This was actually the first Demon Diary piece of fanfiction that I started, but "First Snow" was posted first because it was finished, and this one waited about two years before it got its ending; the style therefore changes subtly between the beginning and end. Also, while First Snow is humorous and fluffy (highly unusual for me), this one has more angst and more seduction… but still managed to retain a goofy scene. I divided this into two parts; part two will be posted in four days, as per usual.

…Can you tell I had title-block?

Those who have read First Snow may note that both of these pieces involve alcohol… that is entirely coincidental. ;;

Enjoy!

"Alcohol Does Wonders for the Tongue"

Part 1 of 2

The night was young and cool, but not unpleasantly so, and a full, brilliantly silver moon cast its beams on a certain unconventional young demon lord, who was brooding once again on the balcony—his place of solitude. He was recovering from another of his royal catastrophes, involving a magic spell gone wrong, an unfortunate wall that got in the way, and a rather irate demonic tutor. Raenef cringed at the memory. Eclipse had looked furious, and dismissed him with a "That is enough for today, master," in such a frigid tone he had fled with tears welling in his eyes.

You're such a failure, he berated himself. You can't do anything right, and you've embarrassed Eclipse so much he probably wishes he had never found you. He probably wishes his old master was still alive, and the only reason he stays with you is because it's his duty. And you, fool, in love with him! Consider yourself lucky he doesn't hate you, and don't even think there's a snowball's chance in hell he loves you back!

A strangled noise of frustration escaped him, and he bit his lip harshly, as if the physical pain would alleviate the ache within him. He loved Eclipse so much it hurt just thinking about him, because he knew his feelings could never be returned. It was hard even simply sitting in a room with him without wanting to melt into a puddle of mush at his feet or throw his arms around him. But he could never act on his love, for he was so afraid of losing what he had to risk it. Which left him here, lying prostrate in his longing and love, guarding his tongue and his actions every millisecond he was around his mentor.

Tears threatened to overtake him, but he forced them down, refusing to yield. For he knew if he let just one tear fall, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from dissolving into a flood.

Demon lords don't cry, he told himself fiercely.

After a teeth-gritting moment the urge passed, and he sighed, leaning more heavily on the balcony. He allowed his eyes to slide shut, fatigue washing over him as the wind toyed with the pale strands of his hair. How long could he take this? How long before he snapped and blurted everything, leaving him naked in the light of truth? Eclipse would be disgusted… he would most certainly leave, abandoning Raenef with his crushed hopes and shattered happiness.

For Raenef was happy here, despite holding a rank he seemed unfit for, and living in eternal shame and frustration as he embarrassed the one person he wanted to make proud time and time again. He was happy, simply because he had a roof over his head and food he didn't have to steal, and most of all because he was here with someone he genuinely loved. He loved Eclipse, demon of the third class and fourth ranking in existence. So long as Eclipse was here with him, he would be happy.

Eclipse had promised to stay with him for as long as he wished… and as far as Raenef was concerned, that was forever, for he would never wish his beloved away. But he had no doubt that if Eclipse ever discovered his secret, that promise would be broken in a heartbeat. And he would be left with nothing.

"Master Raenef?"

The young lord jumped and spun at the quiet inquiry, meeting the dark and unreadable gaze of his tutor. His breath caught and he quickly averted his eyes, as if ashamed that Eclipse could read his mind. Which, he reminded himself, he probably could if he tried; the demon could use telepathy, it wasn't that far of a stretch.

"E-eclipse?" Mentally he cringed, recalling the hard, icy tone his tutor had used earlier, but all traces of that were gone, replaced by the usual steady patience that Eclipse usually adopted with him. Nevertheless, the recollection left him with a timid feeling that bordered on fear.

"It is getting late. You should turn in, my lord." The demon's piercing gaze seemed to be able to penetrate his every thought and emotion, leaving him feeling vulnerable. He nodded, feeling frustrated and a failure at Eclipse's smooth, patient voice; he felt that he would prefer yelling to this calm, and in his mind, resigned tone. Eclipse paused, noting with concern his liege's shy and passive attitude.

"Is something troubling you, master?"

Bile rose in the youth's throat and he choked, shaking his head. Nothing I can tell you, at least, he thought. Why was Eclipse so damn patient with him? He was sure that if he was anyone else, he would have paid dearly for the afternoon's little—alright massive—accident. Sometimes he wished Eclipse would yell or throw fire at him; anything but the seemingly limitless patience and forgiveness for his every fault and blunder that only made him feel a worthless failure and undeserving of his tutor.

