"Hand it over."
"No."
"What?"
"I said 'no'."
"I said hand it over."
"And I said no."
"You aren't hearing me Kid. I said hand it over. So hand it over."
"No, I'm watching something."
"Well I don't want to sit through your terrible taste in television, give me the damn remote already. I'm not sitting through this shit."
"Last I checked dude, this was my house, and you have to obey me. There's no way you're getting this thing." She said haughtily, waving the remote in the air before turning back to her show. 'Stanley' growled from his spot on the opposite side of the couch, blunt human teeth sharpening at her comment. Whirling on her, he grabbed the remote and wrenched it out of her hand, smirking condescendingly as he waved it back at her in mockery as she glared disbelievingly at him.
The solid whack of a pillow hitting him across the side of the face caught him off guard, knocking his head back and making it reel as he vaguely caught sight of Natalie reclaiming the plastic treasure in retaliation. His teeth gnashed together roughly as she scoffed triumphantly, his fingers curling around the fabric of the throw-pillow she'd hit him with. Heat burned the side of his face and grew into his ears, his face reddening in rage and slight shock.
"Told you, you aren't getting thi-" WHAM! The pillow came down across the top of her head, sharp pain shooting through her skull at the force of the hit. He forcefully wrenched the remote free once more, glaring hotly at her as she cried out, hands flying to her head. Fitfully, she grabbed the pillow back once more, hand rubbing sorely at the make-believe wound in reproach.
"OWW! Not cool dude, you didn't have to be so rough!"
"You started it, Girl. Don't start shit if you can't handle it." He responded blandly, already flicking through the channels with his prize. Natalie sneered, temper flaring before the realization of a challenge suddenly hit her, sparking her mood and making her grin. Without giving it much second thought –or even really thinking at all, she really should have done at least a little planning, in hindsight–, she raised her hands. Reeling back, she brought the pillow down and slapped him as hard as she dared to, knocking him roughly into the arm of the couch. As he was blind-sighted by the unforeseen attack, she shifted and pushed him off the furniture completely, sending him sprawling unceremoniously across the floor. She picked the remote back up, perched on her knees on the cushions as she looked down at him warily, watching him role over into a sitting position as he watched her. The cold, dangerous stare that met her eyes made her choke on her apprehension, the actions she'd just taken catching up with her a moment too late.
"You are playing a dangerous game, Girl. You are going to regret that dearly."
"H-hey now, you hit me too hard! That was only fair!"
"You think I hit you hard? I was being nice, that was nowhere near the range of trying to actually hurt you. But if you want to see violence, I'm all for giving it." Shooting up from the floor he grabbed her ankle in an iron grip, pulling with surprising strength and hauling her roughly off the couch, taking the couch cushion with her. She landed hard on the floor, bouncing off the carpet and groaning in pain as he moved passed her for the couch and the remote deserted on the disarrayed cushions. Her hand shot after him, knotting into the back of his shirt and pulling him back by the collar. He fell back to the floor and they tangled as they each tried to keep the other down, Natalie's grip tightening on his collar as his hand planted itself in her face, trying to push her away. She slipped under his arm, making a break for the remote right as he reached out, snaring her by the ever-present bun on her head, making her shriek as he pulled her back by her hair and pulling it free from the bun. Her hair fell down her back and around her face, tangled and uncombed before she turned and tackled him back to the floor, the thud reverberating around the room. He cussed and yelled as she pinned him down, trapping his hands by his head as she whooped in victory.
"Get the fuck off-! You stupid- I'm gonna- ARRGH!" With an aggravated shout he pushed up on her grip, wrapping his legs around her waist and throwing his weight against her, rolling them over and pinning her down in revenge. She cried out in frustration, forgetting who exactly she was fighting for a moment as she tried to pull her wrists out of his grip, scowling at his arrogant smirk as he sat straddled atop her. She twisted and made a move to shove him off as the sound of a door opening down the hall alerted their attention.
"Stanley, Natalie! What is going on in there!?" They froze, neither moving as equally wide eyes darted to each other. The sound of footsteps coming down the hallway echoed a moment later and Satan jumped up off of her, grabbing the cushions and shoving them back in place on the couch as she rushed to fix the throwpillows and any signs of their wrestle for dominance. They dropped down beside eachother on the couch as Natalie grabbed the remote once more, sparing a cocky smirk at Satan as she held it up. Opening his jaw, he brought his arm up and bit into his hand roughly, sending pain shooting through the hand that she held the remote with, making her cry out and drop the remote. He snatched it out of the air with a pleased smile just as her dad came in the room, confusion etched into his aging face as he saw them sitting closely together, Natalie shoving her stinging hand behind their backs to hide the bitemark.
