Gilbert's POV

"Gil... I love you..."

"Huh?" My eyes widened at the confession. What the fuck was this guy thinking? He'd be in deep, deep shit if others found out. I felt him cry against my shoulder. I rubbed soothing circles into the small of his back.

"I screwed up..." He whimpered. "They'll never let this go..." It was utterly pathetic.

"Well, I get that they don't do the whole fag thing..." I was genuinely curious. I didn't really know much about how the divine societies operated. "But how come they won't let this go?"

"Cos... cos you're a demon. There are explicit rules against any kind of sexual relationships between our kinds." He buried his face into my sounder, sniffling quietly.

"Who said we'd be fucking?" I deadpaned. He leaned away from me, so he could loojk up to my eyes. "I mean. Like, you've got hope for your future, and you're smart and shit..." I trailed off, blushing lightly. He smiled, gently gripping my cheeks.

"You're really... sweet, you know that?" He mumbled cutely. Oz pulled my face closer to his, and I in turn moved to meet his lips in a tender kiss. Pulling away, he leant his forehead against mine.

"So... you just wanna, you know, take things slow? Nothing serious?" I offered, taking his light blush and small smile as a good sign.

Oz's POV

I smiled warmly at the show of concern. It was sweet how much he cared about me.

"Yeah," I leant in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. As I pulled back I released a large yawn. "I'd love to... but I'm kinda tired, do you wanna just go to bed?"

He blushed lightly at the suggestion, but nodded in agreement. Wrapping one arm under my legs, lifting my form into a tight embrace. I felt safe in his arms. Like my feelings made sense. He carried my through a door at the other side of the room, leading to a room dominated by an old, ratty double bed, with old sheets and pillows stained brown and grey in some areas.

"I know it's not exactly romantic... but it's home." He said, a tone of guilt in his voice, like he hated himself for not being or having enough for me. I tightened my hold around his neck, smooshing our lips together.

"I love it..." I breathed, as he set me down on the surprisingly soft mattress.

"I take it you don't have night clothes?" He chucked to himself as I shook my head. Taking hold of the bottom hem of his shirt he lifted the garment over his head and handed it to me. "It's not great... but it's all I've got to give you right now."

I smiled at his generosity, slipping the shirt over my head. It reached down to around my mid thigh, so I removed my jeans and slid under the duvet. He followed soon after, changing into an old pair of joggers and getting in beside me.

He tucked his head in against my chest, and I ran my hands through his hair. Slowly, but firmly, massaging his scalp until he drifted off. I smiled again, looking down at his sleeping face. His eyelashes were long and full, grazing his perfectly formed cheekbones. His eyebrows tilted upwards slightly in the middle, giving him an innocent look, and his lips pouted.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes. The hot liquid spilling over my lower eyelids.

'I love you... but I can't...'

To be continued