Archive of Our Own

The rage that filled his veins was like a searing lava that he couldn’t control. It flowed without stopping and he cursed himself for caring so much. Burning palms pressed into the cool ceramics of the sink top as sea-sweet tears trailed lines, thick and damp, down his dirt-smudged face. In the end, there was nothing he could do; he had been too late. Blood and fur had long since dried on his forearms, a reminder of his failure that he wasn’t yet ready to wash away.

He didn’t know what the words were that passed through his chapped lips, but he felt them with his entire being. They were filled with rage and passion and sadness as he said them and his heated breath fogged the glass of the mirror in front of him. He tried to focus on that as his head began to swim and just as his reflection was becoming visible to him again, his body gave way and he slipped down the side of the sink and onto the icy tiled floor.

When he awoke, he found himself in the bathtub still fully dressed, with the water running far cooler than he would have liked. He sat himself up a little bit, but slipped, startled, when a clattering in the hallway caught his attention. For a moment, he just stared at the door, waiting for something, anything, and then slowly reached over and turned off the faucet. The few inches of water that had collected in the tub was murky from the mess he had brought home with him, but it seemed to have left his skin clear, despite the lack of scrubbing.

He didn’t even hear anyone approach, but when he looked up again, a figure stood—no, floated—in the doorway. “Oh, good, you came to!” they said, and he just stared at them as his heart raced in his ears and the sweat-to-water ratio on his hands shifted. They raised their hands in response to his fear, as if to show they were unarmed and not a threat, but the way their hands ended in long, black claws was a little disconcerting. “Don’t look so shocked,” they said, and as they spoke, he got a glimpse of the fanged teeth behind soft lips. “You’re the one that summoned me.”

“I…what?”

They floated over and sat themself down on the toilet, crossing a slim leg over the other in such a seductive way that he had to look away. “I’m a demon,” they said. “We get summoned a lot for whatever reason. But you summoned me, and now I’m here to do your bidding. Name’s Nishinoya, by the way.” Nishinoya used the pointed end of their tail to pick something out from under one of their claws and gave him a toothy grin.

“I-I don’t think I summoned you,” he said. “I don’t even know how to. I don’t even believe in demons.” He still hadn’t looked back at them.

“Well, I’m right in front of you, so this is pretty real, buddy. As for the how of it, well, accidental summonings happen all the time, actually. Doesn’t make them any less legit, though. Weird words, blood of an innocent, seething rage… All that good stuff you had going on right before you passed out. That’s all you needed, and, well, here I am.”

He sank lower into the filthy water in an attempt to distance himself. “Well, you can leave,” he said. “I don’t need you.” He chanced a quick glance, and when he was greeted with bright and curious eyes, he looked away again.

“Can’t,” the demon said, shrugging. “Gotta stay until we make some sort of deal.”

“What if I refuse?”

“You can’t,” they said. After a thoughtful pause, they added, “Well, I mean, you can, but then you’ll be stuck with me forever. And let’s be real, here, neither of us want that.”

He chewed apprehensively on his lip and drew up the courage to look at the demon again. They seemed friendly enough, and now that his initial terror had died down, the demon wasn’t that scary. Yeah, there were the fangs and the claws and the tail and the horns (and the complete lack of clothes that made Asahi blush), pretty much everything you’d expect from a typical demon, but there was something about their eyes, he thought, that made them seem almost…gentle.

“So what’s it gonna be?” they asked after letting him appraise them for a minute or two. “We gonna make a deal, or what?”

“No,” he said defiantly.

The demon cocked their head to one side, a coy grin tugging at their lips. “Oh?”

“Even if I did somehow summon you, I refuse to make a deal with you.”

“How inconsiderate,” they said, their tone playful. “After I drew a bath for you and everything. I guess if you’re gonna play it like that, then fine.” They stood up, their bare feet light on the floor and not making a sound as they walked out of the bathroom.

