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The day was unmerciful to the fiend. There were too many men with nefarious intentions whose greed exceeded his consideration. Too much blood soaked his hands as a result.
When he entered his home in Onychinus, all he wanted was a hot bath. Perhaps even a meal or the notes of his favorite melody. Anything to remind the fiend that he was human underneath the skin he's had to put on.
His hand doesn't get to touch the light switch before immediately being cleansed of sin.
"Sylus!" you exclaim, running to him in your pajamas and disheveled hair and sleepy grin. "I missed you!"
He wraps his arms around your waist, a smile forming on his face for the first time today.
"I missed you too, beloved." It feels forbidden to cherish such an angel, to hold onto you with the blood on his hands, but he does so anyway.
"So, do you want some food? I cooked-”
He interrupts you with a kiss on your forehead. "I'm so happy I married you."
You laugh at that, gifting him with his favorite melody. He trails behind as you take him to his sanctuary — your kitchen.
He cannot take his eyes off of you.
The heart in his body is a blessing and a curse. It beats and beats and beats, a constant amidst life's uncertainties, and it does so for you.
Which means that he lives for you only.
That's the blessing. The curse is that you could do anything and it would beat and beat and beat at an inhumane pace.
"My love!"
You're on your tiptoes, reaching for a plate that only a bird can reach. Unfortunately for you, Mephisto is asleep, and the only bird available is a crow lost in the sight of your shirt riding up your body.
Sylus says nothing as he chews on the meal you prepared for him. He doesn’t quite trust his tongue at the moment.
"My love!" you call him again. "Can you help me, please?"
Finally, because he is more obedient than he is hungry, he stands up to effortlessly grab the plate for you.
“Thanks,” you say before walking away, leaving your husband to practically short-circuit. That’s all you have to say after captivating him? After making him smile for the first time during one of the worst days of his life?
“Beloved?” The affectionate term sounds like a song coming from you, even when it’s laced with your concern. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
He shakes his head of lovesick thoughts before joining you at the dining table. Even the sight of you eating contentedly makes him happy.
Be still, my beating heart.
“Sylus!” you snap your fingers in front of his face. “What is with you today?”
“Nothing!” he defends, putting his hands up like an innocent child, although the blood on his hands and the hunger running through him is anything but innocent.
“Really?” you cross your arms in suspicion.
“Really,” he retaliates by crossing his own arms.
“Hmph.” You continue eating your dinner, unaware of the restraint your husband is harboring. Please, he wants to plead in front of you. He doesn’t even know what he’d be pleading for — he just knows he wants whatever you give him.
“Beloved,” he calls for you, and he hates how the affectionate term already sounds like a plea.
You give him your attention. Oh, your eyes, so happy when hearing from him. “Yes?”
“I-” For a moment, words escape the fiend, the crow, the man enamored by you. But he catches himself quickly and says the first words that come to his mind. “I love you.”
How disgraceful, he thinks, for the three magical words that all fiends dream of hearing are inadequate when explaining his innermost thoughts.
Love is one of those thoughts, but his heart is screaming a louder tune.
Regardless, you smile.
Even in his immanent failure to express his true thoughts, you give him a smile. “I love you too, Sy. Now, what’s going on with you?”
Sylus lets himself be honest now that he understands that his angel will extend her wings to him no matter what. “You make me… ravenous.”
“Ravenous?” you eye your outfit — an old crop top and his red pajama pants. “This set doesn’t even match!”
Oh, your husband does not care one bit. Not when you are so sweet, so beautiful.
“Sometimes I think you’re crazy,” you admit with a shy smile.
Your husband bears all of the confidence now. “Crazy in love, yes.”
And you reward his cheekiness — and unknowingly, his patience — with a kiss.