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"Huh?.. And that's... your wish?"
"Maybe I'm just not destined to succeed after all?" such thoughts couldn't help but haunt him from time to time.
Well, no, not from time to time. They were constant. Whatever he did, whatever he took on, everything turned out terribly. The piano didn't want to play under his fingers, needles and threads fell out of his hands, scenarios didn't want to be learned, his voice wasn't suitable for singing, easy dance movements couldn't be performed — they immediately ended in painful falls. Even simple drawing (the easiest task of all) was impossible for him.
Tsukasa took his dream seriously from a very early age. He promised both his family and himself that he'd definitely become someone great, someone famous. He'd become a star who would receive recognition, acknowledgement and respect. And, honestly, he was sure that desire alone would be enough to achieve his goal.
However, it wasn't so simple. Well... perhaps it could've been simple. If only he could do something, if only he wasn't such a loser.
Sometimes Tsukasa couldn't help but look at other people. It was so easy and simple for them. It was as if they hadn't made any effort at all to be talented and skilled in their field. As for him... he wasted year after year of his life. And in the end, never advanced even a single step.
The guy was bad at everything. At making friends, too. Having come of age, he suddenly realized that he had no one — not a single comrade or just a good acquaintance. Although his family had decent wealth, no one wanted to be friends with a "loser". Neither aristocrats nor poor peasants wanted him, since he couldn't do anything. Therefore, all he had in this life was his younger sister. She always supported him, didn't let him get discouraged. But over time, even her sincere words began to be perceived as lies or even... pity. Yes, exactly. Saki simply pitied her stupid brother, who could only dream of great things and nothing more.
A few more years will pass, and even his sister will stop taking that dream seriously. He won't achieve anything — that's already obvious. He will remain a loser.
"No," the blond almost hissed, curling his lips. He looked at himself in the mirror and shook a little — with annoyance and self-hatred at the same time, "I have to think of something. I have to, I... I will become a star, I definitely will!.."
Tenma thought for a long time about what exactly he should do if normal, human ways didn't work. And when he finally came up with something, he wondered for a long time: would it be worth it, did he really need this, was this the right decision? Everything was mixed up in his head. He himself was a very determined person, willing to do anything, but...
This is a very responsible step. Saki would be disappointed in her brother, would say that he's going to regret it a thousand and one times. And most likely, she'd be absolutely right. However... it's not like Tsukasa already had any choice: either this or nothing.
For the sake of his dream, for the sake of people's recognition, for the sake of becoming a star, he was ready to do anything. Therefore, having taken such a huge, grave sin on his soul, he turned to inhuman powers. To powers that would definitely help him fulfill his desire.
"Huh?.." it was strange to receive such an answer to his request, "And that's... your wish?"
The demon, whom the completely desperate Tsukasa turned to for help, looked way too intimidating: tall, red-haired, his eyes were such a poisonous green colour, they seemed either evil or just full of contempt, sharp fangs, slightly pointed ears... but, of course, of all this, the expression on his face was the most frightening. It made goosebumps run down the blond's skin. It made him regret that he started all this. Although, well, what else can you expect from the spawn of evil, right? They are supposed to instill fear and terror, unlike kind and sweet angels.
The guy hesitated a little, loudly swallowed a lump in his throat, but then pulled himself together. He had been thinking about this too much, it was too late to back out.
"What's wrong? I said everything clearly," trying not to show his anxiety, the blond proudly raised his chin and frowned. Meanwhile the demon looked at him appraisingly, as if at a strange toy or a painting.
"Make me stop being a loser, huh?" the redhead rolled his eyes with a sigh. And settled a little more comfortably in Tenma's large armchair (after all, it was very soft), while Tenma stood at a distance, "How am I supposed to understand this? Did you even hear yourself?"
"Understand it exactly as I said!"
"...geh, you're such a weirdo."
Tsukasa blushed with shame. But nevertheless, explained in as much detail as possible what he meant. Of course, he shouted loudly — after all, his pride was hurt. Somehow, through all this screaming, the demon was still able to grasp the essence of the wish: the guy dreamed of fame and recognition from people, but in such a way that he could achieve it himself. He just needed a force that would stop his failures.