He sat there for a minute without moving, unsure of what Nishinoya was up to. When they didn’t return, he finally unplugged the tub and let the mess of water drain, making a mental note to bleach the entire thing later. He stepped, dripping, from the tub and reached for a towel. “N…Nishinoya?” he called through the open door. When there was no answer, he poked his head out. Nothing. Maybe he had imagined the whole encounter; his head was throbbing something awful and he felt nauseous. With a disgruntled sigh, he closed the door and stripped out of his wet clothes.

Just as he was wrapping the towel around his waist, they reappeared on the toilet. “Miss me?” they asked.

He nearly dropped the towel, but caught it just in time—that didn’t stop his entire body from flushing a deep red, though.

“This is what your entire life is gonna be like from now on,” Nishinoya said, their legs crossed daintily as they reclined against the tank with their hands behind their head. Their foot bounced up and down innocently. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

He swallowed and looked away, gripping the towel tight as he told himself to be strong.

“Will you at least tell me your name? I told you mine.” The demon’s voice was almost a pout.

He shot them a glance over his shoulder, suspicious. “There’s not anything evil you can do with it, is there?” he asked.

“’Evil’?” the demon asked, sitting up straight. “I’m not evil.”

“But you’re a demon.” Something in the accusation hit a nerve and he wasn’t sure if they were angry or offended.

“So?”

He bit his lip again and looked away. “I just assumed…”

“Five minutes ago you said you didn’t even believe in demons, and now you’re saying all demons are evil?” Their voice cracked with some kind of wholly human emotion and he was surprised to find that he was feeling some kind of compassion for this bodied intrusion into his quiet life.

“Well, you are threatening to terrorize me for the rest of my life,” he said. “That sounds pretty evil.”

“It’s not like I’m gonna hurt you or anything,” they said. “Listen. I’m just trying to do my job, alright? I gotta do it, no matter what. I didn’t exactly sign up for this, alright? Just make a deal with me so I can leave. Shit, I swear, humans these days…”

“Asahi,” he said, voice soft.

“What?” The demon’s own rage was thrown off and they didn’t immediately seem to understand.

“My name’s Asahi,” he said again.

“Okay,” Nishinoya said. “You’re gonna be stubborn, though, aren’t you, Asahi?” The name was hissed between their fangs in a way that made him shiver.

But he nodded firmly, a piece of him resigning to his self-imposed fate as he walked out of the bathroom.

“Don’t you ever just wanna be something else?” the demon asked as Asahi helped himself to a bowl of cereal. “Or, like, see somewhere else?” They were grasping at straws that Asahi wasn’t willing to give.

It had only been a couple days, and Asahi had managed to ignore most of it.

“Just let me do something for you, anything. Your end of it can be small.” They floated around Asahi’s shoulders, trying to distract him from his breakfast. Seeing that they weren’t getting anywhere, they gave an exasperated groan before moving to lay down on the kitchen table. “I’m just so bored. Your life is so boring. Can’t you at least do something fun to keep me entertained?”

“Entertain yourself,” Asahi said.

“You still don’t get how this works, do you?” Nishinoya asked, huffing as they rolled over to watch Asahi through feathery lashes.

Asahi honestly did not get how it worked, and he didn’t care to learn. But it seemed that Nishinoya was going to educate him, anyway.

“You summoned me, so I essentially belong to you. I can’t really do anything for myself. Not in this realm, anyway.”

“And there’s no way to release you without making a deal?” Asahi asked. He didn’t really like the idea of owning someone, but he also wasn’t too fond of the idea of making deals with demons. He was sure that would somehow mess up his karma or something.

Nishinoya shook their head. “Sorry, pal,” he said. “Not my policy. I’m just doing my job. And you’re making it extremely difficult.”

“I’m sorry,” Asahi said.

“’Sorry’?” the demon echoed. “You can fix this, y’know.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” Asahi said again.

“Look, it’s not hard. You do something small, and I’ll do something small, and it won’t matter to anyone, and we can both just get on with our lives. No one will know.”

“I’ll know,” Asahi said.

