To be clear up front: this is Griff/Recette with TIME. Nothing happens until she's old enough for something to happen. But I love the idea of Griff enchanted by this silly human girl.
(-)
The girl was ridiculous. Aggravating. Moronic…endearing. Accepting. Caring. Griff couldn't get her to leave his brain alone. When he was regathering power to return home, he would inevitably head into her shop in the evenings and buy something he usually didn't need, just so he could see her. His fixation on her was…problematic.
Finding the reason behind it all was even more upsetting. And it happened in the most humiliating circumstances. To be clear, they had just had a boss battle and moved further in the dungeon without stopping (his hubris) so they had no food or healing items. And he was low on HP. And that was the ONLY reason he was felled by Slimes.
The fairy looked amused as they took him into their protective barrier, but Recette was immediately on him, worried because he had never fallen before, and the fact that Slimes had gotten him worried her even further. When she saw no lasting harm had come to him, she threw her arms around him, saying she was so happy that he was okay. This was bad enough, but with her wrapped around his neck, her face pressed into it and, intentionally or not, placed a small kiss on his skin. And it resonated.
He almost wished he could have passed out and avoided that look the fairy gave him, like she knew exactly what he was feeling. Except he wasn't hiding most of what he was feeling, which was panic and dismay. No. Just no. He was a Demon Lord and she was a human girl. All demons wanted powerful Mates, but you never knew who it would be until you found them. He'd been around centuries and not troubled himself too much with wondering who his Mate was. When he found them, he'd deal with them then.
And even if he had never felt that resonance before, his instincts placed it as the beginnings of a Mating Bond. Recette was his Mate. It was problematic for so many reasons. One perplexing mystery was how she could Bond with him at all. Non-magical creatures couldn't form a Mating Bond with a demon. She had no obvious magical lineage, no obvious powers…but she must possess something hidden inside her.
It didn't matter. He wasn't going to pursue her, and a sweet creature like her would not want to be the Mate of a demon. And, something he had been hiding, he had enough power to return home. He had been dawdling, unable to leave the human world with that little shop and that strange little human girl behind.
As soon as they were out of the dungeon and he had recovered, he said a brief goodbye (not correcting her "see you later") and left the human world. He had left his lands too long as it was anyway. He trusted those he had put in charge of running the daily affairs of his castle, and those he had put in temporary power of running his lands. But there was no true substitute for a strong leader.
There was, of course, a great deal of work to be done upon his return. It fortunately left him little time for idle thinking, although when the day was done and he lay down in his bed exhausted, he couldn't ignore that empty feeling inside any longer. There was a pull, and he knew exactly where it was leading to.
He was home for one week before he had to go back. Whether he wanted it to be true or not, she was his Mate, and he couldn't let time pass and do nothing. If nothing else he had to tell her. It was a daunting and awkward prospect, but if he didn't do at least that, he would eventually go crazy from being so far apart from her.
So here he was, back in the human world, surprised that it felt pleasantly familiar now. He headed to the shop on the top of the hill, hoping it was still open this late and saw…it was empty. There was a sign on the front door saying the house had been repossessed to pay the owner's loans.
It made no sense. The day he left, Recette had been proudly telling him that she had more than enough money for her final payment the next day. Tear had even looked pleased. What could have happened? And…where was Recette now?
He began roaming the town, and he wouldn't rest until he found her. His nose started to catch faint hints of her in the market (especially near sweet shops) and as he got closer to the center of town, his ears picked up something.
"You don't have to eat grass, sweetheart. You like cake, right? I just bought some. You could come to my place and get warm and have a slice. Come on, you don't want to stay out here." There was something sleazy and solicitous in that tone that had Griff moving towards the town square even before he heard her.
"Um, thank you, that's very nice, but Tear always told me not to take sweets from strangers."
"Is Tear your mother? Why isn't she with you?"
When he heard Recette start crying, he broke into a run. And when he saw her sitting on the grass, crying into her knees and completely oblivious to the man who was rubbing her lower back, eyes hungry, he lost it. He was across the square before either of them saw him, and he threw the man into the nearest hard surface, which was the middle of the fountain. There was a crack, and he wasn't sure if it was from the man or the fountain. He didn't care. Well…it was a nice fountain.
"Griff!" That small form launched at him, still crying. Recette tried to wrap herself around his waist, but he sat down in the grass and she threw her arms around his neck. "Where did you go?"
"Home," he said. "What happened? I went to find you at the shop and it said they took it. You told me you had the money."
Now she was sobbing, and he congratulated himself on his keen skills of comforting his Mate. "Someone stole all my payment that night. Not all of my money, just what I had set aside to give Tear. I tried really hard to sell enough that day to make it up but…it was too much. Even with the extra I had saved, it wasn't enough."
The demon didn't hold back any longer, he wrapped the girl in his arms and held her close. "Calm down, you're safe with me. Greedy, evil humans won't prey upon you while I'm around."
It was satisfying to feel her relax a little, her crying calming somewhat. "Tear tried to argue for an extension, tried to get them to even be interested in charging, or something like that. But they took my house and they took Tear because she was under contract to them. So I was all alone."
This wasn't right. "What about all your adventurer friends?" Recette's charisma had drawn many capable (and not so capable) individuals to her; one of them would have taken care of her.
"You were the only one in town, remember?"
He did remember her and the fairy mentioning it. It annoyed him because it made it sound like he was their last choice because he was their only option. "Where did they all go?" He hadn't cared to ask at the time.
Recette let go of him to count them off on her fingers. "Louie left last week to slay the King of the Dragons, and we haven't seen him since. Caillou had some research trip that was going to be dangerous, so Elan went with him. I don't know where Nagi is, and she probably doesn't either. Tielle's sister came and took her home. And did you know that Charme was a princess?" When he shook his head, she said, "There was some war in her kingdom, and she didn't want to be a princess anymore, so she hid here. But they found her and took her back."
