, we've known each other for decades and not once have you asked me for anything."

You shrug, "And I still haven't. You were the one practically begging to help me."

"That's the thing isn't it? I'm always the one searching for you, so tell me," Vox pauses his ministrations and rests his head right behind yours, his voice becoming edged with static, "Is there anything you want from me?"

The room grows warmer as he mindlessly plays with a feather and awaits your reply. This is the most forward he's been since he's allowed these feelings for you too fester under his circuitry. Surely this will finally be the one you pick up and throw back at him with your own.

Would you ask for a date? He'd take you anywhere you anywhere you wanted— whether that be a high end restaurant like Dante's Inferno or a simple picnic at a park. Would you skip the date and ask him to be your boyfriend— or even better, skip the pleasantries and ask him to marry you? Or have his advances worked too well and you'd just pull him into the sheets. The thought of making a complete mess of you excites him to no end, not just as royalty but as the one person who's stuck by him through everything. He'd make all of Pride bow to the both of you and utterly ruin you so well no one else would be able to—

"I already have everything I could ever need. Why would I ask anything of you?"

His entire world shatters.

You have... nothing to ask of him? Nothing? No sudden confessions, no wants to watch a movie and gorge on takeout? Hell, he'd even take an ask to help with your workload, but nothing? Absolutely nothing???

That's when memories start resurfacing like a tidal wave. Ones he's elected to wave off, excuse and ignore for the last few years.

Suddenly he's remembering all the missed calls and late replies— something you never used to slack on that he just chalked up to you getting more busy. He's remembering all the times you dropped by without a word or any prompting slowly become more sporadic until they eventually stopped altogether. He's remembering all the cheesy post-it notes and mystery snacks that showing up around his office. He's remembering needing to set up more and more meetings with you under "business" just to make sure you'd come over and not flake out for something else.

He's remembering a time where you used to be everywhere, and suddenly realizing you're barely in it now. It feels like you took the knife Vox didn't even know was deeply embedded in his chest and twisted it.

He thinks a bullet would've been kinder.

"W-well," his voice glitches, unable to stop it still trying to process his crumbling reality, "You're busy so o-often. I wouldn't mind help-ping out here and there to lighten-en the load."

He has his own shit to deal with, managing VoxTek with all of it's products and shows while corralling Val and Velvette from public outbursts, but hell he'd carve out whatever time necessary for you if asked. He'd do anything if it meant he got to spend even a second more with you— anything to get more than what he's finally realized you're currently giving him.

You sigh at his words and he can't tell if it's out of frustration or exhaustion. Either way he knew it wasn't positive and it was igniting his nerves further.

"All my work is to run Pride or for other sins Vox. Nothing you can possibly help with."

He's fumbling through your feathers again at this point— any sense of confidence he gained with your wings gone in the face of his sheer panic.

When did this get so hard? It's always been you and him against Hell since the moment he fell here, so what happened? When did spending time together only happen during business meetings? When did talking outside of that become a rarity? When did texting become wishing you had time to read the message?

When did you get so far away from him?

...

Was it Alastor?

The thought alone that fucking deer possibly had something to do with your sudden aversion makes his blood boil, but it adds up with his disappearing act doesn't it? This wasn't as big of a problem before he disappeared— at least he doesn't think so. God he hopes not. He'll have to ask Val and Velvette if they noticed any sudden distance from you—

"Vox."

He's abruptly pulled from his spiralling at your call. You stretch your wings, effectively taking his hands off of them aswell and start smoothing the last of them out yourself.

"I can handle my wings from here. You got all spots I couldn't reach and you're starting to seem..." You turn your head back enough to give him a once over, "Stressed. Thanks for the help though."

You give him a small smile, so small he nearly missed it and gone as soon as he noticed, but he latches onto that like it's his life support.

"Of course, anytime! I mean it!"

He knows he sounds desperate, and in any other situation he'd beat himself up over it and try to recover, but this is you he's talking to. How could he be anything less when he's now noticed the cavernous distance that's somehow come between you two?