“So what?” Nishinoya asked, sitting up and letting their legs dangle over the edge of the table.

“I’m not sure I would expect a demon to understand human morality,” Asahi said, his voice quiet as he moved some cereal around in his bowl.

“I’ve been summoned enough times to understand the gist of it,” they said, crossing their arms over their chest and looking genuinely annoyed. “There’s this stigma about making deals with demons, right?”

Asahi looked up at them and blinked. “Yeah,” he said dumbly. “I guess.”

“Well, that’s just stupid. What’s so wrong about it? You do something, I do something. Easy. I’m not gonna suck out your soul or anything. I told you before, I’m not evil.”

“I know,” Asahi admitted. He knew it was stupid and that Nishinoya was probably right. But then he thought that that was probably just what they wanted him to think. He shook his head. “I need to go to work.”

“Can I come?” Nishinoya’s eyes lit up.

“No.”

They pouted, but Asahi wasn’t fazed.

“Can I ask you a question?” Asahi asked as he put his bowl in the sink to deal with later. He didn’t turn to look at Nishinoya again.

“I don’t see why not,” the demon huffed.

“Can you please put some clothes on?”

“I will if you wash that bowl right now.”

Asahi shot them a look, eyes narrowed, and said, “Never mind.”

“It’s that easy!” Nishinoya protested, following Asahi as he walked toward the door.

“No.” Asahi slid on his shoes and left the house without another word.

“I’m home!” Asahi called, slipping off his shoes as he shut the door behind him. Something had been lurking in the back of his mind all throughout his shift, even though he tried to ignore it. He loosened his tie and stepped inside, his apartment eerily silent. His mind entertained the idea that maybe Nishinoya was gone, or maybe the last few days had been some sort of hallucination; he would accept that truth if it meant that he wouldn’t have to deal with the demon anymore. But it was just too damn quiet. With a clearing of his throat, he asked, “Nishinoya?”

When there wasn’t a response, he let out a breath, unsure if he had been holding it or if it was just a sigh of relief. He poked his head into the kitchen, then walked down the hall to the bathroom. Nothing in the bedroom, either. It all seemed otherworldly, as if he stepped into some sort of void that just looked like his apartment.

He must be losing his mind.

Back in the bathroom, he leaned against the sink, staring into the mirror as he looked for some hint of crazy in his eyes. He narrowed them, judging himself, then reached up and pulled out the elastic holding his hair in its bun. His hair, soft from the morning’s shower, creased from its confinement, tumbled down to his shoulders. When he shook his head, strands fell in front of his eyes, his normal eyes, his perfectly sane eyes. He turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face, his ears aware of every creak in the quiet apartment.

He turned the water off and looked up, droplets falling from his chin, and jumped at the addition to his reflection.

Nishinoya floated in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame. “I brought you something,” they said, eyes glued to Asahi’s reflection. Their expression was unreadable. “A peace offering. To prove I’m not evil, I guess.”

Asahi turned around, blinking slowly, part of him hoping that Nishinoya only existed in the reflection and not in the real world. When his eyes opened, though, he was of course greeted with the demon standing there, just like they had been in the reflection. “What?” he asked.

Nishinoya beckoned Asahi forward, their clawed fingers curling surreptitiously as they disappeared into the hallway. Asahi had no choice but to follow, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as the leftover adrenaline from the initial start still pumped through his veins.

Though he had to admit he was giddily curious, too. What could Nishinoya possible have for him? Some trick, no doubt.

In the living room, Nishinoya presented him with a box. They didn’t say anything, they just held the box out, head turned slightly away as they watched him out of the corner of their eyes.

“What’s in it?” Asahi asked, eying the box with justified suspicion.

The demon just moved the box closer, leveling him with a steady gaze.

Asahi wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before reaching out for the box. Nishinoya held it firm from the bottom as he opened the flaps on the top.

A kitten peered back at him.

There was something eerily familiar about it. He stared at it, and it stared at him for a moment before shifting restlessly inside the box.