Eclipse stood there uncertainly, receiving no response and wondering how to handle this situation. The only other time he had seen the young lord like this was in Krayon's realm, when Raenef had clung to him tightly, seeming on the verge of tears. Now he was torn between rushing over and putting his arms around him, and retreating to a safe distance. He was treading on unfamiliar territory to be certain, so he just stood there in indecision (something he rarely experienced), watching the boy in his apparent inner conflict.

Finally Raenef choked out, "I'm sorry I'm such a failure, Eclipse." He turned abruptly away from his mentor and leaned back over the balcony, fighting the onrush of eminent tears.

Crap… now he's going to lecture me for apologizing

Eclipse stared at the back of his head in surprise for a moment before registering that he should do something. Moving up behind the youth, he moved as if to slip his arms around him, but thought better of it at the last moment and settled instead for placing his hands gently on his shoulders.

"Lord Raenef, you are not a failure. You are merely untrained, and given time you will learn to hone your skill. You must be patient, young master. You will not become a great demon lord overnight."

Raenef turned towards him, although not meeting his gaze, and Eclipse let his hands fall to his sides.

"But… I…"

"No buts," Eclipse cut him off. "Whether you realize it or not, master, you have made much progress since you first began your training."

Finally, Raenef looked up. "You mean it?"

Eclipse allowed himself a tiny smile. "Of course." His hand came up on its own accord to rest on the boy's shoulder. Raenef leaned forward, resting his forehead on Eclipse's chest. The raven-haired demon hesitated a moment, then slid his arms loosely around his master. Raenef's tentative voice came from the bared portion of his chest, his warm breath making his sensitive flesh tingle.

"So you're not mad?"

A hand moved up to stroke the flaxen strands of his hair.

"No my lord, I am not angry. I could not possibly stay angry with you for long, little master." He felt Raenef's slender arms lock around his waist, clinging to him like a lifeline, and he wondered again at how this boy had undone him. Any other would be naught but smoke and ash by now, but it felt so natural to take the youth in his arms, feeling strangely comfortable in his embrace. And that was saying something, for Eclipse was not one for physical contact.

His fingers had been combing through his fair hair, and unexpectedly they fumbled on something small and hard among the soft strands. He extracted it deftly and examined it curiously, then began to laugh.

Raenef pulled back far enough to look up at him.

"Eclipse?"

"There still are marble shards in your hair from the explosion, young master." Eclipse discarded the chip with a casual flick of the wrist. Raenef giggled softly and laid his forehead back on Eclipse's chest.

"Take them out for me?" he murmured, glad for the excuse to have Eclipse run his hands through his hair.

"As you wish." Eclipse freed the young demon's hair from its bind, allowing it to cascade about his shoulders, and began thoroughly combing the silky strands with his long fingers. Although he would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, he was also glad for the excuse. Raenef sighted contentedly, melting into Eclipse's strong embrace, simply enjoying the feel of those slender fingers sliding through his hair.

The taller demon lost himself in the task, meticulously removing every tiny grain of marble hidden in the strands, marveling at their silky softness, baby fine and flawlessly smooth. They slipped through his fingers like water, shimmering and silver in the gentle glow of the moon. Raenef was impossibly warm and fit so perfectly in his arms, a vision of innocent beauty, frustratingly but endearingly ingenuous. He could feel him breathing softly and the gentle beating of his heart against his chest, so wonderfully alive and real.

Long after all traces of marble had been removed, Eclipse continued to stroke the boy's hair until at last he could no longer rationalize it with himself. Reluctantly he drew back, and Raenef looked up at him with a sleepy but content expression, and although he looked slightly disappointed, it was a welcome change from the depressed state he had found him in.

"It is getting late…" he started, vaguely recalling having said the same thing a while ago.

"Yes," Raenef agreed. "Thank you."

Eclipse gave him a small smile. "Goodnight, my lord."

"Goodnight, Eclipse."

The older demon waited until Raenef had disappeared to his room before returning to his own with a murmured, "Go!"

Some distance away, Erutis watched the two demons vanish. And groaned in frustration.

"When are they going to get on with it!" she demanded of the heavens, going SD and running around in crazed circles.

"Who's getting on what?" Chris asked, popping out of nowhere.

