Demon Diary Fan Fiction ❯ On Love and Lust - And Their Resultant Disasters ❯ Part the Third ( Chapter 3 )

Part the Third

In which the demon Lord Raenef's scandalous behavior is exposed, along with his humble servant's thigh, and many secret longings are brought to light.

Stupid. Foolish. Why had he not closed that door?

But what reason would he have had to think of it? When was the last time Raenef had entered his chambers without announcing himself first? He couldn't remember a single instance. How could he have expected such a thing?

You're a fool for not expecting anything and everything out of that boy.

Eclipse cursed under his breath with a startling vehemence. He yanked his robes over his shoulders, only to have the wound on his shoulder scream in protest.

Just what had his master seen? Heard?

Carelessly he tied the garment shut, and spared a glance down at himself. Damp and disheveled, that's how he looked. He cringed inwardly.

No matter. He had no idea how his master might react to whatever it was he'd seen. Perhaps it wouldn't bother him; perhaps it would frighten him into running away again. Eclipse wasn't willing to take any chances or waste time on his appearance.

He pictured his little master clearly in his mind. "Go," he muttered; and then he vanished.

~*~

Raenef appeared in his room still going at a sprint, and ran head on into the side of his desk. He yelped and collapsed in a heap beside it, wheezing. Not… enough… air…

He couldn't have seen what he just saw! Or heard what he'd just heard! It didn't make any sense… How could Eclipse have gone from being furious with him to… to…

Raenef swallowed thickly. His tutor… touching himself… there… And Eclipse had called out his name, without a doubt… Impossible! It couldn't be true!

But wait. Eclipse had served the previous Lord Raenef, after all. That might have been who Eclipse had been thinking of while… um, doing that…

Right, that made perfect sense. The previous Lord Raenef was supposed to have been dignified and terrifying and beautiful. Everything that this Raenef wasn't. (Well, Raenef admitted to himself, he was pretty after a fashion, but not the sort of pretty a demon lord was supposed to be. Demon lords weren't supposed to be cute.) It was perfectly reasonable to suppose Eclipse might have felt that way about the previous Lord Raenef. Wasn't it?

Raenef nodded to himself, slowly catching his breath. That must be it. So… Why was it that his heart was sinking, now that he had it all figured out?

As if in answer, that image, now quite permanently seared into his memory, surfaced in his mind - that image of Eclipse arching out of the water, rigid body shaking as the rivulets rolled off of him, ebony hair flying outward as he threw his head back in ecstasy. Raenef felt places other than his cheeks burning hotly, and his pants were suddenly uncomfortably tight again.

…Oh. Right. That was why.

The little blond demon slumped against the side of his desk, deflating as all the breath rushed out of him in a despondent sigh. It was hopeless. There was no way it was really his name that he'd heard.

"Eclipse…" he breathed softly, his forehead hitting the side panel with a soft "thunk."

"Yes, my lord?"

Raenef gave an admirable impression of a Death Shriek and found himself hitting the roof.

Once he had successfully peeled himself off of the ceiling and floated back down to the floor, he stood up and turned around to find his somewhat shell-shocked servant standing before him. Eclipse's hair was untied and dripping wet, his robe obviously thrown hastily on over his still soaked body. It was threatening to slide off one shoulder and it clung against his damp skin, leaving very little to the imagination.

Raenef gulped.

"Ah, Eclipse," he stammered nervously, letting out an odd little high pitched laugh that kept going up and up. He ran a hand over his blond locks, which were standing even more on end than usual. "You, ah, surprised me! What, um, brings you here? Did you, er, need anything?"

"You were in my chambers a moment ago, my lord," Eclipse said calmly, as if he weren't standing there looking like an obscene dream. "I merely wished to inquire if there was something you needed."

Raenef froze and twitched as he held a very feigned smile plastered in place. He was possessed by an uncharacteristic urge to curse, but since he didn't know but a few curse words and that wouldn't help him maintain his innocence besides, he stifled it.

"Erm… I um… I just…" Raenef choked. "Ijustwantedtoappologizeforblowingupthecourtyard," he strangled out in one small, squeaky rush. "But you were in the washroom, so, um, I uh… I left."

After a long silence, Raenef chanced a glance up. Eclipse was staring at him, black eyes sharp and piercing. Raenef quickly looked back down, his heart hammering in his chest.

He knows… He knows!

Bare feet stepped softly across the floor toward Raenef. Not looking up, he clenched his teeth together to keep his heart from flying out of his mouth. A moment of silence ensued as Eclipse halted about a foot in front of him.

"Master Raenef," he said softly. "Did you… see me?"

Raenef struggled to swallow; it took several tries before he succeeded. "Erm, I don't know what you me-" he started, but broke off as he looked up into Eclipse's eyes. They weren't just sharp and piercing but also… fragile, like glass. He couldn't lie, looking at those eyes. Certainly not about this.

Raenef opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, and felt his eyes watering inexplicably. He had been bracing himself for Eclipse's yelling, but… Eclipse didn't look angry. Raenef wasn't sure what that look on his tutor's face was, but whatever it was made his chest hurt to look at.

Abruptly Eclipse dropped to one knee before him, bowing his head and taking Raenef's hand in his, touching his brow to the back of it. Raenef blinked in confusion and tried not to get distracted by the slender, pale slice of thigh that Eclipse's robe had inadvertently exposed as he'd kneeled down.

