Demons and Sugar

Chapter 6

As all four of them walked for a few hours, they got tired. Most of them were undead, but still possessed human bodies, so they still got tired easily if not trained especially to not get tired (Like Hon, for example). Especially Florence and Adam, who came to the human realm just to greet Hon. They weren’t used to human bodies at all and Florence collapsed at some point and was now carried by Adam.
Hon thanked heavens that she was finally silent for at least a few minutes, and soon he came to check on Xuan.
Xuan was obviously suffering even more by every word that came out of Adam’s mouth. His opinions were so boring, it annoyed Xuan more than anything.
Hon grabbed Xuan’s hand and dragged him far away from Adam, saying: „We need to talk about something privatly.“ And Adam just nodded.
„So... Are you okay?“ Hon asked as he let go of Xuan’s hand.
„Not really. That guy’s just so annoying.“
Hoh sighed „I know...“
„Who exactly are they?“
„I’ll tell you, she‘s the queen of the third k-kingdom, Gluttony. Her name is Florence. She is something like my friend...“ Hon explained.
„And that guy?“
„Well, I don’t really know him. Probably some of her servants.“
Xuan nodded. „I see... Can you get rid of them somehow?“
„I don’t think it’s possible...“ Hon shook his head.
„Why? Aren’t you the king of Violence? Can’t you like... Threaten her or something?“
Xuan’s silly idea made Hon laugh. „Not really. She’s much older and generally stronger. She wouldn’t even take my threats seriously...“
Xuan didn’t reply. He was obviously fed up with all the bullshit Adam told him and he saw how toxic Florence actually is. He just wanted to enjoy some time alone with Hon, but there was no way with these two around.
„I also can’t just tell them to go away. I still need to know how to... Get you to the demon realm...“
Hon didn’t want to leave this boy, not only because he liked him, but also because they benefitted each other. The negative or cursed energy in Hon’s aura reduced after he died, but it was still there. But with Xuan around, nothing bad is happening! When they are both alone they bring misfortune to everyone around them, but when they are close to each other, some luck is there. Although, meeting those two gluttons was rather unlucky. And maybe the arm accident...
He already decided he’s taking Xuan with him and he’s doing so.
Xuan just smiled after hearing that. He was really happy that Hon even thought about how to take him with him.
And soon they noticed lights from afar. It was probably some village or small town, and because it was late and they were all tired, they decided to go there and find a place to stay the night.
But Hon couldn’t possibly enter with an ofuda paper on his face. Xuan, Hon and Florence all looked at Adam, who had his eye patched, and Florence asked him without a shame:
„Adam~ Dear, do you have any spare eyepatches?“
And suddenly, Adam took 3 black eyepatches from his pocket and handed one to Hon.
Xuan helped him put it on and hide the piece of paper, Florence approved and they all entered the town.
This town wasn’t actually that small. There were lots of restaurants and motels everywhere and many shops all around the streets.
But then they realised they don’t have much money for 4 people to lodge somewhere. Maybe if they sold Florence’s boa? Who knows how much her entire outfit cost.
As they were considering everything, Florence realised where they were.
When she realised she’s been here before, she immediately remembered that she has some connections there.
„I haven’t been here for ages! Oh my god, I can’t believe this place is still standing! I have to check some things out! You two, here, have some money. I think it’s the local curreny. Go! Have some fun darlings!“ She said and handed some actual money to Hon.
It wasn’t a lot, just enough for one meal. Hon didn’t care though, at least Xuan wouldn’t be hungry.
„Can you... perhaps... find us somewhere to spend the night? It’s getting dark...“
„Yumeno! Oh my god! I didn’t know you were this kind of person!“ Hon didn’t get her amphibology and looked at her, confused.
„Okay okay! I’ll find something! Can we meet here in two hours?“
„Sure.“ Hon replied and then they parted.
Xuan and Hon looked at the signs of various restaurants, trying to find something edible and cheap. But nothing was cheap here so they went in some random restaurant with a nice looking sign.
They sat down behind a random table and waited for a waiter to come.
