maybe in our next life in this world of ours –

[hankerings]

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[hankerings]

[ he's peckish.

it hasn't evolved into full hunger yet, temporarily sustained by the normal food they have stocked up in their little house on the edge of town. it's a quaint place, something you wouldn't expect for a pair of old demons, but he chose it for the little pond out back and the ample space for a fox to roam through. with lush greens and a variety of flowers, they do their best with upkeep even if rasias doesn't have the greenest thumb. it's in his nature to take a little bit of life away, after all, never enough to kill, just enough to sustain himself.

it's such a bother, really.

he's tired of it all, of people, but he does what he must if only because hideaki is the way he is, caring for him in a way that no one else really could.

it's afternoon when he comes home after a shorter workday, tossing his bag aside as he promptly toes his shoes off and walks across the grass to get his feet wet, jeans already rolled up past his ankles. he's cranky, huffy – the day was a load of bullshit, and he's been looking forward to sitting outside for the rest of the summer evening.

well, he would if it weren't for that incessant growling from his stomach. ]

Quiet.

[improvised]

[ there are perks to being what he is — hideaki can smell rasias the moment he steps onto the damp grass from where he's been napping the afternoon away under the trees near their property line.

it doesn't take a genius to know he's hungry.

pushing himself to his feet, he brushes any lingering dirt or grass away, tipping his head as he watches rasias try to combat that ever gnawing feeling. if pressed, hideaki would say there isn't anything in the world he likes more than the sight of the other demon in their garden, the smell of him. it's childish, maybe, the sense of satisfaction that settles in the pit of his stomach from the fact that he came home instead of grabbing a bite to eat elsewhere.

crossing the distance between them, hideaki resists the urge to push rasias to the grass immediately, instead reaching for him to nuzzle into him, wrap himself around him. ]

You're early today.

[hankerings]

[ maybe it's just his nature or something, or the fact that he has had hideaki in his life for years and years, but he can sense him amongst the trees even if he hadn't been actively looking for him. a soft smile graces his features and rasias closes his eyes, leaning into the other's embrace, his warmth, and he presses his cheek against his shoulder.

without thinking, he loops am arm around his back as well, holding him close. even if it doesn't feed him, it does sustain him, the physical touches he doesn't ever allow from anyone else. ]

The offices were getting too warm while they're repairing the HVAC.

[ mm, this is nice. he smells like earth and sun. ]

Hey.

[improvised]

[ a small smile pulls at hideaki's lips at that, more amused than he really ought to be. he's been spread out in the sunshine for a good hour, soaking up the summer warmth, but he likes rasias's warmth most of all. nosing against his neck, he lets out a sigh full of nothing but contentedness.

taking any of this for granted isn't an option. he knows just how lucky he is that rasias allows him to snuggle into him. ]

You still smell good.

[ a quiet little murmur. he's soon to pull back enough to look at rasias, unwind an arm from around him to brush his bangs from his face, fussing over him with the inherent need to touch. ]

Welcome home.

[hankerings]

[ it could have been a lonely existence, having been born in between worlds, having lost his mother – always moving forward while the earth claimed her again, an old woman when he last laid eyes on her. he doesn't like many people. he doesn't like many demons. but he does like hideaki, even loves him, and wants him close. ]

You always like how I smell.

[ he chuckles and doesn't shy away from the brush of fingers against his forehead, closing his eyes instead as he leans further into his embrace, shoulders slumping, arms still tight around the other's waist.

oh, he is so tired, more tired than he would be if he was the sort of half-demon who actually ate when he's supposed to. there are other things he would much rather be doing, like lazing on their property and being coddled and sniffed by a fox. he knows what's coming, but he's willing to put them on a detour as long as possible before he knows he has to go out again. ]

[improvised]

[ rasias is so tired that hideaki can almost feel it coming off of him in waves. it's worrying, of course it's worrying, and he nuzzles back against the column of his neck, drinking in the scent of him, all salt and rasias. the rumble of his cambion's stomach is a tell-tale enough sign that he should really be eating better. maybe hideaki's been too selfish with him recently. ]

We should get you something to eat.

[ spoken against his neck with a graze of teeth. try as he might, there's no helping the edge of possessiveness to his voice. he doesn't like having to share rasias, but he wants him to be as healthy and happy as possible. going out and finding people for him to feed from is part of that, no matter how much he dislikes it.

in a perfect world, he'd be enough to sustain him. he knows it's not a failing on his part, that it's just how the world works, but he still doesn't like it much. ]

[hankerings]

Today was pretty boring until this was reported.

[ IMG ATTACHED. ]

[ he gave up respecting privacy when he realized that they were all buffoons. ]

[improvised]

it's always good to know romance isn't dead.

[hankerings]

I'm glad I'm not hungry. This is a total appetite killer.

I will surprise you one day with a text '10 inches :)'

[improvised]

see, now i know it's coming. it kind of ruins it. ):

i guess you'll have to come up with something equally heart-stoppingly romantic.