"He-eh..." the redhead whispered quietly, right under his breath. Then narrowed his green eyes.
Indeed, he came across a very weird human. Usually, people, when making such deals, asked for everything to be served to them here and now. On a silver platter, too. They asked, "make me famous throughout the world", "give me untold riches", "make this person love me" — and all that sort of things. Simply put, they were looking for the easiest way out of their crappy situations. That's why they were all just empty shells. After playing with them and letting them enjoy their fulfilled wishes for a while, he killed them without a twinge of conscience.
But now... for the first time in so many years, he came across someone who didn't wish for everything at once. Tsukasa asked for just a little help so that he could achieve everything himself. He also told about his failures throughout life, while he tried to succeed in at least something. Specifically this person was purposeful. So much so that he was even ready to make a deal with a real demon.
The redhead didn't even know how to react. This had happened to him for the first time. For the first time, a human had actually intrigued him. Hooked him, you could even say. Those who strive for something, who take their dreams seriously, have always inspired respect in the demon. And genuine interest, of course.
The thought of killing this guy didn't even flash through his mind. "Well-well-well..." he thought, "This one's not like everyone else. He should be fun."
Sitting in a comfortable armchair, he straightened his shoulders, then grinned widely,
"Fi-ine," the demon drawled slyly, "So be it, human, I'll fulfill your wish."
"Eh? Really?! Will you really?!" Tenma beamed, sparkled like a child, as if he didn't actually expect all this to be true. What an idiot, and also a weirdo... but at the same time terribly interesting. Such a person was one in a billion — that's for sure. The demon can't let him go. And can't kill him for anything either.
"I mean, you've already summoned me."
Lowering his head, Tsukasa muttered something like, "oh, yeah, you're right, I didn't think about that, ha-ha...". This made the demon grin almost from ear to ear. His face even hurt a bit. What a naive human, although he seemed so grown up. Didn't he understand that the redhead could easily refuse his request? Or even kill him right here and now, if he wanted to?
"How gullible are you?" the guy wondered, squinting, "He-eh... I wanna know–"
"The name's Shinonome Akito," he finally introduced himself. Usually, however, he never did this. Why do people even need his name if they're nothing more than quick customers? And also those who are destined to die soon anyway. But... for some reason he told this little secret to Tsukasa, "You can call me just "Akito", not like it matters."
"Oh, yeah... Akito, then... nice to meet you."
With a chuckle, the demon nevertheless deigned to rise from the chair. He walked closer to Tsukasa with measured steps and extended his palm forward. All this time he tried to seem as frightening, mysterious, enigmatic as possible. Just to scare this naive human.
"Well," a grin so wide and frightening, showing the sharpness of his fangs, clearly didn't bode well. But the blond didn't care anymore. His dream was more precious than anything in the world, "Are you ready to make a deal with a demon?"
"Yes," and shook the stranger's hand.
***
Akito, in fact, lied. A little, but he lied. After all, that's his demon nature — to lie, to deceive.
According to the deal, he had to fulfill a specific wish — to make Tsukasa become the best version of himself. And that's it. No more, no less. But this loud, strange guy interested the demon too much (after so many years, that's an actual achievement), so he had to add one detail. A very insignificant and a very small detail. Along with talent, he gave a drop of fame.
Now the blond not only did everything he couldn't do before, but also received recognition from people. Not from a huge audience right away, of course. However, it was already something. All he had to do now was develop himself and conquer cities, countries, the whole world. All he had to do now was become a real star, just like he wanted.
And Tsukasa really tried. He trained every day, learned scripts, rehearsed, played the piano for hours, perfected his dances and sewed costumes until his hands went numb. It seemed that after so many years of failures, he was trying to fulfill all his long-standing desires. He didn't even sleep for several days, but just did everything at this point.
Akito had never seen so much life, passion and fire in someone's eyes. Usually people are... all so rotten, sluggish, emotionless. Even paper dolls are more interesting than them. Only this guy was different for some reason.
A loser who had never been able to do anything, who had never succeeded in anything, was somehow better than everyone else around him. What an irony, Shinonome couldn't stop grinning. He was extremely lucky to have stumbled upon such a rare find. It's good that this guy didn't go to Shiraishi or Azusawa.
