joohyun lets a quiet exhale slip when she moves from the cash register to the back room where seungwan is waiting for her. it's been a slow day, no customers have entered for the past ten minutes so she figures she can spare a few moments to check on the demon. seungwan accompanies her as always, refusing to be apart despite joohyun's reassurance that she'll be fine at work. today is a little different though, burger is tagging along as well.

the mortal rests against the frame of the door as she watches seungwan struggle with her hound. a downsized burger is attempting to wiggle out of her arms as she tries to secure a tiny cowboy hat on his head.

"what are you doing?" joohyun bites back a grin as she watches the scene before her, it's evident that burger isn't enjoying this at all.

seungwan grunts with effort and replies without looking at joohyun, "it's almost halloween, i have to put him in something presentable."

by something presentable, seungwan has clipped a tiny cowboy hat on him — talk about minimal effort.

"that's it? just a little hat?" the mortal folds her arms across her chest, "thought you would do more than that."

given the time they've spent together, she has no doubt that seungwan could come up with the most outrageous and extravagant outfits. the devil grumbles and releases her hound from her grasp and burger wastes no time in attempting to shake the hat off. seungwan sighs pointedly at joohyun and the mortal nods understandingly, she'll give her points for even getting the hat on.

"trust me, i would put him in a fancy suit if he actually liked wearing costumes." seungwan drawls.

joohyun nods her head at her, "what about you? if you're dressing him up, are you going to dress up too?"

oh?

she eyes her charge carefully, hell's definition of dressing up usually means picking the raunchiest outfit one can find and she highly doubts joohyun will appreciate fashion standards in the underworld. still, seungwan thinks it could be fun to dress up for joohyun.

"why?" she shoots her a smug look, "do you wanna see me dress up?"

the mortal rolls her eyes before retorting with sarcasm dripping over her words, "yes i do, show me your abs and your wonderfully sculpted arms, lucifer."

seungwan purses her lips at the sound of her name rolling off joohyun's tongue, she's grown to hate it over the years but... it might not be the worst thing in the world if joohyun is the one screaming it one day. she smiles at the thought which earns her a kick from joohyun.

"yah, why do you have that look on your face?"

"what look?"

"that y look..."

"because i'm having y thoughts?" seungwan snickers as she rises to her feet, "i'm kidding, i like it when you call me lucifer."

joohyun sighs and her expression softens a little, "what happened to it reminding you of god?"

"my name sounds a lot nicer coming from those soft, kissable lips of yours." seungwan winks, "speaking of which, when will i get that kiss? it's been like a week, you're really killing me over here."

heat rushes to her cheeks and joohyun immediately turns to leave. seungwan has yet to let her embarrassment die, a week has passed since that fateful morning and while joohyun wants to put it behind them, seungwan keeps harping about it. every single day, whenever she has a chance, the devil is always asking for that stupid kiss. it'd be so easy to shut her up with an actual kiss but joohyun doesn't want to cross that line just yet, she likes the way things are now, so she'll leave seungwan pouting for just a little longer.

later that night, seungwan shows up in her room in a tight-fitting black corset along with thigh-high boots. she's dressed like a prude by hell's standards but she worries that if she reveals more skin, joohyun's fragile mortal heart might not be able to handle it.

"what do you think of my halloween outfit?" she beams widely as she does a twirl in front of joohyun, stumbling slightly in her heeled boots.

joohyun pushes her glasses to the top of her head and can't help but let an exasperated sigh slip. at this point, it's a known fact between them that joohyun likes staring at her muscles, so she isn't shy about running her eyes down the demon's figure. with an intense gaze, she takes in the entirety of the devil, ensuring that the image of her in a corset is ingrained in her brain.

satisfied, joohyun tilts her head slightly. "what are you dressed as? a hooker?"

"no, silly, i've yet to put on the finishing touch," seungwan tuts and snaps her fingers. a nun's headpiece appears over her head and she grins widely, "tada! i'm a y nun!"

a beat of silence passes and joohyun tries to find the right words to express herself but fails spectacularly when a bible appears in seungwan's gloved hand as if it'll help her sell the look a little more.

