Steam billowed off the top of the mug. Sahriel watched it with grave attention, letting his fingertips play in it occasionally but mostly just enjoying the patterns it made while he made the water boil over and over so he could play with the steam. Miriam was behind him in the kitchen making dinner and Akhenti sat opposite, watching him play with the steam with a small frown on her face as if she didn’t approve of something but Sahriel didn’t care. She was his oldest friend, and he didn’t care and he knew that was probably a bad sign but it was just the way it was. Connor was all that mattered, and Connor was still washing up after another day of repairs in town.

The repairs were almost done, to the point where the Inn was fully functional again and Sahriel had to return to work later that night. He was annoyed, because it meant he couldn’t go to bed with Connor, but he wasn’t too fussed. He could stalk Connor in the woods again soon, and that would definitely make up for it.

Akhenti had dropped in for a random visit as she had done several times over the last few weeks, just a few days here and there; she never stayed long, but she liked seeing Sahriel happy. Just at the moment she was frowning because little as it was, using power the way he was doing could attract attention that he simply didn’t need. If she could find him, so could others, and there were very few demons that would be as nice to him as she was.

“Are you done playing with your food yet?” she complained.

Looking up at her, Sahriel only grinned and pointed through the steam.

“You look like a Djinn. You should wear those floofy pants like they do sometimes…” But Akenti would never trade in her short shift dresses. It was an Egypt thing, he knew, and he couldn’t blame her. Women hadn’t been in the best position since then, just look at Miriam who should have been running a damn restaurant or something and instead was stuck in the cottage like a ‘good’ woman. He sighed and stopped making the water boil, looking seriously at his friend.

“Do you think the world’s getting worse? I mean, what if the others are right and people are just screwing up all the time. Maybe we should take charge again?”

Snorting at the suggestion that she should dress up like a djinn, Akhenti shrugged and took a sip of her own drink. It was one of those questions that really had no answer, and not one she really had an opinion on anyway. She never thought much about humans other than to stay out of their way.

“Humans have always been screwing up,” she stated. “No offense,” she added with a wary look at Miriam. “But it has never been our problem, and the ones who think otherwise only say it because they want an excuse to take over.” She shrugged again, looking amused. “You know they’d get bored if we really did run everything. They love their plotting and intrigues – what would they do if they didn’t have humans to set things up so we can knock them down?”

“I guess,” Sahriel agreed half heartedly, Nefertem’s face as he was being sent back to hell still playing on his mind. He’d never been on his brother’s bad side, but he had heard stories about demons that fell that way. It was apparently…unpleasant. He couldn’t fathom Nefertem losing his temper, but if he was ever going to, now would be it. And worse, Sahriel couldn’t blame him; he’d be pissed if someone sent him to hell too, especially his brothers.

“Do you think Temmi will be mad at me?”

Akhenti was silent, thinking about it. In her mind it was nearly impossible to be mad at Shezmu, but then she was little biased. Nefertem had a soft spot for him as well, but whether it extended to forgiving him for sending him to hell was hard to say.

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I’m sorry, Shessa.” She felt sorry for him, getting himself in such a spot, but she was a little bit envious too, of how happy he obviously was with his human lover.

“It’s not your fault,” he pointed out softly, going back to playing glumly with his steam, recalling just how gruesome the fates were of people who had crossed Nefertem in all those stories. He didn’t even think he would mind dying like that, if he could die. It was Nefertem being mad at him that he couldn’t stand the thought of. But there was nothing to be done about it now and he looked over his shoulder at Miriam, sniffing at the air and the delicious scent of dinner. He could eat to make himself feel better, surely?

“Is it ready soon?”

“Soon,” Miriam agreed, giving him a sympathetic smile. She only half understood their conversation, but she knew Sahriel was worried, and it made her want to hug him comfortingly. She wasn’t entirely sure he’d want it, though.

“When Connor gets here it should be ready.”

When Connor got there Sahriel wanted a damn hug. He sighed and slumped down in his chair, not even the tea succeeding in pulling him out of his slump. He wasn’t sure why, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling something was very wrong and he should be doing something about it. Instead, he was going to go work in the bar and sneak home to crawl into Connor’s bed for a few hours rest in the early hours, and wish that humans could love demons, since apparently demons could fall horrendously in love with humans.

“How long does it take to bathe anyways.”

Not very long, and Connor walked in a few minutes later, sniffing appreciatively even as his eyes went straight to Sahriel, having eyes for nothing else as he went straight to him and bent down for a thorough, heartfelt kiss, tasting him lingeringly and slow, aching with the spicy sweetness of him.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he sighed.