[hankerings]

How about:
Wanna see a dick pic?

flashback ––

[hankerings]

[ he's always known what he was – a half-demon destined to walk the earth for eternity, a cambion meant to slowly sap the energies of those who dare to enter his orbit. it's easy, on some level, being rasias, having been loved by his dear mother, a constant worrier who silently resented the man who fathered him. it was the only true love he had known and he had remained at her side until her death when she succumbed to the curse of a human – old age.

it was then that ras traveled, glamoring his way onto all sorts of ships and trains, seeing what the world had to offer. he cared not for the company of other demons as they believed this half-blood unworthy, preferring the company of humans who looked at him as if he was the most beautiful thing to walk the planet. it wasn't anything to be especially cocky about; that was simply his existence, appearing to mortals as a heightened version of himself with fair skin, high cheekbones, catlike eyes, and lips that reminded many of cupid's bow. for all his years on this planet, he learned not to care about tradition, often dressing in some combination of traditional korean shirts and jackets and western-inspired trousers.

kyoto is beautiful in april with cherry blossoms lining the streets, houses nestled among them. the city's population has been growing, the structures along with it, and ras lives just off-center to it all, in a small, austere space, as practical as he is. they still buzz about him, coming up with their own gossip, and while he's starting to grow a little bored with the attention, he at least wants to stay until the end of spring and perhaps into summer before disappearing into the night as he often does.

he's spoiled, in a way, and wants for nothing as people willingly give him whatever he asks for. even so, he's taken a job selling printed handbills, detailing the news and events of the moment (a proto-newspaper, he'll recall years later). but even a cambion tires of human attention and retreats from the crowd once more, and seemingly turns off his glamor as if extinguishing a candle, opting to wander through the fields of blossoms once more.

it's more peaceful like this. ]

[improvised]

[ hideaki is more of a creature of habit than not, often preferring to keep his shield of fur when close to home. kyoto is his home and always has been, bustling city that it's beginning to become. there's opportunity here, familiarity, and he depends on every single drop of it. foxes are solitary things, demons of the sort even more so, but he's slipped into a dangerous trend of looking for certain people in the crowd, sometimes revisiting houses that are friendly and warm. it doesn't mean he doesn't do his fair share of harm, though.

they start as rumors and grow into myths, just hearsay about a man luring children into the cherry blossom fields on the edge of the city, promising them anything their hearts desire – untrue, in most cases. hideaki leans towards playing with children, letting them sink their little fingers into his thick fur and pet him. during tanabata, he even sets up a little stand with games and small trinkets he's thieved over the years for prizes. he likes children, but it's the adults that get the brunt of his boredom.

it's never anything too dangerous, of course, but hideaki sows his own mischief into the hearts of humans. he gossips when he deems appropriate, causes small tiffs among the bigger households in the city. sometimes he steals and redistributes, but sometimes he steals and keeps, too. he's always been flirtatious, tugging people into jealous little spats at the worst moments. they're all such little things, so easily eased into and then left alone. hideaki isn't lonely.

he's noticed the cambion selling printed handbills, beautiful even without the glamour he adopts like a second skin. he's bought a few himself, even, slipping into his own human skin out of curiosity. but he's watched him with sharper eyes still when he gets closer to the fields hideaki vanishes into for a handful of centuries. most steer clear of them unless they're children testing their bravery against old wive's tales.

but it's april and it's sweltering already, the air sticky with humidity and the promise of summer. hideaki has spent a good few moments nestled among the grass and blossoms, soaking up the sun in a yukata he thieved a neat 30 years prior. and it really is light a candle, the way the stranger's glamour is suddenly gone. sitting up, he lets his gaze linger on him for one beat, then two, before he whistles at him, a grin spreading his lips. ]

Taking a break already?

[ hideaki isn't lonely, not really, but the stranger makes him feel like he is, something in him craving his attention. ]

[hankerings]

[ without the whistle to summon him ( that's new ), it's difficult to miss the shock of red hair in his periphery, but rasias had seen him before, wondering briefly if there might have been a kindred spirit in this man who also seems to march to the beat of his own drum. given the way people tend to surround him, he doesn't put too much thought or effort into that, letting the chips fall where they may.

amongst the fields of blossoms, the redhead stands out so pleasingly, nestled in the grass as if he belongs there. and perhaps he does. if his suspicions are correct, this burgeoning world isn't quite built for people like them but can be used to one's advantage if they know how to play their cards properly. he's seen him before, mostly with children, slipping in and out of crowds of adults. ras eventually pauses his walk, stopping and turning to get a proper look at him, catlike eyes narrowing curiously. there's mischief in his eyes, a smile that seems to linger around the edges of his lips before the pull back into the brightest grin he has ever seen. ]

How do you know how long I've been working?

[ it's a naive thing to hope he has found someone like him after all these years of wandering, remaining apart from most of society while still very much embedded in it. he slips his hand into the pocket of his western trousers rolled up to his calves and tilts his head, deciding to make his approach carefully. the heat doesn't seem to affect him, any sweat that might linger on his face and neck coming off as more of an ethereal glow.

ras crouches down to face him, lips pressed into a thin smile. ] I've wondered about you.

[hankerings]

You were truly on fire with the nature observations today on that app you enjoy so much.

[improvised]

i don't like the new raccoon. he's too cocky.
and i miss you and found that expensive bottle of whiskey we bought last week.

[hankerings]

Would you save some for me at least?
Aren't you awfully cold lately? Let me warm you later.

[improvised]

i always save some for you.
your sweater has been taking the edge off. it still smells like you, so it's almost easy to pretend.

[hankerings]

Good. I'll have another one for you to wear if you think you can handle another layer of clothing.
Why don't you like the raccoon?

[hankerings]

1. My boss just offered me a vodka mixed drink at work I do not have a real job
2. That tasted like it smelled.
3. You spent twenty minutes waxing poetic about last night

[improvised]

i could have spent a lot longer than that.

[hankerings]

I was trying to be my most romantic too. I think it is safe to say it worked.

[improvised]

even at your least romantic i could spend at least an hour waxing poetic over you.

[hankerings]

I truly don't deserve your pretty words, fox.

[hankerings]

[ in a note tucked beneath a pillow the morning after he's spent the night at hideaki's side: ]

Do you always cling so tightly at night?
I have never felt so warm in the winter.