He's quick to get up and leave the room, his mind already swirling with theories and plans as he makes a b-line to his control room. Despite the conflicting thoughts and emotions swirling around inside him, one stays at the forefront like a guiding force he knows will consume him until he either solves the problem or watches it erupt in his face.

When did you start to move on, and how can he fix it before it's too late? He won't let you become another Alastor— He can't let you become another Alastor.

Separating now is not an option.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

You never made a name for yourself, continued to not make any friends— choosing to keep people at arms length no matter the personality you adopted, and denied yourself interests in anything.

Apparently, walking by one to many people that needed help was enough to land you in Hell. Though, when you die there's nothing to work off of. You were only ever other people, so how are you supposed to be given a form that twists your death and something you love into something fitting a demon? Fate can't come to a conclusion, so it just... doesn't bother.

You do fall into Hell with a unique form— unique in the way there's no one else in Hell that looks as boring as you. You look almost akin to a stick figure and are lacking any genitals to boot. You're as plain as one can possibly be, a complete blank slate, and you can't tell if that's good or bad down here.

It's a couple days of trying to stay off the streets when you figure out you can morph your body into whatever you want. Not just to look like something else either, but to feel and have the exact same function of whatever you're thinking of. Everything that doesn't require software anyway.

It's not long after when you start to copy others again, only this time changing everything about yourself to replicate them to a T. Every verbal tick and nervous twitch down to the way ears flop or the way a tail flicks. After your first few days, not once does anyone ever see you— not even yourself.

In a few days you're realizing how, free you actually feel. Sure, you still don't really have anything for yourself, but you can be whoever you want to be. Do whatever you want to do. Hell has finally given you a reason to have fun, and you're not going to let this slip you by like you have for so much else.

You're here for an eternity after all.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

There's a new sinner in Hell that's been driving Vox up the fucking wall. It's not just him either, they've been bouncing between everyone's territories like a dog on crack— even Alastor's, but it's not like he's currently around to do anything about it. The only difference between their jaunts around everyone's land is how much devastation is left in their wake once they leave.

Infuriatingly, whenever they're in his area, they leave behind a special brand of chaos.

Hell, one day he found them swimming around in his fucking shark tank with Shock.wav. Well, they called it swimming, he called it as it was. Avoiding being mauled by the gigantic bloodthirsty robotic shark hot on their ass. Unfortunately, they got out of that completely unscathed, something so unheard of for Shock.wav's kill count He's starting to think they're made of rubber.

He wishes he could stop them before they got in his tower— or even kill the bastard for good— but they always show up with a different face so even his cameras are useless.

The curious thing he's able to note, is that nothing seems to ever happen near Cannibal Town. Whenever the other territories go silent, he can only assume that where the little shit has gone. It takes him every ounce of willpower to not lash out at Rosie at the next meeting and demand how she got that hyperactive liability to behave themself. Carmilla Carmine did end up asking in his place, but her reply was so vague it was basically a non answer.

"Oh! Well, you know how the youth are!"

It's not long until Vox notices they start to rise in power. Buildings getting crushed a little more easily, chaos spreading faster than the day before, and their visits in his tower getting more ridiculous. He doesn't think it's from deals or contracts, just by the sheer number of demons who found their antics amusing. Watching the carnage they spread became akin to watching reality TV— a car crash you couldn't look away from.

It was tanking his ratings. Sure his news stations covered some of their outbursts, but most of it could only be found scrolling through social media. The amount of videos and rants by other demons Velvette has sent him are endless.

He has to do something about it.

Killing them at this point would be a waste of views. So the obvious next step is to absorb them into his empire by whatever means necessary. The easiest being actually getting to know them.

Every want and desire, all worldly possessions, how time is spent outside of all the tomfoolery, favourite flavour of cake, flowers or chocolate— everything that makes them, you. He needs to know it all.

… To better protect his brand of course.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Alastor, at first, can't stand the charity case Rosie allowed into her territory.

They're loud, and chaotic, and lacking in a plethora of manners— what unfortunately seems to be a growing standard with each generation. Despite all of this, they've somehow entertained Rosie enough to gain free access to her domain. As long as they don't cause any unnecessary damage to anything that belongs to her. The same could not be said for his own territory— another reason to hate the pest he currently resides with.

