Author's Notes: I'm agnostic. As such, I believe both demons and angels to be myths that can neither be proven or disproven. So don't email me your bullshit saying "WHAT, ANGELS ARE REAL" and "DEMONS TOTALLY EXIST." I don't care what your beliefs are. If you think angels and demons are real, more power to you. I'm not here to preach at you that they're not.
…You can tell someone else has already read me the riot act on how I'm going to hell for not believing in God, can't you? I just bitch slap those people with the statement, "I write homosexual porn. I'm already going to hell."
:| I'm sorry. I just wanted to make it plain and clear to you guys.
Down Below
"It's good to see you again, Master Kaiba! It's been a while since you've been Below!"
"I'm sure." Seto examined his nails idly. "I'm in the mood for a virgin during my stay down here. Demon, Fallen, or Human, doesn't matter."
"Ah!" The lower level demon clasped his hands together, leathery wings fluttering in excitement. "We just got sent a new bunch of humans. Pathetic little creatures, really, selling their souls for a momentary happiness."
"…Indeed." Seto closed his eyes, taking a moment to think about the small group of humans that he'd found weren't completely hopeless. Then, he cleared his mind of all things human and concentrated on his surroundings. "I prefer humans; they're much more sensitive to touch."
"And I believe you prefer blondes, yes? Well, we only have one in this group, and it's male. He
does wear the white ribbon indicating that he's a virgin, but he's got an attitude problem."
The brunet smirked. "Hmm. Sounds like my sort of bedmate. I'd like to see him first, in any case."
The little red imp bowed respectfully. "Please wait here, Master Kaiba."
Seto watched him go, then sighed bitterly. It felt… pathetic, foisting his attention on people that
looked like the one he wanted instead of trying to court him directly. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury. Joey Wheeler was always wary of him because of his cruelty (which, he'd admit, he'd toned down when he'd realized that the sex dreams weren't from want of a power trip and instead genuine attraction), but he also had some sort of sixth sense from his days on the streets that made him shy away from being cornered alone with him, lest he be hurt or worse.
He had to admit, he was sort of frightened of what might happen if he found himself alone with the blond and the demon part of his brain took over.
"Here he is, Master Kaiba, but we didn't want him to hurt himself struggling, so he's been given a small sedation."
Seto turned to examine the human and felt his heart drop to his feet. "…And for what reason did
he sell his soul to Hell?"
The imp frowned, scratching his cheek idly. "Well, he didn't, really; his father offered his son in place of himself. Lucy's taking care of his father right now, of course, but the fool that went to go collect from him in the first place took the boy instead of cackling and making a show of how the man had no way out of it—He's being reprimanded, but now that the boy's down here, we can't very well just wipe his memories and send him back up. He'll wonder who brutally murdered his father and worry that the person might come back for him."
"…The file for this one, please," Seto ordered curtly, then caught the blond's chin and forced him to look up at his face. "Hmm. I'll see what I can do about this one; his friends will raise chaos when they hear about the murder and kidnapping that happened in the blond's home."
The imp blinked at him in confusion. "…K-kidnapping, Master Kaiba? We were told to officially make it a murder-suicide."
"A murder and kidnapping," the brunet repeated icily. "Make it happen, imp, or I'll have you demoted to Cerberus' play toy."
The little red creature squawked an affirmative and scampered away with his troll lackeys, who had brought the blond out to him.
Gazing into the blond's glazed over brown eyes, Seto sighed quietly. "…Life never
was fair to you, was it, puppy?"
Joey blinked at him slowly, the sedatives distorting the words. "…Am I not fair enough for you, m'lord?"
"Ugh, they've got you doped on aphrodisiac, too," the brunet spat in disgust. "I hate when they do that; you're no good to me if everything you feel is delayed and everything you hear is twisted." He grumbled to himself quietly but scooped the human into his arms nonetheless. "Just stay still, Joey. The drugs will wear off soon."
"…Gonna… wear me out…?"
"No,
off—Never
mind." Seto sighed again and rolled his eyes, then plied some of his powers to his voice. "
Go to sleep, Joey."
The blond immediately fell still in his arms, snoring quietly as he was carried through the bowels of Hell to the guest room that Seto stayed in when he was there. He was usually glad that his parents had decided the human world was the best place to raise children, and that the King of Hell had allowed them to do so (his mother
had been the King's dearest little sister). Right now, though, he was righteously pissed; if
he'd been working Below, the moron that had accepted Joey's soul in place of his father's would have been demoted on the spot and Joey's mind wiped immediately, so he'd have a chance of returning to normalcy.
