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Logan cursed as he messed up the summoning spell again, spilling lamb's blood all over his fingers. He had gallons spare - he was well prepared for this, after all - but it was still inconvenient to clean up every time.
He had to get up, wash his hands, and wipe down the table and all of his contents, every single time he made this mistake. Then, he would have to restart the spell - which would take ten minutes to cast in its entirety.
If Logan wasn't absolutely certain that he needed this spell - and the deal that would follow it - he would have given up two tries again. It was a difficult spell, the hardest one he had ever tried, and it was almost giving him more trouble than it was worth.
"Wow, I'm pretty sure that's the fifth time you messed that part up!" Came a cheerful voice behind Logan, that definitely hadn't been there before.
Logan grabbed the knife off the table, spinning around and suddenly pointing it at the intruder. He knocked over the cup of blood again as he did so - and silently cursed in his head at the mistake - but the intruder had startled him, so that was expected.
The intruder was... clearly a demon. It was a short man, who likely would have looked unassuming - with a blue polo-shirt and a grey cardigan wrapped around his shoulders - if not for the solid black eyes, light blue horns and too-wide smile on his face.
He looked like a dad who had just been possessed, which is why that was what Logan immediately assumed he was.
Not what he'd expected, sure, as he hadn't even completed the summoning spell, yet. But a demon had been what he'd wanted, so he supposed this wasn't entirely bad news.
"I had not completed the summoning spell, yet," Logan said, lowering the knife a little, but not completely putting it down. "How are you here?"
The demon took a step closer to him, still with that cheery - probably supposed to be friendly-looking - smile settled on his face.
"I could tell someone was trying to summon me," he explained. "So I decided to save you the trouble and just come here, anyway!"
"So... you're Patton, then?"
"Yup!"
Logan was still a little unsettled at the sight of the demon, but, unfortunately, that had been what he had been aiming to summon, despite the probable stupidity of his plan.
"Right..." Logan said slowly.
He didn't put down the knife, but he did loosen his grip on it, letting it just hang by his side in a hopefully unthreatening gesture.
"So, what do you want, Logan?" Patton asked, his smile never falling.
Logan blinked, taking a step back.
"How do you know my name?"
Patton giggled, the laugh sounding completely unhuman, ringing through the air like too-loud bells and making Logan wince.
"I did my research before coming down here to see you," Patton said. "I hope that doesn't upset you, but it should speed this up!"
"Okay... so, do you know what I want?"
Patton nodded. "Yup!"
"But, then why did you ask?"
"To be polite," Patton smiled. "I didn't want to seem rude, or scare you off."
Logan's brow creased. This interaction was getting more and more confusing, very different from anything he had expected from a deal with a demon. He had thought it would be harder than this, and that maybe the demon would look more threatening than somehow who dressed like a dad.
Though, Logan supposed, his style contrasted greatly with his demon horns and demon eyes, and that was more unsettling than a regular demonic presence would have been.
"Is it too much to ask?" Logan questioned cautiously. "My... request?"
Patton shook his head. "Nope! I can do it, easy-peasy!"
Logan took a deep breath, not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed by the answer. Well, he certainly wasn't excited at the part that would come next.
"And my end of the deal would be giving you my soul, I presume?"
Patton laughed again, loud and unsettling, though not at all unfriendly, which was perhaps the most unsettling part of it all.
"Nope!"
Logan paused. "What?"
"Nope," Patton repeated, shaking his head. "I don't trade for souls."
Logan blinked. "But... I heard..."
"I do make deals," Patton corrected. "But never for souls, silly! I'm not that kinda demon, you know? I only trade with humans with goals I respect, and my end of the bargain is getting something other than souls."
Logan dreaded to ask. "What do you trade for, then?"
Patton smiled. "Friendship!"
There was a moment of confused silence.
"What?" Logan exclaimed.
"Friendship!" Patton repeated. "If I grant your wish, you have to spend time with me," he explained. "Hell is just so boring, and the demons there are so mean! I like humans much, much more, but you guys don't tend to like me very much. So, I trade for friendship!"
Logan was... even more confused than he had been before, which really was saying something. He almost felt... sympathy... for the demon, though he still wasn't sure if this was all a trick or not.
"Right..." Logan said slowly. "What does this... friendship... entail?"
Patton smiled. "For a year, we spend four hours a week together. I will show up whenever I please, though only for the set amount of time, and we get to do whatever you want!"
"On earth, though," Logan clarified. "Not hell."
Patton shook his head. "Not hell."
"And... though you choose the times, I get to decide what we do during those four hours a week?"
"Yup!"
That... didn't sound so bad. In fact, Logan was struggling to find any sort of reason to turn down or alter the deal. It seemed like he was getting a bargain: something he didn't totally despise in return for his greatest desire.
It sounded... almost too good to be true, but he'd read that demons were unable to outright lie when making deals, and it seemed like Patton was genuine.
He took a deep breath.
"Okay."
"Okay?" Patton repeated.
"Yes, okay," Logan nodded. "I accept the deal."
He held his hand out for Patton to shake to seal the deal, but the demon just burst out laughing again.
"That's not how you seal deals, silly!"
Logan felt his face heat, and he pulled his hand back suddenly.
"How do you do it, then?"
"With a kiss," Patton said.
Logan froze, and he felt his face somehow warm and redden even further, as Patton looked him over with an amused expression.
"Don't worry," Patton continued. "It's just a short one!"
"Oh- okay."
"Okay?" Patton asked to confirm.
Logan nodded. "Okay. If- if it's just a quick one."
Patton leant forward, cupping Logan's face with hands that were so warm it bordered on uncomfortable. Then, he pressed his lips to Logan's, for just a brief moment.
The kiss... wasn't bad. In fact, it was warm and soft and not at all unpleasant, like Logan had expected it to be.
The kiss was good.
When Patton pulled back, Logan felt a feeling that he certainly hadn't expected to feel in that moment.
Disappointment.
And that disappointment quickly turned into dread when Logan realised... the demon was cute.