Ohm wasn't an idiot.
He knew what he was doing. He was a hunter, had hunter friends, Delirious and Wildcat, he'd seen what they did, what they'd experienced. He'd been through some of the same things. He knew the dangers of sitting at these crossroads and rendering himself vulnerable to something.
He wasn't an idiot.
He was far from it, actually. Ohm was one of the smartest in his group of friends and was always prepared for the worst situations.
But, one thing he was? Desperate.
He was tired, lonely, and desperate.
He needed to make this deal, or else he would drive himself crazy. He needed this and no matter how stupid the idea was, he needed this and he would go through with it.
Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't set up the proper precautions. He had his holy water on him, knew his exorcisms like the back of his hand, and the devil's trap that surrounded the hole in the ground made sure he would be safe.
He was experienced, but not enough, as Delirious often reminded him. Because although it was true he was the ideal hunter and good at what he did, he had never actually met a demon in his few years of fighting.
He considered himself lucky.
Lucky that he never had to recite the known exorcisms (that he memorized nonetheless) or kill a demon's host. Lucky that he never got the chance to be possessed or killed by the hands of a black eyed monster.
So, when it came to this, he had no idea what to expect.
He knew the basics, negotiate, make a deal, sell your soul, but he really didn't know anything above that.
Ohm didn't even know if he would be dealing with a demon, or The Devil himself.
He probably should've asked Wildcat or Delirious, or looked it up. But he definitely didn't want either of them knowing what he was doing, and he had been in a rush to get it done.
So now here he was, dropping a picture of himself in a box and closing it, shoving the thing under the dirt and rocks, and pushing himself off the ground, taking a deep breath as he waited.
His stomach flipped as he took in the absolute realness of his current situation.
He was actually going through with this.
With the deal of a lifetime.
It was terrifying, to say the least. Never in his life did he imagine he'd do something so stupid.
But, he didn't care, as long as this deal could bring back something he so desperately wanted, needed.
Something he lost and couldn't live without.
He closed his eyes, thinking about the recent loss, holding back tears, exhaling slowly, and when he opened them, Ohm was a bit disappointed to see that no one was there.
He looked around, calling out a couple of curse words to maybe lure the thing to him, but nothing came.
All he got was the cold silence of the rather chilly autumn night.
With a sigh and a bit of a loud kick of some rocks, Ohm began to dig into the soft earth, deciding to remove the box, he'd wasted his time.
His hands became dirty and cool from the ground, and as he was about to lift up the dirt, he stopped dead in his tracks, the unfamiliar goosebumps causing fear to run through him.
He knew it was because he heard something behind him, and within seconds, he was off the ground and holding his silver knife as he stood in a fighting stance.
What stared back at him made Ohm shiver uncontrollably, for he had never seen anything like this before.
It-he-had sparkling brown eyes, ones filled with mischief and curiosity. A pair of black horns stood out perfectly atop red-brown hair, matching the black business suit he wore. He had a beard that, to be honest, made the thing extremely intimidating, and the way he kept playing with his tie drove Ohm to believe he couldn't care less about dealing with him.
Ohm couldn't help it as his armed hand went back down to his side, he was too shocked to care about fighting. He kept his eyes on the thing's horns, and as it spoke, Ohm felt the need to interrupt.
"That knife won't do much other than put a hole in this meat suit."
He looked down at the medium sized weapon and smiled, "But you're not here to kill me, you're looking to strike a deal. I'm all about those greetings, so first thing's first, my name's-"
"You're Satan."
The thing laughed, walking closer to Ohm, only a couple feet away now, and loosened his blood red tie, smiling a smile that made Ohm's skin crawl.
"No. That's real flattering, but I'm afraid you're wrong." He circled around the hunter, taking in his physique and seemingly assessing him. "I'm just a normal crossroads demon. Well, maybe not normal, because I'm the damn best, but you get the gist."
Ohm nodded slowly, mouth slightly open as he took in the demon before him. As if to prove it, his eyes flashed red for a split second before he spoke again, all while Ohm stared.