Urgh. Sometimes he wanted to take his uncle up on that offer to be manager of all things Hell and Mortal Plane related. For now, he'd have a word with Lucy and hope for the best.
.-.-.-.-.-.
"—Jot that down, Amelia. Also, see to it that I get that moron greenhorn down here. I want to have a word with him."
"Have a word with me instead."
Lucifer let out a high-pitched squawk and dropped his mug of coffee. "Son of a-!" When he saw who it was, however, he scowled and held his hand out. The broken mug fixed itself, then filled with more coffee. "Clean that up, Amelia."
"I asked her to run and grab some tonic for me. Joey's going to need it, after all, considering that a small sedation to trolls is like binge drinking for a human—with a hangover to match," Seto stated coldly.
"Ugh." The demon clicked his tongue in annoyance and snapped his fingers, making the puddle of coffee on the ground disappear. "Making me use my magic for the smallest, most useless things when I have better things to do with them—"
"So you're going to disrespect your secretary by making her run for coffee and clean up your messes? I thought you'd know better by now, Lucy, considering that this is—what—your sixth secretary this century?"
Lucifer grumbled and went to go sit at his desk. "You're lucky I liked your mother or I'd toss you out on your ass."
"Ah. Yes. I get that a lot down here," Seto stated, smirking. "You're just jealous that my time in the humans' business world made me crueler than even the King."
The raven-haired man snorted. "I like to attribute some of that to the cruelty of your step-father."
"Oh, please. Don't give him any credit." The younger demon scowled and slammed the Wheeler file down on the desk. "Explain. Explain why this man's son is recovering from drugs in my bed. I've done a good job of keeping my temper, but I'm pissed and I
demand to take it out on some incompetent instead of that innocent human!"
Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "…That seems reasonable."
"You're damn right it's reasonable! You're lucky I didn't blow out half the Second Ring!" Seto bellowed, glaring at him, as the air seemed to crackle with energy.
The older man snorted again. "Badness gracious, Seto. Keep yourself in line a little longer or Amelia will have both our heads."
Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say, because the King of Hell heard the infuriated roar all the way in the Lower Pits.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Joey moaned and gripped the blankets tightly, rolling his tongue slowly to try and get rid of the sticky, bitter taste. He wondered what he'd eaten to leave that aftertaste.
He gasped as he suddenly remembered two hulking figures, and a little red demon that had forced a needle into his arm and injected something that made everything fuzzy and dull. Everything after that was a blur, except for what he remembered as a firm, authoritative 'go to sleep, Joey.' The voice had been… comforting, almost familiar.
Sitting up a little, he took a moment to look around, frowning as he took in the dark, crimson stone walls and floor, and the black sheets pulled up over his naked body. The canopy of the bed was black and red satin, with one side of the curtains pulled down, but that was the side against the wall, so it didn't really impede his view of the room. The only other things in the room was a bedside table with a lamp on top, a large chest of drawers, and an armchair and coffee table in the far corner. The room was mostly bare, but it still appeared… comfy.
Oh, God, he'd heard from his gang buddies about this place—had seen another's demonic tail and wings to prove it was true—and he just knew he'd be stuck down here for the rest of his existence. He'd been doped up by trolls and now he was some demon's little bitch! He could only hope the demon would be gentle when he raped him—
Joey turned his head quickly as he heard the door creak open, trembling a little as he wondered what sort of demon would find him attractive enough to fuck for the next few decades. He paled when he saw a familiar face, however; a face that was speckled with blood. He felt his stomach churn as he took in the view of the older boy.
He was shirtless, leaving the brunet's chest bare and covered with more spatters of blood. He had more smears of blood on his black leather pants—even one that looked suspiciously like a hand print—but the worst was really his arms. His hands were covered in blood, and a little bit of the crimson liquid was dripping from his fingers onto the floor. More blood was smeared up his arms to fade in sprayed marks up his biceps.
He noticed a long, twitching white tail, reminiscent of the brunet's signature card, but the white horns extending from his head were his own.
…Why didn't it surprise him that Seto Kaiba was a demon?
Seto paused on his way to the chest of drawers. "…I didn't expect you to be awake yet. How are you feeling?"
Joey bit his bottom lip and pulled the blankets up a little more. "Okay, I guess."
"No pain anywhere? No headache?"
The blond shook his head timidly. "No."