Though, Alastor's almost certain part of the reason she let them in was to piss off Susan.

Eventually hatred turns to reluctant acceptance. They're useful, and aren't reluctant to get their hands dirty. It saves both him and Rosie the trouble of dealing with unwanted guests— often way before they reach the town. He still didn't want to speak to them, but would tolerate it if meant Rosie would get off his back.

It was during one of those conversations he brought up Vox in an offhanded snide comment.

"That walking advertisement is quite pathetic— much to quick to anger. It would amuse me greatly to see how far his buttons can be pushed."

"Yeah, that would be funny wouldn't it!" was their reply.

The next day he's hearing about a blackout spanning the entirety of the entertainment district.

That's when he starts genuinely warming up to their company. Even without owning their soul or being a direct command, they did something for him at the drop of a hat. He's quick to take advantage of this to get things from outside of Cannibal Town and to annoy certain demons while he's away.

He's often in close proximity once this becomes routine. Eventually— through all the masks they put up and the irritation they spark— Alastor's able to catch a fraction of a person he can see himself standing behind. He didn't care much before that he didn't really know who this hyperactive sinner is (outside of being annoyed it's one less thing to potentially use against them), but with that small glimpse he realized he's not content with that anymore.

If he must be close to them, he needs to know who he's working with. Hiding behind the faces of other just won't do anymore. Bit by bit he'll eventually tear it all away— everything down to the last atom— until all he's left with is you.

No matter how long it takes.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

The first thing Lucifer noticed when he made eye contact with the new‐ish sinner is that they don't actually look how they present themself. Which is strange, since the first time they meet is when they crashed through the roof of his manor.

There was a lot of apologizing, some explaining, then even more apologies when he told them his name before he gets to ask about it.

"This is me." They said, "I've never had anything of my own, and Hell took away the one thing no one could, so why bother."

It was said so assuredly, with only the self depreciated confidence that came with decades of being unappreciated it honestly stunned him a little.

As much as he didn't like sinners, he knew some of them deserved to be down here less than others. All the apologizing and the self-depreciation were enough to make him think they could be the latter— enough to immediately forgive and drops hints he wouldn't mind them coming by more. He was so lonely and so tired, he's take whatever he could get.

He found himself thoroughly enjoying whenever they dropped by, and highly anticipating their next visit. Soon he starts to get really sad when they have to leave, always coaxing them to stay for just five more minutes, until they automatically start staying for longer on their own.

If he ever find himself missing them more than he'd like to admit, he always turns the TV to the news. It's almost guaranteed one of the channels will be talking about them or the havoc they've brought down upon some overlord that probably deserved it. The more days go by, the more often he finds himself leaving it on while he works on other things.

One day, in a moment of weakness (desperation), he asks why they don't visit more. He hears a lot about chores others have manipulated them into doing— things he can't be bothered to remember, but no where in there did he hear of any personal tasks. There was no "I need to fill my fridge", no "There's a movie I want to see", or even "I'm just tired. Need some time alone." Everything they talked about was in relation to other people.

It's then he remembers how worthless they thought of themself— like self-identity was a luxury they'd never be able to hold. It tore his heart apart. So from then on, he's quick to try and do things you want to do. He gets sadder every time you respond with "I don't know. Whatever you want to do Lu."

Mira and Celine get into a bit of an argument over it, one Celine is obviously losing since she barely believes she handled that well either

She just can't believe Celine is that heartless

(In the back of her mind she wonders if she would've made the same mistake if Zoey and Rumi weren't with her. She chooses to ignore the thought)

Zoey adds some points of her own, more sympathetic than Mira's being

All she can think about is a little you with the demon king at your back and not being able to get any of the help you need to cope with that

Yeah you weren't that young when you met her, but she can't help it

Then she remembers how you said you were barely holding on right now and nearly bursts into tears

Rumi doesn't engage with the argument. She barely knows where to start

Your situation is so alike yet so different from hers and it's making her draw parallels she wishes she didn't

Cutting off Gwi-Ma from earth was a good thing, but killing a kid to do it was terrible

In Celine's haste, you being a kid didn't matter

Would close proximity to Gwi-Ma make her own patterns grow or vanish?