And Toya too. Yes, even him. They all wouldn't have appreciated such a person enough.
"Whe-ere are my panca-akes?" the demon drawled discontentedly, "What's taking so lo-ong?"
"Cook it yourself, Akito!" Tsukasa got mad at him. All sullen and angry, but nevertheless, he did his job.
"Why should I? I have you."
The blond was ready to hit the demon on the head with a hot frying pan at any moment. Because, honestly... where have you ever seen a rich aristocrat (and now a very famous one!) cook himself? If the servants found out, they'd faint. And anyway, Tsukasa's cooking skills weren't very good. Okay, no, he didn't have any, since the maids always made the food. So the guy had to learn literally from scratch, and very fast. The demon didn't eat the first few batches, complaining that they weren't tasty. And then brazenly ordered, "make more until you learn, until they become perfect."
And the most offensive thing in this situation is that Tenma couldn't even go against these orders. The deal didn't allow it. According to the terms, he was obliged to do everything the demon asked him to. Any, even the slightest whim, had to be fulfilled quickly, clearly, without doubts and complaints.
The actor felt like a servant. Or even worse. At least, he never treated his maids and butlers like that.
"There, eat," the guy said irritably, slamming the plate in front of Akito. This time the pancakes looked appetizing, and not like they had a liter of poison added to them. And also smelled nice. After all, Tsukasa had learned to cook after so many attempts.
"Where's my "bon appetit, master"?" the demon's sly grin was infuriating.
"I'm not your slave!"
"Nuh-uh," Akito rejoiced every time he saw more and more of new reactions. This guy was interesting, so he irritated him as often as possible, "A deal's a deal. You must do what I want."
"You-u-u...!" such disrespect made the aristocrat frown and grimace, and even blushe. The range of emotions amused the demon.
He didn't want to kill Tsukasa at all. Oh no, he had other plans for him. Usually Akito didn't pay attention to the people he made deals with. He asked them to do a couple of things for the sake of decency, watched their happiness for some time, then got rid of them. A boring routine, but he got used to it. But now... yes, now it was like decided to take everything out on one specific person.
He didn't leave Tenma alone at all. Every day he appeared in his life and asked for something. Absolutely anything, just to gloat and torment him. At first, these were small requests (cook food, clean his room himself, other stuff like that), but then they became sophisticated. Shinonome's imagination began to work overtime.
"Don't sleep for a whole day."
"Are you insane?! I have a show tomorrow, I need to get a good night's sleep!" there was so much indignation in his voice that it literally oozed out of every word.
"Not my pro-oblem," Akito smirked because he knew: the human would fulfill his whim.
He had no other choice.
"Run two hundred laps around the town hall," the actor looked at him in horror. Questions, "What? Why? How does this even relate to our deal?", were clearly visible in his eyes, "I'll count the laps."
"This is the town hall! They'll look at me like I'm an idiot! No way am I–"
"Don't forget our de-eal."
Almost gritting his teeth, Tsukasa obeyed. After all, this was the price for being able to perform and receive recognition from people. True, he didn't quite understand what the demon was trying to achieve with this. He probably just liked watching humans suffer, or something.
"Dance until your legs give out," Akito always had this satisfied and joyful grin on his face. Of course, it wasn't him who was forced to do all this meaningless nonsense. Seriously, why did he need it anyway?
"I already danced on stage today, I'm tired!"
"Quit whining all the time," the demon said, happily eating the sweets. The ones the actor had prepared for him, "Or else I'll also make you sing. Oh, or maybe eat spiders–"
"Stop i-i-it!!!"
To be honest, Tsukasa was already starting to regret this. However, it was impossible to cancel the deal. Or, well... it was possible, but only if he died. And he didn't want to die yet. After all, he finally had everything he dreamed of: fame, recognition, the opportunity to do what he couldn't do before. The blond made people happy with his shows, gave them smiles.
For the sake of that... he could endure all this bullying.
"Hmm-m-m," Shinonome quietly mumbled under breath, then narrowed his eyes slightly.
On numerous stages in different cities and countries, Tenma really shone. Like a real star. Now that he was talented, he confidently acted, sang, danced, performed any melodies on musical instruments. And at the same time, practiced everything in secret from everyone. He could sit for hours, reading scripts or trying to perfect the same line.