„I hope they’re serving something good. I’m really hungry~“ Xuan said and stretched his arms.
„Yeah... I don’t know how much it’ll cost so order just one meal...“ Hon said and supported his head with his left hand, leaning his elbow against the table.
Xuan just nodded and soon a waitress arrived. Xuan ordered something random with a nice name since he couldn’t understand anything from the menu and the waitress wanted to leave but stopped herself and turned around.
„Are you ordering only one food?“
„We can’t afford more...“ Hon said silently.
„Well, every Saturday we have an event where if couples buy one meal they get one meal for free...“
She said and Hon didn’t understand what she was trying to say, but then realised that Xuan might once again remind people around of a woman. He blushed, panicked and said: „It- It’s not like-“
But Xuan stopped him and spoke in a high-pitched voice: „Oh my god, really? We only got married few days ago! Isn’s that great honey?“
Hon panicked again. He understood what was Xuan trying to do but it felt morally wrong. Still, the waitress just smiled at them, nodded and left.
„Xuan!“ Hon silently yelled at him.
Xuan laughed and replied: „Yes? I’m just trying to get us free food. Or do you have enough money for both of us?“
„I don’t need to-“
„What? You don’t need to eat? I won’t let you starve. You might be a demon but you’re in a human body right now.“
Hon was surprised by how much did Xuan care about him, but he was planning to leave this body soon anyways, so there wasn’t any point in spending money on this.
And Xuan knew that but they weren’t actually spending any money on it since it was free. And another thing that warmed his heart was the feeling when he said that they were married. Of course he wanted to marry Hon! He already planned their whole future together! He may not seem like it, but he wanted a big house and a cat. Maybe dog. They would decide later.
They both sat in an awkward silence and the waitress brought them something to drink at some point. Hon was waiting for the food and Xuan kept on staring at him.
„What?“ Hon asked when he noticed Xuan’s stare.
„You look beautiful in that light.“ He wanted to say, but then he realised that it’s not even his body so it would be very weird if he actually said it out loud. Instead, he said: ,,I’m hungry.“
„Gosh, I know! Can you not keep on saying that?“
Hon was already really annoyed by Florence’s sudden appearance and Xuan’s dumb excuses weren’t helping at all.
„I’m sorry...“ Xuan looked down, getting embarrassed. He didn’t even want to say it but did he have any other option?
Hon sighed „Let’s... Talk.“
„Are we going to ask questions again?“
„Sure.“
„Okay! Then let me start this time! What is your favourite colour?“ Xuan asked and his eyes shone.
„This is not what we agreed on...“
„Please answer. And then also tell me why you like it. I don’t think just you asking anything is fair and how does saying just a few words make you fluent?“
Hon looked at him with still annoyed face and drank a bit from the cup in front of him. It wasn’t water, but Hon thought that even if it was alcohol, it would just help him calm down so he drank the entire cup and replied:
„... Fine. My favourite colour is... I don’t know. Probably black... Or orange... Or blue...“ Hon really didn’t know. What was even a point in having a favourite colour? It wasn’t necessary, so Hon never gave it a thought.
„Interesting. Tell me why you love each of them and we’ll find out the one closest to your heart?“
„I didn’t ask you these things...“
„Well, I never told you that you can’t...“
Hon muttered something but then spoke up: „Black was the first colour I thought of. T-There’s not like any speacial meaning for liking it, I liked black ever since I can remember.“
„What’s the first thing you think about when someone says black?“
„Either infinite darkness in my heart and mind that’s trying to devour me every second of my life and that reminds me of the on-only thing I saw when I woke up one day, all alone with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. Or crows. Really just depends on my mood.“ Hon jerked his shoulders.
Xuan got worried. Why was he suddenly like that? If Hon wanted to rent to him, Xuan had no problem with it, but he really had no idea he felt like that.
And then he realised that he literally knew Hon only for like four days or so, so of course he couldn’t know it. Just feeling like he knew him for his entire life- of course that wasn’t enough!
He just nodded and gestured for him to continue.
„Then maybe red. No. I h-hate red. I saw too much of that...“ he looked at Xuan in silence for a while and then reached for his cup.
