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It was well past midnight, and all the Saja boys were asleep in their hotel room.
Jinu had claimed the bed, so the rest of them were sprawled out around the floor. Mystery and Baby were the only ones not asleep. Baby wasn't any help though, since he had his airpods in and was doomscrolling some human social media app. He had gotten accustomed to things like human social media much faster than any of the other Saja boys had.
Mystery ignored the dim glow from Baby's screen and curled in on himself, his arms around his knees as he hugged his legs close to himself. His mind was buzzing. He couldn't stop thinking about her.
"Bad Saja boy!"
She had said it so easily. Scolded him without any hesitation or fear. He had actually felt bad about barking at the fan after Zoey told him off. He knew that he shouldn't feel bad, shouldn't listen to Zoey's scolding. She was a hunter. She was his enemy. He was on earth to stop the Huntrix in the first place. Yet he did listen. He did feel guilt. He had even pouted at her.
It wasn't the first time the thought of her had kept him awake. The first time it had been the way she had stared so openly at Abby's abs. That wasn't unusual, all of the girls that they passed in the street had ignored the other men in favor of Abby's abs. He had been specifically added to the group for his abs, his attractiveness. But for some reason, seeing this beautiful black haired girl staring at Abby's abs had brought him a feeling of jealousy unlike anything he had felt in a while. He had started snubbing Abby and glowering at him, snapping and growling when Abby tried to talk to him. That had lasted until Abby assured him that he wanted Mira instead.
The other men had quickly found out about Mystery's crush and mostly knew better than to tease him for it. Mystery had stayed the most feral, least human, of them all when they took on human forms. He was as quick to jealousy as he always had been. However, Baby had gotten bored one evening and drawled that he wanted to flirt with Zoey. Mystery had attempted to bite his hands off.
The next thing that stuck with him had been her in that leather outfit when Huntrix invaded the game show. The game show had actually been kind of fun. He had held out on the hot sauce as long as he could, wondering to himself if Zoey was at home watching the show. Watching him.
He had barely managed to wrestle back a grin when she showed up with the other two. He had kept his eyes trained on her, cursing Jinu for making him style his hair in a way that obscured his vision. He wanted to see her properly. He had liked how the black fabric clung to her. That image had come to him every night for days. Sometimes his brain played with the memory. Sometimes it imagined Zoey in that leather calling him a "good Saja boy." He decided he wanted that more than anything.
But those thoughts brought worse thoughts to the forefront of his mind. Thoughts that he hated.
"You're not good. You're bad. Bad for her. She'd be scared of you."
He knew these thoughts were right, but he still hated hearing them. He wanted Zoey. Wanted Zoey to want him. He didn't want to think about how he was a demon and she was a human and how she would be scared of his teeth, his patterns, the fact he consumed human souls. Or worse, that she probably wouldn't be scared, and that instead she would hate those parts of him. Hate him. She was a hunter after all.
So, when Zoey showed an interest in him, when she got flustered and tried to play it cool when he sat beside her at the Huntrix meet, he decided he would have to show her all his scary, hateful parts. That would push her away before he could get too attached. It was the best solution he could think of.
...
Three days before the Idol awards, without telling the other boys, Mystery teleported to Zoey's room.
He did so quietly, and in the dead of night. He teleported right onto her bed, so that his thighs bracketed her hips. Her hair was down, almost fanning around her in a dark halo, and her face looked so soft and gentle without any makeup on. He ignored the feelings of love and want that stirred up in him.
When Zoey's eyes opened and she realized there was someone on top of her, she opened her mouth as if to yell. Maybe she was going to warn the other girls, or maybe try to scare off the presence, but no sound came out. Before she could say anything, Mystery's hand was clamped tight against her lips, stopping her.
He leaned down, fangs bared as a low growl emitted from his throat. He had gotten himself as demonic as he could get. His deep purple patterns stood out against his grey-ish skin. His amber eyes glowed to a degree that was bordering on neon. His teeth had transformed into his demonic fangs and tusks, sharp and dangerous. His bangs had been pinned away from his face to make sure Zoey didn't miss a single detail. He could see her properly now. And she could see him. His eyes were cold and furious as he snarled at her, spit flying onto her cheek.
"No noise." He growled, low and dangerous. "Make a noise and I'll make sure you regret it."
Zoey couldn't say anything in response and didn't want to attack Mystery without hearing what he had to say, so she stayed quiet. She already knew that he was a demon, obviously. But if it hadn't been obvious before, it definitely was now. Still, despite his fangs and his patterns and everything else, she just couldn't bring herself to attack him. She just lay there, her body tense as she stared up into his glowing eyes.
"I could kill you now. Harvest your soul so easily." He taunted, voice carefully intimidating. He wanted to be as scary as possible. He took his hand off of her mouth so that he could drag his claw across her cheek, digging in just enough to create a trail of blood. His other hand stayed on her chest, pinning her down in case she tried to escape. He ignored the feelings that his hand on her chest created in him.
"The other girls wouldn't even know until it was done. You have no one to save you." He continued as he lowered his face closer to hers, his teeth still bared and looking ready to bite her. To hurt her.
This is it. He thought. This is when she sees I'm not good. This is when she gives up on me.
But she didn't writhe away. She didn't attack him. She didn't try her chances at calling for the others.
Instead, she lifted her hands (he had forgotten to detain them) and cupped his jaw. Her thumbs stroked his bottom lip carefully, trying to soothe him enough for him to stop snarling.
"Don't growl at me, Saja boy." Zoey scolded gently, her hands continuing their ministrations. Her expression was gentle and caring. Loving. Mystery searched desperately for a hint of fear or anger, and got frustrated when he couldn't find any.
"Shut up." He sneered, grabbing both wrists and pinning them above her head in one swift movement. He wouldn't be deterred. She was being stupid. He had to show her.