So purposeful, so lively, so bright... a very strange person, but at the same time so alluring. Akito couldn't stop admiring him: when he performed, when he complained about stupid whims, when he peacefully, almost angelically slept in a pile of books, when he smiled from his sister's letters, when he tried to cheer up sad children on the streets of the city, when he took care even of the demon who mocked him. Everything about him was interesting.
The demon had never experienced anything like this before. He had never met a person who could make him feel before. Shinonome thought he was heartless, emotionless. Until he met this weirdo.
"Wah, Akito, you scared me!" he hadn't expected to see a demon in his dressing room, of all places. Then sighed, "Do you need something again?" Tenma had recently gotten used to these stupid requests. He began to treat them like a child's whims, even laughed at them. In general, he acted as if he was the eldest here. Or he had simply relaxed in the redhead's presence.
"Uh... nah, not really."
"Huh? Are you fine? It's not like you at all," he then came closer and carefully placed a hand on Shinonome's deathly cold forehead, "Hmm, no fever..."
The guy didn't even know how to react. He simply froze, trying to understand what exactly he felt from the human's touch. Well... he wasn't uncomfortable. On the contrary, he even wanted more. Tsukasa's hands were so soft, so gentle, so warm. The rest of his body probably was the same.
"...demons don't get sick, idiot."
"Then I don't know what happened to you today," Tenma finally removed his hand, "Why did you come here?"
"And, as always, you want to know everything," the guy snorted in response.
Sighing and wearily dropping his shoulders, the actor decided that it was better not to argue or pick on him. Akito was simply behaving like a child again. This was his habit, so Tsukasa wasn't even angry. Instead, he smiled like an older brother and shook his head slightly.
The demon, though, began to intently stare at him.
***
"W... what? What did you say?" Tenma asked, blinking stupidly. He hoped in his heart that he was just hearing things, that he was hallucinating.
"Don't play dumb, you heard everything. Now do as I say."
"No, what, wai... why?!"
This was beyond the pale. The actor had tolerated bullying before, but now he refused to give in. Well, this was really just too much! His pride wouldn't let him do something like this! And anyway, why did Shinonome need this? Was he going insane or something?
Although, no, that's a strange question... he's a demon. He was always crazy, from the beginning.
"That's my order, you must obey," the guy began to grumble, already getting irritated by the unnecessary stubbornness. He didn't like the way the blond was stalling for time.
"You... you damned demon, I won't do this!"
"I told you to take off your clothes. Don't complain, do as I say."
Having twisted his face, Tsukasa made some strange sound — either from surprise or embarrassment. It was probably his fault that he allowed the demon to reproach him like that. The more willpower he had, the stranger all these orders became. And... and perhaps the actor wouldn't have been so embarrassed if someone else had asked him to do this. Anyone, but not Akito.
For some reason, he felt ashamed in front of Akito.
"You... maybe you could, at least, turn away?" the guy muttered very quietly, which was unusual for him.
"No. Do it in front of me, now."
"Why though...?"
Nevertheless, it was better not to argue further. Tsukasa can't break the deal's terms — it'd be worse only for him. Therefore, sighing raggedly, he forced his hands to move. All fingers trembled slightly, the buttons didn't want to fit through, everything was going badly... maybe this was a sign that he shouldn't have obeyed? Maybe he should disobey at least once?
Undressing in front of Akito even sounded too embarrassing.
"...there," the guy muttered, having somehow freed himself from his stage shirt. His face and ears were burning with shame, so he immediately hid his pale torso with a cloth, "Are you happy?"
"Take off your clothes," Shinonome said, frowning like a whimsical boy. This angered the blond again, more than the first time.
"I've already took it off! What else do you want?"
"Take everything off. Get naked."
The frightened actor, showing some completely new emotion, drawled, "e-e-eh?". His face almost turned blue from fear, then from shame. Well, this was definitely too much! Whims are whims, but why undress to the point of nakedness? This is... humiliating. Was Akito trying to mock him like that? Or did someone tell him a new bullying technique? Or did he, seeing Tsukasa's strange behavior and feelings, come up with something like this?
He definitely just wanted to laugh at the stupid human, nothing more. And that hurt.