“It’s a cat,” Asahi said.

“Do you recognize it?” Nishinoya looked at him hopefully, their eyes alight with some kind of innocence that made Asahi momentarily forget that this was a demon, not a child.

He did recognize it though. It took him a minute. The last time he had seen this cat, it was bloody and burnt and most definitely dead. He was afraid to touch it.

“It’s not diseased or anything,” Nishinoya said.

“But… How?”

Nishinoya raised an eyebrow and smiled. “It’s not hard,” they said. “I promise, it’s just like a normal cat. Reanimating something so small is surprisingly easy.”

“Why?”

The demon shook their head. “So curious today,” they said, pushing the box into Asahi’s hands. “I told you, I wanted to prove that I wasn’t ‘evil’.”

Asahi held the box, staring down at its contents, the events of the other night racing back to the front of his mind.

He had been walking home from a particularly not-great day at work, so his mood had already been pretty low. Some commotion was coming from an alleyway near his apartment and it drew his attention. Before he realized what was happening, he could already smell the sulfur from firecrackers and some other unpleasant scent that he would later identify as burning fur and flesh. The sound, a screeching howl, was what prompted him to approach the group of teenagers surrounding a box. His presence alone was enough to scare them off; he didn’t even have to say anything. But by the time he got to the kitten it had fallen silent. He tried, he tried so hard, but he couldn’t save it. All he had managed to do was make a mess of himself.

He didn’t realize he was crying until the kitten jumped and shook the offending teardrop from its fur. When he looked up to say something to Nishinoya, though, the demon was gone.

Asahi sat down on the floor and let the kitten out of the box, wiping the tears from his eyes and allowing himself to smile as the creature bounded across his living room floor.

He didn’t see Nishinoya for the rest of the evening. Life seemed to have reentered his apartment as he followed behind the kitten, letting it explore its new surroundings. It seemed to very much be a normal cat, and if Asahi hadn’t known any better, he would have assumed it was. But it was undeniably the cat from the alley, the cat that he couldn’t save. The cat whose blood had helped him summon a demon.

He went to the store down the street to get supplies.

And that night, the kitten slept curled up on his pillow.

“I’m sorry if I upset you last night,” Nishinoya said after appearing in the hallway outside Asahi’s kitchen the next morning. When Asahi turned, he saw that the demon looked sincere.

Asahi gave them a soft smile and glanced down at the kitten eating out of its brand new bowl. “It’s okay,” he said, looking back at Nishinoya. “Thank you.”

“Do you believe me, then?” Nishinoya asked.

Asahi considered it. “I’m not sure if I ever really doubted,” he said. “I appreciate the gesture, but this doesn’t change anything.”

The demon frowned.

“I’m sorry.” After a pause, he added, “I would ask you to keep an eye on it while I’m at work, but I know how that would go.”

“You’re a smart man, Asahi,” Nishinoya said with a grin. “I like that about you. I have to admit, though, I could be stuck with far worse humans.”

Asahi rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t wanna leave, though.”

Asahi nodded, but found that he couldn’t agree completely; he liked having someone around, even if they were an irritation more than anything. He was willing to tolerate the general inconvenience if it meant coming home to a lively house and a warm smile every day. “I should get to work,” he said, and left it at that.

“Hey, Asahi, let’s play a game.”

“What kind of game?”

“The kind where you make a deal with me.”

“No.”

“Fine.”

“Hey, Asahi, how was your day?”

“Is this some kind of trick, Nishinoya?”

“What? No, I really want to know how your day was.”

“…it was okay.”

“You know what would make it better?”

“Not making a deal with you.”

“Hmmph.”

“Welcome home! I put the kettle on for you.”

“Thank you, Nishinoya. Did you have a good day?”

“It was okay. I played with Chikari a lot. I think she’s sleeping in your dresser.”

“I’m home!”

“Welcome back, Asahi! I, uh… Well, Chikari, actually… She broke your vase. I cleaned it up, though!”