"Mystery, what are you doing?" She asked calmly, her voice gentle. She didn't fight his grip. She let him hold her there, as if she didn't mind his odd demon behavior or appearance.
"Shut up!" He spat again, getting frustrated, and honestly confused. He tightened his grip on her wrists. His free hand moved to claw her lips. He supposed it was because he wanted to kiss them, but couldn't. The thought of that was almost impossible. He scratched them hard, drawing blood.
"Shut up! I am a demon. I'm not- I can't be whatever you want me to be." He snarled, furious. He would be roaring if it weren't for the fact the rest of Huntrix were nearby. His frustration ran high. He was certain that Zoey was putting on a brave face. He didn't want that. He needed her to react. To fear him. It was too good to be true that she could want him like he wanted her.
"Why not?" Her voice was innocent and simple. As if the idea he couldn't be with her was ridiculous.
Mystery blushed deeply at her simple statement, his grey skin becoming a baby pink tone instead. Flustered and bewildered, he wasn't deterred. "You are a hunter." He growled, his claws digging into her wrist, as if the answer was obvious.
"That's true." Zoey nodded, pouting slightly when she remembered the reason she couldn't be with the beautiful boy who was straddling her hips and holding her down. "But we can just be together in secret."
Mystery faltered. Had she really just suggested that?
"What? No! That's not the problem!" He fumbled over his words. He really hadn't expected that. He snarled and bared his fangs again in an attempt to look as scary as possible. It hadn't been working so far, but he was determined. This time he made sure he had saliva dangled from his mouth to mimic the expression of a rabid animal. "I'm a demon. I could kill you."
"I'm a hunter. I could kill you." She countered, unbothered by his display once more.
He faltered again. This wasn't going how he imagined it would. He was completely caught of guard. His grip on her wrists loosened but didn't vanish. He sat up a little, not towering over her anymore. Now, he just sat up on her hips and looked down at her from there. It gave him a bit of space to collect himself.
"Zoey." He whined softly as his eyes dropped the feral and fierce facade to show his true fear and insecurity. He knew that if Baby saw him like this, whining and pleading with a girl, he would call him soft and submissive. It wasn't what a demon should be acting like, especially not for a hunter woman. But this was Zoey. He didn't mind being like this with her. "Don't toy with me."
"I'm not." She quickly assured, her voice gentle and genuine. Her wrists tugged slightly at his grip and he let them go. Her hands cupped his jaw yet again, her thumbs resuming their stroking of his lip. The blood from the cut on her own lip leaked onto her tongue and teeth as she spoke. "I'm not, Mystery. I'm not scared of you. Is that what you're trying to do? Trying to make me scared?"
Unable to bring himself to verbally respond and unwilling to fully explain the thoughts that had lead him here, he gave an almost shy nod of his head, still pinning her down underneath him.
"That's not going to work, Mys." She gave a small shake of the head, smiling softly up at him. "I love you too much."
Mystery was almost embarrased by the yelp her words drew out of him, but he was too focused on the words she said and how it was the first time she had said them. Love. Love him. She loved him. Zoey loved him. His head began to spin.
"I love your teeth and your eyes and your hair and I'm definitely getting used to your patterns." She kept rambling as if oblivious of his buffering. Her hands trailed down past his neck and shoulders and down to his hips. They fluttered for a second before resting there, holding him up.
He whined at the touch, surprised and caught off guard but absolutely loving it. Zoey was holding him. Zoey was willing and wanting to touch him gently. To care for him. He could hardly think.
"You're so handsome." Zoey murmured, raising her head up so that her bleeding lips could meet his.
It was gentle and brief, but it held all the words neither could say. All the promises and fears that they dared not say out loud.
"Zoey." His voice came quiet and pleading when the kiss broke as he quietly panted for air.
"Yeah?" She panted too, looking up at him like she was looking at something as precious as the moon.
"I- I want to be good. I want to be good for you." He rambled, leaning back into her and mumbling his words into her lips. "I don't want to be bad."
Zoey paused for a second, realizing that he still thought about her calling him a "Bad Saja boy." She laughed a little as she ran her hands up his torso and settled them on his shoulders, squeezing gently. "You still think about that?"
Mystery pouted and nodded sheepishly, not wanting her to tease him. He thought about it often, practically every single day since she had said it. He had genuinely been affected by it, embarrassing as that was.
Zoey cooed out an 'aw' and moved her hands to run through his hair, gently scratching his scalp. "Is that why you were trying to freak me out with all your demon stuff?" She teased lightly, meeting his eyes.
He nodded again, nervous that she might make fun of him for that. He realized how embarrassing that was now that he knew she didn't hate it. Didn't fear it.
"Aww, Mys." She cooed again, kissing his jaw. "You won't freak me out. I'm not scared of demons."
"You don't like demons." He countered, needing a little more reassurance before he could feel secure.
"I like you though. You're different."
"I'm not really."
"You're different enough."
Mystery still felt uneasy with that, as if he could become not 'different enough' at any moment. He didn't like not having a specific explanation for why she was okay with him despite him being a demon. It felt unsafe. If he didn't know why she liked and trusted him, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't break it. It felt too fragile. He didn't reply, instead pleaded with her with his eyes.
"You're sweet, Mys. You aren't like the demons we normally fight. None of the Saja boys actually. You're all actually pretty human-ish. I've no idea why you're all so 'human' though. Maybe one day you can explain that to me. But anyway. It just means that you all seem to think and act in a way that's more human than the normal demons. And you especially are lovely. Especially when you listen to me. When you behave good, then you're a good boy."
Mystery perked up, satisfied with the new parameters. Good. If he acts good, he will be good. He grinned and cuddled down into Zoey.
"I will be good for you."