"Akito, pleas–"
"Do as I say," the redhead said syllable by syllable. His face became angry with impatience, his eyes flashed a threatening bright green. Seeing Shinonome like this, when he usually behaved like a cheerful and mischievous child, was a little scary. Apparently... apparently, going against orders wouldn't work.
"Okay-okay, fine! God!.." and then exhaled nervously.
Then the requests became worse and worse with each passing day. Some were even frightening. There were no more of those stupid and innocent whims like "jump a hundred and fifty times", "play the piano with your feet", "put a centipede on your hair" or "pick roses with your bare hands". One fine day, Akito simply... crossed the line. The line that shouldn't have been crossed. The line that was impossible to return from to a normal (for both of them) relationship.
After that, everything went awry.
Tsukasa realized that he was just played and toyed with. There could be no other explanation. The demon was bored, so he was... having fun in this way. And the young actor wasn't his first, definitely not his last. This made the blond feel hurt — so much so that he even felt a pain somewhere in the heart. He thought, believed that their strange relationship was getting better. That he could at least become Akito's friend.
Yes, this was a bad idea, but he really wanted at least this. Because, well, it was embarrassing to ask for more.
On the other hand, Shinonome wasn't embarrassed at all. Without a twinge of conscience or even an ulterior motive, he said stuff like, "give me your hand" (so that later they could sit together with their fingers intertwined), "kiss me" (only God knows why he needed that), "stop kicking me, I just want to touch you" (that was a violation of personal boundaries!). Tenma was completely confused about himself and his feelings, and now... this was happening.
But the worst was just beginning.
"W-wha... Akito, what are you doing?!" Tsukasa, blushing to the tips of his ears, barely managed to push the demon's face away from himself with a hand, "Oi, if this is another joke of yours, then it's not funny–"
Slapping his hand away, the redhead approached the actor's face again.
"It's not a joke," even though he seemed to be speaking seriously, this had to be a lie.
No, this is definitely some kind of prank. Some kind of game on nerves. Or a test of endurance. Embarrassed, Tenma tried to pull away. It was getting annoying that his innocent feelings were being humiliated like that... so he needed to put the demon in his place a little. At least try.
He protested, but then was pinned down on the bed. It creaked characteristically — this sound cut into sensitive hearing. The blond was no longer a little boy, so he roughly understood where everything was leading and what was wanted from him.
But this is wrong. If there was no love, then things like this are immoral. Mom always taught him that.
"Akito, listen, this is way out of lin–"
"Shut up," but Tsukasa didn't want to keep quiet. If the demon wanted to show his hatred somehow, then... at least let it be in another way. It wasn't necessary to go this far, was it? Or is he like this with everyone? A cold hand felt his waist under a blue shirt, and for some reason the actor felt so unpleasant, so sad. Exactly. Tenma was one hundred percent not the first and not the last, "You do as I say and obey me. Get that in your head already."
He didn't manage to say anything against because Shinonome's tongue shut him up. It was different from the hands that pulled his shirt off, it was scorching hot. The actor winced from the opposite sensations, but when the kiss became more gentle, he relaxed. Not for long, though. Soon painful bruises from hickeys began to bloom on his neck and shoulders, followed by bite lines. These fangs were sharper than any cat or dog's. For a moment Tenma was even scared that the demon would bite through some vein, but, luckily, that didn't happen.
He licked up the blood to the last drop with his tongue, this action reminiscent of a vampire, not a demon. With his fingers, still shiveringly cold, counted the slightly protruding ribs, then almost tickled under them. All these actions contradicted each other — sometimes pleasant, sometimes painful — so Tsukasa tried to push the demon away from himself, to somehow escape. Akito though, having stopped grinning, didn't appreciate it.
"Will you stop being so stubborn?" he tsked, and then, almost with a snap of fingers, tied the actor's hands above his head. Of course, it was easy for a demon with his magic.
The rope rubbed wrists unpleasantly, while kisses along his torso, on the contrary, caused butterflies in the stomach. Pain alternated with pleasure, thereby driving into confusion. Tsukasa didn't even understand half of what was happening. Shame and almost childish resentment mixed in his head and he couldn't think of anything else.