"What in the world are you two doing in here? What was all that noise?"
"We were just trying to find something on tv." Natalie covered, forcing a smile at her dad as Satan leaned into the cushions, propping a leg up and flicking through the channels once more. Mr. McAllister hesitated a tense moment before giving a small shrug, walking over to the coat rack and grabbing his jacket, tugging it on as he turned to speak to the two teenagers.
"Well, I'm actually going to go run a few errands downtown, so I'll be gone for a few hours. Do you think you two can manage for a little while on your own?"
"Yeah, we'll be good Dad! We'll just hang here and watch tv." She grinned, earning an unimpressed glance from him over the rim of his glasses.
"And break the remote to the television because you two can't agree on it? I don't think so young lady. Actually I have a little favor to ask anyway. Could the two of you clean the backyard? The leaves from the trees are everywhere and they need raked up. I don't mean to ask a chore of you, Stanley, but two is faster than one after all, and you could both use the fresh air and exercise. It'd be a fun project for you both!" He said enthusiastically, smiling at the kids. Natalie's smile grew while Satan's fell completely.
"Sure dad, we can take care of that! We'll do it now actually, come on Stan!" She said, jumping off the couch as he gawked after her, watching her grab her jacket and pull her shoes on. Mr. McAllister laughed at their opposing reactions as he rubbed Natalie's head affectionately, turning for the door and walking out.
"Thanks kids! I should be back by about ten tonight, have fun!" he called as he shut the door, the clicking enough for Satan to grab the pillow and hurl it back at Natalie again, hitting her in the back. She laughed and grabbed it, tossing it back at him as she waved her hand in the direction of the back door.
"Come on, we said we'd do it, let's go!"
"No, you said we'd do it. As I recall, I didn't even get a word in edgewise."
"Tough break, you drama queen. Oh sorry, 'King'. Come help me, it'll be fun!" She made her way into the hallway, fingers combing through her hair to gain a little order back, but she opted to leave it down instead of pulling it back up. Realizing she wasn't being followed, she stopped and turned back, sticking her head back around the corner to see him still sitting on the couch, arms and legs crossed to match his scowl. He diligently refused to look at her as she tapped her foot, staying put in his defiant tantrum. She smirked, deciding to bring out her new 'secret weapon'.
"S'il vous plaît, aidez moi?" (Please, help me?)
"….."
He sat still for only a tense moment longer, wanting oh-so desperately to fight it, fuck did he want to stay put right there, before cussing under his breath and finally throwing his feet to the floor to stand up, switching to his full human form and aggressively grabbing the spare jacket her dad left on the coat rack. Her smile grew wide as he shoved his hands deep in the pockets and grumbled to himself, stomping over to her and the direction of the door, not meeting her eye as he forced his face to remain cold. He forcefully attempted to hide the shame of being unable to deny her when she used her newly acquired skill. The shit eating grin she had proved she knew it too. It wasn't fair that she had an all new power over him, he was quickly losing a will of his own and it was really biting his tail. Damn, she was a fast learner though, she'd been picking up what he'd been teaching rather well, even for her. And he was actually enjoying their lessons despite himself.
"Remind me later, we need to work on your pronunciation, it's fucking terrible."
She pumped her arm in the air, a soft "yes!" escaping as she followed him out the door and into the messy back yard. Leaves were scattered everywhere from the trees, making a thick, dry layer over the dying grass, stark against the gray skies. She ran over to the side and opened the garage, rummaging for a moment before emerging with two rakes, seeing Satan kick a few stray leaves in front of his feet as she returned.
"Well, we can rake them up then put them in a bin when we're done."
"Do you think it'll have room for a duffel-bag weighing about, ohhh, 155 pounds?"
"Umm, I don't think so… why?"
"Too bad, I've got a red-headed teenager's body that needs to be disposed of after this is all over." He said offhandedly, taking one of the rakes out of her hands and walking into the leaf-battle-zone of a backyard as her jaw dropped in realization, offense writing itself across her reddening, indignant face.
"I am not 155 pounds, you liar!" His lips curled in a teasing grin where she couldn't see, his back turned to her as he idly twirled the rake in the air in a display of boredom.
