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Sub Zero had a demon haunting him.
It wasn't as bad of a situation as one might think. Not because the demon in question wasn't demonic enough, on the contrary, he was a proper hellspawn with fire powers and a personality that could benefit from anger management courses. He just wasn't much of a menace for the person being haunted. Which has proven to be a significant issue for everyone else.
“Scorpion, I think we should discuss this situation.” Sub Zero started patiently once the stretcher was out of the room.
Said demon only grunted incongruously.
“I'm flattered by your affixture and grateful for several dare situations, but it cannot go on this way.” He sought any sign of agreement on the demon's face.
Scorpion huffed out a cloud of smoke like an annoyed dragon.
The demon wasn't known for being chatty, but this silent treatment was getting on Sub Zero's nerves. He tried again with a plea:
“I am begging you to reconsider, surely you can find a better enterprise.”
“No.” was all the demon said and disappeared in a flash of fire.
Sub Zero groaned. He was close to hiring an exorcist for this haunting situation, but he knew it would put the demon in an even sourer mood.
Having a demon attached to his hip was not at all what Sub Zero had imagined, mainly because his demon did the opposite of nefarious doings. He did not try to kill or corrupt him, instead he protected him with the ferocity of a rabid dog. With the insight of one too. The amount of injuries in his clan skyrocketed since he started leading training. His disciples did everything they could to get out of sparring with him and when they couldn't, they would act as incompetent as a new recruit. No one wanted to end up in a medical wing because they accidentally landed a hit on their Grandmaster.
Right now Sub Zero was pacing his room wracking his brain for a solution of this conundrum. Since neither reason nor force were working, and banishing the demon to the Netherrealm never had a long-term effect, there was only one other thing Sub Zero could think of.
The next time demon appeared Sub Zero went straight to business.
“Scorpion, could you please accompany me to my room?”
Scorpion gave an indifferent shrug and followed the man to his quarters.
Closing the door after his guest Sub Zero sat on his bed and motioned for the demon to do the same. Scorpion threw him a suspicious look but sat down anyway. With a healthy distance of several feet. Sub Zero immediately shifted closer, so that their knees were touching. The temperature in the room rose a couple degrees.
“I have been thinking,” Sub Zero started and peered into the demon's white eyes. “We have spent a lot of time together.”
Scorpion blinked, possibly for the first time Sub Zero seen him to.
“It may be sudden,” continued the man and clasped Scorpion's hand in his, “but I feel like we work well together. Fire and ice, some would consider it poetic.”
Sub Zero didn't know if demons could sweat but he thought Scorpion might. He sat taut like a tightrope, only his hand growing hotter and hotter in cryomancer's two.
“I want to ask you to stay here,” Sub Zero motioned to his room, “with me.”
Scorpion looked like he might start exhuming smoke out of every miniscule gap in his uniform.
“And it would be so much easier to protect me if you were near all the time. So… What do you say?”
Sub Zero held Scorpion's hand and gazed into his eyes.
Scorpion looked at their joined hands. Gave the room a once-over and arrived back to the cryomancer's face.
He replied:
“Okay.”