"Raenef and Eclipse!" Erutis complained. "They're never going to admit their feelings for each other! Eclipse is too proud and proper to do such a thing, and Raenef is too damn scared or naïve, one or the other—or both. Either way, they're just going to go on and on, drooling over each other but never doing anything about it. They're so frustrating!" She flung a poor rock that had been minding its own business onto the grass, trampled and broken courtesy of her little rampage.

Chris pondered this for a moment. "Wait a sec, don't you have a crush on—" Erutis stomped his face into the ground. The mutilated grass murmured in sympathy.

"Dunno what you're babbling about," she muttered. "Anyway, I'm sick and tired of watching them make doe eyes at each other and pine uselessly."

"Well what're you gonna do about it?" Chris grumbled, scrubbing dirt off his face. "It's not like you can make them confess."

A maniacal glint appeared in Erutis's eyes, and she grinned scarily.

"I think it's time I took matters into my own hands…"

All through the next day, while Eclipse and Raenef were shut up in the study (as Eclipse wouldn't be letting Raenef practice any more magic anytime soon), Erutis could be found scouring the castle for… something.

Whenever Chris inquired upon this, she would get a crazed look in her eyes and reply, "You'll see," with a terribly scary grin plastered all over her face.

"Go practice your swords or something," she told him irritably the sixth time he asked. It was about mid-afternoon, and a fruitless search had left her grumpy.

"But you're my trainer—"

"Fine," she snapped. "Two million strokes, go."

Chris shut his mouth, but didn't move.

"They're demons!" Erutis cried in exasperation, "They must have some somewhere!"

"Have what?" Chris asked yet again.

"Didn't I tell you to go practice?" the knight muttered absently from deep within a dusty cupboard. Then, "Aha!"

"Aha?" echoed Chris, wondering why he was feeling vaguely ill.

Erutis emerged triumphantly, shaking dust off her cape and holding an intricately shaped flask. "I knew they had to have it."

"What is it?" Chris asked, eyeing it half-curiously, half-warily. The wicked grin returned and Chris groaned.

"Never mind, I don't want to know…"

The study was strangely quiet, as Eclipse was usually lecturing about one thing or another, but that could be attributed to the blond youth draped over his arm, sound asleep. Normally he would have found some truly wicked way to wake the boy up, but this time he let him sleep, blaming himself for his lord's fatigue. It had only been an hour and a half to midnight when they had finally turned in last night, and the fact that Raenef had trouble staying awake during lessons on a full night's sleep (plus the fact that he was such a deep sleeper) had inclined Eclipse to just leave him be. All in all, he was quite comfortable musing while Raenef dozed peacefully against him.

Absently he stroked the flaxen locks, unable to get enough of the fine silky strands. He loved the feel of the youth's hair, and he found it to be a current addiction of his (along with white chocolate and long steamy baths). In fact, he couldn't seem to keep his hands away from it, which seemed strangely drawn to the silken stuff like a moth to a flame. Which meant he found his fingers entwined in it whenever he had the excuse to do so. And Raenef drifting in dreamland was at present a very good excuse.

Raenef was undeniably beautiful, he observed, with soft blond hair that seemed to fly everywhere at once, framing his youthful face, delicate and lovely. His skin was pale for a southerner, not the same alabaster white of his own skin, but pale nonetheless, and impeccably smooth. But his eyes were by far his best feature; soft emerald, gentle, sparkling with warmth and mirth, and a pure innocence Eclipse had not seen since longer than he cared to remember.

Of course, these traits were certainly not becoming of a demon lord, but after the incident with that insolent book, he found he preferred his lord's unconventionality with all his quirks to the "true" demonic personality that had revealed itself.

Despite the frequent embarrassment Raenef caused him (not to mention making him the laughing stock of the entire demonic world) and his exasperating naivety and gentle nature, Eclipse found he had grown quite fond of him.

But perhaps this was an understatement. He recalled the promise he had made to Raenef in the garden, so long ago it seemed; a promise to stay by the young lord's side as long as he wished. He did not regret in any way making that promise. In fact, he harbored a secret fear that he himself had not quite come to terms with—that the day might come when Raenef would wish for him to leave. He did not permit himself to linger on that unpleasant notion, but his subconscious sometimes haunted him with the possibility when he let his guard down.

