The grocery store was quieter as night, but not completely so. A small crew worked to fill the shelves when the customers were asleep in their beds.
The health care aisles were closest to the doors. The sharp chatter of two women who worked there echoed through the front end. The two were of different ages, one around forty and the other maybe ten years younger. It was hard to tell, because time hadn't been kind to them. Ravaged by their constant illegal drug and alcohol use, as well as being poisoned by their own bitter natures, they looked battered and worn out.
There was a third woman there, but she kept her back to them, digging products out of a grey, plastic box on a cart and stocking them as quickly as she could. She was heavier than her co-workers, as she didn't abuse substances other than certain foods once in awhile. She was younger, too, but her weary, pale features were ravaged in a different way.
"Ha! Don't mention that to <i>Elly</i>! She'd get pissed!"
"Yeah, she needs to lose weight."
"Why bother? It's not like she's going to attract a man."
"Let's get her a substitute!"
Elly sighed inwardly. She was adept at ignoring the bullies, but that just meant they tried harder. She shook her head silently but then jerked to the side with a curse as she felt a sharp pain on one side of her head.
"Ow!" She spun around, glaring at the younger of her two tormentors.
"I've got a bunch of her hair! Let's do it!"
"You'll love it. Finally getting some action - might be what you need! Imagine never having a boyfriend!"
"I can imagine it," one sniffed. "She's not attractive or anything, after all."
"Are demons picky about that kind of thing?"
"We might piss it off!"
Elly finally had enough. "Listen, ladies, this isn't funny. If I have to, I'll go to the manager again." She sighed in defeat even as she spoke. Retail didn't give a shit about them as people; she'd had zero luck reporting them before and they all knew it was an empty threat. Less of beating the crap out of the two - <i>the only thing management would look into at this point</i>, she thought bitterly -- she had no idea how to stop them. She tucked an elfin lock of purple-dyed hair behind one ear and went back to work. Her last three hours seemed to take forever until she was allowed to clock out and go home.
The drive was short and she stumbled up the steps to her apartment in the dark, cursing faintly at the lack of lighting in the complex she lived in. The staff kept saying they would replace the bulbs in the hallways, but so far, nothing. She unlocked her door and stepped inside, closing it securely behind her.
Elly took out her cell phone and then tossed her knapsack carelessly onto the floor. She crossed the combined living room and kitchenette into her bedroom, muttering to herself about how everything sucked. The belly flop she did onto the old mattress wasn't dainty and might have damaged the springs some more, but she could care less at this point. She just wanted to cry herself to sleep and wasn't really paying attention until the light from her phone when she swiped it on showed a figure at the foot of her bed.
Elly's throat closed up tight in terror.
The dark shadow stood to its full height, shaking its long, dark hair back. She could tell it was definitely male when she looked and immediately averted her eyes, blushing and terrified.
<i>There was a naked man in her home. </i>
He chuckled softly as he watched her distress. She groped blindly for her phone and noticed a large pair of draconic wings unfurl from behind him. Elly's shaking hands pushed the phone further away from her on the bed. She whimpered in fear, certain now that her coworkers had hired a stranger to pretend to be a demon they summoned.
"Oh, I'm very real." His voice was bland, almost bored-sounding as he answered her unspoken thought. One long finger pointed at her phone and it slid into her reach without a touch. "By all means, hold this if it will relax you." He paused, his gaze lingering on her as she trembled on the bed. "It won't work, but you can hold it. Also, I don't want to alarm you, but you're going to have to deal with me in one way or another."
He took a step closer into the dim light.
He wasn't very tall, but his body rippled when he moved in ways that spoke of his incredible strength. His hair was so black it shone purple and blue under the overhead light, and it fell past his shoulders in long, wavy strands. Though he professed to be an incubus his facial features were worn and tired, with dark bags under bloodshot, gray eyes and a week's worth of intermittent stubble on his upper lip and chin. He pulled his wings and tail back when he saw they made her uncomfortable, and they vanished from sight. A hint of a smile twitched on his lips when she suggested he dress himself, and a dark mist surrounded him for a moment with a curious gesture he made. When it cleared, he was wearing a tight pair of black jeans and a v-neck shirt to match.
Despite his appearance and her general fear she found herself drawn to him, and that helped convince her of his nature.
"All right. What if. If! I you're real and not a trick. What's happening?"
"I've been called on your behalf but not bound by you," he explained quietly. "You can reject my... <i>services</i>," here he paused to look her directly in the eyes with a sly smile. "Or, you can have a sample. Try before you buy, if you like. I've never disappointed a human before."
Her nose wrinkled as he spoke, distaste clearly written on her features. "I don't like knowing that you've been with countless women -"
He raised an eyebrow. "You think I've been called to women only?"
She choked a little on that. "I thought your, uh, lore meant that you die if you, uh... you know. With a man."
"Incorrect," the incubus murmured. "Humans don't understand us, which is only natural as most of you don't believe we exist."
"But that means you've been with even <i>more</i> people!" She spluttered and shook her head in distress. "I - I couldn't think about that. Just being another number to something like you. It wouldn't mean anything. I want a relationship, not just sex."
"I've been told that before," he said with a lazy yawn. "If, indeed, you want a relationship, as you so quaintly put it, you might've asked my name by now."
She was taken aback by this and spluttered, "Oh. Uh, what <i>is</i> your name?"
"Too complicated for your little tongue to pronounce," he said with a low chuckle. "<i>You</i> can name me, though."
"I, er... me?" She frowned, then grinned mirthlessly. "Fine. Your name is Shota."
He gave her a very direct look. "Funny," he murmured, then he matched her smile with one of his own. "You're a spicy one. I like it." He purred seductively low in her ear. "Hmm... and did you realize that by naming me you've accepted my services? <i>Now</i> we're bonded."
She gaped at him, heart frozen in her chest. "N - no, that's not what I meant! You tricked me!"
"Demon," he said in a manner-of-fact voice.
Elly sat heavily down on the bed, her thoughts a jumbled mess. "I don't know what to <i>do</i>," she wailed. "The bitches at work did this to me as a prank. They hate me, and I don't know why! I keep to myself, I try not to bother anyone. I've got ...issues. I don't need more problems, I can barely take care of myself most days!"
"Well, for starters, you intend to feed me, don't you?" The demon was oddly calm sounding, acting rational rather than put off by her sudden emotional outburst. "I can eat physical foods, but specifically require your sexual gratification for nourishment."
She recoiled violently from him and ended up falling off the bed. He sighed, puffing out a faint charcoal smell as a bit of fire wisped from his lips. Shota lifted her from where he had caught her and placed her back on the comforter.
"How did you - ?"
"I'm magic, remember? I won't let my food source become incapacitated." He laughed at her expression and shook his head. "Despite what you think, incubi rarely hurt their human partners. We do less damage to you than by other humans, statistically."
She flinched as he kept mentioning food.
"I don't need to <i>produce</i> the gratification," he told her with a roll of his eyes.
"Meaning..?"
"You can please yourself and it will suffice. The end result will be more satisfactory if I were to <i>help</i>, but it's not necessary right now."
"Well, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to go on a diet! I'm not - not doing that for you!"
Shota sighed gustily again. "I can see we have a long way to go if you can't even say it. No matter. I'll go sleep on the couch for the rest of the night. Perhaps, in the morning, we can talk more about our living arrangements."
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