Despite everything the demon had said, Sehun isn’t quite sure he trusts the man. Kris probably assumes he’ll just go along with everything like a good, little naive human. But he doesn’t buy it. No, not at all. He sighs softly as he steps into his room, gently closing the door behind him. He glances at the closet, swallowing hard when he sees it’s not closed. He gets tense when it opens and Kai’s face pops out. “Hey,” The punk greets in a whisper. His shoulders slowly lower when he sees the lack of glowing in the demon’s eyes. Why would he be sad right now?” Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Kai murmurs as he slowly exits the closet. “I feel strange.”

“Strange...how?” He asks as he pulls off his jacket and tosses it onto the back of his chair.

“I don’t know,” He repeats. “After we separated at your house and after I...beat your father,” he explains. “I don’t feel myself. I’m more anxious lately.”

Sehun nods, understanding that completely. He crosses his arms. “You have every right to feel anxious.”

Kai furrows his brow. “Why?”

Taking a deep breath, the punk leans against the wall. “What...were you doing before you got summoned here?”

The demon rubs his head. “I don’t see how that matters but I was...studying,” he mutters, blushing a bit. “To become a bounty hunter.”

“A...bounty hunter.”

“Yes,” Kai nods. “My ceremony to become one was a few days away and Chanyeol was helping me prep,” He goes on. “Why...do you ask?”

Sehun looks around, glancing out the window. He stares out into the night for a moment before going to the demon and pulling him into the closet. He shuts the door and takes a deep breath. “I met Kris.”

“You...met Kris,” Kai repeats. “I know, when you got my-”

“After I left the hospital, I spent some time looking for a way to get you back home; through my books I already have,” He interrupts, keeping his voice low. “I went for a walk and...Kris approached me.”

“Are you hurt?”

Sehun smiles a little. “No. He wants my help.”

Kai squints a bit suspiciously. “With that?”

“He wants me to help get rid of you, to banish you,” He admits. “I...talked with him for a few hours.”

“And you didn’t believe him?”

“I did at first,” Sehun admits again. “I even told him I’d help him. He told me you killed his father while he slept and tortured his mother.”

Kai shakes his head. “First of all, his mother died when he was a child. Secondly, It wasn’t ME that killed his father…Kris killed him and fled.”

Sehun furrows his brows in confusion. “Kris killed his own father? Why?”
 

“Why do you think? His dad had a high position and he wanted it. Unfortunately for him, we quickly figured out it was him; which is why he disappeared.”

The punk sits on Kai’s couch and nods as he thinks about it. He thought a lot about all of this. And why would Kai beat those men and his father if he already was going to send him home? There wasn’t any need for the demon to do all of that because Sehun had already agreed. And while he kept thinking about what Kai had said in the hospitals, his eyes betrayed him. How his anger washed away and sadness replaced it. Those eyes stuck in his mind the whole time and even now, they still don’t glow. “We can use this, Sehun,” The demon speaks up. “Pretend you didn’t tell me, keep working with him.”

“What makes you so sure this isn’t all part of my plan and I’m actually helping him?”

“Because...I trust you,” Kai whispers, looking a bit pained. “Even if you’re a filthy human.”

“Wow,” Sehun rolls his eyes, even if it sounded like a joke. “Thanks.” But it felt nice to hear him say it. “I...trust you too.”

Kai raises a brow. “Why? What if Kris was right and I’m just using you?”

“You wouldn’t bother hurting those people for me, Kai. I already agreed to help send you back, remember? If Kris was right, you wouldn’t bother doing any of that.”

The demon stares at him, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a small smile. Sehun’s stomach flutters when the man’s eyes lightly begin to gold. It makes him smile as well. He gazes at Kai for a few moments, trying to stop his heart from beating so fast. He doesn’t know why but he does trust this demon. He may act tough but there’s something about him that’s incredibly soft. Like candy with a hard outside and a sweet inside; no one able to crack him and reach the core. He shivers under Kai’s intense stare as well. “T-tomorrow,” He mutters. “We should get...get to work on finding your spell,” He whispers. His knees grow a bit week when all Kai does is watch him. “Maybe I could...uhh, ask Tao.”

“Your occult friend?” Kai hums a bit. “He would know a lot about this?”

“More so than me,” Sehun admits. “I can ask Kris too.”

“No, I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

“I have to,” Sehun sighs as he stands back up. “He has to believe I want to help him. I’ll just tell him I need the spell but I won’t help cast it.”

Kai slowly nods. “Okay, but you’ll need to be able to protect yourself against him.”

