Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Regenerating his body again after dying is never a fun process. Aches and pains are to be expected, as are a flurry of overwhelming emotions.

So when Baby opens his eyes again to a familiar dreary landscape and glittering Honmoon strings above him, dancing like a taunt, he’s honestly more surprised by the fact that he doesn’t feel worse. His body aches, sure, but if anything, it’s a fraction of everything he’s experienced in the past. More than manageable.

The only thing that is really giving him trouble is the persistent burn in his right arm. It feels even worse than it did when he was fighting that Hunter, though he still has no idea what the hell happened. He thought she actually managed to nick him with one of her blades before but it should’ve done more damage if that was the case. He would’ve lost that arm entirely but he’s pretty certain he still had it when he died.

It doesn’t make sense. Baby groans and rubs his eyes, pulling himself back together bit by bit. All the events leading up to his death replay in his mind as he sorts through them to remember what exactly happened. That Hunter got the drop on him. He should’ve teleported away the second he saw her get that massive power-up but he—

He saw—

Something heavy settles in his chest as his thoughts blank out. It presses down on him, like gravity has suddenly become unbearable. His throat aches; he swallows around nothing. Baby suddenly doesn’t feel like getting up, or moving, or doing anything at all but rotting here on the ground, letting everything else pass him by. Why does it matter anyways? Why does any of it matter when his— when Jinu—

Another realization hits him before he can finish that thought. It occurs to Baby, abruptly, how quiet it is. Not just externally, but internally.

He sits up, dull shock washing over him. Baby tries to listen for it but sure enough, it’s not there.

There are no voices in his head. Which means there’s no Gwi-Ma either.

What the hell? Baby thinks, one too many emotions running through him for him to get a grasp on any of them. On one hand, not hearing Gwi-Ma is undeniably an improvement. His head hasn’t been this clear in five-hundred years. If he was here, Baby would undoubtedly be in a much worse state than he is. He’d have enough ammo to leave wounds in Baby that he would never really recover from.

On the other hand, if Gwi-Ma knows or finds out, he’s fucked. Gwi-Ma doesn’t want demons out of his control. All who show defiance are tortured into submission and/or killed. If a demon were to actually escape his grasp? His pride wouldn’t allow them to stay that way. He’d want them back— to make an example out of them.

He could have every demon in the demon realm after Baby if and when he finds out, and god knows what Gwi-Ma would do if he actually got his giant, fiery hands on him.

Shit. Baby swears loudly in his head, then after a quick look around and realizing he’s in the middle of nowhere right now, he allows himself a loud, audible, “Shit!”

Just one, in case he’s wrong about being totally alone, but it doesn’t stop in his head. Baby runs through just about every swear he knows, in modern and ancient Korean, as well as the very few English swears he knows for good measure. In the end, he feels marginally better. Not really but any improvement is better than none.

Okay, so, he’s maybe (probably, definitely, most certainly) fucked, but, not yet. Not totally. Baby can still salvage this somehow— if Gwi-Ma isn’t in his head then he can’t see out of his eyes. Which means Gwi-Ma doesn’t know where he is, so the longer he keeps it that way, the better. He might not even know that Baby has regenerated yet— he can use that. Regeneration is slightly unpredictable; it’s not a set time, just an estimated amount. Gwi-Ma might be on high alert for him, anticipating him, but if Baby isn’t already dead or captured, then he clearly doesn’t know where he is.

His emotions buzz in his chest like a swarm of furious, trapped bugs in a tight container. One small crack and it’ll all come spilling out, infesting the rest of him.

Baby knows himself. Maybe laying down and not moving for a century sounds fucking great right now but torture does not. So, survival takes priority. No laying down, no thinking about anything that will physically hinder him; he’s taking all his— don’t call it grief, too real, too heavy— all his feelings, and he boxes them. For later, he tells himself. A lie, but one he’s used to.

There’s shit to do. Survival to consider. So Baby needs to pull himself together and stop freezing up like a child, because he’s not and he hasn’t been in a very long time. Longer than he's been a demon.

Breathe. Stop thinking so hard about everything that doesn’t matter right now and focus on the things that do. Go down the check list.

Environmental assessment. Baby does a more thorough check of his surroundings. It’s barren and empty, more so than it usually would be. It takes him a minute to fully realize— he’s further out than he should be. Out in the far lands. Unpopulated— less demons who will report him to Gwi-Ma. That’s… Okay, he can work with that.

Would it be safer to stay out in the far lands? It’s dangerous, both environmentally and due to the unfriendly nature of the demons who do reside this far out but… Baby could probably live with that. The only issue is he has no idea where the others are. Mystery, Romance, Abby— and that’s it, don’t think about it too hard right now— are they still regenerating? Was he first? Or last? Are they in the same position as him? He doesn’t know.

Too many questions, not enough answers. Move on, keep going down the list.

Physical assessment. Baby begins to pat himself down before the sharp burn flares up in his inner right wrist again. He hisses through his teeth, pawing at his sleeve to investigate what the hell is going on there.

Which is, of course, when the universe decides it hasn’t hit him with enough curveballs today and decides to send one more straight into his gut, forcing the air from his lungs.

Because there’s a colorful mark there that wasn’t there before. It’s painted over some of his patterns and stark against his purple skin. A clawed hand, not unlike his own, holding what looks to be three shin-kal. They're in two slightly different shades of some sort of blueish-greenish color. One of the shades looks kinda like his hair.

It’s a ridiculous realization. Because he’s very obviously looking at a Soul Mark, and amidst all the obvious questions he should he asking, Baby’s first question he thinks to himself is: did fate or destiny or the universe— or whatever dictates who gets a Soulmate— fucking predict that Jinu would make me dye my hair this color?

The second question is far more reasonable: wait, what the fuck, I have a Soulmate?

It’s an easy question to answer, because the proof is staring right at him in the face. Soul Marks are unmistakeable, even from modern tattoos. They’re magical. Unique. No two are alike, aside from the matching Soulmate pairs of course. There’s no trying to fake it— anyone who looks at a Soul Mark knows the difference. Much like how natural born demons struggle to pretend to be human, no false mark can quite get it right. There’s no rhyme or reason for it, just another built-in sense. Second nature.

Not to mention, it burns too much for it to be anything else. Baby’s heard that Soul Marks can feel uncomfortable when they first show up but they never stated how much it could hurt. He experimentally brushes a finger over it and immediately pulls back, regretting it. The sting makes him hiss again, fist clenching.

No touching until it’s healed over, got it. It’s got to stop stinging eventually— no one with a Soul Mark ever complains about the nonstop burning that their mark comes with.