"They call me Cartoonz. But Toonz is fine, too."
Instead of nodding, saying his own name, acknowledging Toonz's words, doing anything rational, Ohm said the first and dumbest thing that came to mind.
"Do all demons have horns?"
He received a dark laugh in return.
Toonz clasped his hands together behind his back, staring Ohm down, shrugging lightly.
"These?" He used a hand to motion towards the horns on his head. "Oh, no. I just get 'em cuz I'm a favorite and demanded something cool to scare the shit out of you humans."
Ohm nodded slowly, watching as Cartoonz kicked a rock towards him, smirking when the brunette jumped back.
"You don't know much about demons, do you?"
Ohm shook his head carefully, narrowing his eyes a little bit and opening his black leather jacket to reveal the holy water in an inside pocket.
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I'm not dangerous."
The demon rolled his eyes, smile still planted on his face, moving closer to Ohm, so he was standing just a few feet away. The brunette let his jacket fall back down and backed up a step.
Cartoonz looked down at the devil's trap that locked him in, and spoke up with a laugh.
"I see you're not too trusting, huh?"
The hazel eyed man sighed, looking around quickly before speaking, voice low and impatient.
He didn't like being near this thing.
"Let's just do the deal."
Toonz laughed emptily, pulling at his tie once again.
"Straight to business, I see." He raised an eyebrow. "Now what is it that you're willing to trade your soul and live only 10 more years for?"
Ohm swallowed harshly, the words hitting him suddenly. 10 years. That's not a long time at all. 10 years wasted just so he could relieve his pain. He could do so much more, have a longer life, (as long as you could have as a hunter) if he just walked away right now.
Ohm shook his head, he needed this. 10 years was alright, he told himself. He reminded himself of why he was doing this, and took a deep breath, speaking a bit slowly, eyes on the ground as his voice conveyed what he truly wanted.
"I want my dog back."
He received a laugh.
Ohm looked up at Toonz, furrowing his brows and crossing his arms over his chest, teeth grit together slightly.
"I'm serious."
The demon smiled, his own arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side just a bit.
"Oh, I know. I just can't believe you'd throw away your life and soul for an animal."
Ohm tilted his head to the side, matching Cartoonz's stance. As if selling your soul to a demon and living for only 10 more years wasn't worth seeing your best friend for.
"He's the most loyal creature in the whole world. Buddy protected me in my time of need. He was a hunter, and damn good at it, too. He was the best dog in the world and I want him back."
Cartoonz just rolled his eyes and walked around inside the trap for a few moments, contemplating on whether or not he actually wanted to complete this deal.
"Terms?"
The demon raised his head to look at the seemingly smart hunter before tilting a brow in regards of the question.
"What?"
The brunette let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, explaining to the confused horned male before him.
"The terms. You know. Like what are the terms of this deal? What do I get, what do you get, conditions and shit?"
Toonz nodded slowly before fully understanding. This son of a bitch really was thorough, he'd give him that.
He walked closer to Ohm, close enough that if one leaned in they would be touching, and spoke rather dimly.
"In exchange for your soul and life, you receive your dog, Buddy, real original name by the way, and 10 years to live. At the end of the 10 years, my hellhounds will bring you to Hell. No refunds, no excuses."
Ohm thought it over, nodding throughout the dealing terms. He found himself stopping though as a thought reached his mind.
"How long does Buddy have now?"
Cartoonz let out a low exhale and thought about it, why did this guy care about an animal so much? He didn't even care about his hellhounds like this guy did his normal dog.
"I don't know, 5 years?"
"No. He lives as long as I do, no health complications, and he goes painlessly, in his sleep, and when he does go, he ends up in Heaven."
Cartoonz exhaled, rubbing his tongue across his teeth and rolling his eyes once again. He was really starting to get a headache from this guy.
Heaven? Painless deaths? He was really asking a lot.