"Ah! A-ah, Aki– wai... ah!" everything melted before his eyes, the ceiling included. He really tried to remain silent, even bit his lips, but after another order, "stop holding back," could no longer do so. His voice almost broke into screams — probably because Tsukasa himself was an incredibly loud person. Surprisingly, it didn't bother Akito at all, "Wait, a-ah, ple... not so rough!.."
All pleas were ignored, no matter how high his moans became. The thrusts were painfully aggressive — to the point that tears even welled up. But the kisses and sweet whispers in his ear didn't allow him to cry. It was all so strange. Tenma didn't understand what to feel at all.
The sharp movements made his back arch and his toes curl, crumpling the sheets. His whole body was burning, the heat driving him crazy. The only thing that cooled him down were Shinonome's fingers on his hips. They pressed so hard and desperately that they'd definitely leave serious bruises.
"A– ah, Ak... ito!"
***
It turned out that the damned demon had terrible habits.
First of all, he didn't understand how love worked. And feelings, in principle. Well, he was a demon, he had never fallen in love. No one had ever awakened... such a thing in him. So Akito had no idea what to do or how to deal with it. He seemed to want to do something good, but in the end, did bad things.
Yes, secondly, he alternated between pleasant and unpleasant. Pleasure and pain. Caresses and torment. He bit, bent over the table until the actor's legs trembled, and the next day kissed tenderly and... sort of tried to hug or cuddle. He inhaled the scent of Tsukasa's hair, skin, looked at his honey eyes, studied every little movement .
It was impossible to predict what the demon would be like. It was even worse than Russian roulette or any other gambling game. All that was left for Tenma was to guess what he'd get today: pain throughout his body or arousing praise that made him want to melt.
It was all so... offensive. He had already been taken advantage of in every possible way. Tsukasa probably didn't fall into despair only because of his dream. He was a star now, he had no reason to be sad. For this, he'd endure anything. Even the fact that his nascent feelings were trampled into the dirt every time like the first time.
It was humiliating to feel things for someone who from the very beginning wanted nothing more than to use him and... then, probably, abandon him. The blond felt disgusted by himself. He made a deal, wished to no longer be a loser, and what in the end? He still remained the same unlucky guy as before.
It would've been better if Shinonome had continued to torment with stupid and difficult requests than with such a play on the feelings.
"Aki...! Ah!" his own name, breaking from lips kissed until red, caressed ears. Just like loud moans, like intermittent breathing, like...
Akito's expression changed slightly when he noticed tears on the actor's face. Not from pleasure, no, he was crying for real. From bitterness, from resentment, from his own feelings, from the thought that he was hated — all this mixed up and for no reason made him cry. Of course, he tried to turn away as quickly as possible, wipe the hot drops from his cheeks, calm his sobs, but it didn't work out well.
Something in the heart, if demons even had one, skipped a beat. Sharply, painfully. Even crying, Tsukasa was beautiful, but tears didn't suit him. And they also caused strange emotions. Unpleasant emotions.
Almost instantly softening, the guy began to lick the salty tracks, like a dog. Tenma weakly tried to push him away, but then simply gave in. The thrusts stopped being hard and rough. And finally, the pale, spread legs stopped shaking so desperately.
Lifting one of the actor's thighs, Shinonome left a hickey on it. Not a painful, but slightly tickling one, which caused a hoarse groan to escape.
"...I have a rehearsal," when another session of physical intimacy ended (and in such an... unusual way), the blond wanted to run away as quickly as possible. He was ashamed that he had given in, that he had shown his true feelings for a minute, which no one needed. Not even himself.
He had almost gotten out of bed, but then was forced to lie back down. Cold, strong hands wrapped around his waist and pulled him close.
"Oi, let go! I told you, I have a rehearsal!" of course, it'd be in like three hours, but it didn't matter.
"No," Akito answered in a strange voice. And then buried his nose in warm golden hair. It smelled a little like tears, "I want you to lie with me."
"Why on Earth is he so sweet now?.." the actor thought discontentedly, again deciding that this was just a way to mock and humiliate, "He can't stand me."
"But I don't want to."
"Just do what I tell you to," and there's no arguing. A deal's a deal. Tenma pursed his lips and barely suppressed another sob. And as if sensing this, the demon changed his tactics a little. He began to speak more kindly, more tenderly, "He-ey... turn your face to me."