His dark eyes settled on his sleeping lord, and a strange pulling sensation erupted in his chest, as if an invisible force was tugging him toward the youth, binding them together. He analyzed the feeling, foreign and familiar at the same time. It tended to visit him when he was in close proximity to Raenef (which was often) and times when he was thinking of him; it was disturbing and comforting at the same time. Demons didn't feel deep bonds of attraction or affection; fondness and desire, yes, but nothing that would lead them to a dependency on the object of such emotions. And yet here he was, one hand tangled in his liege's hair, with a strange feeling in his chest, an aching attraction, a protective affection, that one might even call…

The door burst open and a gala girl knight burst into the room; Eclipse withdrew his hand sharply and fixed upon her his most intimidating death glare. Erutis ignored him, her green eyes flickering over the dozing Raenef, briefly over Eclipse's now disengaged hand, and then meeting his sharp gaze—er, glare.

"Dinner's ready," she announced gleefully, keeping her voice low out of consideration for the sleeping occupant of the room. Eclipse hadn't the faintest idea what could possibly be so amusing to her that would make her sound so positively giddy, but he decided that the maniacal gleam in her eyes did not bode well. So he did what most do when feeling some vital information is being withheld from them—he adopted an irritable tone and proceeded to chastise her.

"Do remember, human, that you are an underling in a demon lord's castle. Knock on a door before entering." Eclipse expected an indignant retort, but instead Erutis gave him an annoyingly knowing smirk, and again her eyes flicked to his hand.

"You got it, Eclipse," she replied cheerfully. "But don't be long; I'm sure Master Raenef wouldn't want to miss dinner." She retreated quickly and shut the door. Eclipse sighed heavily.

"Master Raenef…" He shook the boy gently, rousing him from his slumber. "Master Raenef. Wake up, my lord."

Emerald eyes hazed with fatigue blinked open, and then focused on the raven-haired demon as Raenef sat up.

"Eclipse…?" Mild befuddlement flickered across his face before realization dawned in his eyes. "Eclipse! Oh, I'm sorry, I fell asleep again, didn't I? I-I mean… how dare you… admonish me…" He was cut off by Eclipse's soft laughter.

"It's alright, Master Raenef. We were out late last night, I do not blame you."

"Yes… we were…" A faint rosy hue colored the young lord's cheeks, and he smiled, looking relieved and a little abashed.

An uncomfortable pause. Eclipse cleared his throat.

"Shall we go to dinner then, my lord?"

"Dinnertime already?" Raenef yawned cutely, and Eclipse had a strange desire to cuddle him. He blinked, shaking his head slightly. Where did that come from?

Raenef was already at the opened door, one delicate hand resting on the edge, looking back at his mentor.

"Eclipse…?" The demon looked over at the hesitant sound of his name.

His breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the youth, with the bright sun lighting up the pale gold strands framing his face, still glowing with a faint blush, and his lovely emerald eyes shimmering with the indescribable stuff of Raenef that made him so frustratingly un-demon-like, and so wonderfully endearing at the same time.

"Yes, my lord?"

"…Are you coming with me?"

He was beautiful, standing there bathed in the liquid rays of the dying sun, lush lips slightly parted, looking almost ethereal, lovely and golden. The notion that he would make a better creature of heaven than a demon lord suddenly occurred to Eclipse, but he dismissed it immediately.

"Yes… I am."

A breath-taking smile lit up Raenef's youthful face, a genuine happiness glowing in his eyes as Eclipse rose to follow him out the door. And Eclipse couldn't prevent a small smile from tugging at his lips as well, for he had found during his time with the young lord that his smiles were irresistibly contagious.

As they went down the enormous hall together, with Raenef skipping and bouncing slightly beside him, eyes alight with mirth, Eclipse decided not to remind him that as demons they could simply teleport. And when the blonde turned his radiant smile upon him again, Eclipse concluded that he was glad that Raenef was a demon lord and not a creature of heaven, and especially that he was his lord, for if he wasn't Eclipse would have never felt the warmth of that brilliant smile, or seen the pure gentleness of his spring green eyes. Yes, despite the frustration, the humiliation, the embarrassment… he was glad. Glad to call him his lord.

Glad to call him his.

TBC

Okay, well the alcohol has yet to arrive, but fear not, it comes in the second half… in four days. Be patient! Review please; authors thrive off feedback. Constructive criticism is welcome, as always.

I like how my section breaks didn't show up at all...

PhoenixPhyre