Seto hummed thoughtfully. "I see. Well, I should send Amelia a gift for her promptness in answering my request. …Perhaps a cattle prod that she can use on Lucy…" he mumbled, expression darkening a little, then finished his walk to the dresser and opened one of the drawers to pull out a towel to begin wiping away some of the blood. "Hmm. I'm going to take a shower. Don't leave the room; not all demons have the same morals I do."
Joey chewed on his bottom lip anxiously, then asked, "Am I your slave, Kaiba?"
The brunet paused, then continued to wipe himself clean. "I will admit, the thought crossed my mind, but you'd never be happy like that. I intend to take you back to the Mortal Plane. We'll get a story in place for your kidnapping. Until then, I have business to attend to down here, so you'll have to stay a few days."
"…Why?" the human asked quietly, frowning. "Ya usually don't hesitate t' make fun of me. Why aren't ya milkin' this opportunity?"
Seto turned toward him and placed a hand on his hips, spending a few minutes just looking at him. Then, he sighed and walked over to sit on the bed—a respectful distance away, the blond noticed. "I may have been cruel to you, but I've never
tortured you. Both Heaven and Hell run on a karma-based system. You're not a perfect role-model, but you've reached a balance that few people manage to attain. Yes, you may have stolen those candy bars, but you were neglected and hungry, and to make up for it, you saved a little girl from bullies. It's admirable of the balance you've reached, especially with your background."
Joey blushed a little and looked away quickly, telling himself that he didn't like looking at the pink stains left on the brunet's skin or the red-stained towel; unfortunately, he knew he was embarrassed but pleased by the recognition that despite his shortfalls, he was a basically good person. "…I-it's not that big of a deal…"
"Quite the contrary. There was no reason you needed to be dragged down here in place of your father. Your father has been dealt with—and will continue to be dealt with for the next few centuries. The demon that brought you down here in the first place has…
also been dealt with," Seto explained carefully.
"…Is… is that his blood?" The blond timidly pointed at the towel.
The demon huffed quietly. "Well I wasn't going to say it outright, but since you're giving me no choice,
yes. It's his blood."
The human looked up at him from beneath his lashes. "…Ya did that for me?"
Seto whined quietly in the back of his throat. "Don't look at me like that. It makes me want to hump you until you scream for mercy."
"Nn!" Joey blushed, eyes widening, then turned and hid his face in the pillows.
Feeling that he'd frightened the blond enough, the demon stood up and began toward the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower. Don't leave the room," he reminded softly.
Peeking out once he heard the only other door in the room shut, the blond felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment. He'd never have figured the CEO was
gay! And gay for
him, no less!
…Oh, he was in a whirl of confusion and anxiety now. While the thought of being humped until he 'screamed for mercy' sounded delicious (what? He was a healthy teenage boy!), it was
Seto Kaiba. The man that had
tormented him and—wait. The insults
had tapered off over the last few months, and he'd noticed the brunet's eyes settling on him and glowing hungrily.
He'd assumed it was just hatred, and that he hated him so much that he just didn't want to deal with him that much.
…Seto Kaiba wanted sex. And he wanted it with Joey Wheeler.
Joey squealed in embarrassment at the thought and shoved his head under the pillows. Seto was a demon, and demons did things during sex—he'd heard the demon in his gang brag about how he'd fucked a girl and had managed to shove most of his tail down her throat as well. The images that had been drawn for him years ago had left him with nightmares, and they still terrified him.
He had no interest in giving oral sex to a stupid tail!
.-.-.-.-.-.
Seto frowned in confusion when he felt something softly touching one of his horns. The frown turned into a mighty roar of pain when the same horn was given a yank. "SON OF A BITCH!"
Joey sprang backward immediately, eyes wide as he scampered to the other side of the bed. A hand on his ankle, however, made him whimper as he was violently dragged back. "Ack!"
"Just what the hell were you—Oh. Never mind, it was just you," the brunet mumbled, releasing him. He sat up and sighed, gently rubbing the skin around his horn. "You can't just go and yank on someone's horn like that, Joey. It's part of my
body."
The human bowed his head a little, frowning. "…I didn't pull on it that hard. It was more like an experimental tug."
"It's attached to my body and it's
sensitive. Think of it like being kicked in the balls." Seto glared at him, still grumbling to himself a little, then sighed. "…I'm still considered a child in demon standards. My horns haven't hardened yet."