"Hmm, yeah you're right, I'd say its more 157 or around there. I was just rounding." He snickered under his breath, forcing his face to remain perfectly neutral as he peered over his shoulder at her, seeing her face turned red all the way to the tips of her ears, her cheeks puffed up and her shoulders stiffened in embarrassment. The sight reminded him vaguely of a chipmunk with too much food stuffed in its chubby face and no where to go, and he choked on a laugh in the back of his throat. She huffed, glaring at him as she stomped a foot angrily.
"There's no way you can know that, you're just being a jerk!"
"You have me pick you up all the time-which is annoying by the way-I think I can tell an estimated weight from doing that so often." He shrugged, turning back to face her and jabbing the rake into the ground, leaning against it. He crossed a leg in front of the other and smirked at her, enjoying the way she only grew more scandalized before her expression turned thoughtful, eyes glancing down at herself for a moment.
"Do I really look that big..?" She muttered curiously, raising her arms and twisting her hips in different directions to get better views of them, turning around in circles to examine herself. Satan stiffened slightly, eyes involuntarily tracing up the soft lines of her legs in her jeans and over the wide curve of her hips as she twirled and swayed on the patio. Sure, he was obviously exaggerating–quite a bit so in fact, she was nowhere near being that heavy, especially with how often he had to carry her–but even if she did weigh that much, it'd still look good on her. She was curvy, but pulled it off rather well, if he had to admit it.
…..Very well, actually…. She held herself well, and the few curves she had were almost soft looking, plenty to grab and hold onto if so wished, or knead gently beneath persistent fingertips…
He jolted, suddenly realizing he was staring a little too closely to the rounded butt of her jeans under the edge of her hoodie, transfixed on watching the gentle back and forth sway of her hips from left to right and back again. Forcing his eyes back up to her face just as she was turning back around to face him, he forced his expression to remain blank, nearly sighing in relief as he saw her gaze was thankfully still focused on her legs.
"What do you think?" She asked, looking up at him expectantly. He only blinked, gears turning in his head as he drew a blank on what it was she could be asking about. His mind was still stuck on mental images of her waist and hips, all of which he was desperately trying to shove as deep into a corner of his mind as possible.
"…I think you take jokes too seriously, is what I think." He deadpanned, going with the safest answer he could think of at the moment. He had plenty of things he could say about her appearance, some purposely mean, and some he would sooner chew his tongue out than let himself speak. Her face scrunched, a miffed, annoyed expression taking over as she turned and jammed her fists into her hips once more, feet planted firmly apart as she glared up at him.
"So you were being mean!"
"Of course I was being mean, how do you honestly still expect anything else out of me at this point?"
"Oh come on, you aren't nearly as mean as you try to be."
"Do I really need to beat up a kid to prove you're wrong? Because I can." He threatened, raising the rake once more, pointing it in her direction and raising it as though to bring it down on her head. She laughed and easily dodged it as it weakly fell, a soft thud hitting the grass where she'd been standing. She stuck her tongue out and winked, jogging into the yard and turning in the leaves to face him. Her hands rose to clasp each other behind her back, a teasing grin rising on her lips.
"So you don't think I look baaaad~?" She sang, snorting on a laugh as her smile grew, watching as he rolled his eyes and walked away from her to the other side of the yard, tongue involuntarily moving before he'd actually realized the weight of the words leaving his lips.
"You wouldn't look bad even if you did weigh that much Kid, so just drop it already, damn. You don't give yourself enough credit, you're pretty enough." He was instantly grateful he was facing away from her, so she couldn't see his face as he realized what he's said. He stiffened, hand gripping the rake tighter as his eyes widened in shock, gritting his teeth against the reflex to cuss at his own slip. He could practically feel her eyes in his back, and a small moment of desperation fueled his mouth.
"Pft-Hahahaha! Holy shit I can't even say that with a straight face, damn it. Jesus Christ, you should see your face hahaha!" He forced the laughter out as he ran a hand through his hair, turning and pointing at the silent girl behind him, face scrunching from the smile he faked. He leaned into the pole of the rake, pretending to wipe a tear away as he chuckled, his gut a bundle of nerves as he played the situation off, hoping that she wouldn't see through his acting. She had a knack for being the only one capable of reading through his lies, and it was becoming a problem very quickly.