Which leads him to his next question: the mark appeared. Not only is Baby baffled that he has a Soulmate at all but five-hundred and twenty-two years later? Okay, sure, nobody gets a Soul Mark when they’re an infant but— five-hundred years. Centuries after he already became a demon. Why now? Why—

Why then? The concert, the fight— Soul Marks only appear after you first make contact so who did he—

In hindsight, the answer is rather obvious. There were only so many people on that stage. He’s made plenty of contact with Mystery over his two centuries of knowing him but that Hunter— was that his first time actually making contact with her? They were sitting next to each other at the fan sign but other than an arm on her chair, Baby never actually got all that close to her. He hadn’t wanted to— she glared fiercely enough already and he wasn’t about to tempt her into forgoing pleasantries and sinking her blades into—

His thoughts come to a screeching halt.

She had been the one to kill him. He was distracted, he should’ve teleported away but— she was faster and much stronger with the help from the fans. Baby couldn’t compete with that. She only needed one hit on him and he was gone.

Come to think of it, Baby attacking her would’ve had to be the reason the mark showed up at all. Their first instance of physical touch was his claws raking across her skin.

That’s just like you, isn’t it? Some cruel part of his mind laughs at him. Not Gwi-Ma’s voices— he knows the difference— but biting nonetheless. Violence has been carved into your very soul at this point. Figures you’d get a Soulmate that’d try to kill you. Not senselessly of course— who started it? Who jumped into the fight first? You always get what you deserve.

The Soul Mark is of a clawed hand and a couple of shin-kal. A symbol of violence, fitting for him.

Baby swallows the bile in his throat, jaw clenching. It doesn’t matter— he’s all but burned that bridge so he has to focus on other things. Survival, what comes next, where everyone else is— the Soul Mark and everything that it means can be neatly stored away like everything else that doesn’t take priority, because it wasn’t like he expected to get a Soulmate after becoming a demon anyways so nothing has really changed.

He pushes himself to his feet, only stumbling a little bit before regaining his bearings. Shelter first— always a safe bet. Away from prying eyes, from Gwi-Ma, from everything that’s gonna get him killed—

Baby doesn’t make it very far before he sees it. A body, not far from him, lying on the ground. He didn’t notice it before— rookie mistake, what if that got you killed?— but they’re… Unmoving. And not wearing anything he typically sees in the demon realm.

It’s brighter— the type of thing you either wear out of naivety, not knowing it makes you look like a big, shining target, or because you’re strong enough that being a target doesn’t matter and you want to flaunt this fact. White and clean and perfectly untainted by the demon realm—

It takes Baby too long to realize he’s seen this outfit before. And that this person lying on the ground isn’t wearing a human disguise because they are human.

It’s the Hunter. That Hunter. The one he attacked, the one who killed him, the one who he is apparently bound to the soul with.

Zoey. Her name is Zoey.

He should probably know her last name but he doesn’t remember what Jinu said during the briefing on all the Hunters and their mission in general. In his defense, Jinu said a lot of things and Baby was trying to only absorb the important things. Last names weren’t supposed to matter. How the hell was he supposed to know one of the Hunters was his Soulmate?

But now everything that was supposed to be inconsequential does matter. Because the mark burns on his wrist, feeling like it’s going to blister his skin. Because she’s here for some reason, lying on the ground, possibly unconscious, and Baby can’t pretend like she’s not. Because she—

It hits him. They’re Soulmates and she killed him. There’s side effects to that, aren’t there? He remembers hearing about it back in his village— people bedridden with grief and a seemingly magical sickness when their Soulmates died. Some stayed that way for weeks, or months, or years. Some never got up again, dying from their sadness, or wasting away until they joined them.

He died. She killed him. But he’s back, because he’s a demon and he’d always come back so long as his soul is intact, so was she even affected by it and— why the hell is she here?

There’s only one way to get answers. Suddenly, his Soul Mark and apparent Soulmate, and everything else that comes with it, is bumped up in priority.

Baby makes his way over, cautious at first, in case this is some sort of trick, but nothing jumps out at him. She remains unmoving on the ground, eyes closed, and alarms go off in Baby’s head once he’s within range of her potential attacks. Something under his skin itches just looking at her and Baby quickly adds something new on his mental checklist.

Soulmate assessment. The Hunter— his Soulmate— Zoey— is still breathing but it’s… Shallow. Humans aren’t supposed to breathe like that, are they? He’s five-hundred years out of practice so he’s making a couple assumptions here but he doesn’t think that’s natural. Her face is pinched, even unconscious, like she’s in pain. Looking over her however, all scratches she endured during the fight are gone, as if healed over. One less thing to worry about but that does raise more questions.

Is she in pain because she killed him? All that pain people usually feel when their Soulmates die, is she still feeling that, even now that he’s back? Is it worse because she killed him herself? What happens to him if she dies?

Fuck, what happens to him if she dies?

He’ll feel that pain she’s in now but— it doesn’t go away when he dies. Baby will just come back, regenerated to be good as new, but the pain of losing a Soulmate will come back with it. He’s not speculating here— Baby knows a demon who had a human Soulmate once. She said the pain lasted for centuries after her Soulmate was killed, unbearable and incapacitating most days. Even now, she says she can still feel that distant ache sometimes. Like a part of her that will never come back. An old wound that acts up from time to time.

Agonizing pain. For centuries. Longer. Forever.

Assuming he’d even live that long if Gwi-Ma caught up to him while he was unable to defend himself.

All matters regarding his new Soul Mark and Soulmate shoots up to the top of his priority list. Beyond. It tangles irreversibly with his survival. His life, tied with a mortal, vulnerable human. A Hunter.

Why a Hunter of all people? Baby screams internally. Nobody answers— of course they don’t. If there’s any truth in the universe, it’s that it doesn’t answer anybody. It does what it wants and if you get fucked over in the process, then that’s too bad. Suck it up, live with it, and deal with it yourself, because no one is going to save you. Not really.

I’m so fucked, is the first thought he has, followed by a chiding, shut up and get your shit together. You can still salvage this. You’re still breathing, aren’t you?

Breathe. Reassess the situation.

New plan: keep his Soulmate alive.

She’s in pain, maybe dying, so he has to fix that somehow. Demon Soulmates are rare but they happen. Since demon Soulmates come back when they die, they don’t have to live with a dead Soulmate forever. They… Recover somehow?

He never asked before— it never mattered before— but he’s really regretting it now. He’ll have to make it up as he goes. Keep her alive so they both don’t die and/or suffer for eternity.

Baby crouches to get a better look at the Hunter— Zoey, she’s your Soulmate, use her damn name— trying to think. There’s not exactly medicine in the demon realm. Water might help? She’s trembling, is she too hot or too cold?

Discomfort shoots through him when a small whimper leaves her. Hunters, despite being just as mortal as every other human, always seemed so untouchable, even at their worst. Seeing one in pain like this feels wrong. Like it’s an act, or a trap, even if he knows better.

Do something, he tells himself. Stop standing there uselessly or you’re going to die.