"no wonder you live in hell." joohyun deadpans and pinches the bridge of her nose. seungwan has left her speechless on countless occasions and if she's to rank them all, the devil dressing as a y nun will probably be at the top, followed by cooking breakfast on burger.

"i got an outfit for you too if you wanna go to hell's version of a halloween party."

joohyun quirks a brow curiously, "what do you mean by hell's version?"

"oh, we usually host them in the mortal realm since it's easier for us to blend in when everyone's all dressed up. we bring up alcohol and drugs from hell so things tend to get a little intense." seungwan explains as she hobbles towards joohyun, "i checked your schedule, you're free on halloween."

the mortal presses her lips into a thin line, if the festival in hell taught her anything, it's that a party with the demons is ten times worse than a regular, human party. besides, she's not all that into social events, she would prefer staying home instead. 

"i don't know, seungwan." she raises her shoulders weakly, "parties aren't exactly my thing..."

"come on, i thought it'll be fun if we could go together. you know, with matching outfits." seungwan pleads with a soft nudge, "plus, i kinda miss my friends."

joohyun grimaces at the thought of them in matching y nun outfits, but aside from that, she supposes she could indulge seungwan for a couple of hours. "fine, for a few hours and only if you don't put me in a y nun costume, and also if you stop bringing up the kiss." the mortal lays out her demands firmly.

the devil hums loudly as if to ponder her terms, "will you ever kiss me?"

"if you stop bringing it up, i might."

"okay... then is this a date?"

a hopeful smile lights seungwan's face and joohyun finds it almost impossible to deny her, "yes."

the devil is stunned into silence, what came out as a teasing joke has earned her a surprising answer. there are no party poppers appearing or any trace of snark on her lips, she's just... quiet.

if that's all it takes, joohyun might shower her with a little more affection, just because she thinks her reactions are adorable.

"snap out of it, you're a woman of faith, you've sworn celibacy."

if her eyes aren't playing tricks on her, joohyun swears she might have spotted a hint of a blush on the devil's cheeks. seungwan mutters something under her breath and hobbles out of her room in those heels that she has no idea how to wear.

"and get sooyoung to teach you how to walk in those things!" she adds with a snicker.

to get back at her, seungwan thought of the perfect halloween outfit for her charge that isn't a y nun outfit. i ing hate you, joohyun mutters when the devil drapes white robes over her casual clothes. she had refused to let joohyun get dressed at home so she wouldn't back out after seeing their supposedly matching outfits, a smart move on her end because joohyun would've never agreed if she knew she was going as the pope. she even gets a huge hat which seungwan says it's just in case they lose each other in the crowd.

thank god she doesn't have many friends, she would pass out from embarrassment if anyone recognises her.

hooking their arms together, the devil guides them into a bustling nightclub in the heart of town where they're easily swallowed up by crowds of demons and mortals. the deafening music threatens to hurt her ears and joohyun makes sure to cling on extra tight as seungwan squeezes through hordes upon hordes of sweaty bodies.

there's a raised section right at the back that oversees the entire dance floor where the demon kings are gathered, joohyun recognises them thanks to yerim and paimon being present. the pair is greeted with loud cheers and drinks are instantly shoved into their hands, seungwan downs her glass in one gulp while the mortal holds hers with a polite smile. the demons are all one article of clothing away from being and on top of being a human, joohyun feels out of place in her pope robes. she leans closer to seungwan to hide her discomfort while the devil exchanges a few greetings.

seungwan chats for a little before guiding joohyun to a separate table away from the kings, she's not going to let those idiots ruin their date. she pushes her charge to sit on the leather couch and plops down beside her moments later.

"wanna get out?"

joohyun throws her a confused frown, "we just got here."