Xuan let him take it, but then realised that it was probably some hard alcohol and that he probably shouldn’t have let Hon drink another cup of it. But he also couldn’t stop him.
„Seeing blood upsets me... But not your bl-blood. Your blood has a very nice shade.“
„T-thanks??“ This sentence made Xuan feel a little uneasy.
„Anyways, orange may be nice. I once saw a maple forest and it was very nice. Oh- I just remembered s-something. Nevermind then. I hate orange.“
„Why?“ Xuan wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer to that but asked anyways.
„I died in that forest. It probably wasn’t even a forest but fire. Or m-maybe it was both? Didn’t I explode?“
Xuan’s heart tightened and his chest started to hurt a little. He now knew he really didn’t want to hear all that right now. And not by Hon in this state. He might later regret saying these things.
„I want another drink...“ Hon said silently and his head fell on the table.
„Hon, come on, getting drunk and spitting out all your secrets is so cliché. Get yourself together!“
„But it’s not so dark now...“ Hon said and Xuan fought an insane desire to hug him. He could, but he also couldn’t. He wasn’t sure why he felt like that, he just wanted to hug him but he didn’t.
„There are other ways to make it go away...“
„There are not... I tried...“ Hon said, his face still on the table.
Xuan was slightly amazed by how strong these drinks must’ve been.
„And wh- what about blue?“ Xuan tried to save the situation with the last colour Hon mentioned earlier.
„Blue... Yeah... I remember having a picnic with them... When the s-skies were blue... I miss them...“
„Wh-who are they?“ Xuan wasn’t sure how would Hon react to this question. He wasn’t sure if asking it was a good idea. These people he talked about probably already died and maybe it’ll just wake up some long forgotten memories and he’ll get even more depressed.
„I... Don’t remember.“ Hon said.
He probably forgot about them. Maybe they were important for Hon, but their destiny was so tragic, he deleted them from his mind so he won’t be in any more pain.
„I’m sorry for that.“ Xuan said and wanted to pat his head, but then Hon turned around and looked at Xuan.
„Fuck your excuses. I already t-told you to not say „I’m sorry“ all the time. I-It’s annoying.“ He said and Xuan’s heart tightened even more.
He never heard Hon swear before, which kinda surprised him, but he also couldn’t accept Hon calling him annoying. This was upsetting him so much, he wanted to stand up, go somewhere far away and cry. People often called him annoying, but Hon never before. He never thought he would ever call him annoying. Maybe he just guessed his personality wrong.
He didn’t even realise that Hon was pointing it out only when he said „I’m sorry“. Hon didn’t think he’s annoying. It was just that one line that annoyed him, because there was nothing Xuan should be sorry for.
„If you think I’m annoying I might just stand up and go.“ Xuan said and stood up, Hon suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him to sit back.
„Don’t go...“ He said and looked Xuan in the eyes.
Xuan also looked at him and sighed. Hon was obviously drunk and had no idea what was he talking about, so Xuan decided to forgive him this one time.
„You’re being cringe.“ Xuan said.
„I want more drinks.“
„How many should I bring?“ The third voice asked from behind Xuan.
Xuan swiftly turned around and calmed down when he saw the waitress there.
„Three.“ Hon said but Xuan stopped him. „None, please. What even was that drink?! He drank two and look how it broke him!“ Xuan said.
„Oh! It’s a local brand of wine! But no one gets this drunk after only two cups! He probably isn’t used to drinking, haha.“ The waitress laughed awkwardly and remembered that she’s still holding two meals.
She put the plates in front of them, bowed and left.
Xuan felt relieved after finding out it’s just wine, and he felt somehow great knowing that Hon isn’t an alcoholic.
While they were eating, Xuan tried to communicate a bit:
„So Florence will find us some place to stay the night at?“
„I guess.“
„I think she understood what you asked her for... In a wrong way...“
After hearing this, Hon spitted out some piece of food. He didn’t get what she meant by saying „I didn’t know you were this kind of person.“ Earlier, but now he got it and even choked a bit.