Cautiously, Baby reaches out to rest the back of his hand against her forehead to test her temperature. He’s taken slightly off guard when she seems to relax slightly under his touch but he gets his answer: she’s cold. That’s fixable. He can’t exactly start a fire— doesn’t want to attract any attention— but maybe if he finds them shelter—

Another miserable noise leaves her when he pulls away. Weakly, she reaches out, grabbing at nothing like it’ll get her what she wants. Does she— oh, he’s warm, she’s cold. Or it’s a Soulmate thing. The details don’t matter if the end result is the same.

“Don’t stab me or we both die.” Baby mutters under his breath as he relents, giving her one of his arms. Brief alarm shoots through him when he realizes he’s given her his right arm but it… Doesn’t actually hurt when she hugs it close to her chest. It actually calms some of the burning sensation down, like a soothing balm has washed over him.

That’s also probably a Soulmate thing, though he’s still reeling at the idea of having a Soulmate at all. He boxes away his complicated feelings for later again. Too much going on, he still needs to find shelter, still needs to figure out how he’s going to go about this, where to go, how he’s gonna figure out if the others are alive or even back yet, and he’s not going to think about the looming sword hanging over his neck, able to potentially fall at any point in time—

Baby’s thoughts grind to a halt when he realizes Zoey’s eyes are half open and locked onto him. It gives him a little warning for when she abruptly shoves him away and begins to summon her blades.

It seems to take her longer to do so down here, which gives him ample time to back up and brace himself to teleport or dodge the second she throws them.

She might be in worse shape than he is but a Hunter is still a Hunter. Deadly, ruthless, and perfectly suited for killing any demon that crosses their path with no remorse. Which is a problem when both of their lives depend on neither of them dying.

I explicitly said not to stab me, Baby groans internally. Did she not hear or does she not care? Either are equally as likely.

“Stay back!” Zoey hisses at him. Even in as bad of a shape as she is now, Baby knows how deadly this encounter could become. She killed him before and she can kill him again if he’s not careful.

Baby wisely keeps his distance, thoughts going haywire on how he’s meant to talk her down from this.

Her face shifts when she seems to get a better look at him, confusion replacing her hostility. “I thought…” She starts to say, voice a little hoarse. “I thought I killed you…”

Baby’s claws twitch. He can be civil— he can be so fucking civil. He’s been killed before. Lots of times— not countless, no, he’s counted— and only holds a grudge sometimes. This isn’t going to be one of those times. He attacked first. It’s practically self-defense at that point. He’s not mad, he’s just— twitchy when his deaths are brought up by the people who caused them.

Don’t get mad, a mocking voice says inside of him. You know what happens when you get mad. How fitting it would be, to be your own downfall.

Baby mentally shakes the thought out of his head.

She brings up a good point though, now that he’s thinking about it. Demons typically take a while to come back after death, taking even longer should it happen at the hands of a Hunter. But she’s wearing the same clothes she was when he last fought her. Did he regenerate instantly? Is that a Soulmate thing or due to something else entirely?

He’s gonna be questioning if everything new is a Soulmate thing now. Great.

“Yeah.” Baby finally replies, one hand ghosting over his throat where she cut. All things considered, it was a pretty painless death. He barely felt it before he was gone. Merciful, almost. Is that the kindest death he’s had? No, stop, focus. Don’t be weird, don’t make this a thing. “Well, I got better.”

He barely understands how but that much is clear. Baby feels like he’s at full power too— definitely his best regeneration yet, if nothing else.

Zoey however doesn’t look too happy about his return from the grave. “If— if you try anything—!” She starts to say. Baby barely stops himself from scoffing.

“You’ll kill me again?” His eyes flicker to the very blades that killed him. How easily they could bring about both of their doom. She doesn’t even realize, does she? “I wouldn’t recommend it.” He finds himself saying. “I don’t think you’d survive it a second time.”

That confuses her again at first, but then her gaze becomes sharper. Accusatory. “Did you curse me?”

This time he can’t help it— Baby laughs. Oh, that’s ironic. Curse. Like he meant for it to happen. Like it was his choice to be bound to a Hunter. Hunters, who barely consider them people. Hunters, who cut them down by the dozens, all without blinking an eye. Don’t go crying to a Hunter, they won’t show you mercy. Don’t try begging to a Hunter, they won’t listen to a word you say.

“Sure,” he says, “You can call it a curse. I didn’t do jackshit though, believe me. I wouldn’t have chosen a Hunter if I had a choice at all.”

His chest tightens hard enough that he thinks it might just crack his ribcage. It’s not funny, but at the same time, it’s fucking hilarious. Oh, that’s just his luck, isn’t it?

It’s what you deserve, a crueler thought says. A Soulmate who wants you dead. All that harm you’ve caused has caught up to you again.

A muffled cry makes him snap to attention. Zoey has dropped one of her blades— the one in her right hand. The side where her Soul Mark is, Baby thinks. If it hurts half as bad as mine does, it’s no wonder why.

He takes a step forward— contact helped before and, again, he kinda needs her alive— but she raises her other still-armed hand. “I’m ambidextrous! Don’t try it!”

Frustration flares first when Baby is forced to stay where he is. How is he supposed to work with a Soulmate that doesn’t trust him? At this rate, they’ll both be killed. If not by each other, then because Zoey is experiencing heavy magical backlash from what happened and Baby has no idea how the hell he’s supposed to fix that.

How does he make her understand? The obvious answer is to show her the marks, tell her about their connection, but his stomach churns at the thought. God knows what she’d say. How she’d react. Disgusted at what he is, or mourning the fact that she got stuck with him, or flat out confusion because apparently Hunters don’t even think demons have feelings or souls, so Soulmates is probably out of the question entirely.

Suffice to say, it’s not a question he particularly wants answered right now. If she hasn’t realized, then Baby will keep that information to himself. There’s enough going on as is.

He needs another option. Another answer. It comes to him in time. “Have you looked around at all?”

That bemusement is back. She doesn’t react as quickly as she probably should be. “I’m— I’m not falling for that!”

Trust. He needs trust. Putting his hands up to show he means no harm, Baby backs up until the distance between them is more comfortable in her current state. Zoey stares at him like she doesn’t quite believe what’s going on, so he puts a little emotion in his voice. “Look. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.”

After a pause, she does. He watches the silent horror on her face as it all sinks in. It’s a bit of a slow process in her current state but it’s a pretty unbelievable thing to process regardless. Very few Hunters have ever seen the demon realm for themselves. To end up here, completely by accident, is probably a first.

Seeing the panic begin to form in her eyes however, isn’t a good sign. Baby needs her to understand but panic is the opposite of the reaction he’s looking for. A little fear is healthy but not the kind that has you making stupid choices, especially when you’re someone with magical knives that can instantly kill demons with one good hit.