"yeah but unless you wanna dance with me in that nightmare," seungwan points towards the dance floor where people are jumping and bumping into one another, "i think it's better if we go."

definitely not a place she wants to find herself in, but she feels bad for leaving within minutes of arriving. "what about your friends?" joohyun asks.

seungwan shrugs as she tosses a glance towards them, "i've seen them, that's enough for me. let's get out of here, i can take you somewhere less loud."

nodding, she lets seungwan take her by the hand as the world spins around them. they teleport out of the nightclub but not before joohyun manages to catch a glimpse of sooyoung pinning seulgi to a wall. she thanks seungwan for allowing her to escape this nightmare.

seungwan prepared multiple backup plans for their date since she had an inkling that joohyun probably can't stand to be at a nightclub for more than five minutes. even if joohyun did agree, putting her through a terrible night is something she can't bring herself to do.

on the other hand, taking her to a dilapidated building to do a little ghost hunting is something she can definitely do.

"yah, why are we here?" joohyun's voice quivers slightly as she clings to seungwan nervously. the air is musty and with the moonlight pouring in from cracks in the walls, she can barely make out the devil's features. she hears water dripping into a small puddle behind them and the darkness unnerves her.

"you said it's a date, and for our first official date, we're ghostbusting." she proclaims smugly and proceeds to walk further into the abandoned building.

joohyun unwillingly follows along, "why can't we do something normal?" she whines.

seems like her fear is bringing out sides of her that seungwan has yet to experience, for example, how tightly joohyun is holding on to her when she's terrified. and how whiny she is, it's extremely cute and seungwan has to resist the urge to pull her in for a hug.

"where's your halloween spirit, hyun?" seungwan retorts, "besides, there's nothing in this universe that can hurt you as long as i'm around."

it's not as reassuring as seungwan thinks because something skittles past them in the dark and joohyun yelps while jumping closer to seungwan.

"can we go?" the mortal pleads desperately.

"not until we find the demon," seungwan shushes her quickly before yelling out into the darkness, "barbatos! is that you?"

a tension-filled second lapses before a loud sigh is heard and joohyun widens her eyes at the fact that they have company. seungwan reassures her gently by tightening her hand around her waist.

"you're killing my business, boss. halloween is when i get the most contracts."

"oh shoot, my bad." seungwan winces, "we'll get going now."

their next stop is a haunted house at a halloween fair where joohyun is screaming at every actor popping out from the shadows while seungwan ambles through with snarky remarks. the blood isn't even real, she points out while joohyun has her face pressed tightly into her back. she doesn't understand what's so terrifying about humans pretending to be demons, if anything, humanity's impression of a demon is warped — she doesn't look that ugly.

joohyun is screaming for her life with every jump scare and she's begging seungwan to take her home when someone with a fake chainsaw begins to chase after them. to retaliate, seungwan releases a guttural roar that sounds anything but human, sending the human scuttling back into their hiding spot.

seungwan finally warps them home after that, but what's halloween without a scary movie or two? she puts on an eerie film despite joohyun's protests, countering with the fact that joohyun agreed to this date as long as she didn't bring up the kiss. her charge grumbles and buries herself in seungwan's chest because there's no safer place to be.

with matching pyjamas, the pair somehow manages to get through two horror films before joohyun is snoring away on her lap. halloween might be her favourite day of the year now because she has an excuse for joohyun to hug her for hours on end. she won't bring up the kiss for a little while, for all they know, joohyun might kiss her when she wakes up tomorrow.

tangling her hands in her hair, seungwan falls asleep with a contented smile on her face while holding on to that thought.

end notes:

hello... i took a few days off from writing because a big game patch dropped and i had to get caught up with all the new updates. never taking a break again wtf it's so hard to restart.

anyway, this is a filler chapter i think, was a little apprehensive about writing it since it'll only make this fic longer which is what i wanna avoid but i cannot resist writing them into stupid little scenarios. we're going back to having actual plot in the next one hopefully ^o^

also i finally did up the excel sheet i talked abt previously, it's really rough for now but i'll clean it up in the coming days.

sorry for the really long ramble, but i wanna spare a moment to thank everyone who's been keeping up with my updates. thank you for loving this silly little au that i'm pulling out of my . i hope the rest of the fic doesn't disappoint and thank you for reading~~~