Alone. He had left her alone. Abandoned her like all those irresponsible humans and the helpless elf and fairy. "I'm sorry I left," he said. "I would never have let you end up out here." Because the state of Recette's clothes and her somewhat emaciated body told him that she hadn't had a good meal or warm bed since he left.
She hugged him again, and he hugged back, carefully, because she felt so fragile. Even more than humans normally did. "I don't even mind. I'm just happy you're here."
For such a sweet girl, she was rather lonely. He gathered that part of her initial attachment to her loan-shark fairy (and eagerness to run an item shop with her) had to do with the fact that they would be partners, companions, living and working together. From there, the fairy was as doomed as they all were to fall under her spell. Recette was magnetic.
There was no way he was leaving her alone again, but he couldn't stay in the human world forever. "Want to come live with me?" he asked before his brain actually thought about it. Of course, it was the obvious solution, and if he ever Mated her, she would likely come live with him then.
Of course, he had a decade or two before that happened, and even then, he had centuries on her. Talk about cradle-robbing. The only thing that could happen before that was Marking his Mate, and he still wasn't doing that until she was old enough to really understand what it meant. Forcing one's Mate into anything was abhorrent. He might be a monster, but not that kind.
The girl looked up at him, eyes wide. Of course she didn't want to live with him, the very idea was terrifying. "The demon world?"
She sounded curious. "Yes, of course. I have a castle, so you would be safe and well-cared for."
"A castle?" Griff wasn't sure what that tone meant, and then she giggled. "So you're a Lord of Darkness back home?"
He rolled his eyes; he was never living that down. Try to take over the world and destroy humanity and a little human girl will forever tease you about cliched plans. "Just a regular Demon Lord. I have my own domain to take care of. It's why I left; I had been away too long." Liar. He had run from her because he was a coward who couldn't accept facts. And she had been harmed because of his neglect. Some Mate he was. She had enough reasons to not want him without adding "neglectful" to his trait list.
"So, your friends at your home, are they nice?" She sounded so curious and hopeful. It was hard to believe, but she was actually considering going home with him.
Honestly, he wasn't sure precisely what response he'd get when he returned with her. Demons weren't innately evil and cruel; that was humanity's domain. They could be harsh and wild, and definitely were not to be toyed with, but they were just people when you got down to it. And, really, that was all Recette ever saw.
"It might take some adjustment, but I think you'll get along fine. And no one would dare harm you in my home. You'd be under my protection, and everyone would know it."
"Would they hurt me if I wasn't yours?"
That phrasing had his heart racing. But he did his best to calm himself and answer her question. "My kind has little love of humans, so there aren't many who can live in the demon realm. But I have little love of humans either, and you managed to…befriend me."
She grinned at him. "Yeah! I could make lots of new friends. But…you don't hate everybody else, right? I thought you were friends too."
Sighing, he said, "Your merry band of misfits are surprisingly pleasant exceptions to your species, no matter how incompetent some of them are." He could see her about to protest his assessment of their skills, so he said, "I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy, Recette."
There was a moment of silence as she thought things over. Then she looked up and asked, "The demon world has sweets, right?"
He broke out laughing, unable to help it. Her priorities were hilariously misplaced. When he calmed enough to speak, he said, "Yes. I have a pâtissier who makes all kinds of desserts and candies. But you will have a limited amount. You're tiny right now; we don't need you staying this size because you are a sweets monster."
"I'm not a sweets monster!" she said, looking stubborn.
"I saw you that evening you slipped your leash and had that contest with Tielle. You both terrify me. Neither of your little bodies should be able to contain that much sugar." It had been an alarming spectacle. And Recette had looked radiantly happy, practically shining with joy.
"But I won!" she said proudly.
"To my horror. Why do you think I call you a sweets monster? Humans can't eat like that. Elves maybe, but not humans." It also brought back that nagging question of what Recette actually was. She wasn't fully human, but she was obviously some hybrid if she fit in this long without anyone noticing.
Still, the night was passing, and the man had woken up and started sobbing and crying for help, so he'd rather be on his way with her as soon as possible. Humans could be so annoying about someone properly correcting their bad behavior. The man was alive, and it was more than he deserved.
"So, will you come home with me?"
He was afraid she would continue thinking, or worse, say no, but she beamed and nodded vigorously. "It'll be great to have more demon friends! Even if they won't be as awesome as you."
This partially-human little girl was truly perfect for him. Demons wanted powerful Mates, but Griff had enough power. What he didn't have was love. Joy. Sunlight. Recette was a beacon of positivity in an otherwise dreary world, human or demon. And one day, a long time from now, she would be his. There was no more uncertainty or fear: he would take care of his Mate and show her his love until she loved him in return. He had all the time in the world.
"We should get somewhere less open. The portal stays open for a few minutes, and it's best to summon it where there's the least chance of something else following through."
Her arms went around his neck automatically, so he picked her up as he stood. She pulled herself close to him as he walked, and he felt a small kiss on his neck before she laid her head on his shoulder. And that kiss resonated again. It was reinforcement that he had made the right decision to bow to his instincts at last.
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Short first chapter, but it felt like a natural stopping point. So, we have adventures in the demon realm to come! If parts of this seem OOC, I apologize, but I have bits coming that will be very in-character. Not to mention that her friends will come back to town eventually and be horrified that her shop is closed and she's missing. And, as good friends do, they will find her and bring her safely home. (Or try to.)
Please review if you have even the slightest inclination; I know this is a tiny fandom, so any feedback is magical wonderful!