Startled that Connor had just done it, right in front of Miriam and Akhenti, it took Sahriel a minute to recover, then he just grinned and sprung up, wrapping his arms tight around Connor’s neck to get the hug he wanted so badly, feeling relief wash though him as soon as he was pressed tight against all that warmth.

“Missed you.”

Connor hugged him tight, both arms wrapped completely around him, luxuriating in the relief of having Sahriel in his arms again, pressed so close against him and belonging so perfectly in his arms.

“Missed you too,” he murmured, feeling a little silly admitting it, especiallly in front of the girls, but the fact remained that it was true. He sighed and took Sahriel’s seat, pulling him into his lap as he sat down.

Miriam looked amused as she carried dinner over to the table, setting out the hot dishes and waiting for everyone to help themselves.

“Time to eat,” she informed them all unnecessarily.

Now that Connor was back, the farce of eating when he didn’t need to wasn’t quite as appealing to Sahriel and he shared a knowing look with Akhenti. Without the need to eat, the habit just became…a chore. It felt like work to have to lift the fork and chew and swallow and digest. But he had to admit Miriam’s cooking always tasted amazing and he obediently slid into the chair beside Connor, shifting it closer so their knees could touch before examining the hot meal before him.

“It smells amazing,” he noted, because that at least he could enjoy more than any human.

Not bothering to pretend she wanted food, Akhenti contented herself with enjoying her tea and watching Sahriel, which was entertaining enough to make up for sitting around while the humans stuffed their faces.

“Smells good,” she agreed half-heartedly, not feeling any more inclined to taste it than she ever had.

Sticking his tongue out, Sahriel went about slowly devouring the meal, studying the way Connor and Miriam ate, deciding Miriam did it with much more class and copying her, learning her table manners for future use. The more he watched, the more fascinated he was with the way she held things, moved things, kept her elbows off the table…

“Why do you do that?”

Miriam blinked at him, puzzled, pausing in her hearty consumption of the meal to give him a bemused look. “Do what?” she asked in bewilderment, not entirely sure what he was talking about. Sahriel was strange, you never knew if he was talking about something normal or something that really was odd.

“You don’t put your elbows on the table. But wouldn’t it be easier if you did? Why don’t you? Don’t you get bruises leaning them like that, you’ve got little arms…” He frowned, leaning closer to get a better look at the way her arms were resting against the table’s edge, then he looked sternly at Connor.

“You should sand the table edge round so it doesn’t hurt Miriam.”

Connor stared at him, rather blankly, and Miriam smothered her laughter at the look on his face. “I don’t think it’s hurting her,” he said finally, looking rather doubtful. Sahriel picked the strangest things to obsess about. Not that he wouldn’t sand it down, probably the first chance he got, but it still amused him.

“It’s alright,” Miriam told Sahriel, reaching over to squeeze his hand. “I’m fine, see?” She lifted her arms, letting her sleeves fall back to show them smooth and unmarked.

Sahriel inspected her arms but still frowned, even when he found them flawlessly whole and unmarked. Miriam was not allowed to be damaged, not just because it would make Connor sad, but because she was…He paused, thinking it through and then smirked, feeling much more satisfied with his current predicament. She was his pet, just like the many pets he’d had through time; his to scold and pet and protect. He was still a demon after all, not a failure.

“As long as it’s not hurting you, you can do it then. You’re not allowed to do things that hurt you.”

Shaking her head, Miriam gave him a bemused smile. “I’m not in the habit of doing things that hurt me,” she pointed out rather amusedly as she went back to her meal.

“She’s not allowed?” Connor muttered, giving Sahriel a sideways glance as he finished up his own dinner, wondering what the hell that meant.

Akhenti merely sipped her tea and smiled to herself, feeling rather entertained. Shezmu was going to have his hands full with these humans, quite obviously.

“She’s not allowed,” Sahriel agreed stubbornly, glaring at them all over his dinner and deciding he’d had enough, pushing the plate away a little and snatching up his tea, sipping at it and watching them through the steam again.

“You look smug,” he warned Akhenti. “You better not be thinking bad things about me.”

Akhenti just smirked at him a little more. Bad things were relative, though Sahriel would no doubt think that her thoughts counted.

Feeling mostly amused, Connor just shrugged as he sat back in his chair, having finished eating. He leaned sideways enough to rest his arm over the back of Sahriel’s chair and play with his hair. Sahriel’s hair was endlessly tempting to him, especially when they were at home and it didn’t matter who was looking, or if he reached out and touched it as much as he wanted to.

Immediately distracted by the touch, Sahriel turned to stare at Connor, drawn immediately to his mouth, his own lips parting slightly with desire, wanting to lean in and kiss, and to reach out and touch but he controlled himself and sat quietly, satisfying himself with staring.