Regardless, he smirked at her, not a single hint of his apprehension showing in his expression or body language, carefully watching her for a sign that she actually knew. She only stared at him a moment longer, before her nose crinkled, irritation taking over her expression once more, stomping her foot once more as she huffed at him. Bending down to grab the rake, she stuck her tongue out once more, turning around and walking to a large batch of fallen leaves as she spoke.
"Well you may not think so but I know I'm cute! So I don't care what you say!" She answered snidely, maneuvering the rake around to smack the leaves before her, her sour mood unintentionally lifting as she watched the dried leaves fly up into the air and land back on the ground, drawing a smile out of her. His gut twisted, feeling a stab of pain and guilt mixed with the feeling of a missed opportunity. At least she'd bought it. That was a good thing right?
Sighing quietly under his breath, he pushed the feeling down as much as he could, determined on ignoring it just like he had been doing all this time. He started scraping the leaves together, scowling at the piles of brown and green as they collected, the colors becoming more and more aggravatingly mixed.
It was tedious, annoying and boring.
At least to him.
To her, it was fun, fun, and surprise-surprise, more "fun". How she could find enjoyment in anything she did he couldn't understand, even after so long of being with her. Even chores could be fun if she tried hard enough. It gave him a headache and made him question the safety of living with someone so obviously mentally deranged.
Watching her out of the corner of his eye, as time drew on it was clear this specific task was going to fall fully on his shoulders as well. She was playing in the leaves more than she was cleaning them, more interested in stepping on them to hear the crunch or throwing them up in the air with her hands or rake. Whatever meager, pathetic attempts she made at actually collecting the mess were quickly demolished in an onslaught of kicking, stomping feet as she threw them all around once more, watching the rainfall of dead, decaying leaves in joy. He groaned as she wrecked yet another pile. If he steered her just right, he could convince her to push a few piles into the large one they were collecting between them, but it was a trialing endeavor, with not nearly enough of a reward.
The large stack of dead greenery between them did not grow nearly as fast as he would have liked, and only amplified the amount of work that surrounded them.
The final straw was when she decided that the small groups of leaves she was playing with weren't enough. He had managed to look up just in time to catch the gleam in her eye as she stared down the symbol of all the work they'd he'd been doing for the passed hour. The words "Don't you dare-" died on his lips as she ran and threw herself into the mass, kicking them up into the air and laughing as he immediately dropped the rake. Stomping over to her as the leaves fell around them, he grabbed her wrist and yanked, hauling her over to the large tree and his goal underneath it. The tire swing attached to a thick, low hanging branch hung innocently enough, swaying in the light breeze, and he didn't hesitate on roughly shoving her into it, watching her stumble and grab the rope to keep herself level and on her feet.
"Hey! What the-"
"Shut up. Sit." He grit out harshly, pointing to her and then to the dangling tire. Pouting, she thankfully did as instructed, propping her foot and hauling herself up to straddle the top of the large rubber ring, watching as Satan nodded approvingly to himself, scowl creating deep lines along his face.
"Good, now stay put. Don't fucking move until I'm done doing your chores, again. Got it?" He didn't bother waiting for a reply, already turning around as she reached out, nabbing him by the sleeve of his jacket and forcing him to look back at her.
"Wait, if I gotta stay here, at least push me! What's the point of a tire swing if it doesn't swing?" She chirped, bouncing on the swing in amusement and kicking her legs through the little hole. His lip raised in a silent snarl as he yanked his arm back, reaching down to grab the rim of the bottom of the tire between her feet. He didn't have the strength to keep up their banter, he just wanted this to be done and over with already; so with the hopes of finishing the yard quickly with her preoccupied and out of the way, he pulled the swing back as far as he could, walking backwards until the tire was held above his head and releasing it to let her swing back, squealing loudly in delight as she swung up high, holding onto the the rope tightly as her hair blew up around her face.
Wiping his hands together and turning back to the yard, he let her enjoy the swing, kicking her rake out of the way and grabbing his own to get the leaves together and thrown away. She smiled as he started cleaning the heap that she'd just ruined, watching him work as she swung back and forth on the rope, enjoying the height that she could reach and watching as the sky slowly began to turn dark. The creak of the rope and the metallic scratch of the rake in the grass was the only thing to be heard, but it wasn't as comfortable a silence as he'd have liked. The times when they could have silence and it'd be welcome and enjoyable were slowly beginning to dwindle to merely rare occurrences. The quiet air was thick between them, something that was beginning to be something they avoided, and neither was sure exactly why.