“Breathe.” Baby instructs. Relief fills his gut when she listens, one hand clutching her chest. He can salvage this, he can fix this, he can get out alive. He just needs cooperation. Confirmation that she’s not going to try and gut him the second he’s close enough, or the second he does something she doesn’t like.

The relief vanishes when the panic returns in her eyes however. Zoey’s gaze is a little distant, the face of someone spiraling, and Baby takes a look at the distance between them and says to hell with it, striding over and crouching across from her.

“Stop that.” He tells her, and Zoey flinches hard enough to tell him she didn’t notice his approach. Not a great sign either. “Stop thinking so hard and just breathe for a moment.” It’s probably not a great idea to be talking like this when she still has one of her blades in her hand. Baby can’t say he’s got the best tact— he’s blunt enough that he usually comes across as mean. And sure, he is purposefully mean sometimes but other times he just wants to say what he means. Be straightforward.

He’s not a great people-person, but sometimes he has to be. Now definitely feels like one of those times.

“If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it while you were still unconscious. But I didn’t. Believe it or not, it benefits me to keep you alive.”

Truthful and to the point. Baby relaxes when she finally takes his advice and tries to breathe. It takes her a bit to get there but Baby can be patient if it gets him the results he needs. He waits until he’s sure she’s in a state to be listening again to continue.

“Good.” He tells her, because she did what he asked and he really needs to be nice right now. “Listen up: I don’t need you to fully trust me but both of us have a target on our backs right now and we’re stuck in the same boat, so we’re better off sticking together. All I need from you is confirmation that you’re not gonna jab one of those blades in me the second I’m not paying attention. I’ll handle the rest. Sound fair?”

He hopes it sounds fair, because Baby is gonna be doing a lot of the heavy lifting here if she agrees to the terms. He knows the demon realm, he’ll have to find a way to get both of them out alive and it’s gonna be a whole thing, but he can manage it. Because he has to.

She’s obviously not thrilled by the idea but Zoey does nod in the end. She no longer has any of her blades in hand either, so significant improvements are being seen already. Maybe they aren’t as doomed as he thought.

“Great.” Baby says, relief returning once more. “Keep your blades to yourself and we’ll both get out of this in one piece.” He rises to his feet, mind already spinning with thoughts of what he needs to do. He blames this on the fact that he stupidly asks, “Can you stand?” But in his defense, it’s important information to know.

Also in his defense, she could’ve just said no. But Zoey tries, wobbling every which way until she pitches forward and Baby realizes that she’s going to collapse. He’s quick to catch her before she hits the ground, heart pounding as he takes a minute to collect himself.

Then a groan escapes him. “Next time, just say no.” Baby tells her curtly.

It takes him a few moments to realize she’s unconscious and ergo, will not be responding. Baby shuts his eyes, shoulders going slack, but doesn’t let go. He’s a terrible choice for a Soulmate but he’s not about to drop her in the dirt. They just made a whole alliance and he really needs her to keep her word.

He can… Carry her. He has the strength. They’ll need to find shelter, just to rest and give him room to think if nothing else.

Baby nods to himself, the plan setting into motion. He maneuvers Zoey onto his back into a piggyback carry and makes sure he’s got a secure hold before he starts moving. Towards inland— towards home, and also Gwi-Ma. The latter isn’t ideal but Baby doesn’t have a lot of great choices right now. The far lands are hardly any place for a human, much less Hunter.

He probably can’t go home, now that he thinks about it. Gwi-Ma will have it monitored, it won’t be safe. He’ll need somewhere else to go. He’s not sure where but… He’ll figure it out. Baby always does. He didn’t survive five-hundred years down here for nothing.

Temporary shelter first. Then he can put together an actual, half-decent plan.

—

It’s quiet. His head hasn’t been this quiet in five-hundred years.

You would think it would make it easier to think, but no. Because suddenly Baby has all this extra room in his head and it’s distracting. He keeps waiting for Gwi-Ma to start talking to him again, for the real voices to come back, not just his own self-loathing, but it doesn't. The quiet is endless. Infinite. And out in the far lands where demons are few and far in between, the quiet is inescapable.

Some part of him is convinced it’s a dream, but the weight on his back, solid and only somewhat warm, is a reminder that it isn’t. For better or for worse, it’s all too real to be a dream.

Baby keeps moving despite it all. It’s what he does best. Complete the task at hand now, handle what it means later.

—

It takes him a few hours to find proper shelter. A cave, uninhabited by anyone else for who knows how long. A check of their perimeter confirms that if there are any other demons around, they’re not gonna bother them, but when Baby returns, Zoey is shivering so badly that her teeth are chattering.

Great job, Baby tells himself sarcastically. She’s gonna freeze to death and kill you both. So much for you ‘Handling’ everything.

Baby wraps her up in his durumagi— something he should’ve done a while ago but only thought of now— but she keeps unconsciously seeking him out specifically. Baby usually has no problem with physical touch with people he likes but he doesn’t actually know Zoey very well, Soulmate or not. It doesn’t come as easily, he feels awkward putting an arm around her and pulling her close.

But she begins to stop shivering, so that’s an improvement. Zoey keeps apologizing for some reason— for being sick? It doesn’t make much sense to him. Yeah, sure, she did technically do this to herself, but it’s not like Baby is a saint in this either. He attacked first, she just finished the fight. He can’t blame her for something he’s done more times than he can count. That’s just survival.

She talks sluggishly but reminds him that she has mortal needs, like food and water. Water will be easy enough with the river but food… Baby dreads having to find it. They might have to get lucky, or get further inland enough where demons are more likely to have actual food storage. Out here, he’s not so sure.

His mind buzzes with plans of how to proceed while Zoey falls asleep on his shoulder. Soon enough however, he runs out of things to distract himself with. He knows he needs to face the music.

Soulmate, he thinks to himself, allowing himself to feel the weight of the word. Out of all the things to come out of this whole demon boyband stunt, he would’ve never predicted that. Not from him.

It’s been a long time since Baby thought about Soulmates in relation to himself. The demon realm has them, though typically it’s even rarer than it is in the human realm and almost always comes from demons either connected to humans, or demons who were once human. Baby’s never heard of two natural born demons being Soulmates. He supposes, with Gwi-Ma having created their souls, he would probably prevent any sort of connection not to him, if possible.

However even when he was human, Baby didn’t think it would happen to him.

In his time, Soulmates were sacred. A gift from the universe, a rare and special bond between at least two people. Only a fortunate few actually got them but they were considered blessed. Your Soulmate will make you very happy, they always said. Someone you are destined to meet to change your life for the better.

It sounded magical when he was a kid. But even then, Baby always knew he was never all that lucky. He had work to do, debts to help pay off. Everything else came second. The idea of having any sort of close relationship outside of family was more a passing thought. Maybe a future thing, if he managed to help fully pay off their debt one day. Until then, there was always work, always more pressing responsibilities.

Nothing comes easily, not for him. So figures he’d get a Soulmate that complicates everything too.