"I will understand," Eclipse breathed softly, "if you no longer wish for my services." Raenef let out a little horrified squeak, but Eclipse continued. "It was utterly inappropriate of me. But I beg of you, my lord. Forgive me. I did not mean for you to see such a thing."

At that moment Raenef strongly resembled a fish out of water. "…Huh?" he blurted, eloquently.

"It is my only wish to see you prosper, lord. Know that, at least."

"Y-you…" Raenef's voice trembled. "You don't want to leave, do you?"

At that Eclipse's hand clenched tightly around Raenef's. "No. By no means do I wish to leave."

Raenef gulped a breath of relief. Eclipse didn't want to leave him. "It's… It's okay, then," Raenef said in a small voice. "I can understand how you… how you might wish he was still around."

Eclipse's head snapped up to face Raenef's; it was now his turn to imitate a drowning fish. "M-my Lord…?" he stammered blankly.

That certainly got Raenef's attention. Eclipse never stammered.

Raenef blinked big jeweled eyes at him. "Well, it's just… I know I'm not a very good demon lord," he explained. "And I know the one before me was famous and great and all. I… I don't really mind it so much." Raenef looked down to stare at his feet guiltily - because he really did mind quite a bit. But so long as Eclipse would stay with him…

He looked back up at Eclipse after a moment of silence, to find him staring back with the queerest expression on his face. His eyes were wide and his brow was creased, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Eclipse…?" Raenef asked worriedly. "What's wrong? Did you get ants?"

Eclipse blinked. "…What?"

"Well this one time I got ants and I -" Raenef explained, but stopped when he saw Eclipse's strange expression turning to one of outright disbelief. "Um, never mind. I'll… I'll try harder, I promise. I'll learn to stop screwing things up. I'll - "

This time he broke off because he found Eclipse's slender fingers settled over top of his lips, stilling them. Raenef started and let out a little squeaky sound. Eclipse was gazing at him so intently, the look in his eyes so… so…

Why had his heart suddenly started fluttering around in his chest and up in his throat like a butterfly gone mad, Raenef wondered? And why did he feel his cheeks suddenly flushing with molten heat?

"What…" Raenef tried to ask - ineffectually, given that Eclipse's fingers were still on his lips - but he didn't ever get through with the question. Because in that next moment, Eclipse slid his hand over to gently cup Raenef's cheek, and, very softly, pressed his lips against the boy's own.

Raenef promptly lost all semblance of coherent thought.

Eclipse pulled back, letting his hand linger for a moment on Raenef's face before letting it drop back to his side. "It was not your predecessor that occupied my thoughts, my lord," he murmured. "Forgive me for my presumptuousness; I simply do not wish for there to be any question in your mind as to where my loyalties lie."

Raenef stood frozen, unable to reply, primarily because the most comprehensible sentiment in his mind at the moment was something akin to "murrr…?"

Eclipse kept still and waited for a long moment, hoping for some response; when he received none, he lowered his eyes and stood, taking a single step back with a small bow. When uncertain of the proper course of action, fall back upon protocol. It was what he had always done; for all his life it had served him well enough.

"Again, I can only beg your forgiveness. If there is nothing you require of me, I will take my leave of you now." His little master didn't seem to react; those bright green orbs just kept staring, unblinking.

Eclipse felt his chest clench, his stomach filling with cold lead. Please, please let this situation be salvageable. He forced himself to bow his head and turn his back, suspecting that if he didn't he'd never be able to force himself to leave. Say it. Get out of here before you damage anything further.

He opened his mouth…

And then he felt a sharp tug on his hair, yanking his head back. He let out something very close to a yelp (though it was not a yelp, as demons do not yelp) and spun around to face his lord in bewilderment.

Raenef cringed as if he thought he were about to get yelled at. "Er… Sorry…" he mumbled uncertainly. "Um… Please don't le - I mean…" Here he placed one fist on his hip in an adorable imitation of indignation. "How dare you leave without my permission?"

Eclipse stared.

Raenef had been standing there, reeling, when some voice within began to scream at him that Eclipse was going to leave if he didn't do something now; and it was then he'd broken out of his stupor and done the first thing his impulses commanded him to do. Now he stood gazing up at his tutor's almost comically baffled expression.

"Ah - Was there… something else, my lord?"

Raenef promptly gave a rather apt imitation of a tomato and stared at the floor.

"My lord?"

Raenef swallowed. He said he wants to. So tell him to do it. He looked back up, and, with a remarkably assured tone given that his face was a nice, warm shade of crimson, he commanded:

"Do that again."

"Pa…Pardon, my lord?" Eclipse heard his voice crack like a teenager's, and he winced.

"You're my servant, so you have to do what I say, right…?"

Eclipse nodded slowly.

"Then… That's what I want. I want you to kiss me again."

A dream. This was another one of those silly dreams, wasn't it? Yes, Eclipse determined. One of those dreams where his subconscious mind conjured up some utterly unlikely scenario, that always ended in him tasting his little master's sweet flesh.

Well, if it was a dream, then there was no harm in obeying his lord's command, then, was there?

Stop. Stop that this instant. You know this isn't a dream. You know that this is a bad idea. You know you can't possibly remain emotionally objective if you do this. You know -

Utterly heedless of that pesky voice of reason, Eclipse's body had stepped forward, barely touching Raenef's, and his hand had reached up to cup the boy's chin. That adorably child-like face was turning impossibly redder as Eclipse leaned his head down.

"My only concern…" he whispered against those rosebud lips, "Is your desire, my lord."