“Thanks. I was thinking about getting rid of that one anyway.”

“Oh, good. I actually broke it.”

“I know.”

It had been over a month and Asahi had grown so accustomed to Nishinoya that it was basically just like having a roommate. Their attempts at getting him to make a deal had dwindled, and it was comfortable. Asahi looked forward to coming home to his weird little family, a demon and a reanimated cat, and he couldn’t even remember what his quiet life had been like before.

Nishinoya always greeted him with a smile and he could see that the demon was adjusting to this boring human routine in a strangely domestic way.

Asahi hung up his coat and walked into the kitchen, Nishinoya following behind. “One of my coworkers asked me about my girlfriend today,” he said.

“Ooh, you have a girlfriend? When do I get to meet her?” Nishinoya asked, hovering over Asahi’s shoulder as he peered into his fridge.

Asahi chuckled. “I don’t. I told him that, and he didn’t believe me.” He looked back at the demon, who looked confused. With an amused grin, he turned his eyes back to the fridge. “Do you like it here, Nishinoya?”

They sat themself down on the cool linoleum floor and took a moment to formulate an answer. In the silence, Asahi closed to fridge and turned to them. He scanned their face, the concentration that worried a wrinkle in their brow was too human, he thought. Their eyes were cast to the floor, considering, and Asahi considered what kind of answer he wanted. He didn’t even know why he had asked the question, but now he was committed to getting an answer.

“I don’t dislike it,” Nishinoya said, and as soon as it came out, Asahi knew that it was exactly the answer he had expected. They slowly licked their lips and looked up. There was something else, another answer, or maybe a question, that shone out of their eyes as they looked at Asahi.

He couldn’t stand that gaze and looked away with a small smile. The kitten, Chikari, padded into the room and mewled at Asahi’s feet. She had gotten so big in the last month. He crouched down and scratched her chin, eliciting a rumbling purr that filled the otherwise quiet kitchen. When he lifted the gaze from the cat, Nishinoya was gone, and he was alone. He scooped the kitten up, tiny in his large hands, and went out to the hallway.

“Nishinoya?” he called into the seemingly empty apartment. Something moved in his bedroom, so he went there, still carrying Chikari, who decided she wanted to chew on his fingers. He didn’t stop her.

Nishinoya was laying on the bed. Just laying there, staring at the ceiling.

“Nishinoya?” Asahi asked again, standing in the doorway.

“Why’d your coworker think you had a girlfriend?” they asked, sitting up. The slowness of the movement reminded Asahi just how much Nishinoya wasn’t human. They cocked their head to one side and their tail flopped gently against the duvet in absentminded agitation.

Chikari wiggled in Asahi’s arms and he let her down. She bolted out of the room as he took a step further inside. “He just said I seemed too happy not to.”

Nishinoya’s eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment, they asked, “Do you like having me here, Asahi?”

Asahi shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t surprised that the demon had turned his earlier question back on him. “I don’t dislike it,” he said with a sheepish grin, watching Nishinoya out of the corner of his eye.

They laughed. It was small at first; Asahi saw their shoulder tremble before any sound came out. But then it filled the room, and then the entire apartment. It was loud and untamed, and had it come from anyone else, Asahi would have found it unbearable. But it was Nishinoya’s laugh, and it was big and warming, and he never wanted to live in silence again. His heart beat a rhythm that matched the rises and falls of Nishinoya’s gasping breaths, each one punctuated with the oddly purest sound that Asahi had ever heard. Tears welled up in the demon’s eyes as their laughter continued, clawed hands grasping their sides. Asahi had lost track of what even was so funny as he reached out to dry their cheeks, heart pounding as laughter bubbled out of him, as well.

Then it was quiet.

The sudden silence was surprising and it took him a moment to realize the cause. The hands that had wiped away Nishinoya’s joyous tears had pulled their face closer to him until their lips pressed together, cutting off both their laughter.

