Work Text:
You remembered the wreckage that was your apartment that night, the sight of the building completely demolished in their pursuit of total domination over the world. It was heartbreaking, the sounds of screams becoming the background noise to their reign of terror. The only thing that pierced that noise was the sound of their maniacal laughter.
The Demon Bull King and the former Celestial Maiden Princess Iron Fan, two of the most feared figures throughout all of history, had called you to convince their son to go to bed.
It was honestly ridiculous to say the least, getting a random call from them in the middle of the night. But at this point, you'd all become surprisingly comfortable with each other, at least enough for them to not want to kill you. You still hadn't managed to figure out how you did it.
“He hasn’t come out of his room all day.” Iron Fan explained, taking a sip from her mug. “We’re demons don’t get me wrong, but even we need sleep. This can't be healthy for him.”
It wasn’t, he’d been spending the past few weeks in his workshop trying to create a new modification for the bull clones. After the incident with the Lady Bone Demon, he’d become obsessed with trying to make himself and his family stronger. That didn't end with you either, he’d been constantly trying to convince you to try out a new suit he was working out to make up for your lack of powers. He was consistent, you’d give him that.
“And he didn't listen to you both?” You asked, tapping your fingers on your mug. They both shrugged.
“He’s oddly persistent about becoming stronger, especially after figuring out about his former…” The bull demon trailed off, not bothering to finish his sentence. It had only been a few months since the battle, so it was still a sensitive subject. “No matter what we tell him he refuses to leave, even though he hasn't had proper sleep in days.”
“So we figured that if anybody could get him to sleep,” His wife added, “ it would be his partner.”
“Right, so you want me to just walk in there and tell him to go sleep?” You asked.
They both nodded.
“You have a tendency to get him to come out of his comfort zone in ways we haven’t managed to come close to, he really likes you.”
His mother was right, for some reason, he’d only try new things when it was you who asked him. Whether it be going roller skating for the first time, or going to an amusement park. Granted he did complain about the poor architecture, but he had fun at least.
“Alright, wish me luck I guess.”
You placed the mug down and walked in the general direction of his workshop. You hadn't been there too many times, but it was hard to miss the loud clanking and sounds of frustration he was making. The door was cracked open, and when you walked inside you saw lots of papers scattered all over the floor. Some of them were crumbled, others were completely scribbled out, and some were even burned.
There were some inactivated bull clones strapped onto the walls, with all sorts of designs, each one seeming more extravagant than the last. But they all had the red letters “Rejected” written above them. The icing on the cake was the large pile of energy drink cans on the counter. You honestly couldn't believe he was still alive with how many were there.
And then there was the man of the hour, grumbling something to himself as he worked on another blueprint. His hair was loosely tied up, his hair tie was pretty much pointless at this point. He was wearing his sleeveless turtleneck, and his red cloak was hung on a nearby chair. He looked exhausted, probably kept together by sheer motivation and Red Bull.
“I thought you said sleep was important.” You joked, pulling him into a hug from behind. He tensed up a bit but loosened up again when he realized it was you.
“Exactly, but in case you’ve forgotten I’m not a mortal.”
“Demons need sleep too, firecracker.” You lowered your head onto his shoulder, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. “This work can wait, you need to go to bed.”
“Just give me five more minutes, I’m almost finished, love.” He said, before going back to the blueprint. You knew damn well he wasn't going to stop working after five minutes.
“You need to go to sleep.”
“And I will, after five more minutes.”
You grabbed onto him a little tighter. He wasn’t going down without a fight, but you were positive if he stayed up another night he would start hallucinating if he hadn't been already.
“Love, I told you, I’ll be finished in five min-”
Before he could finish his sentence, you kissed him on the cheek. He stood there frozen, his hand halfway through writing a word. And so, you did it again, and again, and again. If you were wearing lipstick at that moment his entire face would be covered with kiss marks because of how much you were doing it.
He was incredibly flustered, trying and failing to tell you to stop. His hair burst into flames, the same pink shade that his face was at that point. It was honestly adorable how his fire became pink whenever he was embarrassed.
“My love, please stop I need to work.”
“Work can wait, sleep’s more important.” You huffed and gave another peck on his cheek. That was his breaking point, and he just dropped the pen altogether. He glanced back at the papers on his desk and sighed.
“I suppose they’ll still be there in the morning.” He said, earning him another smooch.
“See? That wasn’t so hard was it?” You grinned and grabbed his hand to lead him out of the workshop. His hair was still sparking as you walked through the hall and there was still a pink tint to his cheeks.
But before you turned the corner, you saw both of his parents smiling at you. DBK gave you a silent thumbs up, and you returned one back to him.
“Mother? Father? Why are you both…” Red paused before his hair burst into its signature red hue. “Did you all plan this together or something?!”
“You weren't getting any sleep, hon.”
“So you deliberately connived with my own parents?!”
“...Yes?”
You let him be the little spoon as an apology that night.