The answer was a negative shake of the head. It's clear that the actor was holding a grudge now. Why though?..
Akito didn't quite understand humans and their feelings. His own either. After he made a deal with Tsukasa, other people continued to summon him. But he didn't want to listen to them or fulfill their wishes anymore. He refused everyone. Many understood and left him alone, but there were also those who begged him for help several times. And the demon couldn't help but be infuriated by them.
Without even trying to listen to their pleas, he began killing humans again — those who really pissed him off too much. And, probably, because of this, he was angry and dissatisfied on certain days. He didn't want to take it out on Tenma, really, it just sort of happened.
It's just that feelings are difficult for him.
"What is wrong with you?" the blond hissed angrily, then again sank into deathly silence.
Everything's wrong with him. He's a demon, not a human. However, even he, a demon, didn't want Tsukasa to hold these childish grudges. Resentment doesn't suit him, a smile is better. So Akito began to gently kiss his soft hair, neck, running fingers over the places where he left painful bites, so that the wounds would heal.
"I have a rehearsal."
"You'll perform well without it."
***
Running his eyes over the script, Tenma could only sigh heavily. The role didn't seem difficult. It's just that the plot of the show was romance. He didn't like to play love on stage, because it was so pretentious, so cloyingly sweet. In reality, love isn't a cute feeling at all. On the contrary, it was more of a burden.
Well, fine. He's a good actor. And a very famous one. He can handle any role, even one that's sincerely unpleasant. And he'll again receive people's smiles, applause, praise and his moment of glory. For this he suffered all his life without rest.
For this he endured tenderness, then pain — and like that on endless repeat.
Akito was such a weird demon. It seems that no one taught this idiot to hate people normally. Hatred shouldn't be shown like that, even if you want to mock, even if you want to play on other people's feelings.
And lately he has become even more weird. More... kind, or something. He bullied less, didn't ignore requests to slow down and let catch a breath, didn't allow to leave immediately after sex was over. Instead, he strictly ordered Tsukasa to lie next to him and let touch him. Not in an indecent way, but in a romantic way (if you can say that).
What was going on in that demon's head? Tsukasa had no idea. Gradually, he simply resigned himself to being hated. So much so that now Akito lies, pretends to be nice and kind, and then he'll show his true nature again. And the actor can't even be mad — because of the deal and because of the feelings.
Shinonome began to hold his hand during sex. Interlacing their fingers together, as if to provide support during the process. And his gaze changed too — though it's unclear whether for the better or for the worse. It's hard to remember what it was like before. Too much time has passed.
"Tsukasa," the actor got out of bed almost immediately. He will go love Akito somewhere else, keeping his feelings to himself. He will hide somewhere, but not here. All that remains is to find his shoes and clothes somewhere on the floor, "Tsukasa, stop."
"I have a rehearsal," this time it's a lie. He didn't have any rehearsals. Just yesterday he performed a show in front of a gigantic audience full of enthusiastic people.
"Tsukasa."
Damn this deal, damn this demon, damn everything. Tenma was a loser and he remained one — he continued to have serious bad luck in life. But he's a good actor, a wonderful actor, so he'll continue to keep face.
"I said stop," before the guy could lower his feet to the floor, he was hugged from behind, "You don't have a rehearsal today, don't lie," for some reason he couldn't add, "stay, stay with me". And probably the lack of these specific words pissed off Tsukasa,
"...that's it, I've had enough! If you hate me so much, at least hate me like a normal person!"
Tsukasa couldn't break free because Akito clung to him with an almost steel grip. At the same time, he didn't say anything for a long time, stubbornly remaining silent. The actor ran out of breath and stopped resisting. He had little strength, so with an exhale, tiredly closed his eyes. And allowed himself to enjoy the barely perceptible warmth, coming from someone whom he had come to love so much. For some... unknown reason.
"I don't hate you," the awkward pause finally came to a stop.
"Yeah," Tsukasa snorted sarcastically, out of bitter resentment, "Sure you don't."
For some reason, for the first time in such a long life, Akito felt his lips tremble and his eyes get slightly wet,
"I don't hate you. I love you."