"…Oh." Joey tilted his head, then reached up to rub the end of the offended horn with the tip of his finger. He giggled when the brunet's eyes drifted shut in a dopey smile. "You're kinda cute like that."
"Mmmmmarghlfshnnnggg…" Seto turned his head to lean his horn against the blond's hand, much like a cat demanding to be pet would. "You've got such nice hands…"
The blond blushed, pleased at the compliment. "Um, thanks."
The demon hissed quietly and reached out to begin kneading the younger boy's sides unconsciously. "Mmmm… If you stop before I tell you to, I'm going to have to punish you…"
Joey grimaced a little but continued to gently fondle his horn, despite feeling uncomfortable with the hands at his waist. Suddenly, this wasn't nearly as cute.
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Um… Thanks, Kaiba. For… savin' me," Joey mumbled, scuffing his foot over the ground shyly.
Seto hummed and nodded slightly. "Do you remember the story you're going to tell?"
"Dad had debts owed t' some bad people and they took his organs t' sell t' pay for his debts, planned on sellin' me int' the slave trade." The blond frowned. "…Kaiba? Where 'm I gonna live if my dad is dead?"
"Arrangements have been made," the brunet assured. "Just stick to your story. If you get into trouble, give me call."
"How—" Joey yipped as the demon dropped something into his pocket, then stepped out of the alley and began walking away as if he'd belonged there.
Joey could only watch him go for a while, wondering how someone that looked so calm and collected had also walked into a room covered in blood, eyes wicked as a white tail swayed gleefully. He couldn't rationalize it; it did not compute.
Feeling the heavy object in his pocket again, he pulled it out and was surprised to find it was a cell phone. He bit his bottom lip as he scrolled through the contacts and stopped on 'SK.' He didn't really need to think hard to figure out who that was. Seto had taken charge and, though he'd come onto him in a doubtlessly less-than-charming manner, had been rather kind to him despite his usual taunts and jeers. That had been nice of him. Quite nice.
…He really had to thank him for what he'd done.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Mokuba squealed happily. "Brownies!"
Seto smacked his hand as he reached for one. "Those are mine."
"…What! But, you don't even like chocolate!" the younger boy whined, rubbing the back of his hand.
The brunet frowned and looked down at the brownie on the plate in front of him, just waiting to be eaten. "…They're from Joey," he stated after a moment, ducking his head a little. "As a thank you, for saving him down Below."
Mokuba frowned, taking in the dejected slump of his brother's shoulders and the melancholy in his eyes. "…He… turned you down, didn't he?"
"He did not act favorably to the idea of sex between us, no," Seto replied quietly. "It's probably for the best. He's human, after all, and a virgin. He probably wouldn't be able to handle how intense it would be." At least, that's what he told himself, despite his brain arguing that the blond had been through worse and come out fine.
"…Didn't… didn't he do
anything to show any interest?" the younger boy asked desperately. He hated seeing his brother like this; Seto just wasn't meant to look so… sad.
"…He pet my horns. But then I grabbed him and started kneading him. I threatened him if he stopped. He didn't feel comfortable with that, but he was too afraid to stop." The brunet's body seemed to slump even more. "So I probably ruined any chance I might have had. I don't think any amounts of gifts or money could make him forgive me."
Mokuba frowned. "Have you ever just… tried saying 'I'm sorry?'"
Seto turned to look at him in confusion, then smiled sadly and reached out to ruffle his hair. "That would never be enough to make it up to him. I've been unnecessarily cruel to him, you know. You can have my brownies, Mokuba," he added, standing, and slid the plate over to him. "You'll probably enjoy them more, anyway."
"But Seto—"
"I still have to write a report to Uncle Matsuhi explaining why I intervened. I have to find some way to articulate that the human I wanted to court as my mate had been wrongfully collected without showing emotional attachment." The brunet's face twisted in annoyance. "You know what? On second thought, I'll just lie. There's no way I can spin that without it seeming emotional.
"OH!" He smirked as the perfect story came to mind. "I can just tell them that Atem would have pitched a fit that would have been a pain in the ass to deal with, what with both the paperwork and the Shadow Magic he'd
doubtlessly use to try and rescue his friend. I love using him as my scapegoat; it adds to his bad karma." He threw his head back and began to laugh. "WAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You're doing your creepy demon laugh again. How are you supposed to get a human mate when your laugh even creeps
me out?" Mokuba mumbled shoving the brownie into his mouth.
Seto frowned. "I can't help it. I like making Atem suffer too much."
Mokuba sighed.