“That’s not fair when I have to work tonight,” he complained softly.

Connor raised his eyebrows at him. “Isn’t it?” he murmured, rather absently, still distracted by the glossy silken strands he was twining around and through his fingers. So sexy, somehow – he’d never noticed anyone’s hair all that much before, but Sahriel’s was irresistible to him.

Laughing, Miriam got up to begin clearing the table, feeling as usual a bit amazed but mostly glad for the odd… softening effect Sahriel had on her brother.

“No, it’s not!” Sahriel assereted stubbornly, but there was no heat to the words and he shifted from his chair and back into Connor’s lap, of the opinion he deserved cuddles since he wasn’t going to get any tonight. His hands reached out without thought to pick up his teacup, but it was empty and he stared into it mournfully before looking over at Miriam with a hopeful look.

“Is there more tea?”

“Of course,” Miriam answered, smiling warmly at him as she came over to refill his teacup. She always made sure to have plenty of tea for Sahriel, it was an easy enough thing to do and he enjoyed it so much that it was a pleasure to be able to make him smile with something so simple.

“Mine too!” Akhenti demanded, holding up her mostly empty cup, and Miriam filled hers as well, raising an eyebrow at Connor to see if he wanted some too, but he shook his head, being fully occupied at the moment with wrapping Sahriel up in his lap and nuzzling his hair. Miriam hid her smile as she turned away to put the teakettle back on the stove to stay hot.

Sharing a knowing grin with Akhenti, Sahriel sipped at the new cup of hot tea and sighed in pleasure at the fruity taste of it on his tongue. Tea was awesome, plain and simple.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” He looked at Connor questioningly, eyes wide and deceptively innocent. “Have you still got work to do in town?”

“There’s a bit to finish up yet,” Connor told him as he stroked Sahriel’s hair back yet again and kissed his temple. “I’ll get to it later in the week, need to catch up on some other things tomorrow.” Getting buildings and homes repaired had been top priority, but what was left wasn’t terribly urgent, and he’d been neglecting his other, more usual duties.

“So you’ll be in the forest?” Sahriel perked up immediately. Stalking Connor all day sounded like an awesome plan, and maybe Akhenti would come and play in the stream with him. He looked over excitedly and grinned at her.

“You wanna come play in the forest tomorrow? I have a cloak you can borrow if you need one.”

Connor eyed her dubiously over top of Sahriel’s head, not at all sure that this was a good plan. The fact that she was here at all was, he felt, rather risky, considering how she refused to do anything that made her even remotely look like fitting in or being somewhat normal. In the forest at least they were unlikely to run into anyone other than himself, so he said nothing for the moment.

“Is it you’re staying the night then?” Miriam asked her, pausing beside the table with a towel in her hand. “Connor, as I were meanin’ to ask you, might you have time before long to see about building us another room, over against the house there?” she noted, pointing where she thought an addition would best be placed.

“It’s terrible inconvenient to have you an’ Sahri always gone of nights, wherever tis that you’re sleepin’. If we’d another room here you’d have your own, and it’d be easier to make a place for Kenti when she’s here.” Miriam found the demon girl’s name very difficult to pronounce, and had settled on something simpler in approximation. Akhenti didn’t seem to mind much; she found it amusing, and she was fond of Miriam.

At the moment, however, she was blinking at the suggestion, and studying Sahriel with intense curiosity. If Connor was going to build a room onto his house just for Sahriel, that was kind of… permanent. Akhenti found the idea of settling down with a human for any length of time, much less such a significant settledness, to be rather astounding.

Sahriel found it equally unsettling, though he couldn’t begin to say why. Still, he turned to once again stare at Connor, not sure what he could make of it and curious to see his expression while he thought it over himself. But after a minute he still wasn’t sure he liked it. The cave had special meaning for him now, and it was safe and comfortable. But it was inconvenient and really, they could go have a cave romp any time, and a permanent, soft bed would be awesome.

“Can I watch you build it?”

“Mmm,” Connor muttered, considering the idea a bit doubtfully. Not that it wasn’t a good idea, it was just… sooner or later people would find out he was building it, and there was no good reason he could give them as to why it was suddenly necessary to make a house bigger when only two people were living in it. He could probably come up with something, but it still made him uneasy.

Still, it would be nice to be able to stay here with Sahriel instead of always going out to the cave, not that the cave wasn’t comfortable and somehow special, it was just a long way to go.

“I could maybe do that,” he agreed finally. “I’ll have to see when I have time. Of course you can watch,” he added to Sahriel, assuming he wanted to be out in daylight that much. The thought amused him, and he brushed an affectionate kiss across Sahriel’s cheekbone.