To risky to try apparently

…

Would Celine have killed her if she was someone else?

Without Mercy or hesitation, if it meant there was even half less the demon roaming around?

…

She feels like she's falling apart

The other two don't notice the breakdown Rumi's currently going through, both of them still focused on Celine

Celine takes most of the verbal abuse from Mira, only making minor counters, but when her morals are targeted she can't let it slide

She had to take of Rumi. Keeping her safe and away from terrible vices and other influences has been her number 1 priority since Rumi's mother died

Getting rid of her patterns falls into that

If Gwi-Ma ever came into close contact with her, what would happen?

She doesn't know and wouldn't dare risk it

But she can't tell Mira or Zoey about that. They wouldn't get it

So instead she shuts down their argument entirely

Mira tries to keep it going, but a glare from her is enough to shut her up

Not out of fear or a want to listen to what she has to say, but knowing that this is Celine. She knows at this point she's not going to get a real explanation from her and her blood boils because of it

Also, Rumi looks like she's about to have a conniption and doesn’t want to add to that

Celine reminds them all "your faults and fears must never be seen" before leaving the girls to their whims

Mira's still angry, Zoey's still on the verge of tears, and Rumi thinks she's having a panic attack

Both Mira and Zoey push their feelings down for a moment to help Rumi. Once she's better they all cry in a pile on the floor

(Bobby comes by and covers them with a blanket since he can't carry them to their rooms)

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Gwi-Ma tells himself he's a patient guy, but those around him really know how to fray his fucking line

You've been ignoring him for over 20 years and the Hunters are close to sealing the Honmoon

Both situations are horrific positions to be in, but what's really hitting his nerves are the Saja Boys

Ever since their first encounter with you, each one of them have been their own brand of useless—half of them could barely talk to you!

Both Romance and Mystery have only watched you from afar—not once really trying to talk to you

Anytime they do it's an accident, and they never manage to make a good impression

Not that any of them do, but they can’t even make you feel enough to listen to them—be it intrigue or fear

Romance only ends up following you around, and Mystery…

Well, he'll bark at you. You'll growl back. Then he'll fuck off

They're less than pathetic

Jinu's often too busy to attempt to manipulate you

He's the one doing all the work setting up gigs, choreography, and writing lyrics

Romance and Baby step in to help layout outfits—Baby sometimes books a venue if asked, but other than that he's doing everything himself

So the time he has for you is rare, but when he does get to see you, Gwi-Ma wishes he stayed busy

He'll fumble over his words one moment and easily threaten you the next

The one time he tried to tell you why he became a demon, you interrupted him with "Don't care, didn't ask, sinner" and he never tried again

Another time he threatened you, you bit back as you always did, but instead of stopping he continued

It ended with you throwing a chair at his head

You missed, but then tried to use the broken leg to stab him

He never tried that again either

Watching Jinu is honestly so fucking sad—Gwi-Ma can barely tolerate it

So, he either makes Jinu leave to not ruin his rep with you any further, or leaves himself knowing he'll always be a lost cause

Abby is a fool, but at least he's trying. He's 1 of 2 out of the 5 of them to actively seek you out

Unfortunately, merely trying is not good enough when he's supposed to be manipulating someone

That doesn't really work when the target also knows he's a fool

Gwi-Ma's watched you call him uglier without a hat on—then see Abby proceed to always wear beanies when going to meet with you

Abby says it's to better "Wow you with his charms so maybe you'll fall in love and be easier to sway"

Gwi-Ma knows it's only because he couldn't handle not being perceived as "good looking"

When the lone hat didn't work he starts doing other things to suit your tastes—trying to become your "ideal man"

Since you're not stupid, you obviously noticed how easy it was to get him to do things you wanted

You took advantage of him to get around some of the things Gwi-Ma was doing to make your life worse

Now… Baby…

If the boys hadn't already made their debut as the Saja Boys, Gwi-Ma would've eviscerated his soul and torn his body asunder

Unlike Romance and Mystery who are overall useless, Jinu who can't hold a conversation to save his afterlife, and Abby who you've turned into your personal butler—Baby is a fucking vivacious cupidical bootlicking traitor