Well. He knew why he was avoiding things more often. There was a reason he'd been avoiding a lot of things lately, actually. And it was becoming harder to stick to his resolve. He was passed the point of being frustrated that this was happening. He was almost angry now. It shouldn't be this hard to get rid of these thoughts, all this shit clogging his head and distracting him. He had shit to do, things to plan, an Apocalypse and War on Heaven to win. But instead he was constantly concentrating on some insignificant little red headed brat who was leeching herself to him and wouldn't let go of him. She was under his skin, infecting his head, weakening his heart-
"Hey, you're almost done!" Natalie suddenly called out, snapping him back to reality and out of his thoughts. He glanced back, seeing her watching him, sitting atop the swing where he'd left her, dangling limply as she held the rope, all of the swing having run out of the little play device. He glanced at the yard, seeing she was right; he'd nearly finished everything without realizing it. Sighing wearily to himself, he could almost swear he felt his bones creak, and had a single moment of empathy for Gabriel's endurance. He was alerted by Natalie jumping off the tire swing, jogging over to where he was standing by the pile. He instinctively stood in front of it, crossing his arms against her and glaring in anger.
"I told you to stay there until I was done, didn't I? So back up Girl, you aren't getting close." He snapped, pointing accusingly at the abandoned swing as she rolled her eyes, maneuvering around him and heading in the direction of the garage once more.
"You are done, you over-grown child. Let's get all of this in the bags." She answered, grabbing a couple of leafbags and bringing them over to the pile. He warily dropped the rake to the side, walking over and grabbing one of the bags offered, pulling it to the opposite side and taking the lid off. Peering in and setting the metal lid on the ground as he turned back to face Natalie, he clapped his hands free of dust.
"Alright, let's get this shit done alrea-" WHAM! For the second time that day, he was blindsided by the girl beside him. He roared at the large cluster of crusty, dried leaves that were shoved into his face and down his jacket, scratching over the skin and irritating it. He whirled on her, watching her laugh dwindle and die into a worried, questionable chuckle as he shook his shirt and jacket, dislodging the leaves from his clothes. He could feel his ears pointing and his fangs growing longer, and he used it to his advantage as he loomed over her menacingly.
"You want to go down this road again Kid? Alright. As you wish." He rushed at her, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder before she had time to turn and run. She shrieked, grabbing at his jacket and tugging as she was jostled and held like a large sack of flour. To say it was uncomfortable was an understatement. She planted her palms in the middle of his back and pushed herself up as best she could, trying to reach up and grab his shoulder, or maybe his head, just something for leverage to pull herself up. Satan only chuckled to himself, arm wrapped securely around her legs just above her knees, keeping her from going anywhere on her own. She cried out in frustration once more, a fist pounding squarely into his lower back, though there was no actual attempt to hurt.
"Satan-! Put me down, are you freaking kidding me!? This isn't funny you jackass, your stupid huge shoulder is jamming into my hips, let me go!" She cried, legs flailing futilely as she squirmed wildly in his iron grip. He only hummed to himself, taking a few steps to the side towards his rake. Tilting his head at it, he grinned, before bending down to "retrieve it", jostling her and shaking her in the process, making her head spin. More cusses spilled out of her mouth as he twirled the rake in his spare hand and poked the pile of leaves with it, pushing the edges in to make it taller and more padded.
She fought back as best she could, but it was almost pathetic how little she could do besides hang over his shoulder. She jammed her hands up his shirt, fingers skittering across his sides and ribs, but it sadly didn't do anything; it was like tickling a flesh-covered wall, and she gave that up quick enough. Just as she was debating taking a bite into his back or side, he suddenly leaned to the side, shaking and bouncing her until she was dizzy to the point of falling off his shoulder, unable to see which way was up and which way was left. That was the way it went right? Up and Left? She groaned, hand flying to her face to block out the motion sickness as her fingers knotted into his jacket as an anchor.
She opened her mouth to yell at him, but the sickness made her voice weak, her words slurring and her anger losing much of it's heaat.