„Are you okay?“ Xuan asked but Hon just coughed a bit and continued to eat.
„Look, it doesn’t really matter how she understood it, I just-“ Xuan started but Hon stopped him.
„I won’t d-do anything to you. Don’t worry.“
Xuan didn’t even think that Hon would do anything to him, he just wasn’t sure if Florence won’t book some shady motel and if she won‘t spread some rumours. He wouldn’t like to be someone who’ll ruin Hon’s reputation as the demon king just by talking to him.
Of course he wanted Hon to love him back, but he didn’t want to hurt him. The fact that he was a demon king complicated things so much.
Xuan just nodded and they just continued to awkwardly eat their food.
After they finished eating, they paid for just one meal and left the restaurant. Even though Hon was drunk and couldn’t even stand properly, he still felt bad for lying to these nice people.
They returned to the place they were supposed to meet up with Florence and Adam. Xuan held Hon under his left shoulder with his right arm and with his other hand he held Hon’s hand.
When they returned, the two were already waiting for them.
„Oh my goodness! What happened to him?!“ Florence asked, gasping in disbelief.
„He got drunk.“ Xuan replied with Hon leaning against him.
„Yumeno? Drunk? You used that in one sentence?“
„Is it that uncommon?“
„He hates alcohol! Whenever we were on some party or something, he never drank with us! He always just sat somewhere far from everyone and only drank tea. It’s very unusual for him to get drunk.“ Florence said and made Xuan worry even more. He looked at Hon leaning against him.
„His asexual ass must really want to sleep with you!“ she added after a while.
Xuan was stunned and had no idea what to say. He felt the red in his face and just wanted to throw Hon somewhere and run away, never seeing any of these people again.
Also, Florence had a really deceptive idea of what „asexual“ meant.
„There’s n-n-no way! D-d-don’t talk like that!“ Xuan panicked and really didn’t know what to do. He was glad he managed to let out at least a few words. Also, Hon isn’t like that. He just told him that he won’t do anything! This woman must’ve really misunderstood a lot of things!
„We are not in that kind of relationship- anyways have you found us somewhere to sleep?“ Xuan asked after he calmed down.
„Oh! Yeah! Follow me! Adam, please carry Yumeno.“ She said and walked in some direction.
Adam picked Hon up and followed Florence. When Xuan made sure Hon’s safe, he moved too.
They stopped in front of some shady looking hotel, but when they entered, it wasn’t that bad. The walls were painted light blue, a lot of interesting paintings hung all around them, and a few old looking statues stood in the halls.
The entire thing looked very good and Xuan couldn’t wait for Hon to get sober so they could explore all the things there together. And then he remembered that Hon probably doesn’t know that he’s interested in this kind of things.
He always loved paintings and statues but every time he got close to them, they fell and broke or got destroyed in the most absurd ways. So he could only watch them from afar. But now, when Hon was around, he was finally able to observe everything closely.
Adam carried Hon to their room, where were actually two beds, and put him on the one closer to the window. Xuan understood that Florence was probably only joking every time she mentioned something inappropriate and even though it was very disrespectful towards both of them, he also understood that she’s probably used to this kind of jokes as the queen of a demon realm.
Xuan thanked them for taking care of them, they said their goodnights to each other and Florence left with Adam following her.
Xuan didn’t really trust them so he locked the door. He had lain on the bed and watched Hon sleeping for a while. The moon was shining directly into his face and with the eyepatch, Xuan just couldn’t stop looking.
And then he remembered, again, that it’s not his actual body and that he’s not sure about the way he feels. He felt like it was very weird to be in love with someone who wasn’t even using their real appearance and who he had just met. Will he still love him even after he finds out how he really looks like?
At this point, he wasn’t sure if he just liked his personality or if he just found him attractive. And maybe neither.
What if it was only their auras reacting to each other that made him feel like that? What if it wasn’t love in the first place?
He was just so confused about his feelings that he just turned around and tried to sleep. He wasn’t able to sleep because of all these thoughts, but, eventually, he managed to close his eyes and calm down so much, his thoughts just naturally left and let him sleep.