Not just a Hunter, no, but one that doesn’t even like him. Isn’t that just his luck?

Baby sighs deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand. Why do you sound bitter? He chides himself. You should’ve expected it. This doesn’t actually mean anything anyways. You’ll just keep her alive until she can return topside, back to her Hunter friends, and you’ll…

You’ll finally get to do what you want to do. Lay down and rot for a century. Won’t that be nice?

Except it’s not, because he won’t be doing that, because there won’t be any time. There’s never any time to rot for that long, always a new task in his path. Find the others, keep them alive too, keep going until he physically can’t anymore, then lay down and wait until he can get back up again and repeat the whole process. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over—

If there’s any truth in the universe, it’s that your work is never over until the day you drop dead. And sometimes, not even then, because you’ll just get back up again and repeat the whole process. And it's fine, because there’s always work to do, people he has to give a shit about or else nobody else will, so he can’t just stop for one person when there’s three others who might need him— four, now, but that’s temporary, she won’t need him anymore once she’s at full health— but nonetheless, Baby has to get his shit together and focus.

He has a Soulmate. He doesn’t get why but there’s no changing it. The mark will forever be branded into his skin and Baby will have to live with that. Both of them will, now that he thinks about it. He thought the universe was punishing him by giving him a Hunter who hates him, but maybe she’s the one getting punished. Getting stuck with him sure seems like a punishment.

A hysterical bubble of a laugh erupts from his throat. Baby has heard plenty of stories revolving around Soulmates— love stories, stories of people meeting their best friends, stories of people forever changed for the better by someone they only knew for a short time— but this? If this is one of those stories, it’s a terrible one. An outlier. There’s no changing anyone for the better because Baby doesn’t think he can get better.

Because you’re rotten, a part of him says, a mimicry of all the voices he’s heard before. You can’t get rid of the rot if it’s inside of you. If it’s a part of you. If it is you.

Baby almost wants to apologize to her. But that’s stupid because it’s not like either of them chose this and she’s asleep so she won’t hear it anyways, so Baby keeps his mouth shut, his eyes open, and lets his body rest while keeping watch.

—

Baby filters water out periodically to keep Zoey alive. All in all, she’s taking everything a lot better than most would. She’s a lot tougher than she looks, but then again, she is a Hunter. It would be stupid to underestimate her in the first place.

Zoey sleeps a lot, but she needs it, so Baby tries not to disturb her. The sooner she can aid him in keeping them both alive, the better. He just keeps moving for as long as he can before finding them places to rest and allowing himself to sit down for a moment.

He doesn’t sleep though. With the looming threat of Gwi-Ma learning their exact location and sending an army after them, Baby needs to stay sharp. For both of their sakes.

So, no matter what, Baby keeps his eyes peeled for danger. Thankfully, other than the water demons and the occasional stray passersby who gives them a wide berth, he hasn’t had any real trouble.

Zoey, for the most part, is cooperative. She only really gives him pushback when it comes to damaging the Honmoon, which he probably should’ve expected. She’s stubborn about keeping it intact and Baby doesn’t think he’s going to win that argument but he also has no idea how he’s going to get her out of the demon realm if he can’t do that. Does she want him to wait until someone else does it? There’s no way she doesn’t want out.

She talks in her sleep. Nonsense sometimes but more often than not, she says the names of the other Hunters. Baby thinks she misses them. He can hardly blame her when he’s in the same boat. He’s made one too many complaints about how loud the other Saja Boys can be sometimes but now that it’s gone, he misses it.

The weirdest thing though is how nice she is. Genuinely nice, not just trying to cozy up to him because he’s keeping her alive and she wants extra assurance to keep it that way. Zoey seems to mean it when she offers to let him and the Saja Boys stay in the human realm if they behave. She seems to mean it when she says she doesn’t think he should be stuck in hell anymore. She’s kind. To him.

Baby doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s not something he ever expected from a Hunter. He has to remind himself over and over how temporary this arrangement is.

He knows Zoey doesn’t know about the mark yet— she hasn’t said anything about it and he’s certain she would’ve by now. He still hasn’t told her. Baby knows he should but… He doesn’t. She’ll figure it out eventually, that mark isn’t going anywhere. He can prolong it just a little more.

She’s being kind. Baby isn’t in the mood to see it flipped.

—

The far lands are quiet. It makes it difficult to ignore his own head turning against him.

Baby will admit he’s getting a bit tired. He hasn’t quite slowed his pace but he can feel the weight of his body more than he used to. It takes him too long to realize he sees another demon coming their way. He puts up the glamour again, and by some luck, they don’t notice. They avoid them and continue to their destination. Baby doesn’t drop the glamour until he’s sure they’re gone.

You’re losing your touch. His own cruel voice says. You’re gonna get both of you killed— then Gwi-Ma will have you on a silver platter. Maybe the others will survive without you, maybe they won’t. Regardless or not if they can, it’ll be your fault that they’ll have to try at all. What good is all that blood on your hands if you can’t do anything with it? If you can’t keep the few people that matter alive?

Baby makes a low noise in his throat— a growl of sorts. Shut up, I’m trying to focus.

Focus? That cruel part of him laughs again. Can’t you get anything right? This should be easy for an experienced demon like you, why are you struggling so much? Because of a little extended glamour? Because a couple days of missed sleep? Do you hear how pathetic you sound?

I’m handling it fine. Baby shouldn’t be talking to his own spiraling thoughts but there’s nothing else to do. Nothing but a wide, open space before him. Endless, boring planes, going on and on and on and on. I can keep going. Everything’s fine.

Oh, it’s fine now, is it? You’re not one wrong move from dropping? One wrong thought from falling apart?

He knows where this is going. Shut up.

You’re in denial. You’re not even acknowledging he’s gone.

His jaw tightens painfully. Shut the fuck up.

Centuries down the drain, and for what? What’s the point in continuing on anymore? For more eventual pain and loss? For an endless cycle you can’t escape? Let’s face it: the second there’s no reason to keep moving, you’re going to be useless. To everyone and everything. And you’re going to rot for eternity because of it.

“Shut up.” Baby hisses out loud, as if that’ll quiet his own head.

Instead, he gets a sheepish, “Sorry…” in reply.

It throws him off kilter, reminding him that he’s actually not alone right now. “Not you.” He corrects, his thoughts only souring further. What did I say about that temper of yours? Honestly, it’s more surprising it hasn’t happened sooner.

“Oh.” Zoey says, her voice thick with sleep. Did he wake her up with that? Ugh, what is wrong with him? “Who were you talking to..?”

“Nobody.” Baby says. “Just myself. Go back to sleep.”

There’s a long enough pause where he thinks she has. But then she goes on to surprise him by saying, in a slightly clearer voice, “Well that’s not very nice.”

He blinks, glancing back at her. “I said I was talking to myself.”

