One-Shot Stories

The Dark

It had been one of those days again.

You sat wrapped up in your favorite blankets on the couch, a huddled mass of turbulent emotions. You flop over on your side and stare through the TV, a show on that you normally like, but it wasn't enough to hold your interest today. There really wasn't much of anything that holds your interest on these days.

As you continued to stare into the middle distance, a low rumbling shook the air; a thunderstorm? You turn your head to look out the window as the rain begins to fall. Somehow it always made you feel the tiniest bit better when the world reflected how you were feeling. You sigh; you still hated storms, though.

A flash of lightning illuminates the outside, and you briefly catch a glimpse of something silhouetted against it. What was that? You stare out the window, squinting into the fading light. Another flash further off lights up the outside, but whatever you saw is gone. You sigh again; how boring. You turn back toward the TV as the power flickers slightly and the signal fades into static.

Well that's no fun.

You stare into the static for a moment, trying to get the will and energy to get up and reset the cable box, when you hear a whispering sound coming from the hall.

You look over and see a shadow dance across the wall. You sit up, planning on going over to investigate, when a sudden blast of wind pushes open the back door. Crap!; You've been meaning to get that fixed, but the maintenance guy still hadn't come yet. You hurry over to the door in your blanket cloak, the wind whipping it dramatically behind you as you wrestle it shut and turn the deadbolt.

You sigh, heart trying to recover from the surprise. You glance toward the hallway, and see an immensely tall figure standing there, wreathed in shadow, just as the power goes out.

You stay where you are, not budging an inch, while you wait for your eyes to adjust. It's gotten extremely dark outside due to the weather, so it's pitch black indoors.

You hear a sound in the dark, a sort of whispering, scraping sound, punctuated by heavy, clacking footfalls that shook the floor. You continue standing still; if you try to move around right now, you'd just fall over anyway. Nevertheless, you clutch your blankets closer.

The footfalls continue, slowly, until they stop in front of you. You can hear something breathing before you, and you wait in the dark for something to happen.

Another flash of lightning briefly illuminates a huge, dark, fur-covered being in front of you, crouched down at eye level. You see the dark horns, the shining fangs, the crimson eyes, the taloned hands reaching toward you...

And you are SO MAD.

"You freaking jerk! Why didn't you say anything!?" You yell at him, slapping at his hands as the light fades.

He laughs, a dry, rasping sound; that was what you'd heard earlier when the power first went out, but much quieter. He'd been giggling as he snuck up on you, the creep!

"I am sorry, small one, but I could not help myself," he said, his voice like velvet on gravel. "You are not exactly startled by me anymore." You could hear the smile in his tone, and you can't help but smile as well. It was true.

"Okay, fine; you got me good, okay?" You sigh heavily, still smiling as the annoyance wears off. He knows you don't like to be startled, but sometimes he likes to pull little pranks on you. It's not like you can really blame him; he was a demon after all.

You feel his huge clawed hands slide around your shoulders and let yourself be pulled into his arms, grateful for the contact.

"What is this I see? You are in your unhappiness blanket," he says into your ear.

You snuggle into his soft, furry chest, and hear him sigh as he holds you tighter.

"Dear small one, is it a bad day for you?" He asks quietly. You squeeze your eyes shut and nod into his massive shoulder, and he hugs just the tiniest bit tighter. "Oh dear; why had you not called for me? You know all you have to do is make the invocation and I will come to you."

You smile, but you shake your head.

"You have work to do, I know that. Which reminds me," you pull away from him slightly, and turn your head to speak toward him, "what are you doing home so early? You're hours away from your normal off hours," you say, lightly poking him in the chest.

He chuckles quietly, and you feel yourself lifted effortlessly into his strong, muscled arms. You feel the movement as he walks across the room, carrying you with him in the dark.

"Well, dear small one, if you must know," he sits down, presumably on the couch, and settles you into his lap, "I heard there was going to be a strong storm in the area, so I came home to make sure you would be alright. I know how much they frighten you."

As if on cue, a flash of lightning brightens the room and an immense peal of thunder makes you jump in his lap. He holds you against his chest as the sound fades, one hand over your ear, the other around your shoulders. You can hear his heart beating, strong and sure, though the rhythm was different from a human's. You'd come to be familiar with that rhythm, and it made you calm.

The electricity flickers back on, and you look up to see your demonic boyfriend looking down at you, a small smile on his lips. His beastly features always were so soft when he was with you. He strokes your hair, and you sigh contentedly.

"I'm... really glad you're here," you say hesitantly. It was always hard for you to be honest about your feelings with anyone. "It's been a really terrible day, and it's been monstrous trying to get through it... without you," you blush heavily, and you feel him chuckle deep in his chest.

"More monstrous than this?" He points to his face. "It must have been a very bad day, then," he says, and you giggle. A smile spreads over his muzzle, and exposes some more of his pointed teeth. He always knew how to make you laugh.

"Small one, have you been taking care of yourself today?" he asks you, and you glance away. He raises an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a no, then. Have you eaten anything at all?"

You hesitate, then shake your head. He sighs and ruffles your hair playfully.

"Well, I have an idea then, my small one. Let us go and get dinner; my treat."
You look up to see him smiling broadly, his eyes twinkling. You look into his beautiful red eyes, and you feel all your heavy feelings lessen and slip away. He always made you feel so much better, no matter how bad a day it was. You used to think it was some sort of magic, but came to realize that, no: it was just him that made you feel so much better.

You nod, smiling, and he laughs.

"Well, then, it's time for you to get out of those bedclothes and into something more suitable for the morsel you are," he says with a devious grin. You roll your eyes as you hop down out of his lap and head toward the bedroom; he always had to bring up the way you two met whenever he could.