Sure, he talks to you very often—and once in a while he'll ask about your powers, but only when Gwi-Ma reminds him to

And when he does, it's a throwaway line like—"Oh yeah, you gonna make a deal soon? No? Cool, anyway—"

All he actually does is flirt, and tease, and use his status as the maknae to keep you from doing anything about it

("Oh, you wanna hit me? But I'm just a wittle baby—I don't think the public would see it your way~")

Shut up, shut up, shut up

WHY DOESN'T HE DO ANY OF THIS WHEN HE'S TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU?? HE'S GOING TO TEAR HIM TO PIECES—

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

"Witch."

You don't bother holding in your groan as (in your opinion) the most annoying member of the cotton candy crew saunters up to you like you've been friends for years. His hair is as eye-catching as any diamond, even from the corner of your eye, and just knowing how close he is makes the urge to punch him rise with each step. A black eye will surely ruin whatever infantile reputation he has going on, maybe finally get him to stop calling you 'witch', but he'd probably never let you even graze him.

You increase your pace, praying to anything that Baby will leave you alone so you can walk to the grocery store in peace, but he merely picks up his own pace to keep up. The smirk on his face ever-present as he takes the lollipop he's been sucking on out of his mouth.

"So, you're just going to ignore me? Rude."

You sneer, spitting your next words out like venom, "The day I show you any respect is the day I throw myself off your neighbouring building in the hopes I crash through your window with my remains splattering across every last one of your damn lollipops."

Baby doesn't make any attempt to retort with his own insult, he never does, but the way the corner of his eyes crinkle upwards clearly give away his amusement. You don't know why he finds talking to you so interesting, but the thought that any demon found you entertaining enough to actively seek you out makes a shiver crawl up your spine.

"Scathing." Baby starts lowly, his smirk widening into a large grin—one that would've looked condescending if you didn't know better—and completely changes the topic, "How about you and me hit a karaoke bar after you get what you came for? There's one around the corner. I'll go easy on you, I promise."

Multiple insults directed at him, the boyband, and their aggravating song and dance routine come to mind as soon as he offers.

"How about you go back to your crib, keel over, and die."

"But if I did that, who'd join you on your grocery runs?"

"Preferably the sweet sound of silence."

You say that, but with the supposed demon king currently wailing in your head like a child and giving you a headache, you know silence is only something you can dream for.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

The girls are having a much better time than the demons are (especially compared to Gwi-Ma)

But they're still not really getting through to you

You're only more polite since they're Hunters, not because you actually respect them

Zoey tries to be openly empathetic of your situation, but you only take it as pity

When you start pulling away even more because of it she'll stop and try a different approach

She'll try to figure out what hobbies you could possibly have in common, cry when you reveal you don't have time when dealing with Gwi-Ma, and try a bunch of different activities

She'll ask what your favourite food is to buy you some, cry when you reply with anything that doesn't have mold, then take you to a bunch of restaurants, fast food joints, and cafés to figure out what it is

Favourite song, favourite movie, favourite flower, favourite animal—this will repeat until both of you have a firm grasp on what you personally like and dislike as a person

More than anything, she wants you to know who you are as a person and live—not just survive

You only think she's trying to figure you out to better bribe you

Rumi has the hardest time talking to you

She's stilted in her motions and stutters over her words constantly, but she's earnest in all her attempts

She'll bring you to the park, go on a walk along the edge of the city, go to a garden or green house—quiet activities to act as respite from whatever antics the demons put you through

She wants to offer you the same support Celine gave to her all these years—support you should've gotten instead of a sickle to the back

As genuine as she is, she can't escape this wretched feeling of envy—an emotion that taints every interaction with you, however minor

Yeah, you got Gwi-Ma in your head. She gets it, he sucks

But at least you're not a real demon

You don't have to live with patterns you have to hide—constantly on edge of making a mistake and becoming what something you fear.