“I know.” Zoey tells him, her eyes still shut and chin resting on his shoulder. She’s gotten used to being carried, it seems. “But you shouldn’t talk like that to anyone. And you’re a person too, so you count.”

“I’m a person.” Baby repeats. He doesn’t mean to sound as skeptical as he does but he is talking to a Hunter. They’re rather notorious for not thinking of demons as people.

He can’t say he thinks of himself as much a person as is either. He’s been rotting here for too long. Baby thinks he might be one of Gwi-Ma’s toys more than he is a person. All that remains of him are his responsibilities— the people he’s still living for. Without those… Well, Baby wouldn’t be much more than a hollowed out corpse.

But Zoey says, “Of course you are, what else would you be?” Like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

He shouldn’t push, but he’s curious. “I thought you Hunters thought we were all Gwi-Ma’s minions, not our own people.”

“I thought you were…” Zoey admits, sounding almost… Apologetic? “But you’re acting on your own. You have wants outside of him. And that makes you a person.”

Again, simple, as if that’s all there really is to it. Desires of his own, outside the will of another person. That’s personhood.

He guesses there’s merit to that. Baby tells her as much, and she smiles. At him, or just because he agreed with her, he doesn’t know. But it’s, admittedly, not a bad smile.

“Shouldn’t you rest..?” Zoey asks, still sleepily mumbling.

“Later.” Baby tells her. “We still have a ways to go and I want to make more ground today. I’m a demon, I can handle it.”

She never seems all that convinced when he says things like that, but she doesn’t seem to know enough to contest him on it either.

Baby isn’t technically lying— demons don’t need to sleep like humans do and have a much higher stamina than most humans. But even he can’t deny he’s starting to run on empty. He hasn’t gotten to properly recharge at all, no food or sleep in days. He’s burning the candle at both ends here but he doesn’t have a choice.

Zoey needs the rest to recover; that's non-negotiable. Baby needs to keep watch so they don’t get ambushed and have all their survival efforts be in vain. He’ll rest when he gets them somewhere properly safe. Baby has an idea— Jagged is his best bet. She lives on the outer ring where no one should bother them, isn’t going to rat him out, and if anyone knows anything about human-demon Soulmates, it’s her.

He just needs to last long enough to get there.

It takes him a while to realize it’s quiet again, his own self-loathing having gone silent. A sigh leaves him and Baby enjoys it while it lasts.

—

Zoey talks a lot, if you allow her to. Her voice gives Baby something to focus on, outside of his own thoughts. It’s nice— she’s nice.

She gets worried about taking food she desperately needs from a demon she doesn’t know for fuck’s sake.

Baby has decided he was wrong, Zoey is too good of a person for this to be any sort of punishment from the universe for either of them. Which means them being Soulmates means what it usually does— people getting changed for the better. Baby was pretty sure he couldn’t change but maybe this is one of those stories where he spends a couple days with someone so genuinely kind that it makes him— turn his life around? Change his outlook on life? Something along those lines. It’s probably one of those Soulmates.

They’ll do something for each other and then she’ll go on her merry way, hopefully taking something good away from their interactions so this isn't so one-sided, and that’ll be that. Zoey is kind but Baby knows better than to think this goes anywhere further than that. This is still a temporary arrangement and it's not like she'll want him to hang around like dead weight when she has so much more to do. She’s a Hunter, a global popstar, and someone who sets out to put good in the world.

Zoey has a bright future. Baby has barely ever had a future at all, even when he was human. Even the Saja Boys thing was meant to be a few weeks at best.

He’s really only ever good for being a bodyguard anyways. Once she’s healed up, Zoey won’t need as much protecting, and once they’re in the human realm, she won’t need it at all.

Will anyone need you in the human realm? That voice of his muses. Maybe you’ll get your wish after all. Lay down and rot for a century, they’ll all be fine without you.

Not yet, Baby reminds himself, pushing the thought to the back of his mind, and keeps moving forward.

—

Baby is a fucking idiot. He had one job and now he’s going to fucking die because he couldn’t even do that right.

One last rest stop, he had told himself. He’s getting sloppy— they’re so close to their destination and he should’ve just made the rest of the trip instead of dawdling but no. Instead of picking Zoey up when she got tired, he found a cave for both of them to rest their feet. Baby told himself he just needed an hour or two where he wasn’t traveling but his eyes started to droop. His exhaustion weighed him down, and worse, he let it.

Baby didn’t actually fall asleep but he might as well have. He was leaning heavily against the cave wall and wasn’t paying as close attention as he should’ve. He didn’t hear the group of demons slowly approaching. He didn’t check the mountain for any residents or signs of territorial disputes.

He slipped up. He should’ve known better. And now, he’s going to die, because he can’t even fight right.

The second their scout sees him, they shriek to the others about their findings. Baby is too slow to attack, too sluggish from his half-awake state, and it costs him. The rest of the group hastily teleports in and in an instant, Baby is surrounded and outnumbered, a dozen to one.

It wouldn’t be such a big deal if Baby had even a fracture of the power he usually does. But the glamours have been eating up his power reserve and Baby doesn’t think he has even a single teleport in him now. And against a dozen demons who can, he doesn’t like his odds.

It’s one of his most pathetic fights to date, which is saying something considering his earlier years in the demon realm. His mind spins at the sheer amount of them, too many to focus on at once, yet another mistake to the pile. A demon gets behind him, grappling him. Others try to grab onto his clothes and limbs, tugging and clawing and jeering loudly at him—

Toying with him.

He’s running on fumes— this isn’t a fight, it’s practically a game. They’re not afraid; they’re laughing at his pitiful attempts to get his shit together and fight back, and they’re not wrong to. Baby wouldn’t consider himself a threat if the roles were reversed either.

He’s going to die.

“Dirty traitor! Turning your back on your king!”

“Kill him! Gwi-Ma can bring him back after if he wants his own revenge! Or maybe he’ll just eat his soul and be done with it!”

He’s going to die.

“Good riddance!”

“I’ve been wanting a chance to kill him anyways!”

“No time like the present!”

He’s going to die here. Like this. Hopelessly useless and outnumbered.

His swings are too wide, never hitting any of the many targets in front of him. He’s fighting too obviously. Baby has forgotten everything he knows because—

He’s going to die. Here and now. Alone.

Of course you’re alone, it’s what you deserve. If there’s any truth in the universe, it’s that no one is coming to save you. Either you save yourself, or you fall. What else did you expect?

It swells in his throat, almost choking him. His thoughts spiral further, unable to think of anything else.

No one is coming to save you.

No one is coming to save you.

No one—

Everything comes to a grinding halt as three demons explode into dust by three, shining blades, causing them to scream. His head snaps around to the source, eyes wide. Zoey stands there, something akin to fury in her gaze, and Baby is almost stunned by it.