Delighted that Connor would allow him to watch, Sahriel immediately decided he was fine with the idea. Connor, he had learned in the last few weeks, liked to take his shirt off when he was building things, and he got hot and sweaty and it drove Sahriel half mad with lust, in the best possible way. He sighed at the memory of the various times he’d caught a glimpse over the past few weeks and was immediately horny. It made him annoyed that the add-on wasn’t already built, and that he had to work that night.

“I like watching.”

Akhenti burst out laughing, shaking her head at him, completely entertained by it all. “You are so far gone, Shessa,” she told him in their own language, giving him a rather wicked teasing look.

Connor gave her a look of only mild curiosity, not much interested in whatever she had said, and went back to stroking his fingers through Sahriel’s hair. Miriam had already gone to fetch some blankets to make up a bed on the couch for Akhenti to sleep on, and missed the exchange entirely.

Akhenti just smirked at him, thinking he was cute but not at all inclined to stop teasing him about it.  It was a sister’s job, after all.

“But he’s sexy,” Sahriel argued in their own tongue. “And he’s mine and I’m going to keep him, and he likes it!” He wasn’t in love with him, but Sahriel could handle that; he was still a demon, after all, and Miriam was his pet. Maybe his wires were just crossed and he was just too attached to his Connor-pet. That made more sense.

“You just wish you had one.” Only not really, because Akhenti had never really been the type to take on pets; she considered them too much work, or something.

“A human?” Akhenti wrinkled her pretty little nose. “No thanks, you can keep them.” She tucked her hands around her cup of tea and hummed in pleasure as she sipped at it. Sahriel was right about one thing, Miriam made very good tea.

“So you don’t wish you had one just so they could make you tea on demand? It’s good, right, you like it?” Sahriel grinned at her, his teeth nicking his lower lip, smearing blood on the already red flesh. He smelt it and his tongue slid out to lick it up, pleased by the bitter taste of it on his tongue but only more turned on, looking at Connor with hungry eyes.

“If I want tea I’ll just come have some of yours,” Akhenti told him loftily, sipping at hers.

Miriam came back with an armful of blankets and pillows, going over to arrange them on the couch and make it into a comfortable sleeping place, fussing with them until it was as good as it was going to get, really.

“There you go,” she noted in satisfaction as she came back to sit at the table with a contented sigh. She knew Akhenti and Sahriel both preferred to sleep during the day, but she never felt comfortable leaving a guest without a place to sleep at night, and when Sahriel was working Connor slept in his own bed.

Sahriel looked over at the couch and wrinkled his nose, because that just didn’t look comfortable. There were not enough pillows and blankets and soft, fluffy things to curl up around. He remembered the good old days when they had entire rooms filled with cushions to sprawl all over in thin tunics, tucked away in the cool shade, away from the sun. He missed those days, especially lying with Nefertem and listening to him read. It seemed unlikely Nefertem would be reading him stories any time soon.

“I guess I should be getting ready for work.”

Connor made a reluctant sound in his throat, knowing Sahriel was right but not wanting to let go of him yet, resting his cheek against the soft dark hair and tightening his arms around him, closing his eyes to just feel the security of holding him safe and close like this, all his for always, or so he had promised.

He wished he had his own secret language he could say things in that only Sahriel would understand, too. “Mine,” he whispered anyway, though that was nowhere near all of what he would have wanted to say.

The word, whispered against his ear in the soft, gentle tone that Connor so rarely used on anything, made Sahriel shiver. He was close to saying to hell with it, quitting his job and just curling up where he could watch Connor all the time, any time he wanted. But then he wouldn’t get to see Teague much, and he cuoldn’t tease people in the bar or meet the new folks who came through town and that was just too much fun to pass up on.

“Mine.” If that was the only word he was allowed to use, then he would use it all the damn time.

Connor sighed, half agreement half contentment, and kissed his hair before reluctantly letting go, straightening and pushing his chair back to give Sahriel room to get up.

“Don’t work too hard,” he said half heartedly, feeling guilty for the selfish wish to keep Sahriel home all to himself, to not let him go back to work and just keep him always with him.

Reluctant to move, but knowing when he’d outlived his welcome, Sahriel got up and brushed his trousers off in case he’d spilt any crumbs, which he hadn’t, then turned to fetch his coat from the rack by the door, pulling his hair out to fall around his shoulders, clinging like black spider silk to everything it touched. He grinned at them all sitting around the table, his little family of sweetness.

“Mmm…I’ll be back in the morning. Don’t get up to mischief while I’m gone!”