You don't have to live knowing you're a monster, just harbouring an "extremely annoying" one

Your words not hers

So yeah, she's genuine with you, but her hatred for Gwi-Ma and for herself makes it hard to talk to you sometimes

Compared to the other two (compared to everyone honestly), Mira has the easiest time talking to you by far

She doesn't try to empathize—already knowing that wouldn't work based on the first meeting, she doesn't try to coddle you for the same reason, or actively goad you to side with the Hunters. She barely brings up Gwi-Ma or what's at stake at all

She just… talks to you. About anything and everything

Then she'll leave

You can't figure out what her game is, and that puts you more on edge than anything else

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

You yawn, already bored out of your mind standing at the back of a concert hall—watching the Saja Boys do their song and dance on stage. The crowd standing in between roars with the life of people exhilarated to be here. You only came because Gwi-Ma wouldn't let you sleep.

You're content to stand in the back and watch until you can go home—If the boys are there they can’t talk to you, but your moment alone slips away when a certain pink haired choreographer slides next to you.

"I'm going to assume you were forced to show up."

You shrug, "I'm here for the same reason you are."

You're not really willing to engage in a conversation with Mira at the moment—or ever—but she has ways of making you talk anyway. You can only hope this is one of those times she'll let you be and stay silent.

Thankfully, no more words are exchanged between you two. The concert continues as the boys move onto their next song, one that seems to irritate Mira given the grimace she's making. Besides the obvious, you don't know what's got her so worked up over it. To you the song is as boring and in your face as the last.

Abby slides to the centre of the stage and lifts his shirt, an action that makes you grimace. His eyes scan the crowd before locking onto you in the back. With a wink, he rips his shirt off and throws it into above crowd before continuing the choreography. A shiver wracked through your body at the wink, and now the longer you watch the more disgusting you feel.

A low hum makes you break your attention from the stage to look at the girl standing next to you. Her features have completely scrunched up, but it doesn't hide the blush spreading across her face or that her eyes trail Abby's every movement.

Because you don't hate her, you decide to nudge her a little to help her out of her trance.

"Why'd he take it off? Now he looks stupid standing next to the others."

Mira shakes her heads and looks between all the members on stage. When she snorts, you can't help the surge of pride or miss the chance to continue bashing these people you hate the most.

"Not that his shirt fit in the first place, but at least he matched the ridiculous style choices of everyone else."

She coughs to hide her increasing laughter so the fans in front don't look back, "I gotta agree, whoever got their wardrobe ready should be sent back to hell. The colours are nice, but they can’t wear it."

"Right? Like, who put hearts on Romance's ass?? Was it to get people to look??? There's nothing to look at, so besides it looking dumb it's not even serving its purpose."

"Then Mystery with his crop sweater and sleeveless sleeves."

"Don’t get me started on Mystery I'll go on the rest of the performance."

"And they all have one tiny hole in their pants. Unless your Romance, 'cause the hearts are more important. The name wasn't enough, the fans really need to know they can romanticize him."

"And they're all wearing the affront to fashion that are skinny jeans! The baggy tops make them look completely disproportionate!"

You wave your arms vaguely in their direction to empathize your point, and Mira's struggling to keep in her amusement. The mirth is plainly visible in her eyes as she continues to scan each of their forms to continue nitpicking.

"Abby does kinda look like a triangle on sticks." She gets distracted for another moment looking at his abs, but quickly shakes it off to continue, "What about Baby?"

"…"

"No way!"

"He's wearing a sweater and sneakers! His outfit is basic as fuck there's not much to say outside of the abhorrent skinny jean agenda they're pushing—"

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Gwi-Ma is not pleased with this development

Sure, you still don't trust Huntrix, but you’re actually starting to like one of their members

You still don't like any of the Saja Boys

And between Mira giving you companionship and Abby doing whatever your heart desires, your life isn't exactly that terrible anymore!

(It's still dogshit since Gwi-Ma's been taking out his anger on you and your life, but he sees any positive as too good for you)

To try and make any grounds, he forces you and Jinu to meet at the park

Jinu's the least disappointing out of the 5 of them, and the most appealing if their fans reactions were anything to go by

He's the best option to make you like even one of them, so Gwi-Ma doesn't care how busy Jinu could be—he's going to the park

Gwi-Ma spends the next while trying to bring you two closer together—subtly telling Jinu what to do while making him think its his idea

Go on a walk, don't threaten them, there's ducks at the pond go feed them, they like this and that get it for them

He even brought up another demon to make ice cream for the both of you

His scheme actually ended up working well!