Asahi had never kissed anyone before, let alone a demon, so he wasn’t sure if the tingling was a normal occurrence or a supernatural one. He frankly didn’t care. He lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, not letting his lips leave Nishinoya’s, and turning his head ever so slightly. His mouth opened and his lips were met with a sharp pinch from Nishinoya’s fangs. He pulled back, startled, and was suddenly reminded of what he was doing. His hands pulled away from Nishinoya and one covered his mouth out of reflex.

“I’m sorry!” Nishinoya said. “Are you bleeding? I didn’t mean…”

Asahi shook his head and lifted himself off the bed. “No, no… I’m sorry. I…” He backed away a couple steps and stared down at his carpet. He was quiet for a moment and he could feel Nishinoya’s eyes on him. Finally, he lowered his hand, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. “I cannot love a demon,” he said, and as soon as the words came out, his mouth snapped shut and he began to chew the inside of his lip. He still couldn’t look at Nishinoya.

Nishinoya frowned, their tail flicking around again. “I don’t really get human emotions,” they said, and Asahi’s heart wasn’t sure if it wanted to drop or to soar. “I thought I was learning, but they’re damn complicated.”

Asahi couldn’t disagree.

“And I guess I’ve just accepted at this point that you’re not gonna be making any deals with me. I get that, I respect that. You’re a strange guy, and stubborn as shit, but I…” They sighed, or groaned, Asahi wasn’t really sure. It was a sound of exasperation and he didn’t want to disrupt their train of thought in order to get clarification. “But if you’re gonna keep me here, I want…” Their frown deepened as they examined their own hands, then they looked up at Asahi. They held his gaze for a moment before saying, “I want you to be happy.”

“You’re wrong,” Asahi said.

“What?”

“I want to make a deal with you,” he said. “But I’m not sure if you can do it…”

Nishinoya sat up on their knees, the familiar grin returning to their face. “Don’t underestimate me,” they said.

Asahi breathed in slowly, putting the words together that he wanted to use. Words had never been his strong suit, and he didn’t want to mess this up. “I will,” he began, his words slow. “I will let you stay here as long as you like, and you can come and go as you please, if…” In his hesitation, Nishinoya leaned forward. “If you become human. Ifyouwantto. Like I said, I don’t even know if it’s possible…” Asahi was already wanting to take the proposal back.

Nishinoya sat back, considering it. “I can’t just…change what I am, Asahi,” they said, their voice sad. “And it’s not that I don’t want to. I want to m—” They stopped, then rephrased, “I want you to be happy. Will that make you happy? You want me to stay?”

“I want to love you,” Asahi said, before he could stop himself. “But I…”

“You can’t love a demon,” Nishinoya finished, their smirk laced with some kind of poison that hollowed out Asahi’s chest. “I’m always gonna be a demon,” they said, reaching out to touch Asahi’s cheek.

Their fingers were soft, claws gone. Asahi couldn’t remember when they had changed and found himself wondering if Nishinoya had ever actually had claws to begin with. He leaned his head into their palm and closed his eyes. “I guess that’s not a bad thing,” he said.

When Asahi opened his eyes again, Nishinoya was smiling at him. It wasn’t a grin or a smirk, just the corners of their mouth slightly upturned in a small, gentle smile. “I’ve been trying to tell you that,” they said.

Asahi sighed. “I know.”

“So let me propose a different deal,” they said.

Asahi took a seat on the edge of the bed, acutely aware of all the human features Nishinoya had taken on.

“I’ll give you human companionship in the best way I can, and you let me come and go whenever I want. That sounds fair, right?”

Asahi felt his cheeks begin to burn. “When you put it that way, it’s a little odd,” he admitted.

“Isn’t that what you want, though?” Nishinoya asked, brows knitting together with a bit of confusion.

Asahi thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, that’s what I want.”

“Okay, then,” Nishinoya said.

“Okay.”

“It’s a deal?”

“It’s a deal.”

Nishinoya offered Asahi their perfectly normal human hand. Asahi looked at it for just a moment before taking it in his own and making it official.