~Chapter Two~
~Ivan~
The ex-angel steepled his fingers as he watched his sunflower crying, curled up into a ball on the floor. Damn. She would've been much worse off if he hadn't helped her, but perhaps he had gone overboard with his curse.
He always did underestimate just how fragile humans are, mentally and physically.
This one especially: her fragility, even for a mortal was just irresistibly endearing. Perhaps he ought to comfort her somehow. A worrying question leaped to the front of his mind at this.
"How would подсолнечник react to meeting a creature such as myself?" Ivan subconsciously muttered aloud.
How would such a fragile mortal react to a monster like him? What kind of result would he want? He quickly ran though the most obvious, and therefore the most boring option.
The first thought that leaped out at him was that she would recoil in fear or even disgust, as most had done before her.
He looked again at the doll-esque crying girl in the portal. No, that idea didn't appeal to him at all. He'd tormented more than enough mortals by now, and after a few centuries, it all becomes rather dull. Besides, seeing (f/n) in distress was not something he enjoyed. God, the more he thought about her, the more she fascinated him.
Option two. What if it went in the opposite direction, and she-
Ivan suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, prompting the damned souls to scatter away in terror. (F/n)? Start developing feelings for him? What an idea. He felt a slight ache in his heart as he continued laughing, and as he went on it grew more and more embittered, until it was more of a forced, mirthless chuckle.
No, he was a demon, and it was pointless for him to be dwelling on such stupid ideas.
Of course, it would be a much welcome change of pace to experience some kind of affection. He couldn't remember the last time he had even had a real friendship, much less a relationship. There were other demons here, but all of them had probably left behind such concepts, much like he had done- or thought he had.
Cynicism was, after all, the norm in this realm.
He couldn't remember if he had ever been "in love" as mortals call it, so he had no frame of reference from which to draw any kind of conclusion. All he knew was that this girl made him happy, and he would like to make her happy too.
In addition this, the thought of anyone else being close to her made him slightly sick.
There were no rules that said demons couldn't "love" mortals, possibly just because it had never happened before. Nobody but him had been this stupid. Ivan sighed. He couldn't deny that he felt some connection to this girl: what exactly that meant, he couldn't tell.
That... regrettable incident on the train had made his blood boil. The anger had consumed his whole consciousness. He couldn't ignore this.
He decided then that he had to have подсолнечник, no matter the toll of mortal lives. He just had to figure out how to make her feel the same way.
(F/n) sobbed, and brought her knees closer to her chest. She looked so alone there. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly, as if she was trying to block out the world. Ivan sat in silence, watching from another realm. He couldn't reveal himself to her, not yet, no matter how much he wanted to.
As he watched, he breathing became progressively more even, and her crying faded into silence. She was crying herself to sleep in the middle of the floor. Ivan felt a wave of guilt crash into him. He really hurt his sunflower, hadn't he?
This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all.
If only that filthy дегенерат hadn't tried to violate her. Ivan had only been trying to protect her. Even so, he could've been more subtle about it. Well, it couldn't be helped now.
Making sure (F/n) was really sleeping, Ivan silently stepped though the portal and into the mortal world. The first thing Ivan noticed when seeing her in the flesh was how little she was. She looked so vulnerable lying there: alone, tears still drying on her sweet face.
He couldn't have her waking up. A soft byzantium glow emanated from the demon's hands, and the tension faded from the girl's fine-featured face as her slumber deepened.
Gently, he slipped one hand under the back on her neck, and lifted up her head. Her (h/c) hair fell back like a veil around his hand. She was really warm.
Then with his remaining arm, he supported her lower half, and lifted her up as though she might shatter in his hands (which, he supposed, was true). Her head lolled over to lean against his chest. It took all of Ivan's willpower not to hold her tightly against him.
It had been so long since he'd felt the warmth of another so close to him. He looked longingly at the sleeping, serene girl in his arms. In all likelihood, this would be as close to her as he would ever get.
He sighed.
Slowly, he began to walk, carrying his precious подсолнечник to her room. In spite of the spell, she stirred slightly as he pushed the door open. Ivan froze, expecting the worst.
She shuddered, and unconsciously gripped the front of his coat, but didn't wake. Ivan felt heat rush to his face.
"Идеальный маленький ангел..." He whispered to himself.
A demon, protecting an angel? It was strange, and yet it fit. He couldn't let anyone despoil his little подсолнечник. They would tear her petals, poison her roots, and destroy her. No, he couldn't let that happen. He would defend her to the end of heaven and earth.
He lay her down on her bed. She slumped back onto the (f/c) covers. Ivan pulled the duvet over her her, covering her slender body from the cold. He leaned over her expressionless, perfect features, and pressed his lips gently against her forehead. Her skin was so soft.
"я люблю тебя." He murmured. The words sounded natural, genuine. He had gotten attached very quickly, but strangely enough, he just didn't care. He hadn't been this happy in so long, perhaps not since his banishment.
He silently reopened the portal. He looked back at (F/n)'s slumberous form once more, before stepping back though to his domain.
"Спокойной ночи, (F/n)~"
подсолнечник = sunflower
дегенерат = degenerate
Идеальный маленький ангел = a perfect little angel
я люблю тебя = I love you
Спокойной ночи = Goodnight