"Satannn, if you don't put me down right now, I swear to your dad that I'm gonna throw out all the candy and sweets that you've stashed all over the house! Now I order you, put me do-AHH!" Before she could comprehend what he was doing, he'd grabbed her by her hips, fingertips burying into the soft skin as he lifted her effortlessly over his head and dropped her straight through the air. The world tilted and spun as she was thrown into the large pile of leaves, the soft cushioning slipping into her own jacket as she flailed in it out of shock. She could distantly hear Satan's laughter over the sound of rustling and crunching leaves as she rolled herself out of the pile, landing on her knees on the ground once more. She stayed that way for a moment, eyes squeezed shut to fight off the dizziness as Satan's cackling only roared louder.
"You suck dude, oh my god…"
"You said to 'put you down', and I believe I did. I even put you in a nice comfy pile of leaves instead of dropping you straight onto the hard ground. Aren't I a nice guy?" He snickered, taking a step towards her to stand above her body, tilting his head to get a look at her paled face. His grin grew as she glared hotly up at him, that spark of outrage in her eye that he'd come to enjoy seeing.
"You have a problem with twisting words."
"I'd say it's more a 'talent', but whichever you prefer to call it I suppose."
"You're an ass."
"Thank you, that's so sweet of you to notice~" He bit his lip against the uproarious laughter trying to break out as he held a hand to his chest, feigning gratitude at her words. She groaned, pushing herself up to sit on her heels as she fixed her jacket, twisting it back into place and tugging leaves out of the sleeves and neck hole. The feeling of fingers sifting through her hair caught her attention, drawing her eyes up to see Satan standing over her, his hands digging through her disheveled hair.
"What the heck are-" She started, but was interrupted by something small and brown being shoved into her face, involuntarily crossing her eyes to see what it was he held. Leaning back, she saw it as a crumpled leaf.
"Hold still." he said simply, gripping her jaw and pulling her face back to where it had been, fingers burying themselves into her hair once more to grab the leaves, silently pulling them out one by one and dropping them back into the pile. She smiled up at him as his hands combed through her hair, shaking the locks to dislodge any stray strands of grass or pieces of leaf.
"Thanks." She said quietly, and she barely heard him grunt in reply. Stepping around her once more, he pulled the rake forward and gathered the mess they'd made of the neat pile, readying it to finally be shoved into the bags. Jumping up, she joined him, and they made quick work of easily shoving the leaves into the bags and tying them off, to Satan's great relief. Throwing the bags to the edge of the fence. Natalie stretched, yawning loudly as she looked up and noticed the sky.
"Oh my gosh, Satan look, the stars!" She squealed, jumping up and down in glee, pointing excitedly at the sky. He looked up, following her view and sure enough, little white lights flickered against the pure black expanse of sky in a sizable gap in the dark clouds. It had been a long time since they'd seen the stars. Stormclouds had been masking the sky for so long, he'd almost forgotten that they existed at night. He'd never had an interest in them before, why should he notice when they disappeared?
"What's the big deal? Why are you so excited over a few balls of light?" He asked, watching her run back to the middle of the yard and turn to look up at them. Strangely enough, to him at least, she dropped straight down to the ground, drawing her knees up and crossing her arms over them, watching the sky in silence. He blinked at her, glancing between the tiny girl and the large sky, confusion knitting his brow as he walked towards her.
"Hey, I asked you what you're doing. What's so great about the stars?" She just smiled, her gaze not wavering from the twinkling lights above.
"Mm, well, nothing really, I guess. It's just nice to see them again when we haven't for so long. Who knows when we'll get to see them again? Isn't it nice to just enjoy it while we can?" Silence stretched for a moment after her words ended, before she heard a loud shuffling and suddenly felt a sturdy, heavy weight lean into her back, reclining a bit as a hand was placed between them as leverage. Glancing back at him in shock, she felt him shift into a comfortable position on the ground before his head swiveled slightly, his eye meeting hers for a moment. She barely had time to keep his gaze before he turned back around, leaning his head back to meet the back of hers, looking up at the sky.
Smiling to herself, she leaned back into his warmth, feeling that solid, sturdy protectiveness again. That safeness and security of being as close to him as she can get. It was always so comforting each time, and the level of that comfort both shocked her and didn't surprise her in the least. It was a confusing, hard to understand combination, but it worked and she enjoyed it, and she was content to just stay that way as long as possible.