But then one of the demons shrieks, “Hunter!” and something snaps back into place. No longer are those bloodthirsty eyes on him and Baby takes full advantage of this fact, jumping back into action instead of flailing like an idiot again.

He’s still a little sloppy but it doesn’t matter anymore now that Zoey is up and slashing her blades at any demon trying to kill them. The tides have turned, in his favor, and the battle is over faster than he expected it to be. Once it’s over however, the tension in his chest doesn’t leave him. Baby is all too quickly reminded of how letting your guard down leads to your downfall.

He shouldn’t have stopped to rest. It’s his own damn fault for getting compliant.

He rectifies this mistake by grabbing their things and putting them back on the path to Jagged’s place. A glamour is thrown up but even then, it doesn’t feel like enough. It’s a flimsy shield at best, easily disposed of if you know what you’re doing.

How’s he supposed to trust that? The glamour is probably even lower quality than usual due to his own dwindling power source. God, he’s an idiot sometimes. What’s the point of five-hundred fucking years of nothing but blood and pain and suffering if you learn nothing—

All of a sudden, a hand is grasping his. Baby is yanked out of his thoughts but it’s not unkind. Her hand is soft, only minor callouses to be found, if they can even be called that. Her gaze is firm, unyielding, but it’s… Something. He doesn't know what to call that look. He can hardly hear himself think anymore.

Blood is roaring in his ears and Baby feels like he’s on the edge of a cliff, but the contact suddenly reminds him of where he is. It grounds him in reality. He blinks and suddenly Baby remembers he’s not twenty-two anymore, and that it’s been a long time since he was twenty-two.

Zoey asked something of him. A pretty reasonable request. It feels stupid not to grant it.

Baby finds them a place to sit down. Just five minutes; he’ll make sure they don’t get ambushed again. He has no excuse this time. Plains surround them on all sides— Baby will see them coming if they try. He’ll stay vigilant. He won’t lose focus and get them both killed.

But then Zoey is talking about red pandas and their eating habits and… It’s hard not to listen. Everything else gets drowned out because he’s made it a habit to listen, needing that distraction more often than not, and he can’t deny it here either.

So he listens, trying to find some kind of hidden meaning in her words, why she’s choosing to bring it up now of all times, and Zoey tells him she’s… Worried, more or less. That she thinks he should rest, take more breaks, and Baby doesn’t know how to say that’s the last thing he can do right now, so he just tells her ‘Later’. He’ll get to it at some point, just not now, not here, not yet.

Zoey makes him rest, if only for a few minutes, and he lets her. Because she might have a point and he knows it. If he pushes himself too far, something's going to break and it’ll be bad for both of them.

But they’re so close. He can rest soon. Just one more trip and then Baby can slip into a coma for all he cares.

He just needs to make it to Jagged. If anyone knows about whatever Soulmate backlash Zoey has been experiencing these past few days, she’s his best bet. Baby just needs to make sure they both live long enough for him to ask.

—

The very first time he ended up on Jagged’s doorstep had been an accident. He hadn’t known it was a ‘Doorstep’ in the first place, too unfamiliar with the signs of demonic residence to know better. Even if he had though, Baby hadn’t exactly been in a place to notice much of anything.

He had been covered in demon blood, some his, some not, and stumbling around like a newborn fawn, coming down from a terrible adrenaline high. Baby didn’t have a destination in mind then, only trying to get far away from the fight he managed to walk away from, and Jagged had found him by pure coincidence.

He thought she was a threat at first. In truth, Baby doesn’t remember what she said to him that first time they met to get him to trust her. It's a blur to him, even now. But Baby remembers eventually letting himself be led inside her home, washing the blood off, and passing out in the first place he could, so she must’ve said something right.

He doesn’t feel all that different now, stumbling to the entrance of her cave with Zoey sleeping soundly on his back, dead on his feet and so, so relieved to finally be somewhere where he can sleep. Baby doesn’t falter now however, pushing himself to make the rest of the distance, and making his way down the entrance tunnel.

“Jagged?” He calls out, wincing at how rough his voice sounds. Baby clears his throat and tries again. “Jagged, are you there?”

“Baby?” Her familiar voice calls back, and Baby almost collapses in relief. Not yet, he reminds himself. Her footsteps signal her approach. “Where the hell have you been? The whole demon realm has been talking about you and your boys’ gambit and how it—!”

She meets him at the entrance to her living room, stopping dead at the person he has resting on his shoulders. Her far superior height and broad shoulders has her casting a shadow that engulfs him and Zoey completely, but Baby doesn’t blink twice. There’s comfort in this shadow, not danger.

Jagged’s face twists in disbelief looking at Zoey— any demon worth their salt knows the face of the current Hunters on sight, and Jagged is more than worth her salt. Even then however, it’s not as if Hunters regularly enter the demon realm, if at all. As far as Baby knows, it’s only ever happened a handful of times.

She clearly notes the state of her— no injuries, no restraints, nothing to suggest Baby has hurt her in any way— and glances back down at him with a firm look. “There’d better be a damn good reason why you’re bringing a Hunter into my home, kid.”

Baby frees his right hand carefully so as not to jostle Zoey and pulls down the sleeve with his teeth. It’s the first time he’s willingly revealed his Soul Mark to anyone, though Baby is too tired to actually feel one way or another about it in the moment.

Jagged can do nothing but stare at the mark for a long minute. Then she lets out a short breath. “Huh… I’ll give it to you, that is a damn good reason.”

“Give me some credit.” Baby lets his arm drop again, the weight of it suddenly more noticeable than before. “I know better than that.”

“You look about ready to drop, I wouldn’t put it past you to make lapses of judgment.” Jagged steps to the side, ushering him further inside. Baby makes a beeline straight for the short tunnel leading to the guest room, Jagged following close behind. “How come you’re carrying her?”

“She was sick. Still might be.”

“Sick?”

“She killed me.” Baby stops, moving the curtains at the entrance of the guest room aside, and finally half turns to look at Jagged again. Her face fills with soft understanding.

“Oh.” She nods to herself. “Magical backlash, huh? Nasty stuff. That’s half the reason you came to me, isn’t it?”

Baby doesn’t bother denying it, nodding back. Jagged already knows the other reasons anyways, she won’t be offended if he doesn’t outright say them.

He ventures further in, laying Zoey down on one of the available mattresses. There’s five of them, spaced out but close by. Baby ignores the weird lump in his throat he gets by looking at them, focusing on the pressing matters. “I think she’s gotten better but I don’t know how this stuff works. She’s not shivering anymore?”

“That’s good.” Jagged tells him, seating herself on the other side of Zoey, across from him. Even sitting down, her large form is still unintentionally imposing. “Describe her symptoms and what you did to treat them as best as you can.”