“Don’t worry, I know self-defense.”

“No,” Kai shakes his head before leading Sehun out of the closet. “You wouldn’t be able to protect yourself against his magic.” He seems to think for a moment. “I know. I’ll just provide you with a ward.”

Sehun crosses his arms. “A ward? Like...on a necklace or something?”

“No, he’d be able to rip that off,” The demon says. “I think...I could carve it into you.”

“You’re kidding,” The punk huffs. “Like when we signed a contract? I don’t know, that...really hurt.”

Kai lets out a sigh. “I know and this time will hurt more so but I think it’s necessary.”

Sehun thinks about it for a moment. The idea of Kris finding out he’s double-crossing him and using some sort of magic to torment him. And then turning to hurt friends and family. He shivers at the thought and his stomach drops. Momentary pain is worth it. Plus, he’s used to pain so why is he so scared? “Where?”

“I should place it somewhere that wouldn’t exactly be easy to find,” He says as he steps back and looks Sehun over. “Your inner right ankle?”

Taking a deep breath, the punk nods. “Yeah, okay.” He tries not to shake as he sits on the edge his end and begins to pull off his heavy boots, working on his socks afterward. Kai watches him carefully as he rolls up his right pants leg. The demon wastes no time in kneeling between Sehun’s legs, causing the punk to blush a bit. He clears his throat. 

“Sehun, I can use both of my hands equally.”

“You mean you’re ambidextrous?”

“Yes.”

“Okay? Good for you?” 

“I mean, If you need something to grab onto while I work, I only need one hand,” He says before offering his right hand. 

Sehun stares at it oddly. “You want me to...hold your hand?”

“Yes,” Kai replies as if it were no big deal. “You can squeeze as hard as you can; it won’t hurt me.” He sighs and nods. But he feels strange regardless when their fingers intertwine until their palms meet. He swallows hard at the warmth. He closes his eyes tight when he feels the demon gently grab Sehun’s ankle. 

He didn’t think he’d have to take Kai’s offer but he does. He squeezes the demon’s hand so tightly, if Kai were a human, it’d probably leave a bruise or worse. He lets out small cries as work is done, he can feel small drops of blood run down as he’s carved into. He grips the blankets with his free hand, tightening his grasp on both the demon and his bed. “I’m sorry,” Kai whispers. It sounds strange, soft. Maybe even a bit kind. “I’m almost finished.” He grimaces. Kai’s right. It did hurt worse than the other but he feels more comfortable this time. He isn’t sure if it’s the demon’s warm hand or not.

It lasts nearly half an hour this time. But when Kai finally announces he’s finished, Sehun finds himself finding it hard to release his grip on the demon. Even after the blood is cleaned up and Kai generously offers to remove the pain. “Sehun.”

“Y-yeah?”

“My...hand.”

Sehun opens his eyes and looks down, staring at their hands still together. He swallows hard and laughs nervously. “O-oh, sorry. It’s uh...it’s done?” He asks, slowly letting go.

“Yes,” Kai stands, seeming to admire his handiwork. “I would have gone faster but even a single line out of place and the ward wouldn’t work.”

“It’s fine, really,” He groans, rubbing the reddish mark. He stares at the symbol. “I swear to god, I’m gonna have like fifty new tattoos before you end up leaving.”

Kai chuckles as he steps closer and grabs Sehun’s wrist. “I don’t know about that.”

“Um...what...what are you doing?”

“Testing to see if my powers work on you.”

“Wait, wait, what?!” Sehun tries to pull back but Kai forces him to sit still.

“Don’t be such a baby,” He huffs. “It’s just a simple spell...Do you feel anything?”

“No…”

“Well, I just tried to set your head on fire, so it works.” He laughs when Sehun widens his eyes. “Relax, It was just a joke.”

“You don’t tell jokes!”

“Sure I do,” The demon shakes his head. “I just cast a harmless sleeping spell.”

“Sleep? You can force me to sleep?”

“With your new ward, any power I use on your has to be consensual.”

“Cool,” The punk admits as he stands, “I'll have to remember that the next time I have a ty nightmare and can’t sleep.”

Kai gives him a weak smile but he suddenly stops as if he had an idea. “Sehun, there will be things Kris can use against you; fears, loved ones,” He points out. “Tomorrow, we’ll work on this.”

“How...so?”

“You’ll see,” He says, heading back to the closet. “Get some sleep for now. You’ll need your energy.”