Really well

A little too well…

… On the wrong fucking person

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

"Maybe, do you want to—uhh… Maybe, stop by the aquarium, sometime? I got tickets for free so I was thinking… You don't have to say yes if you don't want to! But I—I would… umm…"

He stops himself before he can finish, realizing too late what he was suggesting actually sounded like. He hoped you were oblivious to the implication, but with the look you were giving him it's clear you weren't—wide eyed and mouth ajar.

"Nevermind! I'll just—uhhh..."

"Jinu..."

Gwi-Ma's voice rattles around in his head, making him even more nervous. He doesn't know how, but he honestly forgot Gwi-Ma was here. He was so focused on trying to make sure you enjoyed yourself on the date you were forced on, the reason why you were forced completely slipped his mind.

You close your mouth and swallow. Jinu can't help but watch every minuscule movement your throat makes.

"Are you fucking insane?" You say, your voice low as your free hand tightens into a fist, "Tell me you're joking before I find the nearest bench and play whack-a-mole with your waking corpse."

"Aren’t benches usually bolted to the ground now?"

Your stare gets more intense and he winces. Gwi-Ma was also searing his back with the phantom pain of flames. It was obvious he was done with this.

"Leave. Now."

He's never obeyed a command faster. Though he does profusely apologize before teleporting away.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Gwi-Ma's flames turn white, the heat incinerating any demon within range of his pedestal

He is beyond furious to this turn of events

When Jinu gets back to the penthouse, Gwi-Ma wastes no time telling the others how worthless he's become—completely unreliable when it comes to converting you

When he tells them why, Baby doesn't take the news well at all

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

"Well, he should back off before I follow through on the witch's original threat and tear his spine out of his ass!"

"That's not what they said!"

"I see no difference!"

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✁━━━━━━━━━━━

Ignoring the two disappointments, Gwi-Ma encourages the other three to get their act together, tortures them with reminders of their past, and leaves to go back to watch you/ruin your day

So the demons start to make more effort to visit you than before, and Abby starts to turn down how often he helps you—although reluctantly

You obviously notice his hesitation the general uptick in unwanted visitors

So the next time Mira rolls around you end up telling her they're acting sketchy and she nearly blows her lid

She manages to keep her composure in front of you, but the moment she makes it home she's telling Rumi and Zoey everything

Including the "date" Gwi-Ma set up between you and Jinu

Zoey ends up boiling over—going off about how you deserve soo much better than a stuck up demom like him. Especially after everything you've been through!

You deserve someone that'll cherish you for who you are and not what you could do for their boss!

Someone who'll make breakfast for you, someone who'll male you feel safe, who'll comfort you when you need it and never judge you for anything

Someone who'll take you to the aquarium to look at sea creatures, or have a quiet stay in date watching a movie—maybe Finding Nemo! OR MAYBE… maybe…

Oh…

It's then Zoey realizes that she might be in deeper than she thought—it's not hard for Mira and Rumi to notice either

A combination of shaking Zoey down, pointing fingers at each other and screaming, it doesn't take long before they realize they all feel something for you

They can figure out exactly what they feel later, right now they need to make sure your attention is at least on one of them and not the Saja Boys (eugh)

So now when they have time they start meeting with you as a unit—no longer focusing on the mess your seer abilities bring and solely on wanting to be closer to you

You don't really notice the change (more that you don't trust it and turn a willful blind eye), but Gwi-Ma does

He immediately goes and tells the boys he'll lift all restrictions encompassing any actions or feelings when it comes to you

Hell, he'll even promise to save your soul for them after they break the Honmoon—anything to get your eyes on them and not Huntr/x (eugh)

They're confused as to where the sudden lift on restrictions came from and weary about it being some sort of trap (except Baby, who immediately tried to leave and had to be pulled back by Jinu and Abby)

Then Gwi-Ma tells them what the Hunters are doing and they're all hit with varying emotions