Baby does, wringing out every detail he can think of— the shivering, the struggle for her to stay warm on her own, the weakness, the decrease in stamina, the pain he suspected came from her mark, the bouts of confusion when she was awake, her on and off consciousness in general— until he’s pretty sure he got them all. Jagged listens intently, nodding along slightly until he’s finished. “Well shit. That sounds like the worst case of it I’ve ever heard of, especially if it went on for several days.”

Something in his chest twists. “But she’ll be fine now?”

“By the looks of it, yes.” Jagged says, giving Zoey’s sleeping form a once over. “You did a pretty good job for someone who didn’t know what they were doing. Plenty of physical contact with her Soulmate is required,” Jagged gestures to him, and Baby can’t help but still find it strange to hear it out loud, “Alongside proper rest and basic necessities. She’ll make a full recovery in no time.”

Baby feels dizzy hearing that. He was guessing, half of that physical touch was just because he had to carry her if they were going to get anywhere safe. Yet somehow, it did the job. He did something right this time.

The voice in his head is quiet. Gone, at least for the moment.

“I can’t hear him.” Baby confesses, completely unprompted, because he needs to get that off his chest. Jagged’s eyebrows shoot up. “Gwi-Ma— I haven’t heard him since I first woke up down here again. She killed me but I regenerated instantly too. Was that a Soulmate thing?”

“It… Might’ve been.” Jagged says slowly. Baby's chest tightens at the lack of a clear answer and he ends up scowling at her.

“How do you not know?”

“Being bonded to a human is one thing, kid.” Jagged points out firmly. “A Hunter is unprecedented. It’s never happened before, so your guess is as good as mine.”

It’s not the answer he wants but Baby knows he’ll have to live with that. He buries his head in his hands, muffling a groan. His hands drag down his face slowly as his thoughts get tangled into knots.

“I’d ask how you’re handling this new revelation but…” She gives him an expectant look. Baby hates that he’s going to give her exactly the answer she’s expecting.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Figures. What’s she think of it?” Jagged asks instead. Baby huffs, shaking his head.

“She’s been sick, we haven’t talked about it.”

“You know you’re going to have to.”

“I know.” He vigorously waves her off. “I’m— I’ll get to that later. Once I’ve actually slept and we’re both awake.”

Jagged hums, this time looking him over. “You look terrible, kid. You haven’t slept a wink, have you?”

“No.” There’s no point in denying the obvious. “I couldn’t.” He glances over at her. “Does Gwi-Ma know I’m back?”

“Not as far as I know.” Jagged replies. “He’s in a bad mood, that’s for sure, but he hasn’t said much about you ‘Saja Boys’ other than you’re all traitors and the reason why he lost. I haven’t been out much but I heard something about the Honmoon too.”

“Other than the fact that it’s,” Baby gestures vaguely, “Rainbowy now?”

“More than that. Some say it’s been rippling weirdly. Not weakened but… Reacting to something.” Her eyes dart over to Zoey again and Baby finally picks up what she’s getting at.

“What, you think she’s doing it somehow?”

“I think,” Jagged tells him, “That regardless or not if she’s doing it, it’s happening because of her. Historically, Hunters have never reacted well to losing one of their own. They could be attempting something— a rescue or revenge trip, depending on how optimistic they are that she’s still alive.”

“For once, I hope you’re right. I need to get her out of here if either of us are gonna survive this Soulmate bond, and she doesn’t want me harming the Honmoon.”

She hums at that, tilting her head with a raised eyebrow. “You talked about damaging the Honmoon with her but not the fact that you’re Soulmates?”

“It didn’t come up.” Baby bites out.

After a pause, Jagged asks, “What’s she like, anyways? Clearly you’ve had some time to talk.”

“She’s… Nice.”

“Nice.” Jagged repeats, now giving him a flat look. “She’s your damn Soulmate, Baby. Would it kill you to be a little more detailed?”

Baby rubs his eyes, chest feeling oddly tight again. “She's very specific about shades of color and has a dumb joke about it if you give her the opportunity to use it. She apologies for existing sometimes and threatens to kill you other times. She knows animal facts and likes sharing them. She likes talking about her interests in general but doesn’t just want someone to talk at, but to have someone to listens. She’s— nice, okay? She’s fucking nice. She said me and the other Saja Boys should leave the demon realm alongside her. She gets worried about other people who don’t matter. She gets defensive when she thinks I’m in trouble. She keeps asking me if I’m tired, or if I need to eat, or take a break, and she doesn’t take ‘I’m a demon’ as a proper answer.” He lifts his head to meet her gaze again, refusing to feel like a coward. “Is that a good enough answer?”

Jagged says nothing for a beat, two, then nods. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

Baby huffs and lays their bag of supplies against the wall. “I know I’m public enemy number one right now but I can’t go home and I don’t know where the others are—”

Jagged cuts him off with a soft snort. “You should know I’m not letting you leave without getting a chance to rest and eat first. You’re not dying on me now, kid. Especially not after getting a Soulmate.”

“I doubt it’s one of those. The together forever ones— can a demon-human Soulmate relationship even be forever with human lifespans?”

“I’ve heard rumors that the humans are sustained by the bond, to live as long as their demon Soulmates do. That they can only truly be killed if the demon dies permanently, or if the human is killed by something outside of age.” Jagged informs him. “And even if it isn’t forever, however long you hold onto your Soulmate is a blessing. Trust me on that.”

If nothing else, Baby knows he can’t argue with her about that, even if he wants to.

“Talk with her after you’ve both rested up.” Jagged rises to stand. “I won’t let you leave until you do and that’s a threat.”

“I believe you.” Baby mumbles. She doesn’t play when it comes to Soulmates.

Jagged lingers instead of leaving him to rest, seemingly debating something to herself. When she speaks up again, her voice is a little gentler. “Kid, I heard about… The way things ended up there.”

Every muscle in his body tightens to a painful degree. “We’re not doing this.” He rolls over to the other bed, unable to look at anything or anyone. He feels like a petulant child for it but Baby can’t do this right now. “I need to sleep.”

She sighs like she expected that. “Can’t say I didn’t try. Rest up then, you need it. Anything else you immediately need in the meantime?”

Baby almost says no, until something occurs to him, “Paper and something to write with. So Zoey doesn’t try to stab you the second she wakes up and sees an unfamiliar demon.”

Jagged snorts at that. “Good thinking. Quite the Soulmate you’ve got.”

Baby doesn’t say anything to that as she leaves to grab what was requested. He does nothing but lay there, staring at the wall, thinking about everything and nothing at all.

Eventually, once the note is written and placed somewhere where Zoey will see it when she wakes up, and once he gives into the weird need to tug the loose durumagi off of her so she doesn’t get too hot during the night and folds it to place at the foot of her mattress, Baby finally lays down, closes his eyes, and allows himself to sleep.

It takes a minute or so for it to find him but soon enough, Baby is sinking into a thankfully dreamless sleep faster than he ever has before, and doesn’t wake for a long while.