Time passed by unchecked, and after a while they had somehow mutually shifted positions, deciding to lie back on the soft grass to look up at the sky, their bodies in opposite directions and their heads lying beside the other's. He crossed a leg over the other, tucking his arms behind his back to get comfortable before he felt a hand in his hair, toying with a few stray locks. Glancing over at Natalie, she was still watching the stars, but her hand was wrapped around the top of his head, gently stroking and toying with it again. Tilting his head back, his eyes remained on her, watching her secretly as his own hand came up to sweep some of the hair out of her face, idly twirling it around a finger. A small smile appeared, and her hand caressed the side of his face for a moment before the fingers returned to the hair.
His own hands itched to get a hold of her. To touch her, or hold her again maybe, he wasn't entirely sure exactly. He just wanted contact. His mind replayed the feel of her skin beneath his fingers when he'd held her over his shoulder. He'd been rather unwilling to let her go, but the threat of an order has forced him to release his grip. That last grip on her hips made his fingers twitch, subconsciously gripping and twisting the lock of hair in his hand as the memory played itself on repeat. Her own hands slipping up his shirt had left his skin burning, even as her cold digits had scrambled across the raging fire she'd created. She'd set him ablaze and he couldn't get enough of her to put the flames out or quench their burn.
He'd tried so hard to get rid of the itch, the burn, the want and the need and the craving. He didn't even know what exactly he wanted. He just wanted her. Everything to do with her. Everything all about her.
Her, her, HER.
He was fighting a battle and he was losing, and it wasn't even the battle he was destined to fight to begin with. She'd thrown a massive wrench into all of his plans, and then thrown herself into the absolute shit-storm of a conundrum she'd created, determined to mess things up and fix them to her own preference. She bent and molded and twisted everything to her will, even himself, and he both desperately hated and begrudgingly revered her for it. How could such a small, mindless girl worm her way so deeply into his mind and body and soul and completely encase herself in his care? How could she be so adamant on remaining in his shadow and company, so sure that it was the thing she wanted? Why did it make his heart sink to his feet and yet make it soar above the clouds, as though his wings were as flawless as when he'd been in Heaven?
It worried him, it angered him, it thrilled him.
She worried him, she angered him, SHE thrilled him.
She brought out everything he tried to bury, to hide, to forget, and if it hurt to remember, she made it feel better as best she as could, along with secret apologies at bringing the pain to light. She healed and mended the cracks and fractures and deep wounds he pretended no longer affected him. She healed his pain and cured his wrath.
And he was grateful for it, despite himself. It made him want to keep her all the more, and he'd already decided he couldn't. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, he couldn't do it. He'd decided long ago that he'd pretend he didn't feel so attached. But like everything else he tried to bury, she brought it right back out again.
He'd ignorantly hoped that if he ignored it, eventually it would stop. It would become a distant memory, a dull ache he could ignore and forget.
He'd wanted to think that it was all just in his head. He'd wanted to believe it as true. But it hurt and ate away at his mind the more he did. The more he pushed it away, the more it forced itself back into the light. Just like her. Just like everything about her.
He wanted so badly for it to stop. But he couldn't force it to no matter how he tried, and doing so only made it worse, it seemed. He stifled a groan in his throat, raising his spare hand to rub tiredly at his eyes. How stupid. He didn't even get tired. He wasn't capable of sleep.
He wasn't capable of enduring this much longer, either. The shackles were slipping and the chains were pulling him down.
The feeling of her fingers slowing in their gentle stroking pulled his attention, and he turned to look at her again, watching her in silent judgement. Her eyes had slipped closed, and her hand was slowing to the point of barely moving. She was falling asleep. A small moment of irritation filled him, as that meant he'd have to carry her all the way to her room, which would be an annoying hassle, but the anger faded away, leaving a quiet appreciation for seeing her rest so contentedly next to him. Only she would feel at home with the Devil. Maybe that was why he only wanted her.
And he did. He wanted her, he wanted to have her, to hold her, to keep her.
To kiss her like he never could. To finally release all the pent up frustration of needing her and forcing himself to pretend it didn't matter.
His gut twisted, pulling him away, telling him to stop, to get away now while he could, he'd been down this road too many times now. It was too familiar a scene. But that didnt' matter did it? None of it did. Whether he listened or he didn't, whether he obeyed or he didn't, whether he gave in or he didn't, none of it was going to end well for him. He always got the short end of the stick. He always received the worst fate.
That didn't mean he had to drag her down with him. But what could stop him?
He knew what was for the best. For her, for him. But he wanted her instead.
He wanted her.
He wanted her.
He wanted her.
He shouldn't.