But, he did get a soul, and that's all he really wanted from this guy anyways. Besides, it would be nice to have his pretty face walking around Hell with him. Maybe he would even spare him from the torturing that hunters usually received.
His mind was made up and he smiled at the handsome hunter, hands on his hips as he spoke once again.
"Alright, alright fine. Just as long as I get that soul and a nice kiss to seal the deal."
Ohm's eyes widened.
"Wait, what?"
Toonz laughed.
"You didn't know that part? You gotta liplock to seal the deal. Aren't you a hunter? You should know that, man."
Ohm sighed, his eyes narrowing with annoyance as he listened to the demon before him make fun of him.
"I didn't think I'd have to have my mouth anywhere near your evil, conniving body."
Cartoonz put a hand to his chest, where his heart would be, and made a rather surprised and hurt face, obviously fake, but there nonetheless.
"Mean. And here I thought you would've loved to have your mouth around my-"
Holy water to the chest.
Cartoonz groaned in pain, taking a step back and shaking his head, but there was still a small smile on his face.
Ohm capped the water and tucked it back in its place, losing his patience with the demon.
"Let's just finish this."
Cartoonz nodded, making his way towards the hunter so he could finish the deal they had made.
"That kinda hurt, but hey, I like my men rough and dominant."
He licked his lips, winking, hand coming to rest at the back of the hunter's neck.
He leaned in a little, but ended up pulling back, much to the brunette's surprise.
Hazel eyes held a confused and slightly impatient look, and Cartoonz was quick to speak, voice low and slightly on the seductive side.
"I don't usually ask, but I'll make an exception with your fine ass. So, what's your name, hunter?"
He rolled his eyes and responded with a quite blunt, "Ohm."
Cartoonz nodded, leaning over to his ear and whispering, the action sending chills up through his victim's back.
"Well Ohm, thanks for the deal, baby. I can't wait to see you in Hell."
With that, he pulled away and went for Ohm's mouth, tugging the brunette closer and pressing his rough lips against soft ones, making the most of this one time kiss.
He wasn't gonna lie, this was pretty good, despite the fact that he was making out with a desperate human and planning on taking his soul in 10 years.
He held the small of the hunter's back with his free hand, and pressed his mouth against Ohm's a little rougher, and wasn't at all surprised when Ohm kissed back, seemingly enjoying himself with the contact.
He was, however, surprised at the way Ohm gripped his sides, as if this had been the first kiss he'd had in years and he didn't want it to end, despite the weird circumstances.
It wasn't long until Cartoonz was pulling away, the deal sealed and written in their kiss, slightly disappointed in the fact that it had ended, but satisfied nonetheless.
Ohm was taking in a few deep breaths, exhaling shaky ones that had Cartoonz feeling all sorts of weird feelings.
"It was that good, huh?"
Ohm shook his head in disregard, frowning at the immaturity, but not disagreeing, and Toonz took that as a win.
Ohm took one last inhale before speaking, kicking the rocks at his feet and shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, noticing he had somehow ended up dropping his knife during their conversation.
"So, what now? When I go home Buddy'll be there on his bed?"
Cartoonz nodded, standing at the edge of the devil's trap, "Yeah, sure. I'll make sure he's on his little dog bed for ya," he motioned towards the white markings on the ground with one hand, "now, do you mind?"
Ohm took a moment to understand, but when he did, he walked over and kicked at the rocks, creating a break in the trap that would allow Toonz to step right through.
The demon turned to face Ohm and without warning, reached into the human's jacket pocket, pulling out his phone.
Ohm furrowed his brows and reached for it, but Toonz held it out of his reach, he was a few inches taller, and began typing.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
Cartoonz finished up and closed the phone, placing it back in Ohm's pocket and smiling, turning away and stepping out of the trap, his eyes flitting towards Ohm for one last response.
"I'm in your contacts under Toonz, In case you ever wanna do more than just kissing, babe."
And with that, the horned demon was gone, disappearing within seconds, leaving a rather startled Ohm in his wake.