Baby, to no one's surprise, goes fucking feral

Jinu gets a little solemn, but his resolve hardens a little more hearing you get to stay if they win

Having you and erasing his memories kills 2 birds with 1 stone

Abby is just happy to hear he can go back to doing what he was doing. He's not really worried about the Hunters

Romance and Mystery honestly don't know how to feel

They never got to know you like the others—always keeping their distance, and honestly, they feel a little left out

The others seem like they're having a great time (they're not)

They decide from then on they should at least meet with you in pairs encase more than one Hunter is around

Baby is not pleased, but reluctantly brings Abby along with him

He's your errand boy, and you think he's stupid, so Baby doesn't think he'd be much competition while not completely blowing his chances to talk to you

Romance and Mystery go together, trying to see what made you so special outside your seer abilities (and Gwi-Ma's weird fixation)

Jinu joins up with whoever whenever he's not too busy

The first time Jinu brought Romance and Mystery with him, they got to see the mess he became in your presence

Jinu was thoroughly embarrassed, but through that they got to finally see what you were like

They were hooked the moment you started berating him

Watching you put Jinu in his place did something to them—something they'd admit to no one but themselves

(Romance was fantasizing about what you could do to him, while Mystery was enjoying you telling Jinu off and watching you try to hit him with a chair)

You've just been kinda rolling with the changes in dynamic

Everything about your life was already annoying, but somehow this whole thing managed to make it 10x worse

Either way, there's not much you can do about it—you just have to hope that the Hunters will seal Gwi-Ma away soon (something you wish they would focus on instead of you)

So when you end up bumping into Rumi and Jinu during a late night stroll to clear your head, it's so close to being the final straw

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You've gotta be kidding me. The gods have to be fucking with me.

Your thoughts spiral further and further downwards as you're gaze shifts between two pairs of widened eyes—one brown and the other cat-like and bright gold. Your brain struggles to comprehend why you found these two together—not trying to kill each other, but amicably talking.

They glance between each other.

You turn around and walk away.

Or at least you attempt to. You don't make it very far on the account of these two psychos lunging for an arm each. They keep you in place babbling a multitude of things—"We can explain", "We just ran into each other", "This wasn't even planned", "I had no idea he was even here", "Yeah"

You rip your arms away from the both of them, instantly shutting them up.

"What the fuck are you two even talking about?" Both their mouths open to reply, but you quickly raise your hands before they can get out a word, "Don’t say anything, I don't actually care. Just leave me out of your sick fucking games."

You begin to walk away again, though the other two are frantic as they follow you—desperately trying to get you to listen.

"Wait please!"

"There really is a reason!"

"So you were lying."

"Yes! I mean—ugh it's complicated but—OW!"

You turn at the sound of Rumi yelping in pain, followed closely by Jinu's own cry. You were expecting to see them on the floor, maybe having punched one another for their own stupidity—what you were not expecting was a little old lady walking between them while they're clutching their respective knees. The lady walks over to you with a multitude of bracelets in her hands.

"You're doing great sweetie. Find someone who'll treat you the way you deserve. Someone better than them."

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Outside of how insane you think that woman is, staring at the bracelet makes you start to think

Have you ever had someone care about you that way? Someone to love you no strings attached? Without expectations or because they wanted something, but just because you were you?

Mira comes close—the others are trying as well, but you know they don't love you. Not really

They just want your knowledge— your ability to see the future. They what you to tell them what will happen so they can change their actions to benefit them if necessary

They don't love you. They want to use you. They'll pretend until you give them what they want and then leave you to rot

Who's to say Gwi-Ma won't consume your soul once he wins? Why wouldn't the Hunters kill you once they seal the Honmoon? You're tied to Gwi-Ma, and Celine surely has already told them to be cautious of you. Why wouldn't they make sure the biggest demon threat is removed for good.

And now—with Jinu and Rumi standing before you with seemingly no malice in between them—what are you supposed to make of this?

…

Honestly, you don't want to bother anymore. You don't want to hear either of them out

So you turn around and walk away

You ignore Rumi's cries, Jinu's pleas for you to come back, and Gwi-Ma's laughter in the back of your mind. You ignore it all.

You're done

It's not your problem

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