Sehun looks at him oddly but he slowly nods. He fiddles with his pants anxiously. “Kai?” The demon stops to look at him. “Uh...thanks. You don’t have to do all this stuff to protect me and yet…”

“It’s,” Kai pauses and looks as if he’s struggling a bit. For a moment, the glow in his eyes falter. “It’s alright, Sehun,” He whispers before disappearing into his closet; shutting the door gently. The punk stares at the door as he thinks back on everything. Kris, the ward on his ankle. He subconsciously begins to rub it. If Kai doesn’t care, why is he doing all of this for him?

Sehun looks into the hospital room, hesitantly standing in the doorway. He glances back to Kai in the hall. The demon ushers him in gently as if he's silently telling him it’s alright. He takes a deep breath before he pushes himself forward and finally approaches his unconscious father. He stares down at the man’s slightly battered face; Still a bit cut up from Kai’s assault. He slowly sits in the chair beside the bed. He struggles a bit. “Uh…” He clears his throat. “Hey, dad.” He picks at the sleeve of his leather jacket. “I made this stupid desition to visit you. Everyone told me it was dumb,” He mutters. “The...um, the nurse told me you won’t wake up in time for me to graduate.” He pauses. “Good…” He sighs and looks up to his face. “That night you pushed me in the closet is the last time you’ll ever see me, dad. Because by the time you wake up, I’ll...I’ll be gone.” He cringes at how ominous that sounds. “Not dead, obviously. But out of your life, out of mom’s life; starting my own.” Sehun slowly leans back in his chair, keeping his eye on his unconscious parent. Kai was right. This man is hardly his father. This man is his dad and yet he’s the reason for almost all of his fears. What seventeen year old is afraid of the dark and some tiny, little closet? What teenage boy who dresses in leather and kick- boots, is afraid of his father? His own ing father. He tightens his hands into fists until his knuckles turn white. He hates this man; he hates him so damn much. But he tries to calm down, especially when he looks over at the machine keeping him together. “Where Kai’s from,” He begins again. “What you do to me is punishable by death. So if you can hear me,” He leans down and whispers. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”

 Sehun pushes off the seat and quickly stands, making his way back toward the door. “We should leave.”

Kai doesn’t ask why, probably able to feel his hatred and anger. Sehun leads him out of the hospital, taking a deep sigh of relief when they’re out. “You are, by far, the most troubled human I’ve ever met.”

“Gee, what makes you say what?” Sehun asks sarcastically as they begin to walk from the hospital. He glances at the time. Baekhyun and Luhan would have gotten out of music club by now. The punk had ditched school for a day full of research. “Is it my daddy issues, my self-harm habits, or my weird liking to the occult and the supernatural? The list is long, demon.”

“I suppose I’m referring to all of it. But mostly your hatred for your father.”

“That’s weird to you?” The punk scoffs. “It shouldn’t be. There’s a lot of humans that hate their parents.”

“Your human friends don’t hate theirs.”

“That’s because they don’t stuff them in closets or try to exorcise them when they’re ten for telling their father that they have a crush on their cute male classmate.” It’s not a long walk from the hospital to his house, but by the time they get there, the sun is already setting. “Yesterday, you said you wanted to help me...with something?”

Kai slowly nods. “Yes but...you will not like it.”

“Why?” Sehun frowns as he follows the demon into the house. “We’re not doing some kind of blood ritual, are we?” He asks.

“No,” Kai responds as soon as they step into Sehun’s bedroom. He grabs the punk’s coat and pulls it off of him. Sehun is confused but he doesn’t fight. “Take your shoes off, get comfortable.”

“Okay,” Sehun says slowly and takes off his shoes.

“Your makeup and accessories too, Sehun.”

“What? Why?” Kai just stares at him, seeming to wait patiently. Seeing that he won’t receive any answers, he justs sighs and begins to pull off his rings, bracelets, and choker. He goes over to wipe off his makeup as well now. 

“Comfortable?” The demon asks.

“Well, yeah,” Sehun shrugs. “I’m in my room.”

Kai shakes his head. “I need you to feel comfortable right now, no matter where you are. Go into the hall and tell me if you are.”

Sehun rolls his eyes but does as he’s asked, stepping out into the hall. He stands there for a moment before looking to the demon. “Yeah, I feel fine.”

“Good,” The demon nods approvingly, also leaving the room now. He shuts the door and grabs Sehun’s hand; he says nothing as he begins to lead him down, toward the stairs. “At this moment, you need to trust me.” Kai gently pulls Sehun down the stairs, seeming to look back and give him a reassuring smile. The punk watches him with a wary eye as he’s lead. But his stomach drops when he sees that they’re headed for the closet.