He shouldn't want this, he shouldn't be leaning over her. When did he even move? When did he sit up and lean towards her? It didn't matter, he had to stop. His fingers twirled the same lock of hair around his finger tighter, like a band, like a brand. Her's. From the beginning, "her's".
The contract and his heart, both alike. They were her's to control.
And it was that resolve that brought his lips down to hers, their breaths mingling just as her eyes opened and she met his gaze.
He could see the understanding click behind her unwavering, unreadably hardened stare, the realization and the metaphorical "light bulb" moment of recognition as he stay frozen above her, propped on his elbows and their noses brushing, their lips so close to touching. So close. He could still feel her hair wrapped around his fingertips, the strands feeling as though they were burning through his skin, boiling his blood. An accusation.
For the first time in a centuries' time, he didn't know what to do-
"Stanley, Natalie! Hey kiddos I'm back, where are you?"
The air shattered. His head snapped towards the door, instinct driving him, forgetting about his slip only for the moment as he jumped up and snapped his fingers, taking his younger form as he heard the other man coming out into the dark backyard.
"Oh here you two are! Didn't you hear me yelling for you?"
"Uhh, no sorry. We were just… enjoying the stars." He answered weakly, pulling the hood of his jacket up over his head, keeping his back to Natalie. She was still lying down. He knew she wasn't looking at him, either. He swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat, feeling the non-existant sting. The pain in his chest, however, was all too real. He barely heard Mr. M. talking about the backyard and what a "good job" they'd done, and how "grateful" he was for their hard work, and blah blah blah. He forced himself to not clench his fists, to not bite his tongue, to not express his frustration. There was too much tension in the air, it was stifling, suffocating. He could almost feel her pretending he wasn't there, and more than anything, he wished he could truly leave and not look back.
At least, he could get out of the situation, if only in a way.
"Yeah, hey Mr. M., sorry about this, but I gotta go. It's late, I need to be getting home and everything, you know?" He chirped out, forcing a grin that made his lips wobble for reasons he didn't want to name. He barely gave the old man a chance to say "goodbye" before he was marching into the house and out the front door, pulling it shut with enough force for them to hear it shut. Swallowing thickly, he forced the tremble in his hands down as best he could before jamming them in his pockets.
He'd fucked up.
Oh Father, had he fucked up now.
There was no way he could fix this. There was nothing left to fix.
He'd single-handedly ruined everything. Again.
Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK.
Leaning back into the door, he sighed, forcing the throbbing in his head to subside and ignoring the incessant thrum of his heartbeat ramming into his chest. With a last deep breath, he pushed himself off the heavy front door, tracing the familiar path around the edge of the house to the small alcove of shrubs and bushes beside a specific window. It was still black, so she wasn't in her room just yet. He wasn't sure if that was good.
Bending his knees, he jumped straight up, landing silently on the part of the roof above her room, walking to a slowly-worn-down spot on the tiling where no one could see him sitting down. With how many times they'd had to fake "Stanley" going home, they'd made a routine.
When he went "home", he'd climb on top of the house above her bedroom, and when her dad went to sleep, she'd open her window and he'd slip back into the house. They'd gotten away with it countless times now, but now, it seemed tainted somehow. Everything about the situation was wrong. He was beginning to feel numb from the onslaught of guilt, and even shame.
There was nothing to be done though. Especially not right now.
He reclined onto the slanted rooftop, propping his arms behind his head as he looked at the stars above. The only witnesses to his mistake. They made him feel cold.
He closed his eyes against the small, accusatory lights, rolling onto his side to wait for her call. The thought of going back into that tiny room now made his stomach role, nerves overtaking his system.
But that confrontation didn't come.
She didn't call him inside.
He didn't go down.
Hours passed, and the lights in the house all went out. And still he didn't go inside. He refused to go back inside.
He wasn't sure if he was grateful or hurt that she didn't want to see him. That she didn't want him back.
His hand clenched at his chest, fighting the pain he felt there.
He shouldn't have done this. Was this his fault? Or hers? He couldn't tell. She was nothing but trouble, she only caused him stress and misery and constant problems, her and this stupid contract she refused to release. If she'd been smart, she would have run when she could. If she had just let him go, if she'd just minded her own damn business, things wouldn't have gotten this bad, they wouldn't' have gotten this far. It was all her fault-
But…
But he shouldn't have fallen for her. Not like this. Not at all.
But there was no stopping it. He'd tried. He'd fought.
He couldn't stop it.
And now, there was no going back.