“Kai, no,” Sehun’s voice trembles. “I’m not going in there!”

“You keep having nightmares,” The demon sighs, being slow when he pulling Sehun closer to the door. The punk can feel his heart begin to beat faster and his palms get sweaty. He stares at the wooden door. The demon stops, keeping a tight grip. “This is the first step. You must get over this.”

“No, I can’t!”

“I’ll go in with you.”

“You...you will?”

“Yes,” He nods confidently. “I don’t have a fear of small spaces and the dark.” He uses his free hand to pull open the door, revealing the small room behind it. Sehun stares at it with wide-eyes as he tries to calm himself. Kai slowly pulls him in, shutting the door again when they’re both completely inside.

“Okay, this was fun,” Sehun laughs nervously. “Out we go!” 

Kai grabs both of the human’s hands before he can grab the door. “Sehun,” He whispers.

The human groans and shuts his eyes tightly. He takes a deep breath, not releasing his tight grip on the demon. He tries to stop himself from panicking, taking deep, heavy breaths. Kai lets go of his hands and he can feel strong arms wrapped tightly around him, pulling the human close against the demon’s chest. “You’re alright, Sehun. You’re safe,” he whispers. “No one is around to hurt you. You’re not trapped and you could leave anytime you want.”

“I-I can’t,” Sehun cries softly, feeling tears well up in his eyes. “I can’t stop!”

“You must.”

“No, I just...I feel sick, my stomach hurts; my head hurts,” He whines. “The room is gonna spin, and I-” Sehun’s words are caught in his throat when he hands slowly move up to his hold his face. He opens his mouth to speak but is once against stopped when something soft gently brushes against his lips. He shivers as Kai’s lips hover over his. They finally connect seconds later and it’s amazing. The demon’s lips are soft and warm. Very warm and feverish but careful. Sehun isn’t sure what to do at first but something inside pushes him to step closer, into this foreign and weird but comforting and welcomed kiss. His stomach stirs as he grips Kai’s shirt tightly, this strange kiss deepening now. He feels the demon’s hand at the back of his head and pulls him in closer. Safer. His heart beats fast but his stomach doesn’t turn; it flutters. His knees falter and grow weak, his back is pressed against the door now. Hands fall to the punk’s waist before completely wrapping around him. 

When Kai slowly pulls back, Sehun feels a bit dazed. He breathes heavily, staring up at the man in the dim darkness; his eyes glowing brightly. He swallows hard, the closet nearly disappearing from his mind. “That…”

“How do you feel?”

Sehun watches Kai in confusion, unsure what had happened. “G...good.” His heart flutters again when he smiles.

“Good,” Kai slowly nods. He helps Sehun stand straight before pushing the door open and stepping out. He grabs the punk’s hand and pulls him out as well. “If we go into this closet every day, I believe you’ll overcome your fears.”

“Right…” Sehun stands there in awe, not paying attention when his phone rings.

“Are you...going to answer that?”

“What?” Sehun shakes his head. “O-oh,” He laughs nervously as he grabs his phone from his pocket. “Uh...hello?”

“Sehun, hey,” Baekhyun greets. “Hey, where are you? I thought we were supposed to meet up at the club.”

Sehun groans and nods. “, yeah. Sorry, I forgot. I was...distracted,” he mutters. “I’ll get dressed now.”

“You’d better! Tao didn’t get us these fake IDs for nothing,” His friend laughs. “See you outside the pale, alright?” He says before hanging up.

Sehun rubs his face after he puts his phone away and groans. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” The punk mutters. “I forgot I was gonna meet Baek, Lu, and Tao at the club,” He admits. “Chanyeol is going too, you know. You should come.”

Kai slowly shuts the closet door. “Do you...want me to?”

“Yes,” Sehun admits in a quiet voice. “I’ll...I’ll get ready and meet you outside,” He suddenly says and quickly turns to make his way up the stairs. He stops as soon as he enters the bedroom, shutting the door behind him and leaning on it. He stares forward, his eyes wide and his heart still beating so fast. He slowly brings his fingers to his lips and gently touches them. What the hell was that? Why would he just kiss Sehun like that? Maybe he was just doing it to help calm him down. Perhaps it’s just a way to help get him closer to becoming fearless. But it doesn’t make sense. He swallows hard. He’d better get ready. He’ll just have to think about this whole